It was difficult for Tohru to sleep that night; even when she finally drifted off, she couldn't stay asleep. Instead, she kept replaying the conversation with Momiji, thinking about everything he'd said. It was so incredibly unfair, all of it, and it made her heart hurt that she couldn't help him.

And not only couldn't she help, she'd actually made it worse.

After her third or fourth time waking up, Tohru had quietly slipped out of the futon and crept out to the deck. Kyo had been sleeping peacefully, but she didn't want to risk waking him with her continued tossing and turning. It was a beautiful clear night, if a little cold, and Tohru welcomed the serenity. Maybe it would pass a little of that serenity to her.

He loved her. Momiji had loved her, all this time, and she hadn't noticed. Did that make her an awful, selfish person? She knew what it was like to love someone without return; it was a fate she wouldn't wish on anyone. If she had known, maybe there would have been something she could have done, something she could have said...maybe she could have behaved differently? She sighed, resting her cheek against one of the roof support pillars as she thought.

She knew he knew nothing would happen. Momiji had been right when he said she loved Kyo, and that everyone knew she loved Kyo. Kyo was her sun, the source of all that was good and beautiful and right in her world. She loved Momiji as a friend, a very dear friend, but no one could ever take Kyo's place. And everyone knew that. But just because it was an impossible love didn't mean it didn't deserve sympathy. If she'd known, she could have been more selective about what she'd shared about her life. More restrained in how she behaved around him, with less hugs and physical affection. She and Kyo could have told him about the engagement privately, rather than springing it on him when there were others around.

She just felt so incredibly guilty, about all of it. She'd wanted so hard to help Momiji, and all she'd done was hurt him.

"Tohru, what are you doing?"

Tohru looked over her shoulder to see Kyo standing in the doorway to their room. He was so handsome, she thought wistfully as she took in his sleep-tousled hair and his bare chest. He also looked incredibly tired; she didn't know what time it was, but it was definitely late. Or early. Somewhere in there.

"Kyo, you should go back to bed. You look exhausted!"

"That makes two of us, then." Kyo walked over and sat down next to Tohru, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close. "How come you're sitting out here, at this hour?" He looked at her face thoughtfully, then sighed. "Momiji, still?" He knew he shouldn't be surprised; it was very much Tohru's way to stew when there was something that bothered her. He'd hoped that knowing she'd get to talk with Momiji after school would help settle her, but that had been a fool's hope.

Tohru sighed and rested her head on Kyo's shoulder. "I just feel so bad, Kyo. Like I should have realized, and done things differently. I'm his friend, but I never saw it. I never saw any of it, not the things with his family, and not...the rest."

Learning Kyo knew Momiji loved her had been a mixed blessing. It saved her any worry about Kyo, or about what Kyo might have been feeling, but it meant that yet another person had been more aware than Tohru. Considering Tohru felt she was much closer to Momiji than Kyo was, it seemed wrong he'd known and she hadn't. Even when Kyo had pointed out Momiji had actually told him, back before Tohru's accident.

Time and experience had taught Kyo that there were limits to how Tohru could be helped when she got like this. He hated those limits; if sheer force of will were enough to make her feel better, then he'd see to it she never felt sorry a day in her life. But sometimes, the best he could do was be there for her and try to help her through.

"Hey, this isn't your fault, Tohru. Momiji's always played this stuff close to his chest. The guy never let on pretty much the whole time I've known him how much his family stuff bothered him. I always envied him, actually; he at least had one living parent that truly loved him. And I wished I could have been as unphased about the crappy stuff as he seemed to be."

Kyo had felt a little bit guilty, learning just how badly Momiji had struggled with his family and the Curse. One of the things that had been hardest for Kyo to accept as the Cat was that the other Zodiacs, the 'true' Zodiacs, had struggled as well. None of them seemed to have anything as bad as he had, and so he had been jealous, wishing that he could trade places with pretty much any of them.

