Author's Note: I'm sorry, I'm literally the worst at updating this story. It's STILL not forgotten. I really WANT to finish it...now that it's been six years since I started it. Thank you, dedicated followers, for your patience. My resolution this year was to finish this story, and goddamn it, I'm going to! So bear with me. This chapter is LONG so hopefully it'll tie you guys over until next time. Which hopefully isn't going to be two years. Anyhow, as always, Read and Review and Enjoy!
Chapter Eight
IN WHICH TOHRU'S BEHAVIOR BECOMES VERY CURIOUS INDEED
It took Yuki about a week or two to get acclimated with the role of boyfriend and what that meant. As far as Yuki could tell, it meant that Haru was always around to walk Yuki everywhere he wanted to go. Being a mostly solitary individual, that was probably the hardest part to get used to: the always having someone next to him. It was as if his shadow became a human being. Haru would talk to him about anything and everything, usually in attempts to make Yuki laugh or smile. Not that it was especially difficult; Haru had always been able to make Yuki smile so easily.
After the third week, Yuki finally was comfortable enough to hold hands with Haru in the halls at school. The pair soon became the talk of campus; everyone whispering about the new couple to arise at school. Yuki became more self-conscious, then, but chose to turn a blind eye to it. It was the hardest adjustment he had to make. There were some who didn't care, but there were others – like the drama club – who wanted to exploit it the most they could; those were the ones – like the drama club – who started chasing Yuki down the halls begging to doll Yuki up in a dress, insisting that he was the girl of the relationship and therefore he must address the femininity inside. He could see it was all just a ploy to get him to dress up like a woman and as much as he liked to try and please everyone, he just couldn't bring himself to do it.
And then there was Kyo. The last person Yuki would ever think would be affected by his relationship, except in a way that would bring further torment to Yuki's own well-being, but, all the same, was. He mostly had secluded himself away from any social activities and most people, save Tohru and her friends. At home, he shut himself in his room, except at dinner where he would keep his eyes on his plate and rarely touch his food. Once dinner was over Kyo would excuse himself quickly and escape back to the safe confines of his room. Tohru tried to see him whenever she could, but she was spending an unusually large amount of him with Hanajima, Uotani, and Kakeru and was unable to try and socialize much with Kyo. She invited him out with her and her friends multiple times, but each time Kyo refused and just became, more or less, a hermit. Yuki didn't know what to do or say, if he should do or say anything, so he just chose to ignore it. Occasionally, Kyo would try to start an argument – usually only when Haru wasn't around – with Yuki, but Yuki would rarely give in. He didn't know if it was harder to argue or to ignore an argument with Kyo.
Luckily, Haru was blind to any negativity on Kyo's end. He was in a bubble of happiness that he and Yuki were finally an item and they held hands in public. He was still working on the kissing in public, but there were far too many onlookers at school for Yuki to want to participate in such a spectacle. No, the privacy of home was much better for kissing. And maybe some make-out sessions in his room.
After a month, Yuki had felt a little more comfortable with kisses on the cheek at school, much to Haru's eternal happiness – as well as the drama club's. And a couple weeks after that, after most of the uproar of their relationship had somewhat subsided, Yuki allowed Haru to kiss him on the lips. It was comfortable, yet terrifying. He had a small audience – among them was one, Kyo Sohma, and the drama club – and couldn't concentrate solely on Haru like he wanted to. He just wasn't the biggest fan of public displays of showing him and Haru off...or affection in general. Not that he wasn't an affectionate person, he just didn't understand why they had to do it with people around. Especially Kyo. He was starting to think that Kyo was bothered personally by his relationship with Haru. While not knowing why the purpose, or the motive behind his own actions, he didn't want to fuel the fire any more than he already had.
The day Haru had kissed him in the hallway at school, Kyo stared and Yuki could feel his eyes boring into the two of them. He had opened his eyes just for a second and saw the same expression that he had had on his face every time Kyo saw Yuki and Haru. And this time there was more, as if there wasn't a safe place for Kyo to hide from all of it. Yuki didn't know how he had read that on Kyo, but it had been there on his face as if it had been spelled out in words. Yuki gently pulled away from Haru and that was the last time they kissed in the hallways at school. He never told Haru the real reason, he just didn't think it was appropriate and he told Haru he was sick of the attention the two of them attracted.
