Duet chapter 10
Title: Duet
Rating: G for now, may go up ^^;
Warnings: spoilers for the end of the anime
Progress: 10/?
Summary: In need of a performing arts credit for her transcript, Haruhi seeks piano lessons from Tamaki. The result is a bit more bonding than either of them ever expected. How can you focus on school when you're falling in love... and what complications will arise when a member of the Suoh family is willing to give up everything for a commoner?
Haruhi awoke to the brightness of sunlight on her face. She was not immediately aware of where she was, but she was aware that she was sleeping on something very solid but very soft. Shaking sleepiness out of her head, she blinked awake and looked around. Her eyes didn’t feel like they were on fire, so she reasoned that she must have awoken and removed her contacts at some point during the night. At the moment, she appeared to be on the sofa, and when sleepiness finally fell away she became aware of what was going on.
She was lying with her head comfortably resting on Tamaki’s chest, one of her hands curled around a handful of his shirt. Tamaki’s arms were draped loosely around her waist, and the whole effect, though embarrassing, was rather secure. However, Haruhi couldn’t help realizing that they were acting, for lack of a better sentiment, like lovers. It was this that made her drag herself away from his chest, shrugging her way out of his arms. At her movement, Tamaki stirred and blinked several times, coming awake and stretching with a wide, catlike yawn.
“Good morning,” he said absently, rubbing sleep out of his eyes. Haruhi found her contacts on the end table and busied herself taking them out of their case and putting them in.
“Um… good morning,” she mumbled, trying to ignore the strange, alien jab of tenderness between her ribs at the way he was smiling at her. Given the bright way he was grinning, Haruhi guessed that she was the only one who seemed to grasp the awkwardness of the situation. She decided it would be better to keep it that way; a panicking Tamaki was never a good Tamaki. She glanced at the clock. It was nearly seven. Barely time for breakfast before she had to get to the train station; her morning train to Ouran left at seven thirty. She had already stood up and glanced around for her school bag when Tamaki sat up straight and stretched leisurely.
“What’s your rush, Haruhi?” he asked pleasantly, running a hand over his hair.
“We’ve got to be at the train station in half an hour,” she informed him, slipping into her room and stripping quickly, grabbing underthings and then the articles of her school uniform from where they hung on the back of the door. She dressed in record time and stepped out of her bedroom struggling with her tie.
“There’s no need to worry so much. If we’re late, then we’re late. I can always just have a car come for us,” Tamaki said, moving over to her and giving her a fond smile. “Here, let me help you,” he untied the sloppy knot she had done her tie into in her hurry and quickly looped it into a perfect knot. He tucked it gently into the front of her blazer and then smiled. “Very dashing.”
Haruhi relaxed slightly, as seemed to be her new custom around him lately. “You think so?” she asked with a grin, and Tamaki nodded.
“It’s missing something, though,” Tamaki said, straightening out her hair and then reaching into his pocket and pulling out something that he tucked among the short brown tresses. Grinning, he guided her in front of the mirror over the sink in the bathroom. Haruhi caught sight of a barrette with a scowling teddy bear on it peeking through her hair. “I got it for you. That way you’ll always remember me, no matter what happens!”
“It’s not like I could forget you, anyway,” Haruhi mused. “You’re not exactly a conventional kind of person,” she bent over the sink to brush her teeth, and Tamaki stood behind her glancing idly around the bathroom.
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” he said, and Haruhi couldn’t help smiling at him.
“We really have to get going…” she said, and Tamaki shook his head.
“Don’t worry about it. I need to stop at home and get my uniform, anyway. So let’s just take our time. There’s no reason to rush… I’ll call my driver after breakfast and he’ll get us to school in no time.”
“Are you sure?” Haruhi asked, and Tamaki nodded. “Well… alright.”
In the end, Tamaki spent quite a good portion of time making her crepes Suzette for breakfast, asking for her help as an excuse to teach her how to make them. They had quite an ordeal trying to get them right, and Haruhi couldn’t help thinking as they laughed at repeated failures that she had never had quite this much fun cooking before. By the time Tamaki’s driver dropped them off in front of Ouran, they had already missed first period, but somehow Haruhi didn’t mind too much. When she was around Tamaki, it was much easier to throw caution to the wind and be irresponsible, and some part of her actually enjoyed doing so. It almost made up for having to dodge the questions from countless girls (some of whom she had never even met) about she and Tamaki’s “date” to have had such an oddly enjoyable morning. It got her through the rest of the day with a kind of sunshine to her step, and for the first time she truly understood how Tamaki must feel most of the time. Haruhi had never experienced the phenomenon of having a wonderful day just because of spending the morning with someone, and it was a bit confusing.
