Title: Reach For Me

Author: NT aka Aku-chan

Pairing(s): Yuki/Kyou, Ayame/Kyou

Warning(s): Yaoi AND ONLY YAOI! NO HET OR YURI! Angst, dark themes

Disclaimer: I don't own because if I did... I just might have some sanity. [Five minutes later] Okay, I lied, I wouldn't have sanity, but I still don't own it!

Aku: Okay, this took me forever to write because I'm basically... a lazy ass. I admit it and I'm sorry for those who actually waited for this!

Kyou: Thank you for the review... [grumbles about evil authoresses named Aku]

Aku: But you got Ayame now!!

Ayame: My dear sweet koneko!!!!!!!!! [glomps Kyou]

Yuki: [glares]

Aku: [sweatdrops] On with the story!

Chapter Two: Allowed To Be Loved

His eyes slowly opened up to the world, the sun shining directly in his eyes as he clenched them closed from the headache-causing rays. He curled away from the irritating light, wanting to open his eyes, only to be pulled back with a strong, yet gently force at his waist. Curious, he was about to move, until he felt the force move his body again, this time bringing him in direct contact with... something.

And that something was very warm.

Unconsciously, he curled further into the warmth, savoring the comfort as a blissful smile played over his lips, a soft purr drifting from his throat. A soft sigh released into the silence, which was recognized as a person's. Soon his mind began to play, an image of who was holding so tightly against him.

But it wasn't peaceful. It hurt.

'Yuki...' His mind called out, wanting the one beside him to be the nezumi. 'Please...' Turning his head slowly, fear and hope crawling over him, he let out a crying mewl, as he wasn't faced with Yuki.

His eyes tried to force out the tears, but nothing came, as he shut himself into his own world, not wanting to ever see reality again. Beautiful scarlet eyes dulled to mere hollow abysses of self-loathe and pure pain, everything fading to gray.

The one beside him shifted, curling closer to the other, as he yawned cutely, two sunny eyes rising to meet the beauty beside him. It would have been a peaceful, cute moment was it not for the fact Kyou edged away, almost in fear, his eyes narrowing, completely emotionless.

"Kyou?" Ayame rubbed away the sleep in his eyes, stretching a bit, before an expression of concern filled his face directed at the neko.

A soft growl emitted from Kyou's throat, as he stood up, and walked out the door. Ayame could hear the faint sound of a door closing, most likely the bathroom door. 'I wonder why Kyou is acting like this. Not that he was the friendliest person ever, but after he started dating Yuki, he did start to open up more and smile more.'

The night's events returned, Ayame pondering over it all from why Kyou was outside in the woods in the first place to why he looked so sad and hurt. 'I wonder what happened...' The only thing he could see, as a plausible answer for this was something happened between Kyou and Yuki.

'I wonder what my brother could have done to make the little kitty angel like this.' As Ayame pondered this, his feet had carried him to the kitchen, his hands gathering the ingredients for a breakfast. 'There's only thing one thing Aya-chan can do now! Cheer Kyou-chan up!!!'

The sound of water running reached Ayame's ears, as he could tell Kyou was taking a shower now. Soon, several mental images ran through his mind, none-too-innocent. Shaking his heads, he mentally kicked himself. 'This is your brother's boyfriend! He's off-limits!! Then again... it's only imagining- no! No thoughts on Kyou!!' As he finished scolding himself, he focused on cooking breakfast for the neko.

Setting the table, he felt eyes on him and looked up at the doorway to a rather wet Kyou with a towel around his waist. Blinking a few times to keep the bad thoughts away, Ayame smiled, as he witnessed the small blush on the caramel-colored cheeks.

"I need clothes..." Kyou whispered, keeping his gaze on the floor.

"You can just borrow some of mine. Yours are a bit dirty. Have to wash them." Ayame smiled and Kyou scurried off to Ayame's bedroom. Five minutes later, Kyou walked back outside, wearing rather odd clothes for him...

He wore a red top that showed off his midriff, as one side fell off his shoulder revealing the caramel skin and his pants were black and too big for him, so they slipped a bit lower than they should have, showing off slightly paler skin from lack of sun. At the sight, Ayame had to stare.

