~Chapter Fifty Three~
Endearment
I Feel A Million Miles Away.
Still You Connect Me In Your Way;
When I Can Only See The Floor,
You Made My Window A Door.
So When They Say They Don't Believe,
I Hope That They See You and Me.
You're The Only One Who Knows
Who I Really Am.
You and Me.
~Be Somebody, by Thousand Foot Krutch
Disclaimer: Me No Own; You No Sue.
"Will this celebration involve cake?" I asked him, already knowing the answer and yet wanting to hear it from the other blonde all the same. We were, as usual, interested in the sweets!
"Of course," Mitsukuni laughed, his cheeks stretched back to show his beautiful white teeth and the happiness in his honest answer.
Whooping in happiness, I lifted both hands in the air and laughed brightly at the grins, smiles, and smirks that the lips of the rest of the Host Club. I leaned back to cuddle with Takashi and cheerfully chirped, "Count me in, then!"
We're really not just friends anymore now, are we? The Host Club laughed cheerfully together and continued to chatter about the upcoming events that would take place in the Abandoned Third Music Room. No, I think we're much more. And I smiled. We're…
…Family.
Yes.
Takashi's P.O.V.
"Licorice, chocolate bonbons, lemon drops…"
Smiling, I languidly trailed behind the shorter girl, who cheerfully maneuvered the metal shopping cart through the aisles with gentle ease. She appeared to enjoy the familiarity of just pushing the cart, of glancing at the sale items and comparing prices between potential purchases; it might not be strange to these people here, but for those like myself, I found it all rather strange and unfamiliar. Nobles – well, most nobles, anyway – would not be caught doing something so very mundane. Shopping for groceries was a poor, unexciting task best left for the servants. Nobility didn't shop at the Commoner's Market.
Me? I did not mind because I could keep an eye on my naïve little fiancée.
Many men were appraising her, following her small form with dark, hungry eyes. One stopped shopping to blatantly stare and drink in the sight of the foreign young woman. Sammy smiled back, oblivious to his less-than-noble intentions, but I quickly stepped forward to make myself known as more than her friend. My shadow, which covered both hers and his, made the perverted stranger quickly scamper away. I smirked and chuckled quietly to myself.
"Do, Ra, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti, Do! Where would I be if I were a chocolate bar?" Sammy hummed and scanned the metal shelves in front of her with bright blue eyes. "Bingo!" She grinned to herself and happily cackled, "Hey! It rhymes – Do and Bingo!"
The American cheerfully clapped her hands together and leaned down to start collecting the large pile of chocolate bars stacked along the bottom shelf. She pulled them into her arms and counted under her breath with each addition, slowly moving forward to grab the bars at the absolute back of the shelf; the hem of her pink and black checkered skirt lifted higher and higher still with each number. I blushed. Before I could glance away, my eyes were suddenly accosted with the sight of pink, laced panties.
Try though I might, I could not tear myself from her feminine undergarments like I should, like I had been raised to do. Instead, I found myself staring at her rear. She continued to lean forward, reaching for the rest of the chocolate, and the checkered skirt lifted higher still. Because Sammy had moved forward, though, her hips and bottom lifted higher up, and I could follow her curves to something else – a soft dip in the middle of her panties indicated the outline of her feminine parts. My breath caught.
"Sheesh!" Sammy exclaimed, clearly exasperated, and dumped the chocolate bars into the cart. She crossed the hastily scribbled item – chocolate bars – off of her shopping list. "I feel like I should be searching for Sugar Quills and Bertie Bott's Every Flavored Beans, just to be thorough!"
Shifting, I subtly adjusted myself by walking to the end of the aisle under the guise of exploring another strange collection of items, including glow-in-the-dark bubblegum. I absently asked, "Candy from Harry Potter?"
My fiancée whirled around to stare up at me, surprised by the familiar reference, and curiously asked, "You actually know what I'm ranting – uh, talking – about right now?"
