A/N: Yay for adding on chapters! Haha, I decided to make this a chapter story, even if it turns out to be pretty short. Like, five chapters, or whatever. I don't even have a story in mind, so bear with me here. It's short, but I couldn't just leave my one shot alone!

Thanks to all my awesome reviewers! You made me smile SO many times!

Disclaimer: It all belongs to Natsuki Takaya! Such an awesome girl. AND she's left-handed! Like me! Er. Not that it matters…

WHAT CAN COME OF COOKING

"Happy birthday, Yuki-kun!" Tohru cooed, placing the chocolate cake in front of her friend. He stared at it for a moment, as if this sudden bout of affection from her was surreal.

"…Thank you, Honda-san," he said quietly, a shy smile planted on his face. Tohru clapped her hands together. She had assumed he hadn't had birthdays like these at the main house, so she had decided to give him one worth remembering. Not to mention she was in an awesome mood, thanks to earlier on…

"You're welcome!" she nearly shouted, pointing at the candles eagerly as she took the seat opposite of him. "You have to blow out the candles and make a wish," she instructed happily. Yuki looked at the cake for a few seconds longer.

"It's almost too beautiful to wreck," he mourned.

"Oh, just eat the damn cake, you stupid rat," Kyo spat. Tohru stifled a nervous giggle as Yuki chose to ignore Kyo's comment.

He closed his eyes briefly, sucked in, and then blew out all seventeen candles. Tohru gave a cry of joy. "Hurrah! Happy birthday, Yuki-kun!" she grabbed the cake and immediately cut it into pieces, distributing them around the table. "Sorry if it's—ah—a bit burnt," she mumbled, a blush rising in her cheeks. She glanced at Kyo, whom she noticed was suddenly very interested with the zipper on his sweater. She smiled suddenly. She knew Kyo's sudden show of affection towards her was weird and uncommon for him. So doing something like that again between them would probably take time. She could obviously see he was embarrassed enough as it was, but…

"You can't even tell it's burned, my little flower!" Shigure crowed, taking another bite of his cake with a look of utmost ecstasy. "Simply sublime!"

"For once, I agree with him," Yuki said, smiling. Tohru blushed. She was so happy that Yuki felt happy. It was just what she wanted!

For the rest of dessert, Tohru and Yuki chatted, with Shigure cutting in here and there with some not-so-polite jokes on his part. Of course, this was the only time Kyo spoke up, and that was to yell at Shigure some more. Tohru was a little nervous that Kyo had chosen not to speak, but she hoped he would say something about it after dinner.

But he didn't. She was left to wash the plates alone. Well, except for Shigure, who was drying, which meant Yuki had to come in to keep an eye on him. So, in fact, Tohru wasn't alone at all. But as she washed the dishes, her mind was elsewhere. It was wondering about the absence of a certain cat.

After the dishes were dried and put away by Shigure, Tohru didn't waste a second's hesitation as she sped through the house, up the stairs, past the doors, out onto the balcony, and up the ladder. There, she spied Kyo, his eyes closed and his hands behind his head. He was lying in a way that suggested he was asleep, he looked that relaxed. Tohru didn't know what to do at first. Should she go ask him what was wrong? Should she go back to her room? Maybe he hadn't meant anything by the kiss. Maybe he had had some emotional stress over something earlier, and she had been his outlet! Oh no, what if that were true? Tohru would have absolutely hated for something bad to cause Kyo to snap like that, but would feel even worse to know the feelings weren't true.

"You can stop standing there like an idiot," he suddenly muttered. This brought Tohru back to the ladder with an abrupt slam.

"O-Oh, okay," she said nervously, climbing up nimbly and walking across the roof casually. She hesitated before sitting down beside him. She made sure she was an arms length away. She didn't want to make him angry or anything.

