"Not bad," Kira said with a satisfied grin. She glanced around at the apartment she'd be sharing with Tatsuya from then on. "I guess we can start putting the things away tomorrow morning," she said to Tatsuya who was stretched out on the couch.
With his eyes closed and his hands behind his head he nodded. "M'kay," he murmured, very exhausted from a long hot day of moving heavy packages.
She smiled at him, he looked as peaceful as an angel. Her day's work was through and she decided to get ready for bed. She went to the bathroom, which she noticed was much bigger than the one in her old apartment. She pulled her light pink dust marred tank top over her head with ease and then let her jean shorts and plain white panties slip onto the floor. She bent over and turned on the faucet, twisting the chrome handles left and right until luke warm water rushed out of faucet. As the crystal clear water filled the tub Kira searched in the cabinet underneath the sink for some bathing soap. To her surprise she found a vast supply of bathing salts, bubble bath, and shower gels in every scent there was. Kira assumed that they all belonged to Harumi. They'd broken up weeks ago and if Harumi hadn't come for them now she'd probably never come for them. Kira smiled as she opened each bottle of bath bubble liquid and sniffed it, not only did she get to move in with her friend and start over but she got a years supply of bathing supplies to go with it. They all smelled so good, vanilla's, citrus scents, berries, creamy and flowery scents it was hard to decide. She reached out and grabbed the first bottle that grazed her hand. She looked at the label, it read 'lush berry.' After taking a quick whiff of it she smiled and poured a capful of the thick syrupy liquid into the tub and put the bottle back in it's place.
Kira slid into the tub and and closed her eyes as the sweet berry scented steam dulled her scented and almost lulled her to sleep. The warm water hugged the slight curves of her body felt good, but she found herself wishing it were Rei instead. It felt like ages since the last time she received a call from him. Maybe it was for the best since each call only made her miss him even more, as if it were even possible. A familiar pang of pain was felt in her heart and she tried to divert her thoughts to something else, something that didn't hurt as much. The clock on the wall chirped as it did each hour, on the hour. She looked up and a gasp escaped her lips. It was eleven o'clock already and she had a job interview to attend tomorrow.
She searched under the water and plucked the rubber drain stopper with her fingers and then got out of the tub and dried herself off with a towel. She changed into an oversized t-shirt and then headed for bed.
The next morning she woke up earlier than usual. She'd have to make breakfast for two and not one that morning. Kira busied herself with chopping vegetables, mixing pancake batter and seasoning meat for that night's dinner. If she was going to be staying with Tatsuya and paying close to nothing for rent she wanted to at least make herself useful.
"Good morning Kira," Tatsuya said in a raspy voice that showed that he just woke up.
Kira looked at him from over her shoulder. "Good morning!" she said in her usual cheerful voice. "I made breakfast, I hope that you like it."
Tatsuya smiled at her, he already knew that he'd like anything she prepared for him. He fought the blush creeping on his cheeks when she bent over him and placed the plate o food in front of him. Her long hair brushing past his ear, her warm breath tickling his cheeks and her familiar vanilla scent was almost too much for him to handle. It was becoming harder and harder to keep his hands to himself and not proclaim his love for her each and every day.
She fixed her own plate and sat down in front of him. Kira watched as Tatsuya cut the fluffy pancakes into bit sized pieces before finally taking a bite of it. "Well, how is it?" she asked, giving him a minute to chew and swallow.
"It's good. I didn't know you could cook this well," he said as he took another bite.
"Really, I'm glad you like it," she gushed, taking a bite of her own breakfast.
They made small talk about current events and the weather as they finished their meals. Tatsuya finished first and was closely followed by Kira. He saw her getting up to wash the dishes but beat her to it.
"It's not fair for the cook to slave over the stove and have to wash the dishes too," he reasoned.
"Thank you," she said, placing her dish and cup next to each other. She walked to the door and looked back at Tatsuya who wore the same clothes he wore to sleep, blue and white striped boxers and a white t-shirt. This being their first day living together in his apartment they hadn't really settled into a routine. "So um, I've got an interview soon. I'll be back by fiveish," she told him.
Tatsuya turned away from the sink to watch as she walked out of the door. She was still there watching him to his surprise. "'Kay. Be safe, I'll see you later," he replied.
She nodded and left, turning the door behind her.
...Back Home after the interview ...
Kira stepped through the door of the apartment and let out a long sigh that had built up during the day. She never thought that she'd be so grateful to be home. The energy she'd been meaning to save for cooking dinner that night was sapped completely during her four hour wait online to be seen by the man who interviewed her. Even a peanut butter and jelly sandwich would quiet her rumbling stomach.
"Aww, Tatsuya... You didn't have to do all this!" she said with a smile when she saw the elaborate dinner he set out for her. She looked around the room, looking for the man who was responsible for cooking her dinner.
"Oh, you're home," Tatsuya said as he emerged from the bathroom down the hall. He walked over to join her.
