Part Three and Final:
It had just begun to sprinkle by the time that Kyou made it home. He had ran as soon as he felt the rain on him and avoided getting drenched. The front door was locked so he was forced to rummage through his pockets for his keys. As he lifted the key to the lock, he sighed impatiently and closed his eyes. The lock was silver. When they had first gotten married, it had been copper. Then after he and Kagura had their first major argument, he had come home to find that his key didn't fit the new gold lock. And now he was faced with silver. If she kept the house half as good as she changed locks… "Kagura! It's raining out here! Open this door!"
No answer.
He pounded on it with the butt of his fist. "Open it before I break it down!" he yelled. "I didn't do anything this time!"
Still, no answer.
Kyou growled, shoving his hands into his pocket. "All right. I'll get sick and die out here, do you want that?" he yelled half-heartedly. He walked to the edge of the stoop realizing that nothing he said was going to get him into the house any sooner. The window to their bedroom was slightly cracked. He could climb the tree beside it and try to pry it open from there. Kagura was going to pay for making him get wet, though, as the rain started pouring down. Of course, it didn't take him long at all to get up the tree and through the window.
He kept quiet as he changed into dry clothes in their closet and towel dried his hair in the bathroom. He could hear muted music coming from down the hall. Kagura was listening to her record player. He had thought it was odd at first that she would own something that one had to be so delicate with but she took such special care of it that Kyou was impressed. The only records she had were wordless ones with all sorts of classical and lullaby types of songs. When he was ready to face her and find out what the hell he had done wrong, he stood outside the guest bedroom's door. It was locked. "Kagura, let me in." He said it as calmly as he could.
"I don't want to," came her answer.
Kyou's fist connected with the door and then his forehead to his fist as he leaned on it. "I didn't do anything!" he pleaded.
"I know. I've known all along, so it's my fault really."
Kyou pulled his head away to stare at the door as if it were the problem. His face tightened. As long as he lived, he was never going to understand women, much less Kagura. "Then why are you punishing me for it?"
"I can't do this, Kyou."
"Do what? Talk to me?!" His voice was getting louder by the second.
Kagura's remained deadly calm. "Live like this. With you."
Kyou took a step back, as if he had been punched in the jaw and stunned. His mind could only replay how happy he'd been with her the night before, before the realization had hit him. He couldn't love her any more if he tried and suddenly she was saying she couldn't live like that? "Why?! Have you lost your mind!?"
"No. I think I started using it."
"Kagura, stop talking like that! Open this damn door so we can talk!" She was scaring him with that seriousness. "I'm not kidding when I say I'm going to kick it in if you don't unlock it!"
The music ended. There was some shuffling behind the door. Click. Kyou took a deep breath before opening it. Inside, Kagura had already sat back down on the guest bed beside the window. She was carefully putting her records into their sleeves. Kyou sat down on the bed beside her and reached out for her hand for reassurance.
Kagura jerked it away quickly, her eyes stabbing into his like pure icicles. "Don't you even think about touching me."
Kyou sat utterly stunned, his mouth slightly agape. He blinked at her quite a few times, not sure what to make of the situation. She had been mad at him thousands of times before, but this time, her anger seemed to run deeper than ever before. Finally he stood up and crossed his arms, walking across the room. "You're going to tell me what's wrong. I at least deserve an explanation." His back was to her.
She moved all her records off the bed and curled up on it, facing away from the window that ominously had lightning flashing in it every so often. "I don't think I can give you an explanation. I don't think you understand what it means to feel like I do right now."
Kyou couldn't keep a check on his anger anymore. He couldn't stand it when people talked in riddles or rhyme to dance around outright saying the truth. "Everything was fucking perfect when I left you here this morning!! Is it that big of a deal that I didn't make it home for lunch? Is it? Is that what this is about?" he yelled. It was hard to keep his back to her, but he did so anyway.
"Everything was *not* fucking perfect when you left here this morning," came the cool reply.
"Kagura… Now you listen here…" he snarled.
"No!" she shouted, sitting up on the bed rather suddenly. "You listen here! You listen here and you listen good! I knew what this was going to be like when I married you. I thought I was going to be able to handle it. But, I was wrong. Last night felt so damn good, Kyou!" Her voice was whining a bit as she calmed her shouts down to normal talking. "It felt so right."
"I know it did! I was finally satisfied with myself as a husband for once. Where the hell did it go wrong?" he asked, finally turning around.
She stared at him. "How can you honestly ask me that with such an innocent face?"
Kyou couldn't find an answer. Cursing her more wasn't about to help matters, either. So he merely stared back.
