Chapter 23

A few weeks passed quietly. The four old friends were a little worried at first about the fall out of the new relationship between Kyomi and Shigure, but it seemed like there wasn't much surprise from the other Zodiac members. Haru took it in stride like he does with most everything, Momiji gave Kyomi the biggest hug and warned Shigure to do his best by her. Yuki and Kyo were still worried about Shigure having underlying motives, but as time went on, they realized this was mostly unfounded. They also quickly realized Kyomi was more of a tease than Shigure was and resigned themselves to covering their eyes and groaning daily at the adults.

One incident that happened during this time worried the adults. Kyomi hadn't met Rin previously, but Tohru finding her passed out in Shigure's office was enough to make the future sisters-in-law fearful for her. Kyomi helped Tohru care for Rin the short time she was there, although Rin seemed to take more to the younger girl. Kyomi let them have their space and Kyomi mostly helped cook healthy simple dishes that would settle well on the girl's stomach. Shigure accompanied Kyomi to Hatori's one day. She needed to get her wrist looked at because it had been bothering her more than usual and Shigure was just simply bored. He was flitting around Hatori's office being a general nuisance while Hatori made dryly sarcastic remarks and Kyomi had to try her hardest to keep from laughing at them outloud. Finally she lost that battle after a particularly funny comment from Hatori. Shigure looked proud of himself and Hatori looked at her oddly.

"It really wasn't that funny you know." Hatori commented as he inspected her wrist. Turning it and moving her fingers and telling her to move it certain ways.

"She's been worried about Rin and not wanting to let anyone know." Shigure explained as he finally sat down on the couch having succeeded his objective for the visit. "Although you should know that Rin is looking for a way to break the curse."

Hatori looked hard at his friend. "I hoped you warned her against that quest."

"Oh, I did. I also told her that it would be a fruitless endeavor." Shigure said lightly.

Kyomi huffed in her chair. Putting her chin in the palm Hatori wasn't working with. She was watching him work on her wrist so she didn't see the men exchange glances.

"Is that what's bothering you too? I would have thought you would be used to it after growing up with us." Hatori noted.

Kyomi didn't look up. "It's never stopped bothering me that you all are stuck with this and now it's even worse considering who my brother is. Plus, Rin just looks so disheartened and worn down with it all, her body is literally giving out on her. And I can see it's bothering Tohru too. I want to fix it all because my whole family brings out my mothering instincts, but I can't do a damn thing about any of it." She did feel slightly better just talking about her worries and as soon as she stopped talking she felt hands on either side of her head, tilting it back to look into steely gray eyes as Shigure managed to both look lovingly and glare back at her. He pressed a soft kiss to her forehead.

"You silly girl, you know you have to talk to us about all this. I promise it's not going to make us feel worse." He crouched behind her to give her a hug with the thin chair back between them, yet still leaning their heads together.

"It bothers us more that you are worrying alone with our problems. If you talk to us about it, we can at least be comforted by getting our worries out with you and knowing that someone else cares." Hatori said wisely. Shigure nodding against her ear.

"Exactly! And I get extra comforts now!" Shigure started singing, "Kisses, kisses, lots of kisses…" and Kyomi rolled her eyes and lightly smacked his head.

Hatori just shook his head and turned back to make some notes in his file. Shigure took advantage of the semi-privacy to nibble on that spot behind her ear that always got her and she squeaked. Hatori turned around to see that Shigure had been pushed to the floor and he was laughing heartily. Kyomi was trying to look pissed but was barely holding back her own laughter.

Hatori shook his head at the couple. "You two never will grow up will you?"

"Where's the fun in that?"

"That's no fun!"

The couple in question spoke at the same time and broke out laughing. Hatori again was left shaking his head at them, but he was also smiling. They were so good for each other. Shigure made Kyomi relax and Kyomi made Shigure grow up even if only a little.

"Kyomi, wear your brace at night and as much as you can during the day. Shigure, make sure she doesn't lift anything too heavy with that hand for a few days, but preferably a week to let the inflammation calm back down. Now out of my office, I have work to do you know." Hatori all but pushed them out the door and shut it behind them.

Kyomi swung around back to the door and knocked. "Tori! Don't forget Thanksgiving dinner at Shigure's next week!" She got no response but turned around to a very confused Shigure. Kyomi looked at him sheepishly. "I volunteered your house so I can cook Thanksgiving dinner for everyone." He groaned and cartoon cried.

"My poor house…" Kyomi grabbed his arm and started walking them both home.

