Chapter 14 – Affair

Tohru came home five days ago and had returned to her day to day activities. She went to school as usually and learned once again from the school survey that she received back from her homeroom teacher that she wanted to be a veterinarian. This was something else that she had forgotten, but compare to marriage this was an issue of less concern. She was happy to learn it though, because she loves animals and felt that she made a right decision in approaching that career. Regarding her marriage with Shigure; she hadn't had a clue about how it all happened. Were they in love? How and when did it happen? She kept asking herself questions trying to remember, but she just ended up with a terrible headache every time she tried.

Then there were Yuki and Kyo. Yuki seemed to be normal around her. He treated her the same way as he always had. Yet, Kyo had gotten distance with her. From time to time, she would meet his red eyes and they looked disoriented and lonely. She felt strange around him, it seemed that he wanted to tell her something but then held back. She also noticed that Yuki and Kyo weren't fighting anymore. They still called each other names, but no physical contact. This was also something that she didn't remember either.

Today was Sunday. Tohru had finished breakfast and everyone eaten. She cleaned up the table and started washing the dishes. She noticed the sapphire stone on her ring finger. This wasn't the first time she noticed it. This was proof that she was engaged, so then, it could only be Shigure who had given her that ring. Again, this was another event that she didn't recall.

"Tohru!" Shigure called for her from the hall.

"Yes." She quickly wiped her wet hands and headed in the direction of his voice.

"Aya just called, he said that he wants to meet us at his shop in an hour. His calendar is fully booked and he doesn't have any open slot for the next two weeks, so we need to come to his shop today to try on your dress." Shigure informed her of his phone conversation.

"Okay, I'll go and get ready right away." She ran upstairs, changed, and came back downstairs to put on her outdoor shoes.

"Yuki! Kyo! Don't go wrecking the house while I'm gone!" He shouted to the two younger cousins who were upstairs in their rooms. He knew that he wouldn't have to worry about that anymore, but felt the urge to say it anyways.

Shigure gave Tohru a warmed smiled and addressed a hand out to escort her to the shop. She reached out for his hand slowly feeling hesitant as her fingers bent in and out. "It's okay." He said. She took in a deep breath and relaxed her hand in his.

On the way to Ayame's place, Tohru was thinking; there must be a reason why she agreed to marry him, but why couldn't she remember. Since she couldn't remember; she decided to ask him. "Shigure?" She looked down at the hand that wore the ring.

"Yeah?" He replied.

"I wanted to ask you about this for the last couple of days now."

"Okay, what is it?"

"This ring…" She held up her arm to show him. "…was it from you?"

"Yes, of course. You don't like it?" He asked teasingly.

"No, it's lovely. I just didn't remember that's all."

"And about our marriage…" Her voice started to shake. "Were we in love?"

He jerked back, turned around to meet her blue eyes and released her hand. "You don't remember?" He asked knowingly well that she didn't. She dropped her head, shook and found the concrete beneath her feet. He lifted her chin and leveled his down with hers. "Let me help you remember." She closed her eyes realizing what he was going to do. If they were in love, then this should be normal. Before he could touch her lips, she was pulled away by a platinum blonde.

"Shigure, you don't want to do that in public!" Ayame said heatedly. Tohru blushed and Shigure looked at the snake with a naughty smile.

"Ayame, what are you doing here? We're supposed to meet you at your shop." Shigure returned Ayame's sneer.

"Yeah, I just couldn't wait any longer, so I decided to pick you up. If I hadn't come when I did, then you and Tohru would… would…"

"Would what?"

"Kiss!"

"It's not like it would be the first time that we kiss." Shigure replied, chuckled and continued with a low and mocking voice. "Oooh, we kiss more than once, but I just didn't have a chance to sink in deep yet."

Tohru stood between the two men. Her face turned into a crimson red color while the two sharply stared at each other. Then Ayame pouted and stomped away in front, leading the way to his shop. Shigure and Tohru followed behind. Still blushing, she noticed that Shigure had a little smile on his face; a smile that she never seen before. "Shigure?"

"Hmm?"

"What was that all about?" She asked finding the weird grin still on his face.

"What?" He replied while staring at Ayame's slender body walking in front of them.

"Ayame… It looked like he was mad at you or something."

"Oh that. Don't worry that's just normal."

