~Chapter Forty Seven~

After The Storm

You found me
When no one else was looking.
How did you know just where I would be?
Yeah, you broke through all of my confusion,
The ups and the downs and you still didn't leave.
I guess that you saw what nobody could see…

You found me.

~You Found Me, by Kelly Clarkson

Disclaimer: Me No Own; You No Sue.

Beneath her breath, Haruhi scoffed at his declaration and turned around to stare in his wake, frustration turning her small lips down, into an uncharacteristically dark grimace. The Hosts ignored her fury without pause – making it known where their loyalties remained – and quietly followed the example set first by Takashi, then Tamaki. So used to their support in everything I did and said, I was extremely horrified to note that Hikaru and Kaoru did the same, a strange seriousness glimmering in their golden eyes. Neither Twin looked back at me. Takashi was gone. What did I have left?

"Haruhi," I declared, quietly answering my own question with these three syllables. Her name was caught in the painful emotions of shame and embarrassment burning in my mouth, though, and I could not speak it louder than a whisper. Her expression, when I glanced to her, was sad, lonely, and lost. I wanted desperately to erase the pain in her heart and mine, but I could only stare out at the ocean and lean sideways to hug her close to me.

Sammy's P.O.V.

Unsurprisingly, I did not remember much about walking back to the beach house – mansion, my mind bitterly muttered, always a mansion – while holding hands with Haruhi. My mind shifted to Autopilot and hotly jumped from thought to thought, fear to fear, question to question. What if Takashi didn't like that I wanted to be his equal and wanted to break up? Would I be willing to change my views if that meant keeping him? What if Hikaru and Kaoru started to hate me again? Would I lose another family to my stupid insecurities? What if Tamaki, Kyoya, and Mitsukuni couldn't stand to be friends with me anymore?

…Would I be alone again?

No, I stubbornly argued, blue eyes glassy with fear, before pointedly tightening cold fingers around the wrist that I tugged alongside me. Haruhi is here, with me, and that will not change. She and I will always be friends. We made it through that fight just now, right? We're Best Friends Forever…

"Wait, Sammy-chan!" Haruhi gasped out from between parted lips, her breath coming in pants, and leaned against the tree that framed the pillared entrance to the mansion. She clutched the rough bark for dear life, her skin pasty pale and expression pained. A Pidgeotto feather could have knocked her over! Geez…!

Impatiently, I paused by the white door, two hands curled around the golden handle without a care about being polite and knocking before being welcomed in. My only real concerns at that moment revolved around successfully sneaking into the house like Katniss sneaked around in the Arena. Finding a vacant bedroom – without being seen – and washing off the layers of golden sand, dirt, and phantom impressions of handprints and fingers were a must. Because I did not feel clean. I could still Koji and Ari touching me! It…made…me…sick!

"Wow, Haruhi-chan!" I laughed easily at her flustered expression and the apparent stitch in her side, but the sounds of amusement were much too loud to be real when I teased, "Squirtle the Turtle – hey, that rhymed – could have beaten us without too much trouble." My lips pulled upward, into what I supposed should have been a smile, but probably looked like a pained grimace. "Ha, ha, ha…?"

After waiting for Haruhi to catch her breath, I rolled the handle to the right and then pushed the door open, slipping inside with silent feet. My friend followed silently behind, her hand in mine again, the conflicting emotions of protectiveness and insecurity, the need for protection, battling it out in her eyes. I smiled warmly at her, a gesture that Haruhi returned gratefully, and pulled her further into the mansion. We continued walking through the hallways, dancing through a valley of shadows and ducking behind pillars when voices whispered through the air.

While Hikaru and Kaoru passed by without pausing in their incessant chattering, Kyoya seemed to sense something amiss and paused next to the pillar hiding Sakura and Hinata – uh, I mean, Haruhi and me. We both tensed, shifting further into the darkness, and Haruhi gulped quietly when the Shadow King stared seemingly straight at us. Moments passed, ticking slowly, but Kyoya eventually tired of staring into the shadows and wandered off through the empty halls again, before disappearing around the corner. Haruhi and I stared at each other before exchanging identical expressions of relief and amusement.

"Well," I muttered, finally breaking down enough to see a minute amount of humor in this sad situation, and sarcastically jested, "At least I know that the Shadow Clone Jutsu worked perfectly, Hinata-chan!"

