Essence d'Mori
I'm new to the community, so I thought I'd post a story and see what you guys think. Comments appreciated very much.
Title: Essence d'Mori
Type: Ficlet/one-shot
Pairing: Mori/Haruhi
Genre: Romance
Notes: Spoilers for the second episode. OOC Mori, but he's still hot xDD I've tried to change the OOC-ness, and I managed to tone it down a bit, but I'm not quite satisfied with it.
Summary: It smelt slightly earthy, mixed in with something else. She had smelt this scent before...somewhere, she couldn't remember where.
There was vanilla, too. There, under the scent of earth and cleanliness, was the subtle hint of vanilla.
Essence d'Mori
'Huh? What's this?'
A blazer and tie lay crumpled on the bed of cherry blossom petals. Haruhi picked up the two items of clothing. A strong scent was came from them.
She looked around to check that no one else was there. There wasn't anyone around. Cautiously, she sniffed the tie.
It smelt slightly earthy, but that was probably from the ground. No, it wasn't. She had smelt this scent before...somewhere, she couldn't remember where.
There was something else hidden under it. Vanilla. There, under the scent of earth and cleanliness, was the subtle hint of vanilla.
Although she liked strawberries, vanilla was her all time favourite. Classic, smooth and sweet.
The combination of vanilla, clean linen and earth was so familiar...but where was it from?
Her eyes glazed over slightly as she thought. It came with one of her first memories of the Host Club...
Suffocation...she wanted out, and she voiced that thought.
Firm hands grasped her. Soft and gentle, yet, still firm, and pulled her out of the suffocating grip lightly, as if she weighed nothing. Then, the scent hit her. A little earthy, mingled with the smell of clean linen and vanilla...
A rustle of leaves and a gentle thump came from behind her.
“Mori-senpai!”
“Haruhi...”
“Mori-senpai...I...I was just...” Why was she so flustered all of a sudden? Why did the sight of him, in his open white shirt that flapped slightly in the breeze, revealing his muscular chest, the way his hair got into his eyes, it made her heart beat so fast.
“Uhm...these are your...clothes... I just, uhm, found them here...” Her voice trailed off as he cupped her face. He planted a gentle kiss on her lips.
“Thank you.”
“You're...you're welcome.” She stuttered.
He picked up his things and started walking back to the school with her trailing behind him, not bothering to button up his shirt.
She hurried after him, walking two steps for every one of his long strides.
“Mori...Mori-senpai...” She caught up to him, and walked beside him, breathless from the effort to catch up. He slowed down a bit, to allow her to catch her breath.
“M-” She never saw the tree root right in front of her. She tripped, and closed her eyes in preparation for the impact that never came.
Instead, she landed on something squishy...soft with a few hard buttons digging into her back.
She lifted an eyelid cautiously but quickly closed it again. She was in a very awkward position. Awkward with a capital A and an exclamation mark.
Oh well, no point in beating around the bush. She opened both eyes and glanced down.
Mori's arms were around her, protecting her from the hard ground. In doing so, one hand was supporting her head, and the other was tight around her back, still clutching his blazer, although the tie had fluttered to the ground next to them.
The most awkward thing of all, was the position of his head. His head had landed right in the middle of her chest.
She felt a little flicker against it. Mori's eyes had opened. Now, he stiffened. He had realised the position they were in.
Gently, he let her head down on the grass and released his grip on her back. He pushed himself off, for fear of squashing her if her rolled off her.
He looked down at her, his face red and panting heavily, but looked away again when she met his eyes.
“Well, well, well, what so we have here?” Haruhi looked up, expecting the worst. She wasn't disappointed.
Kyouya was standing over them with a smirk on his face. Tamaki was next to him, gaping like a goldfish catching flies.
“Mori and Haruhi, together, who would've guessed?” He held out a hand to Tamaki. “Pay up. You owe me ten thousand, I believe.”
Tamaki, who seemed to have come back to his senses, pulled a cheque book out of his blazer pocket and scribbled a cheque.
'Rich bastards.' thought Haruhi, as Mori flicked himself off her.
“It's not what it looks like.” Mori's voice was cold as ice. “We're not together.”
“Yeah, it's just an accident. I...I tripped, and he caught me...” babbled Haruhi.
“See? Not together.” Tamaki stuck his tongue out at Kyouya.
“Of course not. Now pay up, Tamaki.”
“But they're not together!” he whined.
“Do you believe what they tell you, or do you believe what you see? Everyone lies.” Tamaki scowled.
“Fine.” He tore off a cheque and handed it to Kyouya.
They walked off, bickering.
Haruhi gaped at their retreating backs.
“They...they bet on us?”
“Not surprising really.” Mori dusted off his pants, picked up his clothes and offered her a hand.
She took it and allowed him to pull her up.
He pulled her close to him and kissed her gently.
She opened her eyes slowly, the dark brown lashes spreading out over her creamy skin and revealing deep pools of chocolate.
It gave her a buzz, a warm feeling that tingled through her, from her head to the very tips of her toes. It made her dizzy, the tingly sensation that was spreading through her, and the heat. She felt so dizzy, she just wanted to sleep...
“Takashi...?”
His thumb brushed away the hair that had fallen into her eyes. Her skin was quite red, and she was feeling unusually warm.
“Hmm?”
“I'm sleepy...”she yawned slightly. “I think the heat's getting to me...” She yawned again.
“Mmm, let's go inside.” He picked her up gently and carried her inside, with her nestled against his chest.
When they got inside, Haruhi sighed with relief.
“Much cooler...” she mumbled against Mori's chest.
He smiled gently, before setting her on a couch.
“Rest here.” He stood up.
“Takashi...stay here with me?”
He hesitated, then nodded, sitting down on the couch.
This explains why, when it was time for the next host club meeting, the others found Mori stretched out, sound asleep on the sofa, with Haruhi wrapped in his arms.