The Trials of Love
Chapter One – Away From Everything
It was three days from the start of the school year. The students were unpacking the last of their things and hugging their parents before they drove away. Kyo Sohma was hiking a futon onto his shoulder, with his cousin Yuki behind him holding the other end. After much struggling, the two soon-to-be college freshmen dropped the futon onto their dorm floor next to the one they had moved up earlier.
The dorm was tiny. Two small desks were set up opposite each other with two small computers perched on them. The futons would be laid right next to the desks, also against the wall. The one small closet was directly opposite the door. The walls were a strange shade of puke green, and the floors were white carpet, with a few patches of unknown substances staining it. Yuki turned and headed towards the door, but Kyo stopped him.
"Hey, rat boy! Don't run off yet! We need to unroll these futons. I'm not setting up yours." Yuki rolled his eyes.
"Shut up, stupid. I wasn't 'running off'. I was going to go get that mini-fridge you bought at that yard sale last week. I'll set up my bed in a minute. Now, c'mon and help me unload the rest of the crap in the truck," said Yuki.
Yuki was almost identical to Ayame now. His hair was even messier that it was in high school, and it was long enough to just barely touch his shoulders. Kyo's hair was exactly has it had been for the last few years, but his wardrobe had expanded somewhat to not only his usual things, but also a few vinyl pants complete with spikes and the occasional J-Rock tee shirt. Yuki's wardrobe hadn't changed at all.
The two Sohmas walked down the two flights of stairs to the parking lot and continued unloading other odds and ends they had brought. The truck was an old, beat up model from quite a few years ago. The once red paint was peeling off, showing splotches of rust and bare metal. It was technically Kyo's car, but the two shared it for lack of another one. After thirty more minutes of unloading, the two Sohmas were finally moved into the room where they would likely spend the next four years in. Together.
-
Bzzzz! Yuki rolled over and smacked the top of the alarm clock. The clock flashed six am. Pulling on a shirt, Yuki groaned when he saw the Kyo was still asleep. The ultimate early bird had died some time between high school and college, and by the looks of it, would never come back to life. Yuki smacked Kyo's shoulder.
"Wake up, stupid." Kyo's foot wiggled its way from the blankets and planted a solid kick on Yuki's shin.
"My first class is in four hours, bastard."
"Don't you want breakfast?"
"Why the hell do you think I bought that fridge in the first place?"
"Well, fine. Why did I have to be your roommate?"
"Go ask Akito. I don't know why he did that. Now go take your shower and let me sleep."
--
Yuki, munching on a bagel, jumped on his bike (both boys had brought bikes to make traveling between classes easier) and pedaled off to his first class. Kyo, craftily enough, had made sure that he had no classes on Friday, Saturday, or before 10 am. What a slacker, thought Yuki. The rat's destination was Japanese History. He arrived five minutes before the class began and took his seat. Running his eyes over his schedule again, he wondered if he shared any classes with Kyo. He doubted it. Kyo's focus was on majoring in something cool and not having classes when he could be partying or sleeping. Just thinking about the cat made Yuki want to sigh and roll his eyes.
Their relationship had, however, simmered down to the occasional insult and death glare and a punch or two thrown during extreme circumstances. Tohru was the one who caused the animosity between the cat and the rat to decline. The boys too, had changed for the better. Kyo, strangely enough, had become much quieter. At first it had worried everyone, but now it was seen as simply the norm. The cat would space out, gaze off into the distance, and be completely oblivious to everything. Once, when Kyo was on the roof and Yuki had to get him for dinner, Yuki swore that Kyo had a tear running down his cheek.
---
Kyo's watch read 3:56. He was speeding through campus, popping his bike over small obstacles and just barely dodging other students, desperately trying to get to his Calculus class on time. When he finally reached the building, jumped off his bike, and ran to the classroom, it was 3:59. Heaving an audible sigh, Kyo took a seat. Looking around to see if anyone he knew was in the class, he caught sight of a familiar silver head three seats to the right of him. Before he could throw his pen at the rat, however, the professor entered the room. Pulling his supplies from his backpack, Kyo turned his attention to the professor.
The class dragged on. And on. And on. Kyo swore that he must've looked at his watch twenty times in the first half hour. He began doodling in his notebook, scribbling down random words, and examining the room before the class was even half over.
Eventually, his eyes fell on Yuki. A ray of sunlight from the window suddenly caught his hair and almost blinded the cat. Kyo rubbed his eyes and continued examining his cousin. Yuki's Chinese-styled shirt was crisply ironed, as always. His purple eyes were focused on the teacher, his delicate hand taking detailed notes. His slightly arched nose scrunched up in thought from time to time, his pink lips pursed in thought. His… Kyo shook his head.
'What is wrong with me? I'm going into way too much detail. Why am I even looking at him? It's like I'm enchanted or something. Like he put me under a spell. Whatever, I should be paying attention.'
--
That evening found the two boys in their dorm, Kyo pestering his cousin for his Calculus notes.
"Hey, Yuki. Can I see your Calculus notes?" Yuki looked up from his homework.
"Why? You should've taken your own." Kyo thrust out his bottom lip in a pout.
"Please? C'mon, you're not using them. I'll give them back as soon as I'm done." Yuki sighed.
"Are you sure? It's three pages, including another two pages of practice problems."
"Eh-he. Well, then. Never- never mind." Said Kyo slowly, trying to swallow the fact that he missed that many notes by just spacing out for one class period.
"Kyo, just do your homework," said Yuki, returning to his work. Kyo yawned, plopped his backpack by his desk, and did what he was told.
--
Kyo didn't finish his homework until late that night, long after Yuki was done and sleeping. It was times like this, he reminded himself, that you didn't want to have class before 10. After packing up his backpack and turning off the last lamp, Kyo flopped onto his futon sleepily. He drifted off to sleep quickly, aided by the steady sound of Yuki breathing.
A/N: Boring, ne? Well, stick with me. It'll get better, trust me. I'm even gonna kill somebody off in this fic. (Ain't telling you who though.) Whether or not there's gonna be a lemon scene in this depends if I feel confident enough doing it. There'll be plenty of fluff, trust me, and I will definitely imply lemon, but might not actually write the whole scene. I don't even know if I should rate this M or not. I probably will, eventually. Yeah, I will, to be safe.