"Stop the clocks, it's amazing...my eyes are caught in your gaze all over again

We were love drunk, waiting on a miracle

Tryin' to find ourselves in the winter snow

So alone in love, like the world had disappeared."

There are certain things Kyo will never get tired of when it comes to Tohru. Their relationship isn't a novelty anymore—still passionate, still intense, but not exactly new. But some things will never lose their luster, he's sure.

One of those things is holding her hand.

He feels that with intense surety now, as she laces their fingers together. It's late, and they're in bed. The moonlight shines in through their open window, a gentle breeze tossing the curtains. It's chilly—it's supposed to snow tomorrow. But their bed is warm, full of legs and arms tangled together, bare torsos pressed against each other. And when Tohru takes his hand in hers, rubbing her thumb over the back of it absentmindedly, his heart warms more, too.

"Kyo-kun," she murmurs. He looks over at her. Her face is content, eyes barely open, cheeks a little ruddy from the cold seeping in from outside.

"Mm-hmm?" he asks.

"I've been thinking about something."

"Yeah? What's that?"

"I think...I want a baby."

Kyo's silent for a minute, dumbly trying to decide if he really heard that right. When his brain finally manages to process, he just says, "oh," like an idiot.

"Do you not want to have a baby?" She picks her head up off his shoulder and turns to look him in the eye.

"O-of course I do. You just surprised me, is all. How long have you been thinking about this?"

"Mm," she hums, bringing their entwined hands up to her face and kissing his knuckles. "A few months."

"That long? Why didn't you tell me?"

"I was a little nervous."

"Dummy," he says. "You know you don't have to be nervous to tell me anything."

She laughs airily, her lips turning up into a smile at the term of endearment. "I know. It's just a big decision."

"Yeah. But I mean, we could do it. We have this whole house now, and we make enough money."

"I think so, too."

"So...should we start trying?"

Tohru intakes a sharp breath, and Kyo can see the various emotions running across her face. Eventually, her eyes gloss over with tears, and she swallows hard, forcing herself to nod.

"I love you, Tohru."

"I love you, too," she chokes out.

He kisses all over her cheeks before moving down to her lips, capturing them in a searing kiss.

"So does this mean what I think it does?" he asks, tone playful.

She giggles and wipes at her eyes. "Well, that's kind of the only way to make a baby, Kyo-kun."

"Smart-ass," he teases. He unlocks their fingers and moves both hands to her hips, tugging her on top of him. She straddles him, and for a minute, they just look into each other's eyes. "Just c'mere."

And she does. She takes him in, breathing a declaration of love into his parted lips as she starts to rock her hips.

For the past four months now, they've been trying to have a baby. It's proven to be more difficult than they'd anticipated. With how much they've been told about the dangers of unplanned pregnancy, it seems like getting pregnant on purpose should be even easier, but apparently not.

This morning, Kyo sits on the counter in their bathroom. Tohru stands between his legs, holding both his hands and leaning her forehead against his chest. There's a pregnancy test processing next to the sink. Kyo has to force himself not to stare at it like a crazy person. When the timer goes off on his phone, he takes a deep breath and leans down to kiss the top of Tohru's head. "You ready?" he asks.

She shakes her head, letting out a pitiful little whimper. "I can't look."

He chuckles, but he's just as nervous as she is. "Can I, then?"

She nods and he releases one of her hands to lean over and grab the pregnancy test. When he holds it up to his face, he squeezes the hand he's still holding.

"Tohru," he whispers. Something in his voice prompts her to look up at him, and he turns the test around to face her.

"Oh my god."

"Oh my god," he agrees. He puts the test down and hops off the counter, picking her up and spinning her around. She laughs, and he laughs too. When he puts her down, he takes her face in his hands and kisses her gently.

"This is amazing."

"I know," she says. He reaches between them, flattening his palm against her lower stomach. Of course, there's no bump yet. But their baby is in there. Their baby. How insane is this?

He was supposed to live his adult life locked in a cage. But now he's standing in a house he owns, taking his wife's trembling hands in his own, and celebrating the start of a new life. A life that's half him and half the person he loves.

His throat clenches, and he lets out a low sob.

