Disclaimer: Fruits Basket does not belong to me.

Courage

Somewhere in Japan, patrons of a cake and café shop were enjoying the view from the store's location on the fifth floor of a department store; the weather for the weekend had been exceptionally fair, and families and couples filled the streets in droves to enjoy it. Back inside the cozy shop, several booths removed from the bustle of the rest of the patrons, a tall young man and a young girl sat at a window-side table across from each other.

The young man, who appeared like a fashion model with his mix of unique accessories and sleek clothes, had conspicuous white hair that was black at it roots. His younger companion, dressed in a yellow sundress that she had picked out after hours of deliberation (and a dash of courage) for the occasion, had soft blonde hair that stood apart from those brought about by artificial dyes. As they waited for their orders, the young man sipped his ice water nonchalantly, one arm slung behind him as he gazed out the window. The young girl meanwhile had her face buried behind a large teen magazine, trying to conceal the nervousness that had arose in her chest since the morning before she set out to meet the young man for their day out.

Things had gone poorly from the start: She blushed just recalling how when she met him at the bust stop he had smiled and complimented how cute her dress was. Cute was not what she had been aiming for, not when she was already in the second year of middle school… cute was no longer how she wished him to see her as. It wasn't before long that on the bus, she began noticing other girls—taller, older girls—looking at Haru excitedly, then at herself, then whispering and giggling among themselves. She didn't like it, the way they looked at Haru, the way they laughed at how she held Haru's hand, the perfect image of a big brother and his little sister. She wanted to wrap her arms around Haru's, but couldn't bring up the courage to do so.

The lack of courage… hadn't she overcome that? Hadn't she determined to finally ask Haru-oniichan on a date after all these years, to overcome her weakness, her timidity?

"Ano… Oniichan…"

The young man turned to face her, and her next words, uttered with all the resolve she could muster, came out just above a whisper. "… What sort of girl… do you like?"

Hatsuharu's usually sleepy eyes opened a little wider before he replied a long second later, the slightest hint of a smile at the corner of his lips. "… Why, all of a sudden?"

Kisa felt her cheeks come ablaze. "Ah… umm.. I was just curious. You see, like in this magazine!" Spreading the article before him on the table while avoiding knocking over the coffee and sundae that the waiter had just delivered to their table, Kisa continued. "See, like it says here… a down to earth type, a fashionable girl, or a homemaker type…"

Her heart racing still, Kisa held out the magazine for him as she tried to calm down. This effort was impeded however by Haru's knotted brow as he scanned the pages. After a moment, he leaned back into his seat and sighed. "… I don't know." Reaching across the table, he took a spoonful of the sundae he'd ordered for Kisa and put it in his mouth.

"… Oh." Kisa stared at the table for a moment before shifting her eyes lower to her hands, fighting back tears as she berated herself mentally. What was I thinking? Acting so childishly and ruining things… Oniichan probably thinks badly of me now…

"… I don't know what my type of girl is, never thought about it before..."

Kisa looked up to see Haru leaning across the table, his face propped up by one hand as the other reached to dip into her tall glass of sundae again, emerging with a spoonful of fresh strawberry, chocolate flakes, and vanilla ice cream which he held out to her.

"But if you're talking about the girl I like…"

Kisa closed her lips around the proffered treat; all thoughts vanished from her mind but for the sweet spoon that had just been in Haru's mouth a minute ago and the gentle smile on his face as he spoke.

"… She's sitting right in front of me."

Words lost their meaning. Kisa remembered how Haru had placed his hand against her face, brushing away the bit of whipped cream at the corner of her lips… and the tears of joy that rolled down her cheek as she cried. She remembered blushing harder and feeling happier than she had in her entire life… and she remember how at the end of the day she had wrapped her arms around Haru's for the bus ride home.

Author's Notes: My first Furuba fic, done for shatteredmidnightdreams as an LJ request. Had a great deal of fun writing this short piece, and hopefully will continue to add more in the future.