Disclaimer: Ouran Is Bisco Hatori's, not mine :weeps:
So, before you go getting any ideas about how this goes against canon, please bear in mind that this is based in the anime-verse X3 I wrote this for lovinjerryt's birthday last week. There are things I don't like about this (a lot of things, actually), but I wrote this as a gift so please be gentle with me? :pleading eyes:
"So, what are you getting tono for his birthday?"
The sound of Hikaru's voice cut into the quiet concentration that Haruhi was immersed in, and slowly she dragged herself out and looked up from her paper at him. There was a test at the end of the week and she wanted to brush up on her History as well as she could before then. Nakahara-sensei had allowed them fifteen minutes of study time, and she was determined to utilize it. Hikaru and Kaoru, however, seemed to have other plans for her time.
"What?" Haruhi shook herself back into the real world and away from the Endo period.
"I said, what are you getting tono for his birthday?" Hikaru repeated, fixing her with his penetrating golden eyes and waiting intently for an answer.
"I don't know," Haruhi answered him truthfully with a small shrug. "I didn't even know his birthday was coming up."
"It's on the 8th… tomorrow," Kaoru told her. He was staring pensively off into space, and he turned his head to face Haruhi, his eyes softening slightly. "Hikaru and I are getting him a bunch of stuff from one of those commoner gift shops that we thought he might like. So… what are you going to get him?"
"I don't really have any ideas," Haruhi scratched her head slightly.
"He's hard to shop for," Hikaru let out a loud puff of air. "What are you supposed to get the guy? He already has everything. We go through this every year. We didn't really know about his weird obsession with commoner stuff last year, so it was even harder then."
"Yeah, but this year shouldn't be much of a problem, right?" Kaoru smiled, twirling his pen around his fingertips. "Especially not for you, Haruhi. He'll like anything that you get him."
"What do you mean?" Haruhi cocked her head slightly, and the twins exchanged an exasperated glance on either side of her.
"You're hopeless, Fujioka," Hikaru said with a soft sigh, shaking his head at her. Kaoru nodded. Haruhi was completely at a loss, and she shrugged.
"I really don't see how that makes me hopeless."
"Then you have a lot to learn about tono, apparently," the twins chorused together, each closing an arm around her from their own respective side.
XXX
"I wonder if Tamaki-senpai would like a bento box?" Haruhi asked aloud, turning the blue plastic object over in her hands. "He seemed to like the idea of sharing mine before." she stared at the low price on the sticker as though it was mocking her. "But it's not very expensive… definitely not what he's used to."
"It wasn't about the bento!" came an excited voice to Haruhi's left, and she screamed and dropped the bento box with a clatter onto the floor. She slowly turned her head to see Hunny directly in her face, supported by Mori's strong frame. "It was about you, Haru-chan!"
"What?" still recovering from the shock of their sudden appearance, Haruhi brushed her hair back. Today had already been a rather trying day, and having members of the Host Club tagging along while she was shopping sounded more exhausting than she could deal with at the moment.
"Tama-chan wanted to eat the bento because it was made by you, Haru-chan!" Hunny explained sagely to her, smiling widely and climbing further up Mori, who nodded in agreement and made a small sound of assent.
"Why? Because I'm a commoner? Is that it?" Haruhi asked, confused, and Hunny and Mori both shook their heads, their expressions bordering on frustration. "And what are you two doing here? Isn't this a 'commoner's' supermarket?"
"Takashi and I wanted to get some of the cakes you brought last week!" Hunny explained, jumping down from Mori's shoulders and standing before her. "They were yummy."
"Oh. Well, I'm glad you liked them, then. I think they're over in the 4th aisle," Haruhi offered helpfully, pointing vaguely in the direction of the cakes. "If that helps at all."
"Thank you," Mori told her, his rather stern face breaking into a smile and changing the effect completely. As the two of them turned away, Haruhi grabbed Hunny's arm quickly, making a last-ditch effort to get help.
"Wait! Hunny-senpai, what did you two get Tamaki-senpai for his birthday?" Haruhi asked.
"That's easy!" Hunny exclaimed, smiling. "We got him a really nice cake stand so he can serve fancy cake to all of his friends!"
"Really?" Haruhi asked, blinking.
"I believe the standard is 'buy someone what you would want from them'," Mori explained, and Haruhi stared at him, baffled.
"Just buy Tama-chan what you would want him to buy for you!" Hunny elaborated with a rather hinting smile. "And he'll be happy!"
"But I wouldn't want him to buy me anything," Haruhi called after the small senior as he and Mori walked toward the cakes, hand in hand and Hunny skipping slightly like a child.
"It's not so much about the buying as it is about the feeling behind it," said a dark voice from the end of the aisle, and Haruhi sighed heavily.
"Why did you all follow me here?" she asked, rubbing her temples as she caught sight of Kyouya, Hikaru, and Kaoru hovering around the boxes of cereal, the latter two looking rather devious. All she wanted was to find Tamaki a present and get home to make dinner, and she knew from experience that the boys only complicated things.
"Don't flatter yourself," Hikaru said, his eyes glittering mischievously as he and his brother came up to Haruhi on either side.
"Yeah, we're here with Hunny-senpai and Mori-senpai," Kaoru agreed. "Don't worry, we're not stalking you or anything."
"Good to know…" Haruhi sighed and did her best to wiggle out of the double embrace she was currently trapped in. "Can you guys get off me? I'm trying to get some shopping done."
Hikaru's eyes flicked toward the empty shopping basket in her hand. "Not going so well, I see. Still hung up on trying to find a present for tono?"
