I Didn't Wish for This!

Chapter Twenty-One: Let's Play a Game!

Nanako groaned. Her arms were itchy but she felt unusually warm.

She pushed herself up and blearily looked around. The sun was beginning to set, and it felt a little warmer than it did when she laid down. She looked down to see a blanket was placed over her legs. She didn't remember using a blanket.

"You're awake,"

Nanako turned her head to see Kaoru smiling at her from the deck. There was a broom and pan leaned up against the railing next to him.

"Is the game still going?" She asked with a yawn.

"Yes, but I think it's almost over." He pushed himself off the railing and walked over to help her up. "Yuki and Hiro are asleep in the guest bedroom. They surprisingly helped a lot, but they exhausted themselves about twenty minutes ago." Kaoru brushed a few stray leaves from her hair.

"They're going to be up all night." She frowned.

"Sorry," Kaoru laughed lightly.

"Oh, is it just you two? Where's Hikaru?" Haruhi rounded the corner with a basket full of bedsheets. Nanako shook out the blanket and rolled it up.

"He went to get some garbage bags."

"Oh,"

Nanako finally noticed the piano.

"Do you think you're going to win the contest?"

She walked up to one of the windows and cupped her hand against the glass so she could see inside. Sure enough, it was Tamaki sitting at the piano with a content smile on his face.

"I'm not sure. That's Kyoya-senpai for you. His highness didn't even realize there was a piano here."

Nanako stepped away from the glass and felt her phone buzz from inside her bag. She knelt down and unzipped it. She could see the light coming from the small screen on the front. When she got it out, she flipped it open to see a string of messages from her father.

She opened the first one and began to read them.

"Ah!"

The gasp came from above her. She lifted her head to see a vase falling quickly towards her head.

"Look out!"

*CRASH*

"Oh my gosh, are you okay? I'm so sorry!" The woman leaning out of the window was clearly panicked.

Nanako's wrist ached in pain from, once again, ending up on the ground.

"It was close, but we're okay!" Kaoru cheerfully answered back. He might've said it happily, but Nanako could tell he was anxious by the way his hand trembled on her arm.

She gingerly lifted her wrist up and wrapped her other hand around it.

"You're okay, right?"

Nanako noticed the cut on his face immediately. "I'm fine, but you…"

"Kaoru!"

Hikaru came running up to them as soon as Kaoru noticed he was bleeding.

"Kaoru, you have a cut on your face!"

Nanako pulled her backpack close to her and dug out a bandage.

"I got a little cut, but it's not that serious."

Hikaru exhaled and dropped his forehead down to Kaoru's shoulder.

"Don't scare me like that."

Kaoru smiled. "Sorry, but I'm all right. I promise."

They smiled at each other.

Nanako suddenly felt like this was an act. It felt a little too… staged.

"Uh-?!"

"BRAVO!"

Misuzu-chi was dancing around on the roof of the pension.

How did she get up there?!

"Misuzu-chi is touched! 100 points! Perfect score! The winners are the Hitachiin brothers!"

Kaoru held out his hand to Nanako, and she took it without a word. She eyed him wearily for a moment before taking the protective wrap off the bandage.

"Congratulations."

The twins turned towards Haruhi and grinned. "Don't mention it."

"Hold on! You don't mean… this was planned?"

"Well, who can say?"

/-\/-\/-\/-\

Nanako stuck a cotton swab into the small bottle of rubbing alcohol and then ran it over Kaoru's injury. He hissed in pain and grabbed her free hand causing her to jump in surprise.

"I'm just kidding," He laughed, knowing full well she would hit him.

She placed the band-aid over his cut, closed the bottle, and then hit his arm.

"Hold on, what happened to your hand?" He gently lifted her hand and turned it over.

"Oh," She hesitated for a second, "I ran into someone when I went into town and I scraped my palm on the ground. I might've hurt my wrist, too, but I'm sure if I ice it the pain will go away." She explained, trying to slowly remove her hand from his, however, Kaoru didn't allow that to happen.

"Did you land on it earlier?"

"Yes, but it didn't hurt that bad."

"That bad?"

She waved her other hand. "I mean, yes, I did land on it, but it's not that serious!" She looked down at him from his seat on the bed. He was staring at her sternly, but then his expression softened.

He pulled her forward, wrapped his arms around her waist, and rested his head on her stomach.

"There's something you're not telling me."

She was quiet for a full two minutes before she sighed and explained what happened in town. Kaoru wasn't happy about it in the slightest, but she managed to convince him that it was over and she was okay.

