The Monday update has arrived! *claps* May I just thank all those who reviewed on Friday? I recieved a total of FIFTEEN reviews that day (a personal record!) on Strangers and Sacrifice and it was the best birthday I've had in a long time. XD Thank you to Atemu9, Yugicanbesexy, EmziSuohSohma-TamakiYukiKyo8, FBFan, TwilightPrincess1126, and fmababe1124. So, I was watching the Fruits Basket anime (again) today and I noticed something that really took me by surprise but made me so incredibly happy. In episode five (this is in the original Japanese by the way, I can't stand the English version) when Yuki and Kyo come to take Tohru back to Shigure's house Yuki actually calls her Tohru-chan! It's when he's reprimanding her relative (cousin, I think?) after he said something out of line about her. Tohru wasn't in the room obviously, but still! I went back and listened again just to make sure and he did! He called her Tohru-chan! *faints* I still can hardly believe it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket or its characters and all rights go to Natsuki Takaya.

The day following Tohru's unexpected visit, Yuki was standing among a large selection of frames. He needed two; one for Kyoko's picture, and the other for a drawing the little girl had done of herself, Yuki, and Tohru.

When he'd dropped Tohru off the previous day, Kyoko had already been asleep, Uo had been looking bored and was relieved to see Tohru come back. "Oh, good, you brought her home," she'd said. "If you hadn't, I would have kicked your ass. Be thankful that I don't have to."

"Uo-chan! Language! What if Kyoko's still awake?" Tohru looked nervously at Kyoko's sleeping form on the couch.

Hoping that no one would mind, Yuki had gone over and knelt in front of her. Gently, he touched her hair and kissed her forehead. "Good night, Kyoko."

Uo was holding out the drawing when he stood up. "She made this while Tohru was at your place. Said that she wanted you to have it."

As Yuki was leaving, the drawing safely protected under his coat, he heard Uo comment quietly to Tohru, "I wish my dad had said good night like that for me just once. I can almost forgive him for leaving you."

Yuki had felt rude as he strained to hear through the closed door what Tohru would say. Finally, he heard, "I think I might be falling in love with him again."

Uo responded, "Nah, I don't think you were ever out of love with him. What was it Hana said? Even if the mind forgets, a heart always remembers?"

As he scanned the various styles of frames, he was still on a personal cloud nine. Tohru felt something for him, and even if it took some time there was a chance that they could be what they were before.

OoOoO

~Six months later~

"Mama, do I have to take a nap today? Papa's here." Kyoko had the most adorable pout, Yuki decided, although he wasn't going to say anything about that to either Kyoko or Tohru at the moment.

Tohru, tired and frustrated, got down to her daughter's level, trying to keep those things out of her tone. "He's here every Sunday, and he'll still be here when you wake up. Just an hour, okay? All you have to do is lay down quietly for an hour."

Yuki was fairly certain that if she did that she'd be asleep for much longer, considering the fact that she hadn't stopped moving since he'd gotten there two hours earlier. "It won't be so hard for you to do that, will it? You wouldn't want to fall asleep early tonight, would you?"

Kyoko stopped pouting. "Papa, would you tuck me in if I took a nap?"

"You would have to do what your mother asked you to no matter if I tuck you in or not." Yuki kept his voice gentle and firm. The whole idea of parenting was still relatively new and he wasn't entirely sure how to go about some things.

"I know, Papa."

Yuki had come to live for Sundays. He saw Tohru and Kyoko on other days sometimes, but Sundays he spent a blessed whole day with them. It was when Kyoko napped that he dedicated himself solely to Tohru. They'd begun dating over three months ago, despite the fact that they were legally married. He'd start from scratch if it would make her feel more comfortable. They took Kyoko on half of their dates and other half it was just them.

Tohru was waiting for him on the couch after he'd gently closed Kyoko's door. She looked exhausted.

Yuki sat down next to her. "Tohru? You look a little drained."

"I'm tired is all," she said, leaning on his shoulder.

Yuki kissed the top of her head. "You can sleep. You don't have to stay awake just because I'm here."

"But I like spending time with you, and I'd hate to waste our time alone together."

