A/N: Sorry, this took a bit longer than I would have liked! I hope you find it worth the wait.

Chapter title from "Kiss Me" by Sixpence None The Richer.

They don't see each other again the next day. Or the next, or the next. Kyo doesn't even text her. Tohru knows she could just put aside her pride and text him herself, but whenever she opens her phone to his contact, her fingers shake.

It feels kind of like when he turned her down the first time, but also completely different. The pain is unique, because he just kissed her and held her and said he wasn't going to leave her again. And now he hasn't reached out. It's a whole new level of rejection.

But one thing Tohru has always been good at is avoiding reality. If she just pretends that everything is okay, just doesn't think about it and keeps trudging along, then the problem may as well not exist at all.

So she tries to forget about it for the time being. She focuses on work and taking care of her apartment, and…

Well, none of it helps. So that's just great. Her one coping mechanism, as unhealthy as it may be, is apparently no match for her love for Kyo.

So on Friday night, after her last day of work for the week, she sits on her couch in her pajamas, bundled up in a fuzzy blanket with the TV on and a mug of steaming tea between her palms. If that doesn't relax her, nothing will, she figures. There's not much on, so she settles for some reality TV show based on something from America, where people get married without seeing each other first. As soon as she finally starts to get into it a little, someone knocks at her door.

It's dark out, and Tohru's trying to be more mindful of keeping herself safe like Kyo had suggested, so she calls through it instead of just throwing it open like she usually might. "Who is it?"

"It's me."

Her heart rate increases wildly at the sound of that voice—it's almost ridiculous, honestly, the sudden spike in her pulse. She's not quite sure how to react. He'd let her kiss him and confess her love to him, and then left and ignored her for days. Tohru knew he was confused. That's why she'd tried to avoid a heavy conversation that night. But...she'd also hoped that he would come by again, maybe the next day, so they could talk it out. She'd really hoped they'd gotten to a point where they could do that.

Half of her is mad, but the other half of her wants to forget it and poke fun at him like she used to be able to: "How am I supposed to know for sure?" and he'd say, "Idiot, you know my voice" in return. But she doesn't really have the energy, and isn't quite sure how well it would go over anyway, so she just opens the door and thankfully comes face to face with who she'd assumed was on the other side. But she still isn't quite able to process it.

"You're...here?" she asks, then immediately bites her lip because that was just about the stupidest thing she could have possibly said.

"Yeah. I'm here," he confirms. He runs a hand through his hair, and when he does that, as disconcerted as Tohru feels, she still can't help but think how handsome he is, as well. "Listen, I…" He sighs, unsure of himself, and takes a step forward, then folds Tohru up in his arms. Her eyes widen in surprise, but she manages to wrap her arms around his shoulders in return. He squeezes her waist lightly. "I'm sorry," he says. "I—"

But he doesn't need to explain, not really, so she cuts him off. "Me too. I'm sorry."

He shakes his head. "Why do you always take the blame for me?"

"This was my fault, too. I wanted to see you, but I didn't do anything about it either."

Kyo doesn't answer that directly. He just kisses the side of her neck once, then straightens up and lets her go.

"Do you want to come in?" she asks. He nods and follows her, his eyes wandering over to the TV as he does so.

"What the hell are you watching?" he asks, eyebrows raised.

"I...really don't know."

"Well, uh...how would you feel about turning it off and coming on a date with me, instead?"

"A date?"

"Yeah. You...you deserve more than how we finished the night off last time. So I wanna take you on a date. I-if that's okay, I mean!"

Tohru just stares at him for a second, so he fills the silence. "What, you too invested in this crap?" he asks, gesturing toward the TV.

She giggles, biting her lip to stifle the sound a bit, in an attempt to play things cool. "No. A date with you sounds much better."

He smiles, and her heart jumps into her throat at the sight. She swallows it back down and heads toward her bedroom. "I'll get dressed."

"'Kay."

She closes the bedroom door behind her and leans back against it. Their first date. Why is she so nervous? It's Kyo. Everything has always come so naturally with him, so why would a date be any different? She has no reason to be an anxious mess. Even so…

Isn't it kind of good that she's nervous, maybe? That just means that this matters to her, right? So she takes a deep breath and heads to her closet, and then takes way too long to pick out an outfit, allowing herself to feel like any girl would on a first date—even though she's known and loved this man for years. When she makes it back out into the living room, Kyo is on the couch, eyes fixed on the TV.

