Different Seasons: Fall: Part 12: Anniversary

A/N: The last chapter was getting a little long and this was a bit off topic so I thought I'd make it it's own chapter. We get to know a bit more about Chris and Gure and there's a fun little trip into Gure's mind. I hope you enjoy it!

As always I do not own Fruit's Basket

Chris Needs Reassurance (Lemon)

As we drove home from the compound I held Gure's hand as much as I could, only letting go to shift. Looking at him in the rear view mirror I noticed how long his hair was getting. It was starting to grow past his shoulders and was long enough to easily tie back. If possible, he looked even sexier than ever. I felt the smooth metal of his ring under my hand and I was reminded once again that this beautiful man was mine. Looking at him again, I was startled to note that with his longer hair he was the spitting image of my lover Masaru. I wondered if Gure's fame in his own right would keep people from making the connection but I was tempted to ask him to cut his hair until after his book came out. But I didn't have the heart as it was simply beautiful. Mine was starting to thin, which was why I tried to keep up the regime of spiking it every morning as it hid the growing bald spot. But Gure didn't care as he was enraptured with me as well. We were both experiencing our longest relationships with each other and it gave me a bit of confidence as I knew I'd always pale beside him. And really, as it was my job to make him shine it was only fair that he simply glowed. Even after I knew that he he wasn't possessed by Inu he still was the most beautiful man I'd ever met. While Masaru, my boyfriend who died of an OD, had gorgeous hair and wonderful bone structure there was something about how Gure held himself. I was drawn to him like an insect to a light.

He turned to me, having noticed I was spending a bit more time than I should be looking at him in the mirror and asked,

"Penny for your thoughts?"

"I'm just wondering how I ended up with someone so damn sexy."

He must have caught something in my voice for he said, while tracing my knuckles,

"Christian Girard, are you feeling overly thirty today? Or have you not been told you're absolutely beautiful enough lately? Well you are absolutely gorgeous. I was simply miserable without you this week."

"Keep telling me that."

"I will. In every language I know."

And he proceeded to rattle on in several languages, most of which I didn't know. I assumed he said I was beautiful as I certainly understood his French affirmation:

"Christian Girard, tu es tres beau."

"And," he whispered,

"if you really need your confidence boosted, you can ask Inu or the Snake. I think both of them would weigh in favorably."

I felt the warmth I usually got when inu was close. I was happy we were almost home as I could feel myself starting to get excited. Just as we were pulling into the gates, Gure got a call from Mi. She wanted to inform him of his new deadline.

"We want pictures and text by the end of October."

"That's pretty soon!"

"Well you know that publishing doesn't turn on a dime. The head wanted to let you know that they've reassigned Chris to you only."

"But I'm not on a tour yet."

"Consider this incentive. I've found that you're much more productive when you have your absolutely gorgeous husband at home."

He looked at me and said,

"Well Mitt-Chan thinks you're gorgeous."

"Oh is Mr. Girard feeling thirty today? Well while it isn't my job to incentivize him I'll throw this in. The two of you are just a gorgeous inclusive couple, the type of couple Hinode's marketing department just absolutely loves. And we can't wait to announce your marriage. Maybe we'll throw you a reception. I can't imagine your wedding was very large."

"No, it was pretty much just us and our closest family. But we don't…"

"Great! We'll show you how much your Hinode family loves you."

"Great…"

We had gotten home and Gure said quickly,

"Ok end of October, got it."

"You've just gotten home and it's your anniversary huh?"

"Ummm yeah."

"Ok I won't keep you. I'll get progress reports from Mr. Girard."

He hung up just as I parked the car. We hustled through the kitchen only to come smack dab on a group project in the living room. I said,

"Ummm, hi there everyone. Find enough snacks?"

Kyo smiled and said,

"We're just fine. We're doing a dramatic reading of Romeo and Juliet for class on Monday. Do you want to see our reenactment? Tohru is Juliet and I'm Romeo and Yuki is Tybalt. And the others wanted to see where I live so they'll be practicing their scenes after us."

Kyo actually looked excited to show us. So we watched he and Tohru perform the quintessential balcony scene. But while I was expecting a hesitant Tohru, the two kissed like they had been practicing the scene. They had also memorized their lines which suggested that they had been practicing quite a lot.