While Haru and Yuki were getting closer together, another unlikely pair were getting closer still, much to everyone's curiosity.
Tohru and Kakeru were still spending an inordinately amount of time together. So much so that they had ultimately stopped asking Hana and Uo to come hang out with them. This fact Haru and Yuki didn't know, until the two girls asked Yuki if she was feeling ok. Yuki was taken aback by their inquisition. "What do you mean?" He asked them.
"Well we haven't seen much of Tohru lately," Hana told Yuki. "She kept skipping out on hanging with us after school, saying she wasn't feeling very well. So, we just wanted to know if she was ok. She seems fine in school. It's not like her to lie to us."
Hana was right: it wasn't like Tohru to lie to her best friends. Yuki became worried as he realized he hadn't talked to her much lately either. Haru was immediately ready to take charge.
"Yes!" Haru exclaimed with a finger in the air. Oh no, Yuki thought, he's plotting something. "We must get to the bottom of this!" He said, forming a first and bringing his fist down firmly on his other palm. Yuki made an expression with his eyes he could only hope conveyed 'panic stricken.'
"Haru, why can't we just talk to her?" He asked, but Haru would hear none of it.
"Nonsense, dear Yuki! We must solve this enigma!" He decided with finality. Uo was completely on board for Haru's decision while Hana and Yuki just stared in bewilderment. Both of their natures were so calm and reserved in contrast to their counterparts, that all they could do is feel themselves nodding and going along with the flow. And so, they decided to stalk Tohru after school.
That night, Hana and Uo had come over to help Haru and Yuki plot for the following day's activities. Correction: the girls came over so Uo and Haru could plot together while Hana and Yuki sat there, completely helpless and useless to assist, or stop, the maddening duo as they delved deeper into their plans for interference.
Haru had brought over little army soldiers and Uo had acquired the blueprints to the school and the surrounding area. Yuki was absolutely mystified. It was as if they were planning some epic battle: there were soldiers for clusters of students, decorated soldiers for the "Fantastic Four" – Haru had "just come up with it, out of nowhere" and not realizing it had actually belonged to a group of super heroes; comics weren't really his thing – and somehow, he had scrounged up two dolls for Tohru and Kakeru, swearing that they were Momiji's. Hana and Yuki's eyes just kept getting wider with the amount of effort they were putting into "The Plan." It looked more to them like they were playing rather than plotting. Uo and Haru would move the dolls and the soldiers in conjunction to what the group would be doing as soon as Tohru and Kakeru were on the move. The madness went on for about an hour before Shigure came out from his study.
"Hello, young children! What are we doing?" Blueprints, soldiers, dolls, and hushed, plotting tones. Just the kind of thing to get Shigure excited.
Haru immediately jumped onto the blueprint just as Uo was trying to shove everything in the middle to cover up the blueprint. The result wasn't pretty: Haru had soldier imprints in his abdomen for a few hours as well as nail marks from Uo. And the latter had ripped the blueprint in the middle. Of course, this wasn't the type of reaction you make with Shigure. His intrigue in such matters only increases.
As such, he nestled himself right in between Yuki and Haru and smoothed out the torn blueprint and smiled animatedly down at it. "So, are we playing army? Are we bombing the school?!"
All Yuki could do was sit there and let his face shade into a deep blush. He placed his face in his hand, his fingers propping up his forehead, and just shook his head slowly.
Haru looked flabbergasted. "Bomb…the school?!" Haru breathed. "Why, of course not!" He jumped up and started pacing, a habit Yuki was not familiar with him doing. "We were making plans to follow Tohru tomorrow after school!" He ran a hand through his hair before sitting back down and looking at Shigure, who only showed more curiosity, with a slight tinge of embarrassment.
"Oh, but of course you are!" Shigure tried to cover up his outlandish mistake, but the damage had been done. He let his excited blunder end as he commented on the real purpose behind the blueprints and soldiers. "Well, why do you want to follow dear Tohru? Certainly, she's not up to any trouble?" He lowered his voice conspiratorially at the end of his sentence.
