Disclaimer: sticks out tongue fruits basket, much as I wish it were, is not owned by me and I am not making any money out of this.

"Is it true, Yun-chan? Is it really true?" A girl's voice echoed. Her pretty eyes shimmering; hope and hopelessness battling within her soul, the fight visible in those pools of brown. "Kyo-kun? I-is dead?" a short nod confirms her worst fears and a shrill wail erupts from her chest, ripping through the air and sending chills up every one's spines. A soft thud as her knees hit the wood floor and her sobs became muffled as she tried to hold it in. "He's dead. He's dead." She kept murmuring it to herself, as if by sheer repetition, it would be proven a lie and there would be the orange headed boy forever running from her.

"Kyo-kun is dead." Another voice repeated again, flat and lifeless. The ever-present smile turned to a frown marred the cute features of the small boy. Even his clothes, normally so bright, seemed to fade, everything colorful in the world turned dull by this tragedy. The boy clung to a girl with long brown hair, a girl who looked equally sad.

Tears. Perpetually flowing tears adorned everyone's faces. Cries that wracked everyone, from the slightest frames to those most sturdy as the cursed mourned. Shaking shoulders and trembling words. Smiles fake and wooden, smiles used to keep up appearances. Screw appearances. This was a time to freely grieve. Sniffs and the honking of blowing noses, no need to add humiliation upon the already enormous pile of hurt.

It was quiet save for the sounds of each person's quiet lament for the death of one of their own. Silent except for the unearthly howl of wind and the soft falling of snow. Calm except for a screaming, raging inside his very chest. A shrieking in the center of his heart, the cry of loss.

Sunlight was pouring in, warming the cold, bare room with its light and casting a golden shade on dull metal. It assaulted the face of the room's only occupant and he twitched before slowly cracking his eyes open. He quickly closed them again, groaning as his sensitive eyes were battered with unwanted light. He tried to sit up but the arm he was using to prop up his lithe body gave out and he fell back with a flop, curses exploding from his mouth like fireworks in America.

"Oh no, Sohma Yuki, you mustn't try and sit up yet." A squat old nurse rushed in, waddling slightly. "Lie down, lie down." She smoothed out the bedcovers and affectionately patted his face. "You've had quite an ordeal. No, no, mustn't sit up yet." Then she pushed a few buttons and the bed shifted so that Yuki was still leaning against the pillows but in a more upright position. She was quiet for a moment, smiling down at him through pouchy eyes that were only half-open. "But you're family will be wanting to know you've woken up. Yes, yes, they'll want to know." And then she was gone. Yuki gazed after her, wondering for her sanity and the wisdom of the hospital for putting him in the care of a clearly mental person.

"Yuki-kun!" and he was engulfed in black hair, bright colors, and a crushing hug.

"Can't—breathe." He managed to gasp and the hug loosened and his vision cleared of the bright red and gold hues.

"Serves you right, trying to kill yourself." And then a hand descended on him and smacked his forehead. "What in the name of hell were you thinking?"

"I- I-" but he couldn't answer and instead, turned his eyes to the window that needed some serious cleaning. His long fingers played with the blanket and he looked to be trying to rip it apart.

"You had us worried sick. Ayame was going hysterical and even Hatori was losing composure. Hatori! What would have happened if YOU had died as well? I ask you. And Tohru, she was here all night, fretting about leaving you alone because what if you suddenly stopped breathing or had an attack or something like that? I had to literally drag her away from you in order for her to get some sleep. Everyone looks terrible. Puffy eyes from crying and purple bags from staying up way too late."

"Well, I'm sorry, okay?!" Yuki exploded, turning a furious gaze upon the lecturing man. "I don't know what I was thinking. I just- I just couldn't deal with it anymore." And he reverted his eyes back to the window.

"Deal with what?"

"Shigure?" And Yuki sounded so like a lost child that there was nothing Shigure could do but sit on the bed and put his arms around the boy, instantly regretting the mixture of anger and worry that he had unleashed upon him. "Shigure, what if I did something horrible? Would you hate me?"

"Hate you? Yuki-kun, what drugs are they giving you? Of course I wouldn't hate you!"

"But Shigure, it—it was my fault that Kyo died." Yuki said this quickly with the concept of ripping a Band-aid off faster to get the pain over with.

"What? Yuki, it was no one's fault. How can you say something like that?" Shigure was confused and alarmed. Was his younger cousin serious?

"It's my fault, Shigure. It's MY fault. Just before he died, he challenged me to a fight and I gave it to him. But I beat him like always, with one go and- and then I said something to him and he got this—this look on his face. He looked so—oh, I dunno—so hurt and angry and confused and sad and—and then he just took off and I was running after him and he ran into the street and he didn't see the truck coming and I should've pushed him out of the way of the truck, I should've. Only I hesitated and then it was too late and now he's dead and I can't tell him how sorry I am for saying what I said." And Yuki looked miserable as he stared down at his lap.

"Yuki, look at me." Purple eyes shifted upwards. "It was not your fault. It was not your fault, it was not the driver's fault, it was not Kyo's fault. It was no one's fault. You could easily have thrown yourself at him and then YOU'D be the one dead, not Kyo. And it is a surprise to hear all this, but listen to me, you can't go blaming yourself. You'll go crazy." Shigure leaned in closer. "You feel sorry now, don't you?" Yuki nodded vehemently, indignant at the question with such an obvious answer. "Then, no one's blaming you. Everyone's done something that they regret. And maybe it was just Kyo's time to go. He could have easily jumped out of the way himself or the driver could have stopped faster or he could have pulled through. There is a reason for everything and maybe some good will come out of this that no one knows. Maybe this will be, in retrospect, a good thing. So don't agonize over it, okay?" Shigure kissed him on the forehead and smiled stunningly. "I think I'll go get myself some coffee. Aya and Hatori will be wanting to see you." Sure enough, as he opened the door two men bounced inside, or rather, one man bounced inside with all the exuberance of a happy puppy and the other was dragged in, a long suffering expression lengthening his face.

