Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Black & White Heart ❯ Winter and Spring ( Chapter 31 )

Chapter 31: Winter and Spring

Mii sat in Shigure's chair, her face serious as she stared at his computer screen, reading the noted manuscript for Shigure's new idea for a novel.

"Well? So what you think?" Shigure asked, standing over her shoulder.

Mii seemed to look stunned for words for a moment, before finally managing to speak, "You're certainly taking a risk Shigure." She said, her eyes wide at what she was reading.

Shigure simply smiled, "Well I thought I'd try a different genre of writing, and that just...seemed to be appropriate!"

"Well, I know you wrote those 'other' kinds of things...but this?" As stunned as Mii seemed to be, her eyes were shining with excitement. If he can pull this off, I won't tell him to get a hold of his ego next time he says what a wonderful writer he is. "Do you have any ideas for a title yet?"

"I certainly do. I was thinking of calling it..."

-----

"Hmm, who do you think should go with who?" Ayame asked, holding the letter in his hand that Shigure had just opened that had arrived on Saturday morning.

"Ooo ooo I'll go with Kyo!!!!" said Kagura, her excitement regained since Kyo had barricaded himself in his room.

"Do you think that's allowed?" Ayame asked Shigure.

"Bye bye Mii! I'll give you your camera back in the next week or so okay?!" Shigure was saying loudly as Mii wandered off back home, her eyes still slightly wide and intrigued at Shigure's new idea. Sliding the door shut again, he turned back to Ayame and Kagura. "I don't see why not, she is still two years older than him after all."

"YEY!!" she squealed, "Okay! I'll go home now and ask Hatori if he can go too!"

Shooting up the stairs to Kyo's room, Shigure and Ayame stood and listened to the love full goodbyes she was screaming at him, before happily skipping downs the stairs, waving goodbye to the two elder zodiacs, and walking home.

-----

At the Hotspring it almost felt like a dream, something surreal, something that reality didn't seem to effect. Now he was back however, the fact that he had said he loved Haru really hit home! It became to him that it wasn't just the Hotspring he'd allow Haru to kiss him, that it wasn't just that place of confession that he would have someone to sleep next to him at night. He was back home, back at Shigure's, and it would be from this day on that all those things and more would happen between them.

Yuki loved Haru.

It was still strange to say it, or even think it, but it was getting easier every time. Haru certainly was persistent that's for sure. It had annoyed Yuki when he first began to act like that, but as the years went by he could feel himself giving in more and more, not that he'd ever admitted that until now. Since that day when Haru was 13, when he had hugged Yuki so closely after arguing with Kagura, Yuki had began to feel a strange feeling when Haru was around. He'd look away confused whenever Haru would look at him, he feel happy whenever Haru would walk in the room, and when Haru's 'second' Black side started to appear, he'd start to panic that Haru would do anything, inappropriate, in front of other people. Now he had said he loved him, he still did all those things, still looked away, but this time just shyly, he'd still feel happy when he walked in the room, but this time he would hug him instead, and he'd still feel panicky when he turned Black around him but...ok, well, there wasn't a difference there, he'd still whack him back into White if he did that.

So, as Yuki lay there sitting back against his head board, Haru fast asleep in his arms, he looked out the snow out on the balcony wondering what would happen from now on. It was funny really, how two opposites come together. It was like their names, Yuki meaning Snow, Haru meaning Spring, two opposite seasons, but always next to each other. Winter and Spring, the warmth melting the cold. He never really thought about it before, but he guessed Hatori's saying really did have more meaning than he had thought. Tohru had told him about that phrase, spring melting away the snow, and at the time, he had silently agreed with Hatori. Tohru did melt away all the coldness, all the bad things, but now, that wasn't quite right. She was more like a comfortable flame in a homely fireplace, keeping him warm when he needed to be, just keeping the coldness at bay, but it wouldn't last. She wasn't his after all; she had her own life, and Kyo and Shigure and all the others to care about as she does. She has to share her flame with all the others she loves, but Haru, Haru was now definitely Yuki's Spring. If Tohru was a flame, Haru was a sun, because no matter how cloudy it may be, no matter how much the rain falls or how dark it gets, Haru would always be there, in background or waiting at the end, the warmth would always be around him.

