Us


It had been four days since Kirimi stumbled into their house. She got well accustomed to their routines and daily customs, fitting in as if she'd been there for years. She hadn't said much of anything about her brother, or their household staff, and every time Haruhi tried to confront her about the marks on her arms, or how her family treats her, Kirimi would dodge her questions or insist on expanding her original story, which was now an obvious lie.

They all knew she couldn't stay with them forever, and eventually her brother would find out, but even so, most of the Hitachiin's had all but adopted the girl as their own and. Yazuha especially took her in, as if she was the daughter she never got to have.

Kazuha however, didn't feel the same way.

She raised her eyes from the rim of her teacup, watching the young Nekozawa prance and twirl around the studio in another dress. It was agonizing, knowing something was going to happen, and still have the entire house ignorantly play house.

He looked towards her right. Her daughter ws ginning, sending the girl back into the other room to change into something else.

"I don't like this." Kazuha said.

Yazuha put down her sketch book, tightening her jaw. "Then you tell her to go home."

Kazuha scoffed, trying to keep her voice low. "She's a Nekozawa, Yazuha. This is wrong."

"Hikaru's in love with a Nekozawa," Yazuha said quietly. "And you know, when we found out Haruhi was one of them, I never felt like we should push her away."

"Because it was already too late and we couldn't? Admit it, you were shocked too."

"You can't pick your family, Mother, and I didn't ask to be apart of this fight."

"You can't possibly be okay with this. You know her family will find out eventually. What if she lies to the like she's lying to us and tells them we forced her here against her will? Who do you think they'll believe? You're only going against what I say because you're still upset about Hikaru."

"You deliberately went behind my back," she muttered coldly, watching the door closely, "I told you I'd tell him when I was ready. Now he's ignoring me. He can't even stand to look at me anymore. He thinks I kept it from him on purpose."

"Kaoru said he hasn't told Haruhi yet."

"That's not my business."

Kazuha rolled her eyes, leaning back into her chair. "Well at least we know where the twins get it from."

"You know what, Mother-"

Yazuha was interrupted before she could let her anger get the best of her, as the door burst open. With Kirimi grinning in the doorway. "Ta-da!"

She traded a flat, graceful blue dress and bow for a bright frilly pink dress, and three petticoats. While in the other room, she had pulled her hair into two pony tails, and obviously had fun accessorizing herself with hair pins and a tiara.

"I love it!" She squealed. spinning around, running to the mirror.

Without a second glance to her mother, Yazuha stood up, and clapped her hands together, forcing on a smile before the girl could notice the distasteful air in the room. "It looks perfect on you."

"Now we have to find you some matching shoes to go with it." She added, her voice dripping with sugar.

Kirimi gasped, eyes twinkling. She held back another squeal and turned to look back in the mirror, to admire the ruffles, and tiny details. She owned a lot of pink dresses, but nothing as extravagant as this one. As she was in the middle of playing with the large ribbon around her waist, something caught her eye in the window, and she got distracted again.

She threw the curtain out of her way, gasping at the frosty glaze on the window paneling.

"It's snowing!"


It's snowing...

Haruhi inhaled a breath of cold air, as she stood outside in front of the firm she worked at. It was another boring day, being run around ragged by stuck up, big time attorneys, demanding ridiculously long coffee orders, and useless amounts of extra copies. It was painful, knowing she could have have been one step closer from doing their job for them, before she was harshly knocked back to square one.

Knocked back down to secretary.

She was pushed around and shouted at just for standing still, and had papers throw into her face for someone else's mistakes. The law business was cut throat, and secretaries were apparently at the bottom of the food chain.

She brought the rim of her coffee cup to her lips, trying to remind herself that he was worth it.

She lost her internship but he was worth it.

What they had was worth it.

Haruhi looked up. Not a patch of sky peaked through the thin sheet of grey, foggy clouds. She pinched her eyes closed as tiny flakes of snow fell randomly on her cheeks, and rushed the back of her hand across her forehead, shivering against the old that blew down the nap of her neck.