"YUKI-KUN!" The exuberant one made to race over to the bed with every intention of throwing himself onto his brother and squeezing the life out of him. Hatori caught him by his hair and tugged, causing him to fall over. "What the hell was that for? My hair!" Ayame moaned, rubbing his head and glaring at his lover.

"Calm down and I'll let go." Came the response and Ayame pouted angrily but agreed. He picked himself up off the floor with as much dignity as he had left and made his way to the bed where he sat down and proceeded to stare intently at the teenager.

"What do you want?" Yuki asked irritably, leaning back away from the feminine face that watched him so openly.

"You had us worried sick, baka." Both men said in unison and Yuki, depressed though he was, had to fight hard to suppress the smirk that arose on his face.

"Where's Tohru?" His question elicited an resentful sound from Ayame.

"You ask about Tohru but don't care what happened to your own brother?!" The voice rose in pitch, sounding more girlish than ever by the end of the sentence.

"Yes. Now answer the question, dear brother." Yuki groaned as a headache threatened to take over; he could already hear pounding in his ears.

"Tohru's sleeping right now. She stayed up all night keeping a steady vigil at your bedside." Hatori cut in over Ayame's incoherent sputters. Yuki smiled tenderly. That was just like Tohru, always putting others before herself, even when it meant sacrificing welcomed sleep.

"Ha'ri, when can I go home?" he turned to his doctor, choosing to ignore his brother who was seriously getting on his nerves.

"The doctor we spoke to last night wants to keep you here for at least a week but I'll see what I can do." Hatori answered, running a hand through his jet black hair. Staying at the hospital too long would be risking the discovery of their curse and Hatori really didn't want to have to erase the memories of any unsuspecting nurse. He disappeared for a while and when he came back, Tohru was in the room, wringing Yuki's hand and asking him if he was okay, did he need anything to eat? Yuki was smiling and politely declining and Tohru sat back.

"Well? What did they say?" Yuki asked, eager to leave the hospital with its smells of disinfectant and the constant sounds of squeaking shoes and barking orders and the beeping of machines was driving him insane.

"He acquiesced and said you can go home this afternoon. But," Hatori said sternly, holding up a finger, "you are not to do anything too physical, not to exert yourself, basically not do anything but eat, sleep, or laze around. And I will be staying with you to watch for any signs of physical illness. Hopefully, there won't be any long term repercussions from this little—shall we say, escapade?" Yuki squirmed and glanced fleetingly at his arm which was still bandaged. "The stitches will be coming out next week but in the meantime, you can't let it get wet and I'll help you change the bandages every few hours, okay? And please? Don't do this again."

Later…

He was home. Yuki breathed in the scent of the trees and the clean air and the smells of his home. The faint smell of lemon cleanser abounded but it wasn't overpowering and his sensitive nose could even pick up a hint of what Tohru had cooked the night before. The sun was still up, shining merrily and brightening up the house.

"Remember what I said, Yuki. Under threat of severe punishment, I forbid you to do anything that requires physical exertion." Hatori put on his stern doctor face and waggled his forefinger at Yuki who sighed, rolled his eyes, then nodded. "Now go take a nap." He protested but his doctor was firm and he was bustled into his room and thrown into the bed. He was left alone and the door was closed and, accepting defeat, he closed his eyes. But he could not find sleep. No matter which way he tossed and turned, he could not get comfortable and finally he stood and padded down the hall to a room. He pushed open the door, curled up in the bed and was asleep in a matter of moments.

"Haa-saaaaan, why do you have to stay heeeere?" Ayame whined, clinging to his cousin's arm.

"I told you already. If any problems occur, a doctor should be here to watch over him. You are welcome to leave if you want. But then, me and Shigure…" Hatori left the end of the sentence hanging, allowing Ayame to fill in the blanks for himself. He pushed open the door and was ready to fall on the bed and sleep until the next morning when he realized the bed was already occupied.

"Why'd you stop?" Ayame peered over Hatori's shoulder and his mouth dropped open in surprise when he saw the peacefully sleeping Yuki. "Well, well, well. What do we have here? Yuki? Asleep in Kyo's bed? Now why would he be here? Perhaps he was sleepwalking? Or maybe-"
"Shut up, Aya-san. You really want to wake him up?" Hatori hissed and guided Ayame away from the bed. "We'll just sleep in Shigure's room. I doubt Yuki will appreciate it if we sleep in HIS room." Ayame looked gleeful.

"You mean we get to sleep with Shii-chan? Yay!" he clapped his hands, "Are we going to have some fun tonight, Haa-san?" his question was innocent enough but his lover caught the double meaning and chucked Ayame under the chin, grinning indulgently.

"I suppose so. If Shigure is up to it." And then his lips captured Aya's and he led the silver-headed man away from the room, closing the door softly behind them. Yuki, blissfully unaware of the whole dialogue, slept on. His mind dwelling on half born wishes and hopes that he knew in the back of his mind he had no chance they would ever come true but could not bring himself to stop his heart from dreaming.

A/N: Alrighty, I couldn't help myself with the yaoi fluff between Ayame, Shigure, and Hatori… umm, what else to say? What else to say…? i hope you liked it! until next time...