Hey everyone! It's me again, bringing you another of my wonderful, as Tori-chan has so kindly dubbed them, Lizfics. This is a Takari, takes place when Takeru is about 25, and it's written mainly because I don't want Katie still mad at me because I killed Takeru in the last fic I wrote. In other words, this is going to be major sappy. We're not just talking 'Aw, they kissed' sappy, I'm talking cheesy, romantic, heartfelt, 'why can't my boyfriend be like that?' sappy. So, for the weak of stomach, turn back now! Read one of your usual violent drugs, sex and alcohol fics, 'cuz this is so not for you. Save yourselves! Run while you can! I've done all I can to warn you. Now you're on your own.
"Guys, pay attention! I invited you over so you could help me think of a way to surprise Hikari, not so you could eat the contents of my fridge!" Takeru yelled at the three guys in his kitchen, who were eating as if they hadn't eaten in years.
"What?" Daisuke said, chips crumbs on his face.
"Hey, little bro, it's not as if we do this all the time." Yamato laughed from across the room. Takeru walked to the fridge and shut the door.
"You guys didn't even close the door! Electricity cost money you know." He leaned against the fridge.
"We didn't close the door 'cuz we weren't done taking food out of it!" Daisuke replied.
"I think you have enough food Daisuke." Ken said, staring at the pop, bag of chips, dip and piece of cake he had on the table in front of him.
"Like you're any better." Daisuke pointed at the piece of cake, sandwich and pop Ken had taken.
"The difference is when Takeru comes to my house I will actually give him something to eat. So I can eat what I want." Ken replied. Yamato and Takeru laughed at Daisuke, who was now blushing. Ken had become more open since he started to go out with Daisuke all those years ago, and in the end became the one who always made everyone laugh.
"Ha, ha, ha. Very funny." Daisuke replied, shoving more chips in his mouth.
*Some things never change. * Takeru shook his head.
"OK. Here's the deal. I need to think of a way to propose to…"
"Propose? My little brother is going for the old ball and chain? What's wrong, giving up on freedom?" Yamato teased. Daisuke quickly swallowed his food and got on one knee in front of Ken.
"Oh Hikari, my one and only, I need your body, I mean love, forever!" Daisuke grabbed Ken's hand. "Make my libido, I mean dream come true. Say you'll be mine!" with that, he pulled Ken off the chair and into his arms, leaned forward so Ken had to bend down almost to the floor and dramatically kissed him. Yamato was in hysterics watching them, almost falling off his chair from laughing so hard. Takeru's face went bright red and he had his arms crossed in front of him. Ken pulled his face back enough to speak.
"Yes, yes my darling! Anything! To the bedroom!" Daisuke stood up and lifted Ken off his feet and carried him out of the kitchen towards the bedroom. Yamato fell off his chair.
"You guys! Stop it! I'm serious! Will you get back in here!" he left Yamato laughing on the floor and followed Ken and Daisuke down the hall. He dragged the two laughing guys by the collars and back into the kitchen. Yamato had managed to calm down and sit on a chair. They sat down, and although they had calmed down quite a bit, they were still chuckling.
"Now seriously, no more jokes, games or impromptu acting. I need to think of an unforgettable way to propose to Hikari. Any suggestions?" Daisuke opened his mouth, but Takeru interrupted him.
"Without being perverted."
"Aww. That's no fun." Daisuke muttered.
"Don't go with chocolate. It's way overdone." Ken said, "Leave it for Valentine's day and Easter."
"That's what I was thinking. Maybe jewelry?" Takeru replied.
"Only the ring. Your main problem is that most things have been done." Yamato said.
"Why do you think I asked you people to help me?" Takeru replied. *Even if that's crazy in itself. *
"You can't go wrong with flowers." Daisuke said. "Yeah, I know that every guy gets his girlfriend flowers, but the simple fact is that most women like them. Guys do too. Right Ken?" He reached for Ken's hand and held it.
"I gotta admit, he's right. Flowers are always nice."
"But what to do with them?" Yamato said. They all thought for a minute.
"Maybe send her flowers at work?" Daisuke suggested.
"No, I don't think so."
"Cover her bedroom in roses." Yamato said.
"I don't have her house key."
"Why not?" Ken replied.
"Because she insisted that she didn't want to do anything until we got married."
"Ha! I was right! You must be desperate if you're willing to marry her to get some." Daisuke laughed. The other two snickered.
"That's not it at all! That's what she wanted, and I respect her wishes." Takeru replied.
"Yeah, OK." Ken said. "Whoopah." He made a gesture of a whip.
"Hey! I am not!" Takeru exclaimed. They just grinned at him. "Anyway, I'm gonna use the flower thing. But how? And when? With what?"
"I know!" Yamato suddenly yelled. He startled Daisuke, who was sitting beside him. He fell off his chair and hit his chin on the table.
"Ow." He said, rubbing his chin. The others laughed. Daisuke got back on his chair.
"As I was saying, here's what you do…"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Next day
"Delivery for a Yagumi Hikari." The girl at the door said.
"Just a moment." Hikari replied. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail and ran to the door.
"Yes?"
"Package for a Miss Yagumi Hikari." The girl repeated. Hikari took the long rectangular box. "Sign here please." The girl handed a pen to Hikari.
"Oh." She signed a form. "Thank you. Have a nice day."
"Thanks Miss. I know you will." The girl said, and left. Hikari closed the door and went into the living room. She cleared the table off and put down the box.
"I wonder what it could be?" she asked herself. She opened it to find a single long stemmed red rose with a card. She picked up the card and opened it.
'The tenth best thing about you is how you're nice to everyone you meet.' It was signed by Takeru. She put down the card and picked up the rose and smelt the gentle fragrance. She smiled to herself.
*Takeru, you are so sweet. * She went into the kitchen to find a vase.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Next day
She walked down the hallway towards the darkroom so she could see if her pictures were ready. Her footsteps echoed off the walls. *Sometimes I really hate working here by myself. * She thought as she opened the door to the little room. She closed the door behind her and pulled back the curtain that separated the red light and the light outside that would ruin the pictures. *But there's almost nothing I enjoy more than my work. * She smiled to herself. She went to on of the shelves to get some chemicals for the pictures. She then turned and walked to the table where the pictures lay in their trays, and saw a box. *What's this? * She thought to herself, and moved it aside. After checking the pictures and placing them in the new chemicals, she took the box out of the room with her. She walked back to her desk, sat down and looked at the pink box. *Just like the one from yesterday. * She mused, and opened it. Inside there were two red roses and a card. She got up and found a vase, and placed the roses inside. Then she opened the card.
'The ninth best thing about you is how you finish everything you start' her smile widened. "Takeru, how did you get into my darkroom without me knowing?" she asked herself.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Outside
"Did she see you?" Takeru asked an exhausted Ken, who had just run outside the building.
"No, but it was a close call. I just got out of the darkroom and she came down the hall." He swallowed and breathed more regularly. "Why does she work by herself?"
"She says her best work happens when it's just her and the pictures." Takeru replied as the two started down the street. "Is Daisuke ready for tomorrow?"
"Last time I check. I better check again though. You know Daisuke. As much as I love him, sometimes he's not always the best at following a plan." They laughed as they continued on their way.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The next day
"I wish I knew what Takeru was up to." Hikari said to Daisuke.
"I have no idea." He replied, big grin on his face.
"And why he cancelled on me. I was really looking forward to going to that movie with him. And why he said to take you instead."
