A/N: Welcome to the second half of the double update! As always, read and review. And I hope I've satisfied your need for action later on in the chapter. Endings aren't my cup of tea, you understand. But I try! n.n

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Fruits Basket!

Title: You Should've Known Better

Author: Kumoneko

Pairing: Yuki x Kyo

Chapter 05: I'm Sorry

The mood was solemn as Hatori examined the sleeping Yuki. His pale face was flushed and his forehead was becoming increasingly damp, even as Tohru diligently wiped away the sweat. Hatsuharu paced noiselessly at the foot of the bed, something that was becoming increasingly aggravating to Kyo.

"Stop that! Stupid cow. Sit down or something. I'm not in the mood," Kyo huffed, looking away and staring out the window. It was only when he detected hot breath on his neck that he looked back, and found Haru's piercing brown eyes two inches away from his own red-orange pair.

"You're not in the mood? My love, Yuki-kun, is gravely ill. And you're not in the mood. I'll show you 'not in the mo-.." Haru was cut off just as he drew back a ring-studded fist. What was to be a powerful sucker punch was hampered by a firm grip on his wrist, and looked back with a fiery expression at Hatori, whose icy glare was barely affected by the sudden appearance of Black.

"Haru. If you want Yuki to get better you need to be quiet. Fighting is not quiet."

The energy simply drained out of Hatsuharu, as if something was sucking his life force right out of his feet. He sagged at the waist, and his hand went limp in the Dragon's grasp. "I just want Yuki-kun to be okay," he choked, a childish expression flashing in his eyes.

"Haru.." a sympathetic Momiji cooed, walking with the saddened Ox out of the room.

Tohru's brows knitted together, and she wiped the soft cloth over Yuki's forehead yet again. Of all the times she'd tended the sick of the Sohma family, she'd never seen anyone this bad. And from a simple run in the forest too.

("He must've been terribly distraught, to have stressed his body to this extent. Yuki-kun..")

She noticed Kyo's grave look, his grayish complexion and hooded eyes. She recalled that he'd been the one to bring Yuki home. But to care for him so much.. she was shocked.

"Kyo-kun?" she called in a breathy whisper and saw as he twitched noticeably. His head turned slowly and he leveled his intense gaze with her's. "Are you .. alright?"

Tohru was tempted to giggle as he gripped the bed sheets so tightly his knuckles were turning white, contrasting with the strong blush that was forming on his cheeks.

"Of course!" he answered hastily. "Never better! After all, this is a perfect time to exact my revenge on this stupid Rat!"

Tohru knew he wouldn't dare touch Yuki. Not in his current condition. Kyo was a dreadful actor but she played along anyway and hid her smile under her hair as she continued to draw her dry cotton cloth over Yuki's forehead.

"I thought his bronchial tubes had acted up again and that he'd get some medicine and be okay. But he has a fever too. This usually happens to me, because I'm the one who's always getting overly upset about everything," Tohru said with a bit of a chuckle, but her expression was grim.

"I wish you'd talked to me about it, Yuki-kun.." she added, though her volume had dropped considerably.

Kyo's brows furrowed in worry as he watched the girl's careful ministrations, curious about her true "intentions". What was her motive? Was she a potential rival? Kyo almost laughed as the thoughts passed through his head. He never thought he'd see the day when he'd consider a girl a rival to someone's affections. At least not his affections for a guy, anyway. Lesbians were to be expected.

Tohru bit her lip as she paused in her work. It was about time for her to start dinner. Kyo would certainly not approve of the stewed leeks on the menu, but he should know that leeks were good for the ill.

"Kyo-kun, would you please, please watch Yuki-kun for me? Please? I have to start dinner and I don't want to bother the others right now. Please?" she pleaded, giving Kyo the sad puppy-eyed look.

"Sure," he said flatly, extending his hand for her to deposit the cloth in. Tohru hesitated, stunned by his lack of an argument. She'd expected to spend the next fifteen minutes offering him material reimbursement for his time.

"Oh! Thank you Kyo-kun! You're so sweet!" In a rather uncharacteristic gesture of thanks, Tohru leaned over and kissed him lightly on the cheek before skipping out of the room. Kyo's blush deepened, and his fingers instinctively flew up to rub at the spot. It was strange, as he knew her to be very dodgy when it came to touching either him or any of the other Sohma males. Afraid that she might topple over accidentally and cause them to transform, no doubt.

Kyo soon realised that he'd nearly forgotten Yuki in his confusion. The Rat was huffing audibly in his sleep, the covers shifting a bit as he wriggled about beneath them. Kyo frowned. His restlessness wasn't a good sign. In fact, he found it to be very bad, despite his lack of a medical degree.

"Stupid Rat.." he muttered, though the look on his face gave it away that he meant nothing bad by the statement. Kyo gnawed a bit at his lower lip, glancing first at the door that was just barely open a crack and then at Yuki.

The redhead leaned gently on the edge of the bed and set the cloth against Yuki's head, carefully brushing away the silver strands of hair that clung to his skin. Even in his sickness he was beautiful, thought the anxious Cat, the moisture in his mouth lost to the heat he was noticeably radiating in his state of inner turmoil.

