A/N: I couldn't resist. Quartet Night (did I get their band's name right? Someone please confirm) deserves more love from Uta-Pri fans. I don't want to post this entry under the original There's Always Room for dessert series since I feel they entirely belong to Starish, so I decided to put them under a separate series unto its own. And…if you noticed, the Quartet group is more aggressive than the Starish group. I figured, since the four hunks are older than the Starish dudes, they're not so innocent when it comes to dealing with Haruka. And this time, it's Tomochika Shibuya's turn to get teased (courtesy of the Quartet Night group) -evil grins-
Spelling and grammar mistakes? Let me know. Drop a review.
Raspberry and Lavender Macaroons
"Ha-ru-ka!" Tomochika Shibuya hugged her friend from behind as soon as she received the box of sweets she handed to her. "I love you!"
Haruka laughed, accepting the hug, while she rummaged through her suitcases. "Tomo-chan, I got it right this time. Raspberry flavors suit you."
"You bet!" Tomochika Shibuya, Master course student and aspiring idol, proceeded to tear the ribbons from the handmade box and squealed in delight at the stack of pink-colored, freshly baked macaroons that her best friend made for her. She took one of them, worshipped the perfect shape and the glistening of the sweet filling before proceeding to take a delicate bite.
"Delicious!" she closed her eyes, savoring the melting flavors on her tongue.
Haruka Nanami, official composer of the Starish group for the Master course was on leave for two weeks previously and went to Paris to accompany her grandmother, who wanted to attend a horticultural festival. The old ladies persuaded her to attend some macaroon-making classes during their two week stay in the City of Lights.
A week before she was due to be back, she had called Tomochika eager to share about what she learned, and appreciating the excited sounds she made, Tomochika jumped at the chance to plead with Haruka to make some for her before she gets home.
She was so excited to see her friend that she volunteered to pick her up from the airport, while her grandmother continued her tour across Europe. There were now relaxing at the edge of the lake, a few hundred meters away from where Haruka's dormitory was. The spring afternoon was perfect for a lazy day out in the sun, so instead of heading to the dormitory first, they opted to lie on the freshly cut grass and exchange stories.
"I'm glad you liked it." Haruka took out several multi-colored smaller boxes, each labeled carefully with the names from Starish group: Masato, Ren, Syo, Natsuki, Otoya and Tokiya. There was even an aquamarine colored box for Cecil. She placed all the boxes in a paperbag that she unfolded, ready for her distribution later.
"I don't like it." She corrected affectionately, "I love it!" she finished her first sweet and took her second one out, loving the smell of raspberry. "Why aren't you eating your creations?"
"I have lavender flavored ones here that I saved just for this kind of lazy day." She smiled, pulling out a Tupperware box, where the light purple-colored sweets made a heavy jangled sound.
"Boy, if the composing thing didn't work out for you, you can chose to be a pastry chef, you know." Tomochika continued to nibble on her sweet, blissful and content.
"Well, I'm glad it's working for me. You should have seen my first few attempts. I nearly burned the whole classroom." Haruka laughed, as she remembered the episode fondly. "The chef nearly cried when he saw me the next day." She took out one of the purple sweets and stared at it, checking for imperfections. The macaroons looked exquisite between her slender fingers.
A shadow fell on top of the two, and they looked up.
A tall man with spiky pale hair, almost platinum in color and heterochromatic eyes was leaning casually against the tree where they are seated under its majestic shade.
"What's two little ladies doing under my favorite shade?" Ranmaru Kurosaki drawled, purple and silver eyes twinkling mysteriously. He ran a hand down one of the tree trunks, caressing it affectionately.
"Oh! Kurosaki-sempai!" Haruka greeted the Master course sempai of Masato Hijirikawa and Ren Jinguuji enthusiastically. "How are you?" she politely asked.
Tomochika, who had just finished demolishing her third sweet, studied the senior critically. Oh la la. Kurosaki-sempai, looks even more devastating up close.
She had seen the senior supervising her fellow idols, Masato and Ren. They were only introduced once and rarely ever crossed paths since their introduction. She was busy with her own schedule anyway, and his name never came out of Haruka whenever they exchange news. But she wasn't surprised that her friend knows him as she sure is bound to encounter him several times, since he worked closely together with Starish members.
Except.. Tomochika hesitated. That slightly mischievous twinkle in his eye rankled her.
She has more than an acute sixth sense when it comes to Haruka's admirers. Everytime she senses them moving too closely near her friend, her protective maternal instincts acted up. And today, her instincts are telling her to be wary of the handsome man towering over them like a prince.
She nodded at him in greeting and watched closely as Kurosaki-sempai turned to Haruka, smiling down at her as he answered her question.
"Everything is good now." He said, his intense two-colored eyes continue to glimmer. "How was your trip to Paris? Was it good?" he asked, noting the scattered suitcases around them.
Haruka grinned. "It sure was. I had a blast, and I wish I can go back soon." She took one of the lavender macaroons and extended her hand to him. "Would you like some? I made these. Why don't you sit down?"
