Author's Note: Sorry this took SOOOOO long! I had uber writer's block! GAH!
Disclaimer: I do not own OHSHC, if I did, do you really think I'd be posting fan fictions?
Chapter 4
A frantic knocking brought Ranka to the front door of the apartment he shared with his daughter. Who on earth could it be? The cross-dresser didn't even have to make it all the way to the entrance to find his answer as a loud shout of despair drifted to his ears.
"Don't worry, Haruhi! Daddy's come to save you!"
With a disappointed sigh, Haruhi's actual father realized that the visitor was none other than the exceedingly annoying Tamaki. Apparently he had somehow discovered that the Hitachiin twins were on an outing with Haruhi. The last thing Ranka wanted was for his beautiful daughter's date to be ruined! So, quickly, he thought up a way to keep Tamaki from finding the young girl.
The transvestite opened the door to find Tamaki, along with a slightly irritated looking Kyouya. Haruhi's father feigned a smile at the blonde, "Tamaki! How wonderful to see you!"
This reaction caught the 'Lord' off guard, and he blinked in surprise a moment before regaining himself to respond, "Where are Haruhi and the hooligans?"
"Ah, of course!" Ranka latched a hand onto Tamaki's wrist, and dragged him along, "This way, this way!"
The pair stopped at a closet, with Ranka making a gesture indicating that that was where Haruhi was. Tamaki blinked, "In there?"
It seemed odd, but he poked in his head to investigate, only to feel himself being shoved in by the cross-dresser. Now that Tamaki was out of the way, Ranka grinned to himself, turning to his other guest, "Kyouya, would you like some tea?"
Meanwhile…
Kaoru was doing his best to blend with the crowd as he followed after Haruhi and Hikaru; the latter two having moved on from the docks in search of a frosty treat. The elder twin and his companion were chattering amiably, though from the way that once and a while Haruhi would hit Hikaru upon the shoulder, Kaoru knew that his brother hadn't completely stopped saying stupid thing. Still, at least the punches Haruhi threw seemed playful rather than angry.
"So, what sort of ice-cream do they have at this place anyway?" Hikaru questioned, looking ahead at the tacky sign shaped as a giant ice-cream cone.
"Oh, lots of different kinds! All home made too. Let's see, today's Saturday, so they should have vanilla, chocolate, strawberry and banana!" Haruhi smiled, eager to taste the strawberry sweetness of the fresh ice-cream.
"That's all?" The twin crinkled his nose. The ice-cream he usually ate came in all sorts of tropical and exotic flavors, as well as the classics. Of course, he'd be content with just strawberry or vanilla, but the lack of options had caught him off guard.
"What do you mean, 'That's all?'" Hikaru was suddenly given a playful punch on the shoulder, "It's home-made! And they only have their family working the shop! It's not like they can churn out endless flavors everyday!"
"Okay, okay." The rusty haired teen shook his head with a sigh, "I guess I'm just used to more variety."
At the small shop they were greeted by a smiling man in his mid-forties, "Good afternoon, Haruhi! What can I get for you and the young man?"
"Strawberry for me, Mr. Aisukuri." Haruhi smiled as she turned to her friend, "What do you want, Hikaru?"
"Ano…" the twin paused, looking at the brief menu, "I guess I'll have the same."
"Right!" Mr. Aisukuri already had the first strawberry ice-cream in hand, and held it out to Haruhi, informing her of the total she had due.
The bright young girl took the ice-cream in one hand, using the other to sift through the contents of her purse. However, she soon heard the sound of money being laid on the counter and looked up to see Hikaru, a cone in his own hand, had already paid.
"You didn't have to do that." She informed him, embarrassed that her friend was treating her.
Hikaru simply shrugged, "I wanted to." He paused licking the soft pink ice-cream. As the flavor washed over his tongue, the twin's eyes widened, "This is good!"
"That's home-made flavor!" Mr. Aisukuri informed him with a wink, "Now, you two have fun on your date!"
"Ah! I-it's not-" Haruhi began to correct the man, a blush flooding her face. But Mr. Aisukuri had already retreated to the back of his shop, hard at work churning out more ice-cream. The girl turned to her friend to apologize, finding his face equally red. But to her surprise, the twin reached out and took her hand.
