Thanks again for all the reviews so far! You guys' comments on this fic always make my day. I hope this chapter is a fitting thank you present ;D I'm also adding in a chapter between this chapter and what was originally chapter 30 because I think it needs to be there, so I'm sorry if it takes a little longer than normal to get the next chapter up.
Also, I restarted my NaNoWriMo novel with a new idea because the old one was going nowhere and I hadn't written on it in a week. I'm never going to finish in time! AHHH! Why do I always do this to myself? :headdesk:
The night of class 1-A's Renaissance ball was bright. The moon was full and hung low over the school, casting everything in its milky glow. The weather was warm, and the doors in the central salon that led out to the main courtyard were left thrown wide open to let in the bright moonlight. On such a festive occasion, everyone was in good spirits, it seemed. Everyone, that is, but Haruhi.
"Tell me again why I have to wear this?" Haruhi asked with a heavy sigh. Renge, who was overseeing matters, turned to her in her own queen's garb and smiled.
"Oh, Haruhi-kun, you're so silly," she said. "It's because you look so adorable in it, of course! You have the perfect face for it, even if you're a boy!"
"But couldn't Kurokano have worn it or something?" Haruhi asked helplessly. "She's much more fit for the role than me. Or you, Renge. What about you?"
"I already told you it's decided!" Renge screeched. "So try to have a good time, okay?"
"It's kind of hard to even think about enjoying myself when I can hardly breathe in this corset," Haruhi grumped. "I think I'm going to pass out. I'm serious. Can't I take that part off?" she was thankful that at least Renge had allowed her to dress herself so her secret was safe, but it was still a rather irritating night, nevertheless.
"Of course not," Renge told her. "The princess has to wear a corset! It was so fashionable in those times! Plus it shows off your girly figure! Why don't you just have some mutton and gruel and try to forget about it?"
"If I eat anything, my lungs will rip," Haruhi explained. "I can't breathe as it is."
"Stop complaining," Renge scolded. "My little princess. Why not compete in one of the games? You're in charge of teaching people how to play the trivia, so you should probably play yourself, too!"
"I guess you're right," Haruhi agreed, trying to take a deep breath and wheezing. She felt rather silly in the flowing pink satin gown she wore. It was decorated with cream colored lace up the bodice and had an ornate matching corset over it, embroidered with tiny pink roses. It didn't help at all that she was also wearing long hair extensions in ridiculous ringlets or that her very distinctly princess-style hat wouldn't stay on her head when she moved so Renge had discreetly stapled it to the extensions. Renge had even somehow talked her into ruffled pantaloons and delicate satin slippers that hurt her feet and all in all, she was miserable and felt absolutely absurd.
"I guess I might as well try to have fun," she muttered to herself, moving toward the game booths. The smell of food was making her mouth water, but she was sure she wouldn't survive if she tried to eat while stuffed into her corset.
"May I have your attention please?" Renge asked, and Haruhi looked up to see her standing on the raised platform that was being used for lute players later in the evening. "I have an announcement to make. I know you're all looking forward to the fabulous prizes that will be awarded this evening, so right now we'll be having a free-for-all written contest in which everyone, even our staff, will participate! The grand prize will be awarded by our very own prince and will come with a free dance with him! So everyone make sure to take the quiz sheets when I pass them out!"
"Haruhi!" she had been immersed by Renge's speech and she hadn't noticed Tamaki making his way across the room toward her. He looked very handsome indeed in a cream shirt and a wine-colored vest over his dark trousers, every bit the prince he was playing tonight. "Hello!"
"Hi, senpai," Haruhi said, managing a smile for him.
"You look beautiful," he said with a sincere smile, taking her hand and kissing it. She was relieved when she managed not to blush.
"Thanks. I feel ridiculous. I can't breathe for anything."
Tamaki laughed a bit. "Maybe because I've taken your breath away?"
"You wish," Haruhi retorted, but she was smiling. For a long moment he looked into her eyes. She was relieved that the other hosts were busy with their knightly duties so they wouldn't be able to find the time to bother them. Moments like these with her senpai were rare and precious, and she wouldn't trade them for the world.
"You should try to win the contest, Haruhi," he said softly, a little too close for comfort, and Haruhi could feel people staring. "I'd love to dance with you again."