Cue Chicken Dance! :D

While I busied myself with making her laugh, Haruhi facepalmed, her expression twisted into amused disbelief, and began checking behind random closed doors for her belongings or mine. We eventually stumbled into a pair of adjoined bedrooms – the left holding her old suitcase; the right, Prada and Gucci travel bags – that must have been ours. She silently raised her eyebrows at me upon noticing the fancy, expensive suitcases, but I merely shrugged and lifted mine right back at her, explaining that Kaoru convinced Hikaru to help him pack for me, which made her fall into joyous hysterics.

Until Haruhi realized Ranka-san packed her suitcase, too, anyway…

Eyebrow ticking dangerously, Haruhi dropped into the chair next to the gigantic bed and warily unzipped her suitcase. Leaned forward and pawed through countless articles of girly clothing, which ranged anywhere from cute to prissy. "Dammit!"

To make her feel better about the situation, I dragged the largest of the three suitcases to her room and immediately started to rifle through mine, too. My immediate reaction, you ask? I wanted to cry! Dresses galore filled the pockets, dividers, and other units of storage in the case. Everything within its spacious pockets, I pointed out to her, was yellow, blue, or pink, the three colors that Hikaru and Kaoru preferred to dress me in. Blue I did not mind, but the others…? Not happening! Nope! Nu-uh…!

"It could be worse," Haruhi finally sighed, slouching forward to place her palm in her hands, which had been propped atop her knees. She slowly kicked her legs back and forth, staring into space while I continued glaring at my own suitcase like it contained Koga from InuYasha. What? He annoyed the Hell outta me!

Finally, I succumbed to the burning hunger in my stomach and quickly changed into a sleeveless sundress. Predominantly white but with little specks of yellow and pink flowers blooming here and there. It was not something that I would normally pick for myself, but I preferred it to the bright pink dresses that Hikaru must have stuffed into my suitcase. Kaoru likely picked this particular dress, knowing that I would reject all of the others. My eyes softened in gratitude. Although pretty mischievous, Kaoru really did take note of what I did and did not like, and I really appreciated his soft, considerate side. No one – well, except for me, and Hikaru, and Haruhi – were privileged enough to see it.

"Wow, Sammy-chan," Haruhi murmured, her eyes and voice soft but filled with happiness. She reached forward to hesitantly brush her fingers along the pink silk bow that circled the dress at my chest. A wistful expression colored her eyes a sad color of light brown, her fingers slowly dropping back to her smaller chest, disappointed. "You look really beautiful in that dress."

Heart dropping to the cold pit in my stomach, I realized that nothing I said about her adorable appearance – or that her breasts would continue to develop in the next five years – would make it better. She would not believe me. So I smiled softly at the younger girl, touched her shoulder, and gratefully said, "Thanks, Best Friend," which made her smile about ten times wider than a second before.

A sudden knock at the bedroom door distracted her from responding, though, and Haruhi swiftly crossed the carpeted floor to answer it. Judging from her startled expression and the quick tilt of her head, Takashi was on the other side, standing there and quietly informing her that the meal would be ready in another minute or so. My heart ached, riddled with pain at the thought of Takashi not speaking much, of not hearing his voice anymore. Our months of dating had convinced Takashi that I could be trusted enough to talk to about whatever came to mind.

If Takashi and I stopped dating, though, then…

Lips trembling, I slipped pink flip flops over my toes and wandered to the silent pair without a word. Haruhi and Takashi continued standing there, silently staring at each other, and then soon turned to gaze up or down at me, respectively. My (probably ex) boyfriend seemed to be waiting for me to speak out, to glare at him and screech about being treated like a weak little girl. I did nothing of the sort. My eyes were glued firmly to my sandals, and I stayed entirely silent, too ashamed to look him in the eyes.

Thirty minutes passed much like this silent meeting, with too silent teenagers and pained stares, interrupted only by the occasional cough. Mitsukuni cleared his throat again, having been the one to cough this time, and warily turned to stare at Haruhi. "How does it taste, Haru-chan?"

"This is delicious," Haruhi mumbled around her mouthful of crab legs, breaking into at least five others without breaking a sweat. Piece after piece was shoved into her mouth, mashed into bits, and then swallowed. Thankfully, Haruhi was of the right mind to discard the shells on a spare plate.

