~Chapter Fifty Seven~
Heaven On Earth
In this world,
We're just beginning
To understand the miracle of living.
When you walk into the room,
You pull me close and we start to move,
And we're spinning with the stars above,
And you lift me up in a wave of love.
Baby, I was afraid before,
But I'm not afraid anymore.
~Heaven Is A Place On Earth, by Becky Baeling
Disclaimer: Me No Own; You No Sue.
Everything faded to black, and I turned back around to head back in the other direction, through the castle gates. I walked steadily toward the light shining from within the hedges surrounding the maze. Bravely, I walked into the maze, navigating it with only the thought of home in my mind, and eventually arrived back at the small, white gazebo. This time, however, it wasn't empty…
"Otou-san," A little girl with blonde hair and silver eyes squealed and bounced to and fro in the gazebo, climbing into the lap of her father. She excitedly looked back and forth between us and then pointed at me. "Look, Mommy's home!"
"Welcome back, Sweetheart," Takashi warmly greeted. He smiled down at the little girl in his lap and rubbed her small back with his much larger hand, kissing the top of her head. He lifted his arm and waited.
I smiled through the tears, stepped into his embrace, and whispered, "It's good to be home…"
Sammy's P.O.V.
Eyelashes fluttering, I slowly awakened from sweet dreams of Daddy, Mutti, Sarah, and all of the wonderful family and friends that I had made here in Japan. It had been pretty lonely at first, but with the passing of time, I learned how to be open with others and make friends, like Naruto. I had befriended Ellen and then Haruhi, and much later, Kyoya, Tamaki, and Mitsukuni, too. Kiki, Kotoko, and Nekozawa became good – not close, but good – friends of mine. I was an older sister to Hikaru and Kaoru and also the daughter of Hiro and Jun; I belonged to the Hitachiin Clan.
Soon, however, I would also be a member of the Morinozuka Clan.
"Otou-san! Look, Mommy's home!"
With Takashi…
Humming, I stretched languidly, attempting to regain feeling in sleeping, prickly limbs. I accidentally bumped into something – or someone, as it turned out – and glanced to the side to find Takashi still sound asleep, eyes closed and chin in his hand. I smiled at the heartwarming picture; his peaceful smile curled his lips from beneath the curtain of thick eyelashes that rested against his handsome face, which rested above one arm. Another arm was over my shoulders, draped there for comfort and for warmth, and I happily snuggled back into the embrace, still sleepy. I contentedly sighed. So warm…
"Hello, Sweetheart," Takashi murmured, brushing his cheek against mine and kissing my nose. Lowered his hand to put both of his arms over me and hugged lightly, the gentle embrace soft but strong enough to show the depth of his affection. "How – yawn – are you?"
Silver eyes were warm, aware, and filled with affection. His rich voice wavered lightly in the middle of his question, though, and his large hands began to wander, the two telltale signs that the taller teenager needed to sleep some more. I could feel his hand slowly creeping up my shirt, barely brushing the bottom of the blue bra beneath it. Although I didn't mind it like I did before, I still became uncomfortable if Takashi tried PDA in front of strangers, and I started to fidget. My fiancé always became handsy with me – apparently, sleep deprivation erased all of his inhibitions – when sleepy.
Considering that Tamaki had rudely awakened everybody at four o' clock this morning via conference call, screeching like a wounded pterodactyl ("MY DAUGHTER IS MISSING! CALL THE POLICE! SQUAWK!"), I could not really blame him, either.
Hey! I was pretty damn tired, too! Like Snorlax.
Yawn…
"Hey, Sweetie," I sleepily said and hugged the two arms warming my chest and shoulders, happy to hold him – while also keeping his hands from wandering to inappropriate places in front of the others, wherever they happened to be. Yay for multitasking!
"…Kiss," Takashi suddenly mumbled the request, though it sounded rather demanding, before I could respond to his earlier question. He blinked sleepily at me and made soft sounds in the back of his throat that, if I did not know better, I would call whines.
Lips twitching, I obliged and leaned forward to kiss him softly. Hands pulled, and I followed their instructions, climbing into his lap and pressing closer until his chest and mine touched. My fiancé growled softly in his throat, the sound reverberating deep within his chest, and pressed his lips to mine again, letting his hands wander and fingers trail down my rear as we made out in the shadows of the quite little alcove I found earlier that morning. Feather light touches to his arms, chest, and face helped him to wake up, and I smiled sweetly into the kiss. Takashi hummed.
Pulling back from the kiss, I reached with both hands to hold his face, stroking the sides with gentle fingertips. He hadn't had the chance to shave this morning because of the rush, and I could feel the faintest bit of stubble. I smiled. "Other than wanting to maim King Kong the Ding Dong, I'm fine. What about –?"
