This chapter is sort of dedicated to Gysecune because she makes the best Ritsu EVER.
By the way… I hate having Kisa say 'Sissy' but as I want no random fangirl-ish Japanese, I will not be saying 'oneechan'—I HAVE NO CHOICE, I SWEAR. So… yeah.
Disclaimer: Yeah.
Yuki groaned as he woke up. My back hurts… why am I downstairs? He looked up and saw Haru's face; the boy had his eyes open in small slits, smiling. Oh yeah… I fell asleep on Haru.
"Morning…" Yuki greeted tiredly. Haru widened his eyes again as if to gaze at the boy better.
"Hey."
"How long have you been up?"
"Twenty minutes. That's when Shigure got here with Ayame."
"Twenty minutes? Why didn't you wake me—AYAME?!?!"
Yuki jumped up quickly and turned as the door to the kitchen opened. Ayame, clad in black pants, a black shirt, and a cow hide overcoat, ran in and hugged his little brother.
"Aaaaaaaah! Yuuuki-chan!"
"Let go of me!!!"
Haru stared at the coat, growing pale. "W-what are you wearing?"
"Oh, this old thing? I bought it a while ago—I'm surprised it still fits!" Ayame giggled, twirling. Haru swallowed.
"Is it… real…?"
"Huh? Ah, yes, the finest!"
Yuki put a hand to Haru's head in attempt to calm him down. He glared at Ayame. "How insensitive are you? Why the hell would you wear that?"
"It looks good on me," said Ayame, putting his hands to his mouth to try to look innocent. Yuki grit his teeth.
"Go. Home. Now."
"But what would be the fun in that?" asked Ayame. "Plus, I've invited everyone out to a picnic."
"A picnic?" asked Yuki, his hand still petting Haru's head. Ayame nodded.
"Today is the last day of summer. I figured it'd be fun to celebrate with everyone!"
"Everyone?"
"Tohru-kun and the members of the zodiac!"
Yuki ran this over in his head. "All of us? Out on a picnic?"
"Well, not all of us. Just Ritsu-chan, Hiro-chan, Kisa-chan, Momitchi—"
"Don't give me a list—"
"Kagura-chan, Kyonkichi-kun, Yuki-chan, Haa-chan, Tori-san, Gure-san, and myself, of course."
"I dislike you. A lot."
"Tohru-kun is also joining, as I said earlier."
"Are any of her friends coming?"
"It's too risky; Momitchi might get excited…"
"True… where is Honda-san now?"
"In the kitchen, packing our lunches."
Haru chimed in, looking at Ayame's face (to avoid his coat), "Packing for twelve people? I'll go help. That was my reason for being here, anyway."
He got up and headed to the kitchen to see Kyo and Tohru side-by-side, packing lunches. Kyo was teasing her about her "untalented ways of forming rice balls."
"Watch a master at work!"
"That's so awesome!! Let me try!"
"… Feh! That sucks!"
They laughed together. Tohru saw the ox boy at the door. "Ah, Hatsuharu-san!"
"Did you need help with packing the lunches?" he asked, walking over. They had already packed up five lunches. Tohru was just about done with the sixth when she smiled.
"That would be great!"
"And I'll help, too," said a voice. Yuki stood next to Kyo and rolled up his sleeves. "If you think that rice ball is good, Honda-san, watch a real pro at work…"
"Shut up, you damn rat!" Kyo snapped with a grin. Yuki chuckled softly and went to work.
/-/
"Tooohru-kuuuuun!!!"
"W-wahh! Momiji-kun!!"
Poof!
"Ah, you friggin' bunny! Look what you've done!"
"Waaaah! Kyo-kun is making fun of meeeee…"
"Stop your whining!"
Yuki sighed. This day was most certainly going to be eventful. He had a feeling that he, Hatori, Tohru, and Haru were going to have to baby-sit everyone. They sat out on two large blankets and, by Ayame's request, the blankets were put together. The twelve of them sat in the warm sun, cooled by the breeze, eating and laughing, and enjoying each other's company. Not even Hatori could keep from having a little fun.
Tohru had a fun game of Rich Man, Poor Man going with many of the family members. Ritsu was apologizing for everything, even when Hiro spilled some of his own rice and Ritsu was on the complete other side of the blanket.
However, upon seeing the pile baseball gear nestled in Hatori's trunk (Hiro had insisted on bringing it), Kyo almost exploded.