"I'm sorry, Yuki," Kyo sighed quietly, descending slowly and brushing his lips against Yuki's with the utmost care. "I know this is my fault, and I'm sorry." He closed his eyes and prolonged the contact, risking everything with the door so very ajar and all. Kyo felt a tug at his lower lip and opened his eyes to find Yuki sucking at it with a devious look in his violet eyes.

The Cat's heart nearly ceased beating for a moment or two before he pulled away and toppled over the side of the bed. "Yuki!" he hissed, blushing madly and shielding his face from the other's stare.

Yuki sipped a bit of the water that had been left by his bedside and sat up. "Kyo .. you mean it?" Still hidden by his splayed fingers, was unsure of what Yuki was referring to. "Mean what?" he muttered, unable to look on at the nezumi.

"The kisses, the affection. You told me you loved me, you know. Did you mean it?" Yuki's lips moved again, though no sound came out. It was as if his mind refused to let him ask the other question. "Or were you just drunk?" There. It was out there, spoken in the grimmest of tones. The shield Kyo had put between him and Yuki came down almost as quickly as it had gone up. He sounded so very worried, very concerned that Kyo might dismiss it as drunken temporary insanity.

The cat-cursed closed the gap between them hastily, kneeling beside the bed and taking Yuki's hands in his own. There his eyes focused, on the lines that criss-crossed the Rat's palms. "I did mean it. And I'm sorry if you hate me more than ever, but I don't hate you. I never did. I've always liked you. Loved you even; I just didn't think you'd accept me. I don't really want to beat you in everything. I've just always wanted acceptance by the family and I didn't know how to achieve that." He found himself pouring his feelings out to Yuki, and he hung his head shamefully.

"I'm sorry. But I do love you, Yuki. I'm just so stupid and--" Kyo was interrupted as hands planted themselves on the sides of his face. The hands drew him up, until he was level with Yuki. "I don't hate you either. I was so glad when you told me, I was just afraid that you didn't really mean it." Yuki pulled Kyo into another kiss, punctuated by their eager explorations of each other's mouths. He moaned as Kyo caught his tongue and sucked on it, falling backwards onto the bed deliberately and pulling the Cat down on top of him. As they had once before, his hips rose up involuntarily to grind against Kyo's, eliciting a moan from him as well.

The cat-cursed's hands slid down Yuki's body, grabbing at the ties that held the robe the others had dressed him in closed. He broke the kiss, sitting up and straddled Yuki's hips. He tore the robe open as fast as he could and lowered himself down again, scooting back over Yuki's legs in order to bite at the edge of Yuki's pants. The Rat sucked a breath in sharply as Kyo tugged with his teeth, hooking his fingertips in the elastic band. Yuki craned his neck to see what Kyo was up to, and the Cat grinned evilly.

"K-Kyo," he whispered in jagged breaths, "I really didn't think you meant it. S-Sorry." Kyo looked up through his bangs, smirking at the Rat's comment. "Hmph. Baka. You should've known better," he replied, before pouncing forward and taking one of Yuki's nipples into his teeth, sucking and nibbling at it fiercely. It was Kyo's unique form of punishment. The Rat's body tensed beneath him, his breath coming very rapidly now as he writhed beneath Kyo, his fingernails digging sharply into the redhead's back.

"Wait," Kyo muttered, staying Yuki with a finger and then swinging down off of the bed. In their haste to get Yuki treated, they'd placed him in the master bedroom, the largest bedroom and the only one with a lock. Kyo thanked his good fortune and closed the door the other inch and clicked the lock shut. "Now we're free to do as we please," he said, crawling up from the foot of the bed and reclaiming his position above Yuki. "Good," Yuki whispered, smiling faintly and peering up through half-lidded eyes. "You're probably going to feel this tomorrow, you know," Kyo cautioned, grinning.

"I don't care. Just don't bore me," Yuki replied, snaking his arms around Kyo's neck and forcing him back down on top of him.

The morning light crept across the room until it cut bright lines across the two naked bodies that were intertwined on the bed. The sheets were tangled around arms and legs, though the silver-haired boy's head rested peacefully in the crook of the redhead's neck, that one patch of calm in the midst of the chaos that was the rest of the bed. Neither stirred even when the sun stretched its rays across their faces. They'd been up late, and fatigue prolonged their slumber. Even as knocks came furiously from the door they didn't move.

Haruhatsu was threatening to tear the door down in the name of love but Shigure and Hatori managed to restrain him and convince him to just let it be. None suspected the true nature of the scene that lay behind the paper doors, assuming that the Cat and the Rat had beaten each other unconscious during the night, which caused all the yelling, screaming, and pounding they'd all heard throughout the house.

"Yuuuki!" Ayame called from the hallway. "A man's love is so very tender and fragile! Do be sure to be gentle with Kyonkichi now!"

"AYAME!" Five voices said in unison. Kyo snickered in his sleep, and a smile curled up the corners of Yuki's mouth. Oh, if they only knew..

A/N: OMGWTFBBQ! I finally finished a fanfic! Rejoice! Celebrate! I would like to thank all of you who have reviewed and stuck with me throughout this long, drawn out journey. You are the first to witness a completed 'fic by me! I love you reviewers! I would hope that you'd come back and read the alternate ending I'll no doubt write eventually. Everyone loves a lemon. ;D Again, thank you! If you like Evangelion I'm getting into some writing within that genre, but pairings are SO HARD. Anyway, sayonara and thanks AGAIN! LOVE YOU ALL!

-- Kumoneko