Jasmine was typing away on her computer, discussing strategies with Kaoru, when she received a text message.
"Hm?" she mumbled to herself. "Hikaru…." She quickly replied and closed the phone. Why did Hikaru want to come over? It was the middle of the summer. Surely he had better things to do. She'd said he could come over whenever he wanted. Moments later, there was a knock on her door. She rushed to let him in.
"I knew you lived close, but jeez," she said, closing the door behind him. But Hikaru was not there for small talk. He had a mission.
"What are you and Kaoru planning?" he asked. He seemed irritated. Probably because Kaoru wasn't telling him.
"We're getting Tamaki and Haruhi together," she said flatly.
"Why?" he nearly shouted. "Why not just let them realize it on their own?"
"Because they never will!" she screeched, then sighed and put a hand on her forehead. He just had to pick the week she was on her period to contradict her. "I'm sorry, I just… It's a bad week for me." She walked back to the laptop. Hikaru followed, still slightly taken aback by her outburst. "Look," she turned to look at him. He was a good five or six inches taller than her. "I know that you like Haruhi."
"How did you know that?" He was slightly freaked out by that.
"I figured you out," she stated simply. "I'm good at that. Which is how I know that Haruhi loves Tamaki. She really does. And Tamaki told me himself that he loves Haruhi."
Hikaru stared at the floor, his heart dropping down into his stomach. This wasn't fair. He began to get angry because that was the only way his body knew how to react. He had never cried.
"If you know that I like her, why did you tell me that?" he asked.
"Because I know you don't like people to treat you like a child," Jasmine said and grabbed his chin, making him look at her. "You deserve to know the truth, and I expect you to handle it like the adult I know you are."
"I—"
"Will you help me?" she interjected. "You may as well. For Haruhi's happiness."
"Why the hell would I help her get together with someone else?" Hikaru shouted. "What kind of a motive is that?"
"Mine," Jasmine said quietly, her jaw quivering. "It's my motive, so why can't it be yours?"
"What do you mean it's your motive?" Hikaru asked. Jasmine let out a shaky breath through her nose.
"Tamaki's happiness," she began, "is the most important thing to me. And if he can't be with me, then God damn it, he will be with her!"
"I don't understand—"
"For God's sake, Hikaru!" Jasmine cried. "I'm in love with Tamaki Suoh!" She threw her hand over her mouth and sobbed quietly. She dropped to her knees as Hikaru stood just inside the hallway watching her. "I've never said that out loud." She folded in on herself, clutching her stomach. "It hurts."
Hikaru didn't know what to do. He was rubbish when it came to crying girls. So he just stood there waiting for her to talk again. A few minutes later, she sat up and leaned back, sitting on her feet. She wiped away the tears that were still falling.
"That's why I have to do this," she said calmly. "Not everyone gets a happy ending, and I'd rather him be happy and I be miserable than me be happy and him be miserable."
Was that true? Hikaru thought. Would Haruhi be miserable if she was with him because she didn't love him?
"Do you understand now?" Jasmine asked. Hikaru's throat tightened slightly and he cleared his throat before answering.
"Yes," he said. Jasmine stood and grabbed a tissue from the counter.
"Will you help us?" She blew her nose.
"No," Hikaru said. Jasmine nodded her head and gave a small smile. "But I won't get in your way either." He felt awful for making her cry like that. "I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't know you loved him. If I had, I wouldn't have demanded an explanation. I know it hurts."
"It's not your fault you're incredibly dense," she joked. "Thank you for your apology." He nodded and headed for the door. He needed a drink. "Hikaru?" He stopped, but didn't turn.
"What?"
"How can you not react?" she asked. "You love Haruhi, right? How do you not show your pain even a little bit?"
He did not answer, but kept walking out the door. Jasmine rushed after him and shouted from the threshold.
"At least cry!" she screeched, throwing her dirty tissue after him. It fell pitifully to the sidewalk and she watched him slide into the back seat of a limo. She slammed the door behind her and marched back to her conversation with Kaoru.
"Smack your brother across the face for me please," she said.
"Gladly," Kaoru replied. "Mind if I ask why?"
"He's a stubborn mule and shows no feeling!" she ranted. "He didn't even cry when I told him we were helping the love of his life get with someone else."
"Love of his life? Wow… He's home. Be right back."
Jasmine waited.
"Message delivered…. I think he's headed for the cellar."
"Why? What's in the cellar?"
"The rum."
Oh God….
"I've driven him to drink," she said aloud.
