[Disclaimer] Welp, I still don't own 'em.
[AN] I know. I'm evil for having waited so long to put this chapter up. Unfortunately, I've been ultra busy with school and I was working on a challenge fic for the FBFF ML. This chapter is short, but as we previously discussed, I'm evil. Also, if you skipped straight to this chapter, you may want to check out chapter 14 again since I added almost a page of stuff to it. Also, I picked up a beta-reader. Unfortunately, she was going out of town this weekend. I decided I'd go ahead and post this chapter, but, bare in mind, I might be making changes to it. ;-)
Chapter XV"Oh Yuki, isn't this place just beautiful?!" Tohru resounded as the two walked into the restaurant. "It always reminds me of just how much I miss home. I can't wait till I get to go back!"
"It is lovely, Tohru. Just how did you find such a traditional restaurant?" asked Yuki, curious because the city they were in wasn't all that big to begin with, nor did it seem to have a large following of traditional Japanese anything.
"Actually, Kyo and I found it quite by chance. When we first moved here, we did a lot of exploring to better acquaint ourselves the area." Tohru smiled sweetly at her date.
"May I help you?" asked the hostess pointedly with a slightly raised brow, registering the ivory colored kimono with cherry blossoms on the girl as well as the loose fitting, dark blue yukata on the boy. Her raised brow and slight smirk gave her a somewhat stuck up appearance, but she didn't seem to care.
Yuki looked at the lady, noting her own traditional sky blue kimono, and smiled. "Yes Ma'am. We have a reservation for Sohma."
The young lady recognized the name instantly, as most of the restaurant staff did, since most of them came directly from Japan. The family name was far more revered than Yuki or Tohru even realized, as Yuki had made the reservation the week prior, while most people would have had to set the reservation at least a month in advance. However, the hostess did not want either of them to discern that, so she simply looked at her reservation book on the podium before looking back up at the two with far more of a pleasant look than before. She pointed to a corner of that front area where a mat had been laid out specifically for customer's shoes. "You may leave your shoes there." Her eyes glittered a bit and she had a faint smile on her lips. Once their shoes were off and placed neatly on the mat, she continued, "Please follow me. The table is ready for you now."
The girl led them down a short corridor. On each wall of the small hallway, there were evenly spaced shoji doors. About halfway down, the lady knelt on the floor before sliding a door open on the left. Yuki and Tohru each bowed to the hostess respectfully before entering the small room. After each sat down on the tatami floor at the table, which could easily have accommodated another two people at least, the lady spoke softly. "Someone will be with you shortly," she said before bowing then sliding the door closed.
Once she was gone, Yuki and Tohru took a moment to take in their surroundings. The room was sparsely decorated. The only decorations of note were the two vases with an iris arrangement in each. On one of the two walls congruent to the entrance was another sliding door, presumably to another room. This was probably so they could make room for larger groups when necessary. The current space however, was large enough to comfortably accommodate 5 people: four patrons and their server. The table was of the freshly polished cherry wood variety; it was particularly elegant for its simplicity. Despite the paper doors, if there were anyone in the room next to them, they could not be heard. They only thing they could hear, as a matter of fact, was themselves and the classically traditional Japanese flute that seemed to be permeating the walls themselves, as there was no sign of any speaker in the room, though the music itself was quite soft and relaxing. The lighting, like the music, was soft and comforting. There were two oil lamps burning in the corners opposite the flower arrangements as well as about fifteen lit candles interspersed randomly around the room. The room however, regardless of all the fire, was not uncomfortably warm by any means. The room, all told, was a romantic scene to behold.
Five minutes of silence passed before there was a quick, almost inaudible, forewarning rap on the door before it quickly slide open. The new girl kneeling outside the door was wearing a similar kimono to the hostesses, though hers was a pale, almost pastel, green. After picking up the tray, she stood and quietly shuffled into the room. Once the door was shut, she approached the table, kneeling so that she would be eye level with its occupants before setting a bottle of hot sake in the center of the table and placing a small cup, one each, before Yuki and Tohru. Next, she placed a cup of water each in front of the two. Now that everything that had been on her tray was on the table, she picked up her tray before standing and repeating the same procedure of opening and closing the door. Before she left though, she spoke. "If it pleases you Sohma-san, we will bring your meal shortly." With that said, she shut the door behind her, leaving the music to replace what would have been silence.
