Hikaru ran his hands through his ash hair. Kaoru observed him quietly, a knowing sparkle in his eyes, though his expression remained otherwise passive.
"I'm going to tell her," Hikaru announced, then stopped, turned, and began pacing in the opposite direction. "No, wait! I can't do that...I'll ruin everything..." Stop, turn, pace. "But I should...I can't go another day without..." Stop, turn, pace. "What if she doesn't...?" Stop, turn, pace. "What if she does!"
"Hikaru, I'm getting dizzy watching you," Kaoru blinked, hiding the amusement in his eyes. Hikaru stopped pacing and turned to his twin, a helpless expression on his face, before flopping onto his bed beside Kaoru.
"This was a bad idea," he moaned.
"No, it wasn't," Kaoru said, smiling. "Haruhi said she wanted to go with you, didn't she?"
"Yeah," Hikaru muttered into the pillow. "'It'll be fun to spend the day with my friend,' she said." He clutched the pillow, burying his face deeper into it. Kaoru rolled his eyes.
"Suffocation isn't the answer, Hikaru," he said. "Now, listen. I'll keep an eye on milord for you, so you don't have to worry about him showing up. I've got it under control." Kaoru was smiling so brightly, Hikaru almost wondered if his twin knew something he didn't. "Just go and have fun alone with Haruhi. And when the time is right, confess."
"It's not that easy," he grumbled.
"Yes it is. Like ripping off a band-aid." Kaoru sighed and ran his hands through his copper hair, his patience running low. "Look. You and Haruhi are going to go have fun at a commoners' carnival. Go on rides, play games, eat fried dough - and tell her you love her." Kaoru's expression had suddenly become quite scary, and Hikaru cowered. As quickly as the anger had come, it disappeared, and Kaoru smiled cutely, tilting his head to the side. "Or else pine after her while she falls for milord instead."
He'd said it so sweetly, and yet so cruelly...
"Stop hanging out with Kyouya-senpai," Hikaru said, sitting up and looking his younger twin squarely in the eye. "It's bad for you." Kaoru giggled.
Yes, it was true. Though he'd been partly delirious when he'd done it, Hikaru had managed to ask Haruhi to go out on a date with him. Not that she'd realized it. As far as the little brunette was concerned, she and her friend were going to hang out because he was bored and wanted to see a commoners' carnival, or something. Hikaru was determined to prove that this wasn't the case – but maybe that wasn't such a good idea...
Kaoru's words had hit home, however; Hikaru knew that if he didn't make Haruhi his, Tamaki Suoh, their other friend, would eventually come to terms with his own feelings. As bad as Hikaru felt about leaving Tamaki in the lurch, he couldn't give up Haruhi.
People always said that love was so selfless, but that wasn't true at all. If Haruhi and Tamaki were in love, sure, Hikaru could step back and let her be happy, but he'd always regret not telling her how he felt. He'd always wish he could turn back time.
So, just as he'd promised, he met her at the venue at six o'clock. He'd offered to drive her, but Haruhi quickly refused, pointing out that the carnival was only a few blocks away from her house, set up in the movie theater parking lot. When Hikaru arrived, he looked around in amazement at the cotton candy stands, the games, the balloons, the rides, the giant stuffed animals, and all the excited people.
Haruhi was standing by the main gate, wearing an uncharacteristically cute outfit: a purple jumper and a white sweater, a few purple barrettes in her hair.
"Haruhi!" he called. She looked over at him and smiled.
"Hikaru," she greeted in response, turning to him as he stopped in front of her.
"I'm sorry, were you waiting long?"
"No, I just got here," she replied. "Shall we go in?"
Hikaru insisted upon paying for Haruhi's ticket, which she argued but eventually gave in to. The man taking tickets poorly hid an amused smile, and both teens glared at him. Once they were inside, however, their spirits brightened. There were rides, games, and activities to see no matter which direction they looked, and they took it all in for a moment before deciding where to go first.
