Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket, but I do own Serina. So please, don't steal her.

Warning: This chapter is rated T for some adult themes.

A/N: This arc is slowly coming to a close, and I'm afraid this is the second to last chapter in it. This chapter is set immediately after the end of the last one, so you might want to read that one before reading this one. Enjoy. =)

Never before had Serina felt such uncontrollable and undeniable rage well up inside her from a single event like was feeling now.

Never before had she felt at such a loss for words either.

She watched – with a mixture of horror, anger, shock, and hurt on her face – as Haru did as Shigure asked and quickly left the house. She tried in vain to make her body listen to her and reach out to him as he passed, but nothing seemed to be working the way it should have.

As the front door slid shut softly, she finally found the strength to turn herself toward Shigure. He looked back at her with an even gaze, angering her all the more.

"How could you?" she whispered, unable to raise her voice any higher.

"How could you?" he retorted, trying not to glare at her. "You're my girlfriend, and I come home to find you with him. How am I supposed to feel?"

"You were the one who started that little game," she said, glaring at him now. "You never said I couldn't spend time with just him."

"That doesn't mean I wanted you to sleep with him!" he yelled.

"Then you should have sent him straight home when he happened to come here late that one night!" Serina clenched her fists tightly at her sides, trying to avoid getting violent while angry.

"This isn't about me," he scoffed. "This is about you and him, and the fact that you tell him that you love him and yet you've never said that to me."

Her eyes widened slightly in shock. "You're jealous." It was, at one point in her mind, meant to be an accusation, but it was obvious by the way Shigure's stare hardened and his own hands clenched into fists that it was true. "Why," she asked softly, "why are you so jealous? You know I want nothing more than to be with you."

"If I were the only thing you wanted, you wouldn't have slept with him today."

She sighed. "You didn't answer my question."

He hesitated, looking down so that she couldn't see his eyes. He'd been trying for months to tell her what she meant to him, to scrounge up the courage to ask her to marry him before the baby was born, but he'd never been able to. Even now, when the words were on the tip of his tongue, he couldn't bring himself to tell her the truth.

"I'm sorry," he said softly. "Forgive me for not saying what we both know is true."

She merely nodded and closed her eyes as a few tears started to roll down her cheeks. "I'm sorry too," she whispered, "because if this is how it's going to be for now, then I can't stay."

His eyes widened as he looked up at her quickly. She wasn't looking at him anymore, and her arms were wrapped around herself protectively, resting gently on the slight bulge that had started to form on her stomach. A few tears were still rolling down her cheeks, but she seemed to not notice them.

Slowly, he sank to his knees, tears starting to well up in his eyes. "Please," he begged softly, "don't leave. I couldn't stand it if you left."

"I'll come back," she said softly, still refusing to look at him. "I think we both just need some time apart, to get a new perspective as it were."

"No," he said, shaking his head. "I know what I want – I don't need time away from you."

"True as that may be, we both have things to work out." She finally met his gaze and smiled a bit sadly at him. "You'll know where to find me when everything's worked out."

He bit his lip as she passed by him and grabbed her wrist gently to keep her from walking any further. She looked down at him, a bit confused. "What is it?" she asked.

Without thinking, he sat up on his knees and pulled her into a soft kiss. She didn't resist at all and even helped work out the awkward angle by bending her knees a bit more. He held her there for a moment, then, reluctantly, let her go.

"Stay safe," he whispered, a small smile on his lips.

She merely smiled back as she pulled away, not wanting words to ruin the already painful moment.