I'm glad you like how fast I update, ghostymangarocker. I aim to please! Thank you guys so much for the revicas! It made me smile and feel all gushy inside.

Disclaimer: I woke up today and high-tailed it to the library. I saw six alerts for revvies in my Inbox and thought, I'm such a good writer! Sike naw, but I was happy. It was then that I realized that no matter how many Fruits Basket fanfictions I write, I will never own the anime. Ah well, no worries! Just stop asking if I own it, kayzie?

There were few moments that were special enough to cling to the sections of Hatsuharu's memory. Yuki's face when he told him he wasn't stupid was one.

This would also be adhered to his mind.

He drowned in a sleeping Tohru's facial features. The girl looked serene and even more innocent than she usually looked. With the beauty of nature around the two, he felt an acute desire to sketch her. He had no art supplies and lacked in artistic ability, so he knew that wasn't an option. He made a mental portrait of Tohru, staring for minutes on end to commit her sleeping face to memory. A smile tugged on the corners of her mouth. It was a good thing she was happy, unlike two months before...

A red-eyed Tohru walked outside as he advanced on the tall building on his bike. The lack of neither Kyo nor Yuki was briefly noted, but shoved on the back burner of the oven of his cognitive process. Her sorrow was much more pressing.

"Tohru, what's wrong?" He extended a leg to stop his bicycle and inclined his body towards her.

She mustered up a brave smile. "Allergies," Tohru claimed while conjuring a counterfeit sneeze.

He wasn't buying it. Something in her eyes told him it wasn't a nasal attack that caused her eyes to be stained red.

"You can tell me, Tohru," Hatsuharu said gently as he dismounted the metal contraption and walked towards her.

The girl sniffed. "It's nothing." Her eyes inspected her shoes.

He manually tilted her chin up. Her turquoise eyes were stocked with tears that now flew down her cheeks. "Yuki."

Two syllables revealed only the cause of her sadness. "Is he sick? Something's wrong with his bronchial tubes?"

"No, he's fine. I told him I loved him," she admitted after a pause. "He doesn't love me back."

Hatsuharu wanted with every molecule in his body to hold her while she broke down. The best he could offer as a form of consolation was rub her shoulders and arms.

"It's okay. Just cry. God, this sucks. Listen, you're gonna be okay. I'll take you home, okay?"

Tohru nodded, then smiled. "Thank you, Hatsuharu."

He hopped on his bike and accommodated some room for the forlorn girl. Tohru gladly sat on the seat while loosely holding his waist. Slowly, he pedaled into the night.

"Tohru," he whispered. Sleeping women told no tales. His words would be safely released into the air with little chance of her overhearing.

"When I saw you broken hearted and crying two months ago, I was just concerned. But I gradually fell deeper and deeper in love with you. You never got over Yuki, but you didn't have to. He also fell for you. I'm not surprised. You're flawless.

"Something tells me to hate him for claiming you as his girlfriend when he didn't care about you before. But I can't harden my heart against him. And I can't hate you. You have to know that--"

The sixteen-year-old slowly opened her eyes and stared at Hatsuharu. He was afraid she had heard, but that fear melted away when she shrieked, "Haru-kun, what time is it?"

He consulted his watch. "Twelve-fifteen."

"Oh no! I have to go! Yuki's taking me out at six!"

"You have plenty of time," he smiled. Tohru had dandelions and bits of grass in her hair. She made an adorable sight with worried eyes and a frowning mouth.

"But I have to clean! And I have to go shopping with Kagura. I should leave." Her lips were hurriedly planted on his cheek. "Thank you for taking me to the park. See you later!"

He fingered his kissed cheek as she ran home. A stray flower in her hair was dropped. He picked the dandelion up and examined it with a smile.

"--If you're happy, I'm happy," he murmured. And he meant those words.

Love means wanting another person to be happy, even if it isn't with you.