Disclaimer: I do not own FB. I am not following the Manga. And doncha just love this couple! Lol! Oh, and BTW, my chapter count got off; this is the REAL chapter 8. I skipped 6 and numbered straight to 7 and it threw me off.

Chapter 8: Hugs and Kisses

Breakfast that morning was an awkward affair. Mii and Tohru were blushing lightly. Tohru because of what she had walked in on, Mii because Shigure had nearly kissed her. Kyou was fuming at the audacity of his older cousin, and Yuki was just a little confused, although he could tell something had happened. Shigure was strangely quiet, and had a nearly undetectable pink tinge to his cheeks. Kyou and Tohru ate in silence as well, both having their ideas of what had been going on between the novelist and his editor.

The shaggy haired man excused himself early from the meal, not bothering to finish the delicious breakfast Tohru had prepared, which was a truly rare thing for him to do. He made his way to the porch and lit a cigarette. He needed to get the chance to clear his head.

He sighed out a wisp of smoke as he sat against the wall and stared into the distance. He knew that it would be hard to deny his feelings towards Mii after what had transpired, quite hard. Perhaps they could both just pretend it never happened. She probably would prefer if it never had.

Pdpdpdpdpddpdpdpdpdpdpdpddpdpdpdpdpdpddpdpdpdpddpdpdpd

As soon as Shigure was gone, all eyes turned to Mii, as though they were expecting something to be said. She blushed a little deeper as she felt them staring at her, but didn't really feel that there was any explanation she could give, not that she owed them one. She focused intently on the breakfast in front of her, like Shigure she hadn't eaten much.

The young editor's mind ran the scene on the couch just moments before, Shigure moving closer to her, his breath against her skin. Her heart had been pounding in her chest. As hard as she tried to deny it, she knew that she had been more than just nervous. She had both wanted the kiss, and detested the very idea. When Tohru had interrupted the moment, Mii had been both disappointed and relieved. To be honest with herself, she didn't know what she would do if Shigure had actually pressed his lips to hers.

Just thinking about it she could feel her face growing more flushed. She quickly stood and rushed from the room hoping no one had noticed the steadily brightening blush upon her cheeks. She went into the bathroom and gathered her still damp dress before hurrying out of the house.

"Leaving so soon?" Mii turned in surprise upon hearing her client's voice from behind her. She hadn't realized he was sitting out here. It hadn't even occurred to her to wonder where he had gone after he had left breakfast.

"Yes well…I should…I should really be getting home." She stammered nervously in reply as she ran a hand through her hair, "Thank you for everything, Sens- I mean…Shigure."

Mii turned away quickly and began walking once more. Shigure climbed to his feet and followed after her, "At least let me walk you to your car."

His editor paused and waited for him to catch up. This was a first; he had never before offered to walk her to her car. She smiled inwardly at this sign of affection, and once he had reached her, they began to walk once more. Awkward silence hung thick between them, each happy to be enjoying the other's company, neither ready just yet to take the plunge and admit their true feelings.

They stood a few moments upon reaching Mii's car, knowing that they should address what had nearly occurred earlier on the couch, hoping they wouldn't have too. This heavy silence lingered what seemed forever.

"Um…" Both of them started at the same time, then broke into a cascade of nervous chuckles.

"What were you going to say, Mii…" Shigure tried to prod the young woman into speaking first, but she blushed and averted her eyes, just fumbling over nonsensical words. Shigure smiled softly at her with a light laugh. She really was adorable when she got all flustered like that. He reached out and rested a palm on top of her head, causing her too look up at him, crimson cheeked and wide eyed.

"Sh-Shigure…" She scarcely breathed out his name. Oh how she wished right now she was bolder so that she could tell him how she was feeling.

"Yes, Mii?" He replied in an equally hushed tine tilting his head a little closer to her once more.

As his face drew nearer to hers for the second time that morning the young editor felt her eyes fluttering shut on instinct.

This was it. No turning back now, Shigure thought as he pressed his lips gently to hers. To his relief she returned the kiss, leaning gently closer to him. Unfortunately, one of her first instincts was to slip her arms around his neck in a sweet embrace, the novelist had no time to dodge. In a puff of smoke Mii found herself no longer kissing the man she'd grown to love, but staring in shock at a large black dog draped in Shigure's yukata.

"Shigure!" She yelped softly in disbelief. This couldn't really be happening.

The dog barked at her, trying to convince her it was a normal canine, but she couldn't be fooled so easily. One moment Shigure was there, and the next there is a dog wearing his clothing? It was crazy, irrational and totally impossible, but it was the only explanation.

Shigure's barks brought a group of horrified teens to the scene, where they paused in shock at the sight that lay before them. Mii looked on the verge of panic; And Shigure was having no luck convincing her he was a normal dog due to the situation which had preceded the embrace, and the fact that he hadn't entirely lost his clothing.

Tohru fell back on her old excuse from Hana and Uo's visit, running over to Shigure and shouting "Spot! You're home! I'm so glad you found him, Mii!"

Mii twitched slightly, "I've known Shigure for two years…he doesn't have a dog in this house. Wh-what's going on?"

Yuki had to admit he was impressed; the woman was managing to keep relatively calm. He glanced at Kyou to see if by some miracle the idiot had thought up an excuse. The two teenaged boys were racking their brains for ideas, and Shigure was sweating bullets.

A fly landed on Shigure's nose, and he twitched his muzzle, but could stop himself from sneezing.

"Bless you, Shigure" The young girl at the dog's side said on instinct, earning a glare from her orange topped friend, "Oops, uh…"

At this point, her suspicions confirmed, Mii promptly fainted.

I think this turned out well! Although some of the teens may have been a little OOC, I apologize for that. The Tohru thing with her calling Shigure by name when he's in his zodiac form in front of Mii is border-line for me. On one hand, she's such a ditz sometimes that I can see it, on the other, she's so good about keeping her word that I doubt she'd slip up like that when she promised to keep their secret.

Hatori Obsesser: Your wish is my command. Hugs! And…she faints. Poor Shigure.

TaijiyaSango2498: Of course Shii-chan is hotter than Yuki! Shii-chan is just so…so…Shii-chan! Lol!

Kittenonsugar: Did the kiss happen soon enough for ya?

Skyedragonknight: At last! A kiss! And no Tohru to mess it up this time! Lol!