--------------------------------------------
Series: Fruits Basket
Last Modified: I don’t remember.
--------------------------------------------
Only when they stood outside the
door to Yuki’s apartment did he betray a bit of his characteristic
clumsiness. He fished out the keys from
his pocket and immediately dropped them.
“Oops.” He shook his head, got
the keys from the floor, dropped them again.
Then he fiddled with the lock for about half a minute (sorry to keep
you waiting, Honda-san, but this door hasn’t been cooperative lately-- oh,
SHI-- I mean, uh...) before he finally managed to unlock the door.
“Here we go.” His face was flushed as he stood in the
doorway and pushed the door wider for her.
“It’s rather messy, so you’ll have to excuse—" Then his face suddenly drained of all
color. “Um, Honda-san, I’m sorry
but...would you mind waiting out here for a moment?”
Tohru, who had been standing in
the same spot all this time, watching him bemusedly, finally managed to nod her
acquiesence. He looked immensely
relieved. “Thanks. I’ll only take a minute.” Then he almost immediately shut the door in
her face.
Tohru blinked as sounds of
clattering and moving and shoving rang out from inside the flat. Yuki-kun shouldn’t be ashamed of his
apartment if it’s a bit untidy, she thought, recalling Arisa’s breakfast nook
early in the morning. Wondering if she
ought to offer her assistance, she gingerly pushed the door open, and peeked
inside.
And blinked.
The living room, though small,
was spotless, and furnished tastefully.
There were four chairs resting on a cream rug, and a small table in the
center had a thin collection of magazines neatly piled on it. The television in the corner rested on a
wooden cabinet whose compartments housed a few videos. It looked like a perfectly ordinary,
perfectly clean living room, and Tohru pushed the door wider and craned her
neck inside to see more.
Then she spotted the curtains.
They were blue with white lacy
trim.
Half of them were down; half of
them were being tugged down by the pole by Yuki, who had his back to her and
was now cursing angrily under his breath (some things that suspiciously sounded
like ‘oniisan’ and ‘ridiculous taste’ and ‘of all the times to bring Mine-san’).
Tohru cleared her throat. “Yuki-kun?”
He froze. “Honda...san?”
“May I come inside now? Though I’m actually inside now, very sorry
about that, I forgot I was supposed to stay outside—"
He didn’t look at her, but his
ears were fiery red. “This is
silly-looking, isn’t it?” Then he shook
the fabric so it rustled in the silence.
“Oh no.” She shook her head vehemently, though she
knew he probably wouldn’t see. “I think
they’re very nice.”
“...”
“Very nice,” she repeated.
His shoulders drooped. “Oniisan hung them.”
Tohru’s eyes widened. “Ayame-san did?”
“He comes to visit from time to
time.” Yuki got down from the chair and
rumpled the torn down drapes with his hands, leaving half of the set hanging
dejectedly by the window. “You know how
he is --- the first time he was here, he said he’d take care of livening the
flat up, and I should’ve known he would do this---”
“Ayame-san made you curtains!”
Tohru sparkled at this latest proof of brotherly love.
Yuki sighed. “With lace.
And he also made doilies. And
little cloth things you drape over the microwave, whatever you call them. I wasn’t able to stop him in time. Now I just toss whatever I find into the
garbage can.”
“But oh,” Tohru was still
sparkling, “it was very nice of him to make you these things.”
Yuki looked torn for a moment,
then glanced down at the drapes in his arms.
“So...you think I should put them back?”
“Well they are very nice
curtains...” Tohru paused. “But if you don’t like them, I think it’s
all right if you don’t hang them.”
Yuki stared at her.
“I mean the curtains and all the
other things Ayame-san gave you...
They’re nice, but if you feel uncomfortable seeing them, I think you
should hide them somewhere for a while then bring them out when you feel like
using them.” Her cheeks reddened; she
felt like she was talking too much, too fast.
“It is Yuki-kun’s apartment, after all.”
A smile slowly lifted his lips. “You’re right, Honda-san.”
She smiled back, relieved to see
his reaction. “When Ayame-san comes to
visit, maybe you can explain your side and work something out together? Maybe he can make something for you that you
want, then both of you can be happy.”
“Hmmmm.” His smile widened. “I think that’s very good advice. Thank you, Honda-san.”
She did a smart salute, which
surprised him. “I do my best!” Then her cheer instantly turned into panic. “AAAAAAAHH!
YUKI-KUN!!”
“W-What is it?”
“I-I-I-I forgot to take my shoes
off before I came in! I’m so
sorry!” Bowing and turning on her heel
and taking her shoes off to slip her feet into slippers were not things she
could do all at the same time, so she ended up in a awkward, disheveled,
blushing heap on the wooden floor.
“HONDA-SAN!” Yuki quickly knelt by her. “Honda-san, are you all right?” He was mortified, but part of him was amused
at how the years failed to change her...
“Yuki-kun,” her voice was
muffled against her arm, “I’m very sorry for soiling your floor.”
He was definitely amused
now. “Forget about the floor,
Honda-san.” He touched her arm. “Are you all right?”
“Y-Yes.”
“Thank god. Come on, I’ll help you up—-"
She was light and soft to the
touch, and her face was red, and she wouldn’t stop apologizing. Yuki only smiled, knowing he wouldn’t have
cared if she had tracked mud all over the house on purpose. He would always be happy to have her with
him.
Always.
[ snip ]
http://www.geocities.com/naikouteki/