Yoruko: Hello! Sorry it took so long. I tend to be busy with homework, being a college student, and when I'm not I tend to get distracted by reading fanfiction.

Shigure: Nothing's wrong with that. After all, an author needs inspiration.

Yoruko: Yup~ and reading fanfiction gives me ideas for fanfiction to write myself.

Kyou: I still say something's wrong with your head.

Shigure: Be nice, Kyou. You don't want her to punish or humiliate you.

Kyou: *sulks because he knows that as the author she can*

Disclaimer: If I owned Fruits Basket, Akito would never have turned out to be a girl in the manga and Tohru would have ended up with one of the Mabudachi Trio, Haru, or Akito… & something bad would have happened to Ren.

Pairing: Tohru/Hatori

Summary: Kyou and Yuki have been fighting over Tohru for a while now. They aren't getting a winner therefore no results, so they're trying to have Akito decide. Akito is highly amused by this, and decides to have by killing two birds with one stone by first getting their hopes up then dashing them by using this as an opportunity to push Tohru and the one she loves together.

Unforseen Results

Akito was amused. Very amused, in fact. So amused that he was tempted to laugh- or at least chuckle- but settled for a smirk instead.

"Let me get this straight;" said Akito, looking down at Kyou and Yuki, "the two of you can't agree on who should get Tohru, and since your last fight was so bad that it scared her instead of just worried her, you want me to choose for you and give that person my blessings."

'How presumptuous of them.' Akito thought, 'don't Tohru's feelings matter? They claim to care about- even love- Tohru yet they don't take her feelings into account. How selfish.'

Tohru could tell that Akito was amused. It took her a moment to realize that she even knew why. It had to be what she said that time. If Shigure or Hatori noticed, they didn't say anything. Tohru was glad- see wanted to see what Akito had planned unfold.

Akito and Tohru had become friends after that meeting. It was now two and a half years since Tohru, Kyou, and Yuki had graduated and now they were best friends and confidants. Their slightly similar childhoods- both being alone for the most part and both having lost their fathers when they were very young- made them able to confide in each other as they had never before confided in anyone. For the first time, they could talk about what they thought and felt without restraint and they understood each other as not even Shigure and Hatori did.

So Shigure didn't know the whole picture even though he suspected Akito was the only other one who knew that Tohru had never had romantic feelings for either Kyou or Yuki. No, the little flower was in love with someone else. Akito wasn't surprised, though. Tohru had always been closest to Shigure and Hatori. They understood her best and had never once written her off as clumsy or an airhead. And Tohru and Hatori connected a level that they never had with anyone else. Even if Tohru hadn't told him, Akito had already suspected that the two of them felt something for each another- he'd seen the way they acted around each other. He'd seen how they interacted when alone and under the impression that no one was around to see.

Akito remembered clearly. Tohru had called him on a Friday afternoon inviting him to lunch the next day- her treat. Akito had been surprised but agreed. When Akito asked her why she did that all of a sudden while they were eating, he'd been surprised by her answer. She was in love with Hatori, and wanted Akito's thoughts on the matter- and his blessings to pursue a relationship should she ever have the courage to confess and find that he returns her feelings. He had assured her that it did not bother him- he knew that unlike Kana she not only truly loved the dragon (this was proved, Akito mentioned, by Kana's reaction to the incident when they asked for his permission to marry and her lack of trying to stop Hatori from erasing her memory) and would never either leave or hurt him no matter what, and told her that she shouldn't worry and that they would cross that bridge when they got there.

Now it was the moment of truth. It was about time, too. They'd been dancing around each other for too long.

Hatori's heart clenched and his stomach felt heavy. He'd been surprised when Shigure phoned him saying that Kyou and Yuki were making him take them to the main house to see Akito and were going to make Tohru come. When he informed Akito he'd only smirked for a moment- so brief he's not sure that he really saw it. Then when with Akito they both spoke at once, trying to out-talk the other and arguing. He should have known that something like this was coming. But a part of him still hurt at the thought of the girl who had managed to heal his frozen heart in a relationship with one of the two. If this was doomed to be an unrequited love it would hurt but he could at least stand it if it was someone other than those two- preferably Shigure or Akito. Kyou and Yuki cared for Tohru but they didn't understand her enough- they would coddle and smother her and- in words that Shigure might use- she would fail to come into full bloom as a result.

Akito's smirk widened a little. Hatori's reaction was perfect. Everything would turn out brilliantly, and the heroine of this little fairy tale would finally get her happy ending. Out of the corner of an eye Akito saw Shigure, who had been keeping an eye on Tohru in case she needed to be comforted or calmed down, glance at him then follow his gaze to Hatori. A look of understanding dawned on his face. Good- he had Shigure on his side. Now it was time for the show to really begin.

"You're sure about this? You'll accept my decision?" Akito asked at last.

"Hai." they both said.

"Very well then." Akito looked at Tohru without turning his head, and black briefly met blue. "I've kept you waiting for an answer long enough, Tohru, haven't I? Well, the wait is over." Tohru seemed to understand. "I give my full blessings… (Here Kyou and Yuki looked anxious and hopeful and Hatori was subtly paying more attention.) for Tohru Honda to be with the one she loves."