How ironic, that he was now the one in a position to be envied.

"And you never saw the other thing because you're his friend, Tohru. He didn't want you see anything else, and of course you weren't looking for it. Why would you be?" He rubbed his cheek against the top of her head, then smiled. "I can't blame him for loving you, Tohru. How could I, when I know more than anyone how amazingly loveable you are?"

Tohru sighed again. He was helping, a little bit, but he was hardly unbiased. "But maybe I could have done something differently, Kyo."

"What, yelled at him more? Hit him? Pretended you were me?" Kyo looked at her, smiling a bit when his suggestion provoked a tiny smile from her. "I think Momiji was lost no matter what, Tohru, because he saw all the same amazing things I did. And it makes me sorry for him, really sorry. Because I thought was in his place, once. I thought you were out of my reach, and it was the worst feeling. Worse than even the prospect of being locked up."

Kyo's arms tightened around her as he remembered those bleak, despairing days; the days when he'd almost completely given up on living. "But even then, I knew I could still be around you. And I knew you loved me, in the end. He'll never have that, and the thought of never having you..." He trailed off then, not even wanting to finish the thought. He was so utterly and unbelievably happy, it seemed almost cruel to reflect on what Momiji was missing. Like he was taunting Momiji with his own happiness, even in his thoughts.

Tohru thought about what Kyo was saying and sighed again. It was possible he was right, maybe even probable. But it still didn't help her feel much better, not right now.

"You're seeing him after school again, right? I know it's a big ask, but you should try to get some sleep and put this aside until later, Tohru. Or did you want to just spend the morning here at the dojo? If you need time to deal with this, you can take time. It's fine, we don't have to go anywhere."

She knew he was right, and she allowed him to pull her to her feet. Then she squeaked as he scooped her up, carrying her back to their room.

"You're an ice cube, by the way. You should've taken the blanket, if you were going to sit outside."

"I'm sorry, I just didn't want to wake you." Tohru dropped down into the futon and allowed Kyo to tuck her in, then snuggled back into his arms as he laid down beside her. "Just because I'm having trouble sleeping doesn't mean you have to, too."

"I know. I just...miss you when you're not here. Even when I'm sleeping, I guess."

She smiled, lifting one of his hands to kiss the palm, and Kyo sighed and squeezed her tighter. She did love this, cuddling and getting to fall asleep together. "Kyo?"

"Yeah?"

"I don't know yet...just what I want to do tomorrow morning."

"Don't worry about it now. Let's get some sleep, and we'll figure it out in the morning."

"If I can finally sleep," Tohru murmured. But she was going to try.

Tohru did manage to fall and stay asleep, and she was still sleeping when Kyo stuck his head in to check on her after his run. It was a relief to see; he'd been worried she wouldn't be able to sleep at all, spending the entire night fretting and then the entire day being exhausted. He didn't mind taking a break from some of the visiting, but he knew it would bother Tohru a lot to 'waste time' that could be spent with friends when they were in town.

Still, he felt it would be for the best to just let her sleep herself out. They hadn't made any concrete plans for that morning; most people were either at school or working anyway, given that it was a Friday morning. So he felt confident in leaving her be; once she woke up on her own would be soon enough.

And who knew how late she might have slept, if she wasn't woken quite suddenly and rudely by her cell phone.

'Dweedly-doot!'

Tohru shot upright in the futon, looking around herself sleepily. It never failed; whenever a random sound woke her up, she was completely disoriented. Even the sound of her alarm clock, which woke her pretty much every day for work, got the same reaction. Today the confusion was even more pronounced, given 1) she wasn't at home in her own bed, and 2) that wasn't her alarm. So she looked around, yawning, and tried to make sense of where she was and what was going on.

'Dweedly-doot!'

A second chime from her phone, and this time it clicked. Tohru's eyes snapped into focus, and she looked around the room, trying to remember where she'd put her phone so she could see who was texting her.

