--Snail's Pace--

Thus by chance should I stumble upon a way to find you

Chapter Three

The flight to Sydney was only an hour, and Tohru was too excited to really count the minutes or the seconds. The trip went quickly and before she knew it; she was wandered around the City with Kyou, looking for a dress she could wear to the Premiere. It still hadn't sunk into her system that she was being hauled across the world because Yuki Sohma wanted her.

He wanted her. It was as simple as that. He wanted her at the Premiere in New York. It was so uncanny, it was almost like a fairy tale and Yuki was her Prince. Everything seemed to move slowly. The people walking along the street seemed scattered within themselves, the sun was beating down heavily and light was caught in the air. Her feet were heavy and solid, pulling her down into the earth. She smiled at the fact that people who passed her by had no idea she was flying to the Fruit's Basket Premiere. She was just another girl looking for a pretty dress.

Kyou's mobile began to ring and he excused himself for a moment. Tohru nodded and sat down casually on a nearby bench. She was feeling light headed and her feet were beginning to hurt. It was a welcomed pause from shopping. She found herself listening, well eavesdropping, on what Kyou was saying into his phone.

'Yeah I found her. Just today, you're lucky……no……um, we leave in a couple of hours, we get in about, uh…12:30 New York time……yeah……… stupid rat, yeah……blue? All right then, I'll tell her that……no problem. Bye.'

Tohru jumped up quickly, sidling up to Kyou cautiously, 'So who was that?' She asked innocently. Kyou laughed loudly and grinned at her.

'Yeah, it was Yuki. He wanted to make sure I'd found you and that you were okay. He also said he'll be wearing a black suit with a blue shirt and tie. He says a matching similar dress would be nice.'

'Well, why couldn't I talk to him?'

'Oh you wanted to talk to him? What would you have said?'

Tohru paused, 'You're right. Perhaps I shouldn't talk to him just yet. It would ruin the novelty of meeting him; the suspense is much better… right?'

Kyou laughed once more and put a hand on Tohru's back to steer her down the street. This had also been done to her by Yuki as he steered her into the hotel. She was suddenly thrown back into her memories, pleasant ones at that. A smile crept across her lips as she remembered his cheeky grin and his smooth features. He'd been pleasant to be around, and he gave her a warm and glowing energy that had woken her up and struck her in the face. She been aware of everything, she'd been witty, she'd been intelligent. He brought out the best in her… literally.

'Tohru? Tohru, c'mon we need to buy this dress!' Kyou pressed her forward and into the constant flow of people.

She walked with him for a while and surveyed the various shops. They were all very expensive designers and Tohru had little money with her. She didn't feel comfortable with buying an expensive dress, it would ruin her financial balance, yet she also felt it was necessary to buy something beautiful and worthy of Yuki Sohma. There was a tight expression on her face as she wandered in and out of each shop, finding a suitable garment, and then panicking at the price before leaving with her head bowed low.

Kyou pulled at her arm, pausing her in the street and flicking back a lock of his orange hair, 'What are you worried about?' he grumbled.

'Oh… nothing,' Tohru lied, not daring to make eye contact with him.

'If you're worried about… you know, cost and everything, Yuki told me that I should buy the dress you want. He gave me the money to make sure you'd be comfortable. I …hope I've been doing that so far.'

Tohru felt her face flush bright red. It felt so nice to have someone worrying about her. For a long time she'd been living in her own apartment, fueling her own car, working at her part time job and attending Uni all by herself. It was only after high school that the true shock of her parent's deaths had really begun to sink in. She'd only just truly finished mourning for them. She smiled at Kyou, accepting of the offer he was giving her and feeling blessed.

'You'd do that… for me?' she breathed.

'No!' Kyou replied, startled by the comment and blushing, 'Yuki would. And trust me; buy the most expensive dress that you can possibly find! I want to leave at least a dent in his savings.'

'Kyou,' Tohru replied, 'nobody has ever offered me anything so big before. I'm really happy right now. I'm so happy to be going to New York, so happy to be buying a dress with you. I'm glad Yuki sent you to find me. I still can't believe he really likes me.'

Kyou managed to keep his bored, slightly impatient pose, even though he was a little chuffed about the remark. He pushed her forward once more, they only had a certain amount of time before they needed to be at the airport and Tohru was taking her sweet time.

She grinned in delight when they entered the last shop on her list. It was expensive; many of the garments sat perched in glass cases with fine words sketched into the frame to explain how they were made; but Kyou kept insisting that she pick an expensive outfit. There were two layers to the store and Tohru began on the first while Kyou sauntered upstairs. There were so many to choose from, and Tohru was fond of them all; though blue dresses to match Yuki's own outfit for the premiere seemed scarce. The ones she did find reminded her of old fashioned princesses and she didn't want to appear old fashioned as she clung to Yuki's arm walking down the red carpet; camera's flashing, reporters barking and the moon ever constant on their lovely silhouettes.

'What a dream come true,' Tohru said to herself, 'I just can't wait!'

'Hey, Tohru!' Kyou called to her from above. Tohru turned to look up at him and a gasp escaped her. She welled with excitement. In his arms sat the most beautiful light blue dress she had ever seen. It was short in length and sleeveless, but at the front, pulling together the fabric between the breasts was woven with diamonds a beautiful pattern like a butterfly. A single strand of these diamonds then ran sideways along the lining of the dress and hung loosely to one side. It was simply perfect. Tohru took the garment from Kyou, embracing it, and feeling its beautiful texture against her skin.

'Not the most expensive like I'd wanted,' Kyou said stiffly, 'but… but I think it would look cute on you.'

'I'll go try it on and you can tell me what you think,' Tohru replied. She was in simple bliss, nothing could break her wonderful mood; not even if the world had been thrown into turmoil and the earth was burning. Indeed, she did look wonderful in the dress; it gave her curves a smooth and flowing feel. Though when she looked at the price, $13 000, she couldn't help but sense she was being terribly rude by purchasing it. She swung back the door and paraded out into the store, itching to know what her second opinion was.

Kyou was sat in a small red chair with his legs crossed, flicking through an obviously very boring fashion magazine. His foot was tapping subconsciously against the polished marble floor and he hadn't noticed Tohru yet. He glanced at his watch momentarily, and muttered something that Tohru couldn't hear.

'What do you think?' she said shyly, and his head snapped up with full attention. She saw his eyes widen, what with amazement or dumbness she wasn't sure, but a soft smile was playing on his lips.

'You look…beautiful.'

O.o You wanna know what play she was auditioning for?! (-looks around suspiciously-) Lean in closer..... (-whispers-) I'll tell you later, it's a secret. And don't worry! It's not like 'P.O.R.N The Stage Play!' Yah! Nothing like that, Lol.

Or is it?

Thankyou for the lovely reviews by the way. They made me all warm and fuzzy inside. And Yes, this fic is a YukixTohru..... oh, wait....maybe it'sKyouxTohru...? No no no, it's gotta be Yukiru!!!! Wait... but there's a whole lot of Kyouru too... Ah, you'll see when it comes to crunch time what kind of fic this is