Author's Note: Because this February is going to be a Leap Year, I thought of trying to publish something simple on the 29th of this month, so I could always look back and say "I posted a story on a date that only comes up every four years". I didn't know what to write until I remembered the anime "Ouran High School Host Club" (I had my doubts about the show until my older brother made me watch the first episode, and so, I became a fan) and how Mitsukuni AKA Honey was a 16 year old that looked like a grammar school kid who's birth landed on a Leap Year, and that's how I got this one-shot idea. Please let me know in your reviews if I used the Japanese terms properly (if you know them, that is), if this was good and for what reasons, and if there is anything that I can do to improve upon this tale. Please let me know, I appreciate critiques!

Edit Note: I realized that it would be impossible for Honey to have his 17th birthday to land on a Leap Year, so I decided to change it to 16 for story purposes. I'm adjusting Haruhi's age to fit with this as well.

Disclaimer: All Rights to Ouran High School Host Club Belongs to Funimantion and Bisco Hatori.

Haruhi Fujioka was someone that you would consider to be a pretty-looking teenager with the tendency to put you at ease from one conversation alone. From two conversations with the girl, one might decide that she was a hard worker, independent for her age, and a role model for many in Japan to live by. Intelligent enough to earn a scholarship to the Ouran Academy, one of the most prestigious (and expensive) schools in Japan.

And if you were lucky enough to have at least a third one with Fujioka, you could also say that you were lucky to be viewed as her friend. But by the time you get to a fourth conversation, which would also mean that you would meet her father, you would scratch your head over how a girl like her ended up with a father with...unusual fashion choices...at least until you realized that the father was fine once you were able to get past his appearance.

But you wouldn't be able have a fifth conversation without fearing that you might end up discovering another skeleton in Fujioka's closet, and that seemed to be something that the young teenager seemed grateful about before wishing you a nice day with a cheerful smile upon her face. Because she did have another skeleton lurking within the confines of her closet, so to say, and wouldn't want others to get the wrong idea.

But there was nothing wrong with dressing in a boy's uniform at all in Haruhi's mind. Personality should always be valued over gender in her opinion and besides, she was a bit of a tomboy herself. If that were the only issue with wearing the male uniform during all hours at Ouran, then that would be the end of the issue. But as to what her real problem was...that's another story for another time involving a Renaissance vase.

"Otosan! I'm heading out now. There's some leftover udon in the fridge in case you want something for lunch-" Haruhi was running late, struggling to adjust her tie with one hand while buttoning her jacket with the other.

"Haruhi, sweetheart, I'm not that helpless that I can't cook something by myself. It's not like I'm going to starve to death." Ryoji "Ranka" Fujioka sighed theatrically on his cushioned seat, scratching at his 5 o'clock shadow as he gazed at his daughter rushing out the door. "And put on a scarf for Kami's sake, it's February!"

"Not that cold out and I'm running late already." Haruhi was already halfway out the door when her father was suddenly by her side, latching onto her right arm.

"I'm your father and I say two seconds of at least grabbing a scarf from the closet won't make you any later." Ryoji teased with a cheeky grin as he pinched at his only child's cheek. Haruhi shook her head, struggling to hide the small smile that was curving her thin lips, and proceeded to rush back into the apartment and return five seconds later with a thin, gray scarf hanging loosely around her neck. Ryoji stopped Haruhi again in order to adjust her half-done tie and wrap her scarf securely around her neck before plopping a green hat with a fuzzball dangling from the top onto her head, still slightly damp from her recent shower.

"Otosan, I don't need the hat-" Haruhi began before the item in question was pulled over her eyes from her father's attempts at getting the hat over her ears.

"Better safe than sorry. Your mother would agree, you know." Ryoji smiled cheekily.

Haruhi nodded, her eyes rolling theatrically, the mention of her late mother in such a teasing tone brought up a fond memory of herself from the age of three being bundled up in warm clothes by her mother for the winter cold in the same manner that her father just did.

