Other than the hotspring chapter that comes later, this chapter was DEFINETELY my favorite. And I think it'll be a favorite of the rest of you.

And so, with Tohru, Yuki, and Shigure gone, Yuki and Kyo were in the house alone. Of course, Kyo wasn't aware of this until he came downstairs an hour or so after the group had left.

"Tohru, are there any riceballs left over from lunch? I'm hungry."

He ruffled the patch of orange on his head and pushed aside the curtain to the kitchen, expecting to see Tohru's smiling face saying 'Yeah! They're right over ther!' But no such face greeted him. Instead, it was a clean, empty kitchen.

"Where is she?" Kyo stepped out of the kitchen and into the dining area where Yuki was skimming through his History book.

"Hey, where's Tohru?"

"Out." Yuki replied plainly and turned a page.

"Out? Out where?"

"With Ayame and Shigure at Ayame's shop."

"W-what?"

"I was originally supposed to go, but I didn't want to. So Shigure went in my place."

"Are you crazy? Letting those two be alone with her?" Kyo clenched his fists.

"I doubt they'll do anything to her." Yuki rolled his eyes, "Despite their slightly perverted nature..."

Kyo growled a little, "Can't believe I'm stuck here with you. Damn it..."

"Would you have preferred to go with them istead?" Yuki turned to face the cat, "Spend hours at Ayame's shop?"

"Hell no!"

"Then don't complain." Yuki stood up and shoved the cat aside as he went into the kitchen.

"Damn it, watch where you're going!" Kyo snapped at him.

"You were in my way." Yuki reached into the fridge for the orange juice.

"You could have just said excuse me."

Yuki closed the fridge and slammed the carton down on the counter, "Look, I don't want to be stuck here with you anymore than you want to be here with me. We just need to grin and bear it. Fighting won't make this situation any easier to deal with."

Kyo scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest, "Yeah, whatever..."

"Glad we understand each other."

Yuki poured himself a glass and put the carton back into the fridge. Kyo still stood in the doorway of the dining area staring at Yuki as he drank down the juice. Kyo didn't necessarily WANT to fight with the rat or be mad at him, but at the same time, he could barely stand the thought of having to be locked up alone with him. The set up was...awkward. Kyo's stomach was lurching slightly and had been since his conversation with Shigure. It was still haunting him. But more than that, the possibility of Yuki knowing what Shigure had said to him was haunting him more. Letting out a frustrated sigh, Kyo crossed his arms over his chest.

"Hey...uh...did Shigure say anything to you?" Yuki put his cup down on the counter and glanced at the cat,

"Excuse me?"

"Did Shigure say anything to you, damn it..."

"About what, exactly?" Yuki raised his eyebrow.

Kyo let out a slightly frustrated groan.

He could be messing with me. Shigure probably said something and Yuki's just messing with me...trying to make me crack. Taunting me...Damn it, don't do that... Kyo looked down at the ground,

"About...me?"

Yuki quickly shook his head, "No. He didn't say anything. He...hasn't said anything to you about me...has he?" Yuki looked away from the cat as he said this.

"No. Why would he?"

"Well, why would he say anything to me about you?" Yuki snapped back, hiding the vulnerablity he had just shown.

"Hell if I know! I was just asking." Kyo turned away from Yuki, "Like I care about you or anything...even if he had said something..."

"I wouldn't have listened anyway." Yuki pushed Kyo aside and went back into the dining room, "I couldn't care less about you."

"Yeah, well, same here." Kyo rolled his eyes, "Why the hell did I even ask that? Damn that Shigure...it's his fault..."

"What is?" Yuki looked up at him.

"N-nothing." Kyo said quickly, "Just...nothing..."

Yuki sighed a little and laced his fingers together in his lap, "Shigure...did talk to you didn't he?"

"What the hell is it to you?"

"He talked to me too..."

There was silence. A long, tense silence. Kyo just stared down at the rat, and he stared right back. There was very little emotion the eyes of those two. Niether of them wanted to show vulnerability.

"Well then...what did he say?" Kyo questioned mumbled.

