.
Coffee Shops and Cameras
Chapter 36
1 YEAR LATER.
I watched from across the room as Hikaru handed two of the stage directors a drink from the bulk order he'd made to the local coffee shop. A smile on his face as he thanked them for keeping on schedule. The handsome man spoke to them for a while longer, earning laughs from the pair as he went off on another tangent.
My cheeks hurt with the wide grin that spread.
If there was one thing I learned during this last year, it was that behind that huge wall Hikaru had put up between himself and the rest of the world...Hikaru was quite the talker. And a hell of a talker at that. Since opening up and learning to trust he'd found himself becoming more and more social with everyone around him, and now it was almost impossible to get him to stop talking or sharing his jokes and stories, much like Kaoru always did. It was hard to believe that it had taken several weeks after first meeting him for me to finally see him smile. Nowadays you only had to say hello to be gifted with the brightest and most welcoming of smiles. I was almost jealous since I'd had to work so hard in the first place.
Hikaru noticed me standing there a few moments later and beamed from across the room, before excusing himself from the two directors and making his way towards me.
"Hello beautiful" he greeted, planting a firm kiss on my lips before I could even formulate my reply. He then handed me a paper cup and winked, "Jasmine tea. Your favourite"
"You're a life saver" I chuckled.
It never ceased to amaze me how struck I felt whenever he was near, even after all this time. It hadn't been an easy journey becoming his official girlfriend, especially in the light of the media. But we'd made it this far, and it was better than I could have ever hoped. I remembered when there was a time when we almost hadn't made it, when the odds seemed to be so stacked up against us. Now looking back on it I knew I wouldn't have changed a second, and each and every step had been more than worth it.
Even that day with Seika, when the whole world felt as if it were caving in on us.
There weren't enough words in the dictionary for us to fully explain to Kyoya how thankful we were for what he had done that day.
At first we had been confused, but once the drama had settled he simply explained to us that Seika's fiance was in fact Rolance of Monale, the wealthy grandson of the man who came to confront Seika that day in the Hitachiin house. Mr Monale was a prominent business partner of Kyoya's father, using his medical teams and equipment in many of his estates. Therefore it was his duty to ensure clients financial and personal wellbeing. He explained it in black and white, like a business deal. But I had come to understand that Kyoya was more than what met the eye. He was far deeper and far more caring than how he presented himself. A truly brilliant man, and more importantly, a loyal friend.
We never saw Seika again after that day. But in the weeks following, tabloids came out detailing the break down of her engagement. Hikaru and I were never named specifically, but it was said that Seika had a conniving side that served the spread of defamatory rumours for financial gain. As a result, her reputation suffered, and the stories she had sold previously when she and Hikaru had split began to be questioned. More and more people were seeing the truth. That Hikaru had been taken advantage of, by a woman who strived for nothing but the successes of other people. Of course, a lot of people still believed Hikaru to be the bad guy, but each and everyday he was proving those opinions to be more and more incorrect.
"Did you enjoy the show?" Hikaru asked, "I bet it was weird seeing all those people applauding your designs"
"They were your mother's designs" I smirked.
"But you still drew them. And Mom said she couldn't have brought them to life without you"
I breathed a laugh, "Are you trying to butter me up?"
"Maybe. Is it working?"
"Hmm, perhaps you should try harder?"
"Try harder? I'm already taking you away for a relaxing week vacation. Surely I've earned my 'buttering up' points?"
"I don't need a vacation. All I need is you, me, a bowl of popcorn, and the Back to the Future trilogy"
He grinned, rolling his eyes, "And that, Miss Fujioka, is why I love you so fucking much"
A giggle passed my lips, "Once upon a time you would have called that a night in hell"
"Once upon a time I couldn't keep my hands off you long enough to make it to the opening credits"
I hid my face as I felt my cheeks redden with my blush. I still wasn't used to him speaking so forwardly in public, even after all this time.
1 year since we made our relationship official. And honestly it could have been 10 years and I doubted I would still be able to get my head round the fact that this perfect man loved me as much as I loved him. Especially since a few weeks prior to us admitting our feelings, we couldn't even hold a civil conversation without wanted to rip at one another's throats.