"He knew I wanted to see that movie and that Ken was busy today. Why don't we go through the park?" Daisuke suggested.
"OK." Hikari replied. When they got there, Hikari saw that a fair was taking place. Balloons, children and laughter were everywhere. A little boy and his two sisters ran past her, playing tag. She smiled.
"I'll be right back. I'm going to get a hotdog. Do you want one?" Daisuke said when a hotdog vendor pushed his cart past them.
"No, I'm fine thanks." Hikari said, chuckling. *Will he never get over his appetite? * Daisuke had been gone about five minutes when the little boy and his two sisters came back, each carrying something behind their backs. The boy tugged on her arm.
"Um, excuse me. Are you Miss Hikawi?"
"Yes." Hikari leaned down to his height, intrigued with how he knew her name. He whispered something to his sisters, and they brought their hands in front of them, each with a red rose.
"Mister Takerwu say that the…"
"Eighth thing he likes best about you…"
"Is how you love little kids!" They gave their roses to Hikari; each gave her a hug, and ran off. Hikari watched them go back to playing their game of tag. Then she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"What's that you've got there?" Daisuke asked.
"Takeru got those adorable children to give me these!" she said, and let Daisuke smell the roses. "Where's your hotdog?"
"I changed my mind." Daisuke replied, and they continued their walk in the park. *Memo to self, thank Jun for letting us borrow her kids for the day. * He glanced behind him to make sure that his nieces and nephew were with Ken.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Later that day
"Yamato, what is your brother doing to my sister?" Taichi ask him after band practice.
"Trying to get your sister to marry him." He said casually while adjusting his guitar strings.
"Why didn't he ask me?" Taichi said in surprise.
"Because I don't think he wants to marry you?" Yamato replied, confused look on his face.
"No, no, no! Why didn't he ask me if he could marry my sister?"
"I don't know. Why? Is there a problem with it?"
"No, nothing like that. It's just that he got Daisuke to help him and she's my sister."
"Don't forget Ken. Or yours truly." Yamato said, getting up and getting a new string from out of his bag.
"You're helping?"
"How else do you think he got the idea for all the roses?"
"Can I help?"
"I don't know. I guess so. You'll have to ask Takeru." Yamato tested the string he just replaced as he talked.
"Where is he?"
"Setting up his surprise for tomorrow."
"What is it?" Taichi took Yamato's guitar.
"I can't tell you until Takeru says I can." He got up and wrestled Taichi until he got his guitar back. "One of these days, I'm gonna punish you for taking my guitar."
"I'm so scared." Taichi said with an evil grin as he grabbed Yamato's waist.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The next day
"I wonder what Takeru's going to do today." Hikari said to herself as she got up. The phone rang. She put on a robe and answered it.
"Hello?"
"Hey, it's Taichi. What are you doing today?"
"I thought I might go do some shopping. Why?"
"Do you mind if I come with?"
"OK. Why?"
"No reason. I'll come get you at ten, 'k?"
"OK. I'll see you later."
"Bye." Hikari hung up the phone. "Does Taichi have anything to do with it?" She said to herself as she walked to the bathroom to take her usual morning shower. "I guess I'll find out later." She smiled to herself.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Later
"So all I have to do is bring her here?"
"Uh-huh. I've told the manager all the details. Just make sure you get her here by noon."
"It's a good thing I trust you, or I would have really given you hell for trying to do this without me." Taichi punched Takeru in the arm. "I'll see you later."
"Bye. Remember. Noon." Takeru replied as the two split up.
*Everything's going according to plan. *
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Later
"Why did you want to go shopping with me?"
"I just wanted to spend some quality time with my little sister. Is that a crime nowadays?"
"No." She replied. Taichi checked his watch.
"Hey, I need to go in here for a minute." He pointed to the same store Takeru had a few hours earlier.
"Taichi, is the something you're not telling me?"
"Huh?"
"That's a ladies' clothing store."
"I, uh, need to get something for, uh, Yamato. Yeah, that's it." Taichi said, forcing himself to laugh. Hikari raised an eyebrow at him. "He needs a new, uh, a new, uh…"
"I don't want to know what you two do, as long as you both are happy." She cut him off, much to his relief. They entered the store. Taichi stopped in the entrance, and looked around. The whole room was pink.
"Um, Taichi? Didn't you need to get something?" she nudged him. He looked at her a minute, confused.
"Oh yeah. Why don't you just look around while I pick it up." He walked to the counter where the manager was. The manager motioned towards Hikari, and Taichi nodded back. They both smiled.
"Hikari, if you see something you like, I'll buy it for you." Taichi called from the counter.
"Thanks Taichi." She replied. He smiled at her. She looked around the store, and saw a pale pink dress near the back of the store. It was floor length with thin straps and a curved neckline. She took it off the rack, and pressed it against herself. She smiled, and brought it to the counter.
"I'll take this one. Are you sure you want to pay for it?" Hikari asked. Taichi nodded and got out his wallet. She took the price tag from the inside, and found a card attached. The manager pulled a box from under the counter.
"This comes with the dress." He said as he rang up the total. As Taichi paid, Hikari opened the box. Inside were four red roses. She opened the card that was in the dress and read it out loud.
'The seventh best thing about you is your sense of style' Hikari looked at her brother. His grin covered his face. She gave him a hug.
"Thanks for paying for the dress."
"Actually, Takeru gave me the money for it. Today, I'm basically broke. So how about you buy your big brother lunch?" she laughed as they left the store, Taichi muttering about cheeseburgers and fries.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The next day
"You guys are spoiling me!" Hikari said, walking with Ken, Daisuke, Taichi and Yamato.
"That's my job. You're my little sister." Taichi said.
"I gotta help him. You're my sister-in-law." Yamato added, holding Taichi's hand.
"I spoil you because other than myself, you're the only sane one of us." Ken nudged her.
"And if I didn't, with everyone else spoiling you, I would feel left out!" Daisuke said.
"And how are you going to spoil me today?" she laughed.
"We're going to Miyako's ice-cream shop." Daisuke said, licking his lips. They entered the store, and waved at Miyako.
"Hey guys! What would you like today?"
"What do you have?" Ken asked.
"Do you want me to list them all?"
"How many flavors could there be?" Daisuke looked around the store at all the buckets of ice cream. Miyako sighed and took a deep breath.
"We have chocolate, double chocolate, triple chocolate, chocolate fudge, chocolate cheesecake, chocolate cookie dough, chocolate chip, chocolate chip mint, chocolate oreo and rocky road."
"That's a lot of chocolate." Taichi said. She took another breath.
"We have strawberry, strawberry banana, strawberry kiwi, strawberry kiwi banana, strawberry cheesecake, strawberry mango, strawberry pineapple, strawberry oreo and strawberry fudge."
"Very fruity." Ken commented. She took yet another breath.
"We have bubble gum, cotton candy, kaleidoscope, pina colada, fruit punch, mango, cranberry, pineapple, grapefruit, honey, coconut, wild asparagus, roast garlic, red pepper, peanut butter and jelly, grape, cherry, corn, cookies 'n cream, carrot, blueberry, oatmeal…"
"Roast garlic?" Yamato made a weird face.
"Strawberry oreo…" Daisuke said to himself, moving toward the counter, staring at the ice cream.
"… and vanilla." Miyako gasped, face red. Hikari laughed, half at Miyako trying to breath, half at Daisuke who was almost drooling on the counter. She looked at all the different flavors of ice cream.
