Apologies for the length of time since the last update. The new semester has started and I'm back to my busy schedule. I can't promise ridiculously frequent updates anymore, although I'll try to have something up every fortnight.
For those who have been waiting, this is the Tamaki date episode. Yes, I finally decided it was time for more Tono. XD
Chapter 12 // The Dog Days of Spring
Haruhi sighed as she plucked her swimsuit from the depths of her closet. It was a simple dark blue one-piece, with a matching sheer wrap in orchid print that her father had bought approximately a year back. He would have purchased his favourite choice, a saccharine pink confection with its own little skirt, had she not sworn she would never speak to him again if he did so. It had been some time since she used her own swimsuit since joining the club as the twins always dressed her up for their outings. She suspected that this little plain number would not have been spared from their sewing shears had they set their golden eyes on it. They would not be present for the day's activities, however, which was a relief.
The school week had crawled by. Haruhi had managed to evade Kyouya smoothly on a number of occasions when he had tried to speak with her alone. Although she did not mind conversations with him in a group setting, the thought of repeating the exact same scenario left little to be desired. She did not want to be kissed by him. Not as some sort of warning as to how she should behave with regards to the opposite sex. Had she not told Tamaki before that gender was not the issue but what was inside a person that counted? Perhaps she should have yelled that into Kyouya's ear for all the good it would do. He was as stubborn as she.
And what was that about him being in love with her?
She snorted in a fashion that would have had Tamaki cringing at her unladylike behaviour. As she stuffed her large beach towel into her tote, she shoved aside her thoughts on the matter. Thinking about it was not going to aid matters and she would probably have enough to deal with today.
Tamaki had reminded her about their date two nights before, stuttering on occasion during the conversation over the phone, most notably when discussing her attire. Not that Haruhi had noticed of course. She had been far too preoccupied with the notion of going to the beach in the spring along with Tamaki and his canine clone, Antoinette. She sincerely hoped he would be able to control her.
A tranquilizer dart might be in order.
Or two.
As daunting as the date seemed, Haruhi loved the beach. She enjoyed watching the crystal clear waters ebb and flow. It soothed her senses and allowed her to set aside the things that weighed her down in the real world if only for a brief moment.
The doorbell rang. She smiled to herself as she slung her beach bag over her shoulder and strode to the kitchen. She would have to make the best of it. Tamaki was a sweet guy and she did have some regard for him, despite his tendency towards dramatics.
She swung the door open rather happily.
"Ohhh my precious daughter!!!" Tamaki wrapped his arms around her in a bear hug. "I'm so glad you agreed to go out on a date with me!"
Mother in heaven…
"Well, senpai, it's supposed to be your birthday present." She peered over his shoulder. "Where's Antoinette?"
Tamaki pouted. "Shima said she'd ruin the car upholstery if she was let loose. She'd bother the driver too, so she's in a cage in the back." He sniffled, eyes tearing at the perceived inhumane mistreatment that his cherished pooch had undergone at the hands of his housekeeper.
"That's only practical," she smiled and patted his shoulder, "let's get going. The faster we get there, the sooner she'll be free to enjoy the offerings of nature."
He brightened considerably at that and took her hand. "Senpai, I have to lock up."
Offerings of nature? She chuckled inwardly. Tamaki was a greater influence than she had realised. Strangely enough, she had meant what she had said. She loved animals, but it was far too troublesome to keep them, especially when no one was home much. While she loved the capriciousness of most dogs, Antoinette was special. Maybe because she reminded her of Tamaki.
He released her sheepishly. "Sorry. And… umm…" he mumbled, twiddling his thumbs. "CouldyoujustcallmeTamaki?"
"But you're my senpai," she protested.
He looked extremely woebegone. It was an expression he reserved for situations that required drastic measures. "But we're friends, aren't we?" He blinked beguilingly.
Regardless of the fact that Haruhi was more than familiar with his entire repertoire of Puppy-dog Pleas as Hikaru and Kaoru had called them and was able to resist his appeals for the most part, she found herself nodding in agreement. It was not so much the lack of fortitude on her part, but rather she found some degree of logic in what he had said.
Suou Tamaki had somehow wormed his way into her circle of close friends. She had not expected it at all, since she did find him annoying at times. He did care for her, however, and had moved beyond being "someone she knew" to someone whom she confided in quite freely and regularly.
