Chapter Text
Kyo yawned and rolled over in bed, his arm automatically reaching out to wrap around Tohru. Then he frowned, even in his half-asleep state, when his tired grab came up with nothing. Yawning again, he scooted closer to Tohru's side of the bed, then finally sat up, blinking sleepily and staring in confusion at her empty pillow.
He was tired, which was admittedly rare. Normally if Kyo woke up, it was time for him to get up; his internal clock was extremely precise. But the absence of Tohru's warm body was enough to wake him, and he was confused as well as sleepy.
A glance at the clock told him it was five-seventeen, which accounted for why he was at least somewhat awake. Mornings for Kyo always started early; he was up every day around five-thirty, off to take his daily run and do his morning workout. But that was just him, and never included Tohru. She had tried to wake up with him for exactly four days near the beginning of their relationship. But the early mornings had been too much for her and she'd given up, much to Kyo’s amusement and Tohru’s own chagrin.
Kyo hadn’t minded Tohru giving up. While he loved that she had wanted to try waking up early, he honestly preferred to have that early time to himself. When Tohru had been awake, he had felt pressured to cut his actual exercise time short; she couldn't hope to keep pace with him on a run, and she was...distracting when he was working with his weights.
It was simply better for her to sleep longer herself, to be happy and well-rested when she finally woke, and for the two of them to spend their time together then.
So Kyo was very confused to wake up to find her gone. He couldn't even think of the last time she'd been awake before him, and he couldn’t imagine a scenario where it was good.
Reaching out, Kyo felt that Tohru’s side of the bed was cold. Wherever she was, she hadn't been in bed for some time.
What possibly could have woken her up so early?
Concern drove any last traces of tiredness from Kyo's mind, and he looked around the room with a perplexed frown. There was no sign of Tohru he could see, though he did notice that her robe was missing from its hook.
That, at least, was unsurprising. It was January, and even inside the house it was chilly. But cold or no, Kyo was officially on a mission and he rolled out of bed and stood up to start his hunt for Tohru.
Their room, the exercise room, and the balcony all were Tohru-less, and the upstairs bathroom was blessedly empty, too; he had no need to worry about her being sick to her stomach.
Alright, then. She wasn’t upstairs.
Kyo quietly padded down the stairs, his footfalls nearly silent and his gaze fixed on the light spilling out from the kitchen. While part of him was happy to see that ‘proof of life,’ he paused on the bottom step, his concern replaced by confusion.
The kitchen? At this hour?
Stealthily, Kyo crept across the not-hall to stand in the kitchen doorway, crossing his arms over his chest as he studied the scene.
Tohru was standing at the stove with her back to him; as far as he could tell, she hadn't heard him come downstairs. She was humming quietly to herself as she flicked a pan; he couldn't be certain, but it looked like that pan held an omelet. Then she made a soft noise of murmured approval, setting it down and turning her attention to the pot of soup.
She looked blessedly healthy, and damn adorable, Kyo thought with fond relief as he watched her work. Normally, she’d be dressed before she started breakfast, but that hadn’t been the case today. She was still wearing her robe and slippers, and he could see her bare legs peeking out beneath the robe. And her casual look extended everywhere, given her hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail.
Surprisingly messy for Tohru, actually, but it only added to the sweetness of the look. The only question was why was she making breakfast in her pajamas, at an hour when even Kyo would normally be asleep.
Tohru moved the omelet pan back off the heat and turned off the burner, then stepped over to open the fish oven. The room was immediately filled with the delicious scent of marinated salmon, and Kyo’s stomach let out a mighty grumble in response.
So much for being quiet, he thought with a wince as Tohru whirled around, surprise all over her face.
"Kyo, what are you doing down here? You're supposed to be asleep," she said, surprise quickly giving way to accusation.
It was such a ridiculous statement that he could only stare before letting out a short bark of laughter.
"I'm supposed to be asleep? It's five-thirty in the morning, Tohru, what the hell're you doing out of bed at this hour?"
Tohru blinked at him, then glanced at the kitchen clock. He was right, she realized; it was five-thirty.
"Oh no, this took so much longer than I planned! It's just so hard to move quickly first thing…" Tohru tried to smother her traitorous yawn but was only half successful. "I'm sorry, I'd hoped to be done before you woke up!"
