A/N: Reader, beware: this isn't twin-centered. At all.

Disclaimer: I do not own the fabulous Ouran High School Host Club nor any of its characters. I suppose that's what dreaming is for. Also, any companies mentioned in this story are not of my creation.

Instant Tea, Anyone?

A shopping day for the Hosts presents itself to Haruhi as an unlikely chance to study the Host Club.

"She's walking to the gates. On three..."

"Two..."

"One!"

Haruhi Fujioka, after all her time at the Host Club and with the twins Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin, still wasn't at all ready for another "kidnapping." Hikaru, the older twin, held her right and Kaoru, the younger twin, held her left as one said, "Target," and the other one finished, "Captured." Both were grinning rather evilly as they began carrying her away, still surprised at how light she was.

"Whoa! Whaddaya guys think you're doing?" A surprised Haruhi protested to no avail. "Put me down!"

"No can do," said Hikaru, the older twin, "M'lord specifically asked that today's Club activities be cancelled,"

The younger twin, Kaoru, finished, "So that we could all go on a little shopping spree."

Many questions spun around in poor Haruhi's head as she went momentarily frail, such as, Shopping? What for? Boys are into shopping? and, Kyoya-senpai agreed to this? and, I don't care, so put me down now!, which wasn't quite a question but still demanded an answer she probably wasn't going to get. So she settled with asking something that would probably reward her with an answer: "What do you mean?"

Hikaru rolled his eyes as a very sleek car came into view. They rather forcefully pushed her into the seats when the door opened and got in with her. Kaoru explained, "We're going to the commoner's mall because Tamaki wants to try the different instant coffees available."

"Yeah!" Said an excited Honey-senpai, who was sitting opposite Haruhi, "And he says they even have instant tea available now!" Mori-senpai, sitting next to Honey and opposite Hikaru grunted his approval.

"So, where are Tamaki and Kyoya-senpai?"

"They're already at the mall," said Hikaru, looking out the window, which was a little difficult for him since he was in the middle of Kaoru and Haruhi.

"That's all Tamaki-senpai wants to do there? Get instant coffee?"

"That's what Tama-chan told us!" Honey said with a smile, placing his beloved Usa-chan on his lap. "Ne, Takashi?"

"Yeah," Mori said.

"And Kyoya-senpai was okay with this?" Haruhi was obviously bewildered.

"Yep," Kaoru affirmed. "It wasn't like we weren't going to get much business this afternoon anyway."

"Why is that?" Haruhi asked.

"Tomorrow's an off-day, Haruhi. Don't you count down like the rest of us?" Hikaru began explaining, but he was getting rather impatient with the girl.

"And because it's an off-day, our customers will be going on vacations, so everyone's probably already at the airport or something now," Honey explained for Hikaru distractedly. Usa-chan was taking much of Honey's attention.

"Oh," Haruhi said, "I didn't know tomorrow was a holiday." Well, now there's more time to catch up on schoolwork, laundry, groceries, and maybe even learn a new recipe or two. Oh, I should make a reminder to sweep the floors and dust while I'm at it.

They reached their destination soon and Haruhi was greeted to a mall that wasn't quite her mall, but more of a very-upper department store. It was three stories high and Haruhi was baffled by the sheer grandeur of such a place. There were so many stores and vendors, and not to mention the crowd. It was a really magnificent sight.

Tamaki appeared in his usual flamboyance, Kyoya, like a shadow, following behind him. "Haruhi!" Tamaki exclaimed, "isn't it great? This is where you come to get your clothes, isn't it?"

"Boss only wants to know if she gets her underwear from here," Hikaru mischievously said as Kaoru added, "Perv," with a snicker.

Tamaki burst into flames upon hearing such an accusation and protested vehemently, arms flailing about. Many a passerby gave curious looks at the bunch, especially to Tamaki. There were a group of girls who were watching the boys and Haruhi; they were standing near a food court and giggling and whispering things to one another. Haruhi noticed and smiled at them. Suddenly, they all turned red and looked close to fainting.

