Flowers in the Eve Chapter 20: Day is Done, an ouran high school host club fanfic

"Are you sure about this?" Flora straightened out the tight pencil skirt as she and Tomoyo sat at a low, café table.

"Why shouldn't I be? We're twenty seven now, and we've almost been found out enough times. This is too ridiculous, and he agrees."

"No, no I wasn't saying it wasn't a good idea, I was just making sure you were okay with it!" Flora assured her. "Are you going to be with him when you talk to Mr. Ootori? Or his going alone?"

"I think Kyoya and I are both going. I don't think it will as big of a deal for my parents because I think they respect me a bit more than his father does, but it's time. I think it'll be alright."

"I hope so. I wish this had been easier for you." She sighed. "I wish we could've switched places or something.

"And I could've denied loving someone for a long time. That's a bit…meh." She laughed.

"Be quiet, that was a long time ago. Oh my gosh," Flora nearly spit out her coffee. "That was exactly ten years ago. I'm so old!" She cried.

"Shut up, hey!" She realized. "You two are going to be the third hosts to get married!"

"Yeah, I guess." Flora muttered, blushing.

"Why are you so embarrassed?"

"I don't know, it's still just weird to think about. And now that Eiichi and Miyabi have a kid I know I'm not a kid anymore, and it's strange."

"Does being a very accomplished neuropsychologist aid in the 'adult feeling'?"

"Kind of."

"Get over it; you are an adult."

"But if we get married will we have to be more serious than we are? I don't even know. What if things change? I don't want anything to change!"

"Calm yourself, and what do you mean by more serious? You won't be able to take your weekend trip to the brothels, you'll have to spend them with him?"

"I don't even know what I mean. I just want things to stay the same."

"Well…let me see." She chewed on the inside of her lip. Flora opened to mouth to speak once, but Tomo shushed her. "Is there anything that's part of your physical relationship that you haven't done yet?" She picked each word carefully. Flora eyes her for a moment.

"A: You can just ask if we've had sex, you're a doctor so that shouldn't be weird. B: You know these things. What's the point of asking?!" She whispered across the table.

Tomo pursed her lips. "I was just trying to be helpful she murmured.

"C'mon, you know I'm just joking. And I didn't really mean our relationship getting more serious, I meant us."

"You two are serious and solemn all the time."

"You and Kyoya are worse!"

"I-" her voice got stuck in her throat as she realized Flora was correct. "Fine, I suppose you're right. But, really Flora, is there anything to worry about?"

"Commitment issues."

"Does he have-"

"What? No, I was trying to be funny. I think I do. I only started actually saying we were together three years ago." She sighed again, resting her cheek in her palm. "I have issues."

"Yeah, you do." She snorted. Flora raised an eyebrow at her, but smiled nonetheless, sipping at the hot tea in her hands.

"I have to go." She said at last. "I have a lecture in half an hour to do."

"Please, you love talking to people about brain stuff."

"I know, but I also like spending time with you. I don't really get to anymore."

"By the way," she called as Flora stood to flounce away.

"Yeah?" She spun on her heel to look back at her friend.

"Is Mori's father happy you two are finally getting married? I know he wasn't too upset when he decided to go outside of the box, and not marry whenever he supposed to, but is he?"

"He was so excited, it was almost sad."

"Does Hikaru have a girlfriend?" Flora asked stepping up on her tiptoes to reach a can high up on the shelf.

"No, I don't think so." Mori strode up behind her, and easily took the can down, placing it in front of her nonchalantly.

"You just put those up there so you can do that, and feel manlier, don't you?" She accused, pouting.

He smirked. "Helping you reach a can is the least I can do."

She pressed her back against the counter, but smiled despite herself. "Don't you dare."

"I could…" In one swooping motion he had her in his arms, and jogged toward the open door. "…do this, for example."

"Put me down, Taka!" She giggled. It was only on rare occasions was he really this bubbly, but Flora in all of her anti-romanticness enjoyed it still.

"Alright." He grinned, falling back into the soft grass. The night was clear, and warm, and bright.

"I hate you." She sighed, moving off of him to only rest her head on his chest.

"I love you." He breathed into the top of her hair, brushing a hand over her head.

An involuntary smile made her almost forget to reply back. "Oh! I love you." She half-laughed into his shirt. "Sorry, the words don't always get out, you know."

"Oh, I know." His voice was dripping with shrewdness.

"Be quiet." She yawned. "If I fall asleep out here, you have to carry me back inside since you brought me out here. Even if I'm faking it." Watching goose bumps rise up on her arm, she shivered into him. He pulled her closer.