They stayed like that for a while before Hikaru entered the room.

She told Kaoru when she planned to be at the pension the following morning, kissed him goodbye, and walked the kids to the hotel.

Surprisingly, Hiro and Yuki weren't up all night, and she managed to fall asleep (with them sleeping next to and on her) around midnight.

Her phone rang loudly the next morning and she picked it up in a panic.

"Hel—"

"Hikaru kicked me out of the bed last night and I woke up on the floor. My back has never hurt this bad before."

Nanako rubbed her eyes and looked at the clock on the bedside table.

"Are you almost here?"

She checked the alarm and noticed that she set it for PM, not AM.

"I haven't even gotten out of the bed yet."

"Wow. The twins are really messing up your routine, huh?"

She smiled.

"I'll see you later, Nana."

The three arrived at the pension a little over thirty minutes later and found the men of the host club sitting near the bar looking in the general direction of Haruhi, who was sitting with a boy.

"Is that a friend of hers?" Nanako asked, dropping her bag to the ground and leaning on the counter of the bar.

"Yes, he's a friend from middle school," Kyoya stated.

"Oh, that's cool! I'm glad she has friends outside of us she talks to."

"If he had zero contact after graduation, he's not a friend, he's just a former classmate," Hikaru grumbled, clearly not happy with the situation at hand.

Nanako made a face and tilted her head to the side. "I mean, I don't talk to the friends I had in middle school but it doesn't mean we're not friends." Yuki tugged on the edge of Nanako's dress.

"I have to use the bathroom."

"Didn't you go before we left?"

"…No."

"Nee-chan! I can take her! That way, when she's done, we can go on an adventure!"

Hiro grabbed Yuki's hand, despite her hesitation, and ran off towards the restroom before Nanako could protest.

I hope they don't get in trouble.

"What's with this guy? Is he taking the refreshing innocence line? We ended the refreshment contest earlier in the chapter, you know."

Nanako stared at Hikaru.

"Okay, what's up?" She asked, pressing her palms into the counter and leaning forwards towards his face. "You're being really critical and rude for no reason today." Hikaru leaned away from her with a grimace.

"I'm just saying," He raised his voice just loud enough so Haruhi and her friend could hear him clearly, "that guy is obviously interested in Haruhi. It's plain as day and it's sickening."

"Stop it, Hikaru! You're the one being unpleasant here!" Haruhi pushed herself up from her seat and glared at the redhead.

"No, it's okay. I did have a thing for you, Fujioka. Then again, I've already been turned down by you."

Shock flew across the faces of the Host Club, including Haruhi.

Arai explained that his intentions must not have been clear enough for Haruhi because she didn't seem to acknowledge it at all at the time.

"Oh my," Nanako scratched the back of her head. She could say she knew Haruhi well enough to know that the reason she didn't acknowledge it was because she didn't realize that's what he meant.

Haruhi was intelligent, but not when it came to her own feelings or people's feelings towards her.

*sluuuurp*

A vein popped out on her forehead.

"If you don't cut it out, I'm going to hit you."

/-\/-\/-\/-\

*smack!*

It was Haruhi who ended up hitting Hikaru, not Nanako.

"That's not up for you to decide, Hikaru! If you do one more rude thing to my friend, you'll answer to me!"

No one knew what to say.

"What is this? What do other people matter?" Hikaru pushed himself up from his seat. "We're your friends, are we or aren't we?"

It took a second, but Hikaru quickly ran off with Kaoru trailing right behind him, begging him to slow down.

"I'm… gonna go figure out where Hiro and Yuki are." Nanako excused herself and trotted off towards the restrooms.

It took some searching, but she found them in the kitchen surrounded by chunks of bread.

"What is going on." Nanako had no idea what was going on.

"We got hungry." They said in unison.

It was probably the strangest thing she had walked in on in a while.

She shooed them out of the kitchen and went outside just in time to hear Kaoru ask Haruhi on a date.

All day tomorrow.

Kaoru.

And Haruhi.

It looked like Hikaru, but Nanako knew that voice.

She pursed her lips. Genuinely confused, she hoped there was some other meaning behind it. She was confident enough in herself and in their relationship to know that this wasn't serious.

She took a deep breath and walked back inside.

She wasn't going to let self-doubt win.

After aimlessly walking around for about ten minutes, she found herself standing in front of the guest bedroom door with her fingertips gently grazing the doorknob. Her subconscious somehow brought her to the conclusion that she should talk with Hikaru about what happened that day.

