Fruits Basket, "Not Like Before" Akito/Shigure
Fandom: Fruits Basket
Title: Not Like Before
Author: Paynesgrey (quirkysmuse)
Rating: G
Word Count: 375
Pairing: Shigure/Akito
Warnings: end of the manga SPOILERS, character SPOILERS
Notes: It's been so long since I wrote in this fandom. Done for the "Laughter" prompt at fb_fics.
Summary: He'd never heard her laugh like this before.
A stream of laughter came through her lips, and Shigure was taken aback. For a moment it sounded odd to him, as if the joy and felicity belonged to someone else. He turned his head to her, and he saw her engaging in conversation with Hatsuharu.
The awkwardness in the pit of his stomach returned.
He’d never seen her laugh like that, not with Hatsuharu, not with everyone in the family around her, engaged and relaxed.
It was strange, yet it was a nice change. He thanked Tohru for that, and he wondered if eventually Akito would have come to this conclusion in time, especially when the curse was already breaking.
Ayame made a crass joke, and Akito sent a warning glare to him. The crowd froze for a moment, but then the head of their family laughed again. There was no malice, no spite.
A fresh breeze fluttered past them, and he could feel everyone’s collective sigh.
Her laughter had never been this good-natured. He remembered that not too recently Akito had laughed when she was subjugating them or humiliating them. She’d laughed and snickered when they suffered, and she’d usually been the one who inflicted such pain.
She’d taken pleasure in their misfortune, as long as they were under her thumb; she’d made them submit to her rule and would often laugh to cover her own loneliness.
But that had changed. His Akito was no longer like that.
Shigure smiled and looked up into the sky. He didn’t realize the time had slipped by, and most people had left and went back to their own lives. Akito remained by his side.
“What are you thinking?” she asked. Like her laughter, her voice was much softer too.
“I’m thinking about… how much I like to hear you laugh,” he said. He turned to her and met her somber gaze. She rewarded him with a shy smile and looked at her hands in her lap. Shigure drew her against him, and instinctively she leaned into his chest.
“I never noticed before,” he said, resting his chin on the top of her head. She sighed against him, and he added, “It’s beautiful.”
She chuckled lightly against him. It felt like a warm breeze against his heart.
Title: Not Like Before
Author: Paynesgrey (quirkysmuse)
Rating: G
Word Count: 375
Pairing: Shigure/Akito
Warnings: end of the manga SPOILERS, character SPOILERS
Notes: It's been so long since I wrote in this fandom. Done for the "Laughter" prompt at fb_fics.
Summary: He'd never heard her laugh like this before.
A stream of laughter came through her lips, and Shigure was taken aback. For a moment it sounded odd to him, as if the joy and felicity belonged to someone else. He turned his head to her, and he saw her engaging in conversation with Hatsuharu.
The awkwardness in the pit of his stomach returned.
He’d never seen her laugh like that, not with Hatsuharu, not with everyone in the family around her, engaged and relaxed.
It was strange, yet it was a nice change. He thanked Tohru for that, and he wondered if eventually Akito would have come to this conclusion in time, especially when the curse was already breaking.
Ayame made a crass joke, and Akito sent a warning glare to him. The crowd froze for a moment, but then the head of their family laughed again. There was no malice, no spite.
A fresh breeze fluttered past them, and he could feel everyone’s collective sigh.
Her laughter had never been this good-natured. He remembered that not too recently Akito had laughed when she was subjugating them or humiliating them. She’d laughed and snickered when they suffered, and she’d usually been the one who inflicted such pain.
She’d taken pleasure in their misfortune, as long as they were under her thumb; she’d made them submit to her rule and would often laugh to cover her own loneliness.
But that had changed. His Akito was no longer like that.
Shigure smiled and looked up into the sky. He didn’t realize the time had slipped by, and most people had left and went back to their own lives. Akito remained by his side.
“What are you thinking?” she asked. Like her laughter, her voice was much softer too.
“I’m thinking about… how much I like to hear you laugh,” he said. He turned to her and met her somber gaze. She rewarded him with a shy smile and looked at her hands in her lap. Shigure drew her against him, and instinctively she leaned into his chest.
“I never noticed before,” he said, resting his chin on the top of her head. She sighed against him, and he added, “It’s beautiful.”
She chuckled lightly against him. It felt like a warm breeze against his heart.