Author's Note: Ahh I can't believe I forgot to post disclaimers on my first two chapters! ^^; I fixed it though so it's all good now. I hope you guys enjoy this one, it's my favorite so far.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot bunnies running through my head. They can be quite vicious at times...

The Love Letter

Haruhi Fujioka was sitting in between Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin in their home room class. The students had been dismissed for lunch, but the trio was eating from boxes of food they had brought to share.

"We've never brought our own food to school before," Kaoru commented as he stole a bite of Haruhi's home-made soba. Ordinarily the food-loving girl would not allow this behavior, but as the twins were sharing the expensive lunches they had brought with her, she couldn't complain.

"I've always done it; it's a good way to save money and use up leftovers," Haruhi said, knowing the upper-class boys probably didn't understand the function of packing a lunch.

"That's never really been a problem for us," Hikaru mentioned unnecessarily, causing Kaoru to elbow him in the ribs. However, Haruhi was used to the Hosts making comments about their wealth, so nowadays they fell on deaf ears.

"Did they feed you in middle school the way they do here?" she asked.

The twins glanced at each other, and for them it was like looking at a mirror. Haruhi's question was innocent enough, but just the mention of their middle school years was like ripping open a recently healed wound.

"Yeah they did," Kaoru answered after a noticeably long amount of time, while Hikaru just sulked next to him.

Haruhi stared at her friends, not quite understanding what she'd done wrong. She went back to eating in silence and the boys did the same. A few moments later she heard Hikaru stand up.

"It's too quiet in here," he announced, and fled from the room without another word.

Kaoru sighed. "He really needs to stop being so touchy."

"What do you mean?" Haruhi asked.

"Hikaru gets like this whenever someone brings up something he doesn't want to talk about. Rather than just admitting it, he runs away from the problem. He needs to learn that sooner or later running won't be an option. I think he does it because he's ashamed. When we younger, we were more twisted than we are today. Most of our classmates know how we were and the progress we've made, but Hikaru doesn't want you to know, Haruhi."

The brunette sat there for awhile taking in what Kaoru had said. The twins were always difficult to understand because half the time they were working together, and half the time they each had their own agenda. It seemed today the latter was true for the younger Hitachiin. "I guess that's why Hikaru got so upset when we were all spending time with Arai. He doesn't like to remember the past."

Kaoru nodded. "You're right, he doesn't, but there are some important lessons you miss by blocking it out. You know we've always been popular with girls, Haruhi?"

The female Host was confused by the sudden change in conversation, but she nodded. She supposed there was a story on the way and she was particularly interested to learn about Hikaru and Kaoru.

"We've always received love letters or other confessions of love from girls," Kaoru continued. "We just weren't as, shall we say, graceful at handling them in middle school. We liked to play a version of the 'Which one is Hikaru Game?' with the girls that confessed to us, albeit a much more cruel version. If I received a letter in my desk, I would go down to meet her, pretending I was Hikaru. I'd tell her she put the letter in Hikaru's desk by mistake, but I really liked her. I would ask her if she would take me, as Hikaru, instead. Every single one of those girls said yes. Then I would call Hikaru from where he was standing nearby."

Haruhi looked like she wanted to punch Kaoru, but she restrained herself. "How could you guys do that? Do you know how awful that would make a girl feel?"

Kaoru bowed his head, hiding his eyes behind his bangs. "Yeah… I have to admit it wasn't something I realized on my own. Tamaki showed me. After we'd played our whole game with one girl, he was there to dry her tears. He told her she was beautiful and called her a princess. Soon enough she was smiling and entranced by him, just like any of our guests. And I thought: I wish I could do that. I wanted to make girls smile instead of cry, in that moment.

"But I don't know if Hikaru has ever realized the damage we caused to all those girls. Some of them are Host Club guests now, even regulars for Hikaru and me. Part of the reason I work so hard at being a Host is because I want to make up for how I was before, but Hikaru doesn't have that drive. I want to do something to give it to him. It would make him a lot easier to work with and an all around better person." Kaoru looked up at Haruhi expectantly.

"I guess that look means you want my help," she sighed.

"Actually I need it, Haruhi." Kaoru grinned, knowing she was begrudgingly agreeing to help. "I want to give Hikaru a taste of his own medicine!"

The next day after lunch, Kaoru took his brother aside.

"Hey, look what I got in my desk today!" he exclaimed, waving a purple envelope in front of Hikaru's face. It was clearly addressed to "Hitachiin Hikaru" and there was something distinctly girly about the handwriting.

Hikaru's first instinct was to try and snatch the letter out of his younger brother's hand, but he was craftier than that. "What should we do about it?"

"Well it was left in my desk, but it's addressed to you. So…" Kaoru paused dramatically.