"Normal?" Her browed winkled up.

"Yeah."

"So, he gets mad at you often?"

"No."

"I don't understand."

"There is no need for you to understand."

"But, if we are together, then shouldn't I know more about you. It seemed weird that Ayame is acting furious toward you. Did something happen between the two of you which I had forgotten?"

"Oh, Tohru. You're just so sweet! That's what I loved about you; you're always concerned about others, but there isn't a thing that you'll need to worry about." His response silent Tohru as they reached the front door of Ayame's shop.

Ayame had already gone into the shop to get the outfits ready for them to try on. They opened the door and entered.

"Ta-daaa! So, what do you think? Isn't it lovely?" Ayame asked Tohru who was staring at the dress. It was simple, but beautiful. It was a white silk, strapless on top with four layers of fabric one over the other. "So, let's try it on." The speechless Tohru smiled and nodded. Ayame asked his assistance to help Tohru and she followed the woman into the dressing room. He then turned around to face the other man, "Shigure, you should try on your suit too."

"What, shouldn't we wait for Tohru?"

"No."

"But…"

Ayame didn't allow any time for Shigure to talk his way out. He shoved the other man into the dressing room two doors down from where Tohru was. Tohru could faintly hear the two of them arguing.

"Not now!" Shigure argued.

"Why not?" Ayame locked his fierce yellow eyes on Shigure's dark brown ones. "Tohru is putting on her dress, so you should dress up for her as well. Let… me… help… you… change." He stepped forward and pulled the fabric belt off Shigure's waist to expose the man's chest. Without the belt the kimono was pretty much loose and easy to pull off.

"Aya! I can do this by myself!" Shigure resisted and turned away to find the dressing mirror reflecting him and Ayame behind him.

Ayame looked at the reflected Shigure in the mirror. He reached his hands up and under the other man arms, rubbing his fingers on the hem lining of the kimono against the other's man chest. "Now lets remove this, you can't change if you're still clothed." He slowly slipped the gown off the taller man's shoulders.

"Come on, don't play games now…" Shigure said while he was trying hard not to be tempted by the situation.

"Look who's talking. You're the one that's playing around not me. Here turn around and put this on." Ayame handed him a white long blouse.

"It's not like that, you don't understand." Shigure took the shirt and put it on.

Ayame sighed, "Oh, but I do… you always do this to me, first with your editor and now with Tohru!" He cried.

Shigure couldn't avoid his temptation any longer. The looked on Ayame's flaring eyes roused up his gun. "It's because you're so fun to play with and that the more reason why I…" He meshed their lips together.

Tohru couldn't hear them clearly, but she was able to hear Shigure softly groaned or was it Ayame, she couldn't tell the difference.

Ayame pulled away, "You do this every time! Getting me all worked up and then… and then…" He breathed heavily, hot air escaped from his mouth.

Shigure stepped forward this time, "This is how you turn me on… with your flames." He whispered.

"Stop it!" Ayame tried to avoid the other's man gaze this time and handed him a pair of slack that matched his hair color. "Here put on your pants."

Shigure slipped it on, but couldn't pull it up all the way. "It's too tight!" He looked at the yellow eyed man who was staring between the zippers.

"I can see that." The snake replied bluntly as he found a pair hungered dog eyes focusing on his lips.

"So…"

"What?"

"Aren't you gonna help me change?" Shigure ran his fingers into the smooth long platinum hair. "I'm waiting."

Ayame found the weird smile on other man's face. It was the smile that Tohru saw early; the smile that Shigure always had when they were together. The blonde man gave in.

Shigure sniggered.

"This… um… is… um… not funny!" The blonde mumbled.

"Stop talking!" The dog growled.

Tohru didn't understand what was happening between the two men in the other dressing room. She couldn't help but wondered and asked the other woman who was in the dressing room with her. "Do you know what's going on between Shigure and Ayame?"

The assistance blushed into a red tomato color and shook her head, "No! Why do you asked?"

"It sounded like they were fighting."

The assistance took a few seconds to allow her racing blood pressure to calm down. She knew exactly what the two men were doing, but didn't want to stick her nose into places that it didn't belongs nor did she wanted Tohru to be concerned. "They're not fighting." She said as she finished dressing the bride.

"No?"

"No."

"I'm glad."

