Kyo slung himself up on the roof, grumbling a bit at the stupidity of the girl. Honestly, as if she needed to make such a fuss over his bad mood. That stupid rat had been looking at her with a melting look again when she smiled at him. It just made his blood boil to think of him with her, holding her, making her happy as he probably never could. Not with this curse he was stuck with… After all, who would love a monster when they could love a prince type like Yuki.

"Damn that rat anyway!"

He closed his eyes and soaked up the sun, feeling the heat move through his veins and appease him bit by bit. His breathing slowed and he slumbered in the late afternoon, forgetting his troubles for a while.

-------------------------

"Kyo, come down! Supper is ready!" Waking up, Kyo stretched lazily and looked down from his perch to the slight girl looking up at him. A smile was lighting up her face, reaching up to her eyes as it always did. Warmth filled his hearth and he couldn't help smiling back at her. He loved her so much it hurt sometimes. But he couldn't tell her, didn't want to see her expression if she ever learned the truth. Pity, embarrassment, fear that the monster that was in him would devour her. No, he couldn't.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming. What's for supper?" he asked as he made his way down to her.

"Leek and potato soup, your favorite!" she replied, as serious as could be.

"What! Leeks! You idiot, couldn't you make anything good to eat? Arghh…."

"Heheh… Kyo, you're so much fun to tease. Of course we're not having leeks, we're having soba noodles!"

"Ah.. eh… sure, noodles. That's better I guess. Not that your noodles are that good anyway, so it doesn't make much of a difference."

"Oh, come on, will you!" She moved up to him and grabbed his hand, pulling him inside the house and shoving him gently to his seat. His face was burning by this time, the soft feel of her hand still imprinted in his own. They'd held hands many times before, but somehow it had gotten to mean more as time went by. He wondered if the rest of her was as soft as her hands… his face flamed even more at the thought, causing a worried Tohru to come even closer.

"Do you feel all right? You're not coming down with a fever are you? Let me see." And she pressed her hand to his forehead, trying to see is he was hot compared to her own.

"Idiot!", he exclaimed, pushing her hand away. "Can't a guy be a little hot after coming from outside!?"

"Oh.. oh.. yes, okay. I'm sorry Kyo. I… I… I just don't want you to be sick. I worry about you."

"Yeah well, don't worry so much. Can we eat now?"

"Yes! I'm so sorry! I'm keeping you from eating when you're hungry! Please, eat!"

"Where're the dog and the rat?" This came out slightly slurred, as his mouth was already half full.

"It's just you and me tonight. Yuki had to leave for a council meeting at school and Shigure is at the main house with Hatori. He said he might be coming back tomorrow, he wasn't sure."

Kyo almost choked on his noodles. Alone? With Tohru? For the whole evening ? No pervert dog to make fun of him at the looks he couldn't help sending Tohru's way? No stupid rat to steal her attention and her smiles? At the thought, joy leaped in his heart and a silly grin stretched his lips. His mind wandered back to his earlier musings… would he dare try to find out if her skin was as soft elsewhere as it was on her hands? If her lips would yield beneath his? If her gentle touch would soothe his soul? His fame flamed again, burning an even deeper red than before. He should be ashamed to be thinking such things.

Tohru looked at him curiously. Kyo had grown silent and was watching her intently, his cat eyes seemingly wandering from her hands, to her lips, to other parts of her. A blush spread on her cheeks, and a weird fluttering started in her stomach.

"What's happening? I don't understand…"

"Eh, Kyo, what would you like to do tonight? Would you like to watch a movie?" anything to take those disturbing eyes of her.

"Heh? Sure, why not." his voice was softer than usual, his eyes still steady on her. He knew he should stop thinking those things, but couldn't help himself. She looked so pretty, sitting in front of him. Too pretty for him, for a monster, but he couldn't stop dreaming of her.

"That's it then! We'll watch whatever movie's on the TV tonight."

With that, she jumped to her feet, eager to get out from under his disturbing gaze and into the kitchen to clean up. She wasn't used to such a thoughtful Kyo. He was usually much more rash… although sometimes he'd surprised her with his attentiveness, noticing things no one else had, encouraging her to express herself if she needed to. Dear Kyo, she wanted to learn so much about him, understand him. But tonight, something was different.

Kyo followed her with his eyes until she disappeared in the kitchen, and turned back to the table, dropping his head onto it.

"Stupid, stop looking at her like that. You're making her uncomfortable! But… can't I dream a bit? Pretend, just for tonight, that she's all mine and none other's? Only for one night… she can give me that, can't she? Hmmph… she's so eager to please, she'd probably do anything if I asked her."

"Kyo, do you want to choose the movie?"

He jumped up, banging his knees on the table.

"Dammit woman! Don't sneak up on a man like that! Stupid table!" He shoved the table a bit and reached for the controller. "Sure, sit down, I think there's this new romantic drama on tonight. You'll probably like it, sappy as you are".

That hadn't quite come out as intended, but she didn't seem to note his surliness. A big smile on her face, she sat down beside him, sliding beneath the warming covers, her legs touching his without her seeming to notice. He noticed for both of them though. And couldn't bring himself to move. Tonight, he would steal every moment and touch he could.

"Okay! You're so nice to be thinking about me! We don't have school tomorrow, so let's watch a movie you like after!"

"Sure, we'll see."