She looked down, scratching the rough concrete with her show, pulling her sweater until she was hugging herself, wondering what was taking him so long. He must have gotten held up at work...

"H-hey! Haruhi."

Haruhi tried to turn, but halfway there, arm were slung arounnd her shoulders, and she was almost knocked off balance.

"I'm glad I caught you before you left," she looked to her side, where a man perched his chin on her shoulder. He grinned when she saw him staring. "Waiting for a ride?"

She bit her lip. she had seen this man before. He had slick black hair, that was pulled back in a messy bun, hanging just above the base of his neck, which was wrapped snugly in a grey knitted scarf. In fact, she had just seen him in the elevator, but she couldn't, for the life of her, remember his name.

He leaned so close into her, she could smell the horribly strong smell of his cologne.

"Uh... yeah. A ride." She breathed.

"A friend?"

"Of a sort."

The man sunk his teeth into his lip, and pressed himself firmly against her, holding her back close to his chest. He was warm, but she shifted uncomfortably. It made it even more awkward when she heard the smooth growl of an engine coming around the corner of the building.

"So uh, are you coming to the office Christmas party tonight?" He asked, clearing his throat, ignoring the fancy car that pulled up in front of them. "They said it'll be pretty big this year. You could get a fancy CEO of one of those big firms to notice you. Not to mention the wine. Have you ever tried Bluebell? I think I'm more of a Cranberry guy."

Haruhi tried to reply, but the car stopped in front of her laid on the horn, drowning out whatever came out of her mouth. She rolled her eyes and shrugged the man of her. He mumbled something under his breath and slid away hesitantly.

"He's impatient." She muttered.

"I'll uh... I'll see you later then." He said hopefully, but Haruhi didn't reply. She grabbed the handle and slid smoothly into the passenger seat, hearing the blaring music on the radio suddenly go mute as she shut the door.

She turned, and noticed her boyfriend's eyebrows fold into a scowl behind his sunglasses. "What?"

Hikaru huffed. "Who was that?"

"A co-worker."

"A friendly co-worker."

"They tend to be friendly."

He hummed, which sounded more like a grumble, trying his hardest to not say anything rude that would ruin their evening before it even began. But watching that strange man hang off of her like a monkey made him want to stick his head out of the sunroof and throw something at him.

He shifted gears, glaring out the window as he pulled the car out onto the road. "What did he want?"

She shrugged, watching her building disappear around the corner. "He was inviting me to the office party tonight."

"Did you tell him you already have plans?"

"I have plans?"

"Yes. We're going on a date."

Haruhi cringed. The word date even rolled off his tongue strangely. "Do we have to?"

Hikaru made a sound that meant he was clearly offended but she could tell he tried to hold it in. "What kind of response is that? That's what couples do. They go on dates and stuff."

She scoffed when he stuck his nose up. He turned the car at a sharp angle, jerking them both into their seats when he slammed on the brakes. "We don't normally go on dates..." She mumbled, giving a sideways glare, as she adjusted her seat belt, but looking at him now, she saw that he was clearly dressed for something special. With his hair in a perfect mess, of styled bangs and random sharp edges. His jet black, suit blazer was freshly iron. He even composed himself primed and proper in his seat, sitting up straight and stiff.

"Where are we going?" She finally asked.

He flashed her a grin, pressing his finger to his lips. "It's a surprise."

She groaned.

A stiff silence fell between for the few moment it took for the car to come up to the first set of traffic lights right before the freeway. His jaw was locked and his fingers tightened around the steering wheel until his knuckles cracked. For the amount of time he wasted at work planning this date, her reaction wasn't even fun to tease, and it just left him frustrated.

"You know, you're the one who was adamant about working on this relationship, yet the working part it's starting to feel a little one-sided." He commented obnoxiously.

"I don't want to fight about this again." She sighed loudly. "I had long day. I'm tired. I don't feel like going out tonight."

"Like you are every time I suggest doing something?"

She closed her eyes. He's worth it. "It's below freezing outside. Can't we just stay in?"

