Hello! :) I hope you are all safe and sound during these tough times. It can be tough to stay inside so long and without being able to see friends or family but I hope you are hanging in there :).

I have thought about officially putting this story on hiatus because ideas just weren't coming for me anymore but maybe that isn't necessary anymore? Please let me know what you guys think!

I hope the update can keep you guys busy for at least a couple of minutes. Please stay safe!

Disclaimer: I do not own OHHC


Haruhi glanced at Kyoya helping a customer in front of her. It had been two months since their "date" yet he hadn't addressed their kiss even once. It would have been fine if all was back to normal, but Haruhi couldn't even live with that security. Kyoya was acting colder to her than ever. She looked at the math equation in front of her. She supposed it was hypocritical to expect a discussion when she hadn't brought it up either, but was it stupid to expect things to be the same?

She glanced at Kyoya again. He looked up prompting her to look back down. Kisses weren't a big deal anyway but the memory occasionally resurfaced.

For example, the math question's subject was clowns. Clowns… She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to shake herself out of the scenario replaying in her head.

"Um, Haruhi-kun?" A soft voice timidly interrupted Haruhi's thoughts. "Do you think you can explain the problem to me again?"

Haruhi looked at the customer sitting next to her. "Of course. Sorry," She said bashfully.

"Oh! No, don't be. I must not have been paying attention!" The customer replied quickly.

"It's okay, my train of thought just disappeared for a moment," Haruhi assured her. She quickly reread the problem. "The clowns need to find the optimal way to fence their clubhouse using only this amount of material." Haruhi waited for the customer to nod before continuing to explain the rest of the process. After the customer had successfully completed a similar practice problem, Haruhi smiled, stood up and scanned the large table for anybody who might need help. She walked back to the corner of the table, still scanning for any raised hands.

"You are quite gifted in math, Haruhi. Are you sure you want to major in political science?" Despite her scanning, Haruhi had failed to notice that Kyoya had walked over to stand right next to her.

Haruhi felt chills run through her at the sudden complement. It sounded nice enough but felt empty. "Thank you, Kyoya senpai." Haruhi looked at the customers happily buzzing with small talk about classes. Her hands were holding each other tightly behind her back. "I just think it would be more useful for a lawyer."

"A minor in math wouldn't hurt." Kyoya replied. He was also looking at the table but unlike Haruhi his arms were crossed.

"It wouldn't, but if I minor in anything it would be in biology." Haruhi said.

The customers suddenly gasped and clapped. "Wow! Haruhi you're going to be a lawyer?"

"And minor in biology?" Another gasp.

"I was just going to inherit my parent's business! There's no way I could start my own."

"I hate reading too much. It's a good thing I'm majoring in computer science." Loud chatter replaced the quiet buzz in the room as the customers began to talk about their future instead of their homework.

"Nonsense!" Tamaki suddenly and with grandiosity burst into the room. He seemed to have been waiting outside of the clubroom for a perfect chance to enter. He launched into his hostly persona."You are all gifted in different ways."

The girls turned to fawn over Tamaki.

"I see our tutoring time is over." Kyoya looked at his watch. "It only lasted half an hour this time." He turned to Haruhi. "I noticed you were surprised when they reacted to your future plans. Haruhi, you should know by now that whatever we say during club hours is rarely out of earshot of our guests."

Haruhi turned to look at him, her hands releasing each other from their grip to land at her sides. "I suppose I forget sometimes." She began to walk towards the door. The agreement was that she would help tutor for one hour. If Tamaki interrupted before the time was up, she could take the remaining minutes to study.

"You can't repay your debt if you're always as distracted as you were today." Kyoya said. He didn't call it out or anything but merely stated it loudly enough for her to hear.

At this point the table was cleared of all study materials. Immediately upon entering, Tamaki had led the girls into another section of the large music room.

Haruhi turned back to Kyoya before speaking. "Kyoya senpai," she uneasily trailed off as Kyoya pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose while walking towards her.

"I was distracted because-"

"No need to explain. People are free to daydream but please refrain from doing so while working." He smiled at her. "I may just have to charge you for it."