"A game of baseball… nine innings of pure competitive bliss… one team versus another… in other words—"
"Fun!" squealed Momiji, jumping up from his seat on the blanket. He moved to the edge and shoved his feet into his shoes eagerly, completely ignoring Kyo as he yelled, "Not fun! It's a match!"
"Oh whatever you stupid cat," said Yuki before royally taking a sip of his tea. "It's just like any other baseball game."
"It's a contest!!"
"Ugh, perhaps you've forgotten who you're trying to beat…"
"Shut up, rat boy! I can beat you just fine!"
"Ooh, bring it on," Yuki exhaled out monotonously and sarcastically. Shigure smiled weakly. "Well, I suppose that Yuki-kun and Kyo-kun won't be on the same team…"
"I'd never be on the same team as that girly stinkin' rat!"
Ritsu looked over. "You mean me?"
"Are you a rat?!" Kyo huffed. Ritsu shuddered. "No, but I am girly… oh, oooOOOoo… have I offended you in some way, Kyo-kun?!!"
"N-no—"
But it was too late… "AAAAAAAH! I'M SO SORRY KYO-KUN! I DON'T MEAN TO BE SO OFFENSIVE AND GIRLY IT'S JUST THE WAY I LIKE TO DRESS!! OH NOOOOOOOOoOOOOooooooOO!! I SHALL CUT THE VERY FABRIC THAT I AM WEARING AND SEW ALL NEW CLOTHING THAT IS APROPRIATE TO WEAR IN FRONT OF YOU KYOOooooOOOOooooOOOOO-KUN!!!"
"HOLY SHIT YOU DON'T HAVE TO!!!!"
As Ritsu continued to scream his apologies at Kyo, Ayame extended an arm out to Shigure. "Gure-san! You and I must band together with Tori-san to form a most wonderful team… the Mabudachi Team!"
Although he might not have wanted to, Hatori agreed to team with his "fellow Mabudachi," as Shigure put it. As Yuki got up to put his shoes on, Haru tugged on his sleeve.
"Can I be on your team, Yuki?"
Smiling, Yuki replied, "Of course," and helped him up. Kisa had practically attached herself to Tohru since the beginning of the picnic, so naturally, Kisa was on whatever team Tohru was on. Tohru went to Kyo.
"I suppose that Kagura-san will be on our team, too?"
Kyo shook his head. "Uh-uh. Yuki absolutely won't have his brother on his team, so we're stuck with him, Shigure, and Hatori. Plus with Kisa, we've got all six players."
"So that leaves Souma-kun with Hatsuharu-san, Kagura-san, Momiji-kun, Hiro-kun, and… Ritsu-san…" said Tohru softly. Kyo sighed.
"Hiro's really good at baseball… but Haru's a slow runner. As for Yuki… he's good at frickin' everything and Kagura will most likely break the bat. I'm not sure about Momiji, but he can't be that good… and Ritsu probably really sucks. Like… probably a lot."
"Fear us! We are the great Mabudachi Team!" Ayame boasted loudly, swinging around the baseball bat like a baton.
"WHAT?! We are not the 'Mabudachi Team!'" yelled Kyo. He then threatened to hit the silver haired mass of ego with the very same bat he was prancing around with. Hiro called over to them.
"Hey doofuses, careful with my bat."
"Don't call me a doofus, you doofus! An' who's goin' first?!" Kyo barked.
"Tohru-kun and Kagura are deciding that now," Momiji answered, pointing to the two girls. They were decided with Rock-Paper-Scissors in the middle of the field. With a cheer, Tohru realized that her scissor fingers defeated Kagura's paper fingers, so Kyo's team went first with Kyo at bat.
On the opposing team, Yuki was the pitcher, Haru was umpire (and mocking Kyo's "Mabudachi-ness")), Hiro was shortstop, and Kagura, Ritsu, and Momiji were each at a base, respectively.
"Swiiiiiing!" hollered Ayame from the side. Kyo ignored him, his intense eyes on Yuki. Soon, the ball was thrown. Kyo swung hard and hit the ball past third base, so Momiji ran to retrieve it as Kyo zoomed wildly to first. Once the ball was back to Yuki, Tohru stepped cautiously to home plate.
