A/N: I'm the slowest person eveeer. So sorry! I hope this chapter isn't too abrupt/boring/really ugly. Heh. I haven't written in a while. Erm.

Disclaimer: I think we've all gotten the gist of this, don't you? Not mine. Fin.

Ooooh! You guys! I have soo many reviews! This is like the most successful story I've ever had, and it's all thanks to you guys! I LOVE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU FOR YOUR AWESOME, HEART-WARMING REVIEWS. Seriously. They make my day sooo much brighter. Thanks a ton!

What Can Come of Cooking

Kyo pulled away from Tohru, breathless. It was those few seconds of silence that caused Kyo to blurt out a question.

"Who are you?" he uttered out. Tohru looked deeply troubled, and she dropped her hands away from Kyo, wrapping them around her waist.

"Oh my goodness," she mumbled quietly. "I'm so rude! I'm sorry!" She bowed apologetically towards Kyo, but he grabbed her shoulder in mid-movement.

"What are you doing?" he hissed, straightening her up. "You didn't do anything that was rude!"

"I—I…" Tohru's voice trailed off. "I should have let you talked first."

Kyo was about to agree, but he paused. Wait. Did he wish she had let him go first? Just what had he been planning on telling her, anyway? "It's…it's all right," he said hesitantly. There. Okay. So he hadn't wanted to go first. He hadn't really wanted to tell Tohru anything. Was it just because he was scared? Insecure?

Tohru's face brightened slightly. "I really don't know what came over me…" she let out a little giggle. "I guess you just seemed really distant." She looked up at him, her happy face suddenly creased with lines of worry. "Kyo, is there something wrong?" Her tone was sad, worried. "Is there something you…want to tell me?"

Kyo turned his head away from her eyes. They seemed to be able to look right through him. "I'm fine," he reassured her quickly. "I just…" He trailed off. "Nevermind."

Tohru sighed quietly, but Kyo pretended he hadn't heard it.

"Kyo…"

"Where is everyone?" he asked abruptly.

"Yuki-kun's not home yet, and Shigure is in his office."

"Working?" Kyo questioned with a snort. Tohru fidgeted. He could tell she was still trying to figure out what was wrong with him.

"Isn't that what he does in there?"

"I actually don't know," Kyo told her darkly. He knew this was just idle chit chat. Sooner or later Tohru would ask him what was wrong again. He was stalling, and Tohru was just being polite. Damnit.

"Do you think it's right?" he suddenly blurted out. Tohru looked up, a little startled. "Oh, you knew I was going to say something sooner or later," Kyo snapped, running a hand through his hair. For a second he remembered the feeling of Tohru's hands there instead…he shivered, and planted his feet firmly on the ground.

"Do I think what is right?" she asked curiously.

"Oh, I don't know. This!" Kyo made a sweeping motion around him. Tohru cocked her head, confused.

"The…house?" she asked. Kyo glared at her; she shrank back.

"I mean—no. Sorry. Not the house. This—This whole thing. This relationship stuff. Us."

It looked as if Tohru was about to cry. Kyo felt instantly terrible, but tried to hold his ground. "I'm just asking," he told her sharply. "Just answer, okay?"

"Um…well…" Tohru fiddled with her fingers. She fiddled with her hair. She scuffed a socked foot on the hardwood floor. Kyo realized how uncomfortable he'd made her, but he really didn't care. There was a nagging voice at the back of his head, something he was trying desperately to ignore…

"It's only right, if…if we both want to do it," she said quietly, so quietly Kyo had to strain to hear. When he finally realized what she had said, the impact of her words hit him. She was right. She was so right. "I mean," she continued shakily, "I don't want you to feel like this is forced on you. If you're uncomfortable being—you know—close or something with somebody, we can take it slow!" She looked up at him hopefully, but then looked at the floor again. "Or…we could…"

Her unfinished sentence hung in the air. They both knew; or we could break up. Kyo suddenly felt very cold. He needed to answer. He needed to answer right now.

