Second Ouran fic, hooray! Hope you enjoy it. I suppose the wanting to know what happens right after the anime ends is a little overdone, but I had to have my take on it, so here you are.

Sorry if the French bugs you - I just had to play around with Éclair's name. Yayyy puns.

The fireworks came to an end, but Tamaki did not let go of her hands. Half of him feared that if he released her, he'd fall back into the car beside Éclair and be whisked away from Haruhi, from goodness and happiness and Ouran and Haruhi.

Ne sois pas ridicule, he chastised himself. Le ciel est tout clair ce soir. Il n'y a pas de nuages, pas d'éclair, pas de tonnerre. Dreamily, he smiled at the pun. Haruhi a peur des orages; peut-être elle a un sens. L'orage d'Éclair Tonnerre a failli de me déménager à France…He might never have seen Haruhi again.

And now he had the chance to hold her sensitive fingers between his own, and smile down on her, and watch her lovely brown eyes gleam in the dancing lights overhead. It was extraordinary, it was miraculous, how things had come out… all because of her.

"Stop keeping Haruhi to yourself!" cried an impatient redhead beside him. "I want to dance with her again!"

"You already had your turn, Hikaru," said Haruhi, and Tamaki brightened at her willingness to stay near to him.

"So has the boss, and he gets to - "

Tamaki clapped a hand over Hikaru's mouth before he could go any further. "No, that's alright. Dance with the others again, Haruhi. I don't mind." He let his eyes linger on hers a bit longer than was necessary, but soon enough the moment had passed and she was passed along to Hikaru, her lovely white dress billowing in her wake.

He found he couldn't watch, somehow, and though there were plenty of girls to be danced with and a proper host would have asked for a new partner immediately, he found himself wandering through the empty school, his hands in his pockets, quite sober and quite alone.

You should be bouncing off the walls, Suou, he reminded himself somewhat lifelessly. She saved you, didn't she? You nearly lost everything, and she saved you.

But he knew his journey wasn't quite through; that some edge of fate, some mysticism he harbored deep within his spirit, would not allow the night to pass without a final confrontation. With Haruhi. Alone. The thought made him jittery with anxiety and excitement, and it was quite a distracted young man who found himself in his father's office before Ootori Yoshio and Suou Yuzuru.

"Ah, Tamaki-kun," said Yoshio somewhat coolly. "What brings you here?"

"I - well," he said, rather uncertain as to the answer himself. "I was just… wandering."

"Plenty of young ladies without a partner," said Yuzuru cryptically, gesturing through the window to the dancers outside.

"I know," said Tamaki. "But…"

"No, I understand," Yoshio sighed, also casting his gaze over the dancers. "She is occupied."

Tamaki was silent for a moment before saying, "Yes."

Yoshio nodded. "I wanted to thank you, Tamaki-kun. For this… Host Club. For Kyouya."

He raised his eyebrows. "Ootori-san…?"

Tamaki was graced with only a mysterious smile before Yoshio stood from the sofa and bowed politely to Yuzuru. "About my request, earlier," he said, "why don't we simply… see how things pan out?"

Yuzuru smiled wanly. "That's as good as admitting defeat." They both gave Tamaki a significant look.

"Perhaps," replied Kyouya's father. "Perhaps. He's quite a driven young man, after all." He nodded to Tamaki as he headed to the door. "Take care, both of you."

Yuzuru rotated back to the window as soon as the other man was out of sight. "Well, Tamaki," he said. "What do I make of all this? Kyouya's found his footing, it seems; what about you?"

Thoroughly confused, Tamaki said, "What about me?"

In response, he received another question: "What made you come back?"

"Haruhi," he replied immediately. "It was Haruhi, of course."

"Of course," Yuzuru echoed. "Then I'll put this as simply as I can, Tamaki: she went after you; you came back for her. What are you waiting for?"

"Oh," said Tamaki, rather stunned. "O-oh." He frowned. "You're - you're alright with that? She's a commoner…"

"Do you really think that? That she's common?"

