A/N

OMG. THIS CHAPTER. it made me feel so sad while i was writing it (as you will see shortly)
there's a big twist in here, that may-or-may-not completely throw off your perception of the story thus far
it is very important, and has a very dark mood to it, but i hope that there was enough fluffy romantic bits for you ^^

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Ouran, and probably never will. The plot is mine, as well as any OC's that I may use in the future. Use my plot without permission, and I predict that ninjas will attack you soon.


Haruhi sat next to Arai in his car, positively nervous. She didn't quite know why, but she was nervous all the same.

He seemed to sense her feelings, and he reached down and squeezed her hand once before putting it back on the wheel, and gave her a reassuring smile.

"Don't be so nervous, it'll be fine…" he said.

If only his words could magically wish away the feeling in her stomach that told her something was going to be wrong.


They arrived at the restaurant. Arai handed the keys to his silver Lexus to the blonde valet, and he took Haruhi's hand in his own.

"Ready?" he asked, and smiled. That smile had been one of the reasons why she had fallen in love with him…

They entered the restaurant, and Arai said something to the maître'd. He nodded, and stretched his arm out in a different direction than most of the diners.

Is that me, or did the maître'd look a lot like Kyoya-senpai…? Haruhi thought as she followed Arai. Granted, he hadn't been wearing glasses, but his overall demeanor felt familiar for some reason…


Outside the restaurant, the valet, the security, and two redheads grouped together in the valet room. After a few minutes, they were joined by the maître'd. He pulled a pair of glasses, and put them on as he sat down.

"Well, gentlemen, if all goes well, our plan to make Haruhi happy will be complete," the valet announced to the small, motley group.

"I just hope Haru-chan isn't too sad after today…" the small security guard murmured, looking down at the ground.

"Mhm," the tall one agreed, placing an arm around his small companion.


"Arai, you never did mention who got you the reservation for this," Haruhi remarked as she bit into a piece of toro sashimi.

"Err…" he mumbled, shoving a forkful of meat into his mouth so he wouldn't have to answer her.

"Also, didn't the valet seem to look a bit like Tamaki-senpai to you?"

Arai swallowed nervously.

"I don't know why, but ever since you asked me on this date, I've been feeling increasingly nervous," Haruhi said, looking down at her plate. A twinge of sadness filled her voice.

Arai sighed. There was no easy way to do this.

"Haruhi…" he said, reaching out and placing his hands on top of hers. "Do you know why I brought you here?"

Haruhi looked up at him. "There are several reasons I can think of, but none are probably correct."

"Haruhi… the truth is, I'm leaving."

"What?"

Arai's heart broke inside him as he continued. "My father got transferred to a different sector of the company, and my family has to relocate as a result."

"Where?" Haruhi was almost scared to find out the answer.

"America."

"When?"

"Tomorrow morning."

Things clicked in Haruhi's mind. This explained why Arai had put much more effort into their English class, and how he had always pushed her to practice conversations with him…

She blinked back tears. "Really?" she asked, even though she already knew the answer.

"I'm sorry Haruhi."

"You have nothing to be sorry for."

He got up, and pulled her into an embrace. "There's another reason why I brought you here today."

Arai pulled her over to the window. "Look outside."

Haruhi looked out of the glass wall-window, and saw lights on the ground below them. It spelled out "I love you" inside a heart, in twinkling white lights.

Her eyes filled with tears. She had never felt so happy and so sad at the same time before. She turned back to Arai, who also appeared to have tears in his eyes, but he kept blinking them back (probably trying to keep his macho-manly image).

Arai pulled something out of his pocket. It was a small black box. He held Haruhi's right hand, and knelt down.

"Haruhi, would you still be my girlfriend, even though I may be across the sea, even though I may not be with you in person, will you allow me to stay in your heart?" He opened the box, and a simple silver band lay inside.

Two twin lines of tears began to trace their way down Haruhi's cheeks. "Yes."

He took the ring out of the box, and slid it onto her right ring finger. "I know you probably can't wear this during school, so I got a chain to go with it so you can wear it around your neck." He gave her the box, which also contained a thin silver chain.

She almost launched herself at Arai, pulling him into a tight hug and burying her face in his chest, letting the tears flow freely now. Tears started to leak out of Arai's own eyes, and he pulled Haruhi in and stroked her hair.

"Arai…" she sniffed. She didn't want him to go. No girl would want her boyfriend to go. And with the news that he was moving, she knew a breakup was almost inevitable. He was the first person who had brought true happiness into her life, and she was going to lose him.

She pulled away from his chest, and looked up at him. A small, sad smile graced his lips, a few tears trailing down the side of his face.

Suddenly, it hit her. "Isn't today Christmas?" she asked. With everything that had gone on today, she had nearly forgotten.

"Yeah," Arai said. He smirked for a moment.

Before Haruhi could ask him what the smirk was for, he tilted her head up, and pressed his lips to his.

She closed her eyes. He tasted of sweetness, sincerity, and love. The kiss was so sweet; she wanted it to last forever. It made her feel like all her worries went away, even after what had just happened. Haruhi wound her fingers in Arai's hair, and pulled him closer.

Too soon, he pulled away. They gazed into each others' eyes, and somehow, she knew everything was going to be okay. How, she wasn't quite sure. But she was sure that everything would work out.

"Merry Christmas, Arai."

"Merry Christmas, Haruhi."

"I love you."

"I love you."