When the scene finished, we clapped and then I requested the sword fighting scene between Tybalt and Romeo. The two of them beamed and got ready to perform. The two of them clearly had fair amount of kendo experience and they took out their practice swords and went at each other while pounding out The Bard's words. It was as impressive as watching Gure and Tori practice Judo.

I turned to Gure and asked,

"Do you do kendo?"

"Me, no, that was Kureno's favorite activity. I don't like being hit with wooden swords. Because you feel if even with the armor. And while it could be said you could equally get hurt doing Judo, you have to cover up everything under the armor to practice kendo. I liked that I could show off for girls and boys when I took down my opponent during a Judo match."

"Did it often come down to the fact you looked pretty doing something for you to keep up with it?"

"What were you like at 16?"

"Deeply confused and alone. I was living in New York where I stood out no matter who I hung out with. My eyes set me apart when I would have loved to have blended in. I got called names by everyone and And that was on top of the fact I was gay in a French-Canadian and Japanese family. Yeah high school wasn't that great for me."

He whispered,

"And now your eye set you apart in a way that has imprinted you in my mind."

Just as I was going to give Gure a quick kiss Yuki howled and collapsed onto the floor in a pile. Apparently he had moved the wrong way and Kyo had accidently hit him in the family jewels with his sword. Practice was called as was Eichi. And Eichi called Hatori. And Hatori asked why they were calling him and to take Yuki to the emergency room. Apparently none of us were having sex that afternoon. Fortunately Yuki was fine but sore. The boys got a swift talking to from Kureno who returned from his "lunch meeting" just in time to find out the boys had been horsing around without the proper protection. He sighed and looked at us and seemed quite apologetic as he clearly had had a wonderful anniversary.

It was evening by the time we all got back. I wasn't clear if I was closing out the tour I was on or if I was expected to start convincing Gure to finish the book right away so I called Mi. Unfortunately the answer was I needed to finish the tour out which was another week. But after that i'd be home until Gure got his book out and on the shelves. After getting dinner and setting up Yuki with his bag of peas the two of us crashed into bed. We were dead tired but neither of us would admit it.

Gure looked up at me and said,

"Happy anniversary Chris….."

I smiled at him and again was struck how beautiful he was. i kissed him again and let my tongue enter his mouth and our tongues met. It was hard to imagine that we had been together for almost a full year. I smiled at him playfully, saying,

"Remember, keep the biting below the collar. Otherwise everything is on the the table as long as I stay awake."

He got a mischievous look on his face and asked,

"Everything?"

"Ummm within reason."

His hands went to my necktie and gently removed it. He wrapped it around his hand for a moment and continued to undress me. I asked,

"What do you have in mind?"

"Something I've wanted to try with you for a while. And I figure now would be good as it is a special day."

After I lay before him completely naked he took my tie and attempt to cover my eyes with it and realized that that didn't work all that well as a blindfold. So he got up and found one of my scarfs instead and tied it over my eyes.

Our feelings, which were already enhanced by the bond we shared were increased by the sensory deprivation. Without the visual cues of our bedroom, i was allowed to wander in the halls of my mind unhindered by reality. At first it felt like I was walking in a hallway lined with silk. Vague images were projected onto it and I made my way mostly by touch as it was very dark. I could feel Gure's presence and I could tell he was gently guiding me to a space he prepared for us in his mind. He was far more trained in the concept of memory houses so his internal world was far more developed than mine

I finally came to a chamber with a low platform bed that was lit by lanterns. A single cherry blossom sprig was planted in a simple bud vase and a shamisen stood on a stand nearby. I sat on the edge of the low bed and waited. I didn't have to wait for very long for Gure came to me in an elaborate Edo era kimono. I looked down to find I was wearing a simpler version. I understood. We were in a floating house in Edo era Japan. I was a courtesan and Gure was a samurai. I didn't particularly like this vision but I wanted to please Gure.

I led Gure to the bed and had him sit down while I picked up the shamisen and began to play a song I had played so often I could visualize it perfectly. Gure lay behind me and listened to me play an looked up at me lovingly. I noted that his profile in the lantern light showed a shadow of pricked ears. I was sure I had my own pricked ears.

I then understood we weren't in an Edo era brothel, We had entered the pages of his book. He was letting the Magical Mystical Fox take pleasure with the Dog knight in the first chapter instead of the last one. I smiled thinking how wonderful it would have been if we hadn't circled around the topic of sex for so long ourselves. But, here we were in the Koi Princess' guest house and everything was set for us to take our pleasure.

