A/N: Here you go, my lovelies! Enjoy~
Haruhi POV
It was the last day of school before the summer break. The sun bore down on us with sweltering heat and made me wish for the first time in forever that I could be in a swimsuit in an ice cold paddling pool, like the ones we had when I was a toddler.
All I had to do was get through the next couple hours of hosting and I'd be free from obligations for a glorious holiday of reading, relaxing, studying and housework. I was definitely looking forward to it. Our guests however weren't as keen.
"Oh, Tamaki, will you miss me over the holiday?"
"No being able to gaze at your beautiful features everyday breaks my heart, but knowing we'll be reunited come fall fills me with hope." He carefully cradled the girls face in both his hands to stare into her obsidian eyes. The girls swooned, several passing out from over-gasping. Yes, the girls were going a bit crazy today at the thought of not spending their evenings with the hosts for a whole summer.
"Haruhi?" A small voice called out to me. I turned in my seat to see one of my regulars standing there, cheeks stained a glowing red and chewing lightly on her bottom lip.
"Is there something wrong, Kazumi?" I spoke to her in the most calming voice I could muster. She was incredibly flustered and tried to avoid eye contact with me.
Thrusting a hand forward, she dropped a small pink envelope on the table in front of me before sprinting away without a word. I blinked down at the dainty paper, my name was written neatly on the front with a small love heart dotted underneath.
"Is that…"
"A love letter?"
I almost jumped out of my skin at the sudden proximity of the twins, their breath tickling my ears and hair brushing against my cheeks.
"How am I supposed to know until I open it?"
"Then open it! Open it! Open it!" They chanted, huge grins marring their faces in demonic delight.
"What! My daughter better not be receiving love letters from anyone! I will not have you falling in love with a girl!" Tamaki tore towards us, ripping the letter from my grasp and staring intently at the paper as if it were about to leap forth and attack us.
"Can I have my letter back now, sempai? And that just made you sound particularly homophobic, if you must know."
Hikaru snatched the letter back and took a closer look at it, as if he had x-ray vision before tossing back into my hands. "Are you gonna open it or what?"
Shrugging, I tore through the envelope with a very obvious lack of grace and pulled the sheet of pink paper out of its prison.
"Dearest Haruhi,
Meet me at the clock tower after hosting hours have finished. I'll be waiting.
Fukuzawa Kazumi"
"Well that was anticlimactic." The twins uttered in unison, blankly looking over the short note. "Couldn't she have just said that out loud instead of handing over the note?"
"It's not a love letter…?" Tamaki whimpered from my side, trying to get a glimpse at the neat handwriting.
"Nope, sorry to disappoint, sempai."
He brightened up instantly, swinging back into action and swaggering back to his customers who were waiting patiently after his sudden departure.
"So, are you gonna go meet her?" Hikaru leant against the table, trailing his fingers in circles over the pale yellow table cloth.
"Yeah, do you looooove her?" Kaoru prodded me in the side, Cheshire cat grin in place.
"Cut it out. Of course I'm going to go meet her, it would be rude not to." I swatted away Kaoru's hand, to which he pouted and clutched the appendage to his chest lightly in rejection.
Kyoya POV
It was well known within the crowds of host club fan girls that Fukuzawa Kazumi had fallen for our secret female hosts. However I had never expected her to build up the courage to confess anything to the girl. Quite like Mori, she tended to draw in the more self-conscious and shy guests and allowed them to open up easily to her with her natural flair with the female kind.
The small amount of dread that rose up in me when she threw down that letter to Haruhi was the most unpleasant feeling I had ever experienced and I wasted no time in pointing out the occurrence to Tamaki. And as predicted he raged over to the table to swipe away the offending item. He gave up the fight quickly however and unknowingly worked as my little spy as to its contents as he sauntered back with a bounce in his step, which meant good news.
"Kyoya-kun, are the host club selling any more calendars or photo albums any time soon?" One of Tamaki's customers perked up, drawing my attention with her bright hopeful eyes.
"I'm sure there will be plenty of new material for all you ladies to purchase from us over the summer. Just be sure to check out the website to order," I answer with the usual politeness I stick to during the hosting hours. The girl and her friends all shared pleased looks and shuffled excitedly in their seats.
My eyes were drawn back to our female host who was trying to rid herself of the twins. I stood and straightened out my blazer with a quick tug at the hem before striding towards them. As I approached the redheads detached themselves to look innocently up at me. "What's up, Kyoya-sempai?" They enquired.
