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That night, Kyo dreams of flowers.
Sunflowers, fields of them, lay to the very end of the horizon, the only thing he can see. Some are up to his knees, some are all the way up to his shoulders.
The air feels cool when he inhales, peppered by the scent of the flowers and something else.
That something else makes him realize that unlike his old dreams, which were filled with dark clouds and thorns and smoke, he isn’t alone.
And his hand is in someone else’s.
A silhouette walks in front of him, skirt flowing through the spaces between the sunflowers, hair streaming behind her, reaching far enough to almost tickle his face.
He can tell she wants to walk faster because he feels a tug on his hand, and with a smile breaking through his face, he obliges, running with her through the fields, his laughter feeling unfamiliar as it rings through his ears.
That morning, Kyo wakes up to his face being smothered with kisses.
And he realizes he isn’t alone here either.
Tohru’s smooth hands cup his face, pressing kisses to his chin, cheeks, nose, eyelids, temples, forehead, anywhere she can reach. It makes him laugh softly. He puts his own hands on her cheeks so she can look at her face.
“Good morning to you, too,” he says, voice still thick from sleep. He kisses her forehead.
“Good morning, Kyo-kun,” she replies, sounding excited but still quiet since it’s morning. She removes her hands from his face to snuggle into his chest. “You’re finally awake.”
He wraps his arms around her in response, nose in her hair. “You were trying to wake me when I was peacefully sleeping? That’s rude.”
Tohru lifts her head from his chest in a slight panic. It’s adorable. “N-no! I mean, um, well I wasn’t trying to wake you up. You were just so cute when you were sleeping and—”
“Tohru, it’s okay, I’m kidding.” He strokes her head, fingers lightly combing her hair. “What did you mean by ‘finally,’ though?”
“Ah, er, well, it’s just…” she blushes, turning her gaze down to their entangled legs. “I just missed you…”
Kyo’s positive she can hear his heartbeat speed up. He holds her tighter.
“You were in my dream, y’know,” he says.
“Oh, I was?”
“Mhm. We were walking together through a field of sunflowers.”
He can feel Tohru smile against his chest. “That’s really nice.”
“Yeah, it was, though having you actually here with me is much better.”
She giggles, snuggling closer to him. They stay like that for a while, until she lifts her head again.
“Kyo-kun?”
“Mm?”
She leans in and kisses him—softly, but deeply.
When they break, she beams and says, “Happy Birthday.”
Kyo tenses a bit, mouth ajar. “...You knew?”
Tohru gives him a confused look. “Of course, I knew. I asked Shisho-san a while ago.” She reaches up to remove a stray piece of hair from his face. “There was no way I couldn’t know your birthday.” She frowns. “Why are you so surprised?”
He shrugs. “I never really thought much of my birthday. Shisho would get me some sweets and a small gift, but that’s it. I always told him I didn’t want much.”
Tohru nods, staying silent. But he can tell she understands, that she can see the unspoken words floating around them.
His birthday was never a particularly happy day for Kyo. It served as a reminder that the clock that marked his freedom continued to tick, that another year's worth of sand had fallen down the hourglass. It made him feel like he wasted another year of freedom, that he could’ve done more. It made him feel regret and distaste towards himself and reminded him once again of who he was and what his purpose was.
Tohru moves her hand from his hair to his face, rubbing his cheek with her thumb. It takes him out of his small spiral. He takes her hand, kissing the back of it as a silent thank you, then smiles. “This birthday is already a lot better though.”
She returns his smile. “I’m glad.” After stretching, she sits up a bit. “Do you want to get up? I have breakfast planned.”
“Yeah, that sounds good.”
She sits up fully, making her way to get off the bed, before Kyo says, “Wait.”
Tohru turns around, not completely off the bed, looking at him in confusion.
He goes to her, scooping her one last hug, which makes her giggle.
“I love you so much,” he says. Her breath hitches.
“I love you, too,” she replies. “So much.”
With one last squeeze, he lets her go. “Let’s have breakfast.”
When they descend the stairs to the living room, it’s no surprise that Yuki’s not there, who takes advantage of the weekend even more than Kyo and Tohru do.
“What are you gonna make?” Kyo asks.
Tohru smiles and says, “Breakfast shiozake. I know it’s one of your favorites.”
He grins and ruffles her hair. “Thanks. Wait, do we have salmon?”
“We do! I bought some yesterday on the way home from work. Yuki-kun and I went to the store.”
He nods and goes to open the fridge when Tohru stops him, standing in front to block his view. “Kyo-kun, it’s your birthday. You shouldn’t be cooking.”
He snorts. “You realize I could just lift you out of the way, right?”
But Tohru stands her ground, puffing up her cheeks as she shakes her head.
He sighs in exasperation and shakes his head. “C’mon, Tohru, let me help. I know how to cook one of my favorite foods pretty well. And I love cooking with you, so if you let me help, that’ll make my birthday even better.”
The look on Tohru’s face shows she’s considering this, but before she can respond, Kyo bends down and lifts her out of the way, sending her into a bout of laughter. When she’s put down, she relents. “Okay, you can help.”
“Thank you for your approval, master chef.”
She smiles. “Can you please prepare the daikon?”
“Got it.”
When they’re in the middle of cooking the salmon, Yuki enters the living room. “Morning.”
“Good morning, Yuki-kun! Did you sleep well?” Tohru asks.
Yuki smiles. “Yeah, I did, thanks. What are you making? It smells good.”
“Breakfast shiozake!”
“Ah, nice. I look forward to it.”
Shigure enters soon after, and the four of them eat. Yuki tells Tohru that he’ll be out late with the student council, so she won’t have to worry about dinner for him.
“We’re planning a class trip for the third years,” Yuki explains. “Somewhere different.”