His hand cupped my chin, tilting my face back to his. He pressed his lips to mine for the slightest of seconds and smiled.
"Please tell me you've packed. I want to hit the road the moment we get out of here"
I nodded, "Kaoru helped me load my bag into your car. I'm all yours"
"All mine you say? Aren't I lucky"
"You are indeed. A full week of my undivided attention? What a lucky boy"
"Keep talking like that and I'll have no choice but to start the vacation in the backseat before we've even hit the road"
"Oh my god" Kaoru's voice spoke up from beside us, and we both turned red as we held in our impending laughs, "Gross, gross, I beg you please stop"
"Why? Jealous?" Hikaru wrapped an arm across his brother's shoulders, giving him a shake.
"Not even a little bit. I have all the backseat action a man could want"
"Things with Renge are going well then?" I replied.
After the shitstorm with Seika had passed and the media attacks on Hikaru had died down, Kaoru and Hikaru's shoots together had become all the more enjoyable and chilled. Whereas before Kaoru found himself constantly apologising on his brother's behalf and working on damage control, now they could do their jobs with smiles on their faces, and were able to work with the photography crew and staff as if they were a real team. This meant that Kaoru could have real conversations with them without having to spend his time saying sorry or chasing Hikaru around. Yuzuha's main director Renge had always caught Kaoru's attention, and when the shoots became more friendly, he and Renge became more friendly too.
"Early days" Kaoru answered with a shrug, but his smile said so much more.
"Maybe we could double date!" I blurted with a grin.
A knowing grin spread across his face, "DDR!"
Hikaru 's reply came in the form of a groan, as he buried his face into the crook of my neck and grumbled. Leaving Kaoru and I to chuckle at his expense.
"You know I can carry my own bags right?" I laughed as Hikaru bundled our luggage through the cabin door, clearly struggling a little but not wanting to make it obvious.
"Quiet woman. Let me keep my pride" he grunted, then threw down the suitcases at the foot of the stairs. I rolled my eyes as I closed the door behind me.
"What the hell did you even pack?" he whooshed out a breath, bracing himself with his hands on his knees as he caught his breath.
"Sketchbooks" I replied.
"You bought work with you?"
"Only a little" I chewed my lip.
Hikaru pouted, "I thought we agreed that this week would be just you and me? No distractions, no phones, and no work"
"I know I know. I only bought them just in case. What if I get a big idea or I'm inspired by something? Your Mom said she wanted to see more of my ideas, if I don't have my books to mark them out then I'll just lose them"
Hikaru sighed, then planted a small kiss on my forehead, "Fine, you win. But you only get them out if you have an idea. I wanted us to have this week so I could take you away from all those nights you're sat up working. Just for a week I'd like to actually fall asleep with you and have you stay in bed until morning"
I gave an apologetic smile, "I'm sorry. I know I've been overdoing it lately"
"I don't mind you working hard, I love that you're so inspired. But let's have a week where your mind is on other things too"
"Agreed"
He smiled, then a sly grin spread across his face, "Speaking of other things"
I raised an eyebrow. Then found myself being hoisted and thrown over his shoulder. I let out a shriek that quickly turned into a giggle as I watched his legs carry us to the staircase.
"I intend on occupying your mind all night long Miss Fujioka"
"Promises promises" I teased.
We made it to the bedroom in record time, the same bedroom I'd realised I loved him exactly a year ago when we made love for the first time. I could still remember the way his hands caressed me like I would break, and the look in his eyes as he studied the deepest parts of my soul.
When he lowered me down on the mattress, laying himself down on top of me, I thought of all the nights we had spent together since then. All the words that had been said, all the feelings and emotions shared. I couldn't help but wonder what our lives would have been had we never met.
"I love you" I spoke softly.
Hikaru smiled a small smile, then planted a gentle kiss to my lips, "And I love you angel"
His thumb traced my cheek, his eyes sweeping my entire face as if he were taking in every freckle and pore.
"Do you remember what you said that day in the garden? What you said to Seika?" he asked.
My brow furrowed, "I said a lot of choice words to her...not very nice ones if I remember correctly"
He chuckled, "And it was hot as hell. But there was one thing in particular"
I tilted my head quizzically.