"Nothing of your concern. Haruhi, could I speak to you for a moment?"
"Uh, sure sempai." She excused herself from the pair and followed behind me like a lost puppy dog into the kitchen area. I could hear the twins muttering 'she's a goner' behind our backs, bringing a wicked smirk to my face.
"I think you have some evil on your face, Kyoya-sempai." She rose an eyebrow, and gestured towards my face.
"Don't I always?"
"That could be up for debate. What's up sempai?"
I lean up against the dressing room wall and remove my glasses to clean them with the silk handkerchief I carried around for this reason. "I had a proposition for you, Haruhi."
Her chocolate eyes blinked, fluttering her long eyelashes. My heart was speeding up by the second as I waited for her to speak again. "What can I do for you?"
"My family will be holding a ball later in the summer holidays, I was wondering if you would be my date for the occasion." I hoped I was managing to look calm and collected on the outside, because I felt like my heart was about to break free from my chest.
Surprise flashed across her face before a bright smile lit up her features. "I'd love to, sempai."
That was much easier than expected. Relief washed over me and I allowed myself to relax against the wall, smiling lazily at the girl.
"What are your plans for the summer, sempai? All the other hosts offered to take me abroad with them on their break, but I declined."
"Nothing confirmed, I could be in America for a short while on business but other than that, I'll be working with my brothers most of the time."
"Perhaps you should use the holiday to actually take a break," she scolded me.
"A luxury that some rich bastards can't afford, my dear Haruhi," I mutter as my lips curl into a small smirk.
"Well I'm going to be working in Karuizawa for a couple of weeks at the start of the summer, if you weren't already aware, Shadow King. You should come visit if you get the chance, it's lovely out there, a great relaxing atmosphere." A dreamy smile made its way onto her features as she spoke then sudden broke into a glare directed at me. "This offer only applies if you don't tell the other hosts though. I need some peace and quiet for once and this is my only chance."
The thought was tempting. The opportunity to have the girl alone to myself with no chance of interruption from the pesky idiots was more enticing than the possibility of a real relaxing break. I found myself nodding and grinning lazily at her.
She glanced up at the clock on the wall above me. "Sorry, sempai. I should really be going to meet Kazumi about now. I'll come back to do the cleaning, don't worry." And with a brief wave, she darted out the door and down towards the courtyard.
Slumping down the wall, I expelled a heavy sigh of relief, thanking the gods that my heart hadn't exploded during that.
Haruhi POVI reached the clock tower a little earlier than I'd expected, so I rested against the wall and drifted off into thought. I hadn't expected such an invitation from Kyoya, but it wasn't unwelcomed. Then I had to go and act over eager with that invitation to the Karuizawa pension. Chances are that the hosts would turn up eventually regardless of me telling him I'd be there or not, so I don't see why I'm worrying about it now.
A soft tap on the shoulder broke my train of thought and I stared dazed at the girl before me. Her face was aflame, burning a deep rose red that contrasted against the pale skin and raven black hair. She was an awfully pretty girl and I did enjoy her company at the host club when she spoke up. Kazumi nibbled at her bottom lip again and twirled the ends of her poker straight hair between her fingers.
"Hey there, Kazumi. What was it you wanted to speak to me about?"
"Um… Well, you see… Haruhi, do you like me?"
"Of course I do." Her face lit up, deep blue eyes glistening in the evening sunshine. "I enjoy our conversations at the host club. You're a good friend."
Shoulder's slumped and eyes dropped to stare blankly at the ground. "I see…"
"Kazumi, I… I hope you weren't expecting anything more from me. It's just that, well um… It's complicated."
Her doubtful orbs flickered up to me. "Is there someone else?"
"I… I think so. I'm sorry." I allow myself to wrap my arms around the slender girl in an apologetic embrace which she accepted fully, lunging into my arms to nuzzle her face against my neck.
Hikaru POV"Woah."
I couldn't speak. My eyes glued on the two girls. There was someone else?
"Hikaru?"
Ignoring my brother's soft calls for me, I flattened myself against the wall and tensely slid to the ground in a heap. My eyebrows knitted together in thought as Kaoru gazed down at me sympathetically.
Why is my chest aching? This isn't natural. My stomach was in knots but I couldn't break my amber eyes off the girls who were still locked in a friendly embrace.
"Maybe we should go back inside…"
I nodded numbly, allowing Kaoru to help me back to my feet and lead me back into the school building by the hand, squeezing at the appendage lightly in a subtle provision of comfort. All I could do was squeeze back and carry on walking.