Oh man, this one was so much fun to write! I thought this turned out pretty swell, too! I must admit, I'm a big fan of HaruxYuki... If they both didn't have people they were with, they'd be the perfect couple. They're cute, anyway!

Anyhow... This story is for dragondustbubblez, my first reviewer!! Thank you very much ^.^ I hope the situation is awkward enough for you... Yuki feels plenty awkward anyway.

So, please enjoy this Haruki fic (is that the correct abbreviation? Ah, well, it's fine). R (and R, too if you want to tell me what you thought, or request a pairing)

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"Yuki, darling, wait." Yuki Sohma did not wait, despite the urging of a calm, male voice behind him. On the contrary, he picked up his pace, anxious to get away from the boy trailing him.

"Yuki..." The hallways were loud, Yuki could lie and tell Haru he didn't hear him in his rush to get to class... Although... That lie was getting old. Perhaps he was so interested in making sure he was holding the right books for class he couldn't pay attention to anything else... Something like that.

He had been avoiding Haru for some time now and, even though he felt guilty about it, he couldn't think of another solution. Avoiding him had started gradually and had escalated in the past few weeks, going from cutting casual conversations short to using every possible excuse so he didn't have to talk to Haru at all.

It was pathetic, but he couldn't take it. He and Haru were both nearly adults, and, for a while, it was Haru's constant teasing he couldn't take. It seemed like go to any length to make Yuki blush. He always acted affectionate in front of other people- like they were in a relationship- until Yuki would have to say something that made everyone feel awkward. He had thought that it was teasing, anyway, but as they got older and more mature (about most things, at least) Haru's behavior had only intensified.

Yuki was starting to think that Haru wasn't teasing- That he really loved Yuki as more than a friend... And Yuki wasn't sure how he felt about that. He had to admit that he wasn't really opposed to the idea of being in a relationship with Haru, but-

"Ah, Yuki-senpai?" Yuki was jolted out of his thoughts by a first-year girl's voice. He stopped, feeling obligated as Student Council President to hear what she had to say.

"Yes, Himari-san?"

The girl's face reddened and he could just see the thought He knows my name!! flashing through her mind. "Um- Um- Ah- There's someone trying to get your attention behind you... I don't know if you- um- heard him... Oh, here he is now, so- uh- never mind."

"I finally caught you." Crap. Before Yuki could think of a polite way to leave the girl, Haru had caught up to him. Yuki's face pinked slightly when the Cow put his arm around his waist and tried to pull him in the opposite direction he wanted to go. "We really need to talk, Yuki, dear."

Yuki's blush deepened as he detatched Haru's arm from himself. "Stop it, Haru!" Yuki had spoken louder than he meant to, and now more than a few students had stopped to see what was going on. "...Okay? Just stop."

Haru fixed him with an innocently confused stare. "What do you want me to stop?"

Yuki crossed his arms, uncomfortable. The staring students had formed a small circle around the two, and it was getting larger and larger every passing second. Yuki didn't want to have a confrontation in front of the whole school, but it seemed unavoidable.

He took a deep breath and just said it. "Stop doing weird things like putting your arms around me and calling me pet names. Stop... Stop..." He wanted to say: Stop confusing me, but didn't plan on confessing his confusion to Haru, much less the rest of Kaibara High, all of which seemed intent on hearing his conversation.

"Stop what?" A voice called out from the crowd.

Yuki gripped his books tighter and looked down at the ground. Maybe if he willed hard enough he would disappear.

But Yuki was confused. So confused. Whenever Haru teased him (or didn't tease him) and acted like they were in a relationship, Yuki got a weird feeling in the pit of his stomach... And he couldn't always explain it away as having eaten something bad or having a cold.

It would start by feeling like he was falling off a cliff, but not exactly unhappy about it. Then his heart would start beating faster than normal, and his mind would decide to chime in something ridiculous like: This isn't so bad. Today seems like a good day to give in to your feelings.

But he wouldn't; he couldn't. He was already a cursed by a vengeful spirit of the Chinese Zodiac, wouldn't he be even more of a freak if he was in a relationship with another guy? Wouldn't his classmates ostrasize him more than he already ostrasized himself?

He was afraid to find out.

"Yuki... I'm just expressing how I feel about you... And how you feel about me. We love each other." The hall was deathly silent. Yuki wanted to run away, the floor to swallow him up, to bury his red face in his hands, anything to keep from seeing the faces of his shocked classmates and Haru, who seemed completely unbothered.

"Haru, I- uh- we- that is- uh-" he stuttered uselessly for a few second before he found his voice. "I mean, we're both guys."

Haru's eyes widened in mock surprise and he looked down at himself. "Really? I sure had it all wrong."

The crowd laughed and Yuki cringed. His life wasn't a sitcom; he didn't need sound effects.

However, Haru making a joke told Yuki that he really wasn't being serious, and he could leave. He turned to go, planning on skipping his next class and hiding in the bathroom until talk of this died down, but Haru was speaking again.

"Yuki, I know I'm in love with you because you're the most important person in the world to me." A soft "Aww" escaped from the crowd. "When I'm around you I can't think or breath right... And I know you feel the same way."

Yuki grit his teeth and stared down at the books in his hands, sure he was about to die of embarassment. "Stop, Haru, please."

But his pleading was no use. "You're flustered whenever I talk to you, I can see you blushing right now, and when I do this-"

Everyone present, Yuki included, gasped when Haru came up behind him and snaked his arms around Yuki's middle. But when Haru pulled him close enough that they were pressed up against each other and he could rest his chin on Yuki's shoulder, Yuki choked and dropped his books.

"-I can feel you shiver." Haru finished in a little above a whisper, and as his breath tickled Yuki's ear, he did shiver.

Oh god. Oh god. We're so close. Too close.

Before Yuki's heart could slow down, or he could regain his senses that had been scrambled, Haru let go of him, grabbed his shoulders, and spun him around so they were standing face to face.

They were so close that their noses bumped together, and all Yuki could see were his big brown eyes. He was beginning to feel lightheaded and his knees began to tremble.

Before Yuki had time to realize that he couldn't breath, Haru gently slipped his arm around Yuki's waist and then (much less gently) put his free hand behind Yuki's head and forced their lips together.

Yuki's eyes closed of their own accord and his heart was beating so fast that he was sure it was about to explode. For about half a second, he pushed on Haru's chest to try and separate from him, but in that time, the thought This is wrong turned into This is right, and he grabbed onto Haru's shirt to pull him closer.

When Haru pulled out of the kiss, Yuki was seeing spots- or perhaps fireworks- and was swaying slightly. He took a deep breath and let his head fall down onto Haru's shoulder, his emotions spent.

Applause and cheers erupted around them, and Yuki groaned. Everyone in the school had seen that, hadn't they?

"We'll be in town all week," Haru deadpanned.

Yuki lifted his head and Haru smiled.

"I knew you'd come around, dear." His eyes were sparkling, but serious. He entwined his fingers with Yuki's and whispered into his ear, "Now you have a choice. I can walk you to your next class, or we can go find somewhere private and talk about our new relationship."

Before Yuki answered, Haru kissed him lightly on the cheek and said, "Good choice."

He lead Yuki away from the crowd, his embarassment, and his reservations. Yuki looked at his hand and the confident boy holding it and couldn't remember...

What was I confused about, again?

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I hope you liked it! Next up is an Akigure!