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Chapter Text

I looked up at the large and ornately decorated school and sighed. Ouran Academy, the place I would be stuck in for the next two years. Probably bored out of my mind. I had never attended an actual school before. I've been privately tutored most of my life.

This is not going to be fun,   I thought to myself as I pulled the front part of my waist length brown hair back into a clip. At least I convinced the headmaster not to make me wear that hideous unif- SLAM!

I had been so occupied with my thoughts and hair, I had walked straight into a wall. Except it wasn't a wall, because as I fell backwards an arm reached forward, grabbing my wrist and steadying me.

I looked up to see the tallest boy I had ever seen in my life.

My mouth dropped open. "Holy crap, you're GIANT!" I exclaimed with my usual tact. The boy just stared at me and for a second I was worried he would be mad at me, but then I saw his eyes. He had kind eyes. Oh. I also realized I had exclaimed in English.

"Oops," I giggled as I switched to Japanese, "Sorry for bumping into you. And sorry for saying you're a giant. Sometimes my mouth speaks before my brain can catch up."

The boy made some sort of 'hm' noise, which I took as a "No problem, I get that all the time."

I grinned up at him. "To be fair, you could just be normal sized and I'm so short you just seem giant to me."

I heard a light giggle coming from somewhere behind him. Then a small blonde haired boy stuck his head around to face me. I realized he had been piggy-backing on the bigger boy the whole time.

"But Takashi IS tall! He's the tallest in our class!" the little boy exclaimed. The tall, dark haired boy, Takashi, made a noise that resembled confirmation. I raised my eyebrow. 'our' class? How old is this kid? Not that I'm one to judge…

I shrugged. "So, it's not just me then. Good to know." I cocked my head to the side. "You two wouldn't happen to know where Class 2-A is, would you? I don't think I'll ever find my way around in there." I swept my hand in the direction of the school.

The blonde one jumped down and landed in front of me. Up close, I could see that he wasn't much taller than me. Maybe an inch, at most. I pushed away my annoyance. Is there NO ONE shorter than me?! Anyways. At first glance, given his size and the fact that he was holding a pink bunny in one arm, you'd think he was in elementary school. Adding to this impression would be the overall adorable aura that surrounded him. Seriously. He actually had pink flowers floating around his head. How does he DO that?!

But then I saw his eyes. If you hadn't noticed, I enjoy looking at people's eyes. They tell you so much more about a person than their behavior. He had deep golden brown eyes and they seemed much older than the rest of him. They had a maturity about them that I recognized immediately. I could almost believe he was in high school.

Until he spoke.

"We know where that is! That's Tama-chan's and Kyo-chan's class! Are you a new student? You're not wearing the uniform." He was smiling a huge, adorable smile. I know I've already said adorable. But really. I almost died from the onslaught of cute.

I blinked once to focus. Instead of the strongly suggested Ouran female uniform, I was wearing a knee length, dark blue dress with three-quarter length sleeves and a scoop neckline. I even had the Ouran emblem sewed onto the right shoulder. Underneath the dress, I had a white button up shirt with the top button undone. A slim black belt and ballet slippers completed the outfit. "I am a new student, but I refused to wear that hideous yellow color. Blue suits me much better. The headmaster said as long as I was dressed appropriately, I could wear what I wanted." He also insisted that I needed to be cute and feminine in whatever I wore, but I left that part out.

The young (looking) boy smiled again. Actually, he hadn't stopped smiling. So I guess he just continued to smile. "That's great! You look really cute! Doesn't she, Takashi?" Another 'hm'.

I blushed slightly at their praise. "Thank you…" I mumbled as I stepped back to but some room between me and the blonde one.

If it were possible, his grin got wider. "My name is Mitsukuni Hanninozuka and this is Takashi Morinozuka! You can call us Honey and Mori, everyone does! We're third years here."

I smiled back at him (it was really hard not to, his happiness was contagious) "It's very nice to meet you Honey-sempai, Mori-sempai. I'm Hana Lee. You can call me Hana." Mori nodded while Honey gushed "That's such a pretty name, Hana-chan!" Then he held up the bunny he had been holding for me to inspect. "This is Usa-chan! Do you want to hold him?"

I reached up to grasp the bunny and as I did, Honey's eyes grew huge. "Oh my gosh!" He practically yelled as I began to cuddle Usa-chan. What? I love stuffed animals. They're CUTE. "You-! You're SHORTER than me!"

I laughed at his revelation and excitement. "I'm shorter than everyone, Honey-sempai, not just you! And you only beat me by an inch!" I reminded him.

He laughed happily and grabbed my hand. "But I've never met anyone close to my age who wasn't taller than me! Come on, Hana-chan, me and Takashi will take you to your classroom." He started dragging me toward the school as Mori followed behind us, a silent shadow.

As we weaved through the hallways of the school we were often stopped by girls greeting Honey and Mori with squeals and hearts in their eyes. Well, they were good looking. Of course they would have a fan club. I remembered something Honey had said earlier.

"Honey-sempai? Do you have friends in my class? You mentioned someone earlier…" Honey started jumping up and down. "Yeah! Tama-chan and Kyo-chan! They're in the same club as me and Takashi! I'll introduce you when we get there!"

"Great! What club are you all in?" I asked. Honey glanced over his shoulder. "The Host Club! Its lots of fun!" What the heck is a host club? I didn't get a chance to ask because we had arrived at my classroom. Honey didn't even give me a chance to prepare myself, instead dragging me directly in front of the desks of two (beautiful) boys. One had bright blonde hair, lighter than Honey's, and violet eyes. The other was raven-haired, with glasses that caught the light to shield his eyes. What a creeper, to hide behind his glasses like that.

"Tama-chan, Kyo-chan, I want you to meet Hana-chan! She's transferring into your class! It's her first day, so be nice to her, k?"

The blonde one stood up and did a graceful bow. "Princess Hana, it is a pleasure to meet you, my dear. I am Tamaki Suoh and am so very grateful for the opportunity to meet someone as lovely as you." As he finished this speech, he took my hand in his and brought it to his lips. "For Honey-sempai to bring you directly to us can only mean you are a beautiful rarity indeed."

I giggled. His eyes! They were so honest! Bless him, he meant every word he said. What a beautiful idiot. As an act of camaraderie, I took my hand from his and curtseyed. "The pleasure is all mine, Prince Tamaki. I am ever so thankful for our meeting." I glanced up and smiled at the surprised look on his face. "However, I believe Honey-sempai is kind enough to help any new student should they ask for help. And the only thing 'beautifully rare' about me, is that I happen to be shorter than him." I winked.

The next thing I knew I was enveloped in a bone crushing hug. My legs dangled helplessly a few feet from the floor. "Honey! She's so cute! We simply MUST introduce her to the others!"

I gasped. "Tamaki… I can't..."

"Tamaki. You are suffocating the poor girl. Put her down. NOW." The one with the glasses – Kyo-chan, by process of elimination – ordered his over exuberant friend. I was immediately put back on the floor. "Oh! I'm so sorry Hana! Please forgive me!" He wailed. "Are you ok, Hana-chan?" Honey asked worriedly. I patted Tamaki's arm as I tried to catch my breath. "Its ok, Tama-kun, you were just excited." I was used to over exuberance from my brother. I glanced at the glasses boy.

He pushed his glasses further up his nose. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Lee. I am Kyoya Ootori. I hope you enjoy your time here at Ouran." I cocked my head to the side as I looked at him. He was so much more formal than his friends. And a little scary. How did he know my name?

I felt a tug on my sleeve. I turned around to look at Honey. "It's time for us to go to class now, Hana-chan. I hope you have a great first day!"

"Thanks! And thanks again for bringing me here," I said, a little disappointed. It's too bad we're not in the same class. I really liked them.

Maybe Honey noticed, because he laughed as he climbed up to Mori's shoulders. "Don't worry Hana-chan! We'll see you again! Bye! See you later Tama-chan, Kyo-chan!" and with that they were gone.

I glanced at my phone. Even after all of that, we still had about 10 minutes before class actually started. Glad I had decided to come early. I turned back to the two boys, Tamaki smiling widely at me and Kyoya reading a book. "Excuse me, Tama-kun? Could you tell me which desks don't belong to anyone?" He immediately took both my hands in his. "Why, Princess Hana, if it would please you, you may have my desk. It is the least I can do after my behavior earlier." He then struck a pose with his hand against his forehead. "A man must own up to his mistakes and take his punishment. It is a burden we must bare…" as he looked off into the distance, I understood that he would be no help. I turned to Kyoya. I placed my hands on his desk and leaned toward him.

"What about you, Kyoya? I'd bet my lunch YOU know which seats aren't taken." He glanced up at me with a smirk. "As a matter of fact, Miss Lee, the seat directly behind Tamaki has just been vacated. The previous occupant's family just moved to China for business."

I smiled. "Great! Thanks Kyo-kun!" As I squeezed between the two of them I placed my hand on his shoulder so he would look at me. As he did, I made a point to see his eyes were a dark grey color, like storm clouds. I gave him a small smile. "and please, call me Hana. Miss Lee makes me feel old." He nodded and I sat down in the seat behind Tamaki.

I still had a few minutes, so I pulled out my sketchbook. I love drawing. As I watched Tamaki and Kyoya discuss something about club that afternoon – cosplay? What kind of club is this? – I began drawing the dramatic pose Tamaki had done earlier. It didn't take me long, I was just doing some line work, not anything fancy. As I added some sparkles around his head, I heard a gasp being me.

I looked up to see a girl with short dark hair and big watery green eyes. "Is that… is that Tamaki?" She whispered in reverence. I blinked. She looked so… mesmerized. I twisted around in my seat to give her a better look. "Yeah, he struck this pose earlier. I thought it was so dramatic, I just had to draw it." I chuckled. The girl had started to reach for the drawing unconsciously and stopped, her hands halfway extended towards my sketchbook. I cocked my head to the side. "Would you like it? It's just a quick sketch."

Her eyes grew big. "Could I?!" she squealed. I laughed and ripped the page from my book. "Of course you can! I offered, didn't' I?" I handed it to the girl and I thought she was going to have an aneurism just holding it.

I offered her my hand. "I'm Hana Lee, by the way. I just transferred in. It's nice to meet you. I can make you more like that, if you want. I can even make you a better one." I said, pointing to the drawing with my other hand.

She took my hand and practically crushed it in her excitement. "I'm Ritsu Minami! It's so great to meet you! Would you really make me more?!" Before I could answer, the teacher entered the classroom. Time to start. As I spun back around in my seat, I caught Kyoya looking at me intently. I'm not sure what was so interesting, but I gave him a small wave.

The rest of the school day passed without incident, until my free period. I was wandering around trying to find the bathroom. The bathroom closest to my classroom had been so packed with giggling girls that I couldn't even get through the door, so I had gone off in search of another one. I finally spotted one, down the hall, on my right.

As I was walking, someone rushed past me, practically sprinting toward the bathroom. I blinked. Was that a girl, or a guy? It had looked like a guy in some baggy clothes. But they had gone in the girls bathroom, so I suppose it was a girl.

As I walked inside, I heard someone groan from one of the stalls. As I listened, I heard them mumble "Of all days for me to forget a tampon…"

I chuckled. I walked to the stall that I heard the voice from while digging around in my bag. I crouched down and knocked on the door. "Hey there, friend. I couldn't help but hear you." I stuck my hand underneath the door. "Will this help?" I asked. "Oh. Thanks." Her voice was heavy with gratitude as she took the feminine product out of my hand. "No problem, it happens to the best of us."

As I finished my business and washed my hands, I heard the stall door finally open. The girl came around the corner and it took all of my self-control for my jaw not to drop. She had messy brown hair that was sticking in all directions and huge, thick hipster looking glasses dominated her face. Her clothes were drab and baggy, completely obscuring any figure she might have. If I hadn't met her under these circumstances, I would have thought she was a guy at first glance.

"Thank you again, I really appreciate it. I hate not being prepared."

I smiled at her. "You're welcome, really." When she finished washing her hands I put my hand out for a handshake. "I'm Hana Lee, a second year. It's my first day. If you don't mind me asking, how did YOU get out of wearing the uniform?" She shook my hand in a confident grip. "Haruhi Fujioka. It's my first day also, only I'm a first year. And I didn't really get out of wearing the uniform, I just can't afford it. I'm a scholarship student here."

"Really?!" My mouth did drop open at that. "I've heard that's a really difficult test! Congratulations! You must be super smart!" I could tell I had embarrassed her. Her face got red and she rubbed the back of her head. "I'm not that smart, I just work hard," she said sheepishly.

"Nope!" I said as I looped my arm through hers and walked her down the hallway. "You, my dear, are smart. No doubt about it. It makes me feel better knowing that there's someone else here with an IQ out of the double digits."

She took off her glasses and gave me a look. I could see then that she had beautiful chocolate brown eyes. Right now, they had a 'no-nonsense' look in them. "Hana-sempai, you shouldn't say that. There are plenty of smart people here. They're just not studious." She tries to explain.

We continued to talk as I walked her back to her classroom, chatting about nothing in general. When we separated, we decided to eat lunch together a few days later, after we got used to the school.

"See you then, Haruhi!" I waved as I sprinted back to my classroom. My free period was almost over.

Chapter Text

THE FEW DAYS LATER

I stood warily outside the doors of Music Room #3 as I tried to gather up the courage to walk inside. I could hear giggling and squeals and shrieks spilling out of the cracks of the door and I cringed. Why was I here? I'm not a fan girl. I'm going to hate hanging around all of these over excited female students. I steeled myself as I remembered why I was about to enter the mysterious room – Haruhi.

*Flashback*

My next few days at Ouran passed much like the first. Class was boring, but Tamaki more than made up for it with his theatrics and annoyance of Kyoya. Sitting behind those two was probably the best decision I had made in my life thus far. Watching Tamaki exclaim over the latest thing that had caught his attention and seeing Kyoya's expressions flit between tolerance, anger, annoyance, and occasionally, when the light wouldn't hit his glasses, a hint of amusement, was priceless. Today they were talking about some new host in their club. I still wasn't sure what that was exactly.

As I stood in the hall where I was supposed to meet Haruhi for lunch, a boy with brown hair came and stood in front of me. "Well, ready to eat?" he said. I looked up at her in shock. "HARUHI?! What happened?! Why are you wearing the boys' uniform?" The girl, who besides being more petite than half the girls in school pulled off being a boy rather convincingly, sighed in exasperation.

"It's a long story. I met a bunch of idiots called the Host Club yesterday. Long story short, I owe them 8 million yen, so I'm paying it off by being a host. "

My eyes widened. I grabbed her arm and sat her down in an empty classroom. "You are telling me everything. Now."

And she did.

*end flashback*

So here I was. I was determined to keep an eye on Haruhi, and if I thought this hosting thing was going to be too much for her, I would just pay her debt off myself and screw the club.

I pushed the door open and was instantly blinded. Cherry blossoms cascaded down into my face – how are they doing that? An industrial fan? - I stood inside the door for a second, my eyes adjusting to the brightness while I picked wayward flower petals out of my hair and clothes. Scanning the room, I saw that no one had noticed me yet. I chuckled when I saw Tamaki doing a dramatic spiel to a group of fawning girls. The closest cluster of girls were surrounding a pair of identical twins with bright red hair and golden eyes.

Oh man. Twins! I LOVE identical twins. As I watched, one of the twins seemed to be finishing up some sort of story and laughing. The other didn't seem too happy about it. "Hikaru!" he whined, "You said you wouldn't tell that story… its embarrassing…" He blushed prettily. The other one, Hikaru, put his hand on his brother's cheek. "Oh Kauru, I'm so sorry. You just look so cute when you're embarrassed, I couldn't help myself…" Hikaru's voice was slightly deeper than Kaoru's. "Hikaru…" As he brought Kaoru's face within an inch of his own, the girls started shrieking.

Ah,   I thought. Twincest. Psh. They've got NOTHING on my sisters. I smirked in their direction and continued searching for my friend. I spotted her talking to some girl with red hair in the center of the room. I didn't want to interrupt her, so I looked for somewhere to perch while I waited for her to finish.

"Miss Lee?" I heard a familiar voice behind me.

I turned around and raised an eyebrow in Kyoya's direction. "Hey there, Kyo-kun. What did I tell you about calling me that? Hana is fine."

He grimaced and then smiled some sort of odd smile. It was as if his face had a spasm.

"I always address customers by their family name, Miss Lee."

I rolled my eyes. "Well, I'm not a customer, so don't." I gestured toward Haruhi. "I'm just keeping an eye on Haruhi." Kyoya's eyebrows twitched in what could possibly have been surprise. "I didn't realize you and Haruhi knew each other."

"I met her the first day of school…" my voice trailed off. I had just seen another of my classmates at a table a little behind Haurhi's. Ritsu was sitting at a table with a familiar blonde head and giant. I smiled as I recognized Honey and Mori as I made my way toward them.

"Hey guys!" I greeted enthusiastically. Honey's face brightened when he saw me. "Hana-chan!" To my delight, he jumped up from where he was and grabbed me in a hug. His hair smelled like cake. As I tried to inspect the smell, he pulled back and placed his hands on my shoulders. "Do you want some cake?! We've got all kinds of flavors! Even strawberry!" I smiled at him. It was impossible not to smile when he looked like that.

"Maybe in a second, Honey-sempai. Besides, it doesn't look like you need much help with eating the cake!" I pulled a tuft of his hair forward for him to see. "You've got chocolate icing in your hair." I giggled. He giggled with me.

The girls were whispering behind us in excited voices.

"Who is she? Does she go here?"

"I think she's a second year… how do you think Honey-sempai knows her?"

"She's so cute! They look adorable together!"

At this last declaration, I stepped back a couple steps, putting distance between us. I glanced up at Mori, who even sitting down towered over me. "Sup, Mori-sempai?" I grinned at him.

"Hn."

"As talkative as ever, I see." I quipped. Honey skipped back over to the table to entertain the ladies as I turned to Ritsu.

"Hey, RIt-chan. How's it goin?" I asked. She smiled hesitantly, like she wasn't sure I had meant to talk to her. "I'm fine, thank you Hana-chan. Can I help you with something?" I grinned. "Acutally, I have something for you!" I reached in my bag and handed the drawing I had done of Tamaki last night to the girl. "I tried to tell you the other day that that sketch was only that – a sketch. I did a full tonal drawing for you last night."

I thought her eyes were going to bulge out of her head as she took in the drawing. "You... you drew this… for me?" she whispered in awe. I smiled sympathetically at the girl. People must not pay her much mind. She was certainly cute and nice enough, I wonder why she seemed so surprised at my attention.

"Of course I did! You seemed to really like my sketch yesterday. It makes me happy when people appreciate my drawings." She looked like she was going to say something but she and I were swarmed by the other girls at the table.

"You drew this, Hana-sempai?"

"It's so beautiful! Look how regal Tamaki looks!"

"I didn't know you drew Host club fan art!"

"Will you draw me one of Honey-sempai?"

"I would like one of Mori-sempai…" I heard a shy voice somewhere underneath the shouts. Bless it.

"Wow, Hana-chan, you're really good!" exclaimed Honey-sempai. He held up Usa-chan to me. "Do you think you could draw one of me, Takashi, and Usa-chan?" He asked excitedly.

Before I could answer any of them, there was a loud crash behind us. I spun around to see Haruhi laying on top of the red haired girl she had been talking to earlier. Crap, I had completely forgotten why I was there. Shut up, I'm not very task oriented, ok?

The girl was screaming about Haruhi attacking her and demanding she be thrown out of the club. As if, I thought. The twins dumped water on top of Haruhi and the girl as I rushed over to her. I pulled her up by her arm. "Are you ok, Haru-chan?" I whispered in her ear as she stood up. She nodded at me while Tamaki gave a rather impressive speech on how Haruhi was not that type of man and if she intended to slander a member of the Host club then she could leave. Wow. Go Tamaki. The affect was ruined, however, as he whirled around on Haruhi and declared her quota for her debt was now 1000 customers instead of 100.

"What?!" she exclaimed in anger. Then just as quickly the fight seemed to leave her. "Whatever…"

"Here Haruhi. This is the only spare uniform we have, unfortunately. But it's better than wet clothes." I glanced in the bag that Kyoya was holding and snickered. It was the girls uniform. I hugged the wet girl around the waist. "Come on Haruhi, I'll help you with that. The back buttons are really difficult to do on your own." No one, except Kyoya, who didn't say anything, seemed to notice that I followed Haruhi, a supposed guy, into the changing room. It seemed they were all too focused on calming the girls who were upset by the whole affair.

As Haruhi changed out of her wet clothes, I considered the matter. "You know Haurhi…" I began as I laid out the horrible yellow thing. "I don't mind paying off your debt for you. Honestly, if you feel the need to pay it back you could just tutor me or something. You don't have to stay here if you don't want to." She paused halfway out of her shirt. "No, that's ok, Hana-sempai. This is my responsibility and I'll handle it. I appreciate the offer though." She looked at me gratefully and I smiled at her. Right at that moment, Tamaki decided to come check on her. As he took in her half clothed form I jumped up and pushed him quickly out of the changing room. "Out Tama-kun! You pervert!"

I heard his voice through the door.

"Haruhi?"

She glanced over at the door as she slipped the dress over her head. "Yes?"

"You're a girl?"

"Yes."

I burst out laughing. "You didn't TELL him you were a girl, Haru?"

She just shrugged. "I didn't see why it mattered what gender I was." I just stared at her. I shook my head as I helped her button the back of the dress. After she insisted she could handle the rest on her own, I stepped out of the dressing room to face Tamaki and the rest of the gang who had gathered. I patted Tamaki's arm. "Sorry I called you a pervert, Tama-kun. I didn't realize you didn't know she was girl."

"About time you figured it out, Boss!" the twins chorused.

"But more importantly…" The one named Hikaru (I think, based on his voice) slinked to my side and placed his arm on top of my head, using me as an armrest. It happens.

"Who is this little person…" Kaoru's arm joined his brother's.

"…Kyoya-sempai?" They finished in sync.

I glanced up at Kyoya as he adjusted his glasses. "Her name is Hana Lee. She is half Japanese, half American-" "Irish, really. My dad is a second generation immigrant." "- and she recently transferred into class 2-A. Her mother is the famous model Yuki Utari and her Father is the CEO and founder of Lee Technologies, an American based company with many ties here in Japan. It is of interest to note that her family did not come into the sort of wealth they enjoy now until she was 8 years old, so she may hold some commoner tendencies with Haruhi. Her favorite foods are pepperoni pizza and Macaroni." He finished with a snap of his black book. I blinked. I had expected most of that information but not my favorite food. The twins were staring at me with open mouths but I ignored them. I raised an eyebrow at Kyoya. "Gee, Kyo-kun, care to elaborate? List my blood-type, possibly my social security number?" I asked sarcastically.

He gave a small smile as he adjusted his glasses. Again. "Your blood type is O positive and I doubt you want me to list your social in present company." I rolled my eyes as Hikaru and Kaoru finally recovered from their shock.

"You're seventeen?!" Kaoru exclaimed (I'm still going on my previous assumption to tell them apart).

"But you're so small!" Hikaru protested.

"Seriously, you two?" I jerked my thumb in Honey's direction. "Because you've never seen a tiny upperclassman before?" They exchanged unbelieving glances.

"Besides, do you really think an elementary student would have this kind of body?" I asked as I ran my hands down my sides in an hour glass gesture. I smirked as they took in my body, their faces turning red. This was not the first time I was thankful I had developed a very womanly shape. It was bad enough my size and face made me look like I was 10. At least I had decent breasts and hips.

"Don't look at her like that, you disgusting perverts!" Tamaki was standing in front of me, waving his hands in front of him frantically. "She is Haruhi's friend and will be respected! Hana," he said whirling back around to me and placing his hands on my shoulders. "Don't encourage those shady twins! Daddy will protect you and Haruhi! I will not let them near my precious daughters!"

What on earth is he talking about?   "What?" I asked confused. Thankfully, Haruhi chose that moment to walk out of the dressing room. After everyone cooed over how cute she was in the uniform (and she actually was, darn her) Kyoya cleared his throat.

"We have a sort of situation," he began. He looked directly at me and continued. "Hana is the only person outside of the Host Club who knows Haruhi's true gender." Everyone's eyes turned to stare at me as if they had just realized the truth. Forget the fact that I had just helped her change.

I snorted. "Why exactly is that a situation? Haruhi doesn't want me to pay off her debt so she has to remain in the club. I won't say anything, as long as Haruhi doesn't want me too."

"Still, I think it would benefit everyone if you remained connected to the club somehow. Incidentally, I have a solution. I recieved a great many comments today from Honey and Mori-sempai's clients, about the possibility of fan art?" I had a bad feeling about this. "Yes… I drew a picture of Tamaki for Rit-chan…" I admitted. "She's really good, Kyo-chan!" Honey-sempai piped up. "I saw her drawing! It looked just like Tama-chan! The girls loved it!"

I glared at him. Shut up! I tried to speak to him telepathically. He just smiled that huge smile in my direction before giving me a quick wink. That dirty little bas-

"This is what I propose," Kyoya pulled my attention back to him. "You join the host club as our resident fan artist. You take requests from the clients during the day for quick sketches as you did in class for Miss Minami and then they can pay extra for more detailed drawings."

I opened my mouth to protest but before I could, Haruhi tugged on my sleeve. I looked up into her hopeful eyes and my resolve shattered.

"Fine," I sighed. "I can do that. I really do enjoy drawing, so it won't be a burden. However… " I gave Kyoya a devilish smirk. "There are things you and I should discuss in private about this little arrangement. Fan girls can request some pretty… erotic things." I walked out of the room knowing he would follow me, leaving the others to wonder what exactly I meant.

Chapter Text

"Haruhi!" I stuck my hand in front of the book she was nose deep in. "If we don't leave now, we'll be late for the Host Club. They can't do much to me, but I wouldn't put it past Kyoya to up your debt for being late."

She closed the book hastily and gathered her things. "You're right. This is exhausting. How am I supposed to get any work done?" I patted her shoulder as we hightailed it to Music Room #3. "You know you're always welcome to spend the night at my house and I wouldn't mind staying over to help you get a bit more studying done." I'm not one for huge fancy mansions, so when I moved to the area I had decided to rent a small house instead. We had discovered it was very close to Haruhi's apartment building only yesterday.

She nodded as we rounded the corner. "I can't believe we've already been in the Host Club a week." Haruhi said wearily. I nodded. "I know, right? I have such a long list of drawings to make, I don't know if I'll ever finish!" Not to mention, some of them were quite scandalous. I had set down some boundaries with Kyoya about what I could and couldn't draw of the Host Club members but some of these requests were really pushing the limit.

As we opened the door to the club, we were hit by a heat wave that almost knocked us backwards.

"Welcome!" greeted the Host Club. Haruhi and I stared at the scene before us. The whole music room had been transformed into a tropical jungle, complete with animals that I'm not sure were the safest to be around. That wasn't even the most shocking. The hosts were all decked out in Bali-style outfits, most of them shirtless. As if the heat alone won't be enough to make the girls faint, I thought.

"Oh, it's just you two." The twins said dismissively.

"What is this?!" Haruhi pulled out a small calendar. "it's definitely late April… why is it the tropics in here?"

"No kidding. Is that snake poisonous?" I asked, eyeing the thing slithering up the nearest tree and inching closer to Haruhi.

As Tamaki went on a rant about why we should take advantage of the impressive heating and cooling system in order to warm the young ladies, Honey hopped up to me.

"None of the animals are dangerous, Hana-chan." He grinned at me. "Do you want some flowers?" he held up a red lei. He was wearing an identical one around his neck.

"Aw, they're so cute! I'd love some!" Honey came closer and reached forward to drape them over my head. Then he gave me one of his signature Honey hugs, exclaiming loudly "You're so cute, Hana-chan! Now we match!" Except this time I had to fight down a blush because, just like all the other hosts, he had no shirt on. I could feel his muscles pressed against me, not to mention seeing them bulge slightly in his arms and back as he hugged me. I kept my arms at my side instead of returning the hug so I wouldn't feel his skin and said muscles under my hands.

Honey is hardly bigger than me. How on earth is he so toned? The only thing I can imagine him bench pressing is stuffed animals.

I delicately removed myself from his embrace to point across the room. "You know, Honey-sempai, I think Mori-sempai has some cake over there for you."

"CAKE!" He turned around and rushed to Mori. I'm glad he's so easily distracted. That was weird.

I glanced over to see Tamaki showing Haruhi the costume they had made for her. It was made to complement his, with a purple robe like bottom and a white band across the chest, covered in an assortment of gold accessories. I walked over to inspect it just as Haruhi deadpanned, "No. I am not wearing that." Tamaki immediately went into his emo corner to grow mushrooms. I fingered the purple fabric, admiring the beauty of it.

"You like it? The twins designed and created all of the costumes. They're quite talented, thanks to their mother." I nodded to Kyoya as I continued to stare at the garment. The Hitachiin's mother was a famous designer that my mom constantly raved about. I would never admit this to my mother, but I loved to dress up. Not all the time mind you, but Halloween was my favorite holiday for a reason.

"Hikaru? Kaoru?" I called out. I felt two arms snake around my shoulders and then two voices chanted together, "Yes, Hana-sempai?"

I didn't meet their eyes as I continued to stroke the fabric. "You… You guys made this?" They must have caught something in my voice, because they immediately came to stand in front of me.

"Yeah, we made it…" Hikaru began, raising an eyebrow.

"…Why do you ask?" Kaoru finished.

I bit my lip. I could very much regret asking this. But it was so pretty… I looked down at my shoes. "Do you think… you could… makemeacostumenexttimetoo?" I quickly rushed the question out. I could feel my face getting red.

There was silence for a moment, and then I was enveloped between the two boys.

"Awwwww! You're so cute, Hana-sempai! Of course we'll make you one!" The twins rubbed their cheeks against mine, continuing to coo at my apparent cuteness. "Alright, alright! I get it!" I pushed them both back with a shove. "The girls are starting to get here, we should go." As we trotted toward the rest of the group I mumbled a 'thank you' under my breath, half hoping they wouldn't hear. They turned around with identical grins which told me they had. I stuck my tongue out at them and skipped over to stand next to Kyoya and Haruhi.

"Did you come up with this tropical idea, Kyoya-senpai?" Haruhi was asking.

"No, Tamaki makes all of the decisions." His glasses flashed. "However, I may have left a photo book of Bali on his desk."

This guy is the shadow king of this operation… I thought warily. I could see Haruhi thinking the same thing.

I went about the rest of my day as normal. Lots of girls requested quick sketches of the boys in their costumes and I tried to oblige as best I could. During a break in customers, I watched some of the guys entertain. Hmm. Haruhi has a new customer today. Didn't I see that customer with Tamaki last week? Whatever.

I glanced over at the twins, and they were doing another twincest *cough* I mean brotherly love *cough* act. I watched them fondly for a few minutes before a piece of chocolate cake was set in front of me. "Here you go, Hana-chan!" Honey sat next to me and handed me a fork. "Thanks, Honey-senpai!" I do love cake, though not as much as he does.

"You sure do watch the twins a lot," Honey observed. I looked sideways at him as I ate my cake. He smiled at me. "I just noticed you seem really happy when you're watching them do their act." I chuckled.

"Yeah, I guess they remind me of my siblings. They're always doing stuff like that, the creeps. It's one of the reasons I don't flip out when they get in my personal space. I grew up with it."

Honey looked at me with wide eyes. "I didn't know you had siblilngs! Are they twins, too?"

I laughed. "My two younger sisters are, and if possible, I think they may be even more identical than Hikaru and Kaoru. They're only a year younger than them." I smiled in the boys' direction. "Sometimes I wish they could meet. But then I think of all the chaos that would ensue, and think better of it."

"Wow, that's cool! No wonder you can tell them apart so easily. Do you have any other brothers or sisters?" Before I had to answer, Mori called him back over to their section. Their next customers had arrived.

LATER THAT DAY

"Why is he all upset, now?"

Tamaki was cowering in his emo corner again, a depressing aura surrounding him.

"One of Tamaki's customers switched over to Haruhi today," Kyoya explained. "Though I'm not sure why he is so upset, considering her disease."

"Disease?" Haruhi and I asked. I continued with "and he's upset because he's Tamaki."

"Kana-chan has host hopping disease!" Honey piped up.

"She switches her favorite host pretty often…" said Hikaru.

"…and today she chose Haruhi as her new favorite instead of the Boss," Kaoru finished.

"So that's why…" Haruhi muttered. Suddenly, Tamaki jumped off the floor and started gesturing madly at Haruhi ordering her to be a girl again and to stop hiding her gender! I was mostly ignoring him and helping Honey pick out the cake flavors we wanted at the dance party we were having next week when I heard him saying something along the lines of "Daddy wants you to look more like your sister! Look at her!" Before I knew what was happening, I was being glomped by Tamaki who was crying into my hair. "Look at her feminine beauty! Her hair so long and shiny! Her big blue eyes! (technically my eyes were more of a teal color) Her girly clothes that show off her figure!"

"Tama-kun, let go of me!" I growled. He rushed over to the corner of the room and carried a large trunk to Haruhi. "Daddy wants you to go back to looking like this!" and with that he pulled out a giant photo of Haruhi in middle school.

I fell on the floor laughing as Haruhi yelled at him to not blow up pictures of her without her permission.

I continued to laugh quietly to myself as Haruhi explained how she turned from the adorable girl she was in middle school to the way she looked on the first day we all met. Apparently, she had just chopped off all of her hair instead of trying to get some gum out of it. I shook my head at her. "You know you can just cover it in peanut butter and it'll come out, right?" She looked over at me. "I'll do that next time," She promised.

"Besides," she continued, "I don't care about looking like a girl or a boy. As far as I'm concerned, my gender doesn't matter." Tamaki grabbed her shoulders, crying frantically. "You mustn't say things like that, Haruhi! Mommy!" He turned desperate eyes to the rest of us, "Haruhi is saying bad things!" He sobbed.

"Who's mommy?" Kaoru asked dubiously.

"Based on club position, I suppose that would be me." Kyoya sighed. "Incidentally, Haruhi, do you have any experience with formal dancing? You'll need it for the party next week."

"Oh, I wasn't planning on going to the party. It has no bearing on my quota, right? I'll think I'll just sit this one out…" Tamaki instantly jumped on this opportunity with an evil glint in his eye.

