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shedreamsofstars · 4 years

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our union is a secret i’m hoping, dreaming, lying to keep - chapter seven

you’ve all heard of ‘pretending to be married when you’re not’, now get ready for ‘actually married but pretending you’re not’

When Tohru and Kyo accidentally find themselves married, they must keep their new union a secret from their friends and family. That’s easier said than done when you’re both newlywed dorks who just want to spend some quality time with one another whilst said friends and family are always one step away from discovering the truth.

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Tohru had been off ever since Shigure and Akito left.

She hadn't mentioned anything in particular to him, but Kyo knew something was bothering her. He leaned in the doorway, biting the inside of his cheek as he watched her silently rearrange the cushions on the sofa.

It was nothing out of the ordinary, Tohru loved keeping things organised after all, but the fact that she had been moving the same cushion from one place to another for the past few minutes was concerning to say the least.

He briefly considered stopping her, but she seemed so lost in her own thoughts that he couldn't help but wonder what it was that was demanding so much of her attention. She seemed upset, almost, and he replayed their earlier conversations to try and find out what might have caused her shift in mood.

He inwardly cringed at some of the topics that came up during dinner, but despite being embarrassing, nothing had been so bad that she'd spend so long dwelling on it like she was. But if that wasn't it, then what was she thinking about?

Giving up, he entered the room. Tohru glanced up as she noticed him, and her face broke into a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes as she finally let go of the cushion. Kyo's brows dipped down at the sight and he sat gingerly on the sofa.

"Tohru, come here," he said, reaching out for her hands. Tohru cocked her head in question as she took his hand, and Kyo tugged her towards him with a sharp movement. She giggled as she fell into his lap, instantly covering her face with her hands to hide the way her cheeks had turned pink.

Kyo bit back a laugh at how ridiculous it was that she still got embarrassed like this. It was almost as if the Tohru he slept next to every night, the one that couldn't fall asleep unless she was holding onto some part of him, was a completely different girl than the one before him.

"Hey," he called softly, knocking the hands covering her face with his forehead. "Anyone in there?"

Tohru nodded, blowing out a stream of warm air as she let her hands drift down to her lap. "Sorry," she murmured as she turned her head to look at him. Her dark eyes were filled with something he couldn't quite recognise, and after watching her for a long moment, he sighed and let his head fall against her shoulder.

It was clear that no matter how hard he tried, he wasn't going to figure out what was bothering her. At least, not without asking her directly.

"Is something wrong Kyo-kun?"

Kyo chuckled, lifting his head to meet her concerned gaze. "I'm fine, but I was just about to ask you the same thing," he admitted. "Is something the matter?"

Tohru glanced away from him quickly, her fingers knotting together. "No," she said quietly. "It's not important, really."

"What's not important?" Kyo reached for her hands and Tohru let out a soft sound of surprise as he began to untangle her fingers and entwine them with his own. "You know you can tell me anything, right?"

She nodded.

"I know that. It's just …" Tohru started before shaking her head. "It's nothing."

"Tohru," he chided softly, shaking their linked hands. "It's not nothing if it's upsetting you."

Kyo knew his wife had a terrible habit of keeping her feelings hidden inside of her, and although she was getting much better at it, sometimes she still needed coaxing to remind her that sharing them didn't make her a burden.

Tohru didn't say anything in response, her eyes glued to her lap where she wove her fingers between his over and over.

"Are you mad at me?" Kyo asked, not because he thought she was but just so he could definitely rule it out.

"No, of course not!" she said adamantly, her brown eyes fierce with conviction.

The tight ball of worry in his chest loosened a little.

"Then … are you mad that we didn't get to have a proper wedding like Akito and Shigure are going to?" He'd considered it a possibility earlier that the Head of the family's upcoming nuptials had made her realise just what she'd lost out on, but …

"I'm not mad at all Kyo, especially not over something like that," she reassured him.

"Maybe you should be? I mean, you never got the chance to be a bride or have bridesmaids or any of that other stuff that people normally do at weddings."

"I don't mind that at all, and you missed out on just as much as I did. All I really wanted was to be with you, and I already have that."