Ryoji planted a kiss on his Haurhi's forehead. "Have a great day at school, sweetheart."

"Alright, Otosan."

"And be sure not to overdo the studying; you're fourteen and need to have a little fun in your life. Those Hitachiin boys in your class mentioned wanting to hang out with you more."

"Yes, Ostosan." Haruhi smiled at the mention of Hikaru and Kaoru, the only other first years' aside from herself in their club. Because she spent the most time with them, Haruhi suspected that the twins viewed her as their best friend or something. Not that she wouldn't argue against that.

"And don't let that Suoh boy pull any moves on you like he did last time he was here!" Ryoji's voice became venomous now at the mention of Tamaki-sempai, fire appeared to be flickering within his pupils. Haruhi imagined sempai screaming with horror at the sight beheld before her. "And tell him that I swear to Kami that he won't be able to have children when I'm done with him if he doesn't leave you alone."

"DAD!" Haruhi became indignant on her sempai's behalf. "He slipped on a banana peel, it was an accident!"

"If that were true, then where did said banana even come from?"

"He's a lovable idiot, Dad, but Tamaki-sempai is more respectable than he appears."

"Oh, I know that sweetie, Daddy was just getting a little carried away is all." Ryoji's voice shifted from his light yet masculine tone to his more feminine "Ranka" voice. Haruhi theorized that her father always did that to put her at ease over serious matters and to make her groan with embarrassment. The return of Ryoji's cheeky grin always confirmed this.

Haruhi kissed her father on the cheek before making her way down the apartment steps. "Love you, Dad. I'll be back around 6."

"Don't forget to tell that Mitsukini fellow that Ranka wishes him a happy birthday!"

Birthday...?! "Hell, I almost forgot!"

The first thing that came to mind when you thought of Mitsukini "Honey" Haninozuka was that he looked like a ten year-old. Blonde hair, brown eyes, a love for all things sugary and toy-like, with an attitude that would make most girls squeal with adoration, Honey-sempai played the part of "Boy Lolita" to a T, not acting like the fifteen-now sixteen-year old that he was supposed to be. Haruhi asked Tamaki "Mori" sempai about Honey-sempai once, in regards to his contradicting age/height combo. Mori-sempai, man of few words, simply replied. "Leap Year."

When Tamaki-sempai had announced that Honey-sempai's birthday would occur for the first time in four years again, being on the 29th of February, he also declared that their traditional club meeting would be canceled that day in order for the fellow Host club members to honor the second-eldest member with a private party. Haruhi was worried at first, she didn't know what she could give her sempai that he didn't already have.

A cake was already going to be made by one of Honey-sempai's personal chiefs, so that was out of the question as an offering. Besides, Haruhi would rather commit seppuku than have Tamaki and the others talk loudly in admiration towards the "commoner's version of a birthday cake". There were times that she had half a mind to imitate her father's angry voice and state that there was truly no difference between either social realms, only different styles. At those moments, she reminded herself of Kyoya-sempai and his never-ending reminders of the debt she had to pay (the Renaissance vase story that will not be mentioned at this time) while cheerfully threatening to add onto her bill or make offers to reduce it.

Honey-sempai already seemed to have every stuffed animal available that he considered worth collecting and playing with. And Haruhi found herself uncomfortable with the thought of giving her sempai, someone soon to be off to college, a stuffed animal.

A birthday card wouldn't do on its own, even if it were filled with a 20 yen inside. The others would obviously see it as loose cash on its own, nothing to lose sleep over.

Pride had made Haruhi refuse offers from the twins and even their friend/manager, Renge, to help purchase a suitable gift for their sempai. Birthdays were meant to be special on their own, to remind those celebrating them how grateful they are for living and for others to express their love through thoughtful gifts.

That was the tradition for the Fujioka household, still practiced after Haruhi's late mother passed away. Her birthdays weren't something to brag about, but she always appreciated the thought and love that her father put into his gift to her and vise versa. If she were to give Honey-sempai a gift, it had to be one that reflected how much she valued her friend/mentor.