"No, Haruhi! If you are so committed to pretending to be a guy, you must follow through on all of the host activities! Including the dance! I order you to master dancing by the party next week!"

As Haruhi mentally freaked out about the whole prospect, I rolled my eyes. "You guys have fun with that." I said. As I turned to leave, I found myself staring into two huge golden brown eyes. "You're coming to the dance, aren't you, Hana-chan?" Honey asked with tears in his eyes. "I… uh…" The twins came out of nowhere and circled either side of me. "You have to come Hana-sempai! Please!" They had wrapped their arms around both of mine so I couldn't move. Honey jumped forward, wrapping his arms around my waist and pressing our foreheads together. "Pleeeaaaassseeee!" they all whined at the same time.

It was too much. I couldn't take all of their adorableness in such close proximity at the same time. I sighed, defeated. "Fine" I grumbled.

"Yay!" They all whooped, tangling me in a mess of limbs as they all tried to hug me at the same time.

"Guys… can't… breathe…" I managed to get out before they released me.

Chapter Text

I smirked as I watched Kanako, the host hopping girl, teaching Haruhi how to dance. This was the third day they had been at it. I glanced over at Tamaki sulking out the window. The idiot wanted to teach Haruhi how to dance himself but he was too tall to be the girl.

It had occurred to me, after the first day of watching Haruhi try to learn to dance, that I was highly out of practice myself. I had learned, of course. But I hadn't actually danced in a formal setting in years. I had been trying to decide if I wanted badly enough to ask one of the guys to refresh my memory. Really, the only guys who I would feel comfortable with were Honey and Mori. The twins and Tamaki were to handsy and Kyoya was out of the question. Since Mori was literally a skyscraper compared to me, that left Honey.

I walked timidly over to their table. Honey was eating cake enthusiastically, as usual, and Mori was watching him contentedly. I cleared my throat.

"Um… Honey-sempai?"

He looked up from his cake and smiled. "Hana-chan!" Flowers danced around his head as he greeted me. "Do you want to eat some cake with me?"

"Ah… no… actually, I had a favor to ask…" I could see him take in my nervousness and he gently slid his cake aside and gave me his full attention. "What is it, Hana-chan?"

That reaction surprised me. "Well you see, I learned how to dance when I was young, but I haven't actually participated in a dance party in years." He didn't break eye contact as he waited for me to spit out what I was trying to say.

I gulped. "I was wondering if you could… possibly… help me refresh my memory?"

His face broke into an understanding smile. "You want me to practice dancing with you?" I nodded. "Of course, Hana-chan!" He stood up and bowed at the waist, holding his hand out to me. "I'm happy to help!" I took his hand in relief.

He led me out closer to the middle of the room. "What do you remember?" He asked. I placed my left hand on his shoulder and my right in his outstretched left hand. "This is about as far as I go." I sighed regretfully. He laughed lightly and placed his right hand on my back. "Ok!" he said cheerfully. "Here's how you start!" he walked me through the steps for the next few minutes. After a while, I had them down and we were dancing in a pretty good rhythm.

I beamed up at Honey. (yes, beamed. Shut up.) "It's just like riding a bike!" I exclaimed. Honey tilted his head sideways. "How is that?" he asked. I looked at him in surprise. "You know how the saying goes, once you've learned how to ride a bike, you never really forget. You just have to get back on in order to remember." He still looked confused so I tried to explain further. "So… when people try to do something they haven't done in a long time and they pick it up really quickly, they say, 'it's like riding a bike'!"

He finally looked like he understood. "I've never heard that saying before! But then, I've never learned how to ride a bike so…" I stopped moving and gaped at him. "You've NEVER learned how to ride a bike?! How is that even possible?" He shrugged. "It just wasn't a priority when I was a child, I guess. I trained most of the time, anyway."

I didn't really understand the training part of that sentence. I was still stuck on him NEVER LEARNING HOW TO RIDE A BIKE. I placed my hands on his shoulders and pulled him closer so I was inches from his face. "You. Me. Bike. I am teaching you how to ride. I don't know when, but it's happening."

He looked faintly surprised and a small blush reached his face. I suddenly realized how close we were and tried to pull away but I didn't get very far since his hand was still on my back. He smiled and there was a little more to this smile than his usual loli-boy grin. "You're cute when you're all determined, Hana-chan."

I blushed. He spotted something happening behind me and flowers appeared around his face again. "Oh this looks interesting! Come on, Hana-chan!" he bounded over to where Haruhi and Kyoya were talking to some guy carrying a box of tea cups. But I just stood there dazed.

I just had an entire conversation with Honey and he didn't slip into his Lolita personality once.

Did that really just happen?

AT THE PARTY

"I can't believe this is the plan. How can you be sure he won't recognize her?"

I glanced over at Haruhi being attacked by the twins, both wielding scary looking make-up tools. I shuddered. Glad I was too short for this scheme.

"Dressing her as a girl alone would be enough for most people, especially in a dark room. Adding the make-up and wig, I don't think we'll run into any problems." I glanced up at Kyoya. He was scribbling notes down in his little black book (can also be read as, Death Note).

So, to make a long story short. The host hopping girl was engaged to the tea cup guy from earlier. He's moving overseas. Apparently they have had a major miscommunication problem about their feelings, so we're dressing Haruhi up as a girl pretending to confess her love to tea cup guy, in order to find out how he really feels. All leading to the climax of this dance party.

Yes, this was all Tamaki's idea.

Speaking of the idiot, here he comes now. "What are you guys DOING?!" He yelled. "Our guests are out there all alone and we-"

His voice died out when he caught sight of Haruhi. I couldn't blame him, she really was beautiful. They had put her in a long brown wig that was close to the color of her natural hair and her dress was long and a pretty lilac color. She looked so good in pale colors. I tended toward jewel tones, like my halter top, knee length dress I was wearing tonight. It was a deep indigo. Tamaki's whole face flushed red. Aaw, what a cute dork.

We (but mostly Honey and the twins) all exclaimed over how cute Haruhi was as she complained about her face being heavy from all the make-up. As she left the room with Tamaki, Kyoya muttered something.

"What was that?" I looked at him with narrowed eyes.

He adjusted his glasses and gave me a small, chilling smile. "Nothing. I just made the passing comment that an 'accident' later on in the evening would be interesting."

"What kind of 'accident'?" I asked warily. He simply gave me an enigmatic smile and led us all back to the ballroom to entertain our guests. Kyoya was just as mischievous as the twins sometimes.

I made myself a fixture at the food table, trying to put what Kyoya said out of my mind. As I was eating my third piece of cake (Honey and I had done a GREAT job picking these flavors) I noticed the little blonde twirling around with multiple partners. He'd spin and flit from one to the other, acting like a hyperactive child and laughing giddily. The girls loved it, of course. I smiled at my little sempai and then frowned. Something was wrong.

I casually made my way through the crowd towards the boy and his clients, always keeping my eyes on him. Ah. There it is. His smile just slipped for a fraction of a second. His eyes looked strained at being open so wide. I chuckled. It's late and he's tired. Bless it.

I sidled up to the latest partner he was with and tapped him on the shoulder. He looked at me surprised. "Hana-chan?"

"Hello, Honey-sempai. Think I could snag the next dance?"

He smiled at me and when I was this close I could see that it didn't reach all the way to his eyes like it normally did.

"Of course, Hana-chan!" He excused himself from his partner and when he took my hand to lead me in a dance I tugged him back toward the balcony. He looked confused. "Not in here," I said. "It's so pretty outside, let's enjoy the fresh air." He didn't protest as I led him through the throng of people, past the balcony doors and around the corner where we were out of most people's line of sight.

I released his hand and slid down one of the columns and patted the ground next to me. "Sit." I ordered. "You looked exhausted in there. Take a break." He blinked in surprise and then smiled gratefully.

"Thanks." He said as he slid down next to me. He leaned his head back against the column and sighed. "Events like this are a lot of fun but they're also very tiring. The amount of ladies to entertain is tripled. Sometimes I think my cheeks are going to fall off from smiling so much."

Well. That was certainly an out of the blue confession. I just sort of expected him to take a quick cat nap.

I patted his knee sympathetically. "I can only imagine. I could tell something was off from across the room. Speaking of which," I turned my body so I could see his face. "That lemon chocolate cake we ordered? AH-mazing. You'll have to try some before we leave tonight."

He gave a small smile. "I definitely will." He gave a big (adorable) yawn after that which made me laugh.

"I brought you out here for some rest. So no more talking. We're just gonna enjoy the quiet and rest." I leaned back on the column and we sat in companionable silence for a few minutes.

I wonder how Haruhi is doing. They've been gone a long time. How long does it take make a love confession? Seriously.

People started floating out onto the balcony and Kyoya met my eyes, jerking his head. I patted Honey's knee again. "We're being summoned by the Shadow King." I told him. He nodded and stood up. I gave him my hand so he could help pull me up. As he pulled me, he enveloped me in a hug. "Thanks, Hana-chan. I needed that. It really helped."

He smiled and skipped toward the rest of the group while I followed behind, very thankful it was dark and it would be difficult for people to see the blush on my face before it faded. I joined the others watching the tea cup couple (as I liked to call them) dance around in the spotlight outside.

"The title of best dancer tonight goes to Kanako Kasugazaki!" The audience applauded.

The twins were the ones doing the announcing. That worried me a bit. "And now, the reward for being the best dancer, the kiss from the King of the Host Club himself…" Oh yeah. Tamaki was supposed to kiss whoever won on the cheek. "… has been changed to our own Haruhi Fujioka!"

"WHAT?!" Tamaki and Haruhi said at once. I slammed my hand over my mouth so I wouldn't laugh out loud. So this is what Kyoya meant by an 'accident'.

"Of all the things to make me do…" Haruhi muttered.

Kyoya's glasses flashed. "If you do this, I'll reduce your debt by a third."

"Well it's only a peck on the cheek…" I watched as Haruhi made her way down the stairs to meet Kanako. I was still shaking with silent laughter when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I glanced up at Honey and he pointed to the twins. They were throwing a banana peel onto the steps behind Haruhi. I gave him a confused look and he winked slowly at me.

Then he popped up in front of Tamaki and asked innocently "Hey, do you think this could be Haru-chan's first kiss?"

"What?!" Tamaki exclaimed again and rushed after Haruhi, yelling "Stop that kiss!"

But he slipped.

On the banana peel.

How on earth could they have possibly known that would happen?

When he did, he crashed into Haruhi, making her slip and kiss Kanako full on the mouth.

I gasped as the other girls squealed with delight and Tamaki wallowed in his depression. I couldn't stand up anymore, I had to sit down. I leaned against the balcony and tried my best to laugh as quietly as I could as my eyes streamed. Best. Night. Ever.

Chapter Text

I took a deep breath of the outside air, heavy with the scent of cherry blossoms. It was beautiful today. I'm glad the Host Club decided to have a flower viewing party. There wasn't a whole lot for me to do today, everyone was too busy admiring the flowers (and the boys) to ask for drawings.

Honey was stirring some sort of tea rapidly. It looked like he was almost out of it. As I watched the scene, Mori leaned down to say something to him. "Mitsukuni. You over did it." As Honey looked at his tea in shock, his eyes began to well with tears. Oh, those poor girls. You can't resist a crying Honey.

"That's ok Honey! It's exactly the amount I wanted!" The first girl exclaimed, grabbing the bowl and gulping it down.

"Oh yes, any more would have been too much! How did you know? You really amaze me!" said the second girl.

"Really?!" Honey perked up and looked at them hopefully.

Please. The tea isn't the only thing he's overdoing. As I walked behind their little area I discreetly flicked the back of his head. He looked at me sharply and I smirked. He sniffed and went back to his customers.

I walked over to where the twins were mercilessly teasing Tamaki about Haruhi. As per usual.

As I approached, I heard the twins chant "After all, we are in the same class!" while a panel appeared above their heads saying "a congenial classmate trio". I shook my head as Tamaki went into his emo corner.

"Say… Mommy?"

I glanced back at Kyoya who had his back turned to us. "Yes, Daddy?" He asked conversationally. I snorted. Kyoya rarely played along with his nickname.

"I have a theory… It's just a hypotheses of course but… By being in the same class, Hikaru and Kaoru spend more time with Haruhi than I do… giving them more chances to get to know her…"

"Tamaki. You just figured this out?" As Tamaki was struck by lightning, I shook my head to Kyoya. "He's so slow." "Indeed."

The next thing I knew there was a board in front of us with two pie charts with the words "Time with Haruhi" above them.

I gaped as Kyoya explained the whole thing to Tamaki. "According to my research, by being in the same class, the twins spend an average of nine hours a day with Haruhi while your time is limited to a couple hours of club activities. In conclusion, your part in Haruhi's life amounts to a mere three percent."

"I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT!"

As Tamaki rushed off to harass Haruhi, I looked at Kyoya. "Why on earth do you have a chart like this? Why would you even research something like that?" He gave me the classic Kyoya smile. "Mostly for the reaction I get out of Tamaki. It's well worth the effort. Would you like to see your chart?" I waved my hands in front of me. "No no, Kyo-kun. I'm fine, no need for that."

I saw Honey and Mori wandering over to us as the twins piped up over Tamaki's ranting. "You don't have to rush anything, Boss. She'll be found out soon. Physical Exams are the day after tomorrow."

We all turned to stare at Haruhi.

"Physical exams?" I asked.

"Oh yes, I had forgotten about that," Kyoya said. Somehow, I highly doubt that.

"Huh." Haruhi shrugged. "Guess that means they'll definitely find out I'm a girl."

The next day we were all lounging around in the club room. Tamaki was over in the corner in his own little world. By his face, it was a very pleasant day dream. Honey and Hikaru were watching him with interest.

I sat next to Kyoya at a table close to the middle of the room. "I wish Haruhi would get here soon." I grumbled. Without breaking his flow of typing, Kyoya asked absently, "We're not enough entertainment for you?" I shrugged. "No, you are. I just miss her when we're apart." I placed my hand over my heart and gazed into the distance. Kyoya didn't bother responding. Then our attention was drawn to Tamaki as he pointed a dramatic finger at Hikaru.

"While you have been lost in your jealousy, I have foreseen the end of this charade!" As he turned in a circle with sparkles and hearts dancing around his head, we all joined Hikaru and Honey to watch this outburst.

"This anime is obviously a school romantic comedy and therefore Haruhi and I are the main characters. Which means WE fall in love!" He said triumphantly.

Holy crap did he just break the fourth wall?!

"Yeah, so what does that make us?" Hikaru asked.

Tamaki spun around and pointed his finger at us decisively. "You boys are the homosexual supporting cast!" He then took out a stick and drew a line on the tile. "So do not cross this line, please."

"You've gotta be kidding…" The twins grumbled.

I walked forward and took a measured step over the line and glared up at Tamaki. "And what exactly am I, Tama-kun?" I challenged. He took a step back. "Well…" he began nervously. "You... are… the daughter!" I shook my head at his stupidity.

"Look, Boss…" Hikaru said.

"…we don't think you get it." Kaoru said.

Honey came forward. "If word gets out that Haru-chan is a girl, she won't be able to be in the host club anymore!"

"Duh!" I yelled.

Tamaki turned to stone.

"You know…" I caught Honey's eye and winked. "I bet if Haruhi started dressing like a girl…"

"She'd be even cuter!" He finished.

"I bet she was pretty popular in middle school," said Hikaru.

"She was. According to my investigative report, someone would pledge their undying love for her at least once a week." I'm sorry. Investigative report? Who exactly IS Kyoya?

"Wow. I guess Tama-kun wouldn't be able to get close to her at all…" I mused.

"But we would, because we're in the same class with her." Kaoru smirked.

At that moment, Haruhi opened the door to the club room. Before she could get two words out, Tamaki was shaking her shoulders and demanding that she remain 'our secret princess' or whatever.

I giggled. "He's so easy to rile up," I said fondly. "That's Tama-chan." Honey stated. "Hn." That was Mori.

Hikaru looked sideways at his brother. "You know, even we might get a little upset if the guys are flirting with her all the time." Kaoru nodded. "That settles it, then."

"MEN! And Hana!" Tamaki yelled. The next minute there was a white board with the words 'Operation: hide Haruhi's gender!" scrawled on top. Tamaki continued to shout out orders but I wasn't paying attention. I was NOT going to be a part of this.

"Oh! I get it!" We all turned to look at Haruhi. "You guys are worried that if they find out I'm a girl, I won't be able to be a host and repay my debt!"

I could see her mentally calculate how much she had left to pay. "Oh well! Guess I'll just have to find another way to repay you! Ahaha!" I sighed. She had no idea that this really had nothing to do with her debt. Not that I cared one way or the other.

"Boss! Do something! The subject doesn't care!" The twins whined.

"Haruhi!" Tamaki whirled around to point his dramatic finger in her direction. "Are you saying you hate being a host that badly? That you hate this club?!" He really shouldn't have asked her that.

"Well. Yeah, I guess I do." And there goes Tamaki to his emo corner.

"I mean you guys are fine and all, but if they find out I'm a girl, there's not much I can do about it!" I chuckled. Haru looked absolutely blissful at the possibility of not being a host anymore.

"She doesn't care one way or the other!" Hikaru said in frustration.

"We've got to figure out a way to motivate her." Kaoru considered.

They all turned to look at me. "What?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "Don't look at me. I don't care what happens either. Motivate her yourselves."

As they all went back to thinking, Mori's deep voice rang out across the room. "Fancy Tuna."

Haruhi froze. I grinned. Food was Haruhi's weakness. If they wanted her to do anything, offering her rich food was definitely the way to go.

"That's riiiiight." Tamaki said (rather creepily, I might add) from his corner. "You didn't get to try any at the party in the last chapter, did you?"

The twins whispered in scandalized voices.

"Did you hear that? She's never had fancy tuna. How awful."

"Talk about a difficult childhood."

I almost burst out laughing when Honey looked forlornly at Usa-chan. "It's too bad Haru-chan can't stay in the Host Club. She'd be able to try lots of good food then!"

"Oh come on you guys!" Haruhi protested, "Just because I'm poor and never eaten it doesn't mean I'm a big enough glutton to go around fooling everyone about my gender in order to try it!"

I came to stand with the rest of the Host Club looking at her expectantly.

She looked off to the side. "Would I really get to try some?"

"YAY!" Everyone but Kyoya and Mori yelled. But they both had small smiles, which was basically the same for them.

As I was preparing to leave the club room later – it had taken a while to form the plan—I was grabbed from behind in a hug. "Hana-chan! Hana-chan!" Honey squealed in my ear.

I laughed and turned around to face him. "Yes, Honey-sempai?"

"I had a question." He said, with mock seriousness. I raised my eyebrow. "Shoot."

"Well…" he cocked his head to the side. "You said you didn't care what happens one way or the other. But you're rich enough to get Haru-chan fancy tuna anytime she wants. You could have told her that when we were trying to motivate her. But you didn't. Why?"

I looked at him in surprise. Although I know better, sometimes it's easy to forget that Honey isn't as unobservant as he appears. I reached out and ruffled his hair affectionately. "I guess I like you guys more than I let on. But let's keep that between you and me, 'kay?" We shared a smile. "I'll see you tomorrow, Honey-sempai."

"See you tomorrow, Hana-chan."

"Why are Honey-sempai and Mori-sempai dressed as doctors?" Haruhi asked disbelievingly.

"To set the mood. Also, it makes this whole endeavor seem that much more exciting, don't you think? Like we're on a real mission." Kyoya replied with a straight face.

"Also, how can you not think they're adorable?" I asked defensively.

Haruhi looked at me and sweatdropped. "This was your idea, wasn't it?" I looked everywhere that was not at her.

There was plenty to see. The physical examinations were quite the excitement for the student body. Mostly because the Host Club would be having to take off their clothes in order to have their measurements done. (Their chest measurements. Pervs.) We passed the twins doing an extended brotherly love act after taking off their shirts. Something about playing 'doctor' at home. The girls were practically spurting blood. I managed to catch their eye as we walked past them and waggled my eyebrows suggestively. They gave me a thumbs up in return. I eased over to them as Haruhi was pushed into a secluded corner tent.

"Are you guys ready for this?" I asked in excitement. They came to stand on either side of me, physical exams forgotten. "You think he'll actually do it?" asked Kaoru. "Of course he'll do it. He's an idiot." Hikaru replied with confidence.

"Fujioka-san! It's time to take your measurements!"

All the girls huddled outside the changing area waiting impatiently for their first glimpse of Haruhi "kun's" bare chest. The twins and I leaned forward in anticipation for an entirely different reason.

The next second, Tamaki shoved the curtain back and stepped into the light wearing a brown wig, declaring loudly "Yes! I am Haruhi Fujioka!"

I could not BREATHE, I was laughing so hard.

All of the girls were muttering amongst themselves, obviously not fooled at all. The twins were on the floor with me, holding their stomachs and slapping the floor.

"He actually DID IT!" Kaoru managed to get out.

"I knew he wouldn't fool anyone!" Hikaru gasped.

I couldn't even form words. Tamaki was yelling at us but I couldn't understand what he was saying and I didn't really care anyway.

I looked up as a shadow fell over me. Kyoya peered down his nose. "Hana, we are taking Haruhi to the special changing area down the hall. Please pull yourself together and follow her and the nurse." All of the staff were employed by Kyoya's family's hospital. A special doctor had been made aware of Haruhi's situation.

I nodded, wiping tears from my eyes. As I trotted to catch up to Haruhi, I heard her muttering under her breath. "Aw, don't be mad, Haru." I slid my arm around her waist. "You know Tamaki, he means well, but he's clumsy about it." She looked down at me with narrowed eyes. "You could have stopped it." I feigned shock. "Really? You must think very highly of me if you think I could derail one of Tama-kun's ideas. Kyoya is his best friend and he can barely manage it half the time. Besides, this was their revenge for being labeled the homosexual supporting cast." She sighed, defeated. "I know, you're right. They're all so embarrassing sometimes."

She gave me a sideways look. "By the way, not that I don't like you being with me, but why exactly ARE you with me? You don't have to hide your gender. You could go through the physical exams like all of the other students."

I gave her a smile. "You know, it's funny. As logical as Kyo-kun is, when he was making these plans it didn't even seem to occur to him that I wouldn't be involved in this part. I think he just factors me in to all of the hosts' crazy schemes out of habit now, without even asking. And the others never objected or pointed out the obvious."

She took my hand and squeezed it. "They have a weird way of making you feel wanted, don't they?"

I was saved from having to reply as we entered the secluded room. The doctor greeted us formally.

"Ah, you must be Fujioka-san. I've been made aware of your situation. You and Lee-san can undress right over here." She gestured to a large curtained area.

Haruhi had more layers than I did, so I was already in my underwear while she had barely taken off her bottom shirt. I looked up to make a comment on her turtle like behavior when a man starting backing up into our area.

"Hey-!" I started to say but he turned around frantically and shoved his hands over mine and Haruhi's mouths. "Please!" He pleaded. "It's not what you think!"

I was about to bite his hand and tell him EXACTLY what I thought, when I heard Tamaki's voice yelling outside the curtain. "Haruhi! Hana!" and then "TAMA-KICK!" and he sprang into the changing area, kicking the pervert into the wall behind us. Haruhi and I stood there stunned.

"One…" I heard the twins start behind us, "good looks that attract the public eye."

"Two…" Kyoya was suddenly leaning against one of the side walls, in shadow, of course. "More wealth than you can imagine."

What are they doing?

"Three," I heard Mori's deep voice. "Chivalry that cannot overlook…"

"…the hideous wickedness of this world." Honey finished.

What are they, The Justice League?

Tamaki draped his shirt over Haruhi. Which I thought was a little rude, considering I was the one standing in my underwear and she was only in a tank top. She still had her pants on, for crying out loud.

I then felt something drape over my shoulders as well and looked down to see one of the boys' jackets.

"We are the Ouran Host Club! We're here, watch out!" They all chorused together.

The guy looked like he was about to pass out. I pulled the jacket closed around me and then raised my eyebrow in the direction of the group. "Exactly how many hours did you guys practice to get that down like that?"

I was mostly ignored as the man jumped into his life story for some reason. Apparently he was a pushover at work and his wife and daughter had left him.

As I stood listening with the rest of them, I realized Honey wasn't wearing his jacket. Oh. I looked down, suddenly highly conscious of the fact that the fabric was still warm from body heat. I also noted in surprise that it covered me quite well. I mean, obviously it was a little short (although it covered enough) but I was able to wrap it completely around me. I glanced out of the corner of my eye at the small boy. He was intent on the story the creepy doctor was telling. I tried to mentally measure his shoulders. Who knew someone his size could have such broad shoulders? Comparatively speaking.

I shook my head. What was I doing? Get a grip, Hana. I brought my mind back to the situation at hand.

"Kyoya, make a map for this man to his daughter's school." Tamaki ordered quietly.

Haruhi looked surprised. I wasn't. Tamaki was a sucker for sob stories. It was one of the many things that made him so lovable despite his idiocy.

As we watched the man leave through the window (we were looking through the window, the man didn't leave that way) Kaoru made a passing comment. "You sure this is a good idea? His daughter will probably still reject him."

"Well. He'll just have to figure that out for himself, won't he?" Tamaki answered in a serious tone.

I watched Haruhi's face soften for a second before returning to her normal apathetic expression.

She totally likes him, I smirked inwardly.

We stood there for a moment more before Haruhi said bluntly, "Can you guys leave now?"

I laughed as Tamaki demanded if Haruhi was still mad and hated the club. "Tama-kun, we still haven't had our exam, silly."

As Tamaki swung Haruhi around in his happiness, I stepped over to stand beside Honey.

"Thanks for the jacket." I whispered to him, fighting embarrassment. "I'll get it back to you once we're done." He smiled his adorable smile. "Sure, Hana-chan. It was no problem. Besides," his voiced dropped a couple octaves "Knowing the twins, they would have started teasing you and I didn't want them to do that."

I blinked, but before I could respond they were all being forcefully pushed out the door by a fed up Haruhi. That seems to happen to me a lot.

"Finally," she said as the door closed. "We can finish this stupid exam..."

Honey's P.O.V

It was a good thing Tama-chan had gotten to the changing area first. His kick only rattled the guy up a bit. Mine probably would have killed him, the small loli-boy thought.

He leaned his head against the window of the limo and sighed. What had come over him? When he and the others had heard that the supposed 'pervert' doctor was heading to where Hana and Haruhi were, his stomach had dropped into his shoes and he felt like punching out a wall.

Then Hana had been standing there in nothing but her underwear. Which, as he thought back to the image, were very cute – they were a purple color with teal polka dots.

He shook his head to rid himself of the thought. He had almost had a heart attack right there on the spot. He was an eighteen year old boy, after all, and Hana was very attractive. As he struggled to remember his lines (Hana had no idea some of the hilarious things Tamaki made them practice) he had noticed the twins eyeing her and smirking at each other. No doubt they were planning on taunting her later.

Ha. Their reaction to his glare had been priceless. He hardly ever glared, but he had heard it was quite frightening to be on the other end of it.

He hadn't even thought about what he was doing before he had wrapped his jacket around her. He just wanted her to be covered, so the twins wouldn't stare at her.

So he wouldn't stare at her.

"Something wrong, Mitsukuni?"

Honey looked over at his cousin. "No, I'm fine. Just tired, you know. It's been a long day."

The bigger boy made a noise meant as an agreement.

Honey purposefully pushed all of those thoughts out of his mind and smiled. "But! I just remembered I have a whole chocolate cake waiting at home! Yay!"

Chapter Text

Things had been pretty normal around the Host Club. Well. As normal as they could be. My days had fallen into a routine. I went to school, struggling to stay awake through most of the subjects and laughing at Tamaki's antics and Kyoya's impassive responses. Afterwards, I either sat with Haruhi in the library while she studied or went to an extracurricular art class to practice drawing something other than the boys. Then I went to the Host Club, where I would rotate from my own corner when I had customers to Haruhi, Honey and Mori, and Kyoya. I couldn't handle being near the twins or Tamaki when they were performing. For one, it was too loud from all of the girls. Two, they drained my energy. Just like my brother and sisters.

I'd have to say I spent the most time with Kyoya, when I wasn't drawing. He was the calmest one of all of them and we could usually sit in companionable silence, him typing away at his computer or writing in his black book and me drawing or observing the others from a safe distance.

I mean, Haruhi was great, but we saw each other all the time at home (we had barely been apart since realizing our houses were so close). Honey and Mori were also fun to hang out around, especially when Rit-chan was there and I could sit with her. She tended to watch Mori a lot. I even noticed that when he got up to get Honey more cake she always volunteered to help. It was so cute. But I couldn't stay there very long either because Honey's adorableness was at its highest potency when he was trying to entertain the ladies. Even though I knew he was emphasizing his Lolita tendencies for effect, I could only take so much.

Like today. Everyone was dressed in yukatas today (the twins had remembered my request and I was dressed in a beautiful sky blue yukata with a white cherry blossom pattern). Honey had pretended to lose his shoe and had gone crying to Haruhi about it. Then Mori had bent down and put his shoe back on for him like he was Cinderella or something. The resulting cuteness of him hugging Mori affectionately was too much for me.

"I'm going for a walk. I don't have anymore appointments today, right?" I asked Kyoya as I walked by.

He nodded as I stepped outside the doors and leaned against them. I needed to get a grip.

"Um, excuse me?" a small voice broke through my thoughts.

I looked up to see a girl about Haru's age standing in front of me nervously. She had long light brown hair with a cute pink ribbon. Her eyes were a bright brown color and she looked nervous.

"Is this where the Host Club is?"

I smiled reassuringly. "Yes, this is the Host Club. Are you new, dear? Don't worry, they don't bite."

She blushed prettily at that. "Uh… um… I'm not supposed to wear a yukata, am I?" I looked down at my outfit and laughed. "Oh no, the customers aren't wearing these, just the Host Club members." She looked confused and I explained, "I'm not a host, but I am their resident fan artist. Therefore, I'm obligated to dress in the cosplay as well."

She seemed to understand. I held out my hand. "Would you like me to lead you inside?"

"Oh… ok…" I brought her inside and announced loudly, "Hey guys, we have a new customer."

As they all gathered in front of us, the girl tried to hide behind me, which was hilarious because I was so much shorter than her.

The twins crept closer to us. They were both holding a rose in their hands.

"Won't you come in?" Hikaru asked seductively.

"It's no fun to hide, you know." Kaoru said at the same tone.

And then Tamaki shoved them aside. "Quit it!" He exclaimed. "How many times do I have to tell you to treat our first time customers with care. Welcome, my princess." He turned his gaze to the girl. I took this opportunity to slide away from her and go stand by Haruhi.

"We are the Ouran Host Club," Tamaki had his charm all the way up. The girl looked like she was about to say something and he pressed in. "Yes?"

"No! Don't touch me, you phony!" She screamed and slapped Tamaki away from her with a surprising amount of force.

We all stood in shock as Tamaki reeled from the impact and the accusation. "I'm… a phony?" he asked in a scandalized voice.

"Yes! You are a phony!" She declared. "I cannot believe someone like you is the prince figure of this club! The prince character doesn't go around spreading his love so easily! How can you be so stupid? What a dim-witted narcissist! INCOMPETENT! AVERAGE! THE WORST!" With every word an arrow would strike Tamaki in the chest. The last insult sent a lighting strike through his body and he started falling in slow motion. That was quite impressive.

Kyoya was looking at the girl with a calculating look on his face. That was the face he wore when he was going through his mental files, trying to place someone. "By any chance, are you…" He began but he didn't get to finish.

The girl's eyes filled with tears. "Kyoya-sama!" She cried and, using Tamaki as a spring board, launched herself into Kyoya's arms. I almost choked. If possible, we were all more shocked than when she had called Tamaki a phony. I'm not sure she'll survive after showing that much affection to our Shadow King. He just looked down at her, his expression one of slight surprise. Which for Kyoya, meant he was as shocked as the rest of us.

"Oh Kyoya-sama! I have been waiting to meet you for so long! My one and only prince charming!"

"Fiancé?"

"You're Kyoya-sempai's fiancé?"

"That's right!" The girl said. We had all moved to the couches so we could be more comfortable. All except for Tamaki, who had retreated to his corner after the announcement.

"My name is Renge Hoshakuji. I will be transferring into Class 1-A tomorrow." She said matter-of-factly.

None of us were paying much attention because we were all watching our king wallow in his dark emotions.

"Wow, he's mad." Hikaru observed.

"That's because 'mommy' kept a secret from 'daddy'." Kaoru explained.

"Poor Tama-kun." I said sympathetically.

Kyoya sighed. "Whatever. Are you guys really going to go along with this married couple thing?"

I elbowed him in the ribs and winked. "Of course, Kyo-kun! We have to be able to annoy you with something." He gave me a look as Renge began spurting her nonsense again.

"Oh, it was love at first sight for us!" She gushed. "The way you were gazing at the flowers in the courtyard when you thought no one was looking! And the way you reached out to help that poor inured kitten!"

"Who are you talking about?" The twins asked in unison.

"That doesn't sound much like Kyo-kun," I began but she shot me a death glare.

"Are you sure you don't have the wrong person?" Haruhi asked but flinched back when Renge replied heatedly "Of course! You can't fool me!"

"He's someone who cares about everyone... But doesn't ask for anything in return… he loves solitude but is actually lonely… " While she was talking, the rest of us were panicking, trying to figure out who exactly she was talking about because it certainly was not Kyoya. I looked up at him in confusion while he just stood, his face a blank mask as his listened. Even Mori was reacting to these ridiculous claims.

Renge was still going. "The one who looks just like the star of the currently popular love simulation game, Uki Doki Memorial!" She pointed a decisive finger at Kyoya "Ichijo Miyabi-kun! That's you!"

We all stood still as her words sunk in. "Uki…?" Haruhi started.

"Doki…?" Honey mumbled the second word.

"OTAKU!" Tamaki screamed in panic.

"AN OTAKU?!" The twins ran behind Tamaki, also freaking out.

"Well this makes much more sense now." I said.

"Indeed. I see now. You're infatuated with a character and you've projected those feelings onto me. Even going so far as to delude yourself into thinking we're engaged. This Miyabi-kun character probably wears glasses also."