They went on a few rides, including the ferris wheel and something else that spun. Every time they whipped around a corner, Haruhi leaned and ended up pressed against Hikaru. She apologized for bumping him. He didn't mind. When the ride was over, Haruhi admitted that she was dizzy, and the two sat down on a bench. Hikaru got up and soon returned with a bottle of water, concern etched upon his face. Haruhi bluntly said she felt fine and didn't need the water, but, after seeing his distraught face, took it anyway.
After the few rides they went on, Hikaru and Haruhi progressed to the strip of game booths. One involved getting a ring around a bottle top, which Hikaru said looked easy, played, failed, and became very cross with. Haruhi only shook her head. Next, they passed a game that involved throwing darts, but a huge crowd surrounded it. They also saw a baseball game, a basketball game, and a game that required the player to hit a target with a water pistol. One person was complaining to the carnie that the game was fixed, and said carnie was clearly distraught, not knowing what to do to calm the person.
Finally, they came upon a game in which the player had to throw a baseball and knock over three milk bottles stacked up. Hikaru evaluated this game, as he had each other, with childish curiosity, and Haruhi smiled a little at it; even though he was so wealthy and had traveled the world, such commonplace things excited him. It was cute.
She blinked.
He looked at her. "Haruhi? Something wrong?" he asked, genuinely concerned.
"No, not at all," she replied quickly, turning a little. "Those are cute, aren't they?" she changed the subject cleverly, gesturing to the stuffed animal prizes hanging behind the milk bottle game. Hikaru smiled.
"I'll get you one," he told her brightly.
"You can't buy them, you have to play the game," she said.
"I know that. I'll win you one," he said. Haruhi sighed and watched as Hikaru strode up to the game. Beside him, two boys were also playing; one seemed to be about eleven, the other, Hikaru and Haruhi's age.
When he'd paid for his baseballs - three for two dollars - Hikaru stopped grinning so widely and focused. He concentrated very much as he wound up and hurled the ball forward, knocking the top bottle clean off. The carnie started as shattering glass was heard.
"Ooh," Hikaru groaned, massaging his shoulder. "Too high." Haruhi stared; she hadn't known Hikaru to be so athletic. Above them hung the stuffed animals, among which were big, pink teddy bears, giant, purple otters, and great blue sharks. Haruhi looked at them, wondering which one she wanted, then immediately flushed, feeling embarrassed for counting her chickens before they hatched.
The carnie put a new bottle on top of the other two and backed away cautiously. Haruhi stifled a chuckle. Hikaru wound up again and sent another pitch screaming forward, hitting the bottles square in the center of their stacked formation and bringing them crashing down. People standing around 'ooh'-ed and clapped. The carnie carefully picked the bottles up again, and backed away, as before. Hikaru wound up and pitched a third unstoppable ball, and the bottle tower fell apart.
"Two wins," the carnie managed, staring at the broken bottles on the ground. "That means a jumbo prize." He pointed to the bear, otter, and shark. "What'll it be?"
Hikaru turned to Haruhi with a grin, and she smiled back; he was so proud of himself, so excited to have won a prize - for her. She looked up at the three animals. "Ummm..."
"I'm sorry, better luck next time," another carnie was saying. Hikaru blinked and looked up. The two boys were standing behind Haruhi, as they had been before, the older one looking frustrated, the younger passive. He blinked.
"That was my last two dollars..." the older one began apologetically. The younger one smiled.
"It's okay. You tried really hard!"
"Yeah, but you wanted that shark, right?" the older brother asked, jamming his hands into his pockets. "I couldn't win it..."
"Big brother," the younger brother said, sternly. "...I know you were saving your money. You worked all summer, mowing the neighbors' lawns and doing a mail route. And you saved up your money and put some in the bank, like Mom and Dad want. But you were saving some for yourself. And you spent it all on me tonight." The little brother softened. "On my ticket for the carnival, on fried dough, on games and rides...so that I could have fun." With a smile, he finished, "That's more important to me than a stuffed animal."
