So it's been a minute since I've done something for this series, but I do still love it and the news of a season 2 got me so excited! I can't wait to see more of my favorite gay dragons~

Disclaimer: I do not own Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon.

Chapter 5. Anniversary

Several months after Tohru's father had come for her and failed, peace has returned to the Kobayashi residence. At least, as much peace as is possible when living with two dragons, and knowing of half a dozen more within the city.

Both nothing catastrophic happens, and in Kobayashi's book that's an improvement.

She's been keeping her eye on the date recently, just to ensure she won't forget a certain day. When the morning finally arrives, she's up even before Torhu's gentle wake-up call. It's Thursday, but Kobayashi had done something rare indeed and taken the day off, as well as tomorrow, to make for a long weekend. She hasn't told her housemates yet though, as that would spoil the surprise.

She sits up, stretching her arms high above her head with a groan, pleasantly surprised to feel not a single knot in her lower back.

"Good, good. I don't have time for that crap today anyway."

Her plan is to go about the morning as if she's going to work so as not to give away her plot. So she grabs her glasses, shakes the loose hair out of her face, and begins staggering toward the door. Just as she's about to reach for it, excited footsteps come scampering over from the other side, and a high-pitched voice calls out.

"Kobayashi-san! It's time to wake up! Oh, you're already awake!"

The light from the rest of the apartment comes rushing in to temporarily blind Kobayashi, but even after that effect has faded, Tohru herself is still beaming. If this were some cliché anime or manga, an angel halo would be drawn above her horns, but Kobayashi knows better than to mention that.

"Morning, Tohru," she yawns. "What's for breakfast?"

"I tried something new this morning~! Pancakes!"

"Oh? Let's have a taste."

She follows her bounding maid out into the kitchen where Kanna is already dressed and ready for school, cutting up her own food.

"Morning, Kobayashi."

"Morning, Kanna." She gives the little dragon a pat on the head. "Ready for your field trip today?"

"Mm. We're going to the museum. Saikawa said she'd help me look for dragon fossils."

"Sounds like fun." Kobayashi takes her seat, thanking Tohru as the maid puts down her plate of warm pancakes.

From there the morning continues as per usual, and Kobayashi plays along. She gets dressed and ready as if she'll be going to work, accepting her pre-made lunch from Torhu. As she heads to the door, she gives each dragon a pat on the head, making Kanna purr and Tohru squeal.

"I'll see you guys later."

"Have a good day," Kanna says.

"Koabayshi-san...?" Torhu looks down at the floor a little bashfully, clasping her hands together to twiddle her fingers.

"What's up?"

"M-Might you by any chance... like a ride to work this morning...?"

Kobayashi knows right away Tohru must have remembered the special date, otherwise she wouldn't have made the offer so coyly. Normally she'd just blurt out that she wants Kobayashi to ride her this morning and then pout when she was shot down.

Kobayashi is happy about the offer now, but she can't let Tohru know she remembered as well, or else it would ruin the surprise.

There's also the fact that Kobayashi isn't actually going to work.

So as much as she knows it might hurt Tohru for now, Kobayashi feigns innocence.

"That's all right. I'd rather you stay here and see Kanna off for her field trip."

As expected, Torhu's shoulders sag a little, but she quickly covers it up with a smile and a salute.

"Right! You can count on me!"

Kobayashi smiles.

"I know I can. See you both later." She picks up her briefcase to complete the act, then heads out the door. Once it's closed behind her, Kobayashi lets out a heavy sigh.

That was tough. She's definitely upset that I didn't remember the date. Time to make it up to her.

Rolling her shoulders in preparation, Kobayashi heads for the apartment's staircase and goes up instead of down. She climbs to the open roof that had been a deciding factor in their selection of residence, content to find it empty as usual. She puts down her briefcase and removes her formal jacket, rolls up the sleeves of her shirt, and sets to work.

She gathers a pair of large buckets from the supply closet, dumps in a bit of soap, and then fills them each with hose water. Then she grabs a few large scrubbing brushes and places everything together. When she's finished setting up, she wipes her forehead and gives an accomplished sigh.

"All right, time for stage two."

When it's time for Kanna to head to school, Tohru sees her off with a kiss to her forehead. Once she's alone in the apartment, she gets to her usual chores.

"Okay! Time to tackle the dust! Not a speck shall be left behind for when Kobayashi-san returns!"

