A beautiful day. Not a cloud in the sky. The breeze was just cool enough to prevent the appearance of sweat, but not chill enough to give one goose bumps. Unusually warm and sunny for a mid-autumn afternoon. It seemed like a perfectly ordinary day. But it wasn't ordinary. Because somehow the manifestation of cheer and warmth had just materialized right before Haruhi's eyes, and it had taken the form of a certain blond teenager, holding a slightly wrinkled newspaper with frayed ends in front of Haruhi's nose.
Haruhi wondered just how much abuse the newspaper had endured during the journey to her apartment.
"I saw it!" Tamaki whispered dramatically, his eyes twice their size as he waved the newspaper.
"Saw what?" Haruhi asked, starting to get exasperated already.
"The mysterious commoner's corner in the newspaper!"
Haruhi just stared at Tamaki.
Excitement dampened a few degrees, Tamaki cleared his throat and explained with a pout, "I saw the section of the newspaper with all the coupons and sales information."
"Ohhhh," Haruhi replied, finally understanding. Then she cocked her head, confused all over again. "Is that what you came way out here to tell me?"
Tamaki shook his head wildly and shoved the newspaper in Haruhi's face even more. She snatched it from him in annoyance and, turning her back to Tamaki, smoothed the front of the newspaper to get a better look at what was fueling the Host King's current high.
"Right there," Tamaki said, suddenly resting his arm on Haruhi's shoulder and pointing out a particular announcement. But Haruhi couldn't focus on the newsprint, because she was too distracted by how close Tamaki was. "There's a pet sale going on. I wanted to get Antoinette a buddy to play with!"
Haruhi quickly slipped out from under Tamaki's arm, clearing her throat. She never minded when the twins hung all over her, so why did it bother her so much when Tamaki did it? Her face felt a little warm. Was she getting sick, or maybe it was just the jacket? After all, the weather was a little too warm for a jacket. Yes, that had to be the reason.
"So why did you want to tell me?" Haruhi asked, still not quite getting it.
"You have to come with me!" Tamaki gushed. He grabbed her wrist and was already beginning to drag her down the steps though she was still barefoot. "It will be a wonderfully spectacular father-daughter bonding session!"
"No."
"Oh, pleeeeeeeeeease! Please, oh please, oh pretty please!" Tamaki whined. He crouched down in a ball and looked up at Haruhi with the dreaded puppy dog eyes, all the while clinging to her wrist and jerking it around. "I don't want to go by myself!"
"Then go tell everyone else!" Haruhi said. She had to shout to be heard over Tamaki's protest.
"But Hikaru and Kaoru are busy with the fashion shoot! Mori-sempai is giving his Piyo-chan a bath and Honey claims he's too busy trying to set a cake-eating record. YOU'RE MY ONLY HOPE!" Tamaki exclaimed over-dramatically.
"But I have to meet someone today!" Haruhi protested without thinking.
They both froze, and Tamaki actually shut up. His hand slowly slipped off Haruhi's wrist while she continued to try to ignore how hot her jacket was making her feel. Maybe she should just take it off? Her face was probably so flushed by now because of it.
"Who are you meeting?" Tamaki asked quietly as he stood up.
Haruhi tried not to look Tamaki in the eyes, but she couldn't help it. He looked so hurt right now that her chest gave a little squeeze. They stared at each other for the longest time before Haruhi finally managed to break the eye contact. She glanced at her watch and sighed. "It doesn't matter," she hedged, feeling embarrassed. Then she twiddled her fingers and said shyly, "I still have about an hour to kill, so I guess I can go to the pet store with you. But only if it's really quick!"
Fireworks seemed to explode in Tamaki's eyes. After jumping around in excitement, he grabbed her wrist once again and resumed trying to drag Haruhi down the stairs. "Let's go! Let's go! My Antoinette can hardly wait!"
"Wait, Tamaki!" Haruhi cried, jerking to a halt. "I don't even have my shoes on yet!"
"Eh?" Tamaki turned around and stared at the cheap, fluffy rabbit slippers Haruhi was wearing. Then he looked at Haruhi and gave a small little, "Oops?"
His expression was so laughable that Haruhi couldn't help but giggle. As she trudged back up the stairs, she called over her shoulder, still laughing. "Just let me put on my shoes, and then you can drag me wherever, I guess."
"HARUHI!"
Haruhi sighed, but she turned away from the googly-eyed goldfish with an amused smile. "Yes, sempai?"
"LOOKIE!" Tamaki gushed, holding out a wriggling ferret.
"It's a ferret. Have you never seen one before?"