Kyo grinned, walking up and wrapping his arms around her. "Don't worry about how long it took, but you still haven't answered my question. What're you doing, downstairs and doing all this so early? Your alarm doesn't go off ‘til seven!"
Tohru smiled, cuddling into Kyo's embrace with an affectionate glance. "Isn't it obvious? I wanted to make you breakfast! It was supposed to be breakfast in bed," she said with a frown at the clock, "and it still could be, if you'd humor me and go back upstairs."
He chuckled and nuzzled at her neck. "You know the only way I go back to bed once I'm up's if you're with me, sooooo...?" he drew out the word, giving Tohru a devilish grin that she met with a giggle.
"Kyo, breakfast."
"Can't breakfast wait? Or're you saying you don't wanna come back to bed with me?" He'd dropped his hands to her waist and the nuzzling was done, replaced by him leaving little kisses down her neck.
Tohru wasn't saying anything of the sort, as indicated by the pleased noises she was making. But she also wasn't about to let herself get distracted, not when there was still food cooking on the stove.
"You know that's not true," she said playfully, freeing herself and stepping back to take the soup off the heat. "But I made your favorite breakfast, and I want you to get a chance to eat it while it's hot!"
As Tohru bustled around the kitchen dishing up, Kyo quickly realized that she was totally right. Salmon, miso soup, cucumber and wakame salad, pickles, rice, and omelet; all of his favorite things to eat for breakfast.
"Damn, Tohru, you really pulled out all the stops! What's the occasion?"
Tohru stopped where she was adding the last touches to the dishes, turning to give him an incredulous but still amused look. "Kyo, come on!" But the laughter in her eyes quickly turned to surprise when he shook his head at her, still completely confused. Then she was laughing, to Kyo’s continued confusion, coming over to drape her arms around his neck and give him a kiss.
"It's your birthday, silly!"
...Right.
Of course. His birthday.
Sure, it had never been that big a deal to Kyo himself, but he was happy to go along with Tohru’s excitement. If he liked his birthday now more than he ever had, it was almost wholly due to her.
And he had to admit it was surprising that he’d forgotten his birthday, because that day wasn’t just any birthday. It was the one that he’d been waiting for for almost two years: his twentieth birthday, the day he became an official, legal adult.
Kyo couldn't believe he'd forgotten for even an instant. It wasn't like they had specific birthday plans for the day, but it did just so happen that that day, a Friday, was the day they were leaving for Tokyo’s annual Coming of Age Day ceremony. They had even joked previously how convenient it was, that Kyo's birthday butted up into the weekend so they could see Kazuma on the actual day.
Though on that note…
Kyo looked at Tohru, his expression suddenly concerned. "Tohru, we're taking the late train tonight, remember?"
Usually when they made the trip to Tokyo, they took their whole travel day off and left in the morning. But this year, they were in full ‘time conservation’ mode: with their wedding coming up in June, neither of them wanted to take any more time off work than they had to. They hadn't even gone back to Tokyo for New Year’s, and if it was up to Kyo, they would have skipped that weekend’s trip, too.
But Tohru had really wanted to attend. She'd always been the sentimental type, and their Coming of Age Day was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. She was excited to get dressed up and see their friends and old classmates, to celebrate their transition to adulthood together.
And as that kind of thing so often went, if Tohru really wanted to do it, then Kyo would do it, too.
The ceremony was always held on a Monday, but Coming of Age Day was a national holiday they already had off. They'd debated leaving Hibe on Saturday afternoon so Kyo wouldn't have to miss teaching his weekend classes, but that would have made the trip both short and incredibly rushed. In the end, when Sensei Kenichi had told him to take the day, he had.
With Kyo not having to teach his Saturday classes, they could have left Saturday morning instead. But they'd decided the best plan was to leave Friday after work, with Kyo arranging coverage for his two latest classes so he could meet Tohru at the clinic and they could go straight to the train.
In most ways, it was an excellent plan that maximized the time they got to spend in Tokyo. But that excellent plan meant they’d be travelling late, with them not arriving in Tokyo until the middle of the night.
And knowing that, along with how droopy Tohru got when tired, had Kyo wondering what she was thinking, waking up so early.
