Chapter 37 | Kiss, Kiss, Fall in Love!

~Kaoru's POV~

"Today's the day! Today's the day Kaobella will happen. We've gone over the plan, and we've gone over the possible outcomes. You're gonna go on that date, calm, cool, and handsome, and you're going to win her heart! Clear?" Hikaru told me the next day.

It was 6:30 at night and I was getting ready to go pick up Arabella for our date.

And, I was already sweating bullets.

I honestly couldn't be more nervous right now.

I nodded at Hikaru. "Y-Yes. Clear." I finally replied.

Hikaru nodded back. "Good! You better get going now. You look good, you feel good, and this whole thing will go good!" he said. "Before you know it, you'll be able to call Arabella your girlfriend, and Kaobella will officially be a thing!"

"I wouldn't go that far, Hikaru--that's only if this whole thing goes well and it depends on her answer." I said.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever! Now, go already!!!" Hikaru said as he ushered me out the doors and into our driveway where the limo was waiting.

"Bye, Hikaru! I promise I'll tell you how it went! You'll be the first to know!" I said as the driver opened the limo door for me.

"Good! Now, get going!" Hikaru said.

I got in the limo and the driver closed the door.

Then, he got in as well. "Where to, sir?" he asked.

"The Hashimoto residence." I said.

"Right away, sir." the driver said before we drove away.

~Arabella's POV~

I waited nervously at the front door.

Kaoru is supposed to be here soon to pick me up for our date.

Daniel waited next to me, also impatient. "When is he gonna get here? I can't believe you're actually going out with him!" he said.

"Daniel, I thought you wanted me to." I said.

"I kinda do, and I kinda don't! I mean... I'm just... worried... Don't let him hurt you, Arabella. Okay?" Daniel said.

I nodded and smiled. "Okay," I said. Then, I looked down at my outfit. "Do you think this is good? I picked this because I don't know where he's taking me--so I choose something kinda fancy, but not too fancy... Ya' know...?"

Daniel rolled his eyes. "For the thousandth time, you look FINE. He'll like it, trust me."

I smiled again. "Really?"

"Yes, really! I'm positive!" Daniel said, annoyed that I've been asking him the exact same question over and over again.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang.

I stiffened.

"Well, here's your prince charming, Arabella." Daniel said before he opened the door.

Kaoru stood in the doorway holding a bouquet of sunflowers.

I immediately smiled. "Kaoru! You look really awesome...!" I said.

Kaoru smiled back. "Thanks. And you look... Wow... Just... beautiful..." he said.

I blushed.

Then, he handed me the bouquet. "This is for you..." he said.

I took it. "Kaoru...! That's so sweet...! And... sunflowers...? I love sunflowers! They're my favorite... because they were my dad's favorite too..." I said.

Kaoru gave me an awkward smile. "I know..." he said.

I looked at him. "Really? How? I never told you... How'd you know that?"

Kaoru glanced at Daniel who just whistled awkwardly.

I rolled my eyes at Daniel. "Wow, Daniel... What a shock..." I said.

Daniel smiled. "He called me and asked me for information about you. I gladly told all I knew."

"How did he even get your number?" I asked.

"He told me he got it from... Kyoya, is it...? Yeah! Kyoya, one of your friends!" Daniel said.

Kyoya...

"And how did Kyoya get your number?" I asked.

"Kaoru told me that Kyoya told him he has connections..." Daniel said.

Of course he does...

"Why does that surprise me? He's Kyoya, after all..." I said.

Kaoru nodded and laughed. "Right, right...! He is. He has his ways..." he said. Then he looked at me a few seconds. I looked back. I looked into his eyes... his amazing, beautiful golden eyes that just--

"Ahem. Are you two gonna just stand there and make goo-goo eyes at each other the entire night, or are you gonna go on your date and do it there instead of making me suffer...?" Daniel suddenly said.

I immediately snapped out of the daze I was in. "Huh? O-Oh...! Right...!" I said.

Kaoru immediately nodded. "O-Of course! We better get going...!" he said before I joined him outside. "Bye, Daniel."