"Flora." He grumbled.

"What?" She grinned, glancing up at his blushing face. Even after all these years most things she did made him turn pink. But she kept her icy hands firmly pressed against his stomach, partially focusing on the firmness of his abdomen.

"Your hands are cold."

"Poor circulation," she smirked.

"That's not what I meant."

"Am I making your stomach cold?" She asked, cloying.

"Yes." He sighed. It would be easier to go with it.

"Would you like me to move my hands?"

"Sure."

She glided a hand down to his hips for a moment, just to feel him tense up from surprise. He had known what she was going to do, but each move she made was like a new one to him. A moment later, she swooped her hand up to his chest, over his heart. She rested like that with her hand, holding her breath.

"What are you doing?" She could hear the smile in his voice.

"I just wanted to hear your heartbeat."

He was quiet for a moment. Then placed a gentle hand high on her chest, far too high to be considered remotely close to her heart. "Takashi," she pulled one of her hands out from his shirt, and placed it over his hand that was placed over her. Gently, she moved his hand further down until he could feel her heart beating gently. "Simple anatomy," she scolded, shrinking further into him.

"Let's go inside."

"Yeah," she agreed, bouncing back onto her feet with him. She shivered again, but jogged ahead to the house. "Come on, it's cold!"

"It's not that cold."

"You're not wearing a skirt, and you have a jacket!" She called back, already to the door.

Flora ran through the warm halls to the bathroom to change into black shorts, and an old oversized plaid shirt for bed clothes. She plopped onto the bed, clicking a lamp on, and sitting at the desk to pull her contacts out. As she dropped the second into its case, and pushed on her glasses Mori walked in, barely looking at her. He pulled a book from the shelf, and sat a few feet away, reading.

Flora gently lied herself down on the bed, absentmindedly watching him as she went over various other things in her head.

"Where should we go?"

"Huh?" She nearly jumped, startled.

"For our honeymoon. Where do you want to go?"

"I don't really," she yawned, "…I don't really know. I haven't thought about it too much." He nodded. She smiled loosely at him, knowing it was exhausting for him to be as romantic and exuberant as he had been. He needed calm now. "How about somewhere in Europe? I've only been there once before." He neatly nodded once again, still half-absorbed in his book. "Maybe somewhere in Great Britain? Then again, I've heard it's always very rainy there. I'm okay with rain. Did you want to go somewhere, I don't know, tropical, or warm?"

"Doesn't matter." He muttered.

"Takashi, I know you're tired, and I am…too." She said between a yawn. "We don't have to talk about this now." A quick, light sigh escaped from her mouth as she fell back on the bed. She knew she could be the same way, not giving real answers or opinions and not really wanting to talk to anyone, even him or Tomo when she was exhausted, but it didn't stop her from getting a little annoyed with him. She also knew that the opposite was true for him, and he always put up with her, so she tried to return the favor.

He looked up at her from behind the book. "But we should. I'd rather go to Europe," he answered, picking a bookmark up from the night table, and closing the book.

Flora's head snapped in his direction. "Taka, I don't want you to force yourself to talk to-"

"We're getting married." He said strongly. "I should be able hold a conversation."

"But if you don't want to…"

"My parent's marriage fell apart because he was like this. I want to get better before anything gets bad. He's different now, but that's only because they divorced."

Her face fell into a soft, sleepy smile. "Alright. Then we're picking this way." She swung out of the bed, hopping to the bathroom. She brought back a single toothpick.

He glanced at it, then back up at her.

"What is it?"

"Well, you pick a place, and I pick a place; we break the toothpick between us, and whoever gets the longer piece we're going there.

"…Alright."

"Don't say it out loud," she said hurriedly, kneeling on the ground next to him. He moved forward in his chair, and gently took one end of the wood. "One, two…three." It snapped loudly. Flora pulled away her tiny piece, and glanced up at him. She beamed up at him. "Where did you pick?" She asked, excitedly.

"Germany."

"I do quite enjoy German-type things." She whispered, happily.

"Do you?" He teased, rising to his feet, and resting on the edge of the bed. As he unbuttoned his pale, grey shirt Flora rounded her way about the bed, and lied down watching him from behind. As the rest of his clothes, save undergarments were tossed into a hamper she stopped him from standing to walk to the dresser.

"Wait, Taka." Before he could ask she pulled him into a deep kiss.

"Adette, Daddy, come on, I'm hungry." The little boy whined to his older sister, and father.

"We're done. You'll get enough time to tomorrow when we go to Mitsukuni's house. You can play with your cousins."