Lifting both shoulders in a nonchalant shrug, I willed the hot blush on my nose to cool down and sheepishly admitted, "Last week, Satoshi suggested that I read them, and I actually decided that I rather like the series. I'm currently reading Prisoner of Azkaban."
"Which part have you read to in Prisoner of Azkaban?" Sammy asked in excitement, her face suddenly very near my own, which made it difficult to successfully will that blush away. Instead, I blushed darker than before and shyly smiled at her.
"The Shrieking Shack," I replied to her as a memory of nearly falling off of the edge of the bench in surprise flickered to mind. Somehow, I had not expected the Grim to suddenly pop out of nowhere and drag Ronald Weasley down into the depths of the Whomping Willow. Nope.
"Oh! You'll love that part! It's a plot twist and then some and –" She stopped, tilted her head to the side, and then zipped back to the shopping cart. Palms to the handle, Sammy darted around the corner of another aisle.
Uh…
How is it even possible that I still find myself surprised by the things that this girl does or says? I thought in exasperation, before giving in to my concern and storming after her. "Where are you, Sammy-chan?"
Seeing her ahead, I relaxed and then reached forward to pull her into my arms. "Please do not do that to me ever again," I murmured into her hair, heart still pounding from the thought of her being taken from me.
My fiancée sheepishly moved back around from her conversation to hug me and sweetly kiss my nose. She cuddled into my arms and genuinely apologized, "Sorry, Sweetie. Kiki-chan is here, and I don't usually get to spend time with her in person. I only wanted to tell her hello before you and I head back Ouran."
Hearing that name was rather frightening because Tanaka Kiki always managed to find trouble and chase after it, all the while dragging Sammy along for the ride. I sighed in resignation, knowing that I would not be leaving anytime soon. I quietly greeted, "Hello, Tanaka-san."
"Hey~!" Kiki chimed and smirked at her friend, the expression mischievous in nature, especially when her eyes met mine. Dark violet eyes screamed: "I know something you'd rather I didn't know!"
Why do I have the feeling that this certifiably insane girl knows what just happened? I blanched, before smiling nervously at the dark haired teenager. She flipped several strands of black hair over a small shoulder and chuckled darkly. I gulped.
…She knows…
"You didn't finish explaining why you're here!" Sammy reminded her, thankfully easing the cumbersome weight of her mischievous stare and taking the brunt of it, though the naïve girl remained clueless.
"Right-o! Well, Dad's fresh outta flour, but the place is jam-packed since the local high school is finished for the day," Kiki explained, lifting her arms to display the large bag of flour in her hands. She shrugged her shoulders. "I offered to walk down here and grab it for him real quick."
"How Simply Sweet of you," Sammy teased, but Kiki only groaned in reply because of the absolute ridiculousness of that pun. My fiancée snickered, clearly pleased with herself, and then turned to the other person. "What about you, though, Kotoko-chan?"
Quiet Kotoko laughed sweetly, her voice ringing like bells in the wind. She lifted her arms and displayed another bag of flour in their midst. "What started out as a visit to Simply Sweets to sate my sweet teeth eventually ended with bribery; I accompanied Kiki-chan to the store with the promise that I might receive a tin of her infamous cinnamon cookies in the future."
My fiancée slowly smiled at Kotoko, the relief in her expression nearly palpable. "You've been better since that visit to the physician, then?" Sammy hopefully asked, with her hands buried in the single pocket that ran across the bottom of her short sleeved white hoodie.
"Much better," Kotoko assured her, before reaching out to delicately hug the other girl to her chest. Although her voice was now muffled, I could still hear her – "Thank you so much for suggesting that I visit to request their assistance. It is a slow, uphill battle, but I have made progress."
"What are you and Godzilla doing here, Sammy-chan?" Kiki teased, though her voice seemed much louder than usual – if possible. It seemed like I wasn't meant to hear the conversation between her two girl friends. She winked at me. "Where's the Candy Man?"
"Well, Haruhi-chan usually does these types of errands, but Takashi-kun and I volunteered to do it this time, instead. We're buying candy, sweets, and other delicious treats for the Host Club," Sammy explained, while gesturing to the piles – and piles and piles and piles – of candy in the shopping cart.
