Puppy Love
Chapter 10 ~ Untitled.
"So…" He deliberately left the words trailing off, watching keenly with a hidden smirk. His brother frowned back at him.
"So?"
"You seem to be in an unusually brooding mood there. Anything to share?" Hikaru taunted slyly, lowering the volume of the television before turning to face his brother.
The younger twin, just about to shake his head in reassurance, faltered for a moment. His brother watched shrewdly, the poorly suppressed smirk lurking.
"Well?"
Kaoru narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Hikaru, who returned his stare with equal vigour. The staring contest lasted for several moments, finally ending in favour of the black-haired teen. Kaoru sighed in defeat and leant his head back to rest on the couch.
Silence.
A resounding slap pierced through the air, followed swiftly by a yelp.
"What?!"
"What happened to not keeping secrets? And don't try to weasel your way out this time about Yuki-chan," Hikaru drawled in mock accusation, leaning back and focusing his full attention on his brother now. "That wasn't even a hit."
Kaoru rubbed sourly at his elbow, despite the little to no force applied to the slap.
"How do you know it's about Yuki anyway?" He frowned slowly, genuine curiosity etched in his voice.
Hikaru coughed into his palm and ruffled the hair at the back of his head anxiously. Kaoru lifted an eyebrow at his suddenly tensed posture.
"Hikaru?"
The dark-haired teen blinked a little too blankly at his brother before breaking into an awkward laugh.
"What else could've gotten you all brooding and quiet?" He shrugged stiffly.
Kaoru didn't have to know.
He didn't have to know that Yuki's pet shop had been bugged by little spy-cams yesterday at all,
Or that he wasn't the only one involved…
"So…?" He urged, inwardly sighing in relief as the topic switched its course of direction.
Kaoru grunted, lifting both hands to cover his face in exasperation.
"I…" Pausing, he allowed his hands to fall lifelessly and turned to his brother, eyes shifty and hard.
"I think I like her."
…
…
"No kidding there Captain Obvious." Hikaru laughed softly, shaking his head. Kaoru groaned, visibly vexed beyond words.
Watching him wallowing in self-defeat, the dark-haired twin allowed the feeling of loss locked within the deep recess to surface for a moment. For closure.
He was losing his brother.
He was losing his brother, and this time, he wasn't planning to do anything about it.
There was no way to dispel the feeling of discomfort, as if his grip on his world was slowly relinquishing. They were bonded as tight as emotionally possible for the past sixteen years of their life, it will never be possible for any human to feel like they were losing their other half and not be afraid of it.
He grinned inwardly at the irony of this entire mess. The tides had changed, it seemed. Now he was the one feeling what Kaoru went through when he first fell in love with Haruhi.
Will he be able to be as noble and selfless as his brother?
No.
But was he willing to this?
.
.
Yes.
He was ready; ready for the change.
"Well? What are you waiting for?" Hikaru asked as he pushed himself off his seat, stretching a little before angling his head towards his seemingly confused brother.
"Looks like we both have our own battle to fight now don't we?"
Smiling slightly, he made a move past his still stoned brother and glided out of the room, a hand stuffed in his pocket and a smile of accomplishment on his face.
Kaoru's finger traced circles on the couch, gazing dazedly at nothing even as his brother left the room. The words rang a racket in his head, demanding attention.
I think I like her.
I think I like her.
I like her.
He closed his eyes, letting the little bits and pieces of memory engulf him. All of her; her with the gentle smile that lured him in initially; her with the character that entirely threw him off.
And her with the ability to see him as one person.
"You have got to be one of the luckiest morons in the world to meet someone right and not make a move yet."
"Well? What are you waiting for?"
"Looks like we both have our own battle to fight now don't we?"
Hitachiin Kaoru smiled.
I lost you to her today, but I've gained yet another step to individuality this way.
She first received a stalk of white rose when she arrived in school.
It laid daintily on the table, pure white and innocent with no indication of its purpose nor the name of the giver.
Confused but amused, she carefully kept the rose away.
The second rose arrived an hour after she found the first.
She was doodling mindlessly at the edge of her notes as the teacher droned on and on when the classroom door abruptly slid open. The students straightened up in their seats when a little girl, dressed in a white dress, padded into the room as if unaware that a lesson was being conducted.
Hands behind her back, her little steps stopped as she stood awkwardly right in front of the classroom, large brown eyes scanning the room. Her eyes lit up as soon as they landed on Miyuki, scrambling forward towards her. The little girl stuck both hands up lifted them to the brunette.
A single stalk of white rose was held between the small fingers of the girl.
Her breathing hitch and her heart stilled in disbelief at the situation.
Hesitating, she reached out and grasped the flower.
"W…Who is this from?"