After I finished my song, Gure came up behind me and held me close. I could feel him growing in need so I put the shamisen down gently (it was a dream shamisen, but I wasn't going to mistreat a beautiful instrument)

He breathed,

"I need you Chris." And nibbled on my ear and let his hands go under the folds of the kimono I was wearing. It was amazingly real. While I knew I was actually naked, I could feel the cloth against my skin.

He murmured in my ear,

"Inu promised to stay away. He wants you and I to have our own special time."

"That's good, I don't think I could take that much stimulation tonight. I'm barely handling this."

He then kissed my neck as he slipped the kimono from my shoulders. He held me close and said,

"God I love you and I can't wait until I get to go away with you again."

"Mmmmm. Yes."

He then undid the obi belt and slipped my kimono off and then slipped off his own. I smiled at him and said,

"You've given this a lot of thought."

"I've wanted to take you here for a while. Inu showed me how to project energy into my thoughts so that they feel real."

"Well it's working."

He kissed me then and then let his lips wander gently down my neck. He was gentle until he reached the space below my collar and he nibbled. It felt amazing. His strong arms went around me and he held me close. He sunk his teeth in deeper and I moaned. My nipples were next. By this time I was completely hard.

He whispered,

"Are you ready for me?"

I nodded yes, as I wasn't capable of words at the moment. My senses were completely overwhelmed. He prepared me and then He rolled on top of me and I felt his weight fully on me. His earnest gray eyes were filled with such love for me that I nearly crested then. He kissed me again and our tongues once again met. It was electrifying. After letting his hand move down my body I felt myself grow closer and then he entered me and we moved together as the heat rose between us.

He sunk his teeth in again and I crested immediately. But Gure was clearly going to make things last. He chose a slow rhythm and brought us up slowly. He smiled at me and said,

"I love you Christian Girard."

"I love you Shigure Sohma."

We came together and he relaxed against my chest. We moved so he held me in his arms.

"So, I said, we could picture ourselves anywhere?"

"Well it needs to be somewhere you've been or, like this place, needs to be a place you imagined fully enough so you can provide enough detail to make it feel real. I spent a lot of time thinking about what it would have been like if The Fox successfully seduced the Dog when he first arrived."

"I don't know, it was pretty charming to watch the Dog slowly open up to the Fox."

He buried his face in my neck and said,

"I wish I had found you sooner. I would have had a much happier life."

"Same here. But we might not have been ready for each other at the time. Perhaps our experiences made this possible."

He got a mischievous look in his face and said,

"Can I see what you looked like at 16? I'll do the same."

I wrapped the kimono around myself and pictured the skinny, pimple-faced kid with thick glasses I had been. Gure of course had been a god. He looked very much like he did as he had just seconds before, with a bit less musculature. He was tall and handsome and exuded self-confidence. I knew it was very much a case of fake it until you make it but it worked for him.

Gure smiled and said,

"I still would have noticed you. Your eyes are magnified by your glasses. And they are still amazing."

"You're being kind."

"No, you might have been awkward but you still were beautiful back then. Plus your hands are so beautiful. I love to watch you play. Now let's see what you looked like when you had your first time."

Apparently this was the night where we learned everything about each other. I knew it was late but I seemed to have a lot more energy than I had before. So I went along with his wishes.

Twenty year old Gure was even more sexy. However, there seemed to be an air of sadness in his eyes. He looked confused and I threw my arms around him. He seems comforted by my touch. He looked so much like Masaru at that age it was astounding. I needed a moment. Gure saw my discomfort and changed back to his current self.

I pulled back and thought back to my first time. It had been in the back room of a club that I was much too young to be in with a man much too old for me to be with. I pictured my eighteen year old self. I had started working out so my slight frame was bulkier, although I hadn't quite achieved the toned body I had finally accomplished in later years. I was experimenting with contacts (I'd finally gotten rid of them as I looked very young without my glasses, a distinctly problematic situation when one was in charge) and I had gotten my skin condition under control. I had also come to terms with my eyes as I'd been told that it made me look, "exotic" and that it worked for me.

