Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Out of the Bag ❯ Hot Springs and Jealousy Part 2 ( Chapter 4 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Disclaimer: I don’t own Fruits Basket nor do I claim to. I make no profit from this what so ever.

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Chapter 4 Hot Springs and Jealousy Part Two

Yuki was not a morning person. It didn’t matter what time he went to bed; once he went to sleep it was always almost impossible for him to wake up. However, this morning he woke up bright and early. Confusion swirled through his mind as he tried to figure out why he was awake. His eyes blinked lazily up at a ceiling he didn’t recognize, and there was the uncomfortable warmth pressed along his side. Oddly enough, it was the warmth that clued him in. Momiji. He remembered that he was with Momiji and not in his room at Shigure’s. The blonde was plastered against Yuki’s side with both arms wrapped around the older boy tightly. The heavy blankets combined with the rabbit’s clothing and body heat was a very uncomfortable combination.

Yuki shifted trying to get in a slightly more comfortable position, which was fairly difficult to do with the way his cousin was holding on to him. I wouldn’t mind if it was Kyo holding me. Kyo radiated warmth, but it was like a sunbeam that gently warmed you all the way through as you basked in it.

“Mmmm Yuki…” Momiji mumbled as he clutched Yuki tighter. “Love you.”

WHAT?? Yuki stared up at the ceiling with his eyes as wide as saucers, his breathing shallow. The blonde’s ramblings made him very uneasy. His heart raced madly against his ribs as he tried to convince himself that his ears were playing tricks on him. Momiji was known for talking in his sleep. When they were younger, Yuki would often stay up almost all night just to be entertained by whatever came out of his cousin’s mouth. This-this was the first time the blonde ever said anything about loving someone. The rat hoped desperately that he was just reading too much into the sleepy mumbles.

I’ve got to calm down, but I can’t do that laying here; besides it’s too hot. Yuki slowly eased his body out of the still slumbering rabbit’s grip cautiously. When Momiji didn’t try to tighten his grasp or otherwise hinder his movement, the older teen sighed in relief. The blonde made cute noises of protest but made no move to follow; instead, he shifted until he lay in the warm spot Yuki left behind. The purple eyed teen smiled gently at the sight. He climbed off the bed and proceeded to get dressed. He then left the room to go for a walk and hoped that it would calm his mind.

Yuki wandered around the property taking his time to fully explore the area. As he’d hoped, the walk calmed the jumbled thoughts in his head yet there still remained some confusion in his heart. He was almost to the room his shared with Momiji when he heard said blonde call out his name.

“Yuki!” Momiji ran up to him looking anxious. “I woke up and you were gone; where were you?”

Yuki couldn’t help but soothe the younger teen. “I just went for a walk. It looked like you were going to sleep all morning.” He couldn’t help but gently tease.

As planned Momiji pouted, “I was not!”

“So what’s got you so excited?”Yuki enquired. He tensed a little but then quickly relaxed when the blonde grabbed onto his arm pulling him down the hallway to their room.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m hungry. Breakfast is all laid out waiting on us. I didn’t want to eat by myself.” The rabbit pulled him into their room motioning to the food laden table. “Have a seat, and I’ll do the serving.”

Yuki remembered what happened the last time Momiji offered to serve up the food. “How about I serve the food this time? We can’t have you doing all of the work since you were nice enough to invite me on this trip.” He ignored Momiji’s protests when they sat down. Finally the blonde gave up after he realized he wasn’t able to dissuade Yuki.

After a nice leisurely breakfast Yuki finally asked: “What do you want to do for the rest of morning? The bus isn’t supposed to get here until noon. That gives us a little over three hours of free time.”

Momiji looked thoughtful for a minute, “Let’s take a dip in the hot springs; then you can show me everywhere you went on your walk earlier.”

Yuki smiled at the suggestion nodding his head. “Sounds good to me.” The confusion from earlier was pushed aside, at least for now. He really did enjoy spending time with the rabbit.

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Kyo paced back and forth in his room making sure to glance out of the window every now and then. Yuki should be home soon. It was past noon and Tohru was waiting on the rat’s return before she made lunch to Shigure’s dismay. The cat could’ve cared less about lunch he just wanted his rat back where he could see him and eventually hold him. He should be home by now; how long does it take for that damn bus driver to drive from there to here? He flopped down on the bed trying to reign in his impatience. The rabbit better have kept his hands to himself. Rolling over onto his back so that he could stare up at the ceiling, something Kagura once said to him came to mind. Something about how when they were younger Momiji and Yuki often slept in the same bed together. Anger whirled throughout Kyo’s body. Momiji better have slept in his own bed-preferably in a different room; or even better, in a different part of the building. Who was he kidding? Even he knew that the two of them were close. Hell, it was easy to see considering that Yuki was the only one besides Hatori the rabbit would listen to. And he always turns pink when he has Yuki’s attention.

