All the poets studied rules of verse

[daddydaioh]

Who: hexyoutotuesday & daddydaioh
Where: a park somewhere
Summary: date night! By which I mean, Jinx was being sarcastic and Tamaki (in fine Host Club mentality) took her up on it and oh he's also got a gift to give her and neither of them know what they're getting into but this will probably end in theatrics at the least and possibly park destruction.
Warnings:

Comments

[hexyoutotuesday]

Chaos and destruction. The very scent of it was sweet. At times the end result was unfavorable, but she was relatively sure that, this time, things would turn out the way she wanted. Tamaki, a simple, very simple, human boy would fear her raw power. He would then leave her alone and she would no longer have to put up with this ridiculous game of his. But oh how wrong she was. Instead of cowering before her... he was bouncing. Excitedly. He was a fan.

Why? For the love of all things unholy and dark, why?

Was there a fountain around here that she could go drown him in? Maybe she could convince him to take a long stroll off a short pier. He seemed gullible enough. Hey, Tamaki. If you run fast enough off this cliff, you'll be able to fly. That was an almost pleasant thought. Maybe she would have made him do it if he were not so simple. Perhaps he just did not know any better. It may have been a good idea to just take the praise and move on.

"Oh, did I let that one slip?" she mused in a catty tone of voice. At least playing along with this would let her previous little outburst slip through the cracks. "I'm a sorceress, pretty boy, and bad luck's my game. Looks like your little charm does nothing but decorate my wrist." If you can't beat them, join them? Or something like that. She took the hand the bracelet was attached to and put an index finger under Tamaki's chin. "I can do a lot of things. Crush a man, cheat him out of anything, or stop his heart right in his chest." It was a false act, sure. But it had been a while since she got to enjoy it, and it was fun.

[daddydaioh]

"A sorceress," he repeated in an awed tone. Now he knew two sorceresses. If Jinx was evil, did she use Black Magic? Ah, but it wasn't the same Black Magic as the Black Magic Club used back at Ouran--unless they could blow up trees, and he'd just never known about it! That was some cause for concern--what if they could do things like that? The more he thought about it, the more likely it became--after all, they could curse people, surely blowing up a tree wasn't such a big step! Blowing up a tree was like cursing a tree, sort of, and--

He blinked, momentarily surpised by the touch of her finger on his chin. "Er--" That was an interesting list of abilities, to be sure. Crush... Did she mean that figuratively or figuritavly, as in crushing his spirit? Well, that was probably not a valid point; that could be just as painful as a real crushing, probably. Cheating people, stopping hearts--he cleared his throat, but didn't pull away. That still wasn't evil--maybe confused, or mixed up, or bad, yes, and certainly all against the law, but evil evil... Ah, and suddenly, a thought came to mind.

"Er, but... if bad luck is your game, why do you want to change it?"

[hexyoutotuesday]

This was the least Tamaki had ever said to her in such a long period of time. Long being almost a full minute. Maybe she should tease him like this more often if this was the reaction she got. While he was quiet, she swore she heard the sound of birds chirping. People were finally beginning to go about their business again in the park. Then he asked that question.

Suddenly, she was reminded of that night at the museum months ago. The last full night she had spent in Jump City. While the Titans were away, she went to go steal a mythical necklace from the local museum. It was See-More who had the guts to point it out. Wait, isn't that necklace supposed to bring good luck? And if you're all about the bad luck... Of course, she had stopped him by yelling and storming off. That was not going to work with Tamaki.

Also, things had changed.

Jinx dropped her finger from his chin. "I have things I need to do," she admitted truthfully in a more down to earth tone. "Bad luck is fun, it's who I am, but it's getting in the way of those things. I need to find some way to be lucky." It was a play on her real name, but he would not be able to catch that. No one would. "I can't be a jinx if I have to take care of people."