"I'll do my best," she assured him with a smile.
"I wouldn't expect anything less from you."
"Here are the sheets for the contest," she heard someone mutter to her left, and she saw that it was Kyouya, looking regal in his actual armor as he passed her a stack of papers and a box of pencils. "Take one and pass them on. I've been instructed not to give one to Tamaki."
"Aww," Tamaki whined. "Why can't I participate in the contest?"
"I imagine you'd have difficulty presenting a prize and a dance to yourself, Tamaki," Kyouya explained, and this seemed to be good enough for Tamaki. "You're the prince."
Haruhi took her quiz and looked it over. It was a rather odd quiz to say the least.
Question one: What is the rough price of a broken Renaissance vase?
Question two: What brand of instant coffee does tonight's prince favor?
Question three: What is the name of Morinozuka Takashi's pet chick?
Question four: What kind of man cannot be hurt by water?
Haruhi could not help finding it odd that the questions had nothing to do with the Renaissance theme. The people around her were muttering, and it was clear that no one else understood the quiz's relevance, either. She shrugged and filled it out, however, finding that she knew all of the answers. The last one she was a bit unsure about, and ended up just jotting down the answer that came from she and Tamaki's private joke, though she was sure it couldn't be right. She passed her paper in feeling rather confident and then engaged in small talk with some of her regular customers. She had nearly put the little quiz from her mind when suddenly Renge's voice was blaring through the microphone again.
"May I have your attention please?" she called. "The winner of the contest will now be revealed!"
"How is that possible?" someone to Haruhi's left whispered. "It's only been five minutes."
"The winner, and the only person to get all four questions correct is our boy princess, Fujioka Haruhi!" Renge declared, and Haruhi blinked in surprise as a bright light shone on her, nearly blinding her.
"Why is there a spotlight in here?" she asked, shielding her eyes from the light.
"Haruhi, come up here and claim your prize!" Renge shrieked excitedly, her voice a bit more high-pitched then usual. Feeling like she was in some sort of strange dream, Haruhi walked with feet like lead up to the stage. She hadn't reached it yet when Tamaki stepped down to meet her, smiling.
"Congratulations," he said warmly, fluffing her hair a bit. He looked over his shoulder. "Renge, I know I'm supposed to give out the prize but… you forgot to tell me what it was."
"Oh, did I? It must have slipped my mind," Renge said with a giggle. Behind her, Momoka and Sakurazuka stood looking excited, and Haruhi felt like they were a mob ready to storm her. "The grand prize of this evening is… a passionate kiss from the prince!"
Instantly Haruhi's eyes widened. Tamaki looked as shocked as she felt. "What?" she asked, backing a bit away from Tamaki. "A kiss? In front of all these people? Are you crazy, Renge?" the squeals from the crowd around her were nearly deafening. She was already lightheaded from the lack of oxygen due to the corset and the situation wasn't helping.
"What? You aren't going to claim your prize?" Renge screeched incredulously from the platform, her eyes wide. "Even after you fought so valiantly to obtain it?"
"Renge, if Haruhi's not comfortable with this, then there is no way I'm going to force a kiss on him," Tamaki said, giving Haruhi an impossibly tender look that almost made her knees want to weaken. His maturity was surprising, given the fact that he usually loved to play to a crowd, and it was touching. "I respect Haruhi, and I would never want to do something he didn't want me to do."
Something about his words made Haruhi step closer to him, feeling impossibly bold with the fuel of his moving words. "One little kiss… might not be so bad." she said softly, surprised that it was her own mouth the words were coming from. This was perhaps the only opportunity she would ever have to kiss him, and as embarrassing as this whole thing was, she didn't want to waste it. Tamaki was staring at her with a strange kind of fire in his eyes and his hands lifted to cup her cheeks. His eyes met hers, questioning, and hers trembled in the face of them. She could see herself in his eyes, looking a little pale and a little lost.
"Are you sure this is okay?" he asked softly. Haruhi swallowed hard and then nodded, smiling a bit nervously at him.