She didn't know what she was going to say, but the least she could do was try to see what happened to cause the attitude and the outburst, right?

*knock, knock*

"Go away, Kaoru."

"It's not Kaoru." She answered back. "Can I come in?"

"No."

"Hikaru," She sighed.

"I don't want to talk to anyone. Go away."

"I don't care if you don't want to talk. We need to talk about what happened today."

"No, we don't."

"Hikaru, I'm just trying to help," She tried.

She didn't get a response.

"I'm coming in,"

She pushed opened the door slowly and slipped inside only to have a pillow hit her in the face. It dropped to the floor with a fluffy plop and she stared at her assailant.

"I never said you could come in."

"You never said I couldn't."

Hikaru covered himself up to his nose with the sheets and moved as far away from her as possible. She took a seat on the edge of the bed and then proceeded to lift one leg up to face him.

"Okay, let's start by asking how you're feeling." She cleared her throat and dropped her hands between her thighs.

"I don't want to talk about my feelings with you."

"Well I'm not going to leave until you do, so if you want me out of here quick, you're going to have to get rid of your attitude and put up with me being a therapist." Nanako stared at him sternly, hoping he could feel her gaze on the back of his head.

He didn't say anything for a few minutes, so Nanako sat in complete silence until he muttered something under his breath.

"What was that?"

"I said betrayed!"

"There's no need to shout at me."

He muttered an apology and shifted onto his stomach, still not sparing her a glance.

"And why do you feel betrayed?" Nanako brought her other leg up and crossed her ankles. She leaned back on her hands and dropped her head to her shoulder.

"Because," He paused and let out a haughty sigh, "Haruhi is our friend. We're here because of her. We thought she was in danger and she's just working and spending time with her old middle school friends instead of us. He's not even her friend—he's just a classmate! We spend more time with her than he probably ever has."

Nanako waited to see if he was done talking before speaking. "Haruhi is allowed to have other friends, you know. She's not just your friend, or strictly friends with the Host Club. Just because she doesn't talk to someone after middle school does not mean they're not—or weren't—friends. They could be too busy, plus, I don't think Haruhi had a cell phone he could contact her with, right? You and Kaoru were the ones who got her the cell phone."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean—"

"I'm not done talking, you will speak when I am done."

Hikaru pursed his lips.

"What you are feeling is completely valid, but it doesn't mean you should have such a nasty attitude. You were rude to Haruhi's friend, and you were rude to Haruhi, too. What you did wasn't right, and you need to understand that. Kaoru went and apologized to her friend for you, but it's your responsibility to make it up to Haruhi." Nanako exhaled. "Do you understand what I'm saying?"

He glanced at her and then turned back towards the wall.

"Hikaru,"

"I heard you."

She eyed him, patted his leg, and then got up to leave.

"If you need to talk about anything, I'm always here. We're friends, so I'd like to help whenever you need it." She pulled open the door and left without another word.

Hearing the door close, Hikaru turned his head around to look at it.

"Friends…" He scoffed at the thought initially, but after a few moments of thinking, he concluded that they were kind of friends. Nanako was all right, but he wouldn't be talking to her about his feelings ever.

It wasn't like she needed to know about him.

They would always be surface friends, anyway.

/-\/-\/-\/-\

"Let's go on a date today."

"What?"

Yuki and Hiro ran between the two.

"Let's go on a-,"

"I heard you the first time." Nanako held up her hand. "I thought you were going on a date with Haruhi?"

Kaoru grinned deviously. "That was a trick. I pretended I was sick and made Hikaru be Haruhi's date for today."

Nanako's mouth opened in awe. "You sneaky devil!" She lightly hit Kaoru's arm and laughed. "I was actually going to ask you on a date while we were here, but so much has happened that I haven't gotten around to it yet…" She scratched the back of her head and avoided Hiro running behind her. "I'm glad you asked, though. I'd love to!"

"Great." Kaoru smiled lovingly at her. "Although it might not be just us…"

Nanako blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Well…"

/-\/-\/-\/-\

"Haruhi!"

"Sir, they'll see us!"

"Why should I let Haruhi and Hikaru go on a date?! After what happened yesterday, how did it turn out like this?!"

"This could be Haru-chan's first date, huh?"

"AHH!"

Nanako gripped the fabric of her dress tightly as she stared down into the tea she had ordered a good fifteen minutes ago. It had most likely gone cold and she wasn't that interested in drinking it anymore.

