Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Pet ❯ Part II ( Chapter 2 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Pet

Disclaimer: We don't own Fruits Basket. Imagine that. It is just fanfiction. Get over it. No suing.

Stuff: Co-write between BizarreLoveTriangle{s} and Aubreys_Master

Description: There's Black and there's White. And then there's Purple. And he's WAAAAY over here.

A/N: Murr I'd just seen Lemony Snickett when we were writing this… That movie sucked.

Chapter 2: Stop Two Funeral Home

Kyo returned to his domicile and easily staved off his housemates by muttering out that he was tired, and now going to bed. The next morning when he got up to go to school, per usual, he still refused to talk about where he'd been for the last few weeks. He then headed out early for school with the intention of 'talking' to Haru. Here talk to means beat the fuck out of.

Haru sort of heard the knock on his door, but not really. Either way, he ignored it, and just pushed the large shard of mirror, embedded into his skin, further in. He knew he'd already gotten through the vein, but he wanted to make sure no one could stop him, with this.

The cat cursed irritably. He had plenty of time before school. He'd left the house early for this. But that didn't excuse the ox, whom he was fairly sure was in there, for not answering the door. So, he just rolled his eyes after a few more moments and tried the knob. It was still unlocked from when he'd fled out the doorway the night before. Well then. That made things easy, didn't it? He crept warily into the house and began searching out his cousin.

And Haru STILL didn't notice, pressing on the glass a bit more, before tugging it out, watching with pleasure as the blood bubbled, spilled over, and started to quickly drip on the floor. He really didn't care if he was messy, though. That honestly didn't bother him.

When the older Sohma finally found him he blinked and then frowned deeply. Messy was an understatement. The ox was bleeding all over the fucking place! It dripped down his arm and made shimmering pools on the floor.

"Haru--" He started, then cursed under his breath as he continued to survey the scene. Haru offered him a slightly odd look, but he didn't even try to explain himself. He knew there was nothing he could say that would excuse himself in Kyo's eyes, and he was feeling tired. There really was no point in attempting to. The red head shook his head, turning away from the younger boy. He needed to call Hatori, and now would probably be good.

"Hatori--" The cat started as soon as he heard an answer. "You need to come to Haru's. Shit, he's bleeding all over--"

Hatori didn't say anything at all, there was just a click, dial tone, and he showed up at Haru's house a few minutes later, entering through the open door, and going upstairs to find his younger cousin. With his limited knowledge of wounds, Kyo had gone off and found and towel and was trying his best to staunch the blood flow. There was a definite difference between wanting to beat Haru bloody for tying him up in a closet and wanting him dead. He liked the guy, that's fairly obvious considering they'd been going out with no problems until Haru went crazy. Hatori looked quite annoyed, and just mumbled, `idiot' as he grabbed a fresh washcloth, to press to his mostly unconscious cousin's wrist, before picking him up, to go see what he could do about fixing Haru's little physical addition.

Kyo frowned and scrabbled anxiously after them. Maybe if they were lucky Haru wouldn't die?

No, he didn't die. He did sleep for three days, but he didn't die. He wasn't, however, too happy when he woke up again, muttering something about how Heaven was over rated when you read about it. If this was heaven, then apparently Haru deserved some Kyo shaped angels. Or maybe they were Kyo-like demons? Either way the red head leaned over his, right in his face and gave him a dry look.

"That was real stupid, Haru."

"Apparently." Haru sighed, not letting his slight confusion show. "If it had been smart, it would have worked."

The cat was momentarily pushed aside so the dragon could get a look at the ox. But as soon as he was done fussing and berating, he allowed the feline to be alone with him again. Kyo had been waiting fairly faithful by the bedside, odd as that was, and he figured he'd had something to say to the ox.

"Just what are you thinking?" Kyo demanded with a scowl.

"That I'm a schizophrenic, with two extra personalities, neither of which like me, and both of whom are bent on destruction and torture?" He offered with a raised eyebrow. "Most of that, by the way, they want to direct at you. It seemed the best solution, a few hours ago. And, it still would have been, if it had actually worked."

"You dumb ass." Kyo snorted in disbelief.

"Well, it would have fixed everything." He pointed out, pouting a little. The cat bopped him lightly on the head, he would have felt bad about full out punching him, since he was already injured, but he really wanted to.

"I can't very well be pissed off with you if you're dead."

"Another good reason to die." Haru mumbled sinking down into the bed Hatori had put him in, slightly.

"Take it like a man, Haru." The red head rolled his eyes.

"All I wanted to do was fix things!" Haru pointed out, frowning. "I don't want to hurt anyone, and I can't control them at all."

"Most people in your family can kick your ass Haru." Kyo stated plainly. "I guess it's supposed to be good that you're worried, but I could kick your alter egos' asses ANY time."

"Then why were you collared in my closet?" Haru wondered dryly, raising an eyebrow at him.

"I was supposed to expect you tying me up?" The cat retorted.

"It wasn't me!" Haru stated quickly, just to get that fact across very, VERY clearly.

"I didn't know that when he first refused to let me leave." Kyo shrugged.

Haru just sighed and shook his head slightly. "I'm sorry," He told him, one more time.

"Like you said, it wasn't you." His older cousin brushed it off.

"I really didn't think he'd come out, though." Haru promised, half-heartedly. "He never has, before."

"You already knew he was there?" Kyo was impressed with the boy's newest level of insanity.

"Yeah." He nodded, blinking slightly. "He's been there for a while, he just hasn't done anything." Haru had been harboring a psychotic side of himself that wanted to make Kyo his pet and for some reason had found this knowledge unworthy to share with said cat? The red head gave him a dry look and was seriously revaluating his affection for the other. "I really didn't think he'd do anything!" He promised again, sitting up slightly. "I mean, you wouldn't think he'd just sit still for, oh, I don't know, three--four years, and THEN just pop out, would you?"

"Tch, right." Kyo rolled his eyes. He'd been forcing himself to stay fairly calm throughout this conversation, since the ox was already hurt. He'd feel bad about adding to that in some various form of rage. Haru relaxed again, deciding to shut up before he really pissed Kyo off. In fact he stayed like that for a while, until he sat up quite suddenly, stared down at his hand, and voiced a very interesting observation.

"They won't move."

The red head followed his gaze. "I'd be blatantly lying if I said I was surprised." He stated, idly prodding the pale digits.

Haru's eyes flickered up to him, but then back down to his hand again. "They're not numb." He informed him. "They just won't move."

