"I'm afraid to fly…and I don't know why…" sang Shigure loudly as Kyo was working on his necktie that morning.
"Maybe because you don't have wings," the neko said sarcastically. The inu had been belting out love song after love song ever since the rooster woke him up.
"…I'm jealous of the people who are not afraid to fly…" continued the dog as he happily went over the morning papers he was obviously not reading.
"Maybe you should get yourself a parachute then," suggested Kyo, whose temper was near its hundred degree Celsius status again.
"…help me, I'm fallin." *thud* "Fallin." *thud* Shigure drummed his fingers on the table for effect. "Fallin fast again…"
"I told you to get a parachute," muttered the cat.
"…maybe this time we'll have it all…when I fall in love…"
Hatori groaned. He was eating breakfast with Yuki while Tohru was serving them. The three had dropped by for breakfast, but Kyo knew better. Shigure must have phoned them, telling that he and Uo had made up already.
Yuki took time to glance at Shigure. "Forgive me for not appreciating your talent, but you are really starting to destroy my eardrums."
"Your eardrums, not mine," smiled Shigure cheerfully.
"Well, don't wait for them to self-destruct," muttered Hatori.
"Love…soft as an easy chair…love…fresh as the morning air…love…" sang the dog again, and it took all of Kyo's willpower not to hurl his cousin out of the house. He vowed to take more control of his emotions. He didn't want to hurt another person again the way he hurt Uo.
He smiled absent-mindedly. He had to admit- he missed his cocky driver badly. What did Kagura say about him back then? He was miserable.
"Till now…I've always come by on my own…I never really cared until I met you," Shigure was now vocalizing in a horrible female sandpaper voice. He should have listened to nails scratching on the blackboard instead.
He suddenly dropped his necktie.
The lyrics struck something within him.
I never really cared until I met you.
"Damn," he swore under his breath. "Shigure, shut the hell up!!!" he yelled. "Keep quiet! Get your things, put them in a box together with yourself and have the box shipped somewhere safely distant from perfectly sane people like the North Pole!"
Tohru blinked.
Shigure smirked. "I saw Neko kissing…Santa Claus…underneath the *beep beep* last night…"
Yuki stood up calmly and led the freaked onigiri away from the sudden brutality the dog was facing from a very angry neko.
"…I never really cared until I met you…"
Uo shut the radio station in disgust. Love songs were never healthy for her, even the rock ones. She finished wiping the car, then smiled proudly. "Baby, you're looking so fine! If you were a man, I'll marry you!" she told the shiny, good-as-new limousine.
Her eyes fell on the mirror, and she unconsciously preened in front of the side mirror, checking if her hair was still alright…
She mentally kicked herself. Damn it, what was she doing? She didn't really care before on how she looks- what does the world care about the look she dons anyway?
She kicked herself harder when a face appeared in her mind just as the line of the song replayed in her mind.
I never really cared until I met you.
In her mind she could see Sohma Kyo, standing there with the arrogant smile of his. Sohma Kyo freaked out when her jokes would tread dangerously on him. Sohma Kyo laughing with her. Sohma Kyo sleeping like a baby at the backseat of the car. Sohma Kyo standing in front of her with his messy hair and unknotted necktie…
She blinked. Hey, wait a minute! He really was standing before her!
He smiled at her uncertainly. "G'morning, Uo."
She arched an eyebrow. "E-Excuse me…but did you just call my name?"
"I think I did," he said huskily, and she realized that he was standing too closely to her, or why else would she smell his wonderful lemon-scented breath?
"I love your toothpaste," she found herself saying out loud. "Smells great."
His eyes widened. "Y-You do?" He was totally unprepared for her lines.
She blinked. "E-Er…w-what did I say?"
"You love my breath," he said, a smile forming on his lips.
She blinked again. Did she really say that? She shrugged. "What toothpaste do you use? I'll recommend it to my dog."
He rolled his eyes. "You really know how to anti-climaticize situations." With that, he entered the car already.
She smiled and got into the car too. Yup, things were definitely back to normal.
Yuki smiled as Tohru tugged on the sleeve of his shirt excitedly. "Did you see the smile on Kyo-kun and Uo-chan's faces? They're both so happy!"
The nezumi nodded. "Ms. Arisa is too good for the baka neko, but who am I to obstruct the path of happiness anyway?"
