A/N: Huzzah! The DATE chapter! Aw, I absolutely adore this chapter. So full of cute Kyo and Tohru fluff. Erm. Yea. Course it is. I hope you love it too! Review please, that would simply make me grin to infinity…and BEYOND!
Disclaimer: The only thing that belongs to me is the plot and teenage angst. Heh.
YOU GUYS! AW. You just DON'T like to make me feel normal, do you? Everytime I come on the Internet, you guys have left the best, most awesome reviews that make me feel anything but normal. They make me feel all warm and fuzzy and perfectly happy with everything in the world. I could listen to RAP music, and feel so splendidly happy with everything because of your reviews. Hearts to you all!
PS: I feel deep love for Yuki. Seriously. He's hot. He's sweet. He's so adorable. So my chapters that hurt Yuki inwardly hurt me as well. But as much as I love Yuki, Tohru and Kyo just so belong to together. Sorry, Yuki. You're a great guy. But if you've ever read the manga, you will see the love that spouts between Kyo and Tohru. So I'd like to apologize to Yuki! Haha. Sorry Yuki.
What Can Come of Cooking
Tohru waited nervously outside of the school doors, twirling the end of a pigtail nervously between her fingers. The sun was shining down on her and the sky was a tranquil blue. Birds chirped from nearby trees, and happy students tumbled out of the school, laughing and joking as if it were already summer break. Tohru took all this happiness and good cheer as a good omen. She was always on the watch for signs of something good to come.
She spotted the orange hair from the bottom of the stairs. She stiffened slightly, feeling a sudden, new embarrassment take over her body. She felt her hands clam up and her legs tremble beneath her. He had actually, well, sort of, asked her out on a date. It was a new concept. A…romantic date. It was afternoon, so he probably wouldn't take her anywhere special. Tohru really didn't mind. She just wanted to spend the day with Kyo.
Tohru could tell from the look of nervousness on Kyo's face he was feeling the exact same way as her. She tried to make it less tense between them as she bounded in front of his face, shocked at her own show of energy.
"Kyo-kun!" she cried happily, grinning up at his face. It didn't show, but beneath her it felt as if her legs were about to collapse.
"Er—hey, Tohru," he replied quietly. Tohru fell silent, looking up at his eyes. They darted nervously to the left of Tohru. She noticed his hands in his pockets, clearly in fists. She also noticed the way his right foot bobbed up and down.
"Kyo-kun," she said quietly. "Are you nervous?"
This seemed to snap him out of it. "Nervous?" he snapped, chortling. "I don't get nervous, Tohru!" He grinned.
Tohru grinned back. "Of course you don't," she assured him, grinning to herself.
The two walked side by side through the huge crowd of students that continued to stream out of the school and split around Kyo and Tohru. His hands were swinging lazily by his sides, and Tohru, rashly, grabbed his left hand. She felt something like giddiness at Kyo's little gasp of shock as he looked down at their hands. Then he looked at Tohru's face, which was smiling nervously. He eyed her suspiciously.
"Tohru…" he said warningly.
"What?" she asked innocently back.
"We're in public."
"I know!"
"So…"
"Kyo-kun, I don't care. I want people to know, remember?"
"What about your two friends? The yankee and the wave girl?"
Tohru made a tsking noise. "Their names are Uo-chan and Hana-chan. And I told them today in class."
She left Kyo hanging. He felt something nervous flutter in his stomach. He didn't really want to feel the wrath of either of those girls, and they seemed to be overly protective of Tohru as it was. "…And?" he prodded, realizing his hand must felt sweaty as she held onto it tightly. The thought made him flush. How could Tohru stand to hold hands with…with a monster?
"They acted like they knew already!" Tohru shrugged, gripping onto his hand tighter. The feeling of having someone to hold hands with was…nice. "Isn't that funny?" she asked brightly.
Kyo shivered. "Er…yea…funny," he replied lamely.
"So!"
"…So?" Kyo asked.
"I can't help but ask—where are we going?"
It was the first time that afternoon Kyo flashed a smile that wasn't too nervous. "Somewhere where I hope you'll be happy."
"Happy? Ooh! I wonder where?" Tohru swung their hands lightly between them, looking up at the sky. "You probably won't tell me, huh?"
"No way!" Kyo replied, bopping her head with the other hand. Tohru laughed.
"Okay, okay! I guess I'll just have to wait."
Kyo tried to shrug nonchalantly, but it came out as a sort of wiggle. "Yea." Would she like it? Would she be happy? Or would she think he was being…morbid?
Kyo stopped in mid-step. Tohru stumbled to a halt behind him, her hand slipping out from his as she tried to straighten herself out from falling. "K-K-Kyo-kun!" she cried, flustered. "What are you doing?" She bent over to see Kyo crouched beside a fence. Tohru tried to peer closer, but suddenly he stood up, sending Tohru tumbling back a few steps.