"Is that right?" he teased, nuzzling his nose against her cheek. "Well, for what it's worth … you would have made the most beautiful bride, blushing or otherwise."

Tohru flashed him a shy smile and he couldn't help the way his chest stuttered in response. "So, if it's not about the wedding was it about … that other thing," Kyo prompted, hoping she'd catch onto his meaning without him having to spell it out.

Her eyes creased in confusion and he knew he'd have no such luck.

"About the kids thing," he clarified, willing his face to stay passive through sheer willpower.

"Oh," she replied with a startle, and Kyo knew he'd at least hit on part of what was bothering her. "No …"

"But?" Kyo continued, because he knew there was a 'but'.

"Would you want to have children Kyo-kun?" Tohru asked, and Kyo got the sense that she was deflecting the conversation away from her true thoughts again.

He mulled over his response for a moment, Tohru watching him expectantly as he did so. "Yeah? I mean, I think so. Someday."

"Oh," she replied, her tone and face not giving away anything.

"Only if you wanted them too, that is," he added quickly. "Do you want kids?"

Tohru nodded instantly. "I do," she said, her tone a little brighter than it had been before.

"That's great," Kyo said. "But I still think you're not fully telling me what's bothering you."

"I know, and I'm sorry Kyo-kun. It's just … I really don't know how to explain what-"

Tohru cut herself off with a frustrated sigh, her shoulders tensing as she struggled to put her thoughts to words.

"Hey, it's okay," he soothed, pulling her into a hug. He held onto her tightly, hoping she'd know that he cared for her so much and that she'd always be safe with him. "Give it your best shot. I might not understand, but I promise to try my best to figure out what you mean. So, what's bothering you?"

"It's … Shigure-san mentioned that-"

"Ugh, him," Kyo growled. "You know, you really shouldn't pay any attention to what Shigure says of all people." Tohru blinked at him and Kyo realised that he'd just rudely interrupted her. "Sorry, I should have let you finish talking first. Go ahead, I'm listening."

"I think Shigure was right."

"What?" Kyo spluttered, not sure he'd heard his wife correctly. As much as he didn't want to, he loosened his hold on he so her could face her with ease. "I think my ears are broken. Did you just say that you think Shigure was right?"

"Mhmm," she hummed, nodding her head.

"About what exactly?"

"About us."

Kyo shook his head and in confusion and Tohru groaned in embarrassment, but she followed through regardless.

"Back when we lived at Shigure's, we were basically staying in one room together and Yuki or someone was almost always home, so it made sense. But then you moved out and I missed you so much, and I thought that when were living alone we could maybe …"

She took a steadying breath and Kyo ran his thumb along the back of her hand. She let out a half-laugh as he pressed his nose to her cheek. "Keep going," he murmured, pressing his lips to the base of her jaw.

"I was too nervous to say anything, but then we got married and we … never," she squeaked nervously, her face glowing with a blush even brighter than the one she'd worn before. "Shigure-san said we have the whole place to ourselves, and we do so … I was thinking that maybe …"

Tohru looked away from him, leaving the rest of her sentence hanging tensely in the air between them. Kyo knew that if her hands weren't in his right then that she'd be covering her face from him again. He was glad that she wasn't looking at him though, since his own face went as red as a beetroot as her meaning slowly dawned on him.

Was she asking if they …?

Hesitantly, she turned back towards him and Kyo's mouth fell open, his heart threatening to tumble out as he took in Tohru's heated gaze. It wasn't as if the thought had never occurred to him, he was only human after all, but … god, he couldn't think straight right now.

He tried to stutter through some form of a reply, but his words came out as nothing but garbled nonsense. He gave up on them quickly as Tohru began to shake with a quiet giggle.

"It's okay, Kyo," she said softly, and he barely even registered that she'd dropped the honorific, something he'd been trying to get her to do for the longest time. "It's like Shigure-san said, there's really no pressure or anything."

Now it was Kyo's turn to chuckle. "No that's … that's not how Shigure meant that," he said, a smile spreading across his face. In that moment, he knew exactly how lost Tohru must have felt earlier when she struggled to explain herself.

He placed a single finger under her chin and lifted her gaze up to his. Kyo wanted to tell her that he wanted what she did and so much more for them, but then, words had never really been his forte. He'd always preferred action.