Tohru and Yuki looked at each other, a smile on each of their faces. Tohru knew that Yuki had preplanned the meal they would enjoy when he set the reservation, so she was not bothered when menus were not presented, nor their order taken. Upon gingerly taking the warm ceramic bottle that held the hot liquid, she extended her arm with a silent question on her face.
Yuki looked into her eyes with a smile playing at his lips and nodded slowly. After she'd poured the clear beverage, he took what had been offered and drank before replacing the cup on the table so she could pour some more for him, as was with tradition. "That was delicious he stated." The brew had obviously been imported directly from Japan, he noted to himself.
Once she dispensed more sake to him, Tohru poured some into her own cup, then, after replacing the bottle in the center of the table, she sipped the drink herself. "Mmmm. You're right. That is delicious." She'd only had sake a few times previously, but this was the best she'd tasted thus far. After the first taste of this sake, she quickly finished off the contents of her cup then set it on the table. Yuki took that opportunity to fill her cup.
Waiting for their dinner to arrive, they quietly chatted about all the fun things they'd done over the past two weeks. They talked about Tohru's school, the fourth of July picnic, as well as the many other places that she took him to see during his time here. Much to her relief though, nothing came up about the more emotionally distressing moments for her that they'd had together. This would be the last night they would have to spend together until New Years and she wanted to enjoy it to the fullest and without the distress.
Yuki had just refilled her sake cup when there was a light knock at the door before it slid open to announce their dinner had arrived. They both smiled as the server walked in with a tray full of different sashimi, sushi, and various other side dishes. Tohru balked at the amount of food being served to them. She wondered why Yuki had ordered so much food. Little did she realize that he was just as surprised at the copious amount of food on the tray.
Yuki suspected it was the Sohma name that was actually receiving this glamorous dinner. He didn't really mind, but there would be no way they could finish all this food. He knew, though, the leftovers would be packed up for them to take home.
Yuki and Tohru bowed simultaneously to the waitress once all the food had been placed in front of them. She bowed back just before exiting the small retreat. Once she was gone, they stared at the spread; Tohru's eyes were still as wide as an owl's at night. Yuki was still smiling at her when he finally broke the silence. Nodding slightly to her, "The Princess first."
Tohru blushed as her memory went back to the White Day onsen trip that Momiji had given her. There wasn't as much food here, but there was still so much to choose from. Like that time, she was told to pick first, and she had no clue what to choose. Nervously, since Yuki was watching her with gleaming eyes, she held out her chopsticks, finally decided on a piece of salmon, one of her favorite kinds of fish.
He pensively watched as she made her choice and delicately chewed the small portion of meat. "Oh Yuki, this is delicious!" she said after finishing the bite.
Smiling, he tried a piece of the same thing then nodded in agreement. They ate in relative silence. Tohru was trying to pay more attention to the food in order to avoid making too much eye contact. Every time she looked at him, a blush would rise up to her cheeks; he seemed to be paying her more attention than the present food.
After a while, there was yet another knock at the door. This time the cook decided to make an appearance. He bowed slightly before asking how everything tasted. Tohru beamed at the question before jovially answering. "Oh, everything is absolutely wonderful."
After her small outburst, she quickly looked down with a deep blush on her cheeks. Yuki chuckled at this then confirmed her statement with one of his own. "Yes, the food is delicious. Thank you for the wonderful spread this evening," he finished with a small bow to the cook.
The cook looked extremely satisfied with the responses he'd just received. Yuki imagined that he only came out to greet influential or wealthy customers. "I'm pleased that everything is to your liking. If there is anything what so ever that you would like, please do not hesitate to ask," he said with another small bow before relieving them of his company.
