Disclaimer: Kimi to Boku does not belong to me.

You, Me, and Change

Chapter 4:

Yuki slowly walked to his door wiping away the sleep in his eyes. His house was completely empty and all the windows were closed. However, he ignored the yells and constant knocks on the other side of the door. Yuki's feet slide across the floor as he yawned.

"Asaba-kun!" a feminine voice called. "Are you okay?! Open the door!"

When he opened the door so that only his head poked through, his eyes squinted even more in pain. The sunlight from outside was too bright.

"-^- It's too bright…" he complained.

Yuki was surprised when the person at the door pushed in. He moved and found that the person was a girl with long hair. He yawned and rubbed away the sleep more with his sleeve. Yuki's vision finally cleared and he saw Maki in his house.

"Yamada-chan?"

"Damn it. Chizuru- I mean Zuru-kun lied to me." She fell to the floor. "Ahhh! I lost to him."

"What are you talking about?" He asked with a yawn.

Maki looked up to him from the carpet. "Zuru-kun said that you were dying. I said that he was lying. And then, we made a deal that if he was right, I would have to give him a nickname. I really wanted European chocolate." She was a liar, and hopefully, Yuki didn't notice. He wouldn't even care. A lot of the words coming out of her mouth seemed like nonsense. Maki must really be the daughter of Chizuru.

In reality, she wanted to talk about her dilemma with Yuki and Kaname. Risa was out of the question since she would gloat and claim that she was right all along. She wanted to call Shun but Yuta was the one that answered Shun's phone. Maki tried to beat around the bush hoping that Yuta wouldn't realize the parties, Kaname and Yuki, involved, but he was smarter than that. At the same time, Maki didn't realize that Chizuru was on the other line listening to their conversation. Chizuru said that he would help Maki with her problem even if he was several days away. He only asked for a nickname in return.

"Oh, he must have told you that my parents went to visit Yuta."

"Visit Asaba-kun? But why aren't you there, Asaba-kun?" She stood up.

Yuki yawned making Maki's cheeks warm a little. She mentally slapped herself and shook her head. Chizuru can't be right. She still had feelings for Kaname didn't she?

Maki snapped out of her thought process. She didn't hear Yuki's response and now he was gone. He was at the kotatsu with his head on the table flipping channels. Maki wasn't surprised that his kotatsu was out since it was the beginnings of fall. The leaves outside the house were beginning to change color too.

"Eh?" She removed her shoes and walked into his house. "Excuse me for intruding."

Maki sat on the couch near the kotatsu and looked at the twin. Yuki looked no different from his usual self. He still wore the blank expression. The only time she ever saw a change in his look was when he was around his best friends.

"Asaba-kun, you haven't changed at all."

Yuki's attention left the television and he looked at her.

"You still act the same whether you're with Kaname-kun and the others or not. I think the only thing that's different is-"

"I'm different," Yuki interrupted her. "I hang out with you."

"HEY!"

"I'm not as dependent on Yuta as before…. I guess." He leaned back with his hands supporting him. "Weren't you the one who said that we're all gonna change."

"Yeah…"

Yuki's stomach growled changing the mood. Maki turned away from him laughing.

"Hey! Don't laugh at me. I just woke up," he scolded in embarrassment.

Maki stood up. "Sorry sorry! How about I make you something to eat as an apology?" She headed for his kitchen.

From the ingredients that she could find in his refrigerator, Maki was in the makes of creating omurice and fried fish. Yuki didn't complain since someone was making him food. He would have just had instant ramen.

"There you go," Maki smiled as she placed his food on the kotatsu.

"Ah.. Thank you." Yuki said taking the chopsticks. "Itadakimasu."

He took a bite. It wasn't the best food- it couldn't compare to Kaname's mother's cooking- but it was edible. Yuki paused. He felt her eyes watching him consume the food. Though, when he looked, Maki's body was turned to him but her eyes were focused on the television. She probably wasn't paying attention to the commercial advertising the cell phone. Maki was probably thinking off into the distance about whatever was bothering her.