Kyo frowned and rolled onto his side so that he now faced the window. Outside of his window the day was bright and cheerful quite the contrast to his mood. I’ll be happy once Yuki’s home. His position on the bed put him right smack dab in the center of a sunbeam that was nice and warm. Without even realizing what was happening, the cat found himself dozing off. His mind felt completely cocooned in warmth. The sounds of Tohru humming to herself as she walked past his room to put away some laundry and Shigure once again making excuses to his editor on the phone felt like they were far off in another land. The blanket underneath him was soft against his skin. All of these sensations registered dimly in his mind yet he remained content to act like his zodiac form. It would be even better if Yuki was here. It would be nice to lie in the sun with other teen in his arms…

Kyo didn’t know how long he lay there in the sunbeam but he was jerked back to reality when both Tohru and Shigure began talking loudly to someone, welcoming them back home. Welcoming them back home? His mind struggled to catch up with the significance of that thought. Yuki! He sat up quickly listening to try and hear the soft voice he missed so much even if he was upstairs. He caught the sound of Momiji’s voice and growled in annoyance. Go home! I don’t want to deal with you! Where’s Yuki? Then he heard it. It was so soft Kyo almost missed it–Yuki’s voice. The desire to actually hear the rat’s words pulled him off the bed, out of his room, and down the stairs. Kyo paused in the doorway to the living room and just stared at the one he loved. No one noticed him as their backs were to him.

Yuki certainly looked a lot better; though, there was still some barely noticeable tension in his body. He was smiling as he listened to Tohru who was obviously relieved to have the rat back. Other than the slight tension it was blatant the trip to the hot springs had done wonders for Yuki’s state of mind. A quick movement drew Kyo’s eyes to his love’s side where Momiji stood. Kyo resisted the urge to growl warningly at the blonde who was standing way to close to Yuki for his liking. The normally energetic blonde appeared ready to bounce off of the walls; his eyes glittered with happiness. If I got to spend the weekend with Yuki all by myself then I’d be pretty damn happy to.

“You haven’t missed much just Tohru’s excellent cooking, and Kyo sulking in his room.” Shigure said as he waved his hand.

Yuki looked surprised. “Did something happen?”

Kyo felt pleased to hear that the other teen was concerned for him. Maybe I have a chance with him after all.

“Aw, he’s just jealous that I had Yuki to myself for the entire weekend.” Momiji teased while wrapping his arms around Yuki’s waist and hugging him tightly.

“Momiji.” Said teen sighed in resignation.

Kyo’s growl alerted everyone to his presence making them turn to face him. The cat cursed mentally: I didn’t want them to see me. Shigure began coughing trying to hide his obvious chuckles, Tohru smiled, and Momiji gave him a bright smile. The cat could’ve cared less about them; he was focused on Yuki’s reaction. Now normally the rat would’ve made some smartass remark, and the orange haired teen would get angry retorting with words that were just as nasty then they would get into a physical fight. Kyo waited bracing himself for biting words that never came.

“Kyo.” Yuki said his name softly; his purple eyes swirled with something that aroused Kyo’s curiosity. There was no hint of the usual coldness what-so-ever.

The orange haired teen’s mouth went dry as his heart pounded almost painfully in his chest. “Welcome home.” He didn’t trust himself to say anymore. What he really wanted to do was pull the rat in his arms, but there were too many people in the room with them. You’re just afraid of how he’d react. Despite the urge to hold the rat growing, Kyo restrained himself. The looks on everyone’s faces would be hilarious.

Yuki nodded and then quickly flashed him a soft smile.

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Tohru looked back and forth between Kyo and Yuki trying to not squeal from how cute the two of them looked. To her it was obvious how much they cared for each other. If Yuki didn’t care then he never would have asked about Kyo. She didn’t know how long Kyo stood in the doorway before anyone noticed him, but she bet he’d spent the entire time watching Yuki. Kyo’s soft spoken greeting may have been only two words long, but it practically screamed out how much he was affected by Yuki’s absence. No insults, no punching, no kicking, no yelling–it was amazing and perfect. Kyo just go over there and hug him, she urged mentally. The flash of softer emotions in the purple eyes combined with the smile on Yuki’s face made her want to cry. She knew he had problems expressing himself; to see that much emotion shown openly on his face in front of the others was something she’d only prayed to see one day.