She watched as he clapped his hands happily and bounded down the stairs to the waiting car. "Haruhiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!!! Let's go!" He had her bag slung across his shoulder and was now waving frantically with both arms, his excitement stirring Antoinette who was barking hysterically and rattling the cage with her paws as a result.
They had never appeared more alike in temperament than at that moment. She grinned and hurried to the limousine.
-----
"Haruhi! Haruhi, Haruhi! Watch this!"
She raised her head from the book she was reading and propped her head up with a bent arm. Tamaki swung his arm in a wide arc and threw Antoinette's favourite squeaky toy as far out into the sea as he could. His canine was perched in front of him, tail thumping expectantly. He bent down and stared into her bright intelligent eyes.
"Okay, Antoinette… readyyyyyyyy... GOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!"
The dog leaped into the air, fur ruffling with the swift turn of her body as she made a huge splash into the cold water, paddling her way to the floating toy. The red rubber bone had already been chewed within an inch of its life and was showing great signs of wear, but Antoinette had remained faithful to it. It was the first gift he had given her, something he had bought on his own at another shomin mall across town. She had other toys of course, but it was by far her favourite.
As Tamaki stood and watched his loyal friend grasp the plaything with a squeak, he marvelled at how similar they were.
He glanced at Haruhi who appeared to be entranced by Antoinette herself. He had no idea why she enjoyed watching the waves or reading a book by the beach when one could swim beneath the golden sun. Granted, it was still a little cold, but he had been prepared for that by instructing his driver to set up a quiet little generator that provided enough electricity for a heater, should there have been a need for one.
Haruhi had scoffed at this and muttered something about the rich and their propensity towards needless extravagance. He had not been affronted since he was far less delicate than before regarding her blunt retorts, but had told her warmly that it was there for her and to utilise it if she felt chilled. She then said thank you Tamaki with an adorable little grin and he had ascended to the clouds instantly only to be yanked down rather unceremoniously seconds later by Antoinette who was clamouring for attention.
"She's cute," his companion remarked as Antoinette emerged from the water and trotted over, dropping the rubber bone and shaking herself dry. Droplets of water sprinkled across her face and she shut her book, shoving it into her tote.
She stood and made her way over to the canine, who was panting with her tongue lolling about, clearly exhausted. She stooped and ruffled her fur at the nape then scratched her on the head.
Antoinette flopped to the sand in contentment as Haruhi lavished her with attention, tail once again thumping slowly.
Tamaki pondered his options. He had requested for a date as a birthday present for two reasons. One, he wanted to spend time with her alone, where he would not have to bear Kyouya's eyes training on her when he thought no one was looking or the secret smiles that Mori would send her way when they worked together in synchronous harmony. They caused such an ache in his chest, something he wanted to be liberated from if only for a day. Two, he wanted to truly talk to her. Maybe he would confess how he felt, maybe not. He had not decided, nor had he planned exactly what he was going to say. He usually went with the flow of things and even though it was a matter of the heart, he doubted he would change the approach. He was not his best friend after all.
He knew most of his friends thought he was a bumbling idiot who engaged in flights of fancy and ludicrous schemes whenever he felt like it. It was not a mask he had deliberately crafted, but merely one facet of his multicoloured personality that was more illustrious in nature. It drew people to him, even though half the time they were assuaged with curiosity as to how far he would go with his antics. No, Tamaki was not a schemer. He was frank and honest and loved life exuberantly.
If personalities were colours, Kyouya's would be a deep royal blue, Mori's rich maroon, Hikaru's a bright cyan, Kaoru's vermillion, Hani's a fresh yellow-green and Haruhi a practical tan. But the King, the King was a veritable rainbow of colours. He smiled, eyes turning a deep violet from their usual lighter hue as he gazed at Haruhi who was absently stroking Antoinette behind her ears.
She had emerged from her special pink cabana an hour earlier, which he had set up himself to the amazement of his driver, in what he presumed to be her very own swimsuit and matching wrap. His hand had snapped to his nose right then and he had blushed beet red, the former in an attempt to curb the imminent spray of hot-bloodedness from a capillary and the latter from the rush of said hot-bloodedness to the head. It was a simple beach outfit and yet he had been rendered speechless. She was quite, quite beautiful in whatever she wore.
Unable to resist, he walked over and sat beside her. "Are you hungry, Haruhi?"
