Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club; the rights go to Bisco Hatori-sama. I do, however, own the plot of this story. This work is purely fictional and does not happen in the real plot of OHSHC, except maybe for a few flashback scenes.
Chapter 2 – Of Shampoos and Teacups
…The Next Day…
The time showed 4.05am. When dawn broke and the early chirping of birds could be heard, Haruhi blinked opened her eyes slowly. "My muscle joints feel so tensed," she muttered to herself. Just then, she realized the pink patterned ceiling was above her and the huge-assed chandeliers and the pink walls and the large rectangular French windows. Her brown eyes grew wider as she realized where she was. "Eh…?"
She jerked up suddenly and heard a rather loud thump a couple of seconds later. "What the-…" She froze solid rock, when she heard a low, but still loud, groan on the floor. She peeked down to the floor to find… "M-Mori-senpai?!"
Mori muffled another groan. He was lying face-flat on the floor due to the sudden impact he received. He heaved himself up from the floor, using his two palms as support. He stretched fully, releasing the tension in his muscle joints and twisted his body as he did so. He froze suddenly, still in his twisted posture, and stared down at the frozen girl on the sofa.
During Mori's short stretching session, it dawned on Haruhi on what had happened. All the memories from last night flashed right in front of her. That's right, she thought, I stayed the night here with Mori-senpai. He was sleeping peacefully and I didn't want to wake him up. So I stayed… here. With him. Sleeping on my lap. Eh…? Something snapped again in her head.
How did I end up lying down on the sofa? I was sure I was sitting before I dozed off. When did I…? she trailed off, and then she realized something. Mori-senpai must've woken up last night when I was still sleeping. He must've had… she concluded and added, that's why he was next to me and fell off… Her face began to blush slowly; she could feel her ears turning hotter every passing second.
Mori still stood frozen and had no idea what she was thinking about. Is she mad? I think she's mad. I hope she's not mad though. But I think she is. She must be mad. Otherwise why won't she say anything? Yup, definitely. She's mad. At me. Oh God! Takashi! What have you done?! His mind was chaotic but he kept his stoic mask up to hide his flustered feelings.
Haruhi slowly lifted her eyes to gaze at Mori. When their eyes met, a slight pinkish blush started to spread on both their faces. They looked away from each other immediately.
"Um…" Haruhi started off, "How was your… sleep?" she pondered cautiously but there was a hint of curiosity laced in her tone.
"Ah," he replied, Haruhi was a little disappointed with his one word answer until, "it was… comfortable." Mori had to look away again so Haruhi wouldn't notice his now crimson face.
She smiled a genuine smile at his reply and gazed at him with her huge knowing brown eyes. "I'm glad," she smiled softly now, "shall we go… freshen up, Mori-senpai?"
"Ah. Let's go," he nodded.
It was really fortunate and highly beneficial for a bathroom to be in the Third Music Room. It was huge, laden with high-quality items ranging from shampoos to soaps to toothpastes to toothbrushes alike. A stack of cream towels were placed on the granite bathroom counter, a line of bathrobes was hung at one wall. Mosaic colored tiles and a few art pieces of all sorts adorned the huge bathroom walls while white marble tiles adorned the floors.
There was a bouquet of lavender and baby breaths, placed in a crystal clear vase, half-filled with water at the end of the bathroom counter. A huge rectangular mirror, framed with golden ornate carvings, hung above the counter. At one corner, farthest to the counter, lay a huge square, granite colored Jacuzzi; seven people could easily fit in there.
At the other corner, a high-tech shower room was placed. The crystal clear shower doors were engraved with different colors and sizes of roses on the middle. No doubt, the purpose of the engraved roses was to hide the person showering inside, from shoulders to knees.
When Haruhi stepped in, with Mori holding out the door for her, she scanned the entire bathroom with admiration and then her left eye began to twitch. Damn rich bastards… she thought to herself, silently cursing along the way.
