Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket or the song. Song used: How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) by The Blenders. (I note that these exact lyrics may not appear on the web, but it is mostly the ordering used here that's different from those found on the web. This is because The Blenders didn't an amazing cover, but never put up their own lyrics. I modified the Michael Bublé lyrics slightly to match those of The Blenders a bit more closely.)

Warning: Rate T for some kisses.

A/N: Well folks, here it is - the last chapter of this (somewhat) epid arc that I've been doing for some time now. I hope you enjoy how this ends and I thank you all for taking time to read this story! =)

It had been eight days since Serina had left the house. Eight long, painful days along with 7 endlessly lonely nights, and Shigure had, by some feat beyond the comprehension of all of the other occupants of his house, survived them all. He'd thought everything through, from the first night he'd met her to the last words he'd spoken to her, and he was sure now that he could say everything that he'd so desperately needed to for so long. And with that thought on his mind, he pulled on his best suit before stepping out into the night.

He found her exactly where he knew she'd be.

"How sweet it is to be loved by you
How sweet it is to be loved by you"

It was a bit ironic, he supposed, to meet her for what he hoped would be the last time like this in the same place he'd met her for the first time. He stepped into the small club, noting that it was a Thursday night by the faces he'd come to recognize over his infrequent visits to the place. The music was already playing and people had stepped out onto the dance floor to take advantage of it.

"Needed the shelter of someone's arms
And there you were"

He spotted her as she sat at the bar, and could hardly believe his eyes when he did. She seemed even more beautiful than the last time he'd seen her, which before now had seemed an impossible feat. Her hair, instead of being pulled up into its usual ponytail, was falling gracefully down her back in long, pale blonde curls. Her cheeks were slightly flushed from the heat of the room and her eyes were scanning over everyone in the room, carrying a small sort of hope in them.

"Needed someone to understand my ups and downs
And there you were"

Smiling brightly, he stepped over to the bar and sat down next to her.

"Fancy meeting you here," he said in a nonchalant manner, looking at her out of the corner of his eye.

She immediately turned toward him and smiled brightly. "Fancy indeed," she said as she took in the full sight of him.

"With sweet love and devotion
Deeply touching my emotions"

He ordered a drink from the bartender when he stopped by before turning his full attention back to her. He chuckled a bit when he found her watching him, a smile on her face as she leaned one elbow onto the bar and the palm of that hand supporting her chin.

"Am I really that interesting to watch?" he asked in amused tone.

"You are when I haven't seen you in eight days," she replied in that same tone.

"I wanna stop
And thank you baby
I just wanna stop
And thank you baby
Whoa oh yeah"

After taking his drink from the bartender and slipping him a tip for it, he watched her carefully as he sipped at the drink. He noticed what the few days had done to her – the little lines of worry that had formed around her eyes, the little bags under her eyes that suggested a lack of sleep, the fact that her stomach had expanded just another inch or two since she'd walked out of the house… The things that any other person would have missed, he saw then. And he was more upset about the fact that he'd caused some changes and missed seeing others than he was about the fact that they'd spent so much time apart.

"How sweet it is to be loved by you
How sweet it is to be loved by you"

"What is it?" she asked softly when he'd been staring at her for a good two minutes in silence.

"Everything," he replied with a smile.

She raised an eyebrow at him slightly in question. "I don't understand."

He chuckled then quickly finished his drink and set the glass on the bar. "Then let me explain," he said.

"I close my eyes at night
Wondering where would I be without you in my life"

Without a word he stood and took her hand, gently pulling her up from the stool she'd perched herself on and lead her to the dance floor. He paid no mind to the rest of the people in the room as he stopped in the middle of the floor and pulled her close. She laughed softly and shifted until she got him to put only one hand on her waist and to take her hand in the other.

"Someone's feeling a bit pushy tonight," he observed with a smirk.

"And someone else is getting a little sloppy in their dancing technique," she countered, smirking right back at him.

"Everything I did was such a bore
Everywhere I went you know
I'd been there before"

They danced in silence for a few songs until a slow waltz filled the room and most of the couples retreated to the bar. Serina gently rested her chin on his shoulder and closed her eyes, trusting him to lead her around and keep her from getting hurt. Shigure smiled down at her and pulled her a bit closer.

"Careful," she said with a soft laugh, "or I might fall asleep right here."

"I wouldn't mind," he replied in a smooth tone, "though it would ruin a few of my plans for the rest of the evening."