...............When on earth have I started thinking like this?!

"Yuki, you alright?" Yuki glanced down to see Haru looking up at him, "You looked like you were thinking about something pretty hard."

In the twilight of the late night, Yuki could only see Haru's outline as his head lay on his chest, his eyes shining and picking up whatever light was left. Yuki smiled gently and snuggled down further so he was level with Haru, draping his arm over Haru's waist and closing his eyes, forehead to forehead. Doing something like this, Yuki had never seen himself doing this. He really had been cold until the spring melted the snow. Yuki smiled to himself as he slowly moved to brush his lips against Haru's, before snuggling back down against him.

"It's nothing," he said sleepily, ".........................what's your favourite season Haru?"

Haru opened his eyes and looked at the peaceful Yuki, clinging so close to him. It was a strange question, but, okay.

"Winter." He replied, closing his eyes just as Yuki opened his in surprise.

No, Haru couldn't have meant that as he thought, he was just looking into things to deeply. He wondered if Haru would get it if he told him spring was his favourite time of year but, eurgh, no, this was getting too sappy. Closing his eyes again, he simply hugged the one he loved closely, not letting go the warmth of his spring.

A few moment later however, he missed the small smile on Haru's lips.

-----

The next morning and there was only one and a half left days of school. Today would be the last for lessons, the teachers setting last minute homework for the holidays, the Sports teachers choosing the teams for next year, and then the following half day to clear things up, tidy the classrooms, and generally hang about until the bell at 12pm.

But first things first.

"You two stay the hell away from me!!"

The normally peaceful breakfast in the Shigure household...ahem, yes...was being interrupted today by Kyo. Shigure, Tohru, Yuki and Haru were all happily sitting at the table eating the delicious meal Tohru had one again provided them, but Kyo had decided, the moment Yuki and Haru had walked in, to remove his plate to the furthest corner to the room, sit down cross legged and ignore the whole lot of them. He had spent the entire night in mild trauma at what he had seen, entirely not expecting to see 'that' as he walked past their open bedroom door. Ooo, revenge would be sweet! As he sat in his little corner, a certain item of Haru's tucked away safely hidden in his room, Kyo couldn't wait to get revenge on Haru for making him suffer the whole night with images he really did not want to see!! With the reaction Haru had for just Kyo knowing about his item, for what he had planned, tomorrow was going to be one fine day!

-----

Walking to school should have felt just like any other day. The same pathway, the same time, the same people walking by.

"Haru...please, not here." Yuki pleaded, as he, Haru, Tohru and Kyo, Kyo keeping a well paced distance, walked up close to the school where Haru was trying to hold Yuki's hand yet again.

"I'm only holding your hand."

"I know but..." Yuki couldn't help keeping a sharp eye out for the students they walked by, most of them looking just slightly strangely at them every time Haru reached for Yuki's hand and Yuki would snatch it away.

Ok, Haru's goal for the day. Make Yuki hold his hand somewhere in the school and let at least two people see them. Hey, he was realistic, he'd start small!

"Hey Tohru." Said Uo, walking up the group by the school doors, "Nice day huh?"

"Mm, it's lovely." She cheered happily, pleased that the snow storm that had plagued them all had disappeared and the bright winter sun was back out again.

Last night Shigure had told her what had happened at the Hotspring, leaving out certain details, but still, Tohru got the point of it, and was so happy for Yuki and Haru she had decided to go shopping during lunch and buy lots of great things for a great dinner this evening. Haru looked so happy whenever he looked at Yuki, which to be honest was all the time as he never took his eyes away from him, and Yuki? Well, he may look shy whenever Haru tried to hold his hand, but she would catch a look in his eyes when one of the few times Haru wasn't looking at him, and the faint smile she would see just made her heart leap and melt at the same time.

