It was late, incredibly late. Again.

They always made a habit of this when they came to Tokyo, Kyo reflected as he silently made his way down the dojo hallway. Always overfilled their days and evenings, always ended up staying up way too late. Followed by the equally inevitable morning debate, whether to wake up early and be exhausted, or sleep longer and miss out on visiting. It was a dilemma that bothered Tohru a lot more than Kyo, and it happened every. Single. Time.

But he doubted anything would change, unless they either started visiting for a lot longer or a lot more often. It was lucky they didn't have to eat all of the costs of travelling themselves, otherwise they wouldn't be able to come back even as often as this. Kyo's dislike of taking 'handouts' from the family (in the form of Akito, specifically) was balanced by his desire to make Tohru happy, so he swallowed his pride when it came to letting Akito pay for travel expenses. But they still had their job schedules to contend with, and bills to pay back home, so longer or more frequent visits were still way off.

So...late nights it was.

Momiji and Haru had ended up staying at the dojo until late, the four of them all sitting around and discussing the next day's big event. Graduation started at 9:30, so they'd all have to be up and moving at a decent hour, but you'd never have known it from their lack of concern about the time. Instead, they talked. About graduation, and the plans for the weekend. Who was coming, who would all be at the celebration lunch. Afternoon plans. Evening plans. And plans beyond.

Kyo was surprised to learn of Momiji's plan to study abroad, but he had been happy for him. The idea of Momiji in business was a little strange, but he could understand Momiji's reasoning, and felt there was every chance in Momiji succeeding. He was charismatic, he was clever, and he was capable of being downright mean without dropping his smile, why wouldn't he do well?

Kyo had watched both Tohru and Momiji for a long time before he finally trusted that yes, they were actually good. They still laughed together, they still sat side by side. They still had their goofy jokes. There might be a little more reservation than before; a little more space between them on the bench, a few more serious notes in their voices. There was a definite change, to those who knew how they'd been before. But change didn't have to be a bad thing, and their friendship was still there, and still strong.

The idea of Momiji moving to Germany was sad, because Kyo knew it would make Tohru sad. But for both of their sake's, especially Momiji's, Kyo was glad about it. Momiji had always been goofy, but never dumb. He'd figured out what he needed to do, and now he was just going out and doing it; Kyo would always respect him, for that.

Eventually, Tohru and Momiji had started to fade and they'd called the hangout quits. Haru had promised to make sure Momiji got home safely, and Kyo and Tohru had walked the two of them to the dojo gate.

"I guess the next time we'll see you, you both be graduating! Make sure you get a good night's sleep, ok?"

"Naturlich!"

"You too, Honda. See you tomorrow."

As Kyo barred the gate, Tohru had yawned again and smiled at Kyo. "It was nice to have this time tonight, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, but you're probably gonna regret it tomorrow. Remember, no sleeping in, not if we want to make it to graduation on time."

"I'll be fine, Kyo! The excitement will probably wake me up so early I could even go running with you, if I wanted!"

The number of things wrong with that statement had been too many to count, and Kyo had just laughed. "Yeah, we'll see about that."

Tohru had stuck her tongue out at him, then given him a kiss. "Doubter. But I'm going to go get ready for bed, are you coming?"

"I'll be along in a little bit. I told Dad not to worry about locking things up since we were here, so I'm gonna deal with all that first."

Now everything was closed, turned off, and locked, and Kyo was ready for bed. He stepped out onto the deck leading to their room, then paused. Tohru was sitting on the deck in her nightgown again, though this time she'd actually brought a blanket, and he had a brief moment of concern.

Was there still something bothering her?

But as he walked towards her, he could see he had nothing to worry about. The look on her face was dream-like; happy, and peaceful. Whatever she was thinking, it couldn't be something bad.

"Hey, you." Kyo smiled and sat down on the step next to her, pulling her close. She snuggled against him, draping the blanket around them both, and smiled back.

"Hey."

