Steadier Footing
Chapter One: Starting today, you live with a host!
Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club, rights belong Bisco Hatori.
•—•—•
Haruhi settled into a plush, velvety love seat, glad to have found a place to sit in the busy club. Definitely not an optimal arrangement, but it would do. She grimaced; hoping the couple sitting next to her would stop slurping one another's face and do something else. Haruhi attempted to appoint her attention to something else, looking at the other hosts dance around the boisterous club. Tamaki had called for an official club reunion, even though they saw each other often enough at school. Haruhi still felt rather awkward around Tamaki, having broken up with him when he went off to college. She wondered if he felt the same about their ill situation, or if he'd been his usual bubbly self all along. Even though Haruhi felt she might finally be getting over him, it just felt wrong to pretend nothing had happened, especially after she avoided him during the semester.
"Hi, Haru-chan, I haven't seen you since testing began. I've missed you," a bright and bubbly voice interrupted, ripping her from her inner soliloquy. He had grown to be about the same size as Haruhi after graduating high school, his voice had also become slightly deeper.
"Hi, Hunny-senpai, I've missed you too. How were your exams?" He plopped down where the couple had once sat. They had left, presumably to find somewhere more private.
"Mine went great! Reiko-chan helped me study, but I don't think Takashi feels the same about his."
"Oh?" Mori-senpai had helped her with some of the classes he had taken prior. Consequently they had grown quite close, and Haruhi had even begun to accompany the two eldest hosts on their various outings. On the rare occasion, she'd gone out to lunch once or twice with the gentle giant, sans his exponentially shorter companion.
"Yes, he came down with a cold right before testing began." It wasn't a complete lie, Takashi had been feeling under the weather. However, he felt it might have been due to a severe Haruhi withdrawal, and not seasonal allergies.
He bounced up to his feet and stuck his hand out to her.
"Want to dance, Haru-chan? The others are still looking for you, I'm sure it'd calm their nerves to see you."
"Oh, I don't know, I can't dance very well.
"That's okay! Just sway to the beat of the music. It's just a club, not a ballroom."
"Well... I suppose." She took his hand nervously and they walked onto the flashing dance floor. Maybe Mori-senpai was looking for her too, and she wanted to talk to him without the bombardment of a certain blond. They hadn't spoken in a while but Haruhi wanted to ask him personally how the testing had gone, at the very least to see how challenging it would be in a few years.
•—•—•
The music was lively and after a few moments of awkwardly bouncing, she got into the music. It was probably due to the drink she had been sipping on throughout the evening; alcoholic drinks being such a rare occurrence had made Haruhi into a lightweight.
"Haru-chan, I'm going to see if anyone else wants to dance!"
"Okay, I'm going to get another drink; I'm all out of mine." She pointed towards the large bar before heading off in that direction.
"Excuse me, could I get a mimosa, please?" The barkeep nodded his head in acknowledgement as she sat down at the busy bar. Leaning over, she dug through the small over-the-shoulder bag she had brought along, looking for cash. She did bring some extra money with, right? She groaned in frustration.
"I'll pay for the lady's drink."
"Oh no, that's okay, sir! I'm sure I have some money in my bag!"
"It's quite alright, Miss. It's no bother, I assure you," the silky smooth voice responded. He was dressed casually, in a simple button up shirt and some slacks; and his hair was combed to look slightly tousled.
•—•—•
Across the room, Mori watched Haruhi approach the bar. His cousin and had reappeared, reporting on Haruhi's well being. He frowned as his cousin continued talking; a man had come a little too close to his Haruhi for comfort. Wait... when had she become his Haruhi? He was sure she wouldn't approve of such a thing and made a mental note to stop. Mori shook his, clearing his mind. The man was now leaning over her drink, what could he be doing? They were having a conversation, Mori could tell. The strange man now had his arm draped around Haruhi, keeping her close.
"Takashi, Takashi are you listening? She sounded really worried about you earlier; maybe we should all go out to lunch. I could even invite Reiko-chan!" Hunny looked at his friend, realizing he wasn't paying any attention. How odd... He followed the others line of sight, tracing it back to the bar. His mouth formed a small 'o' shape.
"Takashi," he pushed his cousin lightly. "Go talk to her!" The tall man simply nodded his head and began walking towards Haruhi.
•—•—•
Haruhi sipped her quickly dwindling drink again as she leaned on the man for support. What was his name? Hosokawa-san, was it? She couldn't remember, but I didn't matter much, he was being rather nice and her head felt a little funny. He had wrapped his long, muscular arm around her, almost protectively. Or possessively. It was a fleeting thought and Haruhi brushed it away immediately but still, he did have a rather tight grip on her should. He ordered her another, stronger drink before speaking up again.
"So, Haruhi was it?" Hosokawa started just as a tall man walked up behind them. He put a hand on the girl's other shoulder, and she looked up at him.
"Oh, Mori-senpai, hi," she slurred slightly. Her mouth felt like it was filled with stuffing. This man, Mori, sat down on the stool next to her.
"Well." Well? Was that all this idiot had to say? Hosokawa nuzzled his nose into Haruhi's neck, making it clear to the other man that the girl was busy. Instead of taking the hint, the man simply ordered a glass of water.
"Haruhi, drink, you're drunk." He slid the glass towards her, leaving a water streak on the counter.
"Nah, I'm good. I need to pee, though." Her bag was starting to feel extremely heavy over her shoulder, so she plopped it on the counter as she stood up.
