A Man with a Midas Touch

In the warm summer air of Karuizawa, birds chirped innocently in the lush green trees. The soft sunlight that bathed tourists and locals alike was soothing and the entire effect made for the perfect atmosphere for a relaxing afternoon of sipping tea in one of the various restaurants or taking in the nearby mountain scenery in the outdoor patios of the cafes that dotted the small vacation town. However, this air of calm serenity did not extend to one Pension Misuzu that stood nestled into the edge of town like a large and frilly bird.

“How many times do I have to tell you not to try cleaning up mud with a broom?” Haruhi Fujioka, a vein pulsing vividly in her temple, turned her eyes on the boy who stood with the offending broom in his hands. It was her third summer working at Pension Misuzu and Tamaki’s second, and he still didn’t seem to have the faintest idea how to clean like a sensible human being.

“But I didn’t know where the mop was so I--”

“You could have asked!” Haruhi snapped, grinding her teeth. “And I would have told you where it was!” even in the frilly yellow and white apron Misuzu designed for her, Haruhi still managed to look menacing, and Tamaki cowered. “Now I have even more work to do because you spread the mud all over the kitchen floor!”

“You’re scarier than Kyouya, Haruhi!” he whimpered. “I’m sorry, really, darling!”

“Stop whining, Tamaki-kun,” Mei seemed to come out of nowhere from the adjacent dining area, and she thrust the mop into his hands. “Just mop the floor and she’ll stop acting like a demon lord on you!”

“Demon lord?” slightly puzzled, Haruhi cocked her head slightly to the side. “I thought that was Kyouya.”

“You’re so cute, Haruhi!” Tamaki exclaimed, seeming to forget that she was irritated at him and flying across the room to her, dropping the mop and broom in the process. With a large grin he threw his arms around the hapless girl and nuzzled his cheek against hers. “I love you so much!” Haruhi began a fruitless struggle to escape as Mei looked on in amusement.

“Kyouya is the first demon lord, Hunny is the second, and you’re the third,” the blonde girl explained, pulling out her pocket mirror and poking at a would-be pimple on her chin, cursing softly under her breath. “The twins told me all about it.”

“I’m a demon lord, am I?” Haruhi sighed, still trying to free herself from Tamaki’s embrace. She gave up finally and simply stood there and stared blankly over Tamaki’s shoulder and he nuzzled and squeezed her, kissing her cheeks and hair.

“I have a lot a work to do right now, senpai,” Haruhi muttered as he buried his face in her hair. “Maybe we can do this later?”

“But I love you so much and you’re so cute and I want to hold you!” Tamaki whined, and Haruhi successfully pushed him off.

“Give it a rest,” she muttered tiredly, leaning down and picking up the broom. She shoved it into his hands. “You can be all lovey and gooey with me later if you want, but right now we have work to do. You shouldn’t have begged me to let you come and work with me this summer if you weren’t going to take it seriously.”

“I just wanted to spend time with my girlfriend! My mother and father and grandmother are touring Italy for the summer, but I wanted to be with you instead!” Tamaki melted slightly, looking sorry. “I thought maybe you and I could spend a lot of time together taking in the romantic sights of Karuizawa!”

“Well, you signed up to work, and that’s what you’re going to do,” Haruhi informed him, ruthless, handing him the mop bucket. “You’ll have free time later. Now clean up the mess you made, will you?”

“Yes, Haruhi,” Tamaki agreed, hanging his head.

From the sidelines, Misuzu watched the couple interact with some amusement, giggling a bit behind his hand. He turned to Mei, who was still squinting into her mirror at the budding blemish on her chin and grumbling.

“Have you ever seen two people more in love?” he asked dreamily. “I think it’s just wonderful. Aren’t they adorable? I could sew them a million matching outfits!”

“It’s creepy when you talk like that, Dad,” Mei said, looking up at him and letting out a puff of air. “You act like you’re watching some kind of soap opera.”

“Well, I can’t help it if they’re precious!” Misuzu said good naturedly, slinging an arm around his daughter’s shoulders. “It’s been inevitable from the beginning! I knew from the moment I saw them together that it was only a matter of time before they fell in love! It‘s wonderful to finally see them together!”

“They’ve been an item for months, Dad.”

“But I haven’t seen them,” Misuzu argued, clasping his hands together under his chin and sighing dreamily, making Mei roll her eyes affectionately. “Ah, I don’t believe there is anything in the world more wonderful than young love!”