"He's just… I have no idea what to get him, that's all. And what did you mean before, Kyouya-senpai? You mean like 'it's the thought that counts'? Because I think it would be kind of cheesy to get him Popsicles or something like--"
"No. I meant that you should do something for him that you would want him to do for you," the dark haired boy explained, fixing her with a rather stern stare from the distance between them. "Especially since it's you, you don't need to worry about spending money on him. I'm sure a simple display of emotion would suffice."
"I don't follow…"
"My God Haruhi, you are so clueless," Kaoru said, sighing loudly and shaking his head. "I didn't think any of us would have to tell you this, but… tono has a huge crush on you, you know?"
"I didn't…" Haruhi allowed herself to trail off. Even with the three other hosts staring at her, she could not hide the fact that her face flushed a brilliant shade of red before she regained her composure. She was frozen in place with surprise, and she smiled slightly, secretly pleased at the revelation. Relieved, something seemed to click inside of her head as though it has been obvious all along. It seemed all too clear to her now what she needed to do, and she grinned at the others, dropping her basket.
"I… have to go now! I think I figured out exactly what to get him," she turned on her heels, and then paused for a moment. "Um… thanks, you guys."
"Just go do it already!" the twins shouted after her retreating back, at which she laughed and walked on, spurred by the butterflies that had suddenly taken up residence in her stomach. She had a lot of planning to do before the following afternoon
XXX
The interior of music room three was much quieter than Haruhi was used to, and she fidgeted slightly as she sat on the soft velvet sofa closest to the window. School was out, but as it was Tamaki's birthday, Host Club duties had been held in the morning rather than after school so he would have free time to celebrate. At the moment, she had the room completely to herself, and it was doing little to help her nervousness. She smoothed invisible wrinkles from her pants and blazer and drummed her knuckles on her knees, eyes flicking to the clock every few seconds.
"He's late…" she muttered aloud. "I wonder if he's coming. Maybe this was a bad idea…" she fiddled with the small wrapped present in her lap, picking at the violent purple wrapping paper and ribbon and chewing on her lip.
Seconds ticked by, and she swore they were years. In the stifling emptiness of the room, Haruhi could barely stand the sound of herself thinking. She shifted several times on the sofa and was almost ready to get up and pace around when the sound of the double doors opening made her jump and fly into an alert state of mind.
"Hello? Haruhi?" Tamaki poked his head into the room and glanced around, his eyes scanning the empty furniture for signs of life.
"Over here," Haruhi wiped her sweaty hands on her pants and waved slightly. She could have been imagining it, but his indigo eyes seemed to light up when he saw her. Suddenly, her nervousness nearly made her freeze. She had to wonder if Kaoru had even been telling the truth about Tamaki's feelings for her. If she ended up making a fool of herself, she would never live it down.
"Oh, Haruhi!" Tamaki strode quickly across the room to her, his long legs carrying him across the distance quickly. He was holding a small piece of folded paper in his hand which she recognized as the note she had slipped him discreetly during club duties that morning. "You said to meet you here after classes. Is there something you wanted to talk about?"
"Um…yeah. Actually, there is," trying to stop herself from shaking nervously, Haruhi patted the sofa cushion beside her. Tamaki sat down obediently, beaming brightly at her and adjusting his tie. "I wanted to give you this," she held the box out to him, and he took it reverently as though taking an ancient relic.
"Haruhi! You didn't have to get me anything!" pink dancing across his cheeks, Tamaki was obviously pleased. He took the bow delicately between his fingers and untied it with all the tenderness that one would use to touch a bird. He lifted the lid from the wrapped box, and inside, Haruhi could glimpse the single piece of paper she herself had placed there. She discreetly moved closer to him. The words, which read 'look at Haruhi', were written in her own careful hand, and when Tamaki read them and turned his head to face her, she clenched her fists and moved forward.
"Happy birthday, Tamaki-senpai," she said softly, pressing her lips to his.
For a moment, time seemed to stand still. In the pastel pink silence of the music room, there was only Tamaki and Haruhi and the shocking but pleasant fact that she was kissing him. Tamaki's eyes were wide open in shock, his face colored red with blush. Haruhi squeezed her eyes shut and hoped for the best, and when his hand came up to cup her cheek gently, she opened them again, dazed but pleased. Placing her hand lightly on his, she sat still for a moment and then slowly relaxed, leaning into the kiss.
Tamaki's response was immediate; he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, turning his body to face hers, and then finally kissed her back. Haruhi closed her eyes once more, her face heating up but her nervousness finally ebbing. The kiss was tender and innocent, and yet it made her heart race and her head swim in a way nothing ever had before. It had been different that time she had kissed Kanako… her mind had not been wiped completely clean of thought, her hands had not trembled, and her heart had not felt like it was bursting out through her throat.
"I… Ireallylikeyousenpai," she hadn't meant for it to come out, but it did in a soft whisper against his lips, and Tamaki froze for a moment.
"I like you too, Haruhi," Tamaki's voice was jumping all over the place with what sounded like elation, and he hugged her tightly against him and pressed his lips back to hers, excited and passionate but still as gentle as before. "I really, really do," his lips pulled her back down into that unfamiliar world where her thoughts were scrambled and her heart threatened to burst through her chest. Tamaki's arms were wrapped around her tightly, and his hands tangled themselves in her hair. Pressed warmly against him, Haruhi smiled, overwhelmed by the sense of contentment that seemed to fill her completely. She had not expected the warmth of his lips to affect her so much, and she was starry eyed in a way she had thought only happened in movies when he pulled back slightly, blushing and smiling.
"Thank you," Tamaki whispered, embracing her and resting his cheek on top of her head.
"Senpai?" Haruhi asked, waiting for him to elaborate as she allowed her cheek to rest against his chest, where she could hear the comforting and steady thud of his heart beat.
"That was the most wonderful present I could have asked for."