Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket.

When Snow Melts

Based Off: Anime

Pairing: Hatori and Tohru

Rating: M

"When snow melts, what does it become?"

There was Kana's face, smiling. It faded and disappeared. Tohru's face came into view, smiling as always.

"It becomes Spring! No matter how cold it gets…Spring will always come…"

Spring…

Spring…

Hatori abruptly woke, sitting up in his bed. He shook his head, making the last echo of his dream fade.

Hatori sighed, 'Why do I keep dreaming of her? I dream of her more than Kana anymore.'

Hatori glanced at the clock and groaned. It was 3:30 in the morning. He laid back down, willing himself to go back to sleep. His thoughts shifted to the girl who had been occupying so many of his thoughts.

'I wonder if she is dreaming right now…'

Actually, Tohru Honda was awake, looking out her window. Snow was falling, and her thoughts were on a certain doctor.

'He reminds me of snow, in a way,' Tohru thought, 'Cold and beautiful. I wish I could help him…he always seems so sad…'

Tohru shook her head at her silly thoughts, and went back to bed. It was winter break, so there was no school the following day. Tohru woke early, still feeling tired after her restless night. She got dressed and stumbled her way to the kitchen to make breakfast.

Eventually, Kyo, Yuki and Shigure made their way down for breakfast. Tohru's greeting was a little less cheerful than usual, and the others noticed.

"What is wrong with my little flower?" Shigure asked.

"Don't call her that!" Yuki and Kyo shouted, glaring.

"Eh…um…" Tohru waved her hands in front of her, "Nothings wrong, I'm okay. I just didn't sleep too well…"

"Why not?" Shigure asked.

Tohru immediately blushed, remembering who she had been thinking of last night.

"I-I'm not sure…" Tohru stuttered out.

"Ah, leave her alone," Kyo grumbled.

Tohru smiled, "I need to go shopping later today, if it's okay."

"Do you need some help?" Yuki asked.

"Oh no," Tohru said quickly, "You were planning on visiting the base, right? And Shigure is working on his novel, and Kyo is going to the dojo. I'll be okay on my own."

"Well…" Yuki said, doubtfully, "If you're sure."

The day passed without much happening. In due time, Tohru dressed in warm winter clothes and headed out. She decided to take a shortcut through the woods. Her thoughts began to wander, her mind still tired. Caught in her daydreams, Tohru didn't notice when she wandered away from the path, heading deeper into the woods. When she finally noticed her surroundings, she was deep in the forest, completely lost.

'Oh no,' Tohru thought.

She turned in what she hoped was the right direction. She wandered around, hour after hour, despair setting in. Darkness was falling, and it was getting colder, the snow was starting to come down harder.

"S-s-somebody!" Tohru yelled, shivering, "Is s-s-someone out there? P-p-please, help me!"

She sat down, leaning against a tree, putting her arms around her knees for warmth.

'What do I do?' she thought, tears starting to form, 'I don't know what to do.'

After some time, the cold seeped through her bones, and she began to fade in and out of consciousness. She vaguely heard a voice.

"Tohru? Oh my god, Tohru!"

"H-Hatori?" she said thickly, seeing his worried face go in and out of focus.

"Tohru, what are you doing out here?"

"I'm l-lost…" she said, drowsily.

Hatori cursed under his breath, "I've got to get you warm."

'Damn it,' Hatori thought, worried, 'It's too far to walk back to Shigure's, or back to town.'

He swung Tohru into his arms, his thick clothing keeping him from transforming. He took off in the direction he had come from, moving fast through the snow. Within a few minutes, he came to an almost hidden cave opening. He went inside and made his way down a long, dark tunnel. The farther he went, the warmer it got. As he continued, a faint orange light seeped into the tunnel. Finally, the tunnel opened into a small, low caver. Most of the cavern was filled with a pool of hot water, surrounded by dozens of candles he had placed there himself. Tohru was shaking violently as he laid her on a pallet of blankets. He began undressing her, removing everything but her underclothes. Hatori quickly stripped down himself, and carried her into the steamy water. He sat down on a low ledge and moved Tohru to his lap, carefully holding her slightly away from his chest. He held her mostly underwater, only her head staying above. Tohru was still fading in and out but her shaking was slowing down. Eventually, she stopped completely. Slowly, she came back to full consciousness.

Tohru blinked, confused, "Hatori?"

"Ah, good," Hatori said, relieved, "You're fully awake."

"What happened?" Tohru asked, still confused.

Hatori explained how he had found her.

"I needed to warm you up quickly," he continued, "So I brought you to this hot spring. It's my secret place to relax and get away from everything."

