OK! That took a little longer than expected, but finally it's finished:) Yay! I don't know if Ritsu paints, but it just seems like something he would do, and I had to think of something for him to study at college. Well, I hope everyone enjoys this! Thanks for all the reviews!

"Excusez-moi, my beautiful young ladies. I must ask a favor of you both," offering a deep bow, Ayame dazzled a pair of flustered girls with his flattery. He tightened his grip on an awkward pink package, glancing to either side of the college cafeteria. "I am searching for my dearest little cousin, Ritsu Sohma. Are you acquainted with him?"

Studying the snake's graceful features, the taller of the two girls blushed. "Oh no, um, I'm sorry, I'm not sure I know him."

"Oh, no, no, no," the silver-haired man chuckled, sweeping his arms through the air. "I am quite sure you know my sweet Ritchan." He counted on his fingers to emphasize each point of his description, "a very beautiful redhead, usually wears girls' kimonos, always apologizing for something. He's a freshman, I believe. Surely you have seen him before?"

"Oh, I know that boy," the other girl interjected, pride dancing through her voice as she noted Ayame's satisfied grin. "But, well, I'm not quite sure where he goes at lunchtime. I mean, I've never noticed him in here."

"Do you think he finishes class before noon? Maybe he goes home," the taller girl added matter-of-factly, gazing at the snake with sparkling eyes. "Or he might eat out in the gardens. I used to do that my first year, before I met people to sit with."

"A wonderful idea!" The snake took pleasure in the awestruck expression on the girl's faces. "That sounds like precisely the place where my cousin would choose to hide." Throwing his shining locks over his shoulder, he smiled vehemently. "Thank you for all your help. It was a pleasure meeting you today," he winked as he turned to leave. "Good bye."

As the two students disappeared behind him, Ayame quickened his pace to an excited strut. 'I promised that I would come find you, darling Ritchan,' studying each cluster of students, he wished to catch sight of the other man. 'I just cannot keep you out of my head. You fascinate me, I suppose. I'll never forget the blushing smile you showed me that day in my shop. I must see it again!'

Warmth spread in his chest as he burst through a door and out into the welcoming sunshine. Although the gardens carried an aura of deep-seated serenity, he felt only bubbly and giddy. Clapping his hands together, he danced with anticipation over the stony path. 'Ritsu, are you here? I cannot wait to see you in this dress once more! You looked positively perfect last time. It's a shame that you don't see how amazing you truly are.'

He stopped suddenly, noticing a willowy figure positioned between two maple trees. Sighing with contentment, he watched as the redhead leaned over an easel, smiling at the look of concentration on the other boy's face. Even at a distance, Ayame could see the soft smile that painted his cousin's features. "Ritchan? Oh, Monkey-chan?" The snake attempted to shake the other boy from his daze. "I've brought you a present!"

Screaming in surprise, the younger boy whipped around. "Ayame-san," he cried, hurrying to cover the painting. In his fumbling, however, his palette clattered to the ground, sending a shower of color down the front of his kimono and onto the grass. "Oh no! I'm so sorry! I never do anything right! Look how clumsy I am!" He trembled, bending over and nearly collapsing with shame.

Dropping his package at his feet and giving the other boy a concerned smile, the silver-haired man attempted to ease the canvas from the monkey's grip. "Now, don't be silly, Ritchan! If you don't calm down, you might destroy this magnificent piece of art."

"No! It's ugly! I'm a horrible painter! I should just throw it away," Ritsu insisted, trying unsuccessfully to keep the artwork in his arms, hoping to hide it against his body. Looking up at Ayame with teary eyes, he silently pleaded for a change of subject. "What are you doing here, Ayame-san?" He managed to squeak out.

"I believe the question should be, 'what were you doing?'" Ayame nodded, answering his own question. "And I believe I saw you painting, so therefore you should show me what you were working on! It would be the polite thing to do, of course." Catching the younger Sohma off-guard, Ayame finally managed to snatch the canvas from the redhead's grip. Smiling, he examined the piece through a break of light between the two trees. "Ritchan, this is lovely!" He replied sincerely, his eyes flying over the impressionistic landscape with enchanted fascination. "It's positively fabulous!"

