The Common Touch

by warmsugar

A rough jab to his left side woke him from the depths of a peaceful slumber. Hikaru reluctantly opened an eye and trained his bleary gaze on the unwanted and annoying presence.

Increasingly gaining focus, he realized that the small dark shape that had roused him from sleep was none other than one Fujioka Haruhi.

"Ohayo gozaimasu Hikaru!" she chirped cheerily, "It's time to get up."

Despite his state of semi-consciousness, he was aware enough to take note that it was barely even daylight. Hikaru shot a quick glance at his bedside table. The digital clock read 5:00am. His brows drew together in a dark scowl.

"What in kami's name are you doing here, Haruhi?" he rumbled groggily, his voice still hoarse from the rude awakening. "The sun hasn't even risen."

He was definitely going to kill whoever it was that allowed her inside his room. In fact, the idea of torturing said person was becoming more and more appealing to him as each second passed. "Who let you in here anyway?" he grouched.

Unperturbed by his gruff voice, Haruhi gave him a bright smile and said, "Have you forgotten? We're supposed to go to Karuizawa today!" she reminded him cheerfully. "And as for your question, it was Kaoru."

I should have known, he thought irritably. "Go away Haruhi," he muttered, turning his back on the bright-eyed girl.

Unbidden, Haruhi sat at the edge of his bed and started giving him quick pokes. "Come on Hikaru, you have to wake up! We'll miss our train if you don't start moving soon."

Hikaru sat up and glared daggers at her. "What are you babbling about?" he snapped irately, "Besides, who gets up at 5:00am anyway? Go back to sleep Haruhi and wake me up at 10:00am if you must!" With that said, he dove back under the covers and raised them over his head, effectively ending their conversation.

He had hardly closed his eyes when he felt a soft body wiggling next to him. He sighed heavily, couldn't she take a hint? Obviously not, what was he thinking? This was Haruhi after all. Hikaru slowly raised heavy lids and found himself looking into unblinking chocolate orbs.

"What is it now, Haruhi?" he asked in resignation.

"Hikaru," she pleaded softly, "Please get dressed. I've already mapped out our itinerary and my plans will be ruined if you don't get a move on."

Plans? What was she talking about he wondered in consternation. He knew they were visiting Misuzu-san today but other than that… No, wait. He dimly recalled her mentioning something about a train…

He stared at her interestedly, "Hmmnnn… now what plans might those be?" he inquired silkily.

Delighted to see that he had finally started listening to her, Haruhi failed to catch the sly edge to Hikaru's words.

"Well, the train leaves at 6:00am, Hikaru," she explained patiently. "And between stops and transfers, it'll take us about four to five hours to get to Karuizawa. I promised Misuzu-san that we'd be there for lunch." She said with a slight grin.

"And the next train bound for Karuizawa is scheduled to leave at 9:00am, so really, we can't miss our ride."

If he weren't so irritated, he'd have started rolling around the bed in raucous laughter. Hikaru smiled at her evilly, "That's a great plan Haruhi," he murmured solicitously. "Except for a slight hiccup, probably a minor miscalculation on you part." He assured her smoothly.

"Eh, nani?" Haruhi asked in confusion.

Hikaru shifted a bit, his face a mere inch away from her ears. Leaning closer, he could feel the delectable softness of her earlobe brushing against his lips.

"I'm a Hitachiin Haruhi," he whispered, "and Hitachiin's don't ride trains!" he ended with a flourish, smirking at her startled expression.

"We have private planes you know," he chided reprovingly. "Or we can even use tono's chopper if none of the jets are available."

Hikaru yawned expansively, "It'll take less than an hour to get to Karuizawa by air, so quit your nagging. We'll get there on time."

Hikaru shoved the blanket down to his middle, and buried his face in the softness of the goose-down pillow. "Now, if you don't mind," he declared dismissively, "I'd like to catch a little more snooze-time."

He could feel Haruhi moving restlessly beside him, all the while mumbling her usual string of curses, directed at their golden heads of course. He smiled drowsily.

It was the last thing he heard before he drifted back to sleep.

A/N:

Ohayo gozaimasu - Hello (good morning)

Tono - Lord/ Milord

Nani - What?