Disclaimer: I don't own Ouran High School Host Club.

Author's Note: Gah, this story is a few months old! It was brought about by a random thought I had when I was making dinner one night – seriously, my mind wanders when I'm waiting 17 minutes to cool potatoes. Enjoy!

Julienne Potatoes

For some odd reason, Kyouya found that it was more amusing to watch Haruhi cook than it was to watch the twins fight over a video game they hooked into the small TV the young commoner owned.

It was Spring Break, and it was Haruhi's turn to have everyone over for a "Host Club Spring Break Fun Day At Everyone's Homes Fest", as Tamaki had put it so eloquently (although everyone knew it was just so that he wouldn't have to be without his princess-in-disguise for a week), which is why now she was in her small kitchen, making a meal large enough to hopefully settle the stomachs of her guests.

Not an easy task, the Shadow King knew, when practically each of them were used to a menu that was full to the brim to whatever they wanted. However, he knew that whatever she did make everyone would eat without complaint or negative comment; after all, they were all looking forward to her "commoner's dinner" as the idiot Prince had said when she had started her meal preparation.

Which lead to the here and now: Hikaru and Kaoru wrapped up into a video game with Hunny and Mori watching (and being judges), Tamaki being the cheering section ("Hikaru! Kaoru!" he chanted like a broken record until someone shuts him up – then he would start up again a few seconds later), and Kyouya watching Haruhi in the kitchen as she worked on the meal.

"If you're just going to watch senpai, you can get a better view in here," Haruhi said with a chuckle, not even looking up from the meat she was flipping on the pan. Kyouya shifted slightly on his seat, a bit embarrassed to his chagrin on being caught, but then smirked as he stood up and joined her in the seemingly kitchen-built-for-two.

Haruhi smiled as he leaned against the wall, then went straight back to her work: placing the meat into the oven (Kyouya discovered at that point it was pork chops), setting a timer, walking over to a cabinet and pulling out a large pot and lid and placing it on top of the stove.

"Hopefully this will be enough for you guys," she said, "I know you all are used to larger meals, but if I tried that, it would probably take up this entire house and then some!" Kyouya chuckled at her exaggeration, "We don't always have large meals like you believe, Haruhi. It's a common misconception."

"Common or commoner's misconception?"

"Now now, don't get angry. I never said or meant commoner in anyway, Haruhi."

Sighing softly, but with a gentle smile Haruhi took out a measuring cup from a nearby cabinet, "Sorry senpai. Sometimes I just get irritated at the constant reminders of my place in society. I know you guys don't mean to do it, but still."

No more words were said as Haruhi fluttered around the kitchen like a bumblebee (Kyouya had to suppress the chuckle rumbling inside of him at the image of the young girl dressed in yellow and black with clear wings on her back), looking around for what he could only guess was going to go into the pot.

"I just bought it yesterday, now where did Dad put it..." she muttered as she looked through the cupboard, then her eyes widened with her discovery, "Aha, found it!"

With a grin, she brought down two brown boxes, which the Shadow King was able to guess was some sort of potato mix. When she placed it down on the counter to grab her measuring cup, he got a better look at the object she spent so much time searching for.

"Julienne potatoes?"

"Mhm. It's a specialty potato. And it's SO good! You guys will love it, I promise."

Kyouya's brow quirked as he walked over the stove, picking up one of the boxes and looking it over. His eyes remained calculating, decisive, even as Haruhi pushed him slightly out of the way as she poured in her measurements for the potatoes and turned on the burner.

"I kinda need the box, senpai. You can continue to burn holes in it after I'm done getting the sauce mix and potatoes out of it."

"I wasn't burning holes into the box as that's impossible."

"Not for you."

The brunette smiled, taking out the contents she needed before handing the box back to him and going back to her cooking. However, at that point, he had no interest in reading the box; she became more interesting to watch at that point.

Each ingredient went in, followed by constant stirring until everything was mixed. The spoon placed to the side, Haruhi looked up at the timer just as it started to sound off, telling her to take out and flip the pork chops one last time. She did so quickly, placing them back into the over, then returned to another stirring of the potatoes before going to the cabinet to find two cans of corn, settling on that as being their needed "vegetable for the day".

Her movements were fluid, simple, as if watching a dancer perform on stage. Yet this wasn't a stage: it was a simple girl cooking a simple meal with no troubles whatsoever. Then again, he knew better; Haruhi had been cooking meals for herself and her father since she was five years old, after the sad passing away of her mother, so there was many years of practice on her side.

Inside, he chuckled; he had to admit, he probably wouldn't be able to make a simple thing like this julienne potatoes even if he had a hundred tries.

"Okay...now to let this simmer for seventeen minutes and after that, dinner will be ready," Haruhi said, turning to the cabinet again to pull out a pitcher and lemonade mix, "I think I timed everything out just right."

"Should I inform the others?"

"No, I will when it gets close to that time. But, if you want to help me out a bit, can you set the table?"

Kyouya smiled as he took the paper cups and plates from the counter that Haruhi pointed to, her eyes not looking up from the pot she was stirring in. "Not a problem," he said, making the brunette smile as she turned towards her next bit of work: creating lemonade.

Dinner, of course, was taken extremely well by everyone, even with the small portions and the asking for seconds when there was really none to be had.

The favorite, as Kyouya learned even of himself, was the julienne potatoes. "I knew everyone was going to love them. Like I said, they are so good. Dad and I have them constantly; they are our favorite," she said, taking in the last bite off her plate.

"Such great food, Haru-chan! Thank you for the meal!" Hunny said, Mori nodding with him.

"I want more potatoes! Please make some more Haruhi! Pretty please?" Kaoru asked sweetly.

Haruhi laughed, "Next time you guys come over, I'll make some, okay? I'm not making another batch of them."

Kaoru and Hikaru let out a cheer while Tamaki hugged his "daughter" tightly, "That's my girl! Making sure everyone is so happy! My beloved daughter is so thoughtful!"

Kyouya just sighed and shifted his glasses on his nose as Haruhi pushed her way out of Tamaki's arms. "Okay, okay. Well, while I clean up the kitchen, why don't you guys pick out a movie? Just don't argue over it, please," she said, standing up from her spot and starting to pick up the plates and cups.

As the others began to pile around the TV again, this time with the idea of watching a movie, Haruhi deposited the plates and cups in the trash and the silverware in the sink, along with the soaking pot and pan from the meal. Suddenly, as she was getting ready to wash out the dishes, she felt another presence in the kitchen, and watched from the corner of her eyes as two hands dove into the warm soapy water.

"Kyouya-senpai?" she questioned, watching as the Shadow King picked up a scrubber to clean the top of the pan. He didn't say a word, just continued to smirk as he worked on cleaning.

"I can clean this up myself, you know."

"It's all right, Haruhi."

She blinked a couple of times at him, then just smiled as she began to clean the pot, tuning out Tamaki and Hikaru's yelling that began over the video game again ('So much for a movie...' Haruhi thought, inwardly face-palming).