Konnichi wa minna:) Sorry I haven't updated in sooo long! (so long for me is a week! ha ha!) I was doing make-up for the school musical all week and I was hardly ever home. But after much deliberation, chapter 12 is finally here! Oh, just a note on these next two chapters...I really don't hate Yuki. He's actually one of my favorite characters. But someone had to bother Haru, right?

'Ok, he said left on Okinawa Street, then right on Toji,' Haru mused, watching the pavement as it rushed underneath of him. 'Passed the third stoplight and the Takoyaki stand.' Lifting his gaze, he scanned the deserted sidewalk, studying the glass building in front of him. "And the Sohma Office Complex will be on the left." He recited automatically.

"So, is this it, Momiji?" The cow questioned aloud as he assessed the scattering of lit windows, debating whether he should go in and surprise his boyfriend or simply wait outside. 'He's with Tohru. I should probably just wait. I don't want her to suspect anything about us.' He sighed, rocking on the balls of his feet in anticipation. He would not admit it, but he really missed the blonde when they were forced to separate, even if it was for only a few hours.

"Haru?" A voice interrupted the other boy's thought. "What are you doing here?"

The white-haired boy turned slowly, his stomach dropping as he immediately identified the source of the question. "Oh, Yuki?" He stuttered, his face flushing. "I didn't expect to see you here."

"I'm here to walk Miss Honda home," he explained simply, emerging from the shadows. Joining his younger cousin under the building's lit canopy, he looked around with unsure eyes. "I don't want her to be alone at night in this neighborhood."

"Oh," Haru felt a certain awkwardness discussing Yuki's relationship with Tohru. 'I was so jealous of her,' he remembered, 'but now it's different. I was stupid to think that I had a chance with him, anyway.' He sighed inwardly, disliking the direction of Yuki's comments. 'At least he might forget to ask why I'm here.'

Yuki flashed an intuitive stare in the younger boy's direction. "The whole school is talking about you, Haru," he pointed out, changing the other boy's focus.

'Shit!' Haru's heart surged. 'So much for avoiding this issue!' Masking his fear with a cool grin, the cow shrugged. "Well, the whole school talks about you all of the time, so it must be a welcome change."

"I'm talking about you and Momiji," the older boy looked slightly annoyed. "You shouldn't drag that boy down with your bad reputation."

"Bad reputation?" The cow interrogated him with a forceful voice. "What do you mean?"

Yuki bit his lip angrily. He had never heard Haru talk so sternly to him, and it bothered him to sense his loss of control over the younger boy. "Skipping class. Sleeping through tests when you actually go to lessons. Disrespecting teachers," he counted on his fingers to emphasize the numerous problems. "Then, or course, there are your outbursts, and the way you dress and act, and the fact that the whole school is afraid of you. And now everyone is calling you 'gay'," his steely eyes made Haru blush, "and I can't correct them because I know it's true. I don't doubt that you've done something to Momiji."

"I, I," Haru's mask of disinterest faltered under the painful accusations, "I don't know what you mean." Lying, he prayed that his face would not betray him.

"He's not like me, is he, Haru?" The rat disregarded the cow's shallow defense, persisting with his questions. "He doesn't understand what you want when you start touching him. He doesn't know that he can pull away."

'It's, it just isn't like that,' he tried to silence his doubts, but Yuki's words had confirmed what he had feared all along. 'What have I done to Momiji?' Tears stung at the back of his eyes. Unable to respond to his cousin, he turned to the door instead.

At that moment, however, an elevator opened and Momiji appeared in the lobby. Trailing him slightly, Tohru beamed as she listened to his jovial conversation. Suddenly, Momiji stopped, catching a glimpse of his boyfriend through the windows. His lips spread into a broad grin, and he went dashing toward the door.

"I see," Yuki watched the dramatic scene, staring at the white-haired boy. "So that's why you're here."

"I didn't want him walking home alone," Hatsuharu found the strength to defend himself once more. "It isn't safe in this neighborhood at night," he reminded the rat, repeating his explanation.

However, Haru did not have a chance to see Yuki's reaction, because Momiji interrupted the conversation with a squeal. "Haru-kun, you came!" The rabbit lunged at his taller cousin, wrapping his arms around the other's slender waist.

"Yeah," the cow attempted to smile, his gaze darting to the steely-haired boy. 'Oh God, Momiji. Don't try anything. Not in front of Yuki,' he silently begged, reaching a shaky hand to pat his boyfriend's blonde tresses. "I didn't want you walking home alone."