The silence that settled around them was deafening. Tohru was positive Kyo didn't notice her inner turmoil, but deep within her thoughts were debating and arguing. She felt her hands clam up as she drew her legs up to her body, resting her chin on her knees. She felt her stomach twist uncomfortably at the silence and the fights that raged within her. But on the outside, she looked like she was casually watching the landscape.

Tohru, in fact, didn't notice that Kyo was having some inner turmoil himself. He lay there casually, eyes closed, only to hide the fear and nervousness they would portray if he opened them. He had opened one eye briefly to spot Tohru had sat far away from him. Was she going to tell him she hadn't liked the kiss? That she felt differently and she had actually hoped her first kiss would come from Yuki? Maybe he wasn't good enough for her. The thought of someone actually being interested in him that way was completely unnatural. Well, except for Kagura, but on his part, he liked to pretend she didn't exist in the picture. If he could just paint her and that damn rat out, maybe things would be better.

"K-Kyo-kun?" Tohru asked suddenly, her voice higher than normal. Kyo's hands tightened around his head, and he felt his feet brace the roof harder.

"Yes?" he asked, forcing his voice to come out calmly rather than shaky.

"Were you…well, were you mad at dinner?" she asked meekly. Before he could reply she began to ramble. "I made sure there weren't leeks, or onions, or miso, so I hope it wasn't the food. It wasn't too burnt, was it? I mean, well, I'll make something just as big for your birthday, so please don't be made at Yuki-kun or anything like that! Well, even though you are, but…but…" she stopped as Kyo's hand came up to clamp her mouth shut. He saw her eyes widen, and he couldn't help but smirk.

Lifting himself up, Kyo was now sitting beside Tohru in his usual cat-like position. He looked over at her warily. "It wasn't dinner," he said firmly. "Dinner was perfect, as usual."

Tohru blushed. There he was, bringing up that word perfect again… "Oh, I'm sure it wasn't. I mean, the cake for starters was a bit too—"

"Tohru!" he finally said loudly. "Just shut up about food, okay? I wasn't mad about food, I wasn't mad about the big celebration, and I wasn't mad about that damn rat being there! I wasn't even mad," he said through gritted teeth, making Tohru realize the seriousness of his words.

"You weren't mad? Thank goodness!" she cried happily, blushing. "But then…why were you…"

"I was just…" He paused, looking up at the sky. "I was just…embarrassed, all right? I was embarrassed about what happened before dinner, and that I had ruined something for you. I thought maybe you liked someone else more and that I had taken away something important from you. I thought you would be mad at me," he said.

Tohru was momentarily shocked. Kyo never poured out his feelings. That was just…very un-Kyo-kun like! Well, at least he was starting to now…

"Oh Kyo-kun," she said softly, rashly grabbing his hand and gripping it tightly. She saw the blush form on his cheeks, and she knew her face was red too. But she didn't care at the moment. "Kyo-kun, I would never be mad at you for doing something like that! And it's okay to be embarrassed. I was too. Only because I've never actually had someone like me before," she said seriously. Kyo looked at her out of the corner of his eye. She continued to talk. "You didn't ruin anything for me, Kyo-kun. My first kiss couldn't have been more perfect," she said firmly, hoping he believed her. "And I never really truly thought about my feelings before," she told him honestly, "but I knew…I realized, once you came into the kitchen earlier today…" She let the sentence drift off. They both knew what she was trying to say. "I thought you hated me," she said meekly, finally.

"Hate you?" Kyo sputtered, looking at her like she was crazy. But just to show her he wasn't really angry, he squeezed her hand tighter. "Tohru, no one hates you. No one could hate you. Are you blind? Everyone is just so awed by everything you do!" he said quickly, feeling his face heat up again. "I wish you would notice when people are actually, really proud of you…" he paused, and Tohru thought he was done. "When I'm proud of you."

Tohru couldn't contain herself. Her heart overwhelmed with sudden feelings for Kyo. Here was a side of him she had never seen! The sweet, caring, I'm-actually-a-normal-guy-once-in-awhile side! It just made her feel fuzzy all over. Without a second thought she threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly.

