[Disclaimer] Waaaahhh!!! Why do we always want what we can't have.
[AN] It's a lot longer than I was planning on it being, but that's just more for you all to fawn over. Big Grin
Chapter X
Yuki hadn't set the alarm before he fell asleep, but still he awoke, and far earlier than he'd planned on. He'd only slept for about 5 hours, but he couldn't go back to sleep. It was understandable though. His body was still set on his homeland time zone. He glanced at the clock again just to make sure his eyes hadn't been deceiving him. Nope! It was still just after four in the morning. Deciding that it would probably be better for him to just get up now and then go to bed earlier tonight, he climbed out of bed and quickly changed into a clean pair of clothes.
It felt odd to him to be up this early, and wide-awake to top it all off. He was never so alert at this time of day. Damn the time change. He hoped he'd adjust quickly and without too much trouble.
As quietly as possible, he walked down stairs, not wanting to disturb the two still sleeping. He didn't rightly care whether he actually woke up Kyo, but if he did, Yuki knew he'd try to start a fight about it and that would wake Tohru. She on the other hand, kept herself so busy all the time; she deserved the sleep she got.
Yuki easily found the living room in the dark; their home was amazingly similar to the main house back in Japan, and that really made him wonder. After turning on a nearby lamp, Yuki flipped on the television, and idly surfed through the different channels, not really paying it any attention. Finding a music channel, he left it there and grabbed the book he'd been reading on the plane, picking up where he'd left off before the plane landed.
About an hour and a half and eight chapters later, Yuki heard some light thumps above him. He realized that he'd been sitting for a long time, reading. About ten minutes after the initial thumps, he heard someone coming down the stairs and knew the only person it could be was Tohru.
Seeing a light on in the living room shocked her. She was always up before Kyo, so there were never any lights on when she came downstairs in the morning. Peeking into the living room, Tohru sighed a breath of relief when she only saw Yuki sitting on the couch reading. After watching him quietly for a moment she decided to go ahead and make her presence known by walking in a turning the overhead light on. "Good morning Yuki!" She beamed her bright smile at him; her eyes twinkled though they were etched with a bit of concern. "Did you not sleep well last night?"
Looking up from his book with a smile, "Oh, I slept just fine, Tohru." Yuki paused, realizing that he'd been so familiar with her since he'd arrived. Suddenly a light blush crossed his cheeks as the realization hit that she'd been very familiar with him as well. Trying to hide his embarrassment, he looked down at his book as quickly as he could. It just felt too odd being that familiar with her. 'I guess with being away from Japan for so long, she's picked up some American habits. I really shouldn't be this surprised or embarrassed. But still..." he thought to himself.
"Are you alright, Yuki? You aren't catching a fever are you? You do look a little flushed!"
"Oh, I'm fine Tohru-kun. I think I just slept too much on the plane trip here." He mentally slapped himself. She'd obviously not been upset about his familiarity before. His last statement would probably cause her more embarrassment than anything.
He was right. Tohru's cheeks flushed when she heard her name spill from his lips. Slowly, biting her lower lip a little, she walked over to where he was sitting on the couch, his head still tucked down as if he were paying the book more attention than her. Reaching out to check and see if he had a fever, she noticed a few sweat drops on his forehead.
"Oh Yuki! You're sweating. Are you sure you feel alright?" Looking up from his book, he flinched unnoticeable as her hand came down on his forehead. His blush darkened a little when he noticed the depths of concern in her eyes.
"Really Tohru-kun. I'm all right. I'm probably just a little hungry." Yuki breathed a soft sigh as her hand was still on his forehead, though the concern in her eyes wavered slightly while her blush returned.
Her blush faded away again. "Okay Yuki. I'll go start breakfast. I don't want you to feel like you're starving the whole time you're here." She said with a smile, dropping her hand from his forehead. "Oh, and Yuki, please just call me Tohru. It's a little embarrassing and no one here in America is that formal." She started turning to head to the kitchen but paused when she heard Yuki start speaking again.
"I'm sorry. I should have known about the culture and customs here before I even decided to visit you."
