Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket or the song. Song used: Collide by Howie Day

Warning: Rated T for kisses, just to be safe.

A/N: Serina is my OC and I'd appreciate you not stealing her. Also, this is the first thing I've been able to right in quite a long while now, so please be gentle. Crits are appreciated, but flaming will not be tolerated. Inspired by the song used as well as a random RP I used to do with SohmaElric91. Enjoy!

It was early in the morning when they first met. The sun was just barely over the horizon and the cool air hinted that spring was barely a week away. Neither of them suspected that they would meet each other on the all but empty streets that morning, or that the meeting would forever change their lives.

"The dawn is breaking
A light shining through"

The sun was shining on her face when Shigure first saw her. Her tall, slender figure, her long blonde hair swept up into a ponytail that fell to her waist, her deep brown eyes... It was as if she'd stepped out of a dream as she'd stepped around the corner. He stopped in his tracks, frozen in place by the mere sight of her. He was still staring at her when she finally realized his eyes had settled on her.

"You're barely waking
And I'm tangled up in you
Yeah"

Serina blushed brightly as she met Shigure's gaze. She quickly averted her gaze and quickened her pace. She was used to men looking at her when she went out for her daily run through the quiet streets, but she'd never seen one of them look at her like that before. Moving even faster now, she passed right by him, sneaking a quick glance at him out of the corner of her eye.

He was handsome, very handsome, with short dark hair messed into a position that suggested he hadn't gotten much sleep last night. He was fairly tall – being just a few inches taller than herself – and carried himself very well. She also noticed, as she tried to flick her eyes away quickly, that his eyes were a charcoal gray color.

"I'm open, you're closed
Where I follow, you'll go"

As she continued on her way past him, she felt his eyes settle on her again, sending a shiver down her spine. Chancing it, she looked back over her shoulder at him. He smiled at her softly, causing her to blush even more. She found, however, that she couldn't help but smile back at him before continuing on her way.

"I worry I won't see your face
Light up again"

"You don't get it though, Hari," Shigure said to his best friend as he lounged on the floor a few feet away from the taller man. "She wasn't just beautiful – she was perfect. Every inch of her looked as if it was carved by a—"

"Shigure," Hatori said sternly, "don't you have something better to do with your time than bother me? I thought you told me last night that the next few chapters of your book were due to your editor today."

"Hm, oh yeah," Shigure replied absentmindedly as he looked out from the porch by Hatori's office. "I finished those a week ago. Mii can have them when I get home."

Hatori looked over at Shigure for a moment from his paperwork. "I thought you were going to go home before Yuki and the others returned home from their class trip."

"They won't be home for hours – I have time."

"Go home, Shigure. Do something productive with your time instead of wasting mine."

Shigure pouted over at Hatori. "You're so cruel, Hari. If I didn't know better, I'd think that you didn't like me."

With a sigh, Hatori turned back to his paperwork. "No, Shigure, I just want you to go bother someone else for a while."

"Even the best fall down sometimes
Even the wrong words seem to rhyme"

The rest of the day was a blur to Shigure. He vaguely remembered the children coming home, and giving his editor the chapters she'd come for, but the rest of the day was lost to his day dreams of the woman he'd seen that morning. She distracted him so much that he couldn't even sleep that night, and, when he did, he found her there, standing in the patch of sunlight he'd found her in.

After several unsuccessful hours of sleeping, he found himself in his study, a pad of paper in front of him and a pencil in his hand. Before he knew it, he was writing about her, describing every detail he could remember about her, no matter how insignificant it seemed. It wasn't until the sun began to rise that he realized how long he'd been there. With a yawn, he pushed himself to his feet, leaving the paper and pencil on the table. He stared down at it for a long moment, thinking.

"I wonder," he murmured to the empty room.

"Out of the doubt that fills my mind
I somehow find
You and I collide"

Serina looked up at the sun as it started to rise above the horizon. She'd been out of the house for almost an hour now, and still she'd seen no sign of the man from the previous day. Though she hadn't really expected to see him again, she had still been hoping for the chance to see him again. Even if they didn't speak, he was still very attractive and she had enjoyed looking at him while she'd had the chance.

Sighing softly to herself, Serina looked down at her watch before starting on her way back to her apartment. Dejected, she kept her eyes on the pavement and her hands in her pockets. Her hope had been to speak to the mysterious man when she saw him again, but it seemed now that her plan had been all for naught. With another sigh, she turned at the next corner, and felt her heart skip a beat when she bumped head first into someone.

"Not quite what I was going for, but I suppose it works," Shigure said with a chuckle.

"I'm quiet you know
You make a first impression"

Taking a quick step back, Serina looked up at him and blushed brightly. "I-I'm sorry," she said softly, her eyes widening. "I didn't mean to—"

"I know you didn't," Shigure replied with a smile. "Still, I don't mind. It gave me an excuse to stop you this time."

