Kyo opened the front door quietly. It was still early morning, and there was a good chance that Tohru was still asleep. He slipped off his stained shirt and his shoes, casting them at the entrance.

On his way to the bedroom, he was surprised to see Tohru, curled up on the living room floor in front of her mother's shrine. Curiously, he approached her. She hadn't changed clothes, still in her beautiful snow dress. But now she looked small and fragile, the photo of her mother loosely held against her chest. She was fast asleep, but unlike usual, it didnt appear peaceful.

Kyo ran his hand through his hair. Surely her friend must've gone home already. Some friend they were. Who was it, he wondered. Spotting her cellphone on the floor, he realized that he could find out if he just checked her call history. Giving her one more lingering glance, he flipped open the phone.

Only two calls were made last night; Shigure and Kazuma.

Damn it. She really was alone all night.

"Kyo..?" She grumbled.

He quickly shut the phone. But her eyes were still closed. Is she asleep? Kyo knelt down next to her, watching her closely. Her face scrunched up as she gripped the picture frame harder.

Then, her eyes fluttered open, blinking confusedly at Kyo.

"Am I still sleeping?" She muttered to herself. Panicked, Kyo shuffled back.

"No." Was all he could manage to say, as the emotions came flooding back to him. Seemingly startled herself, she sprang to her feet, nearly dropping the photograph.

"Mom!" She yelled, as she fumbled it in her arms, stabilizing it once again.

Kyo and Tohru's eyes locked for the first time since she left. Neither of them could turn away, but neither of them could speak either.

She had felt so lonely without him there, so lost, but his eyes brought her solace. She knew that they would need to talk eventually. Where would she even begin?

"Were you here alone all night?" Kyo asked, crossing his legs on the floor. She could hear the concern in his voice.

"Yes. Well, no.. I had mom." She smiled halfheartedly, before turning to set the picture back in its place. She sat down, facing Kyo and hugging her knees.

"Tohru. We need to talk." He said, with a hint of desperation. Tohru held her breath. Was this it? Does he want to leave now that he knows what she's really like? Her eyes widened, tears threatening to intrude, as she braced herself.

"I want to marry you someday."

Wait, what?

Her cheeks turned pink. With a shaky voice, Kyo rambled on.

"Kazuma said that we won't have a good marriage if we don't communicate, and.. well I really want us to have a good marriage.. " Kyo covered his face with his hands. "Damn, I'm getting ahead of myself. You might not even want to marry me. Agh.."

Tohru's mouth opened in a tiny o. They had said that they wanted to be together forever, but he had never mentioned that he wanted to marry her before. Her heart began to pound hard in her chest. After a deep breath, he moved his hands.

"Can we try? To communicate, I mean. About last night..." He pleaded, gazing nervously at her. What if she said no? After a brief pause, she spoke.

"I think I would like that.." She mumbled. This is it. She would have to tell him the whole truth about her childish behavior and hope he still accepted her. Kyo started with a deep breath, slightly relieved.

"Okay. I didn't like you mentioning Yuki and Momiji." He said in a huff.

"I gathered that.. with what you said before I left..." she replied timidly. "I'm really sorry, Kyo. I didn't know it would upset you."

"How could it not? I don't imagine being with other women when I'm with you." He knew he sounded petty, but he was trying to be honest. She looked confused at first, then began to laugh.

"Sorry Kyo, I'm not laughing at you. It's just, I was thinking about how much less fun it would be with them there. It only came to my mind because I really admired that we could walk in silence together. That's why I laughed when I imagined being with them instead. I guess I didn't think about how it would make you feel. I'm so sorry." She bowed her head.

Kazuma was right, Kyo should've just trusted her. And he had spent all that time festering over her words.

"No, it's my fault. I should've just told you right away. I guess I was just worried that you would realize that you wanted to be with one of them instead." Kyo sounded solemn.

"That would never happen."

Kyo looked up at her compassionate smile.

"I don't love them. Well, not in that way, anyway. I love you. That's why it bothered me so much when that woman approached you."

"But, you looked away."

"Yea, I did." Tohru admitted, embarrassed. "But only because I didn't want you to see how jealous I was being. I didn't want you to think I was being childish. But I never expected you to say yes to her. I guess I just kind of snapped. At that point, I had shown you such an ugly side of myself, that I just wanted to run away.."

Kyo looked back at her with amusement.

"You mean, you left because you thought I wouldn't like you anymore, just because you were jealous?"

Flinching at the accuracy of his words, Tohru nodded her head in shame. Kyo erupted in laughter. Startled, she watched him in confusion. What was so funny?

"Tohru, I wasn't upset at you for being jealous. In fact, I only said yes to her because I was upset that you weren't jealous. In a way, I'm glad that I did say yes. Because you really let her have it! It was amazing. I hadn't realized how scary you could get. And it was all for me, and that made me happy.." Tohru blushed crimson.

"So, you didn't find her attractive?"

Kyo scoffed.

"Hell no. Not even a little bit. Tohru, you are the only woman I want." His voice softened. "One day I'll propose to you, and I want you to say yes. So can we keep doing the communication thing?" He asked, gently.

Tohru smiled warmly, before crawling into his lap. Silent tears began to fall against his bare chest, but she didn't notice. She just held him close, listening to his heartbeat.

"I think I would like that." She nuzzled his chest.

"Oh, and Kyo?"

"Yea?"

"I'm sorry that I called you an idiot."

Kyo chuckled. "Its okay, I deserved it. Let's go shower and then have some breakfast. I didn't eat last night and I'm starving."

Tohru smiled, giving him a quick peck on the cheek before standing.

"That's all I get?" Kyo pouted, climbing to his feet.

"You can get more once you've earned it." She teased.

"Oh really?" He grinned, raising an eyebrow before throwing her over his shoulder. She giggled with delight as he carried her to the bathroom.

"There. I think I deserve payment for my hard work." He said, setting her back on her feet.

She smiled lovingly at him, before wrapping her arms around his neck and giving him a long, tender kiss.