Before I could finish the question and ask after him and his lack of sleep, Takashi spoke up. He finally blinked the last residue of sleep away and asked, "Are you certain, Sammy-chan? You seemed to be having nightmares earlier, and then you…" My fiancé frowned, staring down at me as concern warred with his ingrained respect for privacy.
"Scheiẞe! ...What? What did I do? Did I talk in my sleep again?!" Freaking out, I babbled the stream of questions at him and worriedly bit into my nails, "I do that sometimes, and last time I did it, I apparently said that Ellen was smelly, and then the nasty girl didn't bathe for two weeks just to spite me, and – oomph!"
My mouth, suddenly occupied by his lips, stopped momentarily and then resumed movement against the firm swipe of the tongue that pushed against it. I melted into his embrace, loving the shock of his body heat against my skin and the scent of his cologne; smelled dark and heady, like the quite moments before the raging storm. He brushed his tongue over my own as my wet lips parted, and I mewled lightly, wanting more. Greedy, but hey – who could blame me?
Chuckling lightly, Takashi grinned into the kiss and then pulled back to observe my now vacant expression, equal parts amused and exasperated at his ability to shut me up. I playfully smacked his chest. Takashi caught the hand I gently popped him with and pressed his lips to it, whereas I batted dark eyelashes at him and pretended to swoon. He chuckled again, pressed his forehead against mine, and closed his gray eyes. I slowly did the same.
Yeah. Somehow, Takashi and I tuned out the rest of the world and basked in a quiet little bubble that belonged only to us. We also completely ignored the incessant ramblings of the Host Club. He and I will probably get dragged into their mess, anyway…
The Twins bounced in their seats, the momentum sending the rotating bar stools in circles, like the Tilt-A-Whirl; Hikaru liked it, but Kaoru did not and stopped after turning somewhat green. While patting his back, Hikaru eyed the others and suspiciously queried, "Where did Mori-senpai and Sammy-nee-chan go…?"
…See what I mean?
The Host King blinked at the question, glanced around in search of Takashi or me, and gasped. "Oh mon! We finally find Haruhi-chan here in Karuizawa, and all of the sudden, Mori-senpai and Big Sister mysteriously vanish! W-What if somebody kidnapped them? W-What if they plan to k-k-kill them?!" Tamaki wailed while fisting his hands in his golden hair.
Amused at his hysterics, Mitsukuni decided to add his two cents – er, yen – to the conversation and helpfully chirped, "No need to worry! Takashi-kun will kill anybody that tries to harm Sa-chan." My classmate hugged Usa-chan to his chest and spooned another mouthful of ice cream up.
"R-Right you are! And I –" Here, Tamaki commenced with striking a pose, with his hands to his hips, chest puffed out, and head tossed back, teeth glittering like Professor Lockhart. Grandly stated, "– will do the same, except for Haruhi-chan!"
Our Shadow King could tell that Tamaki would be far too stupid – uh, absentminded – to think of the last part of the process until after the foe in question had already been killed, and thus…
"My Police Force will hide the evidence," Kyoya readily offered the services of his most trusted and loyal followers (please read: Minions). I stifled laughter at the thought of the Shadow King, surrounded by several little yellow men wearing goggles and wielding flamethrowers. …Pfft!
Face buried in her hands, Haruhi bit back a scream of frustration and resigned herself to looking after the Bonehead Brigade for the rest of her vacation. My friend counted to ten, peeked at the Host King and Shadow King through the slats in fingers, and sighed, "Please don't premeditate the murder of hypothetical people, Senpais…"
"Why not?" The Hosts – Mitsukuni, Tamaki, Kyoya, Hikaru, and Kaoru – chorused together, all heads tilted to the side in that familiarly clueless way. Haruhi stared, Takashi sighed, and I burst into giggles, which I buried in his side. He pinched mine.
"Why? Oh, I don't know – maybe because it's wrong!" She explained to them with exasperation – slowly, with feeling, and with just the right amount of force to let them know it was a no-no. Being the future lawyer, Haruhi crossed her arms and sternly added, "Not to mention highly illegal!"
A brief moment of blissful silence followed, in which Haruhi mistakenly thought the Host Club might let it go and actually take her at her word. She relaxed, leaning against the piano bench behind her, and crossed her arms. Observed the Hosts, who stared blankly at her, and then dumbly asked – "…Why?"