"Good luck, Tohru," said Haru to her from behind. She thanked him and looked forward to Yuki, standing ready. When he threw, she swung with a mighty cry… and missed. She stared at the bat as if to ask it something.
"Oh!" she was able to exclaim after a short moment. Haru passed the ball back to Yuki swiftly and gave another word of confidence to Tohru.
"It's all right, Tohru! Just swing!" Kyo cheered her on. She blushed a bit and concentrated again. Yuki threw the ball again and she swung, hitting it dead on toward second. Ritsu reached out to catch it, but suddenly shrieked and recoiled into a fetal position on the grass. The ball bounced gaily by him. Kyo stood on the base, looking at him.
"What—are you scared of the ball?"
"N-no… it's just… it was coming so fast!"
Kyo sighed and decided to chuck the ball back to Yuki for the nervous monkey. Kisa stood up at home, looking awkward with the bat.
"You can do it, Kisa," spoke Haru lightly behind her. She gave him a weak smile and then looked to Yuki, awaiting his throw.
Eventually, the team got three outs (one by Kisa because she, too, was a bit scared of the ball, one by Ayame who hadn't made it to second in time, and the last by Kyo thanks to his temper and nearly whacking Haru in the head with the bat) and Yuki's team was up at bat. This time, Kyo was pitcher, Hatori was umpire, Tohru was shortstop, and the others were each at a base.
Yuki stepped to home plate, grinning at Kyo. "Well, come on, you stupid cat. Show me what you've got."
"Damn right! I'll be a better pitcher than you!" yelled the disgruntled cat boy, chucking the ball. Yuki sighed and didn't swing. Hatori caught the ball as Yuki shouted softly, "Ball."
"WHAT?! NO WAY!" Kyo raged, but Hatori confirmed it and he decided not to go against him. Kyo hurled the ball over and once again, Yuki did not swing.
"Ball."
"AAAAARRRGH!!!"
Tohru tried to coax her lovable steaming boyfriend by softly suggesting that he calm down so he can focus on where he needs to throw the ball. He nodded to her and took a deep breath. The red in his face disappeared and he looked back to Yuki, more relaxed this time.
He threw. Yuki yet again did not swing. Hatori caught the ball and said, "Ball."
"WHAT?! But I'm calm!!!" yelled Kyo. Tohru remained frazzled. "Uh-uh, Kyo, just try it again!"
So after another deep breath, Kyo tossed the ball. This time, Yuki swung, connected, and was able to make it to second base thanks to Kisa having trouble throwing the ball back. Haru stepped up to bat.
"Bring it on, cat. That is, if you can even throw."
"I can throw, dammit!" Kyo huffed. After a breath, he chucked the ball at Haru. Haru swung and hit the ball too far to the right. Kyo grinned and called, "Foul."
"Shut up…"
"What? I'm just callin' the facts, stupid cow."
The next time, Haru's swing connected, but Shigure caught it and Haru was out. He sadly trudged back to the others, where Kagura gave him a pat on the shoulder on her way to bat.
While she did not break the bat, she was able to make it to second, thus bringing Yuki home. Kyo was fuming until he realized that Ritsu was up at bat next. He grinned. Piece of cake…
Ritsu awkwardly stood at the plate, fretting over his fear of the ball and almost tipping over with his nervousness. Hatori tried to calm the cross dresser, but it was no use—Ritsu was still panicky.
As the ball came toward him, Ritsu shrieked and swung the bat as if trying to beat on an attacker, closing his worried eyes. When he opened them, he saw that everyone was looking at a small object flying quickly in the sky. Ritsu blinked.
"I-… I-Is that the ball?"
"Yep," was Hatori's simple reply. Ritsu stared and then started to scream, "I'M SORRY THAT THE BALL IS GOING AWAY! WE DON'T EVEN HAVE ANOTHER BALL TO USE INSTEAD SO NOW WE HAVE NO BALL AND IT'S ALL MY FAULT!!!! NOOOOOOOOOOoooooOOO!! I WILL BECOME THE BALL IN PLACE—"
"Ri-chan!!" yelled Ayame, stomping his foot. Ritsu looked over eagerly and Ayame continued, "You just hit a home run! You gained a bunch of points for your team!!"
Kyo was staring at the sky (the ball was out of sight) in disbelief. "Well fuck me sideways."
