Title: gardening club

A/N: For the Fruits Basket Zine, I love Yuki's, Haru's, and Kisa's relationship! And if you squint, you'll find a little Yuki/Tohru.

Summary: It was a little strange, letting Kisa and Haru join them at his secret 'base'. Yuki's strawberry patch looked small, inadequate under their scrutiny. But Tohru was smiling at him expectantly and maybe it wasn't a bad idea to open up a little.

…

…

…

…

Yuki pressed his fingers into the moist, dark soil, the ground parting softly as he dug a small hole for a pepper plant. There was something intrinsically calming about gardening. Maybe it was the repetition, the simple daily routine of planting, watering, inspecting. Or just the quiet of it all, a solitude that helped him gather his thoughts and process the day. With no one else around, his secret base gave him a sense of calm he couldn't find otherwise in his life. Even the earthy smell of it all relaxed his muscles, his shoulders relaxing from his usual perfect posture.

It was just utterly relaxing. Or, it would be, if he weren't keenly aware of the three pairs of eyes watching his every move. He bit his lip as he patted the soil around the pepper plant. The stares didn't stop. Giving up, he looked up and flatly asked, "Do you need help?"

Across the vegetable garden, Kisa, Tohru, and Haru blinked blankly. There was a long pause before Tohru stood up in a panic, waving her hands and shaking her head erratically. "W-we're j-j-j-ust w-watching, w-when we're s-s-supposed to be h-helping!"

Squatting low on the ground, Haru rested his chin on a hand and replied languidly, "Well, we're learning."

"Right." Kisa nodded her head eagerly and Yuki could almost see a tiger tail behind her, whipping back and forth eagerly. For a cat, she acted more like a dog sometimes.

"R-right!" Tohru sighed with relief, sinking down to her knees. "We're watching and learning."

"This is Kisa and Haru's first time here," Yuki acknowledged, sticking his trowel into the earth. When Tohru had suggested bringing Kisa to the base, Yuki had expected a little staring. And when Haru had tagged along out of boredom, he had expected a lot of stares and snickers. What he hadn't planned for was Tohru getting caught up in it all herself. In retrospect, he should have. Crossing his arms, he raised a brow. "But you've helped me a lot, Tohru."

As expected, her eyes widened and Tohru shot to her feet again. "R-right. I have." She stared at the flower bed and then back at Kisa's expectant eyes. Donning her most serious expression, Tohru nodded to herself and pumped a fist in the air. "I'll show you, Kisa!" Haru snickered as she marched stiffly to Yuki's side, picking up the discarded trowel. With a stiff upper lip, she stabbed the earth more than dug into it. "This is how we garden!"

It was too much, far too much, and Yuki broke into laughter. "I was just teasing," he admitted, wiping the tears from his eyes. Honestly, she was such an easy target that he felt bad sometimes.

Tohru's face turned a light shade of pink and she tucked a stray lock behind her ear sheepishly. "R-right."

"That wasn't nice," Haru admonished, shooting Yuki a baleful look as though he hadn't been laughing a few minutes ago.

"Y-yeah," Kisa agreed softly, shuffling closer so she was next to Haru. Clearly they had been spending too much time together, her expression looked almost identical to Haru's.

Sensing this wasn't going to end well for him, Yuki gave in. If there was one thing he'd learned from dealing with his ridiculous cousins, it was that sometimes retreating was the better part of valour. "Sorry, sorry." He reached over and squeezed Tohru's hand, giving her an apologetic smile. "It's fine if you want to watch."

Her cheeks flushed a darker shade of red and she shook her head. "No. I have to help!" Digging into the soil once more, she grabbed another pepper plant. "We need to help these guys meet their friends!"

It was a cute way to think of it all. Kisa peeled away from Haru, sticking instead to Tohru's side like glue as the older girl showed her the basics. Even as the mid-May sun beat harshly on them on, strong despite the early season, the pair didn't seem phased by it all.

"So, this is your secret base," Haru stated, sitting down next to Yuki.

Yuki tried not to jump. "Yes." He frowned, glancing at him. His shoulders stiffened defensively. "What of it?"

"Nothing." He smiled fondly, wrapping an arm around Yuki and resting his head on Yuki's shoulder. "You have a secret base. And…" Haru gestured at the rest of the garden, at the leeks and strawberries and mishmash of other vegetables and fruits. "It's pretty big."

"I had help enlarging it," Yuki confessed warily. There were many rats in the forest and even now, he could feel them all hiding in the trees, watching them. "It wasn't just me. Tohru helped too."

"Yeah, but…" Haru's expression didn't change, still that soft kindness that Yuki had come to expect from his 'White' side. "I'm glad that you have a place to go now. Your own place."

Yuki's eyes widened. He should have expected, it really. Despite Haru's laughter earlier, he had never been unkind. Even now, he was probably just tagging along to keep an eye on Kisa and him. Reaching up, he squeezed Haru's hand. "Yeah. But…it isn't just my place." Perhaps Tohru had the right idea, asking to bring Kisa here.

It had been a while since he'd opened up the base, let Tohru in. A while since he'd tried reaching out to others, to give back the compassion he received on a daily basis. The garden had been so small when it'd just been him, but now they were growing strawberries and clearing areas for the future. Yuki glanced at Tohru. Sensing his gaze, she looked up at him and smiled brightly.

"It isn't just my place," Yuki repeated, turning back to Haru. He didn't need the solitude to relax, didn't need to be alone while he gardened. There was a different sense of relaxation, of peace, that came from others. "You can come whenever you want."

"Really?" Haru broke into a wide grin and hugged him tighter.

"Yeah—"

"Hello!" A familiar, overly cheerful voice chirped loudly from behind. "Sorry I'm late!"

Yuki froze. "Momiji."

"Yes!" Tohru waved at Momiji. "I invited him too!"

Slowly, Yuki turned his head in time to see Momiji burst out of the forest and wearing the gaudiest yellow shorts and safari-themed outfit. Catching his eye, Momiji winked. "I'm here to help!"

Yuki took it back. Being alone was far better than being with others.