Category: Mild Romantic Fluff

Characters: Takashi Morinozuka, Haruhi Fujioka

Requested By: anubislover (Tumblr)

A serene smile adorned Haruhi's face as she sat at the small white table situated in the midst of the botanical garden she and her male compatriots were currently visiting. They were attempting to make the best of their time in America, despite being extremely busy with their schoolwork, and so on weekends they frequented the local cultural highlights. In this jaunt, they were having tea-time in the city's botanical garden. Haruhi sighed contentedly as she reclined in the iron-wrought, ornate chair, leisurely swirling the tea in her teacup with the small spoon as her eyes traced over the plethora of blooms that were within her view.

The garden was constructed in the shape of concentric squares, with small stone paths linking a series of small clearings enclosed on all four sides by intricate flower beds. Each zone embodied a specific floral theme. And in true Host Club fashion, Kyoya had booked the area that was surrounded by roses. Naturally, there were rich ruby reds, but the garden had also cultivated a rainbow of other flowers- blushing pinks, sunny yellows, royal purples, pristine whites, and tiffany blues, and even a bush of midnight black blooms. Haruhi sipped contentedly at her tea as a gentle breeze rolled through the open-air flower garden, making the roses' soft petals and the spiny bush leaves rustle all around her. So peaceful…

Then, she heard the unmistakable yowling of Tamaki and the evil cackling of the twins in the distance. She scowled as her mental peace was all but shattered by their remote uproar; surely, the twins were antagonizing Tamaki in some way. She began counting down the seconds until he burst from underneath the floral arched exit, sobbing pitifully about how mean they were being to him and begging Haruhi to chastise them, because he seemed to have the idea that Haruhi could control them. In reality, the twins could only be controlled when they wished to, so there was no point in disturbing Haruhi's gentle contemplations. Disturb her they would, anyway, so she grudgingly prepared herself for all the noise.

Her eyebrow quirked as her keen ears regarded the far-off shouting. It did not seem to be growing closer. She could distinctly hear Tamaki yelping, though. For all she knew, they were beating him with a stick and disposing of the evidence. Oh well. Tamaki could use a bit of toughening up, she supposed as she calmly sipped at her tea again. Damn, that's some fine Earl Grey, she esteemed silently. The Host Club was full of loons but damn it if they didn't have fine taste in teas. The cacophony dwindled below the level of the rustling greenery around her. He'd live, probably. There was no reason for Haruhi to worry over it. Her round eyes swiveled around as she continuously sipped at the cream-colored drink, sweetened with much sugar and cream. Haruhi may be relatively plain, but her taste buds were not. So beautiful, she crooned in her head again as her eyes beheld the brilliant blooms nearly the size of her hand.

The ceramic clinked lightly as Haruhi set the half-empty teacup back into the saucer and rose from her seat to walk over to the line of rose bushes closest to her. Her white skirt, mid-length and flowy, swished about her knees with her rising. It had been strange, adjusting to dressing femininely all the time after pretending to be a male for well over a year, but she had grown well accustomed to it now. A small smile alighting her face, she scampered up to the row of bushes and was instantly greeted with the pleasurable, pungent aroma of the roses. Each one was distinctly different, some sweeter than others, but they blended together in a sensational harmony that had Haruhi's nerves buzzing with joy. She clasped her hands behind her back as she leaned over the stone wall to sniff lightly at the bloom in front of her face. Its lovely scent drew a humming sigh from her. Smells so nice…

"Haruhi?"

The girl shrieked and nearly jumped a foot in the air as she was suddenly addressed. Though of course she knew that sniffing roses was a far cry from a damning activity, her subconscious' alarm bells were blaring with the insane idea she had been caught doing something wrong. Her face nearly the color of the bright pink roses in front of her, she whirled around, hands twisted into the sides of her skirts as she faced her inquisitor. Mori was standing in the entrance to the zone, dark eyebrows arched nearly up to the roots of his neatly-trimmed hair. "I didn't mean to startle you," he mumbled with an embarrassed haze over his cheeks matching Haruhi's.

"I-it's fine," she said before stiffly shuffling back to the table to plonk back into her chair. She stared with big brown eyes at the cup of tea. She ought to drink it before it grew cold, but her sudden rush of anxiety was making her stomach lurch. In a compulsive gesture, she tucked the strands of her short hair on either side of her head behind her ears. "You aren't watching Hunny?"

"He's with the others." Haruhi had been too absorbed in admiring the flowers to notice, but Tamaki was yelling and the twins were cackling with gusto once more. They sounded at least a zone closer. Haruhi's mouth began to twitch, unsure if she wanted to smile or scowl. Leave it to those idiots to start an uproar in such a classy place as this… For rich kids, you really can't take them anywhere. "I thought you might be lonely," he added in a lower voice. Haruhi's cheeks began to pulse with a low heat as he cast a glance at his shoes, playing with the ends of his hair on the back of his neck. She blinked at him, then smiled sweetly. Mori was always so concerned for her. It was endearing.