"No!" He laughed gleefully. "It almost looks like a little tanuki. Just like my daughter."
"I don't look like a ferret!" Haruhi protested, unable to resist a pout.
"But you do! You do! You're both so cute and adorable," Tamaki said, ruffling Haruhi's hair. But when his attention was preoccupied, the ferret slipped out of his grasp and ran up his arm and all over his body. Tamaki danced around, laughing his head off as the little animal scurried around, tickling him.
Haruhi rolled her eyes and went back to staring at the goldfish. She hadn't gone to a pet store for the heck of it since she was a little girl. Her mother and father would always take her, even though their apartment didn't allow for pets. But here Tamaki was, acting even more child-like than she ever had as a little kid. But for once, it wasn't really overbearing or too annoying to deal with. Being around Tamaki was like a breath of fresh air every now and then.
"I thought we were looking for a buddy for Antoinette," Haruhi stated flatly, loud enough for him to hear.
"But I am!" Tamaki insisted. He finally grabbed a hold of the ferret and placed it back in its pen. "A ferret might be a little two energetic, I guess. It would run circles around Antoinette." Tamaki walked up to Haruhi and the goldfish tank. His eyes were wide and thoughtful.
Haruhi laughed, shaking her head in amusement. "Sempai, unless you're rich enough to provide your dog with a scuba suit, I don't think a goldfish could be her buddy either."
"Oh! Hmm, a scuba suit. That's not a bad idea," Tamaki mused, seriously considering it.
Haruhi looked away in exasperation and muttered, "Rich bastard."
Tamaki soon lost interest in the goldfish, however. He bounced over to the section with the cats. "Look, Haruhi, look!" Tamaki said, getting down on his knees and clinging to the cage in excitement. "What about a cat? Do you think Antoinette would like a cat? Cats act so smart all the time, don't you think?"
"Yeah, but they don't exactly seem like the playful type," Haruhi remarked, bending down as well.
"Those two are pretty active. Look, they must be brothers!" Tamaki exclaimed excitedly, pointing to two orange tabbies that were wrestling in the corner. "Aww, they're playing with each other!"
At the sound of Tamaki's noisy exclamations, the two tabbies' ears twitched, and they glanced over to Haruhi and Tamaki. With narrowed, mischievous amber eyes, they trotted over with their tails in the air. They completely ignored Tamaki and made a beeline for Haruhi. They brushed up against the cage, purring, and jumped up to lick Haruhi's fingers through the cage.
Haruhi smiled. "Aww, they are pretty cute."
But Tamaki gasped in horror. "No way, no way!" he declared, backing away. "They're just like those perverted twins. There's no way that I'll allow them to associate with my darling Antoinette, or my Haruhi!"
"Ehh? I think you're over-reacting," Haruhi said, taking the two tabbies out of the cage. They immediately cuddled up to the girl, purring even louder. Tamaki swore that they both gave him a triumphant, impish glance.
"No, I'm sure! They're such a bad influence, my daughter. Don't touch them!" Tamaki said before stealing them from Haruhi and putting them back in the cage. But not before one of them swiped its claws at Tamaki's hand.
"OW! OW! OW!" Tamaki yelled, stomping around and flailing his arms around. "Hikaru! Hikaru bit me! Those twins have rabies, I say!"
"Shhh! Calm down!" Haruhi said, flustered. She looked around, embarrassed that they were being watched by the others in the store. "Just shut up and let me see!"
"It stings!" Tamaki whined, close to tears as Haruhi examined his fingers.
"Sempai!" Haruhi groaned. "They barely even scratched you." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a band aid. "Jeez, you're such a kid."
Tamaki sniffled as Haruhi wrapped the band aid around his fingers. But almost as soon as she was done, he was running around the store once more at full speed. He pointed out a motionless lizard that looked like Mori, a fluffy bunny like Honey, and even a spasmodic hamster like Renge. Eventually, Haruhi decided to burst his bubble.
"Sempai, if you're looking for a playmate for Antoinette, wouldn't it be smart to look at all the dogs?"
Tamaki gaped at Haruhi for the longest time. Then he gave her a crushing hug. "Ooo! That's my daughter for you! So smart for a commoner!"
"Ta . . .ma . . .ki!" Haruhi gasped out breathlessly with a blush. People were staring at them again. "Let . . . go!"
Tamaki gave her one last squeeze before prancing off towards the puppy section. With a sigh, Haruhi brushed herself off. "Things never do get boring when he's around, do they?" she chuckled to herself. She checked herself out in the reflection of an aquarium and fixed her ruffled hair and askew hair clips. Then she caught herself and quickly dropped her hands to her sides, her back straight. What does it matter how I look? Haruhi thought, annoyed with herself. It's only Tamaki.
"I found one! I found one!" Tamaki called from across the store.
Haruhi peeked around an aisle and saw Tamaki with a terrier clutched in his arms. The puppy yipped happily and wriggled around so that he could lick Tamaki's face. Tamaki laughed, trying to hold the puppy so that it's tongue was out of reach. But he never was quite successful. The sight was so heart-warming that Haruhi felt something melt inside her. I bet he would be good with kids too, she thought to herself. He's just that kind of person.
"So you found a puppy?" Haruhi asked, returning to Tamaki's side.
"Yep. He's perfect!"
Haruhi giggled and scratched the puppy's ears. His tail started to wag overtime. "What will you name him?" she asked as they headed over to the cashier.
"Mmm, I was thinking Louis, but since he's so small and adorable, it might have to stay as Lou-chan for now."
"It suits him," Haruhi agreed with a nod.
They paid for Lou-chan and headed for the door. "You'll have to come over to my house all the time to play with Lou-chan," Tamaki stated.
"I don't know about that. It would cut into my studying time. I lose so much time already due to the Host Club."
"Aww, but Lou-chan will be so sad if he doesn't get to see you."
Haruhi glanced at the adorable puppy wriggling in Tamaki's arms, and her resolution melted a little. ". . . well, maybe every now and then."
"Oh!" Tamaki exclaimed, catching sight of his watch. "Have we really taken that long? I was having so much fun that time flew by." He looked down at Haruhi. "I'm sorry. It's well past noon. You probably haven't eaten yet, so I'm sure you're hungry."
"Really?" Haruhi glanced down to her stomach and placed her hands on top. She hadn't noticed it grumbling until now. "Don't worry about it. I had a lot of fun too, so I guess I forgot all about eating."
"I know. How about I treat you to lunch? I'm pretty sure I saw a food court in this mall."
"There is. I know a place that sells really good sushi. Mind going there?"
"OH!" Tamaki suddenly gasped, pointing to the store-front window of the pet shop. "Finally! I found mother!"
"Huh?" Haruhi said, throwing him a weird look.
"I'm serious. Look at that black lab in the corner of the window. He's so much like Kyouya. The dog is so sophisticated and cool, just like Kyouya."
"K-kyouya?" she repeated. Slowly, her eyes traveled in the direction Tamaki was pointing in. Indeed, there was a black lab in the pet store's window. But it was lying down listlessly with its head resting on its paws. It was nothing like the hyper puppy they had just bought. Even the lab's tail was utterly motionless.
To Tamaki, the black lab looked sophisticated. To Haruhi, it looked unbearably lonely.
Haruhi ripped her small purse open and searched inside it. Once she found her phone, which she had forgotten was on silent this whole time, she hastily flipped it open. Her heart dropped, and she sucked in her breath.
Thirteen new messages. All from the same number.
Haruhi was running long before she even realized her feet were moving.
"Wait! Haruhi!" Tamaki cried.
Haruhi spun around and started to run backwards. She cupped her hands around her mouth and called, "I'm sorry, sempai! But there's somewhere I need to be! I really am sorry!"
She thought she heard his voice again, but it was drowned out in the noise of the crowded mall. Haruhi turned back around and never glanced over her shoulder again. After jostling and shoving her way through the mall, she finally made it outside. She hailed a taxi and breathlessly spluttered out an address. Then, once her seatbelt was on and the car was moving, she sank back into the seat and exhaled heavily.
I don't know why I'm making such a big deal out of this. She thought to herself as she impatiently wiped away a bead of sweat from her forehead. There's no way he'd still be there.
There's no way.
It's impossible.
He won't be there. He won't be there. He won't—
The breath caught in Haruhi's chest, and her face slowly filled with heat as she peered into small, dimly lit restaurant. (she knew she shouldn't have worn that damn jacket) It was completely empty. Only one table bore any signs of life, as it was covered in empty glasses. And of course, at said table, there was a man waiting with his head propped up with his elbow and his fingers pounding on the table with irritation.
"No way," Haruhi whispered.
A/N: I know it's been extremely long. Please forgive me! Exams are just another word for redrum in my opinion. And I guess I should have made up for my absence by writing a more action-packed chapter. SORRY! But hopefully, now that its the holidays, I can push a good number of chapters through before I go back to school. You guys would like that, huh? I might even do a Christmasy oneshot (but you'll have to excuse me. it's a hikaruXharuhi this time, my other favorite pairing)