Kyo let the pads of his fingers rest on the flat of the other's hand. "I'll go get Hatori if you want to ask him about it." He offered absently.

"Sure." He agreed, a bit flatly. He had a bit of a feeling about what the problem might be but Hatori would actually know. No point in jumping to conclusions, right? The feline nodded, pushing back his chair then getting up to hunt down the doctor! Who was, in all honesty, a bit peeved to be disturbed in his paperwork but then he came to see what the ox wanted. Haru explained the problem to Hatori, before glancing up curiously, to see what he would say.

"You cut through the tendons in your wrist." He was tempted to add a 'you moron' but he refrained and simply shrugged instead.

"Mmm," Haru nodded thoughtfully. That had been what he'd thought it had been. "Didn't think I'd gone that deep."

"And there you would be wrong." The dragon commented. "Anything else?"

"Yeah." He nodded. "Can you fix them?"

"No."

"Great." The ox snorted. Now, not only had his suicide attempt been thwarted, but also he couldn't move his wrist or fingers. That was just great.

"It was your stupid idea, Haru." Kyo put in grimly.

"I told you before, I thought it would work." The ox pointed out, with a small frown. "It wouldn't matter how deep I cut, if I were dead."

"It wouldn't matter if you were dead or not. It was still a stupid idea." The doctor muttered before heading back off to get the paperwork ready to pay for the blood and such he'd had to use to fix Haru.

"There wasn't anything else lethal in my house, or I wouldn't have used a mirror!" Haru called after him sharply. "Someone stole all my knives and razors." This comment seemed rather pointed, but not so much that it didn't sound off hand, too. The dragon chose to ignore that comment and continued on his way. *

"Haru," Kyo rolled his eyes. "Don't be a jackass. Like we'd really just let you kill yourself."

"You weren't supposed to know, until it was already done."

"Yeah, well excuse me." Kyo hissed.

"Plans never work out the way they're supposed to." Haru shrugged slightly, almost apathetically. He sighed, then and glanced apologetically at Kyo. "Should I have asked your permission first?"

The red head bit his tongue and glared at the ox. "Fine. Fuck you." Well so much for that. He was going home. Haru could drop dead.

"Kyo!" Haru frowned at him. "C'mon, don't go! I'm sorry, okay? I'm just in a bad mood right now." His feline cousin glanced icily over his shoulder. He wasn't in the greatest mood either. He did come back slowly though and flopped down listlessly into the chair by the bed again. "Thank you," The ox breathed out, trying really, really hard to calm down again. It wouldn't be good to get too angry, and go Black right now. He had a feeling Kyo had already had enough of his split personalities to last him a while.

"Whatever," Kyo sighed, resting his forehead in his hands. Stupid schizophrenic boyfriend. Actually, Kyo really had to wonder if Haru still counted as his boyfriend right now. Actually, similar thoughts were currently swimming through Haru's head. They had been since he'd found Kyo in his closet, actually. It was starting to make him feel ill, too. So, he brought it up.

"Hey… Kyo... are we still a... thing... after everything?"

"I don't know." The cat looked down at the floor moodily. Psycho ass Haru, as he had affectionately dubbed him, had said White liked him and cared about him. But he was seeing a lack of evidence to back this up. And just the fact that Black and Psycho Haru existed seem reason enough to hesitate, not to mention what they'd done.

"Oh," Haru managed to mask any hurt from his tone, but just barely. He didn't want Kyo to break up with him. He didn't want to hurt any more, and he didn't want Kyo to become another Rin.

"Hey, at least two thirds of you like me." The red head muttered bitterly, it was a very lame attempt to console himself and Haru.

Haru raised an eyebrow at him. "One third." He corrected flatly. "They both hate you."*

"Oh that's great." Kyo's head hung further. This relationship looked like more trouble than it was worth.

"M'sorry." Haru mumbled, with a small shrug. There really wasn't much he could do about it...

"Just—whatever--" The cat managed to avoid snarling. God, he'd just sat down again and he was already ready to get the hell up and leave. He wasn't the only one who could tell this conversation wasn't working too well. Which was probably why the next thing out of Haru's mouth, was calling for Hatori, and asking when he could go home.

"Now, but you have to take it easy tonight." The dragon replied when he got back. The kid had lost a lot of blood, didn't want him passing out. "And have Kyo take you back, in case you faint on the way over." The cat frowned angrily at Hatori, but he knew better than to argue with him. Actually, Kyo had kinda been who'd Haru had been trying to get away from, by leaving Hatori's office, but the ox just shrugged, and droned slightly,

“Right." Before getting up, to go set about that whole leaving thing. The cat got up with a glare in Hatori's direction, but the doctor had no idea what he'd done so he ignored it and just saw the two to his door.

The walk back to Haru's house was relatively silent. And it wasn't the comfortable kind, either. No, it was that post-fight awkwardness. However, things didn't get any better for poor Haru when he actually opened his door, and the smell of three day old drying blood reached his nose, and he promptly shut the door again, casting a wary glance over at Kyo. The cat would have had to smell it to. After a moment of thinking of what he should do, he just turned on his heels, and started off for the main house. There were plenty of rooms there; he'd ask Akito if he could stay in one, until his own house was fit for human inhabitation again. Kyo watched after him for a moment before turning to head for his own home. He'd done what Hatori had asked. He'd taken Haru to his house and that was all he was going to do. Haru honestly wasn't sure whether he was happy or disappointed that Kyo didn't follow him, but he just shrugged that off, and continued along his not-quite-so merry way. The only thing he could do, at the moment, was hope Akito would let him stay in the main house for a night or two. It shouldn't take too long to get his bathroom cleaned up, right?

Akito wasn't in the mood to care when the ox arrived. He even barked at one of his servants to send a maid over to the boy's house and that was that. He all but had Kureno throw Haru back out of the room when their conversation was concluded. Well, that could have gone worse, Haru supposed, as this happened.

"Thank you, Akito-san." He tossed gratefully over his shoulder, to his older cousin, as Kureno shooed him back into the hall.

So both children headed to their rooms. Haru had a clear path, but Kyo had to hiss at Shigure and shove Yuki out of his way to reach his. He didn't really care when they knocked on his door to find out what the hell his problem was. He just ignored them, kept the door locked and contemplated going to the roof.

The next day, however, faced the two quarreling boys with a bit of a problem--school. Haru knew that would be a problem, because (no matter how hard he tried) he couldn't possibly just not see Kyo ALL fucking day. It hadn't worked that way since he'd started high school. That was just how it was. Despite this, Kyo was perfectly willing to pretend that even though Haru was there, HE couldn't see him. It wasn't too hard since the cat just ignored everyone. People were still trying to get him to tell them where he'd been all those weeks. So adding Haru to the list of the ignored was no skin off his nose.

It irritated and hurt the ox to no end, though. So, Haru ended up in that 'fine, if you can ignore me, I can ignore you' mind-set. This would have been all fine and dandy, too, had it not been complete resentment fueling Haru's end of this.

Quite the lover's spat we have going here. But really, Kyo noted at lunch when he went to hide on the roof. What exactly had Haru been expecting?

Actually, he hadn't been expecting anything because he hadn't expected this to happen. He hadn't thought that third part of him would come out; he hadn't thought he would do anything to Kyo, even if he had, and he certainly hadn't planned on trying to commit suicide, a week ago. Speaking of which, Haru had quite a time trying to explain his (now relatively useless) hand, to his cousins, without actually admitting what he'd tried. He had a feeling Yuki and Momiji knew anyway, though.

Then Tohru had to split her fussing between the two boys. She was desperate to understand the gloom that had set onto Kyo, and she wanted to help the poor impaired ox now. It would be so much easier if the two of them would just try being in the same room together. But both avoided it as much as possible. It made Tohru sad.

Yuki, for one, was getting royally pissed off with Kyo, for continuing to worry Tohru, for no particular reason. And, he was about to go hunt the cat down, lay it all out, and hand his ass to him. Only, Yuki was on his list of people to ignore. So, that is what the red head did upon being found. Ignore the rat, entirely. That really didn't help the whole pissed off Yuki thing, though. Although, it was pretty unlikely that Kyo actually cared about that.

"Stop upsetting her." Yuki ordered him, regardless of whether Kyo was actually listening or not.

"Go find a rat trap and die." The cat ordered irritably after that one. Yuki was NOT going to guilt him with Tohru. However, he wasn't trying to guilt him. Tohru really was the only reason Yuki was there.

"You've had her worried more often than not, for weeks." Yuki informed him coldly. "Quit it."

"It's not my fault!" The red head spit.

"Just quit pouting, and let her know you're okay, then!"

"I'm not fucking pouting!" He growled. "And I told her I was fine, she just didn't fucking listen to me."

"You are too," Yuki protested slightly, already turning toward the stairs, to return to the ground.

"Eh, fuck you. Just, all of you." Kyo sighed and turned back to his lunch. Maybe he'd just skip the rest of the day and stay up here.

"For the record," Yuki paused slightly, before adding. "I think you and Haru are BOTH acting like idiots."

"Grrr," The other teenager was practically glowing in anger. "Shut up and leave already, you jackass!"

"Over reactive idiots." The rat amended, before doing just that, and leaving. Kyo hissed after him angrily, but that was the end of their conversation for the rest of the day. Kyo did come down in time for lunch but he continued on his silent crusade and even managed to ignore Uo.

Haru actually considered talking to Kyo, by the end of the day, if only to ask what was wrong with him. But, he decided against this, as soon as he saw him, and those resentful, hurt feelings pretty much multiplied ten fold. He didn't care what was wrong with Kyo; he just wanted him to stop acting like a fucking whiny brat about it. Kyo didn't plan on keeping it up too long. But really, he'd been locked in a closet for at least a month, AND THEN as soon as he was let out, his boyfriend tried to commit suicide, THEN they got into a fight with each other. He felt, perhaps, he was justified for a few days of sulking. Actually, today he planned to go to the dojo and beat one of Kazuma's heavy bags until the seams split.

"Kyo," Kazuma frowned, when Kyo broke his bag. "Wouldn't you rather rant, about whatever's bothering you, than break all my equipment?"

"Eh," The cat sweat dropped. "Sorry about that Shishou and not really." God he could IMAGINE Kazuma's response to finding out Haru had tied him up in his closet for weeks! Well, it wouldn't be positive, that was for sure.

"Just try not to break anything else." His master requested half-heartedly. It was obvious Kyo was pretty damn upset.

"Ah, I'll--try--Shishou." The red head promised. He cleaned up the remnants of what he'd already broken and then moved onto the next one. He had a while to beat out his damn frustration before he should go back, to make sure Tohru didn't worry.

Nope, can't worry Tohru. The source of Kyo's frustration, by the way, was currently sitting in his bedroom, trying to figure out just what he should do at this point. It seemed like, no matter how hard he tried to fix things, he just dug himself deeper into the trench.

Kyo already felt in the trench, and it felt like no matter how much he clawed and tried scrabbling up the walls, he just kept slipping down. It wasn't a matter of getting worse for him. It was a matter of not being able to escape the unpleasant feelings he had. He had no problem being a moody asshole, but before he could get Haru to console him. He didn't even have that now. So, he gave the heavy bag one more good kick before shaking his head and getting his shoes. Then he jogged home.

Haru would have been happy to console Kyo, if the cat would fucking talk to him. That didn't seem to be happening, though, so, they were both pretty miserable, because of their generally angsty attitudes.

Angst yes… To everyone else it looked like melodrama. But none of them seemed to be aware of Kyo's time spent chained up in a closet or the appearance of Psycho-ass-Haru. So, everyone else needs to be ignored. Anyways, once the cat returned home he said hello to Tohru then went in search of a shower. He sunk down onto the tiles under the spray there. He wasn't sure just how many days he could stand to be this angsty. It'd only been one and he was already seriously considering going to talk to Haru.

That would suit the ox just fine. Kyo wasn't the only one who was upset, or hurt by the events that had been happening recently. Kyo might have been chained up in a closet, but White Haru had been fucking trapped in his own damn head! And, the only reason he wasn't in there at the moment, was because he knew that neither of his alter egos would let him back out, no matter who made it to control his body first. So, it wasn't really an option.

A couple more days and the cat did indeed come slinking to the ox's door. He really hoped he was home, cause he felt like crap. Not that he was about to admit it. Haru was home, and he wasn't bleeding this time. Haru wasn't feeling too hot either, and had just skipped school that day. Still, he went down stairs; when he heard the knocking on the door, and cracked it open a few inches, to see whom it was.

"Oh." He blinked, only halfhearted hopes fluttering a few inches up. "It's you."

"Haru, I--came to talk to you--" Which was fairly obvious. There were only a few other reasons Kyo was there and he didn't appear to have a gun or a carton of eggs in his hands. Haru was silent for a few minutes, before opening the door all the way, and moving aside, for him to enter, still wordlessly.

Once Kyo was inside, Haru led him into a small living room, downstairs, and nodded for his couch, plopping down into a chair, himself.

"So talk."

The red head gave him a disgruntled look. "I don't know how Yuki does it, but just being a whiny bitch about a problem really doesn't work, and it just makes me feel like a jackass." He started with, sitting on the very edge of the couch and leaning against his thighs.

"Good." Haru nodded quite plainly. "Cause, you're being one." He was trying really hard to keep that pent up anger and pain out of his tone, but it really wasn't working too well, this time.

"Hey, I have a fucking reason." The cat narrowed his eyes at him.

"Oh?" Haru raised an eyebrow coolly at him. He was looking forward to hearing this one.

"You were just going to leave me." Kyo looked down at the floor with a grimace. "I was chained up in a closet for weeks hearing all about how much you cared about me and how happy you'd be to see me when he let you have your body back." And then the ox just tried to abandon him like every other damn person. Haru's eyes shone with something, but he refused to admit they were tears. He hadn't cried in years, and refused to admit Kyo was causing him so much pain.

"Do you have any idea how tired I am of hurting people, without meaning to, and having no power to control or stop it?" He wanted to know, finally.

"I can imagine." The red head kept his eyes carefully glued to the floor.

"I--when I--" He struggled awkwardly to explain himself, tripping over his own words, as he tried to get them out. "Kyo--when I found out what he'd done to you--Oh, for God's sake--it was just too much--"

"Ah," The cat understood well enough. But thanks to that, it just didn't look like this problem was going to solve itself. "Hn sorry about that then." He muttered sarcastically. It usually IS a good idea NOT to help drive your boyfriend to suicide then.

"I'm fucking sorry, okay?" Haru scowled at him, on the verge of standing up and stalking out of the room, to go hide in his own. "I--I'm sorry…"

"Yeah, you said that." Kyo looked up from the floor finally and his eyes narrowed a bit more. "But I'm sure you'd be happy to try it again." Because Haru obviously loved him just so much he had to kill himself. Yeah, sarcasm.

"It was the only way I could think of to fix things." Haru stated, his voice shaking slightly, as those tears that weren't there started to build up more rapidly. "They--they're not just going to go away. I'll be lucky if more of them don't show up. "

"That doesn't fix it Haru!" The cat frowned. "That throws it all out the damn window!"

"Then YOU think of a way to fix it!" Haru offered him an odd look. "I can't hurt anyone, if I'm not here. You think of something more effective."

"Gods! I don't know!" Kyo hissed. Yeah, he knew. He was SUCH a damn jackass for not wanting his boyfriend to die! How DARE he!

"I--" Haru frowned, as he felt those tears about to spill over, and simply turned to walk toward the stairs, and up to his bedroom, before they had a chance. If he was going to cry, NO ONE was going to fucking watch. "I don't know what to do anymore." He stated helplessly, before hurrying upstairs, and slamming the door to his room shut behind him. The feline's eyes widened and he crept slowly out towards the bottom of the stairs and looked up there in shock. He sat down heavily on the very bottom stair and began contemplating waiting or leaving. Also, whether his relationship was completely fucked over.

Haru actually didn't plan on going back downstairs, actually. He was laying in his bed, letting himself cry, very slightly. Just a few slow tears, no loud jagged sobbing, either. And, he was waiting for Kyo to go to HIM. He wanted to know that Kyo still cared enough about him to seek him out, while he was hurting. The cat didn't go up there for that purpose exactly though. He stood outside the door and after one swift knock spoke.

"Haru, I'm going to home. This isn't helping anything." Had he REALLY expected it to? Or had he been hoping to get an official, clean split. Hoping that would make it suck a little less? Haru had planned some sort of snappy retort, for if Kyo had done that, but it didn't really happen. An odd little choking noise came out, but no actual words.

Or, at least, for a few minutes, until he finally managed to choke out, "G--go to Hell... asshole."

Kyo grimaced. "Haru---" He wasn't sure just what to do. Go in there, turn and leave, apologize. What? Haru fell silent again, just trying to keep his breathing in check with the emotion just begging to escape; he had no intention to allow that, though. The red head looked away in pain before clomping noisily down the stairs. Haru didn't want him here... Then.... well... then he'd go home.

Poor Haru, he almost had another break down right there, when he heard Kyo leaving. He should have known not to hope to be happy it couldn't work out properly, not for a member of the zodiac. Something would always happen, to fuck it all up.

Kyo trudged home in his misery. He took the VERY long way back was all. He didn't actually get to Shigure's until rather later at night. Once he'd assured Tohru he was back he headed up to his room for bed. But once he was there he just ended up tossing and turning. A few hours of that, and he got up frustrated and went for a walk around town. He was angry. This situation was painfully sucking, and Haru hadn't fucking helped anything! He blinked up from the pavement when he bumped into some guy. He shoved him with a snarl; the guy was drunk and tried picking a fight with Kyo. They were going at it quickly enough. It ended with the drunken guy on the pavement babbling about doing anything, just so long as Kyo didn't beat him any further.

"Come on--I could buy a nice kid like you off with some hooch!"

The cat frowned, but in his current condition. That was an appealing offer.

"How much?"

"The guys and I have this nice big case of sake bottles! You can have it! It's just in the car over there!"

Well, that was how the cat came to acquire his large stash of alcohol and he was currently sitting in the darkened park where our story started, downing one.

Haru had eventually gone to sleep, but it wasn't a heavy sleep. So, he was awake fairly early the next morning. So, he sat there in bed, and pondered whether he should actually go to school or not. He did go, eventually, to find a very interesting thing. Kyo seemed rather drunk. Or, more like, he had been a few hours ago. Haru had a very high suspicion, as he watched Kyo make his way out of the locker room, that this happened to be his first hangover.

The red head grimaced at the sound of the lockers shutting. His head felt like it was going to implode. He glared half-heartedly at the innocent person nearby. Then stumbled off to find somewhere quiet and preferably dark. The stupid florescent lights felt like they were humming and it hurt his eyes. Make sense or not, that's how it felt.

Haru half considered asking Kyo why he'd been drinking so much, but he had a feeling it would all just water down to him. So, he didn't bother, and just tried to get through the day himself.

The feline eventually came back out of the closet he'd stumbled into, but he'd missed first period by then. He didn't really care. He was still there, everyone could just... die... He scowled everyone time someone spoke though, and once lunch rolled around he went to the bathroom to see about splashing some cool water on his face. Damn, did he feel like crap! And that bathroom was the first place Haru ran into him, that he actually bothered to say anything.

"You really shouldn't drink that heavy your first time." he commented conversationally, when he noticed who was at the sink.

"That's a wasted comment." Kyo muttered tersely. His first time was already over and the least amount of talking possible would be great. The sounds bounced off the inside of his skull, and it just didn't feel good. Haru just snorted, and shook his head, before taking care of what he'd gone in to do, and leaving again, without another word. Kyo collapsed heavily against the sink once the ox was gone. Fuck Haru. this was all his fault anyways. That's what the cat figured, and that was what he continued to think all through school, then he disappeared off as soon as the bell rang to have a go at another bottle (or two) from his stash. Sure did help his hangover!

And, this process repeated for several more days, until one time, a little under a week later, late at night, Haru was having trouble sleeping. And, it was probably good that he was too, because that night Kyo showed up at his door, completely smashed.

"What the hell?" Haru mumbled, raising an eyebrow at his boyfriend, and ushering him inside. "Kyo." He murmured, shaking his head, and helping Kyo sit down on his couch. "What are you doing here?" He wanted to know. The very drunk cat shook him off angrily, but stumbled a bit in the process. Once he had his balance back he turned a cool eye on the other.

“What---what doos you shink, dumb ass?"

"I think it's two in the morning, and you're drunker than an Irishman." Haru stated, crossing his arms over his chest, and that eyebrow went higher. "Do you want to tell me why?"

The red head frowned. "Ish's yer fucking fault." He stated very plainly.

"My fault?" Both eyebrows went up at that. "Excuse me for not wanting to hurt you again. Excuse me for not wanting it to end with you like it did with Rin!" He frowned slightly, and added darkly. "Excuse fucking me for trying to get out of the way, before I could do anything else."

Kyo grabbed the ox's shirt, dragging him down to his level and snarled. "If you had jussst lefff me alone to begin wish, NONE of thish would `aave happened! NONE OF IT!" This was the conclusion he'd come to. Haru frowned a bit more, and carefully plucked Kyo's hands from his shirt, so he could straighten up again.

"You know what? You're right. This is ALL my fault. I had the NERVE to try and be happy with someone I care about!" He took and few steps away from him, flat out scowling at Kyo now. "And, if that's making you so damn miserable, you can just forget it ever happened!"

"Be happssy with shomeone? Bull sssshit!" The feline shook his head, almost falling again. "You've jusht been goingss down the lisht! You couldn't `avshe Yuki or Rin and I washh jusht--jusht the next besht shing for you!"

"You were my BEST FRIEND!" Haru all but spit. "NOT going down the list--I thought it MIGHT actually work with you!"

"I washh fine wishout shome--boyshfriend--fucking it all up." Kyo muttered, looking down at the floor irritably.

"What a load of crap!" Haru shook his head, turning away, and running his good hand through his hair. "You weren't any happier than I was, don't bother lying! None of us are happy! We're all fucking miserable--and most of it has NOTHING to do with the damn curse!"

"I didn't shay happshy, jackassh." He was well aware that he wasn't happy. He wasn't particularly happy now either.

"You weren't fine!" Haru amended sharply. "You weren't fine, you weren't happy, this whole thing sucks, and I have NO goddamned idea WHY!"

Kyo's shoulders began to tremor gently and he closed his eyes as he felt tears prickling at them and his throat constricting. It was suddenly rather obvious to him why, even in his drunken state. Or maybe because of?

"No!" Haru shook his head quickly, when he saw Kyo's eyes watering over. "Goddam it, Kyo, no! You're not aloud to cry during this. S--someone has to stay calm, and I'm too scared for that person to be me!" The cat was very unsteady now though, between the alcohol and his crying it was amazing he was upright this long. Suddenly he dropped heavily to the floor and shivered. This was too much! He couldn't stop it when the misdirected emotions came tumbling out his eyes.

"Haru---Haru pleashe---" He managed to gasp out as he looked up tearily at the ox.

"Please what?" Haru wanted to know, feeling quite helpless at the moment, by the way.

"I'm--I'm shick of it---" The red head begged. "I--you'rshe in my---me now! I--I really needsh you." It took a lot for him to say it, and a large part of that was probably thanks to his inebriated state. Haru just snorted, and sunk down to the floor next to Kyo.

"Sounds like you're about as scared as I am." He commented softly.

"Damn right---I--I meansh..." Kyo's head hung tiredly. "Ssshut up..."

"Right," Haru sighed and nodded, reaching out tentatively, with the plan to get a hold of him, and give Kyo a hug. "But no more drinking, okay?" He wanted the cat to promise. "You're too tiny to hold it."

"I hash four more bottlesh." The cat grumbled. He had to wonder just what he was going to do with them.

"Hock 'em." Haru advised, smiling slightly. "You don't need that much. You're lucky if you don't die from alcohol poisoning as it is.”

"Eh," Kyo mumbled, steadying himself against the ox by resting his head on the other's shoulder. "I don't… shink it washh... that mush."

"How many bottles of what?" He wondered, trying to gauge just how large his boyfriend's hangover would be the next day.

"No idea and I losht count..."

"Smooth." The ox teased slightly. Oh well, it was Sunday, anyway, they didn't have school. "You're spending the night here." He informed Kyo, quite simply, leaving no room for argument whatsoever.

"Right... whashever." The feline sighed. He didn't have the will to argue right now.

"Good." He nodded, helping Kyo to his feet. He'd go see Hatori the next day, to see if he had anything to help with hangovers, he decided as he helped Kyo carefully up the stairs, toward his bedroom. Kyo really didn't want to be helped, but he was fairly certain if he tried by himself he would fall down the stairs. So he just let his boyfriend lead him up there. He was tired anyways, it was two in the morning, as Haru had said, after all. "I love you." Haru murmured, as he settled Kyo down onto his futon, and climbed in himself. "No matter how it looks, sometimes, I do." The red head sighed contently. He couldn't really reply right now. He didn't think it would mean anything to the ox if he replied, actually. He was completely plastered, after all. "Now, go to sleep." Haru ordered, somewhat gently. "And, if you feel the need to throw up, try to make it to the bathroom, okay? And, avoid my bed, if you can't."