Yuki inched towards her. "Is there something wrong with your Kaname-kun?"

Maki turned towards him with a red face. "Heh?!"

"Did Kaname-kun reject your confession?"

"No!" Maki's eyebrow furrowed. "If you don't like my food just say so."

He didn't understand the logic associated with asking about a confession and his tastes in food.

She grabbed the chopsticks in his hand. Their fingers touched. Yuki thought the touch was different. It was different for Maki to come over to his house. They had been going to each other's houses or hanging out at Kaname's. He noticed the changes in both his childhood friend and her. It was probably because of their change that he noticed the changes in himself. It was definitely a change for him to have Maki around. He would probably sulk over his change, but Maki reassured him about everything he was having his doubts and feeling regretful about.

Maki tried to pull the chopsticks with both hands glued to his right. Yuki took a hold of her right hand with his left. He gently removed hers from his.

"I'm not done yet."

They stared at each other- Yuki with his usual expression and Maki with an embarrassed one. Yuki still held her hands. It was different for both of them. It was the first time that they had actually physically touched each other since becoming close friends.

Maki pulled her hands back and looked away from him. "Umm… why aren't you with your brother again?" She placed her hands in her lap fiddling with her fingers.

Yuki turned back to the food in front of him. One hand was playing with the kotatsu cloth. He hoped that he wouldn't feel the touch of her delicate fingers anymore. "I have to work on a project."

"Oh," Maki said. "I guess I should go then." She stood up.

"Why did you come over?" Yuki asked before she excused herself.

"Zuru-kun said you were gonna be alone and I-"

Yuki patted the floor besides him as he looked up at the standing girl. Maki sat besides him wondering what she was doing. Why was she listening to Yuki?

They were quiet. Maki pulled her legs closer to her body while Yuki watched the television and munched on his meal. He was surprised when Maki placed her forehead on his shoulder leaving a tingling sensation there. It was the same for her, but she brushed it off.

"I thought I was over Kaname-kun," she whispered. "I'm stupid."

Yuki didn't say a word. He let her lay on his shoulder. She just spoke her thoughts and he listened.

Maki's hand grabbed his hand closest to hers. She squeezed it as if she was trying to determine if the situation was real. "I can't believe I came to you when I'm feeling down." She laughed. "I still can't believe that I got advice from you're older brother and Zuru-kun."

"You got advice from Chizuru?!"

"Yeah, but I think yours is the best. You let me talk and there wasn't any feedback, but I think I just need to hear myself say those things."

Yuki's eyes widened when her arms wrapped around his body. She held tightly on Yuki. He placed his free hand on her back. He didn't know what else to do.

"Thank you, Yuki-kun."

...

From the other side of the school courtyard, people could hear Maki and her friends laughing. They were sharing stories from the weekend and news about others' relationships. They also discussed future plans for their next vacation. The girls were standing in a circle outside the cafeteria. They had just finished lunch. Some were about to head back to class while others, like Maki, were done for the day.

As Maki started laughing, she felt a heavy weight on her. There were arms laying loosely over her shoulders. She felt a sharp object over her head. The girl looked up to see a lazy faced Asaba Yuki finding that the sharp object was his chin. The more Yuki shifted his weight from his legs to the rest of his body, Maki began to slowly lose her balance.

"Yuki-kun!"

"You're taking too long." He said while he leaned more on her back.

"Why don't you just head on without me? I'll meet you at the gate."

"hai~"

Maki watched him leave. He had been a pain lately. She could really relate to the complaints Kaname made in high school.

She turned to her friends with a surprised look. They smirked and rose their eyebrows. She stared at their eyebrows motioning up and down.

"Are you dating Asaba-kun?"

"What?!" she yelled.

"You two have been hanging out lately."

That was true. She saw Yuki a lot more than usual. After the incident at her house (last chapter), she was over at Kaname's house a lot. When she was there, the other boys were visiting him as well. She could admit that she and Yuki got closer, so that ultimately translated into hanging out a lot more often.

