Warning: This chapter has sexual refrences and major fluff. If you don't like it, don't read, and I will gladly summerize the chapter without it for you if you PM me.

Chapter 11

Everything I am, and everything in me, wants to be the one you wanted me to be. I'd never let you down, even if I could. I'd give up everything, if only for your good. So hold me when I'm here, right me when I'm wrong. Hold me when I'm scared…

-'Love Me When I'm Gone' Three Doors Down

I went over to Shigure's again the next day. The first thing Haru told me was that Hatori had agreed to take his cast off at the house. I tried to be excited for him, but I was a little uneasy. I wasn't entirely sure if I really wanted to be there. Would it be a happy occasion or just business-like? I mean, of course I was glad that Haru would be getting full use of his leg soon, but I also knew there would be more treatment to follow. He'd have to go back to a physical therapist and probably have a special doctor treat his skin since it'd been trapped in a cast for so long. Not only that, but he'd most likely still have to use a brace of some kind. Haru was far from healed.

However, despite all these thoughts, I was able to be honestly happy when Haru announced the news. Haru's emotions always seem to pass themselves on to me these days. And since Haru was ecstatic, I couldn't be moody. Even the other members of Shigure's household seemed eager for the next day to come. Although I'd come to enjoy the company of Yuki, Tohru, and Kyo, I was quite happy when they all left and I was allowed to talk to Haru privately.

The pair of us went to Haru's room, and I noticed how easy walking with the cast had become for him. He led the way as I drifted behind, lost in my thoughts as I had been for the past few hours. The absence of Tohru, Yuki, and Kyo made it worse; there wasn't as much for me to concentrate on and keep my thoughts at bay. When I'd finally entered the room, Haru was sitting on his futon waiting for me.

"C'mere, Rin." He said, reaching his hand out for mine. I took his hand and he pulled me down to sit next to him. I let Haru arrange my body in his lap and when he was still, waited for him to start speaking.

"You've been acting different." He noted, and I nodded.

"I've had a lot on my mind." I agreed.

"I didn't know that this whole thing with my leg had you so bothered. When I met you I never would have guessed you would react this way." I looked up at Haru and it made me feel guilty to see the look in his eyes. He blamed himself for my issues.

"Haru, if it was anyone else I really wouldn't give a damn." I told him. "But since it's you I don't want to screw up. It was already my fault you got hurt to start with, and I don't want to get you in trouble by being at something I shouldn't. What if someone finds out?" Haru sighed.

"You don't have to come, I won't be angry with you, ya know? It's not exactly a romantic date anyway." He grinned at me. I rolled my eyes at him.

"Yeah, well, you haven't exactly taken me on a date to begin with, much less a romantic one. Not that it really matters. All I need to have a good time is to be with you. The times we've spent here have been some of the most fun I've ever had." I fell silent for a moment, thinking. "But I've decided I will come tomorrow. All the excuses I've come up with for not going all seem stupid whenever I think about how much this means to you, and how much you mean to me. If you want me there, I'll be there."

Haru wrapped his arm around me and started playing with my hair, which was currently in a pony-tail. I couldn't help but smile as my hair was lifted and then fell back against my neck in a way that almost tickled.

"Thank you," Haru said, before pressing his lips to the skin on the nape of my neck. I couldn't help but shiver as his lips touched my skin. I was getting more and more used to his touch everyday, but the things he could do to me never seemed to change. I bent my neck to give him better access and sighed contentedly as Haru's breath fell across my skin.

"I've been thinking," I began hesitantly, not sure if I wanted to go through with what I was going to say.

"Hmm?" was all Haru answered, preoccupied with nuzzling my neck. I laughed.

"Haru, stop it, I'm serious!" I said, trying to push his head away.

"So am I." He replied, nipping my skin affectionately.

I all but melted in his lap. I had no idea why I was reacting this way, but I guessed it was because he'd never done this before. Of all the things to not have done. Haru had kissed me in ways that no one should ever describe, but he'd never attempted to give me a hickey. I almost laugh now, thinking back on it. It seemed so innocent after all that happened. I shivered as Haru alternately nipped and kissed my neck, finding myself pushing his head closer to me. I was almost dizzy with passion by the time Haru slowed down to a point that I thought he was finished. He concluded his little activity by trailing his tongue from the center of my neck to the point right behind my ear.

That sent new shivers down my spine and I turned in his lap and kissed his mouth fully, almost desperately. I ended it slowly, savoring the feel of his lips on mine, even though I frequently felt it those days.

"We really need to stop doing that." I said my chest flush with his.

"What?" Haru asked in a husky voice. I tapped his cheek in a playful chiding manner.

"Turning our serious conversations into make-out sessions, that's what!"

"It helps me forget what we were talking about." Haru replied, his eyes twinkling with humor. I knew he really didn't do things like that to forget about what we talked about. He did it to try and relieve awkward situations in the only way he knew how. I didn't mind, but the thing I'd actually wanted to talk to him about that time hadn't been something upsetting. This time, though, I decided to just put my thoughts into action instead of talking to Haru.

