Seeing The Light
The party was still going strong. Minoru couldn't remember a time when there were this many people at one of his parents parties.
Well, this many people that he cared about. Takeru was getting hit on, literally, by Reiko. For what, Minoru didn't know, but knowing Takeru he probably deserved it.
Either way his friend was smiling and Reiko obviously wasn't hitting hard, so it must not be a big deal. Minoru watched as the slapping abated and a heated kiss started.
Not far from those two was a small gathering of Sohma. Shigure and Ayame were bothering Hatori, while Mine was fighting over rights to play with Tohru's hair. The competition was Hanajima. Kyou had been right, the dark girl was kind of creepy.
Minoru wanted to paint her. It would be a good way to break into the gothic style. Maybe something with cobwebs, in a graveyard. Or maybe a spooky forest with vampire fairies. She'd probably like that.
Tohru's other friend was in a discussion with one of Minoru's friends. About what, Minoru didn't care. The other side of the room his mother was forcing his father to dance.
Kagura was on the dance floor with her new boyfriend as well. They were pressed so close to each other that they seemed to be attempting to merge into one being.
Not that Minoru could blame the girl for wanting that closeness. It was almost funny how easy it was for him to pick out who had once been under the effects of the curse. They were the ones that seemed to enjoy physical contact the most.
Mine had given up the battle in exchange for hanging off of Ayame's arm, her head resting on his shoulder, a large smile spreading across her face when his arm moved to wrap around her waist. Minoru felt himself smile as well.
The two of them moved to join the rest of the dancers in the hall. It must be nice to be able to enjoy each other's company like that without fear after having to hide it for so long.
Speaking of hidden relationships, where had Kyou disappeared to? The one person that Minoru wanted to see was nowhere to be found. It was getting late and if he was going to do what he planned he needed to find his Kyou and soon.
Minoru's search of the ballroom was disrupted by a body slamming into him from the side.
"Come on, Minoru. Let's go dance," a strangely bubbly sounding Reiko said into his ear.
"What? Reiko, no. Dance with Takeru. Don't tell me you dumped him tonight. That's too much, even for you."
She spun him around so she could treat him to a grade A glare. "Of course I'm still with The Perv. Takeru had to run an errand, so you can keep me company since your, um, well, you know, isn't here right now either."
"You can say it, you know. Boyfriend, he's my boyfriend. Lover works too, if it's easier for you."
She rolled her eyes at him and took his arm, forcefully dragging him unto the dance floor.
"No. Reiko, I mean it. I need to find Kyou,"
"Fine. You'll find him after you dance with me. You owe me this much for breaking the engagement. You don't know how humiliating that was for me."
"You used my relationship as a means to con your father into buying you a new dress." Minoru protested as he was guided into the steps of a simple waltz.
Reiko kept a good amount of space between them as they twirled on the floor. Minoru looked around, pleading with his eyes for help from anyone who caught his gaze.
"Oh quit being a baby. We both ended up getting what we wanted in the end, so it's all good."
"Maybe for you. You have no idea what you put me through. What you put Kyou through." A hint of venom slipped into his tone. That night had been stressful.
"I bet he looked ridiculous in that dress. Really, you shouldn't have even tried something that stupid. What were you planning on telling your old man later? There was no way you were going to be able to keep it a secret forever. You should thank me for helping you come out of the closet." she smirked.
Minoru sputtered, "How do you know about that?"
Kyou was going to kill him for that incident getting out. He looked around even more frantically, eyes searching for his missing partner.
"Of course I know about that. Our fathers are good friends. Even if we aren't going to be married like planned, that's not going to change their relations. Don't worry, I haven't told anyone else about it. Takeru would be mad at me if I did. He likes your lover."
"Oh," was all Minoru could think of to respond to that. The song ended and Reiko separated from him. There seemed to be a bit of a lull in the music, so Minoru tried to take advantage of it and escape to go find Kyou. It was almost time, he really had to find him.