Yuki lifted her chin and kissed her with same tenderness he always did. Every time was a gift that he treasured. He felt Tohru sigh a little and he couldn't help but smile, as he pulled away. Then, he lay down, bringing her down with him. Tohru laid her head on his chest, closing her eyes as she listened to his heartbeat.

Yuki wrapped his arms around her, one hand trailing through her hair. "Sleep, Tohru."

He felt her breath begin to slow against his neck and savored the warmth of it. Once Yuki knew she was asleep, he whispered, "Aishiteru, Tohru-chan."

OoOoO

Yuki was staring at the paperwork on his desk, wishing that five thirty would arrive early. He glanced at a picture of himself, Tohru, and Kyoko from when they'd taken a trip to the ocean a month or so ago. It had been a perfect day, wonderful in every aspect. It would be a lie to say that he hadn't liked seeing Tohru in her bathing suit, but even more so the blessing of being able to be with them. He held onto every moment. Later in the day, while he and Tohru had been watching Kyoko play in the surf, and Tohru had asked him if she could aska personal question. He'd consented of course; there hadn't been a thing she hadn't known before her memories had been taken away and there was no reason that it should be any different now. Her face had flushed a little and asked, "On your back…the scars…Where did they come from?" She'd listened to the explanation for the faint scars that crisscrossed his back with such openness and in the end she'd cried and then wrapped him in a tight hug. It was almost exactly the same as the first time, except that he didn't transform into a rat.

The phone on his desk rang quietly, interrupting his line of thought. "Moshi-moshi. Sohma Yuki speaking." Two minutes later Yuki was gathering up folders of papers to go see his manager one floor up.

Just outside of the office a short secretary nearly collided into him on her way out. "Ah! Sumimasen! Gomen nasai, Sohma-san." She bowed apologetically, before opening the door and stepping back in. "Yakaso-sensei, Sohma-san is here like you requested."

The secretary quickly left, obviously still embarrassed about the near-collision.

Yuki entered the room, closed the door behind him, and bowed. "I brought you the statistics, like you asked."

Yakaso nodded, taking the manilla folder. "Sit down, Sohma-san. I'd like to speak with you about something."

Yuki did as he was asked and sat down across from the slightly sour-faced man.

"How long have you been a supervisor here?" Yakaso asked him.

"Two years."

The company manager leaned back in his seat. "You've always performed your job well, and I'd like to offer you a promotion to assistant manager. Will you accept?"

Yuki was stunned for a moment. "H-hai! Arigatou gozaimasu, Yakaso-sensei."

Yakaso didn't say anything in response except for, "You can start your new position on Monday."

OoOoO

Yuki got off the train one stop further than normal. It had become a familiar stop; the one that let him off, not only near Tohru's apartment, but also the restaurant that she worked at. She wasn't expecting him today, but he wanted to tell her about the promotion. He had debated for a short while whether or not he should wait until the following day. He had planned out tomorrow very carefully, and it could be the finishing touch, but he wanted to see her now. He wanted to share this triumph with her. She would be working the supper rush today which meant that she was still at the restaurant.

Upon entering, the woman who would usually seat customers simply turned and caught Tohru's attention, gesturing towards Yuki. Tohru smiled, obviously happy to see him. Quickly she made her way over to him. "Yuki-ku—"

But Yuki had already picked her up and spun around with her in his arms. He put her back down, to find that her face was burning from such a public display of affection. "Ano… Yuki-kun…"

"I was promoted to assistant manager today," he told her proudly.

Tohru's hands flew to her mouth. "You were? Yuki-kun, that's wonderful!" Temporarily forgetting her aversion from such public displays of affection, Tohru threw her arms around him, lifting herself up onto her toes to give him a long kiss.

OoOoO

Yuki couldn't help but keep checking his pocket. Every time he was relieved to find the ring still there. "Yuki-kun? Are you nervous about starting on Monday? You seem restless."

The sun was warm for autumn as he drove them outside of the Tokyo city limits, hands interlocked on the armrest between them. He was nervous, but not about starting a new position. Today was the day he'd ask her to marry him again. He'd been thinking about it for weeks and planning for just as long, even though everything was riding on the thread that she'd say yes.

They'd taken Kyoko to Hanajima's and when he'd walked in she'd looked at him long and hard. "I see," she'd said solemnly. Then, she'd promptly scooped Kyoko up and shooed them out the door. She knew. Somehow she knew.