But he couldn't. Some unseen force was choking back his voice, holding back his words. He tried to speak, tried to say something that would solve this sudden problem that had grown around them. But instead, all he could do was turn and run down the hall.

What the hell? He cursed mentally. Without even thinking, he found himself, panting, on the roof. What am I doing? Why am I running away from her? I…I love her!

He collapsed onto his knees, pounding his hands together as he thought. Okay, so what was going on with him? Everything was fine; everything was perfect, until he had told Kagura. It wasn't that he loved Kagura. Oh no. In fact, he could barely stand her. The only thing was…well, her reaction. Just what would be the reaction of others? Not just that…what was his reaction? What was he getting himself into?

"I'm not ready for this," he mumbled quietly. He wasn't. He wasn't. He wasn't. Kyo couldn't be in a real relationship. He couldn't ever…he couldn't ever be together with someone. There would always be his little wall, that wall he had built up around him over the years. It couldn't just dissolve in only a few months, in only a few weeks! No. He couldn't do it. He couldn't deal with the pressure. It was too much.

"Relationships aren't my thing," he muttered to himself again, punching his hands together harder and harder as his brain began to whir and click faster and faster.

"Why not?" a quiet voice asked from beside him. Kyo yelped and leapt into the air, heart beating wildly. He looked over at the ladder with dread. He saw Tohru standing there, only above her waist visible. She had a worried frown on her face, and he knew she wouldn't leave him alone now.

"I—I don't know." His voice had faltered. Shoot. Why did he always have to get so soft around Tohru, anyway?

She climbed the rest of the ladder and sat on the roof. Not too close, but not too far. With a sinking heart, he saw she was wearing his sweater.

"You're wearing my sweater," he said idly. Tohru nodded, giving the air a small smile. Both of them were looking out at the trees, but not at each other.

"Yea…you told me to wear it whenever I came out, remember?"
Kyo nodded. "Yea…"

"Kyo, why do you think you can't do this?" Well, she cut right to the point. He looked over at her out of the corner of his eye to see her hands on the roof as she looked at him, a look of confusion and heart-breaking sadness written all over her face.

"I just…I can't," Kyo replied firmly. "Ever since…" His sentence drifted away. Tohru looked at him nervously.

"Kyo?"

"Huh?"

"Why can't you tell me what's wrong?"

"Because you'll think I'm stupid!" He snapped, punching his fists together again. The loud noise startled Tohru, but he kept rushing on. "You'll think I'm getting soft, and that I'm actually a bundle of emotions. You'll think I'm some poor lost soul who needs some damn guidance! Well, I DON'T!"

"…I never said you did," Tohru told him with a quiver in her voice. Kyo sighed.

"This whole…relationship thing just sent me on edge. I mean, I've never actually 'been' in one, or whatever. I didn't know it would be this…"

"Stressful?" Tohru put in.

Kyo nodded, but then stopped, turning around to look at her. "Wait, what?"

"Stressful," Tohru repeated calmly.

"You think…you feel…what?" he asked, suddenly feeling very childish.

"Kyo, you're not the only one who's nervous or scared about this! Do you wonder about me at all? I'm not…I'm not confident or anything! I'm always so scared you'll hate me, or that I'll do the wrong thing, or that…that this will happen. I don't want doubts, though, Kyo."

Her tone almost broke his heart. Choking on incoherent words, Kyo finally managed an, "Me neither."

It was the first real smile he had seen on Tohru in a while. He smiled back, tentatively.

"It'll take a while," she informed him.
"I know," Kyo replied sulkily. "It can't actually all come together magically." He laughed scornfully. Tohru was silent, and when she spoke it was very quietly.

"So you're not…going to break up with me?"

Kyo's head jerked up. Had he been that obvious? "I didn't want to," he mumbled. "I was just…scared." The last word made him blush. This was about the first time he had ever admitted his feelings to such an extent.

