I woke up quickly, fully awake even before I opened my eyes. I guess we were at one of Honey's summer houses… and I was supposed to be on another date. The fact that I was being passed to and fro between my so called friends was enough to annoy me to no end.

A tray of food was waiting for me in the adjoining room, along with the dark blue dress… I ate in silence and put it on mechanically, only after taking a moment to look out the window onto the stretching shoreline, the softly tossed waves and gently waving palm trees. I didn't know what I was feeling.

When I stepped out into the long hallway, more silence met me. I padded along, following the bright light spilling from an open doorway. The room I found was open and drenched in sunlight. It looked like it served as both a study and a practice room, a neatly folded Kendo uniform lying atop a mat surrounded by crammed shelves of leather bound books. I walked to the window and tripped on a chair leg, unbelieving at my luck, I quickly closed my eyes and braced myself for the fall. But when I looked around in disorientation, I found a pair of deep grey eyes gazing into mine, strong arms holding me in a graceful slant.

I was speechless. "Mori?

"Haruhi." He breathed.

The boys walked down the airport aisle in various states of dishevelment. A few scowling black eyes flashed between each other and bruised knuckles were cracked, the heavy silence smothering.

"I can't believe you're still following us." Kaoru and Hikaru both stuck out their tongues.

"I believe I was the one who tracked the plane…" Kyouya cleared his throat.

"Whatever, she's mine." Tamaki spat, speeding up.

"Cut that out, she's mine!" Hikaru barked, both twins speeding up simultaneously. When they saw their mirror action, they both shot a few cheap punches at each other.

"Settle down. We have a long trip ahead of us, and the sooner we find her the sooner we settle this." Kyouya, always calm, made the boys slow down a bit, only to he himself speed up ahead of them.

"What the hell!" Tamaki sputtered.

They all broke into a sprint down the thin aisle, spitting and hissing the whole way.

The sun was high in the sky as we walked under the shade of the trees along the sands border, the sound of the ocean a relaxing melody. I followed Mori silently, but it was comfortable. We were both quiet types.

Suddenly he took my hand and led me through the trees on a trail of his own until we reached a hidden pagoda, where he led me to sit on the glossy steps.

"Where's Honey?" I asked, breaking the deep silence.

"Away. He had business…"

"Oh… So-," Before I could finish, he put a long finger against my lips and nodded upward.

Tons of small vibrantly colored birds spotted the trees branches, chattering happily to each other. Mori reached into his pocket and produced a bag of seeds, taking my hands and pouring some into them.

"They're quite friendly…"

I smiled and it looked like he blushed, but I couldn't be sure because the next moment he stood and threw seeds all over the ground. The birds came down in pairs and I marveled at their tropical colors.

He sat back beside me and threw a small trail between us and the birds. As they hopped closer, he held out one of his long hands and the bird hopped right onto it.

I gasped, "They really like you."

"I like it here… Its always been my favorite place." He settled the bright red bird into my palms and all I could do was stare, its warm feathers tickling my hands as it ate the seeds.

"They seem to like you too." More and more birds had come to surround us, a few even daring enough to perch on his knee or his shoulder.

"This place is really amazing! And to think I was nervous." I sighed.

"You should never be nervous around me." And with that he scooted closer to me until our arms were touching.

"Mori, Honey said something on the plane… about a date. I might have not heard correctly, but I'm confused…" I murmured, eyes on the bird.

"I'm the date." He looked at me, his usually stoic face even more serious. "I like you, Haruhi."

I blushed and looked down quickly. I had never thought…

"Lets go on a walk." He said and took my hand without thinking about it. I smiled, happy enough to see him so comfortable. I did need to set a few things straight, first, but waiting seemed better. We had the whole weekend to kill, in any case, and it would be easier to leave the serious stuff unsaid.

When he turned to look at me, my face was composed. He smiled, quite uncharacteristically, but it seemed so natural, I had to smile back.

Little did we know, Honeys summer estate was about to get a lot crazier.