Haruhi wanted to scream at the emergence of his "cool" host demeanor. "I wasn't daydreaming. I was thinking about the math problem." What a damn lie.

Kyoya scribbled into his book before closing it. "So it seems you're not as gifted in arithmetic as I believed."


Haruhi paced in her apartment. After everything she had just read, Kyoya's situation made sense. This only made things worse for her personal life. The only reason she could even read the packet was because she was supposed to be one of his lawyers and now that she had done her job…her professional life would improve but his needed all of the help he could get.

Either way, Haruhi had to cool off. It was difficult to contain her personal sentiments about the whole situation but her career depended on this. "I should be a pro. I've had lots and lots of practice."

Haruhi finally decided to sit down only to stand up again a few seconds later. She stopped, looked at her laptop, and sat back down.

"Okay," Her hand hovered above the keyboard of her laptop. She muttered to herself as she began to type. At best, this situation was frustrating for her. As soon as she was done, Haruhi stapled the packet of paper, placed them in her suitcase and walked out the door.


"Oh dear, it sure is difficult to be as popular as me." Tamaki dramatically fanned himself as he lay across the couch.

Haruhi stood to the side, holding a tray of mugs with instant coffee. "Yeah, I would hate to be so energetic all the time."

Tamaki grinned as he sat up quickly. "Do you want to know my secret?"

"Not really…"

Tamaki beckoned her closer. "Sit, sit." He patted the seat next to him.

Haruhi reluctantly set the tray down before sitting. She looked at him suspiciously.

Tamaki leaned in conspiratorially. He whispered, "There is no secret. I just wanted to be dramatic for the guests."

Haruhi looked at the guests to see that they were nearly bursting at the sight of the hosts' closeness.

"Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh" They whispered to each other as Tamaki leaned closer to Haruhi's ear.

Haruhi leaned back a bit. Before she could protest Tamaki's closeness he whispered again.

"Aren't I a genius?"

"Sure, senpai." Haruhi transferred the mugs from the tray to the table before picking the tray up and walking back to the clubroom's kitchen area.

"Haruhiiii I wasn't finished," Tamaki whined after her.

Haruhi ignored him. She knew he was done. The guests were so red they drowned themselves in water to cool down. It was about time for Tamaki to calm the guests before they closed for the day anyway.

"Have you looked at the email I sent you?"

Haruhi jumped as Kyoya once again sneakily appeared next to her. "No." For some reason that was always her first response to any member's questions. "I mean yes, I have. Could we set up a time to talk about my remaining balance?"

Kyoya tsked at her. She wanted to roll her eyes, knowing the tsk was for the short notice.

"My next available time slot is in three months." Kyoya informed her.

"Is there any way to make it sooner?" Haruh asked before she lost her nerve.

Kyoya's glasses didn't clear up but Haruhi knew he was glaring. "I suppose I can give you ten minutes during lunch tomorrow. You would have to meet me in the second library, at most five minutes after the bell for lunch rings."

"Thank you."

"Haruhi! You haven't played with us all day." The twins chanted.

Kyoya scribbled in his black book as the twins dragged Haruhi away.


Tamaki clicked on one tab after another. He scanned each page as quickly as he could. The Suohs weren't exactly in business with the Ootori Group but everybody knew Tamaki and Kyoya were close. Somehow the public heard whispers of the lawsuit against Kyoya. Were the Suohs involved? Was Shizue Suoh, the admirable owner of the Suoh company, finally taking action against the Ootori Group? The most popular was that the Suoh family ("obviously secret werewolves") was somehow conspiring against their "former" partner group which happened to be vampires. He didn't know how the hell people came up with some theories.

What he didn't understand was why his grandmother hadn't told anyone to do anything. He was itching to deny the rumors but everyone knew that nobody moved until the matriarch said something.

Tamaki jumped at his father's sudden entrance. Yuzuru solemnly walked up to Tamaki's desk.

"Please tell me the rumor isn't true." He said, slowly sitting down in the chair opposite of his son.

"Rumor?" Tamaki asked, attempting to seem clueless.