"I'm going to go to the bathroom, 'kay?" She looked at the strange man, as if asking permission. Mori suppressed a sigh, wishing she had looked at him. He watched her stumble towards a restroom, worry evident on his face. Why did he care so much who Haruhi gave googly eyes to, anyway? It's not like he like her or anything, right? Right? Hosokawa sighed into his drink, realizing this was a lost cause, at least while her friend was here. He guessed he'd just have to give her a reason to call.
•—•—•
Haruhi leaned on the marble counter in the bathroom and splashed some cold water in her face. She was starting to get very dizzy, and the loud music mixed with strobe lights wasn't helping the situation. Her phone had buzzed moments before, with a message from Hosokawa-san. He'd placed his number into her small contacts list and promptly made sure he got her number. The message said was that he had to go, and he'd taken her bag with to make sure no one stole it. She guessed she would just pick it up tomorrow. No matter, Haruhi was much too tired to think about it past that.
She pushed open the door, making a failed attempt to steady her wobbly footing. Suddenly, the floor underneath her felt like it was being pulled up; when in reality she had simply fallen. The last thing Haruhi had remembered that night was the pounding feeling in her head and the shrill scream of Tamaki.
Within seconds of Haruhi's collapse, Mori was by her side; the other hosts quickly following suit. He leaned down, preparing to lift up the tiny woman, but was pushed aside forcefully by Hikaru.
"Haruhi? Haruhi, wake up! What happened, Haruhi?" The twin shook her in a feeble attempt to wake up the girl during his panic.
"Kyoya-senpai, do something! Call a doctor or an ambulance or something! She's out cold!" Kaoru grabbed Hikaru's shoulder, yanking him back semi-forcefully.
"Calm down! You're attracting attention to us; remember to do the breathing exercises Haruhi taught you. Breathe in for seven seconds, out eleven, okay? In seven, out eleven. You know how little she can drink; she's only passed out from the alcohol." Kaoru spoke calmly to his twin, attempting to tune out the loud wailing from Tamaki and Hunny-senpai.
In truth, he was very worried. He knew she was feeling slightly sickly from her nonstop studying, often forgetting to eat if someone wasn't there to remind her. That and the man she was with at the bar. Kaoru couldn't quite put his finger on it, but the man looked familiar, though he'd barely caught a glimpse of his face. Even so, it left a gut-wrench to be felt.
"I've called a car out front," the cool man of the group spoke up.
"Mori-senpai, please carry Haruhi out front for us."
"Hn." His face remained impassive, though his chest tightened at the thought of such close proximity to her. Mori held her bridal style, carrying her out of the sweaty club and into the brisk air of the winter night.
•—•—•
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU LET A STRANGER HANG ALL OVER MY DAUGHTER?!" Tamaki shouted at Mori, who had just finished telling everyone what had happened at the bar, in minimal words. The frenetic blond began pacing the sizable hospital room, one he had insisted on with a television and a large window, claiming his little girl couldn't stay in the same room as other E.R patients.
"Kyoya, when is that doctor coming back? I need to know what happened!"
"She'll be back when the tests are completed, and stop pacing, you're just making everyone else more anxious." Tamaki stopped pacing, only to begin tapping his foot with fervor. It was the wee hours of the morning and everyone felt on edge and very tired.
It felt like forever before the doctor walked in, brandishing her clipboard.
"Alright, gentlemen, I have good news and bad news. What do you want to hear first?
"Good news, of course!" Hikaru felt like he was going to burst, he needed to know she was okay.
"The good news is that all it is a bit of alcohol poisoning and if she drinks plenty of fluids, she's be okay in a few days. The bad news, however, is that someone slipped something into her drink." The doctor paused, allowing the information to sink in.
"I sincerely hope none of you did it, and that you keep a watchful eye on her. She also sustained quite the heavy blow to her head when she fell and I've prescribed some painkillers to help out until she's healed. They have some heavy side effects so someone should stay with her for a few days, until she adjusts to them. We can discharge her as soon as she wakes up.
•—•—•
Haruhi had woken and was collecting her things within the hour. The twins had followed her into the changing area, explaining to her what the doctor had said to them. They left out the part about her drink being drugged, however, that was something the group decided she didn't need to worry about. They would investigate on her behalf. Mori sighed, wishing he could be close enough with her to talk to easily like the twins did. He knew he could be as close to Haruhi as the twins were, their bond was on a completely different level. They had been known to sleep in the same bed on occasion, often on trips with the club, much to their old king's dismay.
"Well, that leaves only one more issue to be dealt with, who will be assisting Haruhi while she is taking her medication?" Kyoya, sensing Tamaki's outburst, spoke up again.
"I don't have time to do it, nor does this bumbling idiot, no matter how much he wishes he did."
"I think Haru-chan was going to go to Rome with Hika-chan and Kao-chan. They wanted her to model while they helped their mom, but she still seemed pretty excited about it. I can't help either, Reiko-chan and I already planned to go go Paris"
"Well then, that leaves you, Mori-senpai."
His heart pounded when Kyoya spoke those few words. He couldn't take care of her, could he? Especially not with how he'd been feeling towards her lately, did that mean he admitted to feeling something for her? He shook his head.
"Ah, okay." He supposed he didn't have a proper reason to say no.
"Then it's settled! Takashi will be taking care of Haru-chan!"
•—•—•
A/N: Hi guys! I'm back with a new fic and I've decided to do a MorixHaruhi this time! I noticed some indentation issues in Crumbled Memories so if that happens again/anyone knows how to fix it please PM me! I appreciate all messages and reviews I get, so please read and review! I'm also going to try and update once a week so I'll try and keep it regular.