Just This Once

By: Mayhem

Type: One-shot

Disclaimer: I don't even want to own it. Not in my wildest dreams.

Warnings: Mayhem attempting to write a straight pairing, OOCness, Possibly Language, Umm…That's it.

Notes: Although I'm aware I could add onto this if I wanted to, I don't want to, so don't even ask. This is a one time thing, I'm going back to my world of boys loving boys after this (HaruxKyo Woot!). And I only wrote it in the Furuba world since they were the only ones I could think of to write at the time. This does NOT mean I will be starting up Karing for Kisa again. Don't ask about that either. That said, please try and enjoy my lame attempts at het.

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The full Harvest moon shone down on the earth, the autumn night cool and crisp, a slight breeze blowing through occasionally. Leaves rustled and shook, floating down to the forest floor all around the teenaged boy walking through it. His white hair shone in the moonlight, just as his dark sweatshirt and jeans blended into the shadows around him.

The forest ended a few feet in front of him; at the backyard of his perverted dog (literally) of a cousin, Shigure, and the other live in cousins. There was a dark lump at the base of one of the trees that Haru couldn't remember having been there any time before. The slight breeze carried the sound of sobbing to his ears, and he knew what the lump was.

It was Tohru, sitting alone in the darkening night, with her tears for company. He stopped in front of her, the picture of utter sadness she made at that moment tugging at his heart strings. He crouched down, moving her hair out of her face, though it was buried in her knees. She gasped and looked up, knowing it was late and not completely safe for her to be out here like this. But there was no place else where she could cry and not be heard.

"Oh… Haru." She murmured, turning her face away and wiping away her tears as best she could, sniffling and taking deep breaths to calm herself in front of the ox. "W-what are y-you doing here?" She asked, smoothing out the wrinkles in her skirt as she continued to avoid his gaze.

He shrugged carelessly, sitting down next to her. "Just taking a walk." He answered, "but why are you out here, alone and crying in the dark?"

She stiffened slightly, but knew it was just better to tell him, than it was to avoid it. Something about him always seemed to calm her anyways. "I…Yuki and Kyo were fighting again. And this time it ended up being over me. I needed to get away from them. I don't know why they're like this…"

"I guess this happens a lot, ne? How do you feel about them?" Haru asked.

She nodded, agreeing that it did. More often than she liked. "I love them. As brothers. The family I never got to have.' She whispered. "But…"

"But they see you as more than a sister, or at least they want you to be that. Which is yet another reason for them to fight like they do. They won't say it either, but they do. Love you that is."

She nodded again, staring off into the darkness as she fiddled with the hem of her skirt. "I don't know what to do anymore."

"You need to tell them that you don't want to be in the middle of it anymore. Unless you'd rather date both of them."

She shook her head, smiling at him. "No, I couldn't do that. And they wouldn't be satisfied if I just… ignored them. Eventually, they're going to make me choose…"

Haru settled back against the tree. "And you definitely don't want to do that. So… what's left?"

Tohru rested her head on her knees again. "I really don't know. I'm so confused Haru."

"Well… You could always just go out with me." He suggested nonchalantly.

She looked up at him, surprised. "And what would that solve, exactly?"

"You'd be unavailable to both of them. Of course, I might catch some shit for this, but better me than you, and they know they can't anger me too much anyways."

"They'd still kill you, and make me miserable, even though that is what they are constantly trying not to do. And you're too young."

"Rin's older than me. And they wouldn't, not if you were actually happy. That's what you just said. They want you happy, but they can't seem to make you happy. You can at least let me try."

Tohru nodded slowly. "That's true, she is, and they can't. I guess it couldn't hurt to try. Maybe they'd stop fighting over me then." Or fight over me more, trying to prove each is better than Haru, and better than the other.

Haru smiled. "Good, 'cause I'd hate to find you out here all alone again. They should treat you better than that. Plus," He shifted even closer to her than he already was, pushing her long dark hair out of her face. "I can finally find out what it is that makes them so crazy about you, as well as do this." Haru said, leaning in to press his lips against hers. They were soft and tasted of the salt from her tears. He licked her lower lip, taking away the salt and wiping away the memory of her tears. Softly, he pulled away, holding her face in his hands.

Tohru felt the loss immediately. Her heart had stopped for a moment when his lips met hers, her breath quickened, and it left her wanting more. It was the most amazing kiss she'd received. She opened her eyes, staring into Haru's gentle grey ones.

"Mmmm. Pretty good. I think I could get used to that." He said, a slight teasing smirk tugging on his lips. He released her, linking his fingers together and placing them behind his head. He stared up at the moon, thinking about the beautiful girl beside him and the cat and the rat that were after her heart.

Tohru sat there, alone yet not, for a moment before she curled up beside him on the forest floor, her head resting on his chest. Maybe this was a better solution. She would definitely be happier with Hatsuharu, and with kisses like that, she knew it wouldn't be hard to try. He wouldn't leave her to cry all alone in the dark either.

She smiled to herself, snuggling closer to his chest and the warmth her gave her. Just once, her tears and sadness had given her a happy ending.

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