The sudden ringing of the phone broke the moment.

“Oh dear, Tohru would you answer that. If anyone asks for me tell them I’m in the hospital.”

It sounds like Shigure is avoiding another deadline. Tohru truly felt sorry for the people who published the dog’s books. The older Sohma tortured them horribly. The phone rang two more times before she got to it. “Hello?”

“Tohru, have Momiji and Yuki come back?” She immediately recognized Hatori’s voice.

“Yeah, they got back a few minutes ago. Do you want to talk to Momiji?” When he said that he did, Tohru gently placed the phone on the counter before walking back to the living room. Yuki was no longer in the room, while the other two young zodiac members that remained in the room were sitting on the couch watching television. “Momiji, you have a phone call.”

The blonde rabbit grinned sheepishly, “Is it Hari?”

She nodded and followed him back to the kitchen where she started making lunch. It wasn’t her intention to eavesdrop on the conversation but it was kind of hard to ignore it since they were the only ones in the kitchen.

The blonde greeted the doctor cheerfully: “Hi, Hari!”

Tohru continued slicing vegetables but couldn’t stop herself from turning around when Momiji said in a rather upset voice: “I don’t wanna! Why do I have to come home?” Momiji radiated sadness as he listened to the dragon.

“But, Hari, I want to stay here with Yuki. Shigure doesn’t mind…no, I haven’t actually asked him; but I know he would say yes. Besides, I can walk to school with Tohru, Kyo, and Yuki.” He paused then said, “Please, Hari! I promise I’ll behave and won’t cause any trouble!”

Once again he listened before a huge smile grew on his face. “Really? Thanks, Hari! Okay, see you after school tomorrow! Bye!” He hung the phone up; and before Tohru could say anything, she was being hugged tightly. “Guess what? I get to spend the night!”

The brunette laughed as she was twirled around the kitchen. When he finally let go of her, Tohru had to lean against the counter to catch her breath.

“Oh, since I’ll be here that means that I can help you make lunch and then make dinner! So tell me what to do.” Momiji said this with a serious face as he saluted.

I still have a hard time believing that he’s only a year younger. Tohru smiled at the cute little blonde: “Let me think, how about you…”

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After putting away his things, Yuki sat on his bed just simply looking out of his window not thinking about anything in particular. Every now and then he felt himself blush as he remembered the look on Kyo’s face when he greeted him. The rat had never seen such a soft look on the cat’s face–certainly not one ever directed at him before! The only thing better than seeing that look were the times when in the mornings Kyo would hold him.

One of the things that Yuki loved about the orange haired teen was his fiery personality. Another thing he loved was when Kyo showed his calm side. Kyo could easily be compared to fire, but underneath the cat was as solid as the earth. Only a rare handful of people have ever seen this side of Kyo since most were content to just simply write him off as a moron. They’re wrong! Kyo’s a lot smarter then they realize. Sure he frequently speaks before he thinks, but there are times when that is a good thing. I doubt he and Tohru would get along so well now if he hadn’t constantly been putting his foot in his mouth when she first arrived. He’s one of the few who generally cares. He never hesitates to stand up for the ones he cares about. He offers support to them, and sadly most of the time they never notice.

Yuki was so lost in his thoughts he failed to notice his door opening and shutting. He certainly was unaware he now had a visitor.

“So how was the trip? I bet it wasn’t so quiet with that damn rabbit around, though.”

Yuki jumped at the sudden voice. He whipped his head around to see the person he was just thinking about leaning against the door. “Kyo?” Then it registered that he’d been asked a question. “The hot springs were nice, and Momiji isn’t always as loud as everyone thinks.” The orange haired teen sounded a bit odd. “It was nice to not be reminded of school.”

Kyo smirked, “I bet. No crazy fan club chasing you around the building praising their prince.”

Yuki grinned: “Yeah, and no psycho president either. I only had to play hide-and-seek several times, make sure Momiji didn’t try to kill me with too much food, and soak in the springs.”