Jade green eyes were moved from Kiki, to Sammy, and then to me. "What about Mitsukuni-kun?" Kotoko quietly repeated the question previously asked by her friend, her expression somewhat concerned. She must really like him…
"Mitsukuni stayed behind to eat cake," I explained; in truth, Mitsukuni and I agreed long ago we needed to protect the people we'd befriended, especially the girls. Sammy was usually with me. So, Mitsukuni had decided to stay close to Haruhi. Neither would be harmed with us near.
"Translation: Mitsukuni-kun is now eating the Schatten König out of house and home!" Sammy cheerfully chirped, lifting both of her hands to make wild hand gestures and accentuate her silly facial expressions.
Laughing, Kiki affectionately rolled her purple eyes and then bumped into Kotoko, nudging the older girl with her elbow. "Honey, I hate to break it to ya 'n all, but that man o' yours is hopeless!" Kotoko playfully drawled in an accent.
"Indeed," Kotoko replied, with her sculpted eyebrows and painted lips lifted in amusement. "At least mine does not stay behind to manipulate and blackmail others into doing his bidding, though…"
With sly smiles, Sammy and I exchanged quick glances of amusement. Oh, but Mitsukuni does that and much more!
Engrossed in their conversation, neither noticed this exchange, but Kotoko ended it and returned her attention to us. She bowed swiftly at the waist, though Kiki rolled her eyes and Sammy tried to get her to stop, and asked, "I would like to stop by and visit the Host Club, if that is acceptable."
"Ah," I warmly said, before I bowed politely to her in return, my own manners – which Okaa-san instilled within me – moving with swift speed to return the favor. "Mitsukuni would appreciate it, I am sure."
"Do you really believe that to be true, Mori-kun?" Kotoko blushed prettily at the thought and smiled brightly back at me. She nervously clasped her slender hands around the bag of flour held in front of her stomach and twirled the Nakamura Clan Ring between her fingers.
My fiancée, who noticed the playful glint in my gray eyes, curled into my arms and wrapped the longer limbs around her stomach. Gleefully, Sammy cuddled close to me and smiled brightly at her hopeful friend. "We know so…"
"Oi, Earth to Princess Leia!" With her hip cocked sharply to the side and eyebrow lifted, Kiki arrogantly demanded, "What about me?"
"What about you, Jar Jar Binks?" Sammy playfully retorted, hands dropping from mine to curl around her hips in a pose of maternal scolding. She laughed, "It's not like you would want to visit Kyo-kun." A dark gleam of mischief painted her sky blue eyes a navy color. "…right?"
"Sammy-chan," I interrupted, tightening my arms around the smaller female before the blushing and stuttering Canadian could gather her wits and attempt to strangle her friend, "Do you really think it kind to tease Tanaka-san about her crush?"
Flushing, Sammy glanced to the side and stubbornly avoided the gentle scolding in my gray eyes. "Well, Kiki-chan teases me and Haruhi-chan and Kotoko-chan all of the time. So really…" My fiancé grumbled, "…She started it…"
"For the love of Fritos," Kiki exclaimed, before pointing her index finger at her friend in an incredulous – and rather accusatory – manner. "Your damn panties still all twisted 'cuz I used to tease you about liking Sasquatch?"
Eyes narrowed, I stared down at her in suspicion. Why do I feel like Tanaka-san is preparing to surprise Sammy-chan and I with something less than kind?
"You still tease me!" Sammy protested, with her hands in the air. "Yeah. You used to tease me about liking him. You used to tease me about dating him." A huff of indignation escaped from between her lips. "All I hear from you now, though, is about being engaged to him!"
Lips curled, Kiki smiled innocently and batted her short, black eyelashes to ward off the Evil Eye that Sammy sent her way. "Jeez, Sammy-chan, I have no idea what you're talking about…"
"HA! Liar, liar," Sammy exclaimed, frustration swirling around in her (rather loud) voice, and glared darkly at the dark haired girl. "If I hear one more sex joke, Kiki-chan, I'll…!"
