Blue Heaven, chapter 8
Chapter 7 was here.
Author's Note: I feel so stupid, but this wasn't supposed to get so long, and I've run out of song lyrics to use for chapter titles. Wah. So from now on, we just get boring "chapter eight" etc. Sorry about that :(
I'm so thrilled everyone likes my little story ! I couldn't be happier that youall are enjoying it so much :) Thank you heaps and heaps for your kind reviews, I really appreciate your enthusiasm and will work hard to keep doing a good job.
Blue Heaven, chapter eight
by cinnamongrr1
Tohru held the folded blanket in front of her torso, then looked hopefully up at Kyou. “Okay, hug me!”
A blush scalded its way over his face. “Huh?”
“Hug me, Kyou-kun!” She adjusted the drape of the blanket over her front. “I want to see how thin a barrier it takes before the curse kicks in!”
Disappointment filled him as he finally understood her sudden desire for his embrace, but the opportunistic part of him leapt at the chance to get to hold her, no matter her motives. He reached out slowly, haltingly, and pulled her close.
The blanket was bulky, and since she had to hold it up her hands were trapped between them, but Kyou couldn’t repress his sigh of pleasure. Beneath his hands, her back was narrow and warm, and her hair tickled his nose and cheek as he bent his head toward her. Best of all, there was no poof! He remained human.
“O-okay,” Tohru said at last. Her voice was a little high-pitched. “Let’s try just eight layers.” Stepping back, she gently disengaged herself from Kyou’s arms and unfolded the blanket once before replacing it over her chest. “Ready!”
Kyou wrapped his arms around her again, relishing the extra inch of closeness this brought them. Now he could just touch her ear with his nose, and the tiny caress sent a streak of heat through him. His earlier elation at having an excuse to hug her gave way to a certain feeling of trepidation; being this close to her, being able to smell her hair and feel her skin, was fraught with danger.
Alarmed, he was about to pull back when her arms came around him. Her hands pressed flat against his back, and he found himself squeezed tightly by her.
He sucked in a breath. “Tohru…” he began, but she relaxed against him, going so far as to rest her head on his chest. She was so little, she barely came to his shoulder.
“This- this is nice,” she stammered, sounding as nervous as he felt. “Isn’t it, Kyou-kun?”
He held her tighter, but didn’t trust his voice to say anything, so he just nodded. The motion brushed his lips over her ear, and she shivered against him.
“It’s time for the next stage of the experiment,” Tohru said quietly after a while. Her hands came to hold up the blanket between them, and she took a step back as Kyou reluctantly released her. She unfolded the blanket again.
“Four layers,” she said, not meeting his gaze.
Kyou nodded, and this time didn’t hesitate before tugging her into his arms. With less fabric between then, this time he could clearly feel the curvy shape of her breasts against his chest, and swallowed at the distinct twinge of arousal that pinged through him.
“Tohru,” he whispered.
“Kyou,” she replied, barely audible, but her breath was warm against his throat and her hands started to slide up his chest and over his shoulders. When her arms settled around his neck, she was closer to him than she had ever been, and showing no inclination to move away.
Kyou cautiously pressed a kiss to her soft cheek, every nerve quivering at attention to see what her reaction would be. Tohru positively melted against him, sighing happily and rubbing her cheek against his. Her breath was warm against his ear, and he shuddered at the sensation, hard.
Leaning back, he looked at her. Her face was soft, her eyes dreamy, and he had never wanted to kiss her as much as that moment. Still, something held him back; what if she was just enjoying a hug with him? She hugged Momiji all the time, after all, and her friends, too-
Tohru tried to pull him closer as she lifted her face to his. She wanted him to kiss her? Kyou froze in shock, staring down in a panic of confused desire.
Instantly, she perceived his lack of motion as reluctance, and turned brilliantly red. “Oh,” she whispered, and started to extract herself from his embrace. “I though you wouldn’t mind-“
She looked devastated, her eyes beginning to shine with tears.
“Mind?” he said hoarsely. Kyou wanted to kick himself for making her think he wanted to do anything but kiss her for the next several years.
“It’s alright if you don’t want to-“ Her voice sounded strangled, and she was beginning to squirm to get away.
A band seemed to have encircled his chest and was squeezing, squeezing… “I want to,” he said. “More than anything.” With that, he pressed a desperate kiss to her trembling mouth, needing to convince her.
Her fingers curled slowly in the fabric of his shirt, and her lips moved against his. Slowly, the band released, the fear receded… Kyou’s tongue began to explore her mouth, tentatively at first, then with more eagerness until he was kissing her with all the passion in his heart.
Tohru made a sort of mewing sound in her throat, and for a moment he thought he’d pushed her too far, but she clung harder to him and twined her fingers in his hair, forgetting herself to the point of kissing him back with a fervency that astounded him.
Reluctantly, in dire need of air, Kyou ended the kiss. He felt dizzy, elated; seeing her flushed face and swollen lips made his heart want to leap from his chest. He knew he shouldn’t say so, shouldn’t let this go even further than it had, knew this was a disaster-
“I love you,” he said on an exhale, rogue words escaping without his permission.
“Oh, good,” Tohru blurted, looking relieved as she opened her eyes. “I’m so glad! Because I love Kyou-kun, too, and I was so worried he wouldn’t, and then what would I do?”
His blood was singing through his veins, jubilant that his feelings could be returned by this girl who’d come to mean so much to him. He kissed her again and again; now that he had “permission”, he couldn’t seem to stop himself.
