[Fic] Something About a Dress
“Aw, come on, Haruhi! Please?” Hikaru held out a dress violently pink in color and so covered in bows that Haruhi couldn’t tell what was what. The corners of her mouth twitched downwards.
“It’ll give you shape!” Kaoru insisted, motioning from her to the dress.
“No way,” she grumped, turning to leave. Kaoru watched her walk away.
“Maybe we ought to tone it down, Hikaru…” Kaoru suggested, brushing his hand over the satiny fabric. Hikaru nodded absently.
--
“What about now, Haruhi?” The twins presented her with a dress that was not-so-violently pink but still covered shoulder straps to bottom hem in bows. Haruhi barely looked at it once.
“No way,” was her immediate answer.
“Why not?!” Hikaru snapped, “We worked so hard on these two dresses!” Haruhi stared him down.
“Maybe because I don’t want it.” Her tone was flat and indicated that she would discuss this matter no more.
“But Haruhi… we’re only trying to make up for ruining things between you and Tono!” Kaoru admitted. Haruhi turned a dark crimson and her fists clenched and unclenched at her sides.
“Yeah, thanks for that, by the way,” she said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.
After she left the room, slamming the door behind her for the second time that week, Kaoru turned to his brother, his golden eyes imploring that they tone it down even more. Hikaru caught this look and frowned.
“What is there to tone down?” he groused, fixing the knot of one bow and the way another bow sat on the curve of the mannequin’s shoulder.
“I don’t know…” Kaoru started slowly, “Maybe less bows?” He shrugged halfheartedly.
“Less bows? But you and I both know that Tono wants to see Haruhi in bows.” That statement set the twins to thinking.
“Yeah, but Haruhi doesn’t like to be noticed,” Kaoru pointed out.
Suddenly, both pairs of eyes lit up at once.
--
“Haruhi!” Hikaru sang, draping an arm around Haruhi’s waist.
“We have a surprise for you!” Kaoru sang, curling an arm about her shoulders. They began to lead her away from the commons-where she’d been headed in the first place-and towards the Third Music Room.
“Not another one you guys; I’ve had enough,” Haruhi complained, digging in her heels. The twins continued to drag her onwards, ushering her around corners and up staircases. “You guys…” she protested, digging her heels in even more.
“Just go along with it, Haruhi,” Kaoru urged. Haruhi sighed and went limp, forcing the twins to nearly carry her up the last few stairs and down the corridor.
“This is the last one, understand?” she said.
“All right,” Kaoru agreed. “Hikaru! Open the door!” On his brother’s command, Hikaru flung open the large, pink double doors.
The room was empty.
“Okay, you two,” Haruhi snapped, “if this is just some lame prank, I’m leaving.” She turned to leave, but Kaoru snagged her around the shoulders again.
“It’s in the changing room, silly.” Kaoru pulled her deeper into the room, towards the curtained off room in question. Haruhi rolled her eyes.
He pushed her into the changing room and the butter-yellow curtain slid shut behind her.
In front of her on a posed mannequin was a dress that was much, much simpler than the last two had been.
The sounds of a scuffle outside met her ears, but she brushed it off.
She examined the dress, reluctantly intrigued. It was pale pink satin with cap sleeves and a white bow on one shoulder. The skirt hung past just where the knees on the mannequin would be. Another white bow gathered the excess fabric of the skirt and held it at the hip. The bow made a ruffle down the side of the skirt, and displayed a bit of the tulle that gave the skirt its body.
Pinned to the bow on the shoulder was a note that read “We didn’t mean to, Haruhi!”
She could tell they were serious by the quality of their work and, after a moment’s debate, turned to make sure there was no gap in the curtain. She pulled off her blazer and hooked it over a nearby coat hook, then unpinned the note from the dress.
She went around the mannequin and pulled gently at the zipper on the back of the dress. Once she got the dress off the mannequin, she hurriedly changed into the dress just in time for Kaoru to poke his head in.
He beamed brightly when he noticed she was wearing the dress. Haruhi noted his expression and tried to explain herself. “I figured it couldn’t hurt, you know, ‘cause you and Hikaru put so much work into it and all…” she trailed when Kaoru pulled a small box from beneath a nearby chair. He straightened, plucked a matching headband from the box, and slid it into her hair.
“You look gorgeous, Haruhi,” he told her, turning to pull a pair of spotless white velvet ballet flats from the box and presenting them to her. Her cheeks flushed when Kaoru knelt to slide the flats onto her feet. “It’s almost a shame to tell you that you’re the surprise,” he added slyly. Her eyebrows shot up her forehead.
“I’m what?” she asked indignantly. Kaoru answered her by turning her around and pushing the curtain to one side.
Tamaki was standing on the other side of the curtain, glaring at Hikaru, who was hugging his calf and sitting on his foot, preventing him from going anywhere.
“These dresses… we’d planned from the beginning (since you and Tono wouldn’t get anywhere near each other) that we’d make them for you to wear when you confront him, only this time we won’t ruin it,” Kaoru explained quietly. Haruhi flushed, then nodded in understanding.
“So you were trying to fix this?” she queried. Kaoru nodded.
He pulled the curtain aside properly then, and Tamaki looked up when the schling of metal rings on a metal pole met his ears. Hikaru hopped off of Tamaki’s foot and Tamaki stumbled forward a bit.
The twins linked arms and skipped for the door. “Have fun you two!” they sang. “’Cause we’re out!” They shut the door behind them.
Tamaki approached Haruhi; she could feel her heart pounding in her throat.
“You look…” he started, then paused. “You look very lovely and I’m sorry I didn’t want to talk to you I just didn’t want to embarrass the both of us again and Haruhi I love you.” His words came out in a rush and she wasn’t sure she heard him correctly, but her cheeks heated all the same. He was looking at the floor, and she was looking at him, and she realized with a jolt that she found it endearing that he was redder than she was sure her cheeks were.
He glanced at her from under his eyelashes, sheepish, and she let out a nervous laugh.
“Haruhi…?” Tamaki asked, toeing the floor. She nearly stuffed her fist in her mouth to keep from downright laughing at him.
“Senpai…” she had to pause to catch her breath. “I’m not sure that avoiding each other was the right thing to do; it only made things more awkward. It was really sweet though, you thinking like that… I admire it.” She paused again, looking to the large bay window and back. “I love you too.”
It was so quiet for a moment that Haruhi feared she’d said the wrong thing. She looked at the window again. She thought it was weird: she’d never feared saying the wrong thing before…
So lost was she in her train of thought that she did not notice Tamaki calling her name and nearly gave a great start when soft, warm fingers touched her cheek and gently turned her head so she was looking at him again.
He had such a fierce look of determination in his eyes that her knees nearly buckled against her will and she again found herself thinking how weird it was to feel that way.
All thought however, was wiped clean from her mind when his lips gently touched hers.
He pulled away quickly-too quickly it seemed, though the kiss was innocent as innocent gets-and she blinked up at him.
“I… I thought it was appropriate for this situation…” he clarified, sheepishly tousling the hair at the back of his neck. Haruhi smiled.
“It wasn’t unwelcome,” she admitted, then, softer, she said, “You could do it again if you want.”
And he did.