Disclaimer: I do not own Hana Yori Dango.
Chapter 31: The Morning After
Just like every other day before, Tsukushi was awakened by the sound of birds chirping cheerily outside her bedroom window. But unlike before, when she wanted to shoot the damn things for causing such a racket and disturbing her sleep so early in the morning, today she felt like joining them in their merry song.
Who would have thought that she, Makino Tsukushi, a woman who had resigned herself to being a spinster for life, would ever be in love again? And with such a wonderful man at that! And as if that weren't enough, that wonderful man, Doumyouji Tsukasa, was in love with her!
Since it was a Sunday, she had the luxury of staying in bed late. As she snuggled back into the warmth of her soft comforter, memories of the previous night's events came flooding her mind.
:: flashback ::
As soon as the fireworks display was over, she and Tsukasa received identical SMS messages on their cellphones. "Where the hell are you? The limo's waiting for us at the hotel entrance." It was from Akira.
Tsukasa looked at her and asked, "Mind if I tell them to go ahead? I kinda want to spend some more 'alone time' with you."
Tsukushi smiled shyly and replied, "I think I'd like that too."
So Tsukasa sent a text message to Akira, telling them to go on ahead and that he and Tsukushi will just take a cab back home.
After most of the wedding guests had left, they stood at the hotel lobby waiting for a cab to take them home, but because of the late hour, taxi cabs were scarce. After half an hour of waiting, Tsukushi suggested that they start walking towards the direction of her home, and just hail a cab if one happened to pass their way.
Before they knew it, they were on the street where the ramen stall they ate at before was located. Both of them were a bit hungry, so they decided to check whether the stall was still open. Sure enough, it was, and the owner welcomed them warmly as he complimented them on what a handsome pair they made, especially with them wearing their formal attires for the night.
After a very satisfying meal, they set off for Tsukushi's apartment. Even if it was quite a long walk and she was wearing shoes with killer heels, Tsukushi felt anything but tired. In fact, she felt energized. Maybe because it felt more like she was floating, rather than walking home. Somewhere along the way, Tsukasa noticed her shivering because of the cold night air, so he immediately took off the coat of his tuxedo and gently draped it on her shoulders. Tsukushi smiled gratefully, letting him take her hand in his as she reveled in the warmth his body heat had left on the coat, as well as the heady scent of his cologne.
Soon, they were at her doorstep. She invited him in so he could call for a cab to take him home. While they were waiting for it to arrive, she took off his tuxedo jacket and laid it neatly on the armchair, then went to the kitchen to prepare some tea.
"So..." she spoke as she handed him a cup of the steaming liquid, suddenly feeling shy, even if for the last hour, the two of them were engaged in animated conversation about anything and everything under the sun.
"So..." he echoed, himself unsure of what to say.
"Well," she said after several more awkward seconds, "thank you for seeing me home safely. I had a really great time tonight."
Tsukasa stood up from his seat and walked over to the couch where she was. He pulled her up and promptly enveloped her in his arms, then whispered, "Tonight was perfect." Then he lowered his head and softly placed his lips on hers. His kiss was tentative at first, as if he felt uncertain how she would react. But when her hands went up and clasped themselves behind his neck, he became more sure of himself, nipping and sucking gently at her lower lip, coaxing her mouth to part. Tsukushi welcomed the pleasant invasion of his tongue as he probed deeper, tasting the sweetness within. Soon the kiss became more urgent, their tongues exploring each other hungrily, as they were caught up in a heated embrace.
One of the thin straps of her dress had somehow slid down her shoulder, and Tsukasa's lips were soon burning a fiery trail of kisses on the smooth expanse of creamy skin. Tsukushi couldn't stop her sharp intake of breath as she felt the flames of desire come to life within her. With a blissful sigh, her head arched backward, allowing him easier access to the hollow of her throat.
Several loud honks from outside the apartment brought them back to their senses, causing them to break apart from their passionate embrace. "Y-your cab..." she whispered. Although she was already flushed all over her body, a fresh wave of warmth suffused her cheeks with color when she saw him gazing at her longingly, his eyes dark with ardent desire.
"Yeah..." he rasped out, his breathing uneven. "I guess it's best for me to leave right now, while I still can." Oh god, how he wanted her! But he was quite sure she still wasn't ready to take things to another level this soon.
With great reluctance, he let go of her and started walking towards the front door. She followed him, so she could see him out. Once they were at her doorstep, Tsukasa signaled the cab driver to wait a few more minutes, then turned to face her. Taking both her hands in his, he bent down and kissed each one. "Can I see you tomorrow?" he asked earnestly, hoping she would say yes.
"I'd like that," she answered back with a smile. "Come by, say around lunchtime?"
"It's a date!" he said as he flashed her another one of those gorgeous smiles, the dimple on his left cheek deepening oh-so-adorably, making Tsukushi want to kiss him again, although she fought hard to restrain herself.
After planting a chaste kiss on the tip of her nose, he whispered, "Good night, Tsukushi. I love you." And with that he turned and walked briskly towards the curb where the cab was waiting. He rolled his window up after giving her one last wave, but before the cab could leave, Tsukushi was running down the steps leading to the curb. She rapped on his window, and when he rolled it down, she took his face in both her hands and gave him a long, soul-shattering kiss. He was speechless when she finally pulled away. Then she whispered, "I love you too, Tsukasa. You didn't think I'd let you leave without letting you know that, did you?" she winked at him. He still wasn't able to say anything, but the wide, goofy grin that had spread on his face was a good enough reply for her. "Good night!" she called out gaily as she walked back to her apartment.
