A/N: Here with another update! Thank you to the followers of this story. Next chapter is in the works.
Disclaimers: I do not own the characters or plot to Fruits Basket, this work is not beta read.
It was after her stay in the hospital.
Her hair had accumulated dirt and grime making her usually soft and silky strands thick with grease and knotty. Her body was still frail, as were her feelings, but her spirit was just as strong as it was before -maybe even more! And her clothes felt just a little bit looser than she remembered, but her friends had reassured her that the problem would be fixed easily. There were bags under eyes, but she supposed that was expected given the circumstances. Most importantly though she was surrounded by the people she cherished most in the world sharing a moment of pure magic.
All of this was also after the pivotal embrace.
Not that either of the two teenagers had the chance to talk about it. The elation was real, of course it was! The excitement was palpable by everyone that surrounded her in the Sohma living room! The chatter felt deafening after the hushed conversations of the hospital, laughter echoed off the walls, and teasing, there was plenty of teasing. With each easy remark she could feel the weight of the arm that had remained wrapped around her waist or shoulder for the last several hours. Since the embrace at the hospital Kyo hasn't relinquished a hold on her for even a moment.
Thoru would be lying if she said she didn't love it.
The chatter continued all through dinner and well into the evening, until Tohru found herself yawning every few minutes. For every lame excuse of someone leaving she would apologize, for every hug she allowed herself to feel a little more exhausted. Soon it was the original four of the household. Yuki began cleaning, even though Tohru offered and even started the process until she swayed a bit on her feet and found herself right back into Kyo's side, a gentle idiot said with a teasing smile. Shigure pretended to fret for a few, before both of the younger men shoved him off into his own section of the house.
Then there were just two, Kyo and Tohru and suddenly she was unsure of herself. Unsure of this new dynamic between her and Kyo. Unsure of their future, but not scared. She had spent months scared, on guard and it felt liberating to be able to say her anxieties were of excitement! There would always be concern, it was inherent for her to be concerned. For all her positivity there was sadness, how could there not be? Tohru has lived a very hard life for her young age and for the first time in what felt like forever she wasn't looking at the future with apprehension, but with hope.
In retrospect this was the distant future, there was a very near future that she was slightly concerned about. Her body still ached from her fall and full range of motion hadn't quite returned to her shoulders, but she could feel the weight of the dirt in her hair. She needed to shower or bathe or something to clean off the feel of the hospital. She just wasn't entirely sure how to go about it…
Given the nature of her being there were some things that seemed to be predictable. The first thing was that Tohru almost never complained, she believed that she was eternally blessed. With every hardship, every challenge, and every loss there was always something wonderful that came of it. The second was that Tohru worked harder than she had to; she didn't have much to prove or gain from it but it left her feeling good about the job she had done. Finally, she was going to cause an accident. She tripped over nothing, missed stairs going up and down, she had a bad rather long streak of going to lean on something and missing entirely. So the idea to stand in a shower and attempt to wash her hair and body (in the condition that it currently was) seemed less ideal. She could try a bath, but that also seemed conflicting and she really did hate the idea of drowning the day of the Sohma curse breaking.
It just felt like it had the potential to dampen the mood.
She waited until everyone had left the room, sitting alone with Kyo she allowed her body to relax into his. "I don't know about you, but I am exhausted."
He chuckled a little, "Yeah, I can only imagine. Want to head up to bed?"
Tohru murmured her acceptance and then allowed him to help her stand. Her hair had gotten a little tangled from all the movement against his shoulder and the grease that had resided in the strands for the last few days. She tried to work her fingers through the knots, "I guess I'll have to figure out how I'm going to wash my hair for the next couple of weeks."
"Maybe I can help…" Kyo said with a blush to his cheeks, and his gaze remained towards the ground. Her little exclamation of surprise forced him to quickly look back up, "not like that!"
"How do you mean then?" Tohru stuttered out flustered with a blush staining her cheeks.
"I meant like, outside or the kitchen sink or… or something!" She giggled softly but it fell on deaf ears as Kyo continued to ramble. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I'd like to –we would eventually… why are you laughing damn it?"
"I'm sorry Kyo-kun! I'm sorry, it's just…" she paused to gather herself and smiled brightly at him, "it's cute and I'd appreciate the help, thank you Kyo-kun."
"Alright then." He smirked back at her and then let his eyes scan the now quiet and darkened house. "I mean, if it's bothering you that much I don't mind helping out tonight. The kitchen sink is empty and it shouldn't take that long."
"I don't want to disturb the whole household!"
"Relax," he poked at her cheek, "we'll be quiet."
"I mean… if you're sure." Tohru looked between the kitchen and Kyo, then back to the kitchen and back to Kyo. "Okay, yes, if you wouldn't mind."
So he had her wait at the small wooden table in the kitchen while he ran upstairs to grab her shampoo from the bathroom. When he returned with a towel on his shoulders Tohru couldn't help but smile over at him. The way he quietly told her to shut up despite her not saying anything had her stifling a laugh and the teasing way he told her he had changed his mind because she couldn't stop laughing at him. Admittedly the sink wasn't the most comfortable, but there was something about having Kyo wash her hair that had Tohru feeling at peace.
It took him a few minutes to work the suds of the shampoo through her tresses and then to rinse was a whole new ordeal for him! He tried his hardest to keep the water from splashing out of the sink, but it felt impossible. He even managed to get some down Tohru's face and onto her shirt. "It's okay Kyo-kun! Really, I appreciate your help and it won't matter anyway when I change into my pajamas." she said every time a splash of water escaped the sink.
"Hold still while I try and towel dry." he mumbled with a blush on his cheeks. "I didn't think to grab your comb or anything."
She took over the task of drying her hair and let the towel rest around her shoulders and down her back, letting her long hair fall onto it instead of her shirt. Tohru smiled brightly up at Kyo and then went to her toes to press a steady kiss to his cheek. "Thank you Kyo-kun."
Kyo's cheeks were hot and red, his hand pressed to the cheek as if to hold the feeling of her lips against his skin and in a dazed voice said, "Don't mention it…"
It wasn't a dramatic declaration of love, but it was enough. In fact, to Tohru, it was more than enough!