"Thank you for being so generous with your home Gure." She nuzzled his shoulder with her head. "It cheers me up a lot to be able to do this for everyone you know."

111111111111Shigure glanced at her with a mischievous grin, "You've been spending too much time with your brother. You are actually starting to act like a cat." Kyomi just looked at him with wide innocent eyes.

"But I thought you liked it when I was a minx." She could barely keep a matching grin from her face.

Shigure stopped walking and swung her around to stand in front of him. He grabbed her face with his other hand and pulled her in for a long searing kiss. When they finally broke apart, he kept her close as he said quietly, "You have as of yet no idea just how much I enjoy that particular persona on you." He pecked on more kiss on her nose before he let go and resumed walking hand in hand. Kyomi had her face covering her cheeks with her other hand, blushing furiously; Shigure proud as can be with himself.

….

Kyomi planned and replanned a few times over the next few days. There were timings to think of, different tastes, not to mention a whole different food culture to take into account, and on top of all that, she was reliant on what she could find in stores. She did manage to find an American themed store that carried a few of the specialty items she was looking for, but she wasn't able to find everything. Wednesday, she sat down with Tohru and Kyo to talk about what she needed from them.

"Kyo, if you want to just help prep and cut in the morning before school that should be just fine." Kyomi told him.

"The less you handle a knife the better so that's fine with me." Kyo commented.

"I can't even argue with you there so I'm not going to." Kyomi said with a palm to her forehead. Just last week she had shaved a bit of her fingernail off from chopping too quickly. "You are definitely better at that than I am." She then turned to Tohru.

"Alright, so the biggest things will be making sure the turkey gets in the oven on time, which will be on me since you will be at school, and making sure nothing burns."

"Got it! That's not too bad." Tohru said.

"Honestly, it really won't be that bad. I'll bake the pies and rolls while you're at school. Shigure is under death threats if he lays a finger on anything in that fridge and is staying with Aya and Luc so I can have his room tonight so I can get started early tomorrow. Yuki is going to be playing host and keeping everyone out of our way as we finish up tomorrow after school. And I think that's about it. As far as the actual cooking, I'm going to put the turkey in early then probably go back to sleep cause we won't have to start anything else for a while. But I'll need that done early so I can get the ham in after. Then we will just need to get the green beans on and mash the potatoes. I'm still sad I couldn't find stuffing things." Kyomi laid her chin on her arms and sighed heavily.

"What is stuffing?" Kyo asked confused.

"It's seasoned bread bits and celery and onions that some people stuff inside a turkey. My family never did that, we always just added turkey or chicken stock to it and baked it. It's a bit of a contamination hazard to cook it in the bird." Kyomi said. "I always season mine with a good bit of sage and a touch of rosemary. My mom's was always the best though." She smiled at the memory of all the meals they had together as a family. Tohru hugged Kyomi.

"Do you miss them a lot?" She asked quietly.

Kyomi returned her hug. "Yes, tomorrow and Christmas are usually the worst since they were such big days that the whole family got together for. However, having you all is just as special to me. Besides Kyo, none of you may be blood related, but you are just as much family as they were." Kyomi chuckled a little at herself. "And they even still weren't blood related I guess. Just goes to show you really do choose your family." Kyo came behind them and knocked their heads.

"I'm going to bed if you need anything else. Night Onee-san, Tohru." He started to walk upstairs but was stopped by a pair of arms hugging him from behind. He disappeared in a puff of smoke and reappeared in his sister's arms.

"Sorry, I just needed a hug and I think you did too. I love you my little brother and I'm glad I finally get to know you. So so glad." Kyomi snuggled the furiously blushing orange cat who didn't say anything but did let himself relax in her hold. However, it wasn't very long before he poked her nose with a paw and said, "You too Onee-chan." As he hopped down, he said without any heat behind his words, "You better not try that again any time soon." And bolted up the stairs.

Kyomi and Tohru silently wiped the tears from their eyes as they giggled at the boy who had just left them.

"Well, I should go to bed myself." Tohru said rising from her seat.

"Alright sleep well, oh and don't wake up any earlier than normal. I will just send you right back to bed." Kyomi threated the sweet girl who promised to sleep as much as she could and said good night as she went up the stairs. Yuki had gone to bed ages ago and that left Kyomi alone downstairs. She sighed and finished the tea she had been nursing though it was now cold. She didn't mind so much since it reminded her of the southern sweet tea she grew up with. It was so sweet it could have rotted teeth and probably had before, but it was the sentimentality of it that brought back wonderful memories. She finished her tea watching the moon reflect on the pond and letting all the memories of her teen hood flow back.