"Ugh," Haruhi muttered, slumped further into the seat, and facepalmed – hard. (I winced; Gibbs Slap to the face, anyone?) A small hand absently rubbed at the reddened handprint that marred her forehead, and Haruhi grumbled, "Damn rich bastards…"
Sweatdropping, I squinted at Takashi to observe his reaction – exasperation and resignation, per our norm with these lovely nutcases – and muttered, "What the Hell? Is this a meeting for the members of the Host Club? Or have you all secretly renamed yourself the Hit Club?"
"Damn. You know our secret," Takashi dryly replied without pause as a small twinkle of sweet mischief began to gleam in his dark silver eyes. Nipped at my ear and then playfully growled, "Now I must kill you."
"Goofball," I snorted in amusement while shoving his face away. Laughter in my own eyes was warm and infectious; Takashi nibbled his teeth against the palm I'd used to push him back and smirked at me. We continued to tussle, fingers deliberately searching for ticklish spots, until another voice joined the fray with the Hosts.
"My, my, my," An older man – er, woman – murmured in appreciation, the sight of the Hosts too much to resist. (S)he cocked his hip straight out and put his hand under his chin while observing everyone. "Your companions are all filthy rich and incredibly handsome, Haruhi-chan? How refreshing~!"
"Misuzu-chi," Haruhi sighed, before placing down another tray of tea and finger sandwiches for the small party of guests that had just ordered and brushing down her apron. My friend, who appeared to be fifty and not fifteen, sent the older (wo)man a very stern glare. "Please don't encourage them…"
"But Haruhi-chan, I must! Five handsome young men are now standing here in this Pension!" (S)he squealed his excitement; the emotion quickly faded, though, and two fingers tapped his lower lip in thought. "Five...? We must be missing one young man, and what has happened to that strange little friend of yours?"
"With Sammy-chan, I'm afraid to hazard anything but a guess," The Japanese girl sighed while finishing another flower arrangement for her distracted boss and then wiping the dirt from her hands with her apron. Muttered, "Could be hiding in the broom closet and pretending to be Harry Potter, for all I know…"
Sniffling, I dabbed at my eyes as one would if crying tears of happiness and cooed, "Aw, Haruhi-chan knows me so well!" All kidding aside, Haruhi knew exactly where I went, with whom, and why. She was a real sweetheart, though, and refused to make trouble or rumors. Great friend, that one!
The Host King, however, did not know where I had scampered off to now – and with Takashi, of course. So Tamaki decided to stick his nose in our personal affairs. "We shall send out a search party at once!" He fretted, before really getting into it and pointing to his Shadow King and the Twins, "Kyoya-kun! Call the Police Force! Have them canvas the surrounding woods here. Devils! You sneak about and –"
From the seat at the back of the establishment, within the shadows of the staircase, Takashi and I glanced at each other, amused with the turn of events. He and I then coughed to capture their attention before things escalated and got out of hand (like it always did with this lot). "We're right here, Tama-chan," I called for both of us, and without moving from within his hold.
"Oh, Big Sister is here~!" The Frenchman immediately scurried to the couch, pushed his face in mine, and climbed into my arms, which admittedly looked quite odd. Imagine: Takashi had his arms over my waist, and I had mine around Tamaki, who had his face buried in my shoulder. Kinda like Shaggy and Scooby Doo…
Speaking of which! Petting his soft hair in a soothing fashion, I sighed, blowing stray hairs out of the way as my eyes rolled to the Heavens. Anybody have Scooby Snacks to spare…?
"So cute," The Okama declared while happily observing us. Misuzu then asked all about us, our companions, our relationship, and other questions of that nature. While I answered the rapid fire questions, Hikaru pried Tamaki off of me, and Kaoru lured him away with pictures of Haruhi. Oh! Duh! How could I forget his Kryptonite?
While ushering everybody outside for tea, Misuzu continued with his (uh, increasingly invasive) questions, one of which I could not believe the Okama had the audacity to ask. "You two are so affectionate with each other! You must be married, right?" When I gaped at him like Nemo out of water, Misuzu crooned, "No? My, my, my! Naughty little children, aren't you~?"
Ears red, Takashi cleared his throat and removed his hands from my waist, where his thumbs had been kneading the skin under the edge of the frayed blue t-shirt I was wearing. "We are engaged to be married, Misuzu-san," My lover quietly responded for me, as my words had failed and I could only blush spectacularly at him. Think: Pikachu!
"Oh, I do love weddings!" A true romantic, Misuzu sighed with longing, with his hands clasped in front of his face – and in that moment, I had the thought that with all of the natural beauty of this place, I would not really mind getting married here. Takashi squeezed the fingers I curled around his hand and smiled, taking note that I appeared interested in the idea.