Yuki couldn't help but sigh at this. As if Uo and Haru weren't enough, now the insipid dog was making all of this more theatrical and larger than it needed to be. Haru, however, seemed to be doing all the talking as the others appeared to be just as embarrassed as the rat was.
Before Haru spoke, he huffed in frustration. "No, she's just been distant lately, is all," To which Shigure returned to his impish, doggish nature.
"I've noticed this too! Can I help in whatever activities you intend to delve into?" He was now too invested that saying no would break his heart. No one really had the heart to say no to the dog. Haru and Uo were slightly more enthusiastic about the idea. Haru because he didn't have enough tools to decorate another soldier, and Uo because she didn't know Shigure as well and had always had reservations about him.
And so, the five of them – correction: three of them – plotted how and when and in what manner they would follow Tohru the following day. It was so specific that they even discussed wearing a different pair of clothes so Tohru wouldn't recognize them if she just so happened to see them. Hana and Yuki sat back outside the circle and started doing their homework together; it was all they could do to exclaim about the absurdity of the entire situation. Luckily the trio weren't paying them any mind.
Kyo had made his way down stairs around dinner time. Tohru wasn't around to make dinner and Shigure was too busy with the teenagers to attempt to make dinner or order take out. He looked taken aback to see all of them sitting around a set of blueprints with toy soldiers and two dolls. Yuki looked up at him and glanced at the trio of plotters to which Kyo was also looking. When his eyes returned to Kyo, he only found the cat's eyes also meeting his own. They looked quizzical and rather bemused. Yuki shrugged. "They're going overboard. Again." Was all Yuki said to the cat, which he took as an acceptable answer. He pulled on his shoes, grabbed his jacket, and walked out the door.
Soon after, the teens realized how late it was, and, much to Shigure's dismay, they went to their homes. Haru was the only one who stayed and ordered take out for the three of them. Kyo still hadn't returned. Tohru arrived home shortly after Uo and Hana left, admitting that she had already eaten. She retired to her room to finish her homework.
And then there were three. Well, one. Shigure and Haru were still too excited to talk about anything else. So, Yuki just sat there and watched as much television as he could with the cow and the dog whispering furiously in the background, afraid Tohru could hear. The television actually proved to be quite the wise choice, as Shigure and Haru had ordered Yuki to turn it up to ensure that Tohru couldn't over hear. Yuki simply rolled his eyes, wanting to tell them that she didn't even know that she should be over hearing, but decided against it. He couldn't be the one to tarnish the happiness of others just because he couldn't understand why it needed to be some huge ordeal.
An hour or so passed by, and Haru and Shigure were still animatedly plotting while Yuki lazily flipped through channels. He begrudgingly settled on Gaki no Tsukai out of lack of options. It didn't turn out to be so bad, just the extra slap stick could get tiresome.
Kyo came back home, wordlessly. He was about to go to his room, but stopped when he looked at the television. Then he smiled, and walked backwards to the couch and sat on the same sofa as Yuki. He hadn't done that in who knows how long. To say Yuki was surprised was an understatement. But he wasn't necessarily thrilled about it either. He remembered the bomb-like status Kyo had acquired recently and was just counting down the minutes before Kyo exploded over gods knew what. After noticing Yuki hadn't any food in front of him, Kyo scooted to the cushion right next to Yuki and extended a takeout container and procured an extra set of chopsticks from, seemingly, nowhere. Yuki knew better than to ask questions. He smiled softly and accepted the chopsticks and accepted the charity food, which turned out to be kare raisu, or rice and curry. It was delicious, which led Yuki to suspect that Kyo had gone to Curry Kingdom – and it would explain why it took so long for him to return. He moved a little closer to the cat so he could more easily snag food from the container. He could feel Kyo tense up and Yuki immediately regretted his decision. He froze and waited for the cat to make his move: would he choose anger or peace? Fortunately, he chose peace and leaned back into the sofa and just a smidgeon closer to Yuki, much to Yuki's ever-growing surprise.
The dog and the cow's voices raised and lowered like waves, making Yuki and Kyo jump at first; and each time, they would giggle like school girls to each other as if they were talking about something they shouldn't – which they were and they shouldn't have been plotting anything at all. Each time, the cat and the rat would exchange glances and either eye roll or smirk at each other before returning their attention to the television. Yuki was rather enjoying this silent comradery. It had been so long since the two of them got along that he couldn't even remember the last time it happened. Laughter emitted from the two of them each time something ludicrous happened, which was pretty much every minute or so.
