Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Love Makes All the Difference ❯ Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Still don't own Fruits Basket!

 

A/N: A romantic yet angsty one-shot lemon. I absolutely love Kureno and Arisa together, so I couldn't resist. Please take the time to review!

 

Love Makes All the Difference

 

By: Mizaya

 

Arisa wrapped her fingers around the hardened shaft slowly, taking a deep breath and moving closer to the tip. Here goes, she thought.

She never would have guessed when she woke up that morning that she would be giving Kureno head in her bedroom. It was completely out of the realm of her reality until this very moment. Actually feeling the twitching member hot against her hand seemed to pull her from a perpetual dream-like state that had been clouding her mind for the past hour.

"Hey!" As Arisa walked down the busy street, arms full of groceries, she saw a tall man passing her and called to him. The awkward object of her attention cocked his head to the side, for all the world reminding her of a stork. He took several ungraceful steps back in her direction, standing just far enough away that it was odd. He was just as beautiful as she remembered, soft brown hair and toned body and that oh-so-handsome face. And he still had that wonderfully childlike gleam in his eyes that she found so captivating. Suddenly, Arisa realized that she was staring like an idiot and struggled for something to say. "What's your problem?" No, that probably wasn't good.

"Arisa," he stammered, moving his eyes from side to side, anywhere but towards her face. "How have you been?"

Well, at least he hadn't run off at her rude question, but she wasn't done with him yet. Slinging her paper bag on to one hip, she pointed the index finger of her opposite hand directly at his face. "How have I been? How have I been?! I don't know: upset, worried, anxious! Take your pick, Kureno." His name came out with a highly satisfying inflection.

Kureno finally met her stare, his eyebrows furrowed and his expression puzzled. "But why?"

"Gah! You are so infuriating! Must I spell it out for you?" Uo forced herself to take a few breaths. Usually she had such a reign over her temper. Sure, she lashed out a lot, but it was always at her choosing. This man did something to her, though, and she completely lacked the reason why. He was still looking at her with his ridiculous confusion. For a 26-year old man, he was so naïve. "Look, I thought we were getting along fine. We seemed to be hitting it off and I thought you were going to kiss me, but then you had to go and be a jerk about it and never come around again. I just don't understand how you could show all that interest and then blow me off completely. I have feelings, too!" Her last words were marked with a choking rage. Tears had caught in her throat, and over what? She was actually going to cry about this awful, dumbstruck, fantastically attractive, intriguingly genuine man that stood before her? No way! Not Arisa Uotani. Not her!

Reaching across the space between them, Kureno clasped his hand around her outstretched one and stepped in closer. "I'm sorry," he told her in a quiet voice. Passersby walked around them as if they were surrounded by a forcefield, most not even looking at what was likely quite a scene. Arisa certainly felt like a glowing beacon at his touch. The heat in her cheeks that was definitely a blush had her humiliated. Almost crying. Blushing. How many other things was she going to do for this man? Next she would be waiting on him hand and foot and licking his boots.

With a snort, Uo pulled her hand regretfully away from his and settled it on her waist. "So is this another one of your infamous 'days off'? You have a whole harem of girls that work on this street that you visit to boost your damn ego?"

"Yes, I have a day off, but I'm not sure I know what you mean. Harem?"

Scornfully, she admitted to herself that he wasn't playing the fool. The man was a textbook idiot savant, obviously intelligent but oblivious to the outside world. She condemned herself for finding it sexy and lovable. "Never mind that. So what are you doing on your special free day? You've already explored the exciting world of convenience stores and noodle stands. What's next? The library? A Hair salon?"

Again with the confused look. "No," he said slowly. "I was just wandering. It's a nice day."

"Good." Arisa shoved her grocery bag at him, silently commanding him to take it. "This way." Not waiting for his answer, she stalked off in the direction of her apartment. She knew that she looked tough ordering him around like that, but a little voice mocked her for almost losing her control and simpering over him like a lovesick girl. Mentally, she punched that voice in the larynx.

One final breath was taken before Uo plunged her mouth down onto him. Her tongue found the first evidence of his juices that had formed on the tip and lapped at it, making him violently shiver beneath her. She slid her hand down the length to rest against the base so that her mouth could take the place that her fingers had just occupied. A muscular flexing pressed his member against the back of her tongue and she fought not to gag. Slight readjustments to her position made everything more comfortable and she began her work, taking turns moving her wet lips up and down over him and then pausing to circle the head with her tongue. Her actions were rewarded with unsteady gasps and a constant trembling that made him seem so vulnerable and special.

