So ummm... I had forgotten to write the disclaimer on this chapter so here i come XD
Disclaimer: I don't own Uta no Prince-sama or any of its characters.
Haruka couldn't sleep. She kept rolling around in her bed thinking about what Tomochika said. And: 'why did my room smell like something burnt if it didn't explode?'
Thinking it might help her get some rest she put on a coat and went downstairs to take a walk outside until she got tired. What caught her by surprise was how cold it was outside. When she opened the door she felt as if every bit of heat in her body was sucked out. Because of that, she closed back the door as fast as she could, and went to the kitchen to make some tea. The quiet and soft sound of the teapot calmed her as she waited for the water to boil. So in her reverie, she thought: 'maybe I can sleep tonight after all' while she closed her eyes and waited.
Out of the sudden, someone grabbed her from behind covering her mouth. Before she could react, her attacker said: "Haruka, it's me". She recognized that voice: it was Cecil. She pulled away from him, turned around and in a whisper, asked him: "What are you doing?". He stared at her for a couple of minutes before whispering back: "I needed to see you… I love you". That threw Haruka off (as it always happened when Cecil confessed), making her trip backwards. Her movement made him think that she was falling, so he launched himself to embrace her as if afraid that if he let go she would break.
It was this scene that greeted Otoya as he came to the kitchen to eat his after-midnight snack of the day.
After the initial shock, he just said: "Ha-Haruka?!" Upon hearing that, Cecil let go allowing her to turn around and see the redhead standing there.
"I- we-, Ittoki-kun, this isn't what it looks like" she said without a second thought, making Cecil look at her with curious eyes.
Otoya just replied in a cold tone: "what does it look like? You don't need to explain anything to me." Then, he looked at Cecil and continued: "I just came to eat something, but now I realized that I'm not that hungry so… Goodnight, guys."
Before Haruka could stop Otoya from leaving, Cecil asked in a mischievous tone: "Jealous?" This made the redhead stop in his tracks as he turned around speechless to face Cecil one more time. They stayed staring at each other in silence for a long while. It was only when the water started boiling that they snapped out of their thoughts.
Afterwards, as Haruka was pouring the boiled water in her teacup, she decided that: awkward or not, she should be polite. So she took a quick look at both of the boys and asked: "Does anyone want some tea?". In that moment, Otoya thought: 'if I leave now, Cecil will just continue to flirt with her. I can't let him take her from me… Wait, take her from me? What am I thinking? She's not mine… Then, why-. Oh, I know: I don't want to leave them alone because if he keeps flirting with her and they start dating they could get expelled! Yes, let's go with that'. With that in mind, he accepted Haruka's invitation: "I wouldn't mind some tea if it's not a problem". She smiled at that and poured him some water too.
They both sat at the table together, drinking tea and smiling when Cecil interrupted their little moment. He leaned towards her, and asked in a husky voice: "Haruka, what is your favourite type of tea?"
After waiting for an answer that wasn't coming, he coughed to get their attention making Haruka blush and say: "Oh, no. I'm so sorry Cecil-san, since you didn't reply before I thought you didn't want any tea."
"No, I didn't. The thing is that I just asked you a question and you didn't answer"
"I'm really sorry, Cecil-san, but I wasn't paying much attention. Would you mind repeating your question?" she said as she looked down embarrassed.
"Of course I don't, I asked you-" Otoya cut him off by gasping out of the sudden.
"Look, Haruka! There's a butterfly on your teacup!" the redhead said.
"Oh wow, it's so pretty! But, how did it get in here?" she asked as she turned towards Otoya once again.
"Maybe there's a window open? Or maybe it got in earlier?" he replied.
On the background, Cecil grabbed his hair and whispered obscenities trying to calm himself down. But then, he decided to take the highroad and said: "Hey, guys, I was just talking-". But he was again cut off by Otoya: "Oh yeah, I'll tell you Haruka's favourite tea flavor: it's apple tea, right?"
"Yes! You know me well" she said smiling, and making him blush in return.
Cecil lost his patience by then so he said: "Thanks, but I think Haruka can speak for herself"
"But it's true Cecil-san" she said confused.