The program ended, and Yuki automatically assumed that the cat would swiftly get up and retreat to his bedroom. Instead, it was Haru and Shigure who went into another room, without one word to the two boys sitting side by side on the sofa. They walked into Shigure's study and shut the door as the cat and the rat watched with eyes wide and speechless, gaping mouths. The two exchanged a mortified expression for a beat until Kyo's expression turned slightly triumphant and Yuki's stayed flabbergasted.
"Want to watch something else?" Kyo had recovered much more quickly than Yuki had and uncharacteristically chose to continue hanging out with his rival. Yuki nodded and Kyo took the remote from Yuki's frozen hand. Yuki didn't really know what Kyo had chosen to put on, he was far gone, lost in his thoughts – as per usual. Kyo chose something and nestled back to where he had been sitting before, but only just a tad closer to Yuki.
He tried to play it cool, and failed. He wasn't used to Kyo being this close and this nice, and he didn't know what to make of it. He was already starting to get drowsy after Gaki no Tsukai, and now the added conundrum was adding to his sleepiness. He didn't want the two to slide into another argument, but he desperately wanted to ask questions. Of course, that just wasn't how the two operated together. They couldn't just sit around and talk about their feelings all night long. That's something that he could do with Tohru, and not really anyone else. Even with Haru, it was awkward and uncomfortable. He wasn't the type for confrontation – unless it was to troll on Kyo, which was, for the most part, really fun – and he wasn't the type to initiate conversation – especially with Kyo. But why was that? Why couldn't he be that person?
The more he thought about it, the more tired he became. His mind was tumultuous with questions, and his eyes were fluttering with sleep. His lids grew heavier and he found himself sagging against what he thought was the couch. His head tilted and landed on a hard surface, into which he nuzzled a little bit and he was out. Whatever I'm leaning on sure is comfortable, Yuki thought just before he drifted into a slumber.
He didn't know how long he was out, but he vaguely remembered being jostled and then he was flying, before he made a landing on his bed. His eyes opened for just a moment, and he could swear that there were a pair of crimson eyes under an orange mop of hair that were staring down at him from a considerably close distance. His heart started pounding before he fell back asleep.
Yuki woke to Haru cuddling him from behind. Haru was nestled in his back with his arm draped over Yuki and his knees following the shape of Yuki's. He groggily remembered the night before and sighed with dread. Today is the day we stalk Tohru. He thought laboriously. He was confused as to how Haru was behind him, but just settled it on he and Shigure were up too late "plotting." He gently moved Haru's arm and swung his legs onto the floor and sat upright. He ran a tired hand through his hair and rubbed his eyes gently with his fingertips. Then he stood up and softly padded to the door to go to the bathroom, being careful not to wake Haru.
He figured this would be another shower day. He stripped down and turned on the water before stepping in. The hot water felt amazing and it was only here that Yuki remembered all of his interactions with Kyo the night before. Did he really want to be questioning it again? It did cause him to fall asleep the night before. But still, he couldn't keep his mind away from it. It felt so easy, sitting and watching television with Kyo. Had it always been that easy? It had been so long that he couldn't even remember if it had actually happened before or if it was just now.
He was just finishing up his shower, and was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't hear the door open and close. He also failed to miss the sound of clothes coming off. He did, however, catch the part where the shower curtain slid open in haste. And he also was not introspecting when he screamed bloody murder and slipped in the shower from being scared when none other than Haru expressed his morning salutations. He stepped into the shower and pulled the shower curtain back to closed as he knelt down and made sure Yuki was okay. He would, in fact, be alright, but he did acquire a nasty bruise to his tail bone. He stood back up with slight difficulty before giving Haru a cross look.
"What were you thinking?!" He whispered haughtily as Haru smiled serenely back at him. He had probably awakened the entire house, but he didn't want to keep them awake with an argument.
"I was thinking we could shower together. Get all sudsy and wash each other off," He breathed the last sentence and took this as initiative to get closer to Yuki and touch his face.
