Disclaimer: Fruits Baskets and the characters involved in the story belong to Natsuki Takaya, not to me.
A/N: This is the last ski trip chapter. But there is a little bit more story before it gets to New Years. And, this has absolutely nothing to do with the story, but I've noticed that one of my cats really likes to sleep curled up with my Kyo plushie, so I guess Kyo really does attract cats.
Roses of Glass Chapter 17Tohru sat, silently staring at the contents of the box in her hand. Kyo, who had been sitting with his head down to hide his blush, glanced up nervously. Tohru continued to stare at the ring and Kyo started fidgeting.
Eventually, Kyo decided he couldn't stand the silence a moment longer. He slammed his hands on his knees and tried to jump up to a standing position, forgetting about his injured ankle. The ankle, not anywhere near fully recovered, wouldn't support his weight and he tumbled to the ground. This at least succeeded in breaking Tohru out of her trance.
"Kyo! Are you okay?" she asked, moving to his side on the ground.
"Damn it!" Kyo yelled, grabbing his ankle, "That hurt like hell."
"Why did you try to jump up like that?"
Kyo sat up and sighed, "I forgot about my ankle and the silence was driving me crazy. I just wanted you to say something. But since I'm already talking now, let me go ahead and explain. It's not an engagement ring or anything. I mean, I know we're too young, and with the curse, I don't know if I'll ever even be able to get married. But I want to stay with you. And I want you to stay with me. For as long as possible. So, that's what this means."
"So, it's like a promise ring?" asked Tohru.
"I guess you could call it that, if you want."
After another few moments of Tohru's silent inspection of the ring, Kyo spoke up, calmly and quietly this time, "Well, aren't you going to say anything?"
Tohru slowly raised her head to meet Kyo's gaze and a smile broke out on her face, "I think it's beautiful."
"So, um, will you wear it?" Kyo asked, hopefully.
Tohru's smile grew wider, "Of course I will."
Kyo couldn't help grinning as he took the ring form its box and placed it on Tohru's finger. Instead of withdrawing his hand when he was finished, he laced his fingers with hers, hoping it would give him the strength and courage he needed to say the rest of the things he wanted to say to her. He wasn't used to talking about his feelings and it was making him really nervous to realize that he was about to. He decided to just start talking before he lost his nerve entirely, "There's a lot more that I want to say, but I don't know if I can. But I'm going to try. I guess, I really kind of want to, uh, thank you. You're the first person, outside of the Sohmas to make me feel accepted at all. Even within the family, I was only truly and fully accepted by Kagura and my master. But now, most of the other Sohmas, at least the cursed ones, are starting to fully accept me, and see me as more than a monster. Whether you believe it or not, I know that that's your doing also. So, I guess what I'm saying is that no matter what happens in the future or how you feel about me, I, um, guess I, you know, love you."
By this point, Kyo was hiding his face, partially in embarrassment and partially from an ingrained fear of rejection, which his better senses knew wasn't coming. He might have continued to hide, but Tohru's hand came under his chin and lifted his head. Automatically, he brought his eyes up as well, until they met hers. Tohru's eyes were shimmering with tears that were starting to spill over.
Alarmed, Kyo asked, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong," Tohru replied, wiping her eyes, "You told me you love me. I'm very happy because I love you, too."
With perfect timing, there was a knock on the door. Kyo, still furiously blushing from his confession, sent silent plead to Tohru. Understanding Kyo's need to regain his composure, Tohru went to answer the door. It was Shigure, dragging a cart with all the presents they had left in his room. He took one look at Tohru's tear-stained face and called to Kyo, "Kyo! What have you been doing to our sweet little flower? I can't believe you would go so far as to make her cry."
"Why you...." Kyo began to yell.
Tohru cut him off, "Kyo didn't do anything. Honest. I was crying because I was happy."
Shigure, catching sight of the ring, responded, "Ah, so I see. Well, anyway, I came to drop off you presents and let you know that since we'll be leaving tomorrow, Yuki and I plan to take advantage of our last full day to hit the slopes. You're welcome to join us if you'd like, Tohru."
Tohru glanced back at Kyo. Because of his ankle, he was obviously not going to be doing any skiing. She turned back to Shigure, "Thank you for the invitation, but I think I will spend the day here with Kyo."
"I figured you might say that. Thought I would ask, though, just in case." Shigure replied.
"Thank you. I appreciate it."
Once Shigure left, Kyo hobbled over to Tohru, "Why didn't you go with them? You still could. I wouldn't mind; I know you were looking forward to skiing on this trip. Besides, it'll probably be pretty boring to just hang around here all day. You should go."
"But I want to spend the day with you. I don't mind staying here. I don't think it'll be boring. I like spending time with you," was Tohru's reply.
Kyo looked down at Tohru's upturned face. If someone had told him, even six months ago, that he would ever be this happy, he would have laughed in his or her face. It was an amazing thing that Tohru had done, not only for him, but also for all of those under the Sohma curse. It even gave him hope that, perhaps someday, the curse might be lifted.
Clearing his throat, he said to her, "Well, if we're gonna be here all day, we may as well start by getting some hot chocolate by the fire."
Her answering smile was the exact response he had been looking for.