The question directed to the little girl went unanswered as the angel smiled shyly and pranced out of the room, leaving the people in the room stunned and wordless.
The third rose came an hour after. The fourth one. The fifth.
Just like that, the roses kept coming and always an hour after she received the previous one. She found herself sitting up more alertly and the hazy fog in her mind slowly fading as the sender of the flowers became clearer.
"Did you know that a white rose symbolizes understanding, companionship, trust and commitment?" Her teacher had good-naturedly questioned as she was walking out of the last period in school that day, leaving the brunette wide-eyed and lips parted in surprise.
Despite her stubborn front, a subconscious part of her mind had already drawn up the possible suspect.
It could only be him.
Only he could be rich enough and knew of her obsession over the colour white…
The question that lingered was the motive of his actions.
Why?
.
.
.
Miyuki had all her questions planned out. Occupying her 'territory' once again, she lifted her eyes, poised and ready to interrogate him with countless questions when the door to the shop opened.
All the practiced speech fled her when her eyes caught sight of what he was holding on to.
It was enormous. It was fluffy. It was white.
It was a giant puppy soft toy - complete with pointed ears, large eager eyes and a fluffy tail to match.
"Hi." He greeted evenly, moving to stand on the other side of the counter while presenting the stuffed dog to her.
She gaped openly as he smiled. Still in a numbing trance, she barely registered the fact that her hands had lifted themselves and were taking the stuffed toy off of his hands.
The plush pretty much engulfed her upper body. 'Soft', she registered absentmindedly, squeezing the toy a little.
She lowered it gently so that her head peeked out above the toy. The playful smirk she was expecting to see didn't appear. In its place was a shy, childish smile.
She decided then that that was the most adoring smile of his.
"So the roses today were from you too?" She had wanted to sound cooler and more composed, but the slight tremor that hinted of excitement had long given her away.
With the excessively loud thumping of his heart, he walked cautiously around the counter and inched towards her, suddenly nervous. They were not far apart, with only the oversized puppy plush separating them.
A little shrug, a sheepish smile - she acknowledged that as his way of saying yes.
"Why?" Her voice was slightly broken from the sudden pressure in the room. Shifting the toy away, she heaved it up so that it sat on the counter.
He shuffled closer, and butterflies in her stomach fluttered almost teasingly.
"I've been thinking…" He spoke with unnatural uneasiness.
"About?"
"Us." There was a note of finality in his voice, as if he had finally got the hang of things.
She didn't want to believe it, didn't want to fool herself into thinking that maybe, just maybe, her own fairytale was descending upon her.
Thump.
"What about us?" Her voice was barely audible compared to her usual tone. She fought the urge to turn and run, pride and curiosity keeping her in place.
Could it really…?
"I'm planning to win this battle."
Thump. Thump. Thump.
"I don't get it." She admitted after a long, pausing silence, looking down under the sudden attention his eyes were giving to her.
"It simply means," he started, stepping even closer to her, forcing her to look up at him again. "That I'm infatuated."
His voice was just a whisper now, seeing as they were merely a few steps apart.
Th-thump. Th-thump. Th-thump.
She gulped, "You're going to have to spell it out before I hurl from anxiousness."
It was that irresistible grin of his that did her in. She made no protest as he lifted one of her hand and kissed the back of it, feather-like, never breaking the magnetic gaze. Gently, he tugged her forward and leant down towards her.
It seemed so long before their lips touched, just barely, hovering.
"Is this obvious enough now?" His lips grazed against hers with his every word.
She didn't answer. She couldn't.
There weren't any cliché fireworks or blinding lights shining through at that moment. No, there was none of that. It was something entirely different, something more extraordinary.
It was a giant leap of her heart getting stuck in her throat, then the sudden halt in everything in her head, leaving only two things clear.
Her heart - that was seemingly frozen from shock.
And the fact that the unfamiliar pressure on her lips definitely wasn't food.
As stupid as it sounds, the feeling was something she couldn't explain. It was like a sudden jerking pause that stopped all motions in her thoughts. She didn't even think such defiance against nature was possible, how time was able to come to a stand-still.
Every breath taken was a struggle to keep her from hyperventilating; the way that something felt like it was clogging her throat made it a laborious task.
She needed to breathe.
Placing both hands on his chest, Miyuki applied just enough pressure for distance to be made between their faces. Her shuddered breath was embarrassingly audible as she lowered her head, hands still on his chest while his arms locked themselves firmly around her waist, leaving their bodies still pressed together.
"Oh god…" She stuttered haphazardly, blushing full blown. And it wasn't even a candid adorable pink shade on her cheeks.
It was a full transformation to a human tomato.
He couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"You look like a tomato."
For the first time since their kiss, she narrowed her eyes and glared up at him. His grin never faltered, smug and confident that she was too trapped within his embrace to attack him.