'Dweedly-doot!'

She found it on the third chime and glanced at the home screen. To her surprise, it said that the time was almost nine-thirty. Nine-thirty? And on a vacation day? Kyo had to have been up for hours already, and he'd let her sleep this long? She was incredulous. But she'd find him and harass him about letting her laze around later.

'Dweedly-doot'

She opened her notifications as the fourth text came in, and her face broke into a wide smile.

Message from: Yuki Sohma. Today, 9:23am 'Good morning, Tohru! I hope you and Kyo had a good night and are enjoying your visit in Tokyo so far.

Message from: Yuki Sohma. Today, 9:24am 'I'm getting in today myself. I was supposed to have a couple classes today and be arriving in the evening, but I was able to convince my professors to excuse me from both, so I caught an earlier train.'

Message from: Yuki Sohma. Today, 9:26am 'I was going to be taking the station by Machi's apartment, but since it's during the school day, I thought it would be nice to take the station by the Estate instead and spend some time visiting. I'd like to see you and Kyo, if you had time, and thought I'd check with you first.'

Message from: Yuki Sohma. Today, 9:30am 'The train will be arriving at 10:10. Sorry for the late notice, but I didn't want to text you until I was sure you'd be awake. Let me know either way, and if it doesn't work we'll have to figure out a time to get together while we're all here.'

Tohru almost squealed, she was so excited. Yuki was getting into town early! She'd known he'd be coming; there was no way he'd miss Machi's graduation, never mind Hatsuharu and Momiji. But since he was busy with classes, he hadn't thought he'd be arriving until evening. Naturally, he'd be spending at least that first evening with Machi, so Tohru hadn't expected to get to see him until graduation the next day. This was an unexpected treat, him arriving so early.

So very early.

"Wait, 10:10?" Tohru looked back at her phone, which now said 9:35. The train station was only a few blocks away, but she was still in her pajamas. And she hadn't brushed her hair.

And she needed to find Kyo!

Tohru flew up from the futon like she was possessed, stripping off her pajamas and slipping into a clean outfit. She would have liked to take a shower, but there was definitely no time, not if she wanted to be there when the train arrived. And she needed to check with Kyo before she responded to Yuki, to make sure there was nothing else he was doing or wanted to be doing.

As she walked to the bedroom door, she grabbed her brush and started to vigorously work it through her hair. "Kyo?"

A quick glance around the courtyard came up with nothing, and Tohru winced. It was nice he'd let her sleep in, but where had he gone? She looked quickly back into the room; no note. And no text, either, so he had to be somewhere in the dojo. She sighed, checking the time; 9:48. She needed to get moving!

Grabbing her shoes and carrying them along with her, Tohru scurried down the deck and into the dojo proper. Her first guess paid off; as she approached the primary practice room, she could hear the sound of thuds, crashes, and yells. After this long with a karateka, she knew the sounds of sparring when she heard it; and where there was sparring, there was often Kyo.

Tohru was cautious as she opened the door and peeked into the room; one, because she didn't want to be disrespectful to the space, and two, because she didn't want to be hit. But once she'd determined the coast was clear, she opened the door further.

Kyo and Kunimitsu were in the middle of the room, fighting hard. Tohru had tried diligently to learn more about karate in the time she'd spent with Kyo, but it was an uphill battle. All that she knew was it was best to hit, and not be hit too badly yourself. By those rules, both Kyo and Kunimitsu seemed to be excelling! Neither man seemed to be landing any strikes on the other, at least none that mattered too much, and she felt very proud of both of them. However, this did pose a problem for Tohru, as she nervously checked the time again. 9:53; just a little more than fifteen minutes to get from here to the train station.

And, she realized with a somewhat crestfallen air, there was no way Kyo could, or should, make it in time. Not when he was dripping with sweat and still wearing his gi.

Kazuma had been observing the fight, and he was the one who saw Tohru. "Kunimitsu! Kyo! Take a break."