"I'll have chocolate." Taichi said.
"Strawberry cheesecake for me." Yamato smiled.
"Blueberry please." Ken said.
"I'll have strawberry oreo. No, chocolate chip mint. No, strawberry oreo. No, uh, you wouldn't happen to have oreo mint would you?" Daisuke asked.
"Yes, we have oreo mint." Miyako replied. "And what are you having?" Miyako asked cheerily after serving the four guys.
"I'll have vanilla, thank you." Miyako got Hikari her ice cream and placed a box on the counter. Hikari went to give her the money, but Miyako refused.
"Takeru paid for it already." She smiled. "Open the box, I wanna see what's inside!" Miyako leaned over the counter. Hikari passed her cone to Ken, and opened the box. Inside there were five roses and another card.
'The sixth best thing about you is that even with all this choice, you would chose vanilla'
"That is so romantic!" Miyako exclaimed. She took a rose out of the box and held it close enough to her face so she could smell it without it touching her.
"I wish I got roses for no reason!" Miyako smiled.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I want to take her to see that new play, that's why."
"No one drives my car but me Takeru. And you of all people should know that."
"But Yamato, I want it for just one night. One night."
"I don't accept any buts," Yamato paused, and smiled at the thought of his husband, "Well, not usually anyway. She's my baby."
"You're acting as if I'm just a sixteen year old that just got his license."
"With good reason too. I let you drive my car then, and you drove into a tree."
"No, I swerved to avoid going over a cliff when that moron driver started to drive on my side of the road." Yamato raised an eyebrow at his brother.
"Come on Yamato!"
"Why should I?"
"Because I'm your favorite little brother?"
"You're my only little brother."
"Exactly. That's why you have to. It's for my happiness and you want your only little brother to be happy, right?" Takeru gave him a sad, puppy dog look.
"Don't do that!" Yamato said, turning away, "you know I can't resist that look!" Takeru grinned.
"I know." He went back to the puppy dog look. "Please Yamato, please?" he stuck out his lower lip a bit further. Yamato started at Takeru for a moment, and shook his head.
"All right, all right. You can borrow my car." He pulled the keys out of his pocket and handed them to Takeru. Takeru grinned and hugged Yamato.
"Thank you so much! If our first kid is a boy, I'll name him after you!" he yelled as he ran out the door and to the car.
"If Hikari will let you!" he yelled after him. He ran his hand through his hair. "Why I can't say no to him, I have no idea." He smiled and shut the door that Takeru had left wide open.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I love this musical!" hikari smiled when they got to the theatre.
"That's why I bought the tickets." Takeru grinned. Hikari held her arm through Takeru's and they found their seats, center front.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The audience clapped, and the performers were on stage, taking their second bow. A boy, about thirteen, slowly walked on stage and handed a box and a piece of paper to the main actor. He read the paper, and smiled.
"Will Yagami Hikari please come to the stage." Hikari's mouth dropped slightly open.
"Me?" she asked Takeru. He nodded. The audience went silent. She stood up, and walked to the stairs, and onto stage. She was blushing like crazy.
"This is for you." The man said, and handed her the box. She opened the box, and pulled out six red roses.
"Well don't just stand there, my dear. Read the card." The leading lady smiled from Hikari's right.
"'The fifth best thing about you is your love of music'." Hikari smiled, and the audience began to clap once more, this time with more enthusiasm.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Argh! That's the tenth time the stupid thing has fallen down!" Daisuke whined. He bashed his fist into table, and immediately held the now sore hand. Ken chuckled, and got up.
"I'll get some ice." Hikari started the card house again. By the time Ken came back, she was starting on the second level.
"Anyone want some cookies?" Ken placed a cookie tin on the table very carefully, so not to hit the card house, and then a tray of cookies on top of that. He took Daisuke's hand and placed an ice bag in it. Daisuke grinned kinda sheepishly, and took a cookie.
"You're really good at card houses Hikari." Daisuke smiled, mouth half full of cookie. She grinned, but didn't take her eyes off the card still in her hand.
"It just takes a little practice Daisuke." She slowly let go of the card, and very gently picked the next off the top of the pile, then slowly placed that card next to the one she just used. She got another card without looking at it, and balanced the two cards together. Ken and Daisuke watched, Ken smiling and Daisuke in awe. An hour later she was on the fifteenth level. She had two cards left to go. She got the second to last card, and very carefully placed it on the top of the card house. She reached for the last card, and Daisuke moved, startling her. All three froze as the card house swayed, then decided to stay as a house. Daisuke breathed a breath of relief, and Ken sighed. Hikari grinned, and got the last card. She leaned it against the card in her hand, and slowly let go. She sat back, and chuckled to herself.
"Well, what do you think?" she said in a quiet voice.
"Wow! That's really cool." Daisuke replied.
"You still have a card left." Ken motioned at the piece of paper in the box that held the cards she was using.
"So I do. Well, let's see where we can put this." She picked up the paper. "Hey, this isn't a card."
"What is it then?" Daisuke asked. Hikari looked at the card, then smiled to herself. She took the tray off the cookie tin and opened the tin, revealing seven roses. Daisuke took the card from Hikari and read it out loud.
"'The fourth best thing about you is your patience' Open the cookie tin."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"There's blue, and blonde, and black, and oh! Hikari, they have pink!" Miyako grabbed the box of hair dye off the shelf and showed Hikari the picture of the model with pink hair and a flashy smile. Hikari sighed, and took the box from Miyako.
"So are you gonna get it?" Miyako grinned.
"I don't think that I would look very nice with pink hair, Miyako." She put the box back on the shelf. Miyako rolled her eyes, and looked at the shelf of boxes again.
"Well what about red? Or green? Or even orange? You could always go with my favorite, lavender." Miyako flipped her hair. "Don't tell anyone, but I've been dyeing my hair since I was ten years old." Hikari's mouth dropped open slightly.
"You're hair isn't really purple?"
"Not purple. Lavender. And no, it's this god awful brown colour. But never tell, okay?" Miyako loudly whispered. Hikari chuckled.
"Don't worry, I won't." Miyako grinned.
"Good. And while we're here, let's get some makeup!" Miyako put two boxes of the lavender hair dye in the shopping cart. Hikari sighed, and followed Miyako down the isle to the makeup.
"Ahhh!!! This is the nicest shade of green!" she showed the little container to Hikari. "Don't you just love this eye shadow?"
"Not really."
"What? How could you not?" Miyako put it back. "How about this one?" she showed her a three coloured compact of different shades of pink.
"I only wear lip gloss and a few shades of nail polish Miyako. You know that." Miyako bit her lower lip.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah." Hikari smiled and nodded her head.
"Too bad. This would have looked really good on you too. I'll get it for me though." Miyako smiled, and put it in the cart too. She picked a few more different compacts, offering them to Hikari first, but she always refused.
"Why don't you wear any makeup Hikari?" Miyako asked, frustrated.
"I don't think I need it. I look fine without it." They paid for the beauty products and walked back to the car.
"So you've never wanted to wear makeup?"
"Never."
"Or dye your hair?"
"Nope."
"Or change anything about your appearance?"
"Miyako, I told you. I'm fine with the way I look." Hikari chuckled at Miyako, who sighed with acceptance. Miyako opened the trunk of the car and handed her a box.
"Here. And the card too." Hikari smiled, and opened the box. It in lay eight red roses. She read the card.
'The third best thing about you is how you like the way you look'
"Takeru gave these to you to give to me?"
