"Mmmm..."

As far as dreams go, this one was pretty good. Especially considering that up until recently, dreams like this would have been destined to remain just that: dreams. For all that he could wish, could want, and could desire to reach out and wrap his arms around Machi or to feel her wrapped around him, Yuki would never be able to experience that without turning into a rat. And nothing, except possibly turning into a sea horse, could be less of a mood killer than turning into a rat.

But now that he was free, he could dream and the dreams could be enticing rather than depressing. They could be a tantalizing possibility rather than a harsh reminder of what he'd never be able to have. And the timing could not have been better if he'd planned it. How could he possibly have known that the breaking of the curse would coincide so neatly with the realization that he and Machi were meant to be? And for her to feel the same...it was a cascade of wonder and hope and excitement that he'd never dared to imagine.

And perhaps unsurprisingly, it was also a cascade of dreams of a rather erotic nature. He might be "the Prince" or "the President," and he might be known for his reserve. But he was a teenager in love, one who had been starved for love and affection and physical intimacy his entire life. Between the curse breaking and the start of his relationship with Machi, his subconscious was almost overwhelmed with new possibilities, and they played out in Yuki's dreams, night after night.

And since things weren't exactly chaste when Yuki and Machi were together during the day, his dreams had a lot to work with.

Tonight was an especially good dream. Their clothes long gone, it was just Yuki and Machi on the floor of her apartment, his back against her bed, her straddling his lap and his lips at her throat as she arched her body backwards, pressing her hips against his. "Oh God, yes, don't stop, don't stop..." Machi's voice was breathy and intense, the words tumbling out with urgency. "Right there, right there...God yes, don't stop, don't stop!" He smiled against her next, loving the sensation of the words almost as much as the actual physical sensations. His only complaint was that her voice sounded "off" somehow. He loved the rawness and the little gasps, but the tone was wrong. It was coming from Machi, but it didn't sound like Machi. In fact, it sounded an awful lot like...

"Don't stop, oh God Kyo don't stop!"

Yuki shot bolt upright in bed, his body clammy with sweat. What the hell, was his first horrified thought; the one-two punch of his dream Machi speaking in Tohru's voice and saying Kyo's name had been like a bucket of cold water on his sleep as well as his fantasy. But he didn't have long to wonder or worry where those unwelcome intrusions had come from.

"Don't stop...don't stop...don't stop...oh Kyo!"

Wide-eyed, Yuki looked over at his open bedroom window. Because of the warm spring weather, all of the house windows were left open during the day, and the night too. With nothing between them but the midnight air, there was nothing to prevent Yuki from hearing every syllable coming from Tohru's room next door.

Oh no...oh no. As soon as he realized what was happening, Yuki pressed his hands to his ears. The last thing he wanted was to eavesdrop on Tohru of all people! He wasn't an idiot; he lived with Tohru and Kyo, after all, and he had seen the looks they exchanged as well as their near-constant touching. Tohru and Kyo couldn't walk past each other without touching or kissing these days. If Tohru was washing dishes, Kyo would come up behind her and give her a hug. If Kyo was studying at the table, Tohru would come up and nestle at his side. If Yuki was navigating a newly available world of intimacy with Machi, how much more were Tohru and Kyo dealing with when they'd gone through so much to get to where they were? How much more intense was their desire to see each other, to touch each other, and to...to...

Even if the privacy of his own mind, Yuki shied away from finishing the thought. There was something intensely improper about acknowledging Tohru as a sexual person, even while the proof was floating in through his window.

What am I going to do?

Yuki didn't even know where to begin. He wanted to close his window, but was afraid they'd hear the floor creak or the window slam. Old houses were not known for silence, after all. For now, the best course of action was to stay as he was, hands firmly covering his ears. That would suffice for the moment, but what then?

There was no way Tohru (or Kyo) could have any idea the window was open, and he knew they would be far more embarrassed than him if they learned about this. Did they have to? He definitely didn't want to have to say anything, but he also had the uncomfortable realization that tonight was unlikely to be an exceptional case. Didn't they deserve the right to their privacy, and didn't he deserve the right to his? His Machi dream had been so nice before all of this.

After several minutes had passed, Yuki cautiously lifted one hand and was greeted by the blessed sound of silence. Never had he been so happy to hear crickets, and crickets alone, and he let out a quiet sigh of relief.

Once some more time passed, he'd get up and close the window. Until then, Yuki lay quietly in his bed, mulling how best to address the situation with Tohru and Kyo. One thing was certain, though: going forward, he'd be closing his window at night.

"Kyo, could I have a word with you? In private?"

Kyo was so startled he almost dropped his carton of milk. Not because of the request alone, but because it was Yuki who was making it. While it was true that their festering animosity had tapered way, way off since the events leading up to their curse breaking, he and Yuki were hardly 'best friends' at this stage of the game. More like friendly acquaintances? Or friend-of-friends. Something like that. Definitely not something where they talked about serious business or had any kind of "in private" discussions.

