Summery; Disclaimer: See First Chapter.

Warning: Haru/Chloe lemon at end.

Finally! My brain is once more working, and the 10th chapter for the alt. ending is here! Haru/Chloe lemon for those who wanted it. Sorry the kissing scene was like Kyo's - I was thinking that too, but wasn't sure how else to write it.But this is where it really gets a different plot!I hope you guys don't kill me for being so late in this - consider this a Christmas gift for all you guys!

Please review if you read. Comments, ideas, suggestions, and helpful criticism welcome.

"Oh, Chloe, your aunt called while you were away," Tohru said, as the three returned from their trip Sunday night.

"Really? What about?" Chloe asked curiously. Shigure returned to his study to read, and Haru hung around absently as Kyo disappeared off to get unpacked.

"Something about going out to dinner with your mom and her boyfriend," she told the other girl. "She said to call her back once you got home."

"I guess it's not too late…" Chloe sighed, and strode off to the phone. Tohru frowned, and Haru looked up from the floor.

"What's the matter?"

"Mrs. Durst didn't sound at all pleased about going out to dinner," she said thoughtfully. "I was just wondering…I get the feeling Chloe and her mother don't get along very well."

"You got that right," Haru muttered, and ambled off. Striding by the room where Chloe was on the phone, he paused next to the door to listen.

"Huh?...but – yeah, but…no, I guess dinner's fine. Will they be gone before Christmas? What? Oh…oh, okay, I see. Next Saturday then? Okay, I'll see you then…"

Seeing her crestfallen face, Haru strode in the room as she began to leave, narrowly avoiding being transformed.

"Oh, Haru – I didn't see you there!" she said in surprise, turning her head quickly.

"What's up?" he asked, trying to see her face – each time he moved, however, she matched it.

"Nothing. Aunt Tomiko wants me to go out for dinner with them all next weekend," Chloe told him, a depressed look on her face.

"How come that's so bad?"

"Oh, it's not that," she said quickly, and then trailed off. Haru sighed as she glanced out the window, and saw that her eyes were watering.

"What's the matter, Chloe?" he asked quietly, fighting the urge to embrace her, regardless of a transformation. Chloe looked up at him in surprise, and then sighed.

"It's just…well, they'll be gone by Christmas, but…Aunt Tomiko was going back to America to celebrate with grandpa and the others," Chloe admitted, and Haru blinked.

"Are you leaving too?'

"What? Oh, no," she shook her head. "I'll be staying at the house until she comes back, that's all. I guess I'll have time to get my work done…"

"Hm," Haru murmured noncommittally, and looked away. "Well, let's go back to the kotatsu. I'm cold."

"I wish it would snow," Chloe said thoughtfully, and he paused. "The air is…I dunno, it feels thick somehow." Haru glanced at her while she looked out the window, and rested his hand on her shoulder lightly.

"Oh yes, you have your dinner with your family tonight," Shigure remembered, as Chloe strode toward the door. "You're wearing that?"

"Yes…why, what's wrong with it?" she asked, and Shigure winked at Haru, who pointedly looked away after shooting a dirty look at the Dog.

"Nothing. I was just surprised – I haven't seen you in a dress before, that's all," he pointed out, and she nodded.

"I don't really care for them, but Aunt Tomiko likes them, so…"

"I see," Shigure smiled encouragingly at her, and she blinked in confusion. Of course, Chloe still didn't know that Shigure knew certain things about her family – some she didn't even know.

"Have fun," Haru muttered, "Call if you need a ride home, all right? Don't go walking around by yourself – especially in that."

"I won't, I promise," she grinned. Chloe wore a dark crimson dress that reached her knees, matching shoes, and her hair had been curled into waves by Tohru. "See you all later! Bye Shigure – Haru!"

"Bye, Chloe!" Shigure called, and then glanced at Haru. "If you're worried about something, say it – or do something about it. But stop sulking. You remind me of Kyo."

"I'm not like that damn Cat!" he yelled, and slammed out of the room. Shigure shrugged to himself and sighed.

