Nightingale arrived at her apartment just five minutes after her sister. Mimi sat on the couch watching TV and turned her head, when her sister came in the door. "You are wearing the same clothes as yesterday. That means last night must have gone well." Mimi said.
Nightingale blushed and let out a nervous giggle. She walked over and sat down beside her sister. "I did go well." She responded.
"Give me some details Sis." Mimi said, clicking off the television.
"Those are not for you to know." Nightingale replied, giving Mimi the mother hen look.
"Oh come on!" Mimi said exasperated. "I helped you pick out your outfit and helped you do your hair and makeup. I deserve something!"
Nightingale laughed at her sister. "Okay…he was very gentle."
Mimi raised an eyebrow. "Is that all I get?"
"Yes."
"Come on?" Mimi pleaded.
"It was nice." Nightingale replied.
"I'm starting to think you guys didn't do anything." Mimi replied.
"You can think whatever you want to think." Nightingale replied. "Shigure and I know the truth and that's all that matters."
"That means you guys did." Mimi said grinning. "Now you have to tell me."
Nightingale laughed once again. "A lady never kisses and tells"
"A lady also doesn't do what you did last night." Mimi retorted with a rotten grin.
"A lady can." Nightingale replied. "As long as she doesn't give every detail to her little sister."
Mimi laughed. "I guess I'll have to wait till I have someone to know what it's like."
"You'll have to wait till you're sixty and allowed to date." Nightingale teased.
Mimi giggled. "You crack me up."
Shigure laid back on his bed. It was late and he was trying to sleep, but he couldn't. This bed is so empty without Nightingale. He thought as he stared up at the ceiling. He rolled over and picked up the shirt of his, she had worm. It still smells like her. He thought as he inhaled the scent of her.
He put the shirt down on his bed and stood up. He went downstairs and into his study. He sat down in front of his computer. He got online and began searching. Finally, he found what he was looking for. "Perfect." He said to himself, ginning wildly.
A soft knock was heard on the door. Shigure quickly minimized the window and said, "Come in."
Tohru walked in the room.
"Oh, hello Tohru. Did you have a nice time with your friends and Kyou?" Shigure greeted.
"Yes, it was fun." She replied.
"Were you needing something?" He asked.
"I was just wondering, if you could help me with my Poetry class?"
"Sure." Shigure replied with a smile. "Have a seat and I'll help you."
Tohru walked over and sat down in front of him.
"So what are you needing help in?"
"Understanding this poem." She replied.
"Here let me have a look." He said extending his hand. She handed him the paper and he took it. He looked it over. "Emily Dickinson, a wonderful poet." Shigure said, remembering reading this poem in college. "I'll read it aloud and we'll go over it line by line and you can tell me what you think it means."
"Okay." Tohru said.
Shigure then began to read the poem,
Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune-without the words,
And never stops at all,
And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.
I've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me
"Okay, now the first line, Hope is the thing with feathers, what do you think that means?" Shigure asked/
"Well, the feathers makes me think of a bird. And hope makes me think of something to hold onto when everything else seems to be going wrong." She answered.
"Very good, Tohru. Now, the next line…" Shigure said and read the next line.
They went on like this for the next hour. She's underestimating herself. He thought. Although, I know what a wonderful teacher Nightingale is. Shigure was suddenly pulled back to memories of his college days with Nightingale.
Flashback
Shigure sat in the floor of Nightingale's dorm room. Since she was an education major, she didn't have a roommate.
"How do you understand all of these poems and get A's on all of the tests?" He asked looking up at Nightingale in her tank top and short shorts, her long red locks pulled back in a sloppy bun.
"I don't know. It just comes to me." She replied with a grin. "Besides as long as you give some interpretation Professor Jean doesn't care."
"I know because everybody interprets poetry differently." Shigure said, slightly frustrated that he couldn't understand the poem.
"I bet you know more than you give yourself credit for." She said, taking a seat on the bed behind him. She put her arm over his shoulder and pointer to the second line of the poem, being careful to support herself so that she wouldn't fall on him and turn him into a dog. "Now what does this line make you think of?"
"A bird." Shigure answered.
"And what do birds usually symbolize?"
"Freedom."
"Good, and what does freedom mean to you, Shigure Sohma?" She asked her face just inches from his, her green eyes boring into the very depths of his soul.
"Being able to hug the woman I love without turning into a dog." He answered, his eyes darting towards the floor. His thoughts were trained on his arms wrapping around Nightingale and holding her close, him staying human.
Nightingale's eyes turned sad. She felt for him and wanted to reach out to him in some way. She also wished that she were the woman he loved, but she knew otherwise. Without realizing what she was doing, she gently pressed her lips to his forehead in an effort to comfort him. She pulled back and looked at him. "I know that there's a woman out there who loves you despite the fact that you are a dog." She said and then hastily added, "Besides all men are dogs."
Shigure laughed. "What would I do without you?" Shigure said with a grin.
"You would fail your classes and be utterly miserable without me, to cheer you up." Nightingale said and then poked his nose with her pointer finger.
Shigure grabbed her finger and held her hand. They stared at each other for a moment. They slowly moved closer and then they both backed away. "Well, it's getting late. I should be going back to my dorm." Shigure said, standing up quickly.
"Yeah, we have that really big test in the morning." Nightingale said.
"Yeah, so same time tomorrow to bounce ideas off of each other for our short stories?" He asked.
"As always." Nightingale replied grinning.
With that they parted and he headed back to his dorm. He internally slapped himself, once he reached his dorm. "Why didn't I just kiss her? Or tell her how I feel?" He scolded himself as he headed to bed.
Back to the present…
"Uhm, Shigure?" Tohru asked.
"Oh, I'm sorry Tohru. I was just remembering something." Shigure said with a smile.
"Oh, I was just saying thank you for your help."
"You're welcome. You know I learned most everything I know from Nightingale."
"She is a great teacher." Tohru said with a smile.
"Yes she is. She helped me out quite a bit in college." Shigure replied.
Tohru smiled at him. "I'm glad you two are together. You seem to be a lot happier."
"Thank you Tohru." He said. Then he got an idea. "Now, can I have your help with something?"
"Of course, what is it?" She asked, eager to help him.
He motioned for her to come around and look at the screen. He pulled up the window. "I wanted to get this for Nightingale. Do you think that she'll like it?"
Tohru's face lit up as she looked at the screen. "It's beautiful. I think she'll love it." Tohru gushed.
"Now, you can't tell anyone about this."He told her.
"I won't. It's a surprise and I wouldn't want to ruin it for her. That just wouldn't be right." Tohru said.
Shigure smiled. "Now you should probably be going to bed."
"Yeah, well goodnight." Tohru said and then left the room.
Shigure placed his order and then closed the computer down. He headed up to his room and tried to sleep. Unfortunately, he still felt alone in his bed. He decided to think of Nightingale and picture the look on her face when she sees what he just bought for her. He then imagined her snuggling up to him and falling asleep in his arms. After all of that, he was finally able to sleep. Nightingale starred in his dreams and a smile was on his face.