"Miss Nanami!" Shining Saotome exclaimed. "I want you to compose a love song! No! More than that. I want you to write a song about falling in love."
"Yes!" Haruka said, standing at attention as she watched Saotome from across his desk. Then she wondered what the difference was between a love song and a song about falling in love.
"The audience must feel like they're falling in love when they hear this song. Do you understand?"
Haruka paused. She couldn't lie, let alone to the president of the agency. "Um…how does a song about falling in lover differ from a song about love?" She asked, thinking over the songs she'd written involving love. Her focus, and the focus of STARISH, was to make uplifting songs that made people happy. They didn't make it a point to focus on romantic love as the central topic.
Saotome sighed, bringing one hand to his chin as he studied his prize composer. "Falling in love is something you never forget. The rush of new feelings. The fear of being rejected. The excitement of learning new things about someone you care for. Each experience of falling in love is precious. Think of your first love, Miss Nanami. Recall those feelings and put them in a song."
"Yes, sir!" Haruka said, her face flushing red as she bowed. Once outside his office, she leaned against the wall, feeling lost. She'd never had a first love before. How was she supposed to write a song about something she'd never experienced?
~.~
A week later found Haruka wondering aimlessly downtown. She'd tried and tried to work on Saotome's new song that week, but she'd gotten nowhere. All she had to show for her work was a trashcan full of paper. How was she supposed to know what it felt like to fall in love? How could she figure it out before the song was due? She'd considered renting romantic movies and studying them, but the only TV at the mansion was the one they all shared, and she was too embarrassed to watch such movies where everyone could see her.
She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't notice when the walk signal at a cross walk changed to stop. She put one foot into the street before a voice called out a warning and an arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her backwards. She looked back and had to crane her neck upwards to see the face of her rescuer.
"Kiryuin?!" She exclaimed in surprise.
"What were you thinking, Ha-chan?" He demanded, turning her around and putting his hands on her shoulders. He looked half-amused, half-terrified. "I've been watching you for a little while and you seem totally out of it. Is something wrong?"
"Watching me?" Haruka asked in surprise.
"Yes. You walked right passed me."
"I did?!" Haruka asked, blushing as she looked back along the way she'd walked, as though she could pinpoint where she'd walked passed Van.
He smiled down at her and removed his hands from her shoulders, putting them on his waist instead. "Yes, you did. Now will you tell me what has you so distracted?"
Haruka blushed and stared down at her hands. "There's a song I'm having trouble with. I was just thinking about it." She looked up at him hurriedly. "I'm sorry for the trouble! Thank you for stopping me."
Van waved her thanks away, more interested in what kind of song was giving Haruka such trouble. She'd worked flawlessly composing all the duet songs between STARISH and HEAVENS. He was sure that even Haruka had times when she struggled, but it seemed out of character for Haruka to be this distracted by a song.
"What's the song about?" Van asked, tilting his head.
Haruka blushed again and stared at her hands. "I-it's about love," she said quietly. Her eyes flicked to Van's once before she added, "About falling in love."
He studied Haruka, wondering why a song about falling in love would give her such trouble. Then he recalled what she'd said when she told him she couldn't return his feelings. She'd said that she could only think about music, and then Ren had told him that Haruka loved music and it meant everything to her. Was it possible that… "And you've never fallen in love before?" He asked, his eyebrows rising in surprise.
Haruka blushed even more, not meeting Van's eyes. Eventually, she shook her head.
"Well," Van said, crossing his arms as he stared at Haruka, "why not go on a date and experience the kind of things girls in love usually experience?"
"W-what?" Haruka asked, blinking up at Van.
"Yeah!" Van exclaimed, an excited look in his eyes. "I think it's a great idea. You've never experienced a first love or a first date, so why not go on a date with me to get a feel for what it's like? It might help you with your song."
Haruka stared at Van in surprise, not knowing what to say.
"It won't be a real date," Van assured her. "Just research to help you with your song. Although…" He paused to grin. "I wouldn't complain if you ended up falling for me for real."
Haruka giggled. "Okay, Kiryuin." She hesitated, looking uncertain. "What should we do for our…date?" She couldn't help but blush when she said the word 'date' and she mentally shook herself. This wouldn't be her real first date. Not exactly, anyway.
"Just leave everything to me," Van assured her. "We'll meet at the plaza tonight, if that works for you."
~.~
Haruka self-consciously straightened her dress as she walked down the stairs, her heels clacking on the marble. She put her hand to her braids to make sure they were still in place, wishing she wasn't so nervous. It was just work, really. An event to help her get a feel for the song the president wanted her to write. There was no need for her to feel like she was actually going on a date.
"You look amazing," an awed voice said.
"What?" Haruka asked in surprise, looking up and tripping on the stairs. She blushed as she caught herself and Syo rushed forward in case she needed help.
"Sorry," he apologized. "I didn't mean to distract you." He blushed as he adjusted his hat and looked Haruka over again. "What are you all dressed up for?"
"Oh," Haruka began, not sure how to explain it. "It's just…an event to help me with a new song I'm writing."
"Oh," Syo said, his brow wrinkling in confusion as he wondered what kind of an event would help her with a song. It was possible he'd already heard about the event and had just forgotten. It was hard to keep track of the schedules of all of STARISH plus their composer. All eight of them were usually busy with some job or another. "Well, good luck."
