Author's Note: This is my own personal contribution to Gia's SBBorg Movement. I really love brotherly fluff, and there isn't nearly enough on this site. Please keep in mind that this is my first Fruits Basket story, so if the characters are off, please bear with me. I'm fairly confident in my portrayal of Yuki, but in the course of this story I have found new respect in anyone who can write his brother accurately. Ayame is hard.

Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket, but if I did, the first thing I would do is force Ayame to tell me the secret of how he gets his hair so shiny.

Chapter One: Wet Sabotage

The local weatherman was an idiot, Yuki decided darkly as he walked down the street. He had promised warm weather and clear skies all day long today. Instead it was cold and gloomy, with dark clouds blocking any possible light. A clear statement that, despite the fact that it was supposedly early spring, winter wasn't quite ready to relinquish its claim yet.

And here Yuki was, outside late at night without a jacket because he had foolishly chosen to listen to the man.

Though, if he had had his way, he would've been home long before the weather had turned south. Unfortunately, after school he had been required to attend a student council meeting, effectively derailing any possible free time he might have enjoyed.

This meeting in particular had been especially time consuming because it was the last one of the term, when students came in and stated their grievances with the school system. If someone made a good case, the complaint was brought to the principal, who made the final decision about what was to be done about the problem.

It was a good idea in theory, but people tended to taked advantage of the priveledge. As a result, Yuki had been forced to sit and listen to a bunch teenagers whine about everything from unfair detentions to excessive amounts of homework. However, the true cream of the crop had been a group of boys who felt that the dress code for the female student body was too restrictive (a speech they had already presented to him twice earlier in the year). And every second that Yuki probably should have been calmly listening, he spent wondering why he had run for student council president in the first place, and continually reminding himself that no matter how annoying he might find them, punching another student would be a bad idea. Even if it was after school hours.

To make matters worse, just when Yuki had thought that he was finally free for the weekend, he had been cornered by the members of the planning committee for the upcoming school dance. Apparently, they had discovered a local inn which they considered to be the perfect location for the festivities, but it needed to be shown it to him first before any final arrangements were made. This was because, according to them, he was the committee chairman. (How this had happened, Yuki wasn't certain, because he definitely hadn't volunteered for the position or been made aware of it before tonight. He hadn't even been planning on attending the dance in the first place.)

He had wanted to say no. He should have said no. But they had looked so excited and hopeful, like little puppies that were eager to please, that Yuki had found himself agreeing to allow the group to give him a grand tour of the premises, while they gushed on and on about the place's "romantic atmosphere".

As soon as talk turned to decorating and possible expenses, Yuki made his leave, mostly because he was beginning to get uncomfortable with the looks some of the female committee members were shooting him.

Unfortunately, by the time he had made it out to his freedom, it was late at night and he was stranded in an unfamiliar part of town.

Most kids his age would have just pulled out their cell phone, but Yuki didn't have one, and even if he had, it wouldn't have helped his situation. Shigure didn't own a car, and anyway, Yuki personally felt that he was far safer wandering the streets all alone at night than he ever would be riding with Shigure. The man wasn't even completely certain whether he had a driver's license or not.

So, in the end Yuki decided to just keep on walking, hoping that he would eventually come across a familiar street or landmark.

Admittedly, it wasn't the best idea he had ever come up with. Yuki knew that. But under the circumstances, there really wasn't much more he could do, so he tried to take a page out of Tohru's book and be optimistic. After all, at least things couldn't get any worse, right?

Unless of course it started raining.

If someone who happened to know Yuki had chanced to walk by in that exact moment, they would have been rather surprised by the usually polite, soft spoken young prince's rather colorful vocabulary as the heavens opened up and released fat, cold droplets of water over his head like liquid bullets.

Yuki was honestly beginning to suspect that someone up there hated him.

In a matter of seconds, the rat was soaked through, and in about the same amount of time, the morning weatherman had temporarily usurped Kyo's long held title as "Most Stupid and Hated Person on the Planet".

Desperately, Yuki ran through the streets, still cursing and trying in vain to use his book bag as a shield against the rain. He needed to find some sort of shelter. The way his luck was going today, a transformation couldn't be far off, and no good could come from being so small in this kind of weather.

Yuki almost felt like crying with relief when he caught sight of what looked like a shop. (For all he knew, he might have. It was hard to tell in the rain.) It was too dark, and his vision too blurred by water to make out the establishment's name on the sign next to the door, but at the moment, Yuki didn't care. The only thing that mattered was that there were still lights on inside.

As soon as he was within range, Yuki seized the door handle and lunged across the threshold with such force that if the door had opened any slower, it might have been knocked of its hinges.

Only to be blinded by a sudden explosion of color.