"There's no fun in that." He argued.

"And? It's never bothered you before. Why are you acting so different lately?"

After a moment of tensely glaring at each other, they both huffed and turned to stare out their own windows, being sure to scoot as far away from each other as they could in the small car.

It was awkward between them. In fact, awkward was understatement. After their talk a few nights ago, they both tried to put their own little bits of effort in, to improve their poor communication. But their ideas always clashed. They never agreed on one thing and always ended in a fight.

He was always too sensitive and she was never sensitive enough. He was more into physical affection and she hated being touched, and after just two days, they couldn't stand to be near each other.

And when she blurted out that he had an issue with boundaries and personal space, he took it personally and now refused to touch her. The last time he had come even remotely close to her was last night. He had gotten sick and she had to practically force him on her. Which of course led to another fight afterwards.

Along with his whole 'too-complicated-to-explain' secret, the whole process left her feeling her undesired and him like a burden.

Thus, as they tried to improve, they ironically just kept making things worse.

Maybe they were trying to hard to force it...

Haruhi watched his fingers knead into the steering wheel, before looking back at his clothes. He did look like he put a lot of thought to impress her. Which was nice, and even put the thought into a date. Which was strangely out of character for him but also... nice.

Hikaru jumped as her fingers softly curled around his hand, but he quickly looked away again, not wanting her to know he was surprised, or that he liked it, and kept glaring out at the road.

"I'm sorry." She was quiet, lacing through his stiff fingers, to bring his hand closer. "I... had a bad day. You didn't do anything. I shouldn't take it out on you."

He but down on his cheek in a stubborn pout.

"I appreciate the thought... that you want to go out." She added awkwardly, turning a little pink.

He scoffed. "Don't hurt yourself."

"I'd embarrass you anyway," she said airily, gesturing to her baggy man pants and old coat. She hadn't even bothered to brush her hair before she left that morning.

Hikaru didn't even bother looking as he finally squeezed her hand back. "...You wouldn't embarrass me."

They fell back into another awkward silence.


He as right.

She wouldn't embarrass him.

He wouldn't give her the chance to embarrass him. Apparently Hikaru's idea of a romantic date and a way to cheer her up from her horrible work day, was an inconvenient trip to a high-end dress shop clear across town.

It was an hour after dinner, and the Hitachiin's Christmas party was tomorrow, and he thought now was a perfect time to find her a dress to wear to the party. She didn't want to argue with him anymore, so she was trying to be optimistic, especially since Hikaru giving her complete free range, and was letting her pick a dress with absolutely no input. The saleswomen on the other hand, were starting to get frustrated, insisting that she might as well just leave, because their inventory was too small for someone so picky.

Haruhi fidgeted oddly inside the fifteenth dress she's tried on that night. She cursed and shrugged it around, but still Hikaru didn't make a sound. He was perched against the door to the large changing room, only occasionally asking her if she liked whatever dress she was wearing, and demanding more dresses of a certain color from the manager.

After awhile of clearly having trouble with her dress and it's confounded corset, she turned to him. Her eyes pulling him out of his strange trance. He had been staring at her.

"I don't know what I'm doing," she almost whined, feeling even more discouraged when all he did was give her another one of his weird, absent smiles. "What?"

"Just thinking." He replied casually.

"You've been doing that a lot tonight."

"You give me a lot to think about."

They stared at each other until the look on his face made her flustered, and she awkwardly turned away. She felt his eyes on her as she touched the low collar of her dress. It was sleeveless and a size too big, so she was having a hard time keeping it up. And every time she'd shimmy to keep it from falling down, she'd hear him try not to laugh.

"I don't know about this." She grumbled, fumbling with her skirts. "It's snowing outside. Don't you think it's more appropriate to wear more clothes than less? I feel a breeze in places I shouldn't."

"Everyone's going to be wearing stuff like this You don't want to be underdressed." He chuckled, pushing himself away from the wall. She felt that breeze suddenly stop as he came up from behind her. And flinched as his warm hands started to fiddle with the strings of the corset.

