A/N: Well, here's my second Ouran fanfic! I hope I managed to keep the hosts in character. You know the way to tell me your opinion, don't you? ::unsubtle hint::
"Welcome."
The word was light as air and floated around them like a pleasant fog, soft and soothing as the rose petals littered decoratively all over the floor. It almost seemed to reflect their separate personalities, though all six mouths uttered the inviting intonation in the same way. They had learned to showcase differences, and yet they were all startlingly alike. The secretive, mischievous smiles on their faces emulated this similar contradiction best.
Brothers? The bond shared between these was even deeper, though they didn't know this yet.
They were dressed explosively, in suits of orange, yellow, or red. The others weren't sure what the head of the group – the tall blond – had in mind for their attire; perhaps it was meant to represent a sunset, or a sunrise? They had quickly learned not to question his peculiar ideas in the short time that they had been together. It would only lead to trouble, or sulking, neither of which were particularly appealing consequences.
Now, though, as they stood together in the centre of the room, they knew that trusting their leader had done them well. A large crowd of girls dressed alike in flowing yellow dresses squealed loudly and clung to each other in excitement. Several looked on the verge of swooning, and others were bouncing up and down, pink in the cheeks and eager-eyed. The boys glanced at each other – redhaired twins winked – and then grinned more largely, save for one, whose stoic expression never wavered. The girls shouted even louder, yelling names and exclamations of joy.
"Princesses," breathed the tall blond, breaking away from his group and sweeping forward gracefully. Only his violet eyes gave away the sheer happiness he felt from being lavished like this. "Don't worry yourselves. You'll all have a chance to spend time with your favourite host." He smiled broadly around at all the girls present, and several sighed in ecstasy. "Now, if you'll all talk to Kyoya, he'll set you up with –"
The stampede of girls rushed forward at once, all heading to a tall boy wearing glasses and holding a black book. The five others separated, allowing the girls to crowd around Kyoya Ootori and shout requests.
"Nice going, Boss," the twins chorused, identical smirks turning their lips upwards. The blond simply stared at the mass of bodies clustering around his best friend and made a noise of surprise.
"Tama-chan?" came a small voice, accompanied by a tugging at the blond's suit jacket. The voice belonged to a short, blond boy who was clutching a pink bunny rabbit in his other hand. He looked concerned, and he bit his lip as he continued. "Is Kyo-chan going to be all right?"
He received no response – the twins chuckled together, and the blond was too busy gaping at the scene before him to pay attention to any of his surroundings. Kyoya was hardly visible anymore amidst the legions of girls all trying to catch his eye. The smaller boy's lip began to quiver, and he gazed on with the curious look of someone who is about to cry. His pink bunny was now firmly pressed against his chest; he was holding onto it as if it were a lifejacket that would save him from drowning in troubled waters.
Suddenly, a large hand touched the small boy's shoulder, and the straight-faced, silent boy from earlier was at his friend's side.
"Mitsukuni," he began, his voice deep and comforting. "Don't worry."
The little boy smiled a radiant smile and hugged his tall confidant. "Thanks, Takashi!" he exclaimed, now in good humour. The two stayed close, watching the scene worsen as the girls pressed themselves in closer.
The blond was still dumbstruck, watching with eyes wide. He wasn't at all sure what he should do, or if he could even do anything. Kyoya was somewhere between these screeching girls, and if he couldn't see the buried boy, he was unable to help him.
"Come on, Tamaki-senpai," said one of the twins, appearing at the blond's right shoulder and speaking into his ear. "You should have known better than to try out your new idea without running it by Kyoya-senpai first."
"Yeah, Boss," said the other, taking his place at the blond's left, "even you're normally not this stupid."
"This is all your fault," they chorused, and grinned mischievously at each other over the blond's head.
Tamaki Suoh made another helpless, shocked noise at the back of his throat at this revelation. He reached an arm out towards the huddled mass and put the other hand over his heart.
"Don't worry, Kyoya!" he shouted, taking a step forward with his arm still raised majestically. "I'll save you!"
"That's enough," came a calm voice, only just loud enough to be heard over the ruckus, and the din abruptly quieted, sudden silence taking over the third music room. The sea of yellow parted, and an only slightly ruffled Kyoya reappeared, holding his black book open with one arm and clicking a pen with the other.
