Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket.
A/N: Yay, I'm updating faster again. Now, the romance is gonna start heating up, so get ready for fluffiness! This one is going to be mostly Yuki and Machi, but there WILL be some Kyo and Tohru, I PROMISE! But those two won't ACTUALLY get together until later. This is due to their various psychological problems and cluelessness. Stupid psychological problems. Damn cluelessness.
The next morning went as usual. Yuki was the last one awake, no surprise there, and since the day that he beat up Manabe when he last tried to wake him up early, nobody dared to enter the room. Well, except Machi. Everybody knew this of course, and would always leave Machi to waking up their "Princess Yuki". She was the only one capable of coming out alive.
"Yuki..." Machi whispered to his sleeping form. "Wake up!" She said gently, but firmly. Yuki turned over to his back and barely squinted his eyes open.
"Wha... Mach... eh... five more... minutes..." He mumbled, closing his eyes once again.
"Yuki!" Machi said, a little harsher this time. When he didn't respond, she watched him for a moment, taking the chance to observe him as thoroughly as she could. His loose pajamas were rolled up at the sleeves, and unbuttoned at the top, revealing some of his smooth, firm chest. (Machi blushes and quickly looks elsewhere.) His face was angellic, his silver hair splayed on his pillow. His eyebrows were gracefully arched over the long lashes of his closed eyes. His lips... they were a pale pink, soft... perfect. "Yuki..." Machi said in barely a whisper, not being able to control herself. She leaned forward and placed a kiss on those perfect lips. "Wake up..." she said as she broke off.
Yuki's eyes snapped open and he looked up at her, his face turning redder than it had ever before. Machi realized what she had done and sat straight abruptly, falling backwards in the process. She quickly recovered and stood up, before scrambling out the door, stumbling all the way.
Yuki also bolted up to a sitting position, his hand over his mouth, his heart beating a mile a minute. Her lips... they were so soft... so... perfect... He looked to the door and thought about how she was just as red as he is, and started to laugh inspite of everything. He got up and dressed, humming extremely happily.
The others in the house however, were left in a mystery. All they saw was Machi stumble into the dining hall looking very flustered, and then taking a seat and dropping her chopsticks a few times before she could hold them steady. Then, Yuki came in, looking absolutely elated, and took a seat next to Machi, who dropped her chopsticks again. Both of them looked at each other, turned red, and looked away again.
"Thank you for... waking me up." Yuki said quietly, smiling.
"Y-you're welcome..." Machi stammered in response.
Manabe and Hatsuharu smirked to themselves, Hatori raised his eyebrows, and Shigure and Ayame giggled and exchanged knowing looks.
The rest had figured it out as well, even Kisa and Hiro. Well... except Kyo, who remained as clueless as ever, and too conscious of Tohru to notice.
"Can you feel the love tonight..." Hanajima sang in a low, creepy voice, sparks jetting from her head.
Silence. Stares.
Suddenly, the door slid open, and people look towards it, confused, having thought that everyone was already in the room. Mayuko walked in, yawning and looking extremely tired, before collasping down at the table next to Hatori, and then falling asleep on his shoulder. Hatori looked a bit red for a moment, but it quickly passed and he was as calm and collected as ever, gently nudging her awake.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!" demanded Kyo and Uotani at once.
"Do you HAVE to scream this early in the morning?" Mayuko groaned, rubbing her head. "And as for why I'm here, it goes a little something like this."
Flashback
"Ugh, I have to now go and hang out at my summer home with, yes, my parents. I think my mother is planning to have me see suitors." Mayuko muttered darkly as everyone got into their cars the night before. "Ah, save me!" She wailed, looking to Hatori who was walking her to her car (at the request of Shigure).
Hatori thought a moment, before suggesting. "Well, you could always come and stay with us for a while, if you want. We have plenty of room in our summer home, even with all the kids. And its anything but dull." He added with a slight laugh.
Mayuko looked up at him, practically sparkling. "Really?" When Hatori nodded, she punched the air with her fist. "Yes! I don't have to deal with suitors. I mean, I don't really want to marry any of them anyway, since I already like..." She stopped, and looked up at Hatori who was looking curiously at her. "Well, what I mean to say is, thank you so much!" Mayuko bowed before turning around to go to her car, and then turning back again. "Uh... where is it?" After getting directions from Hatori, she turned to her car again.
Before turning around again.
"Uh... Hatori." Before he could respond, she turned to face her car again. "Ah, nevermind!" Just as Hatori was going to walk away, she turned to face him again. "What the heck!"