Haruhi felt like a complete idiot. Was that what acting like a girl normally felt like? This practice seemed like it could open you up to get hurt so easily. She had looked at it from possibly every angle. There was the writing of the love letter. What if you misspelled something or phrased something wrong? A misunderstanding could lead to rejection and even a loss of friendship! You also had to write it in a way that showed you liked him, but you also didn't sound desperate. Haruhi remembered a certain letter written by the Host boys that represented too desperate.

Next there was the delivery. Most girls simply put the note in the boy's desk. What if it got mixed in with their school papers and they didn't find it until they got home? You could be standing around waiting for them forever and think you were stood up, but you really weren't. Or you could put your letter in the wrong boy's desk, or someone could see you put your letter in his desk and then put it in someone else's! Yet if you decided to hand your letter to the boy directly, that opened a whole other can of worms. He could read it on the spot and reject you right there. Or he could just not know what to do, which would be completely awkward. And if he did decide to read it later you would be left wondering all day what his response would be! That kind of suspense might just kill Haruhi.

Finally you had the boy's decision. To accept your feelings or not to accept them? If he did accept them, there was a happy ending, but the cynic in Haruhi's mind told her the happy ending was only for the time being. If he didn't accept your feelings, there were several ways he could go about it. He could be cruel like the twins had been in middle school, or kind such as Suzushima, the boy Haruhi had pretended to like. Of course there was everything in between to contemplate as well.

Kami, where were those blasted twins? Haruhi did not usually dwell on the topic of love and love letters, but since she was standing here with her own letter on the line, she could think of nothing else. And all these thoughts mixed together had her feeling stupid. This was why she had stayed away from confessions of love in middle school! Not that this one was real of course, it was all part of Kaoru's plan. It still made her feel silly though.

Finally she saw a tall, red-haired figure approaching. She got up off the carved bench she had been sitting on and met him halfway. They were standing somewhere along the hedge maze on the grounds of Ouran where the Host Club often played games from Haruhi's childhood.

He didn't recognize her at first. She had styled her hair, put on make-up, and changed into girls' street clothes. The dress she was wearing was strapless and divided into three colors. It was white on her chest, turquoise on her stomach, and purple down to mid-thigh where it flared out a little bit. It was simple, yet like anything the boys saw Haruhi wear that wasn't her uniform it made him blush.

"Hey Haruhi," he called finally, lengthening his strides to meet her.

She smiled. "Hey. Do you wanna walk or sit down in the gazebo?" she gestured to where she had been sitting when he had approached.

"Let's walk," he decided, and they strode among the green leaves and roses. The red-head was unusually quite, gathering his thoughts. "Why did you leave that letter in Kaoru's desk for me?"

"Because I knew you'd come anyway," Haruhi replied simply.

He stopped suddenly. "I like you a lot, Haruhi. I'm sorry it took me so long to realize it."

"I like you too, Hikaru." Haruhi confessed.

Suddenly there was a commotion as someone burst through the hedges from the other side. The other Hitachiin brother was standing there, his eyes angry and hurt. He was glaring at Haruhi and his brother.

"Why? You're supposed to know! You're supposed to be able to tell us apart! And now, in this situation? Why would you choose this time to forget?" The real Hikaru tore off through the maze, branches and leaves left behind in his wake.

Haruhi turned to Kaoru, the twin she had been speaking to the whole time. "Kaoru, he's really upset!" she worried.

"I told you he would be, Haruhi," replied the younger Hitachiin brother, running a hand through his hair regrettably.

"Yeah, but did you see his eyes? He's not just upset about me not being able to tell you guys apart, there's something else… something deeper than that." When Haruhi looked back at Kaoru and realized he was making no move to go after his brother, she sighed in exasperation and ran after Hikaru herself.

In the silence that remained after his brother and friend ran off, Kaoru made his way to the gazebo to await their return. He knew the two of them needed this. Quietly, Kaoru had stood by for over a year and watched how the two people he cared about most acted around each other. He had observed how their relationship and feelings had grown for each other, but how they themselves couldn't figure out what it meant or what was truly happening. This love letter was not a lesson to teach Hikaru how the girls he'd abused had felt in middle school, despite what Kaoru had told Haruhi. This was to teach the pair of them how they felt about each other.

Hikaru didn't know where he was running to, but running had always served him well in the past when he didn't want to face something. He was a faster runner than anyone who ever tried to come after him, even Kaoru, so that meant he could escape from anything. Hedges whipped past Hikaru's eyes, the green only occasionally broken by a splash of color from a rose. Eventually the emerald sea ended as he reached the middle of the maze. There was an ornate fountain splashing merrily in the setting sun, and Hikaru wanted nothing more than to smash it. Why should it be able to be so beautiful and sound so happy when his heart felt like it was in pieces?

Haruhi knew she wasn't the fastest runner or a girl with the best endurance in the world. In fact, she knew that Hikaru had a significant advantage because of his longer legs. Nevertheless she pushed these logical thoughts aside and allowed her worry for him to take over. She hadn't meant to hurt his feelings like that. The look on his face had completely taken her aback, so much so she felt her pace speeding up at the memory of it. Would he be able to forgive her? People like Hikaru, so closed and aloof, did not forgive easily.