"Do you often have weddings, Misuzu-san?" Takashi inquired while pulling him aside to ask the question. He, like me, was not quite ready for the others to know the details of the impending wedding. We would invite them, being best friends and all, but I did not quite relish the possibility of Tamaki trying to take over.
My wedding might become a cosplay…
Shudder.
The Okama blinked at him in surprise and then tilted his head to the side, observing Takashi. "We do, but not enough to be known for them in particular. We book two to three every month, I suppose. Here," Misuzu offered him a card from within his pockets, "if you want information, I can answer more questions when it gets closer to that time for the wedding!"
Smiling at Takashi, who warmly thanked him for his help, Misuzu gestured to the matching patio seats and tables, and the small feast of treats. "Well, I hope you all enjoy the tea and sweets! I must go and tend to the guests, but I will be around if I'm needed! Ta~!"
"Wait, I'll help you," Haruhi offered her assistance, already climbing to her feet and walking behind the hyperactive Okama. Sensing her irritation with the Hosts, I moved to follow the younger girl, to listen to her gripe and help out, too. But Misuzu stopped both of us.
"Nonsense, Ladies," The Okama exclaimed, finally lowering the hand that had been lifted to stop us. We glanced at each other in confusion and then turned back around to face him to hear his thoughts. "Spend time with friends, Haruhi-chan! It would make Ranka-chan happy, happy, happy to hear!"
"Huh, Misuzu-chi sounds kinda like Goose, from Charlotte's Web," I mused while watching the man in question saunter off, his hips moving oddly like the waddle of ducks or geese. Amused that a man could glide gracefully when I could not, I quoted, "'Terrific, terrific, terrific!'"
Elbowing me in the side, Haruhi grumbled, but reseated herself next to me. I winced at the feeling, gently rubbing the tender spot, but Haruhi ignored the pout I sent her way and instead glowered into her steaming tea, muttering about her loss of vacation. A soft sigh escaped her, and I leaned to the side to pull her close, kiss the side of her head, and smile at the other girl. She slowly smiled back, face and shoulders relaxing somewhat – even as my crazy younger siblings relentlessly attacked their classmate with questions and reprimands.
Let the Spanish Inquisition begin! I gleefully cried while rubbing both hands together, before I suddenly frowned in thought. Blink, blink. Er, Japanese Inquisition? Maybe I should rethink this plan. Hmm…
"Where in the world is your cell phone?" Kaoru immediately asked her, refusing to waste time with niceties, and Haruhi opened her mouth to respond to the question with her calm, simple explanation, but –
"Oh, I know! You powered it off, didn't you?" Hikaru scolded his friend – favorite toy, if asked – without waiting for her response. Knowing it would take awhile for them to calm back down, Haruhi exhaled, dropped her head into her hands, and decided to wait for the end of their tirade.
"You should not turn it off, especially without first telling us!" He and Kaoru finished together with serious frowns, and within the next beat, the two redheaded boys ducked their heads and shyly admitted, "We were really worried about you…"
"It annoys me," Haruhi complained, though her murderous expression lightened with their sweet admission, lips turning up. Brushed her bangs aside and sighed, "You always text me, and then Sammy-chan texts me, and I can't concentrate enough to do homework and the housework because I keep hearing it beeping at me!"
"You could always change the ring tone if it annoys you!" I informed her amidst protests of it being bothersome, and then gently nudged her in the side, winking at her. Nose in the air, I nasally declared, "Also, for the record, I do not text you too much – once or so every thirty minutes! So there!"
"You have a very sad and pitiful life," Haruhi deadpanned, and I tried desperately not to smile at her through the playful glare I sent her way. Judging by her amused smirk, I failed rather epically, but hey – at least I made her smile! Like Kyoya, but still!
"You…have…a…cell phone?" The Host King sluggishly asked his love interest. He squinted at us while attempting to follow the winding conversation, clearly having trouble coming to terms with the fact that his daughter, a commoner, could possibly have one. Welcome to the 21st Century, French Fry!
"Yeah, Hika-chan, Ru-chan, and I were worried about her –" I started while happily bouncing around with ants in the pants – hypothetical ants, by the way.
"You mean you were worried about her," Hikaru bluntly interrupted, bland expression perfectly matching his air of disinterest. Golden irises critically examined his fingernails and two fingers reached down to brush crumbs from the cuticles. …Perfectionist.
Busted~! I blushed brilliantly at being called out like that by the older of the two redheads, but I ignored his knowing eyes, smiled stupidly at the others, and finished, "Anyway, Ru-chan suggested lending his old cell phone to her and –"
"You mean you gave it to her without asking first if I minded," Kaoru corrected the story I tried to spin to avoid sounding like the girl with the little sister complex. My youngest brother also added to it by mentioning that I had done this several months back, before I really became friends with the Hosts.