Kira looked him over as he approached. She had to admit it, he looked especially handsome tonight. He wore faded blue jeans, a white undershirt and a black button down shirt. When he stepped into the kitchen and into the pale light of the candles he lit on the tables she noticed the stubble of a beard on his face. The blonde hairs on his face made him look several years older.
Tatsuya noticed how she gazed at his chin and jaw line and self consciously stroked it to make sure that everything was in place. "You like? I uh... I wanted to try something different," he told her as he pulled out a chair for her to sit in.
"It looks nice," she managed to squeak out. It looked better than good, it made him look... sexy, no longer cute like the old high school Tatsuya she'd grown accustomed to.
"I bet you're hungry... I made this thing I saw in a magazine. It's called citrus grilled chicken... It's about as fancy as I get when it comes to cooking," he said with an added laugh.
Kira smiled back at him as she took the covers off of the containers of food on the table before her. "Sounds interesting," she said as she shared out food for herself.
The dinner didn't last long, it felt like moments after they set their plates they were already licking their fingers and wondering where the rest of the food was.
"Mmm, that was good," she said delightedly although it was unnecessary. Tatsuya could tell how much she enjoyed the meal by how quickly she wolfed it down. "I'm going to go and clean up then maybe we can watch a movie or something," she suggested.
Tatsuya nodded and cleaned up the kitchen and himself before joining her in the living room. He stood in the doorway and looked around, wondering where he should sit. Before she moved in with him he decided that he would make her his. After all everyone deserved a fair shot at happiness and she deserved far more than the little Rei was offering. With them living together she was bound to figure out what she was missing and come around. He sat on the love seat and placed his arm on the top of it, so that when she came to join him she'd have no choice other than to be close to him.
She appeared in the doorway, came and sat down next to him. Even though he turned on the television and turned to the channel that was airing the movie she'd been waiting to see for weeks all she could focus on was how close he was to her. She could feel his body heat and within minutes she found herself leaning in towards him.
Tatsuya noticed this and let his arm drape around her shoulder. Kira looked at his hand resting on her shoulder and then looked up at him in confusion. His warm brown eyes watched her intensely. Feeling uncomfortable under his gaze she scooted away from him and his hand fell onto her lower back. Tatsuya brought his other hand on her shoulder and gently pushed her back onto the couch. Her body was stiff with fear underneath his body.
"Tatsuya I..." the rest of her words were swallowed by his lips. A few moments later he came up for air, his eyes still closed in bliss. He stroked his nose against hers, causing her to emit a giggle. He rested his forehead against hers and let out a happy sigh. He couldn't have counted the numerous times that he dreamt of this. She kissed him back, releasing the tension that built up within her while she pined after Rei. She envisioned Rei's face and his long hair against her face. She opened her eyes, saw Tatsuya and yelped. He stopped and looked at her.
"What's wrong?" he asked, wondering why she stopped after seeming like she was enjoying it.
"It's late and uh... I should go to sleep. Good night Tatsuya," she squeaked out as she slid out from underneath him and escaped to her bedroom.
The next morning Kira woke up hours later than she intended to. She walked into the kitchen after a trip to the bathroom and found Tatsuya sitting at the table eating cold cereal and milk.
"Good morning," she greeted him softly as she slid into the chair across from him.
He nodded at her in greeting. "About last night, I just wanted you to know that I really," right before he proclaimed his love for her, she interrupted him.
"I'm glad, me too!" she said with a bright smile.
His lips curved upwards as he looked at her questioningly. "Really?" he asked, not thinking it would have been that easy to win her over.
"Yes, I've already forgotten about it. It... whatever it was isn't worth our friendship, yours with Rei, or my relationship with Rei," she said satisfied with her explanation.
Tatsuya stared at her, slack jawed, hurt and severely wounded. His heart ached each time it beat. Part of him expected this from her and felt foolish for expecting anything else. He'd always be second to Rei, in sports, popularity, looks, to Kira.
A white envelope caught her eyes and she reached out to read it. "When did this come?" she asked after reading her name on it's front flap.
"This morning. I was meaning to tell you," he said, avoiding eye contact with her.
She opened it and saw a sheet of paper that read 'I can't live without you, and I shouldn't have to,' in Rei' bold scrawl. A plane ticket dropped out and she jumped out of her seat squealing with delight. "Ah! Ohmigod! I don't believe it!" she cried.
Tatsuya looked up at her in confusion, he couldn't understand what could have caused that amount of excitement.
"Friday's the day! He sent me a ticket to go and be with him!" she said, her voice overflowing with pure estasy. She held the ticket to her chest and twirled around. "You'll drive me to the airport wont you?"
He nodded, not being able to bring himself to words. He knew he'd lost her for good.
Author's Notes- Hey there, long time no see eh? This chapter had been sitting in my notebook for quite some time it's a pain to sit down and type sometimes. I apologize to those who want Kira to wind up with Tatsuya, but worry not there's more TxK fluff and of course RxK fluff. The next chapter's going to be good! Do your thing, review review review!