Haruhi sat in the corner booth of the tea shop the other host club members had dragged her to, contemplating the tea in front of her. It was certainly more than hot enough to warm her hands from the chilly air outside, but... She raised the cup to her lips and hesitated, then set the mug back down. There was no way she was going to burn the taste buds off of her tongue just to appease the boys staring at her anxiously. She turned her head to stare out the window and sighed. So troublesome... she thought.
She was just about to stand up to leave - really, once the tea had remained piping hot for fifteen minutes, it began to border on ridiculous - when Tamaki stole her mug away from her. "Hey!" she, and the other boys (excluding Kyouya, who had no interest in the whole affair, and Mori, who thought Honey said it best) exclaimed. Haruhi glared at Tamaki's back as he carried her tea away. Even if she didn't want to drink it, it was just common sense to ask first. Even she knew enough about social graces to know that!
Barely half a minute later, the blonde returned, the same cup of tea in hand. He held it out, bowing slightly. "M'lady," he said.
Haruhi flushed slightly, not accustomed to seeing him with his princely role aimed at her, and took the offer cup. He lifted his head just enough to see her reaction as she tested the tea. Haruhi pulled the mug away from her lips and frowned. "It's warm," she said.
All at once, Tamaki was reaching for the cup, stuttering something that sounded suspiciously like apologies for taking his daughter's hot tea away and something about rectifying his mistake right away. Haruhi held onto the handle firmly and took another sip. She smiled.
"Thank you."