"Oh noesh... I plansh on landing it right on you." His boyfriend was kidding, but you couldn't really tell.

"Try using better aim." The ox advised softly, placing a small kiss on Kyo's forehead, as he lay down next to him, feeling his muscles fully relax for the first time in days. He wasn't sure what he was going to do, when Kyo's graduation came, and Akito took him away. He wasn't sure what he COULD do. He wasn't sure how long HE, personally, would exist, after Kyo was gone.

Kyo was out like a freaking light as soon as it was quiet and he'd closed his eyes. He even managed to avoid barfing.... until he woke up later. Yeah, that wasn't cool. But he really had had WAY too much to drink for being such a lightweight.

"You made it to the bathroom, at least." Haru commended around a small yawn, as he leaned against the doorframe, watching his boyfriend vomit with mild interest. He'd woken up when Kyo had tripped over him, in his haste to get to a toilet. "I told you not to drink so much."

"Ugh, shut up!" The kitty managed spit before he was caught up in another violent upheaval.

"It's your own fault." He smirked sleepily. "For thinking you could drown your troubles at the bottom of a bottle.” Kyo was silent except for the occasional gagging noise until he finally sat back on his ass.

"Troubles, no, but I can most certainly drown you."

"Would that REALLY make you feel better?"

"Hell no." The red head gave one final half-hearted cough before getting up slowly to rinse out his mouth.

"I have mouthwash, too, if you want it." Haru offered. "Under the sink." The cat swooped down quickly to get it. Mouthwash was nice! Especially since his mouth tasted like vomit, of all things. Once he was minty fresh Kyo rubbed his eyes tiredly as he turned back to Haru.

"Thanks," he finally sighed.

"Not a problem." Haru brushed it off, before claiming a kiss from that minty fresh mouth of his, then sighing and resting his forehead against Kyo's, mumbling out a pleading, "Can we go back to bed, now?"

"Sounds good to me." His boyfriend hugged him hesitantly.

"Thank God." The ox murmured tiredly, before grasping Kyo's hand, and dragging him back toward his bed. He was out cold, pretty much as soon as he was down. They were both still tired and slept well into the day. Having, at least temporarily, made up with the other was nice, and even once Kyo woke up again he just snuggled up against the schizophrenic boy and laid in content. Haru was just happy to be with Kyo, and actually wake up. It took him a moment, to remember just what was going on, but when he did, he just smiled slightly, at HIS kitten, and gave him a small kiss. "You should stay here more often." He commented, moving his kiss from Kyo's lips, down past his jaw line, to his neck.

"If there wasn't a crazy asshole a few houses away, I'd be happy to." The cat snorted. He was referring to Akito, by the way.

"You don't have to go a few houses away." He'd actually meant it as a joke, but it was annoyingly true, at the same time. It bugged him.

"He's not that bad, Haru." The cat tried his best to make him feel better. "Other than the tying me up thing. He's almost nice." Almost, since he'd kind'a fucked Kyo too. A few times no less. The red head didn't know whether to appreciate that or not.

"Kyo, there's three of me." Haru sighed, letting his headrest against Kyo's shoulder. "And, I'm pretty damn sure two of them aren't supposed to be."

"Gee thanks, I guess my counting skills really are just that bad." Kyo stated flatly as he rolled his eyes.

"I didn't mean that." Haru shook his head. "I meant, there's something wrong with me, and I can't fix it."

"You've been dealing with it so far," The red head frowned. He didn't want to do this again.

"Not really." He shook his head slightly.

"Haru---I don't know." The cat finally muttered. "I just don't want to be by myself, and I like all three of you well enough. Even Black." He could stand Black, since usually he just punched him a good one and White was back.

"I didn't plan on leaving you alone." Haru assured him, quietly. "But, I love you, and I want you to know everything, so that I feel better and know YOU'RE not going to leave ME again."

"I didn't plan on it." Kyo echoed with a small snort.

"You might want to, though." Haru swallowed slightly. "By the time I'm finished spilling my guts to you."

"Okay?" The red head blinked at him worriedly.

"Kyo," Haru sighed, sitting up, and running his fingers through his hair. "That wasn't the first time I tried that." Kyo would have been lying if he'd said he was surprised, so instead of saying something stupid he waited a moment for the ox to continue. "I--it was right after Rin broke things off." He started to explain, slowly. "I tried to overdose on--something." He hadn't really been paying attention to what he'd taken from Hatori, to do it with. "I think they were sleeping pills, but I'm not sure. A—and," He wasn't sure just how to tell Kyo about this next part. "Even after that," He frowned, and paused, to think the rest of his explanation over. He finally just sighed, and stood up, tugging his pajama bottoms down, to show his pale thighs, littered with variously angled scars. He gave Kyo a few moments to examine them, before pulling his pants back up. "For a really long time." He finished lamely, after a moment, sitting back down again.

"That's supposed to make me want to break up with you, so you can do that again?" The cat wondered dryly.

"No." Haru shook his head slightly. "Exact opposite of what I wanted, actually." He promised Kyo, sitting down again. "I told you, I just wanted you to know everything. So, now you do."

Kyo shook his head, trying to make the last reminders of his hangover go away before hugging the ox around the neck. "Right, whatever." He snorted. He had to wonder why Haru thought he needed to know that. But, like he'd said, whatever.

Actually, it wasn't so much a desire for Kyo to know, as one to not hide anything from him again. The last thing he'd hid had been his third personality, and, well, we all know how that turned out. So, really, it was nothing more than a lame attempted to prevent that from happening again, or something similar. Either way, he didn't mention that part to Kyo, just let his chin rest on his boyfriend's shoulder, and let it drop at that.

Their cute little moment was interrupted by Kyo's stomach. Which stated quite plainly it was very fucking hungry. Which wasn't surprising, considering it hadn't had anything in it in a while, and what little was left had been given up as sacrifice to the great god of porcelain. Food now needed to be obtained. Haru snorted slightly, when he heard that little demand for nourishment, and just shook his head and stood up.

"I have food." He informed Kyo. "Downstairs."

"Food's good." The cat confirmed getting carefully to his feet so he and Haru could go in search of it.

And, where would it be other than the kitchen? "If you're still feeling bad, I can go see if Tori-nii has anything to help with a hangover." Haru offered, taking a seat at the low table.

"That would be godly of you." His boyfriend commented as he dug around the cabinets.