"Kyo-kun," she says softly, reaching up and wiping a tear off his cheek.

"I'm sorry," he whispers. "I'm happy, I swear."

"I know."

There's such intense emotion bubbling in his chest that he doesn't even know where to start to try and explain it to her. She somehow always knows, and she always understands, even when his words fail him and he's not able to articulate what he's feeling. He takes her into his arms again and nuzzles his face into his hair, and they cry together.

He's become hypersensitive to sound since Tohru's gotten pregnant. Especially now that she's in her second trimester, stuck with cravings and fatigue and a swollen belly with a kicking baby boy inside.

When she gasps in the middle of the night, he bolts upright, immediately awoken. "What is it, what's wrong?" he asks quickly, reaching over and grabbing her hand.

"Oh, nothing. I'm fine, really. I'm sorry for waking you up."

He kisses her forehead. "Stop that." She giggles at him, then gasps again and puts her free hand on her belly.

"Is he kicking?" Kyo asks, laying his hand over hers. Sure enough, their son kicks right into their palms. "How long have you been up?"

"Mm...a couple hours, maybe."

Kyo frowns. That's not good. She needs to rest, and he can't imagine how hard that is when being prodded inside by little feet and hands. He leans down, his lips hovering over her bump. "Hey," he says, doing his best to sound stern. "You have to be nice to Mommy. She's doing so much for you."

Tohru runs her fingers through Kyo's hair, and when he picks his head up again, she's smiling fondly. "I don't think he's going to listen."

Kyo laughs and picks up their locked hands, kissing the back of hers. "Worth a shot."

"He'll probably like martial arts."

"I don't think that's what this means, but I'd really like that." She scrunches her face up in mock-protest at his denial. He kisses her nose.

"You should go back to sleep," she tells him. "You have to work tomorrow."

"You're working around the clock."

"But that doesn't mean you should suffer!" she protests.

"You think this is suffering?" he asks. He leans over and turns on the lamp on the bedside table. "I'm lucky enough to be sitting up with my wife and my son. I can't think of a better reason to go to work tired tomorrow."

She covers her eyes with her palm, likely trying to hide tears. Panic rises to his throat. She's been emotional, even more so than normal, and Kyo is still trying to get used to that.

"I love you," she mumbles.

"I love you too." He pokes her side gently. "And I love you, you little troublemaker."

He holds her, gently rubbing his palms in circles over her protruding belly. She leans her head back against his shoulder, closing her eyes and taking deep breaths to focus on getting through all of their son's wriggling. It takes about an hour, but she eventually dozes off in his arms. In the position he's sitting in, there's no way in hell he's going to get back to sleep. But there's also no way in hell that he's going to move Tohru. So, he kisses her head, then turns his head to their bedroom window, watching as the sun slowly starts to illuminate the sky.

BHIJKHVIUEJRVJKR

"Kyo-kun."

"Mm?" he hums, not looking up from the computer. He's spent the day buying last minute things for the baby, unknowing that it'll prove convenient this evening.

"Kyo."

The strained tone of her voice, accompanied with the uncharacteristic drop of honorific startles him into closing the computer and turning to his wife.

"A-are you okay? What's wrong?"

"My water broke."

Kyo blinks. "Excuse me?"

"We need to go to the hospital."

"...Excuse me?"

"We're having the baby tonight."

"Excu—"

Tohru groans and cuts him off. "Please don't say 'excuse me' again."

Kyo hesitates, then settles on a mumbled, "Uh…"

Tohru doubles over a bit, then, a hand on her stomach. A slight whimper escapes her lips. This startles Kyo out of his daze, and he tosses the computer aside onto the couch before jumping up and approaching her. He peppers kisses all over her face.

"God, I'm so sorry. What can I do?"

She just shakes her head, and he stops talking, instead opting to stroke her hair and kiss her temple repeatedly until the pain seems to die down.

"You can...take me to the...hospital," she tells him, breathing still labored.

"Hospital! Right." Kyo looks around the room, eyes wide. Suddenly, he feels so irrationally unprepared. He's spent nine months waiting for this moment, planning for it, and now he can't function. The adrenaline coursing through his veins is supposed to help him think, right? It would be nice for that to kick in right about now. "We...we have things packed, right? I know I packed bags...where are they?"