"Thank you. I'm all right, but since you're here, would you like to sit and look at the roses with me, Mori?" she offered with a wave of her hand to the chair opposite her. His tall body grew rigid for a second as he eyed the chair like a foreign object he knew not what to do with; then, robotically, like a automaton who had just been granted life, he walked over to slowly ease himself into the chair. Haruhi placed a hand over her mouth to cover the small laugh that threatened to spill from her lips; really, it was too small to hold his tall, broad frame. He looked like a giant had agreed to converse with a fairy, uncomfortable but too polite to refuse and now seated at a mushroom table with no idea of what to do. The mental image made her snort and she had to try and act like she was coughing.

"Are you all right, Haruhi?" Dammit, he looked concerned now. She waved a hand dismissively, now coughing for real from trying not to be rude. She thought she heard Tamaki yelling again, but she couldn't be sure for the gasping hacks her lungs were forcing up her throat. It took her a moment to regain a normal semblance of breathing rhythm.

"Yes, yes," she said as she swept the small tears that had formed in the corners of her eyes away with the tip of her index finger. "I think I may have inhaled too much pollen smelling that rose."

"You… Like roses, Haruhi?" His tone was light, curious. Her anxieties had melted away, so she picked up her tea to resume drinking it delicately, casting a sidelong glance at the flowers.

"Yes," she smiled placidly. "I hadn't thought much about flowers before all this, but I think I like them now because they remind me of the Host Club." She leaned her cheek in her hand as she peacefully watched the blooms bob amongst the dark green leaves as the wind bounced them about. "Sure, it's chaos and not how I imagined my life would turn out, but… I'd be remiss not to admit that I don't regret it at all. I would do it over and over again and never change a thing," she said with a beaming grin in his direction. Mori's eyes were slightly widened as he just stared at her, expression completely unreadable as he reeled in what she supposed was shock. She chuckled in embarrassment and compulsively smoothed a hand over her brown hair. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get all sentimental. I bet you think that's weird."

"No…" he spoke finally, gaze dropping down to the empty saucer in front of him. "I don't think it's weird at all." Likewise, Haruhi's gaze dropped down into her nearly-finished cup of tea. "I'm glad… You don't regret anything," he added after a second, and they both looked up simultaneously such that their eyes locked. Something about the intimacy of the moment made her blush, but she could not force herself to look away from him. Not even Tamaki's affronted yowling, definitely much closer now, could tear her out of that one, simple, electrified second.

Mori moved first, looking back at the roses. He then stood up to walk over to the rose bushes, stooping down to pick up a rose that had been ripped from the bush by some force of nature or destructive hands. "So… Would you say one of those roses is the most beautiful flower in that whole garden?" It was a strange question, and an even stranger delivery; his tone was level, confident even, but Haruhi could detect the barely hidden waver in his voice as he wrestled with insecurity. Haruhi was confused about the question and figured the only response was to answer.

"Well, yes, I suppose so. Do you disagree?" She wasn't sure why she posed the inquiry. It was almost instinctive, like her subconscious was reading the signs Mori was giving her though her waking mind couldn't process them. Her eyes traveled the length of his spine to the back of his head as he slowly straightened up, holding the discarded rose by the stem and slowly turning it in a circle between his thumb and index finger.

"Yes, I would," he responded. Haruhi had no time to process that he had actually disagreed before he turned around and approached her. A small gasp, a ghost of a breath, passed her lips as he kneeled down on one knee before her to tuck the flower behind her ear with all the care of a prince bestowing a token upon his princess. Her face was not sure what emotion to display, but her eyes were a clear window to her quivering soul, shaking with emotion as she stared at him with her lips slightly parted though she could force no words through. "If I had to say, the most beautiful flower is sitting right in front of me. See? She even puts that gorgeous rose to shame."

"Oh… Oh my… Mori…!" she squeaked as her hands automatically slapped up to cover her blushed-blazed face. There was no mistaking the way he was looking at her. Haruhi had always liked Mori; he was kind and gentle. But did she like Mori? Why was her heart saying "yes"? She had no warning! How were her feelings so powerful as to send her heart hammering in her throat, palpitations near cardiac arrest, so suddenly?! Her head was hot enough to fry an egg in an instant. Still whimpering in shock, she parted her fingers to peer out at him. He was still kneeling there, smiling gently at her. "Oh, goodness," she breathed, not even realizing she had uttered the words aloud. "Th-th-thank you…" she managed finally, mostly because it was required of social decorum.

Before Haruhi could ask what the blazing hell had gotten into him, Tamaki and the twins finally burst onto the scene like she had predicted. Tamaki's voice was several octaves higher than normal as he dashed in a circle around the zone with the two twins howling in laughter, chasing him with a stick. After a second of watching them, she realized there was a big, fat, green caterpillar on the end of said stick.

"Haruhiiiiii!" Tamaki wailed with tears streaming down his cheeks. "They've been chasing me all over with that stupid bug! Make them stoooooooop!" He launched himself across the clearing to land on his belly next to her chair at the perfect angle to clutch at her skirt and beg. "Please, Haruhi, I can't take it anymore."