"Aaah!" she cried, slipping on her own feet and almost crashing to the ground. Kyo grabbed her arm just in time, pulling her up not-so-nicely back onto her feet.
"You're hopelessly clumsy," chided Kyo, glaring down at her.
Tohru laughed nervously. "Heh…heh…Hey! Kyo! What's that?" She pointed to the hand he held behind his back. Something like a blush overtook Kyo's face.
"What's…what?"
"That! In your hand!" Tohru bobbed up and down happily. "What is it? Is it what you picked up off of the ground?"
"Well, I didn't exactly pick up a tin can or anything," Kyo snapped.
"Kyooo-kun!"
"Okay, okay, close your eyes."
Tohru obeyed, feeling thoroughly happy.
"Now hold out your hands."
She obeyed once again. Instantly she felt tall, cool, things fall into her grasp. Kyo grabbed her other hand and clamped the two of hers together around the bundle of tall, fuzzy things. She giggled nervously at the feel of Kyo's hands.
"Can I look now?" she asked.
"Yea."
Tohru cracked open an eye, then let out an audible gasp as she opened her other eye. "Kyo-kun!" she cried, her heart swelling with a warm feeling. "Kyo-kun…!" she cried again, at a complete loss for words. There, in her hands, was a bouquet of different colored daisies. White, pink, red, blue…it was like a bundle of rainbow in her hands! "Did you just pick these?" she asked in a quiet voice.
Kyo shrugged, his face as red as a tomato. "Well, you know, on TV the guy always has these huge bouquets of flowers for the girls, but I couldn't really afford anything fancy, so I just picked these…"
"Kyo-kun! They're so beautiful!" Tohru felt tears pricking at her eyes. "I—I—They make me so happy!"
Kyo's blush now seemed to be giving off heat. "You don't have to be so…loud about it," he mumbled, beginning to walk down the street. Tohru sniffed in the scent of flowers, buzzing with the warm feeling that had leaked out of her heart and through the rest of her body. She skipped after Kyo, the bouquet of flowers still tight in her grip.
"I would hug you right now, you know!" Tohru said happily. Kyo glared at her.
"Keep it down!"
"Okay, okay." Tohru giggled again, feeling like a small girl. "Thanks a lot though. This is already turning into a beautiful date."
Kyo grinned shyly. "You think so?"
Tohru nodded fervently. "Yes, I do!"
"I guess it's time to take you to the rest of the date."
"Chocolate or vanilla?"
"Um…"
"Oh, come on Tohru, it's just ice cream!"
"Okay, okay! I think…chocolate."
"Two chocolate, please."
"Wait! Wait! What about…strawberry…?"
"Tohru!"
"Vanilla! I'll have vanilla!"
Kyo sighed heavily, turning back to the confused looking ice cream vendor. Kyo could see this happened to him a lot. He looked too haggard to have not had this happen everyday. "That'll be one vanilla, and one chocolate."
Tohru took a deep breath, as if she were about to speak. Kyo's hand flew out and clamped around her mouth. He turned back to the ice cream vendor, his hand still tight across Tohru's mouth. "Hurry, please," he advised. The ice cream man did Kyo's bidding.
Kyo pulled his hand away when he finally had to pay the man. Tohru took her vanilla ice cream tentatively, blushing as Kyo counted out the right amount of yen. Today, with the sun shining down on him, she noticed just how truly handsome he was. And tall. Very, very, tall.
He turned around to look at her, with his own chocolate ice cream in hand. "…What?" he asked nervously. Tohru shook her head vigorously.
"Nothing, nothing!" She looked around the park that was lined with large, looming, willow trees. "Hey, want to go on the swings?"
"The…swings? With ice cream?"
Tohru tugged at his arm. "Come on!"
"Oh, all right." Kyo gave a laugh as Tohru dragged him towards the wooden swings. She plopped down on one, one hand on the chain and the other gripping onto her ice cream. The daisies lay comfortably on the sand beside her. She laughed as Kyo tried to balance his ice cream as he wobbled on the swing.
"Have you ever been on swings?" Tohru asked pleasantly. Kyo snorted.
"Of co-our—ACK!" Kyo's hand slipped off of the chain and he fell backwards off of the swing and into the sand on his back. His hair was soon matted with sand, and his ice cream had slipped off of the cone at his backwards tumble. Tohru's laughter punctured through his mind. Blushing profusely, Kyo stood up off of the ground, brushing the sand off of his clothes.
"Swings are a waste of time anyway," he muttered, looking down at the melting puddle of chocolate on the ground that had once been his ice cream. "I guess I should go buy a new one," he decided.
"We can share mine, if you want!" Tohru told him happily, not even realizing the meaning of her words until moments after they came. Then she began to blush furiously. "Um—I mean—well, that is…"
Kyo's hand snatched her ice cream cone away and he took a large bite out of the vanilla ice cream.
"Hey!" Tohru cried, standing up.
