AN: Alright here we go, chapter 3. Just a heads up, there is a little lemon this chapter. Thank you for reading and enjoy!
—The New Apartment—
Chapter 3: Kyo – Selfish
"Hey Tohru, where's the second futon?" Kyo asked, opening a large box with a single futon and futon covers.
"Oh, Kyo-kun, I don't have a futon. We were going to buy one here" Tohru said. Kyo's face turned pale. He completely forgot and it was too late in the evening to get one now. What a situation: alone in a one-bedroom apartment with one futon and the girl of his dreams. He shook his head and swallowed back the part of him that liked this turn of events.
"Well, it can't be helped. You take the room and the futon. I'll stay in the living room tonight" Kyo said, proud of how responsible he was being.
"Oh, no! I could never take your futon Kyo-kun! Please, you take it!"
"No way, what kind of man would I be if I did that?" Kyo asked. Tohru looked at the ground.
"I don't want Kyo-kun to sleep on the floor" Tohru said as Kyo blushed scarlet. He might have just dreamed it, but it almost sounded as if she wanted to share the futon with him. No, no she probably was just being polite, like normal, but why was his heart skipping beats?
"I'll be fine. It's just for a night" he said, strengthening his resolve. He didn't want to take advantage of the situation. He promised he would be a better man. Kyo started making the futon in the bedroom as Tohru watched him. He could tell something was on her mind, but what she might say if he asked her made him nervous. Kyo ruffled the hair on the back of his neck with his hand. Was he always going to feel like this? As if Tohru was a pearl statue of purity he would break if he touched? It always just seemed so impossible. He wanted to treasure her. He promised he would treasure her.
"Alright, that should get you through the night. We'll go get a futon first thing in the morning"
"Yes!" Tohru said. Kyo smiled and moved towards her. He pushed her bangs to the side and kissed her forehead.
"Goodnight"
"Goodnight"
Kyo walked back to the living room and tossed a pillow on the floor. He grabbed a blanket from an open box and quickly made a sure-to-be uncomfortable bed for the night. Kyo got under the blanket and stared at the ceiling of his new living room. He would have to get used to this view. A terrifying, confusing feeling formed a ball of tension in his chest. Kyo tried to remind himself how lucky he was now. He was free of the curse that caused him, and too many others, suffering for so many years. He was loved by the woman he loved. They were together. He was studying martial arts with the love of his life by his side. What more could he ask for? Nothing. It was too selfish to ask for anything else. Kyo fell asleep with a small smile gracing the corner of his lips, thinking of the first time he embraced Tohru and his body got to stick around to enjoy it.
"NO!" a terrified voice called out in the night. Kyo's eyes snapped open, his only thought being "Tohru!"
He ran into the bedroom, his heart hammering in his chest.
"Tohru?! What's wrong?!" he yelled when he found her sitting on the futon, sweaty and panic-stricken. Tohru smiled through her panic.
"Oh, Kyo-kun I-I'm sorry. It seems I had a dream that was quite frightening" Tohru laughed, still visibly shaken. Kyo sat down next to her and wiped her sweaty forehead with his sleeve.
"Someone once told me that talking about a scary dream can make you feel better" Kyo said. Tohru looked at him, an un-easiness washing over her.
"I dreamt that Kyo-kun's curse was never broken and you were…locked away until…" she trailed off.
"Locked up? Did she know about that?" Kyo thought.
"Tohru, did you know…" Kyo started, but stopped when he saw the tears form in her eyes. He held her.
"It was a dream. That's not happening. I'm right here" he said as Tohru buried her face in his chest and continued to cry. Kyo put his chin on the top of her head and pulled her close. They stayed like that in the silence for a long time, until Tohru pulled back and looked at Kyo with a softness in her eyes he had never seen before. Her eyes made him feel safe and yet, he found himself worried his stomach would explode from the sheer number of butterflies she was giving him.
"Kyo-kun will you stay here?" she asked, looking as if the answer might break her.
"Yeah, I will" Kyo said.
"Tonight?" she asked. Kyo was stunned. What was she saying? What was she doing to him?
"You want me to sleep here?" Tohru nodded. Kyo felt every siren and alarm go off in his brain and every butterfly in his stomach go flying. He thought it was time for a plain conversation about this.
"Tohru, look, I think we should talk about this. Tohru-I…I don't know if I can do that. It might be hard to understand, but Tohru you're really, uh, cute and I-I'm only human and I want to treasure you. It might be, uh, difficult for me to do that if I sleep here" Kyo said, his blush reaching a new level of red, which could only be matched by the stunning shade Tohru was sporting. She looked at the futon beneath her, eyes still read from crying.
"I'm no good Kyo-kun. When it comes to Kyo-kun all I know how to be is selfish. I know I told you that I wanted this apartment because it's less expensive, but that was a lie. I wanted this apartment so I can be even closer to Kyo-kun. I want to be closer Kyo-kun" she said, each word getting more and more desperate for Kyo to understand. She brought her hand to Kyo's cheek, trying to close the gap between them. Kyo put his hand over hers.
"Tohru…" Kyo said, his voice a husky whisper, "Do you mean you want to..?" he asked, still not believing what was happening, his heart beating harder than it ever had in his life and his entire body pulsed with…hunger? It scared him.
Tohru studied his eyes with the same determined softness he saw before that made his knees weak.
"Kyo…" she said with no honorific attached to his name. Her eyes flashed to his lips and the distance between them got smaller. Hearing his name without the usual "kun" present caused the dam to break and the barrier Kyo put up to crumble. Kyo closed the distance between them, desperately kissing her as if it would be the last time. Tohru responded back eagerly, wrapping her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her.
Kyo broke away from her lips and kissed her jaw, then moved to her neck, his hands wrapping around her.
"Kyo…" Tohru said in a small, passionate voice. Hearing his name set Kyo aflame once more and he pinned Tohru to the futon. He paused, his heart beating and his breath shallow. He looked Tohru in her eyes, his own image reflecting in them. She looked back at him, flushed and shaking, but the look in her eyes told him she was ready. Kyo stroked her pink cheek.
"You're so beautiful" he said, realizing he was ready as well.
"Kyo…" and that was all that needed to be said. Kyo lifted his shirt over his head and threw it to one corner as Tohru began on the buttons of her pajamas. Kyo helped her with her bottoms, which made her shiver, leaving her in just an opened shirt and her underwear. He trailed her stomach with the tips of his fingers, his hand getting close to the elastic of her pink-striped underwear. Tohru took a sharp inhale of breath, feeling sensations she didn't know existed.
AN: This was going to be the last chapter, but I'm going to add an epilogue. I hope you liked this chapter. What did you think: in character or out of character? They're hard to write for situations like this, but I'd love your input. Thank you for reading! 3