:: end of flashback ::
Glancing at the small clock on her nightstand, she saw that it was already 9:30 a.m. Deciding she had done enough daydreaming for now, she got up from bed, took a shower and brushed her teeth. She changed from her pajamas into shorts and a tank top, planning to get some house cleaning done before Tsukasa arrived.
Just as she was taking out the vacuum cleaner from the broom closet, her doorbell rang. Tsukasa stood outside on her doorstep, looking very handsome in faded jeans and a white button-down shirt.
"You're early!" Tsukushi exclaimed in surprise. If she'd known he was coming this morning, she would've worn something nicer than the ratty house clothes she had on. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion when she saw the mischievous grin he was sporting. "You aren't planning on baking brownies again, are you?"
"Nope," he shook his head, laughing. "I just couldn't wait 'til lunchtime to see you, so here I am. And, I wanted to give you these," he said, taking out the hand he had behind his back, and presenting her with a beautiful bouquet of dark red, long-stemmed roses. "I'd have come here sooner but I had to wait for the flower shop to open."
Tsukushi stared at the flowers, then looked up at him. She wanted to pinch herself just in case she was dreaming. Was this sweet, gorgeous hunk for real? How lucky could a girl get?
"They're beautiful, thank you," she said when she finally found her voice. Taking the bouquet of roses from him, she flung the front door wide open, motioning for him to come in. As he sat on the couch, she went to the kitchen to find an empty vase, then filled it with water and proceeded to arrange the roses in it. "You should've called to let me know you were coming earlier," she called out to him from where she was. She glanced down again at the clothes she was wearing, and became terribly conscious of her appearance as she heard his muffled reply from the living room.
"I wanted to surprise you. It's alright, I hope?" he asked, suddenly unsure whether he did the right thing.
"Of course it's alright, silly," she assured him as she walked back into the living room, carrying the vase of flowers and laying it down on the coffee table. Finding her hands suddenly unoccupied, she moved to nervously tuck a stray lock of hair that had escaped from her ponytail behind her ear.
"Good," Tsukasa said as he stood up and walked towards her. "'Cause after last night, I just couldn't wait to see my girlfriend again," he grinned as he took her into his arms. "And I couldn't wait to do this..." he lowered his head to capture her lips in his in a long, lingering kiss.
"Wow," Tsukushi sighed when he finally released her. "Well, that certainly is a great way to start my day."
"And mine as well," he grinned as he pulled her down to sit on the couch beside him.
"Your girlfriend..." she mused, rolling the word on her tongue as if it were a new word she had just learned. "Gee, you're right. I guess I am your girlfriend now."
"You guess?!" Tsukasa asked, pretending to look wounded.
She gave him a peck on the cheek, then said, "It's been such a long time since I was anyone's girlfriend. Being part of a couple is certainly gonna take some getting used to, my dear, handsome, talented, sweet, and um, what else?... did I mention handsome?... boyfriend!"
He tugged at her ponytail playfully. "Well you better get used to it, missy!" He laughed when instead of a reply, they heard a low growl coming from Tsukushi's stomach. "So you haven't had breakfast yet, huh? Good, 'cause I haven't eaten yet either. What say we head out for brunch?"
"Okay! Just give me a few minutes so I could get dressed," she told him as she wriggled out of his arms and made her way into her bedroom.
A/N: Eeeks! All the fluff I've been writing is giving me a toothache. I'm sorry if I haven't updated for ages. As you can probably tell from reading this filler chapter, I still have no idea what to write next. Some of you apparently think this story is ending soon. Well, I can tell you it's not ending anytime soon yet. If anything, the last chapter was the end of only the first part of this fic. There's a whole part 2 I've got planned out, but it's still a huge, tangled mess inside my head. So I hope you'll be patient 'til I finally work the whole plot out. I don't want to churn out any more mediocre chapters like this.
Xyjah: Nice to know you liked the last chapter. Were you able to download the song?
Invisible Rain: Oh, I'm glad you liked it. Here's another one. I know, I know, fluff overkill. Heh, I'll try to get back to writing some plot next time, LOL.
len: Hey there, sorry for the delayed update. Haven't decided on whether to write on the other guys' lovelives yet. Hmm, let's just see what'll happen.
XxSwtDreamerxX1: Oh, thank you for your lovely comments. Well, this story ain't done yet so you haven't seen the last of me, lol.
naixil: Nope, not ending this anytime soon. I've still got a long ways to go. Meanwhile, here's more TxT action for you. Hope you liked it!
Rebecca: Newbie? Welcome aboard! Thanks for dropping by and leaving a review.
polabear: Oh wow, another new reader! Hi and welcome aboard! Thanks for giving this fic a chance!
cherub girl: Aww, I'm happy you liked it! I hope by now you've fully recovered from your leg injury. Thanks for the continued support!
Sailor Angie: Angie! Long time no hear! I was wondering where you'd run off to. Am glad you haven't forgotten this story. I debated with myself for quite some time on whether to end this story already. However, I decided against doing so since in my mind it's still incomplete. And since I'm writing this primarily for myself anyway, might as well be in it for the long haul. Thanks for your input though. Really appreciate it!