------

"Settle done, settle down, there's only half a day left of lessons I'm sure you can all pay attention just for now." Said Yuki's teacher to his class, walking in and placing the books he was carrying down on his desk, telling his class to stop throwing paper aeroplanes at Kane and to sit back down. As Yuki walked past the teacher's desk to get to his own, the teacher looked up and frowned,

"Err Yuki, you can't wear that here, can you take it off please?"

At this statement every girl's head in the room, and Kane's too, shot up to look at Yuki to see what exactly he had to take off, hoping there'd be something in it for them.

"I'm sorry?" Yuki asked, having absolutely no idea what he was talking about.

"The necklace, can you take it off please. You know there's no jewelry allowed at school."

Yuki felt the soft leather lace around his neck and the silver Kanji for the Ox hanging from it. He hadn't taken it off since Haru had given it to him, and he didn't really want to take it off now.

"Yuki?" the teacher said again a little more sternly as Yuki didn't seem to make a move to remove the necklace.

"Umm.." Yuki said quietly, not really wanting to have this conversation with his teacher, let alone having a deadly silenced class listening to his every word as well, "I'd...rather, not take it off. If I could please, leave it on it's…important to me." He slowly said, aware of every person listening.

"I'm sorry Yuki but you know the rules, will you please take it off?"

"Hey you let him wear a headscarf, can't he keep one necklace?" said Uo, Kane suddenly brought into the conversation and looking at everyone else looking at him.

"Please don't talk back Uo."

"Yukiiii!!"

From Yuki, to Kane, now to the door, everyone turned to look at it now burst wide open and Haru standing the other side, Haru's teacher running after him.

"H-Haru?" Yuki said, worried that he was going to do something to embarrass him in front of his class yet again.

"Yuki, they didn't make you take your necklace off did they?" Haru asked hurridly, walking quickly up to his cherished one.

"Hatsuharu Sohma will you get back to class immediately!" shouted Haru's teacher, as she stormed into the classroom and grabbed his shoulders.

"Haru…careful." Yuki whispered at the proximity of his female teacher, but Haru was too intent on clinging to Yuki so they couldn't take his necklace off.

As she tried to pull him away from Yuki, Yuki's teacher noticed Haru wearing the Kanji for the Rat. So as he simply stood there and watched the struggle, he asked her, "Why do let him wear so much jewelry?"

"Oh there is really...not much point...in telling this one to take those off..." she said, still struggling to pull Haru away from Yuki, "...he puts them straight back on over and over again....I just let him....keep them on....although if he doesn't let go of this boy I'll make sure he won't have any left to wear at all!!" She warned, practically pulling Haru's arm off trying to get him to let go of Yuki who he had clung to like a limpet, Yuki's eyes flittering around the room praying to whatever was out there to make Haru let go of him as every pair of eyes in the room were once again back on him. "WILL YOU LET GO HARU!!!" she screamed again.

"Don't make him take his necklace off don't make him take his necklace off!!" Haru said, almost sounding like a little boy having a tantrum.

"Okay okay he can keep it on!!" said Yuki's teacher, hoping that would make this scuffle in his classroom stop.

Haru immediately let go of Yuki as soon as those words were spoken, "Ok." He said perfectly calmly, and walked out the room, leaving his worn out teacher to stare at him as he disappeared.

As silence filled the air once again, once more all eyes fell upon Yuki, including the two teachers. Yuki was trying to think of something to explain this, but in the end, what could he explain about Haru? Without saying a word, Yuki walked back to his desk and closed his eyes as he sat down. With any luck, if he couldn't see everyone else, everyone else wouldn't be able to see him blushing.

