A/N: And I'm here again *waves her hand* This week has been a tough one, so I honestly doubted I would be able to update, but as we can see, I made it.

Nothing special about this chapter either, but I still hope that you'll enjoy it even a little.

As always, thank you for reading and reviewing. And for your favs and alerts, of course *bows* They always make my day *^^*

Disclaimer and warnings still stand. All mistakes are mine, and I apologize for them.

Hope you will enjoy reading! :D

Chapter 7: Best Friend's Woes

Kaname gave a sigh; a long, heavy, sulking sigh. Takuma had lost count of how many of those he had heard in the span of thirty minutes he had spent in the presence of his friend, but he decided — was guilt-tripped to decide, whether consciously or not on Kaname's part, was more like it — that it was enough.

Shaking his head with a fond smile, the blond turned to his friend, showing his full attention, and asked, "What has you so preoccupied, Kaname?"

He could guess, and he was pretty sure — almost completely sure — that he would be right, but he preferred to ask first anyway.

"Zero..."

Yeah, he was right. Unsurprisingly. What — or rather, who — else could captivate Kaname's mind to such an extent?

"What about him?" Takuma asked.

Kaname gave another sigh.

A long silence passed.

Takuma frowned, starting to get a little worried. "Did something happen?"

Yet another sigh came, but this one was followed by an actual answer. "He seems to be getting along with everyone, doesn't he?"

Takuma blinked, then nodded. "Sure."

"Especially Aidou."

"Uh…in their own peculiar way?"

Kaname's eyes narrowed as he continued, "And even my uncle."

Takuma thought about it for a moment before shrugging. "Well, Zero-kun certainly knows how to handle him." Unlike so many others...

Kaname gave another sigh.

His brows furrowing in confusion, Takuma tilted his head to the side and asked, "Is that a bad thing?"

Kaname shook his head. "No, of course not. But…"

"But?"

Kaname pressed his lips together, staying silent for a short while before looking up at his friend for the first time since the beginning of their conversation and answering with a frown, "He lets them have too much of his time."

Takuma's brows shot up. He blinked several times while processing the pureblood's words and trying to pinpoint the reason for his apparent disgruntlement. And no matter how long and hard he thought about it, only one conclusion came to mind.

"...Are you jealous?"

Kaname's burgundy eyes widened briefly before he forced his expression to its usual neutral state again. "No."

Takuma snorted, clearly unconvinced and not bothering to hide it.

Kaname frowned his disapproval.

"...I am not," he insisted after a long moment of silence.

Takuma didn't say anything, but he didn't have to — his amused expression screamed it all.

Kaname's frown deepened stubbornly. "Why would I be? Zero is my mate."

A small chuckle escaped the blond alpha. He shook his head fondly, a mirthful smile playing on his lips. "That is precisely why."

Burgundy eyes narrowed in denial. "No."

"Why not?"

"I'm not that petty."

"You mean you don't want to be."

"I mean that I am not."

'You obviously are when it comes to Zero-kun' was what Takuma thought, but wisely refrained from saying. Not that he needed to, as another snort that he failed to hold back did it for him.

"Takuma," Kaname growled warningly.

The blond alpha wasn't intimidated — nor affected in any way, for that matter. "Is that why you're having him followed?"

Kaname frowned in slight puzzlement, momentarily forgetting his annoyance. "What?"

"Your familiar," Takuma elaborated. "It hasn't left Zero-kun's side lately."

"…I'm not having him followed," Kaname denied.

"No?"

"No."

It was a lie, and they both knew it.

Before Takuma could call his friend out on it, however, Kaname added for better measure, "I'm providing him company."

One blond eyebrow rose. "Doesn't he have enough of it?"

Kaname arched a responding eyebrow. "Do you see him complaining?"

"No, he loves the beast."

An audible sigh came from Kaname as he placed his elbow on the armrest of his armchair and rested his cheek on his knuckles, his gaze lowering in thought. "Maybe a little too much…"

"Huh?"