Tohru's eyes widened briefly then brightened. She blushed. Could she really tell him how she feels? She knew that he was signaling that he thought she should confess. Then Akito was in front of her.

"Tohru, you need to tell him how you feel. You've done so much for the Sohmas. Don't you think that it's time for your happily ever after? If anyone deserves to be happy it's the two of you, you silly girl." Akito said. He knew, after all, that her lack of self confidence meant that she needed a little push.

Tohru spent quite a few moments thinking things over. Could she really tell Hatori how she felt? She thought about what Shigure said when she admitted that she wasn't in love with anyone- never had been- when he asked if she was in love with Kyou or Yuki after their second year of high school, and then asked him how you knew if it was all right to admit how you felt. What if they didn't feel the same way, telling would cause problems, or it was just a bad idea?

"Que sera, sera. People want to love and be loved in return more than anything- no one knows this better than a Sohma who is part of the curse or knows about the curse. When you do fall in love, you'll need to tell them at some point. You never know how things will work out until you try, and if you never tell him how you feel, you'll regret it more than anything if you truly love him, even more than if he doesn't return your feelings."

Shigure was right. But Hatori had been hurt before. Would he be willing to pursue a relationship if he did return her feelings? He'd admitted to her that he'd been so depressed after Kana because he'd realized after she left that she never truly loved him. Then she remembered what he'd said…

"Hatori-san, do you ever regret telling Kana how you felt and pursuing a relationship with her?" she'd asked.

"No. It hurts how it ended, but I cherished the time we did have, even though how it ended hurts almost as much as knowing that she would have married me without having ever truly loved me."

Tohru snapped back to the present. Her gaze met Akito's, and she smiled. She looked at Shigure, thanking him silently for giving her the courage she needed. She could tell by the look in his eyes and his smile that he understood. He nodded, acknowledging her gratitude.

She walked over to Hatori and knelt down in front of him. He looked up and their eyes met. For the first time, they saw and could read everything that was there to be seen, and understood. They realized at that moment that their feelings were returned.

"Tohru…"

She smiled at him, a smile that she never gave anyone else.

"Hatori, I love you."

Hatori pulled her closer, kissed her, then he embraced her.

"You have no idea how long I've been waiting and hoping to hear you say that." he said.

Hatori pulled away slightly, smiled at her, then pulled her into his lap with her back against his chest. She just leaned her head on his shoulder, smiling serenely.

Yuki gaped. Kyou stuttered. Shigure smiled, glad to see them so happy. He'd known all along. Akito grinned, pleased that things had worked out so well. Yuki and Kyou's reactions were wonderful too.

"Honda-san?" Yuki asked.

"How the hell do you love Hatori of all people?" Kyou demanded.

Akito chuckled. "You really are an idiot when it comes to people, Kyou-kun."

Shigure waved his finger at them, as if they were children who'd done something they should know is wrong. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. For someone who's supposed to be so close to Tohru you certainly don't pay much attention to her or know her very well. She's had something with Hatori for years.

"But… I thought…" Kyou was speechless.

"What the baka is trying to say is: why Hatori, Honda-san?"

Akito laughed. "Oh, what delightful reactions! But really, you two are so stupid where the heart is concerned. Hatori was one of very few Sohmas who only saw her as Tohru- not a princess, flower, sister, or savior, first friend, or the first to either acknowledge or understand them, or even the mother they never truly had. Just Tohru Honda, the person. Besides, you're both still timid and unsure of how to act around her, and you both held her down and dismissed her as foolish or naïve. You underestimated her. She'll never admit it but if she were with you she would be like a bird in a big, golden cage."

"Why you- liar! I'll-" Kyou protested.

"That's not true, Akito-san." said Yuki.

"Now, be honest. I know that you always dismissed a good deal of Tohru's kindness as being a simple, foolish, overly polite airhead- especially with her being kind even to Akito, Ayame, Momiji, Ritsu, Hiro and myself. To be perfectly honest, the only Sohma besides you two she could never end up with is Hiro."

"Besides, Hatori did what no one else could for Tohru and Tohru did the same for him."

"What do you mean? What did they do for each other?" Yuki asked.

"Heal. Hatori never got over Kana completely. And Tohru… the only ones besides Hatori, Akito, and myself who ever noticed were Haru and Momiji, but she didn't get over her mother's death until sometime during your last year of high school. I'm probably the only one she ever told except maybe Akito, but until she met Uo and Hana in Jr. high, her mother was literally all she had. Those two were her very first friends. Her mother meant a lot to her, and she blamed her death on herself."

Hatori looked down at said girl. "Tohru…"

She looked up at him and smiled. "I'm okay, Hatori. I'm not so sad about Kaa-san anymore because of you." Hatori smiled.

"I love you, Hatori."

"And I love you, Tohru. More than anything." And then he kissed her.

Owari

Next pairing: probably Akito or Ayame, depending on whether or not I get any requests.