The 'date' was more like a group outing, and the chances of them enjoying their one-on-one date were very slim. She didn't know how long they were going to trail the two, but she had a feeling it would go on for a little too long.

She was thankful Misuzu was putting Yuki and Hiro to work (to their excitement, surprisingly), otherwise, this spy mission could've turned into one giant bust.

When the date finally began to move, they left the café and stayed a good distance behind. Nanako, despite feeling annoyed, held onto Kaoru's hand tightly and kept herself practically glued into his side. It made her feel a little better, but not by much.

"I think it would be very good for Hikaru to have more people who are dear to him. For a long time, the only people who were dear to us were ourselves. We felt like it didn't matter what anyone else thought of us, and that's how we got the self-centered disposition." Kaoru explained.

"And you realized it?"

"Hikaru is especially childish, so he charges into things on just emotion. Still, although Hikaru doesn't seem to be aware of it, he's become quite fond of Haruhi. He just doesn't know how to act except to force his own feelings onto others, so he becomes monopolizing, like a child." Kaoru paused, thinking back to when Hikaru had his outburst the previous day. "Even when he wants to be acknowledged by someone, he doesn't know what to do. If you want to have true friends and not just toys, you have to respect the other person, don't you?"

Nanako let her eyes slide up to Kaoru's face. He had moments like this often, but she had to wonder if anyone really saw them as much as she did.

"I think Hikaru needs to learn exactly how to get along with people in that way." Kaoru flashed her a gentle smile, and she couldn't help but smile back.

Despite telling the host club that the date was a trial and that they shouldn't interfere, Nanako felt herself wanting to facepalm every time the more active members (mostly Tamaki) did just that. Although, after a while, the two seemed to be getting along and seemed to be enjoying their time.

"Let's head back. If we're sloppy and get found out, it will all be for nothing."

Nanako clenched her purse. She had only briefly looked into the shop window as she was turning, but there was one item that caught her eye.

"Hm? What is it?"

She slid her hand out of Kaoru's and smiled. "I'll just be a moment. You guys can go ahead."

"Are you sure?"

Nodding, she pushed open the shop door and headed for the item. She was sure Kaoru would like it, and even though they didn't go on a proper date, they still had a few moments throughout the day.

She would say it was a good date, despite the circumstances. Overall, she was just happy to hold his hand for so long.

"Thank you, come again!" Nanako smiled at the clerk and rushed out of the store to catch up with the others. She slipped the bag into her inner pocket and made sure it was zipped shut so Kaoru wouldn't notice it.

When she got close enough, she slowed down and pulled his arm into her chest. "Hey, did you miss me?" She grinned childishly and kissed his cheek.

"I always do," He chuckled and curved his arm around her waist to keep her close. She curled her arm around his waist and hooked her fingers into a belt loop so she could relax.

Yes, this was the best not-date-date ever.

/-\/-\/-\/-\

Sometime after they got back, a nasty storm rolled in. Yuki and Hiro had their faces pressed against the glass as they watched the rain pour down.

"I take it you two like the rain?" She asked curiously, looking at them over the top of her book.

"Yes!" They looked back at her with starry eyes.

"Rain is the best thing in the world next to snow!" Yuki smiled contently.

"Plus, when it rains there are puddles, and puddles are made to be splashed in!" Hiro threw and excited fist in the air causing Yuki to giggle. "There's a divot just outside of our house that always fills with rain water, and Yuki and I always get to play in it."

Nanako smiled.

"It sounds like a lot of fun."

"It is!"

Nanako placed her finger on the side of the page to turn it, but just as she was about to, Tamaki yelled and frightened her just enough to give herself a paper cut.

She hissed and put the book down.

"You stupid idiot! You turn right back around and find Haruhi!"

They're still not back yet…

The thought didn't even occur to Nanako until that moment. She had been so distracted that she didn't even notice.

"What kind of person leaves a girl out in the rain like this by herself?! Listen to me, Haruhi is terrified of thunder! When she hears it, she gets so scared she can't move! Before you start indulging your overgrown jealousy, think harder about what the other person is going through!"

Tamaki snapped his phone shut angrily.

The only thing they could do at that point was hope that Hikaru would find her and bring her back.

Nanako looked down at her bleeding finger. She had been injured more times in the past three days than she had been in the past two months. She was beginning to wonder if some higher power was making this happen or if she just had really bad luck.

She pushed open the door to the bedroom and shuffled towards her backpack lying flat on the bed. She made sure not to rub the drops of blood on anything as she took out the small box of bandages and wrapped one around her finger.