“So you do think it’s wonderful!” Tamaki chimed in. “Oh, Misuzu-chii! Now you see why I came here! To pursue a summer of love! Surely this makes up for my shortcomings when it comes to my work!?”

“Shortcomings,” Mei snapped her mirror shut and fixed him with a rather critical look. “I don’t think you could really call them ‘shortcomings’. You have absolutely no idea what you’re doing! You’re like the opposite of King Midas; everything you touch turns to rubble!”

“But I have wonderful hands!” Tamaki wailed, leaping on Haruhi and clinging to her, much to her chagrin. “Don’t judge me, Mei!”

“I’m not judging, I’m assessing!” Mei brandished a feather duster at him.

“Haruhiiiiiiii,” Tamaki wailed, looking to his girlfriend for support. She tapped her chin.

“You have broken a lot of fences already this summer, senpai. It’s a lot of work fixing the damage you do when you’re trying to clean up,” she said thoughtfully, not maliciously. Tamaki screeched anyway.

“You’re out to get me, both of you!” he keened, letting go of Haruhi and holding the mop like a torch. “But with Misuzu-chii as my witness… I WILL MOP THIS FLOOR! And then I will repair the fence that I accidentally damaged last night! I’ll show you what a useful handyman I can be!” Tamaki declared passionately, dipping the mop in his bucket of soapy water. “Then you’ll see!”

Mei and Haruhi shared a mutual pained glance.

XXX

“How did he get so exhausting?” Haruhi moaned, closing the door of the room she shared with Mei behind her. “I didn’t think it was possible for work to actually be harder where there were three people doing it as opposed to two.”

“That’s just how Tamaki is,” Mei said philosophically, shrugging off her work shirt and apron and grabbing a delicate lavender top decorated with lace that she herself had finished sewing that morning. “There’s not much you can do about it.”

“I know,” Haruhi sighed, flopping down on her small bed. “I knew when I first decided to do this. It’s not a problem. I’m just venting, I guess. Sorry.”

“There’s no law against that,” Mei told her, dabbing some makeup on her cheeks. “Since it’s still warm out and it’s probably not going to rain today, I was going to take a walk around town. Remember that guy we met who was running the ice cream stand? Well… he heavily hinted that he’d be in that café over by Arai Grocery this evening, so I’m going to meet him. You coming?”

Haruhi shook her head. “You go. You don’t want me on your date, anyway. I‘d end up getting in the way and you know it.”

“Whether it’s a date or not remains to be seen,” Mei said enigmatically with a wink, slipping on her favorite sandals. “We’ll have to see how he behaves in a romantic setting. I’ve got to go… who knows when he’s going to get there. Sorry I can’t stay here and pry about your relationship right now.”

“I’m sure you’ll find to do that later,“ the brunette grumbled, making Mei laugh slightly. “Good luck,” Haruhi waved as her friend slipped out the door.

“And good luck to you with your exhausting beau,” Mei said with a wink, closing the door behind her. Haruhi was left alone in the small, airy room. The first thing she did was open the windows to let in the fresh summer air and she stood for a moment looking out at the peaceful scenery. She saw Mei making her way away from the pension, purse swinging against her hip. She saw Arai riding his bicycle down the road, probably on his way to make a delivery. She watched the bustle of the city below her for a moment, reflecting on how much she enjoyed being in Karuizawa. Even while she was working and despite how much stress Tamaki was putting her through, she found the atmosphere of the town relaxing. The stress of the day started to drain away, and with a long sigh she turned away from the window, untying her apron and haircloth and tossing them unceremoniously onto her bed.

There was a small, four-drawered dresser against the wall between the beds. The top two drawers were Haruhi’s, and she riffled absentmindedly through the clothes she had brought for something to change into, wiggling out of her sweaty work clothes as she did so. The air conditioned room felt wonderful against her weary body, but she could not help feeling slightly exposed. Mei had, against Haruhi’s will and knowledge, swapped her normal undergarments in her suitcase with various feminine ones she had designed herself.

“There’s nothing cute about granny panties and sports bras!” Mei had informed her (rather loudly) when confronted about it during their first day in Karuizawa. “You really think Tamaki-kun likes them?”

“He’s never even seen them!” Haruhi had yelled back. “And that kind of thing doesn’t matter!”

“You have a lot to learn about being sexy,” Mei had shaken her head in a gesture of defeat. “You’re just lucky you have me to correct your bad wardrobe choices.”