"I'll get—"

"No!" he insists, leading her over to the couch. "Bedroom, I guess, right? I'll get them. You just sit."

He can't remember the last time he's moved this quickly. He runs around their bedroom, throwing last-minute things—phones and phone chargers, wallets, their national health insurance cards—into the bags he finds sitting near the closet.

When he makes it back into the living room, still in a hurry, a duffle bag slung over each shoulder, Tohru asks, "Can you drive?" They just bought a little car in preparation for the baby, and ashamedly, Kyo hadn't known how to drive until they made the purchase. He's been practicing. Does he look so bad that she doesn't even want him to drive, though?

"Of course. What, did you think I'd make you drive?" he asks, frowning.

"That's not what I—" she inhales sharply as she feels her stomach tighten again. "Okay, let's go, Kyo-kun."

"What should I...should I carry you?"

"I can walk. Just a second." Once her body relaxes again, she stands shakily and steps closer to Kyo. He holds onto Tohru's arm as they walk out to the car, trying to keep her steady.

"Kyo-kun?" she asks as she settles into the passenger seat.

"Yeah?" he replies, throwing their bags into the back. "Are you okay?"

"Mm-hmm. But you're not."

He sits next to her and fumbles with the car keys, hands shaking. He drops them, retrieves them off the floor, curses, and then finally successfully puts them in the ignition before turning to her. "W-what do you mean? I'm fine."

She doesn't respond. Instead, she leans over and cups his face in her hands. She kisses him deeply before pulling back just enough to lean her forehead against his. "It's okay," she whispers. "Everything's okay. We get to meet our son tonight."

He feels a bit of the tension leave his body, and he even manages to crack a smile. "Yeah. We do."

The trip to the hospital is rather smooth, all things considered. But Kyo hates seeing Tohru in pain, and his protective instincts kick in every time she gasps with a new contraction. She does have to stop him from pulling over and holding her when it happens ("just drive, Kyo-kun."). It's not his finest moment, but it's better than he had been in the house, he supposes.

Tohru seems to feel better once she's lying in a bed, being monitored by nurses and doctors and a bit doped up on painkillers.

Kyo sits at her bedside, holding her hand in his, pressing kisses to it now and then. She's starting to doze off a bit, and her grip on his hand loosens a little. Kyo squeezes her tighter to make up for it. He can't let go of her right now. He just can't. Her hand, the feeling of her warm skin, is what's keeping him grounded right now. Her eyes fly open.

"K-Kyo-kun? What's wrong?" she asks.

He lowers his head, pressing their entwined hands to his forehead. He's not sure when he started crying, but now he can't stop. The tears roll down his cheeks and drip off his chin, down onto the white sheets below him. When he manages to steady his breathing a bit, he whispers, "I'm sorry. This is supposed to be a happy moment...and I am happy. But I'm scared, Tohru. I'm so fucking scared." His voice cracks at the end, and he shakes his head at how weak he is, how utterly broken he's feeling all of a sudden.

"It's okay," she whispers back, leaning closer to him. She presses a kiss to the top of his bowed head. "I'm scared, too."

Kyo smiles a little, slightly relieved knowing the feeling is at least mutual. "Then who's gonna take care of the baby?" he tries to tease, voice still a little wobbly.

She rolls her eyes at his lame joke, but a smile tugs at her lips all the same. "I know why you're scared. But you'll be an amazing dad, Kyo-kun."

"You don't know that," he mumbles, looking up at her finally.

"Yes, I do. I wouldn't have let you get me pregnant if I didn't think so," she points out.

"Dummy," he says fondly. She giggles. She doesn't try to go to sleep again, no matter how much he insists that she should. She just clings to his hand.

And when their son is finally here, Kyo cries again. He's a little embarrassed to be weeping uncontrollably in front of the nurses and doctor, but they all just coo about how sweet it is. They lay Hajime Sohma on Tohru's chest for the first time, and she sobs too. For a few minutes, they just sit as a family, crying together and clinging to each other. Kyo and Tohru have fought hard. Fought hard for their relationship, Kyo's life, and for the opportunity to create a family. And now they have one. Their son is here, and he's beautiful.

