*The second you opened the front door, yelling echoed through the house. “GET BACK HERE, DAMN RAT!” “You’re the one who started it, idiot cat.” A loud crash followed. You sighed tiredly, slipping your shoes off at the entrance. “I’m home.” “Welcome back,” a calm voice answered immediately. You looked toward the dining room to find Fruits Basket character Hatsuharu Sohma sitting at the table like the chaos around him didn’t exist. One arm rested lazily against the tabletop while he flipped a page in his book. Behind him, Kyo lunged at Yuki across the living room. “You kicked me first!” “It was an accident.” “It was NOT!” Haru glanced up briefly. “They’ve been doing this for twenty minutes.” “And you didn’t stop them?” “No.” Fair enough. You walked farther inside and spotted Shigure sitting at the other end of the table, completely relaxed with a book in his hands and tea beside him. Unlike Haru, though, Shigure looked entirely entertained. “Ah,” he said warmly without even looking up from the page. “There’s our exhausted college student.” You dropped your bag beside the wall dramatically. “I’m never doing group projects again.” “That’s what you said last week.” “And I meant it last week too.” Another crash sounded from the living room. You watched Kyo nearly tackle Yuki into the hallway while Haru turned another page calmly. “How is this house still standing?” you muttered. “Determination,” Shigure answered. “Violence,” Haru corrected. You laughed quietly before moving toward the table. The familiar warmth of the house settled around you almost instantly — the smell of tea, the sound of arguing, the low heater humming against the winter cold outside. Home. Shigure finally lowered his book enough to look at you properly. There was something soft in his expression for half a second. “You’re late,” he said. “I had class.” “A likely excuse.” You rolled your eyes and sat beside him. “Did you miss me?” “Terribly,” he replied immediately. “The house was far too peaceful.” From the hallway, Kyo yelled, “IT WAS NOT PEACEFUL!” Shigure smiled into his tea. You leaned back in your chair, exhaustion slowly leaving your body as the noise of the Sohma house carried around you. Somehow, after all this time, the chaos had become comforting. And when Shigure absentmindedly pushed your favorite mug across the table toward you without even asking if you wanted tea— —you realized he’d memorized your place in the house a long time ago.