They settled down, the girl soon caught up in the movie, laughing at the funny parts, crying at the sad ones, never realizing that her silent companion was caught up not in the movie, but in the expressions chasing across her face. To see her happy like this brought out a tenderness in him he hadn't even thought existed. Unconsciously, the two moved closer, seeking warmth in the cold evening, even though they were under the covers. When the movie finished, Tohru turned a delighted smile on Kyo, blinding him for a moment.

"Wasn't that lovely Kyo? I hope you liked it a bit, it certainly was funny in some places, no? Oh and wasn't that little girl adorable! And that boy too! He kind of reminded me of Momiji, full of life and sweetness. And they found love at the end too. It was perfect! Like a dream come true for everyone! Thank you so much for thinking of me and choosing this movie for us to watch!"

"… sure, whatever. Do you still feel up to watching something else?"

"Of course, I promised, didn't I? And Yuki isn't back yet, we can wait for him while we watch the next movie."

At hearing the rat's name, the cat's mood fell down a bit. "Stupid rat, always intruding even when he isn't there."

"Oh! I know, let's watch this movie! I hope you haven't seen it before. I always wanted to watch it, but was too afraid on my own. But with you by my side, I'm not afraid at all!"

The boy looked over at the screen. He'd actually seen the movie a couple of times and couldn't imagine what she found so scary about it, but it didn't matter. As long as he could spend some more time with her, anything would do. They settled down under the blanket once again, Tohru intent on the movie, Kyo on the girl beside him.

As the movie progressed, Tohru scooted closer to Kyo, seeking his protection unconsciously as the story dragged her imaginative mind into it. Finally, as a particularly suspenseful moment came to pass, she let out a small scream and almost climbed onto his lap, hiding her face in his shoulder, careful even then not to press fully into to him and have him transform.

"Heh!! Watch out! Tohru..?"

The cat shrank back instinctively, not wanting to transform, but soon settled down as he felt her trembling in his arms.

"Is… Is she okay? Did he get her?" she murmured in his ear, not daring to turn back to the screen.

"Huh? Who? What?" What was she talking about anyway? How was he supposed to think with her breathing in his neck like that? She smelled so sweet…

She looked at him, wondering what was wrong. Wasn't he watching the movie? She almost forgot why she wasn't watching it herself, a bit frustrated at his lack of understanding.

"The girl in the movie. Did that bad guy hurt her?"

"Oh! That girl! Hmmm.. nope, she's all right, but he'll be back in a bit though." Good thing he'd already seen the picture a few times. He would've been in trouble otherwise, as he really couldn't think of anything else but the feel of her in his arms.

"Would you mind if I stayed here a bit then? Only for a little while! Until the bad guy goes away… you make me feel safer Kyo…"

Panic shot through him. If she stayed like this much longer, she would feel his reaction to her closeness.

"NO!"

It took but a second and she shot out of his arms. "What was I thinking? she thought to herself, of course I can't stay in his arms. Stupid, stupid, stupid…" She punched herself lightly on the head.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. How stupid of me. Of course I can't stay on you. I'm sorry!"

A smile was on her face, as usual, but her eyes betrayed her. They were full of confusion and a bit of fear was lurking there too. Was Kyo mad at her? What had she done wrong?

"I'm sorry!"

As Kyo looked at her, understanding all she was thinking through the expressions on her face, his panic subsided and he felt a bit foolish.

"Stupid, stop saying you're sorry. You have nothing to be sorry about." With that said, he caught her by the arm and pulled her back to him, settling her in his arms as she had been before, ignoring her startled shriek and the questions in her eyes.

"Kyo? Why? Oh! Your face is all red. Are you okay?" she stretched out a hand, resting it on his cheek.

He shoved it off and moved her a bit so she could face the screen.

"Nothing. Just shut up and watch the movie, will ya?!"

After staring at him a bit more and seeing he was determined to ignore her, she let the moment pass and returned to the movie.

Kyo let out the breath he had been holding and switched his gaze to the girl resting in his arms. He couldn't believe he was holding her like this without transforming. It was as if only the contact of certain parts of their bodies provoked the transformation. How intriguing…and why had he never realized it before? Did the others know of this? Surely the older set did. Maybe he should talk to Shigure about it. But then, how would he explain how he'd found out about it? Maybe he should do a bit of testing before, to make sure… Hmmm… He shifted her a bit, so that she rested fully on his side, not quite touching his torso, her back to him. So far so good. She wasn't even realizing what was happening. He closed his arms a bit more about her, resting them right below her breasts. His face flushed again. He could actually feel the undersides of her breasts on his arms. He looked down over her shoulder, enjoying the view.

"I wonder what they look like under her clothes… they must be as white and soft as the rest of her I can see…"

As the thought made its way to the conscious part of his brain, he felt himself flushing all over. Other parts of his body had reacted without his realizing it. He was so hard he could probably poke a hole through a steel door. And Tohru was sitting flush on it. He held his breath, hoping she wouldn't notice, and tried to think of something else, anything else to bring it down and not cause him further embarrassment. He'd almost succeeded when Tohru shifted, unconsciously trying to find a more comfortable position around whatever it was that was poking her. As he came to rest between her buttocks, life came back with full force to that part of him he was so desperately trying to ignore. The thought of what was happening in his lap had him sweating profusely, and he abandoned all hope of returning to normal tonight. He tried instead to focus on the movie, forgetting all about his testing of the positions that brought about a change of form.