"Just set that down on the counter," she instructed. She threw her keys onto the small table near the door and shrugged out of her winter coat so she could hang it on the coat rack. The silly man who had followed her wasn't even wearing anything remotely warm enough for the weather outside and she could see how red his ears were with cold. "You want some tea?" she questioned.

After placing the grocery bag onto the counter in the tiny walk-through kitchen, Kureno looked around in amazement. "Please, if it's not too much trouble."

"No, I'm not that poor," she explained. The way he was examining the scant furnishings in the three-room apartment, she knew that must be what he was thinking. Other than the living room that stood open to the kitchen, there were just the two bedrooms and a closet-sized bathroom. Even with that small of a space it was almost barren of furniture. Her mother had taken most of that.

Arisa had already begun boiling water for tea before Kureno had stopped looking around and answered her. "I wasn't thinking that at all. It's just nice."

"What is?"

"I always tried to imagine what you looked like in your home, and now I need to readjust what I had created in my mind's eye."

Those simple words made her inexplicably tingly. She barely contained a squeal at the discovery that he spent his time imagining her anywhere. She knew that she was gaping and ogling but she couldn't have possibly stopped. He was right in front of her, barely four feet away, and words were coming from his mouth that she had never envisioned him saying. Ever.

"Arisa? The teapot is making a noise."

Her eyes fluttered open when she sensed his touch. She had closed them in concentration on her activities, and now she was faced with his hands hovering above her cheeks. A careful glance upwards revealed that he was gazing at her with a sort of reverence that was particularly unnerving. Hesitantly, he stroked his fingertips down her face, seemingly mesmerized with her despite her lewd position over him. The man had no shame at all. Perhaps he didn't know that what they were doing was so startlingly intimate.

His wide-eyed observation of his surroundings continued as he sat on the edge of her bed. "We don't have a table anymore, so I just eat in my room, you know, use my futon as a cushion." Arisa watched curiously as he moved his hands in slow swirls over her blankets that he was sitting on. Her own hand, which was supporting her weight, rested on the bed mere inches from where he was making his lazy traces.

"This is where you…sleep?"

"Yeah," she answered in a strange tone. He asked the weirdest questions! She watched as his ministrations to her blankets grew more tender, and she couldn't help feeling each stroke as an invisible caress on her face, her neck, and her shoulders. The room seemed to grow hotter by the second. "What's with you?"

"Hmm?" His hand swung closer to hers that rested on the bed. He began making an outline of her splayed fingers, dipping in between each one and then repeating his actions, getting closer and closer to touching her every time.

Breathing was increasingly difficult while she watched him come so close to touching her. Her entire body was electric. This must be what Hana feels like, she thought numbly. In complete opposition to his painstakingly slow start, his fingers quickly made contact and grazed up her bare arm, continuing when they met the fabric of her short-sleeved shirt and curving up over her shoulder to her collarbone. At that instant he ducked his head in and gave her what she had been hoping for at their last meeting.

Thoughts collided in her mind like a bright explosion when he kissed her at last. The kiss was just like the man, unbelievably awkward yet somehow breathtaking. Arisa blindly grabbed at his jawline, gripping the side of his head so that she could comb through his hair. It felt just like she thought it would: soft and smooth. Everything was just as she had pictured, only somehow better. He had a distinct scent, like rain and clean air, and his lips were strong and gentle, and his hands on her neck were so warm. The best part, though, was his taste. As she let herself explore his mouth she felt heady with the fresh spicy taste of his flesh mixed with the tea that they had been drinking.

She was left totally shocked when he broke the kiss and rose to his feet all in the same motion. "I shouldn't have done that," he said in a tone that told her he was cursing himself for his actions.

"Yes, you should have. It was about time!" It seemed silly to say that after only knowing him briefly, but any moron could have felt the tension between them. "Was it that bad?"

Kureno licked his lips meaningfully and answered her. "No, that's why I shouldn't have done it."

"That doesn't make any sense." Now she was on her feet, too, arms crossed over her chest. "So it wasn't bad? But you still shouldn't have done it? Damn, Hana was right! You really are married! I bet you have kids, too!"

Shaking his head most emphatically, Kureno half reached out to her and then thought better of it and replaced his hand at his side. "I'm not married, nor do I have children. Arisa, listen to me. This can't be, and if I stay here with you I'm afraid that I won't be able to say 'no' to you."

Characteristic fire burned in her eyes as she jumped to stand in front of the door. "Perfect! You aren't going anywhere! I've been waiting for you long enough and now you're going to stay here and answer some things for me. Why are you so unworldly? Why are days off so rare? What do you feel about me?" That last had some serious emotion to it that she didn't have the strength to label.