While this was distracting, and rather tempting, Yuki hadn't even thought about seeing Haru naked. Granted, their make out sessions could get a little hot and heavy, he hadn't even considered what Haru looked like under his clothes. Other than what he already knew was under there. Haru did have an amazing body: he was so lean and trim and muscular in all the right places. His limbs were long and willowy, all the way down to his fingertips. Which were now finding Yuki's neck and twisting the hairs at the nape of his neck within his fingers. He didn't have the guts to look down at the place that was always unseen – he wasn't sure he was ready for that step, still. However, Yuki's breath got shorter and faster, he knew that this could only lead to a step he knew he wasn't ready for, but instead of giving in and kissing his boyfriend, he pushed the shower curtain back to find Kyo at the door.
Again.
The three boys were frozen. Yuki and Haru close with Haru's fingers frozen within Yuki's hair, and Kyo with his hand still on the door. His expression this morning was one of betrayal. And Yuki knew he would never forget that expression. As soon as he processed it, which for once it was right quick, he grabbed a towel and stepped out of the shower. Haru leaned against the wall and asked why Kyo was in the bathroom at all. He looked and sounded incredibly put off and definitely not at all nervous about his junk hanging out. How did he do that?
Kyo stood, frozen, in the doorway until Haru broke his gaze at Yuki, which had been his primary focal point. There was no gaze at Haru, just Yuki, their eyes were connected until Yuki broke away and Kyo started to stammer an explanation. "I heard a scream and decided to check it out," He said as he straightened and turned his gaze to the floor so he wouldn't have to look at nude Haru.
Haru, on the other hand, stayed standing where he was. Brazenly presenting himself to the entire room, and completely oblivious to the other boys' reddened cheeks and averted gazes. He waved a hand at Kyo's concern. "Oh, that was just Yuki," To which, Kyo reacted in another look towards the embarrassed rat. "He just fell in the shower. Clumsy boy," He explained as he turned off the water and stepped out of the shower and, finally, grabbed a towel to put lightly around his waist. Once slightly decent, he put an arm around Yuki and smiled as he kissed his head. Yuki just blushed even further.
Kyo nodded and stumbled backward. "Glad everyone is okay," He replied with a last look to Yuki. The rat couldn't even say 'thanks' and just let him leave.
Well this is going to be a fantastic day, Yuki thought as he wrapped the towel he was holding to himself around his waist and walked back to his bedroom. Haru eagerly followed, surely thinking that they were going to indulge in inappropriate acts before breakfast. Unfortunately for the cow, the rat had none of that in mind. He was speechless and mindlessly put on his uniform for school, much to Haru's dismay.
Kyo didn't walk with them to school that day, but that didn't stop Tohru and Haru talking happily about squirrels. Yes, you read that right: squirrels. It did make sense, though. You didn't find many squirrels in Japan except for on a few islands, Yuki thought as one of them voiced the same thing.
"I learned about local extinctions from Kakeru. The deforestation in Japan is killing these beautiful tree creatures!" Tohru expressed with heart felt emotion. Apparently, she and Kakeru were going to plant some trees together later that afternoon after school.
Well this is going to be easy, Yuki thought in regard to the plan for later. One look at Haru and he knew he was thinking the exact same thing.
School rushed by in a blur. There were so many 'Secret Code Looks and Nudges' by Uo and Haru that Hana and Yuki gave up trying to keep up with it. Hana and Yuki mainly talked about the drama club and how weird they were, particularly when they were sneaking up behind Yuki and trying to put him in a Belle, from Beauty and the Beast outfit. This strategy seemed fruitful as they deflated and walked sullenly back to the auditorium.
During his final class of the day, he and Haru were called out of class. As were Uo and Hana. They were met in the office by none other than Shigure, Mine, and Ayame. Yuki swore he turned fourteen shades of purple. Ayame was the first to speak.
"Hello, young ones! Shigure informed me of your super sleuth operation. And I must say, I'm delighted to assist you all in the Undercover Bandit part of your mission!"
"Undercover Bandit? What are you talking about?" Yuki asked, still shell shocked that Ayaa was even there at all.
"Why, to help you maneuver without being detected, of course!"
Haru, Uo, and Shigure seemed delighted by this news.
"This is perfect!" Uotani announced enthusiastically. "I was wondering how we were going to change clothes before the end of school in time to follow Tohru."
