The Wolf's Den was a bustling coffee shop that was open twenty-four hours. It had only recently popped up near campus, but attracted such mixed crowds that it hardly seemed to be hurting for business. There were the cramming students, the people on the way to work, couples stopping in for a cup, and, of course, teachers.

Everyone who had gone had recommended the place, commending the efficient and quick service, the cleanliness and, in Haruhi's lone case of going, the prices weren't too bad. Several girls who had studied late into the evening one night reported being walked to their cars- a few had even said the manager had threatened a street thug with violence if he bothered any of the girls. That last anecdote was most likely hyperbole, but the drama...

Tamaki had even heard word from Honey, his friend and senior, that the baked goods were amazing, but Kyoya had pointed out that if someone dumped enough sugar in cement mix, Honey would call it gourmet dining and try to take a bite. Tamaki had conceded.

"Bonjour," Tamaki mumbled, having reached the front of the line, then listed off his best friend's order from the top of his head until he looked up to face the barista; "un café au lait, un chocolat-" Tamaki's voice caught in his throat in an unattractive squeak.

The barista was cute. Purple eyes darted to the name tag. Kagome was a nice name; a bit hard to say with a French accent, but-

"Sir?"

She had lovely, bright brown eyes. Her skin was sun kissed, disturbed only by the criss crossing of lightened scar tissue and a few, sparse freckles. Kagome had her thick black hair in an updo, and he imagined the perfect curve of her neck making graceful portraits jealous. He had half the mind to ask her if there was a painting in her attic. There was a bright pink gem secured around with an elegant black strip of leather, and the gem rested right between her collarbones.

"Sir? Is there anything I could do to assist you?"

What a nice voice. She was well spoken with a pronounced enunciation, like she knew every word she was going to say and had faith in it.

Right, the coffee. Kyoya must be exhausted, and Tamaki, also exhausted, was his ride for the day. No way was he dealing with a decaffeinated Ice King.

"Em," the correct words wouldn't come for a split second, and Tamaki panicked and blurted out a half-string of Spanish, "Necessito un café con leche- no, wait-"

Kagome's eyebrows raised in a delicate arch of concern. A confused smile curled her lips, and she began to hesitantly wave to grab Tamaki's attention.

Falling for a pretty face wasn't like Tamaki, against popular belief. He'd seen beauty. He was beautiful, himself.

Growing up rich had strange effects on people. The women in Tamaki's life were always near model status, able to focus a scary amount of attention on their looks due to not having as many responsibilities as, say, a commoner woman would. Tamaki had learned to spot women he could be charmed by, had learned to take notes but always kept a steady distance from their reaching hands.

Perhaps it was that self induced sheltering that left him so helpless before her. Perhaps that was why this woman's simple beauty knocked him off his feet. Or was it the look about her sharp eyes that made him want to know more?

Tamaki muttered his order again, making it so poor Kagome would be able to understand him.

"An espresso with milk, and a hot chocolate? Okay." Kagome clacked a few buttons on the register, then flashed a brilliant smile at him. "Name for the order?"

His heart raced a little bit, thrilled at the fact that she didn't recognize him. He told her, "Tamaki," and she shot him another little grin and told him to take a seat.

Against himself (Tamaki really wasn't trying to be a creep!), plum eyes watched the barista as she worked, rapidly firing off orders to her coworkers and assisting where she could. Kagome was, in contrast with her clientele and even her coworkers, very much a morning person. She moved nimbly around everyone else, like she was working around everyone and waiting for them to catch up to her. Was she like that in everything in life? He found himself wanting to know.

A few times, Kagome would catch his eyes. Tamaki did not know her reaction to this, for he would quickly look away in embarrassment, face red.

After having been caught for the third time, Tamaki began his focus elsewhere, forcing himself to look interestedly at the art on the walls for the next few minutes.

"Order for Tamaki!" called out a voice, and Tamaki shuffled over.

"Thanks," he told Kagome, who briefly looked surprised before smiling.

"Now you speak to me in Japanese," she teased. Tamaki blinked in confusion, and she laughed, gesturing to his second cup. "Don't you have somewhere to be?"

"Oh, right!" Tamaki hefted the cup of coffee up. "My best friend is a nightmare without his fix."

"Well," If anything, the smile on Kagome's face grew. "Wouldn't want to keep your best friend waiting, hm?"

Tamaki shuddered, and she laughed again.

It wasn't until he slid in the back of his car, cup of hot chocolate warming his fingers against the chill, that he noticed the small scrawling of English across the side.

'Tamaki,

You're a gem. Text me?

-Kagome'

A string of numbers followed the words.

'Now you speak to me in Japanese,' came the memory of the girl's voice. Tamaki hadn't realized that during that bumbling order, not once had he spoken Japanese. She clearly understood English, as evidenced by her note; had probably picked it up in school. He further recalled Kagome's look of relief when Kyoya was mentioned, and couldn't stop his goofy grin.

Tamaki laughed, feeling quite giddy; The commoner girl who had no idea who he was, who was so beautiful she had him tongue tied enough to forget language, gave him her number. It was somewhat romantic, and he couldn't help the warmth that bloomed in his chest at the memory.

Now, how to begin wooing this lovely maiden?

AN:

Long time no write! I've been in such a slump lately it's crazy, lots of things keep happening. I know I'm a writer, but that's all I can describe life as: a series of things happening all the time always.

Anyways, should I bother continuing this? If so, any ideas? I'm creatively stunted, so hopefully I can get back in the groove of it all soon!

Stay safe!

Vox

update: edited the english to be italicized; at first i left it normal so that it'd be more of a surprise to the reader, but a helpful review made me realize people understanding the short piece was more important :) thanks! i posted this at like one a.m. so. there's definitely editing that coukd be done on this.