It got quiet at the Sohma residence after dark. After dinner was served and the boys had their usual quarrels, things died down rather quickly. Shigure would go back to his study and presumably work on his latest novel, after receiving dozens of phone calls from his editor about their deadline. Kyo would head outside and take his frustration out in the form of martial arts after another days taunting by Yuki and anybody else who crossed his path. And Yuki, well, I assume that he goes into his room to study. He's always been the most mysterious of the Sohma boys and that was one of the many qualities I liked about him.

I, on the other hand, spend the last part of my day finishing up chores, doing last minute homework, or daydreaming. Since graduation is coming up rather soon, I've spent most of my time studying for tests and preparing for my final exams, but tonight I have no desire to crack open a text book or flip through my notes. It's all I've been doing for the past few weeks and I feel if I even attempt it right now, my brain will explode! So I've decided to step out onto the balcony and enjoy the cool night air. It helps clear my cluttered and scattered thoughts and brings me some peace of mind.

In betwixt all my studying, chores, and job, I've found myself thinking of Yuki quite often. I'm not really sure why, for he has done nothing to call my attention to him, but it seems rather unavoidable. I know he's been helping me a lot lately, whether he made sure I had all my notes, helped me study for a quiz or test, helped me out with some of my chores, or walked me home from work, he's been very kind and helpful lately. However, that's not out of the ordinary for him. He's always done things like that and he usually always helps out a little more during stressful times like these.

I can't help but wonder why I'm so fixated on him, but what gets me even more is this strange fluttery feeling I get in tummy every time I see him. I usually don't get flustered around him unless he compliments me or gets unusually close to me, but he hasn't done much of that lately. He's been too focused on his own work to do any of that, but it seems that all he has to do is walk into the room or look me in the eye and my heart will start pounding uncontrollably against my chest. Normally, I'd be bothered by such an intense, unexplainable feeling, but I can't help but like it. Something about it makes me feel good and happy, but I don't know why.

So here I am, it's ten o'clock on a school night, and I'm still on the balcony, wondering about my Prince Yuki. I feel odd using his nickname, but I find it so fitting that I can't not call him that. Of course, I'd never call him that out loud, but it's safe to do so in my thoughts. Though, sometimes I have a tendency to blabber my personal thoughts out loud, I'm not afraid given my current circumstances. I've always felt safe out on the balcony, completely secluded and all alone, especially at night while everyone else is sleeping.

Creek. Creek.

Or so I thought. I just heard a set of footsteps go down the stairs. A few moments later, I heard the door open. The back door was almost directly below the balcony I'm currently standing on, and of course I would see the one person I can't seem to stop thinking about walk outside. It was Yuki, still dressed in his school uniform, and his bag slung over his shoulder. He quietly closed the door and walked off into the forest. Of course I'm curious as to what he's doing out so late at night, and on a school night no less, so I crept back inside and put on my shoes.

I wasn't really bothered by the fact that I was still in my pajamas, or that I could potentially be caught at any moment, rather I was worried about confronting Yuki. What was I supposed to say or do when I got there? Or even worse, what if I lose him out there? I'm not worried about him getting lost, more like I'm worried about searching around unnecessarily for hours trying to find him. That and I could potentially wind up lost if I wander out too far. So I silently scampered down the stairs and out the back door and lightly took off in the direction I saw him go.

After a few minutes walking, I still didn't see him, but I had an idea of where he might have went. This is the direction to our "secret base," and if I had to guess, I'd say he went there. For what, I'm not sure, because we just picked all the ripe fruits and vegetables yesterday. I also had to wonder why he had his school bag with him and what he was still doing up so late. Could he be like me and not sleep because he couldn't stop thinking about someone or something? Maybe all the tests and preparation for finals was starting to get to him.

I walked a few more yards ahead until I finally saw our little garden, freshly cleansed off all its ripe foods and currently nurturing the new strawberries and leeks. I couldn't help but smile at the fact that such a small garden could grow such an abundant supply of two great foods. I stopped short of the clearing and hid momentarily behind a tree. I peered around it and saw Yuki sitting on a rock with his bag next to him and a book and flashlight pulled out. He was holding up the flashlight and flipping through the book, with something underneath it in his lap and pencil in his mouth.

What is he doing? Did he come all the way out here to study? But, why?

Although completely stumped by his actions, I couldn't help but remember that I had yet to figure out how to handle this situation. It'd be creepy if I just stayed back here and watched him, but it'd be awkward to go out and try and make conversation. He'd ask me for sure how I knew he was out here and why I followed him. That would just be weird. So I decided that even though I didn't like the idea of him being out here all alone at night, it'd be best for me turn around and go back inside. After all, Yuki could take care of himself and I'm sure he knows what he's doing.