Yuki scratched the side of his face,

"He just said that...that you..."

He'll laugh at me. He'll say something cruel. What am I doing? What am I saying? What the hell did Shigure do to me...what is Kyo doing to me...

Eyes shut tight, Yuki stood up abruptly and quickly left the dining area and headed for the front door. Kyo went after him.

"Where are you going?"

"Out." He said quickly and opened the door.

"Out where? What the hell is your problem?"

"I don't know and I don't know, just leave me alone." A

nd Yuki walked out and shut the door behind him.

"Damn it..." Kyo slammed his fist against the wall, "...Why did I ask that stupid question?"

Kyo was regretting bringing up such a delicate subject, but not as much as Yuki regretting dragging the subject out. I'm such a fool... But more than dragging out the subject, he regretted going outside without his jacket. It was cold. Very cold. And Yuki's health wasn't the greatest. Each breath was painful and sharp and grew worse with every step he took. He should have gone back to the house. But he was to stubborn. He didn't want to see Kyo's face.

Kyo, as he stood with his fist against the wall, began to realize what had just happened. Yuki left. It was freezing. His bronchial tubes...Damn it! He grabbed Yuki's jacket and rushed out the door. He couldn't explain to himself what had come over him. He couldn't understand why he was going after the Yuki. Normally he would have just let him suffer in the cold. But this time...it was different. After about 10 minutes of walking, Kyo finally found Yuki. He was leaning up against a tree, clenching his chest with his head bowed low.

"Yuki..." Kyo went over and shoved the jacket at him.

Yuki looked up at him. The rat's eyes were full of pain, both physical and emotional. The weather was affecting him big-time. He wanted to go home. But he still felt resentful towards the cat.

"I don't need your help." And he threw the jacket back at him, "I'm...I'm fine..."

"No, you're not." He gave him the jacket back, "You need to get home."

"I said I don't need you!" Yuki shouted and thrusted the jacket back.

He used the little strength he had left and pushed himself off the tree, then continued to walk. Kyo went after him.

"Yuki, you're gonna kill yourself if you keep this up!"

"Why do you care?" Yuki yelled back at him, "You tell me on a daily basis to drop dead..."

"You're being an idiot, Yuki! If you keep this up...damn it, just come on!"

"No." Yuki shook his head and kept walking, "I don't need you or want..or want..."

And Yuki collapsed to his knees, coughing hard and clutching his chest. Kyo knelt down in front of him wrapped the jacket around his shoulders.

"I don't - "

"Yuki, shut-up." Kyo gripped his shoulders tightly, "Shut-up and stop being an idiot."

"I'm not an idiot."

"Only an idiot would put their health on the line like this."

In the blistering cold, the two knelt in the snow, Yuki breathing hard and fast and Kyo holding tightly to him. As Yuki's breathing returned to its normal pace, he looked up at Kyo was still staring down at him.

"Thank-you..."

Kyo shook his head, mumbling that it was nothing, and began to back away, but Yuki kept him still. He took a deep breath, unsure of what the result of his actions would be, and moved closer to Kyo's face. It was a bold move indeed. Willing kissing Kyo like that. But it definetely wasn't something he regretted. His stomach churned for a few seconds. Kyo could have pulled away at any second out of disgust, but he didn't. He sat there for a moment with eyes wide in shock, but as he got used to the way Yuki's lips felt against his own, he closed his eyes and returned it. He even built up the courage to put his arms around the rat, but the second he touched him, Yuki pulled away fast and fell back down to the snow on his hands and knees.

Damn it...what did we just do? What was that? Why?

Kyo figured Yuki had gotten wise and pulled away, but that wasn't the case at all. It was his bronchial tubes. Gasping for air, he clenched his fists together. Gasps turned to painful coughs and Kyo realized that it was an asthma attack.

"Yuki...Yuki!" Kyo's panicked voice said as he helped Yuki sit up.

The poor rat couldn't speak. All he could do was cough, gasp, and clutch his throat. Soon, Yuki was passed out on the ground.