Daniel waved at him. "Bye, Kaoru. Don't do too much making out, okay?"

I honestly can't count how many times I've wanted to slap this kid...

I gave him a fake smile. "And you don't lose too much of your low IQ when I'm gone, you've already lost enough, okay?"

Daniel glared at me.

I glared back.

Then, I turned to Kaoru and smiled sweetly. "Shall we go?"

Kaoru smiled. "We shall."

He and I then walked down the sidewalk after we closed the door. We then got into his limo.

Soon, Kaoru told the driver to drive.

"So, now can you tell me where we're going?" I said.

Kaoru smiled again. "Indeed I can. We're going to the mall." he said.

The mall?

"Okay," I said. "What are we gonna do at the mall?"

"You'll see." Kaoru said with a smirk.

About fifteen minutes of talking later, we arrived at the mall.

Kaoru and I got out of the limo and entered the mall.

"Okay! What are we gonna do first?" I said.

"Well, it has something to do with that." Kaoru said before he pointed up at something.

The mall arcade.

I immediately smiled. "The arcade??? I love going to the arcade! Daniel and I go every weekend!" I said. Then I gave Kaoru a look. "Daniel told you that, didn't he?"

"In fact, he did. I bet that doesn't surprise you." Kaoru said.

I shook my head. "Not at all." I said.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Kaoru said before he pulled me inside.

We played games for hours it seemed.

Kaoru easily was able to get unlimited tokens, and I shouldn't have to explain how--that much is obvious.

What really got me, however, is how Kaoru was better at Dance Dance Revolution than me.

"How are you better at this than I am??? I'm the Queen of Dance Dance Revolution, I kick Daniel's butt every time we play...!" I said to Kaoru as we danced.

"Well, then I guess Daniel must suck at Dance Dance Revolution...! Besides, you may be the Queen of Dance Dance Revolution, but I'm the King." Kaoru said.

I gasped. "How dare you? Oh, that's it, you're going down, Hitachiin..." I said.

Kaoru gave me a challenging smirk. "Oh yeah? Bring it."

I glared at him. "Okay! Consider it brought." I said.

By the end of the song, Kaoru and I's scores were pretty close to each other.

It was gonna be close.

Eventually, a small crowd had gathered around us, lining up their tokens at the bottom of the screen for their turn. In fact, I think I even heard some of them placing bets.

Soon, the song finished up and we stopped dancing.

I looked at the scores.

I saw a little crown floating above Kaoru's score.

He had beat me.

But by only ten points.

"See? I told you I'm the King." Kaoru smirked.

"Shut up," I said before I smacked him. "I nearly kicked your butt!"

"Yeah, nearly. But, you didn't," Kaoru said. "I totally beat you."

"By, like, ten points!" I pointed out.

Kaoru chuckled. "Okay, okay! Truce! I call truce! How about I buy you a snack to make up for totally dominating you?" he said.

I rolled my eyes at him. "Uh huh, sure. You totally dominated me...!" I said sarcastically. "And, yes, a snack would be very nice. Truce."

Kaoru nodded. "Truce."

We bumped our fists together.

Then, we exited the arcade and entered the food court.

Soon, we found an ice cream place.

"Oooh! Let's get come ice cream!" I said.

Kaoru smiled. "Totally."

We approached the ice cream place.

A guy came to the counter. He had blonde hair, a mustache, and he had sunglasses on.

In fact, he seemed kind of... familiar to me...

"Why, hello you two! What will it be today?" the blonde guy chirped.

I looked at the menu above. There were all sorts of different ice creams...

"Hm... I'll have the Oreo Blast Ice Cream, please." Kaoru said.

Hm, that sounds delicious...

"Here ya' go!" the blonde guy said before he handed Kaoru an ice cream.

"Hey, Kaoru, I've got an idea--how about we share it? That way we have more money for the arcade if we decide to go back." I suggested.

Kaoru nodded. "Great idea!" he said.

"A-Actually, here's one for free! For the pretty lady here!" the blonde guy said before he suddenly grabbed an ice cream out of nowhere and gave it to me. I smiled and took it.

"Thanks!" I said. Then I began licking my ice cream.