"Yeah. I was hoping that you would buy some makeup or something so I could keep them." Miyako replied. Hikari started laughing at the pouting person in front of her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I'm so glad you guys came with me!" Miyako grinned.
"Yeah, like I would miss this!" Daisuke laughed, getting a huge tub of extra, extra, extra buttered popcorn.
"Geez, I can feel your arteries clogging up already." Ken said, watching Daisuke shove a handful into his mouth."
"Well then don't have any." Daisuke replied. He smiled. "it just means more for me!" He ate some more. Ken shook his head.
"Everyone got their ticket, right?" Taichi asked. All nodded.
"This is gonna be so cool! Space Dogs take on Chicago: Part Three!" Daisuke grinned. Miyako nodded in agreement. Yamato, Taichi, Ken and Hikari shook their heads.
"Too bad the others couldn't come. They don't know what they'll be missing!" Miyako smiled.
"A waste of twelve ninety five, plus tax?" Yamato asked. They gave their tickets to the ticket guy, and walked in the theatre.
"Were do we sit?" Hikari looked around the theatre.
"In the very back!" Miyako yelled.
"In the very front!" Daisuke yelled at the same time.
"How about in the middle?" Ken suggested when the two started giving each other the evil eye. They found an empty row, and filed in: Yamato, Taichi, Hikari, Ken, Daisuke and Miyako. Hikari glanced to her right. Taichi had put his arm around Yamato, and Yamato snuggled into Taichi. She smiled. She turned to her left. Ken had one hand supporting his face, leaning on his chair arm. Passed him Daisuke and Miyako were trying to scare and hype each other up for the movie. Hikari chuckled.
"Yeah, funny for you. I wanted to snuggle."
"You should have know he wouldn't at a horror movie if he has Miyako to 'conspire' with."
"I know. But a guy can hope, can't he?" Hikari grinned. The movie started. It was as bad as Hikari thought it would be. Random people running and screaming from large green dogs with five eyes chasing them all over a very badly remade Chicago. A 'dog' jumped out from behind a building and ate a person who was trying to hide, making Miyako and Daisuke both jump nearly out of their chairs in surprise. Ken shook his head. Yamato and Taichi were making out. Hikari started laughing. Silently at first, but then some guy on the screen was caught in the washroom and devoured. Then she started to laugh out loud.
"I know, it's really bad, isn't it?" Ken said. She nodded, not being able to reply from laughing. People started giving the group of them dirty looks, partially from Taichi and Yamato, partially from Daisuke and Miyako actually being scared, but mostly because of Hikari. She couldn't stop laughing. Ken glanced at her.
"It's not that funny." He said.
"I know." She managed to reply, and covered her mouth to try and stop. Ken raised an eyebrow at her, started to chuckle. Soon the two of them were laughing uncontrollably. Taichi nudged Hikari.
"Hey you guys, try to keep it down." They both looked at Taichi and Yamato, who were looking kind of annoyed for having to stop what they were doing.
"Sorry." Hikari said. They stopped laughing. This lasted for less than a minute. Another of the 'dogs' had eaten someone, and choked on the person, ending up killing itself on the person it was trying to eat. Ken and Hikari burst out laughing, again. Yamato reached over and poked Hikari.
"Hey, what's so funny?"
"This movie!" Hikari giggled. Taichi and Yamato looked at the screen for the first time since they entered the theatre. They saw a 'dog' jump and land on a car, trapping the people inside. The people started screaming. Taichi and Yamato turned back to Hikari and Ken, who were trying not to laugh. Yamato started to chuckle. He looked at Taichi. The two of them started laughing as well. Soon all four of them were trying very hard not to laugh so hard as to get kicked out of the theatre. A guy on the movie had a shotgun and started shooting the space dogs heads off. Daisuke flinched as he jumped out from behind on building and started attacking the 'dogs'. His hand brushed Miyako's and she, in turn, screamed and jumped out of her seat. The four burst out laughing hysterically. Miyako turned to them, and stomped her foot.
"It's not funny."
"You're right, it's not." Hikari giggled, and the four started laughing louder. People started throwing popcorn at them. Daisuke joined in the laughter, more so at Miyako's temper tantrum then at the cheese level of the movie.
"It's not funny dammit!" she yelled. Hikari nodded, and continued to laugh. The audience booed at them. An usher came down the isle and pointed a flashlight at them.
"I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you six to leave." He was about twenty, but he looked about thirteen. They looked at each other, and burst out laughing. He blushed, and swallowed.
"I, I mean it. You have to leave. Please." He stood up taller, and out of the way so they could get past him. Miyako held up her head, and stormed past him. The other five followed suit, each trying very hard not to laugh. As soon as they got out of the theatre, Ken, Hikari and Daisuke dropped to the ground, laughing. Taichi leaned against a wall, and Yamato leaned against him. Miyako was red in the face.
"It's not funny you guys." Hikari finally managed to stop. She stood up.
"I'm sorry. This was my fault. You're right. It wasn't funny. But that movie was one of the cheesiest things I have ever seen in my life!"
"How can you say that? You didn't even watch. You were to busy laughing you head off!" Miyako replied. The others calmed down. The usher came up to them.
"Um, are you Yagami Hikari?" he asked. Hikari walked up to him. He was still blushing slightly.
"Yes I am."
"Here. This is for you." He handed her a package and card. "Also I am sorry to tell you, but the manager feels that you six are not allowed back in this theatre for six months. Have a nice evening." He turned, and walked back into the theatre. Hikari chuckled, and opened the box. She smelt the aroma of the nine roses, and read the card aloud.
"'The second best thing about you is how you laugh at cheesy horror movies.'" She grinned, and walked over to Yamato.
"Tell that brother of yours that I want to have dinner with him next Friday. With all this romancing, I haven't had much time to see him lately."
"No problem." Yamato grinned.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Takeru swallowed and smiled at Hikari. He pulled the chair out for her, and she sat down.
"Thank you." He sat down.
"You're welcome." A waiter came, and they ordered. After an appetizer of caesar salad, and a main course of chicken fettuccini alfredo, they each were served a dessert of white chocolate amaretto cheesecake. Takeru stared at Hikari, and smiled. she looked back.
"Why are you staring at me?"
"I can't help it. You're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen, and I can't take my eyes off you." Hikari blushed. Takeru motioned to their waiter, and he came back with a box. He placed it in front of Hikari.
"Is that all sir?"
"Yes. Thank you." Takeru replied, and the waiter left.
"Well, open it." Hikari smiled, and took the lid off the box. She lifted the ten red roses, and smelt them. She put them on the table, and picked up the card. She opened it, and read it aloud.
"'The best thing about you is how you're willing to love me'". Hikari looked up at Takeru, and he had a black box in his hands.
"I love you more than there is water in the ocean, more than there are stars in the sky, more than you will ever know. I promise to love you until the ends of the earth, and do anything to be and stay with you. I want to grow old with you, and be a good father to your children. I want to help you accomplish your dreams and hopes, and help you through all your hardships. And I want the honour of having your love for always. I love you so much, Hikari, that I would be willing to do anything you would ask of me. Yagami Hikari, will you marry me?" he opened the box, and took out a ring. Hikari nodded, and gave Takeru her left hand, and he placed the ring on her finger. Tears streaming down her face, she stood up and rushed around the table, and into Takeru's arms. The room filled with applause.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ha! How's that Katie? Huh? I hope you're happy! Do you know how long I had to think of mushy gushy romantic crap about Hikari? ahhhhh!!!! I think I went even more insane just writing this! People! I don't normally write this type of thing! Honest! I write only perverted weird crap! Now look Katie, you've made everyone think I like writing romance *pouts* you and you stupid unhentainess… I bet you had Inocencia, child goddess of innocence help you, didn't you? Now I have to write something really perverted…
"Guys, pay attention! I invited you over so you could help me think of a way to surprise Hikari, not so you could eat the contents of my fridge!" Takeru yelled at the three guys in his kitchen, who were eating as if they hadn't eaten in years.