"They're in love with each other, but they themselves do not know!" Tohru sighed dreamily.
"Love can bring out astounding absurdity in people," said Hatori who was watching the scene too. "That is why I hate the thought of Shigure falling in love."
"E-Eh?" asked the onigiri.
"Sohma Shigure stupider than he is right now is a menace to mankind," said the doctor as Yuki and Tohru sweatdropped.
Kyo was peering at the camera and the tripod for it that was on the floor of the car. "Are you a photographer too?"
She nodded, not taking her eyes off the road. "I'm expanding my interests. Versatility can help me a lot in surviving my jobs."
"True." He examined the camera. "This looks like one Hatori had when a child."
"That antique huh?" she said dryly.
His eyes went to a window. "Stop it there." He pointed to the gadget store at the corner of the streets. When she did, he wordlessly got out of the car and into the store.
When he came back, he was holding a new camera already.
"I traded your old one with a digital camera- it's more apt for serious photography," he explained when he saw the scowl on her face. More or less, it was her pride again at work, and one look at her reveals that she wasn't too happy about what he did for her.
"I can take serious photography even if I do not use digital cams." She crossed her arms.
He smiled. "Oh now, don't be stubborn. If you're going to take pictures of me, I only want the best."
"And what gave you the idea that I would want you to become the subject of my photography?" she demanded.
"Call it instincts," he said, loosening his necktie. "I'm playing hooky today, and you would take pictures of me, and no one can stop me."
"You and your arrogance," she sighed. "May I remind you that I can always leave you and your car in the middle of the road."
"Eh, shut up." He tried the camera on her.
"Moronic mutant cat! Stop taking pictures of me!" she yelled when he focused the lenses on her.
Kyo smirked. "Your pictures or mine?"
Uo sighed. "Have I told you before that I am the class darling when it comes to class pictures?"
He smirked some more. "My pictures."
Period.
They were standing by the seashore, kilometers away from the Sohma office where he should be. He was posing by the beach, letting Uo take pictures of him.
"Look over to the left, to the direction of the sea for the pensive aura," she instructed. "It would add character."
Kyo rolled his eyes. "You mean to say I have no character?"
Uo smirked. "You said that, not me."
He plopped down the sand and looked out at the clear blue sky. "Ah, this is the life. I can live like this forever."
"Well, you can't," she interjected as she took a seat beside him. "Your life is in your office. Your goal is to beat the Prince, remember?"
He shrugged. "I thought so too, but lately, I had not been entertaining such thoughts… my attention is on someone else."
"Who's the unlucky someone else you can't stop thinking about?" she asked, laughing nervously. His eyes were on her again. They were telling her something.
Kyo suddenly looked away, cursing.
"Ah no, don't tell me it's a guy," she kidded.
"She's no different from one because she acts pretty much like one anyway," he muttered.
"What?" asked Uo, who didn't exactly catch what he was muttering.
"Never mind. Let's go back to my pictorial."
"Yeah. I want a souvenir picture of you- I need something to drive bad spirits away from my unit."
"What do I look like to you, a feng shui thingie?"
"No, Sohma Kyo. You're the most handsome talking toilet bowl I've ever seen in my whole life." She stood up, smirking. "Let's get the potty pictures developed."
"Damn you."
"Impressive. You balanced the accounts with no mistake at all," said Hatori when he went over the sheets Kyo handed him.
"I'm getting the hang of this tedious job, I'm afraid." Kyo loosened his necktie and placed his tired head on the glass table. He accidentally banged his forehead on it.
"Easy. The glass is expensive," said the doctor.
"Gee, thanks for the concern," he said dryly.
"However, you came late to work this morning, but I remembered that you and your driver left early," said Hatori, eyes still on the figures. "I will still reprimand you for that."
"Jam's fault," the neko mumbled.
"Who's Jam?"
"You know, traffic jam."
"Ah. Jam is a part of any driver's life, idiot. That's no excuse." Hatori smirked. "Oh, I forgot. You're not a driver."
"May the Holy Spirit be with you," muttered Kyo, deliberately banging his forehead on his cousin's expensive glass top this time.
"So where did you and Arisa go?"