Oh, Kami. I facepalmed because I could only imagine what these girls talked about when not in the presence of the Hosts. Yes, Haruhi and Kotoko might be oblivious and shy, respectively. My sweet fiancée refused to discuss certain topics with others, too. But Sammy'd started to come out of her shell. Blasted Kiki had proved to be a perverted little influence, too…
The Canadian shrugged her shoulders yet again, though this time with her hands stuck in the front of her jean shorts, and then easily said, "Okay, then! I promise not to tease you…" She slowly smirked at us.
"Why're you, er, smiling maniacally like the Schatten König? It's kinda creepy…" Sammy swallowed nervously around her concern and eyed her with misgiving because, to be honest, Kiki appeared to have been possessed by something rather nefarious. Or…
Purple irises bright, Kiki ignored her and whirled around to face me, a manic gleam shimmering in her eyes. Lips quirked, and Kiki (not-so) sweetly asked, "Hey, Mori-kun! Watcha think of those pink lacy panties that I bought for your woman? Pretty sweet, huh?"
…No, Kiki is simply nefarious by nature, I silently determined, face frozen stiff with behind the polite mask that threatened to crack and reveal the Killing Intent in my eyes. Who knew?
Silence reigned; however, Kotoko regained her wits about her and recovered first. The Japanese Noblewoman shifted her wide green eyes and frozen smile from Kiki, to Sammy, and then to me. She tossed the bag of flour in her hands to Kiki, who caught it with surprise. Our quiet classmate slowly retreated, her head ducked down, cheeks red, and hands nervously clasped in front of her. A mumble – something along the lines of meeting us at Ouran High School – trickled out from between her stiff lips; then, Kotoko darted out of the busy grocery store. Not that I blamed her…
In the span of another minute, Sammy returned to her normal self, practically shoving her soul back into her mouth and whimpering in mortified embarrassment. She buried her face in her hands, clearly shocked by this brazen question, and stuttered in her defense and mine. Kiki pretended to pet the top of her head comfortingly to quiet her.
What shocked Sammy into silence, however, was my response –
"Quite," I responded, before straightening to my entire height of six feet and two inches, taking advantage of the extra inches to smirk down – and down, down, down – at Kiki. "I do particularly like the little white stars trailing down the middle, between her thighs."
A pin falling to the floor could have been heard in that moment. Mouths dropped, Kiki and Sammy gaped at me, expressions of shock and horror mingling into something that resembled confusion. I pretended not to notice and resisted the (strong, almost overwhelming) desire to apologize for speaking out in such disrespect. I should not be rude, especially not to young women. My mother raised Satoshi and I better, but…
Nope. Instead, I wheeled the full cart around and headed for the checkout lanes. My calloused hands mechanically unloaded the items from the cart and deposited them upon a moving black register belt while my mind swirled with other thoughts. Would Sammy be upset with me? Would Kotoko not want to talk to us anymore? Less pressingly, I wondered if Kiki might actually attempt revenge.
Why did I have to lose my composure and speak crudely to those girls? I sighed wearily as my cell phone buzzed from within the pocket at the front of the Ouran blazer over my arm. My cousin most likely wanted to know if I had purchased his sweets yet.
At that moment, Sammy reappeared, her hands curled around her own cell phone, which chimed with the sending of another text. She quickly responded to it, small fingers flying over a virtual keyboard with familiarity. A smile curled her lips briefly, but the small girl did not speak, and refused to acknowledge me. Fiddling with the packs of bubblegum and other ands and ends at the register occupied her time. My thoughts remained preoccupied, but I reached down to remove a cigarette lighter from her hands to prevent her from accidently burning herself.
