A/N: I swear I'm not starting a new serial, two is enough. This was originally written as part of a backstory for another fanfiction, but I liked it and decided to pad it out, clean it up, and post-it as a two-shot in honor of Tamaki's birthday(s). Posting the first part today in honor of his upcoming 'alternate' birthday of April Fool's day. Will post the second and last installment by April 8th. Please R&R and let me know what you think.
It's only implied in the text, but this takes place about 10 years after the end of the Manga. They're now 28.
Quick edit because I forgot the bloody disclaimer: I do not own anything except the contents of my head and maybe the bowl of popcorn.
Tamaki flopped down on the sofa, giant bowl of freshly made popcorn in his hand. "Har-u-hi," he lilted in a sing-song voice, "put down the papers, its family movie night. Look – I made commoner popcorn all by myself!" He shoved the bowl under her nose and wiggled it back and forth.
Haruhi's nose wrinkled at the assault of burnt corn kernels and she rolled her eyes. "Yes, I can tell." She pushed the bowl away, put the file she was reading down in her lap and looked up at him over the glasses perched on her nose. "Tamaki, I'm sorry but I have to finish going through everything the prosecutor provided and figure out what he's withholding before tomorrow."
"But you've had to work the last two times we both had a night off too," he pouted, laying his head on her shoulder, "You said we could cuddle." His fingers stroked up and down her bare arm.
"I know I did," she replied, shrugging him off, "but that pompous ass sent over everything right at 4:30 today." She picked the file up and resumed reading through it carefully, line by line, and muttering, "He's hiding something that will exonerate my client. I just know it."
How could he resist her when she was busy saving the world? She was just too damn adorable. Her 'time-to-focus' pony-tail bobbed slightly in time with the nods or head shakes she gave as she read through the documents and with every furrow of her brow and angry mutter the glasses perched on her nose slid down just a little more. Whenever she wore them, it reminded him of the day they'd met.
Twelve years together come April. Such a long time, and so many changes. For both of them. Nobody would mistake her for a boy now; her baby doll t-shirt and striped cotton pajama shorts hugged the curves which had filled in as she matured, but some things could never change.
~oOoOo~
The eyes pulled him in from the minute they peered around the door. Clear, direct, containing a hint of trepidation but none of the calculation he was so used to seeing in the eyes of everyone he'd met since coming to this new not-quite-home. These eyes weren't trying to use him or gain advantage over him. They pierced directly to his soul.
Someone in this school with eyes like that? They were someone worth getting to know.
The rest of the boy? Mon Dieu! Baggy non-uniform clothes, choppy hair, glasses with frames so big and heavy they kept sliding down his nose – everything about him screamed 'pick on me.' The kid desperately needed polish or the sharks that attended here would eat him alive. Oh! What a wonderful idea! Fujioka would be the Host Club's next project! Who better to mentor him, mold him into a gentleman and teach him how to charm the women who were the real gatekeepers to high society?
The boy made a desperate break for the door, but Tamaki grabbed him before he could escape. Whirling him around, overwhelming him with a cavalcade of words and introductions, he stalled for time. Kyoya always knew what Tamaki wanted, the Shadow King would figure out a way to keep their new pet from leaving. The rest of the club played along with this new game, but then the young man solved the problem himself with a stumble.
The Host Club's king forced himself to look serious as the vase crashed to the floor – Fujioka didn't realize it yet, but one day he'd look back on this instant as the luckiest moment of his life.
~oOoOo~
"Alright, we can do it another night. I know how much this case means to you," he said with a resigned shrug.
"I want to, Tamaki, really but – it's just that I don't often get clients who are truly innocent. The man got drunk and accidently wandered into a neighbor's apartment; it should have been an open-and-shut case of drunk and disorderly with probation. The only reason he's being tried for breaking and entering is because he's Filipino and the lead prosecutor's uncle has made anti-immigration into his political platform." She went back to making notes in the file, muttering under her breath. "Damn rich bastards, they shouldn't be able to play around with people's lives like that!"
"They won't with you to stop them." Tamaki pushed the case file down and gave her a quick kiss. "I'll go find something else to do, my fierce little defender of justice."