"I don't get out much," he began, sitting beck down on her bed in a defeated manner. "My duty to my family is great. I have to serve the head of the family who is a very important person. I would rather not say the name so don't ask." Arisa nodded to him and he continued. "As for what I feel about you, I'm not really sure. You're distracting to me. I think about you all the time and yet I can't afford to."

"Why not?"

"Because my position doesn't grant me permission to love."

Love. That word struck a chord and she lost balance, slumping down against her door to stare at him face to face. "You…love me?"

"Yes." He said it with such conviction. "I think I do, at least. Arisa, let me make this clear to you. I have never been allowed something like this. That kiss that we shared, it was my first."

"What?!?" It was impossible to think that a man in his mid twenties had never even kissed anyone before! Arisa suddenly felt decidedly unchaste at her past transgressions.

Kureno continued in a solemn voice. "It's true. I have never kissed before. Or loved. I'm not sure what I feel, but I think it is love, and that's very dangerous. I'm not allowed to."

Fury bubbled beneath her cool façade. It was ridiculous for whoever was in charge of him to forbid him love. Everyone needed that. Even she had love in her life, through her friends, and her father when he was around. The grown man that sat dejected on her bed was indeed like a little boy. A little boy who happened to be loved by her, for some reason.

Crawling forward on her hands and knees, she came up right in front of him. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. No one should live like that."

No response was given because she closed the gap and kissed him. This kiss was with a purpose. She led him by the nose, or tongue rather, into a seething pool of ecstasy, all with a single kiss. Her tongue burrowed into the deep recesses of his mouth and coaxed him to play with her in return. Maybe she was the lovesick girl, but she would have to take charge of this situation if it was to go anywhere. There was no way in fucking hell that he was leaving her house without getting something. Twenty-six and a virgin was bad enough, but never even kissing?

While Kureno was distracted with the kiss, Uo planned her next move. If she let him know what she was going to do then he would get scared and leave. She had to pounce like a wildcat stalking a sparrow. In one move she straddled his outstretched legs and began ripping at the button of his slacks, well aware of the way his mouth immediately ceased its affections and he froze.

He said nothing as she unzipped the pants and reached in unabashedly to pull out his arousal, already firm from their oral attentions. She sensed his nervousness and planted herself down solidly on his legs so that he couldn't move, then she traced her hands down his still-clothed chest and steadied herself over the appendage that loomed before her eyes.

Arisa shut her eyes again. It was too much to watch his face as she sucked and licked at such a private location. He was breathing so audibly that she knew he was close. She could tell by the way he throbbed against her fingers, still at the base, and the way that his hands stroked jerkily over her hairline.

At one particularly enthusiastic lick, his hand leapt to the back of her head, entwining in her bleached blonde hair and urging her lower onto him. The hand was gone the next instant and she opened her eyes to see him looking at her in horror, obviously scared of his wanton actions. She lifted the corners of her mouth in a smile at the way she had cracked the timid exterior and found some unadulterated lust underneath. Using her free hand, which had been propping her up against the futon, she found his hand and replaced it on her head. After a moment, he relaxed and wound it into her hair again, gently pressuring her in the pace that he desired.

Her jaw was starting to ache and she lifted her mouth away to suck at the head to give the tired muscles a rest. His hand, however, was opposing her, trying to get her to move back down, urgently, not forcefully. One look at his face and she knew why. It was contorted in concentration, and his mouth hung open to gasp for breath. Wordlessly, he mouthed her name and threw his head back and closed his eyes. It was the first time he had broken his stare. He had to be close.

Renewed determination took over and she slipped her lips back down his shaft, running her tongue all along the underside while letting him glide as deeply into her throat as she could. The hand on her hair was almost frantic, shaking and pushing. A few last thrusts in and out of her mouth had him convulsing and throwing his body forward, his head hanging over hers as he shivered and moaned, his seed pouring down her throat. "Arisa," he whispered.

Swallowing discreetly, she wiped her mouth and sat back on her heels. "Yes?"

"Why did you do that?" he asked her in a scared tone.

"Because." Leaning forward she reached out to wrap her arms around him, but for some reason he caught her and pulled her body to rest beside him, allowing her head to settle against his shoulder as he put his arm about her back. "I love you," she said with glassy eyes. This was too good to be true.

His hand stopped its rubbing motions and she raised her head to meet his gaze. "I love you, too," he said earnestly. She frowned when he removed his hold on her to push her back down on the bed. "I don't know how to do this. You have to help me."

