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Like a Switch	By : Demonic_Host Category: Fruits Basket > Het - Male/Female Views: 4208 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 3
Disclaimer: I do not, in any way, own or make money from Fruits Basket or any of its associated characters.

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Like a Switch
Chapter Nine

Yuki tapped his pencil in a quickening beat as he stared at his math revision. He had a test coming up soon that he didn't want to fail. Of course that went without saying but this one in particular felt like a challenge. He hadn't spent nearly the same amount of time studying this last month as he should have. Especially on the days when he went to see you. For all intents and purposes he had blown off his academic revisions to spend time with you. It wasn't like he would have had a reason to approach you at a reasonable time of the day. Your work only really started when most people should be at home. It wasn't like he could talk to you outside of that without seeming like a stalker either.

"Yuki~!" Shigure sang from the door.

The high schooler turned his head to look at his cousin. For such a lazy slob, Yuki always thought he looked well put together. Granted he was almost always in a lounging yukata where the obi seemed to just be tight enough not to fall off. He at least kept his face clean and his hair brushed. That was all Yuki could ask from his reclusive cousin.

"What do you want?" Yuki prompted.

"I've past your room three times already and you haven't noticed," Shigure started talking, setting up the scenario like it was a word problem someone else had to solve. "Naturally I thought you must have been hard at work. Imagine my surprise when I realized that your paper is still blank."

"What's your point?"

"Who is she Yuki? The look on your face says you're thinking of a girl. Is it Tohru?"

Yuki narrowed his eyes at Shigure. He didn't care for people to try and invade his privacy. Especially when they started to get too close to the truth with their guesses. Granted it really only was Shigure that ever really did anything like that to him.

"No," he said shortly.

While she was an admirable person to think about, she had never actually distracted him from his studies this badly. It was such an odd thing but he couldn't get what happened with you last night out of his head. Try as he might there were various of thoughts moving about in his brain which he couldn't shake.

"Who?"

He knew his cousin better enough than to try and lie to him. Yuki wasn't sure if it was part of being the dog of the zodiac or whatever, but Shigure always seemed to be able to tell when he was lied to. Then like a dog with a bone he'd push the issue until the person he was confronting finally snapped and told him the truth. Yuki wanted to avoid any embarrassing reactions to his cousin's netling.

"I went to see Anita last night," the gray haired boy admitted. "She knows about the curse."

He didn't feel comfortable telling his cousin how he had found out that you knew. That was a very serious and private matter. It also felt like something he should feel guilty over but he just didn't. Maybe that meant that he had been living with a pervert for too long. After all, he could still remember every detail he saw underneath your skirt. It wasn't a sight he was likely to forget any time soon.

Shigure' eyes widened far enough as it was already. "Did she already know? Or did you expose yourself to her?"

"What kind of a question is that?" Yuki practically snapped at Shigure's obvious innuendo. "She's known about the curse the whole time. She even guessed that you were the dog."

Shigure tilted his frame in the doorway, taking up all of the observable room to do so. "That's interesting. How did you find out that she knew?"

Yuki instantly closed his mouth into a firm line. He should have expected that his cousin would ask more questions than he was willing to answer. It was in Shigure's nature to be nosy and for the most part that had worked well for them in the past. Yuki had figured out some time ago that it was Shigure's persistent and nosy nature which led to him being able to move away from the main estate. Yuki was grateful that Shigure let him stay as well but what he was asking felt like a very private topic.

Could it be? Is young Yuki embarrassed?" Shigure teased with levity from the doorway. "I see. You had an accident didn't you? She said something and it was just too much for you to handle."

"You make me sound like a lovesick fool."

The dog tilted his head back down as he stared at his younger cousin with a suddenly calm and much more intimidating look on his face. One of these days Yuki was afraid that he was going to get emotional whiplash.

"I never said anything about love. But now that you mention it, why did you go to see her by yourself?"

Yuki was silently grateful that Shigure hadn't brought up the legalities of the situation. He did detect some judgement in his cousin's tone but it didn't sound like it was moralistic in nature either. Shigure had brought him along one of the night he went so there wouldn't have been much ground for him to stand on there. No, the judgement in his tone felt much more personal than that.

"I wanted to see if she knew about us."

Truthfully that had been a goal in the back of his mind. It was one of the factors he cited over and over again as to why he had gone. It wasn't the only reason though. There was something about you that drew him in and made him want to stay. It was like a magnetic attraction that wasn't completely romantic in nature. Almost like the pull between each zodiac member and their respected animals or so he would assume. It wasn't like that connection went both ways.

"I see. You know Yuki, there's nothing wrong about being attracted to an older woman. Some might even argue that in your case it's only natural to seek out someone who is more experienced than you are."

Yuki did not like the train of thought that Shigure seemed to be following. It did not paint a favorable portrayal of his motivations. It actually seemed as though Shigure was trying to liken his actions to a much more base drive. Shigure also seemed to forget that he had believed you were already married. Yuki might know the truth of it but that didn't mean that Shigure did.

"As long as you realize that nothing will come of it. It's okay to fantasize but the reality is that a woman wouldn't want a boy. They want a man with experience who can provide for them."

"The most experience you've had is in your dreams," Yuki volleyed back.