As the date grew closer, Haruhi found herself becoming more frantic, though she did her best not to show it. She didn't want the others to feel sorry for her and give Honey-sempai an expensive present that simply had Haruhi's name on it. But two weeks ago, Mori-sempai had intercepted Haruhi on her way to Algebra 2, stating that he merely wanted to walk her to her next class safely. On their way towards the classroom, Mori-sempai had suddenly begun to speak more than four words at a time, speaking of Honey-sempai's late grandmother and of her masterpiece, Usa-chan the rabbit.

Although many people would have made the rabbit's head a little smaller and made the quality work worthy to Honey-sempai's tastes, the boy had accepted the gift and held it above even his most expensive toy. When Honey-sempai's grandmother left this earth, he kept Usa-chan by his side even more, being sure to keep the toy in good condition despite its old age.

Mori-sempai then ended that story by reminding Haruhi in a calm tone to be careful with food and drink whenever Usa-chan was around, for Honey-sempai was still very protective of his grandmother's gift to him. As the older boy waved a farewell as Haruhi stepped into her Algebra class, she had finally figured out what to get for Honey-sempai.

It had taken hours of hard work and some money for the things that she didn't have on hand. But Haruhi felt that she did a good job on it overall.

And she was that close to forgetting the gift altogether had it not been for her father.

Ryoji held out a small, square-shaped parcel at his daughter's reaction. Haruhi sighed with relief and dashed up the stairs as quickly as she could to retrieve the package, securely adjusting it under her left arm before rewarding her father with another kiss on the cheek and then began to make her way down the steps again. But right as she started to race her way down the streets of her neighborhood, Haruhi suddenly felt her left arm being tugged at, the parcel under her arm landed onto the concrete road. As she attempted to reach out with her right arm to whack her potential kidnapper in the stomach, she felt a strong tug on that limb as well. Those two never gave her a warning. Ever.

"Target-"

"Captured!"

"Guys, I need to get the package! Let me go!" Haruhi was not in the mood for those red-headed baka at the moment. She was already running late as it is and those two, however lovable, were not making it easier on her attendance record!

"Take a chill-pill, Haruhi-" The red-headed boy on her left, Hikaru, deadpanned.

"We all came to pick you up." The red-headed boy on her right, Kaoru, added helpfully. He proceeded to add to their case further by relinquishing his hold on Haruhi's right arm gently before bending over to pick up the dropped parcel and returning it to its' current possessor.

Right as Kaoru said this, a limousine slowly drove up in front of the First Year Trio before coming to a halt in front of Haruhi. She could sense her father watching from upstairs with a dangerous glint in his eye, taking note from Haruhi describing an incident like this happening in the same manner. The window had rolled down to reveal Tamaki-sempai, blonde hair and charming smile galore. As the window slowly rolled down, Haruhi sent a quiet prayer to Kami to spare her mentor from her father's potential wrath.

"Haru-chan!" Haruhi blinked, the term of endearment used by the club to address her was delivered with a child's squeal. The dark window had rolled down completely to reveal tiny Honey-sempai, with his stuffed, pink bunny, Usa-chan tucked under his right arm. Right as the door opened, he used his left arm to wrap the unsuspecting Haruhi into a tight one-armed embrace. She awkwardly returned the affection with a few pats on her sempai's shoulder before she felt herself being lead into the grand vehicle, with the twins following suit closely.

"Take care of her, you three!" Ryoji called out cheerfully in his "Ranka" voice.

"We will, Mr. Fujioka!" Hikaru called back. "Have a nice day!"

"Not to sound rude or anything." Haruhi began slowly. "But what are you guys doing here?"

"Tama-chan mentioned something about how commoners 'car-pooled' sometimes to save on gas." Honey-sempai explained. "So we figured that we should pick you up and make sure you got to class on time."

"You always make it to first period right as the bell rings, and this isn't exactly close to the school." Kaoru added. "You can always call us if you need a ride, you know."