"Haruhi," Mori interrupted her thoughts, "take your shower first, I'll do it after you're done." She nodded silently and with that, Mori stepped out and closed the door behind him and went straight to the kitchenette.
Haruhi trailed her index finger on the granite counter. "It's so cold." She then browsed through the bathroom items and picked up one of the shampoos. She smiled inwardly when she sniffed the scented shampoo in her hand. Satisfied with her choice (a strawberry scented shampoo), she began to take her shower.
…In the Kitchenette…
Mori had stirred the contents in the teacup for five minutes already. No doubt, his mind was somewhere else. And of course, his thoughts were about Haruhi and last night's event.
He smiled inwardly when he remembered the time she snuggled close to him and took hold of his arm, placing it against her chest. He remembered the rhythm of her heartbeat. He remembered the slight pink blush creeping up her cheeks when they looked at each other for a short glance. He especially remembered the way she smiled, the smile that reached up to her eyes and made her eyes twinkled; it was one of her genuine smiles.
"She looks absolutely beautiful…" he muttered softly as he gazed out into space.
…In the Shower Room…
Haruhi stood under the shower for a good ten minutes. Time seemed to drag slowly when she was alone. The hot water patted and ran down her skin. It wasn't a surprise to see Haruhi lost in her own thoughts, and like Mori, she too was recalling last night and this early morning's events.
"'It was… comfortable' he said, somehow I feel… rather happy. No wonder I felt so warmed last night, he was sleeping next to me." Haruhi recalled and a small smile lingered on her lips.
"I better finish up my shower soon; I don't want to keep him waiting though," she stopped at that, "Wait, what am I saying? I don't want him to keep waiting? I think I've lost my mind…" she laughed nervously at the thought.
As quickly as she could, she finished her shower in the next five minutes.
Mori finished preparing the drinks he made earlier and was now waiting for Haruhi to finish her shower. Girls do take a long time to shower, he chuckled inwardly and smiled a gentle smile when Haruhi appeared at the kitchenette door, in her school uniform with a towel draped on her wet hair as she worked to dry them from excessive moisture. Thankfully, the host club kept spare uniforms inside their dressing room.
"Ah, Mori-senpai," she greeted, "Sorry I took so long in the shower. You can go take your shower now."
Mori beckoned her to the tea he made earlier. "Drink first." Haruhi gradually took a sit across from Mori on the breakfast bar. She took the hot teacup, carefully holding it in her two delicate hands, and inhaled the tea slowly. She took a small sip, taking her time to savor the flavor.
Mori was watching her intently; she looks really cute, even when she's only drinking tea. With that thought in his head, his heart skipped a beat. He took his teacup abruptly and sipped its contents, hiding the slight blush forming on his cheeks. His gaze lingered on her for a moment too long when her eyes met his. He darted his eyes off of Haruhi quickly (but knew it was a little too late when their eyes met) and studied the intricate designs of the kitchenette instead.
Haruhi was still sipping her hot cup of tea. When she felt someone intently gazing at her, she lifted her eyes from the cup's contents and gazed back, at Mori. And when he suddenly darted his eyes to look at something above her, she hid an amused smile behind the teacup. She chuckled inwardly at his behavior.
He's acting so ka-wa-ii, she thought silently while studying his expression. Wait, did I just say ka-wa-ii? There's definitely something wrong with me. She then noticed a faint pink tinge appearing on Mori's cheeks. Ah. He's… blushing. This thought made her chuckle loudly. And when she realized what she just did, she froze in her seat.
Crap! He heard that! He did, didn't he?
Suddenly, Mori averted his gaze back to her. They locked gazes in what felt like an eternity. Haruhi could feel blood rushing to her cheeks, she could feel her ears turning hot and she especially could feel his intense gaze on her.
He heard it… she groaned inwardly and blushed even furiously when he kept looking at her with that intense gaze.