"Hey," Two knocks alerted her that someone was entering the room. "Another bandage? How do you keep injuring yourself?"

Nanako rolled her eyes. "I don't know, to be honest. I'm starting to think I made some higher power angry." When she had it all wrapped up, she held up her index finger and wiggled it. "See? All better now."

She could tell Kaoru was worried.

"Come here," She dropped her backpack onto the floor and scooted back on the bed just enough so she could put her legs under her. Kaoru shuffled over and sat down in front of her. "They're going to be fine. I know it's not the best situation, but everything works out in the end. They'll find each other." She ran her hands through his hair and gave him a small smile.

He made eye contact with her for several seconds before wrapping his arms around her waist and knocking her back on the bed. He rested his head on her chest and listened to her erratic heartbeat. She was nervous, of course, and when he looked at her face again, her face practically matched her lips. Her mouth was open ever so slightly and one hand was gripping the top of her shirt.

"I'm sorry we didn't get to go on a real date today." He placed his hands next to her shoulders and looked down at her face. "I know I said we were, but I got so sidetracked with watching them that…"

"I-it's okay..." She murmured, her eyes flickering around for a split second before coming right back to his eyes. "I'm just…" She turned her head to the side. "I'm glad I got to hold your hand for so long…" She was quiet, but he heard her clearly. He took her injured hand and brought it to his lips.

"W-what…"

*kiss*

As he pressed his lips to her bandage, her face turned red. He kissed her knuckles, then the top of her hand, and then the inside of her wrist before ghosting his way up her arm.

She made a cute whimpering sound as he got to her cheek.

"K-Kaoru," She curled her hand over her mouth and looked away.

He backed away from her and smiled. "You know I love you, right?" Her blue eyes slid over to his. "I'm so thankful every day that I get to see you and be around you because, even though you might not see it, I've changed, little by little, because of you. And Haruhi, too, but mostly you." He watched the corner of her mouth twitch up. "When you asked me for help putting on your costume the first time, I didn't expect anything much. Then we practiced dancing and you… you were interested in me, as a person—a singular person. You don't know how happy that made me."

She moved her hand slowly and raised it to cup his cheek. "You are so much more than one-half of a pair. You're smart and wise, and selfless, and not to mention handsome," He rolled his eyes playfully at her statement, "And I want you to know that I think about you more than I should. I didn't think we'd come this far, but we have and I'm so grateful that you're in my life. We've had some rough patches during childhood and even now, but we came together and made our own garden… and I'm so thankful. I'm so thankful." She swallowed hard and coughed. "I promise these aren't fake tears."

"You're so cute."

He pressed his lips to hers, barely breathing. Even though they had kissed before, this one felt much different. It felt new and exciting and full of raw emotion.

She hooked her arm around his neck, and, to Kaoru's surprise, rolled over on top of him. She pulled away and dabbed at her tears. "How dare you do that to me when I'm crying. I look like a mess." His hands found their way to her waist and he relished in the extra body weight she had on her hips. He sat up and pressed a delicate kiss to her collarbone.

"You're not a mess. You're beautiful."

Nanako grabbed his chin. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're trying to sweet talk me into doing something."

He grinned. "Well, this is probably the only time we're going to get alone while we're here." His hand snaked around and slid into her back pockets.

"I thought you were worried about Hikaru?"

"I thought you said they were going to be fine?"

"Oh, you're playing that game?" She scoffed with a playful smile. "If you're going to be mischievous, then I get to be, too." She shifted her weight forward and then back just enough for him to look at her with a spark in his eyes. "And to think you haven't even asked me to officially be your girlfriend. Tsk tsk!"

"I was planning to today, but the date didn't officially happen."

"So why not do it now?"

Kaoru hummed. "Because it's not how I envisioned it."

"And?" Nanako giggled. "I'm not asking for a huge show. I just want you and me to be together officially." She placed her hands on his cheeks. "So how about it? Are you going to accept? Are you going to officially become my boyfriend?"

"Do you think I would say no?"

"Ah!"

She landed on her back. Kaoru loomed over her with a devilish grin.

"You sneaky little—mmph!"

Kaoru locked the door behind him for a reason.

It's up to you to determine what they did. Maybe they just made out, maybe they did other stuff, but I'm not leaning one way or another.

All this fluff…ah! I love it, and I hope you guys like the fluff, too!

AND THEY'RE OFFICIAL.

Pure romance and good relationships are all I want in life.

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed! I appreciate your support and words!