It's never something that Yuki had expected to be able to do. Embracing someone else, a woman who didn't share in this curse with him, was something he'd had to grow to view as outside of the realm of possibility. It could never be achieved, so what reason was there in hoping for it? Even if he could have dreamed about it, it would forever remain relegated to a fantasy. With his position in the Sohma family, it felt to him that sort of proximity with anyone was going to be beyond him. High as he was on the pedestal of the rat's tale, there was nothing to be done but accept the distance and attempt to convince himself it didn't matter. That he didn't yearn for it at all, and in fact, he was perfectly fine with an untouchable status.
He could tell her directly that he had always wished that it was something he was able to do. Sure, she could hold him after he shrunk into his rat form, but that wasn't the same. He had craved the ability to reciprocate the attention. And now he can. Now he can finally feel her arms around him, and wrap his own around her in return. The feeling is so warm… So tender. He can't claim to have embraced many other girls for the same reason, but in his heart, he knows it's only her that would feel this way. There's a special sort of warmth, both from where he could feel her pressed against him, and even deeper in his chest.
Maybe he should've pulled away to examine her expression, but in the moment, he isn't quite ready to separate from her yet. So he used their proximity to question her. To lightly crane down to her ear to ask what her intention was with this. It was bold of him, he knew, but it was hard not to be in a positive mood while she was in his arms. It wasn't his intention to prod much, and it was important to address what she may have needed… But there was certainly a little something else behind his choice of gesture, too.
She pulls back from him to meet his gaze, her tawny eyes standing out against the flush of her cheeks. They look like her mother's, even as they dart around without the sort of steadiness hers had. Her explanation is just what he'd come to expect from her. She isn't the sort to just admit that she's been caught staring. There's always some consideration behind it, her heart so full of kindness that each beat has to drive some thought for others. He tilts his head lightly at her observations. She's stated it before, this faraway look he had back then. He was as aware of it as anyone at the time, not in how it manifested, but in how it felt to carry around.
His heart skips with a brief flash of panic as tears well in her eyes. Each time he's seen her cry, it's struck him with the same feeling. But this time, it's tears of joy. Tears to celebrate that all of the efforts she's put in have paid off. That she's managed to save them from the curse that has plagued them so long now. “Hah, Honda-san…” He lets out a short sigh of a laugh, a means of letting out the sudden tension of her reaction. If she's only pulled back out of consideration for him, there's no reason for her to distance herself so quickly. He pulls her back in close, giving her a light squeeze against his chest. “Tohru…” Her first name is mumbled softly into the top of her head. “You can hug me anytime. It's the least I owe you for everything.” It's hardly a reward for all of the work that she'd put in to accomplish this, but if she wants to, he's be happy to oblige.
Bold as he's feeling, he contents himself with placing a soft kiss on the top of her head before settling his cheek in its place. He'll stay as long as she likes here. Though if it were up to him, it may as well be forever.