Haruhi smiled gratefully at the gesture, touched that her friends would go out of the way to help her out. When Hikaru closed the car door, Honey-sempai signaled to their unseen driver to start moving again.

Haruhi did her best not to let her amazement show and it seemed that her stress of being late for class had helped Haruhi achieve that desire. Thank Kami. She did her best to pay attention to Honey-sempai prattling endlessly about what kind of food the club would be having that day. She almost felt herself faint when Honey-sempai slyly mentioned that there was going to be fancy tuna at the party as well, and tried to maintain a level head as always. When Honey-sempai finally quieted down, Haruhi felt the silence eating away at the four of them. She tried to break it by asking an obvious question.

"So where's Mori-sempai? And Tamaki and Kyoya-sempai?"

"Tama-chan wanted to try the 'car-pooling' with the others, but Kyoya-chan refused. Then Takashi whispered something into Kyoya's ear that made him change his mind." Honey-sempai giggled at the memory before turning his attention towards Usa-chan.

"The Boss wanted to pick you up himself, but we all vetoed that idea." Hikaru picked up from where Honey-sempai had left off. "That's when the three of us offered to drive over here."

"So what's in the package, Haruhi?" Kaoru's eyes rested upon the parcel that Haruhi held protectively against her chest. She quietly cursed the red-head for drawing attention to the item in question, afraid that it might be mishandled by the twins.

"It's a surprise." Haruhi replied lamely.

"So it's for Honey-sempai then?" Hikaru turned his attention towards their female companion.

"What's for me?" Honey-sempai looked up from his toy bunny in curiosity.

"Maybe it's a Renaissance vase?" Kaoru grinned evilly at Haruhi, before blinking at the glare that his friend was now giving him for bringing up that vase.

Damn rich people!

Defeated, Haruhi held out her package to the Lolita boy, her head bowed down in embarrassment. Dear Kami, she just wanted to hand it to Honey-sempai in private. He wouldn't judge her gift, right?

Honey gingerly accepted the package, taking note of Haruhi's body language that the item might be fragile. He settled it down onto his lap and merely looked at it, his lips thinning with consideration.

"It's not a vase, I can promise that much." Haruhi offered up a hint. She smiled shyly at her friend. "You can open it if you want to, you know. It is your birthday after all."

She held her breath as Honey-sempai carefully pulled back the paper wrappings before opening the small box underneath. Haruhi pinched her eyes shut as she heard Honey-sempai gasp before she found herself in another bone-crushing hug. This time, she returned the embrace with equal strength.

"Haruchanthankyouthankyouthankyouthisisthebestgifteverwheredidyougetthishowdidyoufinditnowusachanhasafriend!" Honey-sempai's words tumbled over themselves in excitement, joy etching across his face and making him light up like a light bulb.

"Let me see it." Kaoru leaned over his seat to examine the gift in question, his eyes widening at what he saw. Hikaru leaned over as well to see what made his brother react in such a way and now mirrored Kaoru almost perfectly. No larger than Haruhi's hand was a small, green frog. It was covered with multiple stitches and patched of different shades of green, making it appear as if the frog was in the shade. Its eyes were large, black buttons while the legs lacked webbing.

"I couldn't get all of the details for the frog." Haruhi blushed. "I was worried that the webbed feet would fall apart, so I just left it a bit stubbier than usual."

"You made that?" Hikaru examined the toy with amazement before adding in a confused tone. "Do commoners often do this?"

"Why a frog?" Kaoru had recovered from his shock, his tone more curious instead of confused.

"Because...Honey-sempai was born on a Leap Year." Haruhi chuckled lamely at her joke.

The car was silent for a few seconds before the twins started to crack up loudly, forcing Haruhi to cover her ears at the high volume. Honey-sempai giggled along at the comment as well.

"I get it, because frogs leap! We have to to tell the Boss about this!"

"More like hobble in this case, that frog doesn't have any feet."

"Well, I think Haru-chan's gift is great. She worked really hard on this." Honey-sempai glared at the twins dangerously until they quieted down.

