Beta' by sciathanfile & Jenny. :3 MUCH LOVE TO YOU, DARLINGS. DD:
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Written for the FroP's Valentine's Day Contest. :3
Although, it didn't come out the way I had originally planned. D:
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Haruhi looked over at the clumsy blond next to her, fiddling with the eggs, nearly dropping two.
"Uwah! Haruhi! Are commoner's eggs always this fickle?!"
Why he would have the idea to hold five eggs at once was beyond her.
And also, how someone could be over the legal drinking age and still be that clumsy wasn't incredibly probable to her beforehand.
Haruhi glanced back at Tamaki to give a quick supervision, much like a mother. …Good, he had set down one egg. It wouldn't be long until he held only one. ...But maybe that was only wishful thinking.
She had noticed when he walked in that he didn't look any different than he did in his senior year at Ouran High School, and she had concluded earlier that a meeting was long overdue. Despite the annoyance and aggravation he caused, he was an important person in her life, as well as the rest of the former Host club members.
Now that she thought of it, he was the only person she didn't stay in close contact with. That was odd. Out of all of them, she had always figured he'd be the one forcing his way into her every day life.
"Tamaki-senpai, eggs are eggs. Lower class ones are no different than yours. Besides, eggs lack personalities."
He stared at the eggs (now three) in his palm, and after a moment, blinked before his face screwed into one of great intelligence.
"I suppose you're right, but that does not answer the question as to why your eggs are putting up a fight compared to my content and workable eggs at the mansion. Commoners must have temperamental chickens. Do they, Haruhi?"
She paused to take in what he just said. Did he still believe…? She sighed and decided to ignore most everything. "As far as chickens are concerned, I think most are temperamental."
"But we are trying to figure out the big picture here. The eggs—why--?"
"Tamaki-senpai, will you please hurry in cracking open the personality harboring eggs?" Haruhi ordered, most displeased, and absent-mindedly picking up a cooking utensil next to her to start on her next task. The utensil just happened to be a rather pointy knife.
Tamaki felt a chill run through the length of his body from head to toe and quickly followed her instructions with hurried words of acceptance. Curious as to what made him act the way he did, Haruhi soon realized what was in her hands. She made a noise of annoyance and threw the knife in the sink.
"And remember not to get any shell in the batter, Tamaki-senpai. If anything, we'll do this right." She muttered, turning away from him to work alone.
She should have never let him in her house. She should have never picked up the phone and listened to his wacky plan. She should have never accepted his plan.
Yet, out of all the should have's and should not have's she could possibly predict, none of them explained why he was here in her kitchen being clumsy and…currently dropping her limited supply of eggs.
"Tamaki-senpai!"
'Haruhiii! They're icky!"
"That's your own fault!"
--
Haruhi repeated her previous words back in her head.
I should not have gotten out of bed today. I really should not have done anything productive today. …As if this could be considered "productive." She sighed to herself.
Indeed, this work was far from productive. She was on her kitchen floor on her hands and knees, wiping up the eggs that her klutz of a friend had dropped in his idiocy.
Why she had even let him near such messy raw foods was his idea—she had decided long ago to not be associated with this "Delicious Commoner Cupcakes for the Reunion of the Ever Drifting Apart Former Ouran High School Host Club Members" project in any way.
Although, she had to agree with his logic. All of the former members hadn't all been together in the same room for a few years now. She missed having a small bit of chaos in her life, she slowly realized over the years—the absence felt odd.
It had been over three years since they all had gotten together as a group and five years since they all graduated, moving on with their lives…Haruhi had never been one to judge time so easily, but it all seemed to go so slow. At the same time, it all moved very fast because before she knew it, the days that never seemed to quicken their pace turned into months then into years and soon, she was rather lost without her daily dose of hell to keep any other distractions at bay.
Haruhi missed them all, really, even now, and even in Tamaki-senpai's case. He was now here, a man of 23, attractive and unwed, and making cupcakes. Out of everything Tamaki-senpai could possibly be, the two things that seemed most strange were his age and martial status. Even if Haruhi was not one to be interested in such frivolous things, Tamaki-senpai was very handsome and could have any girl he'd wish to have as his own. And he should have, at least by now, six years after he graduated. Wasn't he a major businessman? It was a bit unsettling and she'd like to blame the awkward sensation she felt earlier on the time they'd been apart.
…However, his early morning call felt even more awkward than any absence. At 6:30 AM anything would seem a bit out of place, really, and in actuality, it was a miracle she remembered anything about the conversation.
Haruhi only knew she had consented to many things that morning she had no idea about, although, she did catch some words.
Haruhi incidentally learned the date and time later on (that night at around 8 PM) and of course, she'd leave it to Tamaki to plan extravagant events just hours beforehand.
Though what she managed to make out was just enough.
Members. Reunion. Valentine's. Surprise. Cupcakes.
Actually, Haruhi could not remember for the life of her why she would accept such a proposal. She thought for a moment about the previous events.
Ah…right. It was to shut him up.
Haruhi honestly had to side with Kyoya-senpai. No one should hear his voice at such an hour.