“Why am I having this kind of reaction to spending time with senpai?” she asked herself on her way home from the train station that afternoon, her head still in the clouds and her more logical side (which was dominating her actions less and less lately, she worried) absolutely bewildered about its less reasonable counterpart’s reactions. “It’s not like we haven’t hung out before. But this time was different… but I don’t know why.”
It came to her mind that ever since that day when he had caught her after she fell from that bridge, since that split second when he looked into her eyes as they hung suspended in midair, things around him had been different. It was no wonder, really, she mused as she kept walking. He had come back for her, given up his one chance at happiness to save her. She knew it, and with that knowledge things were bound to be different. Still, she couldn’t help thinking that there was something else. There was some other reason beyond her grasp that had changed things so drastically and yet so subtly at the same time. As a straight A student, answers rarely eluded Haruhi, but the answer to the question that plagued her now was just beyond her reach, taunting her. No matter how far she reached out her hand, it wiggled away like a stubborn fish.
Haruhi was relieved to find that she didn’t have to spend long agonizing over it, however. When she got home she found the apartment unlocked and her father waiting calmly in the kitchen for her, sipping at a cup of orange mango tea and looking rather thoughtful.
“Hi, Dad,” she said as she entered the room. He looked up at her, and she sighed at the look on his face.
“What in the world were you and that Suoh boy doing on the sofa last night?” he asked, his voice a little too high to be considered calm, but not exactly frantic. “I came home around midnight and you two were… were…”
“Were what?”
“You were… cuddling like you’d been married for decades! Oh Haruhi, what did Daddy do wrong? Was there some flaw in my parenting that led you to allow that dreadful beast to deflower you!?”
Sighing slightly, Haruhi shook her head. “He didn’t… um… ‘deflower’ me, Dad. I know he might be an idiot sometimes, but pretty much Tamaki-senpai is sort of a gentleman. He wouldn’t do something like that. And anyway, we just fell asleep watching TV after dinner. Nothing bad happened. You need to stop panicking whenever I’m alone with him.”
Ranka sighed. “I know, I know. I just can’t help it! I don’t trust the boy! It’s obvious he has feelings for you and I don’t know if I can trust him not to act on his baser instincts when he’s around you! Oh Haruhi, don’t you understand!?”
“I think I do,” Haruhi said patiently, pouring herself a glass of milk. “But I don’t see why you don’t trust him. In a lot of ways, you and Tamaki-senpai are exactly alike.”
“Oh?” Ranka cocked his head. He was still wearing his jewelry, dress, and makeup from work and Haruhi realized for just a split second just how much like a woman he really looked when in costume. It was a bit ironic that he was so fiercely a father, given his appearance, she supposed. But then again, that kind of thing rarely occurred to her.
“Yeah. You both tend to freak out a lot over little things, you’re both high strung and energetic and you like to fuss over me. I guess maybe that’s why you don’t trust him, huh? Because you see something in him that you don’t like about yourself?”
“That’s not it,” Ranka put down his cup and wrung his hands. “When I was his age I was a bit… irresponsible. I’m just worried that he’s the same kind of boy I was.”
“He isn’t,” Haruhi assured her father, not even sure why she was bothering to stand up for her senpai when she doubted the high-strung redhead would ever drop his suspicions about him. “You don’t have to worry. Tamaki-senpai is… a good guy. Really good. He would never hurt anyone.”
“And you love him?” Ranka asked, and Haruhi choked on her milk.
“What? No, I don’t. At least, I don’t think so…” Haruhi stared into her cup as though her reflection would provide some answer. She felt her father’s hand fall gently onto her head and he ruffled her hair.
“I’m sure someday you’ll know the answer to that question for sure. And whatever the answer is, remember to listen to this,” he tapped his chest. “And not this,” he tapped his temple. “No one ever got anywhere by using their brain and not their heart. Now I’m going to go change,” he smiled fondly at her with a bit of undisguised pride. “My little girl is growing up.”
When he was gone, Haruhi continued to stare into her cup, a million questions swirling around in her head until she swore she was going to go mad. She began to feel dizzy and closed her eyes.
“If I’m growing up…” she groaned, resting her chin on her hand. “Then why don’t I have any of the answers?”
