Title: Playing Catch-Up
Author: Ysabet MacFarlane
Pairing: Sohma Hatsuharu and Sohma Isuzu (Rin)
Fandom: Fruits Basket
Theme: #14 (radio-cassette player)

Disclaimer: Fruits Basket belongs to Takaya Natsuki and Hakusensha;
English-language versions by FUNimation (anime) and Tokyopop (manga).

Notes:  Pre-series, no spoilers.

**********


"You have to skip school if you want to come with me," Rin said, glancing over
her shoulder to be sure no adults could overhear them.  Reassured that their
perch on the back steps was unobserved, she elaborated.  "There're too many
people down there except in the morning.  That's why I don't go very often."

"But you have new things all the time," Haru pointed out, glancing at the
unfamiliar bracelet buckled around her wrist.

Rin nodded.  "There're a couple of stores not too far from school that have ok
clothes, and I order jewelry online.  But this place is my favorite, and they
call me when they get a lot of new stock."

"They _call_ you?"

"They like my credit card.  And I look good in their clothes--it's a designer
store, so maybe they, I don't know, figure people get close enough to me to see
the labels."  She shrugged, and Haru kept his other reaction, of *you have a
_credit card_?*, to himself.  It wasn't as if his parents refused when he asked
for expensive things; on the contrary, they sometimes seemed bewildered by how
little he wanted, as if kids who knew their families were ridiculously wealthy
were somehow peculiar if they lacked expensive tastes.

"So, can I dress you up?"  The smile that played around Rin's lips was bright
and wicked, at odds with the uncertainty lurking in her eyes.  "Kagura's mom
looks at my card statements, but it'd just show as the same store I always go
to, and it all comes out of the same bank account anyway, eventually."

"Sure."  Either the smile or the hint of loneliness would have been enough to
sway him--things he was pretty sure no one else ever saw on Rin's face--even if
he hadn't been intrigued by the gradual evolution of her wardrobe.  Unexpected
flashes of color offsetting the black of leather and other, shinier fabrics;
studs and buckles and laces that made him want to touch them, to see how they
all came together.  Rin didn't seem to mind when he sometimes _did_ touch,
carefully, both of them aware that he figured out the workings of things more
with his hands than his eyes.

Carefully, because the clothes showed her skin in ways that made his mouth go
dry.  She still sat close enough that he could feel her warmth, took his hand to
show him things, occasionally reached out to tickle him or finger his hair--all
as if none of the changes in her body mattered, or had anything to do with him.

"Tomorrow?" she asked, and he realized he was staring (at the
inexplicably-enticing line of her collarbone, luckily, rather than the soft
swell of her breasts).  "Do you have a test or anything?"

Haru shook his head, taking only a second to think about it.  "Tomorrow's good."

"Meet me at the train station at nine thirty," Rin said.  Her hand brushed
against his in what he assumed was a farewell; instead, when she took it away,
she leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder, stifling a yawn.

"Don't you ever sleep?" he asked, to cover the rush of warmth in his cheeks,
and--

"Yes," she mumbled, not lifting her head.  "Are you uncomfortable?"

"Uh uh."  He leaned slowly back against the wall, looking out at the garden, and
tried to relax.  A sunny day with Rin leaning on him wasn't to be wasted with
thoughts about how often her eyes looked bruised with exhaustion--especially not
when his attempts at expressing concern were likely to make her tense, depriving
her of any rest she might get with him, and depriving him of the quiet delight
of her touch.

***

The store wasn't quite what Haru had expected.  Bright ceiling lights warred
with dense racks and piles of clothing, mirrors scattered here and there to give
the illusion of space.  It was far tidier than it had any right to be, given the
sheer amount of product packed into the room.  It was also empty of customers,
which was faintly surprising, even if it _was_ mid-morning on a school day.  A
girl hanging out jackets had an old-school cassette player hanging off her belt,
black cords almost invisible among the chains that surrounded it.  Her hands
moved casually but quickly, working to the music no one else could hear.  Haru
watched for a moment, concluding that either the management was slack or the
slow pace was normal for the time of day.