Yuki knew that there was no escaping this plan, so he and Hana allowed themselves to be escorted by the fellow members of their group and into the auditorium where Ayaa had set up shop.
Literally.
He had brought most of the items from his shop to the school for them to try on costumes. Yuki knew that Ayaa and Shigure had envisioned a montage like the ones from movies when the main character is having a makeover. And of course, Mine had tagged along to dress everyone and grab outfits for the students to try on.
The montage commenced, complete with "montage music" as Ayaa called it. There were dramatic theater attires ranging from the Renaissance to modern day regular clothes. Haru tried on an outfit that made him look like he was from the Taliban and they put Yuki in a Russian dress from the 1800's, complete with hoopskirt and ruffles. Too bad the drama club hadn't been there to witness it. Uo was put into an outfit that made her look like she was in a biker gang, and Hanajima donned a form fitting dress that made her look like Elvira. Shigure dressed as a furry in a dog costume, and Ayaa tried on a leotard that had cheetah print all over it. Yuki and Haru were sure that he had tried it on before. And Mine dressed in a very provocative sex costume that all of them were definitely positive that she had worn before.
Ultimately, Ayaa's 'expert' decision led them to wear outfits that made them look like Gohan from Dragon Ball Z when he was that lame Saiyan hero. The prototype, before he acquired a helmet. In case the audience doesn't know that that looks like: it involved a black, loose unitard, a green tunic (they had tunics of varying colors), gloves, Ugg boots, a turban (yes, a turban), and sunglasses. At least Ayame had forgotten that the original outfit had included a red cape.
The only two people who were really into this idea were, none other than, Shigure and Ayaa. They stuck out like sore thumbs. Regardless, there was no talking them out of it; once they had an idea, it was fruitless to convince them that another way existed.
Just as the group had assembled in their outfits, begrudgingly, the bell was about to ring. So, they had very little time for a pep talk. Ayaa decided he 'needed to join them, it was [his] calling to uncover the truth in all situations, especially when it involved dear, little Tohru!' The children rolled their eyes, but accepted it anyways. "Now, it is time for the Sexual Six –" Ayaa started again in pep and gyrating a little when he was saying the last two words before he was interrupted by Uo, Hana, and Yuki, who were all talking over each other. It was Uo who had the final word.
"Sexual Six?! What's so sexual about these outfits?! Don't be a creepy, old perv!" She said she shoved Ayaa to the side with Haru, Mine, and Shigure, who started consoling his ego. "Now! We are embarking on a mission to help our friend! To see why she keeps ditching us and bring her back to the safety of her friend herd!"
"Friend herd?" Shigure questioned with a raised eyebrow and Uotani gave him a look that expressed he better not question her word choices or he'd have worse than Ayame.
They shuffled outside, being sure to avoid any places where they could run into any humans. Shigure and Ayaa figured it was because they were practicing being sneaky, but the teens were just so utterly mortified at being seen in the ludicrous outfits.
Before the bell rang, they ended up in the front school yard, behind some bushes. Despite the humiliation, Uo and Haru were still too excited to let the outfits ruin all their hard planning.
They parted the bushes so they could see through the branches while Shigure and Ayaa tried to discreetly peer over the bushes. Hana and Yuki sat on the ground where Hana was practicing reading Tarot cards and using Yuki as a practice human. He found the whole activity very curious and intriguing. It took about five minutes for the foursome to spot Tohru and suddenly they were on the move. They had to take a roundabout route to follow her so they could be protected by hedges, trees, and bushes. Turns out, all of this could have been planned without blueprints and soldiers.
They followed Tohru off campus and were in hot pursuit of her for about six blocks away from school. They had followed her to a coffee shop where she was waiting for someone. The only reason they knew she was waiting was that she had bought another coffee and set it across from her. During the down time, Hana got out some string and Yuki and Hana played string games until they heard the group stir and discuss Tohru.
