They were playing hide and seek, at Tamaki's insistence. They didn't have the Host Club today, but he still wanted them to gather, so they could play this game. Haruhi, at first, wasn't too happy about it; as this was one of the few days she had time off from the Host Club, she wanted to spend it doing something else. But then, Mori helped her see otherwise, explaining how easy it would be to hide off by themselves.

They all drew straws (a concept Haruhi had to explain) to see who had to count first; Kaoru drew the longest straw. At first, Haruhi wasn't sure what would happen; would the twins refuse to be separated? Luckily, both Kaoru and Hikaru were just fine with the idea of going different ways this time.

Before Kaoru had even begun to count, another problem arose; Tamaki had grabbed hold of Haruhi and declared that the two of them would be hiding together. She glanced at Mori quickly, then up at Tamaki, unsure of how to handle this. She couldn't say she wanted to hide with Mori; that would make the rest of the club suspicious, and they'd been trying to keep their relationship a secret.

But then, Honey had come to her rescue, saying that Haruhi had promised to hide with him and Mori. Tamaki had appeared disappointed, but only for a second, before he caught sight of Kyouya, and proclaimed that "mother" would be his new hiding partner.

Haruhi whispered a soft, "thank you" to Honey as the three of them ran a separate direction. Honey was the only one who knew of the secret relationship between Mori and Haruhi, as Mori told Honey everything.

Mori and Haruhi left Honey at one point, and lightly jogged through the garden to find the perfect place to hide; a place where they could see Kaoru before he could see them, and one far enough away to give them some alone time.

In one of the far corners of the garden, they found the perfect place. It seemed the gardeners hadn't been to this part of the garden in quite a while, for the bushes were high and growing wild, and there was an old willow tree. Due to some force of nature or another, the tree had bent over so that the branches hung down mostly on one side, creating almost a curtain, one they couldn't see through.

Mori held the branches aside for Haruhi as she went inside the canopy the leaves had created. Once in, she found that there was a decent amount of space; there was enough room for Mori to stand, and a bit of room to walk around in.

He didn't stand, though. Instead, Mori settled himself on the ground, his back leaning against the trunk of the tree. He was watching her, as usual; he always watched silently from the background. He took in so much information, just sitting and watching. Haruhi felt that, sometimes, when he stared, he could see right through her, see everything she felt and everything she ever wanted. It didn't bother her too much, though; most of the time, she found his gaze comforting, almost as his way of assuring he was there.

She could tell by his stare that he didn't want to sit alone, and so she obliged, seating herself next to him, facing him.

"Do you think they'll find us soon?" Haruhi asked softly.

Mori shook his head. "No." He put his hand on hers, and she smiled. He loved holding her hand; it was, perhaps, the only bit of contact he could have with her (as long as it was done sparingly) when the others were around without risking any suspicion from them. He smiled in return. "This is where Honey and I would hide."

Haruhi understood. All those other times they played hide and seek, Honey and Mori could never be found. They only appeared when everyone would give up looking for them, and shout that the game was over.

She smiled again, and gave him a soft kiss. He pulled her into his lap, as he always did when they were alone. Haruhi didn't mind; for some reason, Mori just loved to have her in his lap with an arm around her, holding her close. She nestled closer, letting her head rest under his neck.

"When," Mori said slowly, "do you think we'll let the others know?"

She bit her lip, thinking. The longer they waited to tell the rest of the group, the worse it would be. She was scared, a little, of their reactions; mainly just Tamaki's and the twins. They were constantly flirting in their own weird way, and she couldn't tell if it was for real, or if they were just teasing her.

"Soon," Haruhi replied.

His hand had found hers once more, but instead of holding it, he was playing with her fingers, exploring. She let him, smiling a little. It was almost adorable, what he was doing.

Mori shifted a bit, and Haruhi looked up at him. He was staring upward, at the leaves above them.

"What is it?"

"…It's pretty."

She smiled again. This was why she liked Mori; or at least, one of the reasons. He noticed things that the others overlooked; they were too caught up in their lives filled with artificial glamour and beauty to notice anything else.

Haruhi looked up as well; Mori was right, it was pretty, the way the sunlight shone through the leaves. She kissed his cheek and closed her eyes, resting her head once more against his shoulder. Everything was so wonderful, right here, right now.

Everyone had been found- everyone, that is, but Mori and Haruhi. Tamaki was surprised when they found Honey alone (Tamaki and Kyouya had hid together, at Tamaki's insistence); after all, Honey had wanted Haruhi to hide with him in the first place. But then Honey explained that Haruhi had found a hiding place she liked better than the one that Honey wanted to hide in, and he'd asked Mori to hide with her, in case she got scared from being alone. But, he wasn't sure where they were hiding, he said, so he was of no help in Tamaki's search.

Everyone else had given up, and were relaxing in the center of the gardens. But not Tamaki. He needed to find Haruhi; it made him uncomfortable that she was alone with another. True, it was only Mori, and one of the two members of the club that he knew he shouldn't worry about, but he couldn't help it. Mori was much stronger than Haruhi, and if he wanted something from her, he could easily take it from her.

Tamaki shook his head. He shouldn't be thinking like that. This was Mori he was thinking about; the senior lived to serve Honey. He would never ever risk doing something that would jeopardize his relationship with Honey.

Tamaki was now in a part of the gardens he'd never ventured to. The gardens were very big, and he usually stayed on one side, or in the center where there was a small, but very lovely, fountain. There had never been a reason to venture to this corner of the gardens, where it seemed that even the gardeners didn't go.

"Haruhi!" he called, wandering around, keeping an eye out for any sort of movement. "Haruhi!"

Then he spotted an old willow tree, and instantly recognized it as the perfect hiding spot. He approached it, still calling her name.

"Haruhi! Haruhi!" He pulled the branches, and his eyes widened. "Haru…hi?"

I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Please leave constructive criticisms.