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I practically dragged my feet up the endless stairs to the house. Stupid detention. It’s not like I did anything reckless. I only got it because I was a few minutes late to class. Five minutes late, to be exact. Five measley minutes. And I got a solitary confinement in return.
I had slept in, and the rain was responsible for that. As it pounded off the roof, sleep called to me again. Even when Yuki tried to wake me up, I brushed him off and told him to go to hell, which resulted in him and Tohru leaving without me.
Once I noticed it had started raining again while I was looking out the classroom window during detention, I wanted to go home more than I’ve ever wanted anything. I craved sleep like I craved fish. That’s how strong it was.
Tohru had to walk home by herself since Yuki had student council obligations and I, obviously, was held captive in a classroom. By then she should’ve been preparing dinner, and I was starving due to missing my afternoon snack.
I slid open the front door, expecting to hear her familiar “welcome home” greeting, but I was met with silence. That was unusual. Her overly polite nature never allowed her to skip a greeting. I dropped my schoolbag by the front door and went down the foyer, checking the livingroom first. It was empty. She could’ve been in the kitchen.
I checked there and, sure enough, she was in the kitchen. She wasn’t cooking, though she appeared to be in the middle of it. Instead, she was sitting on a stool, a whisk in one hand and a bowl on her other side. Her head laid face first on the counter and her eyes were closed.
How is that a comfortable place to fall asleep? “You’re ridiculous, I swear,” I muttered. She could get a backache if she sat bent over the counter like that. “Tohru, wake up.” When my call didn’t work, I shook her shoulder.
She stired and lifted her head, looking around with her brows furrowed before her gaze met mine. “Oh, Kyo-kun! Did I fall asleep in the kitchen?”
I quirked the corner of my lip up, tapping my knuckles to her head. “Yes, ya idiot. You did.”
She blushed and rubed her cheeks. “Ah…my bad. I was cooking and I felt like I had to rest my head for a minute. I didn’t know I would fall asleep. I’ll continue cooking as quick as I can to make up for time!” She took the whisk and frantically stirred the ingredients in the bowl, but her quick motions slowed down to a weak flick of her wrist.
This wasn’t like her. She normally had too much energy to even believe. “Are you okay? Are you getting sick? Maybe you shouldn’t cook.”
“No!” she replied and went back to her swift stirring. “I can do this. I’ve been planning this meal for the past week. I can’t stop now!” She got up on shaky legs and made her way to the refrigerator. She made three steps before she gasped and caught herself on the counter.
I jumped forward, prepared to catch her if she fell while ignoring the fact that I’d transform if she did. “You’re lying. You’re not okay.” I hated when she’d do this: work herself to the bone because she felt that she owed us something. She didn’t owe us crap. No matter how many times I’d tell her to take a rest if she needed it, she’d brush me off and say she was capable of working despite not feeling well. “Let me help cook,” I said.
She lifted herself up with her hands still braced against the counter. Her head dropped and her shoulders began to shake, then came a sniffle and a weak sob.
What the hell? “Tohru, why are you crying? Did I say something wrong?!”
“N-no,” she said with a hoarse voice. “I don’t know why I’m crying. Nothing’s wrong. I just feel…I don’t know.” She was interrupted by another sob.
I was so confused. How could she not have a reason to cry? It’s like how she gets during that time...That’s it. That’s how it is. I wouldn’t know about it, if it weren’t always for Shigure picking up on it with that freakish dog scent of his. He always had to announce it to me and Yuki like we needed to know. There’s never a time that I needed to know that. It was an obnoxious invasion of her privacy.
Because I can’t stand to see her cry, I touched her shoulder, as if that would help. “I get it now. Go lay down. You’re not doing anything else today.”
She lifted her head and wiped her cheeks. “No, I can’t do that. I have to make dinner.”
“I’ll pick up where you left off,” I said. I gently shoved her out of the kitchen. “Go rest. You get a pass to do that during that period thing of yours.”
She pivoted back towards me, her cheeks turning the shade of tomatoes. “How do you know?!”
I really walked myself into that one. I had to say something before she got the wrong idea. “I might not know a lot about girls, but I still went through sex ed. It’s not hard to put it all together.” I picked up the whisk, stirring the ingredients without a single clue of what she was even making.
She nodded. “That makes sense.” She placed her arms over her stomach, grimacing. “Are you sure though?”
Dropping the whisk, I scowled at her. Not that I meant to, but this was getting aggravating. “Tohru, I swear, if you don’t get the hell out of this kitchen, I’ll push you out with more force.”
“I’m sorry!” She squeaked and backed out to the living room. “I was making beef stew. Thank you..” She went up the stairs, and her footsteps slowly subsided .
I put the ingredients on the stove and stepped back as it heated up. No way would this turn out as good as it would if she made it. It would have to do this time though. I had an idea based on how she was acting earlier that she was in pain. Did she have her hands on any medicine? We had to have something that could help her.
While the stew simmered, I opened the medicine cabinet above the stove and riffled through the bottles for pain meds. I took out the closest one to me. The label read Naproxen. I didn’t know much about it, or how strong it was. But it said on the bottle that it worked for menstral cramps, which was what I was looking for. To be safe, I cut one of the tablets in half, so she could take one and start off on that.
The stew began to bubble. I took it off the stove and poured some into two bowls, then left the burner on low for whenever Yuki and Shigure were ready for it.