"What?" Daisuke said, chips crumbs on his face.
"Hey, little bro, it's not as if we do this all the time." Yamato laughed from across the room. Takeru walked to the fridge and shut the door.
"You guys didn't even close the door! Electricity cost money you know." He leaned against the fridge.
"We didn't close the door 'cuz we weren't done taking food out of it!" Daisuke replied.
"I think you have enough food Daisuke." Ken said, staring at the pop, bag of chips, dip and piece of cake he had on the table in front of him.
"Like you're any better." Daisuke pointed at the piece of cake, sandwich and pop Ken had taken.
"The difference is when Takeru comes to my house I will actually give him something to eat. So I can eat what I want." Ken replied. Yamato and Takeru laughed at Daisuke, who was now blushing. Ken had become more open since he started to go out with Daisuke all those years ago, and in the end became the one who always made everyone laugh.
"Ha, ha, ha. Very funny." Daisuke replied, shoving more chips in his mouth.
*Some things never change. * Takeru shook his head.
"OK. Here's the deal. I need to think of a way to propose to…"
"Propose? My little brother is going for the old ball and chain? What's wrong, giving up on freedom?" Yamato teased. Daisuke quickly swallowed his food and got on one knee in front of Ken.
"Oh Hikari, my one and only, I need your body, I mean love, forever!" Daisuke grabbed Ken's hand. "Make my libido, I mean dream come true. Say you'll be mine!" with that, he pulled Ken off the chair and into his arms, leaned forward so Ken had to bend down almost to the floor and dramatically kissed him. Yamato was in hysterics watching them, almost falling off his chair from laughing so hard. Takeru's face went bright red and he had his arms crossed in front of him. Ken pulled his face back enough to speak.
"Yes, yes my darling! Anything! To the bedroom!" Daisuke stood up and lifted Ken off his feet and carried him out of the kitchen towards the bedroom. Yamato fell off his chair.
"You guys! Stop it! I'm serious! Will you get back in here!" he left Yamato laughing on the floor and followed Ken and Daisuke down the hall. He dragged the two laughing guys by the collars and back into the kitchen. Yamato had managed to calm down and sit on a chair. They sat down, and although they had calmed down quite a bit, they were still chuckling.
"Now seriously, no more jokes, games or impromptu acting. I need to think of an unforgettable way to propose to Hikari. Any suggestions?" Daisuke opened his mouth, but Takeru interrupted him.
"Without being perverted."
"Aww. That's no fun." Daisuke muttered.
"Don't go with chocolate. It's way overdone." Ken said, "Leave it for Valentine's day and Easter."
"That's what I was thinking. Maybe jewelry?" Takeru replied.
"Only the ring. Your main problem is that most things have been done." Yamato said.
"Why do you think I asked you people to help me?" Takeru replied. *Even if that's crazy in itself. *
"You can't go wrong with flowers." Daisuke said. "Yeah, I know that every guy gets his girlfriend flowers, but the simple fact is that most women like them. Guys do too. Right Ken?" He reached for Ken's hand and held it.
"I gotta admit, he's right. Flowers are always nice."
"But what to do with them?" Yamato said. They all thought for a minute.
"Maybe send her flowers at work?" Daisuke suggested.
"No, I don't think so."
"Cover her bedroom in roses." Yamato said.
"I don't have her house key."
"Why not?" Ken replied.
"Because she insisted that she didn't want to do anything until we got married."
"Ha! I was right! You must be desperate if you're willing to marry her to get some." Daisuke laughed. The other two snickered.
"That's not it at all! That's what she wanted, and I respect her wishes." Takeru replied.
"Yeah, OK." Ken said. "Whoopah." He made a gesture of a whip.
"Hey! I am not!" Takeru exclaimed. They just grinned at him. "Anyway, I'm gonna use the flower thing. But how? And when? With what?"
"I know!" Yamato suddenly yelled. He startled Daisuke, who was sitting beside him. He fell off his chair and hit his chin on the table.
"Ow." He said, rubbing his chin. The others laughed. Daisuke got back on his chair.
"As I was saying, here's what you do…"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Next day
"Delivery for a Yagumi Hikari." The girl at the door said.
"Just a moment." Hikari replied. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail and ran to the door.
"Yes?"
"Package for a Miss Yagumi Hikari." The girl repeated. Hikari took the long rectangular box. "Sign here please." The girl handed a pen to Hikari.
"Oh." She signed a form. "Thank you. Have a nice day."
"Thanks Miss. I know you will." The girl said, and left. Hikari closed the door and went into the living room. She cleared the table off and put down the box.
"I wonder what it could be?" she asked herself. She opened it to find a single long stemmed red rose with a card. She picked up the card and opened it.
'The tenth best thing about you is how you're nice to everyone you meet.' It was signed by Takeru. She put down the card and picked up the rose and smelt the gentle fragrance. She smiled to herself.
*Takeru, you are so sweet. * She went into the kitchen to find a vase.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Next day
She walked down the hallway towards the darkroom so she could see if her pictures were ready. Her footsteps echoed off the walls. *Sometimes I really hate working here by myself. * She thought as she opened the door to the little room. She closed the door behind her and pulled back the curtain that separated the red light and the light outside that would ruin the pictures. *But there's almost nothing I enjoy more than my work. * She smiled to herself. She went to on of the shelves to get some chemicals for the pictures. She then turned and walked to the table where the pictures lay in their trays, and saw a box. *What's this? * She thought to herself, and moved it aside. After checking the pictures and placing them in the new chemicals, she took the box out of the room with her. She walked back to her desk, sat down and looked at the pink box. *Just like the one from yesterday. * She mused, and opened it. Inside there were two red roses and a card. She got up and found a vase, and placed the roses inside. Then she opened the card.
'The ninth best thing about you is how you finish everything you start' her smile widened. "Takeru, how did you get into my darkroom without me knowing?" she asked herself.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Outside
"Did she see you?" Takeru asked an exhausted Ken, who had just run outside the building.
"No, but it was a close call. I just got out of the darkroom and she came down the hall." He swallowed and breathed more regularly. "Why does she work by herself?"
"She says her best work happens when it's just her and the pictures." Takeru replied as the two started down the street. "Is Daisuke ready for tomorrow?"
"Last time I check. I better check again though. You know Daisuke. As much as I love him, sometimes he's not always the best at following a plan." They laughed as they continued on their way.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The next day
"I wish I knew what Takeru was up to." Hikari said to Daisuke.
"I have no idea." He replied, big grin on his face.
"And why he cancelled on me. I was really looking forward to going to that movie with him. And why he said to take you instead."
"He knew I wanted to see that movie and that Ken was busy today. Why don't we go through the park?" Daisuke suggested.
"OK." Hikari replied. When they got there, Hikari saw that a fair was taking place. Balloons, children and laughter were everywhere. A little boy and his two sisters ran past her, playing tag. She smiled.
