A/N: Okay, this is my first Fruits Basket story! I've only made it up to Volume Seven in the manga, though. Hiss at my book store. And Kyo may be a wee bit out of character, but he's just so HARD! Gah!
WARNING: Contains one itty bitty sentence spoiler for Volume Six. It's not even really classified as a spoiler. But if you don't want to know anything…and I mean anything, don't read it. Heh.
Disclaimer: It all belongs to Natsuki Takaya! Such an awesome girl. AND she's left-handed! Like me! Er. Not that it matters…
What Can Come of Cooking"…Tohru!"
The gruff voice caused Tohru to look up from her cooking. She was in the Sohma kitchen, cooking up a large dinner for Yuki's birthday. On the stove in front of her three pots sat, simmering with some hidden concoctions. She was also busy preparing a salad to the left, chopping and slicing all sorts of vegetables and other tasty things. And in the oven cooked a large chocolate cake, which she had learned from Shigure was Yuki's favorite. "Yes?" she asked, pleasantly surprised to see Kyo standing in the doorway, his solid body leaning against the frame. "How can I help you, Kyo-kun?"
He looked as if he were about to open his mouth to speak, but a sputter from behind Tohru caught her off guard.
"Oh no! The noodles!" Without a second's hesitation she spun around and lowered the heat of the stove, fanning at the pot and mixing the noodles within the water to soften them up again. "Oh, why can't I pay more attention?" she asked pathetically.
"I'm sure they're fine," Kyo said from right behind her. Tohru nearly hit her head on the roof.
"K-K-Kyo-kun! You scared me!" She turned around to see him smirking right in front of her. For some reason, the closeness of their faces sent her back a startled step.
"Stop worrying so much, doofus," he told her, bopping her on the head. Tohru cringed, but at the same time let a loud giggle escape her.
Kyo rolled his eyes, mumbling something that sounded like 'whatever.' He spun around to dig around in the fridge for something to eat.
"Kyo-kun, I'm cooking dinner!" Tohru told him in an earnest voice. She came up from behind him and slammed the fridge door shut.
"What the hell?" Kyo cried, jumping back with an angry look on his face. He rounded on Tohru. "You coulda got my head in that! Dammit, don't you pay any attention?"
Tohru sniffled. She felt her eyes well up with tears she was trying hard to hold back. "I-I-I'm sorry," she whispered meekly rushing back to her pots. That's where she belonged anyway. She could barely ever have a normal conversation with Kyo these days. Even though she knew all about his true form, he still seemed disinclined to open up to her. It hurt a bit, but she told herself she'd get through it.
"Uh—ah, that is…aw, geez, I didn't mean that, okay?" Tohru looked to her left to see Kyo leaning on the counter, his head in hands in a frustrated way. "You can close the fridge door whenever you want, or—whatever, it doesn't matter. Just forget it."
Tohru cocked her head in a curious type of way, at the same time checking on her other two pots. "Thank you, Kyo-kun!"
There was a silence as Tohru cooked some more. She began to hum softly to herself, happy just to be cooking. She also felt something she normally didn't when she was cooking. With Kyo in the room, she felt a lot happier. Was it just because she had company now?
"D-Do ya need help or anything?" Kyo asked cautiously from the counter. Tohru looked up to see his eyes were still focused on the counter, but he was blushing very deeply. Tohru smiled again. So shy!
"If you really want to help," she said sweetly. Kyo didn't look like he was going to move. With a shrug Tohru turned back to her pots. "That's good," she muttered barely above a whisper. She turned around to grab the knife for cutting the vegetables for the salad. Her hand grasped the handle, but at the speed of light another hand grasped it at the same time. Tohru looked up, surprised, to see Kyo grabbing the knife as well. An awkward silence lasted for about two seconds, and then Tohru lifted her hand off swiftly, blushing like mad. Why was she blushing anyway? So their hands had touched. Big deal…right?
Kyo didn't even acknowledge the hand touching, but Tohru noticed his face was blushing more than normal. "I can cut vegetables," he told her simply. Tohru laughed.
"Thank you again, Kyo-kun!" She went back to her pots. "You do know this supper is for Yuki-kun's birthday, right?" she asked hesitantly.
"I'm not doing this to help that damn rat!" Kyo spit, and then stopped suddenly. "I'm just—er—helping you. Not that stupid rat." His fiery orange hair hid his eyes, so Tohru couldn't see his face. But at that exact moment, when his bangs blew up and down from his breathing, Tohru had the sudden urge to run her hands through his hair.
With a little gasp she couldn't contain, she spun back around to the pots, making herself busy by clattering and clanging around with the lids, while in reality she was deep in thought about her sudden urge. What had happened there? Okay, so Kyo-kun's hair was a nice color, and it always looked full and silky, even after training…his eyes were so stunning too. All burgundy and…
"STOP!" she yelled, meaning to keep it inside. Kyo looked over at her suddenly, an annoyed expression on his face.
"What?"
Tohru blushed again. What was she supposed to tell him? I was yelling at myself to stop thinking about how handsome you are. Friends didn't think like that. "Uh—er—nothing, Kyo-kun. Nevermind," she whispered hurriedly.
As Tohru turned back to her pots, confused at her sudden and new feelings, she didn't notice Kyo's hesitant chopping, and then the knife finally making no sound against the vegetables. Instead, he was gazing at her intensely, trying to figure out what she was so flustered about. He leaned up against the counter.
