It's Not Like I Can't

chapter four

Kyo was uncomfortable. Not because the afternoon sun was hot on his back, or even because every time he would glance up he would notice that Haru had been staring at him (the black and white haired teen adverted his gaze each time, but it was still painfully obvious that he couldn't keep his eyes to himself). No, his current state of discomfort could only be blamed on himself (and Haru to some degree). He should have known that they wouldn't be going anywhere casual. He wasn't even sure casual was in the other teen's vocabulary. Regardless, he had been on the receiving end of some rather patronizing glares since Haru had first dragged him into the spacious, two-story French-style restaurant that Kyo wasn't sure he had ever noticed before.

Of course, his faded navy-striped polo and old blue jeans definitely left a lot to be desired, especially since Haru donned a rather classy pair of dark-wash pants and a thin button-up dress shirt (with the first three buttons undone for what Kyo imagined was good measure). He ran his fingers through short, orange hair, slightly frizzed from the heat. He let a small sigh escape him, staring over the balcony where their table rested and into the busy city streets. Everything looked so beautiful from far away, and he secretly cherished the moment and this gentler side of the city that he hadn't seen before.

His gaze met Haru's once more, but this time, the black and white haired boy didn't look away.

"Do you know what you're going to order?"

He questioned, motioning vaguely to the thick, leather-bound menu in his hands.

Kyo felt his cheeks flush for the billionth time that day. He had been so wrapped up in the scenery and Haru's peculiar glances that he'd completely forgotten about eating! He hurriedly lifted the fancy thing, flipping through its heavy pages in search of something cheap enough for him to afford. Just as he spotted the Mousse de Foies de Volaille, which was both affordable and tasty looking, their waitress approached. She seemed to be in her early twenties, with glossy brown hair that framed her large bust.

"Bienvenue,"

She drew out slowly, and even with her silky voice, Kyo cringed at the terrible American accent.

"Have you two gentlemen decided what you'd like to order?"

He ordered quickly and flawlessly, noticing to his embarrassment that Haru sent him a curious look.

As the busty woman turned to leave, the black and white haired boy sent her a small half-smile.

"Thank you, mademoiselle."

He spoke kindly, his tone of voice causing Kyo to roll his eyes.

The women blushed, then made her way to the kitchen to place their orders.

It was quiet for a moment, before the poorer of the two found himself breaking the silence.

"You said it wrong."

The irritation in his voice surprised even himself.

He recieved a raised eyebrow and an amused, "hmm?"

"When you said mademoiselle, you put too much emphasis on the ending."

His cheeks seemed to have caught fire, and he instantly regretted opening his mouth. Haru probably thought he was some petty, French-linguistics fanatic now, and probably wondered why he even bothered bringing him out to lunch. He mentally shook himself. What did it matter if the idiot thought he was crazy? It wasn't like he actually cared. Of course not.

"I've never been too good at foreign languages."

The black and white haired boy admitted sheepishly, drawing Kyo out of his addled thoughts.

"Though, you seem quite familiar with French. Are you fluent?"

The orange haired boy cleared his throat, gluing his eyes to the road below (and looking at anything but those chocolate eyes).

"Yeah.. I lived there when I was little."

Haru nodded, obviously expecting him to continue.

"Um.. We, uh, my mom and I moved here when I was five, but she wasn't ever any good at English, so I guess I mostly spoke French at home and English at school."

Haru's smile didn't falter, and he briefly wondered if the other teen was even listening to him.

"Your mother.."

He drew out slowly, voice seeming quiet in the bustle of the afternoon.

"She sounds like she was a wonderful person."

Kyo knew that was bullshit. His mother definitely wasn't a wonderful person, and nothing about his story had even hinted at that. Though he liked to tell himself that he could barely remember her, his memory had always been quite acute, and there were times he would recognize a smell that resembled her strong perfume, or a laugh that sounded so similar to her own. The woman had actually been very selfish, and no matter how much she may or may not have loved her only son, she had still loved her needle more. More times than not, she would forget him at school, or in the grocery store, when he was younger. She was moody and strange, and he'd learned at an early age how to cook for himself, walk to and from kindergarten, and clean up the old needles so mommy reuse one and die.

He shook his head, staring through his lashes at Haru in annoyance.

"No.. she really wasn't."

The other teen only laughed, apologizing politely.

"So, you live with your father now?"

He inquired, innocently enough.

Kyo felt himself bristle.

"..No, I live with my foster father now."

He replied curtly, hopefully making it quite obvious to the nosy teen that he shouldn't push the issue.

"Well, as you know, my father left when I was young, and you've already met my mother. Is there anything you would like to know about me?"

A chubby man flirted with a stick-skinny woman three tables down, and a car honked vigorously in the distance, mingling momentarily with the woman's playful laughter, as Kyo once again found himself thrust into the spotlight by this unusual teen. Didn't Haru ever get tired of hearing him talk?

"Why did you invite me here?"

The orange haired boy finally asked.

Haru's smile widened at this, as he seemed oddly pleased by Kyo's words.

Regardless, he was silent for a moment, almost as if contemplating whether or not to answer. The waitress stopped by their table and placed two steaming plates before them, winking cutely at Haru as she sauntered away.

"Well,"

The chocolate-eyed boy began after a short time.