As I turned around to leave, I heard something snap beneath me, and I couldn't help but squeak in surprise.

"Hello? Is somebody there?"

I knew I had blown my cover and if I didn't answer, Yuki would become wary and come in my direction. It's best to just accept that I've been caught and go out and face him. I could feel my face turning bright red as I stepped out into the open and faced him. My eyes refused to meet his and I couldn't bring myself to speak, but he now knew that I was the one who made all the noise behind the tree. I thought I saw a look of surprise and disbelief on his face, but it quickly faded into relief as he brought the flashlight out of my eyes and set it in his lap.

"Oh, Miss Honda, it's just you. You scared me there. What are you doing out here? And so late at night, too."

I took a deep breath and gulped slightly before I answered him. I feel so cornered and trapped, like a mouse whose had their tail stepped on by the cat. Ironic, considering he was the rat.

"Oh, well I... uh... I kind of saw you while I was out on the balcony. I wanted to know what you were up to... I wanted to make sure you were O.K. I'm sorry for following you; I know I had no right..."

I felt helpless as I sputtered out my nonsense and I prayed to God that he could understand it. I glanced up again at him for a moment and saw another look in his eyes. It was softer than before and he was smiling slightly, like he was satisfied with my explanation. I heard him chuckle slightly as he put his stuff back into his bag and I immediately looked up to see what was so funny. He stood up and shook his head at me as he took a few steps forward.

"That's very kind of you, Miss Honda, and I assure you that I'm alright. I just felt this tension build up in the house from all the pressure we've all been under lately and I just needed to get out for a bit. I thought that coming out here would help my concentration."

"Ah, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to break your concentration!"

He started chuckling again while I was panicking. I couldn't help but feel bad for interrupting his studies, but my curiosity got the best of me. Even though he doesn't seem to be the least bit upset, I still felt bad, and I kept apologizing over and over again.

"It's alright, Miss Honda, you didn't interrupt anything. I couldn't really focus out here, either."

"Oh... well I'm still sorry, it wasn't any of my business. But I don't think your problem was the tension in the house, I think you're just working too hard. You need to take a break and do something else for awhile. Something fun."

He had a contemplative look on his face and then he nodded slightly in my direction. He seemed pleased with my response and then he sighed while placing his hand on his head. He looked stressed beyond belief and it was understandable given all his responsibilities. He was a straight-A student, president of the student council, constantly attacked by fan-girls, he was always getting into fights with Kyo, and Shigure wouldn't stop teasing him. He had more on his plate than I did, and if I felt like I was going to explode, I could only imagine what he was feeling.

"You know, you're right. I've been way too focused on my studies to take care of myself properly. I need some fun to balance all of this out. You seem to be pretty stressed out, too, so how about tomorrow after school, we go to the park? I'll buy you ice cream and everything."

If my face was bright red earlier, it was flashing neon right now. Yuki, the Prince Yuki, was asking me out on a date! I'm sure he didn't consider it that, but the look on his face and the feeling I was getting said otherwise. That fluttery feeling he gave my tummy felt like a hurricane of butterflies ready to break free and the sound of my heartbeat flooded my eardrums. It was that indescribable feeling again and my tongue was so tied that I was surprised to hear myself give him an answer.

"S-s-sure. That sounds like f-fun."

I really hated how much I seemed to stutter around him, but I was happy to see a beautiful smile plastered on his face. I just barely heard him mutter a 'Great.' before he walked towards me and placed a feather-light kiss on my cheek. While my head was spinning and my heart stopped, he turned around and grabbed his bag only to walk back over to me and take my hand. He was definitely the only one in control of anything right now, because I knew all I was doing was letting myself be led in any direction he decided to take me. And I also knew that wherever that was, I wouldn't mind it at all.

So while we walked, it dawned on me that maybe... just maybe... that fluttery, heart pounding, tongue tying feeling was love. And maybe, just maybe... he felt the same way too.

"A/N: Woot, my first Yukiru fic! I've written one other story for Fruits Basket, so I'm not completely new to this fandom, but I'm still super excited that I wrote this. I love stories like this that come to me on a whim. I was listening to that song Tangerine Dream by Do As Infinity when my little light bulb came on. This is also the first story I've written in a long time, because I've been very busy with school, work, and being with my friends. So I'm very happy to have something new to present. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this short, little one-shot. Hopefully, one day, I'll write a good multi-chapter story for this pairing, because I adore them so much. Anywho, please review and tell me what you thought."