Disclaimer: Bisco Hatori owns Ouran, not me.
I know it's a little late, but happy Valentine's Day, guys. I've been meaning to post this and wanted to post it on time, but my internet's been down. Soooo... enjoy this slightly belated Vday gift to all of you who bother to read and review my stories 8D
"What kind of chocolate do you want for White Day, Haruhi?" Kaoru asked casually from his spot beside her at the table. Slowly, the brunette looked up from her Biology homework and fixed him with a rather confused stare. Immediately, Tamaki and Hikaru perked up, looking in the direction of the newly-created spectacle. The simple question had begun an epidemic, and Haruhi sighed.
"None," she answered simply, tapping the end of her pencil on the table as she went back to her homework. "I'm supposed to be a boy, remember? You guys can't be getting me anything for White Day."
"But… but what about Valentine's Day, then?" Tamaki asked hopefully, fixing her with a stare including blue-violet eyes stretched to enormous puppy-dog proportions and a pouting but still not very convincing mouth. Haruhi sighed again, and the hope in her senpai's expression did not waver. It was almost enough to exhaust her completely; dealing with him on a regular basis.
"No, not Valentine's Day, either. I told you guys already that I don't really care about that kind of thing and there would be no point in getting me anything for it because it's a waste of time, right?"
"A waste of time!?" Tamaki gasped, horrified. "How is exchanging romantic tokens of affection with the one you hold dearest to your heart a waste of time!?"
"If you want to show someone you care," Haruhi said, looking pointedly up at the blonde. "Then spend time with them or do something nice. You don't need to buy anything."
"I think she's hinting, tono," Hikaru said with a smirk.
"Of course she is!" Tamaki gasped, snapping his fingers as Haruhi quietly went back to her multiple choice questions, trying to block out her surroundings. "It must be reverse psychology!"
" I don't think that's what she--" Kaoru began helplessly, but Tamaki had already gotten up and rushed out of the room, shouting in garbled tones over his shoulder.
"Where is he going?" Haruhi asked, and Kaoru ran a hand over his hair and shook his head.
"I think this is one of those times where… it's better not to know."
XOXOXO
During breaks in the hall and then later during Host Club activities on White Day, Tamaki was strangely absent. It was for this reason that Haruhi had a heavy feeling of dread over her on the train ride home. There was a cloud of dismay over her as she slowly descended onto the platform and began the walk home. The sky was a perfect clear blue and the ground was lit with sunshine, and she did her best to keep her eyes on the lovely scenery so her mind would not wander to whatever antics Tamaki could be planning. When he missed out on Club activities, he was usually either being forgetful or up to something, and Haruhi had her money on the latter.
"If he pulls some stupid stunt today," she growled as she fumbled for her keys in front of the door to her apartment, blinking slightly in the blinding winter sunshine. "I am going to kill him."
The interior of her apartment only appeared normal until she stepped further into the living room, and Haruhi sighed heavily, her body drooping at the sight of a pile of heart-shaped boxes, some of them open and spilling chocolates onto the carpet. The pile reached nearly to the ceiling, and sitting on her sofa was Tamaki, beaming at her in a lurid red sweater detailed with white hearts. She tried not to dwell on the concept of how he could have possibly gotten into her locked apartment.
"Happy White Day, Haruhi!" he said upon seeing her enter, and he leaped to his feet and bounded over to her with all the energy of a puppy. "I took what you said to heart!"
"No you didn't…" a vein pulsing in her temple, Haruhi removed her coat and gloves, conscious of Tamaki bouncing up and down in a fit of excited energy beside her. "I said not bother buying me anything…"
"But it was reverse psychology, wasn't it!?" Tamaki asked, and Haruhi shook her head. "Oh… wow I…"
"When are you going to learn that when I say something, I mean what I say and there's no hidden meaning behind it?" Haruhi asked him, and Tamaki drooped a bit, obviously crestfallen.
"I suppose I don't really understand you as well as I thought I did," he said with a sense of exaggerated melancholy about him. Haruhi could sense a storm of theatrics just beyond the horizon and watched as he crumbled to his knees. "I suppose this is why Haruhi doesn't like me!"
"Senpai, you idiot…" she muttered, reaching down and placing a hand on his shoulder. "I like you, so don't say things like that. I really do. This has nothing to do with me liking you or not. You just… need to learn to listen to people better, alright?"