If that plate just happened to belong to Tamaki, well…

Oops?

Disturbed with this reaction, Mitsukuni slowly craned his neck to stare over at me, as my seat rested in between Kaoru and Kyoya. His eyelashes, narrowed into black lines around his pretty brown irises, made him look tired and frustrated. He eyed the blank expression in my eyes, a small frown at his lips, and asked, "What is your opinion of the food, Sa-chan?"

Quietly, I stared down at the plate of food that Mitsukuni placed before me, which boasted two large crabs and what looked to be caviar. My stomach suddenly dropped to the floor, making it hard to keep from vomiting up a small piece of buttered bread that I'd eaten ten minutes ago. I hesitantly admitted, "Well, I…uh…really don't want to eat the seafood, but the bread is…"

A large hand slammed into the table, and I jumped, staring wildly around the room in search of the cause. Wide blue eyes immediately noticed that Takashi was standing, his fists clenched and knuckles buried into the white tablecloth. Gray eyes swiftly darted to mine, and I wanted to sink into the floor, lost in the wells of disappointment that filled his normally tender gaze. The Host Club stared at him, eyes wide in disbelief, waiting with trepidation for the words to come – and Takashi did not disappoint, either.

A soft breath whistled from between his clenched teeth. "You are so incredibly rude, infuriating, and self-centered. It amazes me what I could possibly see in you," Takashi darkly said, his voice never rising but filled with the low tones of disappointment and disgust.

My heart shattered, dropped into the burning embers in my stomach, and simmered into ash, like Fawkes the Phoenix. Why? Because I would not ever earn understanding and forgiveness from Takashi! Not when Takashi apparently hated everything about me! He did not even want to be near me! Normally, I would've been placed in between him and Mitsukuni – for protection or something equally ridiculous – but I was seated next to Kyoya. Why else would I have been seated by the mean and calculating Schatten König?

Expression downcast, I smiled bitterly at the other teenager, knowing his words to be true, and softly said, "…I know, Takashi-san." My honest admission, coupled with the lack of the familiar and affection honorific to his name, startled him into wide eyed silence.

Everyone, Haruhi included, remained silent in there stunned amazement, but Mitsukuni appeared to see my pain and empathized with it. He immediately jumped forward to diffuse the situation and loudly declared, "You might like it if you'd only try a couple of bites!"

"Thanks, Mitsukuni-kun, but I would prefer not to do so," I politely said, placing my silverware in their proper places, wiping my mouth with the provided napkin, and pushing my chair under the table in quick succession. Standing properly, I bowed to the table and sweetly added, "I appreciate your efforts, but I am allergic to seafood."

Silence followed in my wake, ringing in my ears as my steps carried further and further down the hallway, but I could hear the sudden uproar, a storm of loud protests. There was no way that I'd caused that much fuss with leaving, though, because Haruhi would always be their favorite. In other words, Haruhi had done something unintentionally cute to attract their (likely unwanted) attention. No one could stay angry with her for long, either, whereas I always managed to piss off the people that I loved. No surprise there!

I robotically continued down the hallway, mechanically opening the pretty white door to my room, entering the attached bathroom, and standing there, confused. My eyes gazed out into the darkness, and I fumbled for the light switch, flipping it up and letting light fill the room. With a sigh, I turned to stare into the clean mirror, my eyes roving over my expression and body. On the outside, I appeared normal, with the same small frown, pale skin, facial features, hair, and curved form.

Inside, however, I…

"So much for my happy ending," I whispered the lyrics in English and stepped into the shower, tears filling my eyes and voice and throat until I could not help but sink to the cold granite tiles. Disgusted and tired and sad, I grabbed the cream colored washcloth from the tall stack of towels beside the shower and furiously scrubbed down my entire body. I wanted desperately to be rid of Koji and Ari – their touch, their smell!

"Was it something I did?" Somewhere, deep inside, I could hear myself crying, whispering out for help, for someone to hold me, and yet I could not scream, could not cry. My hands still scrubbed, blue eyes remained dry; I could only continue singing sadly to myself. "Was it something you said?"

"…Sammy-chan?"

My heart stopped, before resuming its beating at a wild and unpredictable pace. It slammed against my ribcage, and I gasped, whirling around to stare to the side with stunned amazement. Standing there, in only his pants, was my concerned boyfriend, who gazed down at me with this strange reverence. Not that I noticed. I was much too preoccupied with staring at his strongly defined muscles, mentally tracing the pattern of his biceps, pectorals, and abdominals with longing in my wide blue eyes. To feel his skin against mine would be amazing!

