"So, how long have you guys been seeing each other?" Yuki asked, causing the cat to choke.

"About a month after you guys graduated. She came waltzing in asking for a job and I couldn't resist." Hatori once again blushed uncharacteristically.

"So this has been going on for over two years now?!" Kyo almost shouted.

"Shigure, these two have been dating behind everyone's back. Hatori's been taking advantage of Tohru's innocence." Kyo looked to Shigure for support, and almost immediately received it.

"Our poor little Tohru savaged by that nasty beast."

"Hey!"

Tohru came in with one of her famous home cooked meals and cut off any more argument. She flashed a special smile at Hatori, who smiled back shyly. Kyo was definitely jealous, but somehow after seeing her this happy with Hatori, he realized that he wasn't the one for her.

The meal was eaten amid comments from Shigure talking about "his sweet, wonderful flower" or "his lovely little housewife." Kyo and Yuki both thumped him on the head repeatedly, but he couldn't help himself. Seeing Haa-san blush every time he said something like that was just too much fun. The biggest blush of all came when deciding where Hatori would sleep. Kyo had already disappeared saying he was going to stay at Shishou's house for the rest of the week (he had a tournament to prepare for) and Yuki just smiled and excused himself from the conversation altogether. After teasing him about sharing Tohru's bed, Shigure offered his bed, which Hatori immediately and vehemently declined, deciding instead to sleep in Kyo's empty room.

Hatori fell asleep without much fuss, but woke up early in the morning to the sound of someone falling down the stairs. He bolted out of bed, not bothering to put a shirt on, to run down the hallway and see who had fallen. His stomach dropped when he saw it was Tohru, laying crumpled at the bottom of the stairs. He rushed to her side and checked her pulse. She was still alive. He gingerly picked her up and set her on the couch so he could do a more thorough examination to make sure nothing was broken. Hatori explained what had happened when Tohru woke up during the exam. She nodded, embarrassed, and stared with a red face at Hatori's chest. She had only seen it one other time, and again it was her fault.

FLASHBACK

"Ha'ri, come look at this water, it's so clear," Tohru called from the end of the dock. She had finally talked Hatori into taking a walk with her around the lake, but as usual he kept a passive face and hadn't expressed more than a "that's nice" on their entire walk.

"Don't you think you're leaning a bit too far over, Tohru?"

"Huh, oh-OH!"

Tohru flapped her arms to keep from falling over. Hatori rushed over to catch her, but was too far away to stop it. Tohru fell into the lake. Thankfully she knew how to swim and climbed back onto the dock with a sheepish grin on her face. Hatori had stripped off his shirt and wrapped it around her to keep her from catching cold. Tohru had only stared, red-faced, at his well muscled chest before dropping her eyes to the ground.

PRESENT TIME

Hatori finished the exam in no time, judging Tohru to be completely fine. Her eyes started to droop closed and she reached out and brushed her fingers across Hatori's chest. Her hand stopped over his heart and he could swear he saw her smiling at the fact that it was nearly pounding out of his chest. He grabbed her hand in both of his and kissed her fingertips. Tohru let out a contented sigh.

"Can we be together forever?" Hatori whispered. "I never want to lose you."

He laid his head on her stomach, keeping hold of her hand. 'At least she hadn't killed herself, silly klutz,' Hatori thought with a tender smile as he fell asleep. Yuki, having witnessed the comment and the peaceful way in which Hatori slept, smiled and knew without a doubt that Tohru never need fear not being loved.

-Sigh, chapter 2 finished. Writing each part just makes me think of more to add to the story. Next chapter titled "Proposals?!" And thank you very much to those who commented on the first part. Keep the reviews coming!!