Plot: whilst crying out her pain in the dark, Tohru is surprised by a visit by Haru. what will arise from this visit? love? or maybe something else?

I DO NOT OWN FRUITS BASKET! that privelage goes to Natsuki Takaya-sama.

The love by the lake

Tohru X Haru

Trees silhouetted against the midnight sky. Stars, millions of them, hung in the sky and the mooned glowed, making the night feel brand new, and yet ageless.

The trees ruffled in the slight fresh breeze, sending the scent of pine and oak throughout the night air.

The scene of complete beauty was doubled by its reflection on a magnificent lake, its water so still it seemed more like a pool of liquid silence.

Beside the lakes edge came a soft sobbing. Kneeling by the water was girl, her long, brown hair moving with the breeze, and her shoulders shaking with her cries. Tears streaked her rosy cheeks as she looked out at the lake. As she stared, transfixed by the beauty and her sadness, something flashed across the surface. She looked up at the sky, in hope of finding the perpetrator of the light. And she found it. Just as she looked up a beautiful stat shot across the sky, putting the other stars to shame. And then another flew across. And another, and another.

The girl just stared, the pain in her heart frozen momentarily, her sapphire eyes wide with beauty.

Mom, I want to be just like those shooting starts, making a scene of beauty that much more perfect.

The pain in her heart flared again and she burst into another bout of tears and sobs.

I miss you Mom, I miss you so much.

Suddenly the sobs stopped as a whispering memory of her mothers words breezed through her mind. Tohru, just be yourself, I love you.

Tohru hugged herself, the last three words of the memory swirling around her mind. "I love you too, Mom." she whispered under breath. It has been two years since her mothers death, but the love Tohru felt for her mother never changed, and neither did the pain of her not being around anymore. Since the Sohmas took her in, Tohru had been happy, and not just a mask of happiness but true happiness. She had also experienced love, and even though she was rejected by Kyo just four weeks ago, she was happy, happy that she had felt something she thought she never would after her mom died.

But it was on nights like this that the pain hidden deep in her heart made itself known, ruining her sense of belonging. Momiji-kun and Hatsuharu-kun had come over to stay the night, making her new family even bigger and her heart just felt like it was being crushed under an immense pressure. So, when everyone was asleep, Tohru put on her slippers and walked out to this river that she had found one day when she was living in the tent. She didn't even think the Sohmas knew it was here. Tears started to flow down her cheeks again, this time silently. Why did she feel this way? She didn't have the answer.

Suddenly, there was the sound of a breaking twig behind her, as if someone had stood on it. She turned around, expecting the worst. Maybe she shouldn't have come out here; Yuki and Kyo were always warning her of perverts and kidnappers. A scream started to build up in her throat as the silhouette of a man approached her, his hand raised as if to reach for her.

Haru stood hidden behind a tree, watching the girl in front of him cry and watch the sky. He had followed her here when he heard her get up. He had been lying on his futon in Yukis room, waiting for sleep to claim him when he had heard her leave, and without understand why, he had followed her.

He stared at her back, wondering if he should approach her, when a sudden thought struck him. She looked like an angel. The moon shone on her figure, giving her an unearthly glow, her hair, blowing with the breeze, looked amazing and her face, he could only see a bit of it from his position, as she looked at the sky looked magnificent, like a fallen angel longing to go back home. He swayed at his sudden realisation and had to grab the trees trunk to stop him from falling. His heart beat furiously in his chest with a strange emotion and he swayed again.

Holding the tree he repositioned himself a little, trying to see her better, when the inevitable happened. Under his foot a twig snapped and Tohru turned around with brilliant speed.

Feeling like he'd been caught spying, he started to walk towards her. Then he saw the pure, raw panic in her eyed and realised that because he was still shrouded by the darkness created by the trees, she hadn't seen it was him. He raised his arm, hoping to calm her, and he walked slowly toward her. He saw her prepare to scream and thought that now would be a good to say who he was.

"Tohru, it's me, Haru." he said calmly.

He walked out into the moonlight and saw recognition dawn her features, and he relaxed.

