Sorry about the long wait for this one. Class picked up all at the same time for a long stretch. This one's a monster, ran to 8 pages single spaced in word.
Page breaks denote a shift in person, stars denote the passage of time in the same person's view.
Well, at least the pants were comfortable.
The tropical paradise that was formerly the third music room was filled with chattering girls, Haruhi included. He had watched her vehemently refuse Tamaki's offer at a blatantly effeminate costume and was serving drinks table by table. At the moment, she had a break in customers.
He busied himself by picking out fruit to serve with Mitsukuni's cakes.
"Takashi! Takashiii!" He heard Mitsukuni calling him and turned, only to have his cousin monkey his way up his side. Now surrounded by all kinds of flowers, Hunny threw a lei around his neck.
Mori's older brother instincts kicked in and he grabbed Mitsukuni, keeping him from falling off.
Those two are acting peculiar, as usual. What's their deal, anyway?
Haruhi was watching Mori and Hunny from the corner of her eye.
"Haruhi! Where's your tropics outfit? I want to see it!" Despite her lack of costume, Haruhi noticed that her customers were much more lively than usual.
"Sorry, ladies. I just couldn't shake the fact that it's winter outside." Haruhi smiled and put her hands up defensively, her eyes wandering again towards the odder host pair to her left.
How different they were; Hunny was a chatty smurf of a boy, and Mori might as well have been a walking statue for all the emoting he did. In a way it was funny, but Haruhi had a hard time understanding the relationship the two shared.
"Excuse me...it's almost time for your next appointment, isn't it?" A soft voice spilled over Haruhi's shoulder, and she turned to find a short-haired girl.
"Yes, I suppose it is. And your name is...?"
"Kanako Kasugazaki, second year, class B. You are a pretty one, aren't you?" The girl paused, giving Haruhi a once-over. "I think I'll make you my new favorite."
"I see...so I stole one of your customers..." Tamaki was on the warpath. He and Mitsukuni were standing behind Haruhi, and the twins had taken places at her side. Whether Tamaki liked to admit it or not, his ego had taken a blow from Kasugazaki's manic man-switch.
"That's not it at all!" Tamaki fumed, and pointed right at Haruhi's face. She leaned back to avoid being poked in the eye and bumped into Mori's chest. He silently righted her, and pushed Tamaki's offending hand to the side.
Idiot.
"Enough of this, Haruhi! From now on, you have to dress like a girl!" the king flitted about, complaining loudly about Haruhi's gender-bending situation.
"Daddy wants to see you as you were! Like this!" Rummaging through a trunk of what could only be his personal stash, Tamaki fished out a large picture frame.
"YOU ENLARGED MY PHOTO?! HOW DARE YOU!?" Her embarrassment was evident, despite the fact that they had all seen the same picture on her school ID.
She's shy.
One of the twins snatched the frame away from the now blubbering Tamaki, who produced a handkerchief from thin air.
"Y'know, every time I look I wonder how this..." the twins nodded at the frame, "...became that."
Mori looked at the picture, then to Haruhi.
She looked like a dorky sheepdog when we met her. He noticed that Hunny was looking at the picture with interest.
"I cut my hair cause a neighbor's kid stuck gum in it, and I lost my contacts." Her tone was dismissive. "I don't really care how I look, but being taken for a guy will help me pay off my debt."
Tamaki's disappointment was evident.
The twins chimed in, presumably with their own agenda.
"Hey Haruhi, have you ever done any social dancing? It's required for the party."
"Huh? Never... but the party isn't tied to my quota, right? I don't do well at parties, so I think I'll give it a miss..." Mori was listening, but knew that her presence at the party would be a must.
His guess was confirmed when Tamaki spoke up, his words fueled by a gentleman's revenge.
"If you're so set on being a guy, I'll be happy to show you what it takes! Social dancing is a must! If you master the waltz and perform it at the party, I'll declare your debt halved!" Tamaki's voice was laced with triumph.
Haruhi, meanwhile, looked like she had swallowed a bug.
Haruhi had been practicing with Kasugazaki for several hours at this point, and the training could be called slow at best. He watched her stumble around the floor like a drunk with two hands for feet.
She's going to fall and hurt herself if she can't get this together soon.