"I'll be right back. I'm going to get a hotdog. Do you want one?" Daisuke said when a hotdog vendor pushed his cart past them.
"No, I'm fine thanks." Hikari said, chuckling. *Will he never get over his appetite? * Daisuke had been gone about five minutes when the little boy and his two sisters came back, each carrying something behind their backs. The boy tugged on her arm.
"Um, excuse me. Are you Miss Hikawi?"
"Yes." Hikari leaned down to his height, intrigued with how he knew her name. He whispered something to his sisters, and they brought their hands in front of them, each with a red rose.
"Mister Takerwu say that the…"
"Eighth thing he likes best about you…"
"Is how you love little kids!" They gave their roses to Hikari; each gave her a hug, and ran off. Hikari watched them go back to playing their game of tag. Then she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"What's that you've got there?" Daisuke asked.
"Takeru got those adorable children to give me these!" she said, and let Daisuke smell the roses. "Where's your hotdog?"
"I changed my mind." Daisuke replied, and they continued their walk in the park. *Memo to self, thank Jun for letting us borrow her kids for the day. * He glanced behind him to make sure that his nieces and nephew were with Ken.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Later that day
"Yamato, what is your brother doing to my sister?" Taichi ask him after band practice.
"Trying to get your sister to marry him." He said casually while adjusting his guitar strings.
"Why didn't he ask me?" Taichi said in surprise.
"Because I don't think he wants to marry you?" Yamato replied, confused look on his face.
"No, no, no! Why didn't he ask me if he could marry my sister?"
"I don't know. Why? Is there a problem with it?"
"No, nothing like that. It's just that he got Daisuke to help him and she's my sister."
"Don't forget Ken. Or yours truly." Yamato said, getting up and getting a new string from out of his bag.
"You're helping?"
"How else do you think he got the idea for all the roses?"
"Can I help?"
"I don't know. I guess so. You'll have to ask Takeru." Yamato tested the string he just replaced as he talked.
"Where is he?"
"Setting up his surprise for tomorrow."
"What is it?" Taichi took Yamato's guitar.
"I can't tell you until Takeru says I can." He got up and wrestled Taichi until he got his guitar back. "One of these days, I'm gonna punish you for taking my guitar."
"I'm so scared." Taichi said with an evil grin as he grabbed Yamato's waist.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The next day
"I wonder what Takeru's going to do today." Hikari said to herself as she got up. The phone rang. She put on a robe and answered it.
"Hello?"
"Hey, it's Taichi. What are you doing today?"
"I thought I might go do some shopping. Why?"
"Do you mind if I come with?"
"OK. Why?"
"No reason. I'll come get you at ten, 'k?"
"OK. I'll see you later."
"Bye." Hikari hung up the phone. "Does Taichi have anything to do with it?" She said to herself as she walked to the bathroom to take her usual morning shower. "I guess I'll find out later." She smiled to herself.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Later
"So all I have to do is bring her here?"
"Uh-huh. I've told the manager all the details. Just make sure you get her here by noon."
"It's a good thing I trust you, or I would have really given you hell for trying to do this without me." Taichi punched Takeru in the arm. "I'll see you later."
"Bye. Remember. Noon." Takeru replied as the two split up.
*Everything's going according to plan. *
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Later
"Why did you want to go shopping with me?"
"I just wanted to spend some quality time with my little sister. Is that a crime nowadays?"
"No." She replied. Taichi checked his watch.
"Hey, I need to go in here for a minute." He pointed to the same store Takeru had a few hours earlier.
"Taichi, is the something you're not telling me?"
"Huh?"
"That's a ladies' clothing store."
"I, uh, need to get something for, uh, Yamato. Yeah, that's it." Taichi said, forcing himself to laugh. Hikari raised an eyebrow at him. "He needs a new, uh, a new, uh…"
"I don't want to know what you two do, as long as you both are happy." She cut him off, much to his relief. They entered the store. Taichi stopped in the entrance, and looked around. The whole room was pink.
"Um, Taichi? Didn't you need to get something?" she nudged him. He looked at her a minute, confused.
"Oh yeah. Why don't you just look around while I pick it up." He walked to the counter where the manager was. The manager motioned towards Hikari, and Taichi nodded back. They both smiled.
"Hikari, if you see something you like, I'll buy it for you." Taichi called from the counter.
"Thanks Taichi." She replied. He smiled at her. She looked around the store, and saw a pale pink dress near the back of the store. It was floor length with thin straps and a curved neckline. She took it off the rack, and pressed it against herself. She smiled, and brought it to the counter.
"I'll take this one. Are you sure you want to pay for it?" Hikari asked. Taichi nodded and got out his wallet. She took the price tag from the inside, and found a card attached. The manager pulled a box from under the counter.
"This comes with the dress." He said as he rang up the total. As Taichi paid, Hikari opened the box. Inside were four red roses. She opened the card that was in the dress and read it out loud.
'The seventh best thing about you is your sense of style' Hikari looked at her brother. His grin covered his face. She gave him a hug.
"Thanks for paying for the dress."
"Actually, Takeru gave me the money for it. Today, I'm basically broke. So how about you buy your big brother lunch?" she laughed as they left the store, Taichi muttering about cheeseburgers and fries.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The next day
"You guys are spoiling me!" Hikari said, walking with Ken, Daisuke, Taichi and Yamato.
"That's my job. You're my little sister." Taichi said.
"I gotta help him. You're my sister-in-law." Yamato added, holding Taichi's hand.
"I spoil you because other than myself, you're the only sane one of us." Ken nudged her.
"And if I didn't, with everyone else spoiling you, I would feel left out!" Daisuke said.
"And how are you going to spoil me today?" she laughed.
"We're going to Miyako's ice-cream shop." Daisuke said, licking his lips. They entered the store, and waved at Miyako.
"Hey guys! What would you like today?"
"What do you have?" Ken asked.
"Do you want me to list them all?"
"How many flavors could there be?" Daisuke looked around the store at all the buckets of ice cream. Miyako sighed and took a deep breath.
"We have chocolate, double chocolate, triple chocolate, chocolate fudge, chocolate cheesecake, chocolate cookie dough, chocolate chip, chocolate chip mint, chocolate oreo and rocky road."
"That's a lot of chocolate." Taichi said. She took another breath.
"We have strawberry, strawberry banana, strawberry kiwi, strawberry kiwi banana, strawberry cheesecake, strawberry mango, strawberry pineapple, strawberry oreo and strawberry fudge."
"Very fruity." Ken commented. She took yet another breath.
"We have bubble gum, cotton candy, kaleidoscope, pina colada, fruit punch, mango, cranberry, pineapple, grapefruit, honey, coconut, wild asparagus, roast garlic, red pepper, peanut butter and jelly, grape, cherry, corn, cookies 'n cream, carrot, blueberry, oatmeal…"
"Roast garlic?" Yamato made a weird face.
"Strawberry oreo…" Daisuke said to himself, moving toward the counter, staring at the ice cream.
"… and vanilla." Miyako gasped, face red. Hikari laughed, half at Miyako trying to breath, half at Daisuke who was almost drooling on the counter. She looked at all the different flavors of ice cream.
"I'll have chocolate." Taichi said.
"Strawberry cheesecake for me." Yamato smiled.
"Blueberry please." Ken said.
"I'll have strawberry oreo. No, chocolate chip mint. No, strawberry oreo. No, uh, you wouldn't happen to have oreo mint would you?" Daisuke asked.
