Protect Me ~Kyoya Ootori~ (OHSHC) WATTYS2017

Ch. 26 Mother's Soup

A/N~ HI SORRY IT'S BEEN SO LONG HIGH SCHOOL DRAM TRIED TO KILL ME. I ALSO STARTED A NEW STORY BECAUSE WHY NOT. YOU WILL BE VERY GLAD TO HEAR THAT THE NEXT FEW CHAPTERS OF PROTECT ME ARE GOING TO BE SUPER EXCITING, AND THERE MAY OR MAY NOT BE A NEW CHARACTER ON HER WAY. I LOVE ALL OF YOU SO SO MUCH AND I HOPE YOU ENJOY THIS FLUFFY FIILER CHAPTER AS MUCH AS I ENJOYED WRITING IT <3

Haruhi's P.O.V

"But Misuzu, I really think you've made a mistake- those shady twins, they're not refreshing in the least! Not to mention.... THEY'RE GOING TO HARASS MY PRECIOUS HARUHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII" I heard Tamaki's whines all the way from the kitchen where I was making dinner for Misuzu and me. I sigh and hope she can handle him on her own. "OH HARUHI DEARRR, WHERE ARE YOU?" Misuzu screams, and I groan. I turn the heat down on the stove and follow her calls to the lobby. Tamaki is sobbing at her feet, "Please! Give me that room! Or a closet! How much money do you want? I'll even-" "WOULD YOU GET OFF OF ME AND SHUT THE HELL UP? I HAVE NEVER MET ANYONE LESS REFRESHING THAN- oh, Haruhi dear! There you are! Why don't you take this poor sweet boy to the kitchen with you? I'm going to bed. BYE!" Misuzu goes from raging to sweet talking in a moment, and books it before I can answer her. Tamaki looks up at me with pouting eyes. "Come on." I say in my typical annoyed tone- well, typical when I'm talking to him. In the kitchen I return to the stove where I have mom's favorite soup cooking, while he sits and stares at me with his mouth hanging open. I fill my ladle with some soup and shove it in his mouth, "You're gonna catch flies." his face blooms red and he spazzes off his chair yelping, "THAS' HAT HAWUHE!!!!" he hops around more, and I end up on my knees, clutching my stomach from laughing so hard. When I compose myself enough I hand him some ice water, and he gulps it down quickly. He blinks at me slowly, "Haruhi.. That was good." I furrow my brow at him, "Tamaki, that was just iced water." "No! I mean, the hot stuff!" he pointed at the now boiling pot. I rush over to it, "Oh! Mom's soup!" quickly I turn the heat off and move the pot from the stove using oven mitts.

"Your... Mom's?" "Yeah, it's her recipe." I tell him as I take the mitts off. "Can I ask... What was she like?" Tamaki's question is sudden, and catches me off guard. It's different from his usual silly remarks, and his eyes are wide when he ask, as though he is surprised by it himself. It's been a long time.. Since I've spoken about her to someone other than myself. "Okay.. Um. She had brown hair like me, and she's- she was- smart. So smart. I'm guessing that's how she made it to become an attorney. But she was also really open minded. I mean she had to be, being with Dad and all." I laugh a little remembering the mornings before she left for work, telling me she'd do her best, and give it her all. I remember her rolling her eyes at father when he tried picking her outfits for her. I don't realize I'm crying until Tamaki reaches out slowly, and softly brushes a tear from my cheek. "Oh. Sorry, I- I didn't mean to ruin the mood." I chuckle sadly, and turn away. I quietly start to serve our soup, and I feel his hand on my shoulder. "She sounds so amazing Haruhi. And you didn't ruin the mood, I'm very glad you feel comfortable enough to tell me. I know it's hard.. To lose a mother." Tamaki smiles but for a moment a gloomy haze passes through his eyes. I smile too, "Yeah. You're going to love this soup then." I slide his bowl to him and he immediately slurps it up. We both eat fast, but stay in the kitchen lingering, until Tamaki asks if I'd go on a walk with him before the sun goes down. I nod, and after cleaning up our bowls we make our way outside and stroll along the dirt path that circled the entire Inn. Flowers litter the sides of the path and a warm breeze tickles my skin.

"I guess I'm a little glad you guys came here. It'd be really quiet without all your antics." I comment. "My antics?" Tamaki raises a brow and I flush realizing how that sounded. "The club, I mean. Like the twins too." "Oh. Yeah. Those two shady devils broke a freaking flower pot to steal Misuzu's attention.. So unfair." He grumbles, and I find it strangely, adorable. Maybe its the warm air or something, but I feel closer to him somehow. "Well, your piano playing was beautiful though. It always is. Hey, how did you find the music room anyways?" Now that I think about it, I've never heard how they managed to turn an abandoned music room into a freaking host club, of all things. Tamaki bellows a hearty laugh, "OH, that," he grins proudly, "I found it. Before I got the idea for the club, actually. Kyoya was furious with me one day- I forgot why- but it was bad enough he actually chased me around the school, and I stumbled into there." the picture of Kyoya busting through crowds barreling after Tamaki makes me snort, "I would've loved to have seen that." he joins my laughter and I notice the way his purple eyes seem to glow in the remaining light of the day. We've stopped walking, and are just standing, staring at each other, smiling. He chuckles again, "We should probably head back now. It's going to be dark by the time we get back." "Yeah, probably. Plus I have to wake up ear-AHH!" I trip over a seriously inconveniently placed rock, and Tamaki catches me by the hand at the last second. "Ahah, careful Haruhi! You could've sprained something." we start our walk back to the Inn, and it isn't until we are there I realize that I'm still holding Tamaki's hand. I pull away briskly and rub the back of my head, his face is red now though it's hard to tell through the dark, and I'm sure mine is too. "I'll uh- be back in the morning.. Obviously, I mean uh- see you tomorrow Haruhi!" "Okay... Do you want me to um, wait with you, for your ride?" I ask quietly. "Nono it's okay! You need your sleep, and it's only a few minutes! I'll be okay!" he flails his arms around rapidly and I laugh, "Okay, okay. Night then, Senpai." "G-goodnight, Haruhi.." he sputters. I reach the stairs, and turn back to look at him. "Hey Tamaki?" "Yea?"

"This was nice."