Author's Note: Ok, so this little plot ferret (I say ferret because its damn clever and persistent, and well, wiggly) has been wreaking havoc in my brain for awhile now and if I don't get it out soon I might just become incapable of coherent thought.

Disclaimer: Nope, don't own a damn bit of it. Except the strange plot ferret.

Warning: Strange and rare pairings ahead! And some good ol' familiar ones too. ;P This includes yaoi (male/male and a lot of it), yuri (female/female, some of it, mentioned more in passing than in action), and het (just for the hell of it) couples. I view this as catering to a wide variety of tastes, but if this freaks you out, please GO NO FURTHER. I am not responsible for your actions after this point nor the actions of my plot ferret.

Warning, part 2: I have not read the manga (yet) so please bear with me concerning the lack of manga-only characters such as Rin and Kureno and the personalities of characters that only appear for an ep. or two of the anime. I will use some artistic license here... so I'm sorry if some characters seem OOC, I'm just trying to make a good story!!

Oh, and [number] denotes author's notes which will be at the end of the chapter.

Ok, enough of my yackin'... As the fans say, "Let's roooooll out!" ::cough:: sorry, small "This is Otakudom: A Fan Parody" moment. That line was not mine and I apologize.

New Year's Eve - 10:30 pm - Sohma Main House

The Great Hall of the Sohma Compound was decorated as it always was on New Year's, red and festive and bright, and just waiting for the members of the Juunishi to take their places.

The single long black table ran the length of the room, with ten places set with the finest accoutrements and silk pillows. In front of the table was a small raised platform, the "stage" where the appropriate family member would ring in the coming of their year with a traditional dance. Banners heralding the coming year flanked the platform and small paper lanterns hung around the room, candles flickering softly.

Sohma Yuki, cursed with the spirit of the rat, sighed as he walked into the familiar setting. For the past four years both Yuki and Kyo had spent New Year's at Shigure's house, loathing to leave Tohru alone. However, now that she had gone off to university, the same women's college as Kagura in fact, there was no excuse to stay home.

That, and there was the little issue of Akito. The Head of the Sohma Clan would be unable to attend the party this year, or so Hatori had demanded of the sickly man[1]. Akito's health had not been fairing well in the past months, and as the land cooled for winter he only seemed to get worse. Therefore, Hatori and other knowledgeable members of the clan had advised Akito to keep away from such stress and circumstance, hoping that keeping him abed might slowly help his immune system reboot itself.

The idea of not having Akito there was music to Yuki's ears and he rejoiced in it, as he was sure other Juunishi members did. For once it looked like the members of the Sohma curse could meet together and perhaps be themselves - no hiding, no pretending, no facades. There was no way Yuki was going to miss such an opportunity. At the very least it should provide some laughs.

Many things had changed among the Sohmas since that first year with Tohru, and now, after having spent a year separated from her because of college, things had changed even more. Specifically, and most important at this moment, Yuki's feelings for Kyo.

The two boys had ended up going to the same university, not far from Shigure's home, while Tohru had ventured farther away and joined Kagura in her apartment. Tohru had had an enormous impact on both of them, and life post-Tohru was markedly more civil.

One evening, about 7 months ago, unable to comprehend his quantum physics homework, Yuki, in an act of desperation, asked Kyo for some help. After the initial shock an unsteady friendship had bloomed. And it was only two days ago that Yuki had caught Kyo practicing kata in the moonlight and snow, in only his pants even though it was freezing outside.

Yuki had been unable to sleep that night and had wandered downstairs in an effort to get a midnight snack. A cold rush of wind caught him as he came down the stairs and he walked over to the open back door, angry that someone, no doubt Kyo, had left it open, again, and was wasting precious heat. Yuki stopped short at what he saw and could do nothing but stare. It was Kyo, alone, determined and focused, practicing his kicks in the snow, as he had seen him before, but for some reason Yuki felt like a brick had just dropped into his stomach.

He could not take his eyes away from Kyo's movements, from following the taught muscles in Kyo's back as they shifted with his practiced kata. Moonlight reflected off of the orange-haired boy's tanned skin, making the sweat of exertion obvious. Yuki's eyes traveled lower, watching the twist of Kyo's hips as he moved and kicked foes and targets only he could see.

Hunger.

It was the first thing that had registered in Yuki's mind, and not in that "dammit what happened to the midnight snack?!" sense. Want, desire, and plain pure lust began coiling itself in his stomach, in his skin, in his fingers and in his lips, running a train wreck course through his bloodstream.

Of course, it was in that moment of clouded emotions that Kyo had noticed Yuki's presence and the intense stare the rat was giving the cat.

And Kyo had been avoiding him since. And Yuki couldn't take it anymore. He wasn't sure if Kyo was going to show up to the New Year's Eve party, but he was determined to talk to him if he did.

[1]:If you know the spoiler from Chapter 97, disregard the discrepancies this story makes with it, as I wrote it before I saw that chapter. If you don't know the spoiler, don't pay attention to what I'm saying. If you want to know the spoiler, check out The Fruits Basket Community on Live Journal.

And that's all I'm saying on the matter.