"He allows it too much liberty," Kaname explained absently. "And he gives it too much of his attention." He breathed another sigh.

Takuma shrugged. "You could just take it back if you don't like it so much."

"I can't. Zero wants it- uh, him," Kaname reluctantly corrected himself, feeling weird to refer to his familiar like that, "around."

Takuma blinked. "It's a he?" he asked out of idle curiosity.

Kaname nodded, confirming, "It's a he."

"I never knew."

"I never cared."

"Does it-" Takuma faltered for a moment before continuing, "uh, I mean he have a name?"

Kaname gave an elegant shrug. "Not that I'm aware of."

Takuma sighed, shaking his head. "You're a terrible master. I feel sorry for the poor thing."

"It's a familiar, not a pet. And now he has Zero doting on him. What is there to be sorry about?"

Takuma thought for a moment before responding, "You aren't really jealous of an animal, are you?"

Kaname snorted. "Don't be ridiculous."

Takuma blinked at his friend. "You actually are."

"…Only of the special treatment he gets," Kaname conceded after a while of silence.

"Such as?"

"He gets played with," Kaname started listing off. "And groomed. Even washed. And petted. A lot."

Takuma wasn't exactly an expert, but he did imagine that was what one normally did with an animal — with a pet, to be precise. He chose not to state the obvious, however, and asked what interested him the most at the moment instead.

"…You want to be petted?" The rest he could relate to, but it seemed to be this particular activity that his friend was the most envious of.

A shrug. "I wouldn't be opposed to it."

The mental image that came to Takuma's mind was a rather amusing — and kind of cute, he supposed — one, and he couldn't help chuckling quietly to himself. "Why don't you try asking, then?"

A stubborn frown settled between perfect dark eyebrows. "He doesn't need to ask."

"He can't," Takuma corrected the pureblood. "But that aside, you aren't seriously trying to compete with your own familiar, are you?"

Kaname shrugged one shoulder.

Takuma could only sigh, then shake his head, fondly exasperated. "Well, good luck with that."

Kaname frowned. "You think I need it?" he asked, actually seeming serious.

"I think you need to find yourself a new hobby."

"What's wrong with my current one?"

"It's called 'stalking'," Takuma enlightened his friend.

Kaname's frown deepened briefly. "No, it's not."

"Yes, it is," Takuma insisted, "albeit by proxy."

Kaname still refused to admit it. "I don't constantly watch him."

"Yes, you do. I'm sure you're doing it even now." Takuma gave the older alpha a pointed look. "Aren't you?"

"…No."

"…You just cut the link, didn't you? Just now."

The only answer was silence.

"And you've probably already restored it."

More silence. Then…

"…No?"

Takuma exhaled a long-suffering sigh before pinching the bridge of his nose and shaking his head. "Honestly, Kaname, if you don't-"

All of a sudden, Kaname's eyes went wide and his aura flared. He jumped up, his teeth showing as he snarled at something only he could see.

Takuma gave a start at his friend's sudden actions. "W-what is it?"

"That man," Kaname hissed, "he just doesn't know when to quit."

Takuma frowned, not quite getting what the other was talking about, but before he could inquire further, Kaname fled from the room without another word, leaving only a mess of scattered papers — the ones that were actually official documents that he was meant to review and sign as part of his duties as a crown prince — in his wake.

Takuma stayed still for a few seconds, only blinking after the pureblood. Then, having somewhat guessed the cause of his friend's agitation, he gave yet another sigh and shook his head with an amused little smile playing on his lips.

"Apparently, neither do you," he concluded before shrugging and going about tidying the room. It was clear to him they would have to postpone their work to another night yet again.

.

-to be continued-

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A/N: Another answer to one of my readers:

Mii, dear, first of all, thank you for reading and reviewing *bows* Your comment was so funny xD And to answer your question: they don't, but Zero-chan is still on his heat and birth control pills. Though he is starting to get off of them. And that idea with the spell is awesome *thumbs up* I'll take note of it *nods* And you're always welcome! :D