Frost Bite Or...

30 Kisses Epic Chapter 25

Rated: T

Summary: A picture says a thousand words...

AN: Here I am again, late as ever. This was supposed to be posted back when it was still snowy out :pout:

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket. But I sure as hell wish I did.

Kyou sat down at the kitchen table while Tohru worked on everyone's breakfast. He was reading a strange magazine Yuki had given him as he silently ate the omelet Tohru whipped up for him. The article stated something on frost bite and how some cases gave a strange tint to the skin, making it almost appear as a bruise. He frowned at the picture as it looked oddly familiar. Maybe he'd had it once or twice? Up in the mountains perhaps? He swallowed another piece of egg as he flipped to another picture of it. It definitely looked familiar. But where?

Meanwhile Tohru hummed to herself. She placed strips of cheese and seasonings for the rest of the eggs up for Shigure-san (due to being on bed-rest since the body bash incident) and Yuki and Machi-san who were busily shoveling more snow off the front steps. Tohru had tried to offer help but it was no use. Yuki wouldn't have it. When Kyou felt bad that she did, he tried to offer in her stead, to cheer her up of course. Instead, Yuki said after beating down Shigure-san without trying, he deserved a break from the shoveling. With a simple laugh at Machi flinging her hands to swat away some of the snow that blew off from her latest load, Yuki handed the strange magazine to him. Tohru now watched with morbid curiosity as Kyou currently obsessed over the article and pictures while she cooked.

"Did you find anything interesting in there?" She questioned just as Kyou lowered his face to the page.

"Uh huh." He mumbled. She frowned. Moving closer, to the page like he couldn't see it well enough, he gave an exasperated sigh before tossing the magazine back on the table.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

The audible snap of food cooking drew her attention back to the stove. She quickly turned it off, placing the eggs onto separate plates and started to make her way out when Kyou stood up and grabbed the plates from her. "I got it." He said, still lost in thought as he left to give them over to Yuki and the others. She expected he'd give Shigure's last, allowing it to get cold. She giggled. Kyou certainly was cruel when he wanted to be. Still, she loved him, even that little bad side of his.

Just as she began turning toward the stove to clean up, her eye caught sight of the magazine and once again, the curiosity nagged at her. 'Wonder what he was staring at?' Tohru thought, finding her hands already coveting the magazine. She found the page by how badly indented Kyou had left it and her eyes zoomed in on the words freezing temperatures and frost bite. She frowned, 'Well that's kind of...interesting.' Flipping to the next page, there were a few candid shots of what frost bite looked like and her eyes widened a fraction.

…

Kyou had just finished making his rounds and was leaving Shigure's room when the sound of a startled gasp made it all the way up the stairs. He flew so fast down those stairs, he almost thought he'd lose his balance and end up tumbling down, face first.

Just rounding the corner in time to see Tohru shake her head before looking up to see him, Kyou found her cheeks flushed and her eyes filled with concern.

"You." She stated.

He frowned. "Me what?"

She pointed a finger at him, accusingly. "You've been giving me-" Yuki stepped in to see Tohru dropping her finger as her eyes went back to the picture.

"What's the matter?" The rat glanced between the pair and found something very off.

Tohru suddenly thrust the picture for them both to view. "You've been giving me frost bite Kyou-kun!"

The next thing that happened surprised the couple.

Yuki dying of laughter as he doubled over while Kyou's mouth fell wide open.

"What?!!?"

Tohru's brow furrowed. "Kyou-kun, look at the picture. You gave me one on my neck, remember?"

"That wasn't frost bite." He defended himself. She couldn't be serious.

Tohru locked her hands to her hips in a stance that said she very much was. "Then what was it?"

Kyou felt his cheeks inflame. "You know what it was. I'm not gonna say it!"

Yuki at this point finally recovered enough to snag the magazine back and flipped to a page where Kyou could read. "In recent studies, many suspect that hickeys are in fact a lot like frost bite."

"See." Tohru retorted.

"Are they insane?" Kyou looked to his cousin who simply nodded. "They're insane. Frost bite and hickeys are way beyond the same."

"But they look alike." Some of her muster was deflated at that. "So…"

"It's not frost bite Tohru. The magazine likes to make crazy things up to rattle people. I was only showing it to Kyou because I figure he would laugh at it. I didn't think you would read it." Yuki explained and then chuckled. "Kyou isn't giving you frost bites."

Slowly, Tohru accepted this then frowned. "So why does it look so much alike?"

Shrugging, Kyou sighed. "Are you mad at me?"

That seemed to confuse her. "What? Why would I be?"

"You were upset. Ten seconds ago you were pointing your finger at me like I was a witch or something."

Tohru laughed. "Oh no, I wasn't mad. I was actually kind of stunned. To think, you could be giving me frost bite not only on my neck but-"

Yuki and Kyou both flushed as the cat leaned forward to hold his girlfriend's lips together. "That's alright; you don't have to say anymore."

When they both calmed down, Yuki made sure to take the magazine to the trash (and also to check on Machi who'd been resting out on the porch) while Kyou and Tohru cleaned up the kitchen. "So," Tohru mused, handing a now clean dish to Kyou to be dried, "do you think I could give you one?"

Kyou blinked, "A what?"

She smirked and leaned up to his ear. "A special kind of bite."

She heard him gulp and took the initiative as her lips sealed onto his neck with a slight nip. When she pulled back, Kyou had that glazing look in his eyes as he dropped the plate he'd been drying on the counter. "A Tohru-bite." With that whisper to his ear, she smiled in approval at his reaction while he whispered back. "You totally set that up didn't you?"

His answer, another Tohru-bite, accompanied with a few well used kisses.

Tbc…