Author's / Note 1: Congratulations to DeadBat-7Fold on being the first person to correctly answer what the fancy tuna rings were! For those of you who didn't know; in the manga Tamaki and Haruhi go to a festival on New Years and Tamaki buys them both plastic rings with plastic Fancy Tuna pieces on it. He got one and she kept the other. Thanks for participating and DeadBat-7Fold; I hope you enjoy your appearance in this chapter!
On another note…. Not a single review said anything about the fact that Tamaki had a FREAKING ENGAGEMENT RING! He was going to propose to Haruhi the day she broke his heart!
Chapter Ten:
Mei wiggled the fingers of her left hand in Haruhi's face, marveling at the large diamond that was nestled there. She fell into a long and detailed explanation of the uncharacteristically romantic proposal that Kasanoda had managed to plan all on his own. He had really outdone himself and Mei's glowing demeanor was infectious. Even Haruhi felt light and bubbly as she listened to her friends excited babbling.
"I'm so happy for you, Mei," Haruhi smiled sincerely as she decorated a platter with cheeses and fruit for the group of boys who filled her living room. Honey already had a huge plate of cakes and cookies he had brought with him from an upscale bakery near his home. "Kasanoda is a lucky man."
"I'm a lucky girl!" She squealed, gathering what she could to help Haruhi carry it out. "I have you to thank for all of my happiness, Haruhi. I would never have met Kasanoda if it wasn't for you."
Haruhi merely smiled.
"Haru-chan!" Honey called excitedly, running a full circle around her slender frame. "Bun-Bun wants some tea!"
Haruhi chuckled lightly, setting down the platter and kneeling in the empty space between Hikaru and Kaoru. Instinctively the boys scooted closer, crisscrossing their arms behind her back as they gingerly cradled her to them. Normally their closeness would have irritated her; today she leaned against them gratefully. "I brought a cup out just for him," she smiled, tapping the cup across the table with the tips of her fingers to where Bun-Bun was seated.
"What are your plans for after your internship, Haruhi?" Mei asked, nestled perfectly in Kasanoda's lap.
Haruhi noted how natural the two looked together and how relaxed even Kasanoda seemed to be. She remembered when even the closeness of a woman would have sent him into crimson blushes. "I'm not really sure. Originally I was thinking about moving back to America but now…"
She gazed around the room at all of her long lost friends. It was evident to her now that home was here… with them.
In response, both of the Hitachiin boys wrapped tighter around her, clinging to her tiny frame. "We are not letting you go this time." They chimed in unison. Their hold on her was comforting.
"I don't think I want to go anymore," She whispered. "I think I'll see if I can get a job here."
"We're always hiring at our company," Honey grinned, nudging Mori in the shoulder. The stoic man grunted in acknowledgement.
"Well when the time comes I'll keep that in mind," She smiled gratefully.
Three sharp knocks on the door sent a wave of silence through them all. Detangling herself from the embrace of the twins, Haruhi rose to her feet and headed to greet the newcomer. "Did we invite anyone else?" She asked, to which Honey merely shrugged. Everyone they were expecting had already arrived.
She leaned against the door, pressing her ear to the thick frame. "Who is it?" She called.
"Just open the damn door!"
Her eyes went wide, her lips curving up into a light smile as recognition dripped through her. She knew that voice. She had spent four years arguing with and bonding with the owner of that voice. Hastily she pulled open the door and revealed the small girl Haruhi had been roommates with all through college; Alexa.
She was short, though still a few inches taller than Haruhi, with short brown hair and big brown eyes hidden behind intelligent looking glasses. She had a backpack big enough to pack Honey away slung over her shoulders and she looked as if she had swam across the ocean. Every inch of her was soaked to the core. "What are you doing here?" Haruhi asked, the edges of her lips still taped into a light smile.
"I'm backpacking." Alexa groaned, exaggerating the word as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "You said I could stay here whenever I wanted, didn't you?"
Haruhi sighed, stepping aside so that Alexa could step through the door. "I did think you'd at least call first."
"Well… I didn't. And I'm here now." She grinned, throwing her bag down upon the ground.
"Haru-chan? Who is it?" Honey called, peeking his head around the corner and glancing at the newcomer with a look of interest and confusion.
"This is Alexa. My roommate from Boston," Haruhi explained.
"Is this him then? Tamagachi?" Alexa asked, her English accent completely destroying the name she had heard time and time again during their four years together.
"Tamaki?" Hikaru grinned evilly, snaking his way around Honey and into the small hallway followed closely behind by his brother.
"She talked about Tamaki?" Kaoru asked, his evil grin mirroring that of his brother.
"Yes! All the time." Haruhi stamped down upon Alexa's foot, silencing her immediately. "What the hell was that for?!" The American girl glared.
Haruhi sent her a pleading look. It was too late, though. All four of the Host Club boys had heard it…. Haruhi had spoken about Tamaki. All the time. And why else would a girl speak about an ex if she weren't still in love with him? They all shared the same mirrored grin.
"Why don't we get you into something dry?" Haruhi asked, grasping her friend by the elbow and dragging her towards the bedroom.