[daddydaioh]

Tamaki blinked again at the tone in Jinx's voice, but the blank look on his face soon faded into a small smile. Taking care of people. That was something he understood quite well, no matter how that would surprise others to know. The Host Club--they all needed a certain amount of care, though probably in different ways than Jinx meant.

Well--he didn't know what or who Jinx meant at all, honestly. She didn't seem prepared to talk about it. But maybe if he encouraged her just slightly-- He had a lot of Causes already. This would be one more--but one very important one. He could do it--and so could she.

"It's not hard to be lucky," he said, starting out slightly more quietly than usual. "You can do it, I bet. And I'll help you!" That was brilliant! Tamaki was practically a luck expert. His voice started to get a little louder again as his excitement rose with every word. "Yes, I'll help you be more lucky! After all, I am extremely lucky! It won't take much for some to rub off on you, I'm sure!" Yes, this was a very good idea!

[hexyoutotuesday]

Jinx was a bit surprised at the boy's quiet tone. It got her to look at him, almost like he had some sort of real plan. But then he slipped back into that loud, grating voice of his with such unbridled optimism that it gave her a headache.

Of course someone like Tamaki was lucky. He obviously grew up with a great deal of money, he was a good looking human boy, and he had friends. From the feel of his hand when he shook hers, it was obvious he had not done a single day's work in his life. No wonder he was so diluted. He never had to deal with hardship. Most humans had it so easy without even knowing it, but Tamaki took the cake. If Jinx was pretty and blond, she would probably be all right with being stupid, too.

But she was not, because she was not lucky, nor would she ever be. However, there must have been some way to suppress the bad luck. She would be all right with having no luck at all. If there was a chance to get there, she would take it. ...even if it meant dealing with the loud idiot who insisted on giving her cheap jewelry. It was pretty, though.

"Oh? So you want your luck to rub off on me?" She quirked a nonexistent eyebrow at him and put a hand on her hip. "How do you plan on doing that?"

[daddydaioh]

At her question, Tamaki immediately touched his hand to his chin, striking a fine Princely Thinking Pose. He'd worked hard to perfect it, to balance the angle of his head and the angle of his hand at perfectly formed angles. That was very important for the line to be maintained. Above his hand, his smile was small and mysterious, a real Thinker's smile. Nothing could spoil this effect!

"Well," he said loftily, tossing his hair slightly. Oh, how it would gleam in the sun; a specially effects team on a film set couldn't have produced a better glimmer! "For starters, I could give you lessons in how to be lucky! But that might not work so well, since so much of it is just--well, born in you!"

Maybe this would require a little more serious thought. Usually when he wanted to teach someone something, he took them under his wing, became their professor in the matter, gave them assignments and good advice. But what assignments could improve luck?

And, then--brilliant. He laughed and tossed his hair again. "I'VE GOT IT. We must spend time together! That's the only way for the luck to rub off on you. And we will begin with dinner! So, what are you doing this week? What are your plans for--Wednesday night! That's enough notice for Haruhi, don't you think? She can go to the supermarket, and--yes, Wednesday night it is! And I will sit next to you at the table, and all of my good luck vibes will flow over to you! Ah, it's perfect!"

He beamed hugely at her. She would have to agree--after all, there was not a single flaw in his plan!

[hexyoutotuesday]

Watching his expression change, Jinx realized that she really should have just kept her mouth shut. No good would come out of that pose and his smirk. Everything about him looked practiced just then. It reminded her of ballet, how girls would look at themselves in the mirror to make sure they were getting their poses right. They would do that day in and day out until everything was perfect. Tamaki must have owned a lot of mirrors. The way he flipped his own hair just confirmed it.

Lessons on how to be lucky? That was not something you could just learn in a class. He really was an idiot. Quickly, she was losing attention with him. He was taking too long. Her eyes drifted away from him to a small child flying a kite nearby. The kite immediately plummeted to the ground and nearly hit the kid. Jinx winced and decided it was better not to stare, then just about jumped out of her skin when Tamaki suddenly yelled.