All I could hear from them were snickers and chuckles, and I huffed in mock annoyance. "But, Ru-chan, Haruhi-chan wouldn't have taken a new one without using bad words and calling me a rich bastard!" I whined in the perfect impersonation of Tamaki. My brothers conceded the point.
The Host King bypassed Hikaru, Kaoru, and myself in his usual sneaky way. Tamaki slithered much closer to Haruhi, curled around her with the strength of the boa constrictor, and hopefully asked, "May I have your number, Mon Chéri?" Blink, blink. Smile.
"Nope," Hikaru answered for her, lips popping in the middle of the word. Thing One denied him access as a club bouncer would to somebody less than worthy and, always in favor of mischief, Thing Two stuck his thumb and index finger in the classic L for Loser. With the L to his forehead, Kaoru added, "Yeah, Tono – Buddies Only!"
"We're buddies!" Tamaki exclaimed his disagreement from his perch by (…practically atop) the reluctant Haruhi, and right in her ears as well. The King ignored her sour expression; however, Haruhi made certain that Tamaki released her by pinching the soft skin of his hands and then yanking them off of her sides. Burn~!
"Oh, I beg to differ, Milord! You do not fall in the Buddy Category because you are a…" Hikaru paused here purely for dramatics, glancing suspiciously from side to side, hands already reaching for his mouth to hide the hissed next word – "…Senpai."
A fit of giggles quickly burst forth from within me as a wave of rather dumbstruck expressions flickered to life – first with Tamaki, then Kyoya, Mitsukuni, and Takashi in quick succession. "You make it sound like a dirty word, Hika-chan!" I snorted, hands pressed to my stomach in silent laughter.
Grinning like Cheshire Cats, Hikaru and Kaoru exchanged quick winks and then lifted both of their thumbs up, a sign of their agreement. Kaoru shifted closer to curl into my arms and cheerfully assured, "It is a dirty word, Onee-chan."
"But, but, but…" Lip hanging low, Tamaki protested amidst splutters of indignation, which only made him look and sound like a moron – or more a moron than usual, at least. Whined, "…Sammy-chan is older than me!"
"True enough, but Haruhi-chan and I've been friends for longer than you and her," I pointed out, referring to the first day of school, and the day that I met all of them – Haruhi, and then the Host Club. "Because I met her loooooong (not really) before I met you."
"Whatever," The Natural Type said, taking the chance to interrupt before I could launch into a reenactment of that day, complete with pantomimes and funny voices to mimic the Host Club. "Does it really matter how long everybody has known each other? We're all friends…"
My smile softened, and I quieted long enough to really think about it. Did it really matter how long I had known her? Did it matter how long I had known Hikaru and Kaoru? Takashi and Mitsukuni? Tamaki and Kyoya?
No, I finally decided, heart swelling with the all of the little pieces that belonged to these silly, and strange, and kind, and wonderful people. Friendship is not measured in time; it is not measured at all. It's love. Pure and simple.
Standing from her seat, Haruhi smiled at the thoughtful expression I carried, knowing that I had taken her words to heart. The Japanese girl moved her teacup aside and gathered the rest of the dirty dishes, setting them on a cart that waited nearby to take the dishes to the kitchen inside of the Pension. Takashi kindly helped her by gathering all of the dishes used by Mitsukuni and himself, but mostly Mitsukuni, who had eaten at least eight cakes in the last hour. I absently added mine to the cart, too. The Hosts continued to chatter.
"Well, I'm happy that everybody dropped by," Haruhi sarcastically announced then, all the while cleaning after the Hosts, much like the girl often did at Ouran, "but I think it is time to leave. I want to spend the rest of the holidays here…" She pointedly glared at Tamaki, Hikaru, and Kaoru. "…in peace."
"Great idea! We should vacation here this year and relax like you," Mitsukuni loudly exclaimed, whereas Takashi ducked his head and grinned, first at him and then at me. The Not-Naruto Ninja winked at me, and I snickered at their conniving ways. "It'll be fun, Haru-chan!"
"Yeah, Friend," I teased with wicked mischief, "We'll all have lots of fun."
Chocolate irises widened in horror.
"Noooooo~!"
***Author's Note***
Hey~! I do not have long to ramble (quit cheering!), but I want to mention that I really appreciate all of the wonderful feedback from everyone! I love that several people tried to figure out the list of fairy tales, too. I will be responding to those reviews - and all the others - Saturday/Sunday. Until then...ENJOY! :D
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