To Give It All Away
Disclaimer: Fruits Basket belongs to Natsuki Takaya and Gift of the Magi belongs to O. Henry...I do NOT own either...
Merry Christmas!
A gift from the heart is cherished and true...
"Well this is just great," Kyo growled, glaring at the ten dollar bill that lay wadded up in his hand. "How in the hell am I suppose to buy Tohru a Christmas present with this?"
The red haired boy sighed loudly and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. Leave it to him to completely forget that it was Christmas Eve and that he only had a limited amount of time left to buy his girlfriend a present. The fact that he was flat out broke didn't help much either. Rolling his eyes, he grabbed his leather jacket and left his room. "I gotta atleast try. There has to be something I can get her."
Images of her smiling face filled his head as Kyo stomped his way down the stairs. More than anything he wanted this Christmas to be special for her. It was their first Christmas together as an official couple and he was not going to end up empty handed when it came to giving her a gift. "I just hope I can find her something she will love. I don't wanna get her something stupid and then feel like a complete moron afterwards," he mumbled, a small frown crossing his lips.
Kyo approached the front door and glanced around quickly for any sign of Tohru. He wanted his present hunting to be a secret. He knew that if Tohru found out where he was going she would go on and on about how he didn't need to buy her anything because she already had everything she could ever need. He smiled at the thought. The fact that she was so selfless drove him crazy to no end, but that was also one of the reasons he loved her so much.
A light humming sound snapped him out of his thoughts. Peeking around the corner, he saw Tohru standing in the kitchen by herself. She was quietly singing a Christmas song while rolling out the dough to begin making the sugar cookies for her favorite holiday. Kyo grinned, "Typical Tohru." With one last glance in her direction to make sure she wasn't looking, he quickly snuck out the front door and closed it quietly behind him.
The cold wind blew hard against his skin, giving him the impression that small needles were poking him all over. "It's freakin cold!" he shouted, teeth chattering as he pulled his jacket closer to his body. The rapid falling snow was quickly building up in his red hair and he repeatedly had to shake his head to rid himself of the white gunk that he hated so much. After all, snow was frozen water, and he hated water. Looking up at the darkening sky, Kyo frowned. "Shit, I didn't realize how late it was when I left. I gotta hurry," he panicked, breaking into a run toward town.
Upon arriving, Kyo immediately dropped his gloved hands to his bent knees, attempting to catch his breath. Running in the snow wasn't the best idea on his part, but he had to get something for his Tohru. Straightening himself back out, he quickly walked towards the shops. Kids ran around laughing and throwing snowballs, couples stood under the falling snow kissing and poor Kyo ran around looking from window to window to see if anything caught his eye.
"What in the hell! There has to be something here!" he yelled, kicking the wall of a building. "I'm such an idiot! I shouldn't have waited until the last minute to try and find her something, but hell how was I suppose to know it was Christmas Eve? I don't pay attention to that kinda stuff." Kyo could almost hear Yuki in his mind calling him 'stupid cat' and telling him to 'get a calender'. He growled just thinking about the rat. Yuki was probably at home giving Tohru his undivided attention while he was out here running around like a fool. Kyo slumped up against the wall and slid down onto the snow. "This is hopeless. I'm the worst boyfriend ever," he sighed, covering his face with his hand in aggrevation.
"Mommy! Mommy look at the kitty! It's so pretty!"
Kyo peeked through his fingers at the little girl that now stood before him. What was she talking about? He hadn't transformed had he? He quickly glanced down at himself. Nope, he was still human, so what 'kitty' was she talking about?
"Can we buy the kitty Mommy?" the small girl asked, pointing beside Kyo. He watched as the woman shook her head and the little girl let out a small whimper before they proceeded walking down the busy street.
Well, they did say that curiosity killed the cat, but Kyo couldn't help it. Lifting himself back onto his feet, he turned and looked through the window that had been right beside him. His amber eyes widened as he caught sight of exactly what the tiny girl had been talking about. Kyo knew right then and there that he had found Tohru's Christmas gift. It was sitting comfortably in a small display case for all to see. A beautiful and solid gold cat charm.
Kyo smiled the biggest smile that had ever adorned his face. This would be the perfect present. He knew Tohru loved cats, but this charm would have an even more special meaning to her. Before Tohru's mom had passed away, she had bought Tohru a solid gold charm bracelet for her birthday. Tohru had told him one time while they were on the roof together that it was the most expensive thing she had ever possessed, but that wasn't the reason she loved it so much. Every charm on the golden bracelet was an animal from the chinese zodiac. He remembered her telling him that the bracelet was the most precious thing she owned, besides her mothers picture, because it was the last thing her mother had given her while she was still alive. He also remembered her telling him that the only thing she didn't like about the gold jewelry was that it was missing the most important peice.
The cat.
Kyo quickly pulled his wallet out of his back pocket and rummaged through it until he found the wadded up ten dollar bill. A frown overtook his features. There was no way ten dollars was gonna buy this charm. "Dammit!" he cursed, slamming his fist onto the brick building. He watched as fresh blood emerged from the open wounds now on his knuckles, and dripped down onto the white snow. Kyo plopped pathetically onto the ground, tears threatening to fall from his eyes at his failure, but the sound of something hard hitting the sidewalk underneath him caught his attention.
Turning his head in the direction of where the sound had come from, he caught sight of something shiny. His calloused fingers grabbed hold of the golden object and held it close to his slightly red face. It was the golden pocketwatch that Kazuma had given him when he had first come to live with the man. It was kinda like a 'welcome home' present, or in his case a 'welcome to your new home' present. In all the years that Kyo had been alive, it was the only present that he had ever recieved. It was for that reason that the pure golden watch meant the world to him. It was like a reminder that someone loved him enough to give him something special. He carried the watch with him everywhere he went, but it always had to stay lodged down deep inside his pockets. The watch had no chain, and so he could never really use it properly like he had always wanted to.