Hikaru felt a stinging behind his eyes and blinked quickly. The scene before him was too close to home, too familiar. Turning back to the carnie, he said, "The shark." Haruhi blinked. So did the carnie. He pulled down the shark and handed it to Hikaru, but the teen refused. "Give it to them," he gestured to the brothers, about to leave. The carnie again stared, but did as Hikaru requested and followed the boys out, giving them the stuffed animal. They were too far away for Hikaru to hear what was being said, but the older brother looked stunned, while the younger brother beamed up at his brother with typical younger brother adoration.
Haruhi watched silently as the older brother handed his younger brother the shark, then threw an arm around his shoulders and led him out of the carnival. Then she turned back to Hikaru, whose eyes were so warm and gentle, she might have mistaken him for his twin.
Kaoru.
Of course. Haruhi smiled warmly; Hikaru had the "older brother" radiance all about him. From big brother to big brother, he had sent that stuffed animal over there. That older brother who felt as if he'd failed his younger brother could have been Hikaru. That younger brother who said it was okay could have been Kaoru.
Something about Hikaru at that moment was different from any other time Haruhi had seen him, and she felt something stirring inside of her. Something different. Something changing. He turned to her, and his face contorted in horror.
"Oh, Haruhi, I'm so sorry!" he cried. "I should have- I didn't even- I'll win something else for you!"
"It's okay," Haruhi answered simply, walking past Hikaru towards another stand, taking his hand with her own as she did so. He followed her, dumbfounded, watching as she turned her head back to smile at him.
Something changed.
Though he took heart in the fact that Haruhi's small hand was enclosed in his own, Hikaru couldn't help feeling nervous; why were they holding hands? Was this a good sign for him? Should he confess at this moment? Or was she holding his hand because they were friends, and this was what friends did? Hikaru didn't know, and it was driving him crazy.
Haruhi ended up dragging him back to another baseball game. "You're really good at pitching," she argued when he raised an eyebrow at her. "You have to play this!" Hikaru couldn't argue with her, of course; it was Haruhi, and she was asking him to do something he was good at that impressed her. He especially couldn't say no when she shrewdly noted that this game offered a cute prize, a big stuffed lamb with a strawberry on its stomach. Haruhi couldn't help a triumphant smile when Hikaru, pretending to be offhand, agreed to play and win the stuffed animal for her.
The carnie in charge of this game smiled knowingly as Hikaru paid for his baseballs, then nodded his head behind him at the stand, which went far back; on the opposite wall was a red box over a backdrop of a poorly drawn catcher and umpire. "The object of the game is to throw two pitches - strikes, rather, since they have to be in that red box - then guess the speed of the third," the carnie explained. "Up here," - he gestured above head to a black box - "your speeds for the first two balls will come up. From that, you can guess."
Hikaru listened patiently, his eyes taking on that focused look again. Haruhi evaluated him carefully; she could see excitement behind his focus and his fingers twitching as they tightened around the baseball. Unable to stop herself, Haruhi smiled warmly; he was like a little kid, ready to play the game, but not wanting anyone to know. Or maybe, he was like a boyfriend, trying to impress his girlfriend, eager to show what he was made of through a children's carnival game.
Haruhi almost laughed until it occurred to her that that was a very strange thought for her to have about Hikaru.
When the carnie gave him the signal, Hikaru's eyes turned to steel, and he prepped himself a bit before launching the baseball directly at the red square. The number "62" flashed in the black box overhead. People in line started murmuring, and a few guys standing nearby gawked, staring at Hikaru. In a way, Haruhi couldn't blame them; when she'd first seen him pitch, she'd been stunned as well, but these guys didn't even know Hikaru. They didn't know that he was determined, or that he loved to play games and be outside; they just saw some tall, skinny kid who had a hell of an arm.
Hikaru nailed his second pitch as well. "62" again flashed overhead, and the murmuring increased. Haruhi looked behind her and noted that many of the kids in line were smaller boys, now looking at Hikaru with a sort of hero adoration in their eyes. Haruhi smiled; these little boys probably only threw so many miles an hour.