Was he asking her out on another date? Dinner might have been acceptable, if he could afford it. She just needed to remember not to drink, because whenever she had alcohol lately, it ended with--

Oh. This was a ploy. He was trying to convince her to come over to his home for dinner. Again. With the way he smiled at her, he looked absolutely convinced she had fallen for it. She knew he was not smart enough to assume she was a fool, so he did not seem proud like a fox. It was more the pride of a kindergartner who just spelled his name for the first time. Kind of cute, but very misplaced.

However, instead of shattering his ego, Jinx decided to let the pretty idiot down gently. She bridged the distance between them and reached up to put both arms around his neck. Playing his game now, she fluttered her big eyes up at him. "But... Tamaki-chan," which was a phrase she learned from an old Japanese man on the network and she prayed she used it right, "I would so much rather have dinner with you. Alone. Just the two of us, you know?" She ran a finger up the back of his neck. "Wouldn't it work better that way? I mean... we could get closer without Haruhi there."

[daddydaioh]

Tamaki had been about to continue on in his soliloquy on the nature of dinner and the merits of dessert; the perfection of Haruhi and the deliciousness of her meals. There were, after all, so many things that he could say on the topics at hand. And the planning that they would have to do! Wednesday was not so far away, if--

He was jerked out of his interior reverie by her arms around him. Oh, okay, that was all right--just like--

All right, fluttering her eyelashes; well, he smiled back at that, and opened his mouth--

Tamaki-chan? Well, he had said to be familiar with him, and--

And--

And.

A greased pig could not have escaped Jinx's embrace with more speed and alacrity. One minute Tamaki was in her arms--the next he had leaped across the grass, startled and alarmed and confused. The back of his neck felt weird where her finger had been, and--alone? Without Haruhi? "

"But," he started, his mouth dry, "ah, but if Haruhi weren't there, then who--"

Who would make the dinner, was what he was going to say, but then he figured it out. Oh. A date. An intimate date. That was not what he had been thinking of when he suggested dinner. How would you transfer luck on an intimate date? Your concentration would be off! And, furthermore--well, Jinx was very cute, but Tamaki's duty was to princesses everywhere! He couldn't be selfish and lavish his good looks and attention on a single young lady! Plus, there was Haruhi, she would be--

Tamaki's face flushed suddenly and he clapped a hand to the back of his neck, stifling the warmth that lingered there from Jinx's fingers.

"M-Miss Jinx," he began, urging his voice into complacency and fine gentlemanly conduct once more. Steady, steady. "I am afraid you've misunderstood! Er, I want to--help you with your luck! And have a family dinner with you! And in order to have family dinner, f-family must be there! Er, so--so you see the flaw in your suggestion! It wouldn't work, although"--his duty as a host compelled him to add this, and he managed it in a tone more closely resembling his normal voice--"Although I will take you out for dinner sometime, if you truly require it! It would be my pleasure indeed! Just--just not this time," he added hastily, in case she got the wrong idea.

[hexyoutotuesday]

For someone who talked so much, he really was just a pathetic little pretty boy.

Jinx was surprised, to say the least, when one moment she had Tamaki in her grasp, and the next he was... rather far away. How he had done that was beyond her, but she managed to suppress her confusion. Easily she dulled the surprised in her eyes and watched him through eyes half lidded. When he began to speak, stuttering, losing every ounce of smooth sweet-talk he was flaunting before, she fought to play it cool. This was absolutely hilarious. He was a lot like Edgeworth, then. All bark and no bite. Except this time it was all talk and no play. It was an average human reaction. If she did that to any human boy back home, he would be screaming. Lately, every person she tried that on melted. It was good that there was still some order somewhere.

The keen little actress kept that sly look of longing on her face, holding back the laughter for now. She probably could not keep it up much longer, especially with how Tamaki's face was flushed. He actually... looked cute. For an idiot of a pretty boy, that was. She took pride in the hand he had to put on the back of his neck.