Kyou blushed, as he looked at the floor, feeling very vulnerable at the moment. "You have no decent clothes..." The redhead muttered.

Ayame was about to apologize for his lack of decent clothes, until of course, he had a rather brilliant idea – in his opinion at least – not passing up this most perfect opportunity. "I'll find some other clothes for you then. But for now, you'll have to deal with those. I made some breakfast, if you'd care to join me."

Kyou merely nodded, as he soundlessly made his way over to the table, into a chair, where a plate of eggs, bacon and toast lay before him. The silver-haired man smiled, and prepared a large glass of milk for the neko, knowing how found the boy seemed to be of the drink.

"Waaahhhhh, I'm sooo full!!" Ayame declared, as his plate was cleared, save for a few crumbs. His sun-kissed eyes looked over at the boy sitting across from him, the happiness in his eyes quickly dissolving. Kyou hadn't touched any of his food, as his fork would only push the food around. Although the snake was worried about his health that wasn't what bothered him the most. The once blazing scarlet eyes were now dimmed to a dull red that held a lost, abandoned look to them, trying to hide a deeper sorrow and darker pain.

Unable to stand such a look, the distance between the two Souma was no longer, as Kyou found himself in an embrace with the other. His ember eyes opened in shock, quickly melted into realization. But as most would expect, he did not push the other away. Contrary to it, Kyou found himself wanting Ayame's warmth, a soft whimper escaping his lips, as he tried to fall deeper into the heart-comforting arms. The older Souma was also shocked, expecting to be punched or other from the normally violent redhead, but he did not let the shock overcome his own need to hold the younger Souma. Taking in whatever the younger one allowed, Ayame tightened his hold gently, running his hand in a soothing motion over the neko's back.

Willing the pain away, Kyou found his eyes beginning to burn with a need, as he shook his head violently. Witnessing the out-of-place action, Ayame didn't want Kyou to hold any pain inside of him. "Don't be afraid to cry, my koneko. I'm here, I'll catch you when you fall."

And Ayame seemed to be the final push Kyou needed to fall, as the neko finally let the tears go, but keeping to his words, Ayame held onto the boy, catching him as he fell. His mere presence, to the neko, in itself was a comfort. A comfort that the cursed boy never thought would exist once more in his life.

But a person can only do so much for another.

"...why...?" Ayame barely picked up the soft whisper.

"Why what?" The snake blinked confused.

"Why... am I not allowed... to be loved?" Kyou asked, as his eyes once again was blurred by tears, as past memories of the nezumi returned.

Stunned by the question, Ayame was speechless. 'Not allowed to be loved?' He was confused, and pained to have to watch the once loud and brash boy slowly break.

"You are allowed to be love, Kyou." He tried to comfort him as best as he could, but with the life of the cat, words are only there to fool and bring more darkness.

"No! I'm not!!" An anger burned in his eyes, but the fire didn't return, only an empty anger. "I've never been! My real dad only wanted me dead!!! He couldn't even bare to look at me, his own son!! And Okaasan... she never really loved me. She only could fear me. I always thought that she loved me. Loved me like a mother should, but whenever I remember her eyes... they never had any love in them. Just... fear... and pity. And when I looked deeper, there was always that hatred. No matter how much I tried to be a good boy... the hatred would always be there..."

"Kyou..."

"There was always that hatred. I always tried to get used to it... but... Otousan told me 'hatred is never something to get used to'. He didn't hit me or yell at me when I cried. No, Otousan didn't do that... he held me in his arms and I forgot everything about being cursed and being a Souma. All I thought about was how much I wanted him to be my real father..."

'Kazuma.' Ayame concluded was the 'otousan' Kyou spoke of. He always admired Kazuma for going against every warning from the other Souma's and took Kyou into his own home. And when he grew older, Ayame also thanked the man.

"But... Otousan only pitied me." Kyou's lips curved into a bitter smile. "Otousan only wanted to heal his regretful heart for his grandfather who was also cursed with the cat. It was never love for me."

