Disclaimer: I do not own "Ouran High School Host Club" or any of the characters in this wonderful manga/anime in any way.
Shelter in the Storm
Previously in chapter thirty: It was a sibling type of attraction though, not one of the opposite sex. She looked at him as younger brother. Haruhi giggled when Kimiko was telling her, since she knew about Takeshi's crush. Kimiko didn't remember Takeshi's confession of an earlier crush on her, so Haruhi kept quiet. It was then that they heard noise elsewhere in the house.
Chapter Thirty One
Kimiko cleaned up their mess as Haruhi went to investigate the noise. She found Takeshi and his father walking towards the front door, dressed ready for their Sunday run. "What time do you two usually go running at? The sun isn't even up."
"Good morning Haruhi, I didn't know that you were awake. How long have you been up?" He walked over to hug her and kiss her forehead. His father just chuckled at the two of them both blushing.
"Well, I woke up a while ago. I needed something to drink so Kimiko-san made me so tea since she was awake too. We got caught up in chatting so I never made it back to bed."
"Ok, well go get some more rest if you're tired. Mitsukuni won't be over until lunch, so we can postpone starting your training if you'd like."
"It should be fine. I will get a little bit more rest, since the sun isn't even up yet. But then we can start my training when ever you think it is best."
"Haruhi-chan, don't let these boys bully you into working too hard. I agree that you need some lessons in self-defense, but remember to listen to your body. You are still recovering, and we don't want you to do anything that will negatively affect you. And besides the fact that it's your first full day here, it is also the first day of your summer vacation. You needn't jump head-long into this without a little fun thrown in as well." Takeshi's mother turned to her husband, "Remember, Akira, she's still in high school. We always allowed Takeshi to have some fun during the summer breaks while he was in high school, so we can't very well expect his girlfriend to be treated any differently." And then she turned to her son, "And you, you don't have to teach her everything in an instant. She just needs to start out with the basics, because trust me, she has all the time in the world to learn more. Every little bit of knowledge she has will help her if the need arises, so you have your whole lives to teach her anything beyond the basics, ok?"
Haruhi couldn't remember a whole lot about her mother since she was so young when she passed away, but she thought that she could see some reminders and resemblances of her in Takeshi's mother. It made her smile. She went to lay back down for a short nap as the men went for their Sunday morning run and the lady of the house went to oversee breakfast. About two hours later, Haruhi woke up complete refreshed and ready for the day. She dressed and made her way to where breakfast was served. After breakfast Haruhi and Takeshi went for a walk in the rose garden.
"It seems to be a reoccurring pattern, we've ended up here three Sundays in a row now," Haruhi said as she watched Takeshi cut a bloom that was only starting to bloom. He trimmed the thorns and then presented it to Haruhi. "Thank you, it's beautiful."
"Son," his mother had come outside to check on her flowers, "you never did tell me why you insist on giving her buds instead of full blooms." She took the shears out of her son's hands and held them at one of the bushes, waiting for an answer before she continued trimming.
"I guess I did forget to tell you, didn't I? I didn't even tell Haruhi because we got distracted on other subjects. It's, well, kind of symbolic, I guess you could say. A bud is beautiful, but it hasn't fully bloomed yet, so it still has a lot of potential to continue to grow and still be beautiful. A full bloom has already passed the bud stage, and although beautiful, the next stage is when it looses its petals and the bloom dies. And lastly, a tightly closed bud that hasn't started to bloom has the potential to be beautiful, but it's hard to see if you don't know what to expect. The reason I prefer to give Haruhi slightly opened buds is because I see her as the same. She is beautiful as she is, but she has so much potential and so much more beauty for the world yet to discover. Plus, that first time, I was hopeful that after I confessed she would see our relationship as I do. I see it as a bud with its petals still tightly held together, with so very much potential to be something beautiful for a long time, but as yet unseen if you don't know which bush it came from. Or in the case of a relationship, if you don't know much about the people involved."
Haruhi stood gaping at Takeshi. Who knew he could be so poetic. That was amazing. I hadn't thought about it that way. I just like the look of the slightly opened buds, so I never questioned why he would give me something like that. But does he really see me as being beautiful with the potential to be even more beautiful? That doesn't seem right. I mean I look like a boy, right?
Takeshi's mother stepped behind Haruhi, reached around, and gently closed Haruhi's mouth. She leaned over and whispered into the girl's ear, "Yes, dear, a man in love sees beauty in the one he loves. Even if on one else does… even if she herself does not. Not that it is hard to see your beauty; you are the only one who does not recognize it." She walked back over to the bush she had been standing at as her son began to talk and started to trim it.
"Haruhi, are you ok? Mother, what did you say to her?" Haruhi had started to blush, so Takeshi was not sure if it was because of what he said, or what his mother whispered. He stepped over to her and took her by the hand to lead her to the bench.
"Nothing, son, I just told her that a man in love sees beauty in the one he loves, that's all. Am I wrong in such a statement? Did you not just say that you find Haruhi beautiful?" She didn't bother looking at them as she continued trimming and pruning.
"Uhn, your right, I do believe that Haruhi is beautiful. I also said that I want our relationship to grow and bloom." He sat down next to Haruhi on the bench.
"But… but everyone believes I'm a boy. How can you say that you think that I am beautiful?" she stammered, feeling very confused.
"I don't see you as a boy. None of the host club members see you as a boy. In fact, I would be surprised if even half of your clients actually really see you as a boy. I think that they just pretend that you are a boy for Tamaki's sake since he's the one that said that you should be a host before he realized that you were a girl. It's my honest opinion that your clients designate you because you are a sweet, friendly girl who is easy to get along with, and cares about everyone. And as for how I can say that you are beautiful, it's easy. You are. And it's not a matter of thinking that you are, I know that you are. Think about it, why else would the Hitachiin twins keep trying to get you to put on a dress if you weren't beautiful. I'm sorry if you don't believe me, but it's the truth." He took her hand in his and kissed the back of it gently. "Haruhi, you are beautiful and I love you, but to be honest, I don't really like comparing our relationship to a rose."
"Eh, why not?"
"Because a rose will eventually die. The rose bush may still live, but the flower itself will fade and die. I don't want to even consider that something like that might happen to our relationship." Takeshi felt his mother's hand on his shoulder.
"Your father will deny this if you ever mention it to him, but I can definitely tell that you are your father's son. He was a romantic at heart to when he was younger, too. Well, he still is, but he hides it well. Speaking of which, Akira hasn't left for the dojo yet. I'm going to go find him. You two behave yourselves, ok?" She had a sparkle in her eye as she turned to go inside. "Oh, and you might want to call Mitsukuni and plan something fun today instead of immediately starting her on training. It is summer break after all." And with a smile and a wave, she ducked into the house to find her husband.