Renge was in another fan girl universe on the other side of the room so she didn't hear him.

"Wait, deluded? Then you're not engaged?" Tamaki asked with a pout.

"I don't remember ever asking her to marry me, no." Kyoya stated. "Besides, this is the first time I've met her."

We all sweatdropped. He could have just told us that…

Renge hopped her little way back over to our area. "According to my information, Kyoya-sama, you run the business side of this club?" she had stars in her eyes as she looked at him. It was quite unnerving to say the least.

"That's right! Kyo-chan is our director!" Honey supplied.

Her eyes glittered. "Director?! That's perfect!" She gazed off into the distance. "I've always dreamed of wearing a cardboard sign to advertise a business!"

"We're a Host Club, we don't advertise." The twins said flatly.

"I've made up my mind! I'm going to be this club's manager!" She wasn't listening at all.

I heard Kyoya tell Tamaki to be polite to her since she was the daughter of one of the Ootori family's important clients. That's the real Kyoya, always thinking of the business end. I shook my head and walked over to Renge.

"Well Renge, it is very nice to meet you. I'm sure Kyo-kun will welcome your help." I smirked inwardly at how much he actually wouldn't welcome her help but I kept it from my face. To my surprise, she narrowed her eyes at me and looked angry. What had I done? She grabbed my wrist and hissed "Can I speak to you in private?" It wasn't really a question since she was already dragging me into the hallway.

"Whats up?" I asked warily. She whipped her head around and crossed her arms.

"What exactly is your relationship with Kyoya-sama?" She demanded. I blinked. "Uh… we're friends?"

Her eyes narrowed again. "Oh really? Just friends?" I looked at her confused. "Yeah, Renge, we're just friends. What could possibly make you think we were anything else?" Although now that I thought about it, I was the only girl in the Host Club, as far as she knew. Maybe she was just making sure I wasn't after her man. As if.

"Well for one," she said slowly as if talking to a child. "You call him Kyo-kun." I cocked my head to the side. "Yes? I call Tamaki 'Tama-kun' sometimes. We're in the same class, club, and we're friends. It's just a nickname, Ren-chan." I tried to add something to her name so she would understand I didn't mean anything by it. Why am I even defending myself to her? She's not even really WITH Kyoya, it's all in her head.

She seemed exasperated. But at least she wasn't angry anymore, so that was good. "Hana-sempai. Tamaki doesn't count. His personality allows for all sorts of nicknames and he doesn't care. Have you ever heard anyone else call Kyoya-sama, 'Kyo'? Because according to my research, he doesn't like anyone to shorten his name."

"Of course I've heard people call him that! Honey calls him 'Kyo-chan' all the time!" I tried to explain.

She raised an eyebrow at me. "He's Kyoya's sempai. He can call him what he wants, I'm sure. Have you ever heard anyone besides Honey-sempai call him that? Think about it." And with that little information bomb, she walked off.

I stood there for a second, thinking. Actually, no. I hadn't. Not even Tamaki. I gulped. Crap, what if I offended him? I knew Kyoya well enough to know that if it really bothered him he'd have said something. But I also knew that if he thought it would offend me to say cut it out and me being the daughter of a business associate, plus a good source of income for the Host Club, he might keep his mouth shut. I don't want my friend to be uncomfortable with what I call him.

How did Renge's research unearth this small random fact but not something huge, like, I don't know… his actual personality?

I stuck my head back in the door and saw him sitting at a corner table typing away at his laptop. Honey and Mori were in the corner eating cake. Well, Honey was eating. Mori was watching. Somehow Tamaki and the twins were already gone. Was there a secret passage I was unaware of? I looked at Haruhi. "Ready to go?" she said.

I shook my head. "Actually, I need to discuss something with Kyoya. I'll see you later?" She gave me a puzzled look but nodded and headed out the door.

I walked up to his table and sat down across from him. He continued to type quickly but managed a "Yes, Hana? Can I help you with something?"

I put my elbow on the table and set my chin in my hand. "We're friends, right Kyoya? If I did something that annoyed you on a routine basis, you'd say something right?" He paused in his typing and looked at me with a blank expression. "I mean, not Tamaki routine annoyance, but real annoyance."

His lips curled up in a smirk. "Tamaki is real annoyance. In fact, I have been able to increase my tolerance of regular annoyances because of his incessant behavior." He then adjusted his glasses so they flashed in the light. "As for your question, if you did something that I thought merited a response, I do not think I would hesitate to point it out. Except for the fact that it may encourage you to do it more."

I chuckled. "You know me so well."

"Indeed."

We sat looking at each other for a few moments before he asked in a slightly less cool voice. "What is it you really wanted to ask me, Hana?"

I looked down at the table. "Does it bother you when I call you Kyo-kun?"

There was silence from the other end of the table.

Then, "It did, at first."

I looked up (I hoped not too hopefully). "At first?" I asked timidly.

I was surprised to see his face had softened. Meaning he looked like a normal person.

"Yes. I grasped rather quickly that you had heard Honey-sempai refer to me as such and didn't realize no one else did."

"I still didn't…" I muttered.

"Yes, you can be quite unobservant." I glared at him. He let out a light laugh. "Like I was saying. It did bother me at first. No one other than Honey-sempai had ever dared to try to shorten my name. I'm sure they feared the consequences." He smiled smugly at the idea of people being afraid of him. The creeper.

"But over time, I realized it was not a problem. No one else seemed to pick up your little habit. To tell you the truth, it grew on me." He went back to his computer, typing furiously.

I was touched by this display of emotion. Subtle, of course, but that was Kyoya. I grinned. I, however, was not subtle. I ran around the table and hugged him from behind. "Aw! You like your nickname! Yay!" I giggled.

"Get off me." He said irritably. I gave him one more squeeze around his shoulders and released him. I thought about thanking Renge but figured she wouldn't be happy with the conversation.

Chapter Text

"Your characters are all weak!" Renge declared angrily to all of us.

We stopped what we were doing to look at her. Tamaki had been begging Haruhi to stop treating the twins with such indifference when they tried to molest her. Hikaru had bitten off a bit of a cookie that Haruhi had in her mouth and Kaoru had licked off the crumbs that were on her face. They were going to try with me, but I threatened to tie their tongues together. We were all pretty much watching in amusement when Renge had her outburst.

Or rather, began her outburst.

"All of your characters are too weak! You need a dark side! Girls are vulnerable to handsome young men going through trauma! If you keep going on this way the girls are going to get bored! Are you TRYING to ruin Kyoya-sama's precious business?! As your manager, I'm changing all of your characters!"

She aimed her accusing finger at Honey. "Starting with you!" He cringed into Mori's arms and his eyes filled with tears. "If you're cute inside and out then you're no better than a baby! From now on you'll be the baby faced thug!"

"Aaaahh!" Honey cried. I glared at the girl as she turned to Mori "And you are his childhood friend, the flunkie!"

I stepped in front of Mori and Honey defensively, as if I were any kind of protection. "Renge, back off. You want Honey to be mean?! He's a kind-hearted person, I doubt he even knows HOW to be mean! And Mori-sempai is smart! He's even helped me with my homework sometimes!"

She flipped her hair and said dismissively, "I'll write them a script."

I curled my hands into fists. She went on to declare the twins basketball players who were shut in their own world (not really that far off, except for the basketball thing), Haruhi to be the scholarship student who is constantly being bullied, and Tamaki the 'lonely prince' figure who feels lonely despite his extreme popularity.

I started forward to argue with her again but two arms wrapped around my waist from behind, holding me back.

"It's ok, Hana-chan," Honey whispered in my ear. "Really. Thanks for trying to stand up for Takashi and me." He rubbed his cheek against mine. I felt a hand ruffle my hair and looked up at Mori, who was wearing a small smile. I sighed. "If you guys say so."

I heard Kyoya's voice echo across the room. "What about Hana? Doesn't her character need something?' I narrowed my eyes at him. He smirked in my direction. "I don't have a character, Kyo-kun. I'm not a host. I just draw." "But you are a part of this club," He countered.

I opened my mouth to continue the argument but Renge cut in, "If you think so, Kyoya-sama. You can be another bullying victim with Haruhi, since you're so small."

"Son of a-" I began before Honey clamped his hands over my mouth. The insult I was trying to hurl at Kyoya came out muffled. The jerk seemed extremely amused. Darn him.

Somehow, it all turned into a movie.

I watched the twins do their basketball scene. I wasn't entirely sure why everything had to happen in the rain, but Renge said it was more dramatic. Honestly, I feel like it just made everything harder to see.

Tamaki was in his element. He had really taken to heart this whole 'lonely prince' thing. I hope it didn't stick, his normal bouts of depression were enough to deal with.

Now Haruhi and I were running through the woods, trying to get away from 'the baby-faced thug'. We saw the tree where we were supposed to stop. We huddled against the tree as Honey and Mori walked up.

"You can't run away forever." Holy crap, was that HONEY? Haruhi and I turned around and stared at our two sempais. We slowly slumped down to the ground, clinging to each other like we were supposed too. I hoped I looked scared enough because I really didn't want to do this again.

Talk about a character change. Honey had his hands in his pockets, with his hair covering half his face. He actually did look really intimidating.

"You're going to learn what happens when you go against me." He said in deep voice. I shivered. Whoa, who knew he could sound so sexy? Forget intimidating.

Mori started on his lines. "Don't, Mitsukuni. Whenever you hurt someone, you're the one who really gets hurt." Oh my god, who wrote this script?

"Don't try to give me any advice, Takashi. Want me to put you over my knee again?" Pfft, that made quite the disturbing mental image. I tried to keep my face looking scared instead of highly amused.

Honey raised his head to look straight at Haruhi and me. "I hate it when people try to rise above their station in life. And anyone so small should be better at defending themselves." He sneered.

He looked at us like that for about another millisecond before he broke into a sob. "Waah! I'm so sorry Haru-chan! Hana-chan! I can't do this!" he threw himself at us. We hugged him so he knew we weren't actually mad/afraid.

"Cut! Cut! Cut! Cut!" Renge shouted, her hair somehow turning into snakes. Man, I want some sort of affect to show my emotions. "Stay in character!" she yelled at Honey. "But… I…" he started but Renge turned around quickly and starting barking orders to the Hollywood camera crew that was filming us.

We all started walking toward the other hosts. I hugged Honey around his shoulders. "Aw, don't worry Honey-sempai. You did great until the end. Although, I'd have to say your 'scary' voice is more sexy than scary." I laughed. "You should get lots of comments about that when the customers see this thing!"

He looked at me in surprise. "You… thought my voice was sexy?" he asked in disbelief. I fidgeted, trying not to act embarrassed. That had just slipped out before I thought about it. Darn my lack of a brain filter. I shrugged, playing it off. "Sure, I'd say so."

He kept staring at me, so I turned my back to him and walked ahead. I didn't get very far before two arms wrapped around my body, pinning my arms to my sides.

"What about now?" Honey asked in the same deep voice as before. I yelped, trying to wriggle out of his hold. "That is not funny." I said irritably. "Let me go." He chuckled into my ear with the same darn voice and I shivered before he finally released me. I took off running toward Haruhi without even glancing behind me.

What. The. Heck.

As I practically dived underneath Haruhi, I heard her say to Tamaki, "Really? I think you're fine just the way you are, Sempai." I glanced up at the tall host and almost snickered. He was so red. It was adorable.

Haruhi looked down at me and frowned. "Are you ok, Hana? Your face is all red." Crap. I hadn't realized I had blushed in my rush to get away from Honey. I'm such a hypocrite.

"Ah… I'm fine, just… I'm fine." I stammered. Seriously, WHAT was wrong with me?

"Haruhi-kun, Hana-chan! I need you two over here please!" Renge waved us over excitedly.

"Duty calls." I rolled my eyes as we trotted around the corner to see what we had to do now.

We both skidded to a stop. Renge was standing with two very unfortunate looking young men. Both of their faces were harsh and just looked scary. Bless their hearts, they could at least smile. That would probably help.

"I've asked these two gentlemen to make a special appearance in our show!" Renge explained happily.

"Appearance?" The taller one of the two said. "What are you talking about?" the other asked. Uh oh.

"We're going to need some villains for the big climax, after all!" As she reveled in her triumph at apparently finding the perfect 'villains' the rest of us sweatdropped. Oh, but Renge wasn't done. No.

"The final scene! When all of the different club members unite to take on some true bad guy characters! According to my research, although these two come from wealthy families, they are actually the sons of members of the Japanese Mafia! These truly are ideal parts for you!" her eyes sparkled as she wandered into her own world where it was ok to stereotype people based on your perceptions.

I facepalmed as the two dorks started yelling at her for assuming they were bad guys because of what their fathers did. Haruhi, to her credit, tried to stop her. "Renge-chan, hold on…" But she was already dragging one of the poor kids around to where she wanted him.

Then it all went downhill.

The one being dragged by Renge jerked out of her grasp and yelled, "You think you can boss us around? Back off!" and with this declaration, he pushed her into the wall. Where of course there just happened to be wood and a bunch of other junk.

I was too far away to do anything but Haruhi screamed "Watch out!" and jumped between Renge and the junk against the wall. I really love that woman. She's so brave. I turned toward the guy who hadn't turned violent.

"Hey, get your friend under control!" I growled. Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say. He leaned down and grabbed me by my shirt collar. "You gonna try to tell us what to do too?" He sneered into my face.

"Haruhi? What happened, I heard a crash…" "Hana-chan, are you ok?" I heard the club members coming around the corner. I couldn't really see what happened first but I did see Tamaki pin the first guy against the wall out of the corner of my eye.

But then I felt someone push me backwards and Honey was there, one arm spread out in front of me protectively, the other holding onto the guy's arm that used to have a hold of my shirt.

"Do you have a death wish?" Honey asked. I shivered again, but this time it was because his voice reallywas scary. For some reason, the guy actually looked a little scared. "Wait Honey-sempai, it wasn't us! That other girl started it!"

"It's true, Honey-sempai, it really wasn't their fault." I held onto the arm that was in front of me, trying to tug him back. Even though it actually kind of was their fault, there was no need for them to get violent, I mostly didn't want Honey to get hurt. The guy was twice his height, he could probably squash him.

"They were provoked." I heard Haruhi say. I gave a final tug on Honey's arm and he let the guy go. I watched as the two of them scampered off.

"Are you ok?" Honey asked worriedly. He scanned me up and down looking for any injuries. I smiled at him, touched by his concern. "I'm fine, Honey-sempai. Thanks for coming to my rescue." He smiled back. "Anytime, Hana-chan."

"Did you get that?!" Honey and I looked behind us to see Renge pointing at Tamaki and Haruhi triumphantly. "Besides the last part with Haruhi's contact, that was perfect! Now all it needs is for Kyoya-sama to provide some narrative-"

CRASH!

We all jumped at the sound. Renge whirled around and stared at Kyoya in shock. He had smashed the camera lens with a rock. I rolled my eyes. If he wanted to stop the filming, there were less destructive ways to do it.

"Ky… Kyoya-sama?" Renge asked, confused.

"I'm sorry, but I cannont allow there to be a record of any club member engaging in violence." He really looked annoyed. "I'm very disappointed with the way you've been acting, Renge. Please stop being such a pest."

While Renge blubbered about what Kyoya was supposed to have done instead of acting like himself, I was attempting to control the urge to jump for joy.

"I could kiss Kyoya. It's about time someone said that to her," I mumbled under my breath to Honey. "Why couldn't he have just done that earlier." I huffed, crossing my arms.

He didn't respond for a minute so I poked his shoulder. He looked at me from the corner of his eye. "You missed Haru-chan's inspirational speech to Renge-chan. It was quite moving." I rolled my eyes. "It was probably something about getting to know someone a little bit at a time, and knowing the real them, is better. Right?" He turned to face me fully then, in surprise.

I laughed at his face. "I spend a lot of time with Haru. That just sounds like what she would say."

We started walking with the others back to the club room. I wrapped my arm around his. "By the way, if for some reason you ever need to pretend to be a thug again, the voice you used back there was perfect. Very scary."

"I'll make a note."

I glanced around at the others before leaning in to whisper in his ear. "Do you think they realize that breaking the lens doesn't actually ruin the film that's already been shot?"

Honey's POV

Honey alternated between being incredibly pleased with and incredibly confused by his day.

He had been completely taken aback when Hana had mentioned she thought that deep voice he had used was sexy. No one had ever used the word 'sexy' to describe anything about him. Once the shock had worn off he felt like… like… he wasn't exactly sure. But it was a good feeling.

He couldn't resist teasing her. When he felt her shiver from his laugh, that good feeling increased. She glanced back at him once after she reached the 'safety' of Haruhi and her face was bright red. Honey laughed at that too.

"Did you see that, Takashi?" he had asked his cousin. The tall boy nodded and then said, "Be careful."

Honey still wasn't sure what he meant by that. Maybe he was warning him not to be too much like the twins? He wouldn't want Hana to be annoyed with him. Or maybe he was worried Honey would cause Hana to stay away from him because she felt uncomfortable? That didn't sound like Hana, though.

When he had rounded the corner and seen that idiot holding on to Hana like that… Honey felt a growl building in his throat just thinking about it. At least she was ok. He really needed to work on his anger management when it came to those kind of situations.

Then. Then she had to go and say she wanted to kiss Kyoya. Ok, so that's not exactly what she said. Honey knew it was just an expression people used. But still. He hadn't liked it. Why? Why did it matter who Hana kissed? It wasn't any of his business.

He rubbed his temples. Why did he feel so happy and weird when he thought about her?

Honey sat up suddenly in his bed. He needed cake. He always felt better when he was eating cake.

Chapter Text

Looking back on it, it was quite ironic that the martial arts conversation happened that day.

It had been a while since the Renge incident. The twins had pretended to have this massive fight. They even dyed their hair pink and blue. It was all a ruse to get Haruhi to give them permission to visit her house. The whole thing was exhausting and not worth mentioning further.

We had also helped this kid Shiro play the piano with his little girlfriend before she moved. It was pretty cute. He stuck around for a little bit afterwards being the 'naughty type' as Renge liked to call him. Yes, she was still here. She was in love with Haruhi now.

But soon he had to go back to his normal life. I was a little relieved. I could tell Honey didn't like the fact that there was another small boy type in the Host Club. Although I doubt any of the others noticed.

In other news, Renge had installed some sort of machine underneath the floor of the Host Club so she could appear at will. Because THAT wasn't going to cause problems later.

Anyways.

This particular day, Haruhi and I were having a friendly argument over a movie we had watched last night. It was about this girl who had fallen in love with two completely opposite guys and couldn't make up her mind which one to be with. We were arguing about which guy she should have chosen.

We pushed the doors of the club open, not even stopping in our conversation.

"Oh come one, Hana! Intelligence is way better than physical ability!"

I rolled my eyes. "Haruhi. You can't seriously tell me that seeing a man beat the crap out of someone else-" she opened her mouth to protest, "ok fine, fight to protect you, without breaking a sweat isn't a turn on." We faced each other, her arms crossed across her chest and mine on my hips.

"That's not the point. You just said she should have picked him because he knows martial arts! That's not a valid reason to choose someone to date!"

I snorted. "Says you! Your reason for picking the other guy is what? He can quote some poetry?"

At this point the other hosts had all gathered on the sidelines to watch. I vaguely registered the fact that the twins had popcorn.

She made an exasperated sound. "You know as well as I do that he quoted Shakespeare! You're just being difficult."

I shrugged. "Look, I'm not saying intelligence isn't hot. Of course it is. I'm just saying that someone who is smart and also happens to be a black belt is clearly the better choice."

She glared at me. "I'm not a fan of violence for any reason."

"I'm totally a fan of violence for every reason. Wait, not even to save the world?" At this point I was just arguing to be a creep and she knew it. She stuck her tongue out at me.

I grinned. "Look, let's just agree that your type is Bruce Banner and my type is Hawkeye." We had watched the Avengers last night too. It was a weird movie combination. "Also, that martial arts is hot. I'm not budging on that point."

She laughed at that and I knew we were done arguing. "Fine. I'm going to prepare the tea." Tamaki and the twins followed her.

"Hana-chan!" Honey gave me a big hug. "Hi, Honey-sempai," I said happily. He pulled back and cocked is head. "What were you two arguing about?" I filled him in on the premise of the movie. When I finished, I heard Haruhi yell across the room, "Bruce Banner is a movie character, Sempai! Back off!"

I doubled over laughing. Tamaki must have been upset that his precious 'daughter' may have a certain person as her type. I skipped over to my table and started setting out my things. I had just decided to grab a snack when a plate appeared in front of me with a huge slice of strawberry cake. I beamed up at Honey.

"Thanks Honey-sempai! I was just about to get some!"

He grinned and sat down next to me, holding Usa-chan. I dug into my cake. I was about halfway done when he asked, "Hana-chan, you like martial arts?" I looked up from my cake in surprise. I thought I had made that abundantly clear in the argument just a few minutes ago.

"Yeah, I do. I've always liked the BA characters in movies." I sat back in my chair and sighed. "I really wanted to learn when I was younger but my mom would never let me. She always said I was too small, that I'd get hurt. I tried to explain that being so small was the REASON I wanted to learn how to defend myself, but she would never listen. She would just hand me pepper spray." I rolled my eyes.

"And you think someone who knows martial arts is hot?" He looked extremely amused for some reason.

"Well, not necessarily. I think knowing martial arts is an attractive quality in someone, if they're already nice and awesome. Someone who's a jerk and can fight is still a jerk. Why do you ask?" That was a horrible explanation. I hope he could follow that.

"No reason. I was just curious." He swung his feet back and forth, looking pleased with himself.

I didn't think anything about it until later that day.

LATER THAT DAY

I sipped my ginger ale, setting down my sketch pad to watch the twins drag Haruhi over to the changing area.

"Hana! Help me!" she yelled. I shook my head. "Sorry, Haru. They threatened to increase your debt if I tried to intervene." I chuckled as Tamaki slunk after them. I would bet Haruhi wouldn't actually make it out here in a swimsuit.

For some reason, the others had decided we should take a vacation together. But since Haruhi didn't have a passport, we had to stay local. That's how we ended up hanging out at Kyoya's family's tropical resort. It was all very last minute. I had to argue with them to let me go run to my house and grab my own swimsuit.

I glanced down and smiled at my favorite suit. The twins had offered to let me use one of their mom's designs, but I liked mine. It was a fitted royal purple tankini with ruching across and all the way down the front. I picked up my sketchbook again and went back to my drawing when I heard someone plop down in the chair next to me.

"What are you drawing, Hana-chan?" I smiled at Honey and angled my sketchbook to show him my almost finished drawing of Mori in only his swim trunks. "It's Takashi!" He exclaimed excitedly. I laughed.

"Yeah, I get a lot of requests from the girls for shirtless drawings of you guys. But since it's weird for me to be like 'you know what would be great? If you all could just pose shirtless for me' I decided to take this opportunity and sketch as many reference images as I could." I went back to finishing my drawing.

"Do you get a lot of requests for me shirtless?" a deep voice asked in my ear. I jumped and almost dropped my pencil as Honey laughed at my reaction. I glared at him. This was another development. Ever since I had let slip that I thought his deep voice he used to try to sound scary was sexy instead, he'd been randomly saying things in my ear, using that voice. He thought it was hilarious.

"You're such a jerk." I said half-heartedly. The real problem was that I was starting to get used to it.

I even liked it sometimes.

"Aw, you like it," He said cheekily. I decided to add one final stroke to my drawing instead of answering him. "I really am curious though. Do you get a lot of shirtless requests for me?"

I paused. Should I tell him the truth? This is awkward…

"Well… uh… How do I say this?" I grabbed my ginger ale and took a long sip. Then continued to stare into the glass. "Honestly, the majority of customers don't request you shirtless. After all, your type isn't supposed to be 'hot' or 'sexy' it's supposed to be adorable and cute. But… despite that, or maybe because of it, when I do get racy requests about you… they... well… let's just say they're worse than any of the other hosts." I didn't make eye contact as he processed this.

"I see." Well that was awkward. "So then, who gets the most shirtless requests? Probably Tama-chan, huh?" I looked at him and grinned. He didn't seem upset to hear I had drawn him in some pretty… er… compromising positions. "Actually, I get the most requests for Haruhi." He gaped at me and then the twins popped up in our space. "WHAT?! You get requests for Haruhi shirtless?!"

I rolled my eyes at them. "Well, yeah. They think she's a guy, dorks. She never participates in any of the revealing cosplay and there aren't any photographs of her. So, my drawing is the only thing they can get. I usually just use my imagination. Or you know, stick her head on one of you guys' bodies." I smirked.

They freaked about that for a little bit but then lost interest and headed into the pool.

"You want to come swim with us, Hana-chan?" I glanced nervously from the water to Honey. "No, that's ok Honey-sempai, thanks for asking. I'm just gonna stay here and draw." He looked at me a second longer but then shrugged and ran into the pool with Mori.

I had gotten a pretty good drawing of the twins done when Haruhi joined me. "Where's you bathing suit?" I asked, though I was pretty sure I already knew the answer. "Tamaki-sempai wanted me to wear this," she said tugging on her yellow jacket. Ha. I knew it.

"I don't even know why we're here…" She grumbled. I sighed at her apathy. "Go enjoy the view, Haru," I said, waving her off.

I half-listened to Tamaki trying to convince Haruhi of the wonders of being here. Then Kyoya tried to explain exactly how it was connected to his family's hospital business. Darn him for wearing a shirt today. I could really use a reference drawing of him. I was about halfway through a drawing of Tamaki when I heard Honey bouncing around Haruhi asking if she wanted anything. I glanced up to watch them. They were both just so cute.

I continued drawing, intent on my work. "What's a vinyl pool?" I heard the twins ask. I looked up incredulously. How could they not know what an inflatable pool was?

After Haruhi described it, the twins said. "Dummy, that's an air boat."

I laughed at their stupidity. Sometimes it amazed me how stupid people who had been rich all their life could be.

The twins were teasing Tamaki now, something about Haurhi and her bathing suit.

"As her father, it is only natural as her guardian that I would do so… after all, even in a swimsuit it isn't right for a girl to expose her skin so openly in front of boys!" he yelled at them.

I rolled my eyes. One day my eyes were going to get stuck up in my head, I roll them so much. I decided to not point out that I was, in fact, a girl and I was wearing a swimsuit and he seemed fine with that. Besides, the death glare Haruhi was giving him was enough.

"Haru-chan! Let's go play! They have a current pool over there!" Honey tried to break up the tension between Haru and Tamaki. He was wearing a pink inner tube with bunnies on it that he didn't have earlier. I frowned. Did he even need that?

"No, I'm not swimming today," Haruhi said. "Huh? Honey-sempai, do you not know how to swim?" she was referring to his floatie. He shook his head. "Nope! It just looks cuter this way!" He posed in front of a wall of pink and sparkles.

As he started to run by me, I said lowly so only he could hear, "You're so full of it." He glanced in my direction and I smirked. Before I could react, he had grabbed my wrist and was dragging me behind him into the current pool. I made some sort of surprised, strangled noise and grabbed on to Mori's arm, holding on for dear life. The water was definitely over my head. I wrapped my legs around his. I hoped he didn't mind, but there was no way I was letting go. He seemed stable enough.

I had buried my face into Mori's elbow so I didn't see Honey's face but I could hear the worry in his voice. "Hana-chan, are you ok? I'm sorry, I didn't know you were afraid of water! Do you want me to help you out?"

I glanced up to say, yes actually, get me the hell out of here but I was distracted by Renge's machine twisting her up from the ground. "What?! How did she convince Kyoya to build her one of those here?!" Honey looked confused for a moment before turning around and laughing at Renge.

"Hana." I looked up into Mori's face. He was staring at me intently. "Can you swim?" Instantly, Honey's attention was back on me. "I… I can…" I stammered. "But I… I'm not…" I didn't know how to communicate that yes, I could swim, but I had been traumatized by the movie Poseidon as a child and was terrified of drowning. How lame was that?

I felt something slip over my head and I looked in surprise at Honey's floatie. "It's ok, Hana-chan. I'm so sorry I dragged you in. This will help." I gave him a small smile.

"Here! We can sit on Takashi while he swims against the current!"

So we did. It was actually pretty fun. Honey put his hands on my shoulders and leaned in toward my ear. "What made you say that earlier?" he asked.

"Say what?" I saw the rest of the group all turn toward us as one, so I whispered quickly. "Wave at everyone." We waved, emitting an adorable aura that I'm sure came mostly from Honey.

"Look everyone! Even though we're swimming, we're not going anywhere!" He called happily. As they turned back around, Honey looked at me. "When you said I was full of it. " I blinked. "Oh." I couldn't talk to him if I couldn't see his face, so I twisted around so I was facing him. Mori was so steady in his swimming, I didn't even rock.

I smirked at the small boy. "Because of your 'it's just cuter this way' line." I mimicked his cutesy voice when I said it. "What you meant was, 'I look cuter this way!' You can't fool me, you little manipulator. I know you." He gaped at me for the second time that day. I laughed. "Look, I know you were feeling a little territorial of your 'little boy' type when Shiro was at the club. I get it. But don't worry." I tweaked his nose. "No one could replace you."

I spun back around to face the front. It wasn't too long after that Mori decided he wanted a break from swimming. I started to panic, but Honey took my hand. "You can get out with Takashi if you want, Hana-chan. But I won't let anything happen to you if you stay." Oh my gosh. He was so adorable. How could I possibly leave when he was looking at me with his big hopeful brown eyes? And after he said something so sweet?

"Thanks, Honey-sempai. I'll stay." He grinned and I tried to grin back without showing my nervousness.

We swam by ourselves for a little bit, Honey staying slightly behind me to offer support. Maybe this was good for me. I really should try to face my fears… I've got a lot of them…

Something didn't feel right with the water. I was concentrating so hard on my swimming that I didn't realize what was happening before it was too late. I looked up to see a giant wave towering over us. I screamed and Honey grabbed my hand. Then the wall of water hit us.

At some point I had lost the little floatie. I tried to keep my head above water but it was as if everything I had learned about swimming had fled my brain to be replaced by panic. Terror swept over me in waves as I tried to crawl up towards the surface, unsure if I was even going the right way. Honey was holding onto my hand, I'm guessing so we wouldn't get separated, and would try to help me get air. He'd push me up until my head broke through and I'd take a gasp of air before being sucked under. That wasn't often though, as we'd be tossed around into objects and the walls of the current pool. I already felt like my lungs were going to explode when I felt my head hit something hard.

Then it all went black.

I woke up coughing, spitting out the water I had inhaled during the current pool incident. Honey patted and rubbed my back, whispering soothing things like 'it's alright' and 'you're safe now'.

I'm only a little embarrassed to say I started crying then. After all, I had just had a near death experience.

Honey pulled me into a hug and I wrapped my arms around his neck. "It's ok, you're ok, we made it." He kept whispering, petting my head as I cried. As I managed to control myself to only sniffles, I noticed he was also shaking a bit. I pulled back and looked in his eyes. "I'm sorry, Honey-sempai, I haven't even asked. Are you ok?"

He gave me a small smile and nodded. We stood up slowly and started looking around trying to figure out where we were. "I think we should head this direction." He nodded the way he meant. "I'm sure Takashi and the others are searching for us right now. If we head this way, we should run into them."

We started walking in the direction he indicated. I still had some throbbing in my head but I tried to cover up how exhausted I felt. I didn't want to slow us down and I had already worried him enough. I wasn't sure how long we walked before he said, "Why don't we take a break? No reason to push ourselves." I nodded gratefully and sunk down onto a nearby rock. I put my head in my hands as we sat in silence.

My mind went back to when I had woken up. Something was bugging me. I had thrown up enough water to nearly drown a person. How was I ok? I remembered at the exact moment I had regained consciousness, before I actually started hacking up a lung, I had felt a pressure on my chest and I had to push Honey out of my way so I wouldn't cough all over him.

Wait.

"Honey! Did you give me CPR?!" I demanded.

He looked at me in slight surprise but it was replaced by an odd look I couldn't place. "Yes, I did. After you hit your head, you couldn't make it to the surface to get any air. When we finally stopped, you weren't breathing." His voice cracked on the last word. I started toward him but he held his hand up.

He took a couple of deep breaths. "I've never been so scared before. God, I thought you were dead. But it only took a second for you to wake up." I looked at him soberly. He had been as traumatized as me. How terrifying would it have been if he had been the one laying on the ground, not moving or breathing? I shuddered at the idea.

"Thank you." I said, putting all of the emotions I felt into those two words. He smiled at me and I smiled back.

Then it started raining. Of course.

Honey found a tree with branches that were large enough to block most of the rain and roots spread apart enough for us to fit between two of them. As we leaned back against the tree, I shivered and said darkly, "When we get out of here, I'm going to kill Kyoya."

Honey looked at me in surprise. "What? Why Kyoya?"

"Because coming here was his idea so he could test out his new facility. We're basically guinea pigs." My eyes drooped and I shivered again.

"Hana-chan? Are you cold?" I looked sideways at him. "Yeah. I'm cold in the tropics. Only me." He grinned and held up his left arm. "I don't have a jacket, but do you want some body heat?" I just looked at him for a second. Was he asking me to cuddle? Because I was so down with that.

Before he could change his mind, I scooted over and laid my head on his chest, wrapping my arm around his waist. His left arm wrapped itself around my shoulders and he laid his other arm on top of the one I had wrapped around him.

I sighed in contentment and nuzzled closer to him. I heard him chuckle and it vibrated his chest underneath me. "Feeling better?" He started rubbing his fingers up and down my shoulder, which was very distracting, but at the moment I was so tired I couldn't do much about it.

Not that I really wanted too. What was with me?

"Mm-hmm." After a second of silence, I tried to distract myself from his finger movements. "You know, I really like it when you use your third-year voice when we talk." His fingers paused for a moment before continuing their path up and down my shoulder. "My what?" he asked.

Two can play at this game. I pulled my arm out from under his and started slowly tracing patterns up and down his sternum. I smirked when I heard his heart beat increase. "Your third-year voice. You slip into it sometimes when we talk, especially if you're being snarky. It's more mature and a little deeper than your usual loli-boy voice. You actually sound your age, so I call it your third-year voice in my head. You've been speaking with it since we made it out of the current pool."

"You like it when I use that voice to talk to you?"