Kyo reaches out as he blinks a fresh wave of tears back. He rubs his index finger over Hajime's cheek gently. "Hey, buddy," he chokes out. Hajime squirms, then lifts his little hand and clings to his dad's finger with his entire fist. Kyo looks at Tohru, eyes wide. "He's holding onto me," he whispers.

Tohru nods, eyes still red, nose still snotty. "Of course. You're his daddy."

"Thank you so much, Tohru. I love you."

"I love you too," she says softly, sniffling. "And thank you."

"Daddy!"

"Hey, buddy. Whatcha got?"

Hajime holds out his little palm, showing off a small rubber ducky. "Mama won it for me!"

Kyo laughs, leaning forward to inspect the duck. "Really? Don't you have to throw the ball and knock down all the bottles at that booth? How'd she do that?"

Tohru makes it over, then, a little out of breath from chasing their almost-four-year-old. She smiles. "I think the man running the booth felt sorry for us," she admits.

Kyo shakes his head. "It's really cool, Hajime. Want me to put it in the stroller so you don't lose it?" Hajime nods and hands it over.

This is their first outing since the new baby was born. They're at the local fair, an event they've taken Hajime to every summer. The toddler has definitely felt the sting of having to share his parents, and Tohru was incredibly sick throughout the entirety of her pregnancy, so she "hasn't been much fun lately" (Hajime's exact words). They're all glad to be here together.

Kyo gets up from the bench he's camped out on for the past half hour or so while Hajime and Tohru wandered around playing various games. He leans over and looks into the stroller to check on their youngest son. He's still sleeping soundly.

"Daddy, will you come play, too?"

"Yeah, 'course. What do you want to play?" Kyo asks. They start walking back toward the booths. Kyo pushes the stroller with one hand, and locks the fingers of his other with Tohru's. She squeezes, and he glances over at her. She's glowing. It takes his breath away. This is how she was always meant to be, he thinks—a wife, a mom, happy.

Hajime wriggles into the gap between his parents, forcing them to let go of each other. But then, it doesn't matter. Because, with his chubby little toddler fingers, still sticky with juice from lunch earlier, he reaches up and takes each of his parents' hands.

"I wanna hit bottles again."

Tohru sighs. "Your father will be good at that, at least."

"Maybe. I can teach you how, Hajime."

They stay and play until the sun sets, leaving behind a pink-dusted evening sky. And then they get to go home together, Kyo still pushing the stroller, and Tohru holding a sleeping Hajime. Kyo leans over as they walk, kissing Tohru's cheek.

"You're beautiful," he reminds her.

She grins and shakes her head at him, eyes fond. "Stop."

"No. 'Cause it's true."

She shifts Hajime to one arm, reaching out for Kyo's hand as she does so. He takes it without hesitation.

On Hajime's first day of primary school, Tohru gets him dressed while Kyo attempts to watch their younger son and cook breakfast simultaneously. When the two emerge from Hajime's bedroom, Kyo flips a pancake before turning around to look at his son. He chuckles at the sight of Hajime in a tiny white dress shirt, black shorts, and loafers.

"Oh my god," Kyo says, beaming at Tohru. "He's so cute."

Hajime frowns, and Kyo shoots Tohru a puzzled look.

"Handsome," she corrects. "He looks handsome."

"Oh, right. I forgot about his weird thing with that." Hajime, in an attempt to seem grown up, perhaps, refuses to stand for being called cute anymore. He always wants to be handsome instead. "You look really handsome, buddy!"

They eat together, Hajime feeding his brother little chunks of pancake and laughing when he coos in thanks. Then, Tohru cleans their eldest's sticky face and they all head out the door.

Tohru seems distraught, but Hajime is skipping ahead of them, his little backpack thumping against his shoulders. Good. Kyo's not sure he would be able to handle both of them crying today. As the school comes into view, he hears Tohru take a big breath next to him, and he rubs a hand along the small of her back. "It's okay," he says softly.

"I know. And I don't want to make Hajime-kun sad."