"This is kinda addictive, somehow," he says when he hears her come back in. Then he turns to look at her, and his eyes go wide, his cheeks red. "You...you look really pretty."

In the end, she'd settled on something simple to wear, so she's not really sure what he sees. But that doesn't matter. Because she loves the way he's blushing at her, the shy smile he gives, and the way he looks kind of like he's resisting the urge to cross the room and just kiss her senseless.

"Thank you."

"You ready?" She nods. "Where do you wanna go?" He asks, standing up.

"It's our first date and you're not going to pick?" she asks, tone playful.

"Hmm…" he murmurs, putting his shoes on as she works on turning off the TV and lamps. "Wanna stay in and watch whatever this is all night?"

"Kyo-kun."

"Kidding. I have something in mind."

"What is it?"

"Why would I tell you? You're just gonna have to wait and see."

She fake-pouts, but he just smiles and shakes his head at her as they head down the stairs together.

They get off the train near the Imperial Palace grounds, and when Kyo starts to lead her that way, Tohru raises an eyebrow curiously.

"You ever been here?" he asks.

"Mm...maybe when I was little, but I don't remember. Have you?"

"Nah. But I thought it would be fun to come today. They're doing a festival for the cherry blossoms."

"Oh! It's time for cherry blossom festivals already?"

Kyo chuckles. "Look up."

And she does, and the sky is clouded by tree branches and their accompanying baby-pink petals swaying in the wind.

"Do you not go out to look at the cherry blossoms every year?" he asks.

She shakes her head. After living in Tokyo her entire life, the cherry blossoms each year have sort of lost their novelty, even though she loves nature so much—it's just a time with lots of tourists making the streets extra-busy and getting conned into wasting money on overpriced foods.

"Really?" He sounds surprised. "That just seems like such a you thing to do."

Tohru smiles a little. "I guess I've changed a little."

He's quiet after that, and when she looks over to him, his jaw is tight, lips set in a straight line. She can't quite tell what he's thinking, and she doesn't know how to feel about that.

After a moment, his features relax again, though, and he says, "So...theoretically, if I wanted to hold your hand, how should I go about that?"

"...Huh?"

"How am I supposed to initiate that sorta thing? Like, do I ask? Or do I just go for it?"

The tension of a minute ago forgotten, then, Tohru smiles a bit, then bites her lip so he doesn't see it and assume she's calling him out as an idiot.

He doesn't need to…

"You don't have to be afraid, Kyo-kun," she reminds him. "It's just me."

"Yeah, okay. In that case…" His cheeks are red, but he reaches over and takes her hand, locking their fingers together. It feels like her heart melts, just turns to complete goo, and she's not sure how she's even still alive after such a phenomenon. She can't move, can't react for a second. But then he squeezes her palm, and suddenly it feels like the most natural thing in the world. She squeezes back.

"I have to admit, this festival looks pretty fun," she says once they've made it through the gates and into the main area. Booths are lined up all over, little kids are running around in kimonos shrieking and playing, and the breeze carries hints of cherry blossoms and fried foods. Maybe it isn't all just a big tourist trap. Maybe...she just hasn't come before because she's had no one to do it with.

"Yeah, it does. Do you wanna eat something?"

She nods enthusiastically, and he laughs. "No dinner yet? You gotta take care of yourself, dope." But then his own stomach growls, and it's Tohru's turn to laugh.

"I could say the same to you," she giggles.

"Shuddup," he mumbles, but there's no bite to it. "Hey...can we sit and talk for a minute first, actually?"

"Of course."

He squeezes her hand again and leads her toward a bench. Once they're sitting, he turns toward her and takes her other hand, too.

"I'm sorry," he says softly.

"Really, it's—"

He shakes his head, cutting her off. "No, it's not. I was being a coward, and selfish. I should have told you how I was feeling. But I was scared. Scared that I don't deserve you, and that I should just stay away from you because of that. But I love you. I loved you back then, and I still love you now. I love you so much that it terrifies me sometimes, and I want to be with you. If...if you still want me, too."

Tohru can't breathe. Her chest and throat are tight, and she can't see past the tears swimming in her eyes. This can't possibly be happening.

This is exactly what she wanted back then. She wanted him to hold her hand and say something like this, because she knew that he was scared, but she was also convinced that he didn't actually love her. But now...he's telling her that he does, that he did then, too, and that he's never stopped.

