Genre: Fluff, Slice of Life, Romance
Word Count: 2,568
Pairing: Reader x Haru
World: Anime, Fruits Basket
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"Don't tell me that's as fast as you can run, KyoKyo!" you called over your shoulder at the orange-haired boy. You and Kyo had decided that you would have a race to see who was faster by running all the way to school. So far, you were winning, being a good few feet ahead of him.
The school came into view and you grinned, loving how easy a win this was for you. Once you made it to your homeroom, you flopped into your chair, breathing heavily. Kyo came in a few minutes later, huffing and falling into the chair in front of you.
"You lost, again." you pointed out with a grin, making the orange-haired boy scowl at you.
"You won't win next time, Y/N!" he yelled, pointing a finger at you as his hair stood up in the form of cat ears.
You chuckled, leaning back in your chair. "You say the same thing every time, KyoKyo."
"And stop calling me that!" he yelled again before getting hit in the head with Yuki's backpack – which had been filled with quite a few books. "What the hell was that for!?"
"You shouldn't be yelling in class," Yuki responded, quietly as he took a seat at his desk behind the one next to you. Tohru smiled, sitting next to Kyo as her two best friends, Arisa and Hana came walking in. Hana sat behind you while Arisa sat behind Tohru. The teacher walked in a few minutes later.
You, of course, weren't paying much attention to the lesson. Arisa turned to you and Kyo, "You two up for a game of rich man, poor man after school?"
You shrugged, "I was planning on playing some basketball after school."
Kyo nodded, "So was I."
Arisa grinned, "Alright then. I'll play, too. Me and Y/N against you."
"That's not fair!" Kyo whispered harshly, glaring at the Yankie.
"Fine. Me and Y/N versus you and Yuki." she changed her answer, shrugging.
"There's no way I'm playing with that rat!" he hissed.
"That damn cat would ruin the game, anyway," Yuki added.
"What was that you damned rat!?" Kyo jumped up in his seat, pointing a finger at the prince.
"Kyo! Is there a problem?" The teacher asked, stopping her lesson to look at the orange-haired boy. Kyo shook his head and sat down, a small tint of pink coming to his cheeks. "Then please be quiet and pay attention."
Arisa sniggered, earning a burning glare from the cat.
"Instead, why don't the four of you play against each other." Hana suggested, quietly, "Play a game of HORSE, perhaps, since you can't seem to figure out teams."
The three of you looked at each other before shrugging and chorusing, "Sure."
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After school ended, you all headed for the basketball courts that sat out behind the school. Hana and Tohru had decided to watch, while the rest of us played against each other. We decided that it'd be played out like a normal basketball game, with the same basic rules as HORSE.
You try to shoot a basket, if you get it in, you don't get a letter. If you miss, you get a letter. The first to spell out HORSE looses. You're also allowed to try and steal the ball and stop the others from scoring.
You were just getting ready to play when Haru and Momiji walked up, watching the four of you curiously. "What're you guys doing?" Momiji asked.
"I'm kicking KyoKyo's ass!" "I'm kicking the Rat's ass!" "I'm kicking the cat's ass!" "I'm kicking the orange's ass!" You all chorused at the same time.
Haru raised his eyebrow, taking a seat next to Tohru. Momiji sat on the other side of him.
"Let's do this!" Arisa grinned, throwing the basketball into the air.
You jumped up and grabbed it before taking off running down the court, dribbling the ball and throwing it towards the basket before the other three could catch you. You smirked when it went in and dived for the ball, but Yuki got to it first, dribbling it away from Kyo before throwing it and making it into the basket.
Kyo scowled and dived for it before it hit the ground, grabbing it and dodging a kick thrown at him by Arisa. He took off for the opposite end of the court but ended up tripping, throwing the ball in the process. We all watched in silence as the ball spun around the top, leaning back and forth. You and Arisa grinned, however, when the ball fell backward.
"Haha! KyoKyo got an H!" Arisa laughed, pointing at the orange-haired boy who was still on the ground, his face red from either anger or embarrassment – possibly a combination of both.
"Aww, don't be mad, Kyo!" Momiji squealed, hugging Kyo tightly despite his protests.
"Get this brat off of me!" Kyo screamed, running around the court trying to shake off the giggling rabbit.