"Yeah, because you don't do it with everyone. I guess it makes me feel special." I shrugged, embarrassed. Man, he was toned. I was having a hard time keeping my hand from traveling down to his ab muscles. That would probably be crossing the line.

"Do you think that's the real me, then? When I use my third-year voice?" His voice was nonchalant and his fingers kept moving but I could feel his body tense underneath me. Huh.

"I don't think it's the 'real' you, just a different part of who you are. Everyone is full of contradictions, Honey-sempai. Like how Tamaki is both an idiot but can also be unexpectedly perceptive and serious. And how Kyoya is both a manipulative bastard but also has a kind heart. Deep, deep, deep, down." I muttered that last bit, making him laugh softly.

I propped myself up so I could look at his face and he could see mine as I said what I did next.

"I like all of your different quirks, Honey-sempai. I like how adorable you are when you're in full Lolita mode and are a bouncing ball of infectious energy. I also like it when you get sarcastic with me or use your third-year voice. I even like the fact that you use that 'sexy' voice to tease me, I guess." I stuck my tongue out at that last part. "But seriously. You're not one or the other. You're both. You're all of it. You know you don't have to choose, right?"

We stared at each other for a couple of minutes. His face was turning an impressive shade of red. I could feel my face heating up to match his. Holy crap, what had I just said? I had only wanted to assure him that he didn't have some sort of multiple personality disorder. But it came out more like a declaration of love. Geez, it was like there was some sort of spell on this jungle making us say and do weird things.

Although maybe it was just me. Why did we have to be so close?

"I think it's stopped raining," he managed to say. I jumped up, ignoring the way it made my head pound because I was eager to put some distance between us and stuck my hand out from underneath the tree. "Yup, it's clear now. I guess we should keep going?"

He nodded and we continued our trek from earlier. We hadn't gotten very far before I heard some yelling up ahead. "What was that?" I asked worriedly.

"I'm not sure but it didn't sound like any of our friends. Stay here, I'm going to take a closer look."

Before I could protest, he scampered up into the trees. Like Tarzan. I heard more shouting.

As if I was going to stay put and not investigate. I snuck forward carefully, making sure to stay behind trees and large bushes. As I stuck my head around a bush, I froze. Crap.

Mori and Haruhi were standing in a clearing, a circle of armed guards surrounding them, aiming guns in their direction. I noticed one guy was already knocked out on the ground.

"Target is resisting! Prepare to fire warning shots!" one of the gunmen ordered.

"Wait!" I shouted.

"TAKASHI! HARU-CHAN! MOVE!" My mouth fell open in shock as Honey swung into the clearing on a vine (like Tarzan) and slammed his feet into one of the gunmen's face. He then did a triple flip in the air, before landing with one leg outstretched, one bent to catch his weight.

What.

As the guards swung around to point their weapons at Honey, he looked up and eyed the nearest one with an evil smile.

The.

In a matter of moments, he had flipped, kicked, and punched out all of the remaining men. There wasn't even one man left standing.

HECK?!

I barely registered that Haruhi looked as surprised as I felt. Mori was just standing there, looking bored. Apparently, he had known Honey could do this the whole time.

"Don't be so reckless! Picking on my friends is a no-no!" He pointed at the assortment of twitching men with flowers hovering around his head.

I freaking loved him right now.

I heard the others running toward us and I slowly left the coverage of my bush. As I walked forward, I prodded one of the men with my toe. He grunted. He seemed ok.

I leaned down to pick out some glass off of one of the guys' face. It was really close to his eye.

"This was Honey-sempai, right? He must have been holding back." The twins stated.

I whirled around in yet more surprise.

"Huh? What do you mean by that?" Haruhi beat me to the question.

"You don't know?" they asked.

"The Haninozukas have been famous for their martial arts for generations. They've instructed not just the police and SDF, but overseas military forces as well." I knew I had a big, stupid grin on my face but I really didn't care.

Kyoya picked up the explanation. "In particular, Honey-sempai has been called the dreadnought of the Haninozuka family. As long as it's been around and by the time he was in middle school, he was the national champion in both karate and judo."

Honey looked over to where they were speaking and grinned, pink flowers dancing.

I really, seriously, love him right now.

Tamaki spoke up. "Incidentally, Mori-sempai also became the national champion in kendo when he was in middle school."

Of course he did.

I couldn't hold it in anymore. I fell down on the grass and started laughing hysterically.

"Hana-chan? What's so funny?" Honey was leaning over me with a confused look on his face.

"YOU!" I yelled out through my laughter. I jumped up and grabbed his hands, hopping up and down in my excitement. "That was the COOLEST THING EVER! You were so AWESOME! Oh my gosh, they didn't even stand a chance! And then you just chastised them with your pink flowers dancing around your head! God, it was so PERFECT!" I threw my arms around his neck in a hug, still laughing.

He laughed with me and returned the hug. I spun around to face Haruhi with one arm still around Honey. I pointed to her in triumph. "See?! Didn't I tell you martial arts was the way to go?" She rolled her eyes at me.

"Hey, Honey-sempai, Hana-sempai, why are you guys here anyways?" Kaoru asked.

"We got to the end of the current pool and decided to go looking for everyone," he explained.

The soldiers started to apologize profusely to Honey. I wandered over to Kyoya and sagged against him. I had forgotten I was angry with the jerk.

"You've had quite an ordeal today. Tired?" he easily supported my weight. "Exhausted." I said, trying to stifle a yawn. All of the energy I had just had seemed to disappear as quickly as it came. I felt completely drained. I really shouldn't have bounced around with a head injury.

Honey walked over to Mori and pulled him down to his level. Honey smiled at him and started patting his head. "Takashi, you did a very good job protecting Haru-chan." Aw, that's so cute. "Were you lonely without me?"

Mori glanced at Haruhi and then back to Honey. "I wouldn't say that." Honey smiled even more.

We all headed back to where this had all started. As I gathered up my sketchbook and supplies, I heard the twins mention we should go to the beach next. I bit my lip. I wasn't sure if I'd ever want to be near a body of water again.

I felt a hand slip into mine. "Its ok, Hana-chan, if we go to the beach no one will make you get in the water, ok?" Honey smiled at me reassuringly. I gave him a grateful smile and then rested my forehead against his.

"Thank you again, Honey. For saving my life. I'll have to come up with some pretty elaborate way of paying you back." He laughed and squeezed my hand. "Don't be silly, Hana-chan. You don't have to repay me. Just be you."

That night I laid next to Haruhi in her bed, thinking about the day. It occurred to me, as I slipped out of consciousness, that Honey may be one of my closest friends now. I fell asleep happy and warm.

Chapter Text

"You're so full of it."

I glanced over at Hana-chan. She had a knowing smirk on her face.

What does she mean by that?

I quickly pulled her out of her chair and dropped her into the current pool next to Takashi. To my surprise, she cried out and clung to him, burying her face in the crook of his elbow. I frowned. I didn't mean to scare her.

"Hana-chan, are you ok? I'm sorry, I didn't know you were afraid of water! Do you want me to help you out?" I asked worriedly.

She raised her head and had an angry look on her face but it quickly changed into one of disbelief. "What?! How did she convince Kyoya to build her one of those here?!" She exclaimed. What? I turned around to see what she was talking about and laughed when I saw Renge standing on top of her machine. I wonder what she was doing here? It's a good thing Haru-chan wasn't in a bathing suit.

I heard Takashi behind me. "Hana. Can you swim?" I whipped back around to look at the small girl again. She was looking up at Takashi with a scared face. "I… I can… but I… I'm not…" I had never seen her look even close to fearful. I felt awful that I was the reason she was afraid. Not enough to let her leave though.

I pulled my floatie off and plopped it over her head. She looked at the inflatable ring in surprise.

"It's ok, Hana-chan. I'm so sorry I dragged you in. This will help." She gave me a small smile but I could tell she was still nervous. I tried to think of a way where she would be out of the water but didn't have to leave. Oh!

"Here! We can sit on Takashi's back while he swims against the current!" I glanced up at my cousin to make sure that was ok and he nodded. There are advantages to being so small.

After we clambered on top of Takashi, Hana in front of me, I placed my hands on her shoulders and leaned forward to ask the question that I had been waiting to ask. "What made you say that earlier?"

She twisted her neck around to eye me sideways. "Say what?" she asked. She flicked her eyes to shore and said quickly. "Wave at everyone."

I turned around to see the rest of the Host Club staring at us. I waved as big as I could and made my voice light. "Look everyone! Even though we're swimming, we're not going anywhere!" I yelled.

After we finished waving, I turned back to Hana to continue our conversation. "When you said I was full of it." She blinked. "Oh."

She spun around so she was facing me. I saw the same knowing smirk appear on her face as earlier. "Because of your 'it's just cuter this way' line." She said, trying to sound like me. "What you meant was, 'I look cuter this way!' You can't fool me, you little manipulator. I know you." My mouth fell open in surprise. Usually no one except Takashi, and possibly Kyoya, could tell I wasn't anything but the innocent boy I portrayed at the Host Club. How could she tell?

She laughed. "Look, I know you were feeling a little territorial of your 'little boy' type when Shiro was at the club. I get it. But don't worry." At this point she reached forward and tweaked my nose. "No one can replace you." She grinned and turned back around.

For the next few minutes I began to really contemplate this girl. I already really liked Hana-chan. I always felt happy when I thought about her. But it was a little unnerving that she could see my true motives, most of the time. What was really weird is how quickly she had picked up on it. I thought back to the dance party where we helped Kanoko-chan. Hana had only known me for a couple of weeks and she noticed how tired I was. Maybe it was because she was also small and cute so she was used to being on the other end of it? Whatever the reason, I kind of liked it.

Ok, I really liked it.

Takashi slowly raised himself up so we slid off of him. He indicated he was ready to get out. I could see the panic in Hana's eyes. I reached out and took her hand. "You can get out with Takashi if you want, Hana-chan. But I won't let anything happen to you if you stay." I tried to keep the hope out of my voice. I'm not sure why I wanted her to stay so badly. It was pretty selfish of me, since she was so scared.

She gave me what I suppose was meant to be a smile and said "Thanks, Honey-sempai. I'll stay."

I made sure to stay behind her in case she lost her momentum and started drifting. She seemed to relax a little but she still had her brows furrowed.

I felt a vibration in the water. I heard a scream and looked up to see a giant wall of water crashing towards us. I reached out quickly and grabbed Hana's hand so we wouldn't get separated.

It wasn't terribly hard for me to get air because I was an accomplished swimmer and was physically fit enough to somewhat fight the water. As we were pushed downstream with the now violently rushing water, I tried to keep Hana's head above the surface but it was difficult. She was flailing wildly, obviously panicking. On top of all of that, there were objects in the water, decorative rocks and such that we would get thrown into and sometimes we'd hit the wall when there was a curve in the stream. At least she attempting to stay near me.

It was one of these rocks that hit Hana's head. Suddenly she stopped struggling and went limp in the water, which was almost worse because her body tried to go wherever the water pulled her. Without her fighting the current, it was that much harder to bring her up to the surface to get air. I desperately hoped we were near the end of this thing. I was getting worried that she was taking in too much water.

We finally reached the end and the water slowed down. I dragged Hana's limp body out of the water and laid her on the shore, calling her name as I did. I laid my ear near her mouth and my heart stopped.

She wasn't breathing.

Oh god, she wasn't breathing.

I could feel panic threatening to overwhelm me but I pushed it back. Years of meditation and training to control my body was the only thing that kept my head clear. I quickly leaned her head back to make sure her tongue wasn't blocking her windpipe. I didn't even pause to think, I just leaned down and placed my mouth on hers, breathing air into her lungs.

I pulled back and placed my hands on her chest, pressing down in a quick rhythm. Please wake up, Hana, Please wake-

I heard a strange gurgling noise and she flung her arm out, swatting me out of the way before she bent over and started coughing up all of the water she swallowed. I crawled next to her and started rubbing her back whispering anything I could think of to calm her down. It must not have been working because she began crying.

I pulled her into a hug and she wrapped her arms around my neck, still sobbing. I was shaking from the shock of almost losing her. I rubbed the back of her head and kept telling her that she was ok now.

After a few minutes, all I heard were sniffles instead of full out sobs. She leaned back and looked at me. "I'm sorry, Honey-sempai, I haven't even asked. Are you ok?"

I nodded and smiled. I helped her to her feet and we looked around, trying get our bearings. From the map I had seen earlier, it looked like heading perpendicular to the current pool would be the best option. "I think we should head this direction." I indicated which way I meant. "I'm sure Takashi and the others are searching for us right now. If we head this way, we should run into them."

She nodded her agreement and we started our trek through the jungle. I was lost in my own thoughts. Takashi was probably worried sick about me. I hope he was ok. He tended to get clumsy when he was worried.

I thought back to those terror filled moments of seeing Hana unmoving, essentially dead. When had she become so important to me? I pushed them from my mind. I glanced back to look at the girl and was surprised to see the exhaustion that lined her face. I rolled my eyes. Of course she wouldn't say she was tired. She was too stubborn. "Why don't we take a break? No reason to push ourselves," I suggested. She nodded, relief plain on her face. She sat on a nearby rock and put her head in her hands.

I stood leaning against a tree, watching her. I knew I wasn't one to talk but she was so small. She had such a big and loud personality that it was easy to forget how helpless she could be, physically at least. I felt a fierce urge to protect her from anything, everything.

Suddenly her head snapped up and she looked right at me.

"Honey! Did you give me CPR?!" she asked.

I was a little surprised at the question. Also at the lack of an honorific at the end of my name.

Snap out of it, Mitsukuni, now is not the time to focus on that.

"Yes, I did," I started. "After you hit your head, you couldn't make it to the surface to get any air. When we finally stopped, you weren't breathing." I tried to control my voice but all of the emotion of that moment came crashing down on me as I finished talking. I saw her move to come toward me and I held my hand up to stop her. There was no need for both of us to sob today.

I took a few calming breaths, getting my emotions under control. I looked back into her eyes. She was looking at me with the most serious look I had ever seen on her face.

"I've never been so scared before." I admitted quietly. "God, I thought you were dead. But it only took a second for you to wake up."

"Thank you." Those two words were so full of emotion, I'm not sure how she got them out. We smiled.

Then it started raining.

We looked around for some shelter and I found a tree that would work. As we huddled against the massive tree I heard her say "When we get out of here, I'm going to kill Kyoya." Her voice dripped with venom.

I looked at her in surprise. "What? Why Kyoya?" I doubt he created the wave that caused all this.

"Because coming here was his idea so he could test out his new facility. We're basically guinea pigs."

Oh. Looks like Kyo-chan and me were going to have a talk. I saw Hana's eyeslids fall and she shivered. "Hana-chan? Are you cold?" I asked. She gave me a look. "Yeah. I'm cold in the tropics. Only me."

She was so cute. I raised my arm and grinned. "I don't have a jacket, but do you want some body heat?" I didn't really mind physical contact with people. I enjoyed hugs. I'm not sure what I expected her to do with my offer but it wasn't to snuggle up with her head on my chest and her arm around my waist. I put my arm around her shoulders and laid my other arm on top hers. I heard her sigh and she snuggled closer. I chuckled, trying to cover my nervousness. "Feeling better?"

I don't really know why I did, but I began running my fingers back and forth over her shoulder. It just seemed the natural thing to do. Why? I'm not sure. But now I was enjoying it, so I wasn't going to stop.

She made a contented noise in agreement. I thought she may fall asleep but a second later she piped up. "You know, I really like it when you use your third-year voice when we talk." I paused, taken aback. I began my finger movements again. "My what?" I asked, although I had a pretty good idea what she meant.

Instead of answering right away, she pulled her arm out from under mine and starting running her fingers over my chest in different patterns. I felt my heart beat faster. What was she doing?

"Your third-year voice." She said again. "You slip into it sometimes when we talk, especially if you're being snarky. It's more mature and a little deeper than your usual loli-boy voice. You actually sound your age, so I call it your third-year voice in my head. You've been speaking with it since we made it out of the current pool." I realized she was right. It was a little difficult to focus with her touching my chest like that and her body pressed up against mine.

"You like it when I use that voice to talk to you?" I asked.

"Yeah, because you don't do it with everyone. I guess it makes me feel special." She shrugged and I felt her face heat up against my skin.

She had said I 'slip' into my older voice but that wasn't exactly right. It was more like I relaxed into it. For some reason, I had almost immediately felt comfortable enough with her to do just that. Now that I thought about it, it was probably because she never treated me like a child.

It was strange. I loved cute things and cake and being Lolita. But I was also an eighteen year old boy. People tended to forget that. I know some people questioned if I was being genuine when I got excited over cute things or when my adorable aura was so much that pink flowers appeared around me, but I really was. The frustrating thing is that I felt, in order to keep up the image of the boy Lolita host, I could never let the grown, 'third-year' part of me show or I'd ruin the image for the customers. Therefore, it doesn't occur to most people that there might be more to me. Most of the time it didn't bother me too much. After all, I had Takashi and he knows me better than anyone.

But for some reason it bothered me that Hana may think I'm not being real when I'm being Lolita or that my 'older' voice was somehow my true self.

"Do you think that's the real me, then? When I use my third-year voice?" I tried to keep my voice unaffected and I didn't pause in rubbing her shoulder. I waited for her response.

"I don't think it's the 'real' you, just a different part of who you are," she began, her voice thoughtful. "Everyone is full of contradictions, Honey-sempai. Like how Tamaki is both an idiot but can also be unexpectedly perceptive and serious." That was true. "And how Kyoya is both a manipulative bastard but also has a kind heart. Deep, deep, deep, down." Her voice got lower when she said that. I gave a small laugh. I was relieved at her answer. I thought that was the end of the conversation, so I was surprised when I felt her shifting and then she looked intently into my eyes.

"I like all of your different quirks, Honey-sempai. I like how adorable you are when you're in full Lolita mode and are a bouncing ball of infectious energy. I also like it when you get sarcastic with me or use your third-year voice. I even like the fact that you use that 'sexy' voice to tease me, I guess." She stuck her tongue out at me. "But seriously. You're not one or the other. You're both. You're all of it. You know you don't have to choose, right?"

I didn't know how to respond to that. I just stared at her as both our faces grew to a bright shade of red.

It was the first time someone had acknowledged all parts of my personality and said they liked me in spite of it. Or because of it. I knew Takashi loved me, we were best friends and cousins. But he rarely said it. The other members of the Host Club cared for me, I knew. But this was different.

I tried to think of a way to break the tension. It occurred to me that I didn't hear the patter of the rain anymore. "I think it stopped raining," I pointed out. She leapt away from me at lightning speed, grateful for a reason to move. I smirked at her embarrassment.

After sticking her hand out into the open air, she said "Yup, it's clear now. I guess we should keep going?"

We began walking in the same direction as before but this time I deliberately went at a slower pace so she wouldn't get as tired out. Suddenly there was shouting ahead. I frowned. I didn't recognize the voice.

"What was that?" Hana asked. She sounded nervous.

"I'm not sure but it didn't sound like any of our friends. Stay here, I'm going to take a closer look."

I quickly scaled the nearest tree, jumping from branch to branch in the direction of the noise. It wasn't very far up ahead. I finally managed to get to a clear vantage point in time to see Takashi take out a guy who was trying to grab Haruhi. He was holding Haruhi in his arms and they were surrounded by men pointing guns at them. I sighed. This had Kyoya written all over it.

"The target is resisting! Prepare to fire warning shots!" Crap.

"TAKASHI! HARU-CHAN! MOVE!" I shouted. I grabbed a vine and swung into the clearing, aiming for the guard who had given the order to shoot. I slammed my feet into his face before landing in a fighting stance. I let instinct and training take over at that point. It didn't take long. They weren't very strong, compared to me.

After I finished, I shifted back into my Lolita mode and said sternly, "Don't be so reckless! Picking on my friends is a no-no!" I shook my finger in their direction for emphasis. I heard the others running toward us and grinned. We were all back together! Oh!

I turned around to retrieve Hana but she was already walking into the clearing. I saw her poke one of the men with her foot. She looked like she was in a state of shock. I cringed inwardly. I hope she and Haru-chan won't be scared of me. I've seen what I look like when I fight. My parents record all of my matches.

Hana said that she likes martial arts, but until you're actually faced with something like that, you can't be sure.

"He must have been holding back!" I snapped back to the present and looked at the twins.

"What are you talking about?" Haru-chan asked. Hana was looking at them curiously too.

As the twins and Kyo-chan launched into an explanation of my family history and accomplishments, I was surprised to see a grin spreading over Hana's face. Well, at least she wasn't running scared. I glanced over at Haru-chan to see if she was reacting any worse but she just looked normal. When Kyo-chan finally stated that I was the national champion, she looked at me and I smiled cutely at her.

"Incidentally, Mori-sempai was also the national kendo champion when he was in middle school." Tama-chan said.

Suddenly laughter filled the clearing. I turned around to see Hana on the ground, holding her sides and laughing hysterically. I leaned over her and asked, "Hana-chan? What's so funny?"

"YOU!" she shouted and before I could respond she was hopping up and down and holding my hands.

"That was the COOLEST THING EVER! You were so AWESOME! Oh my gosh, they didn't even stand a chance! And then you just chastised them with your pink flowers dancing around your head! God, it was so PERFECT!" She threw her arms around me then, still laughing and I laughed with her, relieved at her reaction.

She turned around, keeping one of her arms around me and pointed a finger at Haru-chan. "See?! Didn't I tell you martial arts was the way to go?" My heart soared when she said that. Haru-chan just rolled her eyes, but she was smiling, so I knew she was ok with me too.

"Hey, Honey-sempai, Hana-sempai, why are you guys here anyways?" Kaoru asked.

"We got to the end of the current pool and decided to go looking for everyone," I explained.

"WE APOLOGIZE!" I turned around in surprise to see all of the men I had just beaten kneeling in front of me. I felt Hana-chan slip away but I kept one eye on her while I talked to the guys.

She was leaning against Kyoya for support. It looked like all of her exhaustion had come back. I felt a slightly unpleasant sensation seeing her so close to him but I brushed it off. She was tired and Kyo-chan was her friend. I laughed inwardly. Apparently she had forgotten she wanted to kill him.

I hadn't.

I glanced over at Takashi. I was very proud of my cousin for defending Haruhi like he did. I smiled and walked over to him, patting his head in approval. "Takashi, you did a really good job protecting Haru-chan." I pulled back and gave him a significant look that I knew only he would understand. "Were you lonely without me?" He gave a quick glance toward Haruhi and looked back at me. "I wouldn't say that." I grinned even more. Good.

As we walked back toward the beach where we had left all of our stuff, I hung back to walk next to the shadow king.

"Kyoya." I took all of the childishness out of my voice so he would know I was being serious. I saw him glance down at me in surprise. "Yes, Honey-sempai?"

I stopped walking long enough to look him straight in the eye. "Don't ever put Hana-chan in danger again. She could have died today, Kyoya. I had to resuscitate her when we got to the end of the pool." To his benefit, he visibly paled. "The next time you want to use us as guinea pigs for one of your business plans, don't." I turned away and ran to catch up with the others, climbing onto Takashi's shoulders.

I heard the twins and Tamaki planning to go to the beach. "That would be fun, right Takashi?" I asked. He grunted a response. I glanced up to see Hana had paused in gathering her things and her hand was clenching her bag, making her knuckles white. I slid off of Takashi and walked toward her. Taking her other hand in mine I tried to reassure her. "It's ok, Hana-chan. If we go to the beach, no one will make you get in the water, ok?" She smiled at me and then touched our foreheads together.

For some reason this made me incredibly happy.

"Thank you again, Honey. For saving my life. I'll have to come up with some pretty elaborate way of paying you back."

No honorifc again! I wonder if she even realizes when she does that. I laughed and squeezed her hand. "Don't be silly, Hana-chan. You don't have to repay me. Just be you."

After we had dropped off Haruhi and Hana, the twins turned toward me with sly grins on their faces.

"So, you two look like you've gotten close…" Hikaru started, raising his eyebrows.

"…anything happen today that you'd like to tell us?" Kaoru asked suggestively.

I gave them an innocent look, complete with wide, questioning eyes. "Well, we did get swept away down a river together. Life and death experiences can bring people closer. Right, Takashi?" I turned toward my cousin. He gave a nod. I smiled widely at the twins. "Hana-chan is probably one of my best friends now. We're like survivors! From that American show!"

They quickly lost interest since it looked like I didn't understand what they were asking me.

When it was just me and my cousin, he turned his face to me and raised his eyebrow in a question. I sighed. "Nothing happened, Takashi. Not anything the twins would think was important, anyway." I looked up at him and smiled. "But you know, she likes me. All of me, the Lolita and my more serious side. She said I could be all of it and I didn't have to choose." He gave a small smile and reached over to place his hand on my head. I whispered, "I meant what I said earlier. I think she is one of my best friends. Right after you." I looked into his eyes and he understood what I was asking.

"I like her." He stated. I sighed happily and crawled into his lap to fall asleep.

Chapter Text

You would think that after the fiasco at the resort everyone would want to take a break from travelling.

Obviously, you are not part of the Host Club. They never need a break.

I was sitting on a towel next to Haruhi as we watched Kyoya time Tamaki's clients for some 'alone' time on a beach rock.

Yes, we were at the beach. It had barely been two weeks since we went to the resort but Haruhi said she'd like to go to the beach so of course that meant as soon as possible to these idiots. Meaning the next weekend none of them had obligations.

"Kyoya's like a bouncer," I laughed. He would time the girls with Tamaki and when the time was up he'd let the next girl through. "I guess he is, in a way. I don't get it, honestly. Don't they realize they're not actually alone?" I shrugged at her question.

The twins were playing volleyball with a couple of the girls and I saw Honey and Mori doing… something. I'm not really sure what kind of yoga that was but it looked hilarious. I stood up and told Haruhi where I was going.

I trotted over to where the older boys were leading some of their customers in some weird yoga dance thing. I found a rock and perched on top of it to watch. After a few minutes, the girls got tired and wandered over to the water. Honey looked around and spotted me, his face lighting up in a smile. "Hana-chan! What are you doing?" I stood up and walked over to him and Mori.

"I was watching whatever strange aerobics you were doing. What was that exactly?"

"I'm not sure, I just made it up. The girls seemed to have fun!" He laughed. He grabbed my hand tugged me toward the shore line with Mori following silently behind. As per usual.

I started resisting his pull the closer we got to the water. He glanced back and smiled. "We're not going into the water, Hana-chan." He let go of my hand and ran over to a big rock, pulling a bucket and some shovels from behind it. "We're going to look for shellfish!" he said excitedly.

He was so cute, I didn't want to burst his bubble. I looked up worriedly at Mori. "I don't think there are any shellfish on this beach…" I whispered. He looked down and nodded. Before he could say anything however, we heard Honey yell "I found one! Look Hana-chan! Takashi!" He ran over to show us his bucket and I looked at him surprised. "Really? That's weird…"

"Come on Hana-chan! Come on!" He pulled me back over to where he was searching. Pretty soon we had a full bucket. I'm almost positive there aren't supposed to be anything like this here…

"Haru-chan! Come see! We're hellfish shunting!" I covered my mouth to hide my laugh.

"I'm pretty sure you mean shellfish hunting, sempai. Besides, you're not going to find any, this beach doesn't have anything like that…" Her voice trailed off as she caught sight of our bucket. She blanched.

Then suddenly we were surrounded by crabs.

"Eeep!" I squealed and jumped over to Mori, climbing onto his back.

Honey looked at me, amused. "You don't like crabs, Hana-chan?" I stuck my tongue out at him. "Shut up, you." I said. After a second of watching him and Haruhi gather up the creepy sea creatures, Mori began climbing the rock. "What are you doing, Mori-sempai?" I asked him. He grunted and continued climbing until we reached the top. Looking down, I saw Kyoya's private police force in some sort of assembly line, moving buckets of shellfish and crab out of the back of a truck and onto the beach.

"Ah, Mori-sempai, Hana. My family's police force felt bad about attacking Honey-sempai at the resort, so they wanted to repay him." Kyoya informed us. Mori nodded and I rolled my eyes. I swear, that kid. He is so spoiled.

"Hana, why are you riding on Mori-sempai's back?" Kyoya asked curiously. "I don't like crabs…" I mumbled. He nodded as if this was a perfectly reasonable explanation.

We watched the two most adorable hosts gather more sea creatures for a while. After everyone but Haruhi freaked out over a centipede, the twins came up with an idea for a game.

"Hey boss! Let's play a new game! It's called the 'find out Haruhi's weakness' game!" The twins exclaimed.

What? What is wrong with them?

"That sounds like a horrible game!" Well, at least Tamaki has a little sense.

"Yeah, I guess you're right…" They started to walk away. "…She would probably only tell her weakness to someone she was really close to." Oh no.

"What are the rules?!" Tamaki cried. Those manipulative creeps.

After we established that the first one to discover Haruhi's weakness by sundown would win, Kyoya piped up.

"And I have the perfect prize for the winner." He whipped out a handful of pictures of Haruhi in middle school looking all girly. I thought Tamaki and the twins were going to have an aneurysm.

"We'll play too!" Honey volunteered. I rolled my eyes and turned to start walking toward Haru. "You guys have fun with that." Then my way was blocked by two ginger head creeps and one little blonde.

"You're not gonna play, Hana-chan?"

"You have to play, Hana-sempai!"

I stomped my foot. "What on earth am I going to do with photographs of Haruhi as a middle schooler? That doesn't exactly do it for me, you guys."

The twins circled their arms around my shoulders and I could hear their smirks.

"Well Hana-sempai, if you don't play…" said Hikaru.

"…then we'll have to find your weakness too!" Kaoru finished.

I laughed. "Well that will be incredibly easy, considering I have a lot of fears. Honey-sempai and Mori-sempai already know two of them so if you want to add me to the game, they'll be at an automatic advantage."

This quickly deterred them from trying to involve me. I settled back and watched the fun for a while. I was sitting back with Kyoya when Honey came and sat down next to me, tears in his eyes.

"Aw, Honey, what's wrong?" I rubbed his arm. He sniffed. "I tried to scare Haru-chan with claustrophobia but I got scared instead…" He looked down and wrapped his arms around his legs. "I guess that's pretty stupid to cry over…" he mumbled.

I cocked my head to the side. "Why is a fear stupid to cry over?" He looked into my eyes. "Claustrophobia is a serious phobia." He smiled at me.

"What are your fears, Hana-chan? If you don't mind me asking?"

I thought for a second. "Well, you already know I don't like water and crabs. I highly dislike spiders. Ugh. I'm oddly afraid of wide open spices, so like the opposite of claustrophobia. I can't look up at the stars without there being something in my peripheral vision to ground me. It's pathetic." I strummed my fingers against my towel. "Cruise ships also freak me out. That's kind of connected to the water thing."

I shrugged and looked back at him. "I'm sure there's more but that's all I got right now."

We sat and chatted a few more minutes before he ran off with Mori and I went for a walk with Haruhi. She was still picking through the shellfish on the shore.

"Haruhi-kun! Hana-sempai!" We glanced up to see three of Haruhi's regulars waving at us from the top of a high cliff. "Hey, that's dangerous!" Haruhi called back to them. They weren't listening.

Haru sighed. "Come on, we better go get them down from there." I laughed. "You're such a parent. I don't know why Kyoya's the mom character in this thing. It should totally be you." She stuck her tongue at me.

It was quite the little trek and as we neared the top of the cliff we heard voices. Male voices. Haruhi picked up speed and I had no choice but to follow her. "Haruhi, wait!" I called out to her. No use.

When we reached the area where the girls had been we saw two guys harassing them. One guy had one of the girls by her wrist and was all up in her face while the other one had his arms wrapped around the other two.

Before I could stop her, Haruhi had flung her bucket of shellfish at the first guy. I mentally facepalmed.

What is she thinking?! We need to go get the guys!

"Haruhi-kun!" the girl exclaimed, running to us. I grabbed her arm and pushed her down the path. "Go get help!" I hissed at her. I turned around to see the guy grab Haruhi by her shirt. Crap. I couldn't wait on that girl.

I ran to the side of the cliff facing most of the beach and started yelling at the top of my lungs.

"HEY! WE NEED HELP UP HERE, WE'RE GETTING ATTACKED!" I searched the beach frantically as I yelled, looking for a sign of any member of the Host Club, especially a small martial arts expert. I spotted a blonde head perched on top of a black one. I barely paused for breath. "HONEY-SEM—" I didn't finish because I was yanked back by my arm and tossed onto the ground. I started to get up when I felt a pressure on my stomach. When I finally looked up, I saw the second guy, the one who had trapped the other two girls, leaning down on top of me. The pressure I felt was his knee. That was gonna hurt later. He was also pinning my hands down now.

"Hana! Let her go!" Haruhi was still active, apparently.

I glared at the guy on top of me. "Better let us go, jackass, or our boyfriends will beat the crap out of you." All six of them.

"Hey man, you hear that? No wonder the one you got there is so scrawny, he's gay!" The guy on top of me sneered. I rolled my eyes at his stupidity. "Hey kid, you should just go swimming in the ocean…" I whipped my head around to see the one holding Haruhi moving toward the edge of the cliff. "HARUHI!" I screamed, only to have a hand clamp over my mouth."…like a good boy!" Then he let go.

OH MY GOD HARUHI!

Almost instantly someone rushed past us and jumped after her. It looked like Tamaki but since there were tears in my eyes I couldn't be completely sure. My head was jerked back to look at the one who held me. He leaned down close enough for me to smell the alcohol on his breath. "Where's your boyfriend now, little girl?" He jeered at me.

I didn't have to answer. I heard a loud smacking sound at the same time I felt his weight lift off of me. I gasped, finally able to breathe in fully. I wiped my eyes and looked up to see Honey standing over me protectively. I was really glad that face he was making wasn't aimed at me.

I sat up, wincing, and a hand appeared in front of me. I let Mori help me up and he put his hand on my head. His own way of saying he was protecting me.

"Nice kick, kid. You caught me by surprise." I saw the guy and his buddy glaring at us. The one who had held me down was rubbing his ribs and wincing. Ha. The one who had tossed Haruhi off the cliff laughed. "That's your boyfriend? He's just a kid." Part of me wondered whether they registered how crazily ginormous Mori because hello!