"No, not yet." She gave him a gentle smile and continued stroking Antoinette who now had her head on her paws and was gazing at her adoringly. "She's tired. You've worn her out completely."
"Yeah, well…" he combed his hair through with his fingertips and grinned sheepishly. "It's good exercise for us both. I think the help has been feeding her snacks on the sly."
They petted the dog in comfortable silence. On rare occasions such as these, words were meaningless. Haruhi wondered when it was that Tamaki had begun spending time with her in comfortable silence, instead of going on about this or that. He had either matured somewhat or was comfortable enough to not have to fill the stillness with speech. While she admitted that he was pretty much an idiot in certain things, Tamaki was an intelligent individual, with great insight at times into the lives of others. Even hers.
"Is there something bothering you? You haven't been yourself this past week."
So he had noticed. "It's nothing really."
"It can't be nothing if you're visibly bothered. You can tell me, if you want to that is. Sometimes it's better to get it off your chest," he said gently.
It was difficult to broach the topic even though she wanted to share her troubles with him. He had always reacted badly even to unverified knowledge that there were other males who were interested in her. What would he say if he knew that his own best friend had kissed her and confessed his feelings? Not that she believed it entirely of course. It was only natural that she maintained a healthy dose of scepticism where Kyouya was concerned.
"Tamaki…"
"Hmm?"
"What would you do if someone you knew said she loved you?"
He glanced at her. So that was the issue. He should have guessed. Was it Mori? Or had Kyouya decided to stake his claim this early in the game? Tamaki decided to ask. "Mori-senpai?"
She blinked at him, eyes wide in surprise. "Ehhh?"
He smiled brightly. "It's quite obvious, you know. He keeps giving you special looks. I'd always known he wanted my fatherly position."
Haruhi rolled her eyes. "I seriously doubt that."
Tamaki laughed and combed his fringe artfully with his fingers. Despite the elegance of his movement, it was not as carefree as it had always been. His eyes were troubled. "So it was Mori-senpai after all then?"
He knew he was delving far deeper than was advisable, but for the life of him, he could not resist the sweet temptation. Perhaps he would find out what the others were up to or where her heart lay even. Maybe it was better to know rather than to remain in the dark. They would all move on, whether they wanted to or not, in whatever direction circumstances would take them.
His companion looked at him. "Not… quite…" She heaved a huge sigh. "I'm not sure whether I should tell you. Frankly, it might be traumatising. I don't think you'd be able to handle it."
He pouted. "B-b-but Haruhiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!! I want to knoooow!!!"
She laughed. Tamaki was Tamaki. "You're sure?"
"Absolutely!" He nodded vigorously, sending his blonde locks cascading all over his handsome face. "Please???"
He swallowed as she levelled him with her gaze. "Promise me you won't go crazy."
"I promise," he replied with more confidence than he felt. His stomach was in knots and his heart was thudding furiously in his chest. He gripped her hands in his. "I want to be there for you, Haruhi."
She looked at his slender masculine fingers. Fingers that danced beautifully on both ivory and ebony keys of the piano, without callus or any blemish. She squeezed them in return, as if to reassure him.
"About a week ago, Kyouya-senpai told me that Mori-senpai was in love with me. And said that he was too. Which is rather unbelievable. Kyouya-senpai being in love with me I mean."
Tamaki willed his fingers to stop trembling. Kyouya had confessed after all.
"It's worse than that," Haruhi continued, frowning. "Kyouya-senpai kissed me and then said all that."
"W-W-WHAT!?!!" It was Haruhi's first kiss with the opposite sex and it was not he, but his best friend Ootori Kyouya, who had stolen it?
"I didn't like it at all. He forced it on me. I think it was to teach me a lesson, like that other time at the beach house."
"WHAT WAS THAT AGAIN!?!!" Twice? Had Kyouya pulled off the ultimate in thievery? Two kisses? And what lesson was Haruhi talking about?
"Tamaki, you promised."
He cleared his throat and relaxed a little. "Right, right, Haruhi. Sorry. Do go on." There had to be more to the story than meets the eye. At least he was hoping there was.
"I think Kyouya-senpai was quite upset that Mori-senpai spent the night. It was nothing though, he was tired. I really don't know what the big deal is." She shrugged.
"Well, Haruhi, Daddy also thinks you ought to be more aware of the opposite sex. Mori-senpai is a nice guy, but there are others out there who aren't."