"So much for basketball." Yuki sighed from beside you.
"I say we leave them," you suggested.
"Agreed." Yuki started walking back towards Shigure's house and you followed close behind. You could still hear Kyo's yelling and Momiji's whining as you walked farther and farther away from the school.
"That damn cat is too loud," Yuki commented as you reached Shigure's house. As soon as you stepped inside, Shigure came running, holding his arms out.
"Y/N!" he smiled brightly as he came closer. You stepped out of the way just before he reached you and he ran into the wall behind you.
"Same old Shigure," you muttered, taking a seat at the table.
"You're so cold, Y/N!" Shigure whined, sitting across from you.
You shrugged as Kyo, Momiji, Haru, and Tohru appeared in the doorway.
"I can't believe you left us!" Kyo scowled, sitting next to you.
"Not my fault you're an idiot." you scoffed.
Haru sat on the other side of you, while Momiji sat next to Shigure. Tohru went into the kitchen to make some tea.
"Shi-chan! Can Haru and I spend the night? Huh, huh? Can we?" Momiji asked, excitedly, his eyes sparkling.
"Well, I don't know." Shigure started, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Say no, Shigure!" Kyo growled, "Say it!"
"Does Akito know about this?" Shigure asked, softly, looking over at Haru.
"We asked him this morning. He said it was alright as long as we came back tomorrow morning." Haru answered, quietly.
You found yourself smiling at the sound of his voice. It was always so soothing to you. That's right, you had a huge crush on Hatsuharu Sohma. You've been meaning to tell him, honestly, you were just waiting for the right time....which may just be never.
"Y/N?" you snapped out of your thoughts and looked up at Shigure, "You zoned out on us."
"Oh, sorry." you smiled, sheepishly.
Shigure smiled, grabbing your hand. You noticed Haru narrow his eyes at him sharply, but you shrugged it off. "You're more than welcome to stay, too! In fact, you can stay in my room!"
"If she's staying, she'll be in Miss Honda's room. Not yours." Yuki said softly, coming back into the room.
"I'd love to stay." you smiled. Shigure looked hopeful and your smile dropped, eye twitching in annoyance, "I'd stay in Kyo's room before I would yours, Shigure!"
He frowned, running a hand through his hair, "You really can be so cold."
"The only reason you're going after me is because I'm a high schooler." you scoffed. "You won't have any interest when I graduate!"
"You make me sound so bad, Y/N!" he pouted.
"You are!" You, Yuki, and Kyo chorused.
Shigure sighed in defeat and retreated back to his room, mumbling something about a deadline. Tohru came back in, carrying a tray full of tea filled cups, setting one down in front of each of you.
"I wanna sleep with Tohru!" Momiji smiled, leaping to hug the brown-haired girl.
"No way!" Kyo and Yuki chorused, grabbing onto the back of his shirt before he could make contact.
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You sighed deeply as you spawled out on the floor of Tohru's bedroom. She had offered you her bed, but you declined, saying that the floor was fine. She had taken some pillows and a blanket, making you a soft pallet to sleep on. You rolled over onto your side and closed your eyes, falling into unconsciousness.
When you opened your eyes again, it was already two in the morning. Rolling over onto your other side, you jumped slightly, seeing Haru sleeping peacefully next to you.
You smiled softly, reaching forward to brush a few strands of white hair from his face. He stirred, opening his eyes and looking over at you. "Kyo and Yuki will kill you if they find you in here."
He shrugged, shifting so he could rest his head on your chest. "It's worth it,"
"Haru," you whispered, your fingers playing with his white hair. It only took a few minutes before his breath evened out, letting you know that he was once again asleep.
You couldn't help but wonder why he believed it was worth it or why he wanted to sleep with you to begin with.
You were one of the few people that knew the secret of the Sohma family. More importantly, you were one of the few people that didn't trigger the curse. That made you a special person to the family.
Pushing the millions of thoughts rushing through your mind aside, you closed your eyes, letting the darkness overcome you until you drifted off, arms wrapped around Haru's body.
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The next morning, you woke to the sound of high-pitched awwwing. Opening your eyes, you groaned at the bright light shining in through the window.
"Morning sunshine." Shigure grinned as he stood over you, "Did the two of you sleep well?"