Kyo grinned. "Hey, you said we could share, didn't you?"
"Yea, but that means I get some too!"
"After I'm done," Kyo assured, walking away and taking a loud, slurping, lick of the ice cream. Tohru chased after him, quickly grabbing the bundle of flowers off of the ground.
"Kyo-kun! Kyo-kun!" She caught up with him, tugging on his arm. "Share, okay?"
Kyo laughed, handing the half eaten ice cream back to her. "Gee, you sure are worried about your ice cream, aren't you? You're acting like a little kid."
"I'm just…excited. And happy," Tohru told him, smiling at him.
Kyo smiled back. "Want to see the last part of our—our…"
"Date?" Tohru helped. Kyo nodded mutely. "Yes, I'd love to!" Tohru relied happily.
They arrived at the temple just as the sun began to set. The sky was an array of orange and red, and a chilly breeze swept past the city. Birds were silent, and the only noises were the trees whispering. Tohru glanced up at Kyo questioningly.
"Kyo-kun…"
He didn't reply, but instead continued to walk down the dirt path that was lined with large, blossoming trees. Tohru knew where they were. And if Kyo was doing what she thought he was doing, he cared more for her than she ever thought he could.
"Kyo-kun," she prodded again. "Are you taking me…"
Kyo nodded curtly. Then he spun around, gripping onto her shoulders. "Do you…mind?"
"Do I mind?" Tohru asked back blankly. Kyo nodded.
"Do you mind that I'm taking you…there? You're not mad, or sad, or anything?" He paused, a mixture of worry and apprehension clearly visible in his vivid, cat-like eyes. "I don't want you to be sad," he added quietly. Tohru's heart broke at his tone.
"Kyo-kun," she replied, gripping onto the rough hands that held her shoulders tightly. "I'm anything but sad. This…this makes me the happiest I've been so far today." She clasped a hand and continued to walk down the path, Kyo in tow. "You've made me so happy today, Kyo-kun. I don't want you to possibly think you're making me sad!"
Kyo nodded mutely, but the relief in his face was obvious. "Well…okay."
The two arrived at her grave fifteen minutes later. Tohru looked down at the grave, which was a bit unkempt and dusty. She brushed the dust off of her mother's name, smiling in a sad way. The daisies were still tight in her hand, and she laid them gently across the grave.
"Kyo-kun, do you mind that I…?"
"No," he replied shortly. "I'm glad you did."
Tohru smiled at him. At least he wasn't mad at her for giving her mom the daisies. "Those are from Kyo-kun," she told her mother's grave quietly. "He—He's really sweet," she said even more quietly, making sure Kyo could just barely hear her words. His face grew red from the few feet away from her he was. "I like him a lot, Mom. I hope you do too. He's really nice. I'm sure you would have…loved him if you knew him."
Kyo's blush grew even redder, and he gave a cough. "Tohru?"
She turned around to look at him, tears pouring down her cheeks. His expression turned from uncomfortable to shocked. "T-Tohru? What's wrong?" He rushed up and grabbed her arms. "I didn't make you cry, did I?"
Tohru sniffed loudly, shaking her head. "No, you didn't. You made me happy. So happy. This shows that…that you care a lot. You know how much I love my Mom. That thought itself makes me all…all warm with joy." Tohru grinned up at him through her tears. Kyo still looked apprehensive.
"And you're crying because…?"
"I'm happy. I'm crying because I'm just so happy." This is the first time someone has shown such…dare I say it, love for me since my mom passed away.
"So you don't think taking you here was weird or anything?"
Tohru shook her head. "No! It's a perfect idea! The perfect way to end off a perfect date." She turned around to smile at her mom's grave. "I hope you love the flowers as much as I did, Mom."
Kyo shifted nervously, his hands still clutching her arms. At least she hadn't burst into tears of sadness and blamed all her life's woes on Kyo. That would have been terrible. At least she had thought it was a nice, caring, thought. That was what he had been hoping for. This grave made him nervous enough as it was. Taking Tohru here had been a sacrifice he hoped would have a good ending.
It had.
"Kyo-kun, can we go now?"
Kyo looked down at her. "Yea," he answered softly. "It's getting cold."
She smiled up at him. "And I have to get to work."
Kyo laughed gently. "Oh, yea. I guess we better hurry."
"Y-You're going to walk me to work?"
"Well, of course!" Kyo said loudly, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "I'm not just going to leave you here. Come on, we better hurry."
Tohru nodded. She looked once back at her mom's grave. Then she turned around, reached out for Kyo, and clasped onto his hand once more.
She was glad to have someone to love.
A/N: Aw. So sweet. I don't know if this is after that one May when the three went to the grave. I just can't remember if they had another year of school after that, or if the year before was their first year. My friend has my first two books, so I don't really know. Eep! Well, if it was afterwards, good. If this is before, we can pretend it works anyway. Haha. Read and review please!