She turned back to Yuki with the smile that was hers alone. "It's really all right, Yuki. When Kyo and I arrived, we were the same way. It was especially difficult since neither of us knew the English language very well. Living in a country like this has been a huge learning experience for the both of us." She turned and left the living room with that and went to the kitchen to start breakfast.
Yuki sighed a slight breath of relief. She hadn't been upset at all with his familiarity with her. He was thankful for that and realized that though she was still the same sweet girl that had left Japan and him three years ago, she was a different person altogether. 'I guess time and circumstances will always change a person, whether for the better or for the worse.' He sighed again and went back to his book, with images of Tohru's sweet smile and concerned eyes keeping him from doing any actual reading.
Thirty minutes later, Kyo came running down the stairs, as if he were in a hurry to get somewhere, just as Tohru was setting the table with breakfast.
"Guys! Breakfast is ready!" Tohru hollered from the dining room. Kyo was just sitting down at the table as Yuki entered the room, earning a good morning glare from him.
"Good morning to you too, Kyo," Yuki stated with a forced smile, not wanting to upset Tohru with his and Kyo's fighting on his first day's visit.
Breakfast was eaten in relative peace with Tohru idly chattering about things she'd like Yuki and her to do during his visit. Kyo huffed quietly whenever she mentioned something that she'd like all three of them to do together. The one thing that really caught Yuki's attention was when Tohru was talking about the Fourth of July fireworks that she wanted all three of them to watch together. Her eyes seemed to overflow with joy and excitement as she was describing the celebratory display, comparing it to the fireworks displays on New Years back home. He fully understood why they would excite her as much as they seemed to, since she hadn't been home to see any New Year's celebrations in three years.
"Oh, Yuki. Today, since it's so nice out, would you like to go to see the campus where I'm going to school?" Tohru had her goofy grin on.
"That would be lovely, Tohru." Yuki blushed a little when he said that, still feeling awkward about being so familiar now that he'd thought about it.
Noting Yuki's embarrassment, Kyo guffawed as he stood, picking his dishes up off the table. Tohru looked at Kyo, confusion swirling in her eyes. Noting her plight, he snickered and went to the kitchen.
The flush now gone from his face, Tohru noted only that Yuki was glaring at the door where Kyo had left the room. "Did I miss something, Yuki?" She was still confused.
"No, no. It's nothing." The smile he'd had all through breakfast had returned to his face. "I'd love to see your school today." The confusion was gone from her eyes; a twinkle had replaced it.
Tohru cleared the rest of the table of the dishes with Yuki's help, despite her insisting that he didn't need to. In the kitchen, Yuki noticed that the sink was empty and wondered what Kyo had done with his dishes when he took them to the kitchen. Noting Yuki's confusion Tohru giggled and set the dishes in the sink. She turned to take the dishes from his hands and placed them in the sink as well. "Yuki, you may notice a few extra appliances in here that we didn't have in Shigure's home."
She giggled again then proceeded to do nothing but rinse off the dishes. That's when Yuki noticed the dishwasher. "I see now." He smiled and opened the dishwasher. "I can't believe I didn't even notice it before." This statement caused Tohru to giggle again.
"It's all right Yuki. As much as things around here seem the same as back home, there are still some differences, most of which are good differences. Not that I ever minded washing the dishes by hand, it's just easier to wash all the dishes at once at night. Akito-san really put too much into this house when he had it built."
The mention of Akito's name caused Yuki to stiffen, but he quickly shrugged it off, not wanting to worry Tohru. "That was nice of him." Yuki's voice had a note of resentment, but Tohru didn't seem to notice.
Once they were done loading the dishwasher, Tohru packed together three lunches with last night's leftovers, then put one of them back into the fridge. "Will you grab my backpack out of the study and bring it back in here, Yuki? I'm going to go let Kyo know that we're going out and when we'll be back."
"Sure thing." He walked out of the kitchen with Tohru right behind him. In the hallway, she veered off towards the backdoor, leaving him as he head towards the study.
"Kyo?" she called from the front door of the dojo. A couple seconds later, he popped his head out.
"You two are going out now I take it?" Kyo looked a little flushed, but he always did when he started his work out.