Before Cecil could reply, Otoya looked at Haruka and said: "No, he's right. You don't need anyone to speak for you"
"Th-thank you Ittoki-kun, that's really nice of you" she said blushing a deep shade of red, darker than his hair.
"Why don't you call me Otoya? I already call you Haruka, it's only fair" he said smiling.
"Oh, I'm so sorry Itto- Otoya-kun" she said grimacing.
At this point, Cecil decided to use his last card before completely giving up and going back to bed: pity.
"So… it seems I'm not wanted here… so… I'll just go to bed, goodnight Haruka… Otoya"
"Cecil-san…" she whispered.
"No, it's ok. We'll continue this conversation tomorrow" and with that he walked out of the room.
Both redheads stared at the ground, then. That way they tried to hide the blush that the embarrassment had caused.
After some awkward silence, Haruka finally said: "So… Um… Otoya-kun… can I ask you a question?"
"Yes, of course. What is it?" he asked.
"Um… well… remember when you said you wanted me to know everything about you?" he nodded at that and gestured for her to continue. "Well, you told me that you didn't know who your biological father was… and I think... I may do… I mean, I won't tell you if you don't want to… do you?"
He looked shocked for a moment but when he finally reacted, he answered "I… before I answer that, I need to know: do I already know him?". She nodded. "Okay, then don't tell me. The curiosity might kill me, but if he knows I'm his son and he hasn't told me yet... There must be a reason… and even if there isn't one, I don't want to get mad at you for being the messenger…"
"I understand. I just… I thought it should be your decision and not mine whether you knew it or not" she said, holding his hand.
"Thank you, it's really nice of you" he said squeezing her hand. In that moment, her eyes went from their intertwined hands to his eyes. They stayed like that for a while, acting as if time wasn't passing by. Without noticing, they started to lean closer to each other, closer and closer until their breaths mingled.
'I shouldn't do this. We'll get expelled… But I... I can't stop!' thought Haruka. She tried to say it out loud, to stop somehow, but it was as if her body had a mind of its own.
Otoya, on the other hand, had way too many conflicting thoughts. Some along the lines of: 'Does she like me that way?', 'her lips look so soft', 'her breath's sweet!' And others more akin to: 'Cecil and the other guys are going to kill me', 'I don't want her to get expelled', and 'I still want to be an idol'. But: 'I think my heart is trying to fly out of my chest' eclipsed them all. So he just decided to ignore all logic and let whatever was going to happen, happen. He decided to close the space between their lips, and right when they were about to touch a loud alarm sounded making them break apart. Out of nowhere came Reiji and yelled: "FALLING IN LOVE IS FORBIDDEN! DO YOU WANT TO GET EXPELLED?!"
"Reiji-san! Do you know what time it is? You are going to wake up everyone with that alarm!" said Otoya trying to change the conversation topic as he blushed.
"If anyone wakes up I'll tell them it's your fault, both of you. I thought you two knew better." Reiji said in a disappointed tone.
"I'm so sorry Reiji-san!" said Haruka as she bowed.
"It's okay. Thank God I was here to stop this tragedy" said Reiji as he sighed.
"About that: why are you here? And how did you know we were here?" Otoya asked.
"You should be thanking me. That right there could have been the end of both of your careers" he said looking at Otoya. In doing so though, he saw a determination that took him aback. But even so, he continued: "Okay… I went to the bathroom and noticed that you weren't in your bed... I was a little worried, but my intense deductive skills told me I would find you here… I didn't expect to see you with Haru-chan though"
"So… Are you and the rest of the senpais going to keep watching over us as if we were little children?" asked Otoya.
"I'm afraid so. It seems to be the only way to prevent you kids from breaking THE ONLY RULE THAT EXISTS" replied Reiji. "Now: you two go back to sleep before I change my mind and give you a punishment for almost breaking the rules"
Otoya was accepting defeat by then. He was exhausted and he knew it wasn't the senpai's fault that he couldn't be with Haruka. "Okay" he said.
He was already leaving when she grabbed his arm.
Haruka looked at Otoya for a moment and then back at Reiji and said: "Could we do the dishes first? It wouldn't be fair for someone that didn't eat anything to clean them".
Reiji considered it for a moment, but then nodded and said: "Okay, but if you take more than one hour I'll come back to escort you to your rooms". And with a certain termination in the air, he walked away.