"I'm sure you know," His father said. "Some are obviously false. But the one about … an affair?"

"Of course it's not true!" Tamaki replied indignantly. "Why on Earth would I do something like that?"

"I don't know. Why on Earth would you pick a public fight with Kyoya?"

Tamaki leaned back in his chair. "That was for the benefit of both of us."

"Well, we haven't heard anything from your grandmother which either means we have time to come up with a reasonable solution or she already has one that we are not going to like."

"Like what?" Tamaki asked.

"Recently, I've suspected that-"

They shot up at the sound of the door opening again.

Tamaki's grandmother entered the room, waving her hand to tell the assistant to wait outside.

"Good morning-" The two men were quickly interrupted.

"You," She looked at Tamaki prompting him to bow his head. "Your time is up."

Tamaki was disoriented for a second but managed to find his voice. "You are mistaken, I still have-"

"No, you do not." She cut him off again. "I already have a suitable wife for you. We could have found a better girl but you were stupid enough to think you could wait so long." She studied him critically.

Yuzuru approached his mother cautiously. "Mother, I understand why you're doing this now but-"

"Did I ask for your opinion?" She replied sternly. "You shamed the family after having an affair but your illegitimate child has been an embarrassment from birth." She turned back to Tamaki with pure disdain. "This is the least you could do."

Tamaki was quietly seething while his father and grandmother argued. How was it his fault that his parents had fallen in love? Why wasn't he allowed to do the same?

"I have already ordered our media team to announce the engagement during a conference about our partnership tomorrow.. You will meet the girl there." Shizue stated with finality.

"Wait," Yuzuru spoke up again. "What about meeting the girl's parents? Surely you don't expect us to be rude-"

"I already met them. The meeting starts at five." She turned around without another word.

Yuzuru looked at Tamaki helplessly as his mother walked out. He didn't want Tamaki to repeat his mistakes so it pained him that he didn't have the power to do more.

"I'm sorry," Yuzuru collapsed into the chair. He pulled at his hair dejectedly.

"Father please-"

"No, it is all my fault. I couldn't protect you from your grandmother's actions or words. I can't even help you see your mother…" His voice weakened as the tears welled up in his eyes.

Tamaki sat next to his father wordlessly.

"Tamaki," Yuzuru looked up at his son. "I never had the courage to stand up to your grandmother. I couldn't bring myself to deny her wishes even though I hurt others in the process. Even as a child I learned to just bite my tongue. The only time I defied her was when I met your mother..."

Tamaki opened his mouth but his father shook his head. "You're not like me."

"I've also been living with grandmother's rules." Tamaki replied quietly. "It's not easy to stay positive when I'm aware that if she was given the choice I wouldn't exist. Everyone I love, including you and mother, would be happier if I just-"

"I will never regret having you Tamaki and I know your mother feels the same way." Yuzuru looked out the window across from them, seemingly imagining that he could see Tamaki's mother. "You're the only reason I've tried so hard to stay here."

They both looked out the window for some time before Tamaki spoke up again. "What if I wasn't a Suoh any more?"

"What if," Tamaki suddenly found it hard to swallow. "I could make everyone happy?"

Yuzuru wanted to tell Tamaki not to take dramatic decisions so quickly but one look at Tamaki told him this had been his plan for a long time now.

"I don't want to lose you Tamaki," Yuzuru pushed Tamaki's hair back. His tears were gone but the sorrow in his face could have been engraved forever. "But I want you to be happy."


Riku slightly shifted in his chair as the people in front of him began to discuss their case. His work as part of the group had already been extended a considerable amount. He wasn't supposed to stay with them through the trial but Kyoya insisted that it was necessary. Riku couldn't help but feel frustrated with the increase in his involvement. He has his own problems to worry about!

At this point it felt uncomfortable to be in the room without a clear purpose. He had already encouraged the disbursement of people into different groups. What else could he do without overstepping boundaries with the team?

"The most pressing matter is forming the group that will help us defend our client." A woman named Mayuko suggested

Haruhi said her co-worker's name to herself. She had wasted too much time thinking about personal problems when she should have been observing her peers.

As one person after another voiced their opinion, Haruhi thought of their names. As much as she told herself that this was to remember her coworkers, she couldn't deny that it was to keep her mind off the impending questions. After all, the group was yet to name Kyoya's wife even though it was certain they all knew her name.

"What about his wife?"

There it was. Haruhi didn't want to speak up just yet but would it be wise to wait longer?

"Ex-wife? Of course she has to be there during the trial." The lawyers unanimously agreed on this, including Haruhi.

Riku exercised silence for the majority of these meetings so he assumed his lack of participation wasn't suspicious but had any of them noticed his suddenly tense posture? He glanced at Haruhi before looking back at the group. Was she going to confess or wait for them to point it out?

"Their reason for divorce was irreconcilable differences. There are no children, and no alimony was requested. It was shortly after the alleged incidence." A person from the witness group reminded them. 'Dori,' Haruhi thought.

"That's a common excuse. Are there any more specific details about their separation? Did the wife have any issues that could have been a reason to ask for divorce?"

Haruhi wasn't paranoid but she was sure every single person had glanced at her once throughout the span of this conversation.

"She has been seeing a mental therapist and a physical therapist for about as long as has been back from the United States." Dori continued.

"I'm sorry but why are we pretending that she isn't in the room with us?" 'Koutaro' Haruhi identified the speaker.

Now it was certain that everybody was looking at her. Riku retained his poker face. She had waited too long.

Haruhi bowed her head and looked back up at the group. "I apologize for not disclosing this sooner. I will testify since we all agree that it is necessary. However, since the case is both a personal and professional matter to me I hope we can divide my involvement into the appropriate times."

Most people broke their stare and muttered to themselves. A few turned to Riku, correctly assuming he knew long before the group did.

"You have all been made aware of the hiring process so you can see how Ms. Fujioka was hired fairly." He looked around the room before flipping through the packet in front of him. "However because this was bound to happen I was told to assure you the company values the opinion of our attorneys. After all, you are our most powerful defense."

Straight faces stared back at him.

"If the majority feels that 's involvement undermines the team and our case, she will be removed."` There was no point in beating around the bush. "Would you like the vote to be anonymous or by a show of hands?"

The expressions turned into a mix of disbelief and shock at the sudden news. Some of them felt bad for feeling like Haruhi was wrongfully there. Others already knew what they would vote. Everyone decided the vote should be anonymous.

Haruhi felt empty. She tried so hard to separate her work and personal life. She rarely mentioned Kyoya when she was working even though the last name was obvious enough. When Kyoya accompanied her to company events, Haruhi made sure to stay in the background as much as possible. She did not even mention the exact law firm she worked for when Kyoya introduced her to his business partners.

And yet…

"We will vote at the end of the day. Does that suit everyone?" Riku asked in an attempt to move the meeting along.

There was a chorus of "yes".

"Okay then," Riku finished. Perhaps this was one reason the company had kept him around. If not the company, then this was Kyoya's doing for sure "Which group is next?"


"I want to know what my remaining balance is." Haruhi sat in front of Kyoya.

"Well if you take into account-"

"I'm sorry but can you just tell me exactly how much it is? Including the deal with Tamaki?"

Kyoya stared at her a second before flipping to the bookmark in his notebook. "Your initial debt was 8 million yen. You have attended seventy five different guests out of one hundred. Therefore, you can either serve twenty five more different guests, or work enough to pay for the remaining two million yen."

Haruhi nodded. "And per the agreement, as soon as I reach one hundred guests I can leave, right?"

Kyoya snapped his book shut. "Yes, but don't forget that this isn't the only debt you owe the club."

Haruhi crossed her arms. "From what I remember we made a deal that all other debt would be forgiven if I participated in a play with the host club."

Kyoya's face didn't change although he wanted to curse at her memory. "And have you completed the deal?"

"No. You keep postponing the performance." It was supposed to be the week after their date but Kyoya kept pushing it back. According to him, it wasn't the most profitable time yet. Tamaki had agreed with him, adding that the performance wasn't ready anyway.