"Yeah, we can talk. Though I don't know what you mean about 'in private,' we're already the only ones here," Kyo said with a gesture around the living room. School was out for the day and Tohru was at work, so she wouldn't be around until late. "I mean, who knows where Shigure is, but I doubt he's gonna pop up anytime soon."

"Well, I'd rather not risk it, just in case. Do you mind if we talk upstairs?" It was already hard enough for Yuki to get through this talk with just Kyo, the absolute last thing he needed was Shigure or anyone else to walk in. He'd spent far too much time last night and at school today trying to figure out how to broach the subject with Tohru and Kyo, ultimately deciding that it would be for the best to talk to Kyo and Kyo alone. Perhaps it was even possible to keep this from Tohru entirely.

Unlikely, but Yuki could hope.

Kyo was wary now as he eyed Yuki. The Rat was looking particularly serious and holding his elbows in that way he did when he felt uncomfortable. Thinking about it, Kyo realized Yuki had been acting weird on their walk home from school too; lots of sideways looks and shifting eyes. What the hell, did something happen?

"Fine. Yeah. We can talk upstairs." Sticking the milk back into the fridge, Kyo gestured for Yuki to lead the way and they both headed upstairs. Now that Kyo's suspicions were raised, he took note of the fact that Yuki glanced sideways at Tohru's door as they walked past it, as well as the slight flush that rose to the Rat's face as he did so. Kyo had had no idea what Yuki wanted to talk about initially, but seeing that look suddenly rang alarm bells in the Cat's mind. Damnit, don't tell me he wants to give me "The Talk!" Or ask me what my intentions are, or any of that kind of crap. But hell, what was that look for?

Kyo tossed his backpack into his own bedroom before following Yuki into his, noting as he did that Yuki had closed the window. Once Kyo was in the room Yuki closed the door as well, then turned and faced a now-thoroughly-suspicious Kyo.

"Well, I'm here. We're in private. And I gotta tell ya, ithis is all a little creepy so you might as well come out and say whatever it is you've gotta say," Kyo said as he stood with crossed arms. The last thing he needed was for Yuki to get all prim and proper and take forever to get to the point, whatever that point was!

Typical Kyo, always rushing ahead without any tact. But it's probably best to just rip the band aid off and get this over with.

Yuki turned and walked over to the window, looking out into the yard. It would be much easier to do this if he didn't have to look at Kyo while they talked. Even so, he could feel the blush creeping up from his collar to tint his ears and entire face. "So...with this warm weather, Miss Honda has been keeping the windows open all the time. To let air in and keep things cool. But when the windows stay open at night, they let other things in. Other things like sounds. I don't think Miss Honda realized, or she wouldn't have left the windows open, at least the bedroom windows, but as things stand I think it would be best if you helped make sure all the windows get closed at night."

Yuki knew he sounded like an idiot; while he'd tried to speak matter-of-factly, he'd ended up stammering and stumbling over his words. The blush had intensified to a point that it felt like his face was on fire, and since he was looking at the window he had no idea how Kyo was reacting. Yuki had been more descriptive than he'd initially planned, but he didn't want to have to go back and spell things out again if Kyo had missed the meaning!

Kyo had definitely NOT missed his meaning. He'd resigned himself to some weird-ass 'respect Miss Honda and take care of her, you stupid Cat' kind of lecture, but this was so much worse. He could see the blush on Yuki's ears, and it was probably rivalled by Kyo's own blush as he connected the dots to realize exactly what kind of sounds Yuki would have heard at night, last night in particular. He and Tohru had thought they were being so discrete, too; they'd waited until after midnight just to lessen the risk that someone would hear! And now it turns out that Yuki had heard...

His own face blazing, Kyo ran a hand up the back of his head into his hair and made an embarrassed grunt. The idea of going 'K' and walking out of the room was incredibly appealing, but he felt he owed it to Tohru to...figure out the damage? Something like that.

Fixing his gaze at a point on the wall (just in case Yuki turned back around), Kyo asked in a muted tone "Just last night? Or more?"

Yuki had no intention of making this awkward exchange any worse by looking at Kyo, so he kept looking steadfastly outside. "Last night was the first for sure, though looking back there have probably been other times that were less...definitive. You aren't very subtle."

"Yeah, well..." Kyo wished he had a snappy comeback to that one, if just to soothe his wounded dignity. But the fact was that they WEREN'T subtle, and both he and Tohru had commented on that to the other at one time. Originally, they'd had an idea of waiting until they'd moved out of Shigure's house to do anything, then it had been after graduation. And then it had ended up being a just a week or so into their relationship. For his own part, Kyo had zero regrets; after a lifetime of animosity and suffering, it was more than he could have hoped to have love and lightness in his life. Tohru made him happy in a way that was almost painful; her smile, her laugh, her voice, and everything else about her brought instant joy to his heart.