The two fighters obediently broke off, and Kyo wiped his sweaty face on the arm of his gi. Then he saw Kazuma gesture to the door, and he turned and saw Tohru looking into the room. Breaking into a smile, he jogged over to her. "Hey, you finally woke up! I hope you're feeling better, you must have needed the rest."

"I do feel better, thanks. But you didn't have to let me sleep so late, Kyo!" Tohru smiled at him, able to appreciate his concern even if she disagreed on the outcome. "Though that doesn't matter right now."

9:55.

"Kyo, I just got a message from Yuki; he's getting into town early, and he wanted to know if we'd like to meet his train and spend some time together."

"Yeah? It'd be nice to get to see Rat-boy before the ceremony. What time is his train getting in?"

Tohru sighed. "In about ten minutes. I don't suppose there's any way you can make that?" Her voice had a hopeful note in it, but she knew it was a lost cause.

Kyo looked at her blankly, then down at himself. He was practically drenched in sweat; while he was a master of the speed shower, there was no way he could be presentable in that amount of time. And he was definitely, definitely not going to be seeing Yuki for the first time in months looking like this.

"Ah, I'm sorry, Tohru, I can't. Not that soon." He saw her face fall, and he felt horrible. She'd looked so happy about seeing Yuki, and he couldn't blame her; even with the distance, the two of them had remained close. Distance had also been a great thing for Yuki and Kyo's relationship, and over the past year the two had progressed from 'civil' to 'friendly.'

Kyo hadn't been sarcastic when he'd said it would be nice to see Yuki; he'd actually meant it.

And he was disappointed to miss Yuki. Tohru had been so upset about the whole Momiji thing; Kyo had been relieved to see her sleeping, but worried she was going to spend the rest of the day stressing until she saw Momiji again later. Getting some unexpected time with Yuki would have to cheer her up, and Kyo hated the idea of her missing that chance because of him. But looking at Tohru's sad face, he was quickly struck by another idea.

"Why don't you just go by yourself, Tohru? If you hurry, you'll make it on time, and then you and Yuki can do whatever for a while by yourselves. I'll finish my workout, and shower, and then shoot you a text after that. Maybe I can join you later."

Tohru was brightening rapidly. "Kyo, that's such a sweet idea!" Then it fell again. "But I can't! We didn't want anyone to find out about the engagement without both of us there, remember? And if I'm wearing this, then he'll know right away," as she held up her hand.

"Well, you could always take it off for now?"

She smiled at him, her eyes sparkling. "I'm not taking it off, Kyo, so try again." It was a good suggestion, and she knew it. But it just felt...wrong to take off her ring. Even to get to see Yuki.

He laughed, and started to hug her. But then he remembered his sweaty state and instead leaned in to give her a peck on the cheek. "Ok, don't take it off." It made him incredibly happy to say that; knowing she was wearing his ring, and that she wanted to keep wearing his ring, was a treasure.

Even though it did complicate things.

Kyo took her hands and squeezed them. "You know what, it's ok, Tohru. You can tell him. I don't need to be there every time. And it's probably just as well I'm not there for this one, otherwise he'll have to take a few potshots at me just because." They both knew the truth in that; while Yuki and Kyo had gotten to be friendly, neither of one them could resist a chance to jib at the other. "I got to tell Dad and that's the big one for me. So, you go. Run, meet his train. Tell him, or don't, whatever you end up doing is fine by me. Just have fun, ok? And I'll let you know when I'm done."

Tohru bounced up on her tiptoes to give him a kiss, resting her hands ever so gently on his shoulders for balance. "You're such a sweetheart, Kyo, thank you. Good luck with your fighting!" Kyo chuckled at that, giving a little wave as she backed away. Then Tohru closed the door and took off. She only had a few blocks to go, but she also only had seven minutes!

Well, Kyo swore by morning exercise, and if he liked it, it had to be good.

Right?