"Well, that was, pleasant, but I have to go now," he said, attempting to bow out. She grabbed his shirt to hold him in place.
"No, you are right were you need to be," she said. A secretive smile spreading across her face.
"Wha?"
Behind him, Minoru could hear someone whisper yelling at someone else.
"Come on Kagura, I told you, I don't want to dance. Let me go."
Before Minoru could make a move on his own, Reiko spun him around and gave him a shove. He stumbled forward into the person he had heard yelling.
They regained their balance and Minoru found himself looking at an equally surprised Kyou. On the stage a voice called out that the next dance was for all the couples in the room.
A harp started up a slow and gentle melody. The lights around them dimmed and two singers moved to their positions as the rest of the performers took up their cues with the music.
The man in charge of the music tonight called for all the couples to come out to the dance floor.
"I think our ex-girlfriends just set us up," Minoru said, a chuckle escaping him. Kyou's face was beat red and he looked like he wanted to sink into the floor.
"She was never my girlfriend," Kyou said.
"Well, either way, let's not let their effort go to waste. Would you care to dance?"
Kyou glanced around quickly, then with a deep sigh, nodded. Just as he grabbed up Kyou's hands and got them into position a sweet voice filled the air. The song swept over the room, a young girl singing about finally finding the light of her life in a special someone.
As the lyrics began to set in, Minoru realized just how much of a set up it really was. It may be under the cover of being for all the couples, but whoever had asked for this particular song had obviously had them in mind.
As he considered how fitting the music was he made eye contact with his partner. Kyou had apparently caught onto the same thing, but instead of fuming like Minoru expected he seemed rather sedate about it. There was a small smile on his face.
Minoru's breath caught in his throat and he found himself returning the expression. Yeah, the song was most definitely fitting. Kyou was the light in Minoru's life; a bright, warm light.
As the male vocals started up in answer to the girls part, Minoru found himself closing the stiff distance they had between them. Kyou relaxed against him and soon they became lost in the each others embrace, swaying with the music more then dancing, reveling in the closeness and letting the song speak for them.
The music swelled and Minoru brought them back into the dance. The duet was coming to a close on the stage and the two of them leaned their foreheads together so they could stare into each others eyes.
They stayed locked on each other for a breath of a moment that lasted an eternity, determined to stay in their own private world for as long as possible.
They were brought back to reality with the sound of the midnight bells ringing throughout the room. Here was the moment Minoru had waited for all night.
It was the beginning of a new year.
As the last chime sounded he leaned over and whispered into Kyou's ear.
"Happy Birthday."
Author's Notes: I know it's been awhile, but I at some point I did say I would write some side stories for The Way of Adolescent Boys and this is the first. I actually wrote the first draft many months ago, but only now got around to finishing editing it. I have no excuses, I was just being lazy and forgot about it. Sorry.
Any which way, this takes place in between chapters 25 and 26. It's the events that led up to one of the pictures mentioned in the epilogue. Every year Ryuugi hosts a New Years party at a banquet hall for his family, friends, and top clients as means of networking and public display of good will. Minoru usually hates them, but in light of past events, his father agreed to make it more personal this year.
With the curse broken many of the Sohma decided to do something different and go to this party instead of the usual thing at their own estate, which is still being held for their own family. They'll go back later and do the usual New Year's greetings in the morning.
This story popped into my head after listening to the song I See the Light from the Tangled soundtrack. It's a pretty song.
I didn't add any of the lyrics because this way you can all have it be whatever song you personally like. That and I wanted to avoid any possible accusations of putting up a song fic. -.- Though that was really only a minor concern.
When I do get around to updating this, it will probably be very sporadic and with long waits in between. I have two original stories that I'm working on right now as well as working on the outline for a very long HP fanfic that has lived in my head for three years now. One of the original stories is very personal to me and I would like to try to get it published if I finish it, so that one takes first priority.