His expression became more serious, with so much warmth, his eyes almost filling with tears as he took a shaking breath, "...something that transcended all of that..." he said softly.
It took a few moments, but quickly the words I had spoken to Seika all those months ago came flowing back to me.
"You weren't famous. You weren't wealthy. But he saw something that transcended all of that"
Confusion struck me, and that seemed to make him smile.
"Even when I was being a cold-hearted asshole...you still saw me" his voice was barely above a whisper, and heavy with so much emotion I couldn't even place it, "...something that transcended all of that..." he repeated my words so slowly, as if he were analysing each and every syllable, "Right from that start, no matter how much I showed you what a bad person I was, no matter how much I pushed you away. You always had faith that I was underneath all that. You saw more of me than anyone else did, even without me having to show you"
I felt my eyes heat up, and I realised I felt like crying.
I had always known there was someone so wonderful and loving underneath all that hard iron. For some reason I'd always known it, even when he was shouting at me and calling me every name under the sun. My Hikaru was in there. I knew it. My heart knew it.
"I love you so much Haruhi. I think I always have" he breathed, clasping my hand in his against his chest.
"I love you too" I replied, "More than I ever had the right to"
"I'm all yours. And I always will be"
Then his lips pressed to mine.
And my world became nothing but happiness.
Love.
And him.
HIKARU
Hikaru couldn't bare to untangle himself from Haruhi that morning. He wanted to keep his legs entwined with hers, with his lips fused to the column of her throat, tasting the delicious thump of her pulse beneath her skin. He didn't want to get up. The mere idea of putting clothes between them, made Hikaru want to curl into a ball and scream.
However, they had plans. Big plans. Which meant Hikaru had work to do.
He quietly crept into the kitchen, admiring all the little familiar trinkets he passed on the way. Somehow i felt like his grandmother was there with him, guiding him through and setting him up to succeed. It still amazed him how struck he felt being in this cabin, and how big of an impression it had left. To him, this cabin was home. It wasn't filled with posters of himself and his brother, or awards to his mother. It had photos of the family, when he and Kaoru were kids, of Grandma's dogs running in the vineyard.
Shortly after he and Haruhi had become official, and Seika was well and truly a far off image in the back mirror, the two of them bought a huge patch of land not too far from the Hitachiin home, and decided to build a simple and quaint replica farm-house, leaving a lot of surrounding landscape for their own garden, and of course their own pool at Hikaru's request. He could tell that Haruhi didn't want to live too outlandish from her upbringing, but it took all of 2 days for her to warm up to having their own swimming pool on their doorstep. Hikaru was surprised she hadn't grown fins from the amount of time she spent in it.
But the main focus was making this home feel like the cabin. Like a real family home, where memories could be made.
With this came a lot of considerations that were completely alien to Hikaru. For instance, when they worked with the architect and were planning out the amount of bedrooms. Hikaru had frozen in place, because suddenly he realised he wanted children. He had never thought about having kids before. But suddenly it were as if he'd always known he'd wanted them. He felt almost coy broaching the subject with Haruhi, especially since the answer as to how many bedrooms he wanted seemed to rise from 2 to 4 to 6 in a matter of seconds.
It made him think about Haruhi carrying his child, her belly round and smooth, his son or daughter's kicks against his hand.
A smile hurt his cheeks as he cracked the eggs in the pan.
One step at a time Hikaru, let's not get ahead of ourselves...
"Do my eyes decieve me? Are you actually cooking?"
Hikaru smiled at her teasing angelic voice, and turned to see her stood behind him, in all her morning glory. Hair stuck up from all angles, wearing nothing but his t-shirt from the night before. His crotch seemed to nod in approval.
Down boy.
"I cook" he retorted.
"Rarely" she scoffed, "Last time you "cooked" it turned out you ordered in"
"I've made you sandwiches before"
"Sandwiches is a big leap from breakfast. But mmmm, it smells amazing"
"Only the best for the love of my life" he flashed his most charming smile, the one he knew made her melt in his palm, "After last night I'm sure you need an energy boost"
"Cheeky" she grinned, biting her lip.