"So then you still have the additional debt to clear." Kyoya said.

"Until the performance." Haruhi said. "And I have twenty five customer left so I guess my days in the host club are numbered, huh?" Haruhi smiled to herself.

Kyoya frowned. "I wouldn't say they're numbered. After all, you're at a slump in which you are only serving returning customers."

"I'm sure there's a way." Haruhi said. "I mean I can always poach some of your fans."

Kyoya's frown got bigger making Haruhi feel happy to actually get a reaction from the king of "cool".

"It was a joke, senpai."

Kyoya stood up. "Of course." He would have to set a date for the play and then find a way to postpone it again.


Hs didn't want to seem impatient but there was one particular part of the minutes that he wanted to go over as soon as possible.

"Finally, the group participated in an anonymous voting of whether Ms. Fujioka would be dismissed from the group." Riku paused. He didn't enjoy lengthening the conversation, but he still couldn't believe that a group of people that studied law allowed this to happen.

"The vote was almost unanimously in favor of leaving."

"What was the ratio?"

"I only counted one vote against the decision."

Kyoya almost slammed his fist against the table. If only they weren't in a public space… "Did she vote?"

"Yes, but I get the impression her vote was in the majority because she seemed almost relieved by the decision." Riku added.

Kyoya silently brooded. How was he still ruining Haruhi's life after their divorce? He hadn't seen her in what felt like a lifetime yet she was still affected by his actions! An apology would never be enough for everything she had endured.

"After announcing the results Ms. Fujioka thanked the Ootori group for the opportunity and commented on the pleasure to work with the team. That was the end of the meeting." Riku closed his folder. "I can email you a clearer copy of the minutes."

"That's not necessary. Thank you for reviewing the meeting with me."

"It's part of the job." Riku said. They looked at each other awkwardly. Riku looked at his watch. "Since it is past my scheduled time would you mind if we just talked?"

Kyoya nodded, already aware of what Riku wanted to discuss. "I'm not sure why my father insists on withholding this information but she's here."

Riku heaved a deep sigh. "You haven't told anybody right?"

"That was our agreement. I doubt my family would look into you since I have refrained from questioning their choices. Even if they did, they wouldn't find anything right?"

"I changed my name, cut all family ties, have no presence on any public site and moved to another country. I even dyed my hair." Riku frowned. "I don't know how they possibly could."


Haruhi wasn't trying to look smug but something told her that's exactly what she was doing.

"Why are you so happy?" The twins asked suspiciously as they walked to their table.

"I feel as happy as always." Haruhi moved her snack tray to the other hand as the twins moved in closer. The truth was that that her quota had been met two weeks earlier and the play was the day before. Thinking of the increase in study time made her so giddy.

Hikaru scoffed. "Bull." He sat down. "Something is up." He narrowed his eyes.

Kaoru sat next to Hikaru and tilted his head.. "You don't look as annoyed as usual, especially considering we've been questioning you the whole day."

Haruhi shrugged but couldn't help the smile that graced her face. "I don't know." She set down the snack tray in front of them to prepare for the guests.

The twins stuck out their tongue as Haruhi walked away.

Mori and Honey appeared at her side. Mori was walking as steadily as usual while Honey bounced up and down beside her. "Hey Haru-chan!"

"Hi Honey senpai." Haruhi said. "What snacks do you want today?"

"Ummm, I don't know lately I've been craving strawberry desserts but I'm also craving chocolate and coffee flavored ones so I really don't know." As he rambled on, Haruhi began to set up the trays for her seniors' corner. She already knew what his decision would be but she had to ask.

"Uh I guess I can go for gummy snacks but I would really like some cookies," Honey brightened up. "I can just get a bit of everything, right?"

Mori nodded.

"Okay. Haru-chan, please give me a bit of everything!"

"Sure thing senpai." Haruhi finished the set up for his table and began wheeling it to their spot. Most hosts needed only a tray of snacks for appetizers but Honey was the reason they bought a cart.

As Haruhi walked away, Honey climbed onto Mori's shoulders. "She's acting different today, right?"