"Yes, yes, I know." She sighed. "So now, my issue is relating with Kyouya-senpai. I feel very uncomfortable around him."
"And Mori-senpai?"
"Oh, I spoke with him some time back. He said that Kyouya-senpai was right, but that I should do what I wanted, whenever I wanted to." Haruhi grinned. "He's been sending me strawberries everyday since. Dad's been scoffing one box a day, the greedy man."
Tamaki nodded slowly, his throat constricting a little uncomfortably as he registered the bright sparkle in Haruhi's eyes. He was almost sure she felt something for Mori. Why would she not? He was a decent guy who could protect her. They got along well.
"H-H-Haruhi," he began, entwining his fingers with hers.
She looked up at him unblinkingly. "Yes?"
"I-I-I think," he cleared his throat, "that you should do whatever you want to, just like Mori-senpai said. I know that this is probably the not the best time to tell you this, but… I… err, that is…"
He gulped and squeezed his eyes shut, face flushing a gorgeous shade of pink. "I-I-I love you too."
"I know," she smiled gently as he creaked an eyelid open.
"Y-y-you do?"
She bobbed her head adorably and squeezed his hands. "Yes. Actually Dad told me."
"RANKA-SAN???" Ranka detested him with a vengeance, yet he had known how he felt. Perhaps that was the reason for his animosity. The notion of having one's daughter snatched away was painful and something he could concur with. "I… well… I just wanted you to know that's all, Haruhi." He laughed a little sheepishly. "You don't have to say anything."
She beamed and leaned against his shoulder, closing her eyes to savour the sound of the waves. "Thank you."
Things had certainly changed, mused Haruhi as she let him wrap an arm around her shoulder to ward off the slight chill of the breeze. For once in his life Tamaki was not demanding anything nor pouting and stamping his foot in indignation in a demonstration of his frustration that things were not going his way. It could have been the calming influence of the sea, or the fact that they were alone together. Whatever it was, it was comfortable and rather nice. Suou Tamaki was a wonderful friend.
"Regarding Kyouya," Tamaki mumbled, gazing across the horizon as he held the girl he loved against his side, "I think you should talk to him to clear things up. I'll be there if you need me."
"Mmm. Okay."
"Talk to me about?"
Haruhi's eyes flew open and she jerked upright almost flopping backwards in the process. Tamaki released her and stood. "Kyouya. What are you doing here?" His voice was surprisingly light and strangely even.
"Shima informed me your location." He pinned Haruhi with his gaze. "I'm here to have a discussion with Haruhi."
She squinted at him and frowned. "It can wait. This is Tamaki's day."
"It's a very pressing matter," he emphasised, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose elegantly. "And you have been avoiding me the entire week."
He took a step towards her.
"No."
He looked up in surprise to see Tamaki shielding her from him.
"I thought I heard a 'no', Tamaki."
Tamaki's eyes had taken on a cool purple hue. "That's right Kyouya. I said 'no'."
Kyouya sighed. "I must stress that it is a matter of great importance, which is why I had to travel all the way just to speak with Haruhi. It would be a waste of my precious time to undertake a two hour journey for nothing. Be reasonable, Tamaki."
"I'm being very reasonable. You're not speaking to Haruhi, not until you've heard what I've got to say."
Author's Note(s):
Yes, Tamaki confessed. Rather adorably actually.
The relationship between Tamaki and Haruhi is different now, partly because Tamaki has matured somewhat, especially when it comes to relating with her. As a result, Haruhi is more tolerant of his antics and does see him as a good friend, enough to want to confide in him a little more. Bear in mind also that he was the first one to know about her fear of thunder.
Personally, I feel that there's more to Tamaki than meets the eye. He's always portrayed as a bumbling idiot who spews flowery prose whenever the situation calls for it (and even when it doesn't). I don't think that's necessarily a front, just who he is... in part. I like the slightly more mature Tamaki here. He's even standing up to Kyouya on Haruhi's behalf. He's a sweet guy and he does love her. Whether it's going to be reciprocated however, is another matter altogether.
Another chapter with some focus on character development, necessary in the big scheme of things. I know you guys have your favourite pairings, but so do I. Just bear with it. XD
Oh yeah, don't give me grief about the colours. That's only my perception of course.
Hope you enjoyed the chapter. The next one should be interesting, I think. Especially the dynamics between the best friends. But I wouldn't know -- I haven't wrote it yet. XP
