Chapter 34

That night, Kyo went and sat on the roof to think. He was a little worried about Tohru since she doesn't just cry for no reason. But he was also concerned about his sister. She, Shigure, and Luc had come home together and Kyomi had been uncharacteristically quiet. She normally ruffled his hair, chatted with everyone, asked about their day, teased them mercilessly, yet lovingly, and today she hadn't done any of that. She had taken care of Luc's dinner and bath and had gone to bed early. Shigure kept glancing at her, the look on his face telling Kyo that the older man was definitely just as concerned as Kyo. Shigure hadn't attempted to help her feel better though from what Kyo saw which made him think that Shigure knew what was on her mind. Kyo groaned and sat up and scratched his head. He noticed there was still a light coming from the living room. He got up and went down the ladder to go see who was up, sneaking past Luc asleep on his futon.

He found his sister sitting at the table with a glass of wine and a deck of cards playing solitaire. She glanced up at him as he came in.

Kyomi took a sip of her glass of wine. "Hey, is Luc alright?"

"Yeah, he's asleep." Kyo said sitting at the table. "Why are you awake?" He asked his sister.

She sighed heavily. "There's just a lot on my mind right now." She said rubbing her forehead. "Was Tohru alright this afternoon? She looked off when you came home." Kyomi sneakily asked.

"She was crying when I ran into her on the way home. Something was bothering her, but she wouldn't tell me what." Kyo said studying a spot on the table. "Is there any reason why you wouldn't talk to that damn dog about something? You have been best friends for ages and now are engaged so I don't know why you wouldn't but is there any reason?" Kyo was blushing and stumbling over his words as he asked his sister.

She deadpanned at him for a second. "Thanks for calling us old… but to answer your question…" she took a deep breath giving his question some thought. "One reason I wouldn't talk to him about something is because I just wasn't ready to yet. Like I just needed time to process it or make sense of it in my mind before I can put what the issue was into words. You can have a completely emotional reaction to something and not have the slightest inkling as to why you reacted that way." Kyomi shrugged. "Emotions are hard sometimes and they don't always make sense." Kyomi took another sip of her wine and went back to her card game. Kyo thought about what his sister said for some time, just watching her play her game. He was concerned about Tohru, but he also figured he would give her some time and see if she wanted to talk about it later. His thoughts turned to Kyomi. She had been quiet all evening.

"What's up sis? I can tell something is bothering you." Kyo finally said.

Kyomi sighed. She considered telling him about what was bothering her. She looked at his face. He was just watching her play, but she could tell he was concerned and between her and Tohru, she figured he should have some answers to their moods.

"The Sohma curse can weigh on those around the family as well as on the family itself. Those of us in close relationships with Sohma's who have the curse carry not as much of the weight of it for sure, but we also help support those who have the curse. It's also a burden knowing your life is on hold until it breaks." Kyomi said with a heavy sigh. "It's a burden I gladly bear because everyone is more than worth it, but that doesn't mean I don't feel it deeper sometimes. That's all it is." Kyomi shrugged.

Kyo nodded in understanding, intensely thankful that his sister had this attitude about their family's and her fiancée's situation. "Would you ever want to forget about the curse?"

Kyomi snorted a laugh at him. "Did you forget I already did that once?" She laughed. "One, it didn't stick, and two, given the choice I wouldn't have forgotten the first time. I loved, and still do love, Shigure, Hatori, and Ayame. They will forever be my best friends. Even when I forgot them, I never found friendship with anyone else that could compare until I met my husband. And now I have you, and Tohru, and even Yuki, Momiji, and Hatsuharu. Without a doubt, I would feel your absence even if I didn't know what exactly it was I was missing. So no, I don't wish to forget. The good far outweighs the bad in my opinion." She smiled at her brother and reached to give his hair a good ruffling. Kyo blushed at his sister being so embarrassing.

"Aww, you are caring about people. I'm so proud of you!" Kyomi said, purposefully talking to him like she talks to Luc when she's praising him. The teen blushed deeper and pushed her hand off his head as he stood.

"Alright, whatever, I'm going to bed now. See if I talk to you again…" He mumbled under his breath as he walked past her.

"I heard that dummy…." She singsonged after him. He just hurried up the stairs, leaving his sister chuckling to herself alone.

Kyomi sobered as her brother disappeared up the stairs. She heard Shigure's bedroom door open and the author shuffle out and sit next to her. She didn't look up from her game. "You think I convinced him that I'm fine?" She asked with forced cheerfulness, she felt a tear slid down her cheek and cursed that it was the side Shigure had sat on. She didn't want him to feel worse than he already did. The cause of her sadness wasn't his fault even though it stemmed from him. He had no control over it.

Shigure silently swiped his thumb across her cheek wiping away the stray tear. "I think you convinced him that, you and Tohru both may not necessarily be fine right at this moment, but that you will be. We need to be there for you just as much as you need to be there to support us, you know. Who else knows what you're going through better than the people cursed?" He asked her guiding her head gently to his shoulder. Kyomi sighed heavily and sunk into him.

"I hope you are right about Kyo and you are definitely right about the rest of it." She quietly commented. I just hope this all ends well. I understand what you're trying to do, but I just don't know if it will have the effect you are hoping for." She had closed her eyes nestled into his shoulder. She felt his fingers on her chin, pulling it upwards until her lips met his. He kissed her slowly, feeling each millimeter of skin as it touched hers. Slowly dragging his lips against hers as he kissed her again and again pulling back just enough for just a little air to get through. Even with that, Kyomi was left breathless. She felt heat grow in the pit of her stomach so strong that it made her throat ache. She moved up closer to him to deepen the kiss. She moved quickly and it threw Shigure off balance. He thankfully had the presence of mind to grab her shoulders so she wouldn't fall on him as they fell. Kyomi was able to catch herself on her hand just to the side of Shigure but where she was leaning over him. They had barely hit the floor when her lips crashed back into his. The cat possessed man groaned under her as she hooked a leg over his to get in a more comfortable position. His arm on the side she wasn't came to grab her thigh while his other hand grabbed the back of her neck to pull her in closer. They kissed like this for quite some time before they pulled apart and Kyomi laid down next to Shigure with her head snuggled against his shoulder. Their hands found each other's between them and they just laid in companionable silence. Shigure was the first to break the silence.