Tohru had thought about that herself and agreed that the timing was rough. Even now, she knew she'd probably fall asleep on the train, and she felt bad, knowing she’d be falling asleep on Kyo.
Still, she considered that a worthy sacrifice.
"I know, Kyo, but I wanted to! It's your birthday, your twentieth birthday," Tohru stressed, “and I wanted to make sure it was special!"
She was so sweet and earnest, there was nothing Kyo could do other than to smile.
"You're something else, Tohru. Just having you care makes the day pretty damn special, even without you doing anything else.”
Tohru beamed, giving his cheek another kiss before returning to the counter and the food. "Now...are you going to go back to bed? I've got it on a tray and everything!"
Kyo considered for a moment, but then shook his head. "Much's I love what you wanted to do, you mind if we just eat at the table like normal? I don't wanna risk spilling something and making a mess in our bed."
He almost managed to keep a straight face as he said that; he could tell Tohru saw right through the act by her smile. But she didn’t rise to Kyo’s teasing bait, instead telling him, "If that's what you want, Kyo, then of course we can. After all, it's your birthday!"
The two of them took their trays to the table and sat down, smiling at each other before tucking into the food. Tohru being Tohru, everything was perfect; better than perfect, even, given how much care she'd put into making everything shine.
She'd even given Kyo an extra-large helping of salmon, something he immediately noted and appreciated.
Tohru was a little worried about the timing. She'd actually woken up at half-past four, hoping to have everything ready and upstairs before Kyo woke up. Instead, it was almost five forty-five by the time they started eating, and after six when they finished up. Noting the accusatory red numbers blinking from the tv, Tohru couldn't help but sigh as she looked at Kyo.
"I'm so sorry, Kyo."
He blinked in surprise, lowering his bowl. "For what?"
"For timing this so badly. I meant for us to be done by five-thirty; you're missing your run, and it's my fault, I should have been watching the time."
Kyo reached over and squeezed Tohru’s hand. "Hey, none of that. It was sweet, you getting up early and making me breakfast! Better'n sweet, even, 'cause I know how hard it is for you to even think so early, never mind get outta bed to cook. I get to run every day; it's something pretty special to have breakfast with you instead."
Together, the two of them carried their dishes into the kitchen, rinsing them and stacking them neatly beside the sink. Then they looked at the time and back at each other, the devilish grin creeping back onto Kyo's face.
"So...about that ‘going back to bed’ thing..."
Tohru giggled, looking down through her eyelashes. "You don't want to try getting in a run anyway?"
"Not if I've got something better to do," Kyo replied, his gaze warm as Tohru’s eyes met his.
"Well..." she said, sliding down one shoulder of her robe to reveal the orange strap of what Kyo immediately knew was his favorite bra. "I was sort of hoping you'd feel that way."
Kyo’s smile became wider and much more feral as he took her into his arms and said, "Happy birthday to me!"
A little more than an hour and a half later, the two of them were standing on the Hibe bus platform, their packed suitcase held in Tohru's hand.
"Ok, so we're sure we've got everything we need in there now, right? I don't gotta swing by the house at all after work?"
Tohru considered Kyo's question, then shook her head. "No, I don't think so, I'm sure we have everything. It helps that we don't have to bring any of the formal clothes ourselves.”
Kyo snorted at the very idea. "If we did, there's definitely no way we'd be going. Have you seen what those clothes cost, Tohru? Don't get me wrong,” he hastily added, seeing her guilty look, “I know you'll look gorgeous and I can't wait to see you all decked out Monday, but if we had to buy that stuff ourselves there'd be no way. Hell, if we even actually had to pay to rent it we'd be pretty screwed, what with the cost of the wedding and all."
Tohru could agree with that. While she was excited for the chance to wear a furisode, even the rental prices were eye-poppingly high. Luckily for them, they didn’t have to worry about cost: they had connections who couldn't resist the chance to dress Tohru.
Though Kyo could have wished those connections had been less enthusiastic about dressing him.
"Well, we don't have to,” Tohru said after a beat, “so it's not a problem! If I think of anything we've forgotten I'll text you, but I'm pretty sure everything we need is already in the suitcase. All you need to do is clean up and meet me at four-thirty, and then we should be good to go!"
