Hello. Here's a cute little oneshot featuring Mori and Haruhi. This can be seen as happening prior to my story, "Wisps of Oblivion," if you want it to. Please enjoy.

The Right Season

The host club banquet was going well, but Mori sensed that something was off.

He turned in his seat and scanned the spacious room, but he didn't see her anywhere.

Taking notice of this, Honey looked up from his piece of lemon meringue pie and said, "Takashi."

Mori looked back at Honey, who pointed his finger toward the door. Mori gave his cousin a nod and then got up from the table, walking toward the exit.

The night was cool, and the sky was clear.

He spotted her sitting alone on a bench, hands folded in her lap as she stared up at the sky.

He considered turning back and letting her have her time alone, but before he could decide, she looked over at him.

"Mori-senpai, would you like to sit with me?" she called to him.

He responded by crossing the distance to the bench, and she smiled softly up at him.

As he was beginning to sit, she exclaimed, "Oh, wait! I forgot that the bench is wet!"

He shrugged and sat anyways.

After the worry of him getting his suit wet like she had already done subsided, she looked back up at the sky, and he looked also.

The moon was bright and nearly full, casting light on the dew-covered world and making it quietly sparkle.

"I can't see very many stars out here," she commented, "but I do like to look at the few I can see."

In his head, Mori began to count the stars that he could see, and he got to thirteen before she spoke again.

"Did you come out here to find me, Mori-senpai?"

Still staring into the night, she didn't expect him to answer, so she went on, "The banquet is very nice, but sometimes I like to get away from the noise. With so many people together all talking and laughing and many of them trying to get my attention, I get a little claustrophobic."

He listened intently as she admitted this, identifying with the feeling.

"Someone like Tamaki-senpai would probably find such stargazing to be romantic, but I just find it to be... peaceful. When I look up there, I feel like I can escape, you know?"

She looked over at Mori, and he nodded in agreement.

He looked down at her, clad in the three-piece suit that had been provided for her. She was peering at him curiously.

"Would you like to fall in love one day, Mori-senpai?" she asked innocently.

His gaze went back to the night sky as he thought about it for a moment.

"Yes," he answered.

He had not thought on the subject too deeply before, but he did think that falling in love with someone would be nice.

Haruhi leaned forward thoughtfully, placing her elbows on her knees and propping her head up with her hands.

"I honestly don't know if I would like to fall in love, Mori-senpai. I've never done it before, so how do I know if it's right for me or not?" she wondered. "If I did fall in love, I would definitely want it to happen after I'd finished my schooling and secured a steady job."

A small smile appeared on Mori's face. He found her honesty and idealistic thoughts interesting, to say the least.

Sitting up suddenly, she asked, "How would you like to fall in love, Mori-senpai?"

As she observed his face, he once again took the time to ponder his answer.

"With a friend," he answered. "With someone I'd known for a long time and had seen in all different types of situations."

"Ah, you would like a person who you'd had the time to observe?"

"I suppose. I would want to know a lot about her before making any decisions. I'd like it to happen gradually, over time, so that when the right time for us came, we'd both be sure that it was the right thing."

He realized with amusement after he spoke that his thoughts were just as idealistic as Haruhi's.

"When you put it like that, falling in love slowly sounds nice," she replied.

They settled into a silence, each thinking on the subject they had been discussing.

Mori tried to imagine what the type of person he would marry would be like. He could come up with nothing further than a few adjectives for her (intelligent, loyal, caring), but then he decided not to think on it further, not wanting to put his expectations in a box and limit his view.

After a while, Haruhi said wistfully, "I think I would like to go out to a very rural sort of area someday, somewhere far from the city, just so that I would be able to see the stars."

"I'll tell Tamaki," Mori offered, knowing that if the host club king got wind of Haruhi's desire to see the stars, he would make sure it happened in a hurry.

Haruhi chuckled. "No thank you, Mori-senpai. He'd probably turn it into some crazy host club camping trip, and then his loudness would override the peacefulness of the stars. I don't know if I could stand a camping trip with Tamaki-senpai. Plus, he'd probably whisk me away from doing something important at the first chance he got, even though it's not the season for doing such a thing. I can wait. It's no big deal."

"He means well."

"Oh, I know," Haruhi clarified. "It's just that sometimes I'm in the mood to tolerate his antics, and sometimes I'm not. I know he wants to do everything for me, and I guess I can appreciate that, but I don't need such excessive attention. But yes, he really does mean well."

Mori looked at her until she looked back at him, and then he said, "Someday when it's the right season, and when you're not busy, I will personally take you to go see the stars."

Haruhi's lips parted a little in wonder, as she was a little surprised at the offer.

"And I promise I'll try not to be loud," he added.

At this, Haruhi laughed quietly, and then she smiled contentedly up at him.

"I'd like that."

Well, there you have it. I like the idea of two hosts having a level-headed conversation about such things. They're so adorable.
Please review, if you could. Thanks so much.

-Skye