Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club or its characters and probably never will in this lifetime. I will, however, use them in my fanfictions to the utter enjoyment of my readers and promise to put Tamaki and the twins through the ringer whenever possible.
A/N: Normally I wouldn't start a new story just yet, but this will only be an oneshot and is for a special cause. Happy Birthday AnimeBestie! I hope everyone enjoys the new story! Until next time!
Haruhi knew and suspected something was up. The twins weren't fighting, or even pretending to be fighting, and had actually complimented her today. Tamaki was keeping his distance (sort of) and had not tried to squeeze her to death all day, and he had ample opportunity. She even tried to coax him into a hug during lunch…and nothing, nada, zilch. Instead, he ran away with a literal tail between his legs. Hunny and Mori…actually, they were pretty much acting normal, except Hunny had offered Haruhi a whole cake, not just a sliver or a slice, a whole cake!
And Kyoya…Kyoya smiled at her. Well, it was more like a small grin, but it didn't look Shadow King like at all. It looked genuine. Then again, that happened first thing this morning and she had still been half asleep from studying all night for a test first thing this morning. So she might have imagined the smile. Maybe she just wanted him to smile at her. No maybe about it, she did. Something had kindled that night in the beach house for her. Granted some may have looked at the situation and thought, "Oh my god! He's horrible." But she didn't see it that way at all. He was trying to prove a point, and even she had to admit that she was a bit obtuse when it came certain things in life. She had acted rashly and caused trouble, however, if the situation were to come up again, she wouldn't change a thing. Someone had to do something and if she had run to get help, something might have happened to the girls. What was she supposed to do instead? No, Kyoya's actions that night showed her that he cared about her well-being as more than just a servant to the Host Club.
In the months since that whole debacle, Haruhi would like to believe that she and Kyoya had actually become friends or to some sort of understanding. An understanding though would not quench the feelings she had developed for their resident Shadow King. She liked him. For the first time in her life, she actually had an honest to god crush on a boy, and not just any boy. Nope, she had to pick one of the rich bastards that tended to annoy her when she first started her schooling at Ouran. And not only was it a rich bastard, it was Kyoya Ootori, third son of the Ootori family and probably one of the more annoying, stuck up, callous, and sadistic of the bunch…at least, that's the persona he gives the world. In reality, he is different. Oh, he could still be stuck up, callous, and sadistic; however, he cared about his friends and wanted to protect them, he worked hard to impress his family and to make sure the club remained intact and running smoothly, and he was more open minded than he first appears to be, or he might not have accepted her. He was smart, handsome, and a smooth talker…and she had fallen for him.
Kyoya was not the in your face star of the show prince who shined brightly in front of everyone. He was a behind the scenes kind of guy and instead allowed his friends to shine brighter, especially his best friend. Haruhi was convinced that if need be, Kyoya could work his magic and bring a country to ruin and no one would ever realize what he had done. All in all, he was someone who was more than he appeared to be on the outside. His mind worked non-stop and he wanted to make sure everything was perfect. He worked long hours to keep his number one status in academics, and even longer hours to make sure the Tamaki's dream did not crumble. At one point in time, she actually fell into the twins' trap and believed them when they said Kyoya had romantic feelings for Tamaki. It nearly broke her heart, but as she observed him even more, she realized Kyoya treated all of his friends with the same care just in different ways. He always made sure Hunny had cakes he liked from his favorite bakery. He made sure the Hikaru, Kaoru, and Mori had everything they needed or wanted to satisfy them. Even Renge was given a powerful motor and the position of manager in order to make her happy. He didn't have to do these things, he chose to do these things for people who were considered important to him.
And then there was her. One night in a darkened room of a beach house, he tried to teach her a lesson, and yet, when she looked deep into his eyes, she could see something smoldering there. At the time, she wasn't sure what it was, but now, looking back on everything, she hoped it was a clue as to his feelings for her because she honestly wasn't sure how he felt about her. One minute she thought he might like her romantically, and the next she thought maybe he liked her as barely a friend. HE WAS JUST SO CONFUSING!