Mm... It is delicious...!

The blonde guy smiled. "You're welcome, my li--er, I mean, ma'am...!" he said.

I looked at him. "You seem... familiar... Have we met?" I said.

The blonde guy immediately shook his head rapidly. "N-No! Of course not...! I'm just your normal, friendly, everyday ice cream man...! I can guarantee we've never met before now...!"

Kaoru suddenly squinted at the blonde guy. "Hey, Arabella, you know what's strange? When Hikaru was on his date with Haruhi, he told me he also got ice cream from a weirdly familiar blonde guy...," he said. "Hikaru also said that the weirdly familiar blonde guy reminded him a lot of a certain someone... Namely, Tono!" Kaoru then suddenly grabbed the blonde guy by the shirt and ripped off his mustache...

Or, his fake mustache.

He also took off his sunglasses.

I was met by a face I knew all too well.

Tamaki.

Kaoru glared at him. "Really, boss? Did you really think I'd fall for that?"

Tamaki nervously twiddled his thumbs. "Well... maybe...?" he muttered. "B-But don't blame me...! It was your shady twin brother that brought us here!"

Us...?

Suddenly, the Host Club stood up from behind the counter, including Hikaru.

Hikaru smiled nervously and waved at us. "H-Hey, Kaoru...! Hey, Arabella...! What's up...?"

I looked around. "Where's Haruhi hiding?" I demanded.

"She's not here. We tried to get her to come, but she locked herself in her room and refused to help us 'spy' on you two." Kyoya explained.

Ah, Haruhi... You're such a good friend.

"I don't care who's here and who's not! The point is, stop spying on Arabella and I's date!" Kaoru said angrily.

"Yeah, seriously, guys! Please stop. This is for Kaoru and me only. As in just the two of us. Alone. Without you guys spying on us." I said.

"Well, you can't make us go home! We don't want to!" Hikaru protested.

"For once, I agree with the shady twin! I'm not leaving!" Tamaki said.

Oh boy...

"Yay! Besides, I like the commoners' mall! I wanna stay!" Honey said. "Don't you, Takashi?"

"Yeah." Mori agreed.

"I can't say that I care whether we stay or go. I admit I'd like to watch Kaoru and Arabella's date, but I was also enjoying a good book when you guys broke into my estate and dragged me out... So I really have no opinion in the matter." Kyoya said.

"You know what? Fine. You can stay! But you can't follow Arabella and me around! We wanna be alone!" Kaoru said.

Hikaru smiled before he and Kaoru shook hands. "Deal."

"Promise?" Kaoru asked.

Hikaru groaned. "Promise..." he said reluctantly.

Kaoru gave his brother a curt nod. "Good," he said before he turned to me. "Come on, Arabella, I need to take you to the next part of our date."

When Kaoru said that, Hikaru's eyes widened and he began snickering.

Kaoru shot him a glare.

Hikaru stopped.

Kaoru then took my hand. "Let's go." he said before he walked along, pulling me with him.

Soon, we were out of the sight of the Host Club, and we were finally alone again.

Well, besides the fact that we're in a public mall...

"Kaoru? Where are we going now?" I asked after Kaoru and I had finished our ice creams and threw them away.

Kaoru smiled at me. "You'll see."

Eventually, we exited the mall and went back to the limo.

"I thought we were spending our date at the mall..." I said.

"That was only part one. I'm taking you to part two right now." Kaoru said before he and I got in the limo.

"What about the rest of the guys? They still think we're at the mall..." I said.

"I gave them that impression so they would stop stalking us... Of course, Hikaru knows good and well where I'm taking you next, so he'll be sure to tell the rest of them..." Kaoru said.

"Oh." I said.

Soon we started driving.

Even sooner, we stopped in front of a large somewhat wooded area.

I looked out the window. "Where are we?" I asked.

Kaoru suddenly reached down and grabbed something. I saw that something was two coats. One for him, one for me. "Arabella, welcome to my special place." he said.

"Special place?" I repeated.

