Author's Notes: It's my birthday tomorrow—I'll be 17 and finally it'll be legal for me to read the stuff I write. -.-;; Hm… Anyway! As a birthday gift to myself, I decided to write this short, fluffy Fruits Basket one-shot. Ah, Kyou/Yuki. [heart heart heart] I hope you enjoy it too!

Warnings: Yaoi. Boy on boy on boy on boy… Well, okay, just boy x boy. I don't do oranges. [squick!] And yes. Not very angsty. WAFFy. (Warm and fuzzy feelings, yay!)

Disclaimer: Unless someone wants to give me the rights to Furuba for my birthday, nope, I don't own it. T-T

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Great Expectations

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"Do you love her?"

Souma Yuki paused, startled by the question. He glanced down at the dark-haired, dark-eyed girl awaiting his answer.

Saki Hanajima leaned slightly against the wall behind her, listing her head to the side a bit as she stared at the pretty boy who stood before her. The prince of the school, their class representative, one of the boys her best friend held so dear to her heart… A boy with a multitude of secrets.

"I—" Yuki hesitated.

A hand, with black-painted nails, lifted and rested against Hanajima's cheek. "Do you love her?" she repeated.

Another brief pause, and the silence of the school's empty hallways pervaded, and then there was an answer. "Yes, I love her." Yuki's violet eyes were dark and serious.

Hanajima smiled. "But…"

"She's an angel. How could I not love her?" He was starting to look a little annoyed.

"But…"

"What?" Yuki frowned at the girl, shifting his position, his schoolbag dangling from one hand. Staying so late after school for a council meeting was not his idea of fun, but it was necessary. However, he hadn't expected getting cornered by Tohru's friend and being questioned on things he didn't know about. He'd like to get home now, to step into the house and smell the dinner Tohru had cooked and glare at Shigure for some teasing comment he was sure to make and then to avoid looking at Kyou—

Maybe he knew what Saki-san was hinting at.

Hanajima smiled again when she saw the slight change in his expression. "Never mind, then," she said softly. "As long as you know. I know you love Tohru. Take care never to hurt her." No matter who else you might love.

She turned and headed away from him, toward the stairs that would take her down and out of the school building, into late afternoon sunlight.

Yuki stared after her, pensive.

Of course he loved Tohru. With her sunny nature and pure beliefs and kind heart, it'd be impossible not to. And he never wanted to hurt her.

He just hoped that lying to her wouldn't.

Because, however much he cared for her, however glad he was that she was there for him, for all of them, with her unwavering faith and spirit and smile, Yuki wouldn't forsake what he had with Kyou for anyone. Not even her.

But maybe she'd understand.

- g r e a t - e x p e c t a t i o n s -

When she asked me if I hated him, I didn't know what to say. We'd been lying to her—not for more than a month or two, but it felt so much longer than that. She was so pure, any little sin seemed to grow and twist and stab at our conscience in her presence.

I really did hate lying to her.

"No," I finally replied, unable to meet her upturned, trusting gaze. She really cared. She didn't want us to fight, she wanted us to reconcile and understand each other and get along. I wonder what she'd do if she knew her wish had come true…but we were doing our best to hide it from her.

Maybe she'd light up like she did now. "I'm so glad!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands together. Perhaps there was hope for the two of us after all, I knew she was thinking. "I know you don't get along, Kyou-kun, but you're family. All of your differences can be set aside."

I couldn't stand there and pretend to hate—or at least intensely loathe—my cousin anymore. It was…cheapening. To our relationship. To her. And gods, did it make me uncomfortable. I muttered something unintelligible under my breath and escaped. Retreating to my sanctuary on the roof, I laid there and stared at the sky for a long time, only distantly aware of the noises from the kitchen as Tohru cooked dinner.

Yuki would be home soon. My thoughts and regrets and uncertainties finally all boiled down to that. And it soothed me.

I would see him again, get to touch him again, get to pretend that everything wasn't the way it was, but it'd be okay because we'd have each other. No Tohru to feel wrenching guilt over, no Shigure to try and avoid, no world to hide behind.

Solace in a lie.