And so, he simply leaned into her and let his lips do the talking before he found some other way to make a ridiculous embarrassment of himself. His kiss was soft and firm, and when she kissed him back with a hunger he'd never felt from her before he gasped against her lips in surprise.

She tried to pull back, afraid she'd gone too far, but he pulled her back and kissed her more insistently, his hands framing her face. It was new and exhilarating, and it took all he had to mumble a simple 'yes' as he lost himself in her touch.

"Wait, really?" she asked when he finally pulled back for air, studying the way her eyes were suddenly glittering with what he could only call desire. Kyo could only laugh against her lips at the surprise in her voice.

When it came to Tohru, he was so far gone that he wouldn't have been able to deny her the world had she asked for it. Maybe one day she'd figure it out, but until then …

"God yes," he murmured, pressing light kisses against her neck and jaw.

"Kyo-kun, I don't want you to think that you have to-"

He cut her off, smiling widely as he kissed her hard enough to make her forget all of her doubts. The slightly stunned look on her face when he pulled back was almost enough to send his thoughts flying into the unknown.

"Sorry. I know I should let you finish but I don't like where that was heading. You're not forcing me into anything, I promise."

He let his head fall back against the sofa, hair flopping across his eyes. He pushed it out of his face with his free hand and nudged Tohru with the other. She got the hint and turned so that she was facing him, her knees pressing into the sofa on either side of his legs.

She leaned in towards him, her nose brushing against his with a small smile and the scent of wildflowers. He reached up and let his fingers trail down her cheeks before cupping her jaw.

"Tohru," he said quietly, his voice floating in the small space between them. "You don't know how hard it's been sleeping next to you and trying not to think of you … like that."

"Kyo-kun," she called softly, her own hand reaching for his cheek. Her touch was cold, but it felt nice against his hot skin.

"What I mean to say is, you're not making me do anything I haven't already wanted to do for months." He shifted one hand onto her back and lowered her down onto the sofa, so he was hovering above her and meeting her intense look with a matching one of his own. "I want you," he drawled, his voice low and husky.

"I want you too," she whispered, and before he knew it his lips were on hers again and his hands were sliding down her thighs. Their touch felt real and right, and when her fingers wound through his hair, tugging gently on the strands to bring him closer, it took all Kyo had to break off the kiss.

Tohru mewled in protest at the loss of his touch, but he stroked her cheeks to keep any doubts at bay. "I think …" he breathed against her lips, struggling to catch his breath, "… maybe we should take this upstairs."

Tohru looked flustered for a second, as if only just realising that they were still in the living room before seeming to remember that they were all alone. No one would walk in on them anymore, so it was fine. But a bed would definitely be more comfortable.

She nodded and Kyo rolled off of her. Tohru made to follow, but before she could, Kyo leaned over and scooped her into his arms, holding her bridal style. "Please," he said softly. "Let me carry you like I should have on our wedding night," he said, the blush he'd been fighting for so long finally breaking through and lighting up his cheeks.

Tohru looked at a loss for words, but her shy smile said everything he needed to know. She leaned her head against his chest and let her hands snake around his neck. The way her fingers wove through his hair, Kyo wasn't sure he had enough self-restraint to make it the short distance to the bed.

... xxx ...

ack, apologies for taking so long with this chapter. i kept going back and forth about how far i wanted to take this and it was a whole dilemma lol. the next chapter will start *after* their night together and is more light-hearted (so this won't get too nsfw) but if i ever do post the spicier stuff i'll let you guys know if you’re interested.

thank you so much for reading and supporting my work, i appreciate it so so much and i'll see you in the next one. take care x

#kyoru #kyoru fanfiction #fruits basket #fruits basket fanfiction #our union is a secret i'm hoping dreaming lying to keep

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eternalravendreamer · 4 years

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How To: CHristmas (Akito/Tohru)

This is my part of the @lgbtfurubanet gift exchange/Secret Santa for 2019! It’s a little late, but I wanted it to be perfect.

How To: Christmas

For @supersonicgrandma

LGBT Furuba Net Gift Exchange

Akito Sohma had no idea what Christmas was.