"Gomen. I didn't mean to sound mean, Haruhi." Kaoru looked at her apologetically, fear etched on his face for possibly offending their "secret princess". "I was just trying to make a joke."

"It's okay, Kaoru. I think the feet could have been better too. I don't even think it would pass for a toad." Haruhi grinned back assuredly before joining the twins in their continued laughter.

"This means a lot to me, Haruhi." Honey-sempai smiled at her once she stopped laughing. Tears filled his eyes as he held his gift close to his chest alongside of Usa-chan now. It moved Haruhi to see how much her gift made her elder feel. "Arigatou."

"You should thank Mori, he was the one who gave me the idea in the first place." Haruhi explained. "I should thank him when we get to the academy."

"You don't have to do that, Haru-chan. He'll understand what you feel."

For the rest of the car ride, Haruhi let herself relax onto the rich leathery seating as the twins started making more lame jokes that started with limbless frogs and ended up going to Tamaki-sempai's many comical reactions to the scenarios that the Host club have found themselves put into. His initial flirtations with Haruhi when he thought that she was a boy, his look of shock and embarrassment when he was the last one to figure out Haruhi's true gender and her genuine compliments regarding his personality, his "eroding" when he felt upset over making Haruhi mad at him when he tried to substitute for her during the health physicals, to his look of horror when Ryoji as Ranka declared the poor fool to be his enemy.

She didn't understand what Honey-sempai meant when he said that Mori-sempai would understand. It always made someone feel good when they felt appreciation from someone else, but Haruhi felt that it was also beneficial to the sender of the thank you as well. As Ouran Academy started to become closer, she noticed a figure waving eagerly at them. She smiled when she saw that it was Tamaki-sempai, imaging that he was mouthing the endless "Haru-chan", his enthusiasm always made things funny. When she noticed Mori-sempai and Kyoya-sempai in the background, Haruhi couldn't help but feel nervous about what Honey-sempai said. That she didn't have to say thank you to Mori-sempai, that he would understand what she meant. How?

If she tried to smile at him, Mori-sempai might take it differently. But it wasn't until that Haruhi, the twins, Honey-sempai, Usa-chan, and his newest friend, "Gama-chan" got out of the car (taking note of Haruhi's comment earlier in regards to the toy's resemblance to a similar looking amphibian) that Haruhi realized what Honey-sempai meant. Mori-sempai had looked specifically at her when they came out and smile warmly her way. She didn't have to thank Mori-sempai at all.

She already did.

Author's Note:...Wow. I did not expect to write this much in one sitting alone. Almost 4k words in within three hours is something to be proud of indeed. I always found that the twins acted a lot like Haruhi's best friends in the anime, so I decided to incorporate the feeling in the story. The characters felt like they were in character for the most part, though my intention was to have this to be a funny one-shot. Now I see that it's a friendship with comedy sprinkled lightly onto it.

Since Usa-chan was made by Honey's grandmother, and seeing how he valued it to the point of becoming dangerous if it were ever damaged, I would assume that it is a symbol of how much he loved his grandmother and wanted to hold onto whatever she left on the earth. My original plan was to just have Haruhi give him the frog from a store, but then I realized that that a birthday gift had to be meaningful and I figured that Haruhi would want to be the "it's the thought the counts" kind of person.

And that's how the little flashback involving Mori came around. I figured that he would want to help his friend with a gift idea without being too obvious like the others were, so of course he would bring up what Usa-chan meant to Honey. Happy February 29th, everyone! And Happy Birthday to you, Honey-sempai!

I am feeling on fire right now, I haven't published this quickly ever since I started in September 2014. As a bonus, I have some Japanese words from the story and what they mean:

Otosan: Father

Sempai: Upperclassman

Baka: Fool or Idiot

Usa: Rabbit

Arigatou: Thank You

Gomen: Sorry

Gama: Toad (I know Haruhi made a frog, but I couldn't find the Japanese term for frog and decided to let Honey call it a toad instead)

Happy Leap Year!