"Hello?" Shigure answered the phone several hours curiously, slightly sleepy but having refused to go to sleep until Chloe arrived home. "Chloe? You're calling from where?...oh, I see. All right. Do you want one of us to come over? No – are you…all right then."

"What was that about?" Haru asked in a bored tone, having just woken up. He blinked sleepily, and Shigure paused for a moment.

"It appears that there's some bad weather heading our way – an extremely out-of-season typhoon," he added. "Tomiko and her sister and boyfriend left on an earlier flight, so they wouldn't be stuck here. Chloe's at her house, batting down the hatches, so to speak."

"I'll go bring her the stuff she left," Haru stated, getting up. Shigure raised his eyebrows, but knew better than to piss off a sleepy Hatsuharu – even if he was White at the moment.

"Haru?" Chloe blinked in surprise, pulling her hair out of her face as the wind began to pick up. "What on earth are you doing here?"

"Shigure told me that you were staying here, so I brought your stuff over," Haru said. She blinked, and then pulled him inside as a particularly strong gust threatened to knock him over.

"Well, you sure can't go back home in this weather," she commented, and then paused. "How did you manage to get here in the dark without getting lost, anyway?"

"I guess I got lucky," he shrugged, taking off his jacket. Looking around, he saw she had taped up the windows, and moved stuff to the center of the room. "Is it supposed to be bad?"

"Yeah," she nodded, apparently a bit nervous. "I'm actually kinda glad you came over after all – I didn't want to bug you guys, but I wasn't keen on the idea of riding this out alone."

"I can see the point in that," he nodded, and then sighed when the lights went off. "That was fast."

"Damn it!" Chloe swore, trying to find her flashlight. Having found one after a few moments, she flicked it on and promptly blinded Hatsuharu. "Oh, Haru, I'm sorry!"

"No problem," he shrugged, and then grabbed his jacket again. "Do you have a basement? I'm thinking we should use it."

"Yeah, just over here," she nodded, and he followed her through the kitchen to a wooden door. "It's kinda small, but nice and secure," she explained, unlocking it. "It doubles as a pantry and storage, so there's stuff down there – probably."

"Good," he started, and then held her arm firmly as something almost shattered the windows. "Let's go."

"I'm kinda freaked out," she admitted, pulling her knees to her breasts. "I hate storms to begin with. I mean, thunder and lightening doesn't bother me – it's the wind."

"Who keeps beanbags in a basement?" Haru wondered, and she giggled.

"Oh, that was my aunt's idea," she explained. "She said the basement is a good place to think, since it's quiet, and that beanbags are a thinking-man's chair. Hence, the beanbags in the basement. Go figure."

"Hm," he shrugged, and shifted further into his seat. After a moment, Chloe dragged her own next to him, and jumped when a thud reverberated through the house. "It's okay," he assured her quietly, hearing her whimper. "It's just a storm."

"Typhoon," she corrected nervously. At the next bang, she jumped out of her beanbag and into Haru's lap, burying her head in his chest. It took him several long moments to realize that there was a girl.

Not part of the Zodiac.

But an ordinary girl sitting in his lap.

With his arms around her.

And he wasn't an Ox.

"What the hell…?" his brain wondered as it began to function again, but was cut off as Chloe jumped again – even he started at the loudness of the noise. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder, while the other slid around her waist, and held her gently as she curled up against him.

"It sounds like the house is being torn apart," she whispered after a few moments. "How could a typhoon occur in December?"

"I'm sure the weather forecasters have an excuse all planned out,' he said dryly, resting his chin on the top of her head. She shifted slightly closer to him, and nodded against his chest.

"I hope so," she said in an even quieter voice, and Haru realized how scared she was. Listening to the noises from the storm, they remained close on the beanbag, unconsciously giving security to each other.

"I think it stopped," he said quietly, shaking her awake. Blinking sleepily, Chloe rose to a sitting position, and suddenly recalled exactly where she was sitting.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Haru!" she exclaimed, but he held her from jumping up with a hand on her wrist.

"I don't care," he said calmly, and she grinned in embarrassment. "I think the storm finally died down," he repeated, and stretched lazily underneath her. "Should we go up and check?"