"But you're right, it might be a little too much." Her dress was a solid champagne color, shaped in a sweetheart neckline. It was tight down to her waist, where it spread out in a soft flow, reaching past her ankles. She hadn't worn anything like this since high school. She felt awkward, but Hikaru wasn't letting her off easy.

He laid his chin on her shoulder, as his fingers tightened the straps, pulling her dress closed until it fit her like a second skin. "I don't know what I would do if someone tries to steal you away from me. Or just looked at you in something like this."

He looked up, seeing her face in the mirror, watching the warmth of her cheeks turn a faint color of crimson. "I might get jealous."

The feeling that arouse beneath her skin confused her. His hands that started to untie her backing were hot, while her skin was so cold, but his touches were so vague that it was almost torture. She had this desire to be touched by him, to press against him.

Her mind started to wander as she stared into the part of the mirror were his reflection should be, and soon started to imagine what it would feel like if his hands all of a sudden, just slipped inside her dress.

But his presence left her just as fast as her dress fell down, leaving her cold and revealing her bra before she could hold the dress back up.

Then, another dress was shoved into her face.

"Now try this one."

Haruhi sighed. "That one's backless."

"I know right? It would make me so jealous."

She shook her head. "Some thing more... Modest. I don't want to show all this skin around my dad and the guys. I feel naked."

"In that case I should probably admit that I told a little white lie to get you to come with me today." He smirked, leaving for the rack of dresses. Keeping in mind of what she would deem 'comfortable'. "I already have something pulled back at home that you'll wear to the party. But we're going out to dinner so you need a real dress."

She blinked. Dinner was his plan for their date? Now she felt guilty.

He turned around with a grin, holding up a lavender chiffon dress. This one with long sleeves and no corset. Nothing flashy or unnecessary. But Haruhi eyed the collar. The slit would run clear down the middle of her chest. "I think... This purple one."

His eyes ran from her shoes, peaking out from the skirt of the dress that she hung loosely around her, and slowly trailed up to her face, that curled in discomfort. "It looks pretty with your eyes."

Her face softened, now finding it a little hard to swallow. What was this weird bubble in her chest? She felt... Full, in a weird way. And the longer they stared at each other, both not really sure what to say, she felt even more taken aback by her feelings. He's never really made her... Feel before. Were they really at each other's throat earlier today?

He stepped up to her, holding the dress up to her chest. He held it up for her to take off the hanger, but her gaze drifted downwards instead, looking at his clothes. His shirt was a pale turquoise, missing a few buttons at the top, and tucked evenly into his belt. A matching blue handkerchief peaking out from one of the pockets of his blazer. She wondered why he left the house all dressed up just to go shopping, but he clearly thought out this whole surprise dinner to the nine.

"Is that... What you're wearing to dinner?" She muttered.

Hikaru hesitated, but he looked down. A little panicked that he might have forgotten to put on the right pair on pants. "...Yeah?"

Haruhi turned away, bashful. Looking towards the other side of the dressing room, where the other dresses were hung, and cleared her throat. "Then... I want to try that one."

She pointed at the blue dress.

There was silence, and she kneaded the fabric of the tan dress between her fingers, avoiding his eyes as she knew he was staring right at her, his mouth wide open.

"Or," she mumbled awkwardly. "The... Purple one."

Hikaru looked at his shirt, then towards the blue dress across the room, then back at his shirt. Then at her.

Then, he dropped the purple dress on the floor, and kicked it away with his foot.

His hands crept up to her face, hovering just above her cheeks. His fingers were tense, trying hard not to break that barrier he put between them. But he couldn't help it. He had barely touched her in days, and his will was fragile today.

He let his fingertips brush along her jaw, bringing his face close to hers, scrunching his brow in a painful need. Her breath was on his lips and had to disguise his groan as a heavy sigh.

"I love you so much right now."

Haruhi hummed warmly. The dress she was holding up finally fell around her ankles as she cupped his neck in her hands, wincing her eyes closed. Their noses clashed and her glasses rode up her face, but as she leaned into him, he pulled back. Always leaving that sliver of space between them.