To his surprise she grabbed him by his tie and pulled him down, placing her lips over his. When she let go, Hatori was standing there, with wide eyes and a tinge of pink on his cheeks. Mayuko turned completely red and turned around in circles. "I... should NOT have done that. I really shouldn't have done that!" She looked at Hatori. "I... I'm sorry... uh... pretend that never happened!" With that she turned around and got into her car and drove away. Hatori however, remained rooted on the spot, his blush growing, running his fingers absently through his hair.
End Flashback
"And that's how it happened." Mayuko said after she explained, (well, obviously leaving out their little kiss).
Hatori tinged pink as he remembered, and looked down at his tea.
"THIS... COULD SUCK... A LOT..." Kyo grumbled, banging his head on the edge of the table.
Mayuko laughed. "Don't worry. I'm not here as your teacher, so go get into as many fights and have as many scandalous affairs as you want, I don't really care what you do. Just shut up for now, last night was rough, and I'm tired."
"Did you and Hatori have a nice, 'rough' time?" Manabe scoffed as Mayuko fell over and Hatori choked on his tea.
"STOP SAYING DIRTY THINGS YOU DAMN BRAT! THE ONLY 'ROUGH NIGHT' I HAD WAS BECAUSE OF YOU GUYS AND YOUR DINNER MAYHEM. SO JUST... shut... up..." Mayuko once again collapsed asleep.
The gang had decided to stay at home for a while, having had enough excitement the past few days. So, they mostly just hung around and found their own ways to entertain themselves. But as Hatori had promised Mayuko, there was never a dull moment with this group.
"YOU LOSE ORANGEY!" Uotani cackled putting down her cards.
"NOT AGAIN, DAMMIT!" Kyo growled, ripping his hair out. "I'LL WIN NEXT TIME!"
"That's what you said last time, and the time before, and the time before that..." Yuki sighed.
"I won." Hanajima said.
"I got second!" Tohru squealed.
"I WILL BE FIRST NEXT TIME!"
"I'm leaving..." Yuki grumbled, getting up.
"A-are you not enjoying yourself, Yuki-kun?" Tohru asked anxiously.
Yuki shook his head. "No, it's not that..." His voice trailed off as he looked towards the door.
Tohru giggled. "Oh, I see! Say hi to Kuragi-san for me!"
Yuki blushed slightly. Am I that transparent? He thought as he walked out of the room. Well, I suppose everyone's guessed by now after everything thing that's happened...
Yuki looked for Machi around the house for a while, but when he really couldn't find her, he finally gave up and went back to his room, deciding she must have gone out somewhere. He slid his outside door open and stepped onto the back porch, enjoying the light breeze. He looked around at the pond and trees, before finally turning his gaze back to the porch. Not too far from him, he saw a figure laying at the edge of the porch, trailing her fingers through the grass next to it. Yuki smiled when he realized it was just the person he was looking for. He walked up to her, his bare feet barely making a sound as he moved, and sat behind her. Machi seemed to be in her own little world, not noticing his presence. Yuki smiled and leaned forward, kissing her cheek. As he drew back, she jerked up suddenly, and their foreheads clashed unexpectedly.
"Ow..."
"I-I'm sorry, Yuki-san!" Machi said frantically.
"It's okay... but... hey... when did you start calling me 'Yuki-san' again?" He asked, rubbing his head. "I liked it... when you stopped calling me President-san, and then Sohma-san turned to Yuki-san, and then, finally, Yuki."
"W-well, I just remembered how informal I was with you... and it seemed... improper." Machi explained, looking down.
"Well, isn't it okay to be informal? After everything that's happened...?" Yuki asked unsurely, leaning back onto the walls of the house. "After... this morning..."
Machi blushed and began stammering nervously. "Th-that... that wasn't... I mean... I was just... We're not really official or anything!"
Yuki reached over and tilted her chin up so she looked into his eyes. "Machi... do you... love me?"
Machi's heart hammered so hard she thought it would fall out of her chest. "I... I... m-maybe I... do..."
Yuki chuckled. "Well, I've fallen head over heels, I know that for sure. I know I've found someone who understands me... the one person who completes me. That person is Machi." Machi blushed even more. "So..." Yuki grinned. "Shall we make it official, then?"
"H-hai..." Machi said, robbed of any other words.
Yuki's smile widened and he took her face in both of his hands and leaned over, placing a kiss on her lips.
And the rest of the house, who were all peering in and holding their breaths, let out a sigh and laughed. "Finally."
Okay, so this was a Yuki/Machi focused chapter. Don't worry, Kyoru fans, the next chapter will be focused directly on Kyo and Tohru, with some Kagura angst on the side. Yay!