"You manage to turn me on the more than anyone I've met in my life while doing the least, do you know that?" He said in his lighthearted teasing way rolling to his side to look at her. His other hand came up to play with her hair.

Kyomi blushed slightly and chuckled at him. "I didn't know that, but I think that's what they call being in love." She tapped his nose with her finger, then trailed it lightly down his cheek. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the feel of her touching him even if it was just his cheek.

"You really are too much…" He said diving for her mouth. When he allowed Kyomi to come up for breath, she commented, "You can't say that when you don't even know how insatiable I am yet." before capturing his mouth again. They continued like this until Kyomi yawned into Shigure's mouth making him laugh at her and seal their time with a much gentler, sweeter kiss.

"I think it is time for sleep my dear. I have a little writing to do so please bathe first. I'll be to bed soon." He helped her to her feet and guided her to the bathroom. He pulled his fan out to cool himself off, sighing as he sank into his desk seat.

…

A few days later Kyomi was woken up by her bed getting pounced on by a figure that felt much bigger than her son. She was used to him coming and tackling her awake, but this felt different. She inched her eyes open, sleep tugging them back closed. She saw a flash of white hair and groaned. She pulled her pillow out from under her head and whacked the silvery white hair.

"Ouch! Gure! Your woman is being abusive! What shall we do to punish her? Shall we force her to watch while we spend the night together?" Ayame pulled Shigure close. Kyomi flung her blanket over their heads, rolling her eyes with a smile threatening to peek out.

"It looks like she approves of my idea!" Ayame gushed excitedly.

"It seems that way my sweet. Let's take advantage of this privacy, shall we?" Shigure teased right back.

"You know your future stepson is going to be very confused if you do this in front of him right?" Kyomi teased the duo. She stopped with a finger to her lips. "Maybe Mine and I should have a date? It has been too long since we've…" she was cut off by struggling under the blankets.

"You can't do anything to harm that sweet boy! He must know his future father and mother love each other dearly!" Ayame said dramatically.

"Of course, he knows! Although Kyomi won't let me kiss her in front of him…" Shigure dramatically cried onto Ayame's shoulder.

"Mi-chan! You must let Gure show affection in front of your son so that he knows his family is full of love! He must know how much his parents love each other! I know the perfect solution, he must have a sibling!" Ayame shouted. Kyomi heard liquids spit on the floor in the living room and Kyo and Yuki fighting over whose responsibility Ayame was.

Kyomi just stared at her fiancée and best friend hugging each other on her bed. She looked at Shigure, "You put him up to this didn't you…." She nearly had fire coming out of her eyes.

The duo paled under her gaze. Kyomi turned when she heard the door open behind her. Hatori leaned against the frame.

"What are these two idiots yelling about in here?" He asked dryly. Kyo popped around the doctor.

"What the hell are you talking about in here you damn snake? You don't get to talk to my sister that way!" The little brother yelled while blushing furiously. Yuki came around the other side of Kyo and stared icy daggers at his big brother.

"As much as I hate to agree with that damn cat about anything, you shouldn't invade other people's privacy that way you weirdo. What a couple decides to do should be up to them, not nosy outsiders." Yuki said coldly.

"But Gure and Mi-chan are my dear friends and deserve my input!" Ayame argued while getting dragged out by the two teens.

Kyomi just shook her head at them, Shigure looked a little dazed at the turn the conversation had taken. He had definitely NOT put Ayame up to that. Hatori started to go back in the living room but turned back to tell the couple something. "Kyomi, as your doctor, I would discourage any attempts at pregnancy until your cycle normalizes. Once it does we can reassess that option for you." He gave his friends a little smirk since Kyomi was just glaring at him and Shigure was blushing just a touch but nodded in confirmation. He slid the door shut behind him.

Kyomi rubbed her face with her hands. "Can I restart this morning? Coffee… I need coffee… It's too early for this sh…." She trailed off as she went into the bathroom to get ready for the day. Shigure just chuckled at her verbalizing her internal commentary. She threw some clothes on and brushed her hair and teeth. She came out braiding her long hair, the hair tie between her teeth.

"Just to clarify, that was all Ayame's idea." Shigure said from his desk. Kyomi chuckled at him.

"I figured that once I saw your face. You looked like you had seen a ghost." She laughed at him. She went and sat next to him, leaning her head on his shoulder. He leaned over to press a kiss to her hair.

"It's not that I'm against the idea, quite the opposite in truth. However, I would like to enjoy you and our time together for a while more before we attempt to grow our family." Shigure said, sounding rather happy at the prospect. Kyomi nodded with his words, grabbing his hand to play with his fingers.

"Exactly my thoughts. Sean and I had a few years before we had Luc and it was a great time for us. We learned how to be together, grew together, and just had fun together. My hope is to have a few years just with you and Luc before we add to it." She agreed. "Now, would you like to explain why my sleep got so rudely interrupted by a certain snake?" She said, irritation coloring her voice once again. Shigure grinned and pulled them to their feet. He guided her to the bedroom door.

"The four of us are going out today!" He said happily. Kyomi's eyes widened, wondering what the day would bring her.