Almost, But Not Quite (1224)

It was a reversal of an old standby.

His eyes taunted Kyo, even when the rest of him did nothing. From across the dinner table, when they passed in the hallway, fighting, speaking, having to deal with each other in any fashion. Kyo was taunted by that stare, and taunted even worse when their eyes didn't meet at all.

Above the unequal rivalry, the fits of depression and black rage, Kyo strived for the recognition. Craved it, in fact. No matter if it was pity. No matter if it was disgust, or hatred - just as long as it wasn't indifference. Just as long as those eyes didn't look through him, seeing absolutely nothing.

He would be less than nothing in a few short years; he couldn't be reduced to it now.

So when Yuki stormed inside, a clutch of grass and flowers in his hand, Kyo couldn't help the thrum of pleasure that settled in his stomach and thundered through his veins. Icy indigo hit him with the force of a Mack truck. A Mack truck off a winter slicked highway in negative twenty degree weather.

Bulls eye.

"What the hell is this, you stupid cat?" Yuki hissed, punctuating the words with a fierce shake of his hand. The clump of greenery spat dust everywhere, blowing up and into Kyo's sensitive nose.

He promptly sneezed. The little irritant was all he needed to jumpstart his own temper.

"Looks like a bunch of weeds," Kyo growled as he rolled off the couch he'd been sprawled on, attempting to take a short nap before dinner. Tohru was making a stew of some kind that smelled delicious already.

Almost as delicious as Yuki's temper.

Eyebrow lifting in disbelief, Yuki's fist started to tremble at his side, shaking even more dirt onto the carpet. He looked close to exploding. Just the way Kyo liked him.

"Wrong, idiot. These are what's left of my snap dragons, along with most of my base," his breathing was heavy, as if he couldn't get the words out between his immense anger, "Torn up and dug through, plants chewed on and…and cat shit! You freaking asshole!" Apparently fed up with the look on Kyo's face - Kyo would admit he was snickering pretty hard - Yuki drop kicked him over the back of the couch.

It hurt so bad it was good. Twisting sinuously in mid air, Kyo landed on hands and knees, a smirk stretching his face. He slid gracefully to his feet and cracked his neck once to the left and once to the right. Yuki had resumed his usual icy air of revulsion, having thrown the plants viscously on the coffee table.

They stared at each other for a long time in mutual hatred, anticipation and some mix of emotions far too complex for boys their age to figure out. So they merely acted and reacted.

"Quit whining rat. You'd think I mussed one of your perfectly tailored shirts, the way you're carrying on." The snide comment slid out easily, like he'd been saving it for a special occasion. He could see Yuki grit his teeth as he glared that cold glare, readying himself for their inevitable fight.

Fight Kyo would, happily and with intense pleasure.

It was the only time he was allowed to touch Yuki, after all.

In the charged moments before they engaged, something happened that was a deviant to their usual routine. Yuki's face shadowed with loss, he whispered softly enough it was almost inaudible. "You'll never give me a moment's peace, will you? My one special place in this whole asylum and you take it from me."

It struck Kyo to heart, like a short jab in the chest that left just as quickly as it'd come. They were both doomed to cause each other nothing but pain and hardship, something Yuki should be damn well used to by now.

Still.

No more than three minutes later Kyo was looking up at Yuki from the flat of his back. Another old standby, actually. He could feel the press of a foot on his throat, tense like a warning Kyo should take care to listen to.

"It's by our grace you live here, cat." With a well practiced sneer, Yuki pushed down just enough to make it difficult for Kyo to breathe. "In fact, it's by my grace you live at all - so why don't you show me a little more respect?"

Kyo wondered as black spots started to dance before his eyes, why he seemed to be enjoying the pain. Why even when Yuki pounded the mickey out of him, he still wanted to rub against his legs and claw at his furniture and piss in his shoes.

Fuck him into the floor.

It was stupid, it was wrong, but Kyo got a perverse thrill out of doing it anyway. He reached up and smoothed his hands over Yuki's leg, very pleased his age old enemy had elected to wear cut offs today.

He was positive Yuki used that scented moisturizer just to torture him. Probably tasted like honey and oatmeal too.

Smirking through the lack of air, Kyo managed to get in a few good strokes and a hand up his trousers along his inner thigh, before Yuki abruptly pulled his foot away.

He sucked in a grateful breath and lifting himself to his elbows, stared at Yuki who was backed up against the couch. There was a scowl on his face along with a faint brush of pink that Kyo, god help him, found ridiculously charming.

Straightening himself at the look, Yuki struggled to get some of his rhythm back. "An apology would've worked just as well, you stupid cat. There was no need to embarrass me into letting go."

After several more silent minutes Kyo thought hilarious in their discomfort level, Yuki muttered something before he turned to leave. "Just don't touch my things or I swear I'm going to spray you down with the hose."

Kyo shivered at the warning and the slight double entendre he was pretty sure Yuki wouldn't have noticed. He licked his lips as he watched him walk away.

There was an incredible amount of unconscious grace to his movements. It made Kyo's mouth go dry on good days, and practically burn on bad ones. He was half tempted to get up and go tease Yuki into another fight.

As it was the adrenaline from their scuffle plus that forbidden feel of skin was causing him some problems. He was so damn hard just the press of his zipper was enough to get him off.

Cussing loudly, Kyo rolled to his feet. As he stomped upstairs to the extra bathroom he fumed over what an asshole Yuki was. Since he'd gotten him this way in the first place, the least he could do was fix it. With his mouth if it was all the same.

Jacking off over the toilet just wasn't how Kyo wanted to precede dinner.

Love

A/N: I like doing one shots because the option of coming or going is completely open to me. Licks lips. I really like doing Kyo, because its fun to get inside his head and I really wanna write him doing little Yuki. Yum.