"Well, I suppose… if we have no ball left…" started Tohru awkwardly. "I suppose that means… that Souma-kun and his team win…"
Kagura squealed happily, screaming about her victory and pulled her teammates into her arms and squeezed tightly. Kyo sighed.
"Another victory for the rat…"
"So… it's good that I made the ball go far, far away?" asked Ritsu, puzzled. Hatori nodded. "Yes. You just won."
"I won? … I'm… I'm good at something? Something manly?"
Ayame put an arm around Ritsu's shoulders. "Very good, Ri-chan! Such power!! I'm sad about my loss, but you did magnificently!"
Shigure gave his compliments as well. Hiro, meanwhile, was glaring at the bat.
"I never got to play…"
/-/
Around seven o'clock, Shigure tugged on Tohru's sleeve.
"Tohru-kun, would it be all right if Haa-san, Aaya, and I went out for drinks?" he asked, hunching slightly and putting his hands together. Tohru blinked.
"Why ask me?"
"Because Haa-san is almost everyone's ride home…"
"Waah?!"
"Could you baby sit? PPPPLLLEEEAAASSSEEE???" Shigure was suddenly on his knees, hands clasped together. Yuki appeared at Tohru's side.
"Don't listen, Honda-san…"
"But…"
"Yuki-kun," started Shigure, "the three of us have something very important to discuss. We'll be back late tonight, depending on how the conversation goes."
"Conversation?" asked Tohru.
"About Akito-san and his health," said Hatori, walking up to them. Ayame was bobbing next to him. Yuki looked down, hiding his eyes with his bangs. Tohru gazed at him for a moment.
"Has his health worsened?"
"He can still move around, but it weakens him to do so," Hatori replied, taking out a cigarette. He offered one to Shigure, who gladly accepted. "He knows that it weakens him…" He lit up the cigarette and took a long drag. "… but it seems that even with this knowledge, he moves around more. It's as if…"
"He's trying to speed the process," finished Yuki weakly. His hand was shaking. Ayame put his hands on his brother's shoulders.
"Don't worry, Yu-chan," he said. Yuki glared at him but said nothing. He was grateful, at least, that his brother cared enough to try to calm him.
"But there are other things we need to discuss," said Hatori, resting his hands at his sides, the cigarette's smoke billowing out in thin ribbons. "So, Tohru-kun, if you wouldn't mind…"
"Ah, not at all," Tohru replied and bowed. "I'll have Souma-kun, Kyo, Hatsuharu-san, Kagura-san, and Ritsu-san to help out…"
"I'm sure Momiji can help, too," said Hatori. With no extra words, the three older men left the nine others behind. Tohru looked to Yuki and chuckled nervously.
/-/
It wasn't too bad back at the house with everyone. Kisa, Kagura, and Tohru were up in Tohru's room chatting when Hiro came in.
"Hey, is there any ice cream in this dump?"
"Ah, we should have some in the freezer…"
"Go get some for me then."
"Hiro-kun," started Kisa. "Why do you want to make Sissy get it for you? You were just downstairs…"
"I don't feel like it," Hiro said, not looking at her. Tohru stood.
"Ah, that's all right, I'll go get some."
She and Hiro headed downstairs and Kisa followed obediently. Kagura felt left out so she, too, followed. As they entered the kitchen, they found Ritsu. Tohru smiled.
"Ah, Ritsu-san—"
"I'M SORRY!" started Ritsu, dropping his spoon to the floor. "I AM SORRY THAT I'M TAKING UP PRECIOUS SPACE! I'M SORRY THAT I AM EATING YOUR FOOD! I APOLOGIZE TO THE WORLD FOR MY AWFUL BEHAVIOR!!! I AM SOOOO SORRY! I'M SO SORRY TO BE EATING AT THE COUNTER SO RUDELY!! AHHH I'M SOOOORRRRYYYYYY!!!!"
Kagura had covered her ears but that wasn't enough. She crossed the room over to Ritsu and punched him hard on the back of the head. He stopped his wailing and dropped to the floor, forced to study his spoon. Tohru started to freak out.
"Aaah! Ri-Ri… Kagura-san… Ritsu-s… ahh!"
"It's fine. I have my ways of dealing with him, just like Shii-chan," Kagura smiled as if she had given the cross dresser a flower. Tohru nervously chuckled before going to the fridge and getting out two cartons of ice cream, one vanilla, the other chocolate. As she got out the ice cream scooper, she felt a small tug on her shirt. She looked down to see Kisa.