Adette nodded once, already half-way out the door. Flora liked to think she was like a mini version of Mori, and most other people thought so too. Their skin, hair, eyes, build were almost identical; not to mention that she acted almost just like he had when he was young, and was almost more protective of her cousins than he had been with Honey.

Hisayuki was a completely different story. He had Mori's dark skin, and his parent's shared dark hair, but his eyes were wide, and sapphire like Flora's. His hair was soft, and curly like Flora's or Honeys. He was softer, like Flora too, and not nearly as introverted as his older sister or father or even mother. If anything, he acted a bit more like his uncle.

"Mommy, what's your real name?"

"Why?" Flora absentmindedly asked her son. He narrowed his big, blue eyes at her in a mock scowl for a moment.

"Because I wanna' know."

"My real name is Flora, but you just call me Mom. You asked me yesterday."

"Yeah, I know that, but what's your full name? Like I'm Hisayuki Gareth Morinozuka, and Addie is Adette Kazumi Morinozuka. Why do we have middle names? Other kids our age don't?"

"Because your mother is American."

"Tamaki had more names than me," Flora huffed at him playfully. "His first name isn't even Tamaki…anyway!" She played around with the cup in her hands. "My full name is, well technically because I didn't get rid of my last name when I married your father, Flora-Celine Azalea Tsukino Morinozuka. And you have middles names because I said so, and most other kids your age don't

"What's Daddy's?" He asked after a moment.

"Takashi Morinozuka." Mori answered from the other side of the table.

"That's boring." He said evenly, with a plain expression on his face. Mori watched him, not blinking for a moment, but as soon as he turned away he smiled. "I'm glad I have a longer name, like Mommy." He grinned up at Flora.

"What about you, Adette?" Mori asked as Flora cleared her throat to do the exact same thing.

"Huh?" She muttered, hiding behind her straight bangs.

"Your name? If had the choice which would you have picked?"

"Between having a longer or shorter name?" She glanced up at her father as he nodded. "It's a name. It really doesn't matter."

"What matters to you?" Flora asked casually.

"Practicing kendo, and protecting my cousins. Being loyal to my friends of course, as well, getting good grades."

"I like kendo too! And protecting my cousins, and being loyal, and playing piano!" Hisa piped up, with his half-mumble.

"Don't talk with your mouth full, dear."

"Alright, Mommy." He paused to swallow. "What mattered to you when you were our age?"

"When I was your age?" Her eyes widened a bit. "So when I was ten I lived in New York City, and had a few friends, and focused mainly on school, and playing piano. That was about it."

"What about you, Daddy?!" He asked excitedly.

"I focused on kendo, my studies, and Mitsukuni."

"Weren't you in that club, or something…?"

Mori twitched, and fidgeted in his seat. "That was much later, and only because Mitsukuni joined."

"You enjoyed the club, Taka, don't lie."

"But let's not…later. Later." He nodded at the little boy, who wasn't even paying attention anymore.

"Wasn't that the club where you went on a bunch dates with random girls?" Addie asked stoically from her seat.

"We-" His voice broke as he sat, fearfully watching Flora, wide-eyed.

"Sort of," she finally said, coming to his rescue, "Basically there were seven boys, and you got to…pick one of them, and everyone would sit in this nice room, and talk, and eat."

"Were you one of his costumers?" Flora bristled at the accusation.

"No," she said sharply, but then thought of Honey and Reiko. "I thought the club would be a waste of my time, and some other things happened, but there's nothing wrong with any of that anyway. That's how Mitsukuni and Reiko got to know each other."

"I think it's a waste of time."

"Didn't you work there too, though, Mom?" Hisa piped up again, and Flora fidgeted in her seat.

"Well, yeah, but only for a year."

"Why?"

"Well," she sighed, "I guess most of my friends were in the club, so it was logical, and I didn't have much else to do, but practice piano and study in my spare time, which I could do there. I wasn't always that busy."

"How did you meet?" Addie asked quietly.

Flora smiled across at her softly, even though the girl wasn't looking up. "Well, their club room is in an old music room, and I thought that it really was a music room. I went there early to play, and your father walked into the room, and scared me."

"Then what happened?" Asked Hisa.

"Eh…I…I was just sort of mean to him, and then went home."

"That was exhilarating." Muttered Addie.

"Quiet, child." Flora scolded.

"What did you say, Dad?" Asked the boy again, still caught up in his constant excitement.

"I said she was early, told her to wait, told her what room she was in, and then told her my name."

"Is that all?" He was incredulous.

"I talked a lot less than this when I was in school."

"Oh…okay. But, yeah, that's still pretty boring."

"Sorry." The couple sighed in unison.