Operation Confess to Honey-senpai, Part Two!

Never mind. The sooner Mori-senpai put threw him into the wall, the better. The impact would kill him instantly and then it would all be over with, like a bad dream. Or, better yet, the floor could sprout a giant mouth and eat him alive. Either was fine with him. His only regret, besides the obvious, would be not having just one last cup of commoner's coffee. Maybe they sold it in Heaven. That would be just wonderful.

The room was silent. Maybe he was already dead. Maybe Mori had killed him so fast he hadn't even noticed.

Oh, but of course, the world had to go and crush his hopes.

A low murmur began to spread throughout the club. The guests started muttering to each other. Some were worried about if he was okay- one or two couldn't help but giggle.

All of them started shrieking.

"Oh my gosh look that is so cute! I never thought of Tamaki and Honey that way before!"

"It's weird, but cute at the same time! I mean, as long as Mori doesn't mind!"

"GASP ! ! ! You don't think the three of them...?!"

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH ! ! !"

Any time now, floor. Just whenever you're ready. Mori-senpai? Anyone?

… maybe his brain would implode from the volume of the screams.

The twins were on the floor, practically dying of laughter.

"Real smooth, boss!

"Great job, boss, go on, get him!"

Those treacherous twins, oblivious to how much their ignorant words stung.

Kyoya stared, not quite believing what he was seeing. Oh no... it was true, wasn't it?

Tamaki, you moron...

Haruhi, for her part, was huddled in the corner, hands over her eyes. She couldn't bear to watch this...

"... Tama-chan?"

The voice came from under him, sounding more worried than anything else. Well, at least he wasn't hurt. That was all that really mattered.

The prince said nothing. He really should have put aside some time to plan his last words. After all, he knew this would happen. Well, not specifically THIