I probably should have said last chapter that 'tsu' in Japanese means something along the lines of 'shit'. Oops. Back to Tama and Umehito! Enjoy!

Nekozawa POV

Tamaki was the reason I got terrible sleep for a few weeks. He haunted me day and night since I met him. After a while of texting, calling, talking, and dreaming, all I could think about was him. What would it feel like to have him in my arms? What would we say when there was nothing left to say? With every minute we spent together, those questions jumped farther and farther forward in my mind.

However, it scared me that I'd never been in love with a boy before. My first love had been a girl, and that failed completely, but when I saw Tamaki, I just ... fell. Having a boy occupy so much of your mind when you were sure girls caught your fancy was incredibly strange, but I wouldn't have traded it for anything. I went to school because of him, and I braved the sun so I could see him. Tamaki was taking me over, and I was happy to let him.

On a rather usual day during study hall (thankfully, a cloudy one), I walked to Tamaki's second year classroom. It was down a flight of stairs, and I had to pass a few windows, but the destination made up for it. As I entered the room, his face lit up. "Hi, Ume!" he said, waving me over. I blushed, just as I always did when he called me that. His dark-haired sister was seated cautiously next to him, but she smiled and moved when she saw me, giving me the slightest wink.

"Hello, Tamaki. How are you?" I asked.

He shifted in his seat. "Amazing!" he replied, throwing his arms up and around my hips. Hugging when one person is sitting and the other is standing sounds a bit awkward, but I was so beyond caring about that. I blushed even deeper as Tamaki buried his head in my stomach. His fingers delicately ran over my lower back, sending shivers up my spine. If just that touch could get me all hot, I wondered how more would feel.

Suddenly making a decision, I blurted, "Would you like to come and eat at my family's restaurant?"

Tamaki looked up, his chin still resting on my stomach. "I would love to go eat at your restaurant. What kind of food do you serve?" he asked in a childlike tone.

I turned my head away for a second, silently cursing how oblivious he could be sometimes, then bent to whisper in his ear, "Tamaki, I'm asking you out on a date."

His face reddened. "You really want that?"

"Who else would I want to go out with, Haruhi?"

He looked indignant for a moment, but said, "Yes, I'll go on a date with you," with barely any volume.

I smiled so wide. "Thank you."

Tamaki had a trace of a grin on his beautiful face. "For you, Umehito, anything."

I picked him up in my beat-up car, just a few minutes after Host Club finished. Tamaki attracted girls like moths to a flame, so I couldn't stay long at the Host Club without getting really jealous. But he seemed entirely unaffected by their attentions when he got into my car. He'd changed his clothes from a uniform to a button-up shirt and trousers. I was very happy he'd made an effort for me.

After about ten minutes of driving, I pulled into the parking lot. I didn't expect Tamaki to run around to open the car door for me and help me out. "That was really sweet," I told him as we walked through the door of the restaurant.

"It's only polite, princess," he said, his face lighting up, and his persona brightening.

"So, I'm the princess?" I asked, linking my arm with his.

"You're my only boy princess," he replied. "That makes you really special, Ume."

Ignoring my rising temperature, we entered, and strolled to a back table. I sat on the outside of the booth seat, right next to him, because I had a bad feeling. My feeling was confirmed when my aunt walked by, carrying three plates on her arms. "Umehito, Kuze canceled and Renge is swamped, so you need to come help us." Suddenly noticing the boy sitting next to me, her eyes softened. "He'd be happy to wait for you. I can feel it." She'd always had her romantic notions, and for once, I thanked her.

I sighed. "I'm coming," I told her. I looked over at Tamaki, who nodded his head, making shooing gestures with his hands. I stood up from the booth and walked purposefully into the kitchen, where my apron hung. Putting it on and tying the strings, I began to wait tables, telling Renge to cover the kitchen with the cook. She thanked me fervently, but I just shook it off. Because I was the only one working in the main part of the restaurant, I tried to be as efficient as possible.

The night went on so much longer than I thought it would. Table 2 kept housing these big groups of people with complicated orders, and Table 5 had a crossdressing man that ordered coffee every fifteen minutes. He looked a bit like Tamaki's sister, Haruhi. I wondered what he was doing here. Tamaki was so amazingly patient, just sitting still with his hands in his lap, smiling at me whether he was aware I was looking or not. I again remembered why I'd fallen for him: for moments just like that.

Tamaki POV

The night was fairly dark, so no one but we could see each other. The clock on the dashboard read 9:34 PM. Umehito was blushing brightly, grasping my hand. "Do you really love me? This would suck if you didn't," he said, as if expecting me to say no.

