lol whut. i found it again! thanks yengirl for beta!

Burning Lantern Bright

Kain found Zero hanging at the stables. About twenty minutes had passed since the face-off between the aristocrat and the pureblood. After Kain's last remark, most of it was silence. Kaname did not further comment about the issue they were on and finally dismissed Kain, expressing a wish to be alone.

Kain's frown deepened at the memory of Kaname drinking Zero's blood. The pureblood needn't have drunk from Zero that painfully. The redhead knew how it felt like being bitten and painfully, courtesy of his reckless playboy cousin.

Zero was in the same stall as a white mare. He had conveniently wedged himself between her and the stable wall. The hunter was slim enough, making the stall look spacious but Kain wasn't sure he could get in there without getting himself either squished in the remaining space or trampled by the horse.

Conveniently enough, the mare had her rear end facing him so he went to the side of the stall carefully. He could tell Zero was ignoring him on purpose and had probably stepped into the stall, knowing that the horse would prevent Kain from coming in after him. Besides, the horse knew of the aristocrat's presence, and was looking over her shoulder at him with black, beady eyes.

Well, there were other ways to get the hunter's attention and the easiest one was…

"Zero," Kain called out, leaning over the single wooden bar.

Zero refused to answer despite hearing his name being called. He was patting Lily's face, calming her down due to the appearance of the other vampire although she did not look afraid. The hunter had every intention of ignoring the aristocrat; Kain had just seen Kaname and him in a situation embarrassing enough to die from.

It wasn't the first time, though. This had happened every now and then ever since Zero took the pureblood's blood. He… he had lost track of the number of times.

Zero knew that most people would have thought that he would never let another vampire bite him again. He had thought so too and yet, his emotions betrayed him. They attached him to the one he despised, the one he hated. Zero never understood why but that was the reason he never resisted when Kaname bit him.

Another reason – and this was the one Zero tried to convince himself with – was the fact that the pureblood was less likely to bite Yuki out of desperation for blood if he had another source. Zero had always loved her, and would die for her. Hence, to ensure that for another day Kaname wouldn't bite her, Zero let himself endure the pain even though he knew Kaname would never bite Yuki the same way.

But it wasn't just the physical pain of being bitten that Zero had to endure. No… it was also the shame of knowing that Kaname was aware of how attracted Zero was to him and held him ransom to it. Behind closed doors, Kaname was brutal with his fangs; every single piercing was done in the manner which inflicted the most pain. He knew Zero would endure each bite without question.

"This is not something you should let him do."

Zero blinked out of his thoughts, looking over at Kain by accident. Subconsciously, he realized that he had a hand on the right side of his neck, covering the bite Kaname had created a short while ago even though it was pointless since Kain already knew.

"It's none of your business."

"Why are you allowing him to do what you hate? I would've thought that amongst all, you'd be the first to rid any vampire who went near you."

That stung. But only because it was the truth. Zero gritted his teeth and let his head drop a little. "What I do is none of your concern!"

That line struck a nerve in Kain.

"How could you say that?" He growled out.

The hunter felt a sudden chill down his back. His back stiffened so much that he couldn't move. He wanted to avoid Kain's gaze as much as possible now.

First of all, Zero couldn't understand why the aristocrat was so… keen in wanting to know what was going on between him and Kaname. He would've thought that Kain was the one who was the least bothered about affairs that did not concern him. And it was strange but hearing those words coming from the aristocrat made Zero's heart jump a little. He couldn't help wondering if somehow, Kain might actually care for him.

Might. The other possibility was that the aristocrat just intended to rub salt in his wounds.

"Does he know that you like him?"

Zero's gaze widened. How did Kain-

The redhead gave a loud sigh, raking his messy hair back. "I should've guessed it sooner…"

"What the hell are you talking about? I don't like Kaname," the hunter lied, just only managing to avoid stutters but sounding far more defensive than he had intended to.

"Don't lie!" Kain hissed back, slamming his hands down on the wooden rail hard enough that an audible crack was heard. Zero flinched at the sound, but more importantly, from the sudden sweet scent of blood - Kain failed to notice that splinter had embedded itself in the palm of one hand.

The horse of the stable jumped.

"I haven't been watching you all these while to not know what your behavior is like. In true fact, you're afraid of the Dorm Leader, and because you also like him, you allow him to do what he wants," Kain accused, not even sure if what he said was right – he was just going by instinct.

But most of it was right.

