NostrilsFlared is back. Now we're getting into some interesting stuff. (rubs hands together menacingly) fufufu... i'm quite excited for these next few chapters. They'll be... very fun.

Yuki and Kyo sat awkwardly at the dining room table. Tohru had insisted on making dinner, and wouldn't let either of them help. She claimed that she'd "Already accepted so much of their help" and it was her turn to help them, as they obviously needed it. They had been fighting quietly- because Tohru had been taking a nap, but they'd woken her- in the kitchen, as Yuki had burned the noodles and wouldn't let Kyo touch anything. Tohru had tiptoed in, observing for a few moments before interjecting with the suggestion of her making the dinner. Neither argued much with her.

Now, neither of them could think of any conversations to be had. They sat, listening to Tohru humming happily, without uttering a single word for a long time. Finally, Yuki straightened his back, nodding at Kyo.
"And so you finally asked her." It was more of a statement than a question. Kyo sighed.
"I guess." Kyo understood what Yuki meant, not needing an inquiry.
"That's a good thing for both of you, then." Kyo looked up at Yuki's face to a smile, genuine as the rain outside. It was a dreadful day, gray and wet. Kyo didn't feel amazing, yet Yuki was in the highest of spirits. Tohru didn't notice either way. It was just like her not to notice the weather.
"It is." Was all Kyo could think to say. Yuki chuckled, standing. He went into the kitchen, leaving Kyo to sit alone. Kyo hung his head, listening as Yuki chatted with Tohru about her engagement.
"Did he at least do it with a ring?" Yuki laughed, but was genuinely surprised when Tohru nodded, holding up her hand. She never took it off, the ring. She made a point of exclaiming at odd times how much she loved it, and this made Kyo happy, loving her more and more every time. They'd been at Yuki's apartment for a week now, and they were living as though they had never split apart from Shigure's house- who visited every other day, coming to pester all of them, though he never stayed for longer than an hour. Machi came and went at odd times, shy around Kyo and Tohru, though Tohru only wanted to befriend her.
"He did! And I love it!" Tohru said now, proudly showing off the simple band. Yuki made a sound of approval, obviously meaning for Kyo to hear it. Kyo shook his head, resting it on his hand.
"That's wonderful, Miss Honda." He smiled. Tohru turned back to the stove.
"Oh! The water is boiling!" She busied herself with continuing the meal, shooing Yuki without saying a word. He walked back out of the tiny kitchen, sitting back down with Kyo. Though he smiled, he said nothing regarding the ring.
After some time past, Tohru bustled out, carrying three bowls. "It's not much, but Yuki only seems to have a single kind of ramen." She apologized, setting them down. Yuki smiled, taking no shame in only having the easily made noodles. Kyo made no move to take them, and Tohru sat down happily in between the two boys. "Thank you for this food!" She smiled again, taking a small bite of the ramen. She forced herself to keep smiling, though the taste was bad and the boys were looking away from her. This was how it always was.
"Miss Honda, a friend of mine from school was telling me about an apartment not too far from here that is for rent. Perhaps the two of you should go see how it is." Yuki turned to her finally. Tohru's eyes widened.
"Of course! I mean, we've been here already for so long, we should probably start looking around for a new place to live. We can't stay with Yuki forever!" She smiled nervously, and Yuki chuckled again.
"It's not that I don't want you here- in fact, I don't think I've had anything this good since we parted ways at Shigure's house- it's just that I want you to be as happy as you can possibly be, and I'm not sure you can be that happy living in such a small apartment." Yuki said gently, reassuring her. As Tohru calmed, Kyo rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, I guess we'll go look at that apartment tomorrow. Don't worry, we'll be out of your hair soon enough." Kyo stood, going into their room. He let the door slam. It hadn't been abrupt, he had simply stood, nodding a goodnight at the two, and went.
"Eh- aren't you going to e- oh, never mind!" Tohru smiled. It didn't bother her much when he left the room suddenly anymore. Now she sat silently with Yuki at the table. Neither of them made a move towards the ramen. It wasn't that it was poorly made, it was just soggy and gross all together- no matter how you made it. "Oh, Yuki. Are you doing well in university?" Tohru finally asked after a few moments of silence. Yuki smiled, nodding.
"It's harder than high school was. There's more work. But other than that, I'm enjoying myself quite thoroughly." Yuki started thinking about university, and didn't notice when Tohru excused herself. He'd realized in that time that he had an essay to write, and made to excuse himself when he looked up, and Tohru was already walking away. He shook his head, moving on.
"Kyo- are you feeling okay?" Tohru came in as quietly as she could. Kyo looked at her. He'd been staring at his feet, laying down. He smiled.
"I'm fine- no matter what, I don't think I'll ever like the rain." He said, and finally Tohru understood why he'd been so mopey that day. She giggled.
"Oh yeah." Kyo noted how cheery she'd been. She had only seemed affected by the sudden change for the first day, then she was fine. Kyo didn't want to bring it up- he felt like he owed her that at least.
"Hey, we need to talk about something." Kyo sat up, pulling Tohru down next to him. She was immediately worried.
"Did I do something wrong? What- could I have said something? I'm sorry if I did!" She was agitated. Kyo smiled. He kissed her, silencing her.
"Not at all." He smiled at her again. She relaxed slightly, but was still tense.
"Then what?" She was puzzled. Her innocence made Kyo feel awkward. He rubbed the back of his neck.
"Well you do want to have a wedding don't you?" He finally asked. Tohru didn't hesitate before nodding excitedly.
"Of course I do! That is, if Kyo wants one." She blushed, but smiled at the thought. She really wanted one, but would never admit it.
"I- hm." Kyo struggled for a moment with his words. "I mean, I guess I do." He muttered, humiliated, even though it was only Tohru with him. Tohru craned her neck to look at his lowered face. She smiled when she saw his face. He was blushing loudly.
"Heh. You're blushing." She teased him, giggling. He sighed.
"Not like I'm the only one." He nudged her, finally noticing that she was too. She laughed it off quickly, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. "I love you, and we're getting married."
"Yep!" Tohru smiled at him.
"So, let's talk about it. The- er, wedding. I mean." No matter how hard he tried, Kyo couldn't say it without feeling awkward about it. Tohru didn't seem to notice.
"Humm, let's start with who we should invite. All of the Sohma's, of course! And Uo and Hana. I don't think Uo would let me get married if she weren't there. Heh."
"We- we should invite your grandpa." Kyo mumbled, and Tohru nodded.
"Of course! He'll want to come for sure." She agreed.
They continued talking about their wedding long into the night, and soon it became easy for both of them. They sank into each other's words, absorbing the idea of their marriage.
When they finally went to bed, Yuki was also sinking into his own futon, which was laid out behind the sofa in the living room. It was late, past midnight. He'd stayed up, studying, until the equations and facts were spinning in his head, even after he closed his eyes for the night. Still, the thought of Kyo and Tohru's wedding hung in the air, haunting him. He was happy for them. The haunting feeling, he assumed, was excitement, something he hardly ever felt.