His cryptic words soon became clear when he knelt beside her prone form and began delicately undoing the buttons on her blouse. Watching him spread the shirt apart and wander with his eyes across her bare skin was intoxicating. Fingers tentatively traveled from her navel up to the line or her bra and then across. A look of serious focus bloomed on his face and she realized that he was trying to figure out how to get the offensive garment off of her. "It's in the back," she said, trying to hide her amused smile. "Here." Sitting up, she doffed the shirt completely and fumbled be hind her back for the clasp of her bra.

"Let me. I want to learn." Arisa removed her hands and closed her eyes as she felt his hands smooth over her back and settle on the strap. He rested his chin on her shoulder, peering down at what he was doing. Those simple touches were like magic, bringing her body to a sharp awareness that she had never felt before. It was the feeling of being in love, she figured.

Bra gone, she laid back down and let him come close to her. He placed kisses all along her neck and up to her ear while his hands touched her everywhere above her waist. Kureno bit her earlobe just as his fingers contacted her sensitive nipples, one in each hand, and he made symmetrical movements as Arisa moaned. He seemed entranced by the firm buds of rosy flesh, losing all interest in her ear to sit up and stare at them. He tested the weight of her breasts and swirled his hands up and around their plumpness, but his hands continued to come back to the pink jewels.

"You can taste them," she offered quietly.

He glanced at her and then back down, licking his lips excitedly and then plunging in, suckling her quite hard yet not painfully.

"Take my skirt off."

While he was still focused on her nipples, his hands slid down to the waist of her long skirt and felt around until he discovered the zipper running down one side. He at least knew how to operate on of those and she was soon lifting her hips so he could remove them and reveal her blue silken panties.

All at once he became aware of what his hands had been doing and he sat up again, this time staring a bit lower. He traced the top of the only clothing that she had left on and slid his fingers in the elastic waistband, flashing his eyes to hers in silent permission. Arisa smiled and he began to pull them down her body. His eyes really went wide when he saw her completely bare. For a full minute he sat and stared at her, not touching her once.

Arisa was afraid that she had paralyzed the poor man. Well, there was only one way to snap him out of it. Far past the point of self-consciousness, she lifted one of her knees from its position flat on her bed and pivoted it to the side, totally exposing herself to him.

Hungry eyes scorched her body with their exploration. Arisa's heart was tight in her chest with the utter, steamy desire she felt just under his watch. She didn't have to wait long for any action. His trance had been officially broken. Eager hands went right for the gusto, stroking and probing along her moist folds, his head lowering to get a better look. She would have normally commented on his bizarre and uncomfortable behavior, but no thought stayed in her mind when one curious finger entered her, searching out her inner treasures.

The finger unfortunately came right back out to be stared at, then it made a trail up and over her clitoris, never hitting that one oversensitive spot. She knew that he needed guidance so she pushed herself into his hand, groaning loudly for emphasis when his fingers struck gold. The man wasn't a complete dolt. He continued to play that one spot, quickly making her cheeks warm and her body tightly strung. If he did that much longer she wouldn't hold out.

Hands left her mournfully, but they were immediately replaced by something else. What seemed like a wet finger traced over her clit as two lone fingers began arching into her depths. Realization hit her like a ton of bricks that he was licking her and it set off all sorts of uncontrollable and sexy thoughts. Whether or not it was the day of his first kiss, it felt like he had been practicing oral sex for all of his 26 years. He relentlessly hammered her with his fingers while his teeth, lips, and tongue murdered her clit with frightening accuracy.

Lights encircled her vision and danced just on the edge of perception as her muscles began rippling and dancing against the mad between her thighs. Each flick of his tongue and thrust of his fingers suddenly grew vivid and overbearing as though a hundred nerve endings became a million in a matter of seconds. Harsh sounds came from her throat and a myriad of writhing waves sent her careening into a dream of warm white light and beautifully aware skin. Kureno's handsome face flashed before her eyes and she knew why it was so spectacular. She loved him. It made all the difference.

She had to drag him from her when his touch became too much to handle. He didn't seem to know that she had orgasmed by the confused look he have her. "Thank you," she mumbled to him, and guided him to lie on the futon at her side. He draped his hands over her stomach and graced her cheek with a tender kiss before she slid her eyes shut. She didn't think that she could remain awake one second longer, despite wanting to have a talk with him beforehand. It would have to wait. Maybe he would be there when she woke up, but likely not. It was all right. Everything would be okay in the end. They had love.