"Kyo, do you love me?"

"…Yes…."

"Then why wont you hold me?"

His face flustered red for a moment. "Tohru, this is no time for this!" She looked at him dejectedly. "We've gone over this a million times!"

"The curse clearly states that no member of the Sohma family may be hugged by a member outside the family of the opposite gender, lest they want to turn into an animal. It never said anything about hugging others." She stated oh-so-matter-of-factly.

"I know that already Tohru!" he said in pure frustration. "But every single time I try to hug you, you always hug back!" He stomped his feet a couple times to show his anger.

"And is that a bad thing?" she said innocently while moving her legs side to side, watching her toes go back and forth against the floor in front of her.

"Well…no… But I'm not like other people." he said and dragged it on to exaggerate his point. "I don't react the same way to it as someone else would. It's just not the same"

"Of course you are, silly cat. You're just like other people, you're just a little different." she smiled her dopey know nothing smile at him.

"Oh and like that makes any sense whatsoever…." Sarcasm dripped from his words.

"Of course it makes sense. You just have to think about it more." She said, prancing up to him and placing her soft hands on his clean shaven face. "Soon you'll see. You're just like everyone else, but you're different from everyone else." she smiled sweetly and rubbed the ridge of her nose in a cat like fashion against the side of his neck.

"I don't get you, Tohru Honda." he said, enjoying the feeling of her head on his strong shoulders.

She looked up at him. "Then how did you fall in love with me?" She stared at him with big round eyes and her lips soon curved into a coy smile.

"Only god knows…." he shook his head and rolled his eyes sarcastically.

"That's what I thought." she leaned in and kissed him on the lips, quickly at first, but then, after pulling away, and upon closer examination of his face she leaned in again.

It wasn't exactly that she had planned to do this you see. She was only visiting him quickly during his short lunch break he had during his busy work schedule at his part time job he had on the weekends. But it was, in fact, his eyes that drew her closer. There was, on his face, a certain soft look in his eyes he attained only ever so briefly after she kissed him. So brief was this expression in fact, that she had only enough time to see it and remember it, even if it was only there for a flash. But the memory was imprinted in her mind forever. And that was enough to make her want to stay with him for all time.

So she leaned in closer and her eyes closed ever so slowly that in her precise timing, her eyes closed just as their lips met. And she kissed him passionately. It was one of the few times she could remember that it was as very wonderful and exciting as it was now. Though kissing was nothing new to the couple, in very few occasions would Kyo kiss her in public, like this at least, even if they were in an ice cream shops back room, concealed from any other form of human life. But none were so romantic as this one was.

So they carried on about their business for a few minutes, holding each others face with their cradled hands, as was trained and accustomed to them. But all too soon he found his arms snaking up her back to feel the warm flesh of her back and hold her close to him. And it was at this moment, when his hands were grasped so tightly around her, and his fingers were playing with the lace of her bra, very much like a kitten would with a ball of yarn that she flung her arms about him and pulled her to him, lavishing in the rich warmth of his body against her arms.

And then the un expectable happens.

In an all too usual puff of smoke, there sat on the ground, a small orange cat, looking up at her with narrowed eyes that scolded her for her lack of restraint.

She kneeled down beside the cat and stroked its head. "There there my kitten." she told it "That wasn't so bad now was it?"

"I tell you Tohru, every time, that happens every time." it said while sticking up its nose in a prim and proper manner, snorting arrogantly.

"You just don't understand." she said while shaking her head like a teacher would at a student who refused to learn what they were teaching. "I cant help but hold you Kyo." Here she paused. "I just love you too much to restrain myself. Love knows no boundaries don't you know?" she smiled kindly at the cat who turned its pink nose away from her. "If I don't hold you… I feel like I'm … I don't know… being bad. Everyone deserves a hug once in while, right?" She picked him up under the arms and held him in front of her watching, bemused, as its chubby cat legs dangled beneath it. She then pulled it close to her, her hand clasped firmly around it, kissing gently the soft fur that collared its neck.

The only sound, save the rumbling motors of the ice cream machines that grumbled in the backgrounds, was the soft purring of Kyo, snug in Tohru's arms. She smiled softly at the cat in her she cradled, whilst holding it with one arm, and patting the head of it with her free hand. His purr was different when he was a cat, she noted.

When he was a cat it was much lighter, much softer, where as when he was human it was much louder, deeper. However, he would only do it while he was sleeping. A downside, but it did give her entertainment at night when he was sound asleep and she could not sleep, knowing the very man she owed her only heart to was lying beside her bare arm. She would lean over and rub his ear gently, and he would purr. Then she would move her hand to scratch the skin behind his ear and he would purr louder. And at last she would lean down and nibble lightly on his human ear, twirling his orange hair in between her fingertips and his purr would soar with the deep rumbling of his throat that could put her to rest.

The door slammed open, stirring Tohru from her pleasant memories, and out from it came a slightly overweight middle aged man. Clad in a uniform with a pin that said his name, and a giant ice cream cone. He spoke, "Kyo! Your lunch break is- … Kyo?" The man looked around and found nothing but Tohru, blushing hot pink, while holding the orange cat in her arms. "Tohru? You seen Kyo round here lately?"

She looked up shyly, her cheeks still slightly pink "Um… he -he's in the bathroom. He'll be out soon."

"Thanks." said the man, smiling, as he closed the door once more and left them to their solitude.

She laughed in embarrassment. "That too close for comfort now wasn't it?" she said

"Just be glad he didn't ask about me." the cat said, jumping out of her arms. "You should probably gather my clothes and put them in the bathroom so I can change into them when I change back."

"Right!" she said, gathering his pile of a uniform that lay on the ground and placing it in the bathroom.. The cat wedged itself between the crack in the door and Tohru closed it. A few minutes later, out stepped a fully dressed Kyo, clad in ice cream shop uniform.

"Nice uniform," she said laughing at the ridiculous smiling ice cream cone on his shirt.

"Its not my fault they make us wear these miserable uniforms." he snorted.

With one more giggle, she laughed and ran up to him, kissing him in the cheek before leaving out the front door. "Bye Tohru…" he said softly, even though he knew she couldn't hear him, waving from behind the glass door that separated them. "Be safe…"

Author's Notes

I KNOW! In the original manga, the Sohma family can't give or get hugs. I just had to tinker with it to make the one shot work. Please don't remind me! And yea, this is a little OOC. Tohru is at least.

Originally, this was going to be a long sweet one shot, showing this beautiful relationship between Tohru and Kyo, showing flashbacks of when they were kids and all. But in the end I was just going to kill Tohru in a car accident. :snickers: I'm evil, I know.

Well, I lost interest in it and ended up leaving it at this, a sweet short little one shot. Cute, fluffy and a quick read. Hope you liked it!

Inu Kun-