Damn that perfect smile.
He wrapped his arms around her as she approached, pulling her in for a long, firm kiss. He swore he'd never stop loving the taste of her perfect kisses.
"So what's on the menu chef?"
"I was thinking poached egg and salmon bagels. Your favourite"
Haruhi's grin became one of giddy excitement, "You do love me!"
"Well it was this or cheerios...and I didn't think that was special enough"
"There's nothing wrong with a tasty bowl of cheerios"
"Not on the average day, but today is no average day"
She raised a brow, "It isn't?"
Dammit, dammit, you can't keep a secret to save your life. Backup, backup...
"It's our first day on vacation, I wanted to start it on a special note" Hikaru cleared the lump in his throat.
Haruhi smiled, "Aww, you're so sweet"
"Now" Hikaru trailed kisses down the side of her face to the crook of her neck, "Get that beautiful behind back into bed whilst I finish up. Otherwise you're going to ruin my whole breakfast in bed plan"
"Do you want me to pretend to be asleep too?"
"If you could that would be great"
"I'll remember to act surprised"
"So thoughtful"
After breakfast the pair spent the morning in the vineyard. The season was ripe with fresh grapes so they made sure they didn't get under any of the worker's toes as they collected and stored them ready for taking to the fermentation house. As they walked hand in hand Hikaru thought of the last time they had been there. When the two of them were sitting on so many unspoken feelings, when holding her hand made his palms sweaty, and seeing her smile made his chest hurt.
Hikaru still experienced all those moments of awe when stood by her side, but now it was more excitement and disbelief. Excitement that she was his and he was hers, and disbelief that...well...she was his and he was hers.
He stared up at her from where she stood on the top of the ladder, her arms buried in the vines above her head as she pulled and dropped grapes in the basket below, held by Naomi, one of the younger workers, who cheered Haruhi on with praise.
Now would be a good time to go and check...
"Hey honey" Hikaru cleared his throat.
"Yeah?" Haruhi answered as she pulled another large cluster of grapes from the branch.
"I need to find Cha for a second. Will you be okay here for a few minutes?"
"Do you want me to come with you?"
No, no, no...
"No don't worry about it, you keep having fun. I'll be right back"
If this surprise was ruined, Hikaru would never forgive himself.
The moment he was out of Haruhi's line of sight, he broke into a sprint towards the wine tasting shed, where guests would come and enjoy the vineyard's wines. During the day it was nothing too impressive, just a pretty converted barn with and outdoor deck, but in the evening it was breathtaking. The large doors were open wide, trails of golden fairy lights twisted around the beams, seats and tables laid out on the grass, surrounded by the beauty of the vineyard.
As he approached he saw Cha and some other workers cutting the grass and cleaning the outside, getting everything ready for the evening. As always, Hikaru made sure they had the vineyard all to themselves when visiting, so this preparation wasn't for the public. It was for he and Haruhi.
Cha saw him approaching and bowed politely.
"It looks amazing" Hikaru whooshed out a breath.
"We're not quite finished yet but everything will be in place in time for this evening"
Hikaru nodded nervously.
Cha chuckled, "Your grandmother would be a very proud lady to see all this, and perhaps a little smug to see you so shaken"
"I bet she would be" Hikaru smirked, his eyes still scanning the barn. He had so many good memories here, with his brother, with his parents, with his grandparents, and as of a year ago, with Haruhi.
This place held so much to him. And he supposed it was time to make some more memories. He couldn't think of a better place to do so.
Hikaru had to lift his jaw off the ground as Haruhi stepped into the living room wearing the dress he had packed her. It was long and flowing around the legs in deep green chiffon, and shaped her waist and bust elegantly, and leaving her shoulders and arms bare. He swore he would never get used to her beauty, even after a lifetime of working with models, her perfection struck him like a bullet.
He gulped, a fresh new wave of nerves hitting him like a tsunami.
"If the outfit is any indication, I'm going to guess you're not actually taking us camping tonight" she chuckled, doing a little twirl that made Hikaru want to drop to his knees in front of her.
