Title: 23. walk this way

we have been set free

Pairing/Character/s: Yuki/Machi

Word Count: 696 words

Summary: He tells Machi about the curse.

Dedication: Natsuki Takaya, who wrote the chapters this story revolves around.

A/N: References Ch. 84, 86, 130 and 131 As you can see, I did a ton of research. :P I don't know if it's too obvious, but italics are sometimes either Yuki or Machi's thoughts.

Music: "Gravity" by Sara Bareilles Set me free, leave me be//I don't want to fall another moment into your gravity

Yuki is waiting.

He drums his fingers on his knee, nervously standing up again. He wonders if this is the right choice. He thinks about Kuragi Machi, the only person who truly saw him. She saw far beneath the forced smiles, polite manners and princely charisma. She thinks he's an idiot but still told him her darkest secret.

Machi would understand about the curse. At the very least, she would listen.

Tohru had believed in his crazy story. She was indifferent to his flaws.

Surely Machi would do the same. Surely she would fall to her knees to also embrace his other form if he transformed.

Yuki smiles briefly at this confidence.

But what if she is disgusted? A person transforming into a rat... Poison is seeping into his thoughts. There were so many other kind men out there who would understand her. She could choose another boy, one who could hold her like a real man would. Even if she loved him, it would be torture to never embrace the person she loved. They could never be normal.

Yuki is sickened by the idea of Machi rejecting him, either now or in the future. He longs to run back to Tohru, to forever dream of what could have been. It would be less cruel.

But isn't this what Tohru has been preparing him for? She has loved him so he can show someone else real love.

He sits back down, contemplating his words. "How should I describe the curse?" he mumbles softly. Ever since he was born, Yuki has heard the age old promise. The words are recited in time with his heartbeat; a long forgotten promise between fourteen very special friends.

The words are bubbling inside him, making him even more nervous. "Why do I feel so odd?" He presses a warm, comforting hand to his stomach.

"President! I'm so sorry!" She had run here. Had she known how important this meeting was? Or was every one of their meetings important? "How long have you been waiting?" Machi gasped, bending over to catch her breath.

Yuki smiles warmly. "Not long." I needed the time to put together this confession. "Did you run?" He is mildly wracked with guilt.

Machi immediately stands up straight, stubbornly trying to hide how much she had cared for this air headed President. "No, why would I have run?"

"I'm sorry, I did ask you to come here so suddenly," he continues, blatantly ignoring her awful lie. She shrugs it aside.

"What did you need?"

Despite everything, he is stuck staring at her. She was so adorable, he couldn't help it. He loved her, from the brand new mole near her eyebrow down to the way her rare smiles made his heart beat speed up.

"I wanted to tell you-" He searches for the words, hoping his voice isn't shaking.

Suddenly the words are gone, and his heart is beating alone.

Yuki jumps, startled by the feeling of something empty inside him. He becomes intensely aware of the feeling of tears rolling down his cheeks. A shaky hand reaches up to touch the droplets of water. Suddenly his body is aware of something missing deep inside him. He is alone, he is free, he is no longer the rat.

"President?" Machi, kind Machi, she leans in towards him, one hand reaching to comfort him. He turns away, more tears falling. She starts to dig for a tissue, but he stops her.

"I'm... sorry. I'm sorry. But recently, I have parted from someone. Even this parting is strangely sad. And now..." He looks up at her, realizing they could be normal. There was nothing holding him back. "I'm free."

Yuki does the first thing he can think of, and pulls Machi closer to him. He's hugging her in his first moment of freedom. This is the first time he has held her. Tomorrow he can also embrace her. And the next day, and the next, and from now on, he can always relive this intense feeling of needing someone, of needing to comfort someone.

He's so relieved. He's so tired. He leans on her a little, letting one last tear fall.

A/N: I'm looking forward to your thoughts on this ^^ I hope you all enjoyed it, this one should have been one of the firsts to be written! I tried to make it a little different from the manga because otherwise, I'm just summarizing the chapters.

*I'm rewriting some of the older stories, because I feel like the way I wrote Machi was pretty stupid and rushed.