"But, if you're trying to rub off on me, we should get closer. I don't want to poison your dear daughter's mind with thought of her father so intimate with another person. Especially a girl who's not even human." Like a cat stalking its prey, Jinx sauntered toward the boy, but stopped just a couple feet away. She placed one hand on her hip, then brought her other up to her mouth. She let the claw on her index finger hang on her bottom lip. "The feelings I have for you, Tama-chan... I just can't hide them anymore. I've tried to play coy, b-but you just haven't noticed."

This was the precise game that got Kid Flash in a cage in her living room. Her eyes grew sad and hurt. "I just want to be with you." She took a few steps to him, eyes still looking on the verge of tears. Then she pressed herself against his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist. When she looked up at him, her eyes were as dangerous as her sudden grin. "You wouldn't deny a lonely sorceress that, would you?" She wanted to laugh so badly it hurt.

[daddydaioh]

What? What? What! Closer, intimate, daughter, feelings-- This didn't make any sense! Tamaki stared blankly at Jinx. His face felt very warm. Had the temperature suddenly increased? Had the sun come out from behind a cloud? Was there an impeding heat wave that he had missed, or a portable heater nearby, or perhaps a volcano or a--

Her tears were almost too much. Tamaki crumbled a little, moved by the sight of her temporary vulnerability. She had feelings for him? Well, many people did; that couldn't be helped--that was part of the price of being exceedingly handsome and charming. But, still--

And then she closed her arms around him and pulled herself close.

Tamaki stared straight ahead, confused beyond words. "Well, I," he started, but there was nothing to say. He cleared his throat and took another try. "Well, I think--"

He wasn't at a loss for words. There were thousands of words piling up in his head, most of them frantic and confused; some of them words not connected to the present situation at all; some of them names. Haruhi came to mind for a second and he shook his head, trying to clear her out. She was persistent, though, and cute, and--

Jinx's eyes were big enough to drown in, and her arms were tight around him, and this wouldn't be so bad, really; after all, this was all a day in the life of a host in the Host Club, embracing cute girls and listening to ardent confessions. But this felt very real coming from Jinx, and it was confusing, and Tamaki's mind was racing at the speed of light and Haruhi just kept hanging around in the background in her apron, making that unimpressed face at him, and Jinx was still pressed against him.

"I don't think that it's a good idea," he finally managed, gasping just a little. Steady, steady, do this with dignity! "I think, I think you are very cute, Miss Jinx--extremely cute, and you are very nice, to be sure, and you have an interesting personality and probably your years of villainy have given you many stories that you could share, and your magic is wonderful and terribly fascinating, but I just don't think--I don't, I mean--" He swallowed again and tried a smile at her. It felt a little weak. What was wrong with him, that he couldn't smile at his full level? It was like a lamp on a dimmer switch. "We aren't suited for each other! But I am quite flattered, and, er, we can still be friends!"

That was the right thing to say, wasn't it?

[hexyoutotuesday]

That grin of hers faded when he began to speak. She looked up at him with longing in her catlike eyes. Despite her just wanting to mess with him, she had to admit that Tamaki smelled nice. He was also warm. These were good bonuses for any boy, in her opinion. It meant that they were nice to cuddle up against at night. Like Yukimi. He smelled of lemons, which was her favorite food next to licorice, and she was never cold when she spent the night with him. Jinx caught her mind drifting and immediately snapped herself back. The pretty idiot was saying something about her being cute?

However, since her concentration was lost for that moment, it was now twice as hard to play it straight. When he finally turned her down, she knew she was seconds away from erupting in a fit of laughter, so she had to make it count. Her expression filled with sorrow and her posture slumped. Her arms slowly slid off of him and she took a step away from Tamaki. She placed one hand on her chest, above her heart, and clenched it as though to hold it the organ together. Her other hand came to her mouth to try and hide the shameful expression of a young woman about to cry, but no tears would come. Not even for this dramatic act. Crying was something you did when you lost everything, not when you were messing with boys.