"Well no," he said with earnestness, "no one could, once they got to know her."

"I'd like to get to know her, Tamaki," said Yuzuru calmly, his hands clasped behind his back. "She does seem like a particularly fascinating young woman.

"That's very… open minded of you, er, Chairman."

"Chairman." Yuzuru chuckled. "I've been thinking on that. It sounds far too cold, doesn't it?" He glanced over his shoulder at his son. "I think Father will do nicely for now."

Tamaki grinned. Had it been anyone else, he would have smothered them with his signature bone-crushing hug, but this was his father, the lastperson in the world who would ever desire a hug of any sort. "Alright."

Yuzuru hummed a small laugh. "The next time I see you, boy, I want to see you smiling. Agreed?"

"Yes sir." He came close to saluting, but decided against it.

"Now out with you." A hand came loose to flap at the door. "It's been a long day, and I'm tired." But when Tamaki glanced over his shoulder, his father was still staring out the window at the crowd of students dancing.

He broke into a run as he drew closer to the gathering. The music had drifted off into a small corner, where only the most dedicated of couples still held each other close, swaying gently back and forth. Off to the side, Haruhi was in stitches as Hikaru and Kaoru both tried to dance with her at once, resulting in a sort of Haruhi sandwich.

"Get off me!" she gasped between laughs, but Kaoru only leaned closer, squishing her into Hikaru's chest.

"Oh, darling Hikaru," he sighed dramatically, "I feel that we will never be as close as we once were."

"Indeed," agreed his twin, "there is a sort of third party to our relationship that we will never be rid of…"

"Like a specter between us…"

"In a long white dress…"

Haruhi gulped in air and stuck a hand out from between the two boys. "K-Kyouya-senpai! Help me out here, would you?"

"You seem to be enjoying yourself," said Kyouya, quite wickedly. "What would be the benefit of removing you from the situation?"

"Geh," she panted, "bastard."

The Tamaki of yesterday would have swooped in, knocked Hikaru and Kaoru aside, and loudly proclaimed himself Haruhi's savior. But right now he was not that Tamaki. Right now he loved her too dearly and too intensely to think of such antics. He slowed his jog to a quick walk and approached the group from Kyouya's side of the cluster.

"Where've you been?" Kyouya asked without looking at him.

"Saw your dad," Tamaki replied, his eyes fixed on Haruhi - or what he could see of her. "He was talking to my father."

"And why were you with them, exactly?"

"I don't know, really." Tamaki shoved a hand through his hair, an act of nervousness and desperation to which he never would have resorted on a normal day. "I suppose I just wanted… his blessing?"

"His warrant of freedom, perhaps," Kyouya agreed. "And now you want mine?"

Tamaki glanced at his friend helplessly.

"Well, regardless of whether you need it, you've got it. But you should know me better than that, Tamaki. I wouldn't meddle in your romantic affairs for the world."

"I know you wouldn't," said Tamaki, "but I'd like to think that if I were completely out of my mind, you'd interfere for the better."

"If it were profitable, certainly," said Kyouya, and Tamaki had to laugh.

"I've never been afraid this way before," he said, and Kyouya replied,

"That's a sign that something's different." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Something's changed." He glanced sidelong at Tamaki. "Maybe you've changed."

"Maybe," Tamaki echoed. But he already knew he had - so much - too much. He was floundering.

"So when will you do it?"

"Now, I guess." A thrill of fear shot through him at the thought.

"Don't do anything stupid," Kyouya advised him sagely.

Tamaki glared at him. "Thanks, Mother."

Kyouya grinned. "Anytime, Daddy."

They stood there for a few more moments, idly watching Haruhi finally break free of the twins and run behind Mori's back; Hikaru pursued her, jostling other couples and yelling, while Kaoru hovered behind uncomfortably.

"Rather a scene, aren't they?" Kyouya mused.

"Yes," said Tamaki happily, "but they're our scene." Upon intercepting a strange look from his friend, Tamaki insisted, "Oh, you know what I mean."