Her hand snaked out to grab his t-shirt as he stood to leave. "You don't have to go; I can concentrate while you watch something you like."
"Are you sure? I don't want to be the reason you don't do your best."
"I'm sure, just sit down already," she said and returned to her files.
~oOoOo~
"Har-u-hi, I'm home!" he shouted tripping through the door of their new apartment. "I brought dinner and then maybe we can watch that new police procedural you recorded." He held up two bags of food from the Thai restaurant he'd just discovered.
"Welcome back," she replied by rote from her nest on the sofa surrounded by a mound of paperwork. "Um, I already ate Tamaki and I have too much work for TV tonight."
"But I got your favorite," he sang, skipping over to wriggle the box of crispy garlic prawns under her nose.
Her eyes closed as she inhaled the scent, her will starting to weaken. She shook her head and firmly pushed the box away. "I'm sorry, Tamaki, but I told you when I agreed to move in with you that we couldn't treat every night like date night."
He retreated to the kitchen in silence, fixing two plates and setting them on the table before venturing back into the lioness's den. He gingerly moved heavy law books from the seat next to her and pulled the papers out of her hand. Sitting down, he angled his body so he could reach his left arm across her body and tilt her chin up towards him with his right hand. Her gorgeous eyes registered confusion with a touch of annoyance. He couldn't resist a quick peck on her delectable lips.
"It's not a date night. If you have too much work for TV that's okay, I'll pull out some files I need to review and we can both get some work done." She looked at him skeptically and he smiled at her consternation. "This is exactly what I wanted, Haruhi, just to be by your side on an average day."
He could see the will to fight go out of her and her shoulders relax. "I suppose, if you have work to do too…." She trailed off right when her stomach gave a giant growl.
"C'mon princess," he laughed, "a few bites of onigiri aren't a good dinner. You need fuel if you're going to impress the hell out of your mentor tomorrow."
Afterwards, he cleaned up the dishes and put away the food while she resumed her studies, this time leaving the seat next to her open. When he settled down and began reading through his staff's plans for a spectacular children's day party Haruhi turned around, leaning her back up against his arm, and muttered about precedents she needed to research. Smiling, he dropped a kiss on the top of her head; even a night working at home was perfect when she was there beside him.
~oOoOo~
He kicked back, put his feet up on the coffee table, picked up the remote and scrolled through the list of downloads until he found one he hadn't seen in awhile and pressed play. True to her word, Haruhi focused fully on the file in front of her without any hint of interest in the film.
He tossed a piece of popcorn into his mouth and nearly chocked. Ack! It tasted like smoke flavored cardboard! Gagging, he put the bowl on the end table to the left of him. "I keep telling you that you can't go by the time on the bag, you need to listen for the popping to slow down," Haruhi said wryly without looking up from her work.
"Gah!" he uttered, wiping his tongue with a handkerchief, "I can't believe commoners have to suffer so! How can anyone think this foul, tasteless dreck is anything like the delightfully fluffy, buttery ambrosia that is real popcorn…"
"Tamaki," she interjected with a chuckle, "Shut up or go away."
"'Oui, ma belle femme," he replied, savoring the way the words felt on his tongue.
~oOoOo~
"Sit down, Tamaki, I want to tell you something."
He cautiously took a seat across the dining table from her, mentally reviewing for anything he'd done in the last month that might have upset her. Well, that she knew about. She looked so serious, not her usual angry Tanuki face, and it made his heart beat faster with fear. This was something big.
His eyes focused on the way she twisted her engagement ring round and round, occasionally sliding it slowly up her finger until it almost came off. Panic began settling in. 'This is it, she's finally had enough. She's finally decided that she can't take everything that comes with being married to a Suoh.'
He'd been expecting it for years; every time she found one more reason to wait he'd known it to be a step towards the inevitable. His breath grew shallow and he made plans. He would throw himself at her feet and hold on until she stayed. He would kidnap her away to a deserted island until she changed her mind. He would…
He would let her have her freedom and curl up in a ball on the floor until the pain went away.
"I… I'm tired of waiting too. I think it's time," she said softly.
Lost in nightmares of their impending break-up, he stared blankly at the center of the table.
