Be Safe

Author's Note~ This is my first attempt at Kyoru. I find this couple oddly sweet but that might be because Kyo is my favorite character and Tohru's just adorable. XD I hope I did them justice. The first couple sentences are slightly choppy and I'm not happy with them. T_T

Disclaimer: Fruits Basket belongs to Takaya-sensei.

Kyo heard the buzzing of his obnoxious alarm clock. He groaned in annoyance and slapped his hand on it so it would shut the hell up. He raised his head to see what time it was and let his mouth twitch in a frown. It was 6:30 in the morning. God, how he hated waking up in the morning. It was such a pain in the ass.

Eyes drooping, he threw his covers off his body, and rubbed his face. His shirt was wrinkled and dirty. He had unbuttoned it last night exposing his bare skin to the cool air due to how hot it was under the covers. As he turned his head, he blinked slowly, just now processing that the other side of the bed was empty and neatly made. How the hell does that girl get up so early when she works night-shift? Crazy woman.

He stretched his arms, the large bed creaking with each movement from his weight. He opened his closet, picked out a nice white button-down shirt, a nice pair of slacks, and the most comfortable dress shoes he could find. He grimaced at the ties hanging on the rack. He still hated the damn things.

He brought his clothes in the bathroom with him. He shed his current sleepwear and turned on the showerhead. He sighed in relief when the hot water ran down his back. Hot, steamy showers always soothed him. It felt like all the stress would just go down the drain along with the dirt. After about 10 minutes in the heavenly shower, the smell of breakfast wafted through the door making his stomach growl in hunger. He turned off the water and grabbed a towel. He rubbed it through his messy orange hair, and wrapped it around his neck.

He grabbed his shirt and headed towards the kitchen. He threw it on and buttoned it up halfway. When he got there, he nearly drooled at the food sitting on the table waiting to be consumed, and smirked fondly at the brown-haired girl in the apron. His presence seemed to have gone unnoticed though, as the girl obliviously put the last of her food on her plate. He snuck up on her, his bare feet not making a sound on the tile, and put his hand on her shoulder. She jumped from the contact. Always the spaz.

"Oh, it's just you, Kyo-kun!" she said, getting her breath back.

"Of course it's me, dummy! Who else would it be?" he said matter-of-factly, tapping her lightly on the head with his knuckles. She chuckled nervously.

"Gomen. You just surprised me!" she said guiltily.

"Geez," he sighed, "You're hopeless." She smiled warmly.

"Well, breakfast is ready!" she chirped.

When he sat down and started to devour the steamed rice first, his attention quickly went from the food to her when she began to speak.

"Is the food okay?" she asked curiously, her brown eyes slightly wary. He gave her a quizzical look.

"Yeah, it's perfect as always." he replied brusquely.

"I'm glad you like it!" she said happily. He grinned at her and ruffled her hair slightly.

"I always do, dummy!" he chuckled. Her face reddened slightly at the compliment, and he thought it was rather adorable. How the hell did he end up with someone like her? Did he even deserve her? He got caught up staring at her, lost in thought, when a pungent odor hit his nose.

"Is something burning?" he asked nervously. She jumped up like lightning.

"Oh no! The fish!" she squeaked. His orange eyes widened when he saw her run to the stove and open it. A cloud of smoke came out and all he could hear was her startled coughing. The smoke alarm started beeping and then he felt cold water sprinkling on his head.

"Ahh, shit! Fuck off, you damn extinguisher! I just took a shower!" he complained, eyes sparking in annoyance at the offending extinguisher. He got up and opened the windows, letting the smoke filter out. He coughed and felt his eyes water. As the smoke cleared out, he made out Tohru's small form crouched on the floor, her legs splayed behind her.

"Tohru?" he asked, eyes glittering concern. He walked up and crouched down next to her, shaking her slightly. "Tohru, you okay?"

"I burned it," she mumbled in shock. "I am so sorry, Kyo-kun. I wasn't paying attention and I burnt the fish. And worst of all, I got your shirt wet," her voice trembled. Kyo saw her face and her eyes shone with unshed tears. His stomach clenched. Why did she have to have such a guilt-complex?

"It's fine. Shishou burns stuff all the time. It's nothing to cry about! Don't make such a big deal out of it," he said roughly, stroking her back gently. He never was great at comfort. She looked in his eyes, her big brown eyes still sad.

"But what about your shirt?" she asked guiltily.

He sighed, "It's a shirt. It'll dry. And I can just get another one." Then he glowered at her. "So stop giving me that pathetic look!" he said sternly.

"So…you're not mad at me?" she asked hopefully.

"Idiot! Of course, I'm not! It's just a stupid shirt," he snapped. He saw her sigh in relief and push her tears back. This girl really was hopeless.

"Geez," he muttered. He stood up and offered his hand to help her up off the floor. She placed her small hand in his much bigger one, hoisted herself up, and stood next to him, standing a foot below him.

"Oh! Kyo-kun, it's 7:30! You have to go to work!" she pointed. He glanced at the clock. Dammit, she was right. Stupid-ass clock. Time goes by way too quickly.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. I'll be back," he said nonchalantly. He walked in their room, opened the closet, and pulled out a dark blue button-down. He slipped on his shoes, quickly threw off the wet garment and went back in the living room while in the process of buttoning his dry shirt. He saw Tohru by the door holding his jacket and keys. He quickly snatched the items out of her hands muttering a quick "thanks." He opened the door and when he was halfway out the door, he felt a pressure on his hand, making him pause. He turned around and met Tohru's eyes.

"Hmm? What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing!" she squeaked, but he noticed her eyes go slightly distant. He narrowed his eyes. What the hell was she hiding? Damn, this woman was a fucking bag of emotion! Is it something I did? Did I hurt her feelings? God, I'm an asshole. He was so mixed up with his self-loathing that he was caught by surprise when she whispered,

"Be safe, Kyo-kun." He stared at her with astonishment. She smiled shyly, not quite making eye contact. His incredulous look creeped into a tender smile when he realized the sentiment. He quickly tugged her arm and brought the petite girl into his chest, one hand on the back of her head, the other on her back. She tentatively returned the embrace and he buried his face in her hair.

"Yeah, you too," he whispered, lightly kissing her hair then pulling away.

"Get some sleep, alright? I'll be back by five," he said gently, patting her head.

"Hai," she said softly. He sent her one last soft smile before shutting the door behind him. As he started the car and pulled out of the driveway, her words were the only thing on his mind.

Be safe.

Those words brought back memories. The memory of meeting a beautiful orange-haired lady while she showed him pictures of her adorable daughter. The memory of searching for said daughter, and storming off when Yuki found her first. The memory of finding out that she had his hat he lost all those years ago. He wondered if she still had that hat. And now, he was twenty-four and married to her. The same girl who Kyoko had talked about so fondly all those years ago. A total freak coincidence. It really was a small world.

Be safe.

An unspoken promise to come home to her.

A promise he vowed to never break.

A.N.~ So I hope you liked it. I kind of do. I'm not used to writing stories for this series so I hope it was okay. :) Review, please!