As silently as possible, Haruhi opened the door to her dad's bedroom and tiptoed over to his night stand. She glanced at him as she placed the little package of chocolates, wrapped in bright pink paper, on the wooden surface. He had mascara and a little eyeliner smudged around his eyes, and she felt more confident in her decision not to wake him up just to give him Valentine's chocolates. He had to have gotten in later than normal to neglect thoroughly washing his face. She smiled, though, knowing he'd be overjoyed to see the package once he got up to start his day.
Just as quietly, Haruhi made her way out of the room and closed his door behind her. She slid the rest of the pile of chocolates in her school bag and finished getting ready to leave the house. As much as she tried not to think about the day ahead of her, it was difficult not to. The last week had been extremely busy at the Host Club, and seven girls had confessed their love to 'him' in as many days. Each time, she hadn't really known what to say, and she certainly wasn't going to turn them down the same was Hikaru and Kaoru did. In the end, she told each girl the same thing, that she was too busy with her responsibilities to have time to date.
That wasn't strictly true, but each of the girls had looked at her with stars in their eyes and probably just liking her even more for her dedication. It was stressful for her, but Tamaki seemed to be just eating up the attention. Really, all the boys were more excited and lively, even Mori smiled more. Still, they were her friends, and she'd been glad to make the giri-choco, though as she started to go through the process of making six sets of chocolates, seven if she counted her dad's, it felt less of a courtesy and more out of real affection, if platonic, for the boys she spent her time with. Then she'd gotten to the set for Tamaki.
She hadn't intentionally saved his for last, at least not consciously. Each set was a little different for the recipient. She had made pink and blue ones for Hikaru and Kaoru, extra dark chocolate for Kyoya, strawberry filled ones for Honey, and added hazelnuts for Mori. She just hadn't known what to do for Tamaki. In the end, she decided to make his chocolates from scratch, instead of molding the melting chocolate she'd used for the others. Haruhi shook her head as she stepped out the door to clear her mind of thoughts of chocolate. Today was certainly Valentine's Day, but she also had a test in French that was definitely more important.
Though it didn't appear that anyone in her class seemed to agree with her. Hikaru and Kaoru were accepting their chocolates with their little act, and actively advertising the host club. While she knew Kyoya would be proud of them, she couldn't help the annoyed feeling they gave her. More often than not, though, she was distracted by accepting her own chocolates. She made a mental note of each of the girls who did, on Tamaki's orders. It felt like they'd been planning their White Day party for months even though it was closer to weeks, but he had insisted every girl who had given any one of them chocolates deserved a direct invitation to the event. It was a nice sentiment that Haruhi liked the idea of, though she was sure that Kyoya had sold premium spots with some extra benefit. It was easy to ignore that now, smile and thank the girl in front of her and add her name to the growing list.
She didn't have a moment to herself all day, it seemed, until she arrived at the third music room. Since they didn't have a cosplay today, she could take a deep breath and relax for a moment. Well, as much as was possible for the sheer amount of energy in the room.
"Haru-chan!" Honey exclaimed before running over to hug her. "Have you had a good Valentine's Day?"
His smile was so wide and genuine, she couldn't bring herself to say anything negative about her, so far, stressful day. "I have. I bet you've had the best day, getting all those sweets," she remarked. "Speaking of," she trailed off as her own comment jogged her memory of the mass of wrapped chocolates in her bag. She fished out a gold colored package and handed it to him. "These are for you. Don't forget to brush your teeth."
If possible, Honey's smile got wider. "Oh, I won't. Thank you so much, Haru-Chan!" He hugged her again and ran off, probably to show Mori his new gift. She couldn't help but find the cheer infectious. Perhaps Valentine's Day wasn't so stressful after all.
"Wait, you got Honey-sempai chocolates-" Hikaru began.
"-but not us?" Kaoru finished, both ending their shared sentence with a pout.
"Of course I made you idiots chocolates," she said, and brought out two packages, one pale pink and the other a pale blue. Their excited grins replaced their pouts just as quickly as they'd set in.
"You really are the best," Kaoru said, leaning over and giving her a peck on her cheek.
"We really appreciate these," Hikaru added, repeated his brother's action on the other side. They skittered off as well, and Haruhi decided she might as well hand out all of them before they opened for the afternoon.
Kyoya was sitting at the long table, typing away at his laptop as usual, as Haruhi approached.
"I know you don't really care for sweets," Haruhi began as she fished out the dark blue package, "so I made some bittersweet dark chocolates for you." She placed the little package down next to him so he wouldn't have to stop working, but his hands stopped moving across the keyboard. She hadn't expected the surprised look that momentarily crossed his face.
"Thank you," he said simply. He paused just a moment before adding, "You're one of the only people who remembered my preference." He resumed working, and didn't open the package yet, but Haruhi walked away with a satisfied smile.
Since Tamaki was missing from the room, likely caught up with Valentine's nonsense, Haruhi went over to the table where Honey and Mori always sat. It wasn't hard to see that Honey had already ripped open his chocolates and had eaten them all. She pulled out the second the last package, a deep pink color, almost maroon, and held it out to Mori.
"You like hazelnuts, right Mori-sempai?" Haruhi said. He silently nodded his head and faint pink color came to his cheeks as he accepted the small box.
"Thank you, Haruhi," he said quietly. "I will enjoy them."
Though she wasn't free of the last package, she put her school bag away with the others' bags. She would just have to give Tamaki his chocolates later.