So back to today. Why was everyone acting strange? Had she entered the Twilight Zone without her knowledge? Was she still dreaming? Maybe an alien abduction? Chika had called his brother an alien about a week before, so maybe there was something to his theory? Gasp! Had Hunny taken her back to his home planet? No. No. No. Shaking her head, she refused to believe anything like that. Today was just an average day in the day and life of a non-typical student at Ouran. So why did she feel as if she needed to stay on her toes and alert?
"Hey boss, I think she suspects something," Hikaru called over his shoulder as he helped his brother hang a banner.
"And I have to say, these decorations look cheap. Why are we hanging this cardboard banner ourselves?" Kaoru grumbled as he stuck a thumbtack through the loop of string at the end. It was a simple looking banner that said "HAPPY BIRTHDAY", and each letter was made out of thing cardboard.
His face turning red, Tamaki stamped his foot and yelled, "Because these are the types of decorations she's used to. Commoners love these things and devote whole stores to them. We are hanging them ourselves…"
"You mean we are," the twins deadpanned interrupting the blonde's rant.
"Shut up! We are hanging them ourselves because that's what commoners would do and we are having a commoner birthday party for her!" Tamaki continued.
"And?" Hikaru and Kaoru demanded.
Flustered by their attitude, the blond railed, "Wha? What do you mean and? Listen here you two! She is an important member of this Host Club, our secret princess, and a commoner; and therefore, we will do the decorations ourselves!"
"Tamaki, while I do not mind you decorating for a party for whatever reason, please do not destroy the room. Any damages done…" Kyoya pushed up his glasses and they glinted in the light. Smirking, he continued, "You will repair yourself and it better look better than new. Do I make myself clear…daddy?"
"Mommy's scary!" The twins exclaimed. Kaoru jumped into his brother's arms from the ladder he was standing on and wrapped his arms around Hikaru's neck.
Visibly shaken, Tamaki tried to reason with his best friend, "N-N-Now mommy. Don't do anything you would regret."
"Regret? I can assure you, I would not regret anything I did to you or your cohorts."
His knees giving out on him, Tamaki fell to the ground, slumping over and looking more like jelly than man. Was it possible to die of fright? He thought it might be because he felt his soul wrestling to be free.
The sound of the music room doors crashing open pulled everyone's attention to the front. Running into the room was Hunny grasping three bags in each hand, followed closely by Mori, who was carrying something sweet. "We got the cake and snacks, Tama-Chan! Where do you want us to put everything?" Hunny announced excitedly.
Snapping out of his depression/terror induced state, Tamaki jumped up and ran towards the two martial arts experts, "Did you get everything?"
"Uh-huh! We got everything on the list!"
The twins eyed their shorter senpai, "Did you save any for the party?"
"That's mean you two! I got my own snacks and ate those on the way back!" Hunny retorted, slightly pouting.
Mori put the cake down and then turned to glare at the twins, "Hikaru, Kaoru…" He didn't need to say anything else because in the next instant, the redheads dropped to their knees and bowed, begging for forgiveness.
"Come on everybody. We don't have time for this. Haruhi will be here in fifteen minutes, so we have to hurry!" Tamaki tried to get everyone to rush with the final preparations.
Kyoya watched the bedlam and mentally shook his head. Tamaki had gotten it into his blond head that they needed to throw Haruhi a birthday party. That small idea turned into this craziness, and the Shadow King never quite found the opportunity to tell the others that Haruhi's birthday wasn't until February…they had about four months until then. Of course, maybe he didn't say anything because it was kind of funny to watch the others run around like chickens with their heads cut off… and maybe he wanted to see Haruhi's reaction. Since the time he had first seen her in her middle school uniform touring the school and she had been accepted into Ouran, he had been intrigued, and she surpassed anything and everything he thought of her. He fell for her, and he found himself watching her: her different reactions, facial expressions, and how her hair fell over her brow or blew gently in the breeze. If only he had some indication that she felt the same, he sweep her off of her feet; and the odd thing was, Tamaki had mentioned something about Haruhi being the perfect pair for Kyoya and that he should go for it, but he wasn't exactly sure he had heard right because he tended to tune his best friend out…a lot.