"I find you extremely attractive.. and interesting. I've never meet someone before who was so pleasing to the eyes, but could hold my attention as well."

Kyo's eyes almost bulged out of his head. He dropped his fork in surprise, startling not only himself, but the chubby man and his date.

"You.. what?!"

His cheeks were surely burning white hot by now. Haru's smile still didn't falter, though something in his eyes seemed to change.

"There's a party tonight. A friend of mine is hosting it. Would you mind going?"

Kyo sputtered incoherently, ignoring the murmuring that this action received from the many patrons who sat around them.

"Wha- What?!"

There was laughter in the wealthy boy's eyes as he watched the orange headed teen.

"I'm sure my friends would be thrilled to meet you."

"Wha-!?"

He actually did laugh this time.

"Just answer yes or no, Kyo."

"I.. Fine."

Haru paused. If he had just heard right.. Kyo had.. Accepted?

"You'll go?"

His voice sounded placid as always, but his emotions were raging like nothing else. The orange haired boy still hadn't lost the color in his cheeks, and he cut his food a bit more forcefully than necessary.

"Yes, I'll go. Is it that surprising to you?!"

The chocolate eyed boy shook his head in a soft 'no', grabbing his fork and knife and attempting to switch his attention to his own meal. His heart felt lighter than ever before.

--

Kazuma hadn't stopped giving him strange looks since he had gotten home. Which was extremely frustrating, considering that he'd walked in the front door over two hours ago. Upon entering the house, he asked his foster father if he could go out with a friend, and the older man hadn't missed the flustered way he'd spoken. Of course, he said yes, and Kyo had went to work preparing dinner early for him, because apparently, said new friend was going to pick him up at six. He then went to the dojo to practice for awhile. Afterwards, he made his way upstairs to shower and get ready.

He emptied the contents of his pockets, setting the few items neatly on the bathroom counter before throwing his pants down the laundry chute. He stared briefly at his wallet, remembering how Haru had refused to let him pay for his own meal. The cost would have taken a large portion of his already meager funds, sure, but he was determined to pay the wealthy teen back one way or another. Kyo Sohma was definitely not a mooch.

The cool water felt good on his tense muscles, and he sighed contently. He let his mind wander as his hands worked shampoo through his short hair. The entire day had seemed surreal, and he had no doubt in his mind that the night would be just as unusual. Haru was.. so strange, so unlike anyone he had ever met before. He just couldn't figure him out. It was only the second day he had known the teen, and he was already attending some big party as his date.

His eyes widened, the conditioner bottle he'd been holding sliding out of his grip and falling to the floor with an audible thump. Date?! This was definitely not going to be a date! If anything, Haru just wanted to gloat to his snobby rich friends that he was helping out some poor hotel staff!

That didn't seem like the black and white haired teen at all though, and he groaned in frustration, crouching down and snatching the fallen bottle from the shower floor.

He was so screwed.

Within the next half an hour, he found himself searching through his wardrobe in frustration, Uo laughing her ass off at his antics from the other end of the phone.

"Goddammit Uo! What do you think looks the most.. sophisticated on me?"

He was answered with more laughter.

"Okay, okay."

The blonde girl's voice rang from the receiver.

"Why don't you wear that gray v-neck t-shirt and white undershirt Tohru gave you for your birthday?"

A second voice called from the phone -Tohru's- as Kyo skimmed his closet for the mentioned articles of clothing.

"Oh, and you can wear the worn out jeans that Kazuma bought you last month! Don't you think those would look nice on him, Hana?"

There was distant reply of, "If Kazuma bought it, it must be nice." and he rolled his eyes at the dark haired girl, reminding himself to never let her and Kazuma within five feet of each other.

When Kyo had called Tohru's cellphone, he hadn't had any idea that she and Uo would be spending the night at Hana's house. If he had known, he may have decided not to call at all, but he had to admit that their shared input was more than helpful.

He finally spotted the shirts, digging the jeans out of one of the drawers at a, thankfully, quicker pace.

After pulling the undershirt over his head, followed by the over-shirt, he stepped into the form-fitting, worn out pair of jeans that Tohru had suggested.

"So?"

Both Tohru and Uo questioned at once, and Kyo smiled in amusement.

"You guys are too good. Thanks."

Uo's smirk was evident in her tone as she wished him a good time, Tohru was beside herself with joy, and Hana's monotoned voice spoke that she hoped the "waves" were good.

"I'll call you guys when I get home."

He promised, fixing his hair slightly in the mirror.

"You'd better."

The blonde answered.

He chuckled lightly.

The doorbell rang.

to be continued.

--

For anyone who didn't know, there's a poll on my page concerning Haru's last name in this story. I'm not quite sure why I put Sohma on there, since it's already Kyo's last name, and they're not supposed to be cousins (since this is set in America), but I wasn't really thinking, I guess. The choices are Hatake, Sohma, Fubuki, and Takaya. Takaya is from Natsuki Takaya, who created Fruits Basket. Hatake (according to Wikipedia, while it's not exactly a credible source) is Takaya's supposed real last name. Fubuki is especially funny to me because it was a class of destroyer ships for Japan in the 1930's, along with the Akatsuki-class and Hatsuharu-class. It's funny to me because I have no sense of humor.