Takashi Morinozuka doesn't talk. It is a fact, and a well-known one at that.
Sure, he can, and he does, sometimes. But in public, with other people around to observe and swoon and be thrilled?
No.
He's not shy. Not by any small degree. He just doesn't see the necessity of filling silences with idle chatter, with meaningless babble.
You can learn a lot about a person by watching them in silence.
It's how he discovered that Haruhi is fidgety. When he's not keeping a watchful eye on his cousin, he's observing Haruhi.
It doesn't matter what she's doing, or whether or not she's completely comfortable. She's a fidgeter.
She taps her pen. Her foot jiggles when she's reading. Her fingers draw patterns on the tables during meetings.
Haruhi Fujioka fidgets, and Takashi finds it delightfully fascinating.
Takashi Morinozuka is protective, a natural born protector. A blind man could see the careful devotion and attentive awareness he hold for his older — but smaller — cousin.
But not all can see the gallant measures he takes to make sure that Haruhi stays safe.
He watches her carefully after her incident with Ayanokoji. He comes when she calls to him in her sweet voice, calling for him to save her. He takes the heavy trays from her at the end of the day, and quietly shoos her away when she protests.
Mitskuni helps, jumping over to Haruhi and taking her hand, leading her back to the couch to distract her.
After all, while small and childish, Mitskuni is the smartest person Takashi knows.
And Mitskuni knows exactly what is going on.
Mitskuni Haninozuka is a very observant and loving cousin, and returns Takashi's loyalty with an almost unparalleled ferocity.
Takashi Morinozuka has never fallen in love before.
Sure, he's had crushes — who hasn't? — but has never truly loved somebody. Many assume his loyalty to Mitskuni hampers his own ability to feel any other emotions.
He's never realized how wrong they are.
The fact is, Takashi Morinozuka has always been so devoted to taking care of Mitskuni and his own brother, Satoshi, that he hasn't stopped to think of himself.
So when he comes to the startling realization that he is, in fact, in love with Haruhi Fujioka, he cannot process it for several seconds.
But then it clicks and he can see everything with a new clarity.
Why Tamaki irritates him when he treats Haruhi like a maid; why his chest aches when he sees the twins hugging her carefully in their own show of love; why he watches her carefully.
Why his heart pounds so fast when she smiles at him; why he feels like his stomach is filled with butterflies and the butterflies are trying desperately to escape; why Takashi wants to hold her in his arms, in a warm, safe cocoon, and never let her go; to claim Haruhi as his, only his, and forever his.
Of course, now that he knows the felling, he sees it with the others.
Kasanoda's eyes widen in disbelief when she smiles at him, like he can't believe that she's choosing him to bestow a smile upon.
Kaoru and Hikaru keep her wedged between their bodies, where they can protect her from the other boys and make sure that they — and only they — can touch her the way they do.
Kyouya's knuckles whiten when he calculates Haruhi's debt - and relax when he finds another way to add more.
Tamaki blushes when Haruhi talks to him, and casts his eyes downward in innocent embarrassment.
The way Haruhi gets nervous when she speaks to Tamaki, twisting her fingers and brushing her hair behind her ears in that fidgety way of hers.
It makes his heart twist to realize that every single one of them loves her. There are different kinds of love, like the familial love Mitskuni holds for Haruhi, or the crush that Kasanoda has on her.
But he knows that he will never love another woman the way he loves Haruhi now.
And he also knows that Haruhi doesn't like loose ends. She likes simple solutions, with only one answer and one outcome. Only one right answer.
That's the way she is.
Takashi Morinozuka doesn't talk. He can, and will, but usually doesn't.
This is a rare instance when he doesn't say anything, because he can't formulate words through the lump of loyalty stuck in his throat. His loyalty to his friends, his loyalty to Mitskuni, his loyalty to Haruhi.
He does not want her pulled in yet another direction, so he stays silent.
Because she deserves something he cannot give her, something that his loyalty to his friends prevents him from giving her.
The ability to voice his feelings.
So he watches her quietly, protecting her as he would a sister because that's the love he wants to have for her now. He doesn't want to love her the way he does, but there's no possible way to squash it down.
It's easier for everyone if his feelings go unnoticed.
And, in all honesty, she deserves better, so much better, than a silent man, no matter how much he loves her.
Merry Christmas, MissHikaHaru!
Hugs and Kisses!