"Stop me...?" she asked, her voice still quiet.

He nodded and offered his hand to her. "I wanted to ask you name yesterday, but I'm afraid you had me a bit awe-struck."

She took his hand slowly. "My name is Serina... Serina Trunfield."

He smiled and placed his other hand over hers. "Serina," he repeated, smiling even more as he saw her shiver. "I'm pleased to meet you. My name is Shigure Sohma."

Slowly, she smiled back at him. "It's nice to meet you too."

"I've found I'm scared to know I'm always on your mind"

An hour later, the pair found themselves walking slowly through the nearest park together. Shigure hadn't let go of Serina's hand yet, and she hadn't asked for it back either. For the most part, they walked in silence, occasionally breaking it to ask a question that came to mind. They'd been silent for almost a half hour when Shigure spoke again.

"I couldn't stop thinking about you yesterday," he said simply.

"Me?" Serina asked incredulously, a blush creeping to her cheeks again. "I highly doubt that."

"It's true though," he insisted. "I almost couldn't function and I didn't sleep at all last night."

"Now that I can believe," she replied, laughing softly as she smiled up at him.

Confused, he tilted his head slightly as he looked at her. "Why's that?"

"Your hair is an absolute mess and you have little bags under your eyes."

He nodded, conceding the point. "Guess I should've looked at myself in the mirror before I left the house, huh?" he chuckled.

"Even the best fall down sometimes
Even the stars refuse to shine"

At about midday, they found themselves at the door to Serina's apartment.

"Why don't you come in?" she asked with a smile. "I can make us something to eat and then we could—"

"I wish I could," he said quickly, "but I'm needed at home. Please, forgive me." He smiled a bit sadly at her.

She nodded slowly, her smile beginning to falter. "That's all right. We'll just find time to see each other again soon, right?"

Shigure nodded, but didn't give an answer as to when. He knew that someone in the family would eventually catch him with her and report it back to Akito. Their relationship was already a bit on the rocks as it was because of his "lack of respect" for her as of late, and he didn't want to give the easily provoked head of the family anymore reasons to be angry with him. Still, he wanted to see Serina again, to spend time with her, to be close to her, even if it wasn't possible with the curse still looming over him.

He was finally pulled from his thoughts as Serina gingerly took her hand back from him. He frowned at her and she answered with a sorry look on her face. "I'll see you... later, then," she said slowly, starting to back into her now open apartment.

"As soon as possible," he replied.

"Out of the back you fall in time
I somehow find
You and I collide"

Over the next few weeks, the couple met as often as possible out on the early morning streets. There was no pattern to their time or place of meeting, but it quickly became their habit to spend most of the morning wandering through the park together, always hand-in-hand. There were several close calls with Shigure's family members, as well as the occasional morning where Serina pulled away quickly after their meeting to go to work, but it hardly mattered to the two of them. They found time for each other, and that was what mattered. It wasn't until Hatori caught Shigure leaving the main house just before dawn one morning that any problems arose.

"It's nothing, Hari, really!" Shigure lied, doing his best to keep his tone joking. "I'm just going out for an early morning walk before going home."

Hatori narrowed his eyes and stepped out of the shadows he'd been hiding in. "You seem to be doing that a lot these days."

"Nonsense! Why would I be up this early when I can—"

"Don't lie to me, Shigure," Hatori said in a serious tone. "If there's something going on, you know it will only be a matter of time until Akito finds out about it."

"Hari..." Shigure said softly. "You... you wouldn't say anything if you knew, would you?"

Hatori shook his head and Shigure sighed with relief. "I would suggest you find a better way to cover your tracks though – Yuki and the others are beginning to note your absence at breakfast and it won't be long before everyone knows at this rate."

Shigure smiled a bit. "Thanks, Hari. I owe you one for this."

"I'll use that as an excuse to keep you away from my office while I'm working then," Hatori replied as he walked back into the house.

"Don't stop here"

"I don't understand," Serina said as they walked through the park later that morning. "You don't... want to see me anymore?"

"No, no, it's not like that all," Shigure insisted. "We just... need to find other times to meet. My family is starting to get the impression that I'm up to something that I shouldn't be, and I don't want you to be hurt because of it."

"Why don't I just meet them so that they'll lay off us?" she asked. "I'm sure they can't all be as bad as you hint at."

"I lost my place"

"They're not," he replied, "but those that are that bad are the people you'd have to meet to get them to leave us alone. Besides, they don't know yet, so there's no need to go see them. Changing our meeting time is only a precaution to avoid them finding out."

"You seem almost... scared, when you say that," she noted.

He sighed. "You'll understand, someday."