XXXX

"Well, that didn't go very well." Tohru muttered as they walked away from the histeric sales lady. During the entire time they had been inspecting the apartment, the lady had cried when they asked a question- she seemed a lot like Ritsu.
"Ugh! We're still stuck at Yuki's apartment!" Kyo yelled. Tohru nodded quietly. She had her head down as they walked back to Yuki's place. She felt terrible for having to stay with him. She was afraid they were annoying him, even though it was just the opposite.
"I hope he doesn't mind us." Tohru said quietly. She was being very quiet in general.
"Hey." Kyo caught her hand. "Relax. He's more than happy to see us there. I'm sure he'll be glad to have real food too." Kyo assured her, referring to their plans to go to the store later that day. Tohru smiled at him.
"That's true." She seemed to perk up a little bit. Kyo smiled, watching her bounce come back little by little.
They found Machi rushing out of the apartment when they came back. Tohru tried to say hi, but Machi pushed past her without a word. Tohru looked hurt for a moment, then giggled. "She's in quite a rush, isn't she?" Tohru shook her head, laughing for a moment, then recovered and walked awkwardly through the door. They were guests, but they were staying for such a long time, and they hadn't exactly discussed whether or not to knock.
Yuki's shirt was on inside out. Only Kyo noticed, though. He froze in the door for a moment, taking it in. Tohru waved at Yuki, still smiling, and went to their room. Kyo raised an eyebrow at Yuki-who blushed- but said nothing before following Tohru.
"I'm going to change and then we can go shopping!" Tohru said over her shoulder, unaware of anything. Kyo thudded onto the bed, putting the awkward moment out of his mind for the moment. Tohru glanced at him. "I could go by myself, if you want to stay here?" Kyo sighed. Maybe if he just hid in the room until Tohru got back he could avoid any uncomfortable situations.
"Are you sure? Don't you need someone to carry the bags for you?" Kyo sat up, talking to her as she tugged her shirt over her head. Tohru smiled.
"I'm sure I'll be okay. It's not like I'm restocking the entire kitchen." Tohru stood, having finished changing. She turned around and faced Kyo. "Really Kyo, I'll be fine." She reiterated, seeing his face. He looked skeptical.
He sighed again. "Okay." Tohru smiled again.
"Good. You're either tired or not feeling good, and either one is bad. It's good that you stay here." Tohru nodded, making a decision. She wasn't letting Kyo come.
Kyo watched Tohru stare into space, wondering if he'd made the wrong decision in agreeing to let her go alone. She was obviously thinking hard at something. "Tohru?" He said her name, bringing her back to consiousness. She snapped her head towards him.
"I'm fine! Sleep, Kyo, I'll be back soon." Tohru moved out of the room quickly. She stuck her head in and smiled one last time before waving to Yuki and leaving.
The room felt empty without Tohru there. Kyo lay frozen on the bed, trying not to move, lest a floorboard creak, or something fall, and Yuki notice and come talk to him. Which Kyo doubted would happen, but still held his breath.