"He's a lot more dangerous than he looks." I spat out. I saw the twins appear in the corner of my eye. Now the guys looked nervous. "I may have forgotten to mention this story is a reverse harem. That means multiple boyfriends, loser."

"Takashi, take Hana away please." I turned my attention back on Honey, my eyes widening. His fists were clenched and his voice was deadly. Mori made a noise of confirmation and picked me up. Yow, that hurt. "Mori-sempai, I can walk. They didn't hurt my legs." I complained. He looked at me. His eyes plainly said 'get over it'. Fine.

As he turned to take us back down the cliff I said. "Wait. Honey-sempai?" he didn't say anything so I assumed he was listening. "Don't kill them, ok? I really don't want to have to visit you in jail."

"No promises."

We passed Kyoya on the way down. He was heading up to hopefully deter the others from committing murder. To my surprise, he came straight to us and placed his hand on my shoulder. "Are you alright?" he asked calmly. I nodded. "I'm really fine. Mori-sempai is just being overprotective." I felt the arms holding me tighten and I smiled. "Which is endearing, so it's ok," I added. Truthfully, my stomach really hurt, especially where my rib cage started. The jerk had probably bruised a couple of them.

Kyoya nodded and continued his trek uphill. We had only gone a couple more feet before I had to stop him.

"Mori-sempai, please put me down. My stomach really hurts and being bent like this only makes it worse, I think." I was immediately set down. He bent his knees so he was looking in my eyes.

"I'm going to check." He said seriously. I felt embarrassment wash over me but I nodded. He'd probably be able to tell if there was anything really wrong since I'm sure he's gotten injuries in matches and stuff.

He took my hands and placed them on the edge of my top and indicated that I should pull it up. He's so polite. I raised my shirt till it was all bunched up, exposing most of my torso.

He looked hard at my uncovered skin and I would have felt even more embarrassed but his eyes were calculating and serious. It made me feel oddly safe. He reached out and brushed his fingers over an area about two inches above my belly button. I cringed and bit my lip to try and stop myself from crying out but a small whimper escaped. He nodded.

"It's possible you have a bruised rib. Even if you don't, that area is going to be sensitive for a few days."

"I thought it was something like that," I sighed, lowering my shirt. "Why couldn't Haruhi have acted like a girl for once in her life?" I grumbled. I knew that wasn't really fair. Haruhi was just being herself, all independent and self-reliant. Still. Ow.

Mori and I waited on the beach for the others to join us. We had all gathered together when we saw Tamaki come out of the water holding Haruhi. I was so relieved she was ok.

I really don't want to recount the details of her fight with Tamaki. It was really awkward, mostly because I agreed with him. She refused to apologize for worrying all of them (though she did apologize to me for getting me involved, to which I rolled my eyes). After Tamaki stalked off, I just wanted to collapse on my bed and sleep.

"You'll be fine. I don't think it's as serious as a bruised rib but the area will be sore for a while. Just try not to aggravate it. I would also advise putting an ice pack on it a couple times a day." I nodded as the doctor finished his diagnosis. I tried to insist I didn't need a doctor, but Mori had not relented. He said we needed to make sure it was only a surface bruise.

As he left the room, I laid back on my bed. I had changed into a pair of black shorts and a pink tank top. All I wanted to do was sleep. I pulled out my phone and started to type in an alarm when I heard a knock on my door. "Come in!" I called, sitting up.

The door creaked open and Honey poked his head in. I smiled. "Hi Honey-sempai! What's up?" He smiled back at me and held up his little stuffed bunny. "Usa-chan and I wanted to make sure you were ok." I laughed. "Of course! Come on in." I patted the bed next to me.

He walked over and sat down, fiddling with Usa-chan's paws. I waited a second for him to begin speaking but he seemed lost in thought. "So, I'm fine. The doctor said I'll be sore for a little while but nothing serious." I nudged him with my elbow, trying to make him look at me. He gave me a half-hearted smile. "That's good." He went quiet again.

"Honey-sempai? What's wrong?" I put my hand on his knee. He jumped up suddenly, throwing Usa-chan on my bed. I was shocked, to say the least. He's never violent with Usa-chan. He started pacing back and forth.

"I don't know exactly how to do this. I feel like I need to apologize for what happened today."

He almost sounded like he was talking to himself. "What do you mean? Why do you need to apologize?"

"Because. I should have been there. You shouldn't have gotten hurt in the first place." What?

"But Honey-se-"

"I mean, what good is knowing martial arts if I can't use it to defend the people I care about?"

"It's not your-"

"I should have been there to protect you!"

"If you would just listen-"

"I'm so useless!"

"MitsukuniI!"

He froze. Finally, I got his attention.

I walked over and placed my hands on his shoulders, my eyes boring into his. "Now that I have your attention, listen to me. None of this was your fault. Got that? None. You can't be with me all the time. That's ridiculous. Besides," I smiled at him. "You came to my rescue. It was you who I searched for and called for and you came. That's the important thing."

His eyes filled with tears and he wrapped his arms around me in a hug. I sucked in a breath at the pain but held onto his neck so he wouldn't pull back. We stood there for a minute before I asked in a whisper. "By the way, you didn't kill those guys right? Kyoya didn't have to hide any bodies?"

He laughed softly. "No, you heard him earlier, we kept their I.D's and asked them to leave. They may have had to leave in an ambulance but…" It was my turn to laugh. I really shouldn't find other people's pain funny. That probably means I have something really wrong with my personality.

I felt him breathe against my ear. "You called me Mitsukuni," he whispered. I felt my face heat up.

"Ah, yeah… I hope that was ok… I needed some way to stop you from acting like an idiot so… I figured it was better than a slap…" I said nervously. He pulled back and touched our foreheads together. This had kind of become our thing, I realized.

I was relieved to see he had an amused smile on his face. "It's ok, Hana-chan. I don't mind."

"Good!" I pulled back and smiled. "Now I'm going to take a nap. Wake me up for dinner?" He nodded and left.

I paused while I was climbing into bed as I spotted something out of the corner of my eye. Oh no, Honey had left Usa-chan. I thought about running after him but decided it was too much effort. Instead, I grabbed the bunny and snuggled with it while I slept. It smelled like cake and strawberries.

I was barely aware of knocking. I groaned and snuggled further into my blankets. Then I was being shaken. "Hana," a deep voice said. I poked my head out from under the covers to see Mori looking down at me with his stoic face and Haruhi behind him looking amused. "It's time for dinner," she explained.

"Ugh…" I threw the covers off of me and stretched. We headed down the hall toward the dining room.

"Hana, why do you have Usa-chan?" Haruhi asked. I glanced down at the bunny in my arms. "Honey-sempai stopped by my room earlier and forgot him." She nodded as the doors opened.

Wow, the table was piled high with so much food! It was awesome!

Everyone cooed over Haruhi's dress (which I'm sure was her dad's idea). "Hana-chan! Did you sleep well?" Honey asked brightly. I smiled. I couldn't help smiling at him. "Yeah, it was great. I hope you don't mind but you left Usa-chan in my room so we napped together." I held out the bunny to him and he grinned. He ran over and set the stuffed animal in the corner while we sat down to eat.

Whoever sat Haruhi next to Tamaki was an idiot.

We all watched as she continued to eat crab after crab, slowly building a pile to rival any skyscraper. All in front of Tamaki, of course. She's so passive aggressive.

"Don't you think you may be eating too much?" Tamaki asked nervously.

"Oh, I thought you weren't speaking to me?" Haruhi said. That was kind of mean.

"Fine! I can see you're not going to reconsider what you did today! I'm going to bed!" He stomped out of the room, Kyoya following him.

I turned to glare at Haruhi but she was looking at her next crab leg with a sad and thoughtful expression. "Maybe I should learn karate or something…" she said in a low voice. That is so not the point, Haru.

"Oh, so it is bothering you?" the twins asked together.

"So that's the direction your thoughts are going, huh?" Hikaru said.

"We wouldn't stop you, of course…" Kaoru trailed off.

"But Haru, that's not really the point," I tried to explain. She still didn't seem to get it.

"To be honest, I wish you'd reconsider how rashly you acted today too." Hikaru stated.

"Why? I didn't make trouble for you guys, did I?" She asked. I facepalmed and the twins sighed.

"That's not true, Haru-chan." We all looked at Honey. "You should tell everyone you're sorry, ok? Understand? And Tell Tama-chan you're sorry for worrying him so much, too."

She looked surprised. "You were all worried about me?" Everyone sweatdropped and I rolled my eyes.

"Seriously, Haru, we're your friends. Of course we worried about you. Why do you think I tried to get you to wait? Because I was worried you'd get hurt, stupid." I said in exasperation.

"Oh…" She looked down. "I'm sorry."

We circled her in a group hug, telling her it was ok because she was so cute. Through the throng, I felt her grip my hand and squeeze it. I knew she was truly sorry then.

"Haruhi? What's wrong?" the twins asked.

"I don't feel so good…" I laughed as she ran out of the room looking for a bathroom. She's so funny.

"Well, we're going to play video games…" The twins waltzed out of the room.

"Those jerks. Leaving us to do all of the cleanup." I grumbled as I started to pick up the plates nearest me. I felt a hand on my arm. "Don't worry about cleaning up, Hana-chan. Kyo-chan said he'd have a cleaning service come tomorrow after we leave." Honey tugged me toward the kitchen. I followed, glancing behind me to see Mori still eating the leftover crab.

"What are you doing?" I asked curiously. He trotted over to the refrigerator and pulled out a big white box. He walked over and set in on the island in the middle of the room. Then he ran over to the cabinet and pulled out two plates and forks. He set these next to the box. Then he jumped up onto the counter.

"Come on, Hana-chan!" he indicated I was supposed to hoist myself up onto the counter. Yeah, no. I looked around the room and spotted a small stepstool in the corner. I ran over and set in front of the counter. As I stepped onto the first rung of the stool, I caught him staring at me. "What? I'm not a leapfrog like you. Some of us short people need stools." He laughed as I finally plopped myself on the counter.

He handed me one of the plates and forks and then opened the box to reveal a beautiful chocolate cake. I grinned. "Alright! That's what I'm talking about!" After we each had a slice of cake on our plates, we began to eat in comfortable silence.

We were both on our second piece of cake when he asked "Hey, Hana-chan? Can I ask you a question?"

I had my fork in my mouth at that point so I just nodded. He grinned. "Why did those guys think I was your boyfriend when I showed up?" I laughed around my cake. I held up a finger, quickly trying to swallow so I could answer his question.

"Because right around the start of the whole thing, I told them they had better let us go because our boyfriends would beat the crap out of them. I was trying to scare them into backing off. They thought Haruhi was gay." I laughed again. That was actually kind of funny, now that I thought about it. He nodded and went back to eating.

It suddenly dawned on me that there weren't any strawberries on the cake. Honey always had chocolate cake with strawberries. "Honey, why aren't there strawberries on this cake? Don't you like them with chocolate cake?"

He looked up and smiled at me. There was a softness in his eyes. "Yeah, I do. But you don't. You always pick off all of the strawberries and you even scrape off the top layer of icing where they touched the cake."

I blushed and looked down at my cake. That was probably the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me. I didn't even know he noticed my cake eating habits. Although, there was cake involved. "Thank you, Honey…"

"You're welcome!" He said brightly. I smiled at him. "Maybe next time we can split it half way? One half with strawberries and one half without them." He grinned and nodded. "I'd like that.

After a couple more minutes he broke the silence again.

"Hana-chan? Can I ask you another question?" Again, I nodded. He looked a little nervous this time.

"Could you… Would you mind calling me by my first name when it's just us?" My fork stopped on its way into my mouth and I stared at him.

Ok, with me being half American, calling people by their first name wasn't as huge a deal for me but of course I understood the significance. My mom had made sure I was taught all Japanese etiquette. My mind went into overdrive. He wanted me to call him by his first name? Why only when it was just us? Mitsukuni was a little long… maybe I could give him a nickname…. Maybe it's because he doesn't want the others to feel bad that they can't call him that… Well the customers would certainly gossip about it, that's for sure… I'll have to be really careful if I'm going back and forth with what I'm calling him…

"Uh, Hana-chan? Are you ok? You don't have to if it makes you uncomfortable…" I snapped back to the present and smiled at him. "Don't be silly, Mitsukuni. I was just lost in thought. Of course I will." His smile was so dazzling, I felt blinded. I shook my head and looked in the box.

It was empty. I had only had two pieces.

I looked back at him in disbelief. "Dang, Mitsu, how have you had time to eat that much?!"

He shrugged. "I'm a fast eater when it's cake." Then he paused and burst out laughing. "Did you just call me 'Mitsu'?" I looked out the window to hide my embarrassment. "Mitsukuni is a long name to say in a fast sentence like that." Wow, it was storming pretty hard out there. I heard him laugh again. "That's great. No one's ever called me that before, not even Takashi. I love it." I grinned at him again.

We heard the door open and looked up to see Mori walk into the kitchen. He eyed the empty box and I thought I saw a ghost of a smile. "It was all him. I only had two pieces, I swear." I pointed to the culprit sitting beside me. He swatted my finger away. "I'm sorry, Takashi, did you want some? I think I have another one in the fridge."

He shook his head. "We're going to check on Tamaki and Haruhi. Want to come?"

I looked at Honey and he nodded. We jumped down and followed him out of the room. We joined the twins and Kyoya out in the hallway. As we walked down the hallway, I slipped my hand into Honey's and whispered in his ear. "I have something else I want to ask you later. It's sort of a favor." He nodded.

When we opened the door to Kyoya's bedroom we saw Tamaki blindfolding Haruhi. I burst out laughing and cringed (laughing really hurt right now) as the twins started accusing him of being a S&M pervert. That was pretty fun for a while, until I had to explain to Haruhi what they were talking about.

After that, it was time to go to bed. Honey and Mori walked me to my door. Before I walked inside, Honey tugged on my arm. "What did you want to ask me, Hana-chan?" Oh yeah.

I bit my lip. "Well… I was wondering if…" Why was it always so hard to ask people for favors? "Could you… teach me some martial arts?" His eyes widened in surprise. I rubbed the back of my head and started trying to explain. "I was just thinking earlier about how you were saying you wanted to protect me and how I said you couldn't be with me all the time… But if you teach me how to defend myself, it'll kind of be like you are with me all of the time, protecting me." God, that sounded so lame. What was happening to me?

He took my other hand in his and smiled. "Of course I'll teach you, Hana-chan! I'd be honored!"

I smiled. "Thanks…" my eyes darted to Mori and back to him, "Honey. We'll see if you're that excited when we start. My skill level is approximately negative zero." He laughed at that. "Everyone is a beginner when they start, Hana-chan." He squeezed my hands. "It's ok around Takashi, you know."

I grinned and hugged him. "Ok then. Goodnight, Mitsukuni."

"Goodnight, Hana-chan." I said goodnight to Mori, who didn't seem all that shocked by our sudden intimacy, and went to sleep.

Honey turned around and started walking down the hall after Hana had closed the door.

"Shut up." He said to Takashi, his face red with embarrassment.

The tall boy just gave a small smile. Things were going better than he thought.

Honey's POV

Honey snuggled deeper into his bed, releasing a sigh. Today had been a whirlwind. First the guys on the cliff, then Haru-chan and Tama-chan's fight, then his different conversations with Hana.

Hana. He pulled Usa-chan close to his face and inhaled the scent that clung to plush toy now. Vanilla, laundry detergent, and whatever shampoo that makes up Hana.

He groaned, turning over onto his back to stare at the ceiling. Why, why, why did his stomach give out when she had called him Mitsukuni? He knew she just did it to get his attention, to stop him from ranting but it didn't matter. He had been on cloud nine the rest of the day.

When she had gone back to calling him Honey, he couldn't do it. He wanted to hear her call him by his first name again. He wanted her to do it all the time. Embarrassment flooded him when he remembered his boldness in asking if she would do it whenever they were alone. He knew the others would make a bid deal about it if she did it around them, plus the customers would talk. And she had agreed! He had never felt so happy in his life.

What was happening to him?

Chapter Text

"So where do you want to sit today?" I asked Ritsu. She glanced around the large cafeteria. "What about that empty table by the window over in the corner?" she gestured with her head. I nodded and we started to make our way through the lunch room.

Rit-chan and I always ate lunch together. I'm not sure why I never sat with the Host Club at lunch time, it just always seemed more pleasant to sit in a quiet corner with Ritsu and have a little bit of girl talk. Haruhi wasn't really into that kind of stuff.

We were about halfway to the table when I heard a familiar voice ring through the noise. "Hana-chan! Rit-chan! Hey, over here!" We stopped and looked to our left to see Honey standing on top of a chair and waving at us frantically. I looked at Ritsu. "Do you want to sit with the crazy people?"

She smiled sweetly at me. Ritsu had been a little disenchanted with the Host Club since becoming close friends with me. Maybe it was all the stories I told her or it may have been the fact that they showed their true natures around her since she had my seal of approval. Whichever it was, she didn't get flustered when I insulted them anymore.

I saw her glance back at the table and then look at her tray, blushing prettily. "We can sit wherever you want to sit…" I noticed the tallest Host was staring at us. I grinned and led her toward their table.

I sat my tray next to Honey's. "Hey guys!" I smiled at them. Kyoya was sitting across from Honey, typing away on his computer. Doesn't he eat? Tamaki was seated next to him. Mori was on the other side of Honey. They greeted me enthusiastically.

I looked at Ritsu who was just standing next to me, obviously unsure what to do. There wasn't a seat next to me and she obviously didn't want to sit in the seat next to Kyoya.

"Why don't you sit next to Mori-sempai, Rit-chan? I'm sure he wouldn't mind." I grinned devilishly at her. I heard a "hn" noise and said, "see?" She blushed again and stammered, "o-okay."

After she was safely seated I turned to Honey. "Where are the twins?" I dug into my food. "They're eating lunch with Haru-chan today."

"WHAT?! WHY DIDN'T THEY INVITE THEIR DADDY?!" Tamaki shouted.

"Because you're not their father, Tamaki. Be quiet." I snorted at Kyoya's response.

"Uh, excuse me?" We all looked up in surprise to see Renge standing nearby holding her lunch tray. Yes, Renge was still here. I really didn't mind her now. Besides, her random appearances on that motorized thing she seems to have built everywhere always makes things more amusing. "Do you mind if I sit here?" she gestured to the empty seat next to Kyoya. Before he could respond, I said quickly, "Of course you can, Ren-chan."

Overall, it was a very pleasant lunch. We all chatted and laughed. I watched Mori and Ritsu closely. They had a couple of small verbal interactions. Nothing major, but at least they were getting along.

The really interesting thing happened as we all got ready to leave. It was so quick it would have been easy to miss.

We had all gathered our stuff with me, Tamaki, and Ritsu waiting politely on Kyoya to finish whatever he was typing so we could walk to class together. Renge took one last bite of her food before she stood up. As she did, she leaned over and pointed to Kyoya's computer screen.

"You know, if you adjust this line item here to account for the fact that most of the girls will be dieting to fit into their costumes for Halloween, therefore eating less sweets, you can save a good amount of money that month."

We all stared at her back as she walked away. "Wow. She just burned you, Kyo-kun." He glared at me and I smirked. Who knew Renge could actually be business smart?

Chapter Text

I collapsed onto the dojo floor, breathing heavily. My hair splayed out across the floor behind me and I could feel sweat trickling down my forehead. A small blond person popped into my vision. "You're not going to learn anything laying there, Hana-chan." I scowled up at him. "We've been going at it for an hour and half, Mitsu! Jeez, I'm tired. Can't we take a small break?" I pleaded.

For a second I thought he was going to argue with me but then he sighed and laid down off to my side, his head almost touching mine. It had been about three weeks since the Beach Incident. Not much had happened since then. Ok, well there was that visit from the girls from Lobelia, which was exhausting. Lets see... the boys dropped in unexpectedly on Haru last Sunday and met her dad. Kyoya had called to see if I wanted to join in when Tamaki decided he needed to make sure Haruhi wasn't living in the complete poverty but I had to many drawings to finish. That was a little sad, it sounded like they had a lot of fun.

Also we met this weird kid named Nekozawa who has a problem with light and reconciled him to his little sister. All in a days work for Team Host Club.

Honey had taken his job of teaching me to defend myself very seriously. We had been meeting at his family's dojo every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday after club ended. He had begun by teaching me basic form and then he focused on easy self-defense tactics. He said that after I mastered all of those moves/tricks he would begin teaching me actual martial arts. I had pouted at that but he said that the goal was primarily for me to be able to get away from an attacker.

And don't let his cute little face fool you. He was a strict teacher. He even gave me an exercise routine to do at home. This kid did not play, let me tell you.

I tilted my head to the side so I could see him out of the corner of my eye. "Sorry it's taking me so long to learn this. I warned you it was going to be difficult to teach me." I really did feel bad. I mean, he was dedicating all this time to me when he could be doing other things. I wasn't even that great. I only landed blows or managed to complete a move about half the time and I knew he was letting me do it.

He chuckled. "Hana-chan, you're doing great. You're really focused and you have enough attitude and aggression to give your actions a lot of power." Great, now I had a bad attitude and an anger management problem. "Besides," he continued, "remember who you're sparring with. Against an average opponent, I think you'd win most of the time."

Unbelievably, that didn't sound as conceited as it could have.

I propped myself up on my elbow and looked down at him. I noticed he hadn't broken a sweat. He didn't even look winded. Jerk. "Really? You think so?" He grinned up at me and his flowers appeared. "Of course, Hana-chan! I wouldn't lie to you."

I opened my mouth to respond with something snarky when a deep voice rang out across the room. "Mitsukuni." He sat up and we both looked towards the door. "Takashi!" He exclaimed and ran toward his cousin.

I waved weakly and smiled. "Hey, Mori." After I had started calling Honey by his first name, adding 'sempai' to his last name had felt really forced and weird so I had dropped it. I had also dropped it from Mori's name so I wouldn't start rumors.

Mori would join us every once in a while. Sometimes he would just watch, giving tips if he noticed something. Other times he would spar with Honey while I took a break and that was my favorite thing. They were amazing to watch. Honey usually won, of course.

Well, he always won. Sometimes it just took longer.

He grunted and walked forward, handing me a bottle of water when he got close. I smiled gratefully at him while Honey just grinned brightly. I narrowed my eyes at him while I drank my water. Something was off with that grin. He looked far too mischievous for my liking.

"What are you grinning about?" I asked suspiciously.

He jumped up and down excitedly. "I have a surprise for the last part of our lesson today!"

How could he possibly look so cute and so dangerous at the same time? "Really? What is it?"

Now he let all of his little evilness into the smile. "You're going to spar with Takashi today!"

I blinked. What? I looked up at Mori and raised my eyebrows. He met my look with a blank expression and nodded. They had to be kidding. Mori was still way better than me at martial arts. Plus, he was easily three times my size. Yeah, no.

I turned on my heel and started heading for the changing area, calling over my shoulder, "That is so not happening. Nice try."

Immediately, Honey was blocking my way with his arms crossed over his chest, a stern look on his face. I mirrored his stance and scowled at him.

"Hana-chan, you have to spar with someone who is a different size than you. Let's be honest, in most of these situations, you'll be up against people twice your size. You have to start working on that at some point."

I opened my mouth to argue but then he took two steps into my personal space, his eyes somehow already filled with tears and his hands reached out to touch my arms. "Please, Hana-chan? I really wanted you to try this today…" he puckered his bottom lip in a pout.

I knew he was faking. I knew. But I still felt my resolve crumble. Darn him and his stupid cute face.

"I hate you," I mumbled. He grinned and hugged me. "Yay! Thank you Hana-chan!"

I let him lead me back onto the mat, glaring at the back of his head the whole way. I turned toward Mori and was again struck by how freakin TALL he is. How am I possibly going to do this? I could feel myself tensing with worry. This was ridiculous. Mori would never hurt me. Get a grip.

I'm not really sure what my face was doing but Mori walked over and patted my head. "Focus." He said.

I nodded sheepishly and closed my eyes as he walked back to his side. He's right, I just need to focus. I quickly ran through all of the moves that Honey had taught me. I opened my eyes and readied myself. If Mori was going to stick to the same pattern as Honey then he'd rotate between doing very unskilled grabs to represent normal people and focused moves for more skilled opponents. The point was to ready me for anything.

Mori started with moving forward quickly and grabbing my wrist – so starting with unskilled. I spun through the move Honey had taught me to break out of his hold. I was a little irked that I broke It so easily. I know I did the move right but Mori was stronger than me so I should have had a little more difficulty.

We went through a few more scenarios and each time I barely met any resistance, unless I made a mistake (which, I have to proudly say, was rare). I was starting to get angry at this point. Wasn't the point of this for me to get used to attackers who would be bigger and stronger than me? How will I know if I'm putting in enough power behind my moves if he just lets me go as soon as my form is deemed right?

Honey had explained to me that fighting while angry was not really a good idea. He said it takes a lot of discipline to control anger and use it properly. I should have called time as soon as I felt myself cross the line from irritated to mad. As it happens however, I did not.

Mori had lunged forward and grabbed my ponytail giving it a light tug to indicate if he was a bad guy he would be actually pulling it. Again, how was this helpful? I huffed and pushed myself back instead of trying to resist the pull, aiming my elbow for his stomach. I just barley brushed him when he dropped his arm. I felt something snap inside of me. I growled and whirled around, slamming my fist into his torso. He grunted and took a couple of steps back.

I stood in shock, staring up at him in horror. "Oh my god, Mori! I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to!" My hands flew to my face. I can't believe I actually did that. Talk about zero self-control. "I… I was so frustrated… oh god I'm sorry… are you ok?" I stammered.

He gave me a slight smile and ruffled my hair. I heard a giggle and turned to face Honey who was watching us, apparently highly amused at my outburst. He bounced over and put his hands over mine. I was still frozen in the same position.

"Hana-chan, its fine. No offense, but that wouldn't have hurt Takashi very much at all. Besides, if he wanted to block it he would have, right?" Honey looked at Mori expectantly and I felt a breath leave me when he nodded.

I relaxed then, and Honey intertwined our fingers as our hands fell from my face. He gave me an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, Hana-chan. I told Takashi to spar like that. Part of it was that you really did need to work on form with a larger opponent. But I had also noticed you seemed afraid of doing any move that would possibly hurt me when we sparred."

I couldn't argue with that. Even though I knew it was ridiculous and that Honey was literally the strongest person in Japan, I was still reluctant to attempt anything that I felt would hurt.

"I wanted you to get frustrated enough that you would lash out. Do you see now? You can't hurt either of us. Even if you do manage to land a blow, our bodies are conditioned to take much more power than you are able to produce." He smirked. "We're also much faster than you. You're doing well but you're still a beginner. You're never going to get better if you hold back. Ok?"

I nodded, thoroughly embarrassed. He grinned. "Why don't you go get a shower? We can eat some cake when you finish!" I laughed and rolled my eyes. "Sounds like a plan."

Chapter Text

Honey's POV

Honey was in trouble. So much trouble.

He looked across the room at Hana who was drawing intensely in her notebook. Her eyebrows were furrowed in concentration and her tongue was sticking out of the side of her mouth. She was so cute.

Why did it feel different to call her cute than it did to say that to anyone else?

Of course he knew the answer. He just didn't want to think about it.

The real problem, he decided, was that she was shorter than him. Because he wasn't smaller than her, it was like she had some uncanny ability to see through his defenses.

Her height also made it difficult to hug her. He loved the way she fit in his arms, how he felt holding her. He didn't feel like a clinging child. He felt like a man.

He shook his head to clear it.

"Are you ok, Honey?" Honey looked up into worried blue-green eyes. He tried to smile as brightly as he could. "I'm fine, Hana-chan! Just thinking about stuff."

She smiled uncertainly. "Well, you were definitely brooding. See?" She turned her sketchbook around to show him what she had been working on. It was him, leaning against the table with his head propped up on one hand, staring into the distance. Brooding was exactly right.

"Wow! I look so serious!" he exclaimed. She laughed. He really liked her laugh. "Well, I had to take the opportunity when I could. Do you like it?"

"Yes!" he said.

She grinned. Haruhi called her to say it was time for them to head home. She turned around to face Honey. "Well, I've got to go. Bye Honey!" she turned around to trot back to Haruhi.

Honey knew he shouldn't. It wouldn't help with anything.

But she was so cute.

"Hana-chan, wait!" he yelled before running after her. She barely managed to turn around before he attacked her with a hug. She chuckled in his ear, sending shivers down his spine, and hugged him back.

"Thanks, Mitsukuni. I like your hugs." She said quietly in his ear. She laughed as he pulled away from her, smiling. "I'll see you tomorrow!"

He watched the two girls go. "See you tomorrow." He said under his breath.

So much trouble.

Chapter Text

Once again, the Host Club was holding one of their meetings outside and in cosplay. Everyone was wearing different traditional Japanese outfits and for some reason this meant they all had hair extensions too. Haruhi actually looked like a girl.

I had been running a little late so I didn't have a chance to change with them. It was a sad day.

I was currently hanging out with Haruhi in her little area. She didn't have any customers at the moment and we were laughing at all of the hosts' antics.

"It amazes me that Kyo-kun can work business into his hosting." I shook my head in disbelief.

"That's Kyoya-sempai for you."

"HARUHI! LOOK OUT!" We both turned to see a ball hurtling toward us. My eyes widened and then Tamaki rushed past me, tackling Haruhi out of the way. The ball sailed over my head as I looked around at them. I'm pretty sure Tamaki's attack was more painful than the ball would have been.

"Hikaru! You came this close to snuffing out the light of Haruhi's life!"

I bent down to check on Haruhi as Tamaki and the twins got into it, again. She groaned.

"That was quite a tumble," I smirked. She glared up at me from her place on the ground. "Shut up."

I laughed. I helped her up and then heard Tamaki yell something about kicking. We looked just in time to see him kick the ball with such force that it shot across the school and into a window.

"Looks like we're going on an adventure!" I exclaimed as Haruhi groaned again.

It wasn't much of an adventure, considering Kyoya simply calculated where the ball would have ended up and of course he knew the school floor plan by heart.

As we approached the room that Kyoya was leading us to, I scowled. The Newspaper Club. Gross.

"Something wrong, Hana-chan?" I looked at Honey. I smiled and shook my head. "No, I'm fine Honey. Don't worry about me." He looked at me a second longer before turning back to the group. As Tamaki apologized to the president for hitting him in the head with the ball (great aim, if you ask me) Honey, Haruhi, and Mori cleaned up the broken glass.

I had purposefully kept out of sight behind the twins and moved when they did. They looked at me oddly but didn't say anything about it. Bless their hearts, they even started shielding me on purpose. I knew there was a reason I tolerated them.

I peeked around Kaoru to see how Honey and Haruhi were doing with the cleanup. They seemed fine and I was about to duck back behind my human shields when Honey looked up and caught my eye. Ugh, he had so much concern in his eyes. This was stupid, there was no need to worry him. Besides, the president was intent on his conversation with Tamaki.

I silently made my way over and kneeled next to him, bumping his shoulder.

"What was that look for?" I asked. He was about to answer when…

"Hana? I didn't know you were here!" The president of the Newspaper Club looked thrilled at my very presence. Gag.

I nodded briefly in his direction.

He chuckled and it sounded like nails against a chalkboard. The president was eyeing me behind his glasses and had a creepy smirk on his face. "Now Hana, you weren't trying to hide from me were you?"

I kept my face blank. "No, Komatsuzawa, I was not." Even though that was exactly what I was doing, "I just happen to be shorter than everyone in this room. I tend to get lost in the crowd."

"Hana, I've told you, my friends call me Akira." Oh god, just stop it.

I narrowed my eyes and said flatly "Yes, you have."

Thankfully, Haruhi changed the subject, asking about the existence of the club. The creep lost interest in me at that point and went on some sort of sob story about how his club was about to break up (really, it was his own fault). I wasn't paying that much attention until he said something about covering the Host Club. I felt my stomach drop. What was his game? This is exactly the kind of thing Tamaki would dive right into.

Sure enough, he began to offer his help before Kyoya cut in to refuse. I sighed. Thank goodness Kyoya had sense. Komatsuzawa had a terrible reputation and I didn't want him anywhere near Tamaki or the club.

The president tried once more to pull on our heartstrings but we all refused, despite Tamaki being all for it. Tamaki even tried to order the others to stay which didn't end well.

"Hana!"

I turned to look at the president with one raised eyebrow. Mori and Honey had stopped also and were waiting for me.

He gave me what I'm sure he thought was a flirtatious smile but ended up just looking creepy.

"You know, my office is always open if you ever want to have a… private interview." The way he emphasized 'private' made me throw up a little in my mouth. How was I supposed to get the message through to this guy that I wasn't interested? Wait…

I slid my hand into Honey's, keeping eye contact with Komatsuzawa the whole time. "No thanks. I'm good." I flicked my eyes down to our joined hands meaningfully. His mouth fell open and I smirked.

As we made our way back to the club room, I smiled at Honey. "Sorry for using you like that, Mitsukuni. I wasn't sure how else to get him to understand it wasn't happening."

He looked at me curiously. "What was that all about, anyways?" I made a face. "Komatsuzawa has confessed to me twice and after the second time I said no, he's made it a point to try and flirt whenever we see each other, which thankfully isn't that often."

Something flashed in his eyes. "Do you want Takashi and me to talk to him about it?" "Ah," I heard Mori behind us. My heart swelled at their offer at the same time I snorted. "No, thanks for asking. He's just an annoyance that I rarely have to deal with." We reached the doors of the Host Club then and separated so they could change clothes.

It was only then that I realized Honey and I had held hands the whole way back.

"Would it really be so bad to help out the Newspaper Club?"

I looked up from my cake to give Haruhi an incredulous look. Since when has Tamaki sulking in the corner ever made her change her mind about something?

"Oh? How odd, you taking his side," the twins said. Apparently, I wasn't the only surprised one.

"That's not what I'm doing." She had a defeated look on her face. "I just know that any minute now, he's going to look at us with those puppy-dog eyes and we'll do whatever he wants anyways."

"Wow, you've got some experience points, huh?" the twins said in unison. I sighed. She was right though. That was Tamaki's M.O. Even Kyoya can't resist the idiot's puppy eyes.

"Isn't this something you'd usually be into?" I heard her ask.

"Not usually, this time'd be nothing but trouble." I cut my eyes to them. So they picked up on the ominous intent too.