"I'm fine," he told Tohru. "I'm looking forward to Monday."

Tohru smiled. "Good. I'm very happy for you." Tohru looked out the window, looking at the surroundings as they sped past. "Where are we going exactly?"

"Somewhere I think you'll like," he said vaguely, before checking again to make sure the ring was still there. He'd searched for a velvet box for it, and finding an empty one proved difficult, but he had finally found one.

Five minutes later, they came to a stop at a field filled with summer flowers that refused to die. Tohru smiled so brightly when she saw it. "I love it here! How did you know? Did I tell you?"

"Not anytime recently, no." Yuki got of the car and quickly opened her door for her, making her giggle a little. "But you brought me here a long time ago. I've come here quite often since then. You saw me transform for the first time when we were here."

"Oh! Really?"

Yuki nodded, opening the trunk of the car to get the basket he'd picked up from his brother's shop earlier that day. "Don't worry, I didn't make any of the food," he assured. "Mine volunteered to."

"This is all such a surprise," Tohru said.

"That's what I said it would be, wasn't it?"

They walked farther into the field until they found slightly flat ground where they spread out the sheet and set out the adorable food that Mine had prepared. All of it was small and elegant, and Yuki was glad that Tohru seemed to love it, since he wasn't too sure about it himself. His brother's wife had even included lace doilies with little red hearts embroidered on them. It seemed very European to Yuki.

"Itadakimasu, Mine-san," Tohru said, followed by Yuki.

The two ate and talked (mostly about Kyoko and her upcoming birthday) enjoying the last of the warm sun before the cold would take over.

At long last, they had repacked the basket, and the time was nearing for them to head back to Tokyo, Yuki knew it was time. How many times had he gone over what he would say? At least a dozen. "Tohru," he said. "There's something I'd like to ask you."

She sat up straighter, looking ready to listen as always. "Hai?"

"Before I ask I want you to know something. First… aishiteru. I want to take care of you and Kyoko and always be there for both of you. I wish I could have been from the beginning and it hurts me that I wasn't. I would like to protect and provide for you. I want to take your hand when you're scared, hold you when you cry, and laugh with you when you're happy. You are the kindest and most caring person I have ever met and the only one I will ever love." He reached into his pocket, taking out the small box, holding the ring he had kept safe all those years.

Tohru looked looked frozen in shock as she took the box. Yuki watched apprehensively as she opened it, hoping he hadn't made a mistake and asked too soon. What if she said no? When she saw the small diamond ring inside a blush rose to her face and she stuttered around, her smile lighting up her face.

Yuki could hardly believe it had come back to this at long last. "Honda Tohru, kekkon shite kuremasu ka?"

Tohru's eyes were wide and shining. "Yuki… I… Hai! Hai, I will marry you." Yuki held out his hand for hers and she gave it to him. Yuki could hardly breathe for the joy he felt as he put the ring that had always been hers back on her finger. She was his again. Somehow, she had once again become his. He'd always been hers. From the moment he'd first heard her speak he'd been hers. Even when she'd walked away without knowing he was, he'd been hers.

Yuki pressed his lips to her ring. "Aishiteru," he said, kissing first her forehead, and then each closed eyelid, and finally her lips. "Aishiteru, Tohru."

"Aishiteru mo, Yu-chan." Tohru wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him nearer. "'Yu-chan'… It sounds so right."

Yuki couldn't even begin to describe the feelings he had after hearing her say his name that way again; with such affection.

This time there wasn't a bittersweet shadow hanging over them with pending condemnation. There was nothing that would ever stand between them again. Nothing that could take her away. He was hers and she was his. Itsumo.

Yuki and Tohru became a couple, he got a promotion, and proposed to Tohru who then said yes! That was a lot all in one chapter... I hope no one minds, but I suppose this story sort of goes that way. Jumping to months later like it does. By the way, does that bother anyone? O_O Please review! I'd like to know what you think and it really does help my writing!

Kekkon shite kuremasu ka: Will you marry me?

Itsumo: Always

(I have recently discovered that while 'aishiteru' is a form of 'I love you', it implies complete devotion and the more commonly used form is 'daisuki'. I may go back and change some 'aishiteru's to 'daisuki' but for this chapter they will remain because the context fits the scenes and emotions that are going on.)