NOTE: THIS IS A DIFFERENT UNIVERSE THAN MY OTHER OURAN/NARUTO STORY, DUTY. DO NOT BE CONFUSED. CARRY ON.
There's a new girl at Ouran. A second year in Tamaki and Kyoya's class who transferred a couple weeks after Haruhi.
So why does this matter to Mitsukuni? Because she's special.
It's not like Haruhi, where the girl is exceptionally poor and is attending due to a scholarship. She's very well off and her family is somewhat renowned in the business world.
It's nothing spectacular like she's skipping a few grades and is younger than the typical second year. It's nothing silly like her being a super popular idol, either.
So why does he care?
Because she bakes like a fucking goddess.
—
He found out by accident. It was about a week after the girl transferred, and Tamaki was the one to invite her to the Host Club. Curious, she agreed to his invitation and visited. When he first saw her, he thought she was adorable (still thinks it, in fact). Her hair was a shiny dark color that shimmered with navy and purple highlights—he was surprised when he found out it was natural—and her eyes were mesmerizing. They were the typical opal color of the Hyuuga clan, the family famous for its martial arts and business management, but hers had a tint of lavender that made them look softer and warmer than her much more stoic family members.
And that blush—it shot an arrow to his heart.
When the club opened for business, it seemed like she was a little... perturbed by the over-affectionate words of her blond classmate and the amorous display by the twins, so she opted to spend her time with the less showy, "Cool" host Kyoya while he wasn't entertaining anyone. Business was a bit slow on his end, so Honey decided to observe the quiet duo at the other end of the room. They were exchanging reticent, pleasant conversations and settled into silence as she pulled out a book and the bespectacled boy continued recording club data on his clipboard.
He raised an eyebrow. Normally, you spent time with a host to be sweet-talked and swooned. She just wanted quiet company and a nice talk or two.
At the end of the day, when she bowed and offered a timid goodbye to everyone as she left, his first thought was 'She's so weird...'
And it piqued his interest.
Days later, she visited the Host Club again; this time, she requested Mori and him. Unlike her first visit, there were other girls that were accompanying the two. The group of girls consisted of a mix of third years that were in his classes and first years that thought he was adorable and a contrast to his silent, taller cousin—in other words, Hinata didn't really fit in with the others. While he was devouring his shortcake, the first years cooed at the icing that covered his cheek and the older girls did so as well, but with less zeal.
Hinata was the only one to actually do something about it.
He thought Mori was cleaning his face when he felt the cloth napkin against his cheek so when it left, he was prepared to give his usual response of a huge grin and cutesy thank you. But it was Hinata who knelt by his side with a napkin in her hand, with a smile sweet enough to rival his beloved desserts. Everyone was shocked. The bluenette hadn't talked at all during the session, so seeing her suddenly touching the host made them gape.
It was like she was snapped out of a trance; she jumped when she noticed the killing intent from his fans and her face flushed at his inquisitive stare. That's when he realized the girl was instinctively sweet.
As the day came to a close, she bowed and said goodbye again, and his response was the loudest of the group.
The next day, she was at the Host Club again. This time, she walked along with Tamaki and Kyoya to arrive about five or so minutes before opening time; he stared curiously at the latter, and he muttered that she insisted on coming along with them earlier (he did not miss his averted gaze or his hand pushing up his glasses to cover the faint blush). Everyone else noticed her unexpected visit and asked why she came by so soon.
She was blushing again as the spotlight was put on her, and she fumbled with something in her bag. When she pulled it out, his mouth watered.
It was cookies.
It was also the first time he heard her speak. "I-I w-w-wanted to t-thank you all... for being s-so k-kind when I-I first v-visited." She stuttered—it was so freakin' cute.
The twins and Haruhi were a bit confused by her offer, since she didn't request them, but Tamaki was joyous that he was receiving something from the shy girl (apparently, she rarely spent time with her other classmates, which prompted Tamaki to invite her in the first place) and Kyoya was smiling. It was a really small one, but it was there.
Honey was ecstatic.
He ran towards her with a flying hug and she didn't even falter when he finally wrapped his arms around her waist—must be the martial arts training shining through. He repeatedly thanked her for the cookies, even though he didn't even eat one yet, and she started giggling. He was in bliss.
She finally took out one cookie from the batch for him to try and he didn't think twice before inhaling the treat. And it was divine. They were peanut butter flavored—it wasn't his favorite type of cookie, not even in his top five of flavors, but that day he swore any cookie Hinata gave him was his absolute favorite.
The others noticed his happy expression and Kyoya was the second one to approach for a cookie, which shocked the others because there was no way The Shadow King would accept sweets from a girl. He pointed at the batch in her hands and she raised it for him to take one and pop one in his mouth. He looked pensive as he chewed on it, and pushed his glasses up after he finished.
"If I remember correctly from our previous conversations," Everyone rolled their eyes because they knew that Kyoya always remembers correctly. "You said you loved to bake, yes?" She nodded with a small smile, pleased that he recalled such a small detail.
"It seems your efforts are rather fruitful, Hinata-san." Honey, still embracing the younger girl, twitched when he heard that they were on first-name basis.
"A-Ah, t-t-thank you Kyoya-san." His grip tightened even more.