"What about you guys, Honey-sempai?"

"Well, see, I have all this cake to eat," He said, as if it were obvious why he wasn't interested. "Ah," Mori agreed. She looked at me and raised her eyebrow. In answer, I simply took another bite of cake.

Suddenly, Tamaki looked up from his corner with those exact eyes. All hopeful and adorable. He glanced back down and up.

Haruhi is gone.

He looked down and up.

There go the twins. Only Kyoya was left.

One more puppy filled look.

I could actually see the moment he broke Kyoya. Even though the result wasn't something I was looking forward too, it was so cute to see the aloof Kyoya bend to the adorableness of our idiot King that I was ok with it.

He started rattling off different conditions that would have to be set in order for this to happen. Tamaki was ecstatic and kept making 'woof' sounds.

"If you say so, Kyoya-sempai."

"If Kyo-chan says so, then I'm ok."

I nodded and smirked at Haruhi's face. "If Kyo-kun is in charge, I'm cool with it."

Thus is the power of the Shadow King.

I love Tamaki, I really do. But my gosh if he is not the biggest weirdo I have ever met.

"The Daruma doll fell over!" We all froze in our shuffling forward toward the tree that Tamaki was leaning against. For some reason, Tamaki's idea of an article about the Host Club was us playing kid games outside. I was keeping up with Haru and Mori but the twins and Honey were freezing in all of these strange poses that were hilarious. Kyoya was hovering somewhere behind us, hardly moving at all.

I'm pretty sure the newspaper club members were regretting the decision to cover us right about now.

"I can't believe we're playing this," I grumbled. Haruhi sighed under her breathe. "I suppose if he's having fun…" Seriously though, when was she going to realize she liked him?

We looked over to see Tamaki explaining why this whole game was the best idea to refresh the clubs image or something along those lines. When he exclaimed rather excitedly that this would also thrill the commoners to return to their childhood, he kept looking at Haruhi.

"I wonder if I should be thrilled now?" she asked irritably. I laughed. "Oh, Haru, he's trying to connect with you so hard." Suddenly, Kyoya was in front of us. Where did he come from?

"I just hope this ends soon…" she sighed again.

"Fujioka-kun, wasn't it?" Haruhi and I glanced up to see Komatsuzawa hovering near us.

"Might I have a brief word with you? You're welcome to join in as well, Hana." I narrowed my eyes at him and came to stand directly next to Haruhi, ready to intervene if he crossed some line. I'm not sure what line that would be but I'm sure I can think of something.

"Why did you join this club?" He asked cordially. Ok, fine. That was a perfectly viable question.

"Oh, well, it was over me being a little careless…" Sure, it wasn't the boys' fault for freaking her out or leaving an expensive vase out in the middle of a room or anything.

"You're an honor student, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am."

"So in other words, you are a token member of this club, here in order to allow the Suoh family to flaunt their power."

What?

I growled and hoped he would pick up on the warning. But for once he wasn't paying me any attention. He was wholly focused on Haruhi, apparently figuring that she would give him the information he wanted.

He leaned forward into her personal space. "Could I ask you to tell me about his dark side? Perhaps I will able to help you out of here as well." I pressed my hand against his chest and pushed back so he was a few more inches away from us. "He doesn't need your help," I said forcefully.

Haruhi seemed to be completely unaware of the tenseness of the situation.

"He doesn't have a dark side," she stated.

His face pulled into a sneer. "So what? You're telling me that those high school kids genuinely enjoy playing these games?" We all looked over to where the others were still blissfully playing. Somehow Kyoya was already at the tree with Tamaki. His powers never cease to amaze me.

Haruhi blinked and looked back at Komatsuzawa. "Is that strange?" she asked.

"It's impossible!" he yelled, glaring. Before I could offer a witty retort, the twins popped up in our space, dragging Haruhi away from the creep. I was quickly pulled away as well by Honey, Tamaki yelling at us in the background.

Our next game was Kick the Can. After Tamaki declared Kyoya 'it' he proceeded to do the exact same kick that got us into this mess in the first place. We all ran around while the can zinged from tree to tree and I held my breath, hoping… hoping…

SMACK! Yes! It hit the president in the head AGAIN! I fell on the ground laughing. Something has to be wrong with me for enjoying people's pain…

As I finally calmed down, I saw the newspaper club members skulking back to their club room. I jumped up and went to stand next to Kyoya. Honey and Mori joined us.

"Are you ready?" Kyoya asked. I grinned. "Absolutely. We'll follow behind them. You better go on ahead if you want to meet up with Hikaru and Kaoru." He nodded and headed down some sort of short cut I'm sure only he knows about.

The three of us kept a safe distance from the newspaper club as they hurried back to their club room. The president was so focused we probably could have been walking right next to him and he wouldn't have noticed. When we saw them fling open their club room doors and rush in, we hurried our steps.

We appeared in the doorway just in time to hear the president say "I knew it, Suoh is wielding his parents' power and giving out orders to you!" Oh please.

"No, he isn't," Honey stated. "Tama-chan wouldn't do that. It's because we love Tama-chan that we're doing this." I smiled at his words and leaned against the door frame, crossing my arms. He's right, of course.

Kyoya spoke up from his perch in the shadows, "He is a hopeless idiot, however…" a small smile appeared on his face. I watched as all of my boys' faces softened at the thought of Tamaki and how he had changed their lives. It was enough to almost bring me to tears.

"So?"

"What will it be?"

"Don't do this, okay?" Honey pleaded.

Komatsuzawa whirled around and glared at me with an angry and desperate look. "Hana, please! You're on my side, right? Say something to these cretins!"

I pushed myself off the doorframe and matched his glare. "You want me to say something? Fine. If you dare go after Tama-kun, or any of the Host Club, I will kick your ass." He looked at me in shock for a moment and I just couldn't help adding, "Oh, and by the way, it's Lee. In case you hadn't noticed, we're not friends."

His face contorted in rage and he started to reach in my direction but stopped when Honey moved directly beside me. That seemed to finally make him snap.

"Damn! It's not just Suoh anymore, I'm going to ruin all of you now!" Oh come on, am I not intimidating at all?

"Please, feel free." Kyoya casually picked up his 'free gift' first aid kit. He pressed the hidden button underneath it and popped out the disk. "However, I wonder what you should do about this disk, which has been secretly recording all of your remarks since yesterday."

I watched in smug satisfaction as the president fell to his knees in defeat. But oh no, Kyo-kun was not done. Not our shadow king. He stalked forward like a predatory cat, all the while talking in a very amiable tone. "To put it in the same terms you would, here is the deal. You'd do well to remember that with the stock that the Ootori Group and the Hitachiins own, we could replace the president of your father's publishing firm whenever we like."

I know we're rich but do the teenage children of rich people really have control over the stock of their parents' clients?

"However, we are not like you. We are after fundamentally different things." I could practically hear the emotionally climactic music in the background. Score one for Team Host Club!

Later, as we searched for Tamaki and Haruhi (seriously, why is it necessary to have a maze on school grounds?) I reflected on my own time with Tamaki and the others. I had been so sure that I would hate going to a real school. I didn't even want to join this club to begin with but now I can't imagine my life without my stupid, hyperactive, and wonderful friends. There is no such thing as a boring day with the Host Club.

"What are you grinning about, Hana-chan?" I jumped a little at Honey's voice. I had been lost in my own little world. I turned toward him and crushed him in a hug. "I was just thinking how grateful I am to have all of you as my friends." He wrapped his arms around me and hugged me back.

"I'm grateful we're friends too, Hana."

I felt heat spread through me at his words. We stood there for a moment before the twins yelled at us to keep up or we'd get lost. There may have been something about 'not that you'd mind getting lost together, right?' but I ignored it.

Honey skipped ahead and as I watched him I realized that, really, the one person I absolutely couldn't imagine not being in my life anymore, was him.

And wasn't that just a little bit unnerving?

Chapter Text

I flopped back onto the floor and groaned. My mind was swimming with numbers and calculations and I just wanted to sleep. A light laugh sounded from the other side of the coffee table. Sitting back up, I glared across the mess of paper at Ritsu. She didn't react other than to laugh again, her green eyes dancing.

"It's not that bad, Hana. I'm sure you'll do fine on the test."

"Easy for you to say, Miss Smarty Pants. Math comes easy to you."

It was Saturday afternoon and we were studying for our final math test before summer break. We had already studied some last night and woke up again to hit the books. Ritsu was really being very patient with me since math was one of her easier subjects. I'm pretty sure she didn't need to study this much and was only humoring me since I'm a very vocal complainer. I love her for that.

"We could always take a break. You've made a lot of progress already and we've reviewed everything. Rest is just as important for studying as learning the material."

I tapped my chin and considered it. I was still worried about it but if she thought I was doing well enough then I trusted her. Just then my phone rang. I lunged across the floor to grab it on the second ring, not even bothering to check the ID.

"Hello, you've reached math haters anonymous. How may I help you?" I heard a chuckle through the phone and then "Hey, Hana-chan. Math haters anonymous, huh? Is that a new club you're starting?" I grinned. "Hey, Honey! It's a work in progress. Whats up?" I barely remembered at the last minute not to call him Mitsukuni with Ritsu in the room. One day I was gonna slip up in that. I should ask him if it's ok with her.

"I was wondering if you wanted to come over today?" My eyes widened in surprise. "Really? What for?"

"Oh… um…" I waited. "Just you know, to hang out."

Well. That was a strange request but it did sound like fun. I glanced over at Ritsu looking patiently at me. "That sounds fun. I'm actually studying with Rit-chan today but we were just about to take a break. Would it be ok if she came, too?"

She raised her eyebrows at me in question and I held up a finger, telling her to wait.

"Of course she can come! I think Takashi would like that, too."

I grinned. "Would he, now? Interesting."

"It is, isn't it?" Honey said mildly. I laughed at his obvious hint.

"We'll be there soon, ok?" We agreed to see each other soon and I hung up. Turning to Ritsu with a not-so-innocent smile, I said sweetly, "So, Honey and Mori want us to go over to their house to hang out. Doesn't that sound like fun?" Immediately, she began to blush and fidget like I knew she would.

"O-oh, of course we… we can do that, yes. Um, I'd like that. It- yes, that's fine."

I laughed. "Rit-chan, we're not even in the same vicinity as Mori yet. You need to calm down. Just be yourself, ok?" She nodded and took a couple of deep breaths. "Besides," I swept my hand over her adorable little outfit of a lavender knee length skirt, short sleeve white shirt, and sandals. "You're so cute, you have nothing to be self-conscious about."

She blushed a little harder but quickly recovered enough to arch an eyebrow at me and say "Well, you may want to change out of your sweatpants before we leave." I scoffed and struck an absurd runway-type pose and said dramatically, "Obviously, you don't understand fashion. This is the epitome of sloppy-chic!" She snorted and just pointed me toward my bedroom.

After I had dressed in a pair of denim capris and a dark green tank top we were ready to leave. It was when we were climbing into the limo that I had one of my brilliant beyond brilliant ideas*. There were a group of kids rushing down our street in skates, on skateboards, and riding bikes.

I grinned and tapped my driver on the shoulder. "Hey Lin, we're taking a detour."

When we pulled up into Honey's driveway, I was practically bouncing in my seat with excitement. Ritsu didn't really understand why but she smiled good naturedly anyway. I jumped out of the limo and ran around to the trunk, waiting impatiently for Lin to come and open it.

As I tapped my foot in anticipation, I heard what has come to be one of my favorite things.

"Hana-chan!"

I turned toward him and my breath caught in my throat. He was wearing a pair of khaki colored cargo shorts with a black undershirt and white short sleeve button up shirt with red trim over it. He had on bright orange sneakers and a black necklace with a silver pendant around his neck.* He looked completely casual and comfortable. Totally Honey like.

So why was my stomach doing somersaults?

At this point, he had made it to my side and quickly hugged me before pulling back and grabbing my hands. "Is something wrong, Hana-chan? You look dazed…" I snapped out of it and smiled at him. "I'm fine, Mitsu, I was just lost in thought."

He shrugged and grinned. "If you say so. What would you like to do?"

I started bouncing again. "It's a surprise! Close your eyes!" He looked at me suspiciously. "Why?"

I huffed and moved behind him, covering his eyes with my hands. "Just trust me, ok?" He propped his hands on his hips but laughed and didn't move away. I could barely contain my excitement as Lin finally popped the trunk of the limo and pulled out what we had picked up on the way here. I felt someone behind me and glanced over to see Mori and Ritsu had joined us.

Once Lin had set the thing down, I eagerly moved my hands and exclaimed "Ta-dah!" Sitting in front of him was a brand new deep blue bicycle, with a white basket attached to the handlebars (for Usa-chan, of course). It was perfectly sized for our height.

I watched his face as his expression changed from surprise, to confusion, to realization. Then he burst out laughing and stepped forward to run his hands along the seat and handles. He turned his face to me and flashed me a dazzling smile complete with his pink flowers. "I can't believe you remembered that! You're going to teach me how to ride, is that it?" I nodded, thankful he was happy about it.

"I can't wait! Look Takashi, Hana got me a bike! And she's gonna teach me how to ride! Isn't that great?"

Mori nodded and I could see the corners of his mouth curl in a slight smile. "I'm going to show Ritsu the house. Be careful." With no other warning, he turned back toward the house and started back up the driveway. After a moment of flustered indecision, Ritsu followed him.

As they disappeared through the door, I tilted my head to the side. "What do you think is up with those two?" Honey made a noncommittal noise. "I think it's too early to tell, really. But I've noticed Takashi seems to enjoy hosting hours more when Rit-chan is there."

I grinned mischievously. "Well then, I guess we'll have to work on getting them to hang out more, huh?"

He nodded seriously. "That does seem to be the most logical option." We smiled at each other before he turned toward the bike. "So! What am I supposed to do with this thing?"

We decided to practice in Honey's driveway since it had a really long stretch from the road to the roundabout in front of the house. After explaining the basics of how it worked, I demonstrated how to ride. The first time I went slowly and he trotted along next to me while I explained how to balance, make turns, and brake. Once we rounded the corner, I winked at him and took off at full speed toward the beginning of the driveway. When I reached my destination, I looked back to see he wasn't that far behind me, running at top speed.

"That was great, Hana-chan! Oh it looks so fun!" He jumped up and down, his pink flowers appearing and fluttering around his head. I grinned. "Thanks, Mitsu. Here, you try." I jumped off the bike and gestured for him to get on.

He looked at it nervously for a second then put on his determined face and jumped on. I came up next to him and placed one hand on his back and the other over the hand on the handle closest to me. I pointedly ignored how that made my heart jump.

"Now listen, you'll be fine. This is all about balance. You've got the best balance of anyone I've met. Just start out slowly, ok? Don't go too fast." He nodded and furrowed his brows in concentration. He started to pedal and I followed him until he seemed to grow more confident.

"I'm going to let go now," I warned him. He grunted, which I assumed meant he had heard me, and I removed my hands. When he rounded the corner he wobbled a little and I held my breath but he managed to right himself and I cheered when he got close enough to hear me.

He braked and grinned at me. "I did it! I did it!" I laughed. "You did! Congratulations, you can now ride a bike!" He jumped off and propped the kick stand. Then he grabbed me in a hug and spun me around. "Thank you so much, Hana-chan! You're the best!"

I laughed again and took a step back, because seriously, I needed to get control of my bodily reactions here. "Why don't you go around one more time for practice and then we can go find Mori and Rit-chan?" He nodded eagerly and jumped back on the bike, taking off at a much faster speed than before.

He rounded the bend and I could tell from where I was he was laughing and picking up speed. It was making me a bit nervous but he seemed to be in control. He was about halfway back when it happened.

A squirrel ran across the driveway and of course stopped right in Honey's path.

It was like it happened in slow motion – He panicked and tried to swerve out of the way but in doing so twisted the front wheel too much. I could only watch in horror as he tried to jump away from the falling bike and tumbled to the ground. I was already running forward and reached him just as he turned over onto his back with a groan.

"Oh my god, Mitsu, are you ok?!" I knelt down and my hands hovered above his body as I searched for any obvious injuries. He had a nasty looking scrape above his right eye but that was the only thing I could see. I finally decided to set my hands on his shoulders and he opened his eyes. He gave me a small smile (effectively calming my racing heart) and said "Well, that hurt." He reached a hand up but I stopped him before he touched his head. "No, don't touch it. We'll have to clean it back at the house."

He nodded and I helped him to his feet. As we walked back to the house I asked again, "Are you sure you're ok? Is it just your head?" He shrugged and flexed his right arm. "I may be sore for a day or so but this is nothing. I've had much worse. Martial arts champion, remember?" He flashed me a grin.

I smirked. "You'd think a martial arts champion would have quicker reflexes. At least some sort of tuck and roll action." He stuck his tongue out at me.

After asking a servant to fetch the bike and bring the first aid kit to the living room, we settled onto the couch. The servants hadn't even blinked at his injuries which led me to believe he had, in fact, had much worse. We were soon joined by Mori and Ritsu.

As soon as he saw Honey, Mori frowned and came forward quickly, kneeling down in front of him to inspect his face. Honey smiled brightly at him. "I learned how to ride the bike, Takashi! I was doing really well too but then the squirrel got in my way. I'm fine, though."

Apparently, this appeased his cousin because he grunted and stood back up. "Be more careful next time." Honey nodded and they had a moment of silent eye communication.

I glanced over at Ritsu. She seemed slightly concerned about the whole situation but I could tell she had calmed down considerably since we arrived. I smiled at her. "How was your tour, Rit-chan?" She returned my smile and blushed. "It was nice. Mori is a very gracious host."

I raised my eyebrow at her and her blush deepened. No honorific, already. Way to go, Ristu.

The servant who had gone for the first aid kit arrived then and I jumped up before Mori could reach for it. "Thank you, I got it." I took the kit from her and spun around. "Alright, everyone move. I need room to work on my patient." I shooed Mori back toward Ritsu and they wandered off somewhere else. I could have sworn I saw Mori give me a smile.

I pulled the little coffee table forward until it was close enough for me to sit across from Honey, still on the couch. I popped open the lid and pulled out one of the antiseptic wipes. I turned around to see him eyeing me warily.

"Oh don't be a baby," I scoffed. "Come on, lean forward." He slowly scooted toward me until our knees were touching and leaned closer. I ignored the jolt that sent through me, instead focusing on my task. I reached up and gently moved his hair out of the way, placing my hand on top of it to keep it there and brace myself while I cleaned his scrape.

I grew frustrated after a second because I still wasn't close enough to do much good. Darn my short arms. I pushed forward until the distance felt comfortable and began again.

Unfortunately, I didn't consider the fact that although it was more comfortable for my arms to be this close, it also meant our faces were closer together. I swallowed and continued cleaning his forehead, trying hard not to meet his eyes. He was being oddly quiet.

The scrape really wasn't that bad once it was clean. As I turned back to grab a band-aid, I realized that in order for me to scoot forward, Honey had had to shift so I was sitting between his legs. I could feel my whole body heat up at that. Stop it, I scolded myself. This is Mitsukuni, there is no reason for me to be this awkward.

"Can you –" My gosh, was that my voice? I coughed to clear my throat and tried again. "Can you hold your hair back?" He didn't reply but he did reach up to pull his hair away from his face. I opened the band-aid (and almost laughed because it was pink with white bunnies on it) and placed it over his scrape. I pulled back just enough to look at his face and found that I couldn't move any further.

In all honesty, I think Honey could give Shiro a run for his money if he wanted too, because dang. The 'naughty type' look suited him just fine, thank you very much. I wasn't sure how long I sat there staring at him. It felt like there was some sort of magnetic energy pulsing between us. Suddenly I felt his hands curl around my upper arms and my breath hitched.

Why am I reacting to being so close to him all of a sudden?

"Hana-chan?" He was looking at me with such an intensity that I couldn't speak.

Before either of us could do something about this weirdly enjoyable staring contest, I heard a cough from behind me. We jumped apart lightening quick and I only barely managed not to fall off the other side of the coffee table. I looked up to see Mori standing in the doorway, a barely noticeable spark of amusement in his face.

"Ritsu is making snacks in the kitchen. She wanted to know if you want to join us?"

I stood up quickly, my face on fire. "Of course! That sounds like fun, right?" I was halfway across the room before I stopped myself. I bit my lip. If Honey had run away from me after… well whatever that was, I don't think I would have liked it.

Even though I was a little nervous and confused, he was still my best friend and I just couldn't let it be weird.

I turned around and walked back to him, holding out my hand. He looked at me in surprise and I smiled. "I don't know the way to your kitchen. Show me?" The look of pure relief and happiness on his face let me know I had done the right thing.

As we walked hand in hand to the kitchen I felt the intensity of the previous moment settle and we were back to being normal Hana and Honey, thankfully.

When we entered the large and brightly lit kitchen, Ritsu was standing at the counter mixing something together in a big bowl. She had flour streaked on her cheek and all over the bright yellow apron she was wearing. She really was so cute.

She looked up from what she was doing and smiled happily at us. "Hey guys! I'm making chocolate chip cookies – do you want some of the dough?"

"Heck yes we do!" I said and we jumped up to sit on one side of the counter. She giggled and rummaged around for two spoons. She scooped out the dough and handed them to us, saying "I'm just about to put them in the oven so we should have the real cookies in a few minutes." We nodded around our spoons.

Mori had come in behind us and was leaning against the opposite counter, watching. Not watching us, mind you. He was definitely watching her. Ritsu turned to him and asked (with a surprising amount of confidence) "Would you like a taste, Mori?" Before he could answer, I couldn't resist saying "Oh, I'm sure he does, the question is, of what?"

Honey flat out laughed. Ritsu looked at me confused for a moment before her pure mind caught up with my insinuation. Then she turned about three shades darker. "I.. I.. I meant the co-cookie d-dough, Hana!" I grinned. "I know, sweetie. I'm just teasing."

"I'll wait for the cookies." Mori stated. If his face wasn't a slight shade redder I wouldn't have thought he got it either. His poker face was impressive.

Honey jumped down and went to scoop out more dough but I whapped his spoon with mine. "Don't you dare, Mitsukuni. Wait for the cookies." He pouted at me but I stared him down.

"Oh."

I looked up to Ritsu's surprised face looking between me and Honey. Oh, crap. I forgot to call him 'Honey'. Oops.

Her eyes held mine for a moment and then her face softened back to a smile. She grabbed the bowl and said primly, "Hana-chan is right, Honey-sempai. You can wait for the cookies." Honey and I grinned. I knew she would be cool about it.

The rest of the afternoon passed by quickly. Ritsu's cookies were amazing. The four of us talked and laughed until it was time for Ritsu and me to leave.

As were walking out the door, Honey hugged me tight and said in my ear, "Thank you for teaching me how to ride a bike, Hana-chan. Today was fun." His voice sent pleasant sensations through my body. "You're welcome." I was proud of myself for keeping my voice steady.

So, ok, we weren't exactly back to normal.

I wasn't sure if that was a bad thing.

Honey's POV

As soon as the door closed behind the girls, Honey leaned against the door and sighed deeply. That was not exactly what he had expected when he had invited Hana over for the day. It had taken all of his courage to call her in the first place. He was still pretty proud about that.

He touched the bandage on his forehead gingerly. Learning how to ride a bike had been a lot of fun. But that moment in the living room…

*Flashback*

He was a little amused and very pleased that Hana jumped up so quickly so that she would be the one to fix him up. After Takashi and Rit-chan left, she pulled the couch forward so she was sitting just in front of him. As she opened the first aid kit, Honey realized they would have to get much closer in order for her to reach him. He gulped and eyed her nervously.

"Oh don't be a baby," she teased him. "Come on, lean forward."

He silently moved forward, bumping their knees together. As she moved his hair away from his forehead, he felt his pulse quicken. He watched her carefully and saw the flicker of annoyance cross her face before he felt her begin to press closer.

Ah, she couldn't reach him. To give her room, he spread his legs open slightly, trying desperately not to blush. He almost sighed in relief when she finally stopped moving but now she was only inches from his face and he didn't trust himself to make any kind of sound.

For some reason, she wouldn't meet his eyes while she cleaned his scrape. When she turned around for the band-aid, she paused for a second, her face turning red. Seems she finally noticed how they were sitting. He laughed silently to himself but he was happy he wasn't the only one who found it a little embarrassing.

"Can you-" her voice was thick and she cleared her throat. "Can you hold your hair back?" she asked.

He still didn't trust himself to speak right now so he did as she asked without a word. After she pulled back from applying the bandage she stared at him.

Honey stared right back and it was like the air was charged between them. He didn't know what was happening but she was so close and he had never seen her look at him like that before.

Could she actually…?

He reached forward and touched her arms, finally forcing himself to speak.

"Hana-chan?" He wasn't even sure what it was he was asking.

Then there was a cough behind them and they separated with him ending up practically stuck to the back of the couch. He wasn't sure if he felt disappointed or relieved that Takashi interrupted them.

Hana practically leaped at the chance to get away from him and he felt his shoulders slump. Maybe he had made a mistake.

He heard her walk back toward him and he looked up in surprise when she held out her hand.

"I don't know the way to your kitchen. Show me?" She was smiling and not leaving and he was almost dizzy with relief.

*End Flashback*

Yup, he was so far gone, it was almost pathetic. He sighed again and heard his cousin chuckle.

"Rough day?" the tall boy asked. Anyone else but Honey wouldn't have been able to hear the slight amusement in his tone.

Honey gave him a halfhearted glare. "Shut up." Then he added, "What about you, Mori, did you have a nice time with Rit-chan today?"

He grinned when Takashi looked away and didn't answer, which was really answer enough.

"I guess we're both in trouble, huh?"

Chapter Text

I groaned into my pillow. My phone was blaring next to my ear and I reached out to try to silence the stupid thing. I fumbled with the device until the ringing finally stopped.

"What?" I grumbled into the phone.

"Hey sis!"

I sighed at the over exuberant voice of my brother. Switching to English, I growled out "What do you want?"

"Oh come on, that's no way to talk to your favorite brother!"

"You're my only brother."

"What's your point?"

"What do you want, Jared? Its summer vacation, it's too early to be awake."

"It's evening here. Why do I need a reason to talk to you? Can't I just want to the voice of my lovely older sister?" he asked petulantly. I sighed again. He must be having a rough day. He always got like this when things weren't going well.

"I miss you too. Do you want to talk about what's bothering you?"

There was a pause on the other end. Then a tired laugh. "No, it's ok. I really just wanted to remind myself that you're there. That I'm not alone."

I smiled despite myself. "You're not alone, bro. You know I love you. We're still on to meet the girls in a couple weeks, right?"

"Of course! Nothing could keep me away! I'm like the post office – neither rain, nor wind, nor storm, nor wild horses will stop me!"

I laughed. "I don't think the motto includes wild horses."

My phone buzzed in my hand and I pulled it back to see that Tamaki was calling me. I frowned. That's strange. I hope everything is ok.

"Hey dude, the president of that club I'm in is calling me. Can I let you go?"

"Sure! I need to get back to work anyway. When am I going to meet this club, by the way?"

"Hopefully never. I can't handle that much chaos at the same time. Love you."

"Love you too, sis."

I quickly switched over to Tamaki. "Tama-kun?" Whats-"

"MY DAUGHTER IS MISSING! SHE'S BEEN KIDNAPPED!"

I rolled my eyes. "What?"

Over the next few minutes I listened to Tamaki freak out over the supposed disappearance of Haruhi. I thought about telling him about her pension job but I knew he would want to go there immediately. Plus it was funny to listen to all of these idiots actually believe she had been sold into slavery to cover her bills. Even Honey was getting into it.

Finally, Kyoya intervened. "She's in Karuizawa."

Just like I predicted, Tamaki immediately declared we were all going to Karuizawa in order to ensure Haruhi was safe. I thought about giving her a heads up before I remembered she was planning to turn off her phone. Probably not the best plan, giving our group of friends.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Kyoya and I were the only ones left on the line. The others were no doubt already booking plane tickets and packing frantically.

I could practically hear him adjusting his glasses. "No, but it could be very interesting. Haruhi will adapt, as she always does. I'll ensure that Tamaki and the twins don't cause too much damage."

"If you say so, Kyo-kun. See you in a few."

Tamaki had offered to let me ride in the helicopter but that was not happening. As it turned out, no one wanted to ride with him and he had sulked about it before I pointed out that Haruhi may be overwhelmed if we all showed up in such a manner.

She was going to be overwhelmed anyway but whatever. It got him to shut up and get in the plane.

When the rest of us showed up at the pension I was met with a glare from Haruhi. I held my hands up in defense. "I swear, I didn't tell them anything."

"Oh my! What cute boys we have here! Are you all friends with Haruhi?" Oh, that must be Ranka's friend that Haru told me about. My, wasn't he energetic today.

"Oh! Look at you!" He was immediately in my space and holding my hands. "You're adorable!"

I blushed and tried to pull my hands back. "Uh, thank you." I heard a giggle behind me and turned my face to glare at Honey.

Kyoya explained that Misuzu (the tranny who was still gushing over all of us) was an old friend of Ranka who had agreed to let Haruhi stay and work at the pension while Ranka was away for business. I refused to think about what business he could possibly have.

"Take her in, he says! I still can't afford to hire any employees, so having Haruhi come here has been a tremendous help!" Misuzu continued to gush. "She's really such a hard worker, I feel sorry that her wages are so low. Oh, Haruhi-chan!" He spun Haru around so she was facing all of us. "You're so cute in that apron! I made it by hand!"

We all gave him a thumbs up on his handiwork but then he spun around and grabbed my shoulders. "You would be absolutely precious in a handmade apron! I shall get one for you forthwith!"

My eyes widened in panic. "No, Misuzu-chi, please don't. I'm fine, really."

Tamaki turned around dramatically. "But Hana! You could match your sister! Oh how cute my two daughters would be in matching aprons!"

Thankfully, a customer came in then and Misuzu was distracted enough to allow us to sneak out onto the balcony for a moment.

"A job, huh?" The twins looked lazily at Haruhi. "So that's why you turned down our invitation to go to Bali, is it?"

"And we asked her to go along with us to Switzerland, huh?" Mori nodded at Honey's statement. Switzerland would have been fun but I had already made plans to see my brother and sisters during that time.

"Well, I don't have a passport," Haruhi said.

"Which is why I suggested that we use one of our domestic resorts, at a discount." I smirked. Kyoya may be all shadow king-y and aloof but he really does enjoy our company.

For some reason, Tamaki jumped out of a bush just then.

Before hanging out with the Host Club on a daily basis I would have questioned why he was in the bush to begin with but now I just roll with it.

He proceeded to make some sort of speech about solidarity. It was obvious he was just upset that everyone had invited Haruhi to hang out with them instead of planning some huge group thing.

The twins interrupted him to ask Haruhi about her phone.

"You turned off your phone, didn't you?" Hikaru asked, waving a finger in her face.

"You can't do that!" Kaoru admonished.

"They're right, Haru. What if there really was something wrong and we couldn't get a hold of you?" I asked.

"But it's such a pain," she complained.

"CELL?!" We all turned toward Tamaki as he took in this revelation. In one motion, all four of us whipped out our phones to show him.

"Yeah, but I should say, it's one that we've lent to Haruhi."

"By the way, it's one that's only for friends."

"Sir, you're our 'sempai' and all."

He pointed his finger at me. "Hana is your sempai too! How come she's in the friend category?"

"Because she's not annoying," Haruhi grumbled under her breath. I laughed and decided to leave this argument before it could get any more about me.

I plopped next to Honey and watched as Tamaki tried to convince Haruhi he could be her friend. Something about a daddy category? Weird.

"He's trying so hard. I wish he would just calm down." I reached over and pinched off a piece of cake that Honey was eating. He narrowed his eyes at me before angling his cake out of my reach. "He wouldn't be Tama-chan if he did that. " I shrugged and was about to try to steal another bite of cake before Haruhi exclaimed in agitation "Look, just leave, please, everyone. We'll all see each other come the new term anyhow, whether we want to or not."

I looked up in surprise. She must have really been annoyed. I didn't think our presence would have bothered her that much.

"We're all free to spend our vacations on our own, right?"

Suddenly, Kyoya's voice carried over from his corner. "School rule number 9: Part-time work is prohibited."

Okay, first off, what is up with that rule? Secondly, does he just always carry around the school rule book? I mean, why? I would have thought he had it memorized. Maybe it adds dramatic effect if he reads it out of the physical book.

I could see the inevitable outcome of this conversation as the twins did their creepy mocking thing. I think Haruhi could see it too.

Honey climbed up onto Mori's shoulders to see the guidebook Kyoya had handed him. "It's nice to come out to Karuizawa once in a while, to get out of the heat, huh?"

Kyoya adjusted his glasses. "I have gotten tired of going overseas."

I stretched back in my seat. "I have nowhere to be for a couple weeks."

"It is true, you are free to spend your vacation on your own. In which case, you would have no grounds to stop us." Tamaki turned around with a triumphant look in his eyes. "Let's all stay here at this pension, in the VIP guest rooms."

"Nooooo!" And Haruhi accuses Tamaki of being dramatic.

It turns out, there was only one bed available. Therefore the hosts had to play a game in order to see who would stay at the pension. Misuzu kept going on and on about 'refresher points' or something like that.

He reminds me a lot of Renge.

Anyways. I was sitting down with Kyoya, watching the others try desperately to be refreshing. If I'm being honest, I was mostly watching Honey. He wasn't doing much but sitting and watching Tamaki trying to fix the fence and being cute. Even though I wasn't really sure what refresher points were, something tells me Honey wasn't exactly what Misuzu was looking for.

"You don't want to join in the contest? You're the only one without a cottage in the area."

I glanced over at Kyoya and raised an eyebrow. "I don't really think the customers would find me very 'refreshing'. Besides, it's much more fun to watch them. And I'm not worried about somewhere to stay, I'll just invite myself to one of you guys' house."

"Ah, Hana-chan! There you are, darling!" Before I could blink I was being dragged through the pension by Misuzu. who was leaving a trail of flowers in his wake. "I found that apron I promised you! Oh you will look just adorable!"

I tried to protest but it was of no use. I was manhandled into this bright pink apron that fell almost to my knees and crisscrossed in the back to make a big bow. The trim around the shoulders and hem were a fluffy white lace materiel. And if that weren't enough, he pulled my hair back into a high ponytail and tied it with another pink ribbon, leaving only a few strands to frame my face.