When she finished her tea, she went to take a bath. She gratefully soaked for awhile in Shigure's master bath. When she got out, she dried her hair, put her pjs on and climbed into Shigure's bed. She buried her face in the pillow and blankets and just breathed in his scent. She recognized his cologne he liked to wear, but she also realized he smelled much the same as she remembered from her childhood. The smell immediately relaxed her and put her at ease.

She was almost asleep when she heard the door slide open and quiet feet pad towards the bed. She thought she was dreaming until she smelled Shigure even stronger than she had before. She felt a soft kiss to her forehead and rolled over to catch his lips with hers instead. He jumped, but immediately deepened the kiss. They broke apart panting. Shigure nearly growled as he said, "If only this damn curse were broken, you would have no clothes on right now."

Kyomi gave a throaty laugh and nodded against his forehead. "I would agree with that statement. What are you doing back here anyway?" She asked curious though happy to see him as long as he didn't try to stay.

"I heard the unspoken cries of your heart and came rushing to put them at ease." He said dramatically before more honestly replying. "I thought tonight might be a little difficult for you so I thought I would stop by for a moment. Plus, I forgot to pack a change of clothes for tomorrow, so it all worked out well for both of us." He said in his usual bright way which had Kyomi giggling in his shoulder where her head had fallen to. He hugged her head close breathing in the scent of her shampoo and enjoying her laughter.

Her head still in the crook of his neck, she admitted, "It was a little sad remembering everything this evening, but it wasn't bad. Kyo almost admitted that he loves his big sister so that was a huge highlight. I also hugged him which made him more red than orange, but I think he needed it as much as I did. He did halfheartedly threaten me if I did it again any time soon though." Shigure chuckled against her ear making her smile. They stayed like this for a time before Shigure realized his best friend and love had fallen asleep on him. He smiled and gently laid her back against his pillow. He had been kneeling down next to the bed so it wasn't a difficult transition. She stayed asleep and he grabbed his clothes and snuck back out and humming to himself went back to Ayame's for the night.

…

Cooking the next day, went smoothly for Kyomi and Tohru. She helped them make breakfast and get them off for school while Kyo helped her prep her onions, potatoes, and apples. She spent the morning staving off Shigure who had wandered back over claiming she needed him close to her and rolling out her pie crusts and kneading the dough for rolls. Shigure noted at one point that there were a lot of carbs in this meal to which Kyomi wholeheartedly agreed, but that was also just the way they ate at this meal. Not that Shigure was complaining. The smells coming from the kitchen were heavenly.

Kyomi slightly baked the crusts and then filled one with sugar cream pie filling and the one with pumpkin pie filling and the other with apple pie filling. Once those were done, she let them cool and put the rolls in to bake. Thankfully, there was just enough room over the now baking ham to accomplish this. The turkey was resting covered to keep its warmth as long as it could. She put the bacon in to fry in its own grease, chopped that up and then putting chopped onion in to caramelize just a touch with a generous amount of butter before putting the green beans in with all of that. She learned how to make green beans from her adoptive southern great grandmother.

She was just finishing that as the teens got home from school. Haru and Momiji had followed them. Tohru began the mashed potatoes with the guidance of Kyomi who was grateful to let her take the lead on that while she sat with a quick cup of tea. Yuki with the help of Hatori was able to keep everyone out of their way and Kyo set the table for everyone who was able to come. Hatori had picked up Hiro, Kisa, Ayame and Luc. Kureno had never responded to the invitation Hatori had subtly given him and Rin and Kagura had school things going on, so they had been unable to come.

The large family sat around the table together. Kyomi of course sitting next to Shigure and Luc. Kyo was on Luc's other side next to Tohru. Momiji was next to her, then Kisa, Hiro, Haru, Yuki, Ayame, and Hatori was on Shigure's other side.

They all heartily thanked Kyomi for the meal and then began eating. The table was quiet for a minute before they all started discussing the differences in American and Japanese cuisine. However, despite this, they had nothing but good things to say about Kyomi's cooking. While her attempts at Japanese cooking left some to be desired, when she cooked American foods, no one else could beat her.

