She pushed herself off of his chest immediately. Tohru kneeled down in front of him her head hanging in shame. Why did she have to be such a klutz and fall on top of him again? Except this time was a lot worse, she had touched his lips with her own! She couldn't bring herself to look at him at all as she apologized. What was she going to do if he was mad and didn't want to see her anymore? Her heart throbbed, just thinking about that possibility.

"I'm sorry!!! I didn't mean too!!! I tripped! Sorry! Please forgive me!" Tohru cried embarrassedly, her cheeks redder then a tomato.

Yuki laid there blinking a few times in shock. Did she just kiss him, on the lips, or was he still dreaming? He listened to her apologize frantically for a minute before rolling on his side and putting her out of her misery. His finger was placed over her lips, stopping her apologies, though making her blush even more. Her eyes widened in surprise, she found herself accidentally meeting his eyes. Instantly she looked down at her lap not sure what to say now. He removed his finger from her mouth finding a faint pink color coating his cheeks; her lips were still warm from the kiss.

"It's okay…" Yuki replied looking away awkwardly.

Tohru tensed up seeing him look away. This wasn't good! He couldn't look at her because he was so mad! Being in such a panic she didn't notice the fact that he was blushing too and was looking away for the same reason she was. She began to feel even guiltier then before. She had ruined everything!

"Sorry! Sorry… Sorry… It was an accident…." Tohru began apologizing again.

Yuki smiled wryly deciding to tease her a bit for making the first move, "So… Do you always kiss guys to wake them up?"

"No… That was my first kiss…" Tohru murmured not realizing that those actual words left her mouth. She clasped her hand over her mouth blushing furiously. That wasn't supposed to reach his ears! He probably thought she was stupid for never having kissed a guy before. Tohru bit her lip, this wasn't her day. Yuki smiled, never once thinking that she would have told him something like that so soon.

"Who knew you would give something as valuable as your first kiss," Yuki added in a half joking tone.

Tohru's face turned darker. He leaned forward, as if to kiss her which made her back away from nervousness. Yuki continued to get closer and closer to her face. She closed her eyes, keeping them shut tightly. He grinned passing her face until his mouth was beside the side of her face. Instead of kissing her or doing anything intimate he brushed back a few strands of her hair whispering in her ear, "It's okay, you have mine as well…"

Tohru looked up at him beaming; she felt relief wash over her, relief along with a bit of distress. Relationships lasted longer if they went slow, right? So why did she want to kiss him and actually have him kiss her back so badly? She faced the grass feeling dirty for thinking like that. Yuki stared at her, getting the hint that she wasn't happy even at this angle. He could have sworn she had just smiled, where did her smile go then? How her frown stabbed at his heart, the pain he couldn't begin to describe.

"Don't worry about it… You can forget about this incident. Just pretend it didn't happen if you would like… I won't mention it," Yuki promised locking her hair behind her ear and withdrawing so he could see her face. Tohru gazed into his eyes finding herself lost and unsure of what to do. She looked down forlorn, not sure how to respond. This wasn't something she could or would forget for the rest of her life. In truth she wanted to remember it, not because she had fallen on top of him and embarrassed herself but because she thought he might have liked the touch of her lips against his. Maybe just maybe she wasn't the only one who enjoyed it; maybe she wasn't the only one who was okay with him taking her first kiss.

"No…"

Yuki stared at her, a surprised expression on his face. He thought girls wanted their first kiss to be on the beach shore on a warm summer night under the full moon with rose petals blowing about. Or at least something romantic with a man they were in love with. Maybe that was a little bit extreme but he knew that falling on a guy she hardly knew and accidentally giving away her first kiss wasn't exactly pleasurable. It didn't take a genius to see the horror in her eyes. Even a blind person could sense that wasn't what she wanted to happen. That's why her refusal struck him oddly.

"I don't want to push it aside like it never happened. That isn't right. No memory is worth forgetting because one day you might end up learning something from it. So for now I'll hold onto it even if I get embarrassed about it now…" Tohru explained.

"Glad to know you think about me… So what are we going to learn from this? Not to sleep out in the open and to watch where you're going?" Yuki grinned kidding with her.

"I'm sorry… I didn't mean to make you feel like you have to remember it. It's okay if you want to forget about it…" Tohru replied blushing madly.

He paused, thinking about her answer. Her response seemed to chase away all his ideas that she regretted falling on top of him at least but what did he want? Yuki was silent unaware of his longing to truly be loved and accepted by someone until she looked at him with those wide innocent chocolate eyes. That look, just one look made his heart flutter. This was the kind of feeling he had been waiting to experience. He stuttered remembering that she was waiting for him to say something.

"I won't forget either, because I cherish every moment of my life. Because life always ends too soon and I want to be able to look back and smile at every memory," Yuki agreed.

Tohru shyly smiled, "So do you think about me?"

"Honestly… I do… I think about you all the time…" Yuki answered.

Tohru blushed again, "Er… Yuki, when did you get here?"

Yuki lay back down on the grass, his exhaustion coming back and striking him with much force. So many things he would give to have had another ten hours of sleep but if he went back his time with Tohru would be cut short. That was the last thing he wanted, he'd ignore his sleepiness for her. After all he had been waiting all week for this, hadn't he? She watched him, seeing how tired he appeared she felt guilty for making him come out. Tohru wrapped her arms around her knees, imagining how his arms would feel around her back. She shook her head, not wanting him to find out what she was just thinking about.

"Early… I didn't want to make you wait like last time…"

"I'm sorry… You must have waited a long time for me…" Tohru whispered.