“I can tell you had such a strenuous weekend. I don’t know how you survived the hardship.” Kyo said with a smirk that now looked much more like a smile. “You certainly look a lot better compared to what you looked like before the trip.”

Yuki was amazed that they were actually talking. “So what did you do? Did you get the essay written already?”

The cat moved away from the door and pulled out the desk chair to sit on. Yuki was ever so grateful that Tohru helped him clean his room a week ago. It would’ve been so embarrassing for him to have Kyo see his room trashed. “If you’re talking about the essay from hell, then yeah it’s done. I finished it Friday night. Other than that, all I did was train. It was really nice, though, because neither Kagura nor your brother showed up.” He suddenly locked eyes with Yuki, “Is everything all right? I mean you still seem tense.”

The solemn look in the cat’s eyes stole Yuki’s breath away. For awhile he couldn’t speak. He wasn’t sure whether or not he should tell the other about their cousin’s sleep talking. Kyo’s eyes seemed to offer safety and something else…Yuki looked away unable to maintain that intense gaze. “Momiji seemed to be under the impression that I like Tohru.”

”Do you?” The question was asked softly.

From the look in his eyes, Kyo looks like he really wants the answer to that question. Yuki shook his head. “No. At first I thought that Momiji was asking because he liked her, but he said that he liked someone else.” The teen’s mouth felt dry. “He really seemed to care about this person.” Even with Kyo sitting at the desk, Yuki felt alone sitting on the bed. A few minutes ago the air around them felt pleasant, comfortable; but after Kyo’s concerned question the air became tense as if it was waiting for something, but what? Yuki finally looked back at the cat. “You don’t seem all that surprised; do you know who he likes?” Said cat looked relaxed, yet Yuki had the feeling that if one wrong thing was said then Kyo would bolt.

Sadness passed through Kyo’s eyes before he said almost bitterly, “Yeah I do. I didn’t figure it out, though, until Friday.”

A sudden knock on the door interrupted whatever Yuki was about to say. “Yuki, lunch is ready. Would you mind letting Kyo know?” Yuki loved Tohru to death-he really did-but right now, he could’ve strangled her.

Tohru responded with “Thanks, Yuki”. Her retreating footsteps told him that she was heading back to the kitchen.

The rat turned back to Kyo only to find that he was now standing and making his way to the door. “Kyo?” Please look at me. Don’t walk away without saying anything.

As if he heard Yuki’s silent pleas, Kyo turned around and while his eyes were still serious there was a soft smile on his lips. “How about we finish this after lunch when no one will interrupt us, okay?”

Yuki relaxed and nodded his head. “Sure.” He wants to finish this talk. He wants to talk to me. Things between us aren’t going to go back to the way they were before.

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Shigure sat at the table listening to Momiji tell Tohru all about the trip in the kitchen. He was pleased to see Yuki looking much better; and on the surface, at least, the rat was still ignorant of the rabbit’s feelings. He still wasn’t sure what to make of this little love triangle. I guess I should be glad that Haru isn’t here right now. Lord knows what would happen if he was here. At least I don’t have to worry about the house being destroyed. Though, I hate to see what happens when Kagura learns about this. He looked up just in time to see one-third of the triangle walk into the room. Kyo’s face was unusually serious. I wonder…maybe he and Yuki were talking. I hope. “Kyo, where’s Yuki?”

The teen looked startled for just a moment, “Huh? Oh yeah, he’ll be down in just a minute.” He took his place at the table quietly until he heard Momiji’s voice. Shigure was fully aware that the teen beside him wasn’t always the impulsive idiot he appeared to be, but it was still slightly unnerving to see Kyo this quiet. Thankfully or unthankfully, the peace didn’t last much longer.

“Am I doing this right, Tohru?” Momiji’s voice was just loud enough to carry into the dining room.

Kyo’s head jerked towards the kitchen with a large scowl plastered on his face. “Why the hell is he still here?”

Someone’s jealous, thought Shigure mildly amused. “Momiji’s going to be spending the night.” He almost shivered at the dark glare the angry cat shot him. He was saved from any scathing remarks by Yuki’s arrival.

Said teen looked at Kyo with concern, “What’s wrong?”

Before Shigure could answer, Kyo growled out: “That damn rabbit is spending the night.”

The dog could see that Yuki was confused by the anger in the other teen’s voice. Shigure knew that Kyo would kill him for what he was about to say; but he simply couldn’t resist the opportunity for a little teasing. “Oh, don’t mind him; he’s just jealous that he has to share you.” The resulting silence and twin blushes were very telling.

