Kiss Kiss
By Lady of the Ink
Pairing: Kyou and Kagura Sohma
Fandom: Fruits Basket
Theme: #27- Overflow
Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket, but you knew that . . . I hope. But I do own this story and all the twists that it takes.

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Kiss Six
Going With the Flow

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Kagura stood at the counter in Shigure's kitchen, carefully stacking the dinner dishes in preparation for washing them. After her visit had been extended by an invitation from Tohru to stay for dinner, she felt that the least she could do was help to take care of the cleaning up. So now she was willingly sequestered with the plates and pans, listening to the murmur of voices and Shigure and Yuki tried to convince Tohru to simply relax for a bit.

Placing the stopper in the bottom of the sink, Kagura turned on the water with a sigh. She had hoped to spend at least a bit of time with Kyou while she was there, but it seemed like it wasn't going to happen. He'd been silent the whole way through dinner and had vanished immediately after it was over. As far as her plan for getting close to him was concerned, her trip was a wasted effort.

She drummed her fingers on the counter with a mixture of frustration and concentration. There had to be some way to get Kyou to speak with her, even just for a little while. She wasn't such a horrible person that he needed to avoid her like she had some terrible, contagious disease.

Okay, so there was the little matter of the beatings but they weren't something that she could control. Besides, she always felt bad about them afterwards. And who knew, maybe if he didn't keep hiding from her, she might not get so overexcited when she did see him. She couldn't help what had always been a part of her nature. Was it really such an awful thing to want to care for someone?

"Oh!" As Kagura returned her attention to the task at hand, she realized that she'd lost focus for longer than she'd thought. The water had filled the sink and started to trickle over the edge to course down the cupboards and puddle on the floor. She hurriedly reached out and turned off the tap before looking down at her now damp feet. She gave a self-directed groan of annoyance as she surveyed the damage before reaching for a dish towel.

"What are you trying to do, flood the house?"

The voice from behind her was so unexpected that she gasped in surprise and whirled to find the speaker. Unfortunately for her, the water on the floor caused her feet to slide mid-turn. She got only the quickest glimpse of orange hair before she started to topple to the floor.

Her cry of shock was barely out of her mouth before she felt arms wrap themselves around her shoulder. She felt herself being turned just before a thud jarred her body. Kagura remained still for several seconds as she tried to catch her breath and still her racing heart. Her mind whirled, trying to figure out what had happened. When she finally opened her eyes, the pieces quickly fell into place.

She was still by the counter, sprawled across Kyou who had his back flat against the floor. His arms were locked around her waist while hers were trapped at her sides. She could feel his chest rising and falling as he panted for air. She could only assume that he had seen she was about to fall and he'd moved to help. He must have run as quickly as he could to make it across the room in time, but he had, grabbing her tightly. The vertigo had come from him twisting so that he was on the bottom and would take the brunt of the impact.

A warm feeling filled Kagura as she realized what he had done. Kyou had gone out of his way to help her and keep her safe when he'd noticed she was in trouble. And now, almost two full minutes after they'd hit the ground, he was still holding her tightly. She let her head return to its resting place on his chest and closed her eyes to savor the moment.

More time than she would have dared hope for passed before Kyou shifted slightly beneath her. Not wanting to push her luck and make him run, she pressed gently against his chest with her palms. Almost instantly, his arms dropped to his sides and they both sat up. Their positions left her almost sitting in his lap and Kagura could feel a blush seep into her cheeks as she hurriedly scooted off onto the floor.

Not daring to look at him, she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Um, thank you, Kyou-kun. I hope you didn't hurt yourself . . ." Her voice came out so quietly that she wondered if he'd even heard it.

She was pleasantly surprised when he muttered his response. "It was nothing; I'm fine." Climbing to his feet as quickly as the soaked floor allowed, he glared down at her. "If you hadn't been trying to make a pool in the kitchen, none of this would have happened in the first place." He immediately contradicted his harsh words by offering his hand to help her up. She slipped her fingers across his palm, enjoying the little tingle she felt as his hand tightened.

He had just started pulling her up when the extra weight caused his bare feet to lose their traction and he slipped again. Kagura could only yelp as he bumped into her, sending them both back onto the floor.

The force of his body landing on hers knocked the breath from her lungs but she wouldn't have wanted to breathe anyway. She would have been too afraid to spoil the moment – the moment which had Kyou's lips just a scant inch from her own. Unable to resist the temptation, she closed the space and kissed him.

Kyou was on his feet and streaking out the door a moment later, leaving her alone in the kitchen. She remained still for just a few seconds before climbing to her feet. A smile hung on her lips as she mopped up the spilled water and she was humming by the time she finally washed the dinner dishes.

Because he had kissed her back.