Moth to the Flame

Moth to the Flame

Fan fiction Story by Shuen

***~~~Disclaimer~~~***

I do not own Fruits Basket nor do I claim to. I just enjoy the characters and every now and then it is fun to have a side story (or a whole new one~). I’m sure that there are plenty of others that agree with me!

Well, onto the story and enjoy the reading~!

~~Shuen


-Chapter One-

Ayame stared at the main gate of the Souma Honke. He felt like it had been ages since he had stood before these gates, when in truth he had only been there last week to visit Tori-san. Hatori had been busy last week though, so he really hadn’t gotten to stay long. It was the cold season after all. After really thinking it through he realized that he probably should have called ahead before simply appearing at Hatori’s door, but there would be time to worry about that when he –actually- got there. He smiled to himself as he imagined Tori-san’s scowling face. He could even hear his voice ringing in his ears, reminding him to call ahead the next time he came for a visit. Ayame pulled himself away from his thoughts and slipped through the gate with a wide smile spread across his face.

He shivered slightly and directed his gaze towards the sky; the clouds that hovered above him looked as though they could drop at least a foot of snow on him before he could even blink. If it actually started to snow, he would have to stay the night here. It would be far too risky for him to be out in a snowstorm, not only would he risk transforming, but he would probably end up with a cold as well. That definitely wouldn’t make Tori-san happy. Ayame stuffed his hands into his pockets and sauntered along the path to Hatori’s door. He paused for another moment to glance up at the glowering sky, but caught a slight movement out of the corner of his eye. Distracted, he glanced over towards his right and saw Akito lounging halfway out of his window. Ayame stared at him for a moment, thinking that it would be amazing if Akito didn’t end up with a cold…

Ayame was snapped out of his thoughts as Akito pulled away from his perch at the window and back into the depths of his room. As Ayame continued on his way, he allowed his thoughts to wander again. Perhaps after he spent some time with Tori-san, he would pay a visit to Akito and make him a batch of his special tea. Akito always seemed to enjoy it, so why not make the gesture and stay on the good side of the tempermental family head. Ayame finally found himself in front of Hatori’s door and knocked lightly. He waited impatiently for Hatori to answer, but the door remained still. He huffed and stepped towards the door, slid it open and peered into the darkened room.

“He isn’t here…” A soft voice said from behind him. Ayame turned startled by the voice, and found himself face to face with Akito. Golden eyes trembled as they locked with cold black and Ayame took a step backwards unconsciously.

“Ah, I see, Akito-san…” Ayame forced a smile despite the tiny knot that had come to rest in his stomach, “Do you know when he’ll be coming back?”

Akito tilted his head slightly and smirked.

“A few hours, I suppose. Shigure-san came around an hour ago, they had some errands to run…” Akito waved his hand dismissively and took a step towards Ayame. The knot in Ayame’s stomach tightened even more as Akito came within an arm’s length of the silver haired boy. His mind was in a jumble; half of him wanted to stand there and fret about Gure and Tori-san being out without him, but the other half wanted to get away from Akito. The sudden appearance of the family head had left him uneasy, but there wasn’t really anything to worry about, was there?

“Ne…Ayame-san…” Akito’s voice broke Ayame’s silent debate with himself, “…could you make me some of your special tea?”

Ayame stared at the younger boy, shocked by the sudden request. With all other thoughts pushed from his mind, he allowed one of his characteristic smiles spread across his face. There was still a knot in his stomach, but there was no point in allowing Akito to see it.

“Of course, Akito-san~~!” Ayame beamed radiantly down at the shorter boy, “I was planning on it~!”

Ayame placed a slender arm gently around Akito’s shoulders, but tried to remove it when he felt the smaller boy tense up beneath him. His hand stopped moving as he felt Akito’s cold hand pull his own back down around his shoulder. It felt awkward being here like this with Akito. Usually, there were others here taking care of Akito but today the honke was disturbingly quiet and empty. They had finally reached Akito’s and Ayame felt the black haired boy pull away from him. Akito stood there halfway through the door, staring at the unmoving Ayame. His face was its usual cold and expressionless self, which oddly enough made Ayame feel a little more at ease.

“I trust you still know where the kitchen is?” Akito said quietly as he wrapped his fingers around the door to slide it shut. Ayame nodded and head down the hallway past Akito. As he continued down the hall, Akito slid completely through his door and began to slide it shut. As he watched Ayame sauntered down the hall, a mysterious smile crossed his face. His usually stoic demeanor remained cracked as he entered his darkened room.