I wonder why the girls are -

But Haruhi's thought was cut off when Kyoya said, "Haruhi, we're all still in our uniforms if you haven't noticed. Therefore, as you are now in a public place, you are an Ouran Academy representative and subsequently a Host representative. Please do behave yourself." Kyoya gave her a tight smile and Haruhi internally cried out at the unfairness. Has Kyoya-senpai even glanced at Tamaki and the twins?!

The boys and Haruhi all went in, first through the shopping area. Haruhi was impressed: the toys and shoes weren't in one area, and there were no groceries to be seen. The outlet malls she frequented had all their items, from tea bags to dresses and meats to books, in a single hall with many aisles, with perhaps some other rooms for miscellaneous things. Here, however, different stores showcased different types of items; for instance, there was a specific shoe store that sold shoes of all kinds and sizes as well as their accessories. There were many fashion stores, each having its own style: a little boutique specialized in accessories, a Disney store geared its flashy toys to the younger children, and there was a premium-quality-looking shop called Coach which interested Haruhi. The store sold bags and Haruhi thought she could use one.

She strayed away from the group and entered the store, her sights set on a purple bag she could carry over her shoulder. There was gold detailing and the company's name was carved onto the bag. When she flipped the price tag to see how much it cost (surely she could save some yen so that she could buy a quality bag that could last her some decades), she emitted a gasp of pure surprise and quickly and quietly made her escape. Except, she bumped into someone along her way.

Haruhi looked up to see Kyoya-senpai's glasses glinting at her. "Haruhi," he said in a singsong voice, "what did I tell you about behaving yourself?"

Still shell shocked, she managed a meager apology. Suddenly, the twins were next to her, examining the bag.

"It's a nice bag, Haruhi. Good choice," Kaoru complimented.

"Is this what you want, though, Haruhi?" Hikaru asked.

"Not anymore," she said, voice wavering. So Kaoru isn't always following Hikaru's lead. Sometimes, it's the other way around.

"Ask me for anything, my dear," Tamaki said as he made his entrance, stealing the spotlight of not only the Host Club but the entire store (which happened to be all females), "and Daddy shall buy it for you!" There were sparks in Tamaki's eyes that showed his enthusiasm to be a great parent.

"No thanks, Senpai," Haruhi replied, uninterested in his offer.

"Shall we go examine the other stores now?" Kyoya said in a polite voice. "I don't see what a boy like Haruhi would want to do in an all-female's purse store."

Expressions of understanding overtook the faces of all the Host members and they made their way out of the store. So this is what Kyoya-senpai meant by behaving.

They next found themselves in a music store, which the twins enjoyed greatly, and then into a clothes store of which Haruhi held no favorable opinion unless one counted "It's all so expensive!" as positive feedback. Tamaki spent his time purchasing random items from each store they visited, calling them "souvenirs," and offering Haruhi a pack of very strange looking pencils to which she tried to politely accept without coming off as rude. Hikaru and Kaoru bought Haruhi a CD of their favorite band while at the music store and when Haruhi heard a sample song, she couldn't contain her quizzical expression. Finally, as they were strolling towards the food court, Haruhi said, "Hey, where are Mori and Honey-senpai?"

Tamaki and the twins were suddenly alert. Kyoya kept on walking and said to them, "Well, there's no use in just standing around like a bunch of idiots. Are you guys going to make way for the people around you?"

Realizing that they were indeed causing traffic, the other four quickly walked behind Kyoya. When they approached the food court, they caught a glimpse of a familiar looking stuffed animal. "Hey," Kaoru said, "there's Usa-chan."

Usa-chan was sitting by himself on a chair in a crowded sweets store. As the boys looked for Usa-chan's owner, Haruhi gazed at the brilliant display of all sorts of colorful cakes. There were so many.

"Haruhi," Tamaki said, "we've found Mori and Honey-senpai. It seems like they've saved us a table."

She looked at Tamaki and realized they were alone, the others having sat at the table, digging into their sweets (which, it appeared, Honey and Mori had bought for the group) already. "Hey, Senpai," Haruhi said, "what's the difference between this mall and the malls you visit?"