Xxx Haruhi xxX
The small girl sighed, sitting upon the edge of her bed as Alexa pulled on a pair of Haruhi's jeans and an oversized hooded jacket; they had been lucky even in college. They were exactly the same size and sharing clothes had been easy.
"So you lied to all of them?" Alexa whispered, shooting Haruhi disapproving glances. "You lied to me. I thought you said you and this Tamashi person,"
"Tamaki," Haruhi corrected.
"Whatever. I thought you two broke up because of college? I thought you said you still loved him?"
Haruhi violently hushed her friend, glancing nervously at the door. It wouldn't surprise her if Hikaru and Kaoru or even Honey were pressed against the door and eavesdropping on the girls. "We did break up because of college and I do still love him. But they can't know that. When I told Tamaki I was moving to America he wanted to follow me. I couldn't let him do that."
"He'd have lost everything…" Alexa sighed. She could understand the choice that Haruhi had made. She understood the why. She just couldn't understand why Haruhi felt the need to lie about it. "Why didn't you tell your friends?"
"They never would have let me go."
"Why haven't you told them now?"
"Because they're still very close with Tamaki." Haruhi huffed. "I told Tamaki I didn't want him."
"You broke his heart to save him." Alexa sighed again. "You had the perfect boy and you let him go."
Haruhi merely nodded.
"And you won't tell him that you still love him… why?" Alexa asked raising an eyebrow. "Maybe he's still single? Maybe he still loves you?"
I don't ever want to see you again.
"Because he told me he never wanted to see me again…" She breathed, the first time she had ever spoken those words out loud.
"What. An. Ass."
Xxx Meanwhile xxX
"You heard her," Kaoru practically cooed. "She said Haruhi talked about him all the time!"
"Yes, but she doesn't talk about him now. Ever." Honey stated plainly. "Except for when she decided she wanted to tell us why she left."
Hikaru gave Honey a pointed glare. "Maybe it's because she knows we're business partners with him."
"Or because she knows we're all still good friends," Honey offered, sticking his tongue out in response to Hikaru's glare.
"She could be afraid to lose her internship," Kasanoda spoke, still holding Mei gingerly in his arms.
"She could know about Sologne." Mori spoke for the first time.
Silence fell over all of the boys; nervous glanced passing between them before Mei finally sighed in agitation. "Do one of you mind telling me what a Sologne is?"
"Not what," Hikaru frowned.
"Who." Kaoru finished.
"Sologne is Tama-chan's intended." Honey whispered sadly.
"Intended?" Mei's brow furrowed in confusion. "His intended what?"
Kasanoda held her tighter, grateful that he had not been forced to follow in Tamaki's footsteps, blessed to be marrying for love. "The Suoh matriarch decided its time for Tamaki to produce an heir… So she's arranged a marriage."
"Sologne is Tamaki's bride." Honey explained, clutching Bun-Bun to his chest.
This time, both twins glared in his direction. "She might be his bride." They hissed in unison.
"You mean there's still time to stop this?" Mei asked, a ray of light shining at the end of the tunnel.
"Of course!" Hikaru smirked. "He hasn't agreed to anything yet."
An evil grin spread between Hikaru and Mei as they simultaneously rose to their feet. "You thinking what I'm thinking, kid?" He smirked.
"Hell yeah I am!"
"Operation fix TamHaru begins!" Honey cried excitedly, jumping up and down between the two.
Violently, the rest of the group hushed him.
Author's / Note 2: Again… No one said anything about the ENGAGEMENT RING! Was that just not as big of a surprise as I thought it would be? Just a few more chapters until we see Tamaki!
Bmg20: We'll see who the Mysterious Picture-Looker was soon :]
Hita-chan: I guess my best response to this would be… when is Kyoya ever not aware of everything going on around him? ;]
Reader: So Reiji knows she dated Tamaki; he's just never met Tamaki. So that will be interesting.
Ihasredchair: It really didn't sound like something Kyoya would say… does it? ;]
KanameZeroYuki: I love how Tamaki can be so broken and wounded but because of who he is still be so… fun. You know? His personality is still so intoxicating.
Guest: Your answer was correct!
Pitchingirl94: So those were all really great ideas and the fact that you said you want to write a fanfic and then gave such an awesome idea for what should happen in this story makes me think you definitely should try to write one! I would definitely read it.
Chalice13: For serious. No more hacking into my computer for you. I actually almost did kill off Tamaki's grandmother! I almost made his decision to form an arranged marriage be because she had died and not because she was insisting XD
Mrpmrp: I'm enjoying writing this almost as much as you are all enjoying reading it. So I'm very happy to be posting all of these chapters for you folks!
Coolgemgem: You made an account just for me?! I'm honored and thrilled and so excited to see that you like my story that much! :D This chapter is for you, darling.
Alice Kitten: If you have internet access there is a website I can try to find for you where you can read manga online. And don't worry! Most of my story content will come from the show. There are just a few little secrets hidden here and there. I'll be having another contest in another couple of chapters and the answer to that one will come from the anime.
Kaori-Anna: That's exactly what the fancy tuna ring was! I promise I'll keep updating hopefully as loyally as I can.
The next few weeks are finals so I'm upping the stakes. 20 reviews for an early chapter…. Or whenever I decide I want to post another one ;D
Much love;
Kaasuten