"To the beach-" Kyo perked up. "Hey, what do you care about where I go anyway? Is interrogating private affairs part of your job too?"
"Since when had Arisa become your private affair?" asked Hatori calmly.
"That's not the point!" said Kyo immediately. "I can go anywhere I want to!"
"Of course you can," said the clan doctor smoothly. "I was just asking…I was curious." He looked up from the papers. "Something about the beach? What did you do there?"
"We cross skied," replied the neko sarcastically. He then glanced at his watch. "I better go."
"You just can't get enough of her, can you?" asked Hatori, a small genuine smile on his face.
"Go to hell."
"Been there and back."
Uo was laughing at some of the stolen shots she took of her boss. One of his shots showed him yawning, the other taking an enormous bite of a quarter pounder, the other one drinking milk. One shot had his nostrils in close-up, showing his cilia. She snickered, then turned to the next photo. She stiffened as her heartbeat raced.
He was looking out at the direction of the sea, face pensive. The sunlight was hitting his temples, giving him a surreal impression. The deep-seated eyes, intimidating enough to stop the waves from crashing to his feet; the strong firm jaw that spoke of his stubbornness and fierce determination; and the well-toned muscles reflected with the perfect cling of his loosened long sleeved shirt to his body. He was like a Greek god statue that came to life!
"Damn," she shook her head to shake away the colors flooding her face. What came into her, lusting after Sohma Kyo anyway? Fine, she was a little touched by his willingness to humble himself and apologize to her. She was a little thrilled whenever he voices concern for her. She was delighted when he would prefer her company more than that of his own fiancée's.
But she had to draw the line- he was a boss. She was just a driver. He just needed her now, because he still hadn't passed his driving tests. But what would become of her feelings when he didn't need her anymore?
She fiddled with the car keys. It wasn't hard to fall for him- he wasn't as dreamy as Sohma Yuki, but he was himself, and that was the best thing Yuki didn't have, in her own point of view. She was glad that Kyo had started to overcome some of his insecurities for being always the second best, but then…it would be conceited of her to say that she helped him. In fact, she didn't know anything that she could have done when they were together that helped him become a better person. All she had caused him was problems and headaches.
"But I like being with him," she thought. "Even if I know that getting attached to that moronic mutant cat is digging up my own trouble hole. Being with him makes me feel so safe and secured." She smiled a little, then rested her head on the headrest, the psychology book lying forgotten on her lap. "Till now…I've always come by on my own…" she hummed.
"…I never really cared until I met you…" hummed Kyo as he headed for the parking lot. He was going to take Uo out for lunch- he knew that she could be very irritable when left with no grub.
He then noticed that Uo was sleeping. He smiled and entered the passenger side of the car. He decided not to wake her up just yet. He let his eyes wander on her unaware beauty.
Uotani Arisa was no ordinary princess beauty- she looked more like a handsome prince, especially when she opens her bottomless sarcasm fount a.k.a. her mouth. But then he knew that deep beneath her rough and tough exterior lies a heart as kind and pure as the hearts of the Disney princesses she loathe.
His eyes flickered with something he couldn't place when he saw her slightly open lips. He gulped. They suddenly looked so inviting.
"No…I'm not Shigure," he hissed. He decided to wake her up there and then. When he hears her usual sarcastic remarks, he might just snap out of this crazy trance. He hoped.
"Uo," he said, gently shoving her.
She moaned, and her head fell sleepily on his shoulder.
He stiffened, especially when he felt her hand fall in between his trousers. Colors and heat rose at the same time within him. He wanted to turn the aircon on, but remembered that he didn't even know how to start a car!
But he had to admit, he liked the scent of his driver's hair. It wasn't the same flower fragrance he knew Kagura and Tohru use. It smelled of mint, but at this moment, it suddenly became the sexiest scent he ever encountered. And about her hand in between his legs…well, if he just won't move…
He flinched when he heard the insanely thick psychology book fall on the car floor. Even more when her eyes opened. She looked up suddenly. "B-Boss?"
Their face separated by mere inches, Kyo realized that he was perilously close to doing something that would prompt her to kill him. It was crazy. It was stupid.
But he knew sure as hell that he won't let her go without knowing how her lips feel.
His face lowered to hers.
Tsuzuku
Three chapters to go! Gomen nasai for taking too long to update ^^;;