Okay that’s not entirely true. She (and she was still getting used to calling herself that) was always so distracted by the preparations for the New Year’s Banquet every New Year (especially since the clan had to have a celebration for the calendar new year AND the Chinese New Year) that she had only ever seen Japan’s Christmas celebrations on television or in passing on a drive somewhere within the estate. Even then, some of the Inner family were staunch in not celebrating another religion’s holiday, even if Japan’s version lacked most of the religious context and was largely commercial and for lovers. So as long as she had lived Akito had never once celebrated Christmas.

Tohru Honda loved Christmas.

Not for religious reasons, just for the nice atmosphere and cute decorations. She loved the brightly lit trees, the pretty wreaths, the angel motifs, the cakes - but it was all a little bittersweet now. A Christmas cake seems so much bigger without her mother to eat it with her. At least she still had her two best friends to celebrate with, and the Sohmas too now! And secretly, there was one Sohma in particular Tohru was hoping to spend the holiday with...after all, Christmas is for lovers.

“A Christmas present for Akito?” Shigure blinked in confusion while Tohru blushed. When she and Akito had begun dating, it caused quite a stir, and the (now-former) Zodiac members were still warming up to the idea. Still, it was still awkward for Tohru to ask them for dating advice.

“Yes, well...I know we haven’t been dating very long, but it’s Christmas, so I just thought...maybe it would be nice to knit her a scarf, or cook something for her. And since you and Kureno-san are the ones who know Akito-san best, I figured...” Tohru trailed off. Things had been a little tense with Shigure since Tohru and Akito got together - Akito had been hesitant to tell Tohru all the details, but Tohru had learned that they had been...romantically (?) involved in the past. Luckily, Shigure's jealousy tended to manifest in snarkiness and passive-aggressive remarks...which were things Tohru was good at pretending to be oblivious to (and occasionally she really was).

“Actually, the Sohma family doesn’t usually celebrate Christmas. I don’t think Akito has ever experienced it. She's so busy with preparations for the Banquet, I can't imagine her doing anything Christmas related.” Shigure shrugged, and Tohru looked up in surprise.

“Really?! If that’s true, then...ah! I know what to do now! Thank you so much, Shigure-san!” Tohru bowed deeply before rushing off to her room to plan. Shigure watched her go off, surprised that she hadn't been discouraged.

“Ah...damn, I can't bring myself to be mean to her. I'm the one who got her involved in the whole curse business for my own reasons, anyway. And, well…" he sighed, "I have no doubt whatever she plans will make Akito happy".

“Akito-sama, Tohru Honda has arrived.” Akito looked up from her paperwork at the maid who had entered the room. Tohru stood behind her carrying a small bag, looking excited about something. Akito immediately straightened up and cleared her throat.

“Thank you. You may go now, Tomoe.” The maid bowed and walked away, but not before Akito noticed her give a sneer in Tohru’s direction. She made a note to have Shigure look into her. Meanwhile, Tohru entered the room, bag in hand.

“Akito-san! Are you free on the 24th or 25th? Either would be fine.” Akito looked at her girlfriend (!) in confusion, not expecting this.

“Of this month? For the rest of December I have nothing but preparations for the New Year’s banquet, especially since,” she takes a moment to think out her next few words, “it will be the first one since the curse broke.”

Tohru’s smile falters, but just for a second, “Ah, well...I was wondering if maybe you would like to spend Christmas together! Shigure-san told me you had never celebrated it before.”

This caught Akito off-guard, “Christmas..?”

“Yeah! We could go look at the lights and decorations around town, and all the trees! Oh, and eat Christmas cake - either the strawberry decorated ones or a more traditional chocolate yule log! And there’s snow coming, so we could have hot chocolate, and I wanted to show you the Christmas market that the small business district is putting together, to sell homemade gifts!” Tohru babbled on with sparkles in her eyes, momentarily getting lost in nostalgia. Meanwhile, Akito felt her cheeks get a little bit warmer.

Akito Sohma had a secret.