She unconsciously gritted her teeth at the memory and scrubbed harder to reduce the chance of him slipping and causing more chaos and destruction and damage and—
"I'm really sorry, Haruhi." Tamaki whimpered, sensing her distress.
"It's fine."
"I mean it. I am."
"It's fine. Really."
"But when you say it like that, I have a feeling that it's really not."
"Tamaki-senpai…"
"I'd help you, but you ordered me to sit here and if I remember correctly, the exact words were that if I were to move 'you would be sure to let your father know that I was at your apartment alone with you and he'd kill me so you could sit back and watch, eating the sweets you prepared single-handedly.' …Right?"
Haruhi stopped for two reasons—one being that she was finished, and the second being her stunned state that he could actually remember her exact words. She blinked and stood, dusting off her apron.
"I may have said that."
He whimpered again and she could hear his shoulders sink, but before he could, perhaps, cause unnecessary drama (not that he ever would do such a thing,) Haruhi swiftly moved on, calling upon him to aid her.
Two could work as team, and despite the distractions, destruction, and his own fleeting depression, two were better than one. Even if she did do her best work alone.
She had gotten through high school with the same trouble, correct? And after recalling some rather frustrating memories, he did seem to cause the most trouble amongst five other variables in the equation that was her high school career. If she could get through two years, she concluded, she could survive an evening.
Ah, yes. Yes, she could.
The new revelation took a great deal off her shoulders and her mood was lifted drastically.
"H-Haruhi," Tamaki chirped timidly, now beside her. "It scares me when you smile like that."
"Never mind that now, senpai. Grab the paper cups that will go in the pan, will you? They're in the cabinet, third door to your right. When you do, get the cupcake pan I showed you earlier and set a cup in each space. We can at least have that ready when the time comes. Besides, this was your idea after all. You have to do some work other than making a mess." Haruhi instructed, starting up on the work he left off on.
"…Yes." He replied timidly, his voice harboring a very obvious quiver.
"Good. I'll be supervising you somewhat. Tell me if you get confused." Haruhi allowed her eyes to drift to their respected corners nearest to him to silently assure him that she would be watching.
Although his eyes never met hers directly, she had a large amount of faith in his understanding. After all, if everything else about the man was kept in the same condition as his looks, his senses of unconsciously picking up feelings and emotions should still be intact.
She had to admit that it was a bit reassuring to realize that despite time, things didn't always change. He didn't, after all, and he was an ever-changing cyclone of sparkles, roses, fancy words, and woe.
Ah, high school…
She reminded herself that years had taken a toll on her and friendships had lost the same glamour and closeness they had once had before. There was only a slim chance that after tonight they all could be reconnected and become the term they used so lightly beforehand — a family.
Haruhi smiled wistfully as she felt a warm rush wash over her at the mere thought of it.
Never mind Tamaki's inquiring of what was wrong.
--
Haruhi smacked away memories for the umpteenth time that afternoon. They came in fleeting intervals and even the slightest, miniscule reminder triggered another flash. She inwardly groaned causing Tamaki to throw a hissy fit from the confinements of the kitchen table. Again.
"H-Haruhi, I apologize again for imposing on you. It's just that it was spur of the moment and besides, I cannot influence what I dream on these cold winter nights oh-so near the date of Single's Awareness Day! I know that I am most likely causing a big problem for you, as you obviously had plans with your handsome boyfriend from the college that you've been dating since freshman year. I have selfishly destroyed those plans, and I sincerely apologize for that too, but in desperate times like these, we must set aside our intended goals and make room for new ones! It'll be a big surprise tonight, I promise! I'm sure they'll enjoy it! A-And I can let you and your significant other dine at one of the Suoh theaters' tomorrow to make up for it! I—"
"Tamaki-senpai, to address one issue, I have no boyfriend from the college, or from anywhere for that matter, as I am currently single. Secondly, it's not much of a problem, really. With you out of the way, it's much easier."
His shoulder once again sank, but for a split second Haruhi felt lucky he hadn't gone further. Alas, good luck did not last forever. Other than sulking, his next actions were much worse.
He rose suddenly from his seat and was next to her in a flash, his teary eyes inches from her annoyed ones, and was fishing in his pocket from something that would obviously not resolve the drama.
"Don't tell me he dumped you, under the impression that you were cheating on him with me, or that I'm somehow a jealous, ex-lover come to wreck havoc upon your loving and healthy, budding household! Oh, Haruhi! Sweet Haruhi! I've been nothing but trouble! Please, let me clear this up! What is his cell number?! House?! Office?! Parents or Guardians?!"
Haruhi stepped back, waving her hands in front of her, and she simply couldn't differentiate between whether or not she was performing her acts in self defense or to insight him in on the fact that everything was fine.
"T-Tamaki-senpai…Senpai!" The first utterance of his name held a hint of her usual self in high school, yet the second kept a firm grasp of authority over him. If anything were to be accomplished at all today, she'd have to be the boss.
"Ah?" He stopped dead and strangely resembled a little deer caught in the headlights of a rather large motorized vehicle.
"Relax. I haven't had a boyfriend for a while now, so really, you can relax. It's not a terrible problem, and quite frankly, I miss them too. That's why I agreed to do this." She sighed over her shoulder, recently reunited with her work in the temporary commoner's bakery.