"Yeah," she nodded, quickly jumping up as he stood as well, acutely aware of the feeling that had shot through her when Haru's form had moved underneath her. "I better go see what the damage is."

Haru nodded silently, and plodded up the stairs after her as she took them two at a time.

"Holy shit," she breathed, seeing the destruction the storm had caused. Part of the kitchen had been opened to the elements, and objects lay strewn through the wreckage.

"Wow," he blinked, slowly looking around. Most of the roof had been taken down as well, and what remained of the upstairs looked as if a wrecking crew had gone through, wrecking ball and all. Seeing Chloe's expression, he turned away from the sight and moved to her. "You okay?"

"Yeah…I think," she nodded slowly. "Most of my stuff is still in America…and like my aunt will say, it's only things that can be replaced. She'll just be glad that the house wasn't demolished completely, and that we weren't hurt."

"Let's head to Shigure's house and see what happened there," Haru suggested, the main house crossing his mind briefly. "If it's not in too bad shape, we can stay there until your aunt comes back."

"I'd rather not, actually," Chloe shook her head, to his surprise. "I don't want looters getting what's left. I want to go see what's left intact and get to work cleaning. I want to keep busy."

After surveying her for a moment, Haru sighed and shrugged his shoulders, and nodded.

"All right. I'll stay here, then – I'm not gonna go off and get lost in this mess, that's for sure. Where do we start?"

Chloe looked at him in surprise, and a smile slowly made its way onto her face.

After assessing the damage, they discovered that it wasn't as bad as it had initially seemed – downstairs, at least. The roof was mostly blown off, and the upstairs rooms were almost completely demolished. Downstairs was damaged as well, but the kitchen seemed to have gotten the worst of it.

"Where do we put all this stuff, anyway?" Haru asked suddenly, as they worked in one of the upstairs rooms with garbage bags.

"Um…by the curb for now, I guess," she thought, not looking up from her bent position, shoving ruined things into the large black bag. "Ow! Damn it!" she cried suddenly, and Haru strode over. She stood up with a frown on her face, her hand in her mouth.

"What'd you do?" he asked, pulling her hand out of her mouths and looking at it critically.

"Cut myself," she muttered, glaring at the piece of glass that had been hidden among the ruined clothes. "It hurts like anything, but it was mainly surprise."

"We should probably wrap it up so it doesn't get infected," Haru thought. The cut wasn't very deep, but was a large gash across the side of her palm. Chloe sighed in defeat, and followed the Ox down the stairs to the intact bathroom, which they had cleaned up first.

"Ow!" she winced as he bathed the gash in rubbing alcohol, and grit her teeth to keep from saying anything. Haru calmly began wrapping a bandage around her hand, and she suppressed a yawn as he finished.

"Tired?" he noticed, and she shrugged. They had checked the house and cleaned some the day before, and it was now into the second day of cleanup. Due to damage in the streets, they hadn't heard from anyone, and electricity and phone lines were both still down. Since they only had flashlights for light, once it grew dark they retreated the basement to relax before falling asleep, using Chloe's watch to keep track of the time.

"A little," she admitted, as they stood in the hallway. Glancing at the dark-purple sky, she sighed in aggravation. "I guess we have to stop again, don't we?"

"I don't think it's too smart to go digging around this mess in the dark without seeing what we're doing," he pointed out.

"All right. I'm getting hungry anyway," she thought, and they made their way to the basement. "At least Aunt Tomiko was paranoid, so we have plenty of batteries and canned food," she grinned, as they settled themselves on the beanbag seats once more.

"Yeah," he nodded in agreement, mumbling through the mouthful of food. She wrinkled her nose teasingly at him, and then opened her own can. They continued to eat in silence for a while, the only sound the occasional creaking of the house.

"Do you think the others got through it okay?" she wondered as they sat in the quiet when they were done with their food. Haru glanced at her, noticing how her face was illuminated by the flashlight, and shrugged.

"Probably. They might have gone to the main house if it was too bad, but I doubt it," he thought. "I wish they'd get a move on and contact us. You'd think they'd be more worried."