It was for this reason that Haruhi stood here now, digging through her drawers for something to wear, feeling naked in a rather sheer pink bra and underwear set that Mei had spent a week perfecting and smuggled without Haruhi’s knowledge into her suitcase back in the Fujioka household. The straps of the brassiere were comprised of ruffly pink lace printed with tiny cherries and the underwear were trimmed with the same lace along the waistband. The effect was rather overwhelmingly feminine and slightly itchy.

“Dammit, Mei, I’m going to kill you,” Haruhi growled under her breath, scratching the place where the lace met her left shoulder. “You and your weird underwear fetish…”

Sighing softly, Haruhi pulled a pair of cutoff shorts from the top drawer and started digging for a shirt. She was so preoccupied with this task that she failed to notice approaching footsteps. The only thing that alerted her to the fact that she was no longer alone was the bedroom door slamming open. Heart lurching at the sudden sound and wondering what it was that Mei had come back to retrieve, Haruhi whirled around and came face to face with Tamaki.

“Haaaaaaaruhiiiiiii, the evening is warm and there are going to be fireworks later so I thought that maybe…o--oh…” the last word slipped past his lips, soft and fractured. Almost immediately his face flushed brilliantly red like the cherries on her itchy bra straps. “I…”

“Senpai, what the hell!? You don’t come bursting into people’s bedrooms without knocking!” Haruhi shouted at him, somewhere between anger and embarrassment as she tried to cover herself up. The only thing she had on hand were the shorts, and they didn’t cover much area, so she stood mostly exposed before him, holding them over her chest. She supposed it didn’t even matter now, really. He had already seen her and he wasn’t going to unsee her. She couldn’t help covering a bit of her shame, though.

“I’m sorry!” Tamaki gasped, still more blood rushing to his face. For a moment he seemed to be covering his eyes, but she could see one indigo eye-- the same color as the petals of the irises on the room’s wallpaper border, she noted-- peering between his slender fingers at her. She was about to snap at him again, but there was something in the way he was looking at her that changed her mind. She had caught him giving her a perverted kind of stare more times than she could count in the long course of their friendship-turned-romance, but this was different; his expression was different. Hungry. She felt rather meek and naked under it. Slowly the boy lowered his hands and stared at her in earnest. She felt her cheeks heating up.

“What are you looking at?” she asked with far more bravado than she felt.

“A very beautiful woman,” was his answer, and it sounded like something he would say to a customer but she did not miss the colors of sincerity to the words this time. He had never looked at her like this before. It was an almost predatory stare but there was still a tenderness to it, as though he wanted to devour her alive but he wanted to rest her on a velvet cushion as he did so. She could feel his eyes roving over her body, bashful but unapologetic. Their eyes slowly locked, and Haruhi, even more slowly, let the pair of shorts lower down to hang at her side in her limp hand as she watched him cautiously, almost wanting to show him more but not sure if she had the courage or madness.

“Haruhi…” suddenly his hand touched the white wood of the door and it swung shut as he slowly made his way over to her. He moved at a snail’s pace, almost as though he was afraid, and Haruhi watched him come with both apprehension and curiosity. As he reached her, his nervousness and sense of shame seemed to dissolve into nothing. Gently, he took the shorts from her hand and dropped them to the floor. Standing close for a moment, Tamaki simply stared at her with a kind of reverence. Haruhi felt strange, and she clasped her hands together and pulled at her fingers and then dropped them stiffly back to her sides. The way Tamaki was looking at her made her stomach feel oddly twisted and impatient. He stared mutely for what seemed to Haruhi like a million years. And then finally, he kissed her.

“Hrrrrk…” was Haruhi’s response, because she had been preparing to speak when he crushed his lips to hers. He had never kissed her this way before. Always before, even when they kissed with open mouths breathlessly mashed together and tongues tentativly brushing each other, he had showed some measure of control. That was gone now, and he had the same sense of desperation about him as a wild animal as he kissed her passionately, pulling her body against his and wrapping one arm around her waist, the other coming up behind her so he could cradle the back of her head tenderly in one strong but gentle hand.

“Haruhi…” he whispered again, and this time his voice was heavy, laden with something she vaguely registered as blind lust. She kissed him back, and for a moment she felt helpless but deliriously pleased. His tongue probed her mouth with the fierceness and determination of a man exploring the moon and she responded with equal intensity, her knees starting to shake. She had no experience with kissing with this kind of ferocity, this kind of feral madness and heat, but it was much easier than she would have imagined. Tamaki was breathless and the arm around her waist tightened as he kissed her deeper still. She could feel her body reacting; her heart fluttering, her hands shaking, and heat slowly gathering in a place she didn’t even want to think about.

