Happy Independence Day!

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The summer was always Haruhi's favorite time of the year. Not just because she was free of the host club for a while (until they tracked her down in Karuizawa), but because she loved the warm weather.

One weekend in July, she decided to take a short break from her summer job to go home for a few days. She had to leave on a weekend because that was the time the host club chose to "visit" her at Misuzu-san's pension. If they were looking for her there while she was safely in her apartment with the door firmly closed and locked, then everything was fine.

Unfortunately for Haruhi, she made an unwise decision in leaving to go to the supermarket one morning.

She returned to find the entire host club sitting outside her front door.

Aw crap, she thought. There goes my peaceful weekend away from these people. She sighed and proceeded to unlock the door, trying to ignore the six boys who were looking at her expectantly.

Maybe they're just a figment of my imagination, Haruhi thought. Maybe if I just pretend they aren't here, they'll disappear.

Unfortunately, she was wrong.

"Why didn't you tell Daddy that you would be home this weekend?"

"Haru-chan! We brought you cake!"

"Yeah."

"Kaoru and I were worried."

"Yeah, we almost went to Karuizawa just to look for you!"

Haruhi just ran into the apartment and slammed the door shut as quickly as she could. It only made the voices outside louder.

"No! Why did my precious daughter slam the door in her father's face?"

"Haru-chan, don't you want your cake? Takashi and I got it special for you!"

"Please let us in, Haruhi. I promise that Hikaru and I won't say anything to tease you."

"Ha, speak for yourself."

She just covered her ears and imagined how quiet it would be if they weren't there. When that didn't work, she gave in and opened the door. Immediately, she was trampled past by a pair of redheaded twins and an overly excited blond, who was quickly shouting orders at two men behind them who Haruhi hadn't seen before. They were carrying a tall, pointed something that was wrapped in brown packing paper. They set it against a wall in the back of her apartment and left without a word.

Haruhi looked at Tamaki, clearly annoyed.

"Senpai, what is that and why is it in my kitchen?"

Tamaki grinned.

"That, my dear daughter, is a tree!"

Haruhi turned to Kyouya, the most sensible of the group.

"Kyouya-senpai, why did you let Tamaki-senpai put a tree in my kitchen?"

"Isn't it obvious?" He replied with an evil grin on his face.

"Haru-chan, we brought you a cake!" Mitskuni said as he bounded into the room. His cousin was close behind, with an unreadable expression on his face. Hikaru and Kaoru were already busy peeling the paper from the tree. Tamaki pulled a large box filled with ornaments out of nowhere.

"Haruhi, I found out about a commoner tradition known as "Christmas". Then, I decided that it would be a wonderful idea to hold a commoner's Christmas in the home of a commoner!"

"Senpai, with all due respect, Christmas is typically held in December."

He just stared at her.

"Tamaki-senpai, it is July."

He continued to stare at her. He obviously didn't comprehend. Haruhi just gave an exasperated sigh.

"Kyouya-senpai, talk some sense into him!"

Kyouya just smiled and pulled an ornament out of the box.

"I don't see anything wrong with a little impromptu celebration," he said, turning the glass snowflake around in his hand. "Hikaru, Kaoru, be careful with those ornaments. They are incredibly fragile, and I'm sure you wouldn't want the cost of the broken ones added to Haruhi's debt, now would you?"

Haruhi just closed her eyes when she heard the small sound of a crash from behind her.

"Haru-chan, cake!" Honey said again, this time grabbing her attention. It was rather large and looked delicious, but upon further inspection, she could see that it was a fruitcake, with none other than Santa Clause on the top, in bright red frosting. Haruhi just groaned.

"Hey, Haruhi!" Hikaru called from his spot on top of the table. "Do you think we should put the star or the angel on top of the tree?"

I'd rather you didn't put anything on top of the tree, she thought as she watched him stand over it dangerously. She didn't want to think about the mess he would make if he fell.

"I think it should be a star!" Tamaki proclaimed, "Just like me, the King!"

Haruhi rolled her eyes. Oh, let them all leave soon please.