Miyuki smirked.
Her hands shot up faster than he could comprehend. Planting themselves on either side of his cheeks, she squished them violently, causing a much distorted face form and a puckered lip.
"Let go!" He bristled, twisting his head from side to side in unsuccessful attempts to shake her hands away. She laughed maniacally and applied even more force.
"Die!"
Hands slipping away from her waist, he grabbed both her wrists and manoeuvred her around so that her back was pressed on his front and her wrists were locked in his grip in front of her. She snapped her head sideways up, ready to retort something again before he swooped down just in time to reposition his lips on hers.
There was that blankness again…
This time, he didn't waste anymore time in waiting for her to let things sink in. His lips pressed more insistently on hers before lightening the pressure moments later. Heavier and light, heavier and light, the consistent movement had her head spinning in confusion. His eyes, loosely half-lidded, watched as the creases on her forehead lessen and her tightly closed eyes relaxed slowly and steadily.
It didn't take long for the reciprocation in her part.
Subconsciously, her head started pressing forward when he moved away, keeping the kiss more consistent.
More intoxicating.
There was nothing dark or seductive in the kiss. It was different, innocent. Loving, even. Abandoning all pretences, he leaned forward decisively, hands that gripped on her wrists slid down to intertwine their hands together.
Intimate. Gentle. Precious.
Heads angled, the distance became miniscule as their lips pressed more insistently. Her lack of doubt fuelled his boldness on. In a heat of the moment, his lips parted a little, and his tongue took a smooth swipe across her lips before pulling away with deliberate slowness.
At any other time, she would have jumped in absolute surprise. But somehow, the magic of the moment lingered, dancing surreptitiously around them and drowned her rational away, encasing the twosome in their little world.
Their heads still facing each other, inhaling each other's scent as he listened to her struggle to restore her steady breathing. His eyes were lazily peeked opened, watching her closed ones.
It took an eternity too slow. But when it did, her eyes fluttered open, as if finally deeming him worthy of seeing her. They stared at each other without uttering a single word, afraid that the enchantment would break.
He couldn't explain that inexplicable excitement in him that exploded and tingled in his system just standing there watching her.
No one had the privilege to kiss her yet, not even his brother.
Smiling softly, he bumped his forehead to hers gently and kissed the tip of her nose.
His Yuki-chan.
It was the way she finally conceded defeat, her head falling between the crook of his neck while he closed his eyes, that he learnt his first experience as his own person, not as 'one of the twins'.
His first lesson in love: the ethereality of the first kiss.
And even if it wasn't love yet, it was probably the closest feeling to it.
He felt the curve of her lips on his neck and broke into a serene smile.
Somewhere between all our laughs, long talks, stupid little fights, and all our jokes...I think I fell in love.
The grin that adorned her face didn't falter until the end of the day, she felt like her lips were going to tear apart soon.
"Yuki…?" The voice that called was tentatively soft as she turned to face her mother.
"Yeah?"
She watched as the elder of the two sniffled and wrung her fingers continuously.
"I have to talk to you."
The smile vanished when her eyes caught the lights reflecting off the tears on her mother's face.
End.
Author's Notes
It would've been a longer chapter like I promised some of you guys.
Unfortunately, I encountered my first case of plagiarism halfway through the writing and my spirit just fled me. True, the plagiarizer's blog didn't seem to receive much readers, but the fact that it's out there, being read as someone else's work, is extremely unflattering and unfair.
All in all, this is just a warning for any potential plagiarizers. I'm not writing this for because I enjoy being a bitter and whiny author.
Plagiarism isn't just about ripping off someone else's hard work; this is about showing actual acknowledgment and respect to the author. I really don't want to make a big fuss. But if I have to, I'll unleash a message chuck full of rants you'll never forget because I'm temperamental like that.
And in case you guys are wondering? I'm still waiting for the plagiarizer to take down the story.
Now that we're done with that ugly matter, I'll just move on to something else now! =D
Thank you PurpleSkye for helping to beta-read in such a short time & listen to my annoying rants =D Hahah! You'll always be the first to hear my whines when I have them!! Be afraid!
I'm so full of fluff I can't believe it sometimes XD hahahah!! Chapter 11 is being started on right now!
This is my third time re-uploading this chapter -.- I had to delete all my files in the document manager to make this chapter come out...
Anonymous Review Responses
Thank you sunshine! Miyuki is actually one of the few characters I'm happy with =) Her stubborn front is what makes this story more fun to read! Tsk tsk, there's nowhere to run Miyuki! You'll have to give in to fangirl syndrome eventually! There's no use in trying to get away!! I actually freaked out when my friend chucked my chin once. Smacked him so hard he yelled =D i feel for you and Yuki too!