Valentine's Day is one the highlights of the year at Ouran's high school host club. Haruhi had never paid much attention to Valentine's Day, usually too distracted by her studies or chores at home. 'Why would anybody waste their money on ostentatious gifts for a holiday that was created by a company who's aim was to sell more greeting cards?' she thought. Yet, she was intrigued as always what the guys at the club had in-store for her and the guests.
At 6am Haruhi awoke to loud a banging on her front door. She did not have to wake so early anymore as one the boys, (usually the twins; Hikaru and Karou) would pick her up for school. Haruhi looked around confused thinking it must be someone next door. The knocking persisted however, and Haruhi groggily dragged herself to the door.
'Had her father ordered something and forgot to mention it?' she wondered.
She opened the door and her vision was filled with a gigantic bunch of crimson roses. They were in a perfect semi-bloom, just half open. The delicate curved petals gave them the most beautiful coupled shape and the promise of more beauty to come. The roses were covered with tiny water droplets and glistened as they caught the light of the early morning sun.
"Miss Fujioka?" the deliveryman enquired.
"Yes" she answered.
"Sign here please"
She signed and had troubled wrapping her arms around the bouquet. Looking into the bouquet she searched for a card. She found one nestled between two of the roses.
The elegant script read.
'Dear Haruhi,
Thank you for all your work over this past year.
Kyoya'
Surprised at Kyoya-senpai's thoughtfulness, she searched for a vase...or something large enough to put them in. Noticing some smaller text in the corner of the card she read "These flowers were purchased from the profits of Haruhi Fujioka's chopsticks." She signed, frustrated as she had looked for those chopsticks in the club room for two hours last week.
Gently placing down the elaborate arrangement, she noticed the tag from the florist was written in English. Suddenly nauseous, at the thought of how much they must have cost.
Approximately 2 minutes later and there was more pounding at the door. Hesitant, she opened the front door again and was engulfed with another four huge flower arrangements. All the cards revealed they were from Honey-senpai, Mori-senpai and one each from the Hitachiin twins.
She sighed. Haruhi preferred if they wouldn't waste money on gifts like this for her.
Haruhi regarded the assortment of chocolates she made for the club members. A wave of self-consciousness washed over her as she regarded how simple they appeared compared to the extravagance of the flowers she'd just received. Immediately shaking the thought away she continued to get ready for the day.
The chocolates were merely a small token; to acknowledge their friendship, to thank them for how much they had given to her over this past year. Much more than she cared to admit. It was not just lending (she would return it after she had graduated) her the hideously expensive school uniform, they gave her friendship, unquestioning loyalty...and fun. She turned to her mother's altar. All her life she was determined to be independent, ambitious, to gain respect of her peers, (future) colleagues and finally become an attorney... just like her mother. But the hosts had managed to convince her to have some fun... just a little bit, just enough to bring some enjoyment to her brief high school life.
She snorted.
With all the time she wasted on cosplaying and club activities she could have pick up an additional class and finished with some extra academic credits, anything that may look attractive on a university application.
Haruhi left a card and bag of chocolates on the table for her father before she left for school.
- Later that afternoon -
The day had been absolutely insane! Every class had been interrupted with some form of delivery consisting of flowers, chocolates, other flamboyant gifts, even a quartet had performed during a lesson for a full 10 minutes!
She walked toward way to Music Room 3 and took a deep breath before pushing the doors open. Everyone was there except Tamaki. The deep red drapes had been mostly closed and hundreds of candles were lit, giving the room a romantic glow. The customary scarlet roses had been replaced with ivory orchids each with deep green leaves draping over the edge of the vase.
Toward the middle of the room, a long table was filled with tiered plates of scones and petit fours moulded in the shape of hearts and dusted with gold.
She shuddered they wouldn't use real gold...would they?
Tamaki burst into the room, arms filled with presents from his admirers. His eyes scanned the room until they found her. "Haruhi!" he exclaimed excitedly.
"You received a lot of gifts this year senpai" Haruhi noted and crossed toward him.
"Yes my princesses are very generous" he replied but not arrogantly, there was a small hint of... melancholy? she speculated to herself. Tenderly, he placed the gifts on one of the many oak tables.
No matter how eccentric his personality, he generally cared for the feeling of others.
Her eyes softened a little towards him.