I wondered again, as the sun slunk slowly toward the horizon and shadows grew long on the ground, if Tohru would smile at us the same way when she found out.

- g r e a t - e x p e c t a t i o n s -

Honda Tohru was a kind soul with a gentle spirit and a courage she'd learned from her mother. She was sometimes a little dense but always loving and loyal and it made up for anything she might lack. She, however, wasn't stupid, nor blind.

Granted, she hadn't known immediately that Kyou and Yuki had started—well, had changed the dynamics of their relationship. But it would've been impossible not to notice that the heated battles—both figurative and literal—had died down between them. There were still occasional glares and insults and offhanded swats, certainly, but there was a decided lack of fervor, of hate, of the passion that had dictated their angry actions before.

It didn't take long for Tohru to realize that the passion hadn't disappeared; it'd just been directed elsewhere.

She'd never walked in on them or heard embarrassing sounds or anything as blatant as that. But she'd seen the smiles she probably wasn't supposed to see, heard the soft tones and sweet words, witnessed the guilt that bound them both when they were in her presence, and caught an occasional flicker of embarrassment.

She didn't know what had brought them together and ended the pointless feud. But she was glad. And she knew, one day, that they'd tell her. And she'd be happy. She would be glad that they no longer suffered from trying to hide from her, be glad that they trusted her enough to know that she'd accept them and never turn away from them. She could wait patiently until that day, suffering a little when she saw them suffering, but happy nonetheless because they had found each other.

Tohru was a loving girl. Kyou and Yuki should have greater expectations of her. Because, once she'd let them into her heart, she'd never turn them out.

- g r e a t - e x p e c t a t i o n s -

You smile at me and there's such a feral tint to it that I can't help but catch my breath. We're alone, a time so rare it's precious, and the house is deathly quiet. I can hear only my heart pounding in my ears—even your footfalls are silent, like those of the spirit that possess you, as you step toward me.

There's a whisper of sensation and your breath ghosts along my skin. I clutch you convulsively, my arms having wound around you as soon as you're within holding distance. For a moment, we stop, standing on the tatami floors of my room, a zephyr drifting through the open window, and we feel each other. The heat, the promise, the love.

I don't know when it became love. I don't even remember when it became lust.

You touch your lips, then, to my cheek, breaking our stillness. My heart leaps at the first contact and then my eyes drift shut and it's no longer a reverent sort of prayer that we hold each other in. Now we sliding, touching, kissing, hot, wet, needy—

I see your fiery hair in my mind and your flashing crimson eyes. That smile of yours, quick, crooked, a little wicked and far too rare. And that look that I've discovered is reserved solely for me, a soft sort of melting look that makes me feel cherished at the same time it makes me want to jump your bones.

Your breath, now jagged and broken, falls upon my neck and you press a kiss to my collarbone. My hips jerk involuntarily, seeking yours, and I moan.

Saki-san is right. I love Tohru, but I'd die without you. She managed to convey her knowledge without words and it hit me only after she'd left that she'd known all along about us. She had only wanted to confirm that I would never hurt her best friend.

I hope I don't.

I hope we don't.

I hope you will always touch me like this, always look at me like this. My mouth attaches to yours again and you're sliding your hands up my back and I hope that she'll understand this, accept it, be happy. Because I don't know what I'll do if I can't have this anymore.

I want it forever.

- g r e a t - e x p e c t a t i o n s -

"You can have him forever," said Tohru, eyes glowing and heart overflowing with happiness when they finally told her. They finally trusted her enough. A sign of love. And she was only too glad to let them know they could be happy too.

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owari

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Notes: Ain't it cute? [drowns in the utter WAFF] Aww…[cuddles] It makes me happy. And I love not hating Tohru. She's too sweet. [grin] Happy birthday to me! Yay! And as a present, it'd be very nice of you to review. Or, if you've got time on your hands, I won't turn away any birthday gift fics. XD As long as it has pretty boys and is slash, I'll love it, I promise. (I'd worship it if it was one of my favorite pairings listed on my author page.) [nudgenudge] [hopeful look] But reviews make me happy too. XD