He couldn't help it. There was something about the way that Shigure pointed out his age that got to him. It was true he was still in high school but that didn't make him a boy. Yuki also didn't like how serious Shigure was as he stood in his bedroom's doorway. He felt too much like a true hard working adult when he adopted that serious look in his eye. It made him feel much more patriarchal than he was.

"You should get back to studying. You don't want to fall behind in school."

Yuki could only stare at his cousin's retreating figure. What the hell was going on? Normally Shigure would whine to someone or another when Yuki let out such a biting remark. But suddenly he stayed all mature as he walked away? It didn't feel right.

The most frustrating thing about the situation was that Shigure had been right. About everything.

"And then he practically called me a pervert," Shigure said in a very needy sort of tone after he sat down his drink.

You couldn't help but feel bad for him. The way he expressed himself made it sound like he had just been trying to help his younger cousin focus on his studies and then he was verbally attacked in return. Yuki didn't seem like the type to do that, entirely, but you really didn't know him on a personal level. You knew that you didn't want to take sides between feuding cousins though so you wisely stayed quiet. Sure it might have been your job to talk and entertain but it was also part of your job to keep them coming back for more. Then throw on the whole responsibility thing with the clan's curse and it put you in a bit of a situation.

"From the way you two bicker, you must really be close."

Shigure looked at you with a warm expression as he turned his body. You subtly matched his position in kind as you continued to talk.

"I find that such passion comes about only when you generally care about someone or something. If he didn't care for your opinions and company, he wouldn't live with you."

The hug you had expected. Shigure wasn't nearly as handsy as some of the other clients you had entertained during your time at the club but he was more affectionate than his cousin. You even tilted your head as he went to bury his face into it. Which was a very intimate gesture no matter what perspective you looked at it from. It seemed to make him happy as he continued to murmur sentiment you only half caught when he wasn't muffling himself with your shoulder. For the most part you just tried to lock it all out as you let him nuzzle into your neck.

"...right?"

Oops you'd zoned out a bit too much. He had asked you a question and you had only heard the tiny closing bit. He pulled back just enough from the hug to look at your face in the dim lighting which made it easier for you. You could play in off like his forward actions were distracting you rather than the fact that you'd been trying to space out.

"You wouldn't date a senior high schooler right?"

"Isn't that illegal?" You questioned back to him.

"It is a misdemeanor…" there sounded like there should have been a but in there.

"But?" You prompted.

"Seeing as you're the older one you probably wouldn't get in trouble."

That confused you. But you didn't press the issue as Shigure moved his arms from around your torso. With moments he seemed to compose himself, or some semblance thereof. He took another sip of his drink as he kept a close eye on you. His intensity was hard to keep up with.

"Can we talk?"

"We are talking," you teased him.

He smiled but continued to clarify, "I mean outside of work. It's not often I find people who know about the family curse."

Ah, you wondered when that topic would come around. He had managed not to bring it up for a good portion of time. As you contemplated your answer as quickly as you could, trying to figure out what approach would work best with him, you sipped on your expensive glass of orange juice.

"You wouldn't be trying to lure me to your secret dungeon now would you?" You decided to tease him.

Shigure looked a little taken back as though he hadn't expected to hear you say such a thing. That or he really did have a secret dungeon. You really hoped on the former rather than the later.

"Nothing like that! I just wanted to hear about how someone who married into the family got such talents."

That was right. You had led him to believe that you were married. One day you probably should let him know that you weren't. Tot didn't feel like it should be today, not entirely. Still you couldn't help but feel for the guy. He was mildly attractive and in the prime of his life and yet his choices for contact with females much less dating was severely restricted. You had already met three of the Sohmas cursed with the zodiac and the had all been male. Which meant at best he had 9 possibilities for female relationships and that was assuming the rest were all females around his age which, while possible, was extremely unlikely. You would have made a possible 10th choice if he believed you were available.

"If it will make you feel better, you can bring your husband along. Does he know about the curse?"

"Shigure, I'm not married," you decided to tell him anyways.

It probably wasn't the wisest idea but you really didn't want to lie to him. He had enough to deal with in life as it was.

"Pardon?"

"I'm not married. When I told you that only my father or husband will see me that late, I meant any husband I have in the future."

His face slowly morphed into something almost resembling contemplative. But there was a certain coloration spreading over his face that you weren't sure was from his drinks. It very well might have been but with the way he looked at you it didn't seem as likely. That was something you didn't want to give him too much false hope for though. You didn't want to hurt him in the long run.

"But that doesn't mean I'm free after work," you spoke quietly, just loud enough for him to hopefully hear you over the music. "I like my sleep. I'm not willing to lose a few hours no matter how cute you are."

Judging by the way he shifted in his seat and cleared his throat, you assumed Shigure understood what you meant. You might have worked in the redlight district but you had never gone anywhere near a bed with a client. Or anyone but that wasn't something he needed to know.

"You think I'm cute?" Shigure asked instead with a pleasant tone.

You smiled back at him and let out a bit of a relieved laugh. Which was exactly what Shigure had wanted. He didn't want you to be on guard any more than you naturally were. In fact, all he wanted was to break down that polite facade and get inside of your wall. He couldn't help but think back to that yarn he spun for Yuki not too long ago. You would make a good edition to the house and he would gladly (enthusiastically even) share his room with you to make that possible.
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