She starts by dusting the bookshelves and higher places, gradually working her way down, humming all the while. She is a little upset that Kobayashi hadn't remembered the special date, but Tohru shakes it off.

"She's very busy! It's the middle of the work week for her. Of course she wouldn't have time to remember something so silly."

She retreats to the closet to fetch the vacuum and plug it in. But just before she can turn it on, she perks up to the sound of someone approaching the door.

"Hm? That's odd. We don't have any known deliveries scheduled for today... Must be one of the neighbors."

She leaves her work and scurries toward the door to greet the guest, but pauses when she realizes the person isn't knocking. The door knob is turning, and there's only one other person who has a key. Kobayashi opens the door in her unkempt appearance and steps in sheepishly.

"I'm home."

Tohru nearly falls over in surprise.

"K-Kobayashi-san! You're back! B-But what happened to you?! Your briefcase, your jacket! Were you mugged?! Who did this to you?! I'll eat them whole-"

"Whoa, whoa. Calm down." Kobayashi can see her maid has begun to fume, quite literally, so she puts a pacifying hand on Tohru's shoulder. It relaxes her a little bit, but she's still clearly worked up. Kobayashi sighs. "I was trying to surprise you in a good way, not in a way that'd make you more stressed."

"Surprise?" Tohru parrots. "You were... trying to surprise me?"

"Yeah. Truth is, I took today off of work because I wanted to do something special."

"Something... special...?" Tohru's eyes are already starting to become watery. Kobayashi smiles.

"Yeah. After all, today is the six-month anniversary of the day we met, isn't it?"

The squeal that had been slowly working its way up Tohru's throat finally explodes in a high-pitched yelp of delight.

"Kobayashi-san~!" She throws both arms around her mistress and squeezes her hard. "You remembered! You really remembered!"

Normally Kobayashi would pry her off, but she lets it slide this time. It's a special occasion.

"I'm glad I remembered, too. It's been a bit crazy since you came to live with me, but I'm grateful you did. I wanted to show you my appreciation today."

"Thank you very much!" Tohru squeaks. "This is the best present ever, Kobayashi-san!"

"Hold on." Kobayashi pats her maid's head gently and eases back. "There's more to it than just me letting you hug me."

"There is?!"

Kobayashi nods.

"Come with me." As a special bonus, Kobayashi offers her hand. Tohru makes a squeal of excitement and timidly accepts.

Kobayashi leads her out of the apartment and up to the roof. All the while she can practically feel the bubbly aura of bliss wafting off her maid behind her. Once they reach the roof, Kobayashi reveals her gift of wash buckets and hoses.

"All right," she says. "I think you know what to do."

Tohru gives another squeak of delight, bouncing in place before the veil of magic encompasses her. She shifts form, already blocking perception of herself as she takes her natural shape.

Kobayashi watches, amazed as usual by her size. I still remember the first few times she transformed in front of me. I used to be almost scared of her...

She's come a long way since then. They both have.

Once Tohru is ready, Kobayashi has her crouch down in the center of the roof. She rolls up her sleeves and picks up a bucket of soapy water.

"Now you just relax. You're always working so hard for me, it's only fair I repay you a little bit on this special day."

Tohru wags her tail, and if dragons can cry, Tohru gets as close to that as possible.

"Kobayashi-san... I'm the luckiest dragon in the world! I don't deserve you!"

"You do. But it's not about deserving it. I wanna do something nice for you too every once in a while. I should probably do it more often."

"Kobayashi-san! My heart feels like it's going to burst!"

Kobayashi smiles.

"All right. Let's get to it then." She dips a mop into the warm sudsy water, then plops it onto Tohru's shoulder. Even before she starts moving, Tohru is already sighing.

"Kobayashi-san, thank you..."

"Don't mention it. I'm only getting started."

She begins to rub Tohru down one section at a time. Her plan is to do all the scrubbing first and then hose her down completely afterward.

She knows Tohru is entirely capable of cleaning herself off, especially with Kanna there to help. But Kobayashi knows she'll enjoy it from her even more, which is why she wants to be thorough with her work.

She dunks the mop again and gradually moves down along Tohru's flank. The mop that's typically used for floors holds up surprisingly well against the rough dragon scales, but she has a few extras on standby just in case. All the while Tohru sighs and hums and mumbles her mistress' name, lowering her head in relaxation.