Speaking of skin…

With that last thought, I suddenly remembered where I was and what exactly I had been doing prior to hearing my name called – shower, bathing, naked! Dear God, Takashi was standing there and staring at me while I was not wearing clothes. My cheeks turned bright red, and I wailed, "Dummkopf! Get out, get out, get out…! Leave…me…alone…!"

"No," Takashi bluntly responded, before crossing his arms over a very muscular and strong chest, which I longed to reach out and touch, to caress with gentle fingers. His eyes were trained to mine, never wandering, and somehow, in the midst of everything, I wondered if I did not his expectations.

Am I too pale? Am I too fat? Am I…

"Why not…?" I heatedly demanded, pausing a moment to reach out, yank the silken shower curtain closed, and revel in the scant amount of security it provided. My breasts and, uh, other parts were now completely covered, thankfully. It made being angry with him much easier, too.

A small smile crossed his lips, brightening his stern expression into one of gentle warmth and tenderness. "Because you are not alone, Koi," Takashi gently insisted, "You have me now…"

"Could've fooled me," I muttered bitterly, ignoring his pained expression because Takashi deserved to be told off for acting like an ass. Yeah, I understand that what I did hurt him, especially since I broke my promise, but Takashi shouldn't just get to pretend that everything suddenly turned out to be all fine and hunky dory.

Takashi did belittle me.

He did yell at me.

He…

"Sammy-chan, I am sorry," Takashi said, softly, his voice low and filled with regret. Eyes wandering off to the side, steeling over, and then darting back to mine. "I apologize, not for wanting to protect you and being upset, but for hurting you." He swallowed. "I did not know you were allergic to seafood, and I..." His chest seemed to cave in and expand at rapid rates because of his accelerated breathing. "It will not happen again, I assure you."

My eyes widened at the end of this heartfelt apology, and I sniffled quietly, standing up and then falling into his open arms without embarrassment. He curled his arms around shaking shoulders, pulling me close and kissing the golden hair beneath his chin. Eventually, Takashi removed the washcloth from me and tenderly began to wash off the remaining soap. I stared at him, startled, and attempted to back away. My sweet boyfriend stubbornly insisted that I stay perfectly still, though, holding me in place with only the soft, concerned glow of his gray eyes. I hesitated, but…

He cares about me, and I care about him. Why shouldn't Takashi be permitted to touch me?

When I was clean, Takashi slowly lowered the washcloth, lowering his silver stare for the first time to examine my naked form. He inhaled sharply and his eyes seemed to travel…faster, and faster, and faster…between my assets and features, taking in my eyes, mouth, chest, hips, and the small patch of hair between my curved legs. His long fingers twitched faintly but did not move or reach forward to touch me. My heart swelled with the amount of restraint Takashi, a curious teenage boy, showed in front of me.

He slowly exhaled, his chest dropping faintly with relief, and then returned his gaze to my eyes, a strangely determined glint in their silver depths. "We need to talk, Sammy-chan," Takashi seriously said, his mouth set in a small line.

Admittedly, I panicked the moment his words managed to sink in, thinking the absolute worst of the scenario. No! Takashi hates me. He can't stand that I didn't listen to him. He doesn't like the way that I look naked! He doesn't want to marry me anymore! He…!

Startled by my panicked expression, Takashi blinked and then began to shake his head. He smiled faintly and kissed the tip of my nose, my cheeks, calming me with his affection. "You're misunderstanding my meaning, Sweetheart – I only meant to talk about what I have discussed with my parents and, briefly, with you."

Confused, but relieved at the same time, I nodded in relative understanding and gestured for him to continue, curious as to what Takashi meant. My blue eyes were narrowed in confusion, warily taking in his expressions, and I hesitantly mumbled, "…okay?"

My boyfriend slowly pushed himself into one of the stairs that led into the gigantic shower, before pulling me down to rest in his lap. Takashi paused, considering his next words, and then slowly explained, "Last week, I talked to my parents and asked Otou-san for permission to marry…you."

Eyes wide with disbelief, thinking it much too good to be true, I hoarsely uttered, "…what?"