Yuki blinked slowly to clear the spots from his eyes, taking in the vaguely familiar sight of bright skirts and lacy aprons. It took him a second to process what this all meant, but when he finally did, his mind was sent reeling back in horror.

This couldn't be happening. Things like this just didn't occur in real life. It was too ironic, too much of a coincidence that out of all the shops in the city, the one he had ended up taking refuge in…

"I'm sorry, but the shop is closed. You'll have to come bac—Yuki?"

…would be Ayame's.

For a few bare moments, the two brothers merely stared at each other, both too surprised (and in Yuki's case, out of breath from all that running) to speak. But as always, Ayame was the one to break the silence first.

"Yuki! I didn't know you were coming to see me today! What a pleasant surpr—" abruptly, Ayame cut himself of, suddenly noticing his brother's shivering, dripping state. "You're soaking wet!"

Yuki couldn't help but roll his eyes at this rather obvious statement. "Well, it is raining outside." he pointed out dryly.

He would never be certain on how Ayame always seemed to be able to get to one end of the room to the other in a split second. All he knew was that, seemingly in an instant, his brother was inches away and clasping Yuki's hands, eyes sparkling.

"How brave! To have fought a desperate battle against Mother Nature herself, all to fulfill your deep desire to see your loving older brother--"

"It wasn't planned," Yuki interrupted flatly. "I was on my way home when it started raining. I headed for the closest building I could find."

Yuki's explanation didn't deter Ayame in the slightest. If anything, it only seemed to excite him further. "So in your quest for warmth and shelter, you walked into my shop, perhaps instinctively led here by the hands of fate!"

If Yuki had known that this was where "fate" was going to carry him, he would've taken his chances with the elements.

"Come on, Yuki! You can dry off upstairs!" Ayame declared, enthusiastically tugging on his brother's hand (which he had never completely let go of) and dragging him up to the second floor.

Yuki tried to protest, but the snake wasn't listening, not that he ever did.

Finally, they reached the top of the stairs, and with a flourish Ayame opened the door leading to the apartment he lived in with Mine above the store.

"It's a little small," he admitted with a smile, "but Mine and I manage just fine. And of course, I did all the decorating myself!"

Yuki didn't find that hard to believe. The apartment was a bit more muted than the shop, but it still screamed "Ayame" in every corner. The walls were light blue and were decorated with floral patterns and drawings of young woman wearing what could only be Ayame's own designs. The floor was paneled in wood and covered with several pink and white throw rugs that matched the curtains framing the windows.

Pushed into a corner was a small desk scattered with papers and various drawing utensils. It was half hidden by a dark blue Chinese screen that formed a makeshift door. Ayame's "office" Yuki assumed.

"The kitchen is over there," Ayame said, indicating a small, diner style area that was cut off from the rest of the room by a white island and stools. "And the bathroom, as well as both Mine's bedroom and mine are down that hall."

"Where is Kuramae-san?" Yuki asked curiously.

"She's visiting her family this weekend. She won't be back until Monday."

"Oh." Yuki said, absentmindedly crossing his arms around his chest in an attempt to retain warmth.

This action seemed to draw Ayame's attention. "Yuki? Are you all right?"

The juunishi nodded faintly. "I'm fine. I should probably call home, though. I imagine that everyone is probably wondering where I am by now."

"I'll do that." Ayame assured him, "You just relax and make yourself comfortable."

Yuki wasn't given any time to reply as the snake made a dash down the hallway, presumably to take the call in his own room, leaving his brother standing in the middle of the living room, feeling distinctly out of place.

How exactly am I supposed to "make myself comfortable? he wondered. He couldn't sit down without getting water on the furniture, and to make matters worse, Ayame owned a white couch. True, it had zebra stripes on it, but it was white all the same. And while Yuki wasn't exactly always fond of his elder brother, that didn't mean he wanted to ruin his furniture.

Fortunately, he wasn't left there very long before Ayame reappeared. However, his arrival only caused Yuki's discomfort to be replaced by a sense of uneasiness. The man's smile was entirely too suspicious for his presence to be reassuring.

"Well, it looks like you're staying with me tonight."

And now he knew why.

"What?" Yuki asked incredulously, looking as if Ayame had just informed him that Akito was actually a woman in disguise.

"I talked to Shigure, and we both agreed that it's far too nasty out there to attempt walking home tonight." Ayame explained.

"And you just decided this on your own without even asking my opinion?" Yuki snapped, irritation growing in his chest.

"If I had asked, you would have walked out then and there." Ayame pointed out.

"I still might." Yuki growled, glaring challengingly.