"I thought you said you were going to bed."

"I know, and I am. I just...wanted to sit out here a little bit first. It's such a beautiful night."

Kyo had no argument there; it was another crisp, clear night. The glow of the city gently lit up the sky, and everything was peaceful and calm, even the background drone of traffic.

Tohru's voice was soft, as though she was reading his thoughts. "I do miss our sky, though. With the stars, instead of the city lights, and the sound of the wind and the crickets instead of cars."

He smiled, resting his cheek on top of her head. It always made him so happy to hear her say things like that; moving so far away from the city had been entirely due to him, and sometimes he felt guilty. If it hadn't been for him, she might have stayed here, where everything was comfortable and familiar and convenient, not where you had to take a bus for thirty minutes just to buy a laundry basket. But in spite of living in Tokyo their entire lives, the two of them had found that they loved the quietness of rural life, and not just because they were together there.

"Yeah. It's nice, here, but it'll be nice to be home again, too." He always felt that way when they travelled; it was so nice to see his father, the dojo, and their friends, but living out of suitcases and having packed schedules was nothing compared to sleeping in his own bed in his own house, alone with Tohru.

Tohru agreed, though she was a lot more charitable to suitcases and trains than Kyo. A lot more time would have to pass before they lost their thrill, or before she stopped getting excited about the prospect of seeing their family.

"It was so nice to see Hatsuharu and Momiji tonight, wasn't it Kyo?"

"Yeah, it was." Kyo still couldn't believe how well things had worked out on the Momiji front, and he looked down at Tohru thoughtfully. "I know I've already asked this, Tohru but...are you ok? Really ok? You and Momiji, after all of that stuff?"

Tohru thought for a moment, then interlaced one of her hands with Kyo's. "I think we are, Kyo. Really. I still have some feelings about how unfair it is, I really do." For a moment her brow furrowed angrily, but then it smoothed out as she sighed. "But I can understand him wanting to take some space. And I do really, genuinely think he'd going to enjoy Germany. If I thought he was leaving when he didn't actually want to, I'd feel terrible. Absolutely terrible." Her lower lip trembled, and she rested her head against Kyo's chest. But after a deep breath, she was able to continue. "But I don't think that's the case. I think he really wants to, and this all just makes his choice easier. I'm happy for him, even though I'm going to miss him. A lot."

Her lip was trembling again, and Kyo pulled her into his lap and hugged her close. "Hey, it's ok to miss him. It's always ok to miss people." He stroked her cheek, and she looked up at him with a wobbly smile. "Especially good friends."

"I know, it just makes everything seem so much...farther away, you know?" Tohru loved it when Kyo held her; loved how safe and warm and secure it made her feel. Though that could also just be Kyo himself, sitting with her. Listening with her. Understanding her.

And he knew what she meant. Their own graduation last year had signaled the end of their previous 'normal,' but they'd been able to come back and visit it. But little by little, things were changing. Each visit revealed some new change, some new difference. Places became unfamiliar. Kids grew up. People moved. People graduated.

People got married.

Beneath the blanket, Kyo's hand found Tohru's, and he ran his thumb along the side of her engagement ring. Tohru smiled, drawing out their hands and resting hers where they both could look at the ring and smile. Wasn't this another sign of change, right here on her hand?

"Yeah, it's getting farther away, but that's because other stuff is getting closer, isn't it? We've moved past a lot, and we're still moving forward. Just like everyone else. And yeah, it means things are different, and it means we have to deal with missing people, but it's ultimately good, right?"

Looking at her engagement ring, Tohru didn't think she could say anything different. It was selfish, wanting to change things for herself and keep everyone else frozen; much as she might wish it, she knew it was selfish. And she didn't want to be selfish, not all the time. "I guess you're right, Kyo."

"Of course I am." He said it with such confidence that they both laughed, and he gave her a cuddle. "Seriously though, it's all good stuff. I'm happy for Momiji. And I'm happy for Haru, too. They both seem to know what they're doing, and hopefully it works out for them."