Kyouya sighed. "Yes," he said, "I do."

Just then an irritable Haruhi ducked behind Kyouya's back. "Look, Kyouya-senpai," she said, eyeing Hikaru from beneath his arm, "giving me a hand here might not be 'to your benefit' or whatever, but would you mind being charitable for once in your life?"

"Charitable," Kyouya said thoughtfully. "A strange concept… I do wonder - "

"Never mind!" said Haruhi hastily as Hikaru came at her again with a loud cackle. "I'll just… go hide in a rose bush for the rest of the night…"

"I don't think so." Tamaki grabbed her wrist with one hand and stuck out the other; Hikaru barreled into his palm but was, through Tamaki's intervention, more or less kept at bay. "I wanted another dance."

Haruhi paused from kicking Hikaru in the shins and looked up at Tamaki with her huge brown eyes, a pink blush perked upon her cheeks. "You - you did?"

He smiled his affirmation.

"Oh… okay!" She grinned up at him. "Um, Hikaru, seriously, you can stop now. I'm going to dance with Tamaki-senpai."

Hikaru quit struggling against Tamaki (thank God, thought the blonde; his arm was starting to kill him) and drooped in defeat. "Very well," he said in a rather spot-on impression of Nekozawa, "but sleep with one eye open, Haruhi." He drifted away.

Haruhi glanced at Tamaki again and giggled against her hand. He melted - Christ, she was adorable.

"Hikaru's a little hyperactive at the moment," she excused him.

"Or maybe he just wants to get your attention," Tamaki said. She bit her lip and looked away, and he punched himself internally. The goal is not to make her uncomfortable, you idiot. "Ah - Haruhi?" He offered his hand.

She wrapped her fingers around his own, and he led her to the circle of couples; she held out her hand as if ready to waltz, but he lightly tugged her wrists around his neck and, entwining his arms around her waist, pulled her tight against him. Her eyes widened in surprise, but she gradually relaxed into his chest and swayed easily along with him.

"Do you know this song?" he murmured into her hair.

She shook her head.

"I feel like I do, somehow," he said. "Though I can't exactly remember how I heard it…" He began to hum quietly, his chin tucked against his collarbone, his nose brushing the top of her head. She smelled so intoxicating, like coconut and strawberry and cleanliness. The song was languid and sorrowful, but the quiet joy he'd been avoiding all night exploded softly inside of him and soared listlessly like a feathery yellow balloon above his head. He was free, he was safe, and Haruhi was in his arms. Éclair was gone, the Host Club was secure, and Haruhi was in his arms.

Without thinking, without fearing, he mouthed into the warm wind, "I love you."

She didn't flinch a muscle, and there was no way she could have heard him when no sound had escaped his lips, but he felt better. It had been good practice, at least, for the real thing.

He frowned pensively. What was the best way to tell her? Whisper it in her ear, right now? Take her on a walk through the gardens? Write her a letter? Send her flowers? He could always compose a song for her, but that would take time, and his father (not the Chairman, his father) was not a patient man.

The next time I see you, boy, I want to see you smiling.

"Haruhi," he muttered.

"Senpai?"

"Come with me?"

Without another look back at the others, without a single thought, she followed him. He led her through the maze of pathways that led to the fountain from which she'd rescued her books that one day so long ago. The music was barely audible here; the murmur of the crowd was drowned out by the chirruping of crickets, and the lights strung up about the windows skirted off the water with a glistening delicacy. Haruhi, her dress glimmering in the moonlight, her face round and illuminated by the stars, was breathtaking.

"Uh… senpai?"

He realized he was staring. He had never been caught staring before. He had never stared before. He'd never wanted to, never needed to. And now he couldn't tear his eyes away from her…

"Er," he said. "Right." Wildly, he searched for something adequate to say - some flowery metaphor, some trite expression, one of those winsome sort of phrases he was usually brimming with.