Zero gritted his teeth as fury peaked in his blood. The attractive scent of blood hadn't helped either, because his chest was aching to have it. He was trying to suppress his emotions and need at the same time, holding himself back from jumping Kain. He stormed over angrily, grabbing Kain's shirt and glaring up at him.

"So you think you know about me? Presume that whatever you have seen was the real person called Kiryuu Zero?" Zero growled, baring his fangs without hesitation.

"Don't make me laugh," he scoffed and let go, pushing Kain away at the same time. Zero turned around, burying his face in a hand. An aching, emotional pain had formed in his chest.

Zero jumped when he felt two arms encircling his chest and pulling him back. He winced softly as his lower back pressed against the partially broken wood of the rail, but his upper back was resting against a surprisingly warm body, which momentarily crashed his thought about 'cold' vampires.

"You never open up to anyone, so how would I know the real you?" Kain whispered by the hunter's ear, causing the latter's heart to race. The warm breath tickled his ear and Zero caught a faint scent of cigarette smoke. He never knew Kain smoked. Secretly, Zero found himself blushing although he could not have said why.

"You're right, Zero. There's so much that I have to learn about you. But I can't do it without you telling or showing me."

Zero looked up and over his shoulder, where Kain's face was. His blush immediately deepened, but for some reason his body wasn't pulling away. Being with Kain somehow gave him a sense of… assurance and calmness, especially with the way they were standing at the present moment.

By right Zero should have been feeling hatred, disgust or something along that line. Maybe even fear, because the aristocrat could bite him easily now. But Kain wasn't staring at his neck. He was looking straight into amethyst-silver eyes, with no hidden agenda. For a moment there, Zero thought that he could actually trust Kain.

"Why," the hunter murmured softly. "Why do you dumb vampires do what you do?"

Kain was slightly stunned by the question. He wasn't exactly sure what Zero was getting at. Slight nervousness tingled in his blood – he was afraid that giving a wrong answer would destroy the sudden fragile peace between them now.

"I guess it's because we want to."

It was the safest answer he could think of but Kain still prepared himself for a sudden lash of words or even a punch. Zero was mysterious enough as he was; predicting his actions was even harder.

Nevertheless, Kain didn't show that he was startled when Zero took his wrist. The hunter turned his hand palm up and Kain was surprised to see an inch long splinter diagonally embedded in his flesh, just below his thumb. It wasn't that he was completely immune to pain, but he had a high tolerance to it. He didn't even flinch when Zero pulled the splinter out. It had gone in at least half an inch, leaving a rather deep wound in the flesh.

Zero brought Kain's injured hand up to his lips, continuing when he found that Kain did not resist at all. Slowly, the hunter let his tongue brush against the bleeding palm, slightly teasing the intact flesh on either side of the wound with his fangs.

The redhead could feel the tempting pricks of the sharp teeth, but said nothing. Instead, he dropped his head and started to reciprocate the act, teasing the hunter's nape with the sides of his own fangs. A soft growl escaped Zero's lips as if in annoyance, before Kain felt two distinct punctures along his arm, just below his wrist.

He held back from biting Zero. Kain didn't want to do what the other hadn't given him permission for. Besides, this was probably a test from the hunter to see if the aristocrat gave in to temptation. It was an ability most vampires lacked; instincts drove them wild. Despite him being nicknamed Wild though, Kain's tolerance and resistance to such stuff was much higher than anyone he knew. Well, over his cousin, by the least.

Kain inhaled Zero's scent instead, wrapping his free arm tighter around the hunter. The stupid, half-broken wooden rail was in his way but that was just as well, otherwise he might've let Zero feel something else.

Zero released Kain's hand after taking about two mouthfuls of blood. He didn't really need it, even though Kaname had bitten him earlier. The hunter was just curious to see Kain's reaction but surprisingly, Kain didn't seem keen on biting him back. Zero felt relieved even though he would never have admitted to it.

"Zero, forget Kaname. He doesn't treat you the way you deserve to be treated," Kain whispered, his tone serious with a hint of anger and possible jealousy.

A crushing emotion sank in Zero's chest. He knew all along that Kaname never did reciprocate his feelings. He knew he was an idiot to let Kaname do what he wanted, but he couldn't help it. Each time Kaname fed from him was immensely painful since the pureblood was never gentle at all but what hurt Zero most was the emotional wounds he sustained.