"Mm. You can cry all you want once he's inside," Kyo confirms. She laughs half-heartedly.

But once they get to the front doors, Hajime freezes. He turns around and looks at his parents with wide eyes.

"What's wrong, baby?" Tohru asks, letting go of the stroller handle and kneeling down.

"I don't want to," Hajime says, shaking his head a few times. "I wanna stay home with you and Daddy."

Tohru plasters a smile on her face, trying to seem bright. "You're going to have so much fun, though, Hajime-kun! Your friend Kai-kun will be here. Remember meeting him in the park last week? He said he's excited to play with you!"

"I don't care." Hajime's brown eyes well up with tears. "I want to go home."

That's when Tohru starts to lose it. She bites her lip, her matching brown eyes glazing over. Kyo gently tugs her up by her arm and takes her place in front of Hajime while she turns around to discreetly dry her tears.

"I know it's hard, buddy. That's 'cause it's new. But I promise, you're going to have fun. It'll be okay. The hardest part is always just getting through the door. So once you get inside, it'll be a piece of cake."

"Promise?" Hajime whispers.

"Promise. If it's not true, you can beat me up later."

"Kyo-kun," Tohru says behind him, sounding half-exasperated. But it makes Hajime smile, which was the goal, so it's okay.

Tohru joins them, smiling again, and each parent takes hold of one of Hajime's hands.

I love you.

Tohru and Kyo squeeze their son's fingers three times—once for each word. When they're done, he squeezes back.

"We'll be here to get you at three," Tohru promises. Hajime takes a deep breath, nods, and lets go. He heads to the doors, where he's immediately greeted by a teacher, which seems to help steady his nerves a bit.

Kyo and Tohru watch from a distance for a minute, both teary but trying to be strong. Tohru grabs Kyo's hand, squeezing tightly.

I love you.

He squeezes back and kisses her temple.

When Hajime told them that he wanted to go to Kaibara High School in Tokyo, Kyo and Tohru hadn't known how to feel. Kyo was a little excited for his son, to be honest. You learn so much about yourself when you leave home for a while, and he knew they couldn't deprive their son of that. Tohru, however, cried in secret for a week afterwards. Well, she thought she was being secretive—in reality, everyone in the house knew, and Hajime eventually told Kyo that he would stay if it meant she'd stop. But together, they'd slowly managed to bring her around.

And so today, they stand in front of their old high school. It looks exactly the same, which makes Kyo laugh a bit, considering it's been about 20 years. Most teenagers are going into the building alone or with friends, and would likely be embarrassed to have their parents with them. But Hajime doesn't care—he's never been that kind of kid. He stands between his mom and his dad.

"Hey, uh…" he starts, but his voice falters. Once he's gathered himself, he continues, "Sei's been playing video games in bed after lights out lately. But if he asks, I didn't tell you. And...Sakura's been getting picked on a little at school. They shut up when I come to pick her up, but now…"

"We've got it," Tohru whispers, looking up at him. He's way taller than she is now. A couple inches taller than Kyo, even. He's grown so much.

Hajime nods and takes a deep breath. "Okay. I'll see you guys soon."

Discreetly, he slips his hands into Tohru and Kyo's. He squeezes three times. Then he pulls away and leaves.

I love you.

As he disappears from their view, Tohru hugs onto Kyo's arm.

"I know," he says. "But we did good."

Tohru nods. "We did really well."

They leave the Kaibara High schoolyard hand in hand, just like they'd left on their graduation day all those years ago.

"Oh, I won't be silent and I won't let go

I will hold on tighter 'til the afterglow

And we'll burn so bright 'til the darkness softly clears

Oh, I will hold on to the afterglow."

A/N: So yesterday I saw that Kyoru week starts today, and I decided that I have to do it, even though it's very last minute. I'll still finish last year's, just not quite sure when. I hope to get this year's done in a week like intended, but let's be honest...I'm working full time, taking care of a house, and working on my first paid writing gig. This'll probably get dragged out a bit lol.

I hope you enjoyed this one! It was honestly really emotional for me to write.

Title is from "Afterglow" by Ed Sheeran, because when was the last time I didn't name a fic after a song?