Okay, she had like, 20 secrets, but this was different. She was a sucker for cute and sweet things. Cakes, stuffed animals, lovey-dovey couple things...Mogeta...she could only dream of them in her former life, but now that she could live as herself (whatever that may be, she was still getting used to wearing women’s clothes), the temptation to indulge herself in her guilty pleasures was harder to ignore.

‘Cakes...pretty lights...chocolate...doing couples things with Tohru…’ Akito daydreamed for just a few seconds, and yet it was enough to completely vanquish her hesitation.

“...I can’t promise you all of the 24th, but I will definitely take off the 25th. Besides, Shigure’s been slacking on dealing with those maids.” Tohru gasped and then beamed, taking Akito’s hands in hers out of sheer excitement.

“Really?! Oh thank you so much Akito-san! Let me know what time to meet up and I’ll get everything ready by then!”

“C-Calm down, jeez! This is only because I’m curious about what all that stuff you said was!”

Christmas Eve ended up being a little hectic. Akito, determined to keep her promise to Tohru, spent most of the day dividing her tasks to Shigure and the servants (at least, the ones she trusted).

“For the last time, Shigure, if either of the zodiac for the year-passing dance either cannot or will not attend the Banquet, what do you do?”

“Bribe them--”

“No”

“Have Kyon take their place--”

“NO”

“...have Aya disguise himself--”

“SHIGURE”

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding! Relaaax, Miss Clan Head, leave it all to your trusty attendant. Besides, shouldn’t you be worrying about wrapping whatever gift you have for Tohru-kun for Christmas? We wouldn't want to be 3 for 3 with bad relationships.” Shigure lightly goaded, but it failed to get him the reaction he wanted, because Akito just blankly stared at him.

“...what gift?”

“...Akito you’re supposed to give your lover a present on Christmas. Tohru’s been working on something in her room ever since she got you to agree to spending it together.”

Akito Sohma had never personally picked out a present for anyone in her entire life. Even obligatory gifts to her family were chosen by maids and then presented to her for approval. But this was different...this was for Tohru. Akito had to do this alone. The moment Shigure brought it up, she rushed out and asked her diver to take her to the commercial district of the Sohma compound (after double checking that she had her money with her).

But now came the dilemma of what to get. From the sound of it, Tohru was making something herself, but Akito didn't have a creative bone in her body.

"Okay...what does Tohru like? Cooking...maybe a cookbook? Argh, but then those three would probably get to eat her meals first! What else...something to help her at work? A nice apron or...ugh, no! Momiji is always bothering her at work!" Akito griped and mumbled, looking through a little shop in the Sohma estate - according to her driver, this was usually where the maids would buy gifts for Sohma business partners when she ordered it. As she was looking through the scented candles (girls like things that smell good, right?) someone came up beside her and gasped.

"O-oh my goodness! Um, hello honorable Clan Head, c-can I, uh, h-help you find anything?" Akito looked up at (presumably) the owner of the store, a skittish Sohma she didn’t recognize, with thinning hair and smallish eyes.

"...I need a present for my--" she hesitated and cleared her throat, "--for an...acquaintance. A young woman, a few years younger than me."

The man seemed to brighten up slightly as he began leading Akito to the counter, "Oh, well, we do have the limited edition Christmas Mogeta stuffed toy pair! They're meant to be purchased together for couples, but you can buy them separate as well. Very popular with children and teen girls!" He pulled up two Mogeta plushies - one with reindeer antlers and a little blue present box, and the other with a Santa hat and a little pink present box. The man explained that the presents were detachable with velcro, so the Mogetas could “exchange” gifts. Akito was in love with them immediately.

"They're perfect," she cooed at the plushies, dropping her guard and smiling only to see the Sohma staring at her, "A-ah, I mean...I will buy the set, please."

Meanwhile, Tohru was hard at work, with a checklist of "Essential Christmas Experiences" to make sure Akito got to have.

"Looking at Christmas lights...that's at night so it'll be last, and we can do it walking back to the Sohma estate. The Christmas market opens at noon, and I saved up a bit of money just in case there's something she likes. Um, what else...ah, playing in the snow would be nice but the weather says otherwise. And of course," she held up a mess of red yarn, "a handmade scarf from a girlfriend!"