Mori nodded. "She's happier."

"Have you heard any good news?"

Mori shook his head.

"Hmm. I wonder if Kyo-chan has confessed his undying love for her."

At this, Mori looked up at Honey. "Or Tamaki." They always disagreed on which one of them would cave first but were in agreement that Haruhi would only cave last.


"Can you believe he actually implemented a procedure for this scenario? I mean, yes, it would've been stupid of him to believe nobody would every find out but still!"

Tamaki nodded along. It wasn't often that Haruhi ranted but when she did…

Haruhi paused, inhaled and exhaled. "I'm sorry. I'm really upset at the moment."

Tamaki handed her a glass of water. Haruhi took it gratefully..

"Now that I'm allowed to talk," Tamaki said playfully. "I have something important to tell you."

Haruhi looked at him over her glass. He had the same meaningful look on his face that he wore when he gave her that delicious, but cursed cupcake.

"I'm getting married." He said.

Haruhi choked. She coughed and gasped for air. "What?" She asked weakly.

"No! No I'm just kidding." He patted her back. "What kind of man would I be to confess my undying love for somebody and marry somebody else a week later." He laughed.

Haruhi's coughs got stronger. To be fair, it had been more than a week...

"Too soon?" Tamaki asked, still trying to help her recover. It still hurt more than he was willing to admit. His only coping mechanism was to joke about it in the hopes that his relationship with his best friend would go back to normal.

Haruhi, on the other hand, couldn't see Tamaki without feeling deeply apologetic and even slightly upset. He had chosen the worst possible time to confess, but she realized it was the only way for him to get over it.

"So...you're not getting married?" Haruhi asked, finally stabilized in her breathing.

"Of course not." Tamaki said. "But I do have something important to tell you."

"It's not another love confession is it?" As soon as the words left her mouth Haruhi felt regret. Yup, it was too soon and she wasn't good at telling jokes.

Tamaki smiled. Ouch. "Not unless you want it to be."

Haruhi looked away. "What did you want to tell me?"

"As of this afternoon, I am homeless."

"What?!" Haruhi repeated.

"It was either that or marriage and…" He looked at the table between them. "I haven't found a person I'd like to marry."

"Please explain." Haruhi said quickly.

Tamaki told her about his grandmother's plans and the talk he had with his father. Then he talked about his confrontation.

"I knew what the outcome would be but I still told my grandmother that she could either let me marry the person I choose or lose the heir to the Suoh company." Tamaki's slight smile remained even as he thought back on one of the worst moments in his life. "At first she slapped me. I guess she hates to back out on a done deal with such important people. But then she told me she'd be glad to get rid of me and that I could do whatever the hell I wanted as long as I didn't use the Suoh name."

Haruhi slowly moved to sit by his side. Tamaki was rarely the one to need comforting so even though she wasn't sure of what to do, her body moved subconsciously.

"It went exactly as I expected. I can't enter any Suoh property and am obviously fired. My dad has been forbidden to contact me " He paused for a long moment. His heart had sunk to the pits of his stomach. "My name is just… Tamaki?" He looked at his lap. "Anyway, I...I don't know... I thought I had it figured out but it just hit me." He paused again. "…I have savings, of course." He continued. Now it seemed that he was talking to both himself and Haruhi. "She's not entitled to the money I earned. However, all of the houses I relied on around the country are technically Suoh estates and I stupidly stayed in the same house since I got to Japan. I didn't even think to actually put it under my name."

"Tamaki," Haruhi tried to intervene as gently as she could.

"I went job searching today but I realized I don't have any work experience except for the Suoh company and the host club. One of them was a stupid club in high school. Both of them were because of my family and not really because of me... Even if I had earned them, nobody would hire me." He laughed. "My grandmother probably blacklisted me in Japan."

"Tamaki." Haruhi tried again.

"And you know what?" He looked at her. "I still thought, well maybe I could rent a house? As you would imagine nobody would rent me even a portion of a bedroom. I guess she blacklisted me on that market too." He laughed harder.