"Yes. We'll be back a little later in the afternoon. I put together a lunch for you. It's in the fridge. Make sure you eat it; I don't want you starving before dinner time." Her brows furrowed a little when she spoke this. That made Kyo grin. She was always like that, so concerned about his health and well being all the time.
"Yes, mother," he said teasingly. The response he received was a spitting tongue stuck out at him. As he wiped the non-existent spit out of his eyes, he huffed jokingly, "Hey! Watch were you point that thing."
Giggling, as she turned on her heel, she waved goodbye. "We'll see you later, Kyo! Have fun with the kids today. And don't be too rough on them!" she exclaimed over her shoulder as she headed back towards the house.
Once back in the house, she met Yuki back in the kitchen with her backpack. After putting their lunches into the bag, they walked out of the kitchen and out of the house. Tohru locked the front door behind her, knowing that Kyo was out back in the dojo.
Turning to face Yuki, she smiled. "Let's go! Time's a wastin'!" She grabbed his hand and started pulling him away from the house. He let himself be pulled a little way then easily caught up. Yuki blushed and smiled as he realized that Tohru still had his hand in hers, but he didn't say anything since it felt nice, and somehow right, to him.
Tohru had decided that since it was such a nice day out, it would be better to walk since the campus was only about a forty-five minute walk on foot. The buses ran less frequently during the summer as well, and she didn't want to stand around waiting for the next one anyway. She explained all that to Yuki when they'd started their walk. When they started passing a few of the strip malls, she started talking about the experiences she'd had at some of the different stores and about some of the different people she'd met during those experiences.
Yuki listened with diligent ears, not wanting to miss a single word she spoke. He wished he could have been there to have those experiences with her; that thought gave way to a soft sigh. Upon hearing that, Tohru stopped mid-sentence to look at him. "Are you ok, Yuki? You're not starting to feel ill, are you?" She still had his hand in hers.
A soft blush came to his cheeks for the umpteenth time since Tohru had awoke this morning. "No, no. I'm fine. I was just thinking about how many exciting experiences you've had since you've moved here."
"Oh! They could never compare to all the exciting times You, Kyo, and I had back home," she said simply with a smile.
A bittersweet smile crossed Yuki's lips. 'She just had to mention that damn cat's name, didn't she?' he asked himself.
"I'm certain you've had many exciting experiences of your own in the past few years!" the smile never leaving her face. Yuki only nodded in response, staring longingly into her eyes.
Not wanting to break the moment, but needing to for fear of doing or saying something he'd later regret, Yuki leaned forward and placed a quick peck on her forehead. He then turned back towards direction they'd been heading and pointed forward with the hand that was still held tightly in hers, "Let's go! Time's a wastin'!" repeating the same thing she'd said earlier.
Tohru blushed furiously, not only from the quick kiss but also for not having realized that she'd been holding his hand for the past thirty minutes. She quickly let go and dropped her own hand to her side, looking down at the ground. Yuki gave pause realizing that both his actions had caused her this embarrassment.
"Tohru..." He waited for a response from her, but got none. "Tohru... I really didn't mean to embarrass you like that." A light crimson flashed across his cheeks as he spoke the next few words. "I... didn't mind that you were holding my hand."
Her face turned an impossible shade of red when she heard his words. Slowly, she looked up at him, the red in her cheeks not fading at all. "I... I..." She was at a loss for what to say next.
Leaning forward a little, gazing into her confusion filled eyes, Yuki softly placed an index finger over her lips. He noted just how soft her lips really were, wishing that it were his lips on hers rather than his finger. "Shhhh. Your campus is waiting to be seen." Slowly, he pulled his finger away from her mouth and boldly took her hand in his.
"Now, let's go before we spend more time here on the street than looking at your wonderful campus!" he exclaimed with a smile that could break a million hearts were it known that it was for Tohru alone. Yuki turned back towards the sidewalk they were on so she could let some of her embarrassment go.
With the blush fading ever so slightly, she slowly began walking them, again, towards the campus; they really weren't that far from there as it was. This time his hand was grasping hers, and that was something she couldn't not realize. She couldn't let herself forget either. This was not a day that neither would soon forget.
