Title: Week 35: Buried Treasure

Summary: Yuki finds a way to cheer up Tohru, who's suffering from a mild case of post-partum depression. (Alternative End to The Result)

Genre: Romance/ Family

Rating: T
Word Count: 1,743

Tohru sighed as she lifted her newborn daughter off of her lap. Bringing the tiny face towards her own, Tohru stared at the closed eyelids, then at her tiny nose, and finally at the little bubble glistening from the corner of her pursed lips. Emi was a beautiful child, though only three weeks old. After another sigh, Tohru stood, cradling the infant gently as she sauntered over to the white crib. She carefully laid Emi on the small mattress before she pulled out the soft, pink blanket and covered the slumbering child, folding the edge over once the end reached Emi's chin. While watching her daughter, Tohru redid the top half of the buttons of her white blouse before leaving the room to take a nap, but when she entered her bedroom, a familiar white box already occupied her bed.

She curiously approached her bed. Lifting the lid off of the box, Tohru peered at the pink, ruffled dress lying neatly inside. With a frown, Tohru fought the building tears as she switched her gaze from the beautiful gown Yuki had bought for her months ago to her abdomen that had not quite flattened back to her previous size yet. Tossing the tiny dress aside and flopping down on her mattress, Tohru burst into hysterics, unable to contain her tears any longer. When she finished bawling a good ten minutes later, Tohru felt a note getting crushed under her hand. Confused, Tohru shoved herself into a sitting position and unfolded the crinkled note.

Tohru, put on your dress, and meet me at our new secret base.

Ever since they had moved in almost a month ago, she had helped him start a new garden in their backyard, and she'd always return inside caked in dirt and covered with grass stains. Thus their gardening attire consisted of worn clothes already filled with rips and holes. She couldn't figure out why he'd ask her to wear the gorgeous gown he'd given her. Perplexed by his request, Tohru flipped over the small, white card, searching for more words, but after finding a blank back, her eyebrows furrowed deeper. She didn't want to ruin the dress before she could fit in it, but as she glanced back at the note, her determination wavered at the glimmer of attention it tantalized her with.

After another sigh, she shed her sweatpants and top. Holding her breath, she squeezed her eyes shut as she tried to pull the dress on. A minute later, she realized that the dress had slid on easily with only a minor struggle. Tohru gawked at her own reflection that she caught in her mirror. Twirling around before her vanity, Tohru smiled for the first time that day. The layers of ruffles hid the weight that she had gained during her pregnancy and hadn't lost yet. She almost looked normal. With a glimmer of joy in her eyes, Tohru skipped out of her room and into the nursery. Taking a still slumbering Emi into her arms, Tohru wandered down the stairs and out the backdoor.

Stepping onto the porch and into the sunshine, Tohru found her grin growing. As she scanned the neat yard, she noticed that Yuki had laid out a fleece blanket under a tree near the small garden, so Tohru put Emi down there in the shade. She then rushed over to Yuki, who was bent over at the other end of the yard pulling at a weed. Seeing as his mission absorbed his attention, Tohru surprised him when she leapt onto him with an embrace, so she wound up knocking him to the ground. He had been letting his guard slip ever since they moved since Kyo could no longer barge in with random attacks, but at least the weed came out when he fell. Tohru quickly shoved herself up and readied herself to spit out a string of apologies, but he wasn't even looking at her when she lifted her head to meet his gaze.

"Where's Emi?" he asked.

Her frown returned as she climbed off of him.

"She's sleeping on the blanket you set out for her. It's warm out so she doesn't need a blanket, and she's in the shade so she won't get burnt. She doesn't roll when she sleeps, so nothing should happen," she halfheartedly assured him.

"Yeah, but we still shouldn't leave her alone. She's not even a month old," he muttered half to himself and partially to her as he stood.

He offered her his hand, tugging her up and leading her towards their child while her frown deepened. She didn't bother holding another sigh back. Ever since Emi arrived, Tohru had been shoved into a meager second place in everyone's hearts. Though she loved her daughter with all her heart and would do anything for the beautiful child, Tohru wished her friends and family remembered her as well. Peering down at the gown, Tohru wondered why she had even bothered leaving the house and getting dressed. No one noticed her when they could coo over Emi, and Emi could distract anyone with just a hiccup or a wiggle of a toe. Before she could wallow in her growing self-misery any longer, Yuki squeezed her hand, making her face him.