"And so then what do I have left to do the rest of the day?" Tamaki asked. "Nothing except come to the house of the person that has recently asked me to keep my distance from her." He buried his face into his hands, still laughing. She couldn't see it, but it was obvious he was crying.

Haruhi opened her mouth slightly before closing it. She didn't even know how to comfort him. Tamaki was always cheerful and when he cried it was because he wanted to be dramatic. This was only the second time she had heard him express his true emotions. It was the first time she'd ever seen him break down so thoroughly.

"Tamaki," She took his hands away from his face. She couldn't think of what to do, but her body was once again acting on autopilot.

Sure enough his hands were soaked with tears. Tamaki didn't face her until she tilted his head towards her. She grabbed a nearby tissue, her hand hovering for a minute while trying to decide whether she should wipe his face or hand him the tissue.

Instead of doing either, she balled it up in her hand, choosing to look at him. "You-" she cut herself off. "We," she began again more forcefully. "We'll figure it out. You're intelligent, and resilient. As soon as you change your name everything will become simpler. And you have friends who are more than willing to help you with whatever you need. Trust me."

Tamaki didn't say or do anything for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, he took the tissue from her hand, making Haruhi smile. As he wiped his tears he quietly said, "You forgot handsome." He blew his nose slightly.

"Excuse me?" Haruhi asked, not sure if she heard him correctly.

"I'm intelligent, resilient and handsome." He clarified, folding his tissue.

Haruhi took the tissue away. "I'm glad you're feeling better. And as far as you being homeless goes, that's never going to happen. You have five other host club members ready to take you in."

"It would be weird to live with Mori and Hana. Hikaru has a girlfriend that won't leave his side. Kaoru is in London. And Honey senpai is self isolating to improve his spirituality. And I can't live with you after everything."

"Looks like I have the best spare bedroom and you'll just have to use it." Haruhi smiled at him. "I just hope you can adjust to the life of a commoner soon because I am not going to pamper you."

Tamaki smiled back even though he hadn't exactly managed to gather himself. "I think I'd like it here but I promise I'll move out as soon as I can." Now that his head was slightly clearer his initial idea was becoming more concrete. Tamaki turned to look at Haruhi. He knew what to do, but he couldn't leave her until the trial was over.

Haruhi saw him staring at her and looked down. She suddenly realized her other hand was still holding him tightly. She pulled away carefully, looking up when she felt him pull her hand back.

When Tamaki realized what he did he let go. "Sorry." He said in an almost whisper.

She didn't say anything, feeling her face heat up.

"By the way," Tamaki spoke up again. "The tissue you are holding was used for my snot."


It had been two weeks since Haruhi quit the host club but the member's still weren't certain of what to do with themselves.

Even though they had just helped Haruhi with a project about martial arts, Mori and Honey were unusually slow. No sweet could console Honey for the first week and even now he was eating less than usual. Mori slightly slouched.

Tamaki was constantly bumping into things or stuttering.

The twins… Those lucky bastards could see her every single day yet they were beginning to lose interest in club activities.

"Kyoya senpai why are you staring at us?" Hikaru asked.

"And why like that?" Kaoru shivered under Kyoya's cold glare.

"You two stole my laptop didn't you?" Kyoya asked but not really. It was the first thing he could think of because he had just realized his laptop was gone.

"No way! We'd never do that!" They defended themselves simultaneously.

"So if I looked under your seat, I wouldn't find anything?"

"You would not." Kaoru humphed, crossing his arms.

Hikaru yawned. "You know, your accusations are beginning to bore me. Can't you think of anything new?"

Kyoya turned away from them when a suspicious figure caught his eye. "Tamaki, did you take my laptop?"

Tamaki turned around guiltily. "No! I mean, no. I did not." He smiled, nervously.

Kyoya stalked closer. "Are you sure? It was on my desk a minute ago."

The twins peeked over Kyoya's shoulder to look at Tamaki.

Tamaki stepped back from them. "Why would I take your laptop? I mean, you have been crankier than usual and I fear for your laptop's safety but I would never steal it from you!" He explained.

Honey and Mori approached them. "What's going on?" Honey asked.