"What's wrong?" he asked in an exasperated, we've-been-through-this-before tone.
Tohru looked over at him, and the first thing that ran through her mind was the way he looked, propped up against the counter with one hand in his pocket and the other casually splayed over the countertop…
"NOTHING!" she screamed, louder than she meant to say. Kyo took a step back, suddenly on the defensive.
"All right, all right! Dammit, don't scream like that, okay?"
Tohru nodded stiffly. "Er—yes…okay, Kyo-kun."
Once more, she turned back to her pots, trying to hum. But Kyo noticed that her tune was shriller and more off-key than before. He took two steps closer and bent down so his face was right beside hers. He could see all the tiny freckles on her pale skin, and the few stray hairs that had escaped her braids…
"What's wrong?" he asked more forcefully.
Tohru looked over at him, gasped, and then shook her head so much it looked like it was going to fall off. Kyo reached out a hand and rested it on the top of her to stop her head from flailing back and forth. "You're going to snap something," he told her gruffly.
Tohru nodded again. "Sorry…"
"Stop saying sorry all the time! You don't need to! Hell, you don't do anything wrong, so stop acting like everything's your own damn fault!" Kyo snapped without meaning to. Before he could make amends, the unmistakable shock registered on Tohru's face.
But she said something he had least expected. "Oh! Well, I don't NOT do anything wrong! I'm not perfect or anything, Kyo-kun…" she laughed nervously, afraid at how close the two were. Were friends supposed to get this close?
Kyo was thinking the same thing, but on a different level. He hadn't gotten this close to her in a long time. And Shigure had taken Yuki out until Tohru was done his surprise dinner. Should he…?
Tohru gave a gasp as Kyo grabbed her arm unexpectedly. "Um—um—Kyo-kun?" she asked hesitantly, wriggling her arm to no avail. "What are you doing?"
He bent in so close Tohru could hear his breathing. She could almost feel it. What was going on with her?
"Tohru, you—you are perfect," he said, his voice a bit shaky. Tohru shook her head nervously, giggling.
"Kyo-kun, I mess up all the time! Like this dinner will be ruined if I don't—"
Her other arm was grabbed by Kyo's other hand. She stopped, looking back up at him. She felt his hands on her arms…were they trembling? She noticed his face looked angry, but at the same time…fearful? No…
"I don't care about the damn dinner," he said quietly. So quietly, Tohru had to strain to hear what he was saying. "I don't care about anything anymore."
"Kyo-kun! What about school? What about friends?"
"Tohru," he said more forcefully, "listen, okay? Just stop worrying about supper and school and friends and every other damn thing on the planet. Just listen."
Tohru had never felt his forcefulness so much. He must be pretty passionate for what he was about to say. She nodded weakly.
"W-W-What do you need to tell me, Kyo-kun?"
He managed to grin mischievously. Tohru didn't really like that grin. It was too…cat-like for her tastes.
"Well…I was never a touchy-feely guy, so I decided to just get on with it."
Tohru was confused. "Get on with wha—"
He cut her off. "This is what I have to show you." And with that, he leaned in and connected their lips almost hungrily. Tohru let out a gasp, eyes wide. She tried to step back, but Kyo held onto her arms tightly. She couldn't move. She couldn't get out. What was Kyo doing? Why was…was this a dare? She didn't know, oh no, oh no, oh no…
He pulled back suddenly, glaring at her. "What's wrong?" he asked, and Tohru could detect faintly he was hurt. She blushed deeply.
"Um—um—it's just…er…"
Kyo hung his head. "Oh," he mumbled. "Dammit, I knew I made a mistake! You hate me, don't you?"
Tohru managed to splutter out some coherent words. "No! Never! I don't hate you at all Kyo! It's just you took me by surprise…"
She was encouraged as he lifted his head to look at her through his bangs. Oh, that hair…
"It's just that…it was my first kiss," she said meekly. Kyo watched her curiously for a second.
"I'm sorry," he said suddenly.
Tohru looked over at him. "What?"
"I should have known that you'd rather kiss someone else." He let out a harsh bark of laughter, but his hands still hadn't left her arms.
"That's not it either!" Tohru cried, blushing ferociously. What was she supposed to say? She was so numb she didn't know. But she hadn't hated the kiss…
"Then what?" he asked, unable to hide the pleading in his voice. "What do you need? I'll give it to you," he said in a voice that normally didn't belong to Kyo. Tohru felt her heart break. A sadness and yet, a happiness, overwhelmed her. Such a feeling she had never felt before!
"What I want…," she said slowly, choosing her words carefully. She looked into Kyo's eyes, realizing right then and there everything was just as she had wanted it. Except for one thing… "I want to run my fingers through your hair."
Kyo smirked. Tohru blushed at her statement, but Kyo didn't notice the blush. Instead, he bent his head closer so his bangs tickled her forehead.
"Be my guest," he drawled, cupping her chin and kissing her more softly this time. Tohru wasn't as surprised as before, and without even thinking, she lifted her hands hesitantly and pushed Kyo's bangs back from his forehead, letting her fingers drift through his hair. The feeling sent shivers down her spine—and the kiss didn't help matters much either.
Tohru had come into the kitchen earlier, expecting to be by herself as she cooked a wonderful supper. As it turned out, she hadn't been alone, and the supper didn't turn out to be so wonderful. It burned, but neither Tohru nor Kyo cared as the food began to burn and boil behind them.
They had just found something better than the perfect dinner.
They had found each other.