"You look beautiful, you know," he breathed, sneaking a side glance at her.

"T-Thank you!" she exclaimed as a faint blush undermined the fading downturn of her lips.

"You should know that we all love you, Tohru. I know everyone seems to only want to play with Emi now, but that doesn't mean we don't care about you. She just needs us now, so please cheer up," he told her with a faint smile.

"I know…" she trailed off embarrassedly, shocked that he knew how she felt.

After pecking her on the cheek, he responded, "Good. Now do you want to help me garden?"

She nodded but quickly added, "But my dress!"

"Don't worry, my princess. I have it all under control," he assured her.

He gave her a dramatic bow as he pulled a small blanket from seemingly nowhere and draped it across a patch of grass before an empty square of dirt by where Emi soundly slept. A soft laugh escaped from her throat as she kneeled down, unable to keep a grin off her face. Before she could ask him why he had requested that she dress so nicely, she noticed how Yuki seemed to have had distanced himself from her.

"I need to go get some new seeds I bought yesterday from inside. Do you mind digging little holes for them while I'm gone? They don't need to be that big or deep, so your fingers would be sufficient for digging. I'll be back, all right?" he seemed to ramble.

Before she could even choke out a response, he had planted a brief kiss on the corner of her mouth and had retreated inside the house. Puzzled, she slowly let her mouth slide shut as she snuck a glance back at Emi. Turning towards the dirt in front of her, she sank her fingers into the soft dirt and began scooping out small holes. By her tenth hole, Tohru found herself watching the door, wondering why Yuki seemed to be stalling inside, but she couldn't even consider going inside to check on him before she stubbed her fingers against something solid. With her eyebrows knitted in confusion, Tohru began scraping the dirt off of the surface and discovered a small, black, velvet top. Shoving her fingers into the soil surrounding the square, she wrapped her hand around the small cube and yanked it out.

Tohru found it to be a jewelry box. Flipping it open, Tohru gaped when she found a silver ring with a sparkling diamond in the center. Once her eyes had returned to their normal size, she twisted the ring around in the cushion with a grin spreading across her face. Gingerly tugging it out, Tohru tried it on and discovered that it fit perfectly. Hesitantly glancing around her, Tohru let out a breath of relief when she spotted only Emi still sleeping peacefully. She quickly took off the ring and put it back in the box, but before she could do anything else, she heard the backdoor slide open. She could only guiltily wrap her fingers tightly around the box in hopes that he couldn't see the black velvet peeking out between her extremities as he ambled over to her. Despite her efforts, he knelt before her and gently pried the box from her. Opening it, he presented the sparkling ring to her.

"Did I give you enough time to decide on an answer?" he softly asked.

"Y-Yes!" she squeaked.

As his gesture slowly registered in her mind, she lifted her head towards him, beaming as she swiped at budding tears. She could barely make out the faint smile lingering on his pale face before it vanished behind a mask of uncertainty. Though he had pulled the ring out from the box and had it positioned before her finger, Tohru began to panic. She couldn't help wondering if he had decided to propose out of guilt since they had Emi, but before she could jump up and begin her flailing and protesting, his fingers grasped hers. The firmness of his grip comforted her and soon expelled her worries. She leaned towards him, brushing her fingertip against the silver band, but he made no move to slide the ring onto her finger.

"Wait, yes as in you'll marry me or as in I did give you enough time…?" he trailed off uneasily.

"Both!" she exclaimed.

Unable to wait, she jammed her own finger through the ring and leapt into his arms, knocking him over for the second time today, but this time, they both laughed. Merriment seemed to ring through the air as they both laid there, and he wrapped his arms tightly around her in a loving embrace. Craning her neck upwards, she snuck a peck to his lips before settling against his side, relishing in the warm gusts of wind, the bright sun shine, and the soothing rise and fall of Yuki's chest that matched Emi's with every breath. She could no longer remember what sadness even felt like.

Tohru was glad she had beaten the pirates to her buried treasure, even without the aid of a crinkled map with a giant red 'x' painted across.