Just then Tohru entered the dining room carrying food with Momiji following behind her carrying a covered dish. The blonde’s face brightened when he saw Yuki, “Guess what, Hari agreed to let me spend the night. Can I sleep with you, Yuki?”

Well, here’s definite proof that Momiji likes Yuki. Normally he’d be begging to sleep with Tohru. Shigure thought as he watched the other two teens’ reactions.

“Why can’t you sleep on the couch?” Kyo asked between gritted teeth.

The blonde rabbit pouted, “But that’s no fun. Besides, I want to sleep with Yuki!”

Silence reigned for several minutes since the other three males in the room were unable to respond. All three thought: Does he even realize how that sounds? Off to the dog’s side Kyo opened and closed his mouth several times. The cat looked like he wasn’t sure how to react. On the other hand, Yuki looked completely blank.

“Can I, Yuki?” Momiji’s pleading voice broke through the shock the rat was in. After blinking a few times, Yuki nodded weakly. “Great!”

Needless to say, lunch was tense.

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Tohru felt like an idiot. I can’t believe how stupid I can be sometimes. How could I have missed seeing this? After making sure the four males were nowhere near the kitchen, she punched the keys on the phone in a panic. With her ear pressed to the phone, the brunette waited anxiously for Uo to answer. Tohru knew that the blonde didn’t work tonight, and the tall girl hadn’t mentioned going anywhere.

“Hello?”

Finally! She spoke in an urgent whisper. “Uo, I need you and Hana here now!”

“What’s wrong? Did something happen to you?”

Tohru shook her head then felt even more stupid since she was on the phone, not talking to Uo in person. “No, I’m fine; but I don’t know what to do!”

Uo sighed in relief. “Chill out. Does this have to do with the orange head and the prince?”

“Yeah, I need you and Hana here.” Guilt was starting to rise because she never intended to make the blonde think that she was in trouble.

“All right. Give me about thirty minutes. I’ll call Hana. “

“Thank you so much.” Tohru felt relieved.

“Yeah, yeah. Just make sure you’ve got plenty of snacks prepared.”

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Thirty minutes later Tohru ushered the two girls into her room where drinks and snacks were waiting.

“Good god girl, chill out.” Uo grumbled as she made herself comfortable on the bed.

Hana sat beside the blonde accepting a cup of tea from Tohru. “Yes, it would be wise for you to calm down and tell us about what is happening.”

Tohru opened her mouth and began telling them about how she just learned that Kyo was jealous of Momiji being near Yuki, how the rabbit and the rat went to the hot springs together, and how Momiji was spending the night in Yuki’s room.

Once she stopped talking, the two other girls looked at her blankly. Uo was the first to respond: “Right…I don’t know what’s worse-the needless guilt you’re feeling or this bizarre little love triangle we now have right underneath our noses.”

Tohru grimaced mentally. If she thinks this is bizarre, I wonder what she’d say if she knew about the curse. Life was certainly never boring in this household.

“You know,” Hana spoke up, “there really is only one thing for us to do.”

“What’s that?” “What?” Tohru and Uo asked simultaneously.

The long haired girl took a sip of her tea before replying. “If we don’t want to have anymore drama unfold in front of us, then we should act tonight.”

Tohru exchanged a glance with Uo. “Okay, so what do we do?” She was so glad that her two best friends were here to back her up.

“Simple: we make sure Momiji doesn’t get the chance to sleep with Yuki; and while you two occupy him, I will lock the two lovers into one of their rooms.”

One of Uo’s eyebrows arched in skepticism; “All right, I’ll go with that plan; but that still leaves us with the problem of Momiji liking the prince.”

Hana took another sip of her tea. “Even simpler: after we get Kyo and Yuki together, they’ll invite Momiji to join them in a threesome.”

Uo shook her head approvingly, “I like that plan. Nice and simple.”

Meanwhile, Tohru stared at the two of them in shock; her face a bright shade of red. Threesome? What have I started?

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Kyo, Yuki, and Momiji all shivered suddenly in horror. They were blissfully unaware of what was in store for them later that night.

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Chapter 4 End

I apologize for taking so long to post this. It’s getting closer and closer to the time I will be moving; and I am so stressed out with packing, nerves, and having my dad in the hospital twice now that I am one big mess. I will try my hardest to have chapter 5 posted soon.

As always, I hope you enjoyed reading this.