I am not the owner of Fruits Basket, I am not an amazing artist, and my storylines are amateurish (as I am an amateur).

However this scenario is one that climbed into my head……..and is refusing to go away. Let's see if it won't do the same to you as well!

Tohru bounced down the stairs and into the kitchen where she began to pull out pots and pans. The metallic noise caught Shigure's attention and he wandered into the kitchen shortly later, just as all of her efforts into dinner were coming into fruition.

She smiled happily at him. "Did you finish your story?"

"Why no my princess I have not! You see I am basing the story off of you and Kyo and was actually hoping for some imput from you. Are you ready for Kyo to do you?"

Her big eyes blinked. "I love spending time with Kyo, and really appreciate it when he helps me," she said with a broad smile. Her confused finish to the statement, "what would he do for me though? I'm done cooking," was lost in the ruckus as Kyo raced down the stairs.

"YOU PERVERTED DOG DON'T YOU DARE TALK TO HER LIKE THAT," was only the first of the yells reaching poor naïve Tohru's ears.

She was finished dishing up and was just looking around for Sohma-kun, who must have gotten up to see what the ruckus was about since it was their customary dinner hour, when Kyo put a hand on her shoulder. Shigure was sitting down at the table rubbing his jaw.

Kyo's eyes looked at her face for a moment, almost as if he was searching, then pulled away. "You should ignore that damn dog. He was being perverted again," he said gruffly before taking his own seat.

"Yes Miss Honda, please do not ask him about his books. You will regret it," Yuki's soft voice said as he began to pour chilled tea for each of the members of the household.

And so dinner passed….

Later with Kyo

'Dammit! Dinner was so hard to get through after Shigure put THAT in my mind. Is she ready for sex with ME? Gah, she doesn't even like me that way! She's way too naïve…'

Kyo punched a fist into his other hand, to give him some sort of pain other than emotional, and to stop the images that were flitting through his head, that were definitely not appropriate. Sexual relations with any girl, forget the girl that he loved, and frankly, craved, were nearly impossible. He didn't want to burden the girl with his love, when she deserved someone who …wasn't selfish, could hold her and take care of her.

He stared with bleary eyes up at the moon, glad that he didn't have the compunction to howl at it. In the silence of the night, as he got up to slip back down into the house he heard a soft sob.

His mind began to race. 'What is wrong with Tohru? Dammit dammit if that damn Yuki hurt her …'

His ears had long become attuned to the slightest sound in a feminine voice that was normally bright and cheerful. Following the sound he found Tohru sitting in front of the tv with tears in her eyes and sobs breaking out of her every moment or two.

He plopped down next to her, relieved that it didn't look like Yuki had done anything. With the awkward gentleness that described his and Tohru's relations very well he tugged her head against him.

She responded by unburdening herself upon him, as she knew he was telling her to do. Tohru and Kyo had learned to understand each other well, when he was being tender. He didn't say much but she read his body language.

"It's so sad Kyo! She loved him, and and….and he ..he kept brushing her off. And then they're finally together, she won his heart and…and he was sent off to war and died!"

Kyo glanced over at the tv where the credits were rolling and sighed. He gently pushed her away to get a glimpse at her face. "You know romance movies have you crying half the time."

She nodded and brushed tears away from her eyes. "And even worse now she has to raise their kid all alone." Then suddenly a blush lit her face and she hauled herself away from Kyo.

He scowled. "I'm not gonna bite."

"Ehh?! I know…I know…" but the movie hadn't been as clean as her normal fare. And suddenly in Kyo's arms she'd remembered the scene where they'd ….done the baby-making thing. She forced herself to relax, to calm down, she'd already had health class.

'Just being in his arms won't make me pregnant, and mean he gets sent away from me,' she laughed at herself and leaned forward, resting her head against him once more. After a few moments of silence she felt a hand slip into her hair.

Her tears dried up and Tohru looked up at Kyo, who was smiling softly and favored him with a soft smile.

Kyo turned his face away from her line of sight as a blush lit his cheeks. That smile, the gentleness of it, always tempted him, right now more than normal. "Where's the rat and dog?."

"In bed," she said softly, her lips brushing against his neck as she spoke.

He nearly jumped out of his skin as he heard something follow those reassuring words. "Di—did you say something Tohru?"

A soft smile lit her face and he turned beet red as she repeated what had followed. "You smell nice," she said softly and nuzzled her face against his neck, her body still at an awkward angle to prefer her from falling on a cat. Her arms came up and rested on his sides, "You're warm too."

Kyo's body stiffened as his mind raced. 'Does she have any idea what she's saying. What she's doing to me?! She can't! Innocent little Tohru….'

He grabbed her shoulders and pushed her away from him, to prevent the actions that were bubbling up in his heart. Her eyes went wide for a moment, then slipped half closed. A grin tugged at Kyo's red face.

"You're tired?"

"mmmhmm. It's late." Here eyes slipped closed again.

"Then you ought to sleep." Leaving her sitting on the floor, nearly falling over in her sleepiness, Kyo flicked the TV off then looked down at her.

"Are you always this silly when you're sleepy," he asked bemusedly, but tenderly.

"Sorry," she whispered.

A few moments later Kyo found himself tucking a fully-clothed Tohru into her bed, having carried her up, annoyed at his curse for making it so difficult.

"Night," he said and turned to walk away, until he felt a small hand touch his arm. Kyo turned back and turned to look at her.

"I miss mom," she said quietly. " I always said goodbye to her in the mornings, and she always tucked me in with a kiss at night. Don't leave me..."

Kyo's ears, so sensitive to her voice, strained to hear those last syllables as her hand went limp and sleep claimed her. He slipped his hand out of hers, and shook his head at her. Slipping over to the desk he grabbed a slip of paper and wrote a note and stuck it where she'd see it.

Then he made to leave the room, but took one last look at his sleeping beauty. Before he could stop himself he walked over and kissed her forehead gently goodnight, and ran his thumb over the lips that entranced him so.

'I am not kissing her, I am not…..If I ever get a kiss from her I want her to be awake, I want her to smile and blush, I want to be kissed in return. I am not kissing her now, not like that.'

Still it was very hard for him to slip out of the room, the girl whom he loved sleeping quietly, already in love with him, already trying to break the Sohma's curse, already arguing with her mind over loving someone other than her mom. Yet he did slip out, and slept with a smile on his face, and a smiling brunette being held tightly in his dreams.

The next day when she sat down to do homework was when she found Kyo's note. Don't stay up late to watch romance movies. You get silly when you're tired. I've told you before not to work so hard and to have more fun. Do I have to tell you to sleep and take care of yourself too?

Maybe she would confess her love to him soon. He seemed to care so much, and…it was getting harder and harder to resist. Especially with all the romance movies she'd been watching lately, partially in hopes of finding some way to get her message across to Kyo. The only problem was it was already partway through April …and when graduation came Kyo was gone forever, unless she could break the curse.

"More curse breaking less romance movies," she swore to herself aloud.