"Ich liebe dich!" Forgetting himself in his glee, Momiji leaped up and planted a sloppy kiss on Hatsuharu's cheek. He pulled back immediately, his face flushing. "Oops," the rabbit's eyes met Yuki's prodding stare. "I'm sorry, Haru." He apologized quietly.

Yuki opened his mouth to respond, but at that time Tohru joined him. Dropping the accusatory tone from his voice, the older boy gave a polite smile. "Good evening, Momiji." He turned to his female companion. "Hello, Miss Honda. How was work today?"

"Oh, it was great!" She nodded enthusiastically. "Momiji really helped me, so I was able to finish early." Tohru's face glowed as she surveyed the other couple. "It's really nice that both you and Hatsuharu-san came to meet us."

Yuki's eyes softened, obvious affection for the girl playing on his face. "You know it isn't a problem for me to come here." Avoiding the other two boys, he headed for the sidewalk. "We really need to get home, Miss Honda. We still have to finish our science project."

"Ok, Sohma-kun!" She obeyed with a sweet smile. "Bye, Momiji-kun! Bye, Hatsuharu-san! I'll see you tomorrow at school."

"Tschüss! Bis später!" The rabbit waved.

"See you later, Tohru," Haru gave an acknowledging nod, waiting as the rat escorted the brown-haired girl down the street. Watching them disappear around the corner, the cow squeezed the other boy's shoulder. "It's OK, Momiji. He already knows."

The blonde caressed the white-haired boy's arm, watching his boyfriend with teary eyes. "I'm so sorry, Haru-kun!" He leaned his head against Hatsuharu's chest. "How are you? Are you still scared of what he thinks?" Drawing circles across the cow's back, be continued, "I hope you aren't sad."

"It's not a big deal," Haru shrugged, trying, once more, to show only indifference. But inside, his blood churned. 'It really is true. Do I like Momiji just because he's innocent and easy to manipulate? Please, no! It can't be like that. I just can't use him like that.'

Seeing through Haru's emotional disguise, Momiji's eyes narrowed in concern. "Are you sure you're OK?" Stepping up on a nearby planter, Momiji leaned forward and pecked his shaky lips against his boyfriend's mouth. "Please smile," he begged as he pulled away.

Haru felt torn as he studied the blonde's features. He wanted to return the kiss, and knew he should, but Yuki's accusations distracted him as they pounded into his memory. Feeling sick to his stomach, the cow could not stop the question from pouring from his mouth. "Momiji-kun, why do you like me?"

Jumping down from the wooden planter in his shock, Momiji gaped at his boyfriend. "Why would you need to ask me that? You know that I love you, right?"

"I'm just, well, I'm nervous," the taller boy chose his words carefully. "You don't let me kiss you so I'll be happy, do you?"

"Nein!" Momiji protested firmly. "I mean, I want us both to be happy. But I kiss you because I want to! I want to show you that I love you! That's what boyfriends do to each other, right? I hope I'm not wrong," he bit his lip sheepishly. "If you don't like it, I can stop."

"No, it's fine," Haru looked away, confusion ravaging his brain.

"Haru-kun," Momiji's voice dropped, his tone becoming very serious as he reached for the taller boy's hand. "It's really hard to explain why I love you, but I know that one reason is because you always care about me and make me happy when I feel sad. I like to play with you and be with you more than anyone else in the world. When I see you, I am so happy because I know that you love me, too! And I don't care what Yuki, or Taki, or Honda, or anyone else thinks. I'm just happy that I have you!"

The white-haired boy smiled sincerely, leaning down to kiss his smaller boyfriend. 'Why do I keep doubting his feelings?' Haru thought in assessment as his lips intertwined with Momiji's mouth. 'I love him, and he seems honest about his love for me as well. I must be really insecure.' Enjoying the contact with the rabbit, Hatsuharu lavished in the delightful tingles crawling up his spine.

Flicking his tongue out of his mouth, the cow parted the smaller boy's lips. As Haru tasted Momiji, he heard his boyfriend give a muffled moan of surprise and tightened his embrace around the blonde's body. 'Is it possible that I love him for who he is? Not the way he looks. Not his innocence. But perhaps I love him for how he makes me feel inside, that warm happiness I experience whenever he touches me,' the white-haired boy reasoned as he played with the other boy's shy tongue. 'Maybe I have nothing to be ashamed of.'

As the couple parted, Momiji's cheeks burned. "Haru-kun," he stammered, his body trembling with joy. "I, I," he stuttered. At a loss for words, the blonde melted against the taller boy's chest. His heart pounded as he worked to regain his composure. "I think we better get going. Mutti and Vati should be coming out soon, and if Mutti sees me, Vati might get mad at me."