Finally she rolled her eyes. "Fine. Let me tell you what it's like then. For some odd reason, you actually love your spouse. And you think about him when he's not around. And sometimes you end up needing him pretty bad. So you spend the entire day trying to think of what you can do to get him to want you when he comes home…"
"All you've ever had to do was say the word, Kagura."
"Shut up! Just shut up and listen to me! You think so hard, but yet you don't know what you can do so you hope your bathrobe is sexy enough. You light a few candles, and wait. When he gets home, you find that it was enough. It was more than enough as he takes you further than you've ever fantasized about. He has your body believing he's a god, singing his praises through every tiny inch that is you. You can't even remember your name when it's over, much less can you stay awake. And then when you do wake up? He's on the floor crying because it's not the girl that he wanted to do that to!"
"WHAT?!" Kyou exploded. "WHAT THE FUCK, Kagura? You've got to be kidding me!"
"No! It really hurts, Kyou. It *hurts.* I thought that I would be able to cope with being second best in your heart but…" she yelled back. Tears were streaming down her cheeks. She slumped back down onto the bed.
"You're NOT second best and you never will be!" he yelled.
"But I can't do it," she finished, ignoring him, trying to scrub the wetness from her cheeks.
"Tohru, right?" he asked, still mad as hell.
"I knew you loved her. I thought I could change you. But I can't."
Kyou had to settle his nerves after that one. He started at thirty this time, counting down backwards while taking deep breaths and clenching his fists and letting them go. "You don't have to change me," he said when he felt calm enough to talk.
"I don't even want to hear you…"
"Shut up!" he snapped. This time his eyes drilled into hers. "Just shut up and listen to me now. It's my turn to talk." Slowly, he made his way to the bed and laid down beside her facing her. She made to move, but his arm quickly pinned her. He knew if she wanted up, she could do it. "Stay put. I'm going to say this once. I'll never say it again. Don't you ever doubt me this way again or else I won't forgive you."
Kagura stared at him until he turned over to his back, staring up at the ceiling, one hand behind his head. "I love you. Simple and plain, I love you. I love Tohru as well, but not like I love you. There may have been a time when I was younger that I did like Tohru in that way. But back then I thought no one could love me. Ever. I knew you said you did, but you made me feel weird. I wasn't ready for what you had to offer. Tohru saw the real me and still loved me, and from that point on I knew I could never be with her like that. I needed her too much as my friend. With a relationship, I'd fuck up and lose her forever. That's when I started to realize that maybe I felt something for you. Tohru became like my older sister, my best friend. I needed her, but not the way I began to need you."
Kagura reached her hand out to touch Kyou's cheek. Sliding her finger across it, she brought it back to her nose. "Tohru's lip gloss is really amazing. It's strawberry scented, tinted, and waterproof. And it's on your cheek."
"I said stop doubting me, dammit! She always kisses my cheek goodbye. Just like you always hug that damn mouse."
"Yeah, but a hug is one thing. A kiss is another."
"And Tohru can't hug me, now can she?"
Kagura blinked at him. "No. So if I kissed Yuki goodbye, you'd have no problem with it?"
"Other than making you scald your lips before you kissed me again? No." Kyou hid a smile when he heard her giggle. His words were working. He was feeling more settled by the second.
"That still doesn't clear your name. Why were you crying last night?" Her voice was quiet now.
"Ever since we got married, I feel like people have picked us apart. They've said we can fix this, we can improve that, and never once did they say the same to Yuki and Tohru. I guess it never hit me how happy our marriage really is because of people criticizing. I was holding you so close last night when it hit me that they couldn't do the same. I felt stupid for not realizing it before yet I couldn't get the thought out of my mind. I felt so sorry for Tohru living that life. I got up so I wouldn't wake you. The thought ate at me though, Kagura. I ended up punching the wall and crying. You must've heard me say her name. I can't believe you thought that… No. Never. Last night couldn't of happened with anyone else but you. And I wouldn't want it any other way."
There were tears on Kagura's cheeks again and this time Kyou was allowed to brush them off. "If I said I was sorry, would you accept it?"
"No. I could have told you last night why I had to go see her today. That would have saved you the heartache, right?"
"She's really happy with him. I'm simply amazed by what they can get away with."
Kyou turned his head towards hers, his eyebrows narrowed. "And just what do you know about it?"
Kagura giggled. "Girls talk, silly."
Kyou rolled his eyes. "I won't ask. I don't want to know."
Her arms went around his chest and she snuggled into his side, her face in his shoulder. "I love you so much."