"I'm sure they are," Chloe pointed out. "But with all the damage the town took, I'm not surprised we haven't heard from anyone. After all, the streets are still being cleared, remember?"

"Yeah," he grunted. Chloe sighed and leaned further back into the beanbag, unconsciously accentuating her breasts. Haru swallowed thickly – being in such close quarters to the young woman he had feelings for hadn't been easy for the Ox, especially with the knowledge that she didn't make him transform for some reason.

"Hey, Haru?" she asked off-handedly, and he struggled to turn his attention to her voice.

"Huh?"

"How come – that night of the storm, when you were over – you didn't transform like before?" she asked, trying to keep her embarrassment out of her voice. It was the first time she had referring to sitting in his lap, and wasn't the best thing Haru wanted in his head at the moment.

"I dunno," he shrugged. Suddenly, something clicked in his mind and he stood up and moved to stand in front of her.

"Haru?" she asked nervously, and realized he was Black for some reason. "I don't know why that would make him mad – did I say something else?" she wondered, her mind working frantically for some way to placate the Black Ox.

"I've been trying to figure it out too," he said quietly, eyeing her and apparently enjoying her confusion. Chloe was under the impression that Haru only became Black when he was mad, not knowing that built-up stress and tension also caused the bi-polar teenager to snap.

"Er…"

"Maybe it was just a fluke, ya think?" he asked. Without waiting for her answer, he continued. "I say we give it another try and see what happens."

Chloe blinked, and suppressed a surprised yell when he suddenly lowered himself on top of her, straddling her legs, which were squeezed together tightly. Sensing her fear, and remembering what he had learned about her past, he stroked her cheek gently and looked straight into her eyes. To her surprise, she didn't see the anger that was usually there, but a caring sort of gaze.

"I won't hurt you, Chloe," he said quietly, and embraced her, resting his cheek on the top of her head. They both stiffened at the initial contact for different reasons, but after several minutes it became clear that – for whatever reason – the Ox still wasn't going to transform.

"I'll be damned," he breathed, leaning back slightly to look at her. "I guess you do something more to me than I thought, Chloe."

"What's that supposed to mean, Ha–" she began to demand, but was cut off when he pressed his lips to hers hastily. She resisted at first, but when he didn't try to force her, she responded slightly, aware of a strange sensation going through her body.

"I've never had a choice before…" she thought, feeling his hands hold her to him firmly.

"God…this feels so good…" Haru mentally groaned. His one hand slipped underneath her shirt, and slowly began to tug it off, as his other hand lifted her up slightly to make his task easier. Once it was fully off, he made quick work of her bra, and gazed silently at her bare breasts for a few moments.

She turned red from embarrassment and moved to cover herself, but he stopped her with another gentle kiss to her lips.

"You're beautiful," he murmured, moving his hands to massage her body. She moaned slightly and pressed against him. Black and White were in complete agreement for once, and his personalities seemingly mixed as he helped her undress him. Once he was completely naked, he smirked at her, and swiftly pulled her jeans down. Ignoring her surprised gasp, he removed her shoes, socks, and underwear as well, and straddled her once more, his erection held against her abdomen.

"Haru…" she whimpered, and a surge of anger swept through him as he mentally swore at the man who had hurt her.

"Fucking bastard really did…I'll kill him."

"Chloe…I won't make you, I swear," he whispered huskily. She shifted as he stroked her, and buried her head in his shoulder.

"Haru…please, let me feel how it's supposed to be," she managed, her voice barely a whisper. Nodding, he lifted her up as he slid into her, reveling in the feeling of being inside her. She gasped at the sensation, which was completely new to her, and arched into him as he slowly worked in her.

"Chloe…" he managed. "Chloe, I'll never let anyone take you again."

"Haru…Hatsuharu…faster…" she moaned, moving her body impatiently. He obliged, and their bodies joined tightly in her first act of love, sharing both their emotions and bodies as they made love in the dark basement, their moans and breathing the only sounds to be heard.

I hope it was worth the wait! Please review!