"Alright, then." The bus to Nigeyashi pulled up then, and Kyo gave Tohru a kiss before she stepped on. "Have a great day at work, and I'll see you this afternoon."
"Bye, Kyo! Have a great day!"
When Kyo arrived at the clinic where Tohru worked that afternoon, he was in a thoughtful mood that Tohru couldn't help but notice. As she said goodbye to her coworkers and the two of them left the building, she took Kyo’s hand and gave it a squeeze.
"Has it been a pretty good birthday so far, Kyo?"
He looked over at her with a smile, returning her squeeze. "Yeah, it's been decent."
‘Decent,’ with a side of ‘annoying’ and ‘childish,’ along with, weirdly, ‘incredibly sweet.’
All day long at the dojo, Kyo had been subject to a sneaky array of 'gifts' that no one would actually own up to giving. It had begun first thing after their morning training session, when he'd gone to grab the towel he used to wipe his sweat and found it wrapped around a bottle of premium sake.
‘Damn, Sohma, you couldn't wait until you got home to start taking advantage?’
Later, he opened the practice room door after one of his classes only to release a bouquet of lottery scratchers. They’d been tucked into the doorframe and opening it set them loose, sending them fluttering into the hallway like garish butterflies.
‘Watch yourself, Sohma! You don't need to try every game on the very first day you’re legal!’
Coming back from a quick stop out for lunch, he discovered a cigar on top of his dojo bag.
‘Wow, Sohma. I'd check with Tohru on that one, she doesn't seem like the kind who'd approve.’
And so on it went.
That afternoon, when Kyo had welcomed his class of kyukyūs, one of the youngsters had innocently handed Kyo a book. "Here, Sensei, I'm supposed to give this to you!"
Kyo had taken the book and noted the title with amusement: 'Japanese Traffic Regulations and Safe Driving Practices.'
"Thanks, Isamu. Who told you to give this to me?"
The child had looked at him, smiling proudly. "Sensei Yamada!"
"Of course. Thanks again, Isamu."
Of the six full-time instructors at the Matsuda Dojo, Kyo was the youngest by nearly seven years. In his earliest days, there had been a few growing pains as his coworkers and even some of his students got used to his youth. Though Kyo himself had never flaunted the fact, Hibe was too small a town for people not to know, hear, or otherwise learn that Tohru and Kyo had moved only days after graduation. And for all that he had been tall and fairly well-developed, Kyo had very obviously been a teenager, back when he'd started working.
Within the dojo, Kyo had long-since proven himself. Just shy of his first year mark, he'd earned his fourth bar and was now a yondan, ranking, at least for the time being, the same as the lowest of his colleagues. He was well-liked by his students, especially the younger ones, and had earned the respect of his peers.
And along the way, he’d also earned their friendship, as confirmed by the silly parade of gifts.
After his kyukyū class finished, Kyo had gone to grab his water when one of the children from in his class had called to him from the door.
"Sensei, there's a paper on the floor!"
Joining the group of students crowded at the door, Kyo had picked up the paper, which had been slipped through the door: 'Japanese Voter Registration Form.'
"Thanks, Akira. I'll take care of this."
Chuckling, Kyo had taken the form and set it with the driving manual. Whatever Kyo’s own feelings about his birthday were, it was clear his friends were having fun with it.
Still, he was relieved to be heading to Tokyo. Several fellow karatekas had made no bones of their intentions to, quote, 'take him out and get him smashed' in honor of his birthday, and while Kyo was no teetotaler and didn’t plan to become one, his previous experiences with alcohol had been enough for him to feel that whatever else adulthood brought, it wouldn’t change much in terms of him drinking.
Though his friends hadn't been dissuaded to learn he'd be gone that night; they had simply moved the drinking night to the following Saturday.
'Since we can't take you out on your actual birthday, we'll just wait ‘til you have a day to properly sleep it off. Don't want you hungover in front of the kids, right?'
‘Hungover,’ right. As if he planned to let them get him drunk.
They would just have to make do with teasing him, per usual.
After his last class, Kyo had headed back to the locker room to change. Once again, he’d seen that ‘someone’ had messed with his bag, and he had chuckled while shaking his head in amused resignation. At that point, he hadn’t known what was left for them to do, but he couldn’t say his friends hadn’t been thorough.
It had been another form that time, but he had only skimmed the title before he froze.