Rating: G for now, may go up ^^;
Warnings: spoilers for the end of the anime
Progress: 10/?
Summary: In need of a performing arts credit for her transcript, Haruhi seeks piano lessons from Tamaki. The result is a bit more bonding than either of them ever expected. How can you focus on school when you're falling in love... and what complications will arise when a member of the Suoh family is willing to give up everything for a commoner?
Haruhi awoke to the brightness of sunlight on her face. She was not immediately aware of where she was, but she was aware that she was sleeping on something very solid but very soft. Shaking sleepiness out of her head, she blinked awake and looked around. Her eyes didn’t feel like they were on fire, so she reasoned that she must have awoken and removed her contacts at some point during the night. At the moment, she appeared to be on the sofa, and when sleepiness finally fell away she became aware of what was going on.
She was lying with her head comfortably resting on Tamaki’s chest, one of her hands curled around a handful of his shirt. Tamaki’s arms were draped loosely around her waist, and the whole effect, though embarrassing, was rather secure. However, Haruhi couldn’t help realizing that they were acting, for lack of a better sentiment, like lovers. It was this that made her drag herself away from his chest, shrugging her way out of his arms. At her movement, Tamaki stirred and blinked several times, coming awake and stretching with a wide, catlike yawn.
“Good morning,” he said absently, rubbing sleep out of his eyes. Haruhi found her contacts on the end table and busied herself taking them out of their case and putting them in.
“Um… good morning,” she mumbled, trying to ignore the strange, alien jab of tenderness between her ribs at the way he was smiling at her. Given the bright way he was grinning, Haruhi guessed that she was the only one who seemed to grasp the awkwardness of the situation. She decided it would be better to keep it that way; a panicking Tamaki was never a good Tamaki. She glanced at the clock. It was nearly seven. Barely time for breakfast before she had to get to the train station; her morning train to Ouran left at seven thirty. She had already stood up and glanced around for her school bag when Tamaki sat up straight and stretched leisurely.
“What’s your rush, Haruhi?” he asked pleasantly, running a hand over his hair.
“We’ve got to be at the train station in half an hour,” she informed him, slipping into her room and stripping quickly, grabbing underthings and then the articles of her school uniform from where they hung on the back of the door. She dressed in record time and stepped out of her bedroom struggling with her tie.
“There’s no need to worry so much. If we’re late, then we’re late. I can always just have a car come for us,” Tamaki said, moving over to her and giving her a fond smile. “Here, let me help you,” he untied the sloppy knot she had done her tie into in her hurry and quickly looped it into a perfect knot. He tucked it gently into the front of her blazer and then smiled. “Very dashing.”
Haruhi relaxed slightly, as seemed to be her new custom around him lately. “You think so?” she asked with a grin, and Tamaki nodded.
“It’s missing something, though,” Tamaki said, straightening out her hair and then reaching into his pocket and pulling out something that he tucked among the short brown tresses. Grinning, he guided her in front of the mirror over the sink in the bathroom. Haruhi caught sight of a barrette with a scowling teddy bear on it peeking through her hair. “I got it for you. That way you’ll always remember me, no matter what happens!”
“It’s not like I could forget you, anyway,” Haruhi mused. “You’re not exactly a conventional kind of person,” she bent over the sink to brush her teeth, and Tamaki stood behind her glancing idly around the bathroom.
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” he said, and Haruhi couldn’t help smiling at him.
“We really have to get going…” she said, and Tamaki shook his head.
“Don’t worry about it. I need to stop at home and get my uniform, anyway. So let’s just take our time. There’s no reason to rush… I’ll call my driver after breakfast and he’ll get us to school in no time.”
“Are you sure?” Haruhi asked, and Tamaki nodded. “Well… alright.”
In the end, Tamaki spent quite a good portion of time making her crepes Suzette for breakfast, asking for her help as an excuse to teach her how to make them. They had quite an ordeal trying to get them right, and Haruhi couldn’t help thinking as they laughed at repeated failures that she had never had quite this much fun cooking before. By the time Tamaki’s driver dropped them off in front of Ouran, they had already missed first period, but somehow Haruhi didn’t mind too much. When she was around Tamaki, it was much easier to throw caution to the wind and be irresponsible, and some part of her actually enjoyed doing so. It almost made up for having to dodge the questions from countless girls (some of whom she had never even met) about she and Tamaki’s “date” to have had such an oddly enjoyable morning. It got her through the rest of the day with a kind of sunshine to her step, and for the first time she truly understood how Tamaki must feel most of the time. Haruhi had never experienced the phenomenon of having a wonderful day just because of spending the morning with someone, and it was a bit confusing.