"Then quit changing the locks on me."
Kagura lifted her head out of his shoulder to look up at him. "I wonder how long it'll take you to realize that there's only three locks in this house and that you have a key to all of them. When we first moved here, there was a copper lock on the front door, a silver one on the back, and a gold one on the shed. All I do is switch them around yet you always act as if you don't have a key."
Kyou glowered at her. "What did you say?"
Kagura smiled and kissed the underside of his jaw. He hugged her close to him, rolling over to his side to make her even closer.
"I'm sorry for letting you believe that you were second for so long."
"I'm sorry for not asking sooner."
"And I missed lunch."
"Too bad. I threw the leftovers out."
Kyou growled lightly. "Maybe I'll just have to have some Kagura then." He pressed his lips to hers before she could argue.
Somehow they ended up back in their own bedroom, making love in their own bed once again. Afterwards, Kagura curled up against him to make his chest her pillow as he slowly stroked her hair. Their lovemaking wasn't as powerful as it had been the night before, but it still felt good and right for them both. Kyou didn't feel guilty holding Kagura close this time, either. He was sure that inside Yuki and Tohru's bedroom, they fought for the same harmony he easily had. Clearing his throat, he turned his head to see what time it was. The room was darker than normal and he couldn't see his digital green alarm clock.
"Kagura? Where's the clock?"
"I threw it and broke it when you didn't come home for lunch," she said quietly. Her voice held fatigue, not regret. "I think a red one would suit the room much better. It'd match your eyes."
Kyou blushed as poetic-too-sweet-to-say-aloud words came to mind. "It'd match my love for you, too." He didn't say them, though. He closed his eyes, pulled Kagura closer to him, and fell asleep. The green was gone and red had settled deeply in his heart. And that was enough for him.
~fin~
Author's Last Notes: Trust me when I say that a big thank you needs to go out to Yui-chan *huggles her beta reader for not letting her get one single thing wrong* and Ruka *huggles her other beta reader* and also to Mona *huggles just 'cause*. You chics were great and I shall find a way to pay you guys back ~_^ Anyways, now that this story is done, I hope you have enjoyed it and I'd really love to hear what you think of it. Who woulda thought writing Kyou/Kagura would be this fun, huh? I think you should TRY IT, HINT HINT. *big cheesy grin* ^^v
It had just begun to sprinkle by the time that Kyou made it home. He had ran as soon as he felt the rain on him and avoided getting drenched. The front door was locked so he was forced to rummage through his pockets for his keys. As he lifted the key to the lock, he sighed impatiently and closed his eyes. The lock was silver. When they had first gotten married, it had been copper. Then after he and Kagura had their first major argument, he had come home to find that his key didn't fit the new gold lock. And now he was faced with silver. If she kept the house half as good as she changed locks… "Kagura! It's raining out here! Open this door!"
No answer.
He pounded on it with the butt of his fist. "Open it before I break it down!" he yelled. "I didn't do anything this time!"
Still, no answer.
Kyou growled, shoving his hands into his pocket. "All right. I'll get sick and die out here, do you want that?" he yelled half-heartedly. He walked to the edge of the stoop realizing that nothing he said was going to get him into the house any sooner. The window to their bedroom was slightly cracked. He could climb the tree beside it and try to pry it open from there. Kagura was going to pay for making him get wet, though, as the rain started pouring down. Of course, it didn't take him long at all to get up the tree and through the window.
He kept quiet as he changed into dry clothes in their closet and towel dried his hair in the bathroom. He could hear muted music coming from down the hall. Kagura was listening to her record player. He had thought it was odd at first that she would own something that one had to be so delicate with but she took such special care of it that Kyou was impressed. The only records she had were wordless ones with all sorts of classical and lullaby types of songs. When he was ready to face her and find out what the hell he had done wrong, he stood outside the guest bedroom's door. It was locked. "Kagura, let me in." He said it as calmly as he could.
"I don't want to," came her answer.
Kyou's fist connected with the door and then his forehead to his fist as he leaned on it. "I didn't do anything!" he pleaded.
"I know. I've known all along, so it's my fault really."
Kyou pulled his head away to stare at the door as if it were the problem. His face tightened. As long as he lived, he was never going to understand women, much less Kagura. "Then why are you punishing me for it?"
"I can't do this, Kyou."
"Do what? Talk to me?!" His voice was getting louder by the second.
Kagura's remained deadly calm. "Live like this. With you."
Kyou took a step back, as if he had been punched in the jaw and stunned. His mind could only replay how happy he'd been with her the night before, before the realization had hit him. He couldn't love her any more if he tried and suddenly she was saying she couldn't live like that? "Why?! Have you lost your mind!?"