“Of course I love you,” he said when they were both gasping for breath. He couldn’t conceive of a way he could have spent the past few years of his life with her and not fallen for her-- there didn’t seem to be any alternative to being utterly devoted to her in every way possible. “You’re everything to me.”
Her eyes were huge, and Kyou thought he could lose himself in them, could drown in them. “I want to be with you forever,” she whispered. “No matter what.”
But they didn’t have forever. The inevitability of Kyou’s fate- that of every Sohma cat- hung there between them.
“I…” He hung his head, in shame and despair. The band around his chest was back, clamping relentlessly. “I want that, too.”
They clung to each other for long moments, and Kyou felt a wetness against his throat when she nuzzled her cheek against him.
“We’ll find a way, Kyou-kun,” she said, her voice amazingly firm in spite of her high emotion. “I won’t let anyone take you away from me.” The famous Honda Tohru resolve was in her voice, and he couldn’t help smiling, then reaching out to brush the tears off her cheeks.
“Okay,” he said easily, feeling lighter and happier than he could remember ever being. “But first, let’s finish up your experiment.”
Tohru beamed up at him as she grabbed the blanket. “Three layers!” she said, manipulating the cloth and then holding it up between them.
Kyou’s hands covered hers as they held the blanket’s corners, and he bent his head to place another kiss on her mouth. Pressed close, they lost themselves in the kiss, and it was a while before they realized he hadn’t transformed.
Tohru’s face flamed when they parted at last. “I guess that’s fine, too,” she said shakily, and Kyou grinned.
“Guess so.” This time, it was he who unfolded the blanket, bringing the layer count to two.
He held the blanket up, and Tohru stepped eagerly into his embrace, sliding her arms around his waist and burying her face against his chest. They had one moment of bliss before they were enveloped in a cloud of smoke, and Tohru stumbled a little as the body she was leaning against abruptly disappeared.
She sighed and dropped to her knees. “So, three layers is as low as it goes,” she said with a faint smile as she lifted him from the pile of clothing. “I bet Yuki-kun and Uo-chan will be so happy to know!”
Kyou said nothing, but squirmed until she set him down. A moment later, he transformed back to his human form, the scowl still on his face. Tohru eeped and spun away from him.
“Are they the only reason you wanted to know?” he asked quietly, when he was dressed once more.
She didn’t turn around right away, so Kyou crawled forward on hands and knees to peer around at her face. She was blushing profusely.
“No,” she admitted. “I was sad for them, but also for us. I wasn’t sure you’d want to be so close to me, but the way you look at me sometimes… it made me think you wouldn’t mind, much.”
Kyou hated the idea he’d been obvious, but thinking back to various times Momiji, Hatsuharu, and even Yuki had made certain comments, he realized he hadn’t been nearly as subtle in hiding his feelings as he’d have liked.
“How do I look at you?” He didn’t need her to tell him; he already knew that the sight of her made something soften within him, made the muscles of his face relax. Tohru soothed him like nothing else could.
“The same way I look at you, I think.” She tilted her head to the side, her expression grave and sweet. “Like I have all your attention, like we’re the only things that exist in the world.”
He cupped her face in his trembling hand, eagerly drinking in every nuance.
“Like that,” she said, laughing in pure joy. “Just like that.”
He bent down to kiss her again, but the moment their lips met, the front door opened with a bang.
“Oopsie!” Shigure sang, his voice echoing off the walls. “I think I might have had a little too much sake.” A pause. “Thanks, Tori-san!” The door slammed, and then gravel crunched under tires as Hatori drove away.
Tohru and Kyou, having sprung apart, settled themselves on opposite sides of the kotatsu. By the time Shigure entered the room, both had their noses firmly buried in schoolbooks. Tohru greeted the dog with a smile, but Kyou just glared over the edge of his chemistry text.
“Just the two of you, then?” Shigure inquired, propping himself against the doorjamb. “I thought Yuki and his project partner were coming over.”
“Oh, they did,” Tohru answered. “But they finished and.. and…” She trailed off, not wanting to reveal they’d gone on a date but not quite able to think up an alternative on the spur of the moment.
“They left not long ago,” Kyou said. “Yuki wanted to walk her home, so she wasn’t taking the train in the dark.”
“Ah,” Shigure said, heaving a dramatic sigh after laying his hand over his heart. “Yuki, ever the gallant.”
Tohru giggled; Kyou rolled his eyes. “Aren’t you home early?” he demanded. “I thought you were having dinner there.”
“I was, I was.” Shigure plopped down in his seat at the table. “But Ayame and I had some sake, and then some more, and then some more. And then some more. I must have done something to anger Akito, and was told my presence was no longer desired.” He gazed mournfully at Tohru. “And now I’m hungry.”
She leapt to her feet. “I’m on it!” she declared. “I’ll whip up something great for us!”
“I’m sure you will, my little flower,” Shigure crooned, craning his neck so he could see further up her skirt from his seated position on the floor. “Ow.”
“Keep your eyes to yourself,” Kyou growled, eyes glowing as he lowered his fist. “Don’t make me have to kill you.”
Tohru giggled again- nervously, this time- and scampered into the kitchen. Kyou glared at Shigure until the writer gave a little cough and stood up.
“Perhaps I’ll just go do a little work in my office until the food is ready,” he said. “That way, Kyou-kun will have even more time alone with our precious Tohru. Ow.”
Then it was he scampering away, rubbing the growing lump on the back of his head where Kyou had just kicked him, but there was a slow, sly grin on his face that they couldn’t see.
Chapter 9 is here.