"… Could I… have some, too?"
"Sure! Kagura-san?"
"Yeah, sure."
Just then, Momiji came in, skipping happily, contrasting Kyo, who also came in, but looked very angry.
"Get back here!"
"Noooo, Kyon-Kyon! I knew I heard Tohru-kun!"
"Don't call me that you damned rabbit!"
"Kyo-kun," Kagura spoke spookily. "Are… you being mean… to poor Momiji-kun?"
Before Kyo could answer, Kagura grabbed his shirt and shook him.
"WHY KYO-KUN, WHY? I THOUGHT YOU WERE A BETTER PERSON THAN THAT ESPECIALLY SINCE YOU'RE SO CLOSE WITH TOHRU-CHAN NOW! WHERE HAVE I GONE WRONG IN TEACHING YOU TO BE A GENTLEMAN?! TOHRU-CHAN SHOULDN'T HAVE TO DEAL WITH SUCH A VULGAR BOYFRIEND!!!"
"AAAAAAH KAGURA!!!" shouted Kyo after she was finished shaking him. Tohru hesitated and looked to Momiji.
"M-Momiji-kun! Would you like some ice cream, too?" she asked cautiously. Kagura averted her attention to her and Kyo used the distraction to slink off to the other side of the room. Momiji brightened.
"Yes, please!! Do you have strawberry ice cream?"
"Oh, I wish!" exclaimed Tohru as she handed the second bowl of ice cream out to Kisa. Now that the tiger girl had her ice cream, Hiro began to eat his. "We have vanilla and chocolate."
"Do you have any strawberries in the refrigerator?" asked Momiji, looking to said appliance.
"Um…" she pondered for a moment and then smiled. "Yes, I think we do!"
"Yay! Then… then can I have vanilla ice cream with strawberries mixed in? I'll cut the strawberries myself…" Momiji wanted to know.
"Yes, of course," said Tohru cheerfully. Kyo came over.
"Need help?"
"Not really, thanks. Do you think Souma-kun and Hatsuharu-san want any?"
Kyo looked to the door he had used to enter.
"Ah… they had been right behind me… hey, Momiji, where the hell is that damn rat and stupid cow?"
"I dunno!"
"Weird… I'll go check for them."
Kyo exited the room and padded down the hallway into the living room… where no one was to be found. He blinked.
"'Right behind you,' they say! Where the hell did those two bastards go?"
/-/
"Hah! Nothing beats playing hooky!" Haru shouted happily. He jogged behind Yuki, trying to catch up. "Yuki, not so fast!"
"Ah, sorry…" Yuki slowed his run to a jog and then a walk as Haru caught up, walking beside him, panting.
"Gah… remember? I'm the slow, stupid ox," Haru reminded him, grinning. Yuki, through panting, replied, "You're not slow, nor are you stupid. … You're also not an ox, you're a cow."
"Agh, you bastard!"
Yuki laughed and stopped walking, gesturing toward a crumbled pile of dirt. Haru looked at it and Yuki explained, "This is the landslide that caused Honda-san to come live with us."
"Oh… wow, I'm surprised you knew the way over here…"
"I come here from time to time. After that fight at the end of July with Kyo—the one when Honda-san broke her arm—I saw Kyo here a lot. He hadn't been here when the landslide occurred, so I was surprised to see him there."
Haru crossed his arms over his chest; it had gradually gotten colder and he figured that this might help.
"Why was he here?" he wanted to know. Yuki shook his head.
"I never asked. At the time I was too angry to speak with him." He shivered. "Maybe we should head back."
Haru slid his coat off of his shoulders and arms, thrusting it in Yuki's direction once he had it off. Yuki blinked.
"Oh, no—then you would be cold…"
"I have a long sleeved turtleneck on."
"I have a long sleeved shirt on, too, but I'm still cold. Therefore, you're going to be cold without this."
"I don't care."
Haru bobbed the coat up and down before him. Yuki sighed and put it on; it was already warm with Haru's pleasant body heat. He sniffed and became intoxicated with Haru's fine scent. He reached out to Haru and pulled the older boy closer to him. Haru reached into the coat in order to keep his arms warm and to hug Yuki closer to him.
"Haru…"
"Yeah?"
Yuki blushed. I said that out loud?
"Aah… I hadn't meant to… sigh… your name… aaah, how embarrassing."