But Ayame didn't even bat an eyelash. He simply walked over to the TV set and switched it on. The screen flickered and showed a weatherman (not the same one from this morning, which was fortunate because if it had been, there was a very good chance that Yuki's foot would have found its way through the center of the screen), pointing at various maps indicating swirls of color in their general area.

"—merely a preview of things to come. This storm is only going to get worse as the night goes on. My only advice to the people at home is to stay inside, because the only way you'll be able to get anywhere safely is by boat."

It was then that Yuki expanded the scope of his hatred not only to the man this morning, but to all meteorologists in general.

The Zodiac rat scowled. "I'm sure it's not that bad."

At that very moment, an ominous crash of thunder rumbled through the building, followed by a crack of lightning that caused the lights to flicker briefly.

Ayame raised his eyebrows.

Yuki sighed in defeat. "Fine, I'll stay." He may have been stubborn, but he wasn't stupid.

As soon as the words left his lips, Ayame proceeded to grab Yuki and twirl him around in a circle excitedly.

"This is going to be so much fun!" he squealed, eyes shining. "It'll be just like a sleepover! We'll make popcorn, tell ghost stories, and stay up all night long!"

And then he frowned, noticing the growing puddle forming on his floor for the first time. "But first we should get you into some dry clothes." Ayame suggested, and then, as if he had just been struck by an unexpected epiphany, his face lit up in a way that immediately put Yuki on guard. "I have just the thing!"

The idea of wearing something his brother owned made Yuki feel very, very nervous.

"No!" he protested quickly. "That won't be necessary. I'm fine just the way I am."

Ayame laughed. "Don't be silly, Yuki! I can't allow my precious little brother to lounge around in soaking wet clothes. It goes against my principles as a designer."

And for the second time that day, Yuki soon found himself being grabbed by the wrist and forcibly dragged to another location.

Was it possible for the senses to be plagued by a color overload? If such a thing existed, that was definitely what Yuki was suffering right now.

Walking into Ayame's bedroom was a lot like walking into the center of the sun, minus the heat. The room was painted a vivid crimson with a deep purple carpet, and in the center was a bed outfitted with a bright gold comforter and canary yellow sheets.

How does Ayame wake up to this every morning? Yuki thought, incredulously.

"Aha! Here it is!" the snake in question called triumphantly, snapping Yuki back to his current predicament.

With much gusto, the silver haired man pulled a large white box out of his closet (which looked big enough to serve as another small bedroom). Eagerly, he tore off the lid and drew the garment out for Yuki to inspect.

"No." the juunishi said flatly. "There is no way that I'm wearing that."

It wasn't the frilly; beribboned nightmare that he had been half expecting, but the reality was almost as mortifying. For the garment his brother held out before him was a pair of pyjamas.

It was a two piece set consisting of a long sleeved shirt and a pair of pants, both of which were made out of a soft, lilac colored material. But it wasn't the slightly feminine color that Yuki had a problem with. It was the fact that printed on the fabric was dozens of little gray cartoon rats.

"Why not?" Ayame whined, honestly unable comprehend why a teenage boy wouldn't want to wear cute, fuzzy little animals on his back. "The color would bring out your eyes perfectly, and it's even made out of flannel for extra warmth."

"I said no." Yuki repeated, stubbornly.

Ayame looked at him pleadingly, but the rat wouldn't budge. Finally, he sighed dejectedly. "All right. I suppose that if you really want me to, I can find you something else to wear."

But despite his words, the disappointment was clearly reflected in the man's eyes, and Yuki found that despite his best efforts, he couldn't suppress the stab of guilt in his chest. His brother really wasn't asking for much, after all. And besides, who was to say that the next thing Ayame produced would be any better? He supposed throwing the man a small bone wasn't going to kill him.

"Fine," Yuki conceded reluctantly. "I'll put the stupid thing on."

As if he had pulled some kind of internal switch, Ayame's face was instantly transformed into one of pure, unadulterated joy. You would have thought that someone had just told him he had won the lottery.

"You will? Oh, that's wonderful! I've always dreamed of seeing you in something of my design! You won't regret it, I promise!"

He made a move as if to embrace Yuki, but remembering that the rat was still wet, settled for patting him on the shoulder instead.

Shrugging the appendage off, Yuki looked at his brother expectantly. "Well?"

But whatever hidden message he was trying to convey, Ayame wasn't picking up on it.

"Well what?" he asked, puzzled.

Yuki had assumed that most people would have been able to decipher what he wanted just by using common sense, but seeing that Ayame appeared to have a distinct lack of that, he decided to spell it out in words.

"Get out." Luckily, it only took two.

But rather than clarifying the situation, these words just seemed to make the snake more confused.

"What? Why?" he asked, blinking in surprise.

Yuki sighed in exasperation. "Because I have to change, idiot."

