Tohru, 2991 Nights Before
Kyoko was a firm believer in making certain that her daughter knew about sex so that she could stay safe and healthy. She had made many bad choices through her life, and was determined that Tohru would not repeat her mistakes. By the time Tohru was 10, she knew about sex, consent, pregnancy, and disease prevention. Once Tohru reached middle school, Kyoko made sure she had access to methods of birth control, and knew how to use them.
Kyo, 1714 Nights Before
Kazuma had very little practical knowledge when it came to sex. He had kissed a couple girls and hadn't particularly enjoyed the experience. As a preteen, he and his friends had experimented a bit with each other but in time his friends moved on to girls, and Kazuma wasn't really bothered by the focus of their attention turning elsewhere. Due to a combination of feeling awkward about it, and assuming that Kyo would be as uninterested in romance as he was, Kyo didn't get a sex talk until he was fourteen. And ultimately, it was less of a sex talk and more about Kazuma speaking of the ethereal beauty of courtly love.
(Kazuma might not have known anything about sex, but he was well-versed in the literary classics of romance.)
Ultimately, Kunimitsu took it upon himself to make sure that Kyo knew about pregnancy, disease, and respecting personal boundaries.
Despite his guardian's good intentions, Kyo thought that the teaching was pointless. Given the curse, the chances that he'd ever need to use the condoms he had been given were very low indeed.
Kyo and Tohru, 682 Days Before
Tohru hadn't exactly been cut off from boys when she was younger, it's just that she wasn't interested, and the feeling was apparently mutual. Sure, she recognized that some boys were quite handsome (especially class rep Yuki Sohma), but how good-looking a boy was, or wasn't, didn't have any real relevance to her life.
Kyo, on the other hand, had virtually been isolated from girls. Boys-only elementary and middle schools, and he originally went to a boys-only high school as well. Really, the only girls he was familiar with were Kagura and Rin, and those two he avoided as much as possible.
Then, these two high schoolers started sharing a house. Living with men, all of whom she had to admit were very good looking, was definitely a new experience for Tohru. Particularly, seeing a side to men she had never seen before: drowsy, bed-headed Yuki; Shigure with his kimono a bit loose, so quite a lot of his chest was visible; Kyo, coming inside after exercising, his tight t-shirt visibly moist due to sweat. These were men at their most palpable. At their most masculine. The sight of them, particularly of Kyo, stirred something in her. She wasn't completely sure what that something was, but she knew she liked it.
Kyo living with a woman for the first time since he was a child. At first he avoided her, for his own reasons. Then he began to spend more time around her. He couldn't remember the first time he saw her and thought "cute". Maybe it was when she came up on the roof and demonstrated that she was no good at punching. He was equally unsure as to when he started becoming protective of her. It had to have been before he went to bring her back from her grandpa's house. At some point, she stopped being 'the person I have to be careful around so I don't turn into a cat' and became something else.
And there were other feelings, too. Feelings he'd never even conceived of before. There were things he started to notice about her. How her bare legs looked. Seeing the back of her neck when her hair was in a ponytail. Everything about her told him, this was the shape of a woman.
Kyo and Tohru, 343 days before
When he finally admitted to himself that he was in love with her, he recognized that he'd actually been in love with her for a long time. He loved being in love with her. He couldn't imagine anyone better. And yet, this love meant pain. The knowledge that he couldn't be by her side forever hurt him badly. He decided that was what lovesickness must feel like. He suddenly felt more sympathetic for Kagura. The feeling of need for her made the reality of the curse all the more cruel.
When Tohru realized that she was in love with him, her first feeling was guilt. How dare she force her feelings on him? How dare she forget her mother like that? How dare she?
As she learned more about the curse and Kyo's fate, she left the guilt aside, replacing it with determination. She didn't know how, but somehow she'd find a way. She would fix it. Somehow, she would make certain Kyo was happy-even if it wasn't with her.