I scooted off my boyfriend's lap, I still feel weird calling him that, and moved behind him.

"What're you up to, Rin?" He asked, turning his head to look at me.

"It's a surprise." I replied, laughing. "All you have to do is sit there like a good little boy." Haru raised an eyebrow, but turned back around to face the door into his room.

I wrapped my arms around Haru's chest, my arms snaking under his. My hands started to move of their own accord and they began to trail up and down Haru's chest.

"You've got muscles." I commented, even though I knew it was stupid.

"You just now noticed?" Haru said, laughing a bit breathlessly. Of course I'd noticed before—his muscle shirts didn't leave much to the imagination—but this was the first time I'd ever really given it thought. I must have felt it before, all the times he'd hugged me and leaned me against his chest, but I really hadn't thought about it before now. Oh well, you know what they say: seeing is believing. Or perhaps, for me, touching.

For awhile I just sat there with my hands on Haru's chest while breathing in his comforting scent. I wondered if he used cologne. It seemed entirely unfair for someone to smell so appealing so effortlessly. I laid my cheek against Haru's back and closed my eyes, savoring the contact between his body and mine.

"You know," Haru said quietly, "you can really drive a guy crazy like that." I blushed.

"I didn't mean to—" He chuckled and shook his head, his chest moving beneath my hands.

"Crazy in a you-don't-wanna-know-what-I'm-thinking-right-now way."

"Perv," I replied, but squeezing Haru's body tighter even as I said it.

"Maybe when it comes to you." He said, and I could almost see the twinkle in his eyes.

"Do tell," I laughed, shaking my head. "Honestly the things you say to me…" Haru laughed too.

"If you think that's bad, you don't want me to tell you what I've been thinking." I shrugged, returning to my previous activity of stroking his chest. Up and down, up and down they went, until I encountered the hem of his shirt. If it feels this good over his shirt, what would it feel like under it? I wondered, having a dirty thought myself.

But I really wanted to find out. I probably could have waited until another, more convenient time. Like casually asking him if he wanted to go to the pool after he got his cast off. However, something burned in me that gave me the courage to slide my hands under Haru's shirt. My cool hands plastered themselves to his hot chest and began moving around hungrily. Haru let his breath out in a slow hiss when I began to explore the contours of his bare chest.

Before I knew what had happened, Haru had pulled me back around his body and back into his lap with his shirt riding up his chest so that his stomach was exposed. I pulled my hands away, fearing I'd gone too far. But with Haru it seemed, 'too far' wasn't part of his vocabulary. I soon found myself lying on his bare chest, his shirt now in some distant corner of the room, forgotten.

"Haru," I said my voice somehow pleading and cautious at the same time.

"I know, don't worry." He replied. With one hand he toyed with the ends of my pony-tail and the other rested on my hip in an almost suggestive way.

I pulled myself away from him then, sitting up and moving towards the door.

"I'll be right back," I promised, and then fled for the bathroom. When I arrived, I splashed cold water on my face and tried to regulate my breathing. That had been the most intense situation I'd ever been in. And while it both scared and excited me, I knew we couldn't do it again. There was too much at stake for us to go any further. I knew Haru knew that, but I also knew that emotions are hard to control sometimes. Hadn't I just been the one to cause all that to happen? I sighed and returned to Haru's bedroom.

Haru was sitting up on the futon with his shirt back on.

"I'm sorry," He said, "I shouldn't have done that."

"Let's not talk about it." I replied. "What's done is done, and we can't change it with words. We just have to make sure nothing more than that happens." Haru nodded. "On that note, I think I should go home for today. I owe it to Kagura and her mom. I've been missing from the house for too long." Thankfully, Haru agreed with me and helped me gather my things. By the time we'd left his room, there was no trace of the things that had occurred on either of our faces.

The next day dawned rainy and humid. I sighed and grumbled to myself as I woke up. Last night had been just shy of a disaster, in my opinion. I felt so awful for staying away from Kagura's for so long; when you're in love it can make you very preoccupied. It's almost like being on drugs. When am I going to be with him again, where will we be, and what will we do? I felt achy and drained from what had happened between Haru and me the night before. I passed Kagura on the way to the bathroom and muttered another apology. Kagura smiled kindly.

"I told you not to worry about it, Rin. Things happen. Mom understands too, though she doesn't know what's going on."

I took a shower and got dressed, and then made myself eat breakfast with Kagura and her mom before taking off to Shigure's again. I heard Kagura's mom make a comment as I left.

"Rin-chan spends a lot of time over at Shigure-san's house. I wonder what has started to compel her to go over there…"

"Who knows," Kagura replied. "Maybe she and Shigure are back on speaking terms and they're doing some sibling-ish stuff. It's kinda like how Ayame-san gets with Yuki-kun; once he starts it takes Hatori to stop him." I left after Kagura finished talking. I didn't want to make myself feel anymore guilty.

When I arrived at Shigure's everyone was in a high state of alertness. That's the only way I can explain it. The air buzzed with anxiousness and anticipation. I guessed everyone thought I was Hatori when they heard my car pull up. I joined Haru and Tohru on the couch to wait as the tension in the air filled me too. I reached for Haru's hand and found it gratefully. He gripped as hard as I did.