Tohru smiled. "Me too. But we can work through this, right?"
Kyo paused, then nodded. "Right."

"And we won't have doubts, right?"

"Right."

"And we'll tell each other the truth?"

"Right."

"And you'll help me make dinner tonight?"

"Right—HEY!" Kyo cried as Tohru leapt up, giggling. "That's cheating!" he yelled at her. Tohru only scrambled down the ladder as fast her legs could carry her. Kyo followed after her, grinning at the sudden change in their conversation. This was more to his liking.

"What if I screw up the food?" he asked, running down the hall after her. He heard a laugh. "What if I poison it or something and when everyone gets sick they blame it on you?"

Kyo turned the corner sharply, running headfirst into someone. "Augh!" he cried, clutching the corner of his head, which had ricocheted off of the body and onto the wall. He looked up, blinking unsteadily to see Yuki standing in front of him.

"Oh." He paused. "Hi."

"What were you talking about, about poison and things?" Kyo ignored Yuki and craned his neck to see over his head of silver hair.

"Where'd you come from?" he questioned in an answer.

"The door to my room is right beside you," Yuki informed him dryly. Blinking again, Kyo looked to his right to see it was true.

"Oh. Well." He shrugged and began to walk around Yuki. He stood there, silently, without reacting. This irked Kyo for some reason. He was about to turn around and question his actions when a call from downstairs floated towards the two of them.

"Kyoooo! There are some vegetables down here that need to be chopped!"

Kyo sighed heavily. Looking up again, he saw that Yuki had vanished into his room. Shrugging, Kyo ran down the stairs.

Three Weeks Later…

Things were back to normal. Well, as normal as normal could get around the Sohma household, anyway. Things between Kyo and Tohru were getting better all of the time. They had gone from post-awkward conversation stage to real boyfriend and girlfriend stage. Finally, there wasn't half as much pressure as both had recently felt.

Tohru yawned, stepping out of her bedroom door early in the morning. Slipping on socks, she padded softly down the hall. Yawning again, she tried to decide what to make for breakfast. It was Sunday, and she was trying to choose what to do today as well.

"I guess I could go grocery shopping," she thought, sighing a bit. She was a bit sick of grocery shopping, especially going on her own. And she hated dragging Kyo there, considering he hated going anyway. Yuki was still keeping well away from being alone with her, for the time being, and Shigure was just too busy to go shopping!

Without even realizing it, Tohru found herself in front of Shigure's old study, or Kyo's bedroom. Well, it was just outside of the kitchen. Pausing, she knocked hesitantly. No answer. She knocked again. This time, there was a shift and a groan.

"Kyo?" she asked quietly. "Are you awake?"

A mumble. Another groan. Some scuffling noises.

"Kyo?" she questioned into the crack at the door, smiling to herself at the trouble he was having getting up.

"Whassat?" she heard him ask from inside, his voice still slurred with sleep.

"It's me, Kyo. Tohru," she told him slowly. A few seconds later, the door in front of her opened. She looked up, startled, to see a shirtless Kyo, who was scratching his back and yawning. She blushed a deep red; thankful he was still wearing pyjama pants.

"It's earlier than usual," he told her sleepily, rubbing an eye.

"Yea. We usually get up at the same time," Tohru told the floor, trying to fight the strange urge to look up at his bare chest. "But I got up a little earlier today than usual. I just thought I could wake you up."

"Oh…Okay," Kyo answered, a bit confused. "Just lemme get a shirt…hang on…"

When Tohru was sure Kyo had walked back into his room, she looked up, sighing heavily. Had he even cared? Shaking her head, Tohru tried to wipe the vision of a shirtless Kyo out of her mind. Why did he have to be so…well…handsome?

"Okay, I'm back," he said, wearing a sweater that was only halfway zipped up. Tohru, blushing a deep red, quickly zipped it up higher. Kyo startled and looked down, grinning wolfishly.

"What, nervous?" he asked teasingly.