'Or at least, an attempt at a scarf…' Tohru took a deep breath, imagining a sweet, fluffy winter wonderland dream as she went back to working on her knit and purl.

Akito insisted on being the one to pick up Tohru for once, if only so Tohru didn't have to deal with the rush if preparation going on back at the estate. She waited at the bottom of the path, at the sidewalk before the entrance to the mountain. They were going to be driven to the main festivities area, but Tohru had asked that they spend most of the day walking. Akito's health was better than it had been, but still not perfect (years of sitting around moping and monologuing in a dark room will do that to you), so they were going to take it slow.

"Akito-san! Merry Christmas!" Akito looked up and saw Tohru coming down the path, wearing a large coat and thermal leggings along with boots and a scarf with fuzzy pom poms on the ends, which bounced as she walked. Akito blushed and turned her eyes down at her feet.

"M-Merry Christmas," "You, uh. Your scarf. It's nice." Tohru let out a sort of squeak or scwak noise and quickly moved the bag she was holding behind her.

"Eh?! S-Scarf--oh! Oh, right, my scarf, haha..." Akito raised an eyebrow in confusion. Tohru was no master liar, that was for sure, and this sort of reaction meant she was surely up to something...but whatever it was, it could wait until after their date.

The moment the two of them stepped out of the car, Akito gasped in awe. The first stop on Tohru's Christmas Extravaganza was something Akito had always wanted to visit - a sweets cafe.

"Normally, eating a Christmas cake would be saved until night, but if we tried to do this then we'd risk them being sold out. Hope you don't mind."

"No! No, not at all. There's less people here right now so it's less crowded, too. I've…" Akito paused and blushed a little, then returned full gaze at Tohru, making her heart skip a beat, "I don't get to have Western food often, so...do you have any recommendations? I'm not sure what to order."

After going over the menu, Tohru ordered a strawberry white mocha latte and Akito ordered a hot chocolate with whipped cream (and was enamored with the mini marshmallows), and the two of them shared half a Yule log cake and half a strawberry Christmas cake, for the best of both traditions. Akito tried to convince Tohru she could have the strawberry decoration and ended up cutting it in half so Tohru would stop insisting. Once they had both finished and were quite satisfied, they set out for the next destination.

"So what's next, Tohru?" Tohru giggled and pulled Akito by the hand, taking the lead and leaving her beau to look at her as if through shimmery 90s shoujo anime vision.

"The Christmas market! It was at its busiest yesterday so today it shouldn't be as bad. Oh, but if the crowd gets to be too bad, let me know and we can take a break on one of the benches, I packed a blanket so they won't even be cold!" Akito chuckled as Tohru gestured to her bag for emphasis, revealing a small cotton blanket with a snowflake pattern. Akito couldn’t help but laugh.

"You really went all-out, huh?"

"Of course! I want your first time celebrating Christmas a happy memory after all!" They exchanged smiles, and there were words that went unspoken, but not unheard:

‘We both have bitter memories behind us, so now that we’re together, let’s make some happier ones.’

The market was bustling, but there was so much to look at that Akito almost didn't notice. There were ornaments made of fine glass, little felt Santa dolls, a Bonsai "Christmas tree" which Akito bought to have as an annual decoration...so many stalls and craftspeople! But one stall made Tohru stop in her tracks.

"Why'd you stop so suddenly? See something?"

"Akito-san, look! A photo booth! There's even Santa hats to put on, and a stuffed reindeer…" Akito looked where Tohru was pointing and sure enough, there was a stall with somewhat gaudy signage advertising “XMAS PHOTO BOOTH”, with pictures of people posing happily in Santa hats and elf ears.

"Photo booth...is it one of the ones where you do it yourself?"

"Looks like this one is. Do you want to try it? The price is really cheap!."

"Huh--well, I mean...as long as it’s a do-it-yourself one. I don’t like formal photo sessions.” They approached the stall and watched a group of middle-schoolers scurry out of it, each with a roll of photos in hand and laughing happily.

“Yep, definitely an automatic one! Haha, they even have little red noses to look like Rudolph.” Tohru laughed at all the seasonal props as she entered the booth, Akito hesitantly following. The two of them selected the “couple” option, which revealed a selection of stickers in the shape of hearts and cupids. They started off shyly, with stiff poses (especially since Akito had only been photographed for Sohma clan reasons). But Tohru steeled herself and in an effort to encourage Akito, put on one of the Santa hats and offered another to her girlfriend.

