After it All

A Toradora! Fanfic

Chapter 1: Blessings

*WHACK!*

"Wh-What are you saying embarrassing stuff like that for?! Y-your'e supposed to… I don't know, you're supposed to wait for the right mood or something!"* yelled Taiga, flustered and red faced as she looked up at me. The sudden blow from her was surprising, but not unlike her, and even through the bruise I could feel forming, I couldn't help but chuckle as she went on. Same Taiga as before, and that was something I wouldn't change for the world.

"Hey! Ryuuji! Are you even listening mutt?!" she said as she noticed my chuckling. She reared back as if she were going to aim another hit to my gut, but before she did, I reached out and pulled her into a hug, which seemed to work as she froze when I pulled her in. I kept like this for a short pause, my nose pressing into her hair as I breathed in the familiar scent. It had been over a year since I had seen her in person, and now that she returned, I never wanted her to leave again.

"Of course I am… and I missed you, Taiga" I told her, my voice gentle as I enjoyed the feeling of having her close again. She was only tense for a few seconds before I felt her relax, her arms finding their way around me as she tightened her grip, returning the embrace. I could feel her tremble slightly, burying her head in my chest as she balled the back of my shirt into her fists, as if I would be whisked away at any moment and she were the only one holding me in place.

"I…I…" she stammered, he voice cracking a little, "I MISSED YOU TOO! GOD I MISSED YOU SO MUCH! I DON'T EVER WANNA LEAVE WITHOUT SAYING GOODBYE EVER AGAN!" From this point she sobbed into my shirt, I could feel as her tears soaked through. Her grip tightened on me so much at that point that I had to lean against the window sill to keep myself from stumbling. I let her sob a little more as I stroked her hair.

"You didn't have to say goodbye, Taiga." I said to her. She looked up at me with curious and wet eyes, wondering what I meant by that statement. "You never really left" I continued, "sure you were gone a while, but you were never leaving, what is the point of saying goodbye when you know you'll be back?" I looked at her tear filled eyes and smiled at her. She wiped her tears with a sleeve then looked back at me with her own growing smile. Without another word, I leaned down to her, closing my eyes and kissing her. She was expecting this because I was met halfway, her legs bringing her small body up a few more inches so she could accept the gesture. I missed kissing her, flashes of the night we shared our first went on in my mind. The makeshift veil made from a bed sheet, the failure that was me trying to make up wedding vows… the look in her eyes as she asked for just one more kiss…

Our lips parted slowly, savoring the feel of one another before gazing back into each other's eyes. She raised her hand up to my cheek, caressing it gently before standing back up. "Come on, let's go see the others" she said, taking my hand and heading toward the door. We walked hand in hand down the hallway toward the stairs, not passing anyone due to everyone being outside and socializing for the graduation ceremony.

"So… how was it all this time with your mother?" I asked her as we made our way down the stairs, curious as to how the past year had been for her mother, not to mention her new stepfather and sibling.

Taiga pondered the question a little while before replying. "Well, at the start it was… pretty awkward. I think my mom was surprised to even see me come home, like she was convinced that I wasn't ever going to come back. On top of that there was the whole meeting her new husband. He was nice… but he tried too hard on making a good impression, like he wanted me to start calling him dad the minute we met. But as everything went on, it really wasn't too bad. My mom and I talked… a lot… about a lot of things… about my dad running off, about the baby being born… about you…"

Her last statement piqued my interest and I looked at her with a questioning gaze. "Me?" I asked, "What all was said about me?"

"Well, it was mostly just her asking about you, what you did, who you were friends with, how we met each other." Replied Taiga, her gaze going off into the distance as she thought of the conversation.

"So she wanted to learn more about me huh?" I asked her before giving a playfully sly grin, "Is she making sure I'll make a good husband?" I got the reaction that I wanted, because Taiga looked up suddenly flustered and wide eyed, her face turning red at my question. But instead of yelling or having some kind of outburst, she giggled.