It was then Tohru finally noticed she was sitting in Hatori's lap, and both of them barely had on any clothes. She gasped and tried to move away from him quickly. She slid off his lap and tried to stand, but her legs gave out beneath her. She fell, the hot water closing over her head. Tohru felt hands on her arms pulling her up. She spluttered and gasped when her head broke the surface.

"Easy, Tohru," Hatori soothed, "You're still weak, don't try to do to much."

Tohru wasn't sure if her cheeks were red from the hot water, or from blushing.

"I am so sorry, Hatori," Tohru babbled, "I didn't mean to put you through so much trouble."

Her breath came out in shallow pants. Hatori was standing way to close to her, his bare chest rising out of the water. Her eyes wandered down him before she could stop them. She looked away quickly, blushing, if possible, a deeper red. Hatori laughed, shaking his head, he had seen her looking.

"Don't worry about it," Hatori said, still smiling. He leaned back a little ways and looked her in the eyes, "So, do you like what you see?"

"I…I…" Tohru said, incoherently, then covered her blushing face with her hands.

Hatori gently pried her hands away from her face. His eyes were hot as he looked down at the petite girl, and Tohru felt something clench in her stomach. Slowly, he bent his head, bringing his lips down onto hers. Tohru let out an involuntary moan as she felt his lips. Hearing it, Hatori deepened the kiss. Tohru's hands went to his chest, as she leaned into the kiss. Finally, Hatori broke the kiss, and pulled Tohru into the deeper part of the hot spring. When they reached the far wall, the water was deep enough to reach just below Hatori's shoulders. Tohru couldn't touch at all. Hatori pulled Tohru's legs around his waist, keeping their chests apart. Tohru's eyes widened, and she gasped as she felt Hatori's hardness between her legs. He moved her back slightly, so that he back was up against the smooth wall.

"If you don't want this," Hatori said softly, "Say no now. I won't be able to stop if we keep going."

Tohru looked at him, understanding the warning. Her face was still flushed, and she could feel heat radiating out from between her legs.

"I want to," Tohru whispered.

Hatori's self-control broke and he kissed Tohru deeply. Within moments he had stripped off Tohru's clothes, and his own. He slowed down, pressing against her gently. Knowing this was her first time, he pushed inside slowly, letting her get used to his size. When he was finally all the way inside her, Tohru had tears in her eyes. Hatori wiped them away and kissed her gently.

"Do you want to stop?" he asked.

Tohru couldn't speak, so she just shook her head. He began to move inside her, slowly at first, then faster and faster. Pleasure began to pool in Tohru's stomach, and she let out small whimpers as he moved faster. Hatori could feel her tighten around him, and knew she was getting close. He trapped both of her hands in one of his and held them above her head, against the wall, so she wouldn't accidentally hug him. His other hand gripped her hip, pulling her down on him as he pushed up, faster and harder. Tohru was sobbing and crying out, and Hatori was breathing hard, out of breath.

She shattered, screaming, "Hatori!"

Hatori went over the edge a moment after, gasping for air. He slowed down, then stopped, still inside her.

Suddenly, Hatori felt something wrench inside him, and he gasped. Tohru looked at him, worried, but he was smiling. Before she could say anything, Hatori pulled her completely against him.

"Why didn't you transform?" Tohru asked, confused.

"My curse is broken," Hatori said, still hugging her tightly.

"Oh, that's wonderful!" Tohru exclaimed happily.

Hatori carried her out of the water, and towel dried them both. Afterwards, the laid together on a pallet, just holding each other.

"Oh, I almost forgot," Hatori said, sitting up.

He rummaged around his pile of clothing, eventually pulling out a cell phone. Tohru watched curiously as he opened it and pushed some buttons. (A/N: I know they are underground, so a cell phone probably wouldn't work, but just go with it.)

"Hello Shigure," Hatori said. Tohru gasped.

"Yes, I know about Tohru, I found her…she's okay, she just got lost…Shigure…Shigure, stop babbling for a minute….SHIGURE!" Shigure went quiet, "Tohru's not going home tonight, she's staying with me."

Shigure was silent for a moment, "This is…unusual. What are you up to Hatori?"

"I'll talk to you tomorrow," Hatori hung up, not letting Shigure say anything, and turned the phone off.

He laid back down, pulling Tohru close.

"Tohru?"

"Hm?"

Hatori hesitated, "I love you,"

Tohru smiled, ecstatically happy, "I love you too, Hatori!"

"We're going to have a lot of explaining to do, tomorrow."

The End