‘Maybe Mei was right about the underwear…‘ she mused. There was some part of her that said that this was all grossly overdue and it was this part that made her press closer to him. At the feeling of a hard lump pressing at her in the front of his pants, Haruhi froze momentarily and Tamaki balked, jumping backward.

“S--sorry!” he gasped, his face coloring all over again. He was panting hard; his shoulders were rising and falling heavily. “I didn’t… I wasn’t…” he didn’t seem sure of what to say. Haruhi regarded him curiously for a moment, and then with all the tenderness and tact she could muster, she picked up his hand and placed it on her chest, where her own heart beat harder than she even wanted to admit.

“It’s okay,” she assured him. “See, it’s doing the same thing to me.”

“Really?” Tamaki was soft and unsure, and when she nodded, he smiled a little nervously. It was strange to see him this way when she was used to him being so confident and noisy. It made her feel insecure herself seeing him so awkward, and she wanted desperately to give him his confidence back for this purely selfish reason.

“Really.” Haruhi stepped forward a little boldly, looking him straight in the eye. “We’re in love, so it’s okay for us to do things like this, right?”

“Right,” Tamaki agreed, the color in his face going down a bit.

“There’s nothing wrong with it.”

“Of course,” Tamaki was smiling now. He was the kind of person who needed constant justification to function without panic, and Haruhi didn’t mind giving it to him. If she had to talk him down from a breakdown every day for the rest of her life if it meant being with him, she would do it, no questions asked. It was the unspoken nature of their relationship; she tolerated and talked common sense and he brought the passion and romance that got them through the hard times. They complemented each other perfectly, she mused, as Tamaki moved back to her and cupped her face in his hands. She would never have imagined that two people who were so wholly different could be such a perfect match before she had admitted her feelings for Tamaki.

“You always know just what to say to me,” Tamaki whispered against her mouth, kissing lightly as though testing the waters. “I love you, Haruhi.”

“I love you,” her voice was small; she still found it odd expressing the emotion out loud. Actions spoke louder than words for Tamaki, anyway, and when he kissed her in earnest, she returned it with fervor and laced her fingers through his soft brownish hair. Somehow in this small room in Karuizawa, all of the apprehension she had felt about getting this close to him back in Bunkyo seemed to melt away. She shivered slightly as Tamaki kissed her deeply, letting her taste him, and dragged his hands slowly up her sides.

“Haruhi,” he whispered, kissing her deeper. “I’m sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused this past week. Please, let me make it up to you…” his voice was a low, rumbling purr. “Forget what Mei said; let me be your Midas,” his hands moved to her hips and his lips to her neck, lavishing her with wet kisses that made her squirm and made her mind threaten to shut down. “Let me turn your body to gold.”

“Hnnng…” Haruhi made a small, distracted noise and hummed low in her throat as he continued to ravage her neck like he might devour her. “I… don’t know what you mean.”

“Oh, I think you know exactly what I mean. Don’t play coy with me, Haruhi,” he nipped at her ear. His words rang true and for a moment she resented him for it. “You know what I’m getting at and I’m only asking for one thing: your permission.”

Haruhi’s throat was dry, and she swallowed. “Okay,” she said faintly, heart still thundering in her chest. She stopped for a moment to wonder if this was all wise, if she really should be getting in so deep. Her rationality was cut into pieces as Tamaki’s hands slid over her, slow and methodical like ripples. He touched her sides and hips at first, then her thighs, and then he slowly grew bolder and caressed her breasts through that god forsaken bra, making her breath catch in a way that was not unpleasant. When she moaned very softly, he touched her more insistently. She swore she felt her body turn to gold like in the fairy tale he had referenced beneath his touch, gleaming in the light of the setting sun that peeked through the gaudy lace curtains. “Tamaki-senpai…” she whispered, her face flushing slightly as he backed her up against the dresser and kissed her with all the power and passion she had ever seen him display and more, exploring her mouth frantically.

“Just ‘Tamaki’,” he whispered, his voice low and sinuous. “At least for tonight, I’m not your senpai. I‘m your lover.”