Kaoru nodded. "Yes. When we were little, Hikaru and I used to come here and play all day. We loved it here. We made great memories here. This place is one of the reasons we're so close. We also some times came here with our mum and dad. We'd all be together here as a family. It was great. My point in bringing you here is that I made great memories here with every special person in my life, so I thought it was appropriate to bring you here as well--so I can make special memories with you. You're a really special person in my life, Arabella. That's why I brought you here," he said. "To my special place."

I blushed pink. He really, really cares about me...

More than I thought he did...

"Kaoru... that's really sweet..." I said.

Kaoru smirked. "Well, I am many things, sweet being one of them...!" he bragged. I chuckled.

"It gets cold here at night," Kaoru said before he held up both coats. "so you'll need one of these."

Kaoru then handed me the coat that was mine before he put on his own. I put mine on before we both exited the limo.

We walked up and down a hill before we arrived at Kaoru's special place.

My eyes widened and I gasped when I saw it.

It was beautiful.

Several trees surrounded it and formed somewhat of a roof above our heads.

However, the trees didn't meet all the way in the middle, so there was a big gaping hole where, at night, you could look up and see the stars.

And, to the far left was a beautiful, small, glistening waterfall. The water was so clear you could almost see right through it. And beneath the waterfall was a large pool that was fairly deep, a perfect place to swim.

No wonder Hikaru and Kaoru love this place...

"Wow... Kaoru, it's beautiful... It's the most beautiful place I've ever seen..." I said. Kaoru smiled at that.

"I knew you'd like it. That's why I brought you here so we could dine together." Kaoru said.

I gave him a look. "Dine together...?" I repeated.

Kaoru nodded his head at a large patch of grass where, on top of it, was a large picnic blanket with candles and food.

My eyes widened even wider before another gasp escaped my lips. "Kaoru... did you do all this...?" I whispered.

Kaoru nodded. "Yup. It took forever, but it was worth it just to see the look on your face right now." he said.

I smiled at him. "You did all this for me...? Kaoru... That's..." I trailed off. I couldn't finish. I literally had no words.

Kaoru smiled again. "I thought you'd love it. And, I didn't do it alone--Hikaru helped me."

Kaoru then took my hand and guided me over to the picnic blanket before we both sat down. It was then I really noticed the food...

My eyes widened at it. "Kaoru, this is Italian food...," I said. "In fact, this is my favorite meal...! My mom makes it for me all the time! Did you... Did you make this...?"

Kaoru shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. Daniel told me this was your favorite meal, so I googled the recipe and made it. It also took forever. Trust me, I'm no cook, so it probably tastes horrible... But Hikaru said it's the thought that counts, so..."

I stuck my fork into it and took a bite.

"Kaoru... this tastes great...! Just as good as my mom makes it...!" I said.

This time, Kaoru's eyes widened. "Really...?" he asked, surprised.

I nodded. "Yeah! Try it!" I said.

Kaoru took his fork, stuck it into the food, and took a bite. "Wow... This actually isn't that bad..." he said.

"See? I told you!" I said. "It turns out, you're not a bad cook after all."

Kaoru smiled. "Thanks. I honestly thought I was terrible..."

"I'm sure you did," I chuckled. "Well, let's get to eating!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As I scraped the last bit of food off my plate and into my mouth, I noticed Kaoru was already done.

"You're such a slow eater. I was done fifteen minutes before you were." Kaoru said.

I rolled my eyes. "Hey, you're on a date with this slow eater. In fact, you asked this slow eater on a date, so don't you complain, buddy--you get what you ask for."

Kaoru chuckled. "And I wouldn't have it any other way--slow eater or not." he said.

I blushed for about the millionth time tonight.

My eyes lingered around the trees and grass until they lingered upon the waterfall and pool. I looked at it longingly.

"Hey, Kaoru, I think I'm gonna take a dip." I said as I stood up.

Kaoru gave me a look. "In that? Plus, I think it's a bit cold to be swimming..."

I looked down at my attire and shrugged. "Hey, you only live once, right?"

Kaoru kept looking at me.

I removed my coat and set it on the ground before I took a running start and dived in.

I emerged seconds later, soaking. I smiled at Kaoru. "You should come and swim with me! The water is actually quite nice!" I said.