Kobayashi gradually works her way around the dragon, scrubbing over one shoulder, all along the top of her back and her wings, then her haunches and tail. Then she circles around the other side and begins working her way back toward Tohru's head. She isn't sure if the sounds Tohru is making are actually purrs, but that's sort of what they sound like in between blissful whimpers.

"Kobayashi-san... I think I love you even more than before..."

"Thanks very much." She's started to sweat a little bit. After all, cleaning off a dragon is a bit more complicated than cleaning off a car. As she scrubs the back of Tohru's neck and horns, the dragon slowly turns her head.

"Kobayashi-san, are you all right? If this is bothering your lower back or anything-"

"Not at all." Kobayashi replies with a confident grin. She doesn't want to make Tohru worry about her when she's supposed to be giving her a present. And besides, her back really doesn't ache any more than it normally does.

Even so, Tohru gives her a worried look, which is a bit odd coming from a giant flying reptile. Kobayashi pats the mop over the dragon's head.

"I'm fine, Tohru. Now lower your head a bit. I'm almost done."

Tohru purrs again as she does as requested. Kobayashi scrubs over her muzzle and chin, then down the underside of her throat to her chest. At last the entirety of Tohru is covered in clean sudsy soap. Kobayashi wipes her arm across her forehead.

"All right, almost done." She puts the mops and bucket aside and picks up the hose instead. She sets the water temperature to lukewarm and takes aim. "Ready?"

Tohru swishes her tail.

"Yes!"

Kobayashi turns on the water and begins rinsing her dragon off. Tohru squeals as much as she can in this form, wagging her tail and curling her claws in delight. The spray cleanses her of any leftover suds, leaving her scales a bright sparkling green.

Kobayashi enjoys the cool misty air herself as she walks around Tohru, hosing her dragon down from the front of her muzzle to the tip of her tail. Tohru gives another happy rumble.

"Kobayashi-san... thank you..."

"Don't mention it. You do plenty for me around here. It's the least I can do." Kobayashi checks her over one more time to ensure she's cleaned off every scale. But just as she's shutting off the water, the lime green barrier blocking Tohru's perception flickers. Kobayashi stops. "Tohru?"

"Mmm..." A sigh is her only response. Her magic flickers again, and Kobayashi bites her lip.

"Ah, Tohru-"

But before she can fret anymore, a familiar bright glow washes over Tohru, indicating she's changing back. When the light fades, Tohru is lying in her human form curled up on her side, fast asleep. Kobayashi sighs.

"Geez, you almost scared me for a second there."

She puts everything away and cleans up the supplies, then makes her way back to her maid. Tohru has a peacefully content smile on her lips. Kobayashi rolls her eyes.

"I guess I'm not surprised."

She crouches down and gathers Tohru into her arms, taking care in lifting her. Her thick tail weighs probably as much as the girl herself does, but Kobayashi manages somehow. Tohru moans softly but doesn't wake, curling closer to her mistress. Kobayashi leans forward slightly, resting her forehead against hers.

"What am I going to do with you?"

With this, she starts carrying Tohru off the roof, back down the stairs, and to the apartment. It's a bit of a struggle to fumble for the key in her pocket without jostling Tohru too much, but her maid is so deeply and blissfully asleep she doesn't even stir.

Kobayashi pushes her way in and lets the door close behind them, then staggers over to the couch. Once there, she slowly lowers Tohru down, and her lower back thanks her for it.

"Geez!" she hisses, putting a hand to her hip. "I'm definitely gonna regret this..."

But then Tohru unconsciously turns toward the sound of her voice and curls up snugly, mumbling with a smile.

"Kobayashi-san..."

Kobayashi heaves a sigh.

"Who am I kidding? I'll never regret this."

She takes a seat beside Tohru, gently lifting her shoulders so the dragon girl can rest her head in her lap. Tohru makes a plethora of cute noises as she cuddles up. Kobayashi runs a hand gingerly between her horns and then down through her hair. She leans back against the couch and yawns.

"Guess I'll nap too... It's my day off, after all."

So she closes her eyes and settles in with Tohru dozing lightly on her lap.

The two of them enjoy their anniversary together, with many more to come.

A/N: Who knows what season 2 will bring! Hopefully more cute moments and fic ideas!

Please review!