I felt like a doll.

Haruhi walked by me and smirked. "I see you're getting into the spirit."

"Shut up."

I was standing awkwardly in the kitchen, not really knowing what I was supposed to be doing, when a small voice piped up outside the door.

"Misuzu-chi? I was looking for Takashi, have you seen-?" Honey cut off mid-sentence as he pushed open the door and caught sight of me.

I stood there awkwardly as he took in my brightly colored get-up. He blushed and then grinned at me. "Wow, Hana-chan. You're really cute."

I turned away and mumbled something like 'thank you'. I picked at the apron and said self-consciously, "Pink isn't really my color."

He walked forward and I tried to keep my breath even as he reached out and tweaked the ribbon in my hair. "I wouldn't say that. I think it's a good color on you."

Before I could stutter out a response, Misuzu swept into my vision and pushed a tray into my hands. "Hana-chan, please be a dear and take this to the gentlemen sitting over against the far window." She gestured through the open door to the table she meant. Two men, possibly in their early twenties were sitting and talking amicably.

I blinked up at him. "You mean I have to go outside in this thing?" I cringed inwardly at my slip. I hope I hadn't offended him.

Apparently not. "Of course you must! Why do you think I dressed you so? A cute girl in a cute apron with a cute smile is the best way to offer refreshment to our male clients! Now go!" He pushed me forcefully out the door before I could protest.

I walked warily up to the table where the two men sat. I didn't want to upset Misuzu, so I put on my biggest Host smile and placed the tray on the table.

"Two cups of coffee, an order of tea cookies, and a slice of coffee cake?" I asked brightly.

"That's us!" The man on my right said. I quickly put all of their food out on the table, wishing them a nice day.

"Excuse me, I hope I'm not being rude, but is that apron the standard uniform for this pension?"

I glanced back at the man who had been on my left and saw he was smiling with just a touch of mischief. I didn't sense a creep vibe, so I matched his smirk and said "No sir, this was made specifically for me. Although I have to admit, the matching hair bow is a little much." He laughed heartily and I couldn't help but smile.

I turned around to head back to the kitchen and spotted Honey leaning against the doorway, arms crossed and eyes narrowed. I put my tray down on an empty table and went to stand in front of him.

"What's wrong, Mitsu?" He eyed something over my shoulder and then frowned. "You seemed to be having fun over there." I cocked my head to the side and furrowed my eyebrows. "What? Where?"

"With those guys." I turned around to follow his line of sight and realized he meant the customers I had just finished serving. I grinned and turned my head to look at him sideways. "I guess. You're not jealous, are you?" I teased.

"No!" he said too quickly. He bit his lip and looked away from me. Oh my gosh, he really was jealous. That is so cute.

I laughed and turned around, wrapping my arms around his neck. "There's no reason to be, you know. I'm just being charming to help out Misuzu. I'm not looking for any new friends."

He quirked an eyebrow and placed his hands on my waist, pulling me forward till our foreheads touched. It amazes me how much that simple gesture can make me feel so incredibly comfortable and extremely nervous at the same time.

"I know," he said. "I know that. That doesn't mean they aren't." I rolled my eyes but smiled.

Suddenly, piano music filled the pension. I whipped around to see Tamaki playing the piano in the corner of the large room and smiled.

"Oh, I love it when he plays," I said contently. I felt a tug on my waist and looked back at Honey who was walking me back into the kitchen. Once the door was closed, he stepped back just enough to hold out a hand and smile brightly, eyes sparkling. "Hana, would you like to dance?"

I could only stare at him while my heart found a new home in my throat. "W-what? Right now?"

His eyes softened. "Yes, right now. We didn't actually dance at the party. We have a bit of privacy in here. What better music than Tama-chan's playing?" He gestured with his outstretched hand, encouraging me to take it.

I think I actually melted. Somehow I managed a weak, "Okay," before placing my hand in his. He pulled me forward and I placed my hands like I had during our practice dancing all those weeks ago.

There wasn't a whole lot of room so instead of really dancing we ended up more swaying back and forth, which really didn't match the music. But I couldn't bring myself to care.

Honey pulled me closer and we touched foreheads again. We didn't speak. We were just together and enjoying each other's closeness. It was a comfortable, nervous buzz and even though I felt like I could barely breathe, it was perfect.

But like all good things, this too had to come to an end.

"Bravo! Bravo! What fantastic, refreshing brotherly love! Misuzu-chi is touched! 100 points, perfect score! The winners are the Hitachiin Brothers!" Misuzu's voice echoed throughout the pension, drowning out even the sound of Tamaki's playing.

I stepped back and smirked at Honey. "I wonder what they did to win?"

We trotted out to join the others looking out into the yard. Kyoya informed us that a flower pot had almost fallen on Haruhi and Kaoru. They were ok, save for a scratch on Kaoru's cheek. Kaoru and Hikaru had some sort of worried brother twin moment and that's how they had won.

They tried to play it off as if they had planned the whole thing and I think everyone believed them. But I didn't. I know twins and it doesn't matter how ok they were, when your twin gets hurt it shakes you. There was no way they planned for that.

I walked up to Kaoru after Haruhi had finished cleaning his cut. I punched him lightly in the arm. "I'm glad you're ok, dork. Try to avoid falling greenery from now on, huh?" He smirked. "Aw, worried about me, Hana-sempai?"

I ruffled his hair. "Of course I am. Don't forget it." I nodded toward Hikaru who was talking to someone on the phone about having a bigger bed moved from their cottage to the pension. "Is he going to be ok?" I asked softly.

Kaoru raised his eyebrow at me and seemed about to make a snarky response before I glared at him. He shut his mouth for a moment and then said, "He will be, yeah. He may be a bit clingier tonight than usual." I nodded and patted his knee.

There were still a couple of customers hanging around and as I weaved my way through the tables, I heard someone call for me. Well, they said 'hey pink apron girl!' which really only left one option.

I turned toward the voice to see the two guys from earlier waving me over. Huh. Once I reached their table, the guy who had commented on my apron asked seriously, "Is your friend ok? I heard he was almost killed by a flying flower pot." I gave a small laugh and rolled my eyes. "Yes, he's fine. Thanks for asking."

He nodded and then grinned. "Well, I don't want to keep you too long. Your boyfriend didn't seem to like it much last time." I frowned at him. "What? I don't have a boyfriend." The guy raised his eyebrows. "Oh really? Does he know that?" He pointed past me to where Honey and Mori were trying to cheer up Tamaki over his loss of the bedroom.

At that moment, Honey glanced up furtively in our direction. Seeing he had been caught he waved awkwardly and turned back to the others.

I smiled. "Oh, Honey isn't my boyfriend, he's my best friend," I explained.

"Oh, I see. If you say so." He didn't looked like he believed me at all. Fine, whatever.

I skipped over to Honey and Mori, squeezing Honey's hand when I got close enough. He looked at me sheepishly and smiled. "Hey, Hana-chan. Kyo-chan said you don't have a house up here. Would you like to stay with me and Takashi?"

"Of course! Sounds like fun!"

Little did I know.

Chapter Text

I wasn't really sure what was going on but I knew I was no longer asleep and that was not okay.

Someone was pulling me across the bed even though I was gripping the sheets with all of my strength. There was some kind of loud noise that kept trying to break into my sleep dazed brain. It kept getting louder and louder until the covers were ripped off my head and it finally became clear.

"Hana! Wake up! We must go to the pension at once! I do not want to leave those shady twins alone with my dear daughter any longer than I must!"

I groaned and opened one eye blearily. "Tama… wha… What?"

"Ah, excellent! You're already dressed. Didn't you wear that yesterday? It doesn't matter. Come on, let's go get Honey-sempai!"

I felt him lift me up. But then he wasn't there anymore so I fell back onto the bed. Before I could climb back under the covers I felt something grab me around my waist and drag me back out.

I just went limp and let him carry me around. I was just so tired. What time was it anyway?

I must have fallen back asleep again because the next thing I knew there was some sort of shriek and I was being dropped on the floor. Ow.

I grunted in pain. Oh well. I tried to curl up against the coldness of the floor but it wasn't long before I was being picked up again. I tried to struggle and I think I said something like "Stop tama' but all I got in response was some weird vibration. I vaguely registered that his hands seemed bigger as they picked me up but that could have just been because I was still mostly asleep. After a moment of being held, I was gently laid down on something soft. I guess he gave up trying to take me wherever. I felt something wrap around my waist and then there was warmth and I sighed, content once again.

I woke up through a haze of comfort. I really didn't want to wake up. I was so cozy. But once my body realized I was conscious, it made its need to go to the bathroom very apparent. I sighed and blearily opened my eyes. I didn't recognize where I was. Oh yeah, I had stayed at Honey's house last night. I didn't remember the wall being that color but whatever.

We had ended up staying up pretty late watching Honey's collection of (truly awful) martial arts movies. He liked to rotate between making fun of the moves they used and trying them out. When we finally decided to go to bed I didn't even take off my clothes, I just climbed in bed and collapsed.

As I blinked the sleep from my eyes, I realized there was heat coming from behind me and a pressure on my side. I looked down and froze. There was an arm slung over me. That obviously was not mine.

Uh...

Very quickly I ran through what I knew. Ok, no one had been in bed with me last night. I was alone when I fell asleep. There was a reason the wall was a different color then. I was in someone else's room. How did I get here? Oh wait… Something about…

Tamaki.

The idiot had dragged me out of bed, I remembered now. I don't actually remember why. Its all kind of a blur. But he was going to go wake up Honey, I think he said. So that must mean…

I reached down and touched his arm. Yeah, that was definitely Honey. Oh my god, I was in Honey's bed cuddling with him. I needed to get out of this bed now. I tried to move as slowly as I could toward the edge of the bed but I had only gotten a few centimeters before Honey curled his arm tighter around me, effectively blocking my escape. Great.

Ok, new plan. Obviously, he wasn't going to just let me get up. He probably thought I was Usa-chan in his sleep. I would just have to wake him up as quickly and painlessly as possible, take a healthy dose of embarrassment, and never speak of it again. Excellent.

I patted his arm and said quietly, "Mitsukuni? Hey buddy, you need to let me up." No response. I tried again. "Mitsu? Come on, I have to use the bathroom." Still nothing.

Well then.

I slowly twisted around so I was facing him.

Wow.

He was so cute. Truly, truly adorable. His hair was spread all over the pillow and sticking up in different directions. His face was relaxed in sleep and his mouth was slightly parted. I felt a swirl of emotions in my chest as I watched him sleep. Slowly, I raised my hand and stroked his hair away from his face.

Without even really knowing what I was doing, I started tracing the lines of his face. Part of me tried to tell the rest of me that this was slightly creepy, but I ignored it. I traced his face from his forehead down to his jawline and then swept my thumb over his cheekbone, barely breathing. My heart was pounding in my chest. This moment felt so intimate, I was almost praying he wouldn't wake up now.

Then I moved my gaze to his lips. I tentatively touched his bottom lip with my index finger and was suddenly filled with the urge to kiss him.

Wait.

What.

I jerked my hand back and stared in shock. Where had that come from? I… I didn't think of him that way. We were best friends, that's it! I had no business thinking about kissing him… or how his hands would feel holding me in place… or how he would taste…

I was suddenly reminded of the guy from yesterday. "Your boyfriend didn't seem to like it much." I felt my heart leap with happiness at the word 'boyfriend' at the same time my stomach dropped.

Oh, man.

I like Mitsukuni. I mean like, like him.

Oh my GOD.

What have I done? How could I have ruined a perfectly good friendship with feelings? What if he figures out I like him and then its awkward? What if he doesn't want anything to do with me anymore? What if he hates me?

What if he likes me back?

I could feel myself spiraling into full on panic mode. Not caring anymore about waking him up, I jerked myself out of Honey's hold and sprinted for the nearest door.

Nearest door belonging to the bathroom so, you know, that was conveniently ironic.

I sunk down against the wall and tried to compose myself. Breathe in, breathe out. Ok, this was ridiculous. You are a seventeen year old woman, pull yourself together!

I could handle this. I just needed to act normal. Completely normal. No problem. I just needed to.. to.. ugh. Why did I have to have this personal epiphany right now, in his house? in his bed? How is this my life?

I realized that I couldn't stay in here much longer. I picked myself up and faced the door. Game face. Here we go.

I opened the door slowly and I almost slammed it shut again when I caught sight of Honey sitting up. He turned his head toward me and yawned, rubbing one eye with a closed fist, his hair sticking up in all directions.

"Hana-chan? What are you doing in my bathroom?"

I stared wide eyed at him for probably too long and then blurted out "I woke up in your bed and needed to use the bathroom." Instantly, I felt my face heat up. I touched my forehead to make sure I didn't have the words "I LIKE YOU" branded there. I was actually surprised when I didn't feel anything.

He tilted his head sideways adorably. "What? How did you get in my bed?"

Trying desperately to remind myself that this was a completely valid question unlaced with secret knowledge, I stuttered, "I- I think Tamaki dragged me in here to try and wake you up and when you didn't he must have left me here."

He laughed and despite myself I wanted to hug him. "Oh yeah, I remember now! Tama-chan should know better than to try and wake me up." He grinned at me. "Did you sleep well?"

I blinked and then responded with "Uh, yeah." Very articulate, well done.

He looked at me worriedly. "Are you ok, Hana-chan? Is something wrong?"

I couldn't handle his concerned face. I forced out a laugh and waved my hand. "Of course, I'm fine. I'm gonna go get ready. I'll see you later." I left as quickly as I could without running until I was out of sight and then sprinted to my room. So much for normal.

Honey's POV

I watched Hana leave in confusion. She seemed really flustered for some reason. Had I done something in my sleep? I shrugged to myself. She was probably just feeling awkward from waking up in my bed. I was kind of sad I hadn't woken up in time to enjoy that some more. I bet she's cute when she sleeps.

I hopped out of bed to get ready for the day. After I finished showering, I threw on some clothes and started to brush my teeth.

A grunt from the bathroom doorway made me look up. Takashi was leaning against the door frame, watching me. I grinned around my toothbrush. "G'd morng, Tak'shi!" He smiled as I finished rinsing my mouth.

"Did you sleep well last night? I noticed you had a friend with you."

I turned around to lean against the counter. "Yeah, Tama-chan tried to wake me up this morning. I guess he gave up and left Hana-chan with me."

He raised an eyebrow and I could see the subtle signs of amusement in his face. "He left her on the floor. She didn't look very comfortable."

I gasped. "Takashi! You're the one who put her in bed with me? Why didn't you take her back to her room?"

He gave a small smile and shrugged. "Not as fun."

I crossed my arms and mock-glared, "Oh yeah? Wait for payback, buddy. I'm not above sending Rit-chan pictures of you from your awkward elementary school years."

He shrugged. "You liked it. I'll call the car."

Still Honey

I was starting to get really worried about Hana. The whole car ride over to the pension she would talk and laugh like she normally does but something was off about it. It was like she was holding back or something. Then she wouldn't meet my eyes when I looked at her.

I had almost convinced myself I was imagining it until we arrived. When we got out of the car, I reached over and took her hand. This wasn't anything out of the ordinary anymore, we held hands all the time. It was one of my favorite things to do. But this time, she jumped as if I had startled her and was tensed up while we walked to the door. I finally let go of her hand when we went inside and my heart sank when I saw her visibly relax.

What had happened? Surely she couldn't be this upset over the bed thing. I mean, I can understand it being awkward for her at first, but this was a little much. I bit my lip. Maybe I had done something in my sleep.

Suddenly a thought hit me like a ton of bricks. What if I had talked in my sleep? What if I had said something about her? About how I felt? Maybe she was trying to put some distance between us without hurting my feelings.

I had to talk to her.

But it seemed that would have to wait. Once we were inside the door, we were met by Kyoya. He explained the situation with Haruhi's middle school friend and said we should give her some time to catch up. We all agreed and were quietly sitting around the table (so we could eavesdrop on their conversation) when trouble started.

I could see by the way Hikaru was acting that he was jealous of the kid. I hoped he wouldn't do anything stupid. I saw Hana sending him alternating worried and warning glances. It made me smile. She takes her role as 'sister' very seriously.

"You're being unusually critical, aren't you?" I glanced up at Kyoya's words. I should really work on my staring-at-Hana problem.

"I'm just saying," Hikaru began, getting louder, "that guy is clearly interested in Haruhi. Its plain as day and kind of sickening."

Uh oh.

Haruhi stood up angrily. "Now hold on, Hikaru! You're the one being unpleasant here!"

The kid - what was his name, ari something? - spoke up before things could get out of hand. "No, it's ok. He's right, Fujioka, I did have a thing for you. But I've already been turned down by you."

My problem with Hana was temporarily forgotten at this new revelation. We all stood up in shock that Haruhi had a romantic history. She was just always so uninterested in stuff like that, none of us had even considered it. Then she was standing with us.

"EH?!" She looked as shocked as we were.

"Why are you so surprised?" Kyoya asked.

"No kidding, Haru. This is usually something people remember." I smirked at Hana's snark.

She looked back at us sheepishly. "Well... I mean..."

Tamaki took control of the situation, demanding to know what had happened. Essentially, poor Arai (I was close) had tried to confess to Haruhi and she had been completely oblivious and had broken his heart quite callously.

"Haruhi..." Kyoya began. On cue, we whipped out a table and lamp and donned our police uniforms. I saw Hana roll her eyes and had to bite back a smile to look serious. "You crushed this poor young man's innocence with such a trite, throwaway gag."

She looked torn between her shock at this news and her exasperation at our antics. "No, you see, I didn't realize that's what he meant at all..."

I looked up at Takashi. "This is a serious crime, huh?"

Hana put her hands on her hips. "To be fair, he could have been clearer with his intentions. This is Haruhi we're talking about."

As Haruhi turned around to turn down the guy again, I took a chance and moved to stand next to Hana. She seemed completely engrossed in what was happening and didn't even seem to realize when she moved closer to me (out of reflex, I'm guessing).

When Tamaki approved of Arai and demanded stories of Haruhi from childhood, I said in a low voice, "I'm a little surprised Tama-chan is so willing to befriend someone who had a crush on Haru-chan." Hana smirked and replied with, "Well, he's not a romantic rival anymore. Haruhi turned him down so there's no threat, you know?" I smiled and for a second, everything was back to normal.

Then she turned her head to look at me and jumped back, her face turning red. "Come on, lets go sit down," she mumbled. When she got to the table, she sat in-between Tamaki and Kyoya. I think that hurt my feelings more than anything else so far. We always sat together. Hana had actually been known to kick the twins off the couch to sit next to me. I blinked back the tears I could feel welling up and decided to focus completely on Haruhi's friend. As we sat down, Takashi patted my head and gave me his 'I know somethings up and I'm with you' smile. That made it a little better.

Hana's POV

I was really trying to listen to all of these stories about Haruhi as a middle schooler but I couldn't focus. I was jittery from my close encounter with Honey before hand. He had been SO CLOSE to my face, I had nearly had a heart attack. Every time he touched me or we made eye contact, all I could think was 'oh my god he knows' and I tensed.

I pulled out my phone and shot a quick text to Ritsu: Hey, can you talk?

I tapped my foot impatiently waiting for her response. I saw Kyoya glance at me out of the corner of my eye and I made an effort to stop fidgeting.

My phone vibrated and I eagerly opened it up.

From Ritsu: I'm at a luncheon right now. Are you ok? Can you wait a couple hours?

I felt sick at the thought of waiting that long but there was no need for her to call right now. I could wait. Ugh.

I texted her back ensuring her that was fine and managed to tune back into the conversation at the table in time to hear the tail end of a rant from Hikaru.

Wow, he was really being a jerk to this Arai guy. I was halfway out of my chair to stop him but Haruhi beat me to it.

As the slap echoed across the room, we all stared in shock.

"That's not up for you to decide, Hikaru!" Haruhi yelled angrily. "If you do one more rude thing to my friend, you'll answer to me!"

Oh I didn't like this. I fought down the urge to jump in between them. I felt like this was something that needed to happen no matter how much I wanted to stop it.

Hikaru just sat there for a second and then it looked like he mumbled something before he stood up and yelled back "We're your friends, aren't we?!"

He looked so incredibly vulnerable, my heart broke. All we could do was watch with heavy hearts as he ran upstairs, followed by Kaoru.

"Their world is still so small, huh?" Tamaki mumbled next to me. I sighed. The next hour was filled with so much awkwardness, I just wanted to take a nap when Arai finally decided to leave.

Haruhi apologized to him again for Hikaru's behavior. He was being a pretty good sport about it. Maybe this makes me an awful person, but he seemed kind of boring. Maybe Renge and her love of complicated characters is rubbing off on me.

I heard the door open behind us and then Honey whisper "Hika-chan..." I spun around in surprise and almost fell over. That wasn't Hikaru, it was Kaoru. Why was Kaoru dressed like Hikaru?

The younger twin slowly walked forward and apologized to Arai. Oh, so that was it. I narrowed my eyes at him while Arai drove off.

"So..." I began. Haruhi jumped in, "Kaoru, why are you pretending to be Hikaru?"

The group deflated at this revelation but I just rolled my eyes. "Did you really think changing clothes would fool me or Haru?"

"Hey, where your scratch?" She demanded, while pulling on his cheek.

"I touched it up with some stick concealer!" He pulled away from Haruhi and started rubbing his face. "Hikaru doesn't seem like he'll cheer up anytime soon. And so, Haruhi, I have a small favor to ask you." He looked excited. "All day tomorrow, will you go out on a date with me?"

As Tamaki spluttered and Haruhi frowned in confusion, I felt my phone vibrate. I pulled it out of my pocket with only half a thought until I saw Ritsu's name light up the screen. I lunged for Haruhi and caught her arm. "I think you should go on the date Ritsu is calling me I have to go talk to her I'll be back!" I practically vomited the words at her before I was running down the street to find some privacy. I rounded the corner and saw a children's park ahead. As I approached the swingset, I swiped my hand across screen just in time.

"Ritsu?" I asked, only a little breathless thanks to my martial arts training.

"Hana? Are you ok?"

I sunk down onto one of the swings and laid my head in the hand that wasn't holding the phone to my ear.

"No, I'm not."

"What's wrong?" Her voice was so worried.

"I... I may have realized something this morning..."

"...and that was?"

"Uh um... I..." I took a deep breath. "I like Mitsukuni," I said in a quiet voice.

There was silence at the end of the line and then "Ok?"

I sighed in frustration. "No, I mean, I really like him! As in, like like him!"

There was another moment of silence. "Yeah, Hana, I knew that. You didn't?"

"What? Of course not! He's just my friend! Or else, he was before I wanted to kiss him!" I shut my mouth, my face burning.

She laughed lightly. "Hana, I'm sorry, I don't mean to laugh. But everyone knows you like him, except him and apparently you. Its obvious. I don't understand why you're freaking out over this. You two are adorable together."

"You don't understand!" I growled in frustration. "He's my friend! What if he doesn't like me back? What if he finds out and it ruins our friendship?" I sighed again. "I've been trying to keep my distance since I realized so he doesn't get suspicious but I miss him..." I admitted.

"Hana, I'm going to say this with the most love I possibly can, ok?"

I nodded before remembering she couldn't see me and said, "Ok."

"You're an idiot."

"What-"

"No, shut up and listen to me." She sounded really irritated. "First of all, this whole conversation is pointless because he DOES like you back. Secondly, do we know the same Honey? Do you honestly think that just because you liked him romantically, he would stop being your friend?"

I fidgeted with my shirt. "No, probably not."

"No, absolutely not. Now, even though its a moot point because like I said, he does like you, if he didn't return your feelings then yes. There might be some awkwardness for a bit as you guys learned to be a little less intimate. But that doesn't matter because like I said, moot point."

"Now let me ask you something else. Have you ever once stopped to consider what you're doing to him by pulling away with no explanation? It sounds like to me you've probably hurt his feelings."

I sat there thinking for a minute in growing horror. I had been so focused on hiding my newly discovered feelings I hadn't even thought about what Honey would think was going on. I ran through my behavior that day in my hand and tried to switch our positions in my mind. I cringed.

"Oh no," I whispered.

"Yeah." Her voice softened before she continued. "Hana, sweetie. You've fallen for a kind, smart, adorable, funny guy who thinks you're the greatest thing since cake. Why are you freaking out?"

"I don't know." Suddenly, all I wanted to do was find Honey and apologize. Preferably while hugging him.

"Well why are you still talking to me?" she asked with a hint of humor in her voice.

"Thanks, Rit-chan. I owe you."

"I know."

I clicked my phone off and jumped down off the swing. Time for damage control.

It didn't surprise me to find Honey leaning against the fence that lined the entrance to the pension. He was looking down at the ground and I stood watching him, he reached up and wiped a hand over his eyes. That one movement cut me so deep I wanted to punch myself in the face. I can't believe I made him cry. What was wrong with me?

"Mitsukuni." I called softly. He looked up in surprise and a look of relief flitted across his face before it was replaced by one of apprehension. "Hana, listen, I-"

I didn't give him a chance to finish. I ran up and attacked him in a furious hug, his breath coming out in 'whoosh'. His hands came to rest on my back, light and hesitant. I squeezed tighter.

"I'm so so sorry, Mitsu. I've just been dealing with some things and I needed space. But I shouldn't have pushed you away like that. I'm so sorry. Can you please forgive me?"

I almost collapsed in relief when I felt his arms wrap completely around me and hold me just as tightly. "Of course I forgive you, Hana."

I gave a breathy laugh and then pulled back to do our forehead thing. I still felt like my heart was going to burst out of my chest from our proximity but it was more controllable now. I didn't feel like panicking, I just enjoyed the sensation.

He brought one hand up and cupped my face. "Are you ok, now?"

I smiled, "Yeah, I'm okay."

He grinned. "Good. Next time just talk to me. Maybe I could help."

I pulled back. "Sure. Next time," I promised. Not.

He laced our fingers together and tugged me toward the pension. I looked at him sideways.

"So, tell me about this date thing tomorrow."

Chapter Text

"Sir, they'll see us!"

"Why should I have to let Hikaru and Haruhi have a date?!"

I took a sip of my tea and poked at the plate in front of Honey. "Are you gonna eat that?" I asked, pointing at the last cookie.

He smiled and pushed the plate towards me before winking and calling across the room, "This could be Haru-chan's first date, huh?"

I tried to stifle my laughter as Tamaki continued to freak out about the whole thing. Kyoya smirked and signaled the waitress for our check.

"She's hyper-cute! Hyper-cute!" Tamaki exclaimed in anguish.

I glanced back through the window to see Hika and Haru begin walking down the street. Honestly, I thought she looked a little ridiculous. I mean the dress was cute, I guess, but was the wig really necessary? Haruhi was cute enough with her short hair.

Speaking of hair, I had pulled mine into a side braid since Honey had informed me would be stalking the oblivious couple. I also put on a dark baseball cap and had a giant pair of sunglasses ready to go if we were spotted.

Hey, if we're gonna follow them we should do it properly, right?

Sometimes I'm not really surprised that I'm friends with the Host Club.

We had made it outside and were waiting for Tamaki to calm down before we started to follow them. I pulled out my sunglasses and put them on. Just for fun.

"Wow, I don't even recognize you!"

I looked up at Honey perched on Takashi's shoulders and stuck out my tongue. "Shut up. I'm a master of disguise."

Tamaki was still flipping out when Kaoru spoke over him enough to say, "You know, Sir, I think it would be very good for Hikaru to have more people who are dear to him."

We all turned to him in surprise. He began explaining their emotional issues and why Hikaru especially couldn't figure out how to act.

I was listening, honest. But I couldn't help but wonder how my siblings and I would have turned out had things been different. What if Jared and I had never been separated? What if my sisters hadn't had us and their nannies working so hard at telling them apart? Would any of us have ended up like Hikaru and Kaoru? So dependent and wrapped up in the other that we shut out everyone else?

I shook my head of the thoughts as Kaoru finished with "I think Hikaru needs to learn exactly how to get along with people in that way."

I walked over and patted him on the back. "That's my boy," I said fondly.

"Kaoru, you're amazing," Tamaki said. The others were looking at him with new respect. Honey had his flowers going.

Kyoya turned thoughtful. "So what you're saying is that this date is a trial, to get Hikaru to foster feelings of consideration for someone else."

Kaoru leaned forward. "So make sure you don't interfere with them, ok?"

I crossed my arms, trying to look threatening along with him. I think the glasses may have ruined it.

Tamaki scratched his head in confusion. "Then, we don't need to be tailing them, do we?"

I scoffed. "Are you kidding?"

Kaoru and I ran and crouched behind a tree, peeking around in opposite directions.

"Sure we do," he said eagerly. "There's no reason for us to not watch something this interesting, is there?"

I nodded. "The targets are moving. Let's go before we lose them."

We followed the two of them until they sat down on a bench, apparently having no idea what to do with themselves. You could practically see the annoyance radiating off of Hikaru. It was hilarious.

I leaned my arm on Honey's shoulder. "A date really isn't this difficult. When all else fails, just eat. Plus, this is Haruhi, that should be the first thing Hikaru thought of."

Honey glanced at me and gave a small smile, wrapping his arm around my waist before turning back to watch Tamaki's second freakout of the morning.

He'd been doing that since yesterday afternoon. Every time I initiated physical contact, Honey would get this serene smile on his face, like all was right with the world. He had practically glowed when I wrapped my arms around his shoulders at dinner. It made me feel extremely happy and like I was the world's worst person at the same time.

It was worth the potential heart failure from being so close to him.

"Kyoya! You go make like a punk and pick a fight with Haruhi! That will let Hikaru rescue her!"

"Wait until you're asleep before you dream this stuff up," Kyoya deadpanned.

I rolled my eyes and then almost fell when my prop disappeared. I looked around in confusion. Where had he gone so quickly?

"Ice cream! Ice cream! Anybody want ice cream?!"

Oh my god. WHAT is he doing?

"Mori!" I hissed but he was already moving. Once Honey was safely taken care of I fell to my knees laughing. This kid.

We followed them to an actual ice cream vendor where Tamaki almost ruined our cover by taking over the attendant and shoving a second ice cream cone into Haruhi's hands.

Kyoya and I watched as Kaoru tried to choke the life out of Tamaki. "It was finally going well! What are you interfering for?!"

"You idiot! Do you think I'm actually going to let them couple-eat? No indirect kissing!" Tamaki wailed.

I put my hands on my hips and shook my head. "Indirect kissing? How old are you, 5?!"

Kaoru and I dragged him away from the vendor as Kyoya paid for Tamaki's ice cream outburst. We were soon joined by the oldest hosts.

Honey was perched on Mori's shoulders, as per usual. I craned my neck to look at him but quickly gave that up. "Mind giving me a lift too, Mori?"

He grunted and the next second I was being held up by a strong arm, much closer to Honey.

"Hey you," I grinned at him. "An ice cream cart was your bright idea to lighten the mood?"

He tilted his head and pouted. "You were the one who mentioned food. I thought they needed an ice-breaker and then, well…"

"Ice breaker, food, leads to ice cream?"

"Pretty much."

I laughed as we all headed out again to find Hika and Haru. We managed to catch up with them only to find them happily going from stall to stall in the market, completely fine.

Kaoru snorted in disbelief. "We take our eyes off them for a minute and they're doing fine, huh?"

"It's questionable whether Hikaru is the one doing the escorting, though," Kyoya commented.

Honey poked my arm and grinned proudly. "I guess the ice cream stand did smooth things over!"

Mori and I looked at each other. "I doubt it," we said in unison.

Honey crossed his arms. "I hate you two sometimes."

I laughed. "No, you don't."

"Let's head back," Kaoru said quietly. "If we're sloppy and get found out, it'll all be for nothing."

We all collectively looked over at Tamaki, who was blubbering about how much fun Haruhi was having without him.

"There's someone who can't bear to stay here any longer, too." Kaoru added flatly.

Kyoya corralled Tamaki and we all headed off in the direction of the pension. But when I tried to follow the others around a corner, Honey tugged my arm in another direction.

"I want to show you my favorite shop here," he said excitedly.

We joined hands and after Honey informed Mori of where we were going, I followed him down the street.

It was strange for Mori not to be with us. I said as much to Honey.

"Oh, he said he promised Misuzu-chi that he would fix another one of her tables this afternoon," he explained.

I hummed in understanding. "So, you have a favorite shop? I didn't realize you were so familiar with this area."

"Well, my family has a cottage here for a reason," he pointed out. "When I was growing up we'd vacation here at least once every year and half or so. My dad used to say the rugged terrain surrounding the town would make rugged men out of my brother and me, plus it had enough places of relaxation for my mother."

His eyes got distant and he added quietly. "We haven't been here in about three years. I was happy when Tama-chan decided we should come see Haruhi."

I thought about asking why his family stopped visiting but I didn't want to bring up painful things for him. I tried to image Honey as something different, something gruffer than the tiny excited fluff machine he was now. It was bizarre to picture.

I squeezed his hand and smiled when he glanced up at me. "Is it bad that I'm sort of relieved that you didn't turn into a rugged man with a hairy chest and bulging muscle?"

He barked a laugh. "What are you talking about? I have muscle!" He said, faking offense.

I feel like I should point out that he may not look it, but Honey is actually very strong. But I wasn't going to say it.

"Oh no, yeah totally," I said. "I can see that."

I was teasing him and he was laughing about it and it was so easy.

I really like him. Ugh.

"So what is the name of this shop?" I asked, trying to distract myself.

He grinned wide, quickening his pace. "You'll see. It's just around this next corner."

He pulled me along until we stopped in front of a brick building with a bright pink awning covering the sidewalk and pink and yellow letters frosting the window announcing "Maki's Bakery!"

I shook my head with a smile on my face. "Of course it's a bakery."

He moved in front of me, his little pink flowers dancing around his head. "Isn't it cute? Do you like it? They have three different kinds of chocolate cake here!"

I laughed. "It's super cute, I do like it, and of course we should try all three so I can choose my favorite."

We walked in, Honey chatting excitedly about his favorite pastries and sweets they made while I made a mental list of what I wanted to try.

We stopped in front of the big glass display box holding all the food.

"Well, obviously, we need to sample all three chocolate cakes," I said. "I also think I want the strawberry tart and a slice of that apple pie. Look at all the cinnamon on it!"