Kaoru shook his head. "Nah, I'm good. And I think you should get out before you catch hypothermia or something." he said.

I rolled my eyes at him again. "Seriously, Kaoru, the water really isn't that cold at all."

"I still think you should get out. I don't want my first date to end with you as frozen as an icicle."

I chuckled at that. "Uh huh, funny."

Kaoru gave me a look again.

I just floated there for about three seconds before I sighed. "Fine. Can you at least help me out?" I stuck out my hand for him to take it.

Kaoru rolled his eyes before he walked over to me. "I'm not stupid, Arabella. I know you're just going to pull me in."

"Uh, no I won't."

"Uh huh, sure." Kaoru said, obviously not believing me.

This time, I gave him a look.

He stood there for a second before he sighed and reached out his hand so I could take it. "Fine. I'll pull you up."

I grabbed his hand and he started to pull me up.

I climbed up a bit before I gave Kaoru's arm a huge yank. I pulled and pulled until we both fell into the water together.

We both surfaced seconds later, Kaoru glaring at me.

"And... I'm all wet. And you pulled me in just like I knew you would. Remind me not to trust you next time."

I chuckled again. "Noted."

Kaoru vigorously shook his head, shaking his hair of the water.

Some of it splashed me in the face. "Hey!" I said.

When Kaoru finished, he shrugged and smirked at me. "That's for pulling me in."

"Nice, Hitachiin, real nice..." I said.

"Oh, if you think that's all I can do, then you're sorely mistaken." Kaoru said before he gave me a huge splash.

I gasped as the water make contact with my face. "You know what... I deserved that..."

Kaoru nodded. "Yes, yes you did."

I smiled at him and rolled my eyes. "Oh, Kaoru...! I am deeply sorry for pulling you into the water with me...! Is there anything I can do to ease the pain...?" I said sarcastically.

Kaoru thought for a second before he smiled. "Actually, there is something you could do that would help 'ease the pain' and would make me feel much better." he said.

"And what's that? I'll do whatever you want me to do." I said.

Kaoru smirked at me.

I really shouldn't have said that...

"Okay then. That sounds great. The first thing I want you to do is come here." Kaoru said.

I just looked at him. "That's all?"

"Hey, I said the first thing. Just, come here." Kaoru said.

I shrugged before I swam closer to him.

"Closer." Kaoru said.

I swam closer.

Kaoru looked at me. "Closer."

We were now about a foot apart.

"Just a little closer."

We were now a couple of inches apart. Kaoru's golden eyes burned into my brown ones.

"Closer. One more time."

I swam closer for the last time. Now, we were so close our noses were touching. I could feel Kaoru's breath against my lips.

I saw that Kaoru's cheeks turned deep red, as mine probably did.

In fact, I can feel my face heating up right now.

"There's one more thing I want you to do," Kaoru whispered. "Put down your walls and trust me."

I blinked. "Kaoru, what are you--"

"Please," Kaoru whispered. "Just please start trusting me. I would never in a million years hurt you or leave you, Arabella. I feel too strongly about you to ever do that. You are way too important to me for me to do that. You mean too much to me. Whenever I'm near you, you make me smile and light up my world. You're different from all the other girls--you're real and funny and full of light and life and you're not afraid to be yourself, even after what he did to you and your family. Whenever I'm around you, I feel nervous. Nervous that I'll say something or do something to screw it up or scare you off. But, whenever I'm near you, I also feel excited. And happy. I'm excited to see you every day and I'm happy when we talk and spend time together. You make me think things, FEEL things, Arabella--things that I've never thought or felt with anyone else... And they're great thoughts and great things. And I want to continue to think and feel these things, I want to continue to feel nervous and excited and happy and I want to continue to talk to you and be around you! I say all these things because they're true. And they're true because... because...," He looked deeply into my eyes. "because I am in love with you, Arabella. And there's nothing you can say or do that can make me want to hurt you or that would scare me off. I am all in. And I'm all in because I'm in love with you so, so much. Even though I'm rich and handsome and all that, I'm really not that much--I'm just a guy asking the girl he's in love with to trust him. Because I trust her with my life. She's my person. And I can only hope I'm hers too."

