Hatori wasn't terribly fond of karaoke.

The first time he had ever tried it had been in high school, with Shigure and Ayame. Hatori's father had been dying, so his friends had dragged him out to distract him: not from any wretched despair (he had never particularly close to his parents) but from selfish grief that he would soon be an orphan.

And though his father may not have felt the same way, Hatori did love him, if only how a child instinctively does. It had been in a Karaoke box that the boy had learned of his father's passing.

So, it was understandable why karaoke wasn't high up on the seahorse's list of enjoyable activities (and more importantly than anything else, he was a terrible singer).

It was mystery how Shigure had even convinced him to come along - well, a mystery to Hatori.

Most of the others knew mentioning that Tohru would be somewhere was an almost surefire way of getting the doctor out of his house. And they were celebrating the fifth year of having Tohru with them, so he really had to come, so as not to be rude - even if it was a bit strange that he was the only Sohma invited who didn't live with her.

"Why the hell would I sing that, stupid rat!" Kyo yelled, pointing to the screen with the microphone. "I'm shit at English!"

"Stray Cat Strut is the obvious choice; you can relate to it." Yuki crossed his arms. "Besides, how could you call me stupid when you just said you couldn't speak English? We studied it in school."

While the cat and the rat argued (and Shigure tried to mediate, crying that he didn't want to pay for damages) Hatori looked to Tohru, who was sitting beside him.

"Are you going to sing, Honda-san?"

She looked at him, and smiled. "I'm not sure yet, Hatori-san! What about you?"

The man shook his head slowly. "Probably not. I am not the best singer." He was silent for a moment, wincing at the awkwardness. "If...If Honda-san would like it, perhaps doing a duet-"

"Tohru-chan!" Shigure flew over and grabbed Tohru's hands in his, gently pulling her to her feet. "Let's sing a something together! What about a love song?"

Usually quite thick-skinned, Hatori wasn't sure why seeing them together made him feel so sick.

Shigure frowned at the look on his friend's face. "Ha'ri, why don't you sing with us?"

Hatori stood stiffly and shouldered past the dog, ignoring the confused looks that followed him. "No, thank you." He yanked the door shut behind him when he left.

"Well, I'm off to get your cake, Tohru-chan!" Shigure announced, clapping once and breaking the tension in the air, if only a little. "I'll take these two with me, if you wouldn't mind waiting alone."

Tohru's eyes were kind, but troubled. "I won't be alone. Hatori-san is here."

Shigure nodded, messing up her hair fondly before grabbing Yuki and Kyo by their elbows and dragging them away.

"Do we both have to go?" Yuki asked softly.

Kyo scowled. "Yeah, we can't leave her alone with that bastard!"

Tohru waited for their voices to fade before she too exited the karaoke box, then the building. She found Hatori standing under an awning out back, surrounded by a cloud of smoke (not the transformation kind, luckily), watching the rain.

"It's cold out," he said quietly, around the cigarette in his mouth. "You should go back inside."

Tohru shook her head so quickly she made herself a little dizzy. "Forgive me, Hatori-san, but I want to stay here with you."

The doctor sighed sharply, shrugging of his coat and dropping it around her shoulders. "If you insist."

His coat smelled nice, like him - a comforting scent. Tohru buried her face in it, her hand reaching up to pull it over her nose.

"Are you okay, Hatori-san?" she whispered, looking at him sadly.

Hating to see such a forlorn expression on a face meant for smiling, Hatori extinguished his cigarette in a puddle. "Don't worry yourself for me, Honda-san."

He was startled into silence by her grabbing his hands in her own, fingers squeezing tight, her eyes glazed over with tears. "I wish I could hug you," she whispered.

"So do I," he murmured back, before leaning down and pressing his lips to her mouth.

Both intoxicated by an ache that was quickly fading into desire, they stumbled out into the rain. Alas, they were soon pulled together by an invisible string.

One huge proof of smoke later, and poor, flushed Tohru was holding a twitching seahorse in her hands.

"We're back!" Shigure sang, opening the door to reveal - a naked Hatori, his lower half covered by his coat, kissing Tohru, who knelt by his side in a puddle of water and broken glass? He hadn't anticipated them getting this passionate!

"Shut your mouth," Hatori warned, frowning at his friend and the two boys flanking him - They seemed to have frozen with horror. "This isn't what it looks like."

Tohru was blushing. "We were only kissing! I didn't see anything!" she cried, causing Yuki and Kyo to faint dead away.

While the girl crawled over to check on them (Hatori seemed reluctant to let go of her hand) Shigure waggled his eyebrows at his friend. "So, my plan worked after all!"

Hatori narrowed his eyes as he began dressing, well versed in discreetly pulling his clothes on. "What do you mean?"

The writer opened the lid of the box he was holding. The words, congratulations on your relationship! were written on the cake in red frosting.

"You really are a dog," Hatori sighed.

But he was smiling.