"Kiss me." She whispered.

He snickered, before whining into her neck. "Don't do this."

There was brief knock that stole her words of protest before they could drip off her tongue. As they worked on untangling themselves, the curtain to the dressing room was flung open, and one of the short saleswomen waddled in, arms full of carefully laid out gowns.

"Here are more of the sizes you requested Mr. Hitachiin. I specifically pic-" She stopped.

Hikaru cleared his throat and straightened his back away from Haruhi, just as she ripped her shirt off the rack to cover her chest. The woman's eyes darted around the small room. Dresses were in messy heaps on the floor, thrown carelessly over mannequins and being stepped on.

She was going to have fun charging Hikaru's credit card.

"Are you going to buy something?" She glared.

Hikaru was still looking into Haruhi's bright red face, when he casually pointed to that blue dress she hadn't even tried on yet.

"That one."


Just Dinner turned into an all night affair. Quickly going from dress shop to the shoe store, Which took most of the evening, as Hikaru wouldn't let her rest until they found shoes that matched her new blue dress. By the look on his face, when she mentioned she could just wear her sneakers, she thought he was going to pull the car over and push her out.

"I thought you said you wouldn't care what I wear." She said, annoyed as she squeezed into a pair of three inch heels.

"Don't push your luck."

Turns out he's easily embarrassed by dirty tennis shoes. He almost choked seeing her mismatched socks.

But Haruhi was mildly impressed how much thought Hikaru actually put into that day. He pulled her into a four story, pure glass building. It was fancy, and she definitely would have been under-dressed, but their specialty seemed to only be traditionally served sushi and hors d'oeuvers. She probably would have starved if she was paying herself after they served her a tiny plate of wasabi sauce and kabobbed shrimp and called it a full course meal, but Hikaru let her order whatever she wanted, and she almost fell into a food coma at the table.

Apparently he also took her to the drive-in to watch a movie, but she fell sleep on his shoulder halfway there so who knows where he really took her.

It was almost two in the morning when they finally found their way to the estate. The 'all-day-comfort' heels she picked were apparently only for three-hour-comfort, and not even two steps out of the car, Hikaru swept her off her feet to carry her up the steps to the house, only setting her down when they reached her bedroom door.

She slid out of his arms, and he had to muffle a laugh as she stumbled into his chest.

Hikaru gently nudged her in front of her door. "Sweet dreams, Sleeping Beauty."

Haruhi chuckled, glancing at her high heels hanging off his hand. "Sleeping Beauty kept her shoes on."

His tongue darted across his bottom lip, watching her shrug his blazer off her shoulders. Absently taking it back when she handed it to him.

"Don't forget to take a bath."

"That can wait till morning."

"It'll be a long day tomorrow," he added, smirking as she rolled her eyes. "Mother wants to start early, so you'd better sleep."

He bent down, and she stiffened as he swiped her bangs away to kiss her forehead. His warm lips lingered, prolonging those last precious moments before he'd have to go to his own room, but she wasn't pulling away, and started to incline into his touch.

"I don't know if I'd make it," she mumbled, dramatically, tilting her face it, a little surprised how close their lips had gotten. "You'll have to carry me to bed."

"That could be dangerous," Hikaru scolded, caressing the line of her jaw. "I might get lost and carry you to my bed instead."

He teasingly brushed his nose against hers, but as he started to pull away, she grabbed his collar and stood up on her toes, swallowing his surprised gasp between her lips. He was frozen, a rush of panic locking his arms to his quickly jerked away, his hand stopping her from falling forward.

She looked up. His eyes were wide, and horror welded in chest, as she shrunk back, feeling like she just did something horribly wrong.

They were both silent for a few more painful seconds before she finally choked. "Goodnight."

Hikaru grabbed her arm before she could open the door. He was even shocked with himself. Her face was scrunched in rejection and felt a painful knot in his throat. He wasn't trying to be obvious.