Tamaki did not miss this 'positive' change and he pounced on this rare opportunity. He elegantly twirled toward her and presented her with a single stem of lily of the valley.
"Happy Valentine's Day Haruhi" he looked down bashfully at first, after a brief moment his eyes trailed up to hers and were filled with complete and utter adoration.
Haruhi had never seen or smelled anything so delicate. It's thin elegant stem filled with beautiful tiny bell-shaped flowers the colour of freshly fallen snow.
"What variety of flower is this?" Haruhi asked accepting it, if only just to breath in it's sweet fragrance.
"It's called lily of the valley. It was originally represented humility, sweetness and purity. But legend speaks of the affection the lily of the valley had for a nightingale, which would not return to the forest until the lily bloomed once again in spring... it signifies "the return of happiness".
Haruhi was trying to ignore the tightness that suddenly developed in her chest. She would not to be so easily seduced by senpai's pretty words.
"My mother told that story every time they bloomed in our garden" Tamaki had turned toward the window, looking far off as if watching his mother re-telling the story to her son.
Haruhi would give anything to see for mother again, but living with the knowledge that your mother was just out of reach was truly heartbreaking.
"A single flower? That's pretty stingy for you, my lord" Hikaru announced striding over toward them.
The spell had broken.
'Had I had my own way I would have filled her entire apartment with roses' Tamaki thought to himself. An image of Haruhi surrounded by only petals crossed his mind and instantly blushed.
Hikaru reached and wrapped his arm around Haruhi's shoulders.
Tamaki clenched his fists by his sides.
He hated how affectionate the twins could be with her and how unbelievably cautious she was toward him.
"Did you receive my flowers this morning?" Hikaru all but whispered against her ear all while staring at Tamaki.
"WHAT? What flowers?" Tamaki cried out.
Hikaru grinned evilly toward his lordship. Everyone had started to gather over. Karou flanked Haruhi's other side and slipped an arm around her waist.
"We wanted to share our undying affection toward Haruhi" Karou added stroking the side of Haruhi's face.
"Yes I received flowers from you all. Thank you so much" not flinching from the twin's touch. Haruhi attempted to bow in thanks but Karou and Hikaru kept her upright.
"Your welcome Haru-chan" Honey-senpai beamed. Mori-senpai nodded with only the hint of a smile.
"YOU ALL GAVE HER FLOWERS? How dare you try and seduce my daughter!" Tamaki shouted his arms flailing around. Everyone ignored him. And he fell into his usual exaggerated state of depression.
"Our guests will be coming shortly, it's time to get changed into our assigned characters" Kyoya commanded.
Tamaki had curled himself up in one of the corners once he realized everyone was ignoring him.
Everyone was starting to disperse,
"Wait, let me give you all your Valentine's gifts first" Haruhi said reaching into her bag. She handed everyone their chocolates'.
Honey-senpai cheered excitedly immediately ripping the bag open.
"Thank you for the flowers" she smiled, handing a bag to Kyoya.
"Did you make these?" Kyoya asked.
"Yes, I'm sure they will be nothing compared to what you are used to but..." She was interrupted as Kyoya leaned down to kiss Haruhi on the cheek.
"As always thank you for your generosity Haruhi".
The others did not need further encouragement and Haruhi received an onslaught of kisses from all the other boys.
Tamaki was slowly shredding paper into tiny pieces.
Haruhi walked over and crouched next to him
"Senpai?"
He pouted.
She rolled her eyes in turn.
"Will you accept these?" her hand outstretched, the tiny parcel nestled her palm. She blushed not intentionally making the simple statement sound so intimate.
His violet eyes met hers for a long moment, making her feel warm all over.
Tamaki turned to look at the chocolates "Yes of course Haruhi, thank you" his fingers touched her hand ever so lightly as he accepted the chocolates. One of his rare sincere smiles spread across his face.
Haruhi caught her breath; he truly looked beautiful in moments like this.
As suddenly as the feeling came, it evaporated.
"Did everyone see what my daughter brought her daddy?" Tamaki leaped up, back to his old self.
The theme for today was romantic heroes. It was truly a random assortment of famous literary figures, however, seemed to fit everyone's personality.