"Mmm, I'd say more like a good housewife. I told her all about how you can cook, clean, sew, and your strangely good ability of designing dresses. Being such a good dog as you are, she was clearly impressed." She said with a sarcastic grin, her tongue sticking out at me. I couldn't help but feel my face burn red with embarrassment. If that was the case, Taiga's mother probably thought I was the most un-masculine guy around. Taiga seemed to notice this because she bumped me and said, "I also told her how sweet, caring, selfless, and strong you are, so no need to worry about losing guy points there."

This made me feel a little better, hopefully she didn't think of me as a total wuss. We made it down to where the others were, near the entrance of the school. Upon opening the doors, Taiga excitedly scanned the crowd of students until they locked onto the one particular girl with the short red hair. Without hesitation, she took off in a sprint, shouting "MINORIIIN!" before leaping toward her with arms wide open. Minori Kushieda only managed to turn just as Taiga crashed into her, effectively knocking her over and gaining a yelp of surprise from the collision. If there was ever a time I would ever see Kushieda stunned and speechless, it was just then, being bowled over by the tiny girl whom was her best friend.

"T-T-T…..TAIGA!" Kushieda yelled, flinging her arms around the small girl, joy ever-present in her voice as she hugged her old friend. "TAIGA! WH-WHEN DID YOU GET BACK?!" she exclaimed as she stood back up, still holding Taiga close to her and rocking side to side. This gained the attention of almost everyone around us, including Takasu, Kawashima, Haruto, Noto, Kashii and Kihara. Noticing the return of the small friend, they all came rushing, shouting out her name and waving.

"Minorin! I can't breathe!" said Taiga as she was smothered into an ecstatic Kushieda's chest. She realized that the poor little girl was being choked out and let up a little on the hold she had. Taiga caught her breath as she giggled and looked up. "I actually just got here, I came to surprise Ryuugi and then I wanted to see everyone else. I missed you all so much! I even missed the Chihuahua's nagging!" she said, earning a scoff from Ami.

Soon enough, everyone was surrounding Taiga, welcoming her back, cheering that 'The Palmtop Tiger' had returned once again. She seemed to enjoy the welcome, hugging friends, talking with classmates, all the while Kushieda was hovering around her, obviously overjoyed to the point of tears that her dear friend was back.

The reunion went on a little while longer until it was finally time for the graduation ceremony. It was a nice celebration, the teachers spoke about how proud they were with their students, how this was probably one of the most memorable classes to have ever been in the school. Even Kitamura, being the student body president, went on stage to talk about even though we might be going separate paths, the times we spent and the relationships made will always bring us back to each other. As this was said, it made me look at Taiga, the small girl sitting at my side, her hand intertwined with my own, the girl who even after more than a year, has found her way back to me. I don't know what it was, whether the way the sun hit her, the look in her eyes as she smiled among her friends, perhaps the way she looked up and smiled her beautiful smile. Whatever it was, I was hopelessly in love with her.

The ceremony ended with cheers, leaving everyone to socialize with one another until they dispersed back to their homes. Some left in groups, to celebrate the graduation, others left with their families. Taiga and I said our final goodbyes to our friends, promising to meet up for one final hurrah before Kitamura left for America to study abroad. We made our way back to my home when the question popped into my mind. "Hey Taiga, since you don't have the apartment anymore, where will you be staying? I mean… I hope you aren't going to leave any time soon."

Taiga smiled and looked up at me with a look that showed she knew something I did not. "Don't worry about living arrangements, everything should be fine by the end of the day." She replied, swinging our hands together mischievously as we approached my home. It made me wonder what she meant, what is gonna happen by the end of the day? I sighed before letting out a small chuckle, making Taiga look at me curiously.

"You know, things are probably gonna change rather soon."

"What do you mean?"

"Well… I am eighteen now."

Taiga stopped in her tracks and looked up at me wide eyed, no noise escaping her lips. She let out a small breath and smiled, her gaze softening. "Trust me, I know that. It's one of the reasons I was so excited to come back. But before anything like that can happen, it's like you said. We need to get everyone's blessing." She said as we approached my door, reaching for the handle. She opened it as she said, "And with that said, Ryuuji… I'd like you to meet… my mother."

*A/N: This was a direct line from the Toradora! series, episode 25, I take no credit for this line!

Also, I really hope that you guys enjoy this! I am open to all reviews and constructive criticism. Let me know what you guys think!