Title: So Vindicated

Author: MaxwellRoberts

Theme: Session 28-Miscommunication

Pairing/Characters: Hatsuharu and Kyo Sohma

Fandom: Fruits Basket

Rating: Pg 13 for some Language/Angst/Emoness

Warnings: Only Language/Angst.

Disclaimers: Vindicated belongs to Dashboard Confessional and Fruit Basket to Natsuki Takaya. No profit is being made from this.

"I am Vindicated
I am selfish
I am wrong
I am right
I swear I'm right
I swear I knew it all along

And I am flawed
But I am cleaning up so well
I am seeing in me now the things you swore you saw yourself"-Dashboard Confessional

It is a strange emotion that is threatening to engulf his being. He feels like it's exploding from his chest, like when he tries to run away, and he can't get far enough. He knows that something's different and it's all gone strange.

But he can't form the words, so he forces the feeling to slip away.

He walks all over the place, trying to find peace of mind. But it all reminds him of what is burning inside. It hurts more than he ever imagined anything in his life hurting and he spends long periods of time trying to stifle the agony rising from within.

He hates going to school, because that is where he'll see him, walking as if there's nothing in his mind to give him trouble. Doting on their idiot cousin Yuki, who looks past him, annoyance clear in those violet eyes as he searches out a way to ditch Hatsuharu politely.

Hatsuharu only looks at him once in a while, or when his temper has gone, in challenge.

Kyo gives him the challenge he wants, even though they both know who will win in the end. But still, Kyo lets him pick a fight. He even taunts him to push him into a blind rage so that the fight will be even more intense.

He doesn't care that Haru will leave bruises, or that they might get in trouble for fighting. It is the only way that he can tell him that he cares. That his presence makes him complete, makes him feel that he is right, despite everything that his family throws at him.

Tohru's love was the first key to unlocking that door, but he never was able to tell her what he felt and how grateful he was to her. He knows he is making that mistake again, but he can't force the words to come and make it all okay.

So he settles for the fights and hopes that he will feel vindicated in taking it this way.

Finis