Um, yeah. So, you get one less chapter than you thought, because this was supposed to be split up, originally. Short chapters. :P

And... well, sorry guyz. After... maybe Febuary or something I'll get to finishing the MASSIVE amount of tidbit stories and chapters I've got piling up in my fanfiction folder. Being a senior in High School is scary shit. D:

He hadn't meant for anything to come of it. He had seen the rat's stupid garden before, so it wasn't like that was anything new. He had walked through it a few times out in the woods, careful not to leave his mark on the not-so-secret base that Yuki guarded with a brutal force. It wasn't anything special, really – at least, he didn't think so then. He had to admit that, yes, it was nice. The garden itself was peaceful; you could tell that the hands that had tended to it did so with a special care, which was clear enough through the healthiness of the various flowers and vegetables that brightened the area with all sorts of colors. It was pleasant and clean, well groomed, and seemed to have an organization to it that just sort of screamed 'Yuki'. The guy had a talent for it. Beyond recognition, though, Kyo hadn't ever thought anything special of the plants, much less growing them.

And that's how he thought it would be when he started walking the familiar path he sometimes took. He had left the house to Tohru and her friends. Their company had proved too much for Kyo to deal with without snapping, and when he had left somewhat peacefully (Uotani could make that hard), Yuki had still been politely helping to entertain the two extra girls. He'd been out for a while by now, and figured that he would get back. If the annoying Yankee and wave girl were still there, he could always beat it up to his room. Yuki's garden happened to be on his way back, and curiosity often pulled Kyo over just to look and see how the garden had changed since last time. He was spacing out, thinking about other things as he cut from the normal path, slipping through trees to the area he knew the garden was in, so he was rather surprised to suddenly find its creator squatting among his plants.

Kyo stumbled to a quick stop, backtracking a few steps so as not to be seen. Without thinking, he slunk back into the trees, crouching ridiculously among the few bushes that lined the cleared patches of earth so as not to be seen. He felt a bit too much like he was intruding upon enemy territory to allow himself to saunter by, and by the time he realized he was just being stupid – he could walk around it, for gods sake – it was too late; the rat had already turned towards him, and if he made any noise or stood up from his position now, he would just look like some creepy stalker. So, flustered, Kyo settled back carefully, giving it up as a lost cause and proceeded to wait, watching Yuki (much like the stalker he definitely was not).

He was wearing his garden gloves that Kyo saw laying around the house from time to time, worn with use and always smelling like soft earth and fresh grass. He had a trowel in one hand, using it to dig a small hole in a patch of combed earth, a rake and a hoe laying off to the side. Right beside him there were some small potted plants that had been sitting on the porch earlier – some kind of herb, Kyo thought – only two left among the bunch, the rest already having been planted before Kyo showed up.

His hands worked deftly, obvious used to such a task, and within a second he had the next plant in the ground perfectly, already working on digging the last hole. Kyo shifted a bit, the quiet examination making him a bit uncomfortable since the other didn't know he was watching. The last plant was in the ground within a moment, an even amount of dirt on the top of the dirt already sponged on the growing roots. Yuki sat back then, the hair that had fallen in front of his eyes sifting to the side naturally as he looked down at his handiwork. Kyo saw that at one point, he must have pushed his bangs aside, since there's a smudge of dirt along his cheek. The boy's fingers played gently over the few small leaves that grew on the plant, touching it with awareness for how fragile it was. Even though the hands were gloved, you could see the way they knew how to treat the tiny, delicate thing, almost as if he could feel through the gloves. And then, Yuki smiled.

Any expression of annoyance that had been on Kyo's face fell away, any disinterest turning swiftly into an earnest want to know what kind of feeling it was to grow something and then be able to smile at it like that; a soft, happy, caring smile that lit up Yuki's face in a way he hadn't seen before, even around Tohru.

And, well, that's how it began.

TBC