"You know me" Hikaru stood and took her hands in his, "I'm full of surprises"
His lips pressed to hers without him even deciding to do so, it seemed his body ran on pure instinct when it came to Haruhi.
"You look incredible" he breathed.
"You look pretty damn good yourself" she grinned, her hands running the length of buttons down his dark blue shirt, "Very handsome"
"Thank you angel" he smirked, doing his best to stay focused on his plan instead of just saying 'fuck it' and taking her back to bed, "You ready to go?"
"Go where?" she quirked a brow.
He grinned knowingly, "You'll see"
"Oh Hika" Haruhi gasped, her palms covering her open mouth, "This is...oh my god, this is stunning"
Her eyes flickered with the glow from the barn, from candles to the trails of fairy lights around the outside. She couldn't seem to decide where she wanted to look, her gaze seemed to flicker from one thing to another, her expression becoming more and more fascinated with every new thing she discovered. She finally settled on the table on the deck, with two chairs, a bottle of wine, and plates set out ready for dinner. Her palm settled over her chest.
"You did all this?" she gaped.
"No, not just me. Cha and some of the others set it all out for us. They were hard at work all day"
"I hope you paid them extra"
"Pretty sure I quadrupled their monthly wage"
Haruhi turned to him, cupping his cheeks in her palms before pressing the most tender of kisses to his lips. She barely pulled back, resting her forehead to his.
"This is amazing. Thank you so much" she uttered.
"Well" he smiled, "I suppose this is technically our one year anniversary. I thought I would do something special for you"
"I thought the vacation was special enough" she chuckled.
"Nothing is too special for my babydoll"
Hikaru led Haruhi by the hand to the table, remembering to pull out her chair and lay her napkin down on her lap before pouring her a glass of wine. Grandmother was watching after all, and she raised a gentleman.
Hikaru had chosen the food for the evening, all Haruhi's favourites, and Aiko, one of the family chefs was manning the kitchen. Everything was perfect. Just as Hikaru had imagined it. Right down to the candles on the table, and the warmth of the summer air.
"Have you tried the wine?" he asked.
Haruhi smiled and lifted her glass, taking a testing sip before humming in satisfaction, "That's soooo good"
"It should be, we made it after all"
"We did?" Haruhi questioned, eyeing up the bottle. It took her a few moments, but slowly realisation hit her and her face lit up with joy, "This is our wine?"
Hikaru nodded with a laugh, "It's been fermenting in the warehouse for a year, not quite a vintage, but I thought it would be a nice touch"
"Hika...this is so thoughtful" Haruhi's eyes seemed to glint with unshed tears, "This must have taken so much work to plan"
"It wasn't too much. Besides, I wanted everything to be perfect"
"It is perfect. More than perfect" Haruhi sniffed, "I love you so much"
"I love you too angel"
So much.
"Sometimes I wonder how I got so lucky" Hikaru breathed, "By all counts I didn't deserve you, I pushed you away so much, I insulted you and your upbringing. I wonder sometimes what would have happened if you had just accepted I was beyond help. If you'd just walked away and carried on with your life"
"Do thoughts like that matter?" Haruhi gave a small smile, "With every situation we have a million different ways to respond. The only important answer is the one we choose. And I chose you. And that means it was the right one"
Hikaru felt his heart constrict and he reached over to squeeze her hand.
"No more thinking like that. I love you now, and I loved you long before I even told you I did" Haruhi's face broke into a grin, and Hikaru couldn't resist the urge to grin back.
It was then that Aiko emerged with a bow, and asked if they were ready to eat.
Hikaru turned to Haruhi, who nodded back eagerly.
"Yes Aiko, thank you" he beamed, and clenched his fingers around the small velvet box in his pocket, "Ready as we'll ever be"
Hi everyone! Oh my god what a journey this has been, I honestly can't believe this story has come to an end :( there will of course be an epilogue to follow, but there's such a bittersweet sadness about finishing this story! It's been such a huge part of my writing! I'm having Lionheart flashbacks :( But don't fret there will be another brand new story starting after the dust on this one has settled, and I really hope you guys will enjoy it. Thank you so much for sticking with me, and I really hope you all loved this story just as much as I have!
- Yuli xx