“Why am I having this kind of reaction to spending time with senpai?” she asked herself on her way home from the train station that afternoon, her head still in the clouds and her more logical side (which was dominating her actions less and less lately, she worried) absolutely bewildered about its less reasonable counterpart’s reactions. “It’s not like we haven’t hung out before. But this time was different… but I don’t know why.”
It came to her mind that ever since that day when he had caught her after she fell from that bridge, since that split second when he looked into her eyes as they hung suspended in midair, things around him had been different. It was no wonder, really, she mused as she kept walking. He had come back for her, given up his one chance at happiness to save her. She knew it, and with that knowledge things were bound to be different. Still, she couldn’t help thinking that there was something else. There was some other reason beyond her grasp that had changed things so drastically and yet so subtly at the same time. As a straight A student, answers rarely eluded Haruhi, but the answer to the question that plagued her now was just beyond her reach, taunting her. No matter how far she reached out her hand, it wiggled away like a stubborn fish.
Haruhi was relieved to find that she didn’t have to spend long agonizing over it, however. When she got home she found the apartment unlocked and her father waiting calmly in the kitchen for her, sipping at a cup of orange mango tea and looking rather thoughtful.
“Hi, Dad,” she said as she entered the room. He looked up at her, and she sighed at the look on his face.
“What in the world were you and that Suoh boy doing on the sofa last night?” he asked, his voice a little too high to be considered calm, but not exactly frantic. “I came home around midnight and you two were… were…”
“Were what?”
“You were… cuddling like you’d been married for decades! Oh Haruhi, what did Daddy do wrong? Was there some flaw in my parenting that led you to allow that dreadful beast to deflower you!?”
Sighing slightly, Haruhi shook her head. “He didn’t… um… ‘deflower’ me, Dad. I know he might be an idiot sometimes, but pretty much Tamaki-senpai is sort of a gentleman. He wouldn’t do something like that. And anyway, we just fell asleep watching TV after dinner. Nothing bad happened. You need to stop panicking whenever I’m alone with him.”
Ranka sighed. “I know, I know. I just can’t help it! I don’t trust the boy! It’s obvious he has feelings for you and I don’t know if I can trust him not to act on his baser instincts when he’s around you! Oh Haruhi, don’t you understand!?”
“I think I do,” Haruhi said patiently, pouring herself a glass of milk. “But I don’t see why you don’t trust him. In a lot of ways, you and Tamaki-senpai are exactly alike.”
“Oh?” Ranka cocked his head. He was still wearing his jewelry, dress, and makeup from work and Haruhi realized for just a split second just how much like a woman he really looked when in costume. It was a bit ironic that he was so fiercely a father, given his appearance, she supposed. But then again, that kind of thing rarely occurred to her.
“Yeah. You both tend to freak out a lot over little things, you’re both high strung and energetic and you like to fuss over me. I guess maybe that’s why you don’t trust him, huh? Because you see something in him that you don’t like about yourself?”
“That’s not it,” Ranka put down his cup and wrung his hands. “When I was his age I was a bit… irresponsible. I’m just worried that he’s the same kind of boy I was.”
“He isn’t,” Haruhi assured her father, not even sure why she was bothering to stand up for her senpai when she doubted the high-strung redhead would ever drop his suspicions about him. “You don’t have to worry. Tamaki-senpai is… a good guy. Really good. He would never hurt anyone.”
“And you love him?” Ranka asked, and Haruhi choked on her milk.
“What? No, I don’t. At least, I don’t think so…” Haruhi stared into her cup as though her reflection would provide some answer. She felt her father’s hand fall gently onto her head and he ruffled her hair.
“I’m sure someday you’ll know the answer to that question for sure. And whatever the answer is, remember to listen to this,” he tapped his chest. “And not this,” he tapped his temple. “No one ever got anywhere by using their brain and not their heart. Now I’m going to go change,” he smiled fondly at her with a bit of undisguised pride. “My little girl is growing up.”
When he was gone, Haruhi continued to stare into her cup, a million questions swirling around in her head until she swore she was going to go mad. She began to feel dizzy and closed her eyes.
“If I’m growing up…” she groaned, resting her chin on her hand. “Then why don’t I have any of the answers?”