He came up bare, so he settled for the only thing he could think of the truest, the most honest thing - "You look so beautiful right now."

Her eyes grew characteristically huge, and then her brow eased into a frown. "Um… are you feeling okay, Tamaki-senpai?"

He practically smacked his hands into his palms, but somehow he restrained himself. "I'm fine, Haruhi," he said with a little laugh. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"It's been a weird day for all of us," she said, shrugging. "Uh, senpai… um. Thanks for, you know, jumping off the bridge for me."

"I'd jump off a lot of things for you, Haruhi," he said through a crooked grin. "Not just a bridge."

She chuckled. "Um… well, thanks." She looked around for a moment before deciding to sit on the fountain's edge. "We really thought we were going to lose you today, you know."

He sat next to her and brushed a bit of hair away from her eyes. "I thought I was going to lose you, too. But you know what I remembered?"

Her eyebrows raised in a silent question.

"I promised you once I would never let you be alone again," he whispered in her ear. "What kind of senpai would I be if I didn't keep my promises, hm?"

"An untrustworthy one, I guess," she said with a slight smile. She shrugged a little awkwardly. "You don't need to worry about me, though. I'm not… I can take care of myself."

"Except when you're falling into a large body of water," Tamaki laughed. "Well, Haruhi, you've got a point." He tapped his finger against his chin in mock contemplation before swooping in upon her, drinking in the way her eyes widened as he pressed his cheek against hers, his lips finding her left ear this time. "But maybe," he said, and she shivered at his heated breath on her neck, "I like worrying about you." He moved away a bit to gauge her reaction and found her still as stone, a skinny little deer in headlights. Adorable. "I want to take care of you," he continued, "because believe it or not, Haruhi, this selfish bastard has finally found someone he cares about more than himself." He put a bit of distance between them and sighed to himself; that, at least, was out.

She only watched her shoes with extreme dedication.

"What I'm trying to say, Haruhi," he said, propping his chin on his fists, "is… it's you. I care for you very much." Her silence was not in the least encouraging, but he supposed he'd better let it all go before he imploded with worry.

Her gold-brown eyes peeked at him from beneath her bangs. "Hm." She brought a knuckle to her mouth and nibbled pensively on the skin. "But… senpai…" She waited. "So the girls you always… you know, flirt with…"

He laughed nervously. "Ah… well, that's… a special case, you know…"

"Special case? It's all you ever do."

"But it's so different!" he exclaimed earnestly. "So… so…" Words failed him. Just one look at her sent his tongue into tangles. "Different."

"How?" she insisted, her voice gentle but firm.

"Well…" He flailed for an adequate explanation. "Haruhi, if I ever felt the way about any of my customers the way I do about you, I would never be able to… to act the way I… well, you know how I act."

She barked her laughter. "Oh, I know."

Sheepish, he grinned, ducking his head. "Those girls… they know it's not real. They're in it for the thrill and for the fun and to have someone devote all their energy just to them for a little while. Some of them do get in over their heads, of course…"

"I'll say," Haruhi grumbled, a scowl on her face.

He lit up inside; was she jealous? "Yes, but Haruhi, it's roles we play - it's all just roles on a stage, and I might love the limelight, but at some point I have to take off my mask and go live a real life." Tentatively, he reached forward to cover her hand with his own. "I want you in that life."

"Senpai," said Haruhi blandly, "you really need to stop with the ridiculous analogies."

He grinned again, shamelessly. "It comes naturally, darling."

"That's what worries me," she quipped back. Her shoulders hunched, she heaved a heavy sigh. "Look, I'm not sure how to say this but… I don't know if this is such a good idea."

Something inside him snapped - a tiny little burst - and he crumpled. He fell. He slithered to the ground and died.

He sat very still on the edge of the pond next to Haruhi and said nothing.

"You see…" Her voice cracked, and he looked at her in alarm to see her eyes swimming with tears. "You're really just… so important, don't you see that? To all of us, and to me, and… and I want the best for you, senpai, and… I'm sure you can do much better than me."