Mitsukuni had asked him to practice, so he was currently following the blonde's short-stepped lead. The height difference made this significantly more difficult than usual, but Mori's disciplined feet had no trouble with the precise stepping. If kendo had given him any advantage on the dance floor, it was control.
Interestingly enough, Mori quite enjoyed dancing; the movements were calculated, but their proper execution required more finesse than most people cared to realize. The activity reminded him of kendo, and the patterns of movement kept his feet busy while his mind chewed through the scene.
He watched as Haruhi clumsily stepped on Kasugazaki's foot, the pair toppling over gracelessly. Her left-footedness was entertaining at the very least, if not slightly endearing. It was a refreshing change to be near a girl who wasn't self conscious of her mistakes.
Haruhi collected herself and Kasugazaki from the ground and headed for the table for a break. Mitsukuni saw this also, and stopped dancing.
"Cake time!" he was beaming, and Mori found himself on autopilot, cutting a piece of the nearest treat for his cousin.
He brought Mitsukuni toward one of the window seats to eat, giving Haruhi and Kasugazaki some room to breathe. The two chatted idly, and Mori's attention drifted outside the windows of the third music room, then back toward the dejected-looking Tamaki. The king had made a pity-party for himself in the corner of the room.
Only when he heard the door to the third music room click did he return to the present.
"Dance! Dance! Dance!" Mitsukuni had demolished his cake, and the two girls at the table were gone.
He was certainly an idiot.
With Mitsukuni on his back, he was running to the nurse's office at top speed. His cousin sniffled pathetically, and he urged his legs to go faster. Had he been paying attention, he wouldn't have stepped on his cousin's arm. After he had knocked him over. Because he wasn't paying attention.
Idiot.
He skidded to a halt in front of the door to the nurse, twisting the handle as he did. The door flew open with little resistance. To his surprise Haruhi was inside, and so was Kasugazaki...
Who was now crumpled on the tile next to the door.
"He's...hurt." Idiot. Twice over.
Before he could offer Kasugazaki a hand up from the floor she ran away, wobbling as she went. He would have chased after her if Mitsukuni wasn't still on his back.
"Mori..."
He crossed the room in three steps, plopping Mitsukuni from his back into a chair.
"What happened?" Haruhi asked, trying to find the source of Hunny's tears. Mori rolled up the sleeve on Hunny's jacket, revealing a relatively harmless scratch. Haruhi didn't judge the scratch or Mitsukuni's blubbering; she started rifling through drawers on the bedside, looking for peroxide and bandages.
Anxiously chewing on the inside of his cheek, Mori found some tools to try and fix the door that he had busted off its hinges when he had opened it.
I didn't think I used that much force... He suddenly felt worse about hitting Kasugazaki in the head. I'm all over the place today.
He inspected the hinge, then lifted the door back into place and started to work.
"You say Mori stepped on you when you fell? Jeeze. Sounds grisly, all right. Although, this doesn't look so bad..." Haruhi's voice was consoling. Mitsukuni said nothing. "He's all right Mori. It's just a scratch."
He looked over his shoulder towards Mitsukuni who was still sitting in the chair, waiting for Haruhi to give him a band-aid. His relief was practically tangible, and a warm smile melted his usually statuesque face. If he had been looking at Haruhi, he would've noticed her expression fade from relief to curiosity.
"Haru! Did you meet Toru?"
"Toru?"
"Second year, class C...Toru Suzushima, Kanako's fiancé!"
Mori fitted the last screw into the hinge.
"Fiancé!?" Haruhi seemed genuinely surprised.
"Sure! They've been engaged since they were little kids!" Hunny bounced out of his seat, bandage now applied and flowers bouncing once again.
Haruhi raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything else. Mori couldn't decipher the look she was giving him.
He stole a glance at the bandage on his cousin's arm.
Thanks, Fujioka.
The doors opened, and the sounds of the girls cooing their approval washed over the host club like the gentle waves of low tide. They trickled in slowly, each a vibrant blossom in a different hue.
Mori watched from the stairs as the more talkative members of the club gave their introductions. The girls seemed particularly excited, pointing to each host and squealing delight at their formal wear.
Time passed as each host danced the next few hours away, Mori saying little and Haruhi doing her best not to trip over the customers who had asked her to dance. The twins were alternating between the dance floor and card tables, using their separation to their advantage.