"Yes, we have oreo mint." Miyako replied. "And what are you having?" Miyako asked cheerily after serving the four guys.
"I'll have vanilla, thank you." Miyako got Hikari her ice cream and placed a box on the counter. Hikari went to give her the money, but Miyako refused.
"Takeru paid for it already." She smiled. "Open the box, I wanna see what's inside!" Miyako leaned over the counter. Hikari passed her cone to Ken, and opened the box. Inside there were five roses and another card.
'The sixth best thing about you is that even with all this choice, you would chose vanilla'
"That is so romantic!" Miyako exclaimed. She took a rose out of the box and held it close enough to her face so she could smell it without it touching her.
"I wish I got roses for no reason!" Miyako smiled.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I want to take her to see that new play, that's why."
"No one drives my car but me Takeru. And you of all people should know that."
"But Yamato, I want it for just one night. One night."
"I don't accept any buts," Yamato paused, and smiled at the thought of his husband, "Well, not usually anyway. She's my baby."
"You're acting as if I'm just a sixteen year old that just got his license."
"With good reason too. I let you drive my car then, and you drove into a tree."
"No, I swerved to avoid going over a cliff when that moron driver started to drive on my side of the road." Yamato raised an eyebrow at his brother.
"Come on Yamato!"
"Why should I?"
"Because I'm your favorite little brother?"
"You're my only little brother."
"Exactly. That's why you have to. It's for my happiness and you want your only little brother to be happy, right?" Takeru gave him a sad, puppy dog look.
"Don't do that!" Yamato said, turning away, "you know I can't resist that look!" Takeru grinned.
"I know." He went back to the puppy dog look. "Please Yamato, please?" he stuck out his lower lip a bit further. Yamato started at Takeru for a moment, and shook his head.
"All right, all right. You can borrow my car." He pulled the keys out of his pocket and handed them to Takeru. Takeru grinned and hugged Yamato.
"Thank you so much! If our first kid is a boy, I'll name him after you!" he yelled as he ran out the door and to the car.
"If Hikari will let you!" he yelled after him. He ran his hand through his hair. "Why I can't say no to him, I have no idea." He smiled and shut the door that Takeru had left wide open.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I love this musical!" hikari smiled when they got to the theatre.
"That's why I bought the tickets." Takeru grinned. Hikari held her arm through Takeru's and they found their seats, center front.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The audience clapped, and the performers were on stage, taking their second bow. A boy, about thirteen, slowly walked on stage and handed a box and a piece of paper to the main actor. He read the paper, and smiled.
"Will Yagami Hikari please come to the stage." Hikari's mouth dropped slightly open.
"Me?" she asked Takeru. He nodded. The audience went silent. She stood up, and walked to the stairs, and onto stage. She was blushing like crazy.
"This is for you." The man said, and handed her the box. She opened the box, and pulled out six red roses.
"Well don't just stand there, my dear. Read the card." The leading lady smiled from Hikari's right.
"'The fifth best thing about you is your love of music'." Hikari smiled, and the audience began to clap once more, this time with more enthusiasm.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Argh! That's the tenth time the stupid thing has fallen down!" Daisuke whined. He bashed his fist into table, and immediately held the now sore hand. Ken chuckled, and got up.
"I'll get some ice." Hikari started the card house again. By the time Ken came back, she was starting on the second level.
"Anyone want some cookies?" Ken placed a cookie tin on the table very carefully, so not to hit the card house, and then a tray of cookies on top of that. He took Daisuke's hand and placed an ice bag in it. Daisuke grinned kinda sheepishly, and took a cookie.
"You're really good at card houses Hikari." Daisuke smiled, mouth half full of cookie. She grinned, but didn't take her eyes off the card still in her hand.
"It just takes a little practice Daisuke." She slowly let go of the card, and very gently picked the next off the top of the pile, then slowly placed that card next to the one she just used. She got another card without looking at it, and balanced the two cards together. Ken and Daisuke watched, Ken smiling and Daisuke in awe. An hour later she was on the fifteenth level. She had two cards left to go. She got the second to last card, and very carefully placed it on the top of the card house. She reached for the last card, and Daisuke moved, startling her. All three froze as the card house swayed, then decided to stay as a house. Daisuke breathed a breath of relief, and Ken sighed. Hikari grinned, and got the last card. She leaned it against the card in her hand, and slowly let go. She sat back, and chuckled to herself.
"Well, what do you think?" she said in a quiet voice.
"Wow! That's really cool." Daisuke replied.
"You still have a card left." Ken motioned at the piece of paper in the box that held the cards she was using.
"So I do. Well, let's see where we can put this." She picked up the paper. "Hey, this isn't a card."
"What is it then?" Daisuke asked. Hikari looked at the card, then smiled to herself. She took the tray off the cookie tin and opened the tin, revealing seven roses. Daisuke took the card from Hikari and read it out loud.
"'The fourth best thing about you is your patience' Open the cookie tin."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"There's blue, and blonde, and black, and oh! Hikari, they have pink!" Miyako grabbed the box of hair dye off the shelf and showed Hikari the picture of the model with pink hair and a flashy smile. Hikari sighed, and took the box from Miyako.
"So are you gonna get it?" Miyako grinned.
"I don't think that I would look very nice with pink hair, Miyako." She put the box back on the shelf. Miyako rolled her eyes, and looked at the shelf of boxes again.
"Well what about red? Or green? Or even orange? You could always go with my favorite, lavender." Miyako flipped her hair. "Don't tell anyone, but I've been dyeing my hair since I was ten years old." Hikari's mouth dropped open slightly.
"You're hair isn't really purple?"
"Not purple. Lavender. And no, it's this god awful brown colour. But never tell, okay?" Miyako loudly whispered. Hikari chuckled.
"Don't worry, I won't." Miyako grinned.
"Good. And while we're here, let's get some makeup!" Miyako put two boxes of the lavender hair dye in the shopping cart. Hikari sighed, and followed Miyako down the isle to the makeup.
"Ahhh!!! This is the nicest shade of green!" she showed the little container to Hikari. "Don't you just love this eye shadow?"
"Not really."
"What? How could you not?" Miyako put it back. "How about this one?" she showed her a three coloured compact of different shades of pink.
"I only wear lip gloss and a few shades of nail polish Miyako. You know that." Miyako bit her lower lip.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah." Hikari smiled and nodded her head.
"Too bad. This would have looked really good on you too. I'll get it for me though." Miyako smiled, and put it in the cart too. She picked a few more different compacts, offering them to Hikari first, but she always refused.
"Why don't you wear any makeup Hikari?" Miyako asked, frustrated.
"I don't think I need it. I look fine without it." They paid for the beauty products and walked back to the car.
"So you've never wanted to wear makeup?"
"Never."
"Or dye your hair?"
"Nope."
"Or change anything about your appearance?"
"Miyako, I told you. I'm fine with the way I look." Hikari chuckled at Miyako, who sighed with acceptance. Miyako opened the trunk of the car and handed her a box.
"Here. And the card too." Hikari smiled, and opened the box. It in lay eight red roses. She read the card.
'The third best thing about you is how you like the way you look'
"Takeru gave these to you to give to me?"
"Yeah. I was hoping that you would buy some makeup or something so I could keep them." Miyako replied. Hikari started laughing at the pouting person in front of her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I'm so glad you guys came with me!" Miyako grinned.
"Yeah, like I would miss this!" Daisuke laughed, getting a huge tub of extra, extra, extra buttered popcorn.