"You heard him…" He was clearly nervous, Haruhi could feel the heat in his hand, "Let's…enjoy our date, ne?" He gave her a nervous smile, taking her aback, "Where to now, Haruhi?"
"A-ano…" Her pulse raced as she felt his golden gaze lingering upon her face, "I…I don't know if there's anything else…I mean…the market and the movies…b-but…"
Hikaru could tell he'd startled her, and felt awful for it. He quickly dropped her hand and looked away, "Maybe we should just go check on Kaoru."
"I suppose so…" Swallowing the lump in her throat, Haruhi nodded. She could hear the slight disappointment in her friend's voice. She wasn't sure what was going on. Why had Hikaru taken her hand like that? And why was her head suddenly feeling so fuzzy? Again she swallowed the persistent lump, her free hand (the one not clutching an ice-cream cone) trembling as she slid it towards him, letting it brush against his.
The twin's eyes widened as he glanced at their scarcely touching hands. Was she saying it was alright to hold her hand after all? He slowly slid his hand into hers, and when she didn't pull away, he twined their fingers together. The pair began walking in awkward silence towards Haruhi's home.
Kaoru, from where he was watching the date, let out a suppressed "yes!!" as he saw his brother for once behaving like a gentleman, paying Haruhi's tab, and then even taking her hand! He'd never have thought Hikaru would be so bold without some encouragement! He was so excited that he almost didn't notice Haruhi and Hikaru heading in his direction. Seeing them coming his way, however, he turned and raced towards Haruhi's house.
By the time Kaoru reached the small home he was out of breath. He opened the door, darting in without thinking of knocking.
Ranka emerged from the small kitchen, surprised to see the lone twin panting in the doorway, "Kaoru? Where are Hikaru and Haruhi? Did something happen?"
From the kitchen a bespectacled head peered out, a small, knowing smile in place across his face. Kyouya had a hunch he knew what was going on. Kaoru must have set Hikaru up with Haruhi on another date.
"I…I left…left them…a-alone…" Kaoru panted out his answer. He didn't need to finish. Ranka had pieced the puzzle together waiting for the reply.
"I see." He smiled at the lone twin, "How were they doing when you left?"
"Holding hands…eating ice-cream…" Kaoru finally managed to catch his breath as he heard a protesting bang against the closet door.
"No, no, no! I won't allow my precious daughter to be corrupted by that hooligan!"
Kaoru turned wide eyed towards the sound, "Milord is here?"
Ranka nodded with a sigh, before noticing the approaching figures, hand in hand, of Hikaru and Haruhi through the window.
As they approached the door, the elder twin and his companion found themselves slowing, trying to stretch the time they had alone together. Their ice-cream had been discarded along the way, after melting. After what seemed like ages of silence, they reached Haruhi's house.
"Ano…I…this was fun." She murmured nervously.
"Uh-huh." Hikaru nodded, his golden gaze shifted to one side as he tried to brace himself to admit what he was feeling. What he realized he had been feeling for a long time now, "H-haruhi?"
"Yeah?" She bit her lip, the tension in the air weighing on her heart, making it hard for her to breathe.
"A-ano…" He felt himself involuntarily leaning down towards her, and soon their lips had brushed gently against one another. It wasn't the deep passionate first kiss so often dreamed of, but a nervous, tremulous, tender and quick kiss.
In the house, Ranka and Kaoru exchange high fives. Kyouya rapped against the closet door, stating in a disinterested tone, "They kissed."
"NOOOOO!!!" Tamaki burst from the closet, tears streaming dramatically from his eyes.
Seconds later, this was the comical scene Hikaru and Haruhi entered the house to find: Tamaki was slumped on the floor, crying in defeat. Kaoru and Ranka seemed to be having a toast to the fact that the younger twin's scheme had worked, and Kyouya was standing there, just looking slightly bemused.
"We missed something…didn't we?" Hikaru inquired, brow quirked slightly.
"Just Milord coming out of the closet." Kaoru joked with a grin.
Author's Note: Ick, this chapter sucked….Hikaru was TOTALLY out of character. But I couldn't think of how else to end it. sigh