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A series of Fruits
Basket vignettes by Sakura.
Standard disclaimers
apply.
The following are
[1] occasionally
Yuki-centric, occasionally Tohru-centric, but hopefully more Yukiru-centric
than anything else (?);
[2] written without
canon in mind;
[3] maybe not for the
glucose intolerant.
Notes to follow.
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02. Shopping
There
were some things Tohru knew she wasn’t supposed to do, like crossing the street
without looking both ways, or putting too much water with the rice, or staring
at people’s faces.
Especially
staring at people’s faces.
But
as she stood at the counter in the supermarket and stuffed the purchases into
plastic bags, she found herself watching Yuki out of the corner of her
eye.
He
was leaning against the counter, staring at the change he cupped in his
hand. The afternoon sun glinted off his
hair, turning it shades lighter than it usually was. Tohru idly wondered what color it ought to be called. Lavender?
But it seemed much more glossy than lavender. She leaned her head to one side and mulled it over. Amethyst, then? But amethyst seemed a wrong color for hair...
Under
her scrutiny, his brows knit ever so slightly.
“Honda-san.”
“Y-Yes!” It came out as a squeak. Tohru quickly ducked her head, hoping he
wouldn’t notice the guilty flush that flooded her face. “What is it?”
“Shigure
gave us the same amount as always, right?”
Tohru
blinked. “Yes, he did.”
“And
we got everything on the list?”
“Yes.”
“And
we didn’t forget anything?”
A
note of worry crept into her voice. “Is
there something wrong?”
“It’s
nothing.” He was still frowning at the
change in his hand. “Nothing,
really. It’s just strange that we have
more money left over this time.”
Tohru
brightened up. “That’s because we got
all the meat on sale today. This
supermarket sells chicken and pork at half the price on Wednesdays.”
“Ah.” He finally looked up and smiled at her. “That’s right, I forgot.” The sun shone more fully on him as he angled
his face toward her, and tendrils of purple hair against the side of his face
turned lighter and lighter and lighter, until they were---
Anything
but lavender.
“Honda-san.” He was still looking at her.
“Y-Y-Yes!” Her face burned again, more deeply this
time.
“Let’s
get ourselves a treat.”
There
was a beat. “I’m sorry?”
“A
treat.” He lifted the bags off the counter
with one hand and, as if he weren’t carrying anything, casually walked over to
the nearby freezer. Tohru was
momentarily startled by his ease, but remembered to catch up with him.
“We
can’t buy ice cream, Yuki-kun, it’s not in the budget---”
“Shigure
won’t notice anything.” He gave her an
uncharacteristically impish grin, and the coins jiggled merrily in his
hand. “What would you like, Honda-san?”
“But---”
“Chocolate?”
“We
can’t---”
“Strawberry?”
“Ah,
that would be ni--- NO! No, what I mean to say is---”
“There’s
a box in the corner.”
“Where?”
It
was too late; the gleam in his eyes told her that she had fallen into his trap,
and there was nothing else to do but reach inside the freezer for the
treat. She shot him a look of what she
hoped was exasperation, but he only grinned at her and leaned closer to whisper
in her ear. “This’ll be our little
secret, all right?”
His
sudden closeness made her face heat up again, but it gave her the chance to
study his fringe more closely.
Lilac,
with flecks of gold.
Her
lips lifted, triumphantly. “All right.”
[ end act 02 ]