I was experimenting with everything at the time and my wild side that would finally lead to me to being disowned and me running off to Japan was beginning to show itself. I didn't try harder drugs than pot and alcohol until later, but my 18 year old self got himself in enough trouble as it was. For instance, on that night I was in the back room of the Limelight, a club I shouldn't have been in for another three years in the arms of one of the club kids I had been taking photos of. He had led me there, told me I was beautiful and made out with me, which led to me having a greater appreciation of myself. He taught me a lot that night, including the fact I wasn't that skinny little pimple faced kid anymore and that knowledge was powerful.

Gure looked at me and said,

"It looks like we both went through a lot to get where we did."

I could tell he had heard my thoughts, and I was glad as I didn't want to give voice to those thoughts. I turned myself back to my present self and we just held each other and shared our experiences silently. Gure finally said,

"Please tell me if I'm causing you pain Chris. Hair is hair. I can chop it if it bothers you.

I looked at him and said,

"No it looks good, I need to come to terms with that part of my life. He was a part of me as much as you are. And you're not him. You are far more well-adjusted now than he ever was. And I don't think I would have stayed with him much longer if he had lived. He was a fast burning candle ready to burn out at any minute and he wasn't that fun to be with when he was using. But you Gure, I want to be with you forever. "

Gure said,

"I still wish I had met 18 year old you. You might have made me more confident in myself. You seem to be much more comfortable in your skin than I am. Especially at that age."

You would have been 15 at the time. Which would have been distinctly problematic. And as for being more comfortable with my sexuality, I didn't have the added concerns of my family being around. I made a clean break. I was completely out by 19. Granted I still carried a lot around with me, and had several experiences that I'd rather not relive in any form, but I very much knew who I was. I would have liked to have met you at 20. I wonder what would have happened if I had met you then. I hadn't quite made it to Japan by then but there is likely a path out there where the two of us met and fell in love then. We could have met at any time when I started working for Hinode as I was in the same neighborhood as your studio."

Gure smiled and said,

"That would have been wonderful. However, I had a lot of getting over myself to do still. And then there was Mayu….Although, I have a feeling things would have gone a lot faster had I met you earlier."

"Well let's face it. We met each other when we were ready."

"I still can't believe Mr. Suit had a wild past."

"As I've said, the suit is just a uniform."

I yawned and Gure could tell I was getting sleepy. He led me to the corridor and I walked back to my own consciousness and opened my eyes to find Gure smiling down at me.

"That was wonderful. You'll have to show me how to do that. There are places I'd love to show you."

"You know, when the kids graduate next Spring you and I could visit those places for real."

I smiled at the thought.

"Well let's get you through that book because they want you to do another tour. Which might include a trip to the States. But now it's time to get ready for bed as I need to get up in the morning. And I have a feeling morning is going to be here soon."

I looked at the clock on my bedside table which said that it was 3am. Yes, the morning would suck. But it was so worth it.

Gure is Amused

We quickly showered and snuggled into bed. I felt comforted that Chris truly wanted to be with me. I had seen many scenes from his life. He had had his share of lovers as well (although he was much more relationship-oriented than I ever had been)

I could still feel his sorrow surrounding his last relationship but he was right. We both needed to go through what we did to find our way here. I brushed his hair from his forehead and held him tightly. As I drifted off I felt the warmth that was Inu give us a hug. Before completely falling asleep I took Inu's hand and said,

"Thank you."

He smiled at me and said,

"No, thank you."

Chris woke the next morning, saw the clock, went racing for the shower, got dressed quickly, and said,

"I've got to meet my client soon and I'm going to be late."

"I'm sorry. I kept you up."

He smiled and said.

"Well they're not going to be particularly happy with me but I have to say it was completely worth it."

"It certainly was. Also, I have a request when you get back."

"Yes?"

"Take me dancing and wear the tight pants and shirt you wore that night in your memories. The corporate you is certainly dead sexy, but I'd love to see you in that."

"Well I don't have that particular outfit anymore but I probably have something from my days shooting for the fashion magazines."

After bolting down a quick breakfast he gave me a long kiss and whispered,

"If I come back this weekend and find that you've made progress I'll take you out. I think if you wore a face mask and something other than a kimono you could probably get away with it."

"Well that's certainly incentive."

And then buttoned up Christian Girard left, leaving no impression that he had once had sex at 18 in a nightclub.

A/N: We'll be back on our regular scheduled programing next time (when I finally figure out what to do with my pile of notes on chapters...) I hope you enjoyed this. Please R and R and as always I remain, Acta!