"O-of course I do," she chokes out, and the tears fall and she still can't breathe, and it hurts but it also feels like such a relief.

He lets her just cry for a minute, never letting go of her hands, his thumbs drawing idle shapes against her knuckles. Then he asks, "Can I kiss you?"

Tohru giggles through her tears. "You don't need to ask for permission."

So he leans forward and lets go of her hands, opting to hold her cheeks instead, and he kisses her, and she manages to think about how good it feels before she completely loses herself to it.

When he pulls back, he mumbles, "So, uh. Was that better?"

She laughs again and wipes at her eyes. "I told you, you were never bad at it in the first place."

"Mm...I'll take your word for it, I guess. But if you're not being honest, you'd better tell me. I'm the only person you're gonna kiss for the rest of your life, so you have to like doing it."

She has to bite her tongue, hard, to keep herself from crying again.

"No more crying, please," he says softly. She opens her mouth to protest—say that she's not, she's just fine. But he cuts her off with another kiss, and she knows that she's a goner at that point.

"So," he says after, reaching over and drying her eyes as she tries to get ahold of herself. "Let's have some fun. What d'you wanna eat?"

Tohru sniffles a little but immediately says, "Dango."

Kyo smiles. She sort of expects him to point out that hanami dango is a dessert, and they've just established that she hasn't eaten yet. But instead, he just says, "Dango it is, then."

They find a booth selling it and Kyo makes Tohru hang back while he buys some. He probably thinks he's being sneaky and keeping her from seeing the price so she doesn't protest about him paying, but she's not blind and can read the sign, so it doesn't matter—she's not going to complain anyway, though, not when he looks so utterly thrilled to be carrying back two sticks of mochi.

"This stuff's crazy," he says. "There's so much of it, and it's like...pretty somehow."

"Have you never had hanami dango before?" she asks, taking her stick. Then she pops up on her tiptoes and plants a kiss to the tip of his nose. "Thank you."

He blushes, but tries to act natural. "N-no problem. And nah, do I seem like the kinda guy who would come to one of these festivals at all?"

She shrugs and bites into the top piece, then covers her mouth with her palm as she answers. "You're here now."

"Only because of you," he points out, and now she's the one with a red face.

They sit side-by-side on the grass, back from the actual festival, with their shoulders pressed together as they eat their food. Kyo finishes long before she does, and once he does, he suddenly gasps dramatically and points off into the distance. "Look at that!"

She moves her head to follow his finger with her eyes, but finds nothing of interest, then turns back around to see him stealing a bite of mochi from her. She smacks his shoulder playfully, and he tries not to laugh with a mouthful of food, and it's the most adorable thing she's ever seen.

"Hey, guess what," she tells him. He swallows and shakes his head, telling her that he doesn't know what exactly he's supposed to be guessing about. She gives up on the little game, leans in closer, and just tells him outright, instead: "I love you."

His eyes widen, and she remembers back to a few nights ago, when she'd said that to him in her living room. How confused, how terrified he seemed. How he asked what they were. And now, they still haven't explicitly defined their relationship, and she's probably scared him again. She's probably just completely blown it. But before she can even try to backtrack, he's kissing her again.

"I love you too," he mumbles against her lips, and her concern turns to relief. She kisses him back deeply, even though they're in public and surrounded by people and it's probably inappropriate to hang all over each other like this. Because when she's with him, she can't really feel the eyes of strangers on her; they just don't matter anymore.

She thinks that, from now on, she'll probably always kiss him back, no matter the situation. Because she loves him.

When he stands and offers her a hand, she takes it and lets him pull her up and then off across the grass back toward the booths.

And she thinks that, from now on, she'll probably always take his hand, always follow him wherever he tries to lead her. Because she really loves him so much.

Back at Tohru's apartment later, they sit on her couch and kiss. A lot. They've turned the stupid TV show back on, but despite Kyo's (partly) teasing interest in it earlier, he's now much more fascinated with how sweet she tastes, the way she gasps a little when he moves his hand downward and squeezes her thigh, and how she tugs at his hair in appreciation.

But when they finish—when their lungs burn and their lips tingle and their heads are spinning—they lie down on the couch together and actually watch the show. Kyo is behind her, the big spoon, and she has her back pressed into his chest. Her breathing is still a little erratic, and he kisses the top of her head in a feeble attempt to relax her.