They were almost all done with their meal when Kyomi thanked everyone before speaking. "I just wanted to thank you all for coming to celebrate this day with me. I've told you all this was a special day for my adoptive family and I would like to see that tradition continue when we can make it happen. We also had a tradition of sharing what we were thankful for if we felt comfortable. Mine should be fairly easy to guess since I already said it. I am beyond thankful for you all. You are my family now. I honestly don't know where I would be right now if I hadn't remembered you all. All I know is I would definitely not be this happy. I will say I'm especially thankful for Kyo. I never thought I would have a brother again and he is a wonderful one." She had finished speaking with a smile at Kyo who let himself grin slightly back at her. On her other side however, Shigure was comically crying. "You aren't thankful for me my love? I'm wounded to the depths of my soul." Hatori sighed and the boys around the table hid grins and chuckles. Kyomi turned to him and silenced him with a hard kiss. "If you hadn't been pestering me since dawn this morning, you might have gotten mentioned." She teased him before softly kissing him again with a loving grin on her face. "Of course, I'm thankful for you too, you obnoxious man." He was pacified and returned the sentiment. He was also thankful for Ayame and Hatori for being his best friends for so long.

Tohru spoke up next. "I'm thankful that I found your house Shigure. I wouldn't be here if I hadn't. I'm so thankful to have met you and to be so close to you all."

"I'm not sure you would be alive right now. We probably singlehandedly saved you from that landslide." Shigure commented.

"Oh my gosh that's right! I'm thankful to you for that too!" Tohru was quick to say. Kyomi rolled her eyes at Shigure.

Ayame dramatically voiced his thankfulness for his best friends. Haru was thankful for Rin and Yuki. Kisa was thankful for Hiro who quietly and red-faced returned the feeling. Hatori begrudgingly was thankful was thankful for Shigure and Ayame and was more sincere in his appreciation for Kyomi. He even was thankful for Kyomi and Shigure's relationship, he said because she kept him more in line, but Kyomi suspected it was because he was also happy for them. Yuki was the last to speak. "I am thankful for Miss Honda and Kyomi. This family had never felt much like a family until they both got here and for that I will be forever grateful." The table agreed whole heartedly. Tohru turned to Luc. "What are you thankful for Luc?" The toddler thought for a minute, a finger on his chin, before yelling and pointing to each person as he said their names, "Mama, Daddy, and Ko!" The table erupted in laughter at Shigure's shock at being called Daddy and everyone but Tohru and Kyomi missed Kyo's hug and kiss given to his nephew.

…..

After everyone had eaten their pie and visited and finally left for home, Kyomi sat with her head carefully on Shigure's shoulder on the porch with a warm mug of hot chocolate as Tohru put Luc to bed. The boys were racing to see who could finish cleaning the kitchen first before Tohru could come down and help. Hot chocolate for the teens was waiting for them on the stove for when they were finished.

"Well my dearest, I believe today was a resounding success." Shigure said as he kissed the top of Kyomi's head. She sighed in contentment.

"It did go pretty well didn't it. Although I think the real miracle is those two boys cleaning the kitchen together and not fighting." She laughed.

Shigure chuckled his agreement. "I have to tell you, I am really thankful you remembered us. It's like the sun started shining again when I walked into Ayame's shop that day and realized who you were."

"Really? You didn't seem particularly affected." Kyomi said.

"Didn't you know I'm an expert at hiding my feelings?" He boasted.

"I had no clue. I can always tell what you're thinking now." She teased him back stretching the truth a good deal. He definitely kept her on her toes as much as she did him.

"Let's see if you can tell what I'm thinking now." He said inclining his head to look at her. Kyomi only grinned as she grabbed the back of his head and pulled him in for a long and sensual kiss. She played with the hair on the back of his neck and she could feel the goosebumps he was getting as a result.

The boys inside had finished cleaning and had gotten their mugs and Tohru's as well. They groaned and Kyo stomped over to the door. "Get your damn hands off my sister you pervert!" Shigure responded by not breaking the kiss but lifting his hands off of her. Kyomi broke the kiss at that point and fell over laughing.

"Damn dog!" Kyo yelled and slammed the door, blocking them from view.

Shigure was quick to silence Kyomi's laughter by leaning over her and resuming where they had been interrupted.

…..

Now I'm hungry and ready for Thanksgiving LOL. Full disclosure, my first full Thanksgiving meal I cooked, I dropped a whole sugar cream pie on the floor and had to remake it from scratch. Thankfully it was in an aluminum tin so I didn't break a dish but still. These big meals rarely go so smoothly😉 But Kyomi needed a day to go her way before what I have planned for her. Cue maniacal laughter.