"Tohru!" he cried, shocked.

"Thank you!" she told him happily, digging her face into his shoulder before a cloud of bright smoke surrounded the two". Seconds later, Kyo sat in her lap in cat form, his tail twitching back and forth. He was looking up at her with his big, curious cat eyes. She blushed.

"Sorry," she mumbled.

He only meowed.

Tohru grinned and began to stroke his back. He bristled at first, but soon relaxed. His animal instincts took over and he lay down on her lap, purring quietly. Tohru grinned again. He seemed much more calm and easy to please as a cat!

The moon rose high in the sky above them, and Tohru groaned suddenly. "I don't want to go to school tomorrow," she told Kyo dramatically. "Sometimes I just get sick of it all!"

He sat up, turned around, and pressed his paws against her arm. She looked down at him.

"Don't give up," he told her sternly. Tohru giggled.

"I won't, don't worry!" I couldn't…I have to do this for Mom.

"It's pretty late," Kyo said suddenly. Tohru gasped.

"You're right! Should we go back in? I'm sure you're probably sick of being a cat, huh?"

Without a moments hesitation Tohru scurried down the ladder and waited at the bottom. Cat Kyo padded over to the edge and peered down at her.

"What're you doing?" he asked in an annoyed tone.

"I'm waiting till you transform back!" she called back. "Okay?"

The cat meowed loudly. "Fine. Whatever." She heard him walk back across the roof and, a few minutes later, she heard the loud poof that resounded everytime someone from the zodiac transformed. She waited impatiently, shivering as a sudden wind rushed past her. She rubbed her bare arms for warmth, hoping Kyo would hurry up.

Sudden warmth enveloped her. She looked over to see Kyo standing behind her in nothing but his white shirt. His sweater had been thrown over her shoulders. She blushed a deep red. "Ah…" she began, but Kyo shook his head.

"You'll need it," he said, grinning slightly. Tohru was confused.

"I'll need it?"

"Yea. For when you come up on the roof sometimes. You always go up there in nothing but a shirt. Don't you ever get cold? Be smart for once and wear a sweater."

"Oh…um…" She shook her head fervently. "I couldn't take a sweater from you! Not to actually keep!"

"Then borrow it, geez, whatever makes you feel better," he said, smirking. "You don't have to be so polite all the time you know. I'm not, and I get along just fine."

Tohru gasped quietly. Was Kyo…was Kyo making a joke? This was a definitely new.

She smiled, snuggled deep underneath the sweater. "Oh…all right."

The two walked into the hall, and Tohru's room was right by the balcony. She stopped at her door, quickly unlocking it and opening it a crack. Kyo suddenly rested his hand on her shoulder. She looked back.

"Yes?"

He was silent, but watched her, as if he were inspecting her.

"Um…yes?" she repeated weakly. He shrugged.

"I just wanted to see your face. That's all."

Tohru felt the familiar warmth take over her body. That was so cute! Before she could stop herself she was standing on tiptoe and kissing him lightly on the lips. She had never thought she would be the one to take initiative.

She stepped back quietly, seeing the surprised look on Kyo's face. He grinned shyly, and Tohru blushed back. "Good night," she said, walking into her room.

"Good night," he replied, waving a hand at her and then, almost reluctantly, walked down the hall. Tohru clicked the door shut and then stood behind it, sighing heavily.

She hadn't known she could feel so strongly about someone before. It was almost an ache she felt deep within her. Once she had closed the door, she suddenly felt alone again. It wasn't a pleasant feeling.

She bounced into bed without even worrying about pajamas. Tonight, she wanted to sleep with Kyo. Well, his sweater actually. It was as close as she was ever going to get to embracing him without him spontaneously turning into a cat.

She suddenly felt sleepy within the warm fleece of his sweater. She yawned loudly, snuggling deeper into the sweater. What a new—and special feeling this was. She wasn't used to it, but Tohru knew already she liked it. She liked it a lot.