"I'm sure," she replied, feeling the warmth of Tamaki's hands on her cheeks, of his fingertips pressing her lightly, gently, as he tipped her head up and looked deeper into her eyes. In his eyes she saw swimming colors and emotions she didn't understand, and then they closed. She could not even hear the deafening squeals around them. In fact, she couldn't hear anything. Tamaki's breath was warm on her lips and he simply kept his mouth close to hers for a moment. Eventually she closed her eyes, letting her hands clumsily grip his sleeves. Slowly, delicately, he pressed his lips to hers. His were soft and they were warm. His fingertips stroked her cheeks slightly and for a moment the entire world was a kind of bliss that Haruhi had never known. It was almost frightening. It only lasted for a moment and then he was pulling away, looking a little embarrassed. His cheeks were pink.
"Thank you," he said softly.
"Sure," Haruhi squeaked. Her heart was pounding and she felt dizzier than before.
"And now… you still have more of your prize left, don't you?" Tamaki grinned at her. "May I have this dance, Haruhi?"
"Sure," she said awkwardly, not wanting to meet his eyes. "It's part of the deal, I guess."
"You're making it sound like you're not dying to dance with me, Haruhi," Tamaki teased, pulling her closer and placing one hand on her waist, reaching for her hand with the other. "But of course you are. I know you love dancing with such a handsome partner."
"Dream on," Haruhi muttered, and rather than flying into hysterics and sobbing, Tamaki laughed a bit and twirled her. Haruhi inadvertently stepped on his foot.
"It's so cute how you try to be so tough," he said quietly, leaning in a bit. "But I know that deep down you have a soft spot for me, and don't even try to deny it."
"You can think whatever you want," Haruhi told him coolly. It was rather difficult trying to keep her head when her entire body still felt like it was spinning from the kiss and it was even harder to breathe in the godforsaken corset when she was moving. They fairly flew across the floor, no longer the center of attention now that other couples were joining the dance. Haruhi found that she was nearly gasping for breath.
"Are you okay?" Tamaki asked her.
"Yeah," she replied, trying to keep an about face and ignore the pressing matter of her lack of ability to breathe. It became a little difficult to pretend when everything went dark for a moment and she fell against him before regaining her balance. Tamaki froze, and he was obviously alarmed. She felt his hand under her chin, tipping her face up so he could meet her gaze.
"Haruhi, what's wrong?" he sounded afraid, as though he was bordering on hysterics. Haruhi figured it would be better to simply tell him now and save them both from the scene he was about to make.
"To be honest, I think I'm going to pass out," she admitted. "I really can't breathe in this corset. I think I need to lie down."
"Come with me," Tamaki said softly, calming down. He let her go and took her hand, leading her toward the doors that led into the hallway. As soon as they were out of the central salon, he lifted her in his arms and started to carry her.
"Hey, you can put me down," Haruhi protested. "I can walk, really."
"Shhh," Tamaki said gently. "Save your energy. It's alright to let someone else take care of you now and then, you know."
Haruhi wasn't entirely sure what to say to that, so she simply lay still in his arms and let him carry her. When they reached music room three and he had closed the door behind them with his foot and carried her over to one of the sofas, he finally put her down on it.
"Thanks," Haruhi told him gratefully. "And you didn't…have to do this."
"I know. I wanted to," Tamaki smiled and leaned down, pulling at the laces of her corset. It was tied in the front, laced up with ribbon, and Haruhi tried not to be embarrassed as he unlaced the hated article of clothing and then pulled it off of her, setting it carefully aside. "Is that better?"
"Much," Haruhi told him, taking a deep, wonderful breath. "Thank you, senpai."
"Of course," he nodded and simply stood and watched her as she pulled off her hat, taking the hair extensions with it. It felt nice to have this element of the costume removed, and with it and the corset gone she really was able to relax for the first time that night. Tamaki stood still and a bit rigid, and suddenly he looked nervous. He was a little sweaty and a little fidgety, and Haruhi cocked her head in confusion at the way he was trembling as he walked over to the piano bench. He looked like he might be ill, and it was enough to make her concerned for him. She followed him across the room and stood beside him.
"Are you okay?" she asked him, and he nodded and laughed warmly, rubbing a hand affectionately over her hair as he had done so many times in the past. He took a seat on the bench and almost automatically Haruhi sat beside him.
