((A/N: Another extremely early holiday oneshot!!! I guess it's just my style to submit holiday stories not only before their season, but even before their month begins!!

Anyway, as always, it's kyoxharu. ))

Christmas Fever

"It's so beautiful." Tohru sighed.

Kyo glanced at her teary face, then at the tree. It wasn't that beautiful, he thought. He could think of something, or more specifically, someone, more beautiful. Blushing slightly, he turned away from the scene.

"I'm going crazy." He muttered.

Why else would he be feeling this way? It wasn't like he was in love with the younger boy! It must have been the Christmas lights, or the fact that the ox hadn't left him alone since the beginning of the season. The ox didn't even want to fight! He'd just come over and stay as near to Kyo as he could.

Kyo caught him staring one time.

His face became even warmer, as he stepped into the cold night air. 'Staring at me of all people!' Haru should have known not to mess with Kyo like that. The cat could only take so much harassment before he started throwing punches.

And that's what he did.

It was the ox's fault anyway. If he hadn't been staring with his stupid, blank, mysterious, beautiful, sexy-

"Shit!" He screeched, banging his head against the doorframe. Only seconds later, he could hear Tohru's worried squeal.

"Is Kyo-kun okay?" She called, too wrapped up in the ball of lights to move. "Yeah." Was his simple reply, before shutting the door behind him.

Tucking his hands into the warmth of his jacket, Kyo sauntered across the lawn, hoping to find some peace in the deep woods ahead.

--------------

Haru could feel the melted snow bleeding through the legs of his pants. How long had he been outside? Three, four, even five hours?

For once, he wasn't lost. It may have taken him the first hour to find Shigure's home, but for the remaining few, he'd paced the outskirts of the writer's yard. He couldn't believe that fifteen years of hard work, practicing to be as emotionless as possible, meant nothing when he saw the cat. No matter how hard he tried, he always became tongue-tied.

He slipped one gloved hand into a large pocket of his coat, fingering the small gift it held. 'I can do this, I can do this,' His mind sang. He had to do this. Not only for himself, but for Kyo as well.

The older boy deserved to be loved.

So without a second thought, Haru sighed nervously, locked his sholders, and started for the dog's house.

'There's no turning back now.'

--------------

The next few moments of Kyo's life were a blur.

He could remember the feel of the cold air on his skin, then running into something soft and warm. He could also remember falling to the ground, and landing in a fresh patch of snow. He shook his head, glaring in whichever direction he guessed the offending object lay.

"Kyo?"

His eyes followed the voice, and was met with a pair of silver eyes. "H-Haru?" He choked.

The younger boy stood, extending a hand to help the cat up, but the offer was refused.

"What the Hell are you doing here?" Kyo snapped.

He really didn't need this right now.

Haru mumbled almost shyly, scratching the back of his head. For a moment, Kyo wondered how the ox's hair felt, but roughly pushed the thought to the back of his mind. He wasn't about to give into this weird disease he seemed to have that was making him so obsessed with the younger boy.

Kyo stood to leave, and almost made it, except for the hand that grabbed his arm at the last second. He growled. What was wrong with Haru? Couldn't he see that he was grabbing the cat's arm? The older boy counted the seconds in his mind; how long would it take for the ox yank his hand away in disgust?

"K-Kyo."

The cat froze. He sounded... nervous. Or cold.

"What, are you sick or something?" He grumbled. Haru shook his head. "We'd better go inside anyway. It's cold."

And only moments later, Kyo found himself standing in the doorway of Shigure's home.

"Kyo, I.." He trailed off.

"Out with it!" The cat screeched.

"I love you."

The room fell silent, the only noise sounding from the radio in the other room.

"Wha.. what?" Kyo croaked. His throat tightened painfully, and he prayed that he'd heard the other boy wrong. Nobody. Nobody but his mother had ever said that. And she never meant it. Was the boy making fun of him? Was it a joke? 'Hey, let's see just how fucked up the cat is!'

"I love you."

The door slammed, barely hanging onto it's hinges, and Haru was left alone.

--------------

"Kyo-kun?"

He glanced over his shoulder, across the icy roof at the worried girl. He knew if he didn't stop her, she'd try to climb from the latter toward him.

"Don't move, you'll slip." He mumbled, and she seemed to understand.

"Is Kyo-kun hurting?" She asked. He could feel his throat tighten again.

"I-" He bagan, but was cut off.

"Haru-kun was telling the truth." She whispered. "He's been planning to tell you for awhile, but he knew you wouldn't believe him."

He could feel tears building up behind his eyes, but he couldn't cry. He wouldn't.

"He.. He wasn't lying?" Kyo asked quietly, and Tohru shook her head 'no'.

"Kyo-kun could always speak to Haru-kun about it." She offered. "Because I know Kyo-kun feels the same."

--------------

"I really must be going." Haru murmured, flashing the rat and dog a brief smile.

He grasped the doorknob, turning it slowly.

"Haru!" A voice shrieked. "You bastard! You'd better not leave on me!"

The ox stood rooted to the spot, as an orange blur stumbled toward him.

"Kyo, I'm sorry if I upse-"

He was cut off, as the cat's lips met his own.

"I.. I love you too." Kyo flushed, staring into the taller boy's eyes.

Haru couldn't help but smile as Kyo realized they had an audience. Yuki smirked quietly, as Shigure's catcalls drown out the cat's yells.

--------------

On Christmas day, Haru knew he'd already gotten the top 'item' on his list.

As Kyo sat, curled in his embrace, finally able to open the small gift his boyfriend had given him, the ox also knew the cat would probably be the best gift he'd recieve for every Christmas to come.

And even as the older boy blushed, closing the box before anyone could see it,

Haru knew he'd be wearing the small, golden locket it held before the season was over.

The End

((A/N: aaah, the ending was hard to write, but I think it came out okay.

I dunno if everyone refers to Haru's eyes as 'gray' or 'silver', but I just followed the anime for this one. I know they're brown in the manga.

Kyo also thought that his mother was the only one who ever said she loved him, because back when Tohru said it, he figured she was referring to 'the cat' and not him as a person.

Poor little emo cat. (ha)

Happy Holidays!))