"O-Oh...I see." Tamaki muttered, a little sadly, and she could feel the desperate stare prickling at her back. "Not because you missed me?"
"I've missed all of you. Please stop giving the puppy dog eyes. Find something to busy yourself." Haruhi huffed before she bent down, opening the oven wide before setting in the cupcake pan. She rose and clapped her hands of any uncleanness that was obviously not present — probably habitual, Tamaki concluded.
"I, on the other hand, am going to lie down while these are baking. You woke me up early, after all. They should cook for about 13 minutes, Tamaki-senpai. I'll be in the sitting room if you need me." She left him with a wave of her hand and he sat there blankly.
A moment or two went by before he finally blinked and collected his thoughts.
She was angry!
He stood at once to face his "opponent" that was far too dear to him that he'd like at some moments, i.e. his current stance. He had to confront her about her feelings about the situation. He had to! It was his number one objective, his need, his desire, it was a necessity, but he already used a variation of such a— Oh, dear! Even his vast vocabulary was suffering due to her unexpressed anger! Her momentary hatred towards him and their activities was seeping into his own mindset, affecting his intelligence and memory! What a shame — let pity be bestowed upon this pathetic shell of a man, disgusting in the eyes of women, and a pig to any other being upon Earth! The valiant, handsome prince under the dirt and grime could not let this stand! Nothing was right! Correction and failure were the only possible routes and only one could be taken! And failure was not a likely option.
Tamaki stood, dead set on persuading her to forgive him for his misdeeds.
--
Tamaki's quick steps (about two) soon came to a halt as his eyes fell upon the sleeping figure that was Haruhi. She was curled up in a rather adorable position and already asleep.
He whimpered.
Why were cute things so much more irresistible while sleeping? His Haruhi's cuteness was not one of an average level, making it all the harder to keep a straight face to confront the terrible hatred inflicted upon him, even in sleep. And it didn't help that in this moment of severe unbalance, he felt as if she had put him under a trance and was somehow drawing him closer to her.
He fell to his knees softly next to her, though more dramatically than needed.
Tamaki sighed.
More years had passed than intended.
He hadn't wanted and he never wished for it to be so long of a time. It could have been far shorter if he had kept in contact more. Even Kyoya was starting to call less and less.
He and Hikaru and Kaoru would exchange occasional emails.
Hunny liked to send him sweets magazines while Mori liked postcards.
And he and Haruhi…well—
He opened his eyes and realized he had brought his hand to touch her hair.
Gaping at his own unawareness, Tamaki fell back with a soft thud. W-W-What on Earth was he doing? His mind had gone insane! He was acting irrationally! The perfect surprise party plan need not be in danger of being corrupted and aborted so soon!
Haruhi curled out and made a very faint sleeping noise.
His heart decided it would be a nice time to be startled and shoot up through the roof.
Regaining his breath, Tamaki leaned over her, meticulous in his movements, careful not to wake her.
His spastic heart also decided on its own will that such a time would be perfect for reminding him that he loved her years ago and until now by giving a rather loud thump that Haruhi would be able to hear, even in slumber.
After all, she was the reason he was still single…
…Of course, what perplexed him the most still was the question as to why things were sometimes far more irresistible in sleep than in awake.
Such as her lips. And how they were attracting his like magnets.
N-N-No! Tamaki Suoh, you are a foolish man! You do not treat sleeping maidens in such a fashion, even if her attitude is far from such an ideal! You do not treat Haruhi like you are now, it's creepy and she will surely be upset! Isn't that why you came?! To resolve such things?!
The foolish man, Tamaki Suoh, gave nothing more to his thoughts than a shake of his head and leaned down further.
She'd never know, he could keep a secret, and—
The feel of her slightly parted lips against his felt more loving than he had dreamed. Although one-sided, a kiss was were two souls met for at least a moment, and this would probably be his only chance.
He reminded himself of high school and that the moment had long since passed.
Tamaki opened his eyes slowly only to see hers staring back intensely in shock. Soon enough, their eyes mirrored each other — lips still pressed tight.
It was he, the fool, who pulled away first, a blush incredibly evident.
"I…! Uh, H—! H-Ha—! T-The c-c-cupcakes! I'll g-go check on them! Please excuse me!"
Tamaki fled quickly, slipping, tripping, and sliding his way to the kitchen and Haruhi swore she felt his pink apron whip her arm as she reached out to stop him.
She sighed while rubbing her eye and went after him, not exactly looking forward the awkwardness awaiting her in the form of a fumbling man with a hot pan.
"H-Haruhi! Where are your mittens?! This is burning my skin!"
The distraction would do for now, she'd deal with him later.
Perhaps he could stay later that evening for some Singles' Awareness Day coffee.
She rather liked the thought.
"Oi, I already showed you earlier, senpai!"
--
"Mmm, Tamaki," Kyoya muttered coolly, observing the cupcake in his hands, "You and Haruhi seem to be interacting quite well for being apart for so long. I might even say that you two look somewhat like a couple."
Tamaki's fit that followed was all he needed to confirm his suspicions.