As Mori was waltzing by with one of his more graceful designators, he overheard Kaoru giving his dance partner quite a shtick.
"It's so hard to be away from Hikaru! It seems the only hands I'm used to holding are his..." He sounded particularly troubled, and the girl was blubbering consolation as he spun her around the dance floor.
As the party died down a little, the hosts began to collect in the middle of the room for a break from dancing.
"Haruhi! You seem pretty tense." Tamaki tapped her on the shoulder. The twins had garbed her in a suit they had long grown out of. She was looking more like a host with each meeting, it seemed.
"I'm just not really used to events like this." She let out a heavy sigh, and Mori noted that she did seem out of her element; her composure wasn't broken, but she certainly didn't look comfortable. "Normally Christmas for me usually amounts to Dad bringing home a fruitcake from work..."
"So you're alone at Christmas, Haru? How do you spend it?" Mitsukuni piped up, his face mildly distraught.
"Well last year I watched the Kato Family's Dining Room Christmas Special on TV..." The twins and Tamaki squabbled on, and Mitsukuni turned momentarily from the conversation.
"Takashi, she's alone on Christmas?"
"Seems that way." The quiet between them was one of understanding. Mitsukuni sniffled a bit, and Mori patted his head consolingly. "She seems okay with it." A feeling of empathy crept into Mori's chest.
"Well so long as you're here, you might as well enjoy the food." in his own way, Kyoya was trying to settle her nerves. Mori knew he wasn't the bad guy he made himself out to be.
"Is...is there giant tuna?" Haruhi looked up at them all, her doe eyes inquiring. She looked oddly hopeful over tuna, of all things...
Tamaki, obviously enraptured, sympathized immediately.
"I WANT GIANT TUNA HERE, STAT!"
The twins chimed in as Haruhi blushed violently.
"How modest!"
"How unassuming!"
Mori felt obligated to help. He attempted to assuage her embarrassment by going to grab a tray of sushi to see if there was anything else she might like. From behind him, he heard Mitsukuni offer her a few plastic tupperware containers.
He smiled to himself, and to his right Kyoya was ordering giant tuna. After grabbing the sushi he turned and to his dismay, Haruhi had slipped away from the stranglehold of the twins and Tamaki, her now tuna-pink face retreating into the crowd of girls. She's so embarrassed...
Minutes passed, and the evening continued in a parade of dancing and airy chatter. Mori had just finished a dance with one of his regulars when he saw his cousin waving from across the room.
Mitsukuni bounced his way over, looking much more dapper than he had only moments ago.
"It's almost time, Takashi! Are you ready?"
"Hm?"
"To go get Haru-chan!" He had heard nothing of the sort, but followed his cousin across the dance floor dutifully. From across the space, he could see her helping Kanako up from the floor. Haruhi held out a lean hand to Kanako, ushering her from the ground for a dance.
Mori didn't give her the chance to respond. Before Kanako could take the offer, Mori closed the gap between them. He took the brunette's delicate hand in his own and in one smooth motion, grabbed her hip and hefted her effortlessly onto his shoulder.
"Found you, Haru-chan!" Mitsukuni chimed, as they crossed the room swiftly and made for the prep room.
"Hey, stop! Put me down!" despite her protests, he kept his arm like a stone around her, making sure that her wiggling didn't send her falling to the ground.
"Here he comes!" They entered the prep room to find Kyoya and the twins waiting for them, one of which had an outfit in hand. Mori gently removed Haruhi from his shoulder and placed her in front of them. His part in this was nearly over.
"Here, change into these! And make it snappy!" One of the twins shoved a bundle of fabric into Haruhi's hands and pushed her unceremoniously toward a curtained area on the side of the room. They waited patiently as she changed, hearing her fuss with the garment from the other side of the curtain. Kyoya talked her through the plan as she did.
"The party will reach its climax in about twenty minutes, Haruhi. That's your time limit. Are you ready?"
Haruhi stepped out from behind the curtains, donning a simple, sage green dress. She shook her head confusedly in response to Kyoya, looking from him to the twins, and then to Mori. Kyoya picked up on her confusion first, and explained while the twins began to fuss over her makeup and a wig.
"We've already called Mr. Suzushima over to room 2-C."
Hunny chimed in as well.
"Find out how he really feels!"