'Formal Request for Adoption.'
Everything else he'd been given that day was something he had expected: things that people tended to look forward to about adulthood. How many people went out drinking their first night as legal adults, or bought themselves lottery tickets as soon as they could? How many people gritted their teeth and prepared for their driving test, or registered to vote, ready to take up their civic duty? Kyo even knew people excited to buy their own cigarettes, as disgusting as he personally found that habit to be.
Adoption, though...that was something else. But he was now legally an adult, which meant he could enter into contracts on his own, which in turn meant he could adopt a child.
Or, instead of adopting a child...
"What's this, Sohma? Are you and Tohru in that much of a rush to expand the family that you're looking to go the legal way instead of the fun one?"
A hand had clapped onto Kyo's shoulder, interrupting his thoughts, and he had looked up to see the grinning faces of his coworkers Hiroshi Yamada and Haruto Maeda.
With their appearance, he’d shaken off his initial stunned response and set down the form, giving his friends a dry chuckle.
"Haha, very funny. I hope you all've gotten it out of your systems now, 'cause I'm about to head out for the weekend."
Yamada had laughed. "Yeah, we know. Don't worry, Sohma, you've gotten it all. We just didn't want you to miss out on any more than you had to when you already have to wait ‘til next week for us to take you out!”
Kyo couldn't help but roll his eyes as the two older men shared a grin. "You guys're just all heart, aren't you?"
It was Maeda's turn to grin at Kyo. "Sure are! And don't worry about next week, Sohma; we made sure to clear the izakaya plan with Tohru. When we do get to celebrate you growing up properly, you don't have to worry about anything."
"I love how you guys say that like I should just trust you,” Kyo had teased, earning laughter from both of his friends.
"Hey, it's gonna be more than just us, you know that, right?"
"I know; still doesn't mean I trust you two."
Yamada and Maeda had looked at each other, then grinned again before Yamada theatrically threw a hand over his heart. "You hear that, Maeda? Our little boy has officially become a man, he knows when to be suspicious of us!"
Kyo snorted good-naturedly. "Guess I’ve always been a man then, you’ve always been suspicious. But If you guys are done, I've gotta shower."
They’d stepped out his way with a couple final backslaps.
"Yeah, yeah. Have a great trip, Sohma, and happy birthday again!"
Kyo had been thoughtful as he’d showered and dressed, on the bus trip to Nigeyashi and during his walk to the OB/GYN clinic where Tohru worked as a receptionist. And he was still thoughtful as he and Tohru walked to the train station and boarded the train for the first leg of their trip.
Tohru was curious, but she didn't pry. Though Kyo seemed meditative, he didn't seem upset, so whatever it was, she didn't think she had any reason to worry. When and if he decided he wanted to talk about it, she'd be right there and until then, Tohru wouldn’t push.
The two of them transitioned to their next train in Hirosaki, heading onward to the city of Aomori. Then in Aomori, they bought some train station bento boxes before boarding their last train: the Tokyo-bound bullet train.
They’d made the same trip a handful of times now, and each time they felt more secure in what they were doing. Kyo hadn't been back to Tokyo since August, but he still knew where to go and what they needed to do. The entire process was getting easier, even accepting Akito’s gift of their tickets. He still hated accepting things from her on principle, but he couldn't argue with saving money, or being comfortable.
Especially not where Tohru was concerned.
They settled into their seats and ate their bento boxes, making casual chit-chat about their weekend plans. It would be a brief visit, but they’d be doing a lot; it sounded a little exhausting to Kyo, but Tohru’s excitement was cute.
Finally, the inevitable happened as Tohru let out a yawn, unconsciously snuggling into her seat. And at the sight of her settling in, Kyo smiled.
"Gonna take a nap?"
She gave him an apologetic look. "I was thinking about it, if you didn't mind."
He shook his head. "Nah, you go ahead. You've been awake for a long time," he said, taking her hand and kissing it. "Thanks for all that stuff from this morning, again."
Tohru beamed back at him. "Of course, and you're so very welcome!"
It didn't take long for Tohru to nod off; her exhaustion and the gentle motion of the train were a potent combination. And as she slept, Kyo sat in silence still holding her hand, looking out the window once more deep in thought.
He was twenty now…with everything that meant.