Kaname always, always, spoke of Yuki, with every intention of making Zero fume. He loved her as well, but it was a different, sibling sort of love. And even siblings could get jealous of one another. Kaname would sweet talk her in front of Zero and it made him sick in the gut. What was worse, the pureblood would toss him several sly glances at the same time, increasing Zero's feelings of betrayal. Zero hated vampires even more, he did, but. ..

Zero jumped when a pair of hands on his shoulders suddenly turned him around, forcing him to face the taller vampire. Both of them locked gazes, one serious and intense, the other surprised and confused.

"Your love for him is only burning lantern bright."

Zero blinked, speechless for a moment. It was an odd way of describing the depth of love that way…

"And you think you love me more than that?" he scoffed, shrugging off the other's hands. Kain reluctantly let go.

"I don't know," came the quick reply. For a moment there, Zero felt like hitting him but Kain was speaking again, talking even faster.

"But I do know that I would never do anything you don't like, or don't want. I'll give you what I can, which probably isn't a lot, but I'll try. If there is anything you don't like about me, I'll change it for sure-"

Zero rolled his eyes. Kain did not sound like the Kain he knew. This was the first time he had heard the cool and calm redhead babble like a wrecked radio and Zero suspected Kain wasn't even sure what he was talking about.

"You're sounding pretty desperate there," Zero sighed.

Kain shut his open jaw, reaching for the back of his neck and rubbing it. He gave a sigh.

"Bottom line is that I love you, Zero. I don't want anyone else to have you." Especially someone who doesn't even know how to treat you right…

This time, it was Zero who sighed. Kain was so weird, acting like a big, tough guy at first and now reduced to acting like a small kid. Secretly though, Zero found that rather endearing. So the big, strong and silent guy of the Night Dormitory had flaws too. The hunter was rather touched by Kain's words, if not cheesed out by it.

Still, Zero could tell that it came from Kain's heart, not his head. And well, maybe… all the pain Kaname had caused him in the past could be pushed aside after all. They did say that love sometimes begin with hate, after all.

Maybe. In time.

"You said you'll do anything, won't you?" Zero asked as he tested the strength of the cracked rail by pushing it down. It seemed to be holding out well.

"You name it."

"Then stop smoking. It stinks," the hunter immediately shot back like a nagging mother.

Kain gave a small grin and said 'OKs' immediately. Zero turned around and propped himself up onto the railing, beside the cracked point. Without hesitation, the redhead he wrapped his arms around Zero's waist, holding onto him and preventing him from falling off.

Given his height, he could rest his chin nicely on Zero's shoulder.

"Whatever you ask me to do, I'm still yours."

"Idiot. What kind of words are those?" Zero scoffed, feeling the nice warmth radiating out from Kain. It reminded him of yesterday.

"Look," Kain said.

The hunter did, looking over his shoulder to see Kain sticking out his tongue. A silver ring piercing on the flesh caught his attention, but more importantly, he saw the tiny engraving on it. Vertically aligned on the silver were the four letters of his name.

"Idiot."

Zero's soft voice held a smile and Kain's heart warmed.

"Call me what you like, but it's not going anywhere."

Zero couldn't help but give a tiny smile this time.

"You know, I didn't want to leave the balcony last night."

"I'm rather curious to know why."

Zero clasped his hands together, dropping his head. "I wanted to wait… to see if Kaname would come back."

Kain kept silent.

"But you came, and you stayed. You could've forced me to go in, but you didn't. You stayed with me outside, in the freezing cold. You didn't leave me."

Zero dropped his head back onto Kain's shoulder, staring up at the hut-like ceiling. "I really appreciate it."

(A/N Zero's words are directly translated from jap. If they sounded funny… well)

The redhead looked at Zero's side profile, catching the smile that lingered on his lips. It was beautiful.

"I'll always be there when you need me."

"Even if I went to hell?" Zero crudely joked, almost but not quite hiding the note of pain in his voice.

Kain smirked and reached over to intertwine his hand with the hunter's.

"Hell's flame wouldn't burn stronger than mine," the aristocrat chuckled, placing a kiss on the hunter's forehead.

... i know this will sound really bad, but i couldn't be stuffed explaining too much about Lily -sweats- I'm sorry this took so long. the draft was ready ages ago but i never got around to properly do it. Mostly because i thought it was too quick for kain and zero to get together. but i did say before, i am bullet training this story... -cough- if it's too quick, i'm really sorry... and three over months without an update! gaspage i'm sorry again! -bows bows bows- please forgive me ;A; next chap is the last one...