Chapter Ten:

"But what do I wear?!" Renge groaned, throwing herself down onto her back amid the soft pillows and comforting mattress of her oversized bed.

Haruhi perched upon a chair across the room, a knowing smile plastered over her lips. "Whatever you wear is going to be perfect, Renge. Hikaru isn't going to care."

"He's not going to care?" Renge rolled her head to the side to shoot a death glare in Haruhi's direction. Over the last few months the girls had grown even closer together, especially now that Renge knew all of Haruhi's secrets. It was nice to have someone to really relate to. "He's a fashion designer by trade. Of course he's going to care what I'm wearing!"

Haruhi chuckled, rolling her eyes at the overly dramatic girl. "I think he's going to care more about getting it off of you." Haruhi teased. She understood the significance of the decision Renge was making and how nervous the girl was, but she had been so close to Tamaki for so long that she no longer felt connected to the girlish nervousness that come with making things official. Renge and Hikaru had been dating for a long time and it didn't go unnoticed that Hikaru was spending more nights than not at Renge's home. But they still were just dating. The nervousness rolling off Renge was palpable as she prepared to ask Hikaru for something more than just casual dating.

"I can't believe this is happening." Renge blushed a deep red, burying her face beneath one of her soft pillows.

"You don't have to do this if you're not ready." Haruhi spoke comfortingly. "Hikaru isn't exactly the type of guy who is going to make you do anything you're not ready to do."

"He's not forcing me to do anything. I think I'm ready for this." Both girls were silent for a long moment before Renge let out a girly giggle. "Yes. I'm ready for this."

"Then I say go with the red one." Haruhi smirked.

"Yeah?"

"Hikaru loves red." Haruhi confirmed.

Xxx Hikaru xxX

"You know they're probably just gossiping and sharing stories, right?" Hikaru smirked, suffering slightly under Tamaki's gaze. The boys had spent most of the day together discussing engagement plans and looking at rings. Tamaki had finally decided to take the plunge and would be asking Haruhi to marry him later that month. Hikaru was finally starting to understand why.

Dating Renge had been different and unlike anything he had ever known before. He hadn't expected to enjoy her company or to want to go out with her again after the first time.

But that kiss.

He couldn't stop thinking about the feel of her lips and her laughter. The feel of her drenched body pressed against his. The intelligence and how her plans reminded him of the harebrained schemes he and his brother used to come up with. She was filling a hole in his life he had never thought he would fill.

"You really think Haruhi is telling her anything about our intimate life?" Tamaki asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It would only be fair. I get enough of the details from you." Hikaru scoffed.

"Me, yes. I love to talk. Haruhi? She's embarrassed even talking to me about those sort of things." Tamaki laughed.

"I can't believe you're going to ask her to marry you." Hikaru smirked. "It's not like e don't know she's going to say yes, though. That girl is crazy for you."

"That's the best part of love, my friend. Crazy."

Xxx That Night xxX

Hikaru couldn't help but stare at her. She looked gorgeous, draped in a deep red dress that clung to her slender curves. Her features were stained red from a blush as she rattled on about something that had happened to her earlier that day and how her father kept calling and asking about when the two of them were going to come visit in Paris. "You really made an impression on him, I think."

Hikaru smiled kindly, watching her as she took a moment to sip gingerly from her wine glass. "He's not a bad guy."

"Do you think we could?" She asked, looking up at him tentatively. "Do you think we could go visit my family in Paris?"

Hikaru shrugged nonchalantly. "I do have a house in Paris we could stay at."

"Good because I would hate to stay at my mothers." She smirked, her heart inflating as she realized that he had, in his own way, agreed to go and visit her family. "You'll love my mother."

"I love you so."

They both froze. Hikaru's eyes widened as he realized what he had said and Renge stopped with her wine glass barely pressed against her lips. Slowly she lowered it, barely breathing as she placed the glass upon the table. "You… love me?"

Sixteen dates. They had gone on sixteen dates and months had passed since she had first brought him back into her home on the day she found him at Kaoru's grave. They had been together intimately more times than she could count on one hand and she had planned this particular dinner date with the intention to ask him to be her official boyfriend… but never had she imagined the word love would fall from his lips. Not yet. Not this soon. And her heart had never felt more full.

"Don't make it more than it is." He sighed, his normal uncaring attitude starting to seep through as a defense mechanism. He hadn't meant for those words to slip.

Renge pushed back her chair, rising to her feet.

"I didn't mean to upset you." He frowned, pushing his own chair back. He was just about to rise to his feet to try to persuade her to sit back down and finish their meal when Renge moved. She moved with purpose, dropping herself gently down into his lap and placed her hands upon the side of his features.

"I love you, too." She whispered, closing the distance between them and kissing him deeply.