------

As the bell rang to indicate the beginning of lunch, Yuki walked out of the classroom and hurriedly made his way to the lunch hall. He needed to get away from all those eyes just staring at him! At least in the lunch hall not all people would know about Haru's clinging-and-not-letting-go episode this morning. He knew he meant well, but didn't Haru have any sense of embarrassment at all?! Did he even know the meaning of the word? Because it would seem it wasn't even in his vocabulary!

It would also seem that Yuki had lost himself in his own little world thinking about Haru, because when the door on Yuki's left suddenly opened, a hand reaching out and grabbing his arm pulling him inside, he didn't even realise until a pair of familiar lips were pressed against his, and he snapped out of his day dream to see the dream standing in front of him.

Haru held Yuki against the wall in the classroom, kissing him so intensely that Yuki was too weak with pleasure to notice if the classroom was empty or not, he just prayed it was. For what seemed like forever, Haru finally pulled back and hugged Yuki close to him, his cheek against Yuki's soft silvery hair and his eyes close, relishing the closeness.

"It's strange, after spending every second of the last two days with you, not seeing you for just a few hours makes me sad."

Yuki's small smile reached his lips as he too closed his eyes, his arms wrapped around Haru, feeling nothing but warmth.

"Idiot." He said tenderly. As they stood there together, doing nothing but holding each other...

Kane thought this was probably the best time to quietly vacant the room as they obviously hadn't seen him when they'd rushed in.

-----

"Okay, as it's our last lesson of the year, let's make it a good match. Waddya wanna play?" said one of the Sport's teacher, Yuki and the rest of the class freezing to death out in the cold.

It was now nearing the end of the day, only one lesson after this, and the Sports teachers had decided to make them run about in the cold rather than finding something to do inside.

"How about 'Who can race back to the classroom first'?" Uo suggested quietly to Tohru and Hana, as she stood with her arms crossed trying to keep whatever slight bit of warmth was left.

"I'm afraid that would not be acceptable. I would be unable to win." Said Hana, her braids blowing in the winter wind.

As the two teachers went around the students getting suggestions on what to play for their last lesson, Yuki noticed in one of the school buildings nearby, a certain face peering through the window at him. Yuki suppressed a light chuckle, now Haru was spying on him?

"Okay girls, it may be the middle of winter, but, you wanted it I guess, so tennis it is, follow me and we'll get started."

The chatting girls followed the teacher towards the tennis courts, some eyeing Yuki in his sports gear before running to catch up with their friends, Tohru waving goodbye sweetly to Yuki and Kyo.

The second teacher stared walking too, "Right, boys, we've got Basketball!"

"YES!!"

The class stopped talking and stared at Kane's sudden and unexpected out burst, "Heh, sorry." Kane said, suddenly becoming very quiet.

Well, the first obstacle was out the way, Basketball had been chosen, but now came the even harder obstacle.

"Ok, Kyo, Yuki, you're the captains for today, choose your team."

Being an odd numbered class with the boys, he'd have to hope that someone actually choose him so he could play instead ending up running round the track while everyone else played instead, as he had done so many times before. So, as everyone stood on the courts waiting to be teamed up, Kane waited.

Please choose me, please choose me, please choose me!! he was silently pleading, as one by one everyone but him got picked for the teams.

Yuki wasn't being mean, being one of the captains, he was watching. Watching Kane who seemed so excited, but everyone ignoring him. Looking across at Kyo and the other team, obviously snickering that it would seem Kane would be left out yet again, Yuki frowned annoyed. Give the guy a break.

"Kane."

Kane looked up from the fake interest in a piece of grass growing at the side of the court, and stared at Yuki wide eyed.

"What the...?" said the other guy next to him, unbelievingly that Kane had been chosen over him!!

Kane just gapped for a moment. Did he just get chosen to play? No way!! With a big grin, Kane ran up to Yuki and stood with the rest of the team, amazed that someone actually wanted him here for a change.