"No, we just went to the same high school. It's not a big deal."

"Are you sure? Why are you two walking home together?"

"Classmates can walk home together!"

Maki was able to escape the constant pestering, but that didn't stop her from thinking about it. Though, Maki found that her feelings for Kaname were completely gone. She caught her self subconsciously inching closer to Yuki many, many times when they were standing or sitting near each other.

She shook her head. "Asaba Yuki… kun…" Maki felt her heart clench a little and her face felt slightly warmer.

She looked up to find Yuki standing at the gate. He looked different. Maki couldn't help but stare at him sometimes. She even found herself talking about him to Kaname at times. There was something that lured her to him. She was getting anxious about it.

Yuki looked at his hand. He was touching Maki a lot. He leaned on her like he did with his brother. Whenever he did, Yuki could feel fluttering in his stomach. It was different. He could still feel her touch. If he held her shoulder, he could feel Maki's clothes cupped in his hand. He looked at his arm still tingling with Maki's touch.

Maki ran up to him. "Hey, Yuki-kun! What are you doing? People think we're dating."

They started to walk once she caught with him. Yuki looked up at the clouds skating in the blue sky. It was probably going to rain. "If it's not true, you shouldn't worry about what others think."

Maki's cheek protruded in a puffy manner. "Yeah, but doesn't those stuff bother you sometimes?"

"Not really."

Yuki walked as Maki followed. They didn't say a word to each other, but it wasn't uncomfortable. Maki was use to it since she was usually the one who started their conversations. She watched the scenery as they walked towards the residential buildings.

She unintentionally bumped into him a few times, but Yuki didn't bother to say anything. Maki slowed her pace so that she wouldn't touch him. It sent a tingling sensation on her arm. She examined the boy in front of her. Yuki was about to get a little chubby most likely because he was lazing around either sleeping or reading manga. Though it seemed to cancel out because he was getting taller, which surprised Maki since they were already adults-could they still grow? Then, she caught sight of the hand closest to her. It wasn't in his pocket unlike the other one. Maki felt her hand slowly inch towards his.

"Yuki-kun…" Maki's voice allowed her control over her body again.

Yuki looked back at her, who was playing with her bangs in embarrassment, keeping his pace. He wondered how long it had been since Maki started calling him by his first name. He was use to it by now, but he had always known Maki to call him by his last name without the honorific to distinguish him from Yuta.

"Have you ever had a crush on someone?"

He stopped. In high school, the cafeteria Cinderella could have been one. Though, Yuki never imagined himself dating her. He just wanted to be near her. They had something in common; they both collected stickers from the bread packages. It was never a romantic attraction.

"Why?"

Maki was a few paces in front of him. "I don't know. It's just something to talk about." She seemed a little embarrassed.

Yuki went up to her and bent down so that their faces were level. He didn't have to lower himself so much since Maki was tall. With his hands in his pocket, Yuki examined her. Maki was shocked for a little bit because of the sudden closeness. She wore contacts today over her blue eyes. Her complexion wasn't perfect, but there wasn't any concealer brushed on her cheeks. Maki's lips were of natural color, but covered with chapstick.

Maki was even more shocked when Yuki bolted into a stick. He was frozen with his head titled back. His bangs cast a dark shadow over his eyes. Yuki couldn't believe it. He saw her lips and then… and then… Yuki shook his head. He wanted to kiss Maki.

"Uhh… Yuki-kun, I have to go. I have work in a little bit," She smiled. "I'll see you on Wednesday."

Maki started to walk home, but she turned back to him. She watched him stare at the ground in distraught. He wasn't moving so there was something that must have surprised him. The wind blew past them making her hair fly into her vision. Yuki looked at her as she pinned the bangs behind her ears.

"Yuki.." It seemed like it was taking forever to say this. "I think I like you."

He stared at her watching her face turn red.

"What am I supposed to say?" Yuki whispered to himself.

A/N: Thank you for reading! It is much appreciated. If you like, please R&R. The finale will come in two weeks!