"Kyoya! You're alive!" Tamaki exclaimed, flinging his arms open wide as if he was expecting Kyoya to come rushing into them for a hug. The dark-haired boy shook his head exasperatedly and pushed his glasses up his nose with one finger.
"Now, if you lovely ladies would be so kind as to form orderly lines for me, by host," he asked, and, eager to do as he wished, the girls split themselves into five lines – four each for the four boys and one for both twins. The dark-haired boy's face showed only a hint of smugness as his plan executed itself within five minutes. Tamaki was turning redder as the seconds went by.
"Thank you, ladies," Kyoya smiled politely at the neat and organized lines before him. "If we continue working this way, you'll be with your favourite hosts in no time at all."
At this, the girls squealed eagerly, beaming at each other and at the other hosts. They had become so used to this in the past few months, yet the novelty of the idea was still enough to spark adrenalin in their veins. This Host Club, as it was so aptly named, had no reservations, and hosted all personalities with equal kindness. Though they may have been biased towards the world around them, within the confines of Ouran High School, all were equal.
"First, for Suoh Tamaki –"
The screams erupted again, and Tamaki smiled widely, taking a small bow.
"The first three in line may proceed to one part of the room with Tamaki; the same also applies to each of the other hosts and their guests. When the allotted time has run out, another three may join their respective hosts." Kyoya nodded once, acknowledging that now, the madness could begin again.
Shouts and squeals were heard again, echoing back to them off the walls of the room, and then all was calm once more, simplicity at its finest. These were just hosts, romancing their guests with a practiced technique.
"You are the star in my dark sky, my love. You shine so brilliantly that I could never stand to lose you."
"Oh, Tamaki-sama!" a girl breathed, clutching him closer. "Do you really mean that?"
"Of course," he whispered, cupping her cheek and resting his forehead against hers. "I could never lie to you."
"Oh!" sighed the two others in unison, and quickly, one exclaimed, "Me next!"
Tamaki turned to the others and smiled graciously at them – a smile that made it evident why he, out of all of them, had been the one to initiate the Host Club.
"You are all absolutely wonderful, princesses," he asserted, waving his arm in a sweeping, graceful gesture. "I cannot imagine spending one day without you by my side."
"Time's up, senpai," snickered one of the twins, walking by Tamaki's sofa to greet his newest guests.
"Hikaruuuu!" Tamaki glared, placing his hands on his hips and a pout on his lips. "You've interrupted the king of the Host Club! Apologize at once!"
"Maybe I would have before," the twin began, grinning maliciously, "but since you've confused me for my brother again, I think you should be apologizing to us."
Tamaki groaned and put his head in his hands, muttering something about 'devil twins,' while the three girls around him patted his back comfortingly and assured him they would be back the next day. The next three waited impatiently, cooing over 'how handsome he looks when he's upset'.
Meanwhile, the twin that had teased Tamaki made his way back to his brother with three new girls of their own in tow, chuckling to himself all the way. When he reached the other redheaded boy, who reclined easily in a single armchair as he waited, the mischief-maker winked.
"I got him again," he snorted, dropping unceremoniously into the armchair beside his sibling while his female companions eagerly made themselves comfortable on the sofa opposite them. "He thinks I'm you, now. Watch out, though, he might hold a grudge this time."
The other twin groaned and straightened in his chair, arranging his features to seem dejected and disappointed.
"Hikaru, why must you always put me in these situations?" he sighed, consciously aware of the intent stares of their guests focused on his face. "You never fail to get me into trouble."
His brother was at his side in an instant, cradling his face in his hands lovingly and protectively. Sometimes, I wonder how much of this is an act.
"I'm sorry, Kaoru," he murmured, resting his forehead against his brother's. His voice was intense and low, but loud enough to carry over to their audience. "I promise you to be more careful. I don't mean to hurt you."
"Hikaru…"
The breathy sigh sent the girls into hysterics, and they flushed in excitement and clung to each other as they squealed things like 'never seen brotherly love like that before!' and 'oh, forbidden love! How romantic!'
"Success," Hikaru whispered in Kaoru's ear, and Kaoru's lips turned up into a quick, satisfied smirk. They had done it again.