The twins finished their task and stepped back, revealing a very different looking Haruhi; the ragamuffin of a girl had been replaced with a delicate, glowing flower. The wig the twins had given her left chestnut locks framing her face and spilling over her shoulders. Mori had to wonder that if she had always looked at this, how were men not constantly nipping at her heels?
He caught himself smiling and smoothed his expression as Tamaki burst in through the door.
"What's going on in here!? We have guests to entert-" he stopped mid sentence, his eyes taking in the sight of Haruhi without his brain being able to register the scene in front of him.
"Whatcha think, Milord?" The twins were beaming, obviously satisfied with their work. The king's face had taken on a heavy blush, his mouth now covered by one of his hands. Hunny unabashedly hopped up to Haruhi, checking her makeup.
"So cute!" The blonde grabbed her hand and led her toward the door, and Mori took his cue to follow.
They had given her light heels to wear, but despite only the inch or so lift that they were giving Haruhi, she wobbled out of the room and into the hallway. Mori was close behind, making sure that she didn't wobble her way to a fall.
When they got to 2-C, Mori and Hunny passed the door, aiming to stay in the adjacent classroom for the duration of their conversation. It was important that Kanako didn't see them, but if something went wrong they needed to be nearby.
Hunny gave Haruhi a reassuring push toward the door, and they heard it creak behind them as she stepped inside. Making their way into the adjacent room, Mori listened as Mitsukuni quietly babbled.
The windows in both classrooms were open, and Mori settled himself in the corner of the classroom closest to 2-C. The wind carried the smell of cherry blossoms, and the sound of two calm voices through the pane.
"...I know that it's selfish, but I'm hoping she can forgive me."
Haruhi's flat tone cut through the quiet like a knife. Her bluntness was still new to him, and he chuckled to himself as she began to explain.
"That's quite selfish, actually. If you already know how you feel, why wait? How is she supposed to know how you feel if you don't tell her?" She paused for a moment, and Mori strained to hear. "When one wants to change, that's when one begins to change. It may be that-"
Suzushima's voice cut her off.
"Kanako?" Another feminine voice mumbled something weakly that Mori couldn't distinguish, and he made for the door of the classroom. He could hear the clicking of heels against the polished tile in the hall, and the sound of Suzushima tearing off after her.
He slid through the door, Mitsukuni on his heels. He had only moments to react as Haruhi attempted to follow the pair, running out the door haphazardly; and tripping as she did.
Mori's hands reacted before his brain had even given them a command. He reached out and gingerly and grabbed her arm, tugging her safely into his chest in one fluid motion. He felt the soft thump of her head against his sternum and knew he'd caught her in time.
"Haru-chan! Are you hurt?" Mori held her at arms length, trying not to invade her personal space. She looked more worried than hurt.
"What about Kanako? It looks like we just made things worse!" She seemed defeated as Hunny pulled them both toward the window.
"Just watch, Haru-chan." She looked out the window and noticed that the girls that had been in the ballroom were now crowded into the window terraces overlooking the courtyard.
Without warning, Kanako burst from one of the double doors, her sashes and ribbons flying behind her. Suzushima was right at her heels, reaching for hand. His face was painted with regret and panic.
They watched as he leapt once more across the bricks and captured Kanako's hand in his own. Without warning, they were standing in a pool of rosy pink light.
Then another.
And another.
They stood frozen, luminescent under all of the pastels of spring; the girls in the windows were gasping confusedly.
Tamaki's voice boomed out into the courtyard, and a hush fell over the crowds of ladies. Kanako and Suzushima gazed up at the blonde confusedly, hands still interlocked.
"Merry Christmas! And blessings on two stubborn mules!" The confusion of the girls changed quickly to excited approval, and the hushed whispers became echoed applause that rang through the courtyard. Kanako and Suzushima were smiling and laughing, and everything seemed to have worked out.
"Thanks for catching me, Mori-sempai." Fujioka shot him a look of gratitude, and she seemed to be happy with the spectacle in the courtyard below. "I should probably go change out of these clothes, huh?" She took her shoes off and walked off toward the main salon, her dress flowing gently behind her; but something wasn't quite right. Mori watched closely and saw her limping.
He and Mitsukuni watched as she tugged her wig off, her short locks spilling out messily from underneath it. The pair stood and watched the courtyard for a moment more as Suzushima and Kanako took the opportunity to explain themselves to each other. The girls had moved away from the windows and were making their way back into the ballroom, and the pair had been given a brief moment of solitude. They were gesticulating wildly, each trying to explain in the most frank terms what had led to now.