“Tamaki…” she tried it on for size, and inexplicably, he moaned softly. She was used to seeing him act sensuous in a more refined way with the customers, but this raw, lusty side to him was new. The way he sucked languorously at her neck, nipping at the skin there, the way his hands moved slowly but intensely over her body; all of it was nearly enough to make her forget herself. He pressed wet kisses across her collarbone to her shoulder and then his mouth dipped lower, down her chest to where the bra hid her skin from view. She felt his hand on the clasp and looked down to find wide eyes staring up at her through his pale golden brown hair, glowing nearly blonde in the sunlight. His eyes were wide and questioning, looking for permission as his hands moved to cup her breasts, massaging them through the gossamer pink material. His fingertips caressed the small pink buds of her nipples that were just visible through the fabric and she made a small, helpless noise and reached back to help him with the clasp.

“Oh, Haruhi…” he said her name in a raspy voice as the bra came loose and he pulled it from her body like a petal from a flower. It joined the discarded shorts on the floor. “Haruhi…” she barely had time to feel insecure or inadequate before his hands were on her breasts again. It felt much better without the cloth separating his hands from her skin, and she closed her eyes, relishing the sensation as his fingers caressed shyly at first and then gained boldness, stroking her nipples, massaging, teasing. Haruhi’s breath was coming in heavy puffs now and all thought of stopping this before it got too far was long gone.

“Do… do you want me to touch you, too?” she asked softly, uncharacteristically meek, and his face flushed. Moving to her mouth and pressing heated kisses there, he smiled.

“Only if you want to,” he whispered, and Haruhi carefully seized the bottom hem of his t-shirt and pulled it up over his head, lamenting the momentary loss of contact between his hands and her breasts. The instant the shirt was on the floor, he seemed to be making up for lost time as his hands went back to work with more fervor this time. “I’m perfectly content just making you feel good, Haruhi. I… I want you to sit back and enjoy it.”

“I want you to feel good, too,” Haruhi said boldly, making him flush. He pressed a long kiss to her mouth and then leaned down, sliding his tongue without warning across her nipple. She gasped in surprise, and Tamaki chuckled slightly.

“This is already making me feel better than you could possibly imagine…” he kissed a trail around her right nipple and then repeated the course with his tongue, hands roaming up and down her sides from her ribcage to her thighs. Slowly, almost tentatively, he placed his mouth around her nipple and began to suck, one hand moving to her other breast and massaging it gently. Haruhi moaned softly, forgetting momentarily about dignity, and blushed heavily, looking down so she could watch him. Mouth and hand still keeping up their ministrations, Tamaki’s eyes slowly turned up to face her in turn, and their gazes locked. There was something ridiculously intimate about watching him pleasure her, and Haruhi found herself trembling.

“Let me know if you want me to stop, or if it gets farther than you want to go. Just say ‘stop‘, okay?” Tamaki said softly and then returned his mouth to its previous activities. His free hand was roaming over the contours of her body, inching over the small of her back, over her buttocks, over her hips and thighs and finally inner thighs.

“O--okay,” Haruhi agreed breathlessly, eyes never leaving his. When his hand ghosted up between her legs and slid across the crotch of her underwear, she jumped slightly against the dresser. The hand stopped, and then touched her there again, pressing this time. Unconsciously, a garbled moan rose up in her throat.

“Does that feel good?” Tamaki asked, sounding somewhat nervous, his eyes still locked onto hers. She nodded quickly and he did it again, more insistently this time, mouth still working diligently. His hand rubbing her made her want to burst, and she settled for whimpering in a rather undignified way. “Remember, you can tell me to stop whenever you want to.”

“I don’t want to,” Haruhi assured him rather forcefully, forgetting completely about her uncertainty, and Tamaki went redder than she had even thought possible before his air of surprisingly calm sensuality returned. His fingers pressed harder, exploring her through the sheer fabric, and Haruhi began to squirm. “Wh--why haven’t we done anything like this before?” she asked, recalling memories of frantic but still somehow innocent kisses.

“Because I didn’t… want to push you into anything,” Tamaki breathed, straightening up and kissing her. “I wanted you to feel safe with me.”

“I do…” she muttered, and Tamaki smiled in a way that was both sincere and radiant. Haruhi knew he loved to entertain and flatter women, but there had always been something different about the way he carried himself around her, something that had often stopped her in her tracks in the past. Despite all his pervertedness when it came to her, the feeling he conveyed toward her was and had always been a kind of innocent, confused love, and even now it was reflected in his soft eyes.

“I feel safe with you, too,” he whispered, and without another word he pulled his hand away, dropping to his knees and slowly dragging his tongue across the place his hand had just occupied. Haruhi’s eyes widened as he did it again and then closed his mouth over her, sucking lightly through the fabric.