“It might be silly, but...we could be silly together?” She smiled, with pink cheeks, and Akito’s heartstrings were less “pulled” and more “absolutely obliterated”. Soon they were taking picture after picture: Santa hats, mini-reindeer, magical girl poses...and for the final snap, Akito pulled Tohru into a hug.

After turning absolutely red from head to toe, the two of them retrieved their photo rolls (Tohru paid, since Akito bought the Christmas bonsai tree for herself earlier) and returned to perusing the market. Eventually, Akito spotted a particularly crowded area.

“What’s that over there?”

“Hm? Oh, it’s an ice rink! Do you want to--”

“Absolutely not,” Tohru balked at Akito’s sudden interjection, and Akito quickly realized her mistake, “Ah--sorry, that...came out too aggressive. I’m not very athletic, I’ve always hated sports. But if you want to go, you can.” Tohru shook her head and hands frantically in response.

“No, no, I’m actually relieved that you don’t want to! I’m...well, you already know I can be a bit…” she trailed off, making a face and gesturing the action of someone falling over. Akito couldn’t help but smirk a little.

“Clumsy.”

“Ahaha, yeah. So I’m not very good at sports either, though I try my best. Ice skating though, that’s beyond me. I can’t even manage to stand on the skates!”

“Pffft...now I’m imagining you trying to go out on the ice in slippers or something and falling all over the place!” She laughed into her hand and turned away, leaving Tohru to huff and blush indignantly.

“That’s so mean...even if you are right!” Akito finished chuckling and ruffled Tohru’s hair, watching as she tried to fix it with her static-clung mittens still on.

“Alright, I’m sorry. Where’s the next stop? It’s almost dark.” Tohru smiled and pointed to the only part of the market they had yet to investigate, which was busier than the rest had been.

“The last section of the market is all food stalls, so I thought we could have dinner here and then look at the lights on the walk back!”

Food stalls were too chaotic for Akito to handle, so she waited with the bags while Tohru ordered a variety of street food. While she sat and watched the crowd of couples, families, and friend groups, a sense of yearning overtook her.

‘So this is what I was missing all those years. Not just all the Christmas celebration, but just the act of enjoying time spent with someone else, somewhere else. I wanted this so badly, for so long, and all it took for me to find it was-’

“Akito-san!”, a shout pulled Akito out of her reverie and she looked up to see Tohru returning with several containers of food, “I’ve got some food for us to start with, so try whatever you’re interested in! There’s takoyaki, fried chicken, mochi…oh, and we can get drinks from a vending machine.”

Akito picked up a skewer of vegetables and meat (pork, she guessed) and glanced it over, “Is all street food served on sticks?”

“A lot of it is, because it’s convenient. Here, try some roasted sweet potato, it’s nice and warm!” Tohru held the sweet potato, still steaming with heat, up in front of Akito’s face. She momentarily blushed, but leaned forward to take a bite. Tohru, who had been expecting Akito to take it from her hands, half-squealed with surprise and was soon blushing for, what, the millionth time? How did Akito keep making her heart pound like this?

“Huh...that really is good!” Akito beamed, and Tohru lit up. They sat together and ate all sorts of street food, Tohru always stopping to explain what something was if Akito had never had it before.

As they were finishing the food and cleaning up, Tohru looked up and gasped, tapping Akito on the shoulder.

“What, what’s wrong?!”

“Akito-san, look! They’re turning on the Christmas lights!” Akito quickly turned and looked up, the breath leaving her as she found herself being slowly surrounded by hundreds of shimmering lights. One by one, then all at once, the place was illuminated. Some of the display was covered in delicate, soft white lights, while other parts had cheerful multicolored bulbs. Some were plain strands, some were patterns, others were wreaths or statues or words...it was as if she had been transported to another dimension.

“This...this is amazing, Tohru..!”

“It really is! It’s like fireflies suspended in the air!” Tohru stood first, taking in the atmosphere before turning back around to Akito, whose world seemed to slow as she watched the lights make Tohru’s hair gleam with reddish streaks and face glow with warmth.