He pulled her chest flush against him. She was hesitant, and tried to look away, but he caught her chin between his fingers, and lent down. He kissed her softly, breathing her in with a needful groan. It had been so long, her skin felt alien. After he had woken up that night, with her withering beneath him, trying to get away, he was so afraid of himself. He was afraid to touch her.

God he missed her.

Her arms snaked around him, tickling the base of his neck, tugging him so close he couldn't pull away if he tried. Having his constant touch, and then, suddenly not, was torture.

Her face was scrunched in rejection and felt a painful knot in his throat. He wasn't trying to be obvious.

He pulled her chest flush against him. She was hesitant and tried to look away, but caught her chin between his fingers. Kissing her softly, breathing her in with needful groan. It had been so long, her skin felt alien. After he woke up that night, with her withering beneath him, trying to get away, he was so afraid of himself. He couldn't trust himself to even look at her.

He got gutsy and gathered her in this arms. Luckily her squeal was smothered in another kiss, so they wouldn't wake the entire floor. He wrapped her legs around his waist, to keep her from falling as his hands wrangled with the door knob. He kissed lips, and trailed down, leaving a messy at her throat.

Then, he dropped her, and her back hit the mattress with a bounce. He paused, watching her suck her bottom lip behind her teeth, and did all but try to hide a playful growl that slipped past his.

His fingers grew bold, slithering up her thigh, hitching up her dress, distracting her as his tongue snuck into their kiss.

"You're all I've been thinking about." They parted to breathe, and his tongue wet her lips. "All day."

"I'm glad."

He kissed her again. "I love you."

And she held his cheeks, holding him still. "I love you, too."

"More than I've ever loved anyone."

She moaned into him, feeling his cold fingers tug at her dress straps. She trembled, in a sort of nervous thrill. They hadn't done this in months, and they'd only done it once.

"It's frustrating." He admitted, "Seeing everyone else's marks all the time. And knowing yours goes away after only a few hours."

He kissed the patch of skin, where her mark used to be, just this morning. "How will anyone know you're mine?"

She looked at him as he pulled his face away. "Give me one that lasts."

He chuckled, and she gasped. His teeth nibbled just below her pressure point. Feeling her heart beat against his lips. She shuddered, as his tongue licked that piece of flesh before he took it between his lips. Sucking.

"You're so noisy, Haruhi." Her chest rolled him, and slyly took the opportunity to slide her dress off her shoulders.

She kissed him this time, paying attention to his hands as they moved to the straps of her bra, anticipating his hands touching her-

He stopped, and his hands disappeared. Leaving her cold, and a disheveled mess.

She frowned, feeling that barrier start to rebuild itself. "What's wrong?"

"I'm scared."

Haruhi sighed.

"What if I lose control of myself?" He said quietly, hiding his face in her hair. "I don't want to hurt you"

"Hika-"

"I never want to do that again."

He left a shadow of a kiss on her cheek, his tight hold loosening. "...I should go."

She grabbed his hand, frantically "No. Not now. I don't care about that. I'm not afraid of you. You wouldn't hurt me."

"But the last time-"

"It was an accident."

"I can't control it."

She found his hand, hidden in the fabric of her skirt. She laced their fingers together so tightly it hurt. "I want you."

He looked into her eyes for a few agonizing seconds before bringing her into his arms. Breathing in her scent. Of lemons. He wanted her, too.


That morning, Hikaru woke up to warm hands threading through his tangled hair that fell over his eyes. He felt a kiss on his shoulder and sat up in an awkward jolt, wrapped in limbs and the folds of the heavy blankets.

Haruhi retracted her hand, sinking into the pillows as he stared at her, wide eyes, half concerned, and half afraid. He looked down at her, cupping her face, searching for anything that wasn't there last night.

She took his hand away and held it against her chest. "Nothing happened. I'm fine."

Hikaru frowned, unsure, but after some hesitance, he smiled sheepishly and fell on top of her. Making her laugh as he engulfed her entire mouth in a sudden energetic kiss. She was too tired to fight.

"It so much easier in bed than it is in the back of a car."

"Please don't ever bring that up again."