Bangs in front of her blushing face, Sammy snatched it back from my open palm and put the red lighter back in its display tray. My fiancée nibbled at her lips but decided to break the figurative ice and blurted, "Er, Kiki-chan went back home…"
My voice did not instantly return, but I glanced down to her, my gray eyes narrowed faintly in confusion. She shifted guiltily, the expression strange and at odds with the tight hold her hand suddenly had to mine. "What happened?" I gently asked.
"Well, I…" Sammy bit her lower lip again and pulled it into her mouth, chewing nervously at the pink flesh. She swiftly rocked back and forth in that familiar habit of anxiety, but ultimately decided not to voice the rest of her train of thought. "…never mind."
Regrettably, I might have damaged their friendship by losing my composure during their normal bout of insulting banter. "Is Tanaka-san angry?" I prodded her gently for information and then moved with the register, stepping forward when the next customer finished paying for their purchases and left the small store.
"Yeah," Sammy slowly said, before sighing through her nostrils and admitting, "Pretty pissed off, to be honest –" Small shoulders lifted. "– But like Mutti always said, 'Better to be pissed off, than pissed on.'"
My fiancée rarely mentioned her birth parents, but I figured this might be because the girl had only properly started to grieve their loss in the last year. We could talk of such matters, though it involved treading carefully, and I appreciated her willingness to bring up memories that might hurt. Before I met her, I'd also had difficulty discussing – well, anything. Discussing painful memories might hurt, but Sammy and I needed to do it before moving on and making other memories.
Happier memories…
Now, I did not intend to embarrass Sammy, but Kami! I only wanted Kiki to be quiet. Fighting fire with fire had seemed like a very good idea – kind of brilliant, too – idea at the time, but in hindsight, I had only made the situation much worse. I wanted to apologize to her, and eventually to Kiki, too. We all needed to talk it out like mature adults.
Still, I could not help but live in the moment and snicker faintly at her words, amused with their crude honesty. "Ah…"
Eyes glinting in laughter, Sammy bumped into me and butted her head against the bit of chest that her forehead could reach. A giggle escaped from between her lips, and I knew then that everything would turn out fine. We might struggle here and there, and Sammy and I might disagree or argue about stupid things, but in the end…
We would make it.
"Excuse me!"
Gray eyes swiftly darted down to acknowledge the skinny teenage male manning the cash register. He noticed just how far I needed to glance down to meet his eyes and paled somewhat, before clearing his throat. "Sorry, but it will be, uh –" A wince. "– The total is 100,000 yen."
Without missing another beat, I handed him the shiny silver credit card that belonged to the Host Club. "Charge it." My mischievous smirk might have been obvious to Sammy, who facepalmed and mumbled about Haruhi and rich bastards, but the cashier…?
"Of c-c-course…!" Our cashier – Yuu, his nametag proclaimed – blinked owlishly at me and stuttered, "Here is your r-r-receipt! Have a n-nice, uh, wonderful day, Sir and Miss!"
My fiancée nudged against me. "You, too," I politely mumbled and crouched down to pull ten of the twelve bags of groceries – or rather, sweets – into my arms.
Yes, I mentioned twelve large and cumbersome bags of groceries. We had purchased them for the Host Club, but in the end, I believed only Mitsukuni would taste most of these treats. My cousin is a sugar addict…
Thoughts awhirl, I reached for the last two, planning to hold them in my right hand, but Sammy rushed forward and pulled the bags into her grasp. She curled her small hands around the brown bags, one arm tucked beneath the fragile bottoms and the other wrapped around their sides; I really wanted to scold her for carrying the heavy bags. My fiancée might have been born a commoner and raised to be independent, but a young woman was not supposed to do such manual labor.
Not wanting to upset her, however, I decided to keep these thoughts to myself. Everything that I thought, be it in my eyes or my actions, could be difficult for anybody else, including Sammy, to discern. She could handle herself for the most part, though. My fiancée caught my eye, which tracked her movements carefully, and smiled knowingly at me. I startled – before, Sammy would not have known the thoughts that swirled around in my eyes. Now I could not hide anything from her.
