Author’s Note: This is a gift to my sister because she bought me a magazine. ^_^ She’s crazy for Kyo/Tohru (so am I) and she’s been at me about writing a fluffy fanfic about them. And when I so fluffy, I do fluffy justice. ^_^ This story is for my sister, Laura.
Disclaimer: FB and all its wonderful (and not so wonderful) characters belong to Natsuki Takaya. The song is called ‘Happy’ and belongs to a great singer Kristine Sa. She has such a sweet voice. I highly recommend you get her CD!
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It was just another slow, lazy day at the Sohma beach house. It was a day meant for sleeping and little to no work because it was far too hot, the ocean air too thick, for anything remotely active. Even swimming on such a day was out of the question. It was a day to sit back and take it easy.
Like I would be easy with her around, I thought to myself on the edge of napping. Try as I might to forget about her, to put her out of my mind, I couldn’t ignore that it was another day alone with Tohru. I didn’t know if I could handle it. Not that I hated her or anything.
Simply put I truly loved her and would give anything to forget it and move on. But Tohru was hard to ignore. As the days slipped away she became my sole albeit clumsy and polite companion while the others were away meeting with Akito. Part of me was relieved that I only had a face that ruthless bastard once. But that meant both Tohru and me were alone for most of the days and nights.
It was nerve-wracking. Besides her being a total klutz and my being constantly worried about her wellbeing, I was unsure of what I would do. As the days past I grow more frustrated. I forced myself to be patient when she was around when all I wanted to do was kiss her! But fortunately she seemed oblivious of my warm and fuzzy feelings for her.
Still I knew I had to be extremely careful. Would I just blurt out my feelings for her? Would I just grab her and kiss her like I dreamed of doing every night? I have been sorely tempted too but thank god I found the strength to stop myself. I couldn’t let myself slip despite my growing frustration. She didn’t know how cute she was! Or how tightly I was wrapped around her finger. And I hoped she would never know. Even though I loved her and wanted to protect her from anything, I still wanted to protect myself from her. I didn’t want to be vulnerable or open. What if she rejected me? I seriously think I would kill myself if she did. She was the last person who I wanted to hate me.
It was another day and we were both alone at the large estate. The sun was rising and so was the heat, which put me in a bad mood. I hated the heat and much as I hated water. Ironic, isn’t it. If I got hot I just couldn’t cool down in the ocean unless beating Yuki was somehow involved. It really sucks being the cat sometimes. So I was laid out on the wide, covered veranda outside my room, body prone and eyes shut. I was laying in the shade, trying to catch the breeze. I seethed in the heat, dozing off a little. There was no way I was going to were a pair of fucking shorts so I settled on my cargo pants and a shirt I had long since unbuttoned all the way. I was desperately wishing that the AC was working.
In the back of my mind I wondered where Tohru was. I swore when I thought she might be down at the beach, which meant I had to go down there in case the senseless girl decided she wanted to go for a swim. I sighed and pushed myself up into a sitting position when I heard something carried on the breeze. For a moment I thought nothing of it. It must have been a bird but the more I listened to it the more I began to realize that it was singing. Then it hit me like a load of bricks. It was Kyoko’s song; she had sung it to me once when I was little. I hadn’t heard it for so long but I still recognized it. My heart jerked painfully in my chest.
“I'm happy there's a smiling face to see. I'm happy there's a
smiling face on me.
And even though the skies maybe gray I'm happy for today.”
I listened harder, feeling my brow wrinkle from concentration. Instead of Kyoko’s warm husky voice that sang the ballad it was Tohru’s sweet one. I couldn’t believe it. I had never heard her sing before.
“Today I'm
smiling and it shows. And I don't care about tomorrow. I don't need to know
about tomorrow. I'm smiling today.”
Without thinking, I suddenly found myself on my feet. I cocked my head and listened hard before heading towards the direction of Tohru’s soft voice as if I was being pulled there. My heart was pounding a mile a minute and my stomach knotted maliciously. I didn’t know why I felt sick. Maybe I had thought that Kyoko was back when I heard that song of hers. Such a stupid idea.
I walked towards the woods, traveling farther from the beach and found Tohru out in the sun’s warmth, taking dry towels and linens from the lines. Singing softly to herself in the midst of the billowing fabric, I watched her fold the towels against herself before putting them down in the basket. I approached carefully, my trained feet making no noise as I sauntered across the green grass.
“There's
a life I will explore. I am sure there must be more. There is nothing left to
wait for.”
Safe from view behind a large sheet that wafted in the calm wind, I watched her. I could smell her perfume mingled in the sent of wild flowers and soap. The breeze caught her long brown hair and her pink skirt floated in the air. Completely mesmerized, I stood there and watched. My heart ached to touch her innocence and beauty. She looked so beautiful in the light I couldn’t stand it. I told myself to leave, that I was only tempting myself with something I couldn’t have and didn’t deserve but I couldn’t look away.
Slowly she moved down the line and I followed, veiled by the linens. She continued to sing and hum as she worked at her own pace. She seemed completely at peace, at ease, while I was far from contentment. She turned; ready to take care of the second line. I didn’t move. Slowly she came closer and closer to where I stood. I saw her thin shadow on the inside, saw her thin fingers working the edges of the blanket from the pins that held it to the line. I watched her lower it slowly down.
She didn’t expect me to be there. Her big eyes widened as she stepped back from surprise. “Kyo-kun!”
I couldn’t stop myself. I reached forward, grabbing the blanket, and pulled her smaller body into my arms. I held her tightly against my chest; the white sheet sandwiched between us to I wouldn’t be transformed. Without saying a word I rested my check against the top of her head and slowly I felt days of frustration melt away. She felt so right in my arms, so small and warm. She was a bundle of warmth and of love to chase all my inner demons away.
“Kyo-kun?” She didn’t sound afraid, just mildly curious.
I love you, Tohru! I love you so much! My mind screamed in my ears. Despite all my years of training I couldn’t stop myself from opening up to her. I could’t fight it. It was like fighting against the tide. You could try too but it didn’t matter; you were going under anyway might as well surrender and save your strength.
Though I had gotten this far, I couldn’t tell her my deepest secret. Suddenly my nerve had vanished but I continued to hold her. I refused to let her go. I just wanted a bit more time. I felt her relax against me, her hands pressed against my chest. I bet she could feel how my heart raced.
“I’m just happy, Tohru,” I muttered after another moment. The voice that came from my throat was soft and unguarded. I could hardly recognize it.
I let her pull away from me. Instead of seeing confusion, I saw her was glowing with genuine joy. “Oh, Kyo-kun!” she replied, smiling and blushing at the same time. “Really? That makes me so happy!”
I smiled gently and, without fear or anxiety, I leaned down to kiss her.