Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket.

Dedicated to KillersXInXIce.

For Atsumi, who insisted on me writing another Furuba fic and kept bugging me until it was done.

Shounen-ai, one-shot, Haru's POV. Enjoy and please review!
I first noticed it in the fall of my first year in high school. He had been staring across the table, just watching his rival's mouth move, listening to his words as if they were sacred.

Things really began to get strange a month later, when he had given up on an argument that he easily could have won.

Two weeks after, he raised his voice to the girl for the first time because it was raining and leeks had been prepared for dinner.

Finally, when he nearly lost a fight because of his own lack of effort, I reached this conclusion:

Yuki was in love.

With Kyo.

It was impossible, I thought, insane, ludicrous! The rat doting upon the cat? It was unheard of!

It was unfair, I knew. The two had been born hating each other, meanwhile I had only hated Yuki for a short period. Even then, it was not hatred. It was jealousy; it was anger.

Soon I grew to be his friend, and after that...I began to love him. I made it obvious, but he was blind. He thought I was simply making sport of him and would become annoyed.

Yet I continued loving him; trying to protect him, to make him happy. I was thrilled when even the slightest hint of a smile appeared on his face.

And so, I once again strove to make him happy. I listened to him confess his feelings to me. My heart ached as he spoke of his love, but I encouraged him to tell these things to Kyo.

"He wouldn't understand," he said, "He would never accept me. It's my fault...this whole curse is my fault! And he'll never forgive me for the pain he's been given, the burden he's forced to bear!"

He cried, and I held him close to my heart.

"It's not your fault," I soothed, "that you are cursed by the Rat-"

"The wretched Rat!" he sobbed. "The filthy Rat who tricked him, who rode on the back of the Ox to the banquet! The wicked Rat who was the first to dance, the first to laugh!"

"And also the first to cry," I said. "But you are the first to shed tears, not the Rat who possesses you. It was not you who set this curse upon us, Yuki. You are not to blame. If you were, you would be shut out of the family."

"Like he is!" he yelled, pushing me back against the wall. "Like he has been for all these years, alone and unwanted! It should have been me!"

"Please, calm down."

"No!"

"Please."

"I can't!"

"Yuki!"

I stared into his eyes, unblinking, as he shook uncontrollably, tears still streaming down his face. He finally collapsed onto me, shaking hands clutching my clothes, drawing himself closer to me. I locked my arms around him, drew my fingers slowly through his hair.

"Yuki," I whispered, resting my head on his.

His breath came in shuddering gasps. If I hadn't stopped him when I did, his tightening bronchial tubes would have nearly killed him.

"Just tell him, Yuki," I murmured. "Tell him everything, including how you feel about the Rat and this curse. He'll listen to you, just as I have, and perhaps he'll agree with you. Perhaps he'll even love you in return. But you'll never know unless you take a chance, right?"

"Hai," he said softly, "arigato..."

And he fell asleep in my arms.

&&&&&

A week later, he and Kyo were acting as if they had been lovers for years. Both were a bit reluctant to show their affection in public at first, but then they began holding hands, sharing secretive glances...a few times they even demonstrated feverish kisses.

My heart tightened when I saw them together, and yet I could not find it in me to be jealous. Yuki was happy; that was all that mattered. I had encouraged the relationship. I had no right to complain.

&&&&&

Three years went by. The girl moved to America to attend a university there. I was going to graduate high school, and the two lovers were just finishing their first years in their own separate universities. They hated being apart from each other, and made it quite obvious every time they came home for a weekend.

Then it happened. Yuki was off for one week that Kyo was not, so he decided to surprise him by visiting the school.

It was raining hard that night. He came to me, soaked to the bone, and I would have never known that he had been crying but for my knowing him so well.

"What is it? What's wrong?" I asked, ushering him inside. He was shivering and could hardly stand.

"K-kyo..."

I caught him as he fell and carried him into the bathroom, turning the hot water on and removing his cold, wet clothes.

When the bath was full, I slowly laid him in the warm water so that the sudden transition didn't shock his body.

Later, he was sleeping in my bed, wrapped in the warmest blankets I could find. He had a high fever, and had somehow twisted his ankle. I refused to wake him; I could wait to ask him what had happened.

&&&&&

Two days later he woke, right after Hatori had come to check him for the fifth time. Slowly, as if remembering a dream, he told me what he saw.

I tried to comfort him. Perhaps it had been forced upon Kyo; perhaps it was a joke turned sour.

But nothing I could say in Kyo's defense was good enough. The relationship was over.

&&&&&

A week later, he was healthy again, and fit to leave for the last few weeks of the school year.

I sat in the all-too-big armchair in the living room, waiting for him to finish getting dressed. He finally came out, and I motioned for him to sit beside me.

"Thank you for everything," he said, letting his head fall against my shoulder. "You've always been there for me."

"I do nothing more than what friends do for their friends," I replied.

His eyes suddenly narrowed. "This won't do...I can't hear it..."

I felt my face redden as he pulled himself onto my lap, resting his head against my chest and listening to my heartbeat as he had three years ago.

After a minute, I buried my face in his hair, breathing in the sweet scent that was Yuki.

"I love you...so much," I thought.

I heard his light gasp, felt his eyes widen.

"What did you say?" he asked.

What? Had I actually said that out loud?

"What did you say?" he pressed, pulling away from me and staring me in the eye with an expecting look.

I decided to take the risk I had told him to take three years ago.

"I love you," I said softly. "I love you more than anything, Yuki."

He was blushing, but still staring at me, wide-eyed.

On a sudden impulse, I pulled him against me. His lips met mine.

Before either of us knew what was happening, my hands were in his hair. His arms were around my neck, pulling me closer so that there wasn't a part of our bodies that didn't touch.

I broke away from the deep kiss and began to work my mouth against his neck. He moaned a complaint, and instantly we were face-to-face again, lips and tongues engaged in the battle for dominance.

This time, it was he who yanked away. "You really love me?" he asked.

"I always have," I answered.

"Then why...?"

I pressed my mouth against his once more. "I wanted you to be happy," I panted.

"Do you still want that?"

I nodded. "Hai, Yuki...even if it means letting you go."

He smiled. "Don't you ever think of doing that."

Then he kissed me fiercely, and we fell from the armchair to the floor.

He told me he loved me. He said he was happy.

That was all I needed to hear.

-Owari-