Kyo and Tohru, the day and night it happened
He apologized, and confessed for his own part. The thought that they could be together, that no person, and no god could stand between them now made them deliriously happy. Only the curse itself separated them, and since they loved each other so much, they wouldn't let the curse stop them from touching each other.
Then they hugged. And then, even the curse was gone. Tohru cried. Kyo tore off the beads.
Apart from when Akito pulled Tohru in to speak, they were together constantly, for the rest of the day. They touched each other a lot because they could now.
That night, when they said goodnight to each other, they kissed. That was a thing they could do now. This was a thing they could do from now on.
There was no asking each other out on formal dates or verbally confirming their boyfriend-girlfriend status. They were a couple, that's all there was to it. When each of them fell asleep in their own bedrooms, they fell asleep not as individuals, but as half of a couple. Whatever bond Kyo had lost, the new one he had gained more than made up for, as it was not one that had been forced upon him. It was one that they had allowed to take root in their own hearts. And gods willing, it would grow all the stronger.
Despite what they knew to be true, they could both still hardly believe it: less than 24 hours before, both of them believed that they'd never be together with the one they loved. But tonight, those doubts and fears were washed away.
The future no longer loomed as a terrifying thing, because they would be together. For tonight and tomorrow and tomorrow, and…
Kyo and Tohru, 8 nights afterwards
There was nothing left to fear. Nothing to hide. They loved each other regardless of who might see. They never made an announcement, but those who were close to them just knew. They were together. They were a couple. It could not have been more obvious, anyway. They were always together. And Kyo was smiling.
And as nothing impeded their relationship now, the desires came back. The sight of Kyo shirtless on a hot day made her weak at the knees. Seeing the curve of the small of her back made it impossible not to touch her. And he could touch her. There was no bastard of a father, no god, no curse that would stand between them. The only one who could stop him was Tohru herself, and she was not the least bit interested in him withholding any sort of physical intimacy.
The first time Shigure had caught them kissing, there had been embarrassment, but they both realized: their love for each other was greater than embarrassment. They were tired of being ashamed, so they threw shame aside.
Kyo and Tohru, 14 nights afterwards
One night, as Kyo got up to go to bed, he kissed Tohru, as he always did, and went up to his room. He idly wondered why she was following so closely behind. As he passed her bedroom's door she reached for his arm. He turned around and kissed her again.
"Sleep with me," she said. He wasn't sure what to say. "We don't have to do anything, but I don't want to go to bed without you. I want to sleep next to you. When I wake up, I want to see you. I don't want to sleep alone ever again. I want to sleep with you tonight, and every other night."
He could hardly hear her over the sound of his heart, but the look in her eyes sufficed. He understood every word.
He said nothing, but nodded. She took his hand and pulled him into her room.
They were both surprised at how unembarrassed they felt. When he took off his outer clothes and sat on the bed in his shorts, he felt completely normal. He did not look away as Tohru undressed, not even when she took off her bra, and slipped on a large t-shirt, her usual summer sleeping attire.
"I was wondering what happened to that shirt," he smirked, but with no malice.
"It's comfortable. And it reminds me of you."
He kissed her again. And they remembered they still needed to brush their teeth.
That night, they shared very few words and very many touches. They discovered that they enjoyed lying down both face to face and in spoons position. Tohru loved Kyo's broad back, and Kyo loved resting his chin on the top of Tohru's head. Given the summer heat, however, they ultimately lay down slightly apart, only their hands touching.
They dreamed of the nights still to come.
Kyo awoke at the sound of his alarm in his room across the hall. As he went to turn it off, he decided he'd need a softer-sounding alarm in the future if he didn't want to wake Tohru. As he went for his morning jog, he was grinning so hard, it hurt. They were together. They were together. Certainly they had been together before, but this was a new feeling. To wake up in bed next to her, seeing her sleeping face and tousled hair: how could anything so fantastic be real?