At her request, the pale-colored sempai's eyes flickered towards Tomochika's, as if briefly asking her permission. Tomochika blinked in surprise as she met his gaze, her suspicion draining slowly away and her guarded stance relaxed. H-how in the world…
And then the tall senior folded his long frame gracefully, took a seat near Haruka, who happily scooted nearer to the tree to make room for him. Her friend looked oblivious to all the sly, covetous glances made by the senior.
Tomochika felt her face getting warm, as if experiencing something intimate. Oh my..
"I don't normally accept invitation to eat someone else's cooking, " he confessed, accepting the macaroon that Haruka held for him, "Especially yours."
"Huh? Why is that?" Tomochika startled herself when she blurted out suddenly. She felt her hackles start to rise in defensive mode. Gritting her teeth in annoyance, she shot him a challenging stare as if to say, Go on. Say it. If you hurt my friend, you'll have me to deal with.
Kurosaki-sempai looked away and pointedly ignored the dagger looks she was throwing at him. He focused intently on the macaroon he was holding.
"I hate girls who pretend they want to work and help another, when in reality she was only after in fulfilling a hidden agenda." He answered, slightly bitterly, closing his eyes, as he paused to inhale the sweet scent coming from the macaroon he was holding.
Tomochika's eyes narrowed irritably. "Now, look here-"
"But I am willing to make an exception." He interrupted suddenly, turning sideways to shoot a warning look at Tomochika before glancing down at Haruka who was staring at his beautiful face, mesmerized by the deep tone of his voice.
Tomochika watched as he took a small bite of the macaroon and savored the sweet. The heat rising up in her cheeks previously, intensified, and she let out a small breathless gasp. Ranmaru Kurosaki's face looked blissful to behold and too sensual for her that for a moment, she felt like loosing her breath. My goodness, if that doesn't affect Haruka, I don't know what else will!
"Are you?" Haruka suddenly said, interrupting Tomochika's line of thought.
"Hmmm.." he glanced at her idly, as if he had nothing better to do but put on a sensual act in front of them. He ran the tips of his tongue slowly down his lower lip, intent on removing the crumbs that lingered there from his small bite from the sweet.
"I mean. Are you really making an exception?" Haruka asked, breathlessly. Tomochika saw her friend's face tinged crimson, the glow of her eyes unmistakable in her admiration. Uh-oh.
Tomochika swallowed. She needed water to douse out the fire and fast. If things get more intense, she just might get a nosebleed from the sexual tension the two people in front of her was emitting. But before she can interrupt them, Kurosaki took advantage of her dazed state.
Flicking a quick wink at her before focusing his attention at her friend, Kurosaki-sempai said, "These macaroons are exquisite; even better than Reiji's. Have a bite and taste for yourself."
He placed the remaining sweet between his front teeth and leaned forward, taking Haruka's chin between his thumb and forefinger, and pulled her gently towards him, his head tilting to match the meeting of their mouths.
Their lips touched briefly.
Tomochika felt a vein popped in her neck as she assessed the situation. Heart beating so fast with unexpected pleasure and excitement, she stood up quickly, dropping her own box of macaroons with a small thud.
"I-I'm going to get some drinks." She squeaked in a high voice. "be right back in a jiffy."
She took a step back, releasing a gasp when she caught Kurosaki-sempai's scorching gaze directed at her friend, before turning and rushing back to the main lobby of Saotome Gakuen, where, a drinks vending machine was tucked away in some corner.
Tomochika skidded to a stop, leaned forward as she planted her palms on her knees, willing her heart to stop beating like a drum. How is she ever going to recover from such a mind-blowing, squeal-worthy scene that Kurosaki-sempai gave her? She hoped for the sake of her sanity, she could go to sleep peacefully tonight. What the heck, she can even die in her sleep after today.
Who knew the cold-hearted platinum prince could be emit such intense hotness?
She quickly fanned herself, loosening the scarf wrapped around her neck. Thank god she managed to bring her purse, she thought to herself, as she extracted a few coins and began slotting them inside the machine. It looks like she would be here for at least ten minutes.
oOoOoOoOo
"I wonder what's taking her so long." Haruka wondered for the third time, as she glanced up and met Kurosaki-sempai's gleaming eyes. "I'm thirsty."
"She'll be here." He shrugged; taking one of the macaroons from her hands and studied the sweet with the intensity of a scientist about to discover the secrets of the universe. Then, he twisted the macaroon and pried the two sides apart, exposing the cream filling swirled in between.
He licked the cream and smiled wickedly. "I think I'm getting addicted to this lavender cream. Would you like to taste it?" he offered casually.
"Sure." She replied, without hesitating.
Ranmaru Kurosaki took the other half of the sweet and placed it between his lips for the fourth time and leaned forward, pulling the girl's face closely towards him with his fingertips.
"Now, hold still." He breathed seductively, his free hand snaking behind the small of her back, "you need to taste the amount of lavender you put into it so the next time you made another batch of these for me, you'll note the subtle difference."
oOoOoOoOo
A/N: That got me all hot and bothered (stupid grin). I hope you guys enjoyed that. I'm considering requests for the Quartet Night group. Send me your dream fantasies (which character, scenario, or dessert type) and post it on the reviews. If I don't get any requests, I'll just proceed with whatever situation pops into my mind.
Reviews=love.