“Akito-san, can we go to the main Christmas tree before heading back?” The question made Akito gulp and come back to reality. She stood and grabbed her bag, with Tohru’s present inside, then took Tohru’s hand.

“Y-Yeah, sure. Let’s go.”

The main Christmas tree of the event space was the largest, and a real genuine pine tree to boot. It was all done up with strands of multicolored lights, traditional ornaments from across the world, and a giant golden star at the top. The area around it was packed, mostly with couples, but Akito was determined to give Tohru her gift here - after all, under the tree is where you’re supposed to exchange presents, right? It took some pushing and shoving, and a great deal of Tohru reminding Akito to breathe, but eventually they made it underneath the absolute giant of a tree.

“Oh wow, it’s so beautiful! Thank you, Akito-san, I hope you’re not pushing yourself right now.”

Akito shook her head, doing breathing exercises less for the crowd and more for building up her courage, “No, I...I wanted to do this. For my own reasons.” Tohru smiled gently and moved closer to Akito, pulling her own bag in front of her.

“Well, as long as we’re here...I, um, want you to have this!” she reached into the bag and pulled out a beautiful (if a little too long) bright red scarf, “It’s a scarf I made for you. It might not be very good, but...Merry Christmas, Akito-san. Thank you for spending it with me.” She smiled and carefully wrapped the scarf around Akito’s neck for her, as she looked at it with wide eyes.

“...thank you. This is...this is perfect, Tohru. I’ll take care of it.” she smiled as she held the end of the scarf in her hands - Tohru had even put pom-poms at the end, just like her own scarf. Just then, Akito had a realization, “Ah! Right, I, um. The whole reason I wanted to make it to the tree was so I could give you this.” she opened her own bag and handed the gift box over awkwardly, “It’s not handmade or anything, but...I hope you like it. Merry Christmas.”

Tohru took the box and gasped after she looked inside, “It’s Mogeta..! No, two Mogetas! They’re adorable! Oh, Akito-san, I love them!” She squealed, hugging the box tightly. Akito’s face burst into a shade of crimson even brighter than her new scarf.

“L-Love---uh, well, I’m glad you. Like them. Yeah.” she pulled the scarf over her face to hide her intense blush, which made Tohru blush because of how cute it was. Really, together they were kind of an awkward disaster.

After exchanging gifts, they made the slow walk back to where they would be picked up by Akito’s driver. They would have walked the full way back, but it was late and Akito was starting to feel the full exhaustion from the day now that the adrenaline was gone. On the way they enjoyed the lights, talked about anything and nothing (“The scarf is a little big because I liked knitting so much that I ended up spacing out while doing it, haha!” “That’s alright, I forgot that presents were even a thing until Shigure reminded me.”)...and finally, the car arrived - Tohru didn’t feel comfortable in the full-blown Sohma clan limo.

The drive back was mostly silent, but it was a cozy sort of silence. Nothing was said because it didn’t need to be. At one point Tohru nearly fell asleep on Akito’s shoulder, and she would have let her but had insisted that Tohru be dropped off first.

As Tohru got out of the car, she turned back around to Akito.

“Thank you again so much for spending Christmas with me, Akito-san. I hope I made your first one a good memory.” Akito gave a slightly tired smile in response.

“No, thank you, Tohru. It was the most fun I’ve had in...maybe my whole life.” she reached her hand out to give Tohru’s own a squeeze before departing for the Sohma compound, “Goodnight.” But when she went to let go, Tohru’s grip held. She was looking down, with a deep red flush over her face.

“G-Goodnight...um…” she slowly looked up, locking eyes with Akito, “A-Akito..chan.” And before Akito could respond, she let go of her hand and ran up the path, disappearing into the mountain. As she was still processing what just happened, the driver laughed under his breath and began the trek back to the estate. Completely dumbfounded, Akito sat in the backseat, covered her mouth with the handmade scarf...and screamed into it like a little girl.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

-EternalRavenDreamer

#lgbtfurubanet #supersonicgrandma #tohru x akito #akito x tohru #long post #furuba spoilers

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