Haruhi hurried towards Music Room 3 in order to make it to the Host Club on time. She found it slightly odd that the twins had not been in classes this afternoon, but dismissed it quickly deciding they were probably plotting something or rigging a prank…either that or they were in the design phase of a new wardrobe for her. That particular thought terrified her.
Reaching the double doors, she stopped for a moment and caught her breath before opening one of them and slipping in…and then stopping in her tracks the moment she entered. The door echoed behind her as it shut and she stood there stunned. Balloons everywhere, a Happy Birthday banner hanging between two pillars, a table with food, and a pile of presents. This is what greeted her. And she would have questioned who it was all for, but her name hung below the Happy Birthday in a crudely drawn addition. "Ummm," she started to speak.
"It would seem that Tamaki wanted to throw you a birthday party," Kyoya answered, appearing at her side.
"But…" Before she could say anything else, Tamaki and the others turned around, their set up complete and spotted Haruhi. She braced herself for what was coming with her eyes closed, but nothing happened. Popping one eye open to peek, she found five hosts standing in front of her bouncing on the balls of their feet in excitement. No one bum rushed her, no one glomped or hugged her, she didn't feel like her bones would fracture from the pressure. She was healthy and safe with her feet planted firmly on the ground. Her other eye opened and she furrowed her brow, "Are you guys feeling okay?"
Altogether the five of them bellowed, "Happy Birthday, Haruhi!"
"Uh, thanks? But, umm, my birthday isn't for a few months still. Sorry," she tried to politely explain.
"EH?"
"Tono, where did you get your information?" Hikaru asked. He would believe Haruhi over the blond.
"No! I heard Haruhi say that she knew what she wanted for her birthday today," Tamaki tried to defend himself.
"I never…Were you overhearing my conversation with Momoka? We were rehearsing her lines for drama club," she explained.
"Drama…club?" The blonde's expression was confused, "Mommy?"
"You never asked me for confirmation," Kyoya smirked.
"But I got you a good present. I got you what you wanted!" Tamaki argued.
Tilting her head to the side, she asked, "And what is that?" She was almost afraid to know.
"Mommy!"
"Mo…Excuse me?" Her face turned red and she refused to look at Kyoya.
"You said you wanted mommy to sweep you off your feet!"
"You misheard the lines!"
"But you like him. Don't you? It is my job as a host to know exactly what all of our princesses want."
She didn't think it was possible, but she turned even redder.
Pushing up his glasses, Kyoya inquired, "Is this true?" If Tamaki was correct, how had the idiot seen it and he missed it? Then again, Tamaki had always been able to see the inner self better than anyone else the Shadow King knew.
"I have no idea what he's talking about. Aren't the ladies going to be showing up soon?" Haruhi tried to move away and change the subject.
Her efforts to evade gave Kyoya hope. Grabbing her hand, he said, "I'll gladly be your birthday present today and in February."
She would probably have a case of whiplash with how quickly her head spun around, "Eh? Kyoya-senpai?"
"I just believe everyone went through all of this trouble to celebrate your birthday and we should not let it go to waste…unless you would like me to add it to your debt."
Was she hearing what she thought she was? Could it be that Kyoya was actually asking her out? "Senpai? Are…are you feeling all right. You really don't have to…"
Leaning down, Kyoya whispered in her ear so that only she would hear, "But I want to."
Her face was glowing and her chin dropped to her chest as she said in a soft voice, "In that case, I think we should celebrate."
Confetti was thrown into the air as the twins, Tamaki, and Hunny shouted, "Hooray!"
After that, the Shadow King and the Host Club's secret princess found true love and lived happily ever after… at least in Tamaki's inner mind theatre. They were still in high school after all and had a long ways to go, especially with their group of friends.