Title. Strawberry
Author. Mech
Applicable Genres. Friendship/romance, fluff
Rating. K
Warnings. This occurs shortly after chapters 51-53, and thus spoilers and confusion if you haven't read it are possible. Also, I may have overestimated both Kaoru and Honey's analytical abilities…
Parings. However much Honey/Kaoru you chose to read into it XD
Summary. In thanking Mitsukuni for his advice, Kaoru finds himself the recipient of more.
Inspiration. Val-Creative wrote Mori/Hikaru, so I had to write Honey/Kaoru to go with it. :D Thus, this is – in part – dedicated to them. I actually have been thinking of these two interesting parings since I first read chapters 51-53, but could not come up with a way to write either of them until now. Also, I was fluff-deprived.
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Kaoru watched as Mitsukuni skipped down the sidewalk, somehow managing to narrowly avoid the other pedestrians. (Maybe the skill came from his training in the martial arts.) A light breeze swept up the fallen cherry blossoms; they cascaded back down to the ground around Kaoru's feet.
"Say, Kao-chan, where are we going?"
"It's a surprise."
"Will it have cake?" Lips pursed into an excited, curious expression.
He gave that sly, Hitachiin smirk. "Maybe."
Unexpectedly, Mitsukuni's face lit up as if he had just been given a positive answer. "Yay! If Kao-chan says it, it means 'yes'!" For a moment, Kaoru had to pause on the asphalt. Was that true, or was the senior just making hopeful presumptions? He wasn't left much time to ponder on the subject, however, as the other's hand soon took his and began pulling him down the sidewalk, regardless of the destination left as a mystery. One intersection at a time, Kaoru provided the directions until giving the order to stop on the third floor of a fancy yet nondescript building. An instant later, he had to pry Mitsukuni's small frame away from the impressively detailed posters splayed across the glass windows.
"There is cake. That's so nice of you!"
Kaoru felt his heart flutter at the compliment, because – really – when was the last time he had ever received something like that? Although to any other the words might have been said purely for the sake of exclamation, Kaoru had known Mitsukuni long enough to know that there was an equal chance of them meaning more than that. And with that knowledge, feeling like the parent of a child in a candy store became all the more amusing.
"Of course. If it's for you, Honey-senpai, there has to be cake," Kaoru replied. Smiling, he led the senior inside and – with the help of a waiter – to a table. As soon as they were handed the menus, Mitsukuni's eyes shone at the expansive selection.
"Say, Kao-chan, how many can I have?" he asked innocently as he peered over the top of his menu.
Kaoru had to stop himself from automatically replying, "Whatever you want" as he might have done with Hikaru, because the results of such an offer might prove tragic considering to whom he was currently talking. As a result, he arbitrarily decided, "You can pick any five."
"Okay! Are you going to have some, too?"
He nodded. "I wanted to let you try them first, to see which one you liked best."
As he cocked his head ever so slightly to the side, Mitsukuni's eyes gained both curiosity and an unrecognizable twist in their light. "Why's that?"
"I trust your judgment, Honey-senpai," answered Kaoru, at first not thinking anything of it. But when the other's gaze remained on him for just a moment longer than usual, he was given the chance to wonder to what extent that statement was true. After all, hadn't he trusted the senior's advice when it came to the most important people in his life?
"It's nice to have people you trust, Kao-chan, but sometimes it's better to make decisions on your own, don't you think?"
Kaoru smiled, half sad and half ashamed. "I know, but…it's hard. All our lives, Hikaru and I have always made decisions together. And it's strange"—he laughed dryly—"but that never really occurred to me until you asked me what I wanted. So, thanks."
Mitsukuni smiled back at him – a little bit in pride, too – and would have even if he hadn't been given a selection of delicious cakes as a present. "People are happy when they get what they want, right?" he commented with that nonchalant air that brought whoever heard the statement to question whether or not he meant to attach a seriousness to it.
Kaoru nodded, but before he could emit a reply – even if he knew what to say – the server came by to take their orders. After happily rattling off five different titles, Mitsukuni – and the waiter – looked at the other expectantly. Taken aback by the glances but knowing what was sought from them, Kaoru bit his lip. After a moment's thought, he arbitrarily chose the one of the same five whose name included the word "maple," which boded well for the taste. The server, whose expression indicated that he was clearly and understandably not used to having a single customer order multiple slices of cake at once, took back the menus and went off to complete their requests.
Soon after, the two boys lapsed into a strangely comforting silence. As Mitsukuni was distracted by imagining the deliciousness of the dessert in advance of its appearance, Kaoru gazed at the faces of the pedestrians passing on the street below them. Every now and then Mitsukuni's feet would brush past the fabric edges of Kaoru's pants as the blonde's legs swung back and forth under the table. Even after the slices of cake arrived, the quiet continued, save for the sounds of forks cutting through frosting and Mitsukuni's hums of approval. Kaoru took his sweet – very sweet, he noted – time with his one slice, and was surprised to see the other doing so as well with his own servings instead of gulping it all down seemingly in one bite as he did on Host Club occasions.
"This time it's special," the blonde explained in response to the curious comment concerning the matter. "I get Host Club cake everyday, but this is my first time receiving cake from Kao-chan." His joyful grin abruptly morphed into a thoughtful purse of the lips. "But even if I got cake from you everyday, it would still be special, because it's from Kao-chan." The smile returned; the redhead on the receiving end of such a gesture and kind words couldn't help but smile with it.
"Thanks, Honey-senpai." As Kaoru lifted the next bite to his mouth, he felt his face flush under force of the compliment.
"Say, would you like one of the strawberries?"
The question was so abrupt, so extraneous, that Kaoru had to wait a moment for it to sink in as he blinked stupidly at the red fruit being held out to him, a streak of whipped cream decorating one of the sides.
"Sure," he said finally, taking the strawberry from Mitsukuni's hand by the small, green leaves. Kaoru placed the fruit in between his lips, letting the juices pour into his mouth. He was pleased to find it surprisingly delicious, with just the right balance of sweetness and flavor.
It was just a strawberry, but it was from Mitsukuni.