Tohru was flooded with relief as she saw the familiar two-toned boy standing in front of her. She immediately started whipping away the tears that stained her face and plastered a huge, fake smile on her lips.

"Hatsuharu-kun! You scared me!" She put her hand to her heart to emphasize her statement and let out a nervous laugh.

"Sorry." came his plain remark, his voice low and neutral like usual.

He made his way over towards her and sat down, staring out at the lake.

'Isn't he going to ask me why I'm here?' She wondered as she turned back around to the lake.

"You can trust me, you know? With why you're here, I mean"

The sudden proclamation startled Tohru, so she just laughed nervously while moving her hair behind her ear.

After about five minutes of silence Tohru let out a long sigh and hugged her knees.

"I just needed somewhere to think."

"That looked more like crying than thinking to me."

Tohru gave Haru a sideways glance, wondering if she should tell him of all her angst and pain in her heart, then she decided she might as well, he had seen her crying after all.

"I don't really know what it is, but every time I start to feel like I belong, I start to feel this pain in my chest, like it's telling me it's not real, that I don't really belong. And when that happens I start to really miss my mom."

Tohru's voice cracked at the last part and tears started to leak from the corners of her brilliant blue eyes. Haru just stayed silent, looking into the distance. Then, after another long silence, he spoke.

"Seems to me that you're afraid."

"Huh?"

"Well if your heart hurts every time you start to feel like you belong and your longing for your mother increases, then it could be that you're scared of having your new family being torn away, like your last one was."

Tohru was shocked; it was the most she had ever heard Haru say. Then the meaning of his words struck her and she realized with a start that it was true, it was all true.

Heart-wrenching sobs escaped her, and she hugged her knees even tighter, burying her head in her arms. She felt an arm wrap tightly around her shoulders and moved to cry into Haru's lap, careful not to trigger the curse. She clung to his black shirt for dear life.

"I'm scared! I'm scared. I don't want to be alone." she said between sobs. "I-I e-even hopped th-that if I bro-ke the c-curse th-then they w-wouldn't l-leave me!"

Her grip on Haru's shirt became tighter, and he stroked her back, creating small patterns with his thumb.

"I'm scared." she whispered, her throat in too much pain to be any louder.

Suddenly, Haru raised her head, cupping her face with his hands.

Haru didn't know why but suddenly he had Tohru's face cupped in his hands. He had no idea why he felt this way but all he knew was that seeing her cry so hard made his heart tighten painfully and he wanted to make her pain stop. He only felt this way with Yuki, and even then it wasn't to this multitude.

He looked into her eyes, capturing her gaze. He put on his most serious face, and the moment he said the words he knew that they were true.

"Listen to me, no matter what happens to the others, I will never leave you, ever."

Her eyes widened and fresh tears rolled down her cheeks.

He slowly but gently wiped away the tears with his thumbs, quietly shushing her to help her calm down. God, she's beautiful. And then, before he even know what he was doing, he slowly leaned towards her, giving her enough time to pull away if she wanted to. But she didn't.

Her eyes closes as he lightly placed his lips against hers, feeling their softness.

I love you.

As soon as his lips met hers, Tohru knew that this was where she belonged. All the pain in her chest disappeared and in its place were the most pure, deepest forms of love. Her grip on Haru's shirt loosened and she moved her hands to his shoulders. Haru's hand stroked tender patterns on her cheek, whilst his other hand moved slowly down her back, leaving a tingling sensation wherever he touched.

Slowly, they pulled apart, but neither relinquished their hold on the other.

Looking into her eyes lovingly and said the words that would make this moment perfect.

"I love you."

Careful not to get too close, Tohru put her head in the crook of his neck and whispered the words of her heart in his ear.

"I love you, too"

For how long they stayed there like that, neither could ever tell but both would remember as one of the best nights of their loves.

Tohru smiled to herself as she held Haru. Who would have thought that she'd find what her heart was searching for here? Who would have thought that she's find the love by the lake?

The End.

Thank you sooo much for reading this story! ^-^ This is my first ever fanfic so i don't know if it turned out good or not (but i hope it did!)

Please read and rate! Thank you!