"You, you," Ritsu's eyes widened hopefully, "you really think so?" His trust seemed to transform into disbelief, and pain overtook his features. "No, no, you must be lying!"

"Would I ever lie to someone as sweet as you?" Ayame's fingers crawled automatically to the other Sohma's cheeks, teasing the heated skin as he cupped the cross dresser's face in his hand. He delighted in the embarrassed flush that he elicited from the timid boy's features. "Now tell me, Ritchan," his voice softened, "are you studying art here at school, or is it just a hobby?"

"I, I," Ritsu gasped at his cousin's gentle actions, looking away as he tried to regain his voice, "I'm majoring in art. I, um, I want to be a painter. I just don't have enough talent. I guess it's useless of me to try."

The silver-haired man glanced toward the painting in his other hand. "You don't lack any talent, and it is certainly never useless to try! If you want to be a painter, then you will be an amazing painter! Perhaps you will even become famous someday! Wouldn't that be grand?" Giving the redhead one last, encouraging pat, Ayame let his hand fall from the other boy's face.

Ritsu's eyes sparkled for a moment, looking at his cousin with amazement. "No, I don't really think," his gaze drifting to his feet, he flinched automatically as he noticed the splattered paint. "Look at this mess! I'm so stupid!" Rubbing the fabric of his robe, he tried, in vain, to extract the messy stains. "Oh no!"

Dropping carefully to his knees, the snake clasped the younger boy's hands and cleaned them with his silky handkerchief. "No need to worry about these clothes! You won't be needing them anymore today!"

Ritsu bit his lip in horror, nearly stumbling backward, "what, what-?"

"Oh yes, what I meant was, you will not need to wear this dirty robe to class, because I brought you a gift!" Chuckling at the younger boy's antics, Ayame reached a graceful arm toward his nearly-forgotten package. "Yes, as I told you last night, I finished the alterations on your dress. Now it seems you have no choice but to accept it!"

"I can't, I, I deserve to wear ugly, ruined clothes! That's all I'm worth," turning away from the snake, Ritsu gathered his easel and canvas and tried to leave the other man. "Thank you for visiting me today. You really shouldn't have gone through all this trouble for me! But I need to get going now."

"Ritchan! You really must stop acting like this!" Groaning with exaggerated frustration, the silver-haired man opened the pink box and withdrew a familiar green outfit from beneath a pile of tissue paper. "And after I went through all the trouble to visit you! I'm hurt that you do not want to be around me, sweet little Ritchan! You must really hate this dress if you will not even put it on for me."

"That's not it!" The monkey demanded, waving his arms in front of his body. "I can put it on! I'll put it on right now!" Ripping his kimono from his body, he snatched the green dress from his companion's arms. However, as his clothing fell off his shoulders and down to his feet, he flinched with disgrace. "I, I," he struggled to cover his naked form, a look of panic overtaking his features. He spun away from the other man's watchful eyes. "I'll wear it," he whispered in defeat.

"That's right, pretty little Ritchan," letting his fingers slither up his cousin's bare back, he casually caressed the other man's silky hair. 'Ritsu, you are so lovely. If only you could see what I see when I look at you. You make me feel at peace somehow, even when you are screaming and crying. I never would have thought I could grow so fond of someone like you. You're full of surprises, I suppose.' Studying the monkey's body as it disappeared under the mint fabric, Ayame's heart leaped with joy. "Come on, turn around. I must see how perfect my dress looks on you!"

Spinning around, Ritsu studied the ground in fear. "Does it, does it look OK?" He stuttered, taking a deep breath. "I don't ruin it?"

"Where would you ever get a foolish idea like that?" Ayame laughed, surveying the other boy with fascination. His pulse quickened as he noted the soft lines of the dress as they clung to the monkey's figure. "You look amazing."

"It's just that, well, um, sometimes," Ritsu sighed, trying to gain composure, "sometimes people make fun of me for the way I look. I guess I'm really shameless, wearing girls' clothes."