"So? It's nothing I haven't seen before. We are family, after all. I used to help change your diapers when you were a baby." Ayame remarked, proving that he truly knew nothing of personal boundaries.

Yuki flushed such a deep red that his face almost matched the walls.

"Just go!" he exclaimed, pushing the man towards the door.

"But this is my room!" Ayame protested, but pointing out this fact did nothing to prevent Yuki from slamming the door in his face.

Honestly, what had possessed his brother to make such and ensemble in the first place? Yuki could only wonder as he worked the buttons on the shirt (which were also rat shaped. How Ayame had managed to track down rat shaped buttons was beyond him.)

It was obviously made for him specifically, but Yuki couldn't fathom why. The snake couldn't have possibly anticipated that he would ever have a need for it, unless Ayame was clairvoyant or had somehow planned on Yuki getting lost and had then used his supernatural power over the weather to make it rain.

Nah, if Ayame had something like that at his disposal, Yuki was positive that he would have been aware of it. He had never known his brother to be able to keep a secret. Though there was the Zodiac curse…

Shaking his head lightly to rid himself of the ridiculous notions his mind had conjured, Yuki turned towards the mirror.

The pyjamas were a bit on the large side. The sleeves drooped over his palms and the cuffs almost covered his feet completely. All of this combined with the soft color and cheerful pattern made him look like a large, rather pretty child.

But all the same, it was only for one night, and they were quite comfortable. And aside from the overall bagginess, which Yuki was almost positive was intentional, they fit him perfectly (which begged the question on how Ayame had gotten a hold of his measurements).

With a sigh and a reminder to himself to keep a lookout for any hidden cameras (Yuki wouldn't put it past his brother to take pictures), he squared his shoulders and opened the door, inwardly preparing himself for the onslaught that he was sure was forthcoming.

Ayame did not disappoint. Immediately, Yuki found himself pulled into an almost bonecrushing embrace.

"Yuki! Look at you! You're so cute!" he exclaimed, beaming in pride.

"Don't make me hit you." Yuki muttered, glowering.

It was an empty threat really, mostly because his arms happened to be pinned to his sides, and were therefore incapable of doing much of anything. Nonetheless, there was still enough venom in his voice to encourage Ayame to release him.

But the snake recovered quickly, and soon he was chattering away like nothing had happened.

"Are you hungry? I can make you something if you are."

Yuki shook his head. "That's okay. There was pizza at the student council meeting."

"Well, that's good. If I remember correctly, those meetings could run a bit long at times, especially on an empty stomach. Ah, those were the days…"

Yuki had been certain that this thought process would lead to a rather longwinded story about Ayame's high school years, but then his brother unexpectedly cut himself off.

"I know!" Ayame declared suddenly, in a tone that made Yuki half expect him to announce that he had just discovered the cure for cancer. "I'll make us some tea, and then we can talk and strengthen our brotherly bond!"

Somehow, Yuki got the feeling that Ayame would be doing most of the talking, but all he did was shrug and walk to the couch, which the snake chose to take as an agreement.

Yuki got about half way across the room before Ayame called out to him.

"Yuki?"

Briefly, the boy paused and turned around. "Yes?"

"I know that you didn't actually want to wear the pyjamas I made, but you did anyway, and I just wanted to say thank you. You have no idea how much that means to me." Ayame said, for once entirely serious.

For a few long moments, the rat was completely dumbfounded, as serious had never been his brother's natural state. Finally, blushing slightly, he nodded.

This small action seemed to satisfy Ayame, and soon he was off again to make that promised tea.

Tea would be nice, Yuki decided. And then, figuring that Ayame wouldn't mind and not really caring if he did, the rat laid down on the couch to absorb as much of its warmth as he could.

Something hot would do him good. He was dry now, but that had done little to abate the shivers running through his body. It was almost as if the chill had seeped into his very bones.

"You're in for a treat!" Ayame announced, carrying a tray laden with cups in his hands. "Only two people in the world have ever had the privilege of trying my t—" He stopped.

There Yuki lay, curled up on the couch and fast asleep.

Quietly, Ayame set down the tray and gently pulled a blanket over Yuki's shoulders.

Affectionately, he brushed a few locks of hair out of the boy's eyes (something he wouldn't have dared to do if Yuki had been conscious) and smiled.

"Sweet dreams, little brother."

Believe it or not, this story actually started out as an extremely long oneshot. But the story just kept getting bigger and bigger until finally I had to separate it into several chapters. Because of this, most of the story is written, so you can probably expect an update fairly soon. But considering that this is me I'm talking about, who knows?

Any and all reviews are always appreciated.

I'm always looking feedback, especially when it's constructive criticism.