She started to heat water for tea and coffee, and the twins joined her to arrange the cakes they had brought in from some expensive bakery in Tokyo. It wasn't until the very last moment when Tamaki edged through the door to the third music room. His bag was full to bursting with gifted chocolates from girls and, though Haruhi had been expecting it, seeing it made her heart sink. Just like the fancy cakes they got for the club, most of them would be made by world class confectioners. Her very homemade chocolate just wouldn't be able to compete. Perhaps she should have just used melting chocolate for his as well.
She didn't have time to dwell as within moments, the doors were open and they were welcoming what felt like every girl at Ouran. The next several hours were spent entirely focused on their clients and Haruhi felt more stressed than she had all day. If she hadn't already gotten to have her own little Valentine's Day, in those few minutes before club opened, it probably would have felt worse on her. Instead, she could remember her friends' happy faces and genuinely smile.
It felt like days before they were saying goodbye to their last guests, and Haruhi started to gather up cups and plates to be washed. She bustled around as Tamaki tried to get lists of chocolate givers from each host.
"What do you mean you don't have one?" he loudly exclaimed when the twins brushed him off.
"We didn't know you'd want a physical list right now," Hikaru said with a shrug.
"We can make one, of course, but we just don't have one now," Kaoru added, mirroring his brother's shrug.
Tamaki got more and more frazzled as neither Honey nor Mori had lists either. He dramatically sighed in relief when Kyoya already had his list, though Haruhi wasn't sure why he hasn't asked Kyoya first. He was always the one who had everything already prepared. After a moment of silence, only a short one though, Tamaki wailed loudly. Haruhi jumped and nearly dropped the cup she was holding. Thankfully, she caught it, and there wasn't a need to add to her debt.
"Why is Haruhi on this list!" he yelled out, and Haruhi sighed. She should have expected this, the madness when he found out everyone had gotten chocolates but him, so far. Haruhi set down the tea cup and dried her hands. Quickly, before he could start yelling at the others, she retrieved the bright pink package from her bag.
"I have one for you too, Tamaki-sempai," she said. She couldn't help the exasperated tone in her voice. The day had been long and she had long stayed to regret treating his chocolates differently. She'd gotten over excited and though they were good, they would never stand out against the mounds of candy he'd gotten that day.
"You really thought of Daddy for Valentine's Day?" he perked up immediately and didn't bother actually taking them from her before sweeping her into a twirling hug. Finally, he let her go and took the package from her hand.
"Of course I thought of you," Haruhi said. "I can't imagine they're as good as most of the others you got, but I hope you like them." While she hadn't meant to let the middle part slip out, she didn't have the mental willpower to even care too much that she'd said it aloud. She just wanted to get the dishes clean quickly and, if she were lucky get home in time to see her father before he left for work.
The dishes were easy enough, but there were quite a few of them from the busy crowd of the day. As she completed them, more and more of the hosts left. First Honey and Mori, then the twins and even Kyoya went out to meet his driver. She hasn't even realized Tamaki had stayed until she dried the last dish and went to go grab her bag.
"Oh," she's gasped in surprise, having thought she was alone for the last five minutes. "Is your car running late?"
"I wanted to offer you a ride home," he said. "It's not White Day, but I want to thank you for the chocolates."
Haruhi felt heat rise up her neck and on to her face. She'd really liked the thanks and smiles she'd gotten from the other hosts for their gifts, but this has thrown hey even further by surprise.
"I'd really like that," she admitted. Not only would she get home a little quicker, she'd get to spend a little time alone with Tamaki. That was rare, and quite special to her.
He'd led her out to the parking lot and opened the door for her. Once inside he pulled her into a long hug. There were a lot of times where he was so loud and energetic, she liked these quiet moments with him. She rested her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes. He had a vague smell of citrus about him, and she found she rather liked his cologne. She's been so relaxed, she almost didn't hear him speak.
"Your chocolates mean more than every one of the ones in my bag combined," he told her. Her eyes fluttered open and she pulled away from his hug. A wave of insecurity washed over her and she felt a need to put distance between her and Tamaki. Her eyes dropped to her lap.
"You don't have to play host for me today," she said. "I appreciate it for the effort I put in, but I know my homemade chocolates couldn't really compare to some of the really nice ones you got."
"Homemade?" Tamaki echoed. "Did you make all of our chocolates? All the hosts?"
"I used melting chocolate for the others'," she clarified, "but I made yours from scratch."
Tamaki pulled her back into a hug, holding her tight against him. Despite feeling self conscious, his body heat and that citrus smell made her relax again.
"Don't you dare convince yourself that I don't love yours more than any other chocolate in the world," he said. "Don't convince yourself I'm lying, or 'playing host'.I couldn't be happier to receive them."
Haruhi closed her eyes and once again rested her head on his shoulder. She breathed in his scent and let herself actually relax. There was still a seed of her insecurity, though most of it had ebbed away.
"I'm happy you like them. I," she paused, even her mental state didn't allow for her confession to just slip out like other things had that afternoon. "I really like you, Tamaki-sempai."
"Not love?" he teased, his tone quiet, but she could hear his smile.
"I'm done with love confessions today," she answered, a laugh building in her throat. "So you're getting a 'like' from me."
Tamaki also chuckled, leaning down so his lips brushed her ear as he spoke. "Then I like you too, Haruhi."
A warm grin spread over her lips, as she stayed close to Tamaki the rest of the way to her house.
"I'll text you tonight?" Tamaki said before she jumped out, and she nodded.
"I look forward to it," she said, giving him a last smile. The car stayed in place until she reached the door to her apartment and had it open. She heard the car pull away from the curb just as she heard her father call out from the living room.
"Oh, Haruhi! I'm glad you're home. Come let daddy give you a hug for your delicious chocolates!"
Haruhi gave a satisfied sigh as she took off her shoes. Valentine's Day had been a great day.