AN: Hello and thank you for reading my little Kyoru fic! Reviews are encouraged, but trolling/rudeness is not. Just please remember to be kind. I do not own Fruits Basket or any of the characters. This fic takes place immediately after Tohru and Kyo move in chapter 136.

-The New Apartment-

Chapter 1: Kyo – Practical

Kyo entered the small, inviting apartment and sighed as he put down a box of clothes. He examined the clean white walls and inhaled the smell of new carpet. It was a nice place, but it made him nervous. It seemed so adult, in so many different ways. The responsibility of rent and utilities loomed over him, but those weren't making him too anxious. His biggest worry was that the apartment was a one-bedroom. Initially they were going to get a two-bedroom, but Kyo and Tohru mutually decided a smaller place would be more practical.

"It's-it's so expensive!" Tohru said, financial woes already pressing on her.

"I know, but everything in our price range is in the bad part of town. I won't always be able to pick you up from work and it worries me that you'll be walking home alone at night" Kyo said as he lightly placed his knuckles on his temple and leaned on the table with his elbow. He looked over and over at the newspaper in front of him. Every single listing for two-bedroom apartments were inadequate. All of them were either in bad areas, complete dumps, or, most commonly, too damn expensive. It felt as if they'd never find a place.

It wasn't as if they were poor (yet), but a lot had changed since the curse was broken and Kyo's seemingly never-ending bank account now had a decided number. He wasn't too worried about deposits, but getting by month-to-month was another story. Kyo thought he'd been through it all, but this adult stuff sure was proving him wrong.

"I didn't expect this to be so hard" he said and laughed. He looked at Tohru who was examining the paper with a pensieve look on her face. Kyo saw a blush bloom on her face.

"Huh? Tohru, what's wrong?" he asked. Tohru's blush deepened

"I-I just wonder if this one wouldn't be b-best?" she asked as her face turned scarlet. Kyo looked at the listing she was pointing at. Right price, right area, some amenities included, one bed/one bath…

One bed/one bath?! Kyo felt his cheeks get hot. Was she really suggesting this? In truth, he had thought of it himself, it was cost efficient and they certainly would have higher quality apartments to choose from. Maybe it was a good idea and plus, wasn't this only natural? Surely, a young couple in love buying an apartment together would sleep in the same room. He looked at Tohru again. She was looking away from him and still flushed red. He thought about her flushing red for other reasons.

"Aaaaaaah!" Kyo yelled, both hands on is head as he tried to shake out the image that entered his mind for the briefest of moments.

Of course, this made Tohru panic.

"F-forgive me! I was being far too forward, please excuse me!" she said, her blush now encompassing her entire torso. Kyo laughed nervously.

"It's not like it's a crazy idea…" Kyo said, "It would save us a lot of money and I guess we don't need all that space." Kyo found himself making a case for it. He felt criminal. Sure, they'd been dating for eight months and never gotten past passionate kissing, but even that made Tohru so bashful he doubted she was ready for anything else. He wondered if he was.

Then again, maybe it was time. It's not like he hadn't thought about it, but he never felt safe inside his mind. The last thing he wanted was for Hanajima and Uotani to come crashing into his bedroom and daring to kill him if he ever had such thoughts again. Whenever "such thoughts" graced his conscious, he'd do his best to think of anything else immediately. Alas, Kyo was (now) only human and there was no doubt he had certain "wants" he sometimes wish he didn't

His mind reeled, going back and forth on the subject. He worried that his argument for "practicality" was just a cover-up for the inevitable intimacy that would come from sharing a room. He inhaled and came to a decision.

"Tohru…a one bedroom, is it fine like this?" he asked her, determined for this decision to be completely mutual. It was a big step for their relationship. Tohru's face grew serious.

"Yes! I think this will be the best way for us to make our own way" she said. Kyo sighed. He worried she didn't completely understand the implications of sharing a room and tried to be more direct.

"It's more responsible, yes, but Tohru, we'd be sleeping in the same room together…is that really okay with you?" Kyo asked, his fingers resting on the back of his neck, his face getting red. Tohru's expression changed. Her eyes widened and red found her cheeks again. She was frightened. A gear shifted in Kyo's head.

"Oh! I can just sleep in the living room. I'm not a little kid, this doesn't need to be a big deal" Kyo said, doing his best to sound enthusiastic.

"Oh, no! I don't want you to have to be in the living room. Please, let me sleep there."