Kyoya was to play the proud Mr Darcy. Dawning classic Victorian attire consisting of a stark pressed white shirt with the collar turned up concealing his entire neck, a matching ivory fitted vest and neck cloth. Over this was a navy blue sports coat with tails hanging to his the back of his knees yet neatly cropped at the waist at the front. Three pairs of brass buttons, properly fastened, glittered on either side of the coat. Haruhi watched as he poured tea into one of the fine bone china cups, it was hard not to notice how the fawn coloured fitted trousers outlined his tall slim figure yet the charcoal Hessian boots made the entire outfit appear masculine.
Hikaru and Karou were the famous Greek twins Castor and Pollux. These two were a complete contrast to the prudent Mr Darcy, their costume showed as much skin as Kyoya's did not. Their chests were completely bare except for a short deep amethyst cloak that spread over their back and draped over one shoulder and covering just one third of their chest. A thick belt upon a high waisted hickory leather apron stopped just above their knees and leather sandals were strapped up their entire calf stopping at their knee. Haruhi could not help but notice how toned their upper body was, she had never seen them do or mention exercising.
Honey and Mori senpai appeared very similar in their classic roman attire.
Honey-senpai was supposed to be Marc Antony the powerful roman general, politician and doomed lover of Cleopatra. He certainly looked the part of a wealthy ancient aristocrat, he wore a garnet tunic with a matching deep brown leather breast plate and skirt. The sleeveless jacket was covered with an elaborate gold design; a large golden eagle extended his giant wings across his chest. The magnificent bird was sitting atop of an intricate Roman sigil and flanked at the bottom just above his hip were two lions facing each, raised upon their hind legs, both in an fighting stance. A great mahogany cape was draped across his shoulder and a delicate crown of golden leaves wrapped around his soft blond hair.
Mori-senpai was the audacious Achilles. Also, classic Greek attire Mori-senpai dressed completely in black. Upon his head he wore a plumed helmet with a tall black Mohawk running down the middle. A sleek black jerkin stretched across his muscular chest while his shoulder and upper arms bulged out to his sides. Over the tunic he wore the classic Greek pleated leather skirt with matching wrist, ankle cuffs and flat leather sandals. He looked truly menacing, and without a doubt any army would surrender just at the sight of him.
Tamaki played the most romantic and well-known romantic protagonist Romeo Montague. Surprisingly, Tamaki had adopted a more modern interpretation of Romeo, skinny black jeans with smart onyx shoes. He wore a beautiful auburn coat, trimmed in at the waist just sitting at the top of his jean line. The right side of the coat swept across his chest to attached at his left collarbone and trailed down ending in the middle of the coat. It had a high collar and was edged with black lace. Interestingly, the cuffs had an enormous embodied black phoenix, rising up half way up Tamaki's forearm and spreading it's attempting to encompass all the space on his sleeve. He suited him so well, he looked like a Shakespearian prince.
Haruhi was the only Asian literary character and she is not sure if a character from a popular manga series should really count as a 'literary' romantic hero. She was dress as the softly spoken and humble Kenshin Himura. Haruhi wore a long red wig, pulled back into a thick pony-tail. Long uneven strands adorned her face creating an uneven fringe. She wore a classic male kimono, the top a dark burgundy with white high waisted pants, a matching white obi (shash) and a thin elegant samurai sword hanging at her hip.
Unknown to her this was chosen specifically for her as Tamaki loved seeing Haruhi in classic Japanese clothing... it was also one of the least revealing outfits the club had.
Before she headed to her designated area she pinned the delicate bell shaped flower to her lapel and went to greet her guests.
-Later than night-
She returned home later than usual, having difficulty detaching some of the girls off Tamaki and packing up the room. Entering her modest apartment, the roses that littered the small space were mostly gone. A small container contained 5 beautiful roses, one from each of bouquets she received this morning. He father had clearly received her note to share the roses with all her neighbours in their apartment building.
Homework finished, Haruhi was planning to retire to bed. Before she slept to found a slender faded blue vase from behind her mother's alter, where her father had kept some of her mother's precious momento's. She filled the vase half way and slipped the lily in, letting it rest against the top lip. She placed it upon a small table close to her futon. As the moon lifted into the night sky, it's light softly caressed the pearly white petals and Haruhi was struck again by their beauty.
Haruhi fell into a restful sleep with a smile upon her face.