Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ To Share His Burden ❯ To Share His Burden ( One-Shot )

Mine gently stroked Ayame's hair as he rested his head in her lap. She wanted so much to be there for him...she was doing her part by listening to him go on and on about the younger brother he'd rejected years ago, and was now doing his best to re-establish...or more accurately, to establish in the first place...their brotherly relationship. He'd had a rather bad encounter with Yuki that day, in which he seemed to make no headway at all. Although he would never let on to Yuki how much his rejection hurt him -- it certainly could never be as deep a hurt as Ayame had once dealt Yuki -- even so, the feeling that Yuki might never acknowledge him, cut very deeply.


Ayame felt he would drown in self-pity, were it not for Mine -- she was his soulmate, of that he was quite sure. He continued telling Mine about the poor way Yuki had treated him today. Mine listened, continuing to stroke his long, beautiful hair, which seemed to calm him. She remembered a time, not so long ago, much like this time, when Ayame was feeling depressed and sorely needed a warm and comforting shoulder to cry on.


When she asked him if he was sad, he'd replied, "Not sad...downright pathetic.” and the tears fell. She held him as close as she could without violating his unwritten rule against embrace. Even though she knew that a hug was exactly what he needed, out of respect, she still refrained. There were times she'd tried to hug him out of excitement, perhaps after finishing a particularly challenging order, but each time he'd gracefully sidestepped it, or caught her hands playfully or created some other diversion...and Mine figured he just didn't care to be hugged. She could live with that, as much as she herself was a rather tactile individual, it wouldn't do to offend her employer, who was quickly becoming a very close friend.


It wasn't until a short time later that Mine was actually allowed to hug Ayame. When she did, she was startled. Where in the world did he go, and how did that snake get here?!?!


Then, of course, the snake spoke to her -- Mine laughed. Freely and mirthfully..."Was that all, Boss?!" was Mine's relieved response, as Ayame shortly became human again, and dared to kiss her. In return, Mine boldly returned the kiss, and the two of them talked gleefully and excitedly -- Ayame told her everything...about the curse, his brother, the rest of the family.

About Akito.

He also told her of the importance of keeping their relationship a secret from Akito in particular, and possibly from anyone who might inform her. That is, him, to anyone besides himself, Hatori, Shigure and Kureno. As long as Ayame was telling the truth, he might as well tell the entire truth, and for some reason, Ayame felt he could trust Mine with everything.


Mine took it all in. What a burden for one to carry by himself, even if other members of his family carried the same burden, each of them carried it quite alone. Mine vowed then and there to be with Ayame and to share as much of his burden as she could.


As Mine came out of her reverie, she noticed that Ayame was no longer speaking. She looked down and saw that he'd fallen asleep. She smiled, brushed a silver wisp of hair out of his face, and resumed working on the embroidery she'd put down when he came in. Sharing was indeed a good thing.