"Aha!" Haru explained and the rest of the group shushed him before peering across the street to find Kakeru sitting down across from Tohru. She smiled placidly at him and demurely sipped her coffee. They immediately indulged in a seemingly riveting conversation – probably about squirrels, Yuki thought – while drinking their coffee. After about half an hour, they stood and grabbed their school bags and made their way to the train. The group of six piled their way onto the train and all of them were thankful then for the turbans and sunglasses to hide in plain sight from Tohru. Three stops later, their suspects were on the move and so was the sleuthing troupe. They tracked her, ungracefully, to a park where Kakeru produced a blanket from his bag and some food that he placed in the middle of the blanket on the ground. Uo and Haru were grabbing each other's hands with gaped mouths as they finally understood what was happening: Kakeru and Tohru were dating.
Kakeru pulled Tohru to sit down next time and they started nervously nibbling the food that Kakeru had brought. Kakeru had put down his sandwich and looked at Tohru, which made her even more flustered. She flushed and looked down at the blanket and started picking some grass off of it. He used a finger to put under her chin and pull it up to face him before he slowly brought his lips into her and kissed her.
Shigure, Uo, and Hana – ever the protective ones – all clambered to try and pull Kakeru away from their delicate friend while Haru, Yuki, and Ayaa held them back. The latter three announced that they should go and so the group detached from the park. But only after making a scene when Ayaa decided he needed a squirrel and started chasing one across the park and making enemies with a dog and dog walker.
Finally, the made it home where they met once again with Mine, who had changes of clothes for Hana, Uo, and Haru – Ayaa decided that he wanted to wear something of Shigure's. Yuki, Shigure, and Ayaa all went to change their clothes in their respected rooms.
Shigure was too tired from Super Sleuthing as Undercover Bandits to cook dinner. He was about to order take out for the second night in a row, when Mine announced that she'd be happy to make dinner and immediately went to change into her sexy chef costume.
The rest of the afternoon was spent in bated suspense as they tried to pass time until Tohru returned from the park. The teenagers decided they might as well do some homework and the grownups…they weren't sure what Ayaa and Shigure were doing, and they didn't necessarily want to know.
They all sat down to dinner an hour and a half later. Tohru and Kakeru were together still and were holding hands under the table the way Haru and Yuki did when they first started dating. Kyo was absent. He hadn't come home after school, either. Now that he was thinking of it, Yuki realized he hadn't seen Kyo since the bathroom that morning. And he realized that he was concerned for the cat and if he was okay.
During dinner, everyone was silent until Tohru had stopped talking to Kakeru long enough to address the group. "So guys! Today, the weirdest thing happened! There was this large group of people dressed in outlandish costumes that were following me! And in the park, one of them got attacked by a dog and its owner!" The 'outlandish group' chuckled uneasily while Shigure and Ayaa almost defended the attire before realizing she wasn't supposed to know.
Kakeru looked at Tohru and laughed and looked at the group. "Well, we have an announcement to make," He said in a matter of fact tone. "As you know, Tohru and I have been spending a lot of time together and, well, today I asked her to be my girlfriend!"
Uo, Haru, Shigure, and Ayaa stood up suddenly and pointed at Tohru, screaming "AHA!" While Hana and Yuki congratulated the new couple. Haru immediately sat down and started discussing double dates, excited now that there was another couple for them to do things with. Ostensibly, having normal, non-coupled friends wasn't as cool as have coupled friends. It was a conversation that Kakeru was enjoying very much until Uotani and Hanajima interjected.
"Couples can't be the only ones who spend time together! What about her friends?!" Uo shouted and almost climbed across the table to deck Kakeru and Haru. Kakeru looked terrified as Hana took her turn to express her disapproving opinions on the matter.
Ayaa was too distracted with Mine to pay attention to the conversation who kept untying her apron to reveal yet another sex costume. And Shigure's response was, "We already have one gay couple, a heterosexual couple, now you little girlies can make a lesbian couple!" Tohru blushed a deep red as Uo, Hana, and Yuki all punched Shigure in the face.
Yuki took this opportunity to excuse himself and retreat to his room. He fell back onto his bed and turned the day's events over in his mind. He couldn't believe he almost had sex this morning! Or, rather, was one step closer to having sex! And what's more, he couldn't believe that Kyo actually barged in on the two of them naked in the shower! What did he think about it? What did it matter? Yuki sighed and covered his face with the crook of his elbow as his door opened to reveal Haru.