XXXX

Kyo couldn't take it anymore. Tohru'd been gone for long enough now, why wasn't she back? Kyo's stomach growled, signalling once again how hungry he was. It had been doing so about once every few seconds for almost half an hour. Kyo had taken to pacing the length of the room, as silent as he could be. Which was kind of hard on an empty stomach.
He held a hand to his stomach as another growled resounded. He moaned, knowing he'd have to eat soon. He tip-toed towards the door, listening for any sound of Yuki. He wanted to avoid any and all conversation with him about... what he'd seen.
Kyo pushed the door open into the kitchen, jumping in shock when he found Yuki stretching to reach something on the top shelf. He leapt backwards, knocking into the doorknob behind him. He winced, jumping forwards again. He lost his balance, toppling into Yuki. They both fell onto the kitchen floor.
"Stupid cat. Get off." Yuki sighed, flicking Kyo in the forehead before shrugging him off. Kyo stood up, bracing himself for any awkwardness.
"I'm not the stupid one." Kyo murmered.
"Yes, you are. There's nothing to eat, if that's why you are in here." Yuki turned his head and smirked at Kyo as his stomach growled again. Kyo sneered.
"I just need something." Kyo responded, moving towards the fridge.
"Don't open that-" Yuki tried to stop Kyo, but it was too late. The smell of rotten eggs and spoiled milk tainted the air almost immediately, and Kyo threw a hand to his nose.
The boys moved into the living room, holding their noses. Kyo had taken the time to slam the door shut, but it still stunk. "I tried to stop you." Yuki sighed.
"I didn't hear you in time." Kyo spat back.
They sat on the couch silently for a long time. Finally, Yuki turned to Kyo, an almost friendly expression on his face.
"You must have thought about it. Knowing you, more than once." He said, an innocent air to his words. Kyo scoffed.
"I don't know what you're talking about." He looked out the window, uncomfortable. He did, in fact, know exactly what Yuki meant.
"You know. I know you know, Kyo."
"Yeah, and how do you know that?"
"I know you." Yuki smiled. Kyo shook his head.
"The only people who know me at this point are Tohru and Kazuma." Kyo mumbled.
"How cruel. I actually considered myself your friend."
"Well, now you should stop."
"Ow." Yuki feigned hurt. Kyo ignored it. "Anyways, have you?"
"Have I what?"
"Please, you cat, don't make me go in another circle." Yuki begged. Kyo sighed again.
"Wha- I mean I guess I have. Once or twice, no more!" Kyo huffed. He wasn't happy to be having this conversation. "Why do you care?" He asked. Yuki shrugged.
It had happened three times with Machi. It had been awkward the first time. But this last time, it had been easy. Well, not easy, but easier. Less strange.
"Do you have questions?" Yuki asked. Kyo shook his head.
"No! No, no, no! Not for you, anyways." Kyo stood. "I'm going back to the room." Kyo bolted off. He'd had enough with the awkward.
Yuki shrugged. "And here I thought we would have a nice bonding moment. He turned to the door as it opened. Shigure poked his head in. Yuki was at the door in a second, pushing it closed. "Miss Honda isn't here, go home Shigure." He said, shoving the door. Shigure sighed, sticking his foot in the door.
"Yuki, it's rude to close the door on people. Especially Tohru and I." Tohru popped her head in next to Shigures.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize I should have knocked?" Tohru smiled, and Yuki relaxed, letting Shigure in.
"No, please, don't worry." Yuki noticed the bags in Shigure's hands. "I assume you two ran into each other outside?" Tohru nodded.
"Yes, dear Tohru was carrying all these bags by herself! I couldn't bare to watch her struggle so." Shigure put in, dropping the two bags that he'd held into Yuki's arms. Tohru didn't have any bags. All these bags... Yuki thought to himself.

XXXX

Shigure stayed for an hour and 13 thirteen minutes, 17 seconds. Then he left, saying the same excuse he used every time he had to leave, that "Akito wants me back soon." After he left, and after Tohru cleaned the dishes, she disappeared into the room Kyo still hid in. He'd taken one look at Shigure, Tohru, and Yuki, all sitting together and bolted. He again, wanted to avoid Yuki, and now Shigure.
Now, as Tohru came in and sat next to him, he lay on his stomach with his face in the pillow, thinking. He felt Tohru's weight sink onto the bed, and flipped over. He kept is eyes closed, sighing. "Tohru,"
"Kyo."
"Do you eventually want to have kids?" Tohru looked at him, surprised.
"That was sudden." She giggled.
"I know. Sorry." Kyo apologized, already regretting bringing it up.
"No! Don't apologize. I've thought about it too." She smiled at him. "I think that I really do want to have children. I mean- erm. Heh. What... What are your thoughts?" She looked at her hands. Kyo nodded, taking it in.
He took a long time to answer. "Yeah." Was all he said when he finally responded. Tohru knew what he meant. She smiled.
"Okay."

Good day to you, sir or ma'am.