"I'm fine, Haruhi. Thanks for asking," he said fondly. When he started giving her lessons in music room three, Tamaki had moved the grand piano over beside the windows so there would be a view as they practiced, and now a soft breeze rippled through the trees, changing constantly the dappled pattern of moonlight shadows on the stonework outside. Tamaki began to play slowly, a beautiful, sensuous piece that throbbed out of the piano. Haruhi sat still and in awe, watching and listening and feeling that music as though she had never heard him play before. When he finished, he turned to her and smiled.
"You've been practicing outside of our lessons, I hear," he said, and Haruhi wondered which one of the other hosts had caught her playing.
"I guess you could say that…" she replied.
"So, show me the fruits of that labor, then," he said, infinitely gentle. He looked deep into her eyes for a moment. "Play for me."
Haruhi played Moonlight Sonata with a kind of feigned grace that she had learned from watching Tamaki, and she managed to play it all the way through with minimal mistakes. It was the first time she had ever played a full piece successfully, and Tamaki looked at her with warm and shining pride in the dim room. Tamaki hadn't bothered to turn on the light, and the room was bathed in only gleaming white moonlight. The final notes died away into the silence and Haruhi sat feeling vaguely powerful with her fingers still on the keys.
"Very good," he fairly whispered, and Haruhi moved a bit closer so she could better catch his soft words. His hand, which had been in his lap, moved to the keys and rested gently on hers. His long fingers closed around her own, warm and rather safe, and Haruhi found herself looking up at him as his eyes caught hers and wouldn't let them go. "Haruhi…there's something I've been wanting to say to you… for a while."
"What is it?" she asked him, wondering what he was going to say. Her heart was pounding inexplicably and she found that her throat was dry. Tamaki stared deep into her eyes for a beat. Haruhi had never before experienced the phenomenon of the world standing still, but right now she was certain it was. When he kissed her, things set themselves in motion again so he could pull her closer to him, cupping her face gently with his impossibly tender hands. For a brief moment there was nothing but his lips on hers, warm and soft, and the feeling of his strong shoulders under her hands. This second kiss was different from the first. It was long and uninhibited and made their hearts beat in synch, she swore. She saw stars, grasped heaven, felt the world move. He kissed her with all the passion she had seen him display in the time she knew him and somehow more, until she was breathless and he was drawing back, slightly red, to smile at her. There was absolute silence in the room and their breathing seemed deafening.
"Haruhi… the moment I met you, somehow you changed everything. You're the only person who has ever given me the courage to stand up to my grandmother, to be the person I want to be, to go where my heart tells me even if it won't please everybody. Right now, I'm happier than I've ever been in my life because of you, and there's nowhere in the world I'd rather be than right here with you. To me, you're more important than a thousand Suoh legacies and I could never ask for anything more than what I have right now. I… I love you, Haruhi."
Haruhi choked on nothing, ruining the perfect romance of the moment, and spluttered at him, red in the face, watching him smile in amusement. His eyes were tender and he seemed perfectly content with sitting and watching her fumble for words until she answered him. The nervousness she had detected before was gone. The prince and the princess sat on the bench together in that silence and Haruhi wished she was better with articulating her feelings.
"Senpai…" she said finally when she could speak coherently.
"'Tamaki' will be fine," he told her elegantly, taking her hand and kissing it. For a moment she paused to grasp the enormousness of this moment, and the fact that since the moment that vase had shattered at her hands, their time together had been building up to this. "There's no need to be so formal anymore."
"Tamaki…" she said, correcting herself, and the simple intimacy of saying his name without honorifics sent her head reeling all over again. "I…" it took her a moment to gain her bearings again and if Haruhi was very inclined to get embarrassed, she would have been then. When she could finally speak with clarity, she smiled at him, treasuring the moment and the fact that his hand had moved up to her face and was caressing her cheek lightly. There was no need to be unsure anymore. "I love you too."
"Haruhi…" Tamaki said, taking a deep breath. "Will you… be my girlfriend?"
"Yes," she breathed. He smiled, she smiled, and he kissed her again. At that moment, all the little pieces fell into place and carriage that had weeks before turned into a pumpkin turned into something magical.