"Kyoya senpai thinks tono took his laptop."

"I may have been mistaken about you two but I have a feeling I'm right about Tamaki." Kyoya said firmly.

"I'm telling you it wasn't me!" Tamaki insisted.

"Then why do you look so guilty?" The twins asked.

Tamaki took another step back. " No reason."

He jumped when the twins appeared behind him. "I'm telling you I'm not hiding anything!"

"Looks to me that you are." Hikaru said.

"We seem to have found a dirty little secret of yours." Kaoru added. The twins ripped something out of Tamaki's hands and quickly ran to the other side of the room.

Tamaki wanted to scream but instead he hid his face in shame.

"What the hell?" The twins exclaimed.

They walked back to the group, red in the face. "You've been texting Haruhi in secret!"

"What?" Honey and Kyoya said. Even Mori shows his confusion.

"I - I mean we all just miss her so much so I thought I'd reach out to her and then I forgot to mention it."

"When did you start?" Hikaru asked.

"Not too long ago," Tamaki said. He took one look at their face and answered again. "The day after she left." He admitted quietly.

"Wait, so does that mean she's actually texting you back?" Honey asked. He didn't sound betrayed just curious about how this all came to be.

Tamaki's face was now the bright red one. He grabbed the phone from the twins. "I invited her to our upcoming event. I mean our initiative was to invite ladies first and even though she hasn't admitted it to the school she is a girl."

Nobody said anything. They all wondered how Haruhi could go from not even including Tamaki in her friends list to casually texting him.

"So then who took my freaking laptop?" Kyoya asked darkly. He had enough knowing that apparently everybody but him was in contact with Haruhi.

The hosts looked at each other but nobody seemed to be guilty. They could practically see the dark aura Kyoya was emanating as the seconds ticked by.

"Is that it?" Mori pointed at a silver square poking out from Kyoya's bag.

The hosts just looked on as Kyoya apologized for the misunderstanding and then wordlessly grabbed his bag and left.

Despite how much Kyoya acted like Haruhi leaving was nothing more than an inconvenience for the club's sales, it was obvious to them who was suffering the most.


Tamaki didn't want to leave the room. Haruhi had insisted to help him move his things from his car to the spare bedroom but he refused. It felt strange to live somewhere else after such a long time. He couldn't even begin to think about the fact that this was Haruhi's house without wanting to punch himself. How dare he show up at her house after what he'd said to her at Mori's wedding? Haruhi told him it was fine and that she was glad he was with her and not wandering the streets but Tamaki couldn't shake the guilt. Haruhi had enough on her plate without Tamaki living at her house.

He heard the front door open and then close. He waited a minute. Slowly, he stood up from the bed and walked to his door. He peeked out.

"Good morning," Haruhi said from the kitchen.

Tamaki flinched, resulting in a bang to his head with the doorway.

"I knew you wouldn't come out unless you thought I was gone," Haruhi said. She pointed at her bowl. "Do you want breakfast? I have to go soon but I wanted to make sure you wouldn't starve."

"Thank you." Tamaki shuffled out of the room, rubbing his head. He stood awkwardly in front of the room. "You don't have to worry about me starving. I can cook."

"Sure, but I was already up anyway." Haruhi said. She closed the top of her bento box. "I haven't made a copy but," she placed a key on the table. "This is the spare one." She walked to the door and turned back to look at him, not sure of what else to say. "I guess, I'll see you later then."

Tamaki nodded. When she left he let his shoulders relax. He was never so…quiet? He was the mood maker, the mediator and the sunshine on a stormy day. What was he supposed to do when that wasn't needed? Tamaki sat down on the floor with his bowl. He hated being alone. He came up with his best plans when he was surrounded by people.

Tamaki shook his head at himself. "No, I have a plan." He reminded himself. "I just need to tell Haruhi...and the rest of the club...and my dad." His voice gradually weakened. There was so much to do but it seemed like there wasn't any time.

He stared at the breakfast. All he knew for certain was that it would be better to talk to Haruhi about his plans sooner rather than later.


Thank you for reading!