The ox gracefully crossed the room, leaving the door open a crack, and lie down next to Yuki on the bed. "Hey, baby, what's going on?" Yuki didn't necessarily want to talk, so he kissed Haru instead. He wasn't sure if this was the right reaction, but it was happening anyways.
He slipped a hand through Haru's hair as they both sank into the kiss. Haru didn't need any persuading to put his hands on Yuki. He looped a finger through Yuki's belt loop and softly meshed his lips onto Yuki's, using his finger to pull Yuki's hips closer to him before sliding his arm around the rat and onto the small of his back. The two boys sighed into each other as their kisses got heavier. Tongues slid into mouths and massaged the other. Hands wandered and explored the top halves of their bodies. Haru expertly rolled Yuki onto his back while he straddled on top of him without breaking their connection through their lips. He softly bit Yuki's lower lip, which made him moan slightly. Haru's lips left his own and moved down to his ears and pecked a line to his neck. Yuki slightly arched his back and tilted his head back and opened his eyes a little only to find Kyo standing there, staring. Haru brought his fingers to Yuki's hair and pulled his head back towards his lips as he started grinding his hips softly against Yuki's. He heard a door slam shut, but his world was consumed with Haru. Yuki breathed into the kiss and wrapped his left around Haru's waist and his right hand was preoccupied on Haru's neck. Haru kept his left hand in Yuki's hair and his right hand slid down Yuki's side, causing him to push himself closer to Haru. His fingers slid up Yuki's shirt and skimmed his rib cage. Yuki hadn't recalled getting his hot and heavy. Before he knew it, Haru's fingers deftly moved to the button of his pants and started trying to undo it. Yuki froze and put his hand over Haru's to try and stop him. Well, the hand stopped, and so did the kissing. Yuki opened his eyes to find Haru looking confused down at him.
"What's wrong?" He asked softly and moved his hand from the button to Yuki's hair.
Yuki was breathless and shook his head. "Nothing, I just…" He gently pushed Haru off him and sat up. Haru sat next to him and put an arm around him.
"It's okay, Yuki, you can tell me anything," He said gently and rubbed Yuki's back.
Yuki took a deep breath and looked at Haru. "I just don't think I'm ready for all of that…yet," He desperately didn't want Haru to be angry. He knew he was already asking a lot of Haru to give up PDA for him.
Haru surprised him and smiled, kissing his nose. "It's okay, babe. We can go as slow as you want; there's no rush," Yuki looked at him and smiled back. They took hands and Yuki leaned his head on Haru's shoulder.
All of a sudden, the flashback of the night before came to him. "Hey, did you carry me to bed last night?" Yuki asked randomly.
Haru chuckled and shook his head. "Of course not. You were already in bed before I even came up here," He said and squeezed Yuki back into him.
That could only mean the bony surface Yuki had felt was Kyo's shoulder! And Kyo had carried him to bed! He didn't know why that bothered him so much, but he couldn't stop thinking about it. It made his heart pound even more than Haru's makeout sessions.
The two boys said goodnight a little while after. Yuki walked him out and they shared a long kiss in the front yard. During which, Yuki found Kyo staring at them from the roof.
Immediately after, Yuki stormed up to the roof. He wasn't sure what he was going to say, or what he wanted to say, or why he even wanted to go up there at all. All he knew was that he was infuriated and confused and he wanted answers. Instead of talking, the cat only charged at him and all Yuki could do was duel with him.
Their punches were more electrically charged than before. He blocked, kicked, and punched until he felt his fist collide with Kyo's face. The cat was down for the count and had fallen through the roof. Again. Yuki was so frustrated he didn't even stay to make sure Kyo was okay. He knew Tohru and Shigure would hear the uproar and come to see if everything was alright. He took the ladder back down to Kyo's window and climbed in and went to his room. He slammed his door and threw himself back on the bed.
A part of him was worried about Kyo, another part didn't care. He didn't know what was up with Kyo, but he did know that he couldn't concern himself with caring. It would never lead anywhere with real answers. And why would he want real answers anyhow? Did he even truly want a friendship with the cat? Could they even be friends? And why would Yuki want to be friends with a boy whose sole purpose in life is to be his arch rival? The answer was, he didn't. So that night, he told himself that he wouldn't worry himself with Kyo Sohma ever again.