The clerk on the register called Rin by name, saying "Sohma-san" in a way that
made Haru suspect he'd be calling her "Isuzu-chan" if her manner were just a
little friendlier.  Before tugging Haru over to look at the actual clothes, she
stopped and introduced him: "Sohma Hatsuharu", with no explanation of their
relationship.

"Your brother?" the clerk asked, glancing curiously back and forth between them.

Rin looked up in surprise, shaking her head.  "No, just--a pretty distant
relative."  The store's other staff members (all two of them) had wandered over,
taking advantage of the mid-morning lull in business, and Rin made a quick
half-bow that managed to encompass all of them.  "Please take the same good care
of him."

The male clerk not working the cash grinned and winked, showing off a heavy
streak of colored eyeliner.  "We'll make him as pretty as you, Sohma-san."

"I'll look around for a minute," she replied.  "Haru, let him get you started,
ok?"

"'k."  He caught her eye as the clerk touched his arm, and mouthed 'pretty?'
over his shoulder.  A faint what-can-you-do smile touched her lips as she
abandoned him--briefly, he hoped--to his fate.

"I'm Naoto," the clerk said as he began flipping through a rack of pants. 
"What're your measurements?  You weigh, what, forty two, forty three kilos?"

"Um . . . I don't know," Haru admitted, and Naoto shrugged and turned away from
the clothes to assess him.

"How old are you, can I ask?  And here, try these."

Haru reached out automatically and found three pairs of pants draped over an
arm.  "I'm fourteen."

"Those're all real leather.  Worn it before?  We can try you in something else
if you don't like it--I think she--" a quick nod back at Rin, who was rifling
through shirts "--isn't so crazy about it."

The pants were incredibly soft when he touched them with a fingertip.  "I've . .
. kind of worn it."  Soft, and heavy, and almost comforting.  He wondered idly
why the Ox spirit inside him seemed to be responding well instead of with
distress.  "Well, it's not like I don't eat beef," he murmured, and Naoto shot
him a quizzical look.

"Sorry?"

"It's fine.  These're fine," Haru said.

"Ok.  I think I'll get a few more things together before you try anything
on--you'll want to see how the whole look works for you.  Good?"  At Haru's nod,
he moved to another rack of clothes and began flipping quickly through it. 
"Have you been growing a lot lately, or do you think these'll last you for a
while?"

"A couple centimeters in the last month or so."

"Try these, then."  Two shirts were added to the pile.  "They're a bit longer,
so you'll have some growth room.  Ok, go try something on, and I'll grab you
some jewelry.  Ears pierced?  Not that you can try earrings on, anyway, but--"

"No piercings," Haru replied.  "Not yet."

Naoto grinned.  "It's addictive, be careful.  I've got a few."

"Really?"  Haru took a closer look at him, trying not to be distracted by the
eye makeup.

"Used to be more."  Naoto tilted his head and leaned closer.  "Right now it's
just a couple regular holes in my ears, and a few you can't see.  But there, if
you look, my cartilage is kinda messed up from an industrial piercing I had
until last fall."  He straightened up when Haru nodded.  "I hope she knows your
size pretty well, 'cause she's picking a lot of stuff out.  Probably you should
figure out which pants work best on you and leave 'em on, 'cause I think she's
gonna have you in there for a while."  As Haru went through the door Naoto
indicated, the clerk added, "Lucky you, by the way.  She's got killer taste."

"I know," Haru said, sliding the door closed.  Footsteps traipsed away on the
other side, leaving him alone in a tiny space that felt like its own world--big
enough for him to get in and out of even skintight clothes, but too small for
the full-length mirror to give him any perspective without stepping back out
into the store.  Somewhere in the store, he heard the lilt of Rin's voice asking
a question, and he smiled to himself as he began to strip out of his own
clothing.

The first pair of pants didn't feel comfortable--they looked as if they were
close to the right size, but he pictured the way Rin's clothes clung to her,
accenting every inch of her body, and moved on to the second pair.  And _they_
felt almost like coming home, once he'd worked his hips into them.  He left the
third pair folded, and picked one of the two shirts at random.

A throat was cleared outside as he finished adjusting the shirt.  "Sohma-san?"

"Yeah?"