"Oh… okay," Tamaki looked rather pitiful sitting on her living room floor sniffling, and Haruhi extended a hand. Tamaki took it and climbed to his feet, though he did not use her to support himself. He seemed simply content with standing there with her fingers laced through his own. "I'm sorry, Haruhi."
"That's okay…" Haruhi sighed and fiddled with the hem of her sweater. "I suppose I was a little harsh. It was a nice gesture and all. But… what am I supposed to do with all this chocolate?"
"Eat it?" Tamaki suggested helpfully. With that he bent down and opened one of the boxes, taking out a single heart-shaped chocolate with his free hand and then standing up. "That's what chocolate is made for, after all," he seemed to be slipping involuntarily into Host mode, and with a rather charming smile he lifted the chocolate and pressed it to Haruhi's lips. She blinked at him for a moment and then slowly took the candy from his fingers, her lips brushing his fingertips involuntarily. Tamaki went red as a beet and dropped his hand back to his side. He let go of her hand and began to twiddle his thumbs.
"It's good," Haruhi remarked, chewing the chocolate thoughtfully. "The filling is strawberry. Here…" she knelt down and picked a chocolate from the box Tamaki had opened, holding it out for him. Tamaki's eyes fixed questioningly on hers for a moment before he leaned his head down a bit to take the chocolate as she had done a moment ago, kissing her fingertips cautiously as he did so. Haruhi's cheeks flushed slightly, and she stared at him incredulously for a moment.
"This one has caramel!" Tamaki exclaimed excitedly, chewing heartily on the candy. "I didn't realize they were all different flavors! Because they aren't very expensive… I got them at the supermarket near your house, because I thought you might like it better if I didn't spend a lot of money!"
"That was a nice thought, Tamaki-senpai," Haruhi could not really bring herself to be angry anymore, despite the fact that he had broken into her apartment and filled her living room with more sweets than she could possibly hope to consume in her lifetime. "But remember next time… you don't have to buy me anything, okay?"
"I'll keep that in mind!" Tamaki thrust a fist determinedly toward the ceiling. "Next time I promise I'll… I'll… what else can I do, Haruhi?"
Haruhi smiled faintly at him. "If you want to show someone you care about them, then you can spend time with them instead of buying them anything."
"We're spending time together right now!" Tamaki grinned happily, sparkling a bit. "So… I'm already doing it right, right?"
"Right," Haruhi nodded, and Tamaki almost immediately began a rather obvious internal celebration. Haruhi did her best to tune him out for the moment. "This chocolate would go really well with milk," she said thoughtfully, tapping her chin. "I can go get us some if you want."
"Sure, that would be lovely!" Tamaki declared.
"Alright, I'll be back in a minute," Haruhi turned and headed for the kitchen, sidestepping the pile of chocolate carefully.
"I'll help!" Tamaki offered helpfully, and Haruhi heard him bound forward.
"That's okay…" Haruhi turned around just in time to see Tamaki trip gracelessly over a box of chocolate, giving a small, awkward squeal and flailing his arms a bit. Logic dictated that she should move out of the way, but all she could do was stand and stare, watching Tamaki fall almost in slow motion, as though she was watching a train wreck. Tamaki's body hit hers with enough force to knock them both to the floor with a thud-- though he managed to cushion his own fall with his hands just enough not to crush her-- and her lips were suddenly meshed with his.
For a moment, both of them were far too stunned to do anything. Tamaki was staring wide-eyed down at her, his cheeks a brilliant shade of scarlet. Haruhi stared helplessly back up at him, and was aware of the fact that his eyes were trembling slightly, as was the rest of his body against hers. His lips were warm, and they didn't seem to be planning to leave hers any time soon.
"S--sorry!" Tamaki gasped finally, pulling his face away from hers. His cheeks were brighter red than the sweater he wore. He hovered over her for just a moment before he leaned down and pecked her lips… purposely this time. Haruhi reddened, and Tamaki scrambled off of her quickly and extended a hand to help her up. Haruhi ignored it and sat up on her own, rubbing her head slightly. "That was all my fault!"
"It's not a big deal," Haruhi assured him, though her insides quivered. Her cheeks burned and her stomach tingled, and in some bizarre way she found that she didn't mind in the least.
"I guess I really am an idiot, huh?" Tamaki asked, laughing slightly and rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. Haruhi fixed him with an earnest stare for a moment, and then she smiled.
"Not completely…" she muttered, pulling him forward by the front of his sweater for another kiss.