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Chill	By : kattreiya Category: Fruits Basket > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 1703 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1-One: the distance between us
- 2-Two: don't be afraid
- 1
- 2
Chill

Part One: the
space between us

keiichi-kun � 2006

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DISCLAIMERS: Fruits Basket and its characters are copyright to Natsuki Takaya, no infringement is
intended through the publishing of this fan work. I do not profit from
this piece of fiction, as this is for my own selfish enjoyment, as well as for
the fans who appreciate it.

WARNING: This story contains lime and copious amount of yaoi.
Run away if any or both material offends you. Otherwise, enjoy and let me know
what you think!

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He supposed he could blame it on Momiji�it had been
his brilliant idea to go on a ski trip holiday after all, which brought them
here in the first place. Although he suspected it was probably just one of the
kid�s infamous sporadic whims, the Rabbit would not have thought about the
weather, so perhaps Hatori could forgive him� a
little.

Then again, there was also his other cousin, Shigure,
who might just as well be equally guilty; with what the Dog dropping hints that
the city had been a tad bit warm lately. (It was the middle of January, how
*could* it possibly be warm?). While he could not
shake away the feeling that that darn Dog had something to do with this current
situation too, was beyond him, his instincts were usually right when it comes
to Shigure anyway. Whatever the Dog�s twisted
intention was for bringing them here, Hatori made a
mental note to wring his best friend�s neck once they get out of this cabin.

Alive, he hoped. There was no need to risk a look outside, he could perfectly
hear the mad howls of the blizzard, and right now, it seemed too stubborn to
let up any time soon. Perfect.

Lighting up, he shifted a cautious glance at the sleeping form on the other
side of the room. A thick layer of winter clothing and one dusty, old blanket
wrapped Ayame�s lithe form, covering every inch of
his body, as he lay on the make-shift bedding. Even his elegant, pale visage
was not to be seen, the only exposed part of him was
the platinum-silver hair which had hung out dully beside him. He�d been
shivering earlier, almost delirious as inevitable for having been cursed with
the spirit of the cold-blooded Snake, as much as being susceptible to extreme
ranges of temperature. When he transformed, there was little Hatori could do, other than place the silver snake under
the musty blanket that he had found. Hatori was glad
that, at least the Hebi had now changed back into his
human form.

Thankfully, the chills seemed to have subsided a little as well, and that Ayame was probably asleep, judging from the even rise and
fall of his body, however slight. He kept a vigilant eye on him, nonetheless,
should Ayame break into shivers again, or worse,
transform�the Hebi was less resilient to the cold in
his human form, though staying in his Zodiac form for far too long would also
be quite hazardous. For that, Hatori was relieved
that the blanket provided enough heat to prevent Ayame
from transforming.

Hatori kept his distance from his sleeping friend,
however, not so much emotionally as physically. He couldn�t help feeling guilty
for their current condition, Hatori
knew that he was partly at fault too. He should have been more responsible than
having let Ayame follow him when he had stepped
outside to rid his impending headache with nicotine and a short walk into the
snow-covered forest, instead of persuading his friend to stay in the warmth and
safety of the others back at the Souma villa. It was very much un-like him, but
not all too surprising.

Perhaps the weight of overwhelming responsibilities of the past few weeks had
nagged on Hatori too much and it was what had pushed
in him to that sudden urge to rebel. It felt rather good somehow, he had to
admit. But the need to blame someone or something, outside himself, was more
tempting at the moment. So he supposed he could blame it on Mother Nature for
now. And Shigure.

He vaguely heard the low grumble coming from the lump of cloth across him, too
absorb in his thoughts of revenge and survival to notice Ayame
rousing slowly to wake. Hatori flicked ash from his
cigarette as he continued to stare off into space.

�Tori�san?� Ayame had now gained a bit of consciousness, albeit
slightly disoriented, and was stirring out of the layers of clothes and blanket
that warmed him, his baritone voice a little scratchy as he called out for his
friend. �Tori-san��

�I�m right here, Aya.� Hatori�s
voice croaked; his mouth dry. He was not aware of the cold that was catching up
to him too; and with nothing but his winter clothes on, it wasn�t entirely
adequate in providing him with much needed warmth.