"Otou-san did not seem too keen about the idea at first –" Takashi admitted, to which I cringed in both horror and understanding, but continued, "– then something just seemed to click into place. He said that you are an exact equivalent of what Okaa-san is to him. You…are my second half."

The words slowly started to sink in, but I could not make much sense of anything but the gentle emotion burning in his stare. My brain kicked back into high gear and eventually processed the meaning, though, and I gasped, "You mean…?"

"Yes," Takashi whispered, his eyes shining with happiness and brightening the small smile that claimed his lips. He smiled crookedly at me and murmured, "Otou-san said that I could invite you over and introduce you, so…"

While this might not have seemed like a really big deal, I could read between the lines and understand what Takashi and Lord Morinozuka meant – I was now a part of the Morinozuka Clan. I would be introduced to his parents and brother, but only for formality. Rules of nobility called that his parents approve of his choice before Takashi asked his girlfriend to marry into his family. His parents already seemed fine with the idea, though, and that made everything much easier and less emotionally troubling.

So why did Takashi look so nervous?

"Takashi-kun," I said, softly, and with perhaps the gentlest smile to grace my mouth since I last hugged Sarah, "I would love to meet your parents and brother."

"You would?" He smiled widely, his lips almost reaching his eyes, and his arms curled into me, pulling me into another hug, which I immediately reciprocated. Takashi breathed in my scent – lilies at the moment – and murmured, "Am I correct in assuming you also know what follows these introductions?"

Shyly, I nodded against his shoulder, resting my nose in between his collar bone and the crook of his neck. My nose picked the warm scent of wood from his skin, and I inhaled deeply, enjoying the familiar smell. I let it comfort me and quietly responded, "It is a simple formality that usually precedes the…proposal, right?"

He looked worried still, and I decided to tell him not to worry, that I would definitely say yes, when Takashi pushed his lips into mine. He pulled back not long after the initiation of this soft kiss and insisted, "Do not tell me yet because I wish to know later, when I actually ask you, okay?"

It seemed strange of Takashi to ask for that sort of thing, but I decided to humor him and nodded silently in assent; I would not willingly do anything to hurt his feelings. We stared at each other for a moment, each quiet and lost within the thoughts of what would happen with the next week. An introduction to his family, possibly mine, and then a marriage proposal. We would be engaged within the week if all went well.

After that, well…

"Someday," Takashi whispered the word, his voice soft when the word trailed off into nothingness. He lifted his hand, spread his long fingers out, and placed them over my warm stomach. His throat moved in a strange fashion, silver eyes glowing with emotion. A thumb slowly trailed down my stomach, around the belly button, and Takashi continued, "Someday, I hope you and I will have children together…"

His words, so soft and unexpected, awakened the slumbering feelings inside of me. A primal need for his touch, his love, warmed everything from my ears to the pit of my stomach. It was at that moment that I realized just how much I loved Takashi. I loved him enough to change, and to mature and become someone who could proudly at his side. Yes, I would undoubtedly still make strange references and jokes, but I could also stand strong and talk to him about serious matters – like the future, our coming marriage, and children.

"Me, too," I whispered back, placing my own palm above his, warming the skin with the curled fingers that I wrapped around his thumb. Shyly, I blinked at him through golden eyelashes and admitted, "I want a son and daughter, with beautiful black hair and olive skin, like yours."

He smiled shyly at me, a small blush coloring his cheeks, but I could tell that Takashi was very pleased with this sweet tempered reaction. Most teenagers would refuse to entertain the idea of marriage, let alone children, when so young, as we were. But Takashi and I were not like most teenagers. We were young, inexperienced, but Takashi and I loved each other. We knew what we wanted…

We wanted to be together.

***Author's Note***

IMPORTANT! Hey! I updated early since I had extra time to write yesterday and this evening. This is my present to you all! HAPPY NEW YEAR! :D

P.S. Remember that lime that I mentioned? I decided to type it up and put it in a separate "story." It will contain all of the limes and, if you all want them, lemons from Picking Up the Pieces. Since I can't post the link here, just click Shadowsammy and then look for the story titled, Key To My Heart. Hope you enjoy!

Please and review, okay?

Speaking of which, I want to THANK YOU all for 600 REVIEWS, 260 FOLLOEWRS, 240 FAVORITES, and 86,000 VIEWS! YOU'RE ALL AMAZING!