"That's okay," Haru chuckled, kissing Yuki's ear lightly so that it was a mere brush of his lips. Yuki breathed in Haru's aroma and smiled, feeling heat trail through his body.
"You smell so nice…"
"That kitten said that I smelled like a barn."
"Well, you smell like a very clean barn."
Haru chuckled again. "You smell like a certain spice… it's very fine."
Yuki found it odd that he was blushing but then again, he always did when they shared moments like this. He was fond of these times and thought of them when he daydreamed at school.
"… I'm so glad that you didn't give up on me…"
Haru rubbed his fingers along Yuki's back softly. "I'm glad that you gave me a chance."
Yuki didn't reply at first. He slid his eyes shut, rested his head on top of Haru's shoulder, and tightened his arms around Haru's body.
"I used to be so bitter, huh? … This one girl once told me that I reject people… I knew that she was right back then, but I suppose… I don't think I'm so bad now."
"Well, you do have your arms around me," Haru informed him.
"True…"
"And," he broke his sentence to kiss his neck, "you're allowing," he kissed his ear, "me to," his cheek, "kiss you," the side of his mouth, "all over."
Yuki grinned.
"And I'm kissing you right back." /-/-/-/-/-/
He did just that and Haru gladly invited him into his mouth. The next thing Haru knew, he was up against a nearby tree with Yuki grinding against him.
"Y-Yuki," Haru stammered out.
"It's been a long time since… we've…" Yuki trailed off, occupying his lips with Haru's neck instead.
"We can't… not out here… and everyone's at the house…" Haru regretfully told him, resisting the urge to jump him right then and there. Yuki sighed.
"No fair… well… we don't have to go all the way…"
Haru was surprised by the lust in Yuki's eyes. He had never seen him like this. But as Yuki grinded his clothed arousal against Haru's thigh, he found that he didn't really mind after all. When their heats collided with each other, Yuki gasped and Haru let out a moan. He gripped Yuki's back and mimicked Yuki's actions, arching out his hips to clash with Yuki's. Ama… amazing… even Haru's thoughts were jumbled and broken up.
"Nnng…" Haru panted, sliding his hands down Yuki's back. They both needed release and needed it now. Yuki could barely speak—everything came out in cracked moans, including the few times he managed to gasp out Haru's name. He sucked gently on one of Haru's earrings, tugging lightly. Haru's hands found Yuki's backside and pushed it toward him, thus pushing their hips closer.
"Aaah!" Yuki gasped at this action. He shivered and felt as though he was going to fall over had it not been for Haru's strong arms around him. He arched his back, throwing his head back.
"Ahhh… Ha-aaru…" he whimpered. He froze for a moment but his fingers were digging into Haru's skin. After this short moment, he shuddered with a long cry and Haru winced and loosened his grip on Yuki for just a bit before hugging him close. He slowly brought them both to the ground. They sat there, sweating and panting. We came in unison… Haru blushed and realized how silly his discovery was. Yuki nuzzled his head against Haru's neck.
"Aaah… that was…" /-/-/-/-/-/
"Fun," Haru finished for him. Yuki struggled to chuckle at this but it ended up being a soft "hhheh…" instead. They sat like that, talking only a bit. Both still felt empty, but it was understandable. They couldn't finish what they had started and therefore had to content themselves with that.
Haru shifted and said, "Perhaps we should go back…"
Yuki nodded and carefully got up. He shivered as he discovered that his boxers were a bit… sticky, but based on the uncomfortable look on Haru's face, he saw that he shared the same problem. ((sorry haha))
Upon arriving back at the house, they saw Tohru, Momiji, Kisa, and Hiro sitting on the back porch, their legs dangling to the dirt below them. Kagura was standing behind them all, back resting against the wall of the house. They were all eating ice cream. Tohru waved to the two of them.
"Welcome back."
"Where's that stupid cat?" asked Yuki, his eyes scanning.
"Trying to deal with Ri-chan," answered Kagura before sliding some ice cream into her mouth.
"Oh… really? What's he apologizing for now?"
"There wasn't enough ice cream for both Kyo-kun and Tohru," answered Momiji. "Ri-chan decided that it was his fault. He didn't even eat any ice cream."
Yuki shook his head dismissively and looked to Tohru's ice cream. Haru brushed past him and walked into the house with one word of explanation, "Bath."