Sooner than she expected, Haruhi reached the center of the maze. She had never actually been here before, but she had seen it from the windows of the school building. There was a fountain with benches surrounding it and sitting on one of the benches was her red-haired quarry.

"Hikaru!" Haruhi panted, running over to the bench with a burst of speed she didn't think she still had the energy for.

Hikaru jumped to his feet at the sound of his name and saw Haruhi dashing his way. Before he had really made up his mind whether to flee again or not, she had grabbed his wrist. Apparently realizing her forwardness she released him immediately, a slight pink color to her cheeks, but at this point Hikaru had no intentions of leaving. Haruhi was the first person in a long time to chase him, the first person ever to chase him long enough to catch up with him. Because if truth be told, every time Hikaru ran it was never for very long. If the person was only determined enough to catch him, they probably would have when he stopped. Haruhi was that person.

"Hikaru, I'm… I'm sorry," she breathed, trying to get the words out between gasps. Once she had caught her breath she continued. "I didn't mean to upset you like that. Kaoru had this idea that we could show you how all those middle school girls felt when you hurt them if I pretended I couldn't tell you guys apart."

"So the letter… the conversation… It was all a set up?" Hikaru asked, his eyes getting that same wounded look from before.

Haruhi opened her mouth, starting to say, "Yes, it was all part of Kaoru's plan." As upset as Hikaru looked, she couldn't lie to him. Yet she stopped before she made any sound. Thinking about the words she'd written in her note to Hikaru, she realized not a single one of them had been untrue.

"No…" she replied, sounding almost as shocked as Hikaru looked. "It wasn't just a set up. I meant every word, Hikaru. I care about you a lot. Perhaps the only word in that letter that I'm not ready to own up to quite yet is 'love.'"

Hikaru stood there feeling dumbfounded for a moment, the meaning of Haruhi's words taking longer than usual for his brain to fully comprehend. When he finally snapped out of his stupor, he pulled the petite girl into his arms. "That's ok," he laughed, "The only time you used it was before you signed your name."

The sun had almost completely disappeared behind the main building of Ouran Academy when Kaoru finally saw two silhouettes approaching the gazebo. He noted with satisfaction that his brother and Haruhi were holding hands, although the female Host looked slightly nervous with this development.

"I take it you two made up," Kaoru said with a slight smirk.

"Yeah, Haruhi and I made up, but that's yet to be said for you and I, Kaoru," Hikaru threatened. However, he was smiling as he said it, and Kaoru knew Hikaru was thanking him.

"We need to get off the grounds before someone catches us, it's after hours," Kaoru said and he started leading the way out of the dim maze. The couple followed behind him quietly. The younger Hitachiin heard them exchange words about a ride, and eventually it was decided that Haruhi would be dropped off by their car. She didn't sound too thrilled by this idea, but it was late and her father was probably worried.

The car met them at the school gate. Haruhi started to give the driver directions but he waved them away with a gloved hand.

"Why does your driver know where I live?" she asked, her eyes slightly wide.

"He knows where all of our friends live," the twins responded together with a perfectly timed shrug. Then they ushered her into the middle seat.

The movement of the car soon had Haruhi nodding off, although the ride from Ouran to her apartment wasn't a long one. Hikaru found himself with her head on his shoulder and no idea what to do about it. She was adorable, and he knew it would be impossible for him to wake her when they arrived at her house.

"Kaoru," he began.

"Hmm?"

"How did you know?"

Kaoru didn't have to ask his twin to clarify the question. "I've watched the two of you for over a year now. It wasn't very hard. You're both just remarkably oblivious," he chuckled.

"Thanks," Hikaru said, his eyes on Haruhi's sleeping form.

She woke when the car stopped and Hikaru insisted on escorting her to the front door. "Who knows what kind of miscreants could be lurking in the darkness?" was his reasoning.

"Now you're sounding like Sempai," Haruhi jibed, but she let the red-head accompany her with little struggle.

Haruhi led Hikaru up the stairs by the hand and fished her keys out of her school bag.

"Good night," she said, smiling tiredly up at him.

"Good night," Hikaru replied, bending down to kiss her cheek before heading quickly back down the stairs. He didn't stick around for Haruhi's reaction, so Hikaru clearly wasn't as confident as he tried to appear. After he got back in the car, he demanded they wait until she got in the door before driving off.

Haruhi's cheeks reddened from Hikaru's kiss and she fumbled trying to get her key in the lock. When she finally got the door open, she found Ranka waiting for her, nearly sitting on the front step.

"Har-u-hi!" her father cried, trying to grab her into an embrace.

Haruhi dodged him, though narrowly, backing into the kitchen. "Dad, what the heck's going on?"

"I saw you with that Hitachiin boy and now you're going to be explaining where you were tonight!" Ranka sounded more excited than angry.

Haruhi sighed. It was going to be a long night.