"Now, let's go out to the front of the shop. There's a larger folding mirror where you can have a better view of the dress." The woman walked Tohru back out. The bride to-be looked at herself in the mirror and smiled at her reflection. The assistance helped fluff the dress and mark the final notation for the alteration.

Meanwhile, the two men were still in the dressing room. Shigure was able to pull up his pants now and Ayame helped him tucked in his blouse while facing the mirror. "We don't want to leave your bride waiting long now, do we?" The snake teased standing behind his lover's back.

"Yah." Shigure agreed, but then again stirred up his blonde lover. "It's all your fault you know?"

"What? How can it be my fault? You started it!" The snake argued back.

"Yes, but everything would ended up nicely with her choosing Kyo. Then the accident… If you hadn't reminded her, then I wouldn't be here trying on this outfit."

"You should have warned me. I didn't know that she lost her memories."

"I tried to pull you away at the hospital, but you wouldn't listen."

"I was angry!" Ayame looked away to the side as he leaned his head against the taller man's broad shoulders. "After you got engaged with Tohru, you hadn't contact me as often, so I thought that you and her were… you know."

"This is not like you. You have a lot more confident than this."

Ayame stretched out his arms to wrap the warm body in front of him and softly he said, "Everyone has a weakness, no man alive can say that he is perfect. I may say so all the time to convince myself that I am perfect, but it's not true at all. I do have a weakness and my weakness… is you." He paused as rub his face against the firmness of Shigure's back. "I love you." He paused again. "The slightest thought of losing you to Tohru is unbearable. Even though, I knew that you were just scheming a plot for her and Kyo, but I just couldn't stand knowing that there was a slight chance that she'll pick you instead. Tohru is a miracle girl. Everyone likes her, even I like her, and so do you. She can easily take you away from me."

Shigure turned around to embrace the slender figure into his arms. "You're jealousy is something you know that?"

"What? How can I not be?" Ayame looked up to see those hungered eyes from earlier, now satisfied and now admiring him.

Shigure held on tight as he fancied the gorgeous face that was staring at him. "But it's also something that I've always liked about you." Then he kissed those lips that were on his skin earlier thrusting his way down into the other's man throat. When Ayame couldn't breathe anymore, he released the blonde's soften lips to allow them to gasp for air. While the blonde stood in his arm breathing heavily; he found himself aroused, feeling contented from the sight of his lover's panting. This picture of Ayame made his heart pounds as he rubbed his fingers onto those panted wet lips. "You should know… that you're the only one that makes my heart race like this... and the only one that gets me out of control."

"But you're marrying someone else." The panted lover said in between his breathing.

"It's not going to change anything."

"But… I don't… I don't want to share you with anyone."

"You won't have too." Shigure assured his lover, caressing the soft porcelain skin of his face and gently wiped away the liquid films were forming on his lover's bright yellow eyes. "I'll tell her the truth when the time comes. The poor girl had enough going on as is and we don't want to jeopardize her health at the time being. We need to give her time to remember Kyo."

"But, what if she doesn't remember? Then, you'll just marry her then?" Ayame asked with a serious expression.

"Shhh…" Shigure quieted him with another passionate kiss. "I'll come to see you tonight, okay?"

Ayame nodded as he gasps for air again.

"Now let's get out of here." Shigure grabbed the matching jacket to his pants, which was hanging on the hook in the dressing room and put it on. He headed out in front and Ayame followed behind.

The two men came out and witnessed a beauty in her purest and astonishing gown. Shigure walked up to her in his fitted suit and complimented her with a warm smile. "You're beautiful."

Ayame said nothing, still trying to catch his breath and smiled in agreement while he's wishing that he was in her shoes at this moment.

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Back Stage Discussion:

Smile: I don't know how this happened, but somehow, it just did, so there hate me if you want.

Tohru: What? What happened?

Ayame: You don't know?

Tohru: No.

Shigure: She doesn't need to know.

Tohru: Why? I want to know.

Ayame: I agree, she shouldn't know. It's just best this way.

Tohru: You guys are mean!

Shigure: Anyways, where is Cookie-chan?

Smile: I don't know. She's a busy girl and I was too anxious to post this chapter and so I did. Personally, I love pairing Shigure and Ayame. They make a cute couple, don't you think so?