"No way! You're a girl! What kind of man would I be if I took the room, while you were in the living room?"

Tohru looked back at the newspaper. Kyo didn't understand why, but she looked disappointed for a brief second. Her expression quickly changed to a kind smile.

"Yes, thank you very much" she said. Kyo put his hand on her cheek.

"It's gonna be…" he looked for the right word.

"Fun?"

"Yeah"

Kyo moved closer to her and kissed her gently. He pulled away and looked into her eyes as he tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.

"Tohru?"

"Yes?"

"Don't tell anyone we're moving into a one-bedroom, okay?"

"Huh?"

Even though they had decided Kyo would sleep in the living room, he was still a man living with a beautiful woman who, mercifully, loved him back. What if, in a moment of passion, he suggested something? What if Tohru consented just to please him and not because she really wanted to? He gasped.

"She would do something like that, wouldn't she? She's never doing things for herself, it's always for other people, but this kinda thing…she has to want to too! But we have to do it eventually, right? Right?!" Kyo thought. He continued to panic while he thought of this and that, when Tohru entered the apartment carrying a small box.

"Oh! Kyo-kun it's so cute!" Tohru said, enamored with their new apartment. Kyo, who had not noticed Tohru entering, was standing in the corner, forlorn and defeated.

"Maybe I should just accept being celibate for the rest of my life. It's fine as long as Tohru's by my side…" Kyo thought.

"Kyo-kun?"

"Huh?"

"Kyo-kun are you alright?" Tohru asked. He chuckled to himself to relieve some of his anxiety.

"Yeah, thanks. Let's grab the other stuff" Kyo said, doing his best to stay focused on moving. They walked down the stairs to the street where a taxi cab held the rest of their possessions. They had both brought very little since they had travelled such a long distance and decided they would buy furniture at their new home.

They brought up all their boxes, Kyo taking the heavy ones, and thanked the taxi driver once they were done. They admired their new apartment and set to work unpacking. Kyo began opening boxes in the living room to check if anything had been damaged during the trip. He came across the small box Tohru first brought up and opened it. It was the box that contained some of Tohru's most prized possessions: her zodiac set (papier-mâché cat included), Kyo's old hat, a paper flower Kyo gave her, and his beads. He looked at them and felt a phantom bracelet on his left wrist, which always felt strangely bare after he tore his beads off. Sometimes he would realize he wasn't wearing his bracelet and panic briefly before remembering he no longer needed it. He no longer needed reminding he was a disgusting monster, because he wasn't anymore. Kyo would have been glad to have never seen them again, and yet she kept them. Of course she did. He remembered thinking that maybe he should have picked them up, after all, they were always with him, a part of him, but at the time he just wanted the damn things off. Then there was sweet, thoughtful Tohru, picking up every single bead. She picked them up and now, she cherishes them. Why?

Kyo stood up and looked at Tohru. She was in the kitchen, happily humming to herself as she cleaned and put away dishes into cabinets. He thought about her and the miracle that was her existence. He thought about the time in the rain, right before Tohru got hurt. She said she loved him and he called her delusional, because no one could love him after what he had done. And yet, here she was, cherishing the ugliest part of him. Keeping mementos of his insecurities because they were happy memories, because the beads were proof he was no longer in the confines of a curse. They were also the proof he once was. She kept them. She kept them and Kyo had a thought.

"She does feel that way about me" he reminded himself. How in the world was he ever deserving of that? How can she save him, over and over again, from the darkest pits of hell, and still be able to be in love with him? It would have been enough if she just stayed by his side until he was locked away. That would have been more than enough, and yet she loved him.

He had moved to her side before he knew what he was doing. She looked up at him and smiled and he quickly kissed that smile. He felt her surprise, but she quickly put it to the side and put her hands on his chest, giving in to the kiss. Kyo held her close to him and kissed her with increasing immediacy, every kiss a desperate cry to communicate "I love you, thank you". Tohru moved her arms up in one jerky, hesitant motion. Kyo, believing that this was her way of telling him to slow down, decreased the fierceness to which he kissed her and then stopped. He kissed her forehead and smiled, pretending he didn't notice how red both of them were.

"Let me help you clean the dishes"

AN: Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! There's only going to be three chapters, which are both written, but I need to transcribe them to Word first. So it'll be finished very shortly!

Please review with any comments, questions, or concerns. I'd really love to hear from you!