"Right." Haru agreed, standing back up and stretching slightly, before going to get dressed, and go do that. He was sure Hatori wouldn't ask why he wanted it, maybe?

Ooor not. "What did you do now, Hatsuharu?"

"It wasn't me!" Haru muttered defensively, at once. "It's for someone else."

Tori sighed but went to get his magic hangover medicine as he spoke. "And who might that be?"

"I don't suppose I could get away with not telling you, could I?" He wondered, leaning against Hatori's wall, but he already knew what the answer would be.

"No." The doctor murmured, holding up the medicine as emphasis.

"It's for Kyo." He gave in, with a small shrug. Hatori didn't gossip, if you were going to tell someone, the best person in the family to tell would be him.

Drinking was not something Hatori would have suggested for the cat. He shook his head and handed over the stuff. "He really shouldn't drink." He commented tiredly.

"I know that." Haru confirmed, with a small nod. "He's too small. But, he wouldn't listen to me."

In all honesty, Hatori had figured Haru or someone had put the cat up to it. "Alright, Just give that to him, there's instructions on the bottle."

"Thank you, Tori-nii." Haru nodded to him, before setting back off for his own house. He managed to not get lost too, and simply handed the bottle over to Kyo, when he got there. "Tori-nii says the instructions are on there."

"Thanks." The red head breathed a sigh of relief and quickly read the bottle, then downed the stuff as he ate.

"No problem." Haru shrugged, plucking a bite of food off Kyo's plate, before sitting down with him, himself. They ate in peace and once they were done, Kyo put up the dish he'd used and it was then just a matter of figuring what to do next. Or as the case may be, wait for the next problem to come and get in the way their relationship.

Actually, they were relatively happy for some time, after that. In fact, the next problem didn't come for several months, with graduation. About a week before it happened, Haru started loosing his cool over the whole ordeal, and the day before, he had flat out DEMANDED Kyo come home with him again. And, this time, it wasn't because he wanted to lock him in his closet. He was just honestly getting to the point where he wanted to spend every second he could with Kyo. They only had a few hours left together, after all. The red head sweat dropped helplessly and went home with the ox. There really wasn't much point in hiding their relationship-like-thing so he just told Tohru that's where he was going. She blinked cluelessly, but just told him to have fun.

"Do you think Akito would let me go with you, tomorrow?" Haru wondered helplessly, snuggling up against Kyo, letting his head rest in the cat's lap. He'd been trying to think of a way to fix this for over a month, and had come up with all of nothing.

"No," Kyo answered flatly. Akito was probably just going to show up after graduation and drag him off.

"Damnit." The ox cursed, and wracked his brain some more. "Would it be absolutely pointless to try?"

"Feel free to try." The cat blinked at him. "But he'll probably just smack you and say no."

"Well, even if he does say no, I'll still come see you?" Haru offered lamely. It really was the only thing he could think to say.

"Haru--" Kyo rolled his eyes. "I don't think you're allowed and you probably shouldn't bother."

"I don't care if I'm allowed or not." He snorted darkly. "It's not like he's going to put a guard up. I'll just sneak in."

"But why would you bother though?" The feline wondered with a frown.

"Because, I love you?" He offered with a shrug. "And, I don't feel like vanishing from existence, just yet?"

Kyo flat out pouted. "I love you too, Haru. But no pining once I'm gone, do you hear me?" That suicide thing of Haru's really irritated him to no end.

"I make no promises." The ox looked away from him. God only knew he'd pined after Rin and Yuki long enough.

"Haru---" The red head groaned and rolled his eyes.

"Well I can't!" Haru frowned a little, looking back to him. "I can't promise not to miss you, and want to be with you."

"But you can't." Kyo stated flatly. "So it's time to be a big boy about it." He'd had all his eighteen years to get over it, and despite not WANTING to get locked up he was a bit resigned.

"I'm not going to pout." Haru stated softly. "But I'm not sure how long I can-be-here-without you," He wasn't trying to sound melodramatic, or anything like that. He just honestly wasn't sure how long he'd have the will power to fight with his other two personalities for their body, once he didn't really have a reason to.

"You managed before." The cat snorted.

"I had other people before." He shrugged a bit. "And, you were still there, anyway. But, I don't really plan on trying again, after you. And I really don't feel the need to fight to stay out here, without a reason to."

Kyo looked down at him tiredly. "Don't make this harder than it needs to be, Haru."

"I'm not." He stated flatly. "It is hard, I can't make it harder, even if I wanted to."

"Then quit making me feel bad." The red head tried dryly, leaning down so he was closer to the other.

"You don't need to feel bad. It's not your fault." The ox promised him. "I just really don't have the energy to lie to you, right now. So, I'm laying it all out, while I can."

"Oh, yes. Well, thank you for that." Kyo rolled his eyes again.

"Well, you would have found out, somehow, eventually, anyway." Haru pointed out. "Wouldn't you rather I be the one to tell you?"

"Oh, and who would tell me other than you?"

"I don't know." He shrugged. "This family loves to gossip, I'm sure you would have found out."

"I doubt it," The feline smirked at him just a little. Haru was being a little naïve right now.

"Tori-nii might." Haru mused softly. "I think he might know about us. I didn't tell him, though." He hadn't needed to. Hatori just seemed to know what he needed to, when he needed to.

"I think just about everyone but Tohru and Kisa know." His boyfriend replied with a small snicker. Yes, their sulk fest hadn't hid their relationship very well.

"Kisa knows." Haru corrected, with a small smile. She'd found out from Hiro, and they'd both confronted him, one afternoon, to confirm it.

"Then it's really just—poor--clueless Tohru." The red head said with a sad smile. He was going to miss her.

"I'll tell her, if you want." Haru shrugged. "Sometime. Or, Yuki can." Fuck! He didn't want to start crying, again. He really had been like an overly hormonal woman since this had started with Kyo. It was beyond irritating him, by now.

"Oh that'd be fun." Kyo made a weak attempt at smiling. "You tell her!" He could just imagine how funny that would be. But it still didn't bring an honest smile to his face.

"I love you." Haru informed him, pushing himself into a bit more of a sitting position, so that he could place a kiss on Kyo's lips. "A lot."

The older teenager sighed helplessly and muttered his reply directly into the other's mouth. "I love you too, Haru." But that still didn't change shit. He wished it did, but it didn't. Haru felt his lips curve up slightly, when he heard Kyo's muffled reply. Kyo didn't just tell everyone that he loved them. He, himself, had only heard it a scarce handful of times, and it always made him smile, when he did. Slowly, he depended the kiss, and crawled up into Kyo's lap, wrapping his arms around the other's neck. He didn't want this moment to end he wanted it to last forever.