“Hrk!” she squeaked, feeling her face heat up. Tamaki kept it up, sucking a bit harder and swirling his tongue over her. Helpless to do anything but fall down into the deliciousness of it all, Haruhi groaned and squeezed her eyes shut. When Tamaki pushed the panties out of the way and licked experimentally at all he had exposed, her eyes snapped open again and she stared down at him, wide eyed at his boldness.

“You taste nice, Haruhi,” he purred rather suggestively.

“Ah…” was all Haruhi could say as he took hold of the waistband of the panties and gently slid them down her legs. She stepped out of them helpfully, her body trembling. Tamaki licked her again, and this time he applied more pressure. Haruhi squirmed against him, not entirely sure what it was that made her abandon dignity and press against his face, hornier than a lonely housewife. And then he was sucking and her body was bucking out of control and she could not breathe. Haruhi leaned heavily on the dresser because her legs were going to give out, and her head swam. Gently, Tamaki parted her thighs a little and sucked harder, making Haruhi gasp and stare wide-eyed out the window at nothing.

“I love doing this,” Tamaki whispered hoarsely, his lips still touching her, and Haruhi blushed heavily and was almost sure he did the same.

“I… love it when you do it,” she surprised herself by speaking so daringly. It seemed to affect Tamaki profoundly as well. His mouth broke away from her sex and he stood up, lifting her and turning to deposit her onto one of the beds-- Mei’s, Haruhi noted with some distress-- and climb on top of her. Frantic kisses passed between them and Haruhi found it odd and unspeakably erotic that she could taste herself on his tongue. With shaking hands she unbuttoned his pants and slid the zipper down. He helped her, his hands joining hers to slide the denim down his legs and toss them onto the floor. Simple black silk boxer shorts joined them shortly, sliding effortlessly down his pale legs and falling unceremoniously to rest with the pile of discarded clothing. They were naked now, and for a moment all they could do was stare at each other. Haruhi found it vaguely reminiscent of the awkward times before they had divulged their feelings.

“Well…” she muttered softly, eyes dragging slowly down his body. She felt hazily guilty for ogling him like a piece of meat. His skin was so smooth and so pale, and it looked so soft that she could not resist sitting up and putting out her hands to touch him. It was soft, she marveled, her hands trailing awkwardly down his chest. Tamaki sighed dreamily and tilted his head back, letting her touch him all she wanted. In due course she touched him everywhere, his hips and his lips, his thighs, his back and strong shoulders, right down to his delicate and uncalloused fingertips. He was touching her too, hands sliding over bits that made her moan. Discovering him was foreign and exhilarating, and finding that she wanted him to make the sounds she did, her hands slid between his legs and touched him clumsily. They were the hands of an inexperienced virgin, but he didn’t seem to mind.

“Haruhi…” he gasped, his eyes glazing over slightly, his hand moving to press between her legs as well. Haruhi moaned and gripped him experimentally, moving her hand down his shaft and finding that the friction made it difficult. Putting two and two together, she spit into the palm of her hand and returned it to grip him again. She vaguely registered Tamaki gasping something that sounded like “so dirty, Haruhi” in French and she began to stroke him, feeling herself instilled with confidence at the way he moaned inexorably and began to slide his hand along her cleft, making her heart race. They built up a cautious rhythm, the virginal incompetence that plagued them giving way to the hot turmoil of passion play. They sat up on their haunches as they touched each other, eyes never looking away from their locked stare. Tamaki slipped two fingers on his free hand into Haruhi’s mouth and then moved his hand behind the one that already touched her, wiggling one wet finger inside of her and then, after several gasping, shuddering minutes, the other.

“It feels so good,” he whimpered, his candor startling and refreshing and just so very purely Tamaki. “Feeling you touch me, and touching you. You’re so wet and so smooth and it’s amazing.”

“Uh…” Haruhi was unsure exactly how to respond to him talking that way, so she kissed him instead of trying to figure him out. She kissed him fiercely, pushing out all her tension and passion in one kiss that he returned with a fever, investigating her mouth methodically as his hands continued to move frantically below. Haruhi wet her other small hand and reached it down to join the busy one so she could fully account for all of his length. There was a strangely surreal quality to all of this; their attitude before had always been wholly innocent and slightly awkward. All of those old mannerisms fell away to make room for the sudden and overwhelming passion that threatened to devour them both. They were both breathing heavily, and Tamaki’s face was flushed, his skin hot as he pressed his forehead against hers.