"But you brighten up for me all my days
With a love so sweet in so many ways"

"Plans?" she questioned.

"Yes, plans," he replied matter-of-factly. "I had a few things I wanted to do before we went home for the night."

"Oh? Like what?" She stood up a bit, her curiosity obvious in her eyes.

"I wanna stop
And thank you baby
I wanna stop and thank you baby
Yes I do"

He forced the both of them to a stop suddenly, causing a bit of a stir amongst those still gathered around the dance floor. Serina took a quick, sweeping glance at them before looking up at Shigure again. His face was expressionless, but she could see the playfulness in his eyes.

"What…?" she asked slowly. "Did I step on your feet or something?"

"On the contrary," he said, a smirk tugging at his lips, "I'm about to step on yours."

"How sweet it is to be loved by you
How sweet it is to be loved by you"

"Shigure," Serina said, obviously flustered as he pulled away from her slightly, "what are you doing? I don't understand what you're—"

He put a finger to her lips and smiled at her as he continued digging in the inside pocket of his suit jacket. "I thought women were good at predicting when these kinds of things were coming," he chuckled.

"These… kinds of…" Her sentence trailed off as Shigure pulled his hand out of his jacket and revealed a small, black velvet box.

"These kinds of things," he said with a smile.

"You were better to me than I was to myself
For me there is you and there ain't nobody else"

Serina's eyes were wide and her heart was beating faster than she had ever felt it go before as Shigure slowly got down on one knee in front her. Everyone else in the small club had gathered around the couple now and she felt fairly certain that her knees were going to give out on her. She put her arms out slightly to balance herself, blushing a bit as a few small laughs came from the crowd.

"I wanna stop
And thank you baby
I just wanna stop
And thank you baby
Oh, whoa, oh"

"Don't think about them," Shigure said, immediately pulling her attention back to him. "Just think about me." He smiled up at her softly, causing her to smile in return.

"It's hard not to when you're on one knee in front of me," she replied breathlessly.

He chuckled and smiled all the more at her. "Serina," he said, letting her name roll of his tongue sweetly, "you know that you are everything I have come to want and need in my life – the past eight days without you taught me that more than I ever needed them to. I hardly knew what to do with myself knowing that you weren't waiting for me to finish writing for the day or weren't just out for one thing or another and would be back soon. I want you to know what you mean to me, what our relationship and all that it entails means to me." His eyes flicked to her stomach for a split second before moving back up to hers. "I love you Serina and I want to be with you for the rest of my life. Please, will you marry me?"

"How sweet it is to be loved by you"

Slowly, Shigure opened the small velvet box, revealing a delicate white gold ring set with three small diamonds – with one slightly larger set between the smaller two. Delicate filigree accented the small band, curling around the ring in thin lines the made it look all the more fragile and antique.

Serina looked down at Shigure and the ring with wide eyes, a hand covering her wide open mouth. The whole club was silent and even the DJ had been kind enough to turn off the music for the moment.

"How sweet it is to be loved by you"

Shigure didn't dare to take his eyes off of her. All of his emotions were there for her to see – the love, the fear, the anticipation, the hope, and, most of all, the longing for her to say yes. He focused on his breathing as he waited, hoping that it would help make the seconds go by faster if he focused his mind on something other than the waiting.

Almost as if in slow motion, Serina pulled her hand away from her face. Her mouth slowly closed and she forced herself to take a deep breath before smiling at him softly.

"How sweet it is to be loved by you"

"Yes."

Within half a second, everyone began to cheer on the happy couple as Shigure rushed to his feet and pulled Serina into a deep, passionate kiss. The DJ put on a song to fit the mood before joining in on the cheering as well. Neither Shigure nor Serina noticed, though, as they continued to kiss.

"How sweet it is to be loved by you"

A few hours later, when the crowd had finally filtered out and only the DJ remained, Shigure pulled Serina close and inspected the ring he had finally gotten to placing on her finger.

"It looks like it was meant to be there," he observed softly.

"I rather thought so myself," she said with a soft laugh.

He chuckled a bit then looked over his shoulder at the DJ and nodded. Confused, Serina opened her mouth to question the exchange, but quickly let it pass when the very first song they'd danced to together came on.

"Care for one last dance?" Shigure asked with a smile.

Serina smiled brightly at him. "With you, my love," she said softly, "I could dance forever."