With the bowls in hand, I went to her room, tapping on the door. Her soft, weak voice told me to come in, and I obliged. She was in her pajamas and curled up in the bed. It was off-putting seeing her look so pale.
She sat up, forcing a smile. "That was quick. It smells so good!"
I sat at the end of the bed and handed a bowl to her. "I'm sure it won't taste as good as it smells though."
"I don't know about that. That rice porridge you made me once was really good. You underestimate your cooking a lot, Kyo-kun." She blew on a spoonful then sipped from it, a flush going to her cheeks, and she smiled. "Yes, it's so good."
"Whatever you say." I took a bite from my bowl. Honestly, she was hyping it up too much. "Oh, yeah, I brought this. Hopefully it will help your pain." I took the two halves of the pill out of my pocket and poured them into her palm.
"Thank you," she said. She took the glass of water on her nightstand and drank it as she gulped one of them down. "That should help," she said with another weak grin.
"It should," I mimicked. I kept sipping the stew until my bowl was partially drained. It was hard to focus on eating when all I wanted to do was help her. When did I ever want to help anyone through their pain?
I set the bowl on the floor, and she put her empty one on the nightstand. "You need anything else?" I asked.
"No...I don't think so," she replied.
Well, that was that then. There wasn't any reason to stay. Not that I wanted to...I think. "I'll let you sleep then." I got up, gathering the bowls and going to the door, but before I could touch the handle, she interrupted me.
"Kyo-kun, wait! I'm sorry if this is weird to ask, but..." she started.
I turned, and she was wringing the comforter in her hands while looking down. "Could you...stroke my stomach? Mom used to do that for me when I'd get like this. It always helped me feel better."
Yeah, that was the most bizarre thing I've ever been asked to do. Given the circumstances, I guess it wasn't that weird. "Uh...okay," I said, returning to the bed. "Where exactly do you need me to rub?"
She lifed half of her shirt up with a slight blush. "Right on my lower belly." She looked away, squeezing her eyes closed like she was about to get slapped.
Her skin, especially on her torso, was snow white. She made me look dark in comparison. I went with it, splaying my hand across her abdomen without a second thought. She relaxed under the touch, one arm falling onto her chest. As I started stroking it horizontally, her eyes rolled back then closed. She let out a sigh, grinning as if she was in complete bliss. It really felt that good?
"Your hand is so warm," she cooed, shifting her head to the side.
"It gets like that," I said stupidly. What the hell was going on? I was basically feeling her up, and she was making these sounds....that I've never heard come from her. If Shigure were to hear, he would no doubt be onto us for sure, and I wasn't even doing anything suggestive to her...except rubbing her belly like a dog. But she asked for it.
She turned her gaze back to me, her eyes half opened. "You do that well."
The heat reached my ears. "That's good. As long as you're feeling better."
"I feel so good," she mumbled. "I've always wanted you to touch me."
God, my face was on fire. Did she have any idea what she was saying? No...something was off. "Because I love you," she added and closed her eyes again.
My hand stopped moving. That couldn't be what I heard. "Huh?" I said, waiting anxiously for confirmation that I was hearing things.
She sighed loudly and held my hand that was on her stomach. "I've been loving you for quite some time, Kyo-Kun," she whispered, her closed eyelids fluttering.
What...? There was no way. She was on something. Some type of drug...The pain medicine. That was it. So even a half a pill was too much for her. She was completely loopy. A second later, she fell asleep, her hold loosening on my hand.
That's right. She couldn't love me. She was just saying things unconsciously because of the drug. I could never imagine someone as extraordinary as her having feelings for me. Even if...I loved her. But I'd let go of entertaining that thought long ago. Because she deserved better than me. There was nothing I could give her that would matter. I abandoned those feelings, or at least I tried my best to....until now.
Eight years later
"I love you, Tohru," I say, but silence follows. She suddenly disappeared from beside me. I stand from the couch, looking around as if she'll appear out of nowhere.
"Love you too!" She replies at last, sticking her head out of the kitchen entryway. "What makes you say that all of a sudden?"
"Just felt like it, I guess." I've had a lot of reason to say it lately. I meet her in the kitchen, where she's getting the pots out of the cupboard. "No you don't!" I say and take her hands, pinning them behind her back. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!"
She giggles. "I have to make dinner!"
"I told you to take it easy for a little while." I pull her over until her back is pressed against my chest. I relase her hands and place my own on her petruding belly.
"Hmm...where have I heard that one before?" She smiles and rests her head against my shoulder, nearly falling asleep there.
That does bring back a memory. "When you have your period-"
"That I haven't had in seven months." She turns, her face glowing. It's been doing that lately.
I shake my head. "You should be getting a lot of rest while your pregnant. That's what Hatori said anyway." She's hopeless...same old Tohru.
"Oh, I know. But it's hard to sit and do nothing. And you spend too long at the dojo to worry about cooking."
I take her face in my hands so she's looking right at me. "I don't mind. As long as you and Hajime get the rest that you need."
The closeness must be getting to be too much for her like it is for me because she kisses me without a moment of hesitation. My lips stroke against hers gently, but she adds more to it. Something that suggests she's taking this to more than just kissing.
I pull away and take her hands. "No. Go rest."
She frowns for a second, intertwining her fingers through mine. "As long as you lay down with me."
I relent. I want to anyway. "We'll order takeout then." I lead her down the hall and to our bedroom.
She eagerly pulls me in. "You better rub my belly." She smiles so radiantly that I have to fall deeper in love with her. "You know our little boy loves it just as much as I do."