Kyo smiled solemnly at his watch and began to slide it back into his pocket. The object was too fancy and expensive to be left out in this harsh weather. Halfway through his motives, Kyo froze. In one swift motion, he pulled the watch back out of his pocket and jumped to his feet. Holding the watch toward the window, he glanced from his prescious keepsake to the golden gift for his Tohru. Kyo smiled a bittersweet smile. He knew what he needed to do.
Once Kyo finished with his little shopping trip, he quickly headed out of town. The sun had already vanished and he was left walking home alone in the dark. The wind had picked up considerably since he had left the house earlier and the snow pelted harder and harder against his struggling form. Kyo shivered nonstop as he trecked his way through the forest, eager to get back to Shigure's house. He couldn't wait to give Tohru her gift. That was all he could think about the whole way home.
By the time he arrived on the doorstep and quietly slipped back into the house, Shigure's grandfather clock was chiming that it was 12:00 on the dot. It was officially Christmas. Kyo quickly took off his soaked shoes and frozen jacket and threw them to the floor. He would worry about those tomorrow, right now he had a gift to give. Kyo crept silently toward the staircase, but he couldn't stop the sudden sneeze that erupted from him. He must have caught a cold from being out in the freezing weather. "Well, thats just great," he smiled pathetically.
"Kyo?"
The boy turned around immediately, shocked by the sudden disturbance. There stood Tohru in her fluffy pajamas holding a cup of hot chocolate. "Tohru, what are you doing awake?"
She put her mug on the table and smiled a worried smile at him. "I couldn't sleep because you weren't home yet. I didn't know where you went, nobody did. So, I had to make sure you came home safe," she explained, holding her hand out for him to grab.
"I had to make a last minute trip to town. I'm sorry I made you wait up," Kyo whispered, taking ahold of her outstretched hand. "I got you a present. I want you to open it."
"Oh, Kyo you didn't have to-"
"But I wanted to," he smiled, leading her into the living room and gently pushing her onto the sofa. He let go of her hand and dug into his pocket until he slowly pulled out a small velvet box. "Merry Christmas," he told her, a sheepish grin appearing on his face.
Tohru gave him a genuine smile before gently taking the box from his hand and pulling the lid open. A gasp escaped her lips and tears immediately appeared in her chocolate eyes. Kyo took this all as a bad sign once he saw the frown appear on her rosy lips.
"Tohru, whats wrong?" he questioned, taking ahold of her dainty hand once more.
She shook her head and smiled, pulling the golden cat charm from the box and holding it close to her heart with her free hand. "Nothings wrong Kyo. This is the best gift anyone has ever given me," she cried, endless tears running down her pale cheeks. "I love it! I love it more than you will ever know."
He felt uneasy. "Then why were you frowning?"
She didn't answer his question, just slipped her hand out of his grasp and walked over to their small Christmas tree. He watched her intently as she fished around for something and then began walking back over to him. "Here Kyo, I bought you a present too. I hope you like it," she whispered, wiping the tears from her eyes.
He took the small gift from her shaking hands and slowly unwrapped it. Underneath the gingerbread wrapping paper was a long white box. He raised an eyebrow in question. What could it be? With nimble fingers, he quickly pulled the lid off the box and peered inside. What greeted him made his insides twist in pain.
Inside the box was a golden chain. A chain grand enough to hold a golden watch. A watch he no longer possessed.
His lips quivered and he tried hard not to show the tears that threatened to fall. "Tohru, it's amazing. It's exactly what I wanted. It's exactly what I've always wanted," he smiled, looking into her eyes. "You don't know how much this means to me."
Now it was her turn to question him. "Then why don't you look happy Kyo?"
He put the box onto the table and looked up at her face. "Tohru, I sold my watch to get you that charm. I knew how much it would mean to you if I could find you the peice that you always wanted to add to your bracelet. You said it was important to you, so it was important to me too."
Tohru looked shocked, but quickly smiled a heartbroken smile at the boy infront of her. "Kyo, I sold my bracelet to get you that chain for your watch. I remembered you telling me how that was the only present you had ever recieved and it reminded you that you were loved. Well, I wanted to give you something that way you would always have a reminder that I loved you too," she cried, trying desperately to stop the tears.
Kyo was completely frozen. She sold her bracelet? The most prescious thing in her life and she sold it for him?
He shook out of his trance and quickly embraced the sobbing girl. He rolled his eyes as the stupid curse took effect and he transformed into a cat, but he cuddled close to Tohru as she clung to him. "Tohru, you being here for me and holding me is proof enough that I am loved. You didn't have to go and sell your bracelet for me."
She shook her head. "It doesn't matter Kyo. I did it because I love you. It was just a bracelet. I can replace it one day," she whispered, her cries dying down to whimpers. "Besides, Kyo. You are the most prescious thing in my life now," she smiled, putting her hand on his head and scratching him behind the ears. He purred in delight and gave her a quick lick on the nose with his rough kitty tongue.
"Thank you Tohru."
"No, thank you Kyo."
...A present is best when loves given too.
A/N: Merry Christmas everybody! I hope you're all having an awesome holiday! This story here is my gift to you all, so I hope you enjoyed it. I tried to make it different from the original story of 'Gift of the Magi' and I think I did a fairly good job. Also, I wanted to let all you guys know that all of my previous stories that were written last year will be revised. My recent stories have been getting lots of reviews and so I wanted to fix up my old ones since my writing style has gotten so much better. So, be sure to go and check out all my older stories at the beginning of the new year. I guarantee you will enjoy the changes. Anyways, thanks for taking the time to read this story. Reviews make an author proud, and they also make great Christmas gifts ;)