“That’s so exciting!” Tohru exclaims. “Do you have any idea of where it’ll be?”
“We have a few ideas. Nara seems the most realistic. Okinawa is another one we had in mind, but that would have to be for next year’s third years in the fall, so not for us.”
“That would be wonderful! Last year’s trip was so fun.”
“Yeah, it was.”
They continue the conversation, Kyo mostly staying silent as he watches Tohru as she speaks, eyes lighting up when Yuki suggests other places. There’s something different about her smile, something that wasn’t there for a long time. It feels more natural, more sound with how she moves and speaks.
He takes her hand under the table, rubbing the back of it with his thumb. And while Tohru doesn’t visually show she knows what he did since she’s talking with Yuki, she interlocks her fingers with his, squeezing his hand to tell him she’s there.
When breakfast is over, Shigure—who mentioned he was going to the main estate for a few hours—and Yuki make their way to leave.
“Oh, Kyo-kun?” Tohru asks as she washes the dishes. “Can you please ask Yuki-kun when he’ll be back? Just so we know.”
Kyo nods and walks to the genkan where Yuki is finishing putting on his shoes. “Tohru wants to know when you’ll be back.”
“Uh…probably around 10? No later than 11.”
“Okay. I’ll let her know.”
“Sure. And uh, Kyo?”
“What?” he grunts, already making his way back to the kitchen.
Yuki pauses, then says, “Happy Birthday.”
Kyo freezes. Everyone’s surprising him today. Yuki has never said that to him in the 18 years they’ve known each other.
He doesn’t smile but gives Yuki an appreciative look. There’s a sense of peace in his voice as he replies, “Thanks.”
Yuki nods, then leaves.
Kyo looks at the space Yuki was just in. He feels lighter, and smiles as he walks into the kitchen.
“He’ll be back around 10,” he tells Tohru.
“Okay, thank you, Kyo-kun.”
“Sure.” He peers at the dishes. There’s still a decent amount left. “You want some help with that?”
Tohru shakes her head vehemently. “Nope! I got it.” She smiles in victory when she says, “And you already helped me with breakfast so there’s no excuse!”
He chuckles at her stubbornness, something about her that’ll probably never change. “Okay, okay, fine. You win.”
“Yay! If you want, you can wait in my room. I’ll be up there in a moment. I want to show you something.”
“Alright.”
Kyo goes to her room, mind ruminating about what she could be showing him. He sits on her bed, body relaxing from the soft sheets. Since he’s got nothing to do but wait, his eyes wander, or really, were magnetized to her shelf.
That shelf.
On there sits a picture of them from a month ago, her scarf wrapped around both of their necks. Kyo involuntarily smiles at the memory. Besides the picture areis the zodiac figures she made during second year, the flower he gave her, and his beads.
His eyes zone in on the beads, memories of his mother and Akito, and that thing threatening to flash through his mind. But then he remembers how gentle Tohru was when she picked them up, how she wanted to honor his strength from enduring what he went through his whole life, and how she wants a bright future for the both of them.
He relaxes, remembering again how grateful and fucking lucky he is to have her, that she cherishes the bits of light that outshine the darkness.
That’s when he hears a knock on the door. “Kyo-kun? Can I come in?”
He snorts. “It’s your room, dummy.”
She grins as she goes to sit next to him. “I suppose you’re right.”
“So, uh…what do you have to show me?”
She beams, standing up and walking over to her small closet. When she returns to her seat next to him, she’s holding…something…? It’s a bit big, almost swallowing up the top part of her body, and is in the shape of an oval.
She rests it on her lap as she sits next to him. He notices her cheeks are slightly red. “I got you something.”
He raises an eyebrow. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“I wanted to! And you deserve to have more on your birthday. I want it to be a happy day for you. So, um…” She shoves it at him, closing her eyes in nervousness. “Here!”
He laughs as he grabs it, almost falling back on the bed from the present’s size and force of Tohru giving it to him. When he has a good hold on it, he leans in to peck her cheek. “Thanks.”
Tohru stares at the present like she wants to burn a hole through it, which Kyo takes as a sign to open it, so he unfolds the neatly-done wrapping paper, maintaining it so it doesn’t rip. It reveals—
“A pillow?” Kyo asks.
It’s orange and extremely soft and comfortable to the touch, molding around his hand as he presses into it. He looks at Tohru, whose face is even redder.
“I know I’ve been working a lot of really late shifts,” she blurts. “A-and I feel bad that you have to fall asleep alone since you did that for so long. So…I thought having something to hold when I’m gone could keep you company.” She takes his silence as worrisome, so she continues. “B-but if you don’t like it, that’s okay! I don’t mi—”
She’s cut off when Kyo pulls her into a hug, the pillow between them. “I love it,” he murmurs. “Thank you.”
Tohru gasps and pulls away. “You do?”
He smiles. “Tohru, I’d love anything you get me. But…this means a lot, really.” He hugs the pillow, burying his face into it. It already picked up a bit of Tohru’s scent, which will make those lonely nights feel even more like she’s with him.
But then he feels her pull his arms away from the pillow, replacing it with herself so she’s snuggled against him. “I’d like you to hold me when I’m here, though,” she says with a pout.
He laughs. “Are you seriously jealous of a pillow?”
She looks away from him. “Maybe…”
“You’re so weird,” he says, hugging her close to oblige her request. “Thank you for all of this.”
“Of course, Kyo-kun. You deserve to have a happy birthday.”
Kyo doesn’t respond to that, but a small part of him, knowing that he’s holding the most incredible person he’s ever met who loves him so much and did this for him, maybe thinks he does deserve it.
He knows he’ll never have a bad birthday again, that they’ll now be a reminder towards his newfound freedom, and having the person he loves most by his side.