2. "It reminded me of you."
Gift giving. An act that is so casual for the rich elite to do for each other. Tamaki can see a hand-crafted antique fountain pen being sold for hundreds of thousands of yen and get it for Kyoya without a second thought, though Tamaki did many things without giving them a second thought. Frequently, people of their economic status spend more on less useful gifts, but something feels so much more special when Haruhi does it. There may be some romantic notion behind it being more special of course. The pragmatic commoner spending some of the meager funds she had on something that was specifically for them. That gift symbolizes that the receiver was worth her time and money, which was a thought that the hosts would hold near to their heart for quite some time.
Mitsukuni Haninozuka
Haruhi frequents the second-hand shop that is three blocks away from her apartment. The fact that none of the host members would follow her in because of the "dead old people smell" was only a slight factor in this. Personally, the smell brings her comfort and reminds her of shopping for clothes with her mother when she was younger. Thinking of that memory, Haruhi inhales deeply and directs her attention to the little knick-knacks on the shelves and allows her hands to lightly brush the edge of the items lining the shelves. Her father's birthday was coming up soon and she knew that he has been picking up extra shifts lately and feeling very worn out. She wanted to make sure to get him the perfect gift, so naturally she started looking a few months early; however, nothing on the shelves seemed to catch her interest.
"Let's see, Mt. Fiji themed mug, empty picture frame, signed baseball." She mumbled to herself waiting to find the perfect item for her father.
"Maybe this necklace rack?" She picked up the brass rack that had enough places to hold all of her father's necklaces with room for the collection to grow. As she picked it up, the jewelry rack wobbled so horribly that she was worried that it would break right then and there.
"Damn, that would've been perfect." She sighed, knowing that she would probably need to go elsewhere to find the perfect gift for her father. She was grateful that she had started early because she knew she had time to find exactly what she was looking for that was in good condition and not too expensive.
She stayed longer in the store than she needed to, just soaking in the calming energy of the store. She allowed herself to go through the aisles that she had no intention of buying anything from just to delay her time of having to leave and go home. Her hand brushed against cold porcelain and she picked it up to examine it.
The cold porcelain turned out to be a cute, pink teacup with little bunnies hopping along the top edge. Immediately, her mind went to her close friend, Honey-Senpai. Haruhi glanced around the area that the teacup was on the shelf to see if there were any other parts of the set nearby and found 2 more cups and 4 plates. She quickly reasoned that the fourth cup was probably broken and that's why the rest of the set was donated. She looked at the price of the teacups and plates and quickly added it up to being around 2000 yen, which she definitely could afford.
As she was checking out, she couldn't help but to feel slightly discouraged about spending so much time to not find anything for her father's upcoming birthday. At least she was able to find a perfect gift for Honey-Senpai. She quickly raked her mind to come up with an occasion that is happening soon but quickly realized that this would be a gift that she gives for no reason.
When she arrived back home, Haruhi went to the back of the coat closet where they keep gift bags and gift boxes to reuse when giving gifts. She sifted through trying to find one that wasn't themed for a specific holiday and found a box that was pink with a white bow and decided that it was suitable to hold a gift for her cute friend.
The rest of her day passed by slowly without any huge events. Nights where her dad was working until the wee hours of the morning hardly lined up with the nights that the members of the host club decided that they weren't going to plan some sort of extravagant night full of energy and events. It was very nice for Haruhi to get the opportunity to take things slow for a whole night, so she took advantage of it.
She lightly studied for a Japanese Literature exam she has coming up next week and caught up on laundry. Haruhi decided to indulge herself into a nice, warm bath that night and could feel all the tension leave her body while she read for leisure, something she could hardly do nowadays between the host club and her studies. Right before Haruhi went to bed, she made sure to set the box with Honey's gift on the counter next to her school bag so she wouldn't forget it tomorrow.
Haruhi allowed herself to feel a little excited to give Honey-Senpai his gift as she waited for the school day to end and hosting hours begin. She knew that even if the gift wasn't as high quality as most of the ones he received from his guests and other friends from the host club that he would appreciate its cuteness. When she entered Music Room 3, Haruhi scanned the room searching for the person she bought the gift for and locked eyes with him.
"Hey Haru-Chan, doesn't Usa-Chan look extra cool today?" Honey-Senpai asked holding up us beloved stuffed rabbit that had tiny sunglasses and a miniature Hawaiian shirt on today. She must have missed the memo of there being a theme today. Looking around the room she wonders how she missed the sand that she was stepping on and palm trees in the corners.
"He looks like he's ready to spend a day on the beach!" Haruhi responded.
"Yeah Tama-Chan sai— What's in the box?" Honey-Senpai said, eyes glossing over thinking about the possibility of there being homemade sweets inside the box.
"Oh, here you go Honey-Senpai! It's for you." Haruhi said, giving Honey the smile that earned her the title of being a Natural Host.
Honey very eagerly took the box from Haruhi's hands expecting for the box to not have any delicate items in it. Haruhi flinched when she heard some clanking of the plates and cups.
"Be careful Honey-Senpai! I don't want the gift to break before you can enjoy it."
Honey-Senpai looked properly chastised in the brief moments between the warning and the opening of the gift, but soon his face lit back up as he gingerly picked up the teacup and admired the details on the rim. He pulled out the rest of the cups and plates and set them on the table taking much care to set them down gently.
"Haru-Chan, these are perfect! I love them so much! Why'd you get me a present? My birthday isn't until February."
"I saw them and it reminded me of you." Haruhi said simply, not realizing how significant those words could be.
Honey let tears well up in his eyes and got out of his seat and hugged Haruhi. This hug had more depth than his previous ones. Haruhi did not express her love and affection as readily as some of the other hosts. Honey knew that you had to look a little deeper when interacting with Haruhi to see and feel the love, but it was there. Honey wordlessly expressed the love back by only using those tea cups when in Music Room 3.