More than that, the breaking of the curse had allowed him to be with her in a way he never could have hoped for. That day outside of the hospital, when he told her he loved her and she still loved him, he had wanted to hold her even though he knew he'd be a cat in moments. But those moments would be precious, moments he could treasure as time when he held Tohru in his arms. It might be fleeting; a second here, a second there. But those seconds would add up, and all of them would be time where he held his Tohru.

That first embrace, holding her against him and feeling her body molded against his, had been magical. Even if it had ended in a transformation, it would have been magical. But as the seconds ticked on and he realized he was still a man, not a cat, what that meant for him had been world-shaking. Only slightly less world-shaking was what it had meant for him and Tohru's relationship.

After that, he couldn't stop touching her. He'd see her washing dishes and hug her; pull her against his side when they were talking to people at school, hold her hand on every walk. He would find even more excuses than before to be near her, and to embrace her. He'd never imagined he'd ever want to hold anyone as much as he wanted to hold Tohru, whether it was a casual side hug, her sitting back against his chest while studying, or...

Or.

Sex had been a natural, rapid progression for Kyo and Tohru. As fresh as their 'official' relationship status was, they had each loved each other for so long and been around each other so much that 'dating' just seemed like an overdue label. Hugs and kisses had led to making out and that had led to...well, initially it had led to some very hormonally-charged discussions about wants and desires, boundaries and expectations. It was honestly pretty funny to look back on, since Tohru had flipped from impassioned and aroused to timid and embarrassed when it came to actually TALKING about the idea of sex. Even though she was the one who'd originally brought it up! But Kyo had been adamant, there would be no doing anything until they had talked about it and hammered out what they both actually thought and wanted. With their clothes on. Outside of the hormonally charged moment.

He was pretty damn proud of that.

Ultimately, they had decided that they were close enough to graduation and to 'adulthood' that there was no reason to keep waiting if they didn't want to, and they definitely didn't want to, as long as there was protection involved. Things had been awkward initially, but it didn't take too long for them to start to figure out what they liked and how to do it. Practice had definitely been their friend!

Though clearly, practice had also made them a bit bold. They gone back and forth on whether or not his room or her room would be better in general (though neither space was off limits), but the bigger bed in her room had made it their first choice in spite of the proximity of Yuki's room. In the early stages they'd both been scrupulous about quiet, even when they had the house completely to themselves, but with time they'd gotten more comfortable with each other and with making some noise.

That comfort did NOT extend to other people hearing them, though!

"Well, I guess it's good it hasn't been too much, then. I never even thought about the windows, which is pretty dumb looking back." Kyo glanced over at Yuki's window as he spoke, a slight grimace on his face. "And it definitely never occurred to Tohru. She'd be absolutely mortified." Hardly breaking a confidence there, and Yuki let out an awkward chuckle of his own. As though she'd be anything BUT mortified!

Yuki let out a slightly relieved sigh, glad that in spite of the awkward subject matter than Kyo was taking it well. He's been worried that Kyo would get angry or upset, or that it was become an even bigger thing than it was. Old Kyo definitely would have gotten accusatory or blown up at him, and he wasn't sorry to see that Old Kyo gone. "Yes, well, that's why I wanted to speak you about this, rather than Miss Honda. It's her window, obviously, but I thought you could maybe see to it without her having to know why. For her own comfort."

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. I'd rather not upset her, and she'd definitely be upset if she knew you...heard her." Another grimace from Kyo there, but then he unexpectedly smiled. "Thanks, though. For telling me, and trying to help us. Sorry about making things weird."

Yuki smiled himself and turned around. "Don't worry about it. I just don't want any of us to have to be uncomfortable, and there are some things that are really best kept private."

"Yeah. And I guess it's better it was you than Shigure or something," Kyo said with a shudder. While Shigure had been less creepy in general since the curse had broken, he was still Shigure and Kyo could only imagine the commentary if Shigure had been the one to overhear them. He doubted Tohru OR he would ever recover; once a Dog, always a Dog.

With that terrible thought lingering in the air, Kyo gave Yuki a look. "So...was that all?"

"Yes, that was all."

"Ok then." With a slight nod, Kyo left Yuki's room for his own and a change from his uniform into casual clothes. As he did, he thought about the weirdness of the conversation he'd just had; he never would have imagined, even a few months ago, that he'd be having that talk, and with Yuki to boot!

It was definitely an awkward new reality they were all navigating now.

Author's Note: Hello, and thanks for reading! I love slice of life stories and "peeking behind the scenes," so I really wanted to explore some mundane-but-also-a-big-deal moments for my favorite characters. Also, yay fluff!