He paused taking a good look at her for the first time today. She looked stunning as always, he complimented her, "Tohru, you are cute today. Bright colors do suit you really well."

"Eh??? No, I'm not cute at all!" Tohru cried embarrassedly.

"Yes, you are very adorable," Yuki silenced her patting the top of her head.

Tohru's head bobbed down she looked up at his face surprised to find three red cuts along his right cheek. Wondering what happened she stared at them her brows furrowing with worry. Without thinking she ran her fingers down his face believing it was a thought, a mental image, until he flinched and backed away from her. She pulled back bashfully. It was the aftermath of cuts; of course it would hurt if she touched them. Yuki gave her a funny look not understanding her actions. Tohru opened her mouth to speak but wasn't sure how to defend herself. At least he didn't look angry, that was a bonus.

"What happened to your cheek?" Tohru asked.

"It was an accident, don't worry about it…" Yuki replied looking away from her.

Tohru blinked. The next thing she knew her lips were pressed against his hurt cheek. She had kissed him for the second time that day. Instantly she flushed a crimson color pulling back away from him holding her hands up in frenzy. Yuki looked down at the floor his cheek colors matching hers perfectly. For some reason or another, his cheek didn't seem to hurt as much anymore. It defied all logic but he didn't seem to mind.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! I don't know what I was doing!" Tohru exclaimed.

-------------

"Nii-san, you were wrong… Onee-chan is in bed…" Kisa muttered pointing to the lump on Tohru's bed.

"Take a closer look Kisa. I'm not wrong," Haru replied.

"What?"

Haru calmly walked over to the bed and pulled of the blanket reveling nothing but pillows on top of the bed, Kisa's eyes widened in astonishment. He set the blanket back over the pile, making it seem as if he didn't even move it in the first place. Kisa just stared, speechless at the moment. She hadn't even realized that Tohru wasn't there, and Tohru wasn't exactly talented at disguising things. She couldn't figure out how Haru saw through it so easily but she couldn't.

"She's gone? But the pillows really looked like her… How did you know she wasn't there?" Kisa asked Haru.

"Past experiences…" Haru muttered vaguely remembering the countless times he had snuck out.

"What are we going to do?"

"Nothing…"

"Huh?"

"We're going to wait for her to open up to us. If we ask her she'll just deny it," Haru explained.

"But… What if she doesn't tell us anything?"

"Then we'll take the matter into our own hands…Don't worry, she'll tell us someday…" Haru reassured her patting her on the head.

How he seemed so calm and unfazed by this confused her. Wasn't he concerned at all about Tohru? She, for one, wanted to know why Tohru was leaving and where she went. Tohru had never done anything like this before. Tohru wasn't really the kind of person who put her feelings out in the open like this to be sneaking out. Someone really important must have changed her mind…. But who? Haru rubbed the top of her head with a nonchalant smile, telling her not to think so much about it.

-----------

"Do does your necklace represent anything? I can't help but notice that you're always wearing it," Yuki commented gesturing towards the string of pearl with the ruby pendent around Tohru's thin neck.

Tohru glanced down at the necklace clutching it dearly in her hand before replying in a faint voice, "It was my mother's… She gave it to me before she died not too long ago…"

Seeing the depression coat her face Yuki instantly regretted asking her about it. He touched her cheek gingerly with her fingertips, his way of trying to comfort her, "Sorry…"

She looked up at him shaking her head. She didn't want him to get the wrong idea; it wasn't like she couldn't speak about them at all. Tohru looked up at him releasing the necklace. Yuki lowered his hand away from her face hesitantly before he actually pulled her towards him and kissed her. He was tempted to feel those luscious lips against his own again, barely refraining from giving in. The only thing that kept him from doing so was those sad eyes. Those eyes, missing the cheerful glimmering light of happiness tugged and tore at his insides.

"Don't be… Mom and dad are in a better place now," Tohru smiled, a smile, just a smile, not light radiating around her face, no real emotion. It wasn't real; it wasn't even close to her usual smiles. Where was that smile he craved to see?

"You must miss them terribly."

"I do… But I know they're always watching over Kisa, Haru and me… That's why I don't have to be sad, but sometimes I can't help but wish they were still here…" Tohru responded softly, a tear sliding down her cheek.

Yuki peered at her face, he fought so hard to restrain from kissing those saddening tears off of her face. He settled for wrapping his arm around her shoulder in a comforting half embrace murmuring, "Sorry… I made you cry." Her eyes widened out of shock but she relaxed resting her head on his broad shoulders. She smiled warmly feeling better already a blush settling on her cheeks. So this was how his arms felt around her.

"I didn't mean to cry! Sorry, it's not your fault!" Tohru replied dabbing at her eyes with her hands.

"Its alright… You don't have to act strong all the time. Sometimes it's good to let out your emotions and cry," Yuki comforted her.

"Thank you…" Tohru breathed, nodding.

"No… I should thank you for sharing something so personal with me," Yuki told her with a small smile.

She glanced up at him from her position on his chest. This was the first time anyone had held her like this, even within her own family. And this was a guy! Sometimes she didn't even know who she had just become getting so close with a man after barely knowing him, but she had to admit it did feel comforting. He caught her staring at him feeling his cheeks heat up. Yuki kept his eyes focused on the horizon in front of him trying to keep her from seeing his timid attitude. If there was a way to stay like this forever, he wanted to find it.

"Mom, dad… Thank you both… You two left me alone but you made sure there would be someone to be there for me and watch over me, didn't you? For that I want to thank you… Thank you for letting Yuki appear in my life…"