The interaction convinced everyone else to partake of the proffered cookies, and their positive feedback made Hinata blush out of happiness and embarrassment. She looked down slightly (there was only a three inch difference between the two, which the blond appreciated greatly) at Honey's inquiring gaze. She tilted her head sideways silently asking what he needed and the blond had to refrain from cooing at her cute action.
"Ne, ne Hinata-chan? Can you make me more treats, whenever you can?" She looked shocked that he asked before she offered him that same endearing smile.
"O-Okay."
—
Whenever Hinata comes to the Host Club, it's always to give Honey new baked goods. Sometimes it's cookies, sometimes it's a pastry, and one time it's a cake (when she found out about his birthday, she whipped up a strawberry shortcake that he ate all by himself—he wondered why he didn't marry her right then and there), but it's always sweet and delicious.
'Just like her.'
Their relationship extends beyond their love of sweets, or more accurately her love of making them and his love of eating them. Sometimes, she visits and they talk about anything and everything; her dreams to open a bakery despite her father's wishes, his wish to stay with his friends as much as possible even when he graduates, their slight distaste for violence, despite hailing from prominent martial arts families, and the desire to protect their friends.
He remembers one occasion where Hinata visited the group despite the fact she was ten minutes early (not that anyone minded presence of the kind girl); Hinata presented him the eclairs that she left in the club's small fridge ("We had a fridge?!) and they were talking again. Honey was tired that day from testing and the lilt of the second year's voice lulled him to sleep—he heard from Mori in his typical, terse manner that Hinata panicked a little when the senior plopped on her lap before calming down enough to run her fingers through his soft hair. The rest of the hosts were too afraid to warn Hinata that her life was in danger, and when the club opened for business, the guys advised everyone to avoid the couch Hinata and Honey were using (much to the fan-girls' dismay) and the pair was left alone for the rest of the afternoon.
That was the best nap of his life.
Today, Honey vows he will finally ask Hinata to be his girlfriend.
It's months after their initial meeting and months after Honey fell in love at first sight. He knows that she's attracted to him too, because after all, he's the only one who she can share her love of sweets and her deepest secrets and her most beautiful smiles and laughs.
And he's going to make sure that he is the only one who she can share these precious moments with.
It's another normal afternoon at the Host Club. He's savoring his third strawberry pastry and Hinata is reading another novel from the seat across from him, occasionally peeking over the pages to watch him eat with such a happy expression. Kyoya seems to pick up on his intentions to ask her out and makes arrangements for the two to be left alone, and Honey is grateful for the thoughtful boy's actions, even though he knows his feelings towards her as well. He'll make sure that he won't waste this opportunity.
Hinata places her book in her bag when he rests his fork on the small plate after he finishes, and Hinata grins before she starts their post-food ritual.
"Did you like it?"
"It was perfect!" No matter how many times he says it, it always causes her to blush (and yeah, Honey is damn proud of it).
"Thank you." She smiles demurely.
This time, Honey deviates from tradition and places his hand over hers on the table with a warm smile and an intent stare. "No, thank you." He sounds unusually serious this time—well, not really unusual, Hinata muses, since he is still an 18-year-old that's more mature than one would think—and the girl gives him her full attention.
"Hinata..." She flushes at the lack of honorifics and nicknames, and his tone is so loving that she can't help her heart from beating a mile a minute. "Because of you, I've never been more happy in my life than these moments with you.
"And it's not just your baking that makes me happy, even though it's a factor." The table's width is small enough to allow the third year to reach over and brush her hair behind her red ears (he never knew that the blush could span that far, and shakes off his other thought of where else that color could go). "It's your gentle nature, and your shyness, and your beautiful voice, and your soft hands, and that adorable blush, and the fact that you stutter less when you're comfortable with someone, even if that's cute too, and your fascinating hair that's really fun to run my fingers through, and your modesty, and how sweet you are.
"You make me so happy, it's no wonder that I fell in love with you." His confession stuns her, her eyes widening and her blush darkening even more than he thought possible. She's stuttering again, probably because she's so floored by his declaration, and he really has to strain his ears to finally hear what he's been waiting for.
"...y-you too. I-I-I l-love you too."
And he's so elated that he can't help himself from his whoop of pure joy, or his jump from his seat to lift the dainty Hyuuga, or even the kiss he plants on her cheek that's impossibly soft and as sweet as the cakes she bakes.
And she's so flushed and overwhelmed that she can't help herself from fainting.
Oh Lord, I had way too much fun writing this. Please don't ask for more. 'Cause then I won't be able to stop and I would leave Duty alone for so long that it would collect dust. And that would mean angry readers. I don't like angry readers.
I had no idea how much I loved HoneyxHinata (I dub thee MitsuHina! Oh, it's perfect~!) until I started writing. I wanted to put so much more scenes and cutesy fun times and gah, it's too much!
Andreaeb182 is the one who asked for me to write the MitsuHina and UmeNata one-shots, so go thank her (really, I've been dying to write them when I started chapter 9 of Duty and she gave me the chance to do so)! And sorry if you're actually a him, Andreaeb182, but in the FanFiction world, you're female until proven male. Or that's how I think of it. Ahem.
Well, I guess I'm doing the other one-shot tomorrow. Happy reading!
Spreading the love~
—The Doctor