"No, you're wrong, Kyou-"

But it was like the boy was in a trance, in a hall of memories where he couldn't stop moving deeper in to reach the darkness at the end. It drew him in closely, as he had the curiosity of a cat. "My cousins don't need me, nor want me near them. Always a 'baka neko', wasn't I? The cat was the pitied one, the hated one, the outcast. Tohru... I was a stray in her eyes. Just a stray, helpless cat caught in the rain."

"Stop it, Kyou-" But Ayame stopped himself at the next word uttered by the neko.

"Yuki..." The ember eyes grew darker, even the anger slowly dissipated. Looking into those eyes, all was left was a torrent of pain and sorrow, mixing into a suicidal storm that was calm, but deadly. It was standing on a cliff, waiting fearfully for the moment when the darkened clouds would worsen and the waves would engulf everything in sight, as lightning would strike down burn away the peace, thunder growling in anger for the sins resting on its once beautiful ground and the cliff would crack beneath the weight of hatred upon his shoulders. That was the only thing left, waiting for the support beneath his feet to break. For the black waters to swallow him like he was nothing.

"I'm nothing to him, aren't I?" Because he was.

"He never loved me... did he?" Waiting to fall.

"He only used me... but I let him..." The cracks spread so quickly.

"I gave him everything that I could..." It was falling before his eyes.

"But..." The waves hungry for the one on the cliff.

"All I could give... all I could do..." It was like flying...

"Was love him..." With broken, sinful wings.

The water's edge was coming so closer, a dark abyss waiting to comfort him by numbing his core. But he never reached his deadly salvation. He never touched the surface of the raging waters. Instead, he felt the arms of another, the warm spreading like wild fire throughout his body, carried through his veins. The silver-hair drifted over his senses, as he took in the scent of forest. The dew drops clinging desperately to the leaves that had yet fallen, the heavenly rays of the sun that managed to pass the thick, lush limbs of aging oak, the small umbrellas that littered the moist soiled floor, the crunch of the leaves beneath your feet, and the gentle breeze that would fill your insides with such a calm that you'd expect to find an angel, or hear the grass and trees and leaves sing, or anything that went far beyond the limits of possible.

"Kyou, don't... don't ever talk like that!" The taller of the two yelled, his heart pounding painfully, as he held on to the boy tighter. "Please... don't do this to yourself..."

"Why... why wasn't it enough...? Why wasn't my love enough...?" He was smaller than he ever was. Like a child asking his mother why his father was gone. It was tearing him apart, deep within the confines of the snake, it burned like touching the coldest ice. His eyes stung at the beautiful, broken sight. Blessed and cursed to be able to witness his emotions.

"Your love is enough, Kyou. You've always been enough."

"No, I haven't!! Everyone abandons me! Everyone pushes me aside like I'm nothing!"

Ayame shook his head, still holding the vulnerable boy in his warm arms, as he gently caressed the tears, knowing at the moment, he couldn't push them away. Later, he would. But now, he only cherished the crystal drops that fell from the drained scarlet eyes.

"You're not nothing, Kyou. You're everything... to me."

Eyes filled with a soft glow, a soft shimmer of hope, though caged in by uncertainty. Ayame understood he'd have to rebuild a broken trust. But he was more than willing to mend a shattered cat's heart, even if the pieces ranged in the millions. Each shard restored would be worth the time he could love the younger Souma.

"W-why... why are you...?" The curiosity sparked once again in the depths of scarlet.

"Because, my koneko, I love you."

To Be Continued...

Aku: Cliché way to end a chapter? I know, but I like it, so deal :P If there's any mistakes, I apologized, but I didn't feel like editing.

Kyou: [too stunned to talk]

Aku: Didn't see that did ya, my koneko???

Kyou: [glares]

Aku: Err... I mean, Ayame's koneko!

Ayame: Much better!

Yuki: [glares more]

Aku: Oh poo, I have the nezumi to deal with too. [smirks evilly] And plans I do have.

Everyone: [sweatdrops]

Aku: Please review to make a little kitty happy!!

Kyou: I am NOT a little KITTY!!!!

Ayame: Yes, you are.

Kyou: [pouts]