"I'm close behind"

For the next few months, the two of them continued their relationship in secret. They became closer and closer as they spent more time with each other, but Shigure was always reluctant to move forward in their relationship. Serina always noticed when he pulled away from her if she got too close and how he avoided doing anything but hold her hand. Despite her questions about his behavior, he never told her about the curse or that it was the reason he didn't hold her close or even kiss her.

"Even the best fall down sometimes"

As the weeks wore on, and the two became closer than ever, they found themselves drifting to Serina's apartment whenever time allowed. Although they never got close physically, Shigure continued to hold her hand whenever he could and took to resting his hand on her waist when her hands were busy making them something to eat or sorting through her mail at the end of the day.

"Even the wrong words seem to rhyme"

The two were careful about how much time they spent together and about how late or early Shigure was out of his house. He always found it difficult to leave Serina alone in her apartment, though, especially at night. He noticed the hint of sadness in her eyes every time she wished him a good night and shooed him out of the apartment and wished all the more that he could just hold her in his arms for once.

"Out of the doubt that fills your mind"

It was almost Midnight on a cold and blustery winter night when Shigure was getting ready to leave. Serina watched him regretfully but kept her distance nonetheless. He turned to her with a small smile, which she returned, before stepping to the door. As he opened it, Serina reached out suddenly and caught a hold of his coat, holding on tightly. Shigure looked back at her, but found her staring at the floor.

"Serina, please, I have to go," he said quietly.

"But it's snowing pretty heavily out there – you shouldn't be out in weather like that."

He laughed softly. "I'll be fine, really. I'll even call you when I get home if that makes you feel better." He smiled down at her then let it fade as she shook her head. "Serina, I really have to—"

"Stay," she said softly, her voice barely above a whisper.

"What...?"

She looked up at him and he was surprised to see tears forming in her eyes. "Stay," she repeated in the same soft tone. "Don't go home, stay with me."

"You know I can't..." he began.

"You finally find
You and I collide"

"Yes you can," she said firmly. "Please, I don't want you to go right now. I'm begging you to stay."

"I... can't," he said, looking away.

Serina bit her lip as a tear ran down her cheek. "What can I do to make you stay?" she whispered.

He held his breath for a long moment as he thought then shook his head, trying to pull away from her. "Please, just let me go," he said. "I'll come see you tomorrow, I promise."

She shook her head and moved herself closer to him, not even noticing when he didn't pull away. "But I need you now," she insisted. "Even if you can't hold me or kiss me or even be close to me, I just need to know that you're here with me. Please, don't go. Stay."

Letting out a shaky breath, he gently reached his free hand up and tilted her chin up slightly. Serina immediately froze, her breath hitching noisily. Smiling softly, he whispered, "Hold still for a moment." She barely dared to nod as moved his face closer to hers.

"You finally find"

Shigure continued to hover his barely an inch from hers and took a moment to close the door for a moment. Serina's eyes flicked away from his for a moment as she heard him lock the door then back up as she felt him move just a little closer.

"Shigure..." she whispered breathlessly.

"Yes Serina?" he whispered back, still smiling.

"What are you planning?" she asked, not daring to raise her voice above a whisper.

"You and I collide"

"To do what I should have done months ago," he replied. He quickly closed the gap between their faces as he kissed her on the lips softly. She gasped softly before slowly kissing him back. Instinctively, she let go of his coat and rested one hand on his cheek, the other resting on his shoulder. Slowly, she moved herself closer to him as they kissed again. He gently rested his free hand on her waist and held her in place away from him.

"You finally find"

Breaking the kiss gently, Serina looked up at him with a confused look in her eyes. "I don't understand," she whispered. "I thought you wanted to hold me."

"I do," he whispered back, "but it's complicated. Forgive me." He looked away from her and started to pull back but found her holding him in place. Slowly, he turned his gaze back to hers.

"I'm not afraid," she whispered confidently, smiling up at him. "Whatever it is, I can handle it."

Shigure shook his head. "It's not that I don't think you're ready, but I'm not. Give me a little more time, please." He looked away again, but didn't try to pull away this time.

"Hey," she said as she rested her forehead against his, "don't be so down. Stick with me on this." She smiled as he met her gaze again, smiling all the more when he let a small smile play at his lips.

"You really think you can handle it?" he asked.

She nodded. "After hiding our relationship for as long as we have, I can handle anything."

He chuckled and shook his head again. "I hope you're right," he said. Then, before Serina could open her mouth to ask what he meant, he pulled her into a tight hug.

"You and I collide"

Serina gasped loudly as he first pulled her close then quickly let her go again. He looked down at himself and touched his arms, chest, and face as if to see if he was still there.

"Shigure?" she asked. "What is it?"

Smiling, he looked up and met her gaze. "Nothing," he replied as he wrapped his arms around her again, "nothing at all."