"Are you tired?" he asks.

"No," she says simply, then glances over her shoulder at him. His nerves get the best of him, and he pretends that he can't read her expression. Kyo may be inexperienced and anxious, but he's not stupid—he can see the fact that she's a bit turned on written all over her face. And while part of him selfishly wants to acknowledge that he did that to her and see what else he might be able to do, that part loses to his self-consciousness and sense of propriety.

"Do you want me to stay?" he adds. Her cheeks flush, and she bites her lip.

"If you don't mind sleeping here tonight."

"Would I have offered if I minded?"

She giggles a little and turns back around, pressing herself against him even harder. "I guess not."

He's not quite sure when they fall asleep, but Kyo wakes up the next morning to an odd, feather-light touch on his cheeks. When he opens his eyes, he comes face to face with Tohru, and she's close, her lips pressing soft kisses all over his cheeks. Despite being woken up in a sort of startling way, he doesn't feel anything but warm.

"Dork," he says, then clears his throat to try and get rid of the morning-raspiness. "What're you doing?"

Tohru grins and snuggles a little closer to him. "Waking you up," she says innocently.

"Eh? Why? Trying to kick me out?"

Her grin turns to a fake-pout, and he drapes his arm across her waist and kisses her forehead in "apology."

"Because I missed you."

"Well I'm right here," he tells her, moving his lips down to kiss the tip of her nose, then down even further to her own mouth.

"Good," she says after they separate. "You'll stay?"

"As long as you want."

"Well…" she mumbles, then presses a hand to her mouth as she yawns. "I have to meet Uo-chan for lunch today."

"'Kay. When?"

"12:30."

He reaches to the coffee table and taps his phone screen, prompting it to display the time. "Well it's 11. You've never been too good with time, huh?" he teases.

Tohru pouts again. "I'm always on time!"

"Sure, okay. But if you don't go get ready, today might end that streak."

"I don't want to leave you, though."

He chuckles. "I'll walk you there, if you want. Then we can meet back up after."

"Really? You'd do that?"

"Yeah?" he says, honestly a little confused about why she'd even ask that—does he seem like he wants to leave her, either? Probably not, with the way he has their legs tangled together and is holding her so tightly...but that's Tohru for you, he guesses.

"Thank you, I'd love that!"

He kisses her cheek. "Okay. Well let's get going."

She lends him an extra toothbrush, and he stands with her in the bathroom as she puts on a little makeup. This almost feels like they're…

He shakes his head to clear the thought, rinses out his mouth, and then splashes his face to try and cool down his cheeks.

"How often do you see Uo?" he asks once they've made it off the train. He's holding her hand again. He doesn't ever want to stop, now that he'd worked up the courage to do it once.

"Every Saturday, at least."

"Oh yeah? I'm glad you guys are still close."

"Me too! We do miss Hana-chan, though."

"Where'd she go, anyway?"

"The United States. She met some guy online and went over since he lives there."

"Weird. I didn't really think Hanajima would be the type to meet someone online. Or...anyone in general."

"Kyo-kun."

"Sorry, sorry."

She squeezes his hand and pulls him to a stop. "This is far enough."

"Don't want me running into Uo?" he teases, but judging by the uncomfortable look on her face, he's hit the nail right on the head. He'll have to ask her about that later, but for now he just changes the subject. "I'll go hang out in the little park over there, 'kay? Call me when you're done."

He bends down to kiss her forehead, and she leans into his touch. "'Kay," she parrots back.

They separate and she turns around to walk the rest of the way to the cafe. Kyo's chest stings. He knows he's not watching her walk away for the last time. He knows he'll see her later, in just a couple hours. He'll get to hold her and kiss her and talk to her more in just a couple hours. But for some reason, he can't get rid of the nagging idea that he needs to tell her something else, just in case.

"Tohru!" he calls. She pauses and turns back toward him. "I love you!"

She stays frozen for a beat, but then smiles and blows him a kiss. He laughs a little at the silly gesture.

Yeah, that's better. He needs to tell her he loves her every time they part now, he's decided.

Just in case.

A/N: So, 花見 (hanami) is the name for the cherry blossom season in Japan. 花 = flower, 見 = watch. There's this really sweet, pretty dango that they make specifically for hanami, so if you haven't seen it, you should definitely look it up lol.