"Geez, I can feel your arteries clogging up already." Ken said, watching Daisuke shove a handful into his mouth."
"Well then don't have any." Daisuke replied. He smiled. "it just means more for me!" He ate some more. Ken shook his head.
"Everyone got their ticket, right?" Taichi asked. All nodded.
"This is gonna be so cool! Space Dogs take on Chicago: Part Three!" Daisuke grinned. Miyako nodded in agreement. Yamato, Taichi, Ken and Hikari shook their heads.
"Too bad the others couldn't come. They don't know what they'll be missing!" Miyako smiled.
"A waste of twelve ninety five, plus tax?" Yamato asked. They gave their tickets to the ticket guy, and walked in the theatre.
"Were do we sit?" Hikari looked around the theatre.
"In the very back!" Miyako yelled.
"In the very front!" Daisuke yelled at the same time.
"How about in the middle?" Ken suggested when the two started giving each other the evil eye. They found an empty row, and filed in: Yamato, Taichi, Hikari, Ken, Daisuke and Miyako. Hikari glanced to her right. Taichi had put his arm around Yamato, and Yamato snuggled into Taichi. She smiled. She turned to her left. Ken had one hand supporting his face, leaning on his chair arm. Passed him Daisuke and Miyako were trying to scare and hype each other up for the movie. Hikari chuckled.
"Yeah, funny for you. I wanted to snuggle."
"You should have know he wouldn't at a horror movie if he has Miyako to 'conspire' with."
"I know. But a guy can hope, can't he?" Hikari grinned. The movie started. It was as bad as Hikari thought it would be. Random people running and screaming from large green dogs with five eyes chasing them all over a very badly remade Chicago. A 'dog' jumped out from behind a building and ate a person who was trying to hide, making Miyako and Daisuke both jump nearly out of their chairs in surprise. Ken shook his head. Yamato and Taichi were making out. Hikari started laughing. Silently at first, but then some guy on the screen was caught in the washroom and devoured. Then she started to laugh out loud.
"I know, it's really bad, isn't it?" Ken said. She nodded, not being able to reply from laughing. People started giving the group of them dirty looks, partially from Taichi and Yamato, partially from Daisuke and Miyako actually being scared, but mostly because of Hikari. She couldn't stop laughing. Ken glanced at her.
"It's not that funny." He said.
"I know." She managed to reply, and covered her mouth to try and stop. Ken raised an eyebrow at her, started to chuckle. Soon the two of them were laughing uncontrollably. Taichi nudged Hikari.
"Hey you guys, try to keep it down." They both looked at Taichi and Yamato, who were looking kind of annoyed for having to stop what they were doing.
"Sorry." Hikari said. They stopped laughing. This lasted for less than a minute. Another of the 'dogs' had eaten someone, and choked on the person, ending up killing itself on the person it was trying to eat. Ken and Hikari burst out laughing, again. Yamato reached over and poked Hikari.
"Hey, what's so funny?"
"This movie!" Hikari giggled. Taichi and Yamato looked at the screen for the first time since they entered the theatre. They saw a 'dog' jump and land on a car, trapping the people inside. The people started screaming. Taichi and Yamato turned back to Hikari and Ken, who were trying not to laugh. Yamato started to chuckle. He looked at Taichi. The two of them started laughing as well. Soon all four of them were trying very hard not to laugh so hard as to get kicked out of the theatre. A guy on the movie had a shotgun and started shooting the space dogs heads off. Daisuke flinched as he jumped out from behind on building and started attacking the 'dogs'. His hand brushed Miyako's and she, in turn, screamed and jumped out of her seat. The four burst out laughing hysterically. Miyako turned to them, and stomped her foot.
"It's not funny."
"You're right, it's not." Hikari giggled, and the four started laughing louder. People started throwing popcorn at them. Daisuke joined in the laughter, more so at Miyako's temper tantrum then at the cheese level of the movie.
"It's not funny dammit!" she yelled. Hikari nodded, and continued to laugh. The audience booed at them. An usher came down the isle and pointed a flashlight at them.
"I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you six to leave." He was about twenty, but he looked about thirteen. They looked at each other, and burst out laughing. He blushed, and swallowed.
"I, I mean it. You have to leave. Please." He stood up taller, and out of the way so they could get past him. Miyako held up her head, and stormed past him. The other five followed suit, each trying very hard not to laugh. As soon as they got out of the theatre, Ken, Hikari and Daisuke dropped to the ground, laughing. Taichi leaned against a wall, and Yamato leaned against him. Miyako was red in the face.
"It's not funny you guys." Hikari finally managed to stop. She stood up.
"I'm sorry. This was my fault. You're right. It wasn't funny. But that movie was one of the cheesiest things I have ever seen in my life!"
"How can you say that? You didn't even watch. You were to busy laughing you head off!" Miyako replied. The others calmed down. The usher came up to them.
"Um, are you Yagami Hikari?" he asked. Hikari walked up to him. He was still blushing slightly.
"Yes I am."
"Here. This is for you." He handed her a package and card. "Also I am sorry to tell you, but the manager feels that you six are not allowed back in this theatre for six months. Have a nice evening." He turned, and walked back into the theatre. Hikari chuckled, and opened the box. She smelt the aroma of the nine roses, and read the card aloud.
"'The second best thing about you is how you laugh at cheesy horror movies.'" She grinned, and walked over to Yamato.
"Tell that brother of yours that I want to have dinner with him next Friday. With all this romancing, I haven't had much time to see him lately."
"No problem." Yamato grinned.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Takeru swallowed and smiled at Hikari. He pulled the chair out for her, and she sat down.
"Thank you." He sat down.
"You're welcome." A waiter came, and they ordered. After an appetizer of caesar salad, and a main course of chicken fettuccini alfredo, they each were served a dessert of white chocolate amaretto cheesecake. Takeru stared at Hikari, and smiled. she looked back.
"Why are you staring at me?"
"I can't help it. You're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen, and I can't take my eyes off you." Hikari blushed. Takeru motioned to their waiter, and he came back with a box. He placed it in front of Hikari.
"Is that all sir?"
"Yes. Thank you." Takeru replied, and the waiter left.
"Well, open it." Hikari smiled, and took the lid off the box. She lifted the ten red roses, and smelt them. She put them on the table, and picked up the card. She opened it, and read it aloud.
"'The best thing about you is how you're willing to love me'". Hikari looked up at Takeru, and he had a black box in his hands.
"I love you more than there is water in the ocean, more than there are stars in the sky, more than you will ever know. I promise to love you until the ends of the earth, and do anything to be and stay with you. I want to grow old with you, and be a good father to your children. I want to help you accomplish your dreams and hopes, and help you through all your hardships. And I want the honour of having your love for always. I love you so much, Hikari, that I would be willing to do anything you would ask of me. Yagami Hikari, will you marry me?" he opened the box, and took out a ring. Hikari nodded, and gave Takeru her left hand, and he placed the ring on her finger. Tears streaming down her face, she stood up and rushed around the table, and into Takeru's arms. The room filled with applause.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ha! How's that Katie? Huh? I hope you're happy! Do you know how long I had to think of mushy gushy romantic crap about Hikari? ahhhhh!!!! I think I went even more insane just writing this! People! I don't normally write this type of thing! Honest! I write only perverted weird crap! Now look Katie, you've made everyone think I like writing romance *pouts* you and you stupid unhentainess… I bet you had Inocencia, child goddess of innocence help you, didn't you? Now I have to write something really perverted…