"No. I think I started using it."
"Kagura, stop talking like that! Open this damn door so we can talk!" She was scaring him with that seriousness. "I'm not kidding when I say I'm going to kick it in if you don't unlock it!"
The music ended. There was some shuffling behind the door. Click. Kyou took a deep breath before opening it. Inside, Kagura had already sat back down on the guest bed beside the window. She was carefully putting her records into their sleeves. Kyou sat down on the bed beside her and reached out for her hand for reassurance.
Kagura jerked it away quickly, her eyes stabbing into his like pure icicles. "Don't you even think about touching me."
Kyou sat utterly stunned, his mouth slightly agape. He blinked at her quite a few times, not sure what to make of the situation. She had been mad at him thousands of times before, but this time, her anger seemed to run deeper than ever before. Finally he stood up and crossed his arms, walking across the room. "You're going to tell me what's wrong. I at least deserve an explanation." His back was to her.
She moved all her records off the bed and curled up on it, facing away from the window that ominously had lightning flashing in it every so often. "I don't think I can give you an explanation. I don't think you understand what it means to feel like I do right now."
Kyou couldn't keep a check on his anger anymore. He couldn't stand it when people talked in riddles or rhyme to dance around outright saying the truth. "Everything was fucking perfect when I left you here this morning!! Is it that big of a deal that I didn't make it home for lunch? Is it? Is that what this is about?" he yelled. It was hard to keep his back to her, but he did so anyway.
"Everything was *not* fucking perfect when you left here this morning," came the cool reply.
"Kagura… Now you listen here…" he snarled.
"No!" she shouted, sitting up on the bed rather suddenly. "You listen here! You listen here and you listen good! I knew what this was going to be like when I married you. I thought I was going to be able to handle it. But, I was wrong. Last night felt so damn good, Kyou!" Her voice was whining a bit as she calmed her shouts down to normal talking. "It felt so right."
"I know it did! I was finally satisfied with myself as a husband for once. Where the hell did it go wrong?" he asked, finally turning around.
She stared at him. "How can you honestly ask me that with such an innocent face?"
Kyou couldn't find an answer. Cursing her more wasn't about to help matters, either. So he merely stared back.
Finally she rolled her eyes. "Fine. Let me tell you what it's like then. For some odd reason, you actually love your spouse. And you think about him when he's not around. And sometimes you end up needing him pretty bad. So you spend the entire day trying to think of what you can do to get him to want you when he comes home…"
"All you've ever had to do was say the word, Kagura."
"Shut up! Just shut up and listen to me! You think so hard, but yet you don't know what you can do so you hope your bathrobe is sexy enough. You light a few candles, and wait. When he gets home, you find that it was enough. It was more than enough as he takes you further than you've ever fantasized about. He has your body believing he's a god, singing his praises through every tiny inch that is you. You can't even remember your name when it's over, much less can you stay awake. And then when you do wake up? He's on the floor crying because it's not the girl that he wanted to do that to!"
"WHAT?!" Kyou exploded. "WHAT THE FUCK, Kagura? You've got to be kidding me!"
"No! It really hurts, Kyou. It *hurts.* I thought that I would be able to cope with being second best in your heart but…" she yelled back. Tears were streaming down her cheeks. She slumped back down onto the bed.
"You're NOT second best and you never will be!" he yelled.
"But I can't do it," she finished, ignoring him, trying to scrub the wetness from her cheeks.
"Tohru, right?" he asked, still mad as hell.
"I knew you loved her. I thought I could change you. But I can't."
Kyou had to settle his nerves after that one. He started at thirty this time, counting down backwards while taking deep breaths and clenching his fists and letting them go. "You don't have to change me," he said when he felt calm enough to talk.
"I don't even want to hear you…"
"Shut up!" he snapped. This time his eyes drilled into hers. "Just shut up and listen to me now. It's my turn to talk." Slowly, he made his way to the bed and laid down beside her facing her. She made to move, but his arm quickly pinned her. He knew if she wanted up, she could do it. "Stay put. I'm going to say this once. I'll never say it again. Don't you ever doubt me this way again or else I won't forgive you."
Kagura stared at him until he turned over to his back, staring up at the ceiling, one hand behind his head. "I love you. Simple and plain, I love you. I love Tohru as well, but not like I love you. There may have been a time when I was younger that I did like Tohru in that way. But back then I thought no one could love me. Ever. I knew you said you did, but you made me feel weird. I wasn't ready for what you had to offer. Tohru saw the real me and still loved me, and from that point on I knew I could never be with her like that. I needed her too much as my friend. With a relationship, I'd fuck up and lose her forever. That's when I started to realize that maybe I felt something for you. Tohru became like my older sister, my best friend. I needed her, but not the way I began to need you."