I leaned over in the backseat. "Why this question again? You've been asking this the whole time we've been dating. Two years is a long while."

"I just want to know if it's true," he whispered. "I don't want to let you go. Ever. I don't ever want you to leave."

"Well, that makes this question all the easier to ask," I said, pulling out a little box from my back pocket. "Will you, Umehito Nekozawa, be my princess, my friend, my lover, my everything forever? Will you marry me?"

The ring glittered in the streetlamp light, and so did his eyes. Tears ran down his face, and I wiped them away. "Yes, Tamaki Suoh, I will marry you," he said.

My mouth fell open, but I couldn't say anything. Ume laughed wetly. "Sweetheart, I'm the one that's supposed to be speechless. You proposed to me, not the other way around."

"But you said yes," I mumbled. "That means more than just my proposal."

Umehito slipped the ring onto his left ring finger, and stroked my cheek. "Now that we're getting," he paused to choke down tears, "married, there is something I want to do with you." I stared at him. "We talked about it before, and I respected your wishes, but I so badly want you right now."

I ran my hand through his platinum hair that I once followed through a crowd of people. "My turn to say yes, princess."

I kissed him, long and deep, and moved my hands down to the buttons on his shirt. He let me unbutton the first few, but soon pushed my hands away to unbutton the rest himself. His chest glowed in the small amount of light. I felt myself drown in his body, his scent, and ...

Nekozawa POV

"Tamaki?" I asked, waving my hand in front of his blankly staring eyes. "Tamaki?" Blood and tears started pouring from his nose and eyes. "Tamaki?!" I asked, now really worried.

He blinked rapidly, looking at me for the first time. What I saw in his eyes made me want to step back and closer at the same time. Love. Love filled him as he gazed at me like a man just awoken from a dream. "Why hello, Ume. Done with your shift, princess?"

"That's going to become a new thing with us, isn't it?" I asked, remembering the the stuff on his face. Holding out my dishcloth I always carried on my arm, I quipped, "You've got a little something. Like everywhere." He just then seemed to notice and blushed.

"Sorry," he murmured, wiping it all off, staring at me the whole time. I got hot and uncomfortable, so much that when he handed my cloth back, I nervously said, "Have I got a bunch of blood and salt water on my face too?"

He looked a bit surprised. "No, you look beautiful. That's probably why I can't stop staring at you."

"Shut up, you're going to permanently redden my face," I said, hitting him with the dishcloth. "Now, how about our original plan?"

"That would be absolutely lovely," Tamaki replied. I smiled and ran off to the kitchen, putting away my apron and grabbing a plate of Western food I'd set out. When I came back, he was sitting up just as straight, but his fingers were tapping shakily on the table. This was the Tamaki I knew (and loved). He motioned for me to sit next to him, so I put the food down and slid into the booth.

I slid a little too far over and lost my balance. Tamaki quickly caught me, pulling me into him. I blushed when I realized he'd pulled me into his lap. He noticed after I did (as he did with most things), but snaked his arms around my waist, capturing me.

"See," he said, "all your shields go down when you're with me. All your jokes and masks, princess."

"Did any of my signs tell you that I don't deserve to love a boy like you?" I whispered, half hoping he wouldn't hear me.

"You love me?" he asked in surprise, his violet eyes searching mine for an answer. And my hope is dead.

I steeled myself for what I couldn't help telling him. "I am so much in love with you that it's crazy, sweetheart."

"You have no idea where, but you've called me that before." Tamaki shook his head and didn't speak for a while.

"Tamaki?" I asked.

"Yes, Umehito?" His eyes drifted from me.

"Please say something back. Please please say something back." I prayed he wouldn't hear my desperation in those statements.

Tamaki brought my ear so close that I could feel his nose tickle the skin there. After a long intake of breath, he said in a enunciated set of words, "I've never been more in love in my entire life, Umehito. Don't ever think you aren't important to me."

I started to cry, just a little. No, it was much more than a little, it was 5-liter bucketfuls. I wrapped my arms around his neck and rested my head on his chest. Tamaki cradled me and held me, never letting me go. "I would have waited eternally for you," I said, muffled by his clothes.

"I wouldn't have been able to wait," he answered.

So, our date didn't exactly go as planned, but I seriously did not care.

Because Nekozawa's character isn't really discussed, I hope I did a decent job with him. I might publish an extra middle chapter about the couples; let me know what you think about that. Love to all that read this, and I hope (if this even applies to you) that you're having a great Christmas break!