After he was done talking, I just stared at him with tears in my eyes. I felt one of them trail slowly down my cheek.

"Is... Is that the last thing you wanted me to do...?" I whispered.

Kaoru looked at me for a second before he shook his head. "No. That's not the last thing I wanted you to do." he said.

I blinked. "But... I thought you said--"

"I lied," Kaoru interrupted. "The real last thing I want you to do is still unsaid."

"And what's that?" I asked.

Kaoru suddenly swam closer to me, which I didn't know he could do, considering how close we already were. Our noses were now touching even more.

I just looked into his eyes, awaiting his last request.

And, it was then he whispered...

"Kiss me."

My eyes widened. "K-Kaoru--"

"Just do it, please." Kaoru whispered.

I blinked once more before I leaned forward slightly.

And I kept leaning forward until I felt it--Kaoru's lips against my own.

I closed my eyes as Kaoru immediately began kissing me slowly. I immediately started kissing back. Then I felt Kaoru's hand go up and cup my cheek.

It was then I felt the spark. It wasn't a small one either--it was like a whole army of fireworks going off inside of me as the realization hit me: I'm in love with Kaoru.

Like, really in love with Kaoru.

Kaoru suddenly pulled away. "I'm going to give you everything I have and everything I am--I'm going to give you all of me. I know it's asking quite a bit, but are you willing to do the same?" he said.

I'm in love with this guy--I'm really, really in love with this guy...

"Yes," I whispered. "I am willing to. Because I'm deeply in love with you too, Kaoru. And... I... I trust you."

The second those words left my mouth, my eyes widened.

I don't think I've ever told that to anyone ever.

But... I told Kaoru and... and I meant it. It felt so true when I said those words to him.

I never thought the day would come when I would tell someone I trusted them and would really mean it.

But, here I am.

I told Kaoru and I meant it.

Kaoru smiled at me. "Then you can have all of me for as long as you want me, because I'll want you forever. I'm really proud of you, Arabella. You've come so far and made so much progress and--"

"Stop talking." I said.

Then, before I even knew what I was doing, I grabbed Kaoru by his shirt and pulled him forward until I was greeted with the sensation of his soft lips against mine.

I kissed him softly at first, but before I knew it, I found myself wanting more, and I immediately wrapped my arms around his neck and deepened the kiss.

I felt Kaoru stiffen against me in surprise, but he deepened the kiss as well by wrapping his arms around my waist and holding me closer against him.

Eventually, I felt his hands slowly tracing my back until they went up my arms and cupped my face.

Then, one of his hands went to the back of my neck.

The kiss lasted forever, it seemed. And it was perfect. There really wasn't a place where I ended and he began--we were one in that moment, that perfect moment.

It was then I knew that this kiss would be forever burned in the back of brain--that no matter how hurt or scarred I was, nothing and no one could take this kiss from me.

Some time later, I was getting shortness of breath and both Kaoru and I needed to come up for air.

When we did we looked into each other's eyes--love struck dorks.

"That felt so good, and I want to do it again and again. So, with that said and done... Arabella, will you... will you be my girlfriend?" Kaoru said.

I smiled. "Nothing could make me say no." I said.

Kaoru smiled back before he leaned forward and kissed me again, this kiss only seconds long and brief.

Even then I wanted more--needed more.

God, Arabella... You're so needy... Get ahold of yourself, woman...

After Kaoru pulled away, we both agreed it was getting too dark and late and it was time to pack up and go home.

After Kaoru and I packed up the picnic blanket and the food and candles, we left the special place and headed back to the limo.

When we got inside the limo and closed the door, the driver turned around to face us. "If you don't mind me asking, how did it go, sir?"

"Great. It went great. We made out a whole bunch." Kaoru said.

"Kaoru." I blushed deeply.

"Excellent, sir," the driver said before he turned around again. "Where to, sir?"

"The Hashimoto residence. Then home." Kaoru said.

The driver nodded. "Yes, sir." he said before he started the limo and we drove away.

Man, do I have a lot to tell Haruhi tomorrow...