"Try these, if you're decent."  Haru opened the door a little, and found Naoto
holding out a handful of black straps.  "Or--wait."  The clerk looked him up and
down, and glanced back into the store, looking for Rin.  "Sohma-san, he's just
about ready, but hang on a minute."  He turned back to Haru.  "Here, let me." 
Impersonal, deft fingers buckled a bracelet around his wrist, and then reached
up to his neck.

"I'll do that one," Haru said, seized with a sudden apprehension at the idea of
a stranger's hands near his throat, collaring him.  A shimmer of instinct at the
base of his skull refused the idea of it, of anyone he hadn't submitted to
putting even symbolic restraints on him.

Naoto shrugged and nodded, making 'just a minute' gestures past the door.  Haru
closed his eyes and listened while he worked the collar's buckle, keenly aware
of Rin's silent impatience.  Roused from its normal quietude, the Jyuunishi bond
prickled under his skin, whispering wordlessly about her nearness.

He took a quick glance at his reflection, too close to get a good look but
wanting some idea of what Rin would see, and saw the glint of a smile in his
mirror-self's eyes.  "Ready, I guess," he said, opening the door the rest of the
way.  Rin's eyes met his as he stepped out; it was one of the curse's strange
side effects, the ability to zero in effortlessly on each other once the bond
was already awake and whispering.  And then she dropped her gaze to assess him.

The expression that blossomed on her face reminded him sharply of how he'd felt
the first time he saw _her_ in a similar outfit.  She just stood, lips slightly
parted as if she'd started to speak and forgotten why.  The slow way she looked
him over, taking every detail in, made him say a quick prayer that the tight fit
of the pants had to do with the cut, rather than an obvious sign that her
attention alone was enough to quicken his pulse.

When her eyes met his again, there was a naked _want_ there that made his heart
turn over; an instant later it was gone, as she made herself smile.  "It looks
good," was all she said, as she handed him another small armful of clothing. 
"Try these."

"Ok."

Back in the tiny dressing room, Haru leaned against the wall instead of
immediately starting to change.  Several moments went by while he tried to burn
the image of Rin's expression into his memory, rolling it around in his mind
like a sweet on his tongue.  *She's even more gorgeous when she's turned on.* 
And she had been, no question; the idea of it sent glorious shivers across his
skin.  *And it bothered her.*  He sighed and pushed away from the wall, and
reached for one of the shirts she'd handed him.

**********

He quickly lost count of how many things Rin handed him to try on, and not long
after that he stopped being reliably sure which things were being rejected and
which were going into the 'acceptable' pile.  All he knew for sure was that each
new item earned a brisk "comfortable?" from her, and that more than an instant's
hesitation on his part equaled a rejection.

"You can experiment later on, if you stick with the look," she explained, waving
Naoto away when he attempted to chime in.  "If the basic wardrobe isn't
comfortable, it'll suck."

"There's no way everything you wear is comfortable," Haru objected, unable to
hide his skepticism, and she sighed, absently massaging at her neck.

"It's not so bad--I'm really picky about my clothes.  But you're a guy, so your
odds are better.  Take advantage of the fact that no one's putting you in
heels."  She gave his current outfit a quick, calculating look.  "Try the next
one, ok?"

Several changes of clothes later, someone had brought her a chair and a bottle
of water.  She offered the water to Haru when he came out, and he accepted
without thinking, taking a long swallow that mainly served to make him realize
how thirsty he was.

He was about to hand it back to her when he noticed the way her eyes were
following his movements--not with the intensity he had seen earlier, but still
enough to make him feel both hollow and warm inside.  She reached out to adjust
the sleeve of his shirt, a light touch against the inside of his arm that made
no discernible difference to the way the fabric lay against his skin.

"Rin--" he began, realizing as her name left his mouth that he had no idea what
he was going to say to her.

"Have more if you want," she interrupted, a little too quickly, and Haru felt a
flash of relief.  "We can buy more."

"Thanks."  He took another sip and passed the bottle back, fingers brushing
against hers as she took it.  A hint of color touched her cheeks while she drank
again, and for the first time--after years of casually sharing drinks and snacks
with her--he was fully entranced by the idea that her lips were where his had
been.