"And don't forget Machi, Kyo! She has a lot changing for her, too."

Kyo had actually forgotten about Machi. "That's right, she's gonna be moving in with Yuki, isn't she? That'll be a change for both of them."

"Hopefully a good one. Remember when we first moved in together, Kyo?" She paused, realizing that technically they'd both moved in together at Shigure's house, then giggled. "When we moved together into our own house, that is."

"Yeah, I kinda figured that's what you meant." Kyo chuckled, then squeezed her close and nuzzled her hair. "I remember it was very...exciting." The look he gave Tohru made her heart flutter, as well as things a little lower down, and she made a happy little noise. There was no contest; no other man could ever be as attractive as Kyo Sohma. And he was right; things had been exciting. Things still were exciting, and she firmly felt they'd always be exciting.

Or they would, if she had anything to say about it.

Though it did seem a trifle...strange to be thinking about that in the context of Yuki and Machi moving in together.

"Anyway," she said, a little too loudly and making Kyo laugh, "there'll be a lot happening for them. So hopefully it all goes well, and they adapt to living together as well as we did."

Kyo snorted at the very idea. "Impossible. No one could ever manage as well as we did. Besides, you lived with Yuki; you know what a slob that guy can be. So unless Machi has superhuman Tohru-Honda levels of cleanliness, they're gonna have a problem."

"Because you're so very impeccably tidy, all the time." Tohru was grinning at Kyo, and he laughed.

"Hey, I live with you! I don't have to be. And I wouldn't go that far anyway, I've been told my aim with the laundry hamper sucks, by a very credible source." He gave her a kiss, and she returned it with a giggle. "But overall, I'd say I'm pretty clean. I even know how to fold a fitted sheet." And he was very proud of that fact. "There's no way Yuki can hold a candle to me."

"He really can't," Tohru agreed, and Kyo laughed again.

"Are you trying to flatter me?"

"Is it working?"

"Kinda feels like it."

"Then yes."

"Good. I like it when my fiancée flatters me." He kissed her again, a longer, more leisurely kiss that teased the promise of much more...or would, if they weren't at the dojo. But for now, it was better than nothing.

Tohru loved the sound of that word, 'fiancée.' That's what she was, now, his fiancée. And he was hers.

That was the one thing she still felt badly about, how she'd let the situation with Momiji preoccupy her and cloud the shine of their new engagement.

Breaking off the kiss, she looked up at Kyo. "I'm so sorry, Kyo."

Considering the segue, Kyo was perplexed. "For what?"

She sighed. "For being such a buzzkill today. We were so happy, and so excited, and then I just...brought everything down."

Kyo shook his head. "Hey, you didn't do anything wrong, Tohru. Yeah, the timing was less than perfect, but that's ok. It's all ok. I'm happy you and Momiji got to get this all sorted out now and I don't have to worry about it popping up some other time, believe me." He cupped her cheek, and she smiled. "There's still lots of time to be happy, and lots of time to be excited. I know I'll be both, probably for the rest of my life."

Tohru had known he'd probably say something like that, but knowing and hearing were two different things. She covered his hand with her own, and leaned her cheek into his palm. It was just like the rest of him; warm, and comforting.

He had been right, of course. Everyone was moving forward, themselves included, because fighting against change was impossible. She'd learned that firsthand; back when she figured out that her love of Kyo had surpassed her love of her mom, and accepted he was the most precious thing in her life. And that realization had initially been sad, and terrifying; she'd felt like she was losing her mom. But she hadn't. And she wouldn't. Things had just...changed.

For the better.

"I love you, Kyo Sohma."

He smiled at her, a radiant smile that glowed with his warmth. "I love you, Tohru Honda."

"Always and forever?"

"Always and forever."

Author's Note: Fruits Basket is one of my happy places, and I love imagining what's going on with my favorite couple post-canon. Thanks to everyone who read through to the end!