“Ha--Haruhi?”

“Hmm?”

“Can we…?”

“Can we what?” Haruhi blinked at him, disoriented and impossibly aroused and breathless beyond the point of rationality.

“Make love?” he asked cautiously, and Haruhi’s stomach flipped upside down, her eyes widening. Their hands were still now and they simply stared at each other, apprehension and need and a million things Haruhi feared she was not mature enough to grasp passing between them as clearly as if they were words.

“Yeah…” she whispered, soft and awkward but so, so sure. Tamaki’s eyes widened and sparkled, and with a bit of uncertainty mixed in with the cautious joy he showed, he lay her gently down on the bed.

“You’re sure?” he asked as he bent down to kiss her mouth and then cheeks, tender kisses that conveyed love clearer than words ever could. Haruhi stared up at his earnest cobalt eyes for a moment. From the first day they had met, despite how irritating she had found him for such a long time, she had trusted this boy even against her better judgment. And now, for better or for worse, they were together. She had a slight inkling that, if not permanently, they were going to be together for a long time. Even if circumstances ever did force them apart, Haruhi could tell even now that this moment would be something she could look back on with fondness. Whether or not to get intimate with him was a surprisingly less difficult choice than she would have anticipated. She had thought about it now and then and had never been able to decide if they would ever actually be able to go through with it, but she found it was much different when they were already in the situation.

“I’m sure,” she promised him, and Tamaki smiled. Delicately, he leaned down and kissed her forehead and then crawled off of her, reaching for his jeans that still lay on the floor. From the wallet in his back pocket, he pulled out a small foil square and blushed.

“My father made me promise to take this when he found out you and I were dating,” he explained sheepishly.

“Good to be prepared,” Haruhi replied conversationally as though they were discussing the next Host Club event or the weather and not the fact they were about to sleep together for the first time.

“Yep,” Tamaki chuckled nervously. The two paused, looked at each other, and then shared peals of very nervous laughter. There was a silence as Tamaki opened the condom wrapper and he struggled to roll it onto place. Finally Haruhi had to help him and, with some great effort, they managed to get it right. Their hands were both shaking and useless, but as a team it was much easier. For a moment after they were prepared, they simply stared at each other, and then Tamaki kissed her reverently, guiding her back onto the pillows and blankets.

“I’m glad we’re going to do this,” he whispered, kissing her again and positioning himself on top of her. Haruhi spread her legs a bit more so he could lean down farther and rest their foreheads together. Unconsciously her arms slid around his shoulders, and he smiled and kissed her cheek.

“Well… me too,” Haruhi admitted with a slight smile. “This is nice.”

“You think so?” Tamaki brightened, smiling. When she nodded, he leaned down to kiss her passionately. All at once her heart beat feverishly again. “Ever since the first time we met, some part of me loved you, even though I didn’t realize it then. And that same part of me wanted to… do this from then on, too,” he admitted, and Haruhi was surprised. “I’ve always wanted… I…” he kissed her deeply and she kissed him back, taking a moment to throw her self-control out the window. Now and then, indulgences could be made, she decided. “I love you so much, Haruhi. So, so much…”

“And… I love you,” she whispered, and Tamaki kissed her even harder, making her shake. If they were still standing, her legs would have collapsed beneath her.

“Are you ready?” his voice was soft, reassuring. Haruhi nodded and kissed him deep and deeper still to prove that she was. For a moment there was nothing but the soft sound of their frenzied breathing, and then slowly Tamaki, still kissing her, moved his hips forward against hers and slid gradually inside of her. He seemed to know there would be discomfort for her, and he kissed her with all the passion in his body, for which she was grateful. Haruhi lay as the sensations changed like seasons, pain-tightness-pleasure, and kissed him back as avidly as she ever had. When she stopped clenching Tamaki began to move and Haruhi cried out, not from pain but from stimulation in nerves and pressure points she had never even known existed inside of her.

It was a roller coaster ride of pleasure and sensation, and Haruhi was too starry eyed to even think. She had not expected it to affect her this much, but it did. It occurred to her now that Tamaki was watching her, his turbulent eyes fixed on hers, swirling with lust and love and frenzied, pleasured panic. They watched each other as they made love, forging and keeping a connection between their eyes as well as their bodies. Tamaki’s soft moans and gasps spurred her forward, charging on waves of emotion and stimulation. He was flushed and sweaty as she was sure she was, and he looked undeniably beautiful with his lips, rosy and swollen from their frenzied kisses, slightly parted and letting out tiny gasps. His hair clung to his forehead with the sweat that beaded there, and Haruhi writhed beneath him against the crisp white linen of the bedsheets and simply let herself go mad. She had never been a very sensual person, but Tamaki seemed to have changed that in an instant.