"I-- I... Tamaki..." her voice was weak and pathetic, but wavering. Quickly, she clasped her hand over her mouth, trying to stifle a giggle. Damn it, she had to break character. Her shoulders shook for a moment as she tried so hard not to laugh, but it was much too late for that. Soon, her giggles were breaking through, and she had to take her hand away from her mouth to breathe.

Breathing was difficult now with how hard she was now laughing. That look on his face was absolutely hilarious. Everything about that past several minutes were. He was such a gullible fool. As she laughed, now holding her stomach, she even pointed at Tamaki, just in case anyone passing by was confused. What's the girl laughing at? Oh wait, it's the pretty boy.

"Y-You fell for it!" Her cheeks were flushed lavender. "I can't believe you--you're so much talk! Pr-Pretending to be this...this smooth ladies man." She was gaining a little bit of composure. "Have you ever even kissed a girl? What are you, a child? Don't tell me this is your first date, because--" the giggles started back up, "because then I'd feel obligated to kiss you."

fml sorry I am a slow failure

[daddydaioh]

Oh, no. Oh, this was terrible. Oh, she was sad, and her hands were at her lips, and her voice was so tragic, and she--

She was laughing.

Laughing, which meant--which meant--

"You," he began, blinking, "w-wait--that's not fair! That's not fair! You don't, you don't--you shouldn't joke about emotions! Emotions are deadly serious, Miss, er, Jinx! Emotions are very important, and, and--"

Wait, wait--pretending to be smooth! Tamaki quickly snapped out of blushing indignant protest mode into serious indignant mode (with slight blush). "I am not pretending, I am a host! And a host is, is always smooth and practiced with women! I have," but he bit off the rest of his reply, taking a moment to think.

Kissing was rather loosely defined, wasn't it? After all, there were friendly kisses and serious kisses and parental kisses--ah, yes, parental kisses, where a father gave his daughter the lightest of pecks on the forehead after she had done something particularly cute--

Wait, did that mean he should kiss Haruhi?

Oh, no, why was he even thinking about this; he was going in circles and she had gotten him confused and he had to answer her questions; there was no time for thinking about Haruhi! No time at all!

"WELL," he started, much more loudly and furiously than he'd intended. He took a breath. "Er, I mean, well, I guess, technically, I have kissed a girl! I kiss plenty of hands, you know, that is par to the course for a prince type! And cheeks, too! Ah, but I have been on a date before," he continued with more confidence. Yes, this was right! He could come back together even after this crippling and confusing exchange! "Many, in fact! 'Dates' are part of the duties of a host--though of course, they're not so, er, intimate as a candlelit dinner! Though they could be, I suppose, if that's what was requested..."

[hexyoutotuesday]

With the way Tamaki was responding to her, the laughter set back in full force. God, it hurt. She clutched her stomach, doubled over, and nearly fell backwards. It made her almost want to cry. Almost. She managed to hold that one back. There was one good thing that had come out of this "date." It had been a long time since Jinx had genuinely laughed this hard.

"Okay, okay! Y-You have to st-stop!" she tried to tell him between gasping for breath and giggles. Even her cheeks were sore now. She took a moment to gain composure and managed to stand up straight. The girl took a deep breath, exhaled shakily, and forced the fit to pass.

"You've technically kissed a girl? There's no technical about it. Either you've stuck your tongue in someone else's mouth or you haven't." Jinx's definition of kissing was rather straight to the point. There was something to be said about a blunt, forward young woman. There were many things to be said. "And there's much more intimate things to do than a lame candlelit dinner. Do you not understand a cliché?" Then again, imagining looking across the table at Yukimi through the dim, flickering light... "Dates usually mean getting drinks, pretty boy."

Once again, she had to fight back laughter, but this time she held her composure much better. "What the hell is a host, anyway? Is that like some sort of escort service? Because you are the worst escort I've ever seen. Sorry Tamaki, but you're anything but a Tomcat. More like a little boy." She put her finger against her chin and grinned at him. Oh, he was funny.

[daddydaioh]

Stuck his tongue? Tamaki stared at her for a minute. Oh, 'French' kissing--well, the French didn't strictly kiss like that; it was technically a misnomer! "But that's not true! That's just one way! There are many ways to kiss people! You just picked one, but that doesn't mean that it's the right way!" She couldn't argue with that, surely! "And there can be drinks at a candlelit dinner! Traditionally, I think, they serve wine, but most restraunts will make things that you like."

Ah, but the question of a HOST! That was something that Tamaki could warm to. "Hosts are nothing like cats!" he informed her loftilly, tossing his hair. "They are--well, it's not an escort service! It's a school club, you see! We have meetings, and we entertain princesses! Usually with tea, of course, but there are events, too--ah, when I left, we were just planning Pirate Day! And Kyouya would have transformed the Third Music Room into a pirate ship, and we would eat pirate food, and--oh, maybe there would be an ocean! That would be lovely!"

He was hardly concious of Jinx anymore, but stared off into space, imagining the beauty of Pirate Day. The smell of salt water! The creak of the ropes! The delightfully off-color pirate shanties, and--oh, would he wear an eyepatch? Would that marr his handsome face too much? Or would it look dashing?

[hexyoutotuesday]

Tamaki, for once, was right about something. There were many ways to kiss people. She had just tested that theory the other night. And the night before that. There was that day by the lake, too. A proud smile crept over her face as she was lost in thought for that moment. In her opinion, there were many right ways to kiss someone, and right places, so long as it felt nice. There had been nothing right about kissing Edgeworth, though. Her smile faded. No, nothing at all right about that one. She still felt the need to jump Yukimi the next time she saw him just to make up for that horrible mistake. Well, jumping him would probably happen anyway, as it did, but this time there had been forethought.

Right. Tamaki was still talking. She probably should have been listening. Something about a school club and pirates. Was he in pirate club? No, that would be silly. He had mentioned something or another about hosts again. A host club? No, that was even stupider. At least pirates were realistic. Jinx would have asked him to repeat himself if she cared more.

Watching the pretty idiot, she noticed he was an absolute space case. Maybe if she walked away slowly, he would not notice. Or if she walked away quickly. Ran. Teleported. Oh, the ability to teleport would be so damn handy. She wondered if Yukimi could teach that to her. But instead of fleeing, she decided to crash Tamaki's reality again. Because it was funnier.

"So, you entertain girls, you say?" At least that's what she kind of heard. Maybe. Jinx grinned from ear to ear and approached him again. "I'm not entertained anymore. You're an absolute failure, Tomcat." Perhaps it had been a club about hosting. Imagining Tamaki as a pirate was impossible. He was much too clean, pretty, sober, and virginal. Once again, she flopped her arms around his neck and looked up at him, fluttering her eyelashes. "You haven't even offered to buy me ice cream." Which she hated almost every flavor of. "I'm hurt." Watching him, she began to purr. Literally. Jinx like a pleased cat it rumbled in her throat.

[daddydaioh]

Oh--what? As Jinx began talking again, the music of the sea faded abruptly, like a radio with the sound turned down too quickly. And Haruhi had been about to enter the scene, with a cute little headscarf and a piratical dress, and boots, and a sword in a sash, and a--

Oh, she was coming over to him again? Oh, she was--okay, well, arms around bis neck again, and eyelashes, that was okay! Hosts were used to that! "Ice cream," he repeated, staring down at her. She wanted to eat ice cream? My, she certainly had a wandering attention span! Well, no matter! Date always involved purchasing food for a beautiful girl, so Tamaki had come prepared!

"Ice cream!" he said again, beaming down at her. "All right! What kind would you like? Cone or cup? Spoon or f--" He paused. "Is that sound you? What a loud stomach! My, you really are hungry, aren't you~! You should have mentioned earlier--ah, no, it's my fault, really; where are my manners!"