"Ok then," Hikaru said, balancing the glowing star in his hands. He carefully reached up and placed it atop the tree. He was standing in a bit of an awkward position, with one foot on the table and the other in the air so he could better reach the treetop. It almost reminded Haruhi of an ungraceful ballerina.

"Hikaru, be careful!" Kaoru cried as his twin almost lost his balance.

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Kyouya was placing ornaments on the tree with a smirk on his face, as if he was thinking about some secret plot he had to add to Haruhi's debt. He really just thought that this whole Christmas thing was amusing.

"Tamaki,"he had said to his friend on the phone earlier that morning, "I really don't think Haruhi would appreciate it if you decided to bother her on her day off."He was trying to make amends for the fact that he had let slip to Tamaki that he knew Haruhi would be home that weekend. Not for her sake, but because he really didn't want to get pulled into whatever Tamaki had planned. And because he was annoyed at the fact that he had woke him up at five in the morning.

"But Kyouya, today we must celebrate a commoner's Christmas with Haruhi, a commoner! The entire host club should come!"

Kyouya let him ramble on about fir trees and fruitcakes for about thirty seconds before-

"Tamaki, I was under the impression that you are Jewish."

Tamaki froze in the middle of the word 'Santa'.

"But Kyouya, like love, the true Christmas spirit knows no bounds!" He then proceeded to inform his best friend of the pine tree he was having shipped in from Canada and all of the gifts he was having sent to Haruhi's home. Kyouya let him finish his spiel before interrupting him again.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, but for some reason, I feel the need to tell you that Hikaru and Kaoru are in Paris at the moment and I am leaving for Germany early this afternoon, which means half of the host club will not be there to spend this 'holiday' with you. Maybe you should wait another day to do this, or better yet, save this idea for one of our theme days when school starts again. I'm sure our guests would enjoy sitting under a pine tree with you and a fruitcake."

"But Kyouya," Tamaki whined, "We need to spend this day with Haruhi! Who knows when he next weekend off will be?" Again, Kyouya scolded himself for sharing that detail about Haruhi's time off.

"Give it a rest, Tamaki. You drag us all to Karuizawa every weekend anyways, so I don't see any point in going today." He was about to turn off his phone and go back to sleep, when Tamaki shouted-

"Wait! If you cancel your trip to Germany and get Hikaru and Kaoru to come back from Paris, then I'll agree to that fake flower thing!" Kyouya paused. He had been trying to convince everyone in the host club to switch to carrying around fake roses instead of real ones, as the florist's bill to the club's finance manager (AKA him) was getting a bit out of control. He had been badgering Tamaki about this for a while now, but he had always argued that plastic flowers were "impure and not worthy of their lovely guests".

Kyouya had lost. He had to give in to the offer. He bid Tamaki goodbye and proceeded to call Hitachiin manor. In truth, the twins were not actually in Paris, he just gave that small lie to try to get out of this 'Christmas' thing. But there really was a flight to Germany he would have to cancel now…

"Whadaya want?" a drowsy voice answered Kyouya's call. "Kyouya-senpai, what the heck are you doing up this early?" a similar voice asked from nearby.

"Tamaki is going to call you this morning about a Christmas party," he said simply. "Please do not decline the invitation. Oh, and by the way, he thinks you're both in Paris at the moment." He hung up.

"Huh?"

_____

"Haru-chan, do you want to cut the cake now, or do you want to wait until tonight?" Honey asked, with his cutesy smile he usually reserved for the host club's guests.

Tonight? Haruhi thought worriedly. They really planned on staying for that long? It was only ten in the morning, and she really didn't think she would be able to handle having the host club in her house for that many hours. Unfortunately, Ranka had decided to take two shifts at the okama bar he worked at, so he wouldn't be back to kick Tamaki and the others out of his apartment until late in the night.

That gave the boys a good twelve hours to make Haruhi's life a living heck, even if it was done unintentionally and in the spirit of the holiday.

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A/N: More chapters are coming. Please review, even if you just want to yell at me for making Tamaki Jewish

-Mel