Kagura reached her hand out to touch Kyou's cheek. Sliding her finger across it, she brought it back to her nose. "Tohru's lip gloss is really amazing. It's strawberry scented, tinted, and waterproof. And it's on your cheek."
"I said stop doubting me, dammit! She always kisses my cheek goodbye. Just like you always hug that damn mouse."
"Yeah, but a hug is one thing. A kiss is another."
"And Tohru can't hug me, now can she?"
Kagura blinked at him. "No. So if I kissed Yuki goodbye, you'd have no problem with it?"
"Other than making you scald your lips before you kissed me again? No." Kyou hid a smile when he heard her giggle. His words were working. He was feeling more settled by the second.
"That still doesn't clear your name. Why were you crying last night?" Her voice was quiet now.
"Ever since we got married, I feel like people have picked us apart. They've said we can fix this, we can improve that, and never once did they say the same to Yuki and Tohru. I guess it never hit me how happy our marriage really is because of people criticizing. I was holding you so close last night when it hit me that they couldn't do the same. I felt stupid for not realizing it before yet I couldn't get the thought out of my mind. I felt so sorry for Tohru living that life. I got up so I wouldn't wake you. The thought ate at me though, Kagura. I ended up punching the wall and crying. You must've heard me say her name. I can't believe you thought that… No. Never. Last night couldn't of happened with anyone else but you. And I wouldn't want it any other way."
There were tears on Kagura's cheeks again and this time Kyou was allowed to brush them off. "If I said I was sorry, would you accept it?"
"No. I could have told you last night why I had to go see her today. That would have saved you the heartache, right?"
"She's really happy with him. I'm simply amazed by what they can get away with."
Kyou turned his head towards hers, his eyebrows narrowed. "And just what do you know about it?"
Kagura giggled. "Girls talk, silly."
Kyou rolled his eyes. "I won't ask. I don't want to know."
Her arms went around his chest and she snuggled into his side, her face in his shoulder. "I love you so much."
"Then quit changing the locks on me."
Kagura lifted her head out of his shoulder to look up at him. "I wonder how long it'll take you to realize that there's only three locks in this house and that you have a key to all of them. When we first moved here, there was a copper lock on the front door, a silver one on the back, and a gold one on the shed. All I do is switch them around yet you always act as if you don't have a key."
Kyou glowered at her. "What did you say?"
Kagura smiled and kissed the underside of his jaw. He hugged her close to him, rolling over to his side to make her even closer.
"I'm sorry for letting you believe that you were second for so long."
"I'm sorry for not asking sooner."
"And I missed lunch."
"Too bad. I threw the leftovers out."
Kyou growled lightly. "Maybe I'll just have to have some Kagura then." He pressed his lips to hers before she could argue.
Somehow they ended up back in their own bedroom, making love in their own bed once again. Afterwards, Kagura curled up against him to make his chest her pillow as he slowly stroked her hair. Their lovemaking wasn't as powerful as it had been the night before, but it still felt good and right for them both. Kyou didn't feel guilty holding Kagura close this time, either. He was sure that inside Yuki and Tohru's bedroom, they fought for the same harmony he easily had. Clearing his throat, he turned his head to see what time it was. The room was darker than normal and he couldn't see his digital green alarm clock.
"Kagura? Where's the clock?"
"I threw it and broke it when you didn't come home for lunch," she said quietly. Her voice held fatigue, not regret. "I think a red one would suit the room much better. It'd match your eyes."
Kyou blushed as poetic-too-sweet-to-say-aloud words came to mind. "It'd match my love for you, too." He didn't say them, though. He closed his eyes, pulled Kagura closer to him, and fell asleep. The green was gone and red had settled deeply in his heart. And that was enough for him.
~fin~
Author's Last Notes: Trust me when I say that a big thank you needs to go out to Yui-chan *huggles her beta reader for not letting her get one single thing wrong* and Ruka *huggles her other beta reader* and also to Mona *huggles just 'cause*. You chics were great and I shall find a way to pay you guys back ~_^ Anyways, now that this story is done, I hope you have enjoyed it and I'd really love to hear what you think of it. Who woulda thought writing Kyou/Kagura would be this fun, huh? I think you should TRY IT, HINT HINT. *big cheesy grin* ^^v