Mori felt a bit of pride for having been part of their reconnection.
"Ready?" Mitsukuni tugged on his sleeve, and they were off toward the main salon.
She had made her way downstairs, once again donning the twin's old suit and a spiffy hairstyle. She was hobbling a bit, and as far as she could guess she had twisted her ankle a bit when she tripped upstairs. She was trying to step slowly and be as subtle as possible. There was dancing still to be done if she wanted to cut her debt.
It was no task finding the other hosts, as they were all clustered together with Tamaki making himself more than obvious. That's weird. The only person missing is-
For what seemed to be the tenth time that night, Haruhi was hefted into the air. Oh. There he is. She was carried gently over to a large chair where Mori set her down, giving her a stern look as he did so.
"Stay there."
Haruhi was at a loss. She wasn't sure what she had done wrong. She watched Mori step away and have a brief conversation with Kyoya. His glasses glinted in her direction once before he nodded and Mori stepped back towards her.
"Here." He had produced an ice pack seemingly from thin air, and held it to her ankle. "Keep it there." Haruhi put a hand on it, frustrated. Mori knew, which meant Kyoya knew, which meant that she wouldn't be able to dance the chunk of debt away that Kyoya had promised her.
She looked over at the food tables, and noticed that they were sadly lacking in content.
Phooey.
She looked out into the crowd of girls and spotted Kanako and Suzushima twirling around the dance floor. They were both beaming, and her heart lightened a bit. Haruhi relaxed, and a smile fell naturally onto her face.
I guess it really isn't so bad.
She watched for a few moments longer before the voices of the twins boomed through the room in unison;
"And now, the main event! Tonight's big winner, Miss Miyako, was to receive a blessed kiss from the King!" She saw Tamaki begin to move towards the center of the dance floor, but the twins continued.
"However...that will now be awarded by Haruhi Fujioka!" A spotlight flipped on above Haruhi, and her jaw uncontrollably dropped. The screams from the girls in front of her were deafening.
"HEY!" Tamaki shouted at the twins, his face expecting an answer.
"Kyoya said a twist ending would set off the evening just right, so...ta-dahh!" The twins were grinning from ear to ear, and Haruhi didn't doubt that this was entirely their idea.
She was hesitant to get up from her chair, but Kyoya leaned down and gave her the motivation she needed.
"If you do this in lieu of a dance, I'll cut your debt by a third." Haruhi couldn't help but feel like Kyoya was some sort of demon...
But a third of my debt?
Haruhi tossed the ice pack to the side and walked slowly toward the girl.
"Haru's first kiss, perhaps?" Hunny didn't seem to care either way, but his musing out loud made Tamaki's ears twitch.
On the mouth is out, but on the cheek, sure...
She was leaning in to give the girl her kiss, and she heard a wild yell from behind her.
"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!" She felt a pressure on her back that turned into a forceful shove, and in turn found her mouth pressed quite firmly to Miss Miyako's.
The squeals were overpowering, and Haruhi felt a million eyes turn from her to Tamaki.
Was he the only one that was irritated by Tamaki? Kyoya and the twins were yukking it up, like ruining Fujioka's first kiss was some kind of joke. He was frustrated for her on her behalf.
"Congratulations, Miss Miyako!"
"Didya see? Didn't Master Tamaki try to interfere?"
"He always wants to do the kissing! He's a kiss-a-holic!"
The death glare that Haruhi was shooting Tamaki made him feel a little better.
"Haruhi, I just didn't want your first kiss to be-" he was practically sweating bullets trying to defend himself, and Haruhi disgustedly turned away, cutting him off.
"But it was, thanks to you. Not that I care. I just didn't realize you were so needy..."
"But Haru-"
"My respect for you dwindles. Is this some new way to try and harass me?" She walked back towards himself and the other host club members, leaving Tamaki to babble on the dance floor.
"Hey Haru, want some cake?" Mitsukuni had bounced up next to him as Haruhi approached.
She gave them both an exasperated look.
"Yes, please."
Mori ushered them both toward a table, shooting Tamaki a look that was somewhere between disbelief and derision.
He's lucky he didn't step on her foot.