Fondly, I realized: She sees right through me…
"Even Superman needs to take it easy once and awhile, Sweetie!" Sammy teased, with dancing blue eyes and lips pulled back to reveal the briefest flash of her teeth. "Lois Lane probably knows how to carry around her shopping bags, too."
Relief coursed through me at the return of her sweet smile. My mouth curled crookedly into a grin – because of her smile and her familiar references – and I gratefully said, "Thanks for the assistance, Sammy-chan."
My fiancée hummed; then, Sammy slipped her left hand out to gently curl her pinky finger into a single belt loop sewn over my pants, the gesture affectionate and intimate. Before, Sammy could not stand to hug me and avoided such actions. It spoke volumes about how far Sammy and I'd come over a year.
We walked silently down the street and back to Ouran High School. While I had suggested taking the limousine, Sammy stubbornly balked and refused to take a car when the mile could be walked in less than fifteen minutes. I tried to win the argument by pointing out that the errand would be finished quicker, but Sammy sweetly suggested that her motorcycle would be much better than the limousine for speed; I refused pointblank. So Sammy and I comprised: No limousine. No motorcycle.
In the end, I dryly noted, Sammy still managed to win…
Shyly, Sammy tugged at the belt loop in her tiny grasp, seeking attention, and queried, "Can I talk to you about something, Takashi-kun?" To which I smiled softly and murmured in the affirmative.
"Um, I wondered how you'd…uh…seen my…er…" Sammy stumbled through her words, though the question had obviously been swimming around in her mind for quite awhile.
A small blush darkened the tan skin over my nose and cheeks, but I steeled myself to ignore my embarrassment. "You want to know when I managed to see your panties," I gently finished for her.
My blush could not compare at all to the brilliant pink that colored her cheeks, which made it hard for her to meet my eyes. She eventually gathered enough courage to lift her attention from her white sneakers and face me. "Yeah…"
Hesitantly, I shifted the bags in my sweating palms and explained, "Your skirt lifted in the store as you reached for the chocolate bars, and I could not help but notice them because of their – uh, color."
"You couldn't have tried to warn me instead of staring at them?" Sammy weakly asked, and her soft lips twisted strangely, caught halfway between a smile of amusement and grimace of frustration.
A million dollar question, that one…
"Yes, I could have, and I should have, but…" I cleared the anxiety from my voice and gruffly said, "I could not look away." My eyes met hers. "You know that I have…difficulties…not touching you now."
Silently, Sammy considered these words, before relaxing the tense set of her shoulders and sighing softly. She turned to me, a wry smile replacing her earlier grimace, and admitted, "You're not the only one."
My expression of surprise could apparently speak for itself because I didn't have to verbally respond to her; instead, Sammy nervously fiddled with the ruffled edges of the shopping bags and mumbled, "Well, I love you, and I know that I said I didn't want to –" She flushed. "– to sleep with you yet, but I…"
Shyly, I glanced at her over my shoulder, before lightly bumping her shoulder with my arm. She glanced through her eyelashes to observe me, a curious light burning in the blue depths of her eyes. We hesitantly smiled at each other.
My fiancée inhaled sharply, stared right into my eyes, and then strongly declared, "…I'm ready to take the next step with you."
***Author's Note***
HOLY CROW! WE'VE HIT THE 700 REVIEW MARK! XD
And...IT'S BEEN TWO MONTHS! I'M SO SORRY! Life decided to stomp all over me... :(
IMPORTANT: However, I have been rearranging the remaining storyline! I have decided which of the remaining thirteen episodes to include and which to chuck out of the story, since the last fifteen chapters will focus more on what happens between Sammy and Takashi than anything else. (Hint, hint). I hope it doesn't bother anybody that this story, which swings in and out of the episodes to begin with, is taking a more original plotline now.
On another note, I LOVE YOU PEOPLE! :) You have reviewed, favorited, and alerted these past two months, while I ran away and battled - shudder - Life.
PLEASE KEEP READING AND REVIEWING!
Update = Around 715 Reviews.
Sammy: THANKS~! :D
Mori: Ah. U_U