The female clerk--Haru had more sense than to get close enough to a strange girl
to read her name tag--had been glancing over to see each new outfit he tried on,
although neither he nor Rin had paid much attention; Naoto was still bringing
sporadic items of clothing over for him to try, but otherwise the staff were
obviously picking up Rin's vibe of having things well in hand.  The girl's
attention was vaguely flattering, although Haru was long since inured to
strangers giving him second or third glances.

The crash when she dropped her cassette player was loud enough that he almost
jumped.  Rin, whose nerves were always higher-strung than his, shied away from
the noise with a faint sound of distress that he might have missed if he weren't
so attuned to her voice.  He was turning toward her by the time he realized that
the tape had popped out of the player and was within a meter of him, and that
the salesgirl, blushing, was reaching for it.

Jyuunishi reflexes were fast--a product of training, rather than the curse
itself.  Haru stepped back too quickly to make the movement look like anything
but the dodge it was, and Rin was on her feet, close enough to physically get
between them if need be.  The girl looked back and forth between them, torn
between confusion and embarrassment.

Rin looked as if she was about to say something, eyes hard and protective, and
Haru quickly touched her arm.  *I'm fine,* he tried to tell her silently when
she glanced at him.  Adrenaline had burned away the tantalizing awkwardness
between them, leaving the comfort he was used to.  *It's fine.*

"I'm sorry for startling you," the girl was saying, and Haru nodded as he
scooped up the tape and handed it back to her.  She turned away and hurried into
the back of the store.

"We should get going," Rin said, looking around for a clock.  "Do you think
that's enough clothes?"

"How many things did you keep?"

"I didn't count," she replied, and nodded at a heap of folded clothing.  "That
much.  And you should pack up your old clothes and keep what you're wearing on."

"That looks like a lot," Haru murmured, fingering the tag on his sleeve,
remembering Naoto's warning about outgrowing things.

"Good."  Rin shot him a half-smile, still tense, and lowered her voice.  "I
don't think she dropped that by mistake.  You look--"

"Hmm?"

"I just think she wanted to get close to you."

"Possessive?" he teased, and she frowned, as if deciding between glaring and
rolling her eyes.  She didn't say anything until the bill had been tallied up
and charged to her credit card--Haru tried not to stare at the total, not quite
able to match her nonchalance as she paid--and while the clerk at the counter
packed up everything Haru wasn't wearing, Rin carefully cut off the price tags
dangling from his sleeve, belt loop, and collar.

"We should probably go eat lunch somewhere where we can sit down for a while,
until the rush is over," she said once they were out of the store.  "I don't
want to try getting home in a crowd."

Haru thought back to the trip to the store, the faintly illicit novelty of being
on a subway without someone uncursed to buffer him from unsafe physical contact.
 Between the curse and the Sohma wealth, any form of public transportation was a
rarity.  "That sounds bad."

"I got stranded out here for hours once, when I stayed too late."  Rin shook her
head.  "I had to wait until the businessmen had all gone home.  The evening rush
is scary."

"D'you know a good place to eat?" he asked, wishing he dared take her hand and
hold onto it.  Instead, he picked up the bags of clothes and waited while she
shifted her weight from one foot to the other, thinking.

"We can get dumplings around the corner."

"Sounds good."  He rolled his shoulders, trying to work out a hint of stiffness,
and Rin reached over, laying a hand across the back of his neck.  Light fingers
ran over the studs on the collar, conveying her silent satisfaction.

"It's very--"

Haru grinned at her.  "Pretty?"

Her soft laugh sounded more surprised than amused.  "I don't think I'll let
anyone put you in makeup."

"'Let' anyone?" he echoed, and she shrugged.

"It'd be . . . quite something," she said in the tone that long experience told
him meant she wouldn't say anything else on the subject.  And there was
something else in her voice, a hint of curiosity that made him wonder if it
might be worth experimenting . . . sometime when no one but her would see, when
he was old enough that she might take his confession seriously, when he might
have already kissed her or . . . 

The sweet, half-formed daydreams kept him preoccupied while they walked, and Rin
let him be, occasionally touching his arm to direct him.


[fin.]