A few other teenage guys were looking uncomfortable in the back of the line. Haruhi could see them standing in a group of friends or with girlfriends - who, Haruhi found herself annoyed to notice, were watching Hikaru with a great deal of interest. She shook herself. More importantly, the guys were clearly getting antsy because Hikaru's skills were showing up their own, and their other guy friends or girlfriends were taking notice for sure.
Haruhi stepped a little closer to Hikaru and smiled up at him. "What do you think?" she asked. He grinned at her.
"I'm thinking sixty-two is my lucky number," he said.
"Go for it," she said. "You've definitely got this."
Hikaru's eyes had narrowed again, and Haruhi leaned over the rail a bit to watch him. He wound up his arm as always, stepped forward just a little bit, and sent the poor baseball screaming into the red box. "62" again lit up the black box, and Hikaru whooped, throwing his arms in the air. Haruhi also squealed and threw up her arms, surprised that she could get so excited over a carnival game; Hikaru had played so intently, she'd forgotten her surroundings.
"Haruhi, I won!" Hikaru stated the obvious, but before Haruhi could congratulate him, she felt her feet leaving the ground. Hikaru picked her up, his arms wrapped around her waist tightly, and spun her around. She laughed, only because by now she was so used to someone at the host club picking her up and swinging her around, and put her hands on his shoulders to steady herself.
"Which prize, sir?" the carnie chuckled.
"That one, right?" Hikaru asked, nodding towards the lamb. Haruhi confirmed it with a quick nod of her head, and the carnie lifted it down for her. Haruhi held out one arm to take the stuffed animal, the other still holding onto Hikaru, and he grinned at her.
The next player stepped up self-consciously, clearly knowing he wasn't about to throw consecutive "62"s like the player before him, and Hikaru carried Haruhi out of the line and back over towards the entrance. "I promised your father I'd have you home by ten," Hikaru noted, chuckling. "According to your watch, it's..." He tilted his head to the side and looked at her wrist. "Nine forty-five. We're just going to make it."
"Dad won't be home anyway," Haruhi muttered. "Why did he set a curfew...?" Hikaru might have been hearing what he wanted to hear, but he could've sworn there was disappointment in Haruhi's quiet voice just then.
"Did you have fun?" he asked hopefully. She smiled at him.
"Yes, lots of fun," she replied. "Thank you for the prize..."
"I told you I'd win you one," Hikaru shrugged, though she could tell by the sparkle in his eyes that he was pleased. "Was there anything else you wanted to do?" Haruhi was quiet for a moment.
"Hmm...we went on rides...we had fried dough...we played games...you won a prize for two kids we didn't even know, which was incredibly sweet, by the way..." Hikaru flushed at the praise. "You were awesome at the other game and won a prize for me...then carried me off through a crowd of ten-year-old boys who now idolize you and your "62" pitches..." Hikaru laughed, not quite knowing what humble thing to say. She grinned at him. "Nope, I don't think anything's missing," Haruhi concluded.
Hikaru stopped just before they reached the gate, and she looked down at him, perplexed. "Nothing?" he asked, and Haruhi thought he had a funny look on his face.
"Nope, nothing," she confirmed. "Why? Was there something else you wanted to do, Hikaru?" He looked at her for a long moment, and Haruhi felt something knotting inside her. Why was he looking at her like that...?
"Kind of, yeah," he answered awkwardly, shifting his arms a little bit to hold her more comfortably. Haruhi saw the blush creeping up his neck and frowned.
"So let's do it," she decided. "What do you want to do? We still have time for another game, or ride, or some-"
Hikaru's arms had lowered just enough to make Haruhi drop to his eye level and have to grip his shoulders more tightly to hold herself up, and he quickly leaned forward and caught her lips with his own. Haruhi froze. It felt…nice.
Awkwardly, he pulled back, and Haruhi could see that he was blushing worse than ever. "I..." he started. "I...love you..."
It was awkward, unsure, timid, completely un-Hikaru-like – and the absolute perfect ending to their first date.