One day at lunch, the twins had successfully dragged Haruhi down to the cafeteria with them, despite her objections. She had her bento box, and Tamaki had been, on this day, at the front of the lunch line, so they sat down at a table, holding seats for the rest of the Host Club. As Hikaru and Kaoru turned the corner of the snaking line of hungry students, Tamaki waved to them to signal at which table they were sitting. Hikaru gave a half-hearted, almost mocking, salute, but Kaoru smiled and waved back cutely. The girls in line behind the twins squealed. Haruhi rolled her eyes.
"You and Kaoru get along really well, huh?" she noted, looking over at Tamaki. The corner of his mouth twitched a bit as he ate his lunch, but he swallowed his food nonchalantly and shrugged.
"Oh, do we?" It was a stupid response, and he knew it the second the question was out of his mouth. To cover it up, Tamaki ate faster.
"Well, just, better than you and Hikaru get along, and all," Haruhi said. "Really well, now that I think about it." Tamaki began to panic; this was, after all, the Haruhi who could instinctively tell the difference between the twins based solely on the intensity of their actions. "You don't yell as loudly at Kaoru as you do at Hikaru when they're being troublesome, and he isn't as cruel when he teases you. Almost like you have a stronger bond." Tamaki was not liking where this analysis was going. "Jeez, it sounds like I'm describing lovers instead of friends."
At the word 'lovers', Tamaki actually stopped chewing. He and Kaoru, lovers? For so long, he'd thought of Kaoru as his sweetheart, but his lover sounded so much better! What a perfect word to describe their relationship! He and Kaoru, lovers! Yes, it was perfect! What other word could capture so totally the devotion he felt to his adorable boyfriend? the fullness of his heart when he was near? the way his breath stopped just short when his lips touched those of his other half? Lovers! He and Kaoru, lovers! It was better than being called king!
A familiar glow encompassed Tamaki; the more he mulled it over, the more he liked it. His eyes sparkled, his little cup of joy overflowed. He and Kaoru, lovers! It was true! It was so true! A cry of joy escaped his lips at the realization, causing a few other students to turn and give the second year odd looks. In fact, much of the lunchroom was looking over at Tamaki, standing on his lunch table, sparkling with absolute glee.
Haruhi quietly picked up her bento box and moved to another table.