�Tori-san, what are you doing?� Concern was
immediately apparent in Ayame�s tone, near-panic
shone in his amber-honeyed eyes as he looked at Hatori�s
direction. �Why are you all the way there?�

Without as much as a second thought, not even waiting for a reply from Hatori, Ayame got up, which much
effort, and was now striding across the room towards Hatori, with the blanket still wrapped tightly
around him. He hissed when his naked feet touched the icy-cold floor, but
immediately ignored the biting pain as he made his way to his friend.

�Tori-san.� Ayame�s baritone voice was reproachful; a look of
determination was clear in the pools of his amber eyes. Hatori
winced.

If not for lack of muscle movement on most parts of his body, nor the
irritating dryness that scalded his throat, Hatori
would�ve instantly admonish Ayame and scoop him back
into the bedding. However, his limbs seemed to be frozen, and the light from
his cigarette�his other source of heat, was now long gone. It took a lot of
effort to even open his mouth.

�Ayame, no. Go back to the
futon.� He willed his voice to sound stern, despite his teeth chattering.

�But Tori-san, you�ll freeze to death here if you
don�t move!� Ayame tried to match his expression, a
silent plea swimming in the undertones.

Hatori would�ve rolled his eyes and ignored him had
this been any other situation where Ayame was acting
out the drama queen to get what he wanted. But there was truth in what he said
that Hatori couldn�t just disregard. His clothes
weren�t enough to keep him from the cold; the bottom part was already wet from
sitting on the frosty wooden floor way too long. Whether it was from the bitter
cold or his own stubbornness that he didn�t even budge, he was not exactly
sure, but it appeared that Ayame was now standing in
front of him and had taken a firm hold of his arm instead, and began dragging Hatori with him back to the futon.

�Tori-san, please.�

�I said no, Aya. Go back.� Hatori
thought he should commend himself for still having energy to object. Waving off
the arm that Ayame had grabbed, he snapped, �I�m the
doctor here; your well-being is more of my concern right now than my health.� Hatori glowered at his friend as if to emphasize his
resolve. But Ayame only glared back. Hatori glared harder. He knew it was a battle of wills, and
ever since, Ayame had only listened to him, so his
victory was absolute.

Except, Ayame did the unthinkable this time: raising
one shivering arm, he slapped Hatori. Hard. That sure brought back a feeling to some of Hatori�s nerves� and then some.

�And if you die, who will take care of my health then?!�

Ayame�s eyes brimmed to near-tears as he bit his
lower lip. Their roles were now definitely switched,
and Hatori realized that he had lost. Stubborn though
as he was, he allowed Ayame to haul him towards the
futon and underneath the blanket with him, without another protest.

- o � o � o � o � o -

There was another reason why he chose to keep his distance from Ayame, although he did not consider it necessary to wallow
on such thoughts when they were thrown in such a
precarious situation as this. Liked it or not, however, Hatori
was forced to remember when he felt Ayame�s bare torso
brush momentarily against him as the slender man shifted on his side. Through
the heavy layer of winter clothing that he still had on, Hatori
felt his skin tingle and grow hot at the brief contact.

�It�s okay, Tori-san,� Ayame�s voice sounded muffled, trying to conceal his
anxiety, �You can remove your clothes. I won�t� look. I promise.�

Though why the usually bold and overconfident Snake was suddenly shy around
him, Hatori could not, for the life
of him, figure out. Well, okay, maybe he could, but Ayame
has always been open and honest about his adoration towards Hatori,
not missing a chance to remind him in both small and big ways: a simple touch,
a suffocating hug, a basket of muffins and tea, a text message, an animated
phone call, a laugh, a smile... He was next to expecting Ayame
to jump on him the moment they got into the blanket together. Of which the
other man obviously didn�t.

Hatori couldn�t help feel� disappointed, somehow. And
he frowned at himself at this.

Distracting himself instead, before frustration and
confusion overwhelm him any further, by taking time to remove every piece of
cold, wet clothing and then placing it on top of the blanket to add to the pile
of garments that would help them keep warm. When his shoulder accidentally bumped
onto his companion�s smooth back, he felt Ayame
immediately stiffen, and then purposefully moved away.

�I�m sorry��

�It�s okay.� Ayame did not even allow a pause between
their words, voice still muffled and unexpectedly soft, barely a whisper.

Hatori knew he didn�t want this. He did not like
this, this �other� side of Aya, suddenly
unpredictable and withdrawn. It made him even more nervous than the �normal�,
flamboyant and spontaneous Ayame�that, at least, he
could almost predict what was coming; even though most of the time, it was
nothing more than a ruse to cover up the Hebi�s true
emotions. Yuki had been right about his brother: Ayame
was no fool.