"Did Kyo let you have the last of the ice cream?" Yuki wanted to know of Tohru. She nodded, blushing. Yuki smiled. He had always wanted to walk in Kyo's shoes, if at least for one day. He sighed and also went inside, hoping desperately to change out of his clothes. They were really irritating him now. Ritsu suddenly stopped in front of him and shrieked.
"AHHH! YU-CHAN! I'M SORRY! I GOT IN YOUR WAY AND YOU HAVE TO STOP TO WAIT FOR ME TO MOVE!"
"Stop apologizing and just move then!"
"I'M SORRY THAT I'M NOT SMARTER…"
His voice trailed off and Yuki did his best to ignore the weeping cross dresser.
"Gure-saaaaan to the rescue!!" yelled Shigure, sliding the door open suddenly. He reached and poked Ritsu in the side which caused the man to slither to the ground and stop apologizing. Shigure waved to Yuki.
"Ah, Yuuuki-kun!"
"Just how drunk are you?" asked Yuki as Shigure threw his arms around the young man.
"I swear to drunk I'm not god," the dog replied. Yuki socked him in the head and the man fell to the ground, laughing. Hatori came in and gave Shigure a look.
"Get off the floor, mutt."
"Awww… Haa-san, don't call me that."
"Then stop acting like one." He gazed at Yuki. "Where is Hatsuharu?"
Yuki pondered his question before realizing that he still had the coat on!! He blushed and found that the wall was much more interesting than Hatori's face.
"I-in the bath."
"And you have his coat…"
"Aa… Aah—"
He backed up and bumped into Tohru, who had just come in to clean up the empty ice cream bowls. There was the familiar POOF! and billow of smoke and Yuki was human no longer. As a rat, Yuki scuttled around in Haru's coat wildly, finding that he was stuck under it. It was so big and he was just too small! This is NOT AT ALL FUN…
When he heard Tohru's surprised voice, he changed back and was luckily hidden under the mass of clothes. He poked his head out from where he finally found air and breathed.
"Aaaah!!"
Tohru tried not to laugh but found that it was impossible not to. Shigure and Ritsu laughed (though it is assured that the latter of the two apologized relentlessly afterwards) as Yuki did his best to put his clothes on without exposing himself too much. Afterwards, he ran off toward the bath for some solitude, or, rather, some comforting at least, when he remembered Haru was in the bath already. He smiled and joined him quickly.
/-/
It was around midnight when Hatori took everyone back to the main house. Yuki and Haru were already asleep in their room and Tohru was cleaning up the kitchen. She yawned as she shuffled over to the sink to wash the dishes. She wobbled tiredly as she picked up a dish.
Suddenly, there was a lot of warmth behind her and something steadying her shaking hands.
"You seem really tired," said Kyo's familiar voice. Tohru blushed at how close he really was; she was surprised that he hadn't transformed.
"I am… but I can finish the dishes, no problem," she told him, straightening. Kyo sighed.
"You wash, I dry," he informed her softly, taking a dishtowel in his hand as he stepped to the side. She looked up to him.
"Kyo…"
"Yeah?"
"… I'm sorry that we weren't really able to have time to ourselves today…"
"We're alone right now, aren't we?"
Tohru put down the dish she was washing and turned off the faucet. Kyo blinked.
"Wha—"
He hushed as Tohru's lips connected with his own. He held her arms steady at her sides and rubbed them thoughtfully, wishing desperately that he could hold her. They parted and Kyo ran his eyes over Tohru's face, the both of them blushing.
"Maybe you are too tired, you can't think straight, eh?" he asked. Tohru shook her head.
"I'm fine… I just… I really wish I had spent more time with you…"
Kyo reached out and stroked her hair. "It's not like I'm that entertaining…"
His hand found her shoulder and she sighed.
"OOOOOOOOOOOOOhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh," came an interruption. Kyo's hand retreated from Tohru's shoulder as if it was made out of leeks. They stared at the door to see Ayame, drunk. Kyo stomped over, yelling at the snake for so many different things, but the most important thing of all, interrupting his time with Tohru. Up until he finally fell asleep that night, he sulked.
Hm. Next chapter is probably going to be the thing that really gets me killed. Yup yup. It almost made me cry when I read it over while listening to the full version of the opening theme song (in Japanese of course). Yup yup. Angst and worse. Yup yup. ::bows and runs away::