"Don't listen to them, Ritchan," the silver-haired man pleaded, meeting the other boy's shy gaze with concerned eyes. "You should dress the way you want to dress. It doesn't matter what they think!" Losing control of his hands as they snaked around the cross dresser's slender waist, Ayame enjoyed the heat of the other man's body. "I think you are perfect, and I should know, shouldn't I?"

Finally finding the strength to look up at his cousin, Ritsu face beamed with happiness. "Thank you, Ayame-san. Thank you very much." He shivered under the other man's touch, melting into the caresses. "Ayame-san, I, I," his blush deepened, "last night on the phone you sounded sad. Are you OK?" Quickly trying to reclaim his words, the monkey yanked away from the snake's embrace. "Never mind. I shouldn't have asked! That was very rude of me!"

The taller man ignored the boy's protests, "Yes, last night I received some very distressing news from my brother." Ayame found no trouble opening up to his younger cousin, and continued his tale with ease. "Apparently he is starring in his school's production of 'Romeo and Juliet' tonight, but he does not wish for me to attend because he is embarrassed by me. I just want to be a better brother to him, but every time I try to get close, he pulls away." He sighed emphatically, "I just don't know what I should do about him!"

"I'm sorry," Ritsu dropped his head, not seeming to know what else he could say to comfort the other man. "Is Tohru playing Juliet?"

"Yes, yes, of course! You know how those two are!" Ayame brightened slightly at the change of topic. "I just hope that they can see how wonderful they are for each other before it is too late! Miss Tohru makes Yuki so happy. I only wish I could make him smile the way she does."

"Tohru is very nice," Ritsu added wistfully, grinning slightly at the other man. "I really hope they get together, I mean, if they want to. It's really hard, um, well," he stumbled over the words, hiding behind his blush, "when you like someone but you can't talk to him about it. But Tohru-san is really brave! Maybe she can tell him how she feels."

'Ritchan, are you talking about me?' Ayame wondered, eyeing the other man suspiciously. His own pulse quickened expectantly. 'Please be talking about me!' Surveying the redhead with quizzical eyes, Ayame's voice swelled with confidence and vivacity. "Unrequited love is a horrible thing! Some people say 'it is better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all', but I do not believe it at all. When you really love someone, but he will not return your feelings or you are simply too afraid to try, that is the worst feeling on earth. That feeling of regret is miserable!"

Ritsu nodded shyly, his fingers fumbling with the hem of his skirt. "Uh huh," his eyes darkened with obvious hurt.

Sympathy seized Ayame's chest. He could feel almost every ounce of the monkey's pain as he stared into the pair of sparkling tan orbs in front of him. Understanding. He glimpsed Ritsu's heart for just a moment, and all the self-loathing and nervousness he found hit him with a wave of shock. For the first time, he felt for someone else. He cared about this timid boy. He wanted him to be happy. 'Ritchan, you're wonderful! Don't be afraid of yourself!'

Stepping forward, the silver-haired man caught Ritsu's trembling hands in his fingers. "I have a marvelous plan!" He changed the subject, hoping to bring back the other man's smile. "Why don't we go to the play together tonight? Perhaps I can show Yuki that I care for him so much that I'll even go against his wishes in order to see him! Will you please come with me?" Bringing the smaller man's palm to his lips, Ayame planted a feather-light kiss on the clammy skin. "Please don't say 'no' to me! I really want you to come!"

Ritsu gasped at the kiss, his whole form freezing with terror. "I, I, I guess," he stuttered, struggling to catch his breath. "I can come."

"How wonderful!" Ayame laughed, swinging his arms through the air with excitement. "I'll see you tonight, my dearest little Monkey-chan!" Turning to leave, he gave a carefree giggle, as if nothing had happened. But inside he dwelled on the feel of Ritsu's skin against his lips. 'That felt,' his stomach tingled pleasantly as he replayed the kiss in his mind, 'right.'

Français avec Ayame #4

Excusez-moi- excuse me!

Next chapter...Romeo and Juliet! I can't wait! I love Shakespeare!