Tohru only blushed more. "It's just—It's distracting!" she stuttered out.

That statement only caused Kyo to grin more. "Really?" he asked softly. Tohru only nodded in response. Kyo leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips. Tohru melted into his kiss immediately. These types of things were becoming more and more frequent with them.

"Oh dear, dear, dear!" a voice cried from behind Tohru.

And so were those interruptions.

The two leapt away like they were on fire. Shigure looked very pleased with his sneakiness. He giggled into his hand, and Kyo looked like he could beat Shigure up.

"O-Oh! Shigure-san!" Tohru cried nervously. "Good morning! What are you doing up so early?"

"Why, spying, of course!" Shigure cackled, and Kyo looked like he was on the edge of pounding a fist into Shigure.

"Why the hell do you always have to do that?" he yelled. Shigure only grinned in response.

"Kyo-kun, I'm flattered."

Tohru watched nervously as Kyo steadied his breathing. "You're sick," he muttered, grabbing Tohru's arm and dragging her past Shigure towards the kitchen in defiant strides.

"No, no, Kyo-kun! I'm merely curious as to how the teenage relationship works!"

"You're an idiot!" Kyo yelled back, shoving Tohru into the kitchen. She gave a little yelp as she nearly toppled to the ground. She caught herself before she could, though, which was definitely an all-time first.

"He—He likes to pop up unexpectedly, doesn't he?" Tohru asked, giving Kyo a nervous smile as she walked over to the pantry. "So, what would you like for breakfast, Kyo?"

Kyo was still mumbling under his breath as he walked over to the fridge and pulled out a carton of milk. "Um…anything, really. It doesn't matter," he told her before he began to gulp down milk. This action caused Tohru to giggle. Kyo looked over at her with startled eyes.

"What?" he asked curiously.

"It's just that you really seem like a cat! Cats really like milk, and so do you!" Tohru smiled warmly at him. Kyo shrugged, and a small smile tugged at his lips.

"I never really thought about it before," he admitted, sliding the carton of milk back in the fridge. As he closed the door, a smile suddenly sparked onto his face. Tohru looked at him cautiously.

"What is it?" she asked almost nervously. Kyo turned to her.

"Say, why don't you skip out on making breakfast?"

Tohru gasped. "What? But—But Kyo, this is part of the agreement! I can't just skip out on one of my duties! That would be so terrible to Shigure-san and Yuki-kun—"

"Oh, who cares what they think?" Kyo asked, waving a hand dismissively. "How about we just grab a quick bowl of cereal and just leave?"

"Leave?" Tohru asked, feeling curious in spite of herself. "Leave to where?"

"Where?" Kyo stood there, thinking for a moment. And then, surprisingly, he gave a bark of laughter. "Who cares? How about we just go walking around Tokyo or something? We've both been so busy lately, especially me with the dojo, I think we should do something." He gave her the innocent look of sincerity that always fooled Tohru. "Don't you?"

She was caught in a dilemma. Going with Kyo was one of the most tempting offers she had ever had, but then again, she had a job…

"As long as I get back before work!" she cried, untying the knot in her apron. Kyo laughed and gave her a high-five.

"All right. So let's grab something quick…"

"How about we don't?" Tohru asked excitedly. "I'm feeling impulsive. How about we just go?"
Kyo cocked his head to one side, and then nodded slowly. "All right then!" he cried, grabbing her hand. Tohru laughed as he dragged her out the back door and down the path that led to the main street. "Are we officially on a journey?" he asked.

Tohru nodded. A journey sounded fun. "Yes! A journey through Tokyo!" she cried gleefully.

Kyo grinned. It wasn't everyday he would go out and run around Tokyo with someone. But, well, he had been busy lately. And today with Shigure interrupting them, it made him realize just how little space they had at the house. It was time for a day off from everyone.

And hey, if a journey around Tokyo with his girlfriend wouldn't do the trick, what would?

To Be Continued…