Disclaimer: I do not own "Ouran High School Host Club" or any of the characters in this wonderful manga/anime in any way.

Shelter in the Storm

Previously in chapter twenty: They went to Haruhi's apartment, where Takeshi and Haruhi worked on their homework, Kimiko cleaned house (despite Haruhi's insistence that she stop), and Ranka did him make up. After homework, Haruhi and Kimiko prepared dinner, with Haruhi mostly instructing. Kimiko learned a lot from the girl, cooking was only one aspect.

Chapter Twenty One

After dinner was done and Ranka had left for work, Haruhi insisted that Kimiko sit down and do her homework. Takeshi and Haruhi sat quietly in the kitchen having tea while they discuss things. "If you don't go to club, Kyoya's going to become suspicious, if he's not already. I know that they are supposed to stay in the shadows and be unseen, but I saw one of the Otori private police yesterday when we were talking to the landlady."

"You might be right, but why would I want to spend time with bunch of giddy high school girls, when the one I want to spend time with isn't allowed to go there right now. And when she does go, all those giddy girls think that she is a boy."

"But if you don't go unless I go, then others will start asking questions, and I am not sure that I am ready to answer them yet. Not that I don't enjoy spending time with you. I just don't want to upset everyone just yet. Besides, next week I will get to start going to club activities. We will see each other then as well."

"Are you really that worried about the others?" He could hear a bit of jealousy in his own voice but chose to ignore it.

"I'm worried about our friends and our club. If not for that club, we wouldn't have met. Someone actually told me that I was the glue that kept the club together. If I had chosen someone else, what would you be feeling?"

He didn't like the idea of her choosing someone else. Not one bit. But she had a point. If Kyoya had confessed and she accepted, how would he feel? He did need to consider his friends feelings as well. She certainly would be. But then again, that was part of who she was, and part of why he had fallen for her. She was always looking out for everyone, be it wiping crumbs off of Mitsukuni's face or making Kimiko do her homework. It was a part of who she was. It wasn't a bad thing, it just gave him twinges of guilt for having taken her from the rest of the club, who he knew that each was also in love with her as well. Yes, he knew that if she chosen another, she would worry about telling him just as she was worrying about telling the others now. He couldn't fault her for that. He didn't like his jealous side. He would certainly need to learn to control it. Haruhi was the type of girl who would do things that could cause him to feel jealous of her attention towards others, without in malicious intent. She was just that caring of a person. So for now, he needed to focus on how to let their friends know that she was no longer a free woman. Only the host club members would need to know, thank goodness. And to be honest, there was only four people that they really needed to let know at this point, it wasn't like there was a whole lineup of guys from class to class that would need to be told. Thank heavens for small favors.

"Haruhi?"

"Uhn."

"Would it be better if maybe we held a get together after school on Saturday, or maybe on Sunday to tell them? That way they would know before you started going back to the club."

"Uhn, that might work, but how do we tell them?"

"What if we have a picnic at my house, in the rose garden. We could tell them there, plus it would give Mother and Father a chance to see you again. Your father could come too, so that he could meet my parents, since we are dating after all."

"That sounds good, but I want to wait until after I have my first follow-up visit with the doctors on Friday before we set anything in stone, ok?"

"Ok, and I guess I will go to club tomorrow. But I will be stopping by here after club to check on you."

"Ok" And then there was silence. Peaceful silence.

"Haruhi, how did I end up so lucky?"

"What do you mean?"

"I got the 'host club's sweetheart' to be my girlfriend. How did I end up so lucky?"

"I don't know. Timing I guess. Or maybe it was the location. You did confess in a rose garden after all. Aren't those supposed to be the most romantic places of all?"

He chuckled, "Maybe, but you thought one of us was crazy."

"That's because I figured my luck had run out. I didn't think that I could get so lucky as to have the man that I loved confess to me. I truly am blessed." She stood from her chair and walked around to Takeshi and hugged him.

She returned to her seat and the sat in the peace and quiet. It engulfed them and calmed them as they thought about the troubles that were to come.

The next day, as the day before, Kimiko had Haruhi ready for school and waiting on the car to show up on time. The ride to school was fairly quiet, considering that Huni-senpai was his normal self. They dropped her off around the corner from the gates to the school as they had done the morning before. And school had been the usual, except the twins started to revive their devilry act a little more than they had been the first half of the week, allowing Haruhi time to get used to their stunts again before going full force. She was thankful that they had allowed her time to readjust to their antics. She took her nap during lunch as had been the norm for the week, but this time she had not been as worn out. At the end of the day, Kimiko joined her as she walked to the host club to see her friends. True to his word, Takeshi was there, and greeted her with a hug right after retrieving her from one of Huni-senpai's tackle-hugs. She didn't stay long, as she had promised her father that she would only stop by and say 'hi' this week. Starting next week, she would stay for half of the host club activities if she got doctor approval at her first follow-up appointment. Kimiko and Haruhi left the host club, and got a ride to the store and then Haruhi's home. She was a little lonely riding in the back of the limo by herself for the first time, but she didn't want to take away from Kimiko's time with her boyfriend.

After homework, Haruhi helped Kimiko with a few new dishes. She learned fast. After Ranka left for work, Haruhi again insisted that Kimiko do her homework. Once her homework was done, Haruhi and Kimiko started to make preparations for Sunday's picnic. Haruhi wanted to make all the food for her friend's picnic, but Kimiko would not let her. She also figured that Takeshi would probably have something to say about it to when he showed up. Sure enough, once he showed up, he made her sit down and only instruct Kimiko on how to make the dishes that they were preparing in advance.