"Umm, is it such a good idea to put Yuki and Kyo against each other?" asked one of the quieter boys on Kyo's team.

"Well, it makes any game more interesting." Said the teacher, as Yuki and Kyo glared at each other, ready to take on any challenge.

-----

"Ohhh, isn't he dreeeeamy?" sighed a girl standing by the tennis court with her two friends waiting for their turn on the court.

The three girls had a good view of the basketball court from where they were standing, and had been eyeing Yuki running around with the other boys and hadn't been able to look away from him.

"Oh yeeeah." Signed another, as the girls playing on court finished their turn and wandered over to wait, spying on Yuki and walking over with the others to watch the game.

"Ahem, excuse me but am I interrupting anything?" said the teacher sternly, as all her girls were no longer playing any tennis but standing by the fence watching the boys.

-----

"Well, I'm beat!" said one of the boys on Kyo's team, collapsing on the grass outside the court with three others, "Since when could Murasaki play like that?"

Over at the other side of the court, Kane was experiencing something he never had before. People cheering: at him. Being nice: at him. Smiling: at him. He wasn't sure why, just because he'd personally got their team 34 points it isn't that much, surely everyone else must be better than him.

"Good job everyone, especially you Kane, must have been practicing, very well done."

"Err, well…not really..." he said quietly, not quite sure how to respond to all these people around him being so happy all because of him.

"Ok, well as you know we need those who are interested to sign up for the team next year, so after you've all got changed go to the lobby and the book'll be there. Okay, that's it! Have a nice holiday and I'll cya next year!"

As the boys headed back to the showers, Yuki walked up next to Kane who walking behind the others.

"Well done." He said smiling, the smile that made Kane look away embarrassed, "I expect you're going to sign up for the team next year right?"

"No."

Yuki wasn't expecting that. Kane was having so much fun playing just now, why wouldn't he-

"The only reason I got to play today was because you chose me. You won't be there to put me on the team this time, so if I don't sign up, I don't have to have the humiliation of being turned down."

As he walked away, Yuki stood there for a moment watching him go. Yuki still couldn't figure this guy out, he wondered what made him so afraid of being turned down, maybe that was why he never tried to make friends before, afraid of being hurt, but why? There must be a reason. Maybe...

"Kane, can I ask you something?"

"Mmm?" Kane said, still walking.

"Your parents..." Kane stopped walking, "...What did they think when you told them about… how you are?"

For a moment he didn't speak, before he turned around with an obvious false smile, "My parents? Oh, my mum didn't mind at all, actually...she was, quite scarily happy...but hey, that was good for me!"

Kane turned round back again, his pace quickening as he tried to walk away without being to obvious. Don't ask me, don't ask me about--

"What about your father?"

Kane stopped again, but this time, didn't turn around, "My dad?" he said quietly, "My dad...wasn't exactly pleased. Things didn't turn out very well and...a couple of years ago he and my mum got a divorce." He turned around, smiling "But it's okay, it doesn't bother me anymore."

Yuki looked at him with woeful eyes, so that's why he never spoke to anyone before, he's afraid if he makes friends they'd just leave.

"Kan-"

"Yuki!"

Yuki froze as he saw Haru running towards him coming outside the main building.

"Huh?" Kane said, turning around just in time to see Haru flash past him and attach himself to Yuki, grabbing him into a bear hug so he couldn't see a thing and glaring warningly at Kane.

Kane rolled his eyes, "I wasn't doing anything." He said, before leaving Haru to swoon over Yuki who was desperately trying to get away for fear of someone seeing them.

As one of the boys waved Kane over to help them bag up all the basketballs and take them back, Kane guessed that Yuki really had taken his advice and got together with Haru after all.

............

...............

......Damn!

To Be Continued...

AN: For those who don't know, Haru means 'Born in the Spring', when I found that out, and of course with Yuki's meaning of 'snow', I was like, that is SO CUTE!!!