"Um… Tamaki? Did you hear me? I said I'm ready. If you still want we can get marr…"
He'd launched himself from his chair the minute the words sank in and wrapped his arms around her waist, head in her lap. "Really? Oh, thank God! I thought you were going to break up with me!"
Haruhi tangled her hands in his hair and laughed, "You get the silliest ideas, sometimes. Why would I want to break up with you? Idiot. I love you."
"I love you more." He rose up, dragging her up with him, and pulled her into his arms for a kiss. Without breaking it, his hands drifted down and he lifted her up to wrap her legs around his waist.
"When?" he asked in between kisses as he moved towards their bedroom.
"As soon as you want. Just no bridal shower and don't make me plan anything."
"I will take care of everything mon coeur. I love you."
"I love you more."
"I love you so much I'll let you believe that."
%%%
She was still sleeping when he woke, curled up against his chest as he cuddled her in his arms. Carefully, he disentangled himself and checked the clock; it was only 1:43am, still early enough. He pulled on track pants and a t-shirt for warmth and moved to the living room to avoid waking her then hit the second flagged contact on his phone.
"What?"
"Mommy, she finally agreed!"
"Can I assume you mean our daughter agreed to set a date?" Kyoya's voice warmed up minutely, "Congratulations. Now, I have a business meeting with New York in fifteen minutes, so if that's all…"
"Kyoya, you have to help me! How fast can we plan a wedding?"
"Tamaki, I don't have time for this. I'm in – oh God, where am I this week? Sapporo, that's it. No offense but your hotels all look the same after awhile."
"Ooooh – custom décor to match location. That's a great idea!" Tamaki replied, easily distracted by a shiny new idea. He gave himself a mental shake and refocused on the topic at hand. "Please, I need to make sure it happens before she changes her mind."
"This is Haruhi, she doesn't change her mind once it's made up."
"Please? I've waited so long, I can't handle any more delays," his voice was so soft it could barely be heard.
"Do you have any idea how much work this will be? You're President of Suoh Enterprises, you can't invite anything less than three hundred people." Kyoya sighed, "Fine, I'll do it. But it will have to be basic – no hair brained ideas."
"Yay! Thank you mon frère. I promise nothing to elaborate. We should do everything in red and white! No, black and white! Wait – what do you think of purple and gold? And then we'll have rose covered archways, and we could make the entire room look like the middle of an enchanted forest, and cannons will shoot out millions of rose petals over the guests when we share our first kiss, and…"
"That's enough, dumbass. Roses, yes. Forest, maybe. Cannon, absolutely not. Colors will be white and cream with a touch of peach and I need your entire event planning staff at my disposal to make arrangements in time."
"Anything you want. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Go have your meeting; I'll email with some more ideas in the morning."
"Tamak…" Kyoya's outraged reply was cutoff when Tamaki hung up the phone.
Two weeks later they were married in front of four hundred witnesses and one very tired best man. Cannons shot thousands of blue and silver rose petals over the guests when the couple shared their first kiss.
~oOoOo~
Stubbornness. That was another thing that hadn't changed. Always so determined to accomplish things on her own. He'd give her anything she asked for, but she only accepted what he considered the bare minimum – his name, his love, his complete and utter devotion.
She could have her own law firm if she wanted, or live in the lap of luxury and never lift a finger, yet here she was working herself to the bone all to prevent a man from going to jail unjustly.
He smiled, there were some gifts he could give that she wouldn't refuse. He grabbed one of the throw pillows and dropped it on his lap. He reached over and pulled on her leg. "C'mere, my princess," he said, urging her to turn around and drop her feet on the pillow.
"Tamaki, what are you doing," she asked warily.
"Just helping ease some of your tension," he said while pulling off the fuzzy socks she bought in bulk from some cheap department store, "If it distracts you I'll stop." She shrugged and settled against the sofa arm. The action on the screen was picking up so he let himself become involved in the drama while giving the love of his life a much-too-platonic foot-rub.
She never believed him when he said he fell in love at first sight. How could he have, when he'd been the last to realize she was a girl? Even then he knew it hadn't mattered. Boy or girl, his destiny was sealed the minute he fell into those big, brown eyes.