"Yeah," Hatsuharu responded in a quiet voice, nodding his head. "You're right." Rising to his full height, he took the rabbit's hand and started down the empty street.

Momiji let a nervous giggle escape his lips. "Can we continue, um," he blushed, "what we were doing, you know, when we get home?"

Haru grinned, watching the streetlights play on the smaller boy's features. 'He looks so beautiful. I'm very lucky to have him. Why do I have to second-guess this relationship when I could be enjoying his company? I really shouldn't. We're both happy. That's what matters.' He traced his fingers over the back of his boyfriend's hand. "Of course we can continue."

"Yay!" Momiji's cheer echoed off of the tall buildings. "I can't wait!"

"Momiji?" The other boy cut him off, his voice low by contrast.

"Ja?"

"I, I, well, I think I worry so much because I hate myself. I've hated myself my whole life, and it's hard for me to understand how someone could love me. That's why I can't trust my feelings. It's my fault, not yours," he tried to explain his turmoil. "But I'll try to be better, for you. I want to be a good boyfriend. But I'm always afraid of hurting you."

Momiji flashed a teary smile. "Danke, Haru-kun. But you are a good boyfriend! Please, please don't hate yourself! I think you are the best person I've ever met!"

"I know," he replied simply. "thanks."

"You first, Miss Honda," Yuki held open the door to Shigure's house, gesturing for the girl to enter into the lit hallway. However, hearing a loud voice ringing inside the room, he nearly ran back outside in his frustration.

"Oh, you wouldn't believe how incredibly cute they are together, Gure-kun!" Ayame chuckled flamboyantly. "They're just like me and my dearest Ha'ri. They're positively inseparable! And to think, I was the one that brought them together. That is the best part! And I bought them tickets to have a little date at Disneyland last week! How I would have loved to see that!"

"Oh my God!" The rat groaned, refusing to reveal his presence to his older brother as he hid against the nearby wall. "Why does he always have to talk about himself? No one wants to hear about his relationship with Hatori! I'm not in the mood to deal with this!"

Tohru gave him a sympathetic smile. "Could you at least go talk to him?" Seeing the distaste in his eyes, she hurried to reclaim her request. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have suggested that! I won't tell him you're here." Reassuring the steely-haired boy, she pushed through the doorway and waved to the snake. "Hello, Ayame-san!"

"Oh, good evening, my lovely Tohru-kun!" Leaping to his feet, the silver-haired man kissed her hand. "I was just telling Gure-kun about the budding little romance between Hatsuharu and Momiji. Surely you've heard?"

"Momiji told me tonight," she answered sweetly. Her eyes darting around the room, she remembered that Momiji had made her promise not to let Yuki find out, and quickly changed the subject. "Would you like anything to eat or drink? I could go make you some tea, if you would like."

"Tea sounds delightful!" The snake exclaimed, watching as Tohru bustled out of the room and into the kitchen. He turned back to his cousin. "So anyway, Shigure," he bubbled like a teenage girl with a very juicy piece of gossip. "You have to see them! They can't keep their hands off of each other. They are always sitting in front of the television, tangled in a passionate embrace, their faces flushed with the lust of young lovers. " He waved his arms around in a dramatic gesture, gathering all of the dog's attention. "And do you know that they are actually sharing a bed now? Haru doesn't seem to waste any time! "

"It sounds like you have your own personal porn show at your house!" Shigure snickered. "Maybe I can try to get Yuki and Kyo in bed together. I'd love to watch that!"

"That's disgusting!" Yuki cut him off, thundering through the door. His face burned with anger. "Both of you are perverts! So this is your doing, Aaya Nii-san? You got those two together? I can't believe you!"

"I know, I am quite unbelievable, aren't I, little brother?" Ayame ignored his anger, taking Yuki's words as a compliment. "But that's just part of my charm, I suppose!"

The rat glared at the snake. "Are they really having sex?"

"Oh yes!" Bursting with glee as he received some attention from his younger brother, the silver-haired man rose to his feet, sweeping his arms from side to side. "They do it every night! That's how I found out about their romantic fling! I walked in on them a few weeks ago, and saw them in bed together, clutching each other with undying desire! Of course, I immediately gave Haru my counsel and helped him along. It's simply beautiful!"

"So it's true," Yuki grimaced, "it's all true."

Momiji's German lesson #12

Ich liebe dich- I love you (do I even need to say that?)

Tschüss- bye! (actually, it is spelled with a letter unique to German that means 'ss', but I can't figure out how to make it on the computer!)

Bis später- see you later!

Nein- no

Mutti- mom

Vati- dad

Ja- yes

Danke- thanks

see ya next chapter!