"Two of us?" you muttered, rubbing your eyes. That's when last night came back to you. Looking down, you found Haru still sleeping peacefully on your chest, not disturbed by Shigure's loud mouth or the blinding light.
"I think now would be a good time to tell him, don't you think?" Shigure winked before leaving the room, shutting the door behind him. Tohru wasn't in her bed and it had been made already. You assumed she had woken up a while ago.
You sighed, doing your best to slide out from under him. You turned on your side, watching his content face as his chest rose and fell. You brushed the hair away from his eyes and smiled, "You really are adorable, Haru."
"You think so?" he murmured tiredly, cracking his eyes open.
"Yeah, I do."
He stared into your eyes, his fingertips brushing your cheek. "You're beautiful. Did you know that?"
"Coming from you, that really means a lot." you murmured, trying to ignore the heat rising to your face.
"That's good to know. Maybe this will too, then." He grabbed your shirt, pulling you over so that your lips crashed again his own. It took you a minute to get over your surprise, but then you closed your eyes, kissing him back with just as much passion as he was using.
An insistent knocking on the door caused you and Haru to break away, just in time for Momiji to come running in. "Come on, Haru. We promised to be back, remember?"
Haru nodded and stood, kissing your cheek before leaving the room. You sat there, wondering just what that kiss meant to him.
"Y/N?" Tohru called, knocking on the door before opening it. "Yuki and I are going to the market to get some groceries. Would you like to come?"
"No thank you." you smiled, politely. "I'll just stay here."
"Alright. Kyo went off with Shigure if you're wondering." she smiled before leaving the room.
You waited until you were sure they were gone before getting dressed and leaving the house. You decided that taking a walk through the park was just what the doctor ordered.
Taking in a deep breath, you took a seat on the park bench, looking around at the lush green trees as they swayed in the cool breeze. The kiss kept replaying in your head. It was killing you not knowing what meaning lay hidden on Haru's lips. You had to know if he liked you back, but could you really just walk up to him and ask?
While debating with yourself whether or not you should be blunt and ask him about it, a rustling in the bushes alerted you to something nearby. You stood up and walked over to the bush. Now, most people probably would have approached cautiously, but you threw caution to the wind. 'What's the worst I could find?'
You didn't expect what you found. Behind the bush was a large black and white cow with earrings in its ear and clothes spread out on the ground around it.
He nudged you lightly with his head. "I'm freezing,"
You chuckled, leaning down and wrapping your arms around the large animal, "You should have worn your coat, Haru."
"I didn't want to." he snorted, rubbing his head against yours, "Hatori wouldn't quit yelling at me about taking my coat. It made me not want to."
You ruffled the soft patch of hair on his head, "Such a rebel~"
He nodded, his voice low and soft as his nose pressed against your neck. "A rebel in love,"
"Eh?" you asked in surprise, staring at him. He huffed, warm air coming out of his nose as he snuggled his large body closer, trying to get some of the warmth your body offered. "Who... Who are you in love with?" you asked, scared of the answer. Even so, you had decided to support him even if he had feelings for someone else.
He was about to respond when there was a poof and a cloud of smoke. When the smoke cleared, there was Haru in all his naked glory. He blinked thoughtfully before tackling you to the ground, sitting on your stomach and putting his hands on either side of your head. "The answer to your question is quite simple. I was planning on letting you figure it out on your own, but I'm not so sure I can wait that long."
Your heart raced as you tried not to think about his naked body hovering over your own. 'Damn him for being so attractive!' "What're you talking about, Haru?"
"Shigure was right." he murmured, "People really are oblivious to others' feelings. You can't see mine, and I didn't see yours until Shigure told me."
You stared up at the clear sky as you pieced the puzzle together in your mind. Just when you were about to finish the puzzle, he placed his lips on yours. You responded instantly, your lips fitting perfectly together. You could feel his passion and love in the kiss. He bit your lip softly before pulling away just enough for his lips to ghost yours.
"I'm in love with you, Y/N. I have been since I first met you," he confessed.
"I love you, too, Haru." You pulled him down into another kiss, "I always have and I always will."
The wind blew, causing Haru to shiver.
You sweatdropped, pushing him off of you. "Let's get you dressed before you catch a cold, okay?"
He nodded, watching as you gathered his clothes from the bushes.