Finally, with a crunch of gravel, Hatori pulled up in his sleek black car. He walked up the path with a medical bag in his hand. There was no need for him to ring the bell; Tohru had already opened the door before he'd made it halfway up the path.

"Don't be so grim." Hatori said with his usual vacant smile. That was easy for him to say. He'd seen plenty of broken limbs and knew what to expect when the cast came off. The rest of us didn't.

Hatori instructed Haru to lie on the couch and made the rest of us stand behind it. He dug around in his bag and pulled out a mini-saw looking thing. My stomach made a funny lurch when I saw it. I told myself to trust Hatori, but that thing looked sharp. I don't remember now, but I think I closed my eyes when Hatori finally lowered the saw to Haru's cast. I heard the noise of the blade cutting through the plaster, but I don't remember seeing it fall away. The next thing I do remember is Hatori quietly announcing;

"It's done."

My eyes were drawn to Haru's leg. The skin that was beneath the cast looked pale and wrinkly, like an old person's skin. I recalled Hatori saying something about his leg 'pruning' like people's hands did when they spent too much time in the water. The moisture in the cast made Haru's skin very damp. In reality, Hatori said, the skin would eventually get very dry and Haru would have to use a special lotion on it.

Hatori left a brace and the bottle of prescription lotion with Haru and then, to everyone's surprise, beckoned to me. I followed the doctor into the kitchen, where he closed the doors and gave me a serious look.

"Now that Haru is able to move freely, Akito will want him back in the main house." He told me. "You will no longer be able to see him as much as you do now."

"Shigure you bastard." I muttered to myself, for it had obviously been him that told Hatori what was going on between us.

"No, it wasn't Shigure who told me. I figured it out on my own. I was in a… similar situation." The doctor replied and I recalled the conversation I'd had with Shigure about Hatori and Kanna.

"I'm sorry, Hatori-sama. I'll be careful." I promised. I could tell it gave Hatori joy to see me and Haru together and I didn't want him to see us ripped apart by Akito. Having it happen to yourself is one thing, but seeing it happen again to someone else would torture him.

"Good night, Isuzu-san." Hatori replied, slipping out of the kitchen and then out the door before Shigure could get to him. I wandered back into the living room after a few minutes, giving my mind time to digest what Hatori had just said to me. Akito would be expecting Haru to visit. Akito would take over Haru for several days. The thought sickened me. I felt safe in knowing that, at least, Haru wouldn't have to worry about me. Akito never requested to see me.

When I entered the living room at last, Haru was sitting on the couch waiting for me. I noticed he hadn't put the brace Hatori had left on yet. Haru noticed me looking at it and said;

"Could you help me with that? Everyone else ran off after Hatori took you to the kitchen." I nodded and picked the brace up off the floor. I knelt down beside Haru's leg, but didn't put the brace on right away.

"How do you feel?" I asked.

"A hell of a lot better now that that cast's off. That thing was so damn itchy and sweaty!" I couldn't help but laugh at Haru's comments. I knew he was trying to lighten the mood, and I let him do so gratefully.

I got the brace around Haru's leg and started to tighten the Velcro around his foot and lower leg. I was barely paying attention to what I was doing or where I was until I felt Haru's free leg twitch slightly. I looked up to see that Haru's face was slightly red and he was looking down at me with a heated gaze. I felt my own cheeks warm up when I realized what was getting him worked up. Instead of moving away, which would have been the smartest course of action, I laid my head down on his lap. I felt him tense immediately, but I noticed that he didn't move away. But then, why would he?

I closed my eyes and let my hands rest on top of Haru's thigh. I knew I was torturing the poor guy, but I was tired and comfortable. This whole ordeal had really worn me out. Haru put his hands on top of mine and I could feel how hard he was working to keep control. I felt him twitch every so often and his hand tightened on mine.

"I can move if you want me to." I said, feeling uncomfortable that I was making him uncomfortable. I could see him shake his head, but I ignored him. I pulled myself off the floor and onto the couch, where I sprawled myself across his lap, resting my head against his neck and shoulder.

"That's hardly better." I heard him say, and I supposed he was right. If my breath on his neck had the same affect as his on mine, I was pretty much driving him crazy once more.

"I'm sorry… I'm being careless, I'm just really tired for no reason right now. And I want to be with you…" My eyes closed again and I failed to finish my sentence.

"Don't worry about it, just sleep." And for once, I listened to him.

AN: Yeah so… a lot of random fluff in this chapter. I don't really know where it came from, but I just went with it. I'm getting braver with the fluff nowadays. I'm sorry if this story is getting a little angst-y. I'm also sorry (again) if the sexual references made you uncomfortable. That kinda popped out of nowhere too. Finally, I'm sorry it took so long for me to update. However, the story is nearly over, so you won't have to wait much longer. I figure two or three more chapters should finish it up.

Disclaimer: Should be fairly obvious by now, I don't own the magna or the song.