Tohru giggled after the door was shut, the blush still on her face. "Everyone here is always so pleasant. I suppose that's why Kyo and I come here on occasion." She looked back down again when she mentioned Kyo's name, knowing that Yuki still didn't care for the cat all that much.
He unnoticeably winced at her words before responding. "I can see why the two of you would come here. The staff has been nothing but nice to us."
They finished eating, this time between idle spoken chatter. The leftovers were taken from the table when they were done and second bottle of sake was brought to the table. Yuki poured first this time. He mentally noted that they must have given them the best they had in the house despite what he'd actually asked for when he placed the order.
The two fell silent again; Yuki was watching Tohru who was looking down at the hands in her lap. He moved over to a side of the table next to her so that he was no longer sitting across from her. This caught her attention but she didn't look up. Yuki continued to study her with adoring eyes, noticing her blush deepening as he closed some of the space between them.
"Tohru?" He spoke with an extremely gentle voice, not wanting to startle her after the quiet. He waited for a moment before sliding his hand across the table with a request for hers.
She slowly trailed her eyes across the table, stopping momentarily at the hand proffered to her, then up to gaze at the warm violet eyes that were watching her back in earnest. Just as slowly, she shakily put one of her hands in his. "Y... Yuki..."
He shushed her with a gently squeezed hand, not leaving her gaze for a moment. There was another moment of silence before he began speaking again. "Tohru... I love you."
Tohru was so nervous, and she wasn't really sure why, but for some reason, she knew something was going to happen. When he spoke those words, she caught her breath. When she felt the tears start to well up, she quickly looked back down at her lap. Her hand would have joined her gaze there, but Yuki had a gentle but firm grasp of her hand. Trying with all her might, she held back the tears that wanted to be released.
"Tohru..." Yuki knew that she was nervous, with anticipation he hoped, but still he pressed. "I love you so much." There was another pause before he continued. "Please look at me."
Fighting the tears, she looked back up, hesitantly meeting his gaze. The smile had disappeared though she wasn't frowning outright. Yuki wasn't smiling either. His face was very serious, but his eyes were full of the love he was speaking.
Her gaze recaptured, he paused, soaking in her beauty. She looked as though she were about to burst, eyes glistening with the promise of soon to be shed tears. "Tohru, will you marry me?"
Her dam sprang a leak; the first tear slipped down her cheek though she'd fought it the entire time. The first was quickly followed by the next and then another after that. Before long, she had to look back down at her lap because she couldn't hold the tears in at all. She pulled her hand from his; she just wanted to hide her face in them as the tears continued, leaving a wet spot on her kimono where they fell. She didn't know what to say. She really hadn't expected him to propose. This was so sudden, seemingly out of the blue. She was so confused and really didn't know what to say to him. There was a shift in the air and then he was next to her, his hands on her shoulders. She hadn't meant to, but she jerked away from him as her sobs became audible.
"Yuki... I... This... I..." was all that escaped her lips between the tiny gasps of air she seemed to be fighting for.
Yuki was taken aback slightly and was at a loss for words. He really hadn't expected this reaction from her though the tears hadn't surprised him. When she pulled away from his touch like this though, he was slightly shocked. He thought she had the same feelings for him, but this contradicted his impressions. "Tohru... I..."
She cut him off before he could say anything else. "Yuki... I love you too... but this...it can't...it won't... I can't marry you," she blurt out between gasps, then jumped up preparing to run out of the place but he grabbed her hand before she could.
"Tohru... Why? What is it? Talk to me. Please don't leave like this." If Tohru had looked at him, she'd have seen the concern that could easily be read in his eyes.
She paused but kept her free hand over her face. She really didn't want Yuki to see her like this. She couldn't even look him in the eyes anymore. "Yuki... I can't... Please... I have... to go." She ripped her hand from his and half ran out of the room, leaving the door open.
"Tohru..." he called out after her with a whisper. He knew she wouldn't have stopped even if he'd yelled her name. She'd left him completely dumbfounded, and he hadn't any clue as to why. He stood there staring at the open doorway. Seconds after she'd left him, another form appeared in the field of vision. In an utter state of shock, he vaguely noted it was the hostess from earlier.
