This was originally written for a contest on Deviantart, of all places. It took first place!
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The ice skating rink turned out to be a huge hit.
Hunny-Sempai, dressed in a puffy blue parka and an adorable knit cap with bunny ears, zoomed around and around the rink, his childlike hand clasped in Mori's huge one. The twins amused themselves by racing around the outer wall and sometimes, much to the entertainment of their customers, falling down in a very suggestive tangle of limbs. Even Kyouya was participating in the fun, his fans trailing along behind him as he smoothly cruised across the ice.
Tamaki, of course, was the center of the action. He'd taken on the role of the rink's skating instructor, and consequently was surrounded by a gaggle of giggling girls. From where she sat on the wall, Haruhi could clearly see the flamboyant gestures that probably meant he was handing out elegantly phrased but obvious advice. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes when he reached out and "corrected" the form of one of his swooning fangirls.
"Um…excuse me, Fujioka-kun, but why aren't you joining in?"
Haruhi blinked at the girl sitting beside her. She'd almost forgotten that she still had her own duties to her customers.
"Well," she replied carefully, "Even though the school has this indoor rink, it still feels wrong to be ice skating in June, you know? I've always thought skating was a treat for winter…"
The girls squealed over that one. Something about "his" honoring the seasons.
Haruhi sighed.
She had always thought of ice skating in conjunction with frozen ponds and woolen scarves and hot chocolate and the laughter of small children. Watching the Host Club conduct its business out on the rink, with everyone dressed in furs and expensive ski jackets, just seemed cold and fake. And the animals didn't help. To make the experience of a "winter paradise" more authentic, they'd brought in cold-weather animals and put them in cages all around the perimeter of the ice. Seals and penguins and polar bears…Haruhi shut her eyes. She had no idea where they had gotten it from, but the live walrus definitely had to go.
"Haruhi!'
She opened eyes to the sight of Tamaki's face six centimeters from her own.
"Haru-hiii," the blond boy wailed, "why aren't you skating? "I thought you said you loved skating!"
"Of course I like skating! It's just that I—" Haruhi's mind frantically scrambled to find an explanation that wouldn't send Tamaki to his corner of woe.
But that was as far as she got.
"Oh, I see, you're just too scared to go out on the ice alone! Fear not, child, for I shall be your shield and protector!" And with that, Tamaki grabbed her hand and pulled her out into the rink.
"S-sempai!" Haruhi protested, trying to shake herself loose. In response, there was only the tightening of Tamaki's gloved hand around her mitten.
As he enthusiastically whirled her around the rink, Haruhi suddenly found herself laughing.
Perhaps ice skating in June wasn't so bad after all.
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Hope you liked it! Comments and criticism are welcomed.