Conceit

Part Ten and 1/3- Contagious Concepts- A concept for my each of my favorite Furuba pairings. They take place after the reception of Tohru and Kyo's wedding (they're 22, it took him awhile to get the guts to ask her...). It's a moonlit night and there is something contagious in the air.

I'll be posting them as separate one-shots, because the ratings will change between them.

If you enjoy this one, please read my Kakeru x Komaki fic called 'Conference', my Arisa x Kureno fic called 'Content', Yuki x Machi fic called 'Confident', my Kisa x Hiro fic called 'Confess', my Hana x Kazuma fic called 'Congratulations', my Hatori x May fic called 'Concern', my Akito x Shigure fic called 'Conquer', my Ritsu x Mitsuru fic called 'Contender', my Aaya x Mine fic called 'Congruent', and my Rin x Haru fic called 'Confront'.

Disclaimer- Furuba isn't mine.

R&R! I'd love to know what you think. No flames please, flames hurt. But kind criticism is appreciated. And this is my interpretation, so if we interpret differently, let's not fight, okay?

This is supposed to be the first of 3 drabble-type things with the few remaining characters. They're not necessarily romantic type pairings (for example, I could never write a fic with romantic feelings between Momiji and Momo. Honestly, I have a brother. There is no way. Even if I didn't know we were related.) but I hope you enjoy them!

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When she opened the door, there was no denying she looked good. Damn good. In high school she was cute, too cute to be trusted but she'd graduated (somehow). Grown up. Now she was nothing less than sexy. And he still didn't trust her. In his mind, no polite greeting presented itself as appropriate for this kind of reunion. Instead, the familiar high-school phrase came to the surface.

"What the hell are you doing here!?"

She looked at him in surprise for a moment before pouting. Slowly, her painted lips opened and he cringed. He'd rather not listen to her voice. Anything but that. It had escaped him that she'd never really gotten the nuance of the hypothetical question.

Or was it hypothetical at all? He found himself honestly curious. That he'd run into her of all people here. What deity had he offended?

"My, are you on vacation too?" Of course she didn't answer him. She never answered him. He glared into her face that never reflected that emotion. The ditz was never angry. Or at least she never seemed that way until her fist came in contact with your solar plexus.

Standing in the doorway, he could tell she was leggy and she'd easily surpassed him in height. Her shiny black hair had grown long and she was wearing it up in a ponytail with a delicate flower ornament but it still flowed a good half-way down her back. He got the feeling she'd given up on being cute (though he guessed she could still pull it off with ease, after all she was barely if even a year older than him) and focused on being elegant. Of course, she was good at it. He rolled his eyes.

"Hmm?" Her voice was still an overdone soprano. It annoyed him still. Then her eyes lit on his uniform and his bike. "Oh! Summer job is it?" He nodded, though he was getting impatient. There were more deliveries to make.

"Working is so tedious, isn't it?" She said with a wide smile. Her inner voice was saying, "I'll never have to work, tee hee!" His blood was churning with anger over the unfairness of it. He was smart! He was hardworking! He was capable! She was just a preening, calculating…no. Honestly, he could wonder if he'd learned some manners in the last four years. He'd figured out how to behave better. He could control his temper.

But there were just some people.

"Damn it, some of us have to work to pay for school! You don't have to be so conceited that you rub it in that you're here with some whoever who will buy you pretty paper umbrellas and tell you you're pretty. You damn well know you're pretty! Gaa!" He was yelling and red in the face and his vocabulary was slipping away. The woman just looked at him before blushing and demurely looking at her dainty feet.

"He's only a friend." It was obvious that she was lying for the sake of her worthless modesty. He almost growled. Selfish people! Gruffly, he turned away to pick up the crate off the back of his borrowed bike. He saw her out of the corner of his eye, analyzing the rickety 3-speed. She didn't care at all about the bike itself- just the height to which it was set. The seat was all the way against the frame so his legs could reach the pedals.

His fury peaked once more. Judgmental hag! "So what! So what if I haven't grown since high school?!"

She ignored him completely. He took a deep breath. He knew better than this, this blowing up without any thought. He was a thinker, and a good one. A rational one. There was no need for this anger. He'd lost a lot of stress when he'd graduated. It was nice to live on his own, he was doing well. Very well…

"You look stressed. Why don't you come spend a few days here, relax in the onsen. There's a full moon tonight, it's supposed to be exquisite." Her dark eyes were wide and shiny, innocent. It took a real pro to notice the guile there. He considered himself a pro among pros.

"I'm NOT STRESSED!" As if he could afford staying at a hoity-toity place like this.

It was then he realized his arms were shaking. They were quivering out of control and he looked down to see the heavy crate of groceries about to drop. He paled. Crap. He would totally get fired if he ruined a delivery.

"Need. To. Deliver. These. Now." He eked out a plea to the last person he ever wanted to beg. She seemed surprised at his sudden meekness in his desperation.

"Of course. This way." Her voice had lost its bell-like tonality and she slipped into a self that wasn't as flirtatious or self-centered. He wondered if she let the persona drop when he broke character. Adjusting his grip on the box, he walked inside the back door of the inn. Her feet shuffled quietly behind him.

He dropped the deliveries off in the bustling kitchen where she paused to make googly-eyes at a svelte young chef and they walked out to the doorway once more.

"Say, did you know Machi and Kakeru and even Yun-chan are here? There's somebody's wedding they're all going to. Too bad you can't go in and say hello." He was bending down to tie his dusty sneakers as she spoke. What, did she expect him to be nostalgic? He wasn't sure if that was what he was feeling. He just smiled and nodded.

"Strange coincidence."

"Not as strange as Nao-chan growing up to be so handsome." He paused before looking up to see her perfectly curved back sashaying down the hallway. A delicate handkerchief fluttered to the ground on the stoop. He glanced at it and back at her, her ponytail swishing to and fro.

He leaned against his bike, annoyed. Damn conceited woman.

"AS IF!" He yelled back.

He laughed to himself as he kicked the kickstand away and rode off in a small cloud of dust, leaving the scrap of fabric on the ground. Honestly. Some people never changed.

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Everybody! We're getting down to the end of it! I'm going to do two more drabble-y little conversations like this just to wrap things up before I finish with Kyo and Tohru!

Please R&R! Thank you so much!