Hatori lay flat on his back, one arm pillowing his
head. There was but half an arm�s length of space between them; the blanket had
been wide enough to cover them both, and he could feel the small amount of heat
emanating from the body that lay inches from him, turned opposite from him,
distant. Hatori found himself
uncomfortable in that position. Uncertainty, between wanting to hold that body
closer to him-for heat, he reminded himself-and the consequences behind that
action, overwhelmed him.

But seriously, were damned feelings far more important than their survival at
the moment? Common sense finally knocked into his head. Or at least, part of
it, he thought.

Scoffing, he rolled to the side and with one swift movement, unceremoniously
threw an arm around Ayame�s waist, ultimately pulling
him against his chest, then burying his face onto damp, silky tresses between
neck and shoulder, inhaling the faint scent of Ayame�s
herbal shampoo.

�T-Tori-san!...� Ayame gasped in surprise, and Hatori
felt him once again shiver and stiffen at skin contact, instinctively wriggling
out of his hold. �N-nande-?�

�Hush. Keep still, Ayame,� he chided, grinning
slightly at his success when the other man stopped fidgeting at once, relaxing
a little in his embrace. Hatori tightened his hold a
bit more, and sighed in content. When Ayame lay
still, he had kept only his back pressed onto Hatori�s
chest, blatantly avoiding any contact between their lower bodies. Hatori could presume an idea as to why, but at that moment,
he couldn�t decide whether to be upset or amused about it.

With this close proximity, it allowed them a chance for survival by feeding off
each other�s body heat; and at the same time, finally deal
with those emotions and unspoken words that hung between them in uncomfortable
silence ever since they got into the blanket together. He would try, anyway. Even if Ayame wasn�t up for it.

�Aya, what�s wrong?� Hatori
was not one to usually start conversations; especially if in this case, he was
to converse with one of the most garrulous people he knew.

�Nothing, Tori-san.� Once
again, Ayame was quick to answer, and this only
confirmed Hatori�s suspicions that something indeed
was up, and one that the Hebi was not keen into
telling him. If anything else, Hatori would�ve let it
go, except his friend�s behavior bothered him endlessly, and the fact that they
were stuck in that old cabin--and would probably be stuck for a long while, Hatori decided to squeeze it out of his friend, as much as
he can.

�You know you can always tell me.� Hatori spoke
softly into Ayame�s ear, in a vague attempt to ease
out the comfortable, familiar presence he knew.

�I know, Tori-san. I know.� There was no mistaking
the sadness that tinged Ayame�s deep baritone, but
just as before, he tried to hide it, this time by feigning a yawn. �I just feel
so sleepy, that�s all.�

Hatori sighed. �Aya�� He
wouldn�t allow Ayame to win the stubbornness battle
for the second time around that day. But before he could insist further, Ayame had cut him off with a deep sigh of his own,
murmuring a silent protest of his own.

�This is not necessary, you know.� His voice was uncharacteristically
melancholy and detached; he didn�t sound like Ayame
at all, and truthfully it was rather unsettling.

�You said so yourself, I need to take care of you and I would not be able to do
that if I die.� He thought he might have sounded a bit haughty, but how else
would he be able to get his point across? Being friendly didn�t seem to be
working at the moment.

�I know,� Ayame responded in a quiet voice, �I�m
sorry about that. I shouldn�t have said that. It was� selfish.�

That last statement was laden with such deep emotion that for once, Hatori did not seem to know how to answer back, as much as
he wanted to. Because for one, he was utterly surprised at Ayame�s
sudden modesty and change of behavior; and frankly, he didn�t know what to say.
Instead, he pulled Ayame closer to him, if it were
any more possible, idly rubbing cold hands along the other man�s arm and torso.

�No. No�� He whispered, half-dreading, half-hoping that Ayame
might hear him. Hatori fell into the Hebi�s scent surrounding him, dulling his senses as he
wondered distractedly how, when and why their relationship all of a sudden
became so� misconstrued.

Hatori let out a long sigh. It was going to be a
rough night.

++end part one. tsuzuku.++

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AUTHOR�S NOTES: Special thanks to Saku-Rose and
Smokey for the beta and the encouragement, as well as to a bunch of old Lifehouse songs in my player.

This is for the precious person who continually inspires me to write.

This fan fiction is copyright 2006 to � keiichi-kun.
All rights reserved. Distribution of any kind is prohibited
without the written consent of the author.

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