Better - better? Than her? But… how? "I don't understand," he said slowly. "I don't know anyone better than you."

"Don't be stupid," she muttered, swiping at her eyes. "S-sorry, I don't mean to be a girl on you, or anything…"

"I'm not being stupid," he retaliated; "it's true. You're wonderful, Haruhi. You don't see it, but you are. You're brilliant and beautiful and wonderful in every way." He paused for a moment. "And you're perfectly allowed to be a girl anytime you wish. You are a girl, remember?"

She snuffled pathetically. Dear God, she was precious.

"Come here," he ordered her, and he slung an arm around her waist, pulled her close against him. He breathed differently when he was touching her; his heart fell into a different pattern, a rhythm that aligned with the stars to create a cosmic perfection.

Or so he liked to think.

"I want the best for you, too, Haruhi. But it's not about being better than anyone. I just want a chance to make you happy."

She sniffed again. "But… I… you're a Suou, aren't you? What would your family say?"

"Actually," said Tamaki, "my father quite likes you."

"But your grandmother?"

Tamaki said, "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

Shifting slightly against his arm, Haruhi looked up at him with a drawn expression. "Are you sure about this, Tamaki-senpai?"

He shook his head, smiling in disbelief. "Why don't I simplify this," he suggested. "Fujioka Haruhi, will you let me take you out to eat sometime?"

"Oh. Well." She stared at her lap again and blushed. "I - yeah, of course. Of course I will."

He nudged her with his shoulder. "We could get ootoro?"

A shy grin appeared on her cheeks. "Yeah… yeah. I'd like that." Biting her lips, she glanced up at him. "Assuming you don't do anything stupid, that is?"

His hand flew to his heart as he drew in a great gasp. Just like Kyouya said. "Haruhi! How could you say such a thing! Me, do something stupid? What a ridiculous notion! What have I ever done that was stupid? My actions are consistently regal and consist of the utmost maturity - "

She clapped a hand over his mouth. "Okay, okay," she said, giggling. "I get it. You're the very essence of composure at all times."

"Naturally," he huffed, and didn't stop looking at her. She turned away, blushing, but he persevered: "So… is tomorrow alright for you? I'll pick you up around five?"

"Yeah. Yeah, definitely." All the glory and happiness in her eyes was lost upon the cobblestone path, but he managed to catch a bit of it from the side. "Thanks, senpai."

"For what?" he said, surprised. "I should be the one thanking you…"

"No," she insisted. "Not for asking me. For… for everything."

He could tell that there was so much more that wanted to come out, but Haruhi wasn't one to open up easily; and if it was time she needed, it was time she'd get. She could have all the time in the world. They were young and fresh and free, and he was in love (though he'd rather die than tell her and scare her away).

"Well," he said, "maybe someday you can tell me what you mean by that."

"Someday," she agreed, and her eyes danced like the fountain in yellow light.

They sat quietly for a moment, or a thousand moments, his arm tight around her waist, her hand on his knee. And finally, he made up his mind to speak, and said, "Thanks for falling off that bridge, Haruhi."

She laughed. "You know I couldn't let you go that easily."

When Tamaki reappeared at the edge of the fading crowd, Haruhi's hand clasped in his own, Suou Yuzuru noted with satisfaction that his son was smiling. He lifted his eyes to the brimming moon.

The sky was so clear tonight.

Translations of Tamaki's little inner dialogue:

Don't be ridiculous. The sky is so clear tonight. No clouds, or lightning, or thunder... Haruhi's afraid of storms. Maybe she has a point. The storm of Éclair Tonnerre almost swept me away to France.

So yeah. I just thought it was hilarious that Éclair's name was Lightning Thunder. *Laughs raucously* I'm probably like the last person to pick up on that, but anyway, that's my little play on words. Fun fun.

(If my French is inaccurate, please forgive me, and do correct me!)

Oh, and for those who don't know, Quand le ciel est tout clair means When the sky is clear.

Thanks for reading!

~SB