Say something. Say anything. Haruhi was frantically raking through her brain, searching for something smart to say, anything at all to say. Instead of locking gazes, instead of sipping tea, instead of blushing so furiously!
Haruhi averted her gaze, because that's the only thing she could do for now, to stare at her teacup.
She stopped drinking. She inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly. Haruhi noticed that Mori was still gazing at her ever so intently, watching her, studying her every move. She lay the teacup down slowly, and it landed with a soft clink on the bar.
Her heart was racing, and her face, as red as strawberries. With her head still on the direction of the teacup, she slowly lifted her eyes and looked at him through her thick, dark lashes. She batted them slowly while looking straight at the third year senior.
Because Haruhi was a rather, ahem, oblivious character, she didn't know (absolutely having no clue whatsoever) that she was actually flirting with Mori.
"Mori-…senpai," she started ever so gently.
Mori's eyes widen slightly (to others, they wouldn't be able to notice the slight change). He knew that move and that look. As a host, he knew every single move and look a woman would give out to a man, be it to flirt, love, hate, envy etc. He definitely and would therefore confidently knew (whether willing or not) that Haruhi was flirting with him.
Crap… was the only word that came across his mind at the moment, it was the only word he could think off as he processed the signs he saw one minute ago. I bet she's not even aware that she's actually flirting with me right now. He smirked behind the teacup, as he slowly sipped his tea.
"Hmm?" Mori replied when she called his name, gaze still locked with hers.
"You should take your shower now and get ready, before school time starts." she explained slowly, unintentionally, in a husky tone. Definitely unaware, his dark gray eyes twinkled and he fought the urge to smile mischievously at the girl sitting across from him. So, he opted to grunt instead.
Haruhi stood up. "I'll take these to clean," she took their teacups and went to wash them. Mori stood up and followed her from behind. He watched her work, quietly, still not attempting to go and take his shower.
Haruhi sensed a silent presence lingering behind her. She turned around and nearly bumped into his chest.
"Mori-senpai!" she said, startled, and then began to scrutinize him intently.
"Senpai," Haruhi started again, as she looked deep into his eyes, with her huge brown ones.
"Ah," he replied back with his usual single syllable.
"You haven't taken your shower yet," she stated matter-of-factly.
"Ah." He concluded simply.
"Senpai…" she trailed off warningly. He chuckled inwardly at the tone in her voice.
Before he had a chance to even reply to her, she tugged his arm and dragged him to the bathroom (Haruhi had to use more force in dragging Mori, because you know, he's tall, and strong, and well, heavier?). She pushed him inside and stood at the doorway, with one hand on her hip. She didn't budge when he didn't make any sign to move.
"Senpai. Shower," she ordered, "now."
A smile tugged on his lips. She's even cuter when she's so full of authority, he chuckled thoughtfully, and way cuter when she's mad. Haruhi narrowed her eyes at her senpai and pouted her lips slightly, hand still on her hip. Then her expression lightened and softened. A sweet smile was playing on her lips. Mori noted how her behavior changed so suddenly.
"…Taka-…kun," Haruhi said sweetly, sounding like one of the host club's customers that frequently visited them, "take your shower, please?" she batted her lashes softly, tilted her head to one side and slightly pouted.
Mori, upon hearing his first name called by Haruhi, froze at his spot. Blood came rushing to his cheeks, and his face was stark red. He immediately turned around and went to the shower, before quickly taking the essentials items he needed.
Haruhi smirked at the doorway when Mori finally decided to take his shower.
"He definitely didn't see that coming," she muttered out loud, amused somehow by the turn of events. I think I'm becoming like Kyouya-senpai, she smirked inwardly, and this is what happens when you spend toomuchtime with the host club.
With that, she walked out of the room and waited for Mori in the Third Music Room's hosting hall.
Author's Note
I hope you enjoyed this chapter, leave a review so I know how you feel about it. ^^
[Edited: 16th June 2014]
[Edited: 22nd July 2014]
[Final Edit: 1st January 2015]