“This is… Haruhi… oh my god… it… hnng… it’s good, isn’t it?”

“It.. is…” she agreed breathlessly, wrapping her legs around his waist. Tamaki was cursing softly in French now, his hands pressed flat against the sheets on either side of her head. Haruhi had never felt quite this good before in her life, and with endorphins and adrenaline rushing through her veins at a mile a minute, she clung to Tamaki and let herself go completely. He was thrusting hard and mad, his breath coming in the same frenzied pants as hers, and when he snuck a hand between their heaving, sweaty bodies and began to stroke between her legs, Haruhi was done for. The orgasm hit her hard and she let out a soft moan, grinding against him hard and riding on the high it gave her. Tamaki flushed a bright scarlet as he watched her come and then followed suit almost immediately, bucking against her and freezing as he let out a stream of words she was sure he had just made up. When they collapsed together in a sweaty heap, Tamaki twined his fingers through her hair and simply held her, pressing gentle kisses to her damp forehead.

“That was amazing and you are amazing and I love you,” he informed her all in a rush. “Let’s go and get married, right now. Right this minute.”

Haruhi shook her head. “I love you too. But no marriage. We’re both still in high school.”

“I was just excited,” Tamaki said sheepishly, drawing himself out of her. “But when I propose for real, you’ll know it’s for real. I promise.”

“Somehow I don’t doubt that,” Haruhi said, wondering what ridiculous and extravagant Tamaki-style move he would use to ask her in earnest.

“Good, good!” Tamaki was suddenly a ball of energy, kissing all over her hair and face and pulling her on top of him to lay on his chest.

“You’re still wearing the condom, you know,” Haruhi said, and Tamaki giggled like mad, nervous and awkward and embarrassed.

“I know. I just don’t care! All I care about is you! The rest of reality doesn’t even matter!” he declared passionately, and Haruhi simply blinked at him. “I mean it, you know. I would give up anything in the world to be with you, Haruhi.”

She was used to him saying over-the-top things, but she was actually deeply touched by his words this time. She pressed her face into the little hollow under his chin and just lay there, unconscious to everything else for a moment. When she spoke, it was after much careful deliberation.

“I’d do the same for you,” she told him with resolution. Tamaki lifted her head up with a finger under her chin and looked into her eyes, and she saw that his were wet. He looked like he might break.

“Oh, Haruhi,” he whispered. The perfect moment was broken by a strangled sound of surprise, and both pairs of eyes lifted to the doorway, where Mei stood like a deer frozen in headlights. For a moment all three of them simply stared in shock and horror, and then Mei turned and slid out of the room with a quick “sorry” and shoved the door closed behind her. Tamaki and Haruhi lay still and quiet, and neither seemed to be able to come up with something to say in the situation.

“I… well… that was awkward,” Haruhi said finally, and Tamaki wailed.

“Awkward?” he asked. “Awkward doesn’t even begin to cover it! Mei witnessed us in one of our most dear and intimate moments… naked! I could just die of embarrassment, Haruhi!”

“It could be worse,” Haruhi reasoned. “She could have come in earlier and actually seen us… you know.” the words “having sex” didn’t seem to want to come out and for a moment Haruhi felt like a preteen in Health class.

“You’re right…” Tamaki declared, calming down some. “I don’t even want to think of the shame I would have felt if she had actually witnessed us in the act!” he ranted and raved on as Haruhi awkwardly wiggled the condom off of him, tied the top in a knot, and tossed it into the white wicker garbage basket beside the dresser. She got up and started to dress as Tamaki sat on the bed, babbling about the dire state of things. She knew there would be consequences; Mei would have it out at her later and bombard her with questions, force her to switch beds with her, and probably not be able to be around Haruhi and Tamaki together without being awkward for quite some time. It was quite a lot of disaster that had been created by that one simple act.

As Haruhi chose a less itchy bra from her drawer, dreading the next time Mei cornered her, Tamaki slid up behind her. As he whispered “Je t’aime,” softly in her ear and kissed the back of her neck, she smiled, forgetting about everything.

It was at that moment that she knew it was all worth it.