Honey crossed his arms, looking like this was the most important decision of his life. "Well, if you get those, I think I'll get the lemon crème, the buttercream, and the caramel delight."

I blinked up at him from where I had crouched to look at the pie. "Those are all cakes," I said slowly.

He tilted his head to the side. "I know!"

I chuckled and was about to ask if he wanted any other kind of dessert besides cake when a voice said uncertainly, "Honey?"

We both looked up to see a girl around our age, a few inches taller than us, with short chin length brown hair and large grey eyes. She was wearing a knee length yellow sundress (to match the bakery's yellow) with a white apron that was streaked with what looked like different baking materials. She had one flour streak on her cheek.

Overall, she was pretty cute.

She looked apprehensive before her face cleared and she smiled. "It is you! I haven't seen you in years!"

I looked at Honey who was frowning in thought. Suddenly he brightened with recognition. "Maki-chan?"

The girl, Maki, nodded. "Yeah! I've grown a bit since you last saw me, huh? I'm a full baker now!"

"That's great!" Honey exclaimed, his stupid pink flowers popping out. "Congratulations!"

"Thanks," she gushed. "What about you? How have you been? Your family hasn't been here in a while!"

I slowly stood up while they talked and came up next to Honey, who had taken a few steps in Maki's direction. I didn't like how friendly they were. I felt my stomach lurch with something I couldn't identify.

Until Maki said something to make him laugh and then I recognized it as jealousy.

Wow, I need to get a grip. Insecure, much? It's not like they're flirting, they're just old friends who are catching up.

Right?

Right.

She said something light and tinkling (seriously, who has a voice that tinkles?!) and started forward but paused when I shifted closer to Honey's side.

Darn my traitorous body.

Honey finally seemed to remember I was there and grinned as he wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

"Ah, Hana-chan, this is Maki-chan. She's the daughter of the bakery's owner. We used to play together when we were kids. Maki-chan, this is Hana-chan. She's my best friend!"

My heart may have melted a little.

Shut up.

Maki smiled and put her hand out for me to shake. "It's nice to meet you, Hana-chan."

"Likewise," I said through a grudging smile.

She gave me a knowing look and said nonchalantly, "It's too bad my boyfriend is working today. He'd love to meet you two. He's big into martial arts and has always wanted to meet you, Honey."

I relaxed through a wave of embarrassment and Honey laughed, slipping his hand into mine. "Well, we'll be here for a few more days. Maybe we could all do something together? Takashi too."

"I'd like that," she said brightly. "Now, what can I get you two? I heard something about caramel?"

We ended up having to get most of it delivered to Honey's cottage. When we left the shop, Maki had shoved a small box of cookies into my hand and winked. "These are his favorite. We only sell them by special order now. He'll love you forever." Then she had turned around to help another customer and I was left blushing and blinking stupidly.

We arrived back at the pension right when it began to storm. I set down my two boxes of sweets (one with pie and the other with the cookies) and approached Tamaki as Honey skipped off to find Mori.

"Have we heard from them? Is Haruhi out of this rain?" I asked worriedly. Tamaki and I were the only ones who were aware of Haru's fear of thunderstorms.

"No, not yet," he said irritably. He was pacing back and forth in a tight pattern.

I glanced out of the window. "Well, I'm sure Hikaru will take care of her."

"I'm gonna go pick them up," he said decisively before the phone rang.

After a few seconds, Misuzu hung up and looked at us with concern. "It sounds like Hikaru-kun left Haruhi-chan in front of Arai-kuns store and headed back here on his own."

"He did WHAT?!" I demanded. So much for that.

"He said that Haruhi-chan took off after him but then, this rain started coming down, right? That's when Arai-kun became worried and called over here."

I'm going to kick Hikaru's backside into next week. Come on, kid, what are you doing here?

I saw Tamaki whip out his phone and he looked angry, not worried, so he was calling Hikaru. I grabbed my phone and retreated to see if I could get a hold of Haruhi.

"Hi, you've reached the voice mail of Haruhi Fujioka…" Ugh, she still hadn't turned her phone back on. Now I was really worried.

I came back into the huge room in time to hear Tamaki yell at Hikaru, "Listen to me, Haruhi is afraid of thunder! When she hears thunder, she's terrified and can't move!"

I cringed. Well, Haruhi isn't going to appreciate everyone knowing her biggest fear but this is an emergency.

But Tamaki wasn't done. "Before you start indulging in your overgrown jealousy, think harder about what the other person is going through!" He slammed the phone shut and huffed out of the room. Kyoya and I exchanged a look and he excused himself, following after Tamaki.

I sighed and wiped a hand over my face. "Well, that was dramatic."

"Hikaru will find her." We looked at Kaoru who was now staring out the window pensively. "He will," he insisted. "He'll find her and they'll both be fine."

"Of course he will," I said reassuringly. I walked over and took his hand, squeezing gently. "Hikaru may be dense but even he would have gotten the point after that. He won't give up until he finds her. I'm sure they're both ok."

He nodded and I just stood there with him while Honey and Mori talked softly behind us.

I'm not sure how much time passed but eventually Tamaki and Kyoya came back, Tamaki looking much calmer.

"I got a text from Hikaru. He found her. They're going to head back as soon as the storm lets up."

We all gave a collective sigh of relief.

The storm didn't last more than an hour and when Hikaru and Haruhi walked into the pension we all circled them in a group hug (except for Kyoya but he stood back looking pleased). Haruhi yelled at Tamaki for being so clingy, he grew some mushrooms, Hikaru and Kaoru teased him after checking that each other was ok, and the rest of us watched, laughed, and joined in the banter.

I love my friends.

Honestly, we're more like a family.

That night Honey and I were sitting snugly together and eating the cookies that Maki had given me. Honey had practically squealed in excitement when I opened the box and now I know why. I'm not even sure what kind they were. There was chocolate, caramel, I'm pretty sure some sort of local sweet honey was drizzled on top. Whatever they were, they were delicious.

"You know…" Honey started slowly as he wiped his mouth from the final cookie. "I'm not blind. I saw how you were acting at Maki's today."

I froze. "I don't know what you're talking about," I said very unconvincingly.

He gave me a sly grin. "Yes, you do. You were jealous!" he said the last part in a sing song voice.

I crossed my arms and did NOT pout. "Shut up," I grumbled.

He laughed and wrapped his arms around me, nuzzling my cheek. "I'm just teasing you. You're cute when you're jealous. Maybe I should randomly run into old childhood friends more often."

I tried to calm down my erratic heartbeat. I'm sure he could hear it. Keeping up this level of physical intimacy without him knowing about my feelings is going to kill me. "Yeah yeah, very funny. Get off me before I throw you off."

"I'd like to see you try."

I pulled back enough to give him a challenging look.

"Oh, it's on."

Chapter Text

I tapped my foot impatiently on the tiled floor of the empty hallway. I pulled my phone out and checked the time. The guy I was supposed to be meeting was five minutes late already and while I understand the need to gather your nerve for something like this, it is cutting into my valuable Host Club time. We had only been back in school for a week and I couldn't help being a little irritated that I wasn't there.

It was no secret that I was very popular with the guys of Ouran Academy. Some of my close classmates tell me that I have my own fanclub that includes both boys and girls. Personally, I thought it was ridiculous.

Most of the time, being associated with the boys of the Host Club prevents casual flirtation (the newspaper club president being an obvious anomaly). But I still got love letters and requests for meetings pretty often. Usually, I just send a quick text to Kyoya to give him some heads up so he can cover for me. I can't say for sure but I think he adds something to Haruhi's debt for every minute I'm late.

I looked up at the sound of footsteps. A boy rounded the corner at a slow stroll, hands in his pockets. He was about average height and build, with mussed dark hair and dark blue eyes. I tried to place him in my mind but I couldn't find a name. He looked familiar though. Maybe he's in my art class? He seemed more at ease than I expected.

I smiled politely and held up his letter. "Hello. Are you the one who wrote this letter?" He nodded.

"Yeah, that was me. Thanks for meeting me." He pulled a hand out and rubbed the back of his neck. I continued to smile even when I felt my stomach clench a little. He was the picture of abashed nervousness but for some reason I didn't quite believe it.

"Of course. Thank you very much for this but I'm afraid I don't feel the same way." I stepped forward to hand the letter back. He looked at it for a second before letting out a bark of a laugh. "Do you even know my name?" he asked.

It was now my turn to look nervous. "No, I don't, I'm sorry." I pressed the letter a little closer, encouraging him to take it. He just stared at me and there was something off with his eyes but his voice came out almost nonchalant. "It's Shin, by the way." I resisted the urge to roll my eyes since I know people react to rejection in different ways and if my knowing his name makes him let me leave then so be it.

"Shin. I'm sorry. I hope you find happiness." I'm really bad with these intense emotional situations, as evidenced by my fortune cookie phrasing. This time, when I tried to hand him the letter, I tapped the end of it to his chest for emphasis. He took it without meeting my eyes and I fought the urge to sigh in relief as I walked past him.

** Suddenly, I felt a hand grab my arm in a harsh jerk that sent pain up into my shoulder. Before I could even register what was happening, I was pushed up against the wall, my wrists pinned on either side of me and Shin had his body barely a couple inches from mine, his face pulled in a sneer.

I glared up at him, choosing to focus on my anger at being caught off guard instead of my panic at our position. "Let me go," I said quietly. He scoffed and pressed closer. "Why should I? You walk around in that little dress and flip your hair and you don't even care enough to know my name. I think you owe me, don't you?" I was having a hard time following his logic but it really didn't matter right now. What mattered is getting him far enough away from me so that I could get away. I just needed him to back up enough to get my foot in between us. Honey had trained me for this. I just needed more room.

He leaned down and nosed at my neck, making me gag on the scent of his greasy hair and his nearness. My brain scrambled to find something that would make him second guess what he was doing. I grabbed on to the first thing that sounded like it would remotely work.

"If you value your continued existence, I suggest you stop what you're doing and back off," I growled.

My apparent confidence seemed to surprise him enough for him to pull back and look at me in disbelief. "Or what? What are you going to do to me?" I kept eye contact with him and spoke in a deadly calm voice. "Not me. The Host Club."

He threw his head back and laughed and it took all of my self-control not to cringe. I clamped down on my growing panic again. "What is the Host Club going to do? Smile at me?" He said condescendingly.

"Have you given any thought to who the members of the Host Club actually are? And what they will do to you if you continue this?" At that, he seemed to pause. I took my opportunity and continued.

"First off, Mitsukuni Haninozuka and Takashi Morinozuka will beat you within an inch of your life. You know them, right? National martial arts and kendo champion?" Almost unconsciously he seemed to back up a couple inches. That's it.

"Secondly, Kyoya Ootori. The name alone should scare you. I have no doubt his family has considerable power over your life, not to mention Kyoya will not stop until he has uncovered every dirty little secret you have and expose them. Oh, did I mention his family has their own police force?"

Now he visibly backed up and I felt my confidence growing as I shifted my leg into position. Just a little more.

"Not to mention the Hitachiin twins. Trust me, they will make it their mission to make your life a living hell while you're at school," He was staring at me with wide eyes and his arms had pulled my wrists forward slightly as he backed up… "At least until Tamaki Suoh has you expelled."

He took one last stumble back at that and I quickly twisted my wrists out of his hands and braced myself on the wall. In one quick motion, I pulled my right leg up and kicked out with all of my strength, aiming for his stomach. I felt a sickening satisfaction when my foot make contact and I heard his grunt of pain.

I'm glad that Honey had worked on my speed from one move into another because even after all of that he was still too close to me. Not giving him enough time to recover, I surged forward and upwards, slamming my fist into his throat. I then twisted out of his reach and without even glancing to see what kind of damage I had done, I ran. **

I ran so fast my surroundings seemed to blur together. Now that I was out of immediate danger the panic that I had kept at bay was bubbling up to the surface and I just wanted to be safe and get away and run and be safe.

So I headed for the one place, the one person I knew meant safety.

I didn't even pause when I got to the big double doors, didn't slow down when Kyoya reached out in concern, when Haruhi called out to me. I didn't stop until I got to the back corner table where he always sat.

Once I reached the table, he looked up in surprise, smile already on his face but it quickly morphed into a frown. "Hana-chan? Whats wrong?"

I reached toward him and opened my mouth to explain that I was fine, really, I think I just needed a hug or something but what came out instead was a broken "Mit… Mitsu…"

And then a strangled sob took over my throat as I broke down into tears.

In an instant he was there, his arms wrapping around me. Shuddering sobs wracked my body as the shock of what had happened, what could have happened washed over me. He held me through all of it, rubbing small circles on my back and whispering encouragements in my ear. I wasn't aware of anything around me, all that mattered was the warmth coming from Honey and his voice and his touch all smothering me in the feelings of safe and protected.

I'm not really sure how long we stood there but it must have been quite some time before I managed to calm down. When I finally felt like I could keep it together, I pulled back but kept my hands on his chest. I kept my eyes down until I felt his hands move to cup my face. He turned my face up slowly until our eyes met and I almost started crying again.

His face was filled with kindness and concern and his eyes were patient, caring, and brimming with some other deep emotion that I couldn't place. He didn't say anything, he just looked at me until I leaned forward and touched our foreheads together, not breaking eye contact.

"I think I'm ok now, Mitsukuni. Thank you." He gave me a tentative smile and rubbed a thumb over my cheekbone. "Do you want me to drive you home? Do… do you want to talk about it?"

I opened my mouth to respond when I remembered where we were and looked around in surprise. The music room was completely empty. There were no customers or any of the hosts. I felt mortified that I had caused a scene and made the club shut down. Kyoya probably wanted to kill me.

"Where is everyone?" I asked.

Honey still hadn't let go of my face and was studying me intently. "The customers left almost immediately and the others are all in the changing room. I think they want to make sure you're ok before they leave."

I smiled and nodded. I was already feeling much better and I owed them an explanation for my outburst in the middle of club hours. He didn't move toward the door, just whipped out his phone and sent a quick text. I'm guessing to Mori. Then he led me over to the couch and sat with me as the other hosts filed into the room.

They were all quiet as they found different places to sit and most of them looked scared that I may break down again. Haruhi came right to me and sat on my opposite side, pulling me into a hug. I hugged her back quickly and then sat back to face everyone. Honey slipped his hand into mine and Haruhi wrapped her arm around my waist. I love them.

I took a deep breath. "I'm sorry about that, everyone. I owe you all an explanation." I looked up at Kyoya and said, "I'm sorry for interrupting club business, Kyo-kun."

He adjusted his glasses and said evenly, "I am not concerned with that at the moment. I am far more interested in what or rather who is the cause of your moment this afternoon." Of course he would have figured out it was the creep I was meeting.

I nodded and squeezed Honey's hand for support.

"To make a long story short, I had a meeting today to turn down a boy who sent me a love letter and he didn't take it well. Nothing much happened, especially after I managed to scare him, and then I ran away."

Everyone took this in with varying reactions. Kyoya's glasses flashed. Mori moved closer to me, like his very nearness could prevent something from happening again (which it probably could). The twins looked ready to hit something. Surprisingly, or maybe not so surprisingly, it was Tamaki who came forward and knelt in front of me, taking my other hand in his. "Hana, we want more than the short version. We care about you and we want to know what happened. Please."

I felt a lump in my throat and nodded again. He smiled kindly and resumed his seat.

"Take us through step by step," Kyoya urged.

I sighed. "Ok, well, after I said no, he sort of flipped out and pinned me to the wall. He-" I reached up and rubbed my neck. "He tried to do something but didn't get very far before I threatened him. Once he was far enough away I used some of my new martial arts skills to get him away from me." I shot a Honey a side smile when I mentioned using his teaching and he grinned at me, though it looked strained. "Speaking of which, he may have permanent damage to his throat. I was pretty angry."

At this, Honey really did smile. "Good." He stated.

"What is his name?" Kyoya's voice was low and dangerous and I almost felt bad for the kid. Almost.

"He said it was Shin, but I'm not sure if it's his last or first. I could point him out, though." He nodded and started writing in his black book.

"What did you threaten him with?" Hikaru asked curiously.

I bit my lip nervously. "Oh um... just, you know. You guys."

The way all of their eyes widened in surprise was almost comical.

"With us?" The twins chorused.

"What did you say?" Tamaki asked.

I looked down and picked at my dress. "I may have said that Honey and Mori would beat him up, that Kyoya would wreck him like only Kyoya can, and that the twins would make his life a living hell at school until you had him expelled." I looked up and said pleadingly, "I'm sorry I used you guys like that but it was the only thing I could think of to scare him enough to give me room to get away."

Thankfully, none of them looked upset. If anything, they looked varying degrees of amused and smug.

"I don't consider that a threat…" Kaoru began.

"...as much as a promise," Hikaru finished with a truly evil looking smile.

"Whatever you two are planning, I want in," Haruhi said, surprising everyone. The twins looked like christmas had come early.

"I don't think any of you will have the chance." At some point, Kyoya had pulled out his laptop and was clicking away at something. He rotated the laptop to show us the screen filled with different pictures of boys in the Ouran uniform. "These are all boys at Ouran who have a version of the name Shin. Do you recognize your attacker?"

I leaned forward, not even questioning how he had access to something like that, and started scrolling. After a second, I stopped and pointed to the corner of the screen. "That's him."

Kyoya nodded and whipped out his phone. "If you don't mind waiting here for little bit more?"

I nodded and he walked over to a corner of the room, speaking rapidly into his phone.

I slumped down and rested my head on Honey's shoulder. I was so exhausted. I just wanted to go home and sleep. He squeezed my hand and started rubbing small circles on my skin with his thumb while the others fell back into their normal banter.

The normalcy relaxed me and in less than an hour Kyoya returned to inform us that Shin had been apprehended ("He appears to be having trouble talking," was said with a smirk) and was in the process of being expelled. The idiot didn't seem to think about the fact that an elite school full of very important people's children would have cameras literally everywhere.

I thought I was relaxed before but when I heard he was no longer going to be at school I felt like a weight was lifted off my chest and I could breathe. I smiled gratefully at Kyoya and the others cheered.

By this time it was pretty late and we all gathered our things to leave. The twins left, following after Kyoya, trying to get the guy's address so they could still pull something. Tamaki came over and patted my head. "I'm glad you're ok, Hana." He smiled.

I smiled back. "Thanks, Tama-kun."

The next instant I was engulfed in a suffocating hug. "I can't imagine anything happening to one of my precious daughters! You're just too cute!" And he's back, I thought warmly.

"Sempai, get off her!" Haruhi grabbed Tamaki's ear and dragged him toward the entrance. She glanced over her shoulder after pushing him through the door and raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Do you want to walk home together?"

Before I could answer, Honey was back at my side and holding my hand again. I shook my head. "No thanks, I'll be there later." She gave me a knowing look and followed after Tamaki who was still complaining loudly about her abuse.

Honey, Mori, and I made our way slowly toward the entrance of the school. There was a car already waiting and before he got in the car, Mori knelt down to where he was (almost) eye level with me. He looked at me for a good bit before reaching out and patting my head affectionately. "Proud of you," he said.

I felt my eyes well up and I gingerly punched his shoulder. "Oh my god, Mori, get in the car before I cry again," I said, embarrassed. He chuckled and opened the door. "See you tomorrow."

And then there were two.

I looked sideways at Honey and held out my hand. He took it silently and we walked down the street in the direction of my neighborhood.

I took us off course a little to a small hidden park. It was a simple space, just a swingset and one slide. I liked coming here to draw sometimes. There was a bigger, more popular park a couple streets down. This one was usually empty and tonight was no exception.

I walked towards the swingset and released Honey's hand to sit in one of the swings, facing him.

He started pacing back and forth in front of me, like I knew he would. He did that a couple of times before walking over to a tree and punching it hard enough to crack the bark.

"There's no need to hurt the foliage," I noted.

He spun around and he had that same murderous look that he had on the cliff when those guys attacked me and Haruhi, a more intense version of the look he wore when the 'bad guys' of Renge's movie had acted out.

Man, we have bad luck with these things.

"How DARE he?" Honey growled. I started pushing my swing back and forth as he began pacing again.

I had only seen Honey this angry a handful of times, which is why I knew to just let him vent. Once, he and I snuck in to watch a martial arts competition his brother was in (it's a long story) and Honey saw one of the opponents cheat, resulting in Chika (his brother) being pretty badly hurt. He still won, but I thought Honey was going to kill the guy. He was visibly shaking with anger and I had to drag him out before anything truly bad happened.

You don't mess with people Honey cares about.

As I watched him pace and vent ("Kyoya was too easy on him, I should get his address from the twins") I started thinking about us. The setting sun was glinting off his hair, bathing the area in a soft orange glow, his face a picture of fury at the thought of someone hurting me. We had come a long way since that first meeting on the steps of school. He was without doubt my best friend, someone I completely trusted. I knew he would do anything to protect me and sometimes he made me laugh so hard I felt like I couldn't breathe.

It occurred to me that I was smack in the middle of falling in love with Mitsukuni Haninozuka.

What surprised me is that I wanted him to know. Today could have been a lot worse. What if something had happened and he didn't know how much I cared about him? What if something happened tomorrow?

Shaking slightly, I stood up and walked in front of him. "Mitsukuni," I started.

He stopped talking and walked up until there was hardly any space between us. He raised his eyebrows expectantly, waiting for me to continue.

But how do you even say that? I opened my mouth but no sound came out. My throat felt tight and my heart was pounding. He tilted his head in confusion.

Well that angle was convenient.

I slowly reached forward and placed my hands on either side of his head. I flicked my eyes down to his lips and back up. His eyes widened as I moved forward but he didn't pull back.

When our lips met, there weren't any fireworks. There wasn't a zing that raced through my whole body, like you read in books. There was just a sense of finally and right. The butterflies in my stomach grew more frantic and all I could concentrate on was how soft his lips were and how his hands moved to my back to hold me in place.

It was soft and sweet and chaste and after a moment I pulled back to look at him. He was looking at me with a dazed sort of happiness and it made my heart jump.

"Oh," he said quietly.

"Yeah, oh," I laughed quietly.

We stood there holding each other before he smiled in a way that should probably worry me.

"You know, that was kind of quick. I'm pretty sure first kisses are supposed to last at least 5 seconds."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh really? Are you a first kiss expert now?"

He shrugged and grinned. "No, but I watch a lot of movies."

I raised my eyebrow in challenge. "Alright then. Lets see if you can do better."

His eyes sparkled as he leaned in and I thought distantly that I would have a lot to talk to Haruhi about by the time I made it home.

Chapter Text

"Hana-Sempai, what are you drawing?"

I glanced up at the two girls who had approached my little table. I barely recognized them, which means they must be pretty new.

I smiled and held up my half finished drawing of Honey draped sleepily over Mori's shoulders.

"Someone commissioned this last week. It's the first time I've had a chance to start on it. What'dya think?" I asked.

They squealed and raved about it and by the end I had two new orders for Tamaki and another one of Honey and Mori.

I glanced around while I finished the drawing. The twins were right in the middle of one of their acts (I think it was the 'Kaoru had a nightmare' one), Tamaki and Haruhi were doing their respective Host duties, and Honey and Mori were in the middle of some sort of cake tasting marathon. Well, mostly Honey. He must have sensed my eyes on him because he looked up and winked at me through the crowd. I rolled my eyes goodnaturedly and went back to my drawing.

It had been about two weeks since that day in the park. I know what you're thinking. Aw, you kissed, how great! Happy ending, right? Everything is rainbows and unicorns now?

Please.

Not that I wasn't on Cloud 9. Finally having our feelings out in the open was possibly the best thing to ever happen. When we were alone, we could hold hands and kiss and snuggle. Really, the biggest difference is that we kissed now and there wasn't any intense emotional angst. Honestly, it was amazing.

But most of the time, we weren't alone. We were at school.

Which, again, nothing had changed in our relationship there except now instead of the sexual tension of our repressed attraction we had sexual tension of NOT being able to act on our attraction. It was pretty funny.

We had told the others as soon as we were all together and no one was surprised. The twins had cheered. We had assured Kyoya that we'd keep it somewhat secret so as not to hurt the club's business (although I was under the impression that the girls would like it even MORE if we were official).

All in all, everything was great. The only bump came from my family. Honey had told his parents that he was serious about me (I practically died of happiness and embarrassment) and their only question had been if I was learning martial arts. Chika had always liked me enough when I would run into him at Honey's house but he really took to me when I agreed that Honey eating three cakes in the middle of the night was creepy. My parents wouldn't care, not really. It was my siblings I was worried about. They could be very protective. I had only told my brother at this point. I knew that as soon as I told my sisters they would drop everything and show up on my doorstep within 24 hours.

Suddenly the doors to the music room opened with a loud bang. I glanced up to see a blond haired figure standing in the doorway, the rose petals that always assault visitors clinging to his clothes.

I felt a sinking in my stomach as his searching eyes landed on me. His face lit up and he yelled at the top of his lungs "HANA!"

I sighed. Oh no.

Honey's POV

Honey had been enjoying the day before the doors swung open and made the whole room jump. He was eating cake and was able to sneak glances at Hana while she worked. The last time he looked up she was looking at him first, so he winked at her and giggled when she rolled her eyes.

There was a moment when everyone in the room was staring at the boy in the doorway. He was tall, around Kyoya's height, with hair a shade darker than Tamaki's. He was dressed in a grey button down shirt and black dress pants. So not a student.

Then he seemed to find what he was looking for and he screamed "HANA!" and launched himself in her direction.

Honey made to move between them but Hana had already stood up and he stopped when he saw her face. She didn't look scared or anything.

If anything, she looked resigned.

As the mystery guy reached her personal space, she suddenly twisted sideways and dug her elbow into the small of his back, using his own momentum to send him sprawling into the table.

She looked quite pleased with herself.

Honey and the rest of the Host Club began to wander closer to Hana as the guy began picking himself up off the floor.

"Hana," he whined. "That was so mean! I even made a special trip here just to see you!"

We all looked at each other in surprise. He was speaking english.

Hana crossed her arms and glared at the guy. "Yeah and why is that exactly? Why are you at my school? And don't be rude, speak in Japanese."

He began dusting off his clothes. "Of course, I'm sorry," he said, switching his language. Then he turned huge blue-green eyes on Hana with a puppy dog look that rivaled Tamaki's. "I just wanted to surprise you! Plus, I knew if I waited until you got home, I wouldn't be able to meet your friends!" He turned to us and grinned. I frowned. There was something very familiar about him but I couldn't place it.

"Now, are you going to hug me?" He asked. Hana just stared him down, while his eyes grew bigger and bigger. Honey could hear the twins and Tamaki whispering behind him, trying to figure out who he was.

It wasn't until you could see his eyes fill with tears that Hana finally relaxed her arms and grumbled. "Fine, come here, you big baby." He squealed in happiness and jumped forward, enveloping Hana in a hug that lifted her off the ground.

Who WAS this guy? Honey tried to keep the irritation off his face but it was difficult when he could tell Hana was enjoying it. She was still scowling but Honey saw right through it. She was practically glowing.

"You're so cute in your uniform, Hana! You made a good choice with the blue dress, the yellow wouldn't have suited you at all. So now, what do-"

"Excuse me," Kyoya interrupted smoothly. "Hana, would you mind introducing your guest to everyone?" He was smirking, which means he must already know who this is, Honey thought.

"Sure," Hana sighed and looked resigned again. "Jared, this is everyone. Everyone, this is my twin brother, Jared."

There was a beat of silence before everyone exclaimed at the same time "TWIN?!" "Jared is your twin?!" "I HAVE A SON?!" (that last one was Tamaki).

That's when Honey realized why Jared looked so familiar. He had the same eyes as Hana.

"Hana, I demand names!" Jared protested.

"Fine," she growled and grabbed Tamaki's arm and dragged him forward.

"This is Tamaki, he's the president of the club," Hana said.

Tamaki struck a dramatic pose, his hand over his heart. "President may be my title, yes, but I consider Hana my precious daughter, and welcome any family of hers with open arms and heart."

Jared's eyes grew big and sparkly and he clasped his hands together in front of him. "Does that mean… I'm your son? Dad?"

Honey watched as Tamaki got the same sparkly look in his eye and then suddenly they were embracing, red hearts spreading out behind them. A sign appeared above them that said "an inevitable development' and Hana dragged a hand over her face in exasperation.

"I'm starting to understand why you were never affected by Tama-chan," Honey said to her.

She sagged into Honey's side. "Jared isn't bad on his own. I'm just glad my sisters aren't here."

Jared whipped his head around and bit his lip. "Ah, actually… I may have accidentally told them I was coming here today…"

Hana surged forward and pulled Jared down to her level by his collar. "You did WHAT?!"

There was a flash of movement out of the corner of Honey's eye and then there were two black haired girls wrapped possessively around Hana. One had her arms tight around her hips and the other's were around Hana's shoulders. They were rubbing cheeks with hers and Hana sighed again began trying to remove herself from them.

They looked exactly alike. Not just their faces, either. They both had their hair pulled back in two pigtails and were wearing matching green summer dresses. It was almost disturbing when it wasn't Hikaru and Kaoru.

"Sister dear!" They crooned. "When JJ told us he was coming to see you, we simply HAD to come too!"

"Get off me!" Hana finally griped. They moved a few inches away but only slid their hands down to grasp both of Hana's.

"Don't be rude!" The one on the left pouted.

"We want to meet your friends too! You told us so much about them over break!" Said the right one.

Honey felt like his world had been knocked off kilter. Hana rarely talked about her family. She was private like that. Now all of a sudden all of her siblings were here at the same time?

Hikaru and Kaoru slinked up next to Honey and leaned against each other.

"Say, Hana-sempai, we'd like to meet your family too!" They chorused.

Two sets of deep brown eyes swivelled around. Once the two girls had locked onto the twins, they squealed.

"Its the twins! They're as cute as you described!" Immediately, they abandoned Hana and came up to inspect the boys. They got within inches of their faces and Honey saw the boys twitch slightly before grinning wide.

"Oh, look at this one, Saki! I like him!" This was the one staring at Hikaru.

"I think this one is prettier, Akino! Look at that precious smile!" That was Kaoru's twin.

Then Jared was standing behind the girls with a calculating look on his face, his hand stroking his chin.

"They're both quite attractive, I'll give you that. They're almost as identical as you two."

"Their NAMES are Hikaru and Kaoru and no, you can't have them," Hana interjected, pointing to both of them in turn. Then she went around the room.

"Girls, thats Tamaki. Kyoya, Haruhi, Mori, and Honey." When she got to Honey, her face softened and she smiled.

Being the one to make her smile like that made him feel a surge of pride and happiness.

Before anyone could continue, Kyoya spoke up. "Not to be rude, but we are in the middle of club activities. Perhaps we could continue this over dinner?"

"That sounds like a great idea!" Honey exclaimed. He really wanted to get to know Hana's family more. "Why don't you guys come to our house for dinner? My parents are out of town and there's plenty of room. Right, Takashi?"

The taller boy nodded and after some initial complaining from the girl twins and forceful big sistering from Hana, thing settled down for the rest of the afternoon.

They were on the way to Honey's house after club was over when he decided to ask the question.

"So… if you don't mind me asking, how come you don't see your brother and sisters more often?"

Hana looked at him in surprise before leaning her head against the seat.

"My parents… they had an arranged marriage. They tried for awhile, had me and Jared, but soon realized that they were just too different. They're still married, technically, but they have the epitome of an open relationship."

She smiled ruefully up at the roof of the car. "It took them awhile to officially separate and go about their own separate lives. Jared and I were ten and the girls were 8. My dad kept Jared and my mom brought my sisters and me over here. Jared and I always made sure that we were allowed to see each other multiple times a year and all four of us get together every summer."

She linked her hand with mine and squeezed. "My dad tried to be involved in our lives for a while but he soon got consumed with the business. That's what he's grooming Jared for, to take over from him. Jared enjoys it, he's a tech and business genius, but it takes a lot out him. The girls tour with my mom around the world as occasional models in her shoots, so thats why I hardly see them."

"I'm sorry," Honey said, rubbing his thumb along her knuckles.

She shrugged and smiled. "Its ok, really. I love them and we all make sure to be there for anything important. I have a feeling Jared may have said something about you if the twins decided to hop a flight over. He alway had a hard time saying no to them."

They pulled up to the house to see the entire Host Club plus Hana's family already standing outside the doors, very impatiently.

"Alright." Hana looked at him with her battle face. "Lets do this."

Hana's POV

Everything was going surprisingly well. My sisters were completely entertained by the twins and they seemed just as fascinated.

I'll have to keep an eye on that.

Tamaki, Kyoya, and Haruhi were discussing something in earnest on the other side of the room. Well, more like Tamaki was yelling at Haruhi while Kyoya typed on his laptop.

I was sitting across from Mori and Ritsu (apparently he had called her, how cute is that) and waiting for my boyfriend (!) and brother to get back. We hadn't been inside long before Jared had asked to speak with Honey privately.

That was twenty minutes ago. What could they POSSIBLY be talking about?

"I'm sure they'll be back soon."

I glanced up to see Ritsu looking at me with a soft smile. But I was much more distracted by her hand. Which was covered in Mori's hand.

Ritsu and Mori were holding hands.

It took all of my self control to not scream but I did open my mouth and make a very unattractive gurgling sound before I managed to point at their hands and cough out "When did that happen?!"

Ritsu smiled brightly and Mori looked stoically to the side. "Yesterday. I hadn't had a chance to tell you yet."

"Well, I'm incredibly happy for you two! You guys are my real life OTP!" I squealed.

"Me too, guys." I looked over to see Honey drop into the seat next to me. He smiled. "Your brother just finished describing in great detail everything he would do to me if I ever hurt you in any way. Some of them were really creative."

I rolled my eyes and looked around for him. Jared had joined Tama, Haru, and Kyoya and was talking animatedly to our shadow king. Then I blinked. Did Jared just put his hand on Kyoya's knee?

Did Kyoya just let him?

I'll have to watch that too, apparently.

Dinner was served just a few minutes afterwards and as I sat eating and laughing with my family, holding hands with Honey under the table, I had never felt so happy.

"I'm so glad that I came to Ouran," I said quietly to Honey.

He looked at me for a second before leaning forward and pressing a soft kiss to my lips.

"Me too, Hana. Me too."