For her part, she was slightly disappointed when she woke up. She had wanted to see his sleeping face, but he was already out of bed. As long as she'd ever known him, she knew he was an early riser. Him getting up early would just be something to get used to. And she would. Spontaneously, she laughed out loud. She wanted to jump on the bed, she was so happy.
It was the beginning of summer break, so Yuki was likely to sleep late. As for Shigure, she had hardly seen him the last few days. A breakfast with just her and Kyo sounded cozy and nice. It was far from the first time the two of them had breakfast together, but definitely the first time after having shared a bed.
Still in her night attire, Tohru went to the kitchen and started collecting the breakfast ingredients. She was chopping vegetables when he returned from his run. And kissed her. "Good morning."
"Good morning, Kyo. Did you sleep well?"
"Never better. I had good company."
Tohru giggled. "Me too."
"I need to shower."
"Okay."
"Hey…" Kyo was wondering if his voice sounded as nervous as he felt at the moment. "You want to join me?"
Tohru hesitated at this. Even after all that they had shared already, this seemed like a bold step.
The silence had been so long, he was about to say that it was okay if she didn't want to.
"I want to," she said.
Once they entered the bathroom, it was like the feeling from yesterday had returned. Any feelings of embarrassment were washed away by feelings of love and devotion. Obviously Tohru had seen Kyo without his clothes many times, but only briefly, as she had always very properly looked away. She didn't look away this time. For his part, before the night before, he had never seen Tohru in anything more revealing than a rather conservative one-piece swimsuit.
He's really handsome, she thought. I'm so lucky, he thought.
"I'll wash your back," she offered.
"And I'll wash yours."
Soon, this became habit. They became accustomed to holding each other, to touching parts of the body they had previously only dreamed about on the hottest and sweatiest (and most frustrating) of nights.
Kyo and Tohru, 20 nights afterwards
He was just a little embarrassed that Tohru had been the one to suggest they finally make love. He pondered her question. It took him nearly half a second to say yes.
Afterwards, they reflected that their first all-the-way sexual experience hadn't quite lived up to fantasy. There was a lot more awkwardness, discomfort, cramping, and pins and needles than they had suspected.
"That was the best sex I ever had," he said, quite deadpan.
"Funny. It was the worst sex I ever had," she said.
They looked at each other and giggled.
They would get better. They had the rest of their lives to hone their skills.
And Kyo didn't feel completely spent. Perhaps…
"Well, Tohru, you know what they say."
"Hmm?"
"Practice makes perfect."
"Yes, that's true."
"Shall we practice a bit more tonight?"
Her broad smile and the love in her eyes was all the answer they needed.
And the next morning, they both agreed: they had indeed improved at least a little bit.
Kyo and Tohru, 18,262 nights afterwards
There were many anniversaries they observed: joyful ones, as in the birthdays of their children and grandchildren. Sad ones, as in the days that their loved ones had passed away-just the year before, Kazuma had left them after a long and noble life.
More precious to them were those anniversaries of love. They remembered them all: the date of their marriage, the date they moved into a home for just the two of them (they wouldn't remain as just two for all that long). There were the anniversaries they told no one about: the first night they shared a bed, the first time they embraced each other in the bath, the first time they had made love.
Most precious of all was the date when the curse broke, when Kyo had finally confessed his feelings to Tohru, when they had their first kiss.
(Though, stubborn as ever, even after all that time, Kyo still insisted on calling it their second kiss.)
Still-however much they enjoyed the bittersweet memories of the past, nothing quite compared to the excitement and thrill of the now. The most wonderful night was always tonight.
No matter how many nights had passed, they never stopped anticipating
the thousands,
and thousands,
and thousands of nights still to come.
Story begun: June 25, 2019
Story completed: May 7, 2002. (Yes, I work slowly)
The actual writing only took around eight days to complete, it's just that those eight days were spread over nearly three years.
Kazuma's terrible sex talk with Kyo reflects my own father giving me a sex talk as a preteen. A sex talk that at no point mentioned sex (and which I only realized years after the fact had been intended as such.)