Tamaki looked at her with an unreadable expression. "I don't really go shopping at malls, especially not stores like these. We usually have our clothes tailor-made but we do visit some exclusive boutiques where we get our stuff from."

Tailor-made...exclusive...damn these rich people. Haruhi thought. But, still, I wonder what made him decide to come here instead?

"Besides," Tamaki smiled at her, "isn't this where you come to?"

He thinks this is a commoner's mall? "Not really, Senpai. Everything here is so expensive."

Tamaki's face suddenly went pale and he looked like he was about to have a heart attack. "You mean...you mean this isn't a commoner's shopping area?"

"Not my type of commoner's, no," Haruhi tried to explain but it was too late. Tamaki looked beyond depressed.

"Haru-chan! Come sit with us!" Honey exclaimed. "I saved some cakes for you!"

Haruhi took a seat next to Honey. "Thanks, senpai." But she wasn't in the mood for sweets, although they made for a pretty picture. But Honey-senpai was enjoying this without a word of complaint. Haruhi thought, Does that mean he likes any type of sweet? Because I'm sure he usually eats only premium quality sweets.

"So, Haruhi," Kyoya asked, "which has been your favorite store so far?"

"None of them," Haruhi said honestly.

"Maybe the coffee sampling will interest you," said Kyoya.

Upon hearing this, Tamaki jumped up and said, "Yes! Let's all go sample some coffee and tea!" He began walking away, expecting the others to come and follow him.

The twins and Kyoya did indeed rise to go with him. As soon as Honey was done stuffing his face with one more mini cake, he too stood, along with Mori, trailing after the others. Haruhi rolled her eyes and followed the group, deciding she'd rather not make a dramatic scene out of sampling coffees.

When they reached the coffee/tea vendor, whose booth was near an exit, Tamaki was exuberantly sipping all sorts of instant coffee. He handed Haruhi a cup, saying, "Try some! It's all free!"

The coffee wasn't new to her because she already had this sitting in her pantry at home. What was more interesting to her, however, were the teas. "Could I have some instant tea instead?"

Tamaki's eyes went wide and he said, "Why, of course, my precious daughter! Anything for you!"

The vendor was impressed at the excitement this group of rich and handsome (and one rather feminine looking) boys showed at his very humble set of coffees and teas. He urged them to take some more samples that he even kindly placed in a basket, to which Kyoya politely declined, saying they were only here to try them but that they were indeed very good. The vendor calmed his requests and the boys and Haruhi made their exits.

"He knew we were students at Ouran," Kyoya said to Tamaki, who asked why they couldn't take the man's basket of samples, "It would promote his business. He was doing it solely for his own self-interest."

Kyoya-senpai always tries to act like the bad guy, but I wonder what his real reasons were?

Haruhi would never find out however. Soon, the sleek car made its reappearance and they were all shoved inside. The boys were already talking about something totally different, with Tamaki, Honey, and the twins recounting their adventures, Mori nodding along every few moments. Kyoya read over his black book and Haruhi stared out the window, thinking, I'd really like to see them in their natural environment. It would be worth missing laundry for. A snicker escaped her.

Back at home, Hikaru and Kaoru sat down to watch a movie. They were completely relaxed, with the exception of one thing. When Kaoru put the movie in and settled down next to his brother and a servant that was "babysitting them" (after all, they were under age and needed to be supervised), he asked Hikaru what he was thinking of.

"I'm just curious..." he began, hoping his brother was on the same page as he was.

Kaoru knew what his twin was thinking about. He finished, "About what Haruhi was smirking about?"

A/N: Ahaha I totally screwed this one up imo. Barely any twin-moments xD But you were warned so...

Wild Neko: Yes, I always felt that their whole relationship was like treading on thin ice, especially more for Kaoru than Hikaru. (On comment 2:) Hmm, interesting take. Thanks for the reviews, very much appreciated =D

Randomized Username: Thank you very much! Glad to hear it =)

To my silent readers, your reviews will make me soveryveryvery happy!