The problem with that wish is that a moment, by definition is an indefinitely short time. And though forever is indefinite, it is most definitely not short. Anyway, the cat was very close to tears as he clung to the younger boy. In his mind he was silently cursing the damn ox too. If he'd just kept his mouth shut, they wouldn't have gotten into this conversation, and he wouldn't have had a chance to get all weepy. He was still doing better than Haru was. He actually was crying, by the time the kiss broke, as he let his chin rest on Kyo's shoulder, hugging him back tightly.

"I love you." He told him, again.

"Shut up before I start crying too." Kyo threatened, adding a small 'jackass' under his breath.

"Sorry," The ox mumbled, not even trying to stem the flow of tears. He knew it wouldn't work, anyway. The cat pushed him back with a pleading look and carefully brushed away some of the droplets with his own tanned fingers. This was harder than it needed to be! He'd warned Haru about that! "I'm sorry!" Haru repeated, looking at his own lap, determinedly willing the dears to stop. They didn't really like that idea, though. Stupid self-dependant crying!

The cat's look softened a little. "I'll miss you too, really." He promised before taking a turn at initiating a kiss. Haru swallowed slightly, before returning the kiss. Oh—god--he was going to throw up, he just knew it. Maybe he WOULDN'T barf into Kyo's mouth? That wouldn't be cool at all. No, really it wouldn't be. But they managed to avoid that situation and Kyo flopped back onto the floor with a small sigh and looked up tiredly at the ceiling. A few minutes ago he'd been ready to get locked up, and Haru had just fucked that right up.

"I'm not ready to loose you." Haru informed him, managing to calm his nerve-induced nausea slightly.

"Eh," The poor thing mumbled. "If it makes you feel any better I'm not ready to go anymore."

"I'll still come see you a lot?" Haru offered, lying down on top of him, clinging tightly to his shoulders.

"All right," Kyo agreed. That sounded a lot better now, than it had when Haru had said it a few minutes earlier. Haru just nodded again, and placed a small kiss to the side of Kyo's neck. Things progressed from there until Haru finally got a bright idea. He picked Kyo up, who gave a small squeak of surprise as he was carried up the stairs. But then he just relaxed as he was brought to ox's room, where they spent a large part of their remaining time.

However, they kind of actually had to show up for Kyo's graduation, the next day. Or, Kyo did, anyway. Haru just went because two of his cousins, and their best friend, were graduating. Most of the family showed up, actually. So, Haru ended up sitting sulkily between Momiji and Hatori, once he'd had to leave Kyo, so that he could actually get ready for the ceremony. Damnit! He wasn't ready for this! Why did time fucking insist on moving onward, against his deepest wishes? Time does that.

Anyways, Kyo had some serious trouble getting ready. He would rather skip the ceremony. But Akito wanted him to do it. So, here he was, ignoring Yuki's odd looks and just waiting for his damn name to be called already so he could get this the hell over with.

Haru shot him a few fleeting looks, but kind of just zoned out for the rest of the time. He was brooding over how much this sucked, and trying to ignore the odd looks Hatori was giving him, as he sat there, his eyes locked onto the ground, and knees drawn up to his chest, with his arms wrapped around them to hold them there.

After having his teacher hiss at him to fucking smile, Kyo eventually got through the graduating thing, a painfully fake smile plastered on his face the whole way. Then he got to stand there and listen to some asinine speeches as he waited for Akito to appear and drag him off.

By the point this was going on, Haru was pretty much staring a hole in his boyfriend. He still planned to see if Akito would let him go with his kitten but, he had a sinking suspicion Kyo was right, and he would say no. Still, he could try, right? When the ceremony was over the head could be seen walking over leisurely to the waiting cat. Then refusing Haru, like expected, with a delighted cackle. THEN grabbing Kyo's arm and dragging him off roughly.

Haru really had to just stare after him for a few minutes, frowning unhappily, before slowly teetering his way back to the rest of his family. Why? Because he really wasn't sure where else to go, at a moment of crisis, when his boyfriend was the reason it was a crisis to begin with. They all gave him an odd look. Tohru's was a bit more clueless, the other's concerned. But they had all, mostly, known this was going to happen. And so had Haru and Kyo. What were they supposed to say exactly? Haru actually considered asking Hatori, right there, in public, if he was now allowed to die, but he didn't. He'd promised Kyo he'd go see him, he had to be alive to do that. So, instead, he just asked the dragon if he would give him a ride home. The doctor nodded and questioned Momiji on how he intended to return. The bunny said he would just walk, and then the dragon and ox were free to head for the car themselves. Hatori was amazingly uncomforting throughout the whole thing. He didn't feel that sympathetic either. At least Hatsuharu could still go see Kyo and talk to him, if he really wanted to. Haru honestly didn't want sympathy, he just wanted a ride home, so that he could sulk in his room for a few days, before he went to see Kyo. Then he'd quit sulking so much, and get back to a slightly more normal schedule again. That honestly was his plan for this, and had been for a good month, or so.

When those few days were up and he did finally seek out the other, the cat was endlessly grateful.

"Haru!" He all but sobbed. This was even worse than being chained up in the closet. It was freezing at night, hot during the day, it was always dark in here, the damn shack was completely empty and he never saw anyone the entire day.

"Hi, Kyo," Haru greeted, with a small smile, leaning against the barred up window, the only one in the cat's home. "You... okay?"

"Yeah," He was now. Even when they brought food to him, they just shoved it through a little slot. The cat didn't get to see them nor did they say anything. "I'm so glad you're here." He looked out hopefully from where he was encased in the darkness of the little shit hole.

"I told you I'd come." Haru reminded him, reaching his good hand in through the window, to grasp Kyo's own. "I've missed you."

The red head greedily took his hand in his own and then the other one snaked out to caress his cheek. "I miss you too." He promised.

"I'm sorry, I didn't come sooner, then." Haru murmured, trying vainly to warm Kyo's cold hand with the one he could actually move. "I'll come more often, I promise!"

Kyo ran his thumb in a slow circle on his boyfriend's cheek. "Thanks," He smiled slowly. "You don't have to, but, thanks."

"I know I don't have to." He shrugged a bit. "But, I can't stand to not be around you. So, I want to…”