Disclaimers and Warnings: See ch. 1.
New Year's Day - 12:05am - Sohma Main House, The Gardens
After the clock had struck midnight the members of the Juunishi had clinked glasses in a cheer, but it was the rising of the sun that they were really waiting for - a symbol of the true start of a brand new year.
Tired of being social and around so many people, Sohma Kyo, the outcast cat, sat down under the skeleton of a cherry tree in the Sohma gardens. With a sigh he folded his arms behind his head and leaned back against the trunk of the tree, looking at the stars through the bare branches.
It had been really strange to interact with a majority of the Juunishi without Akito-san looming over. None of them seemed to be scared or wary of him, if anything they seemed to talk to him more. Even Yuki, who got along with everyone even when Akito was present, seemed more relaxed. With good reason too, for Akito really was a bastard to Yuki, but at least Akito didn't want to kill Yuki like he did Kyo.
It was almost like... like they all really were family. And not just in the genetic sense.
Kyo frowned, chiding himself for even thinking for a moment about becoming attached to the group, knowing that they might turn on him at any moment, just as everyone else had. Well, everyone but his Master.
Bringing his arms down and pulling his knees to his chest, Kyo sighed and focused on the ground in front of him. A small, rather pathetic mew caught his attention and he turned his face to the side. I scraggly ball of fluff of a kitten looked back at him from under a shrub, fur matted in some places and dark blue eyes wide.
Used to such seemingly random encounters, he reached out with a smile and lifted the kitten into his lap, scratching the top of its head. Leaning back against the tree once more, Kyo folded his legs under him and looked down at the kitten. The gray fluff looked up at him with what could be construed as a smile. "Yeah, you know all about this, don't you..." Kyo sighed, wondering where the poor thing's family was. The cat meowed and began to purr, head cocked to the side, attention set on Kyo. "We're in the same boat, eh? Although you look more like Yuki than me..."
At the thought of Yuki, Kyo sighed again.
He had been unable to sleep that night two days ago and he had decided to go outside and practice kata, hoping that physical activity would wear him out. The truth of the matter was that the activity of his mind was what was keeping him awake.
An unsteady friendship had bloomed between himself and Yuki after Tohru had left for university and Kyo could not deny that there was tension in every word spoken between them. However, Kyo had never identified it as sexual tension, at least not until that evening two days ago.
He had fallen asleep quickly and early that night, but had awoken because of an unusually vivid dream. It was about Yuki. Even just remembering the dream made Kyo shiver, the way Yuki's tongue had...
Kyo had bolted awake troubled, sweating, and painfully aroused. And had then decided to clear his mind (and hopefully get his blood flowing elsewhere) by going out into the cold night and practicing his kicks. Pulling on only his cargo pants, Kyo leapt out his own window and down into the snow, relishing in the shock of the freezing temperature.
It was only minutes later that Yuki had found him, and although Kyo was not sure how long the other boy had been watching him, there was no denying the raw emotion in those violet eyes. Emotion that mirrored the Yuki Kyo had known only in his dreams. Unable to deal with a dream Yuki at the moment, let alone a real one, Kyo had run into the night, and had kept running for the days since.
"They always come to you, ne?" Yuki's soft voice abruptly broke Kyo's musings.
With a sharp gasp, Kyo looked up, gripping the kitten tightly for a moment and getting a small nip for his efforts. "Yuki." Kyo's voice was hoarse and sharp.
Yuki's lips curved into a slight smile and he sat down next to Kyo, leaning up against the tree trunk and sighing. Silence fell between them, the only noise was the kitten's purring as Kyo resumed his scratching.
"Yuki." Kyo spoke abruptly after an indeterminate length of time. "Look, Yuki... I'm..." a pause, as if he needed to gather his words. "I'm sorry... about the other night..." Kyo just trailed off, looking up to the sky with a slight blush.
"Yeah..." Yuki looked at the ground, fingering some near-frozen grass blades. "Me too... I didn't mean to startle you like that... it was just..." Yuki also trailed off, turning his head further away from Kyo's view as he felt blood begin to color his cheeks.
"It was just..." Kyo echoed softly, but not in a mocking tone. He let his head loll to the side as he continued to absently pet the kitten, letting the comment hang in the air.
Yuki thought Kyo was looking for further explanation and blushed a bit harder at his pushing. "Well, I uh..." He swallowed hard, realizing that this was it, that this was diving head first into the conversation he had been mulling over for two days now. His voice got a lot softer, but not inaudible. "I just... I had never seen you like that before... practicing... at night..."
Kyo raised an eyebrow, more to himself than anyone else. That was unexpected. "You've fought me enough before. It wasn't any different."
Yuki sighed and gathered his hands in his lap and stared at them pointedly. "Yes it was." He raised a hand to push some silver hair behind an ear. "I've never seen you like that without the kick coming at my face next. I dunno... maybe I'm going crazy. I couldn't sleep that night and I was heading for the kitchen and the back door was open a crack. I still don't know who left it like that, either..." Yuki continued babbling.
Turning his face to the pale boy, Kyo smiled. "Yuki." The rat stopped abruptly and looked to Kyo. "You're babbling." Yuki swallowed hard, blushed brightly, and shut up. There was another pause as the boys watched one another.
"I couldn't sleep that night either..." Kyo began. "...well, I had slept a bit, but then had this strange dream... I just... I needed to do something to clear my mind." Another pause. "Look, Yuki... I..."
The silver-haired rat looked away and up at the sky as he interrupted Kyo. "I know why you ran, you don't need to explain. I know why because there was no way I wasn't projecting my emotions like in some bad movie... I was just so... startled..." He turned his face to Kyo and smiled. "... by you." Closing his eyes, Yuki remembered what he had seen. "With the moonlight, and the snow... and your concentration..." The lines of Yuki's face softened and Kyo was held in rapt attention, staring at the other boy with saucer-wide eyes Yuki couldn't see. "You were beautiful. And I felt the warmth of attraction curl within me and I had no idea what to do... it was just this intense hunger to feel you, to touch you, to-mh!"
Yuki was abruptly silenced by soft lips against his, a warm hand cupped under his jaw, lifting his face ever-so-slightly to make the kiss better. With a small moan of recognition and relief, Yuki opened his mouth to Kyo and dove his hands into the cat's orange hair.
They parted panting, faces still close, noses just touching. "Let's get out of here... Shigure's house..." Yuki's voice was deep and tempting.
"But what about..." Kyo glanced to the house for a moment.
"Haru and Momiji have already bolted..." Yuki smiled. "Made for Haru's place as soon as they could. I don't think we'll be missed either..." He rubbed the side of his nose against Kyo's, lips slightly parted in further invitation.
"Sounds good to me..." Kyo smiled and stood, taking Yuki's hand and looking around for the quickest exit.
"Don't forget the kitten..." Yuki pointed to the little thing on the ground, other hand still in Kyo's.
With a look of disbelief to Yuki and then a smile to the kitten, Kyo slipped the gray fuzzball into a side pocket of his cargo pants. The kitten mewed happily at being included in the getaway.
"You shouldn't let this get out..." Kyo said as he started climbing the tree so they could jump the garden wall and get out of the Sohma House. "... you being nice to cats and all..."
"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that..." Yuki smiled as he pulled himself up onto the branch next to Kyo. "...I plan on being really nice to another one soon enough..." He slipped Kyo a sly smile which caused the cat to blush brightly. "Besides..." Yuki's voice got lower, his lips and breath tickling Kyo's ear. "... I have ways to buy your silence..."