"Why didn't you ask Kyoya to deal with it?" she frowned down at him, completely unsympathetic. His breath hitched in his throat as he heard the twins snickering and they both glanced over to see them slowly encroaching with the caterpillar, wriggling the branch tauntingly.

"Kyoya abandoned me! He took Hunny and walked off! The bastard!"

"Jeez," Haruhi huffed with a roll of her eyes. She stiffly stood from the chair and wrenched her skirt away from Tamaki's grabby hands before marching over to the twins, who looked the picture of scolded puppies. "Honestly! I can't get a moment's peace. I don't care what you do to Tamaki, but why torture this poor little caterpillar? Go put him back where you found him so he can eat in peace!" she scolded while planting her feet and waggling her finger at them. Behind her, Tamaki sat up on his knees and chewed on his thumbnail with watery eyes.

"Tch. You just had to go whine to Haruhi instead of holding it like a man," Hikaru groused through pouty pursed lips. His brother sighed loudly and plucked the caterpillar from the branch to begin trekking back to where they had plucked him from. Haruhi thought the affair was settled until, right as he passed Tamaki, the boy mimed as if he threw the bug on the blonde boy. Tamaki released and unholy screech and batted frantically at his clothes and the open air, falling over and knocking down the chairs and tea table in the process. Mori had to scuttle away before it fell on top of him.

"Dammit, you two!" Haruhi shouted over Kaoru and Hikaru's maniacal giggles. "Kyoya's gonna be pissed if we have to pay for that! Don't make me come kick your little asses!" she growled and made to wrench off her flat to do just that.

"Man, Haruhi, so vulgar!" Hikaru laughed as he pranced away from her as she made to swipe him over the head with her shoe, which she had successfully wriggled off her foot.

"That's cuz you've pissed me off!"

"We're going! We're going!" The twins chimed in unison as they hurried back into the floral hallway before Haruhi really did kill them. She sat there, seething and huffing and flat clutched in a white-knuckled grip. Tamaki crawled over to her like a toddler and clutched at her leg, sniffling about how mean they were. Haruhi responded by whapping him over the head with the sole of her shoe.

"You! You're a grown man! Why are you freaking out over one measly caterpillar?!"

"Ow! Haruhi, whyyyyyyy?" he wailed and clutched the crown of his head, though she knew he was just being dramatic because she had taken care not to hit him nearly as much as she wanted to. He looked at her with teary, swimming eyes that would fell a lesser woman, but she was not that lesser woman- far from it. She put her fists into her hips as she glared at him, bare foot tapping wildly into the stone pathway. "Oh… I interrupted something?" he realized finally as he looked between himself and Mori, who was standing now and swiping grass blades from the knees of his dress pants. Tamaki's mouth fell open in horror and he eyed the rose in Haruhi's hair scandalously. "Mori! Were you flirting with our darling Haruhi?!"

"Yeah, so what?" Haruhi slapped a hand over her mouth at the callous affirmation. She would have thought Mori would've been shy and even refused, but he was just gazing pointedly at Tamaki, like it was just this natural thing. Tamaki hissed like a cat and hugged her leg again, earning another strike to his head.

"Ow! Haruhi, why- Mori! How could you?! I'd expect this from Hunny or the twins or even Kyoya, but not you! How the mighty have fallen!" he wailed in dismay, laying the back of his hand against his forehead as if he might faint like a weak-willed woman.

"Moron. It's none of your business! He means it!" Haruhi chastised him, then blushed when she realized what had actually come out of her mouth. Mori was finally growing bashful, hand over his mouth as he looked away from her, but she spied the pink creeping up the skin not covered by his fingers. Haruhi growled in ire as a headache began to grow in the pit of her skull. Never a moment's peace…! "Tamaki! We can take about it later, but for now, can I please just sit here and enjoy the roses with Mori? Please?" She emphasized the question by grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and prying him away from her leg. She wasn't strong enough to really lift him, but he curled up like a turtle into its shell, arms and legs hugged to his midriff as he stared at her owlishly.

"O-okay, Haruhi. If that's what you really want," he said in a small voice. He obediently got up once she set him a half a foot away from her and made his hasty exit, throwing confused glances at her all the while. As soon as he vanished through the archway she groaned, because she just knew he was going to go blab to the others and she would face a real inquisition upon their return. With her shoulders in a defeated slump, she whined at the arch until Mori came up beside her with a small laugh.

"Never a moment's peace," she grumbled aloud before looking at him out of the corners of her eyes, impishly with her cheeks puffed childishly.

"No," he laughed, hand sneaking down to entwine their pinkies, "but would you prefer it any other way?"

"No, I suppose not," she admitted breathily before squeezing his much larger pinky with her own. Tugging on it, he guided her back to the wall of roses, smiling beautifully all the while. There were many questions, from many different people included herself, but Haruhi shoved all those aside for the moment as she beheld the pretty blossoms with the quiet but passionate man. For now, she just wanted to enjoy a moment's peace, on the cusp of an uncertain but undeniably happy future…