"Takashi, look!" beamed the little host, pointing at the brothers, still locked in their embrace. "Hika-chan and Kao-chan have done it again!"
The tall boy that he had called Takashi merely grunted in response, and with a nod at his small compatriot, took him in his arms and hoisted him onto his shoulders. In this manner they walked over to their own guests, who broke into exclamations as soon as they caught sight of the lolita.
"Hello, Honey-senpai!" one squealed, reaching her arms out to him. "How are you today?"
"Mori-senpai, you must be so tired from walking all around school today! Come sit with me!"
The two moved together, and little Honey jumped from Mori's back with the staggering joyfulness of a young child. In one hand, he still held his stuffed rabbit – he waved excitedly with it as he bounded over to the girls. The silent Mori followed more sedately, reaching the girls just as Honey began to speak.
"Hi, ladies!" he beamed innocently, and his childish beauty made it very hard to believe that he was eighteen and in third year. "I'm great, and I hope you all are too! And if you aren't, then I have a surprise for you that's going to make your day!" He clapped his hands together animatedly and grinned. "Guess what it is!"
Though they all knew what it would be, the girls stuttered and stammered and made false guesses, all in the name of keeping their precious Honey entertained. The small boy laughed at every error, and kindly urged his guests to try again.
Finally, Honey laughed loudly and shook his head vigourously.
"No, sillies! It's –"
"Cake," Mori finished simply, rolling over a tray filled with different assortments of the dessert. He had slipped away during Honey's guessing game in order to bring these fineries over.
"Right, Takashi!" exclaimed Honey, and flew into his cousin's arms, hugging him tightly. The girls cooed over them, clapping in excitement. When Honey turned back to his guests, it was with bright, eager eyes. "We have five different kinds – chocolate, cheesecake, strawberry, carrot cake, and vanilla! Want some?" The girls fell over themselves as they tried to be the first to be served a piece from Honey and Mori. Even Mori's normally more introverted guests were smiling happily at the chance of being offered some pastries from their favourite host.
"Unnecessary expenses," sighed Kyoya exasperatedly, opening his black book once more and absent-mindedly tabulating the cost of Honey's demand that five different gourmet cakes be made especially for this occasion. He wrote the cost down in the book and resolved to hold another auction soon to pay off the price of the cakes. When he closed his notebook, he met the eyes of three young girls trying their best to be serious and mindful of his needs.
These are important young women. "I'm terribly sorry for keeping you waiting for me, ladies," he smiled politely, and tucked away his black book for later.
"Oh, don't worry about us, Kyoya-kun," beamed one, touching his hand reassuringly. "We know club duties must be pretty daunting, especially since you're vice president, aren't you?"
"Yes, in fact," he replied, and then tilted his head slightly to the side to give him a desired effect. "But that doesn't excuse me from not paying attention to you beautiful young women. I am so lucky as to have you request my presence and I so callously attend to the business of others –"
"Kyoya-senpai, you're too kind!" exclaimed another, placing a hand over her heart and sighing in pleasure. "You care so much about everyone, how could we ever condemn you for that?"
"We're so lucky to have you accept to have us as guests!" said the third, beaming joyfully at the Shadow King of the Host Club.
The latter pushed his glasses up his nose with a finger and smiled his sly smile, sending the hearts of several of the girls around them fluttering.
"I will always be the fortunate one if you ladies continue to want someone like me," he said, and his eyes glinted from behind his spectacles.
Tamaki shook his head as he watched the proceedings from behind a nearby armchair, and sighed.
"Oh, Kyoya, mon ami," he rolled his eyes. "Affection is more than a simple show."
And so the afternoon wore on as the six gracious hosts continued to entertain their guests in every means possible, often resulting in otaku-like squeals and loving sighs. These boys were used to the affection by now, though – they accepted it and relished it, though they never took it for granted. Their bond was fragile still – only with time would it strengthen.
In time, all of these boys would come to be afflicted with this disease called family, and no matter what trials, tribulations, sulks, rages, pranks, stomachaches, headaches, and distressing situations were to come, they would always lean on each other for support.
"YOU MISCREANT TWINS! GET BACK HERE RIGHT THIS INSTANT!"
They just didn't know it yet.