"Thank you!" Haruka said, her eyes shining brightly.
~.~
Van was already waiting when Haruka arrived at their appointed meeting place.
"Sorry!" Haruka apologized, bowing. "Am I late?"
"No, not at all," Van assured her, taking in the sight of Haruka all dressed up. He had to swallow before he could speak again. "A man should always arrive before a woman when they're meeting up, Ha-chan. If a guy doesn't have enough manners to be that courteous, he's not worth your time."
Van held his arm out for Haruka and she stared at it, hesitating. "This is what a couple falling in love does," Van encouraged. "They look for excuses to be closer to one another."
"Okay," Haruka said, nodding slowly as she put her hand through Van's arm. He was helping her out, she reminded herself. She had no idea how to compose the song. She needed to learn what it felt like to fall in love. The moment she had an opportunity, she'd write down excuses to get closer to each other in her notebook. She could almost hear how that would play out in a song…
Her attention was brought back to the present moment when Van gently pulled her along. "Where are we going?" She asked, finally noting that Van was dressed in a suit. He'd told Haruka to dress nice, but hadn't given her a clue as to what they were doing other than that.
"Some place nice," Van said, smiling down at her. "People falling in love like to impress the person they're falling for."
"Wouldn't it be better to just be honest and be themselves?" Haruka asked, though at the same time she thought of a strong tune trying to take charge of a song, then a softer tune calming it down. One lover trying to impress another, and the other assuring the first that all they needed was the other person.
Van chuckled. "Yes, but when you're falling in love, you don't always think rationally."
"I see," Haruka said, nodding her head.
Van looked down at her, feeling a little jealous of the song. It was clear that thoughts of it held Haruka's attention more than he did, but that was why she was there.
When they entered the restaurant where Van had made reservations, they were immediately brought to their seats. Through their window, they had a perfect view of the city's lights.
"It's so beautiful," Haruka breathed, momentarily side-tracked. Van felt pleased at her reaction, thinking he'd chosen well for their "date". However, a moment later, Haruka took out a notebook and looked all business as she took notes. Despite his disappointment, he couldn't help but smile as he watched her. Haruka's dedication was adorable and he did hope that tonight helped Haruka with her song.
They were partway through their dinner when Haruka asked a question that floored Van. "So, Kiryuin, you've fallen in love before then?" He stared at her dumbfounded, but she just blinked innocently at him. Did she not recall his confession from a few months ago? Then again, since it didn't seem to be something she could relate to, maybe she thought he'd only confessed to liking her and not falling for her.
"Yes," he said slowly, trying to think of how he wanted to phrase what he said next. Apparently, he needed to remind her how he felt about her, but he couldn't be obvious about it. Haruka Nanami required a more subtle touch.
"When you're falling in love," he said, keeping his eyes on Haruka's, "it's not something you can control. It can feel…chaotic and terrifying, but also wonderful and amazing." He reached out to gently touch Haruka's hair. "Something about that person captures your attention and you want to know more and more about them. You want to be with them and you think about them when they're not there. Something as simple as seeing a flash of the color of their hair or thinking you smell their perfume catches your attention and you look and hope and wish that they're there."
"And h-how is it terrifying?" Haruka asked, her entire focus on Van.
"Because you don't know how the other person is feeling," he answered. "You don't know if they feel the same way you do, or you know they don't feel the same way, so then you desperately do what you can to change their mind, to show them that you would be good for them, that the two of you would be amazing together."
They stared into each other's eyes for a few more moments until Haruka blushed and started playing with her pen. Eventually, she took a few more notes. Van grinned inwardly at Haruka's reaction.
After dinner (and dessert, of course, Van convinced Haruka that they had to have dessert), they walked into the cool night and onto the steps outside the restaurant.
"Thank you so much for tonight, Kiryuin. I learned a lot about—" Haruka broke off as she stumbled on the stairs, her eyes closing tightly as the concrete rushed up at her.
Van let out a low curse and lunged forward, catching Haruka and pulling her close. With her ear pressed to his chest, she could hear his heart pounding fast.
"Honestly, Ha-chan, you're a walking disaster." When he ran into her a few weeks ago, she'd tripped and almost lost her song to traffic. Earlier that day she'd nearly walked into traffic, and now she was tripping down stairs. He gently tipped her chin up as he said, "You need someone looking after you twenty-four seven." And he certainly wouldn't mind being that person.
Haruka blushed furiously as she stepped away from Van. "That's exactly what Ichinose and the other members of STARISH say."
Van felt a spike of jealousy at those words. Of course the members of STARISH would frequently see Haruka in all her adorable klutziness and be protective of her over it.
"Anyway, I'm very sorry," Haruka bowed to him, still blushing. "And thank you very much for all your help tonight."
"Don't mention it," Van waved off. "You can call me anytime you need to do more research about love."
~.~
"Brilliant, Miss Nanami!" Shining Saotome exclaimed a week later. "The shy feelings of wanting to be closer to the other person. The excitement of wanting to impress the other, and then just wanting to be real together with no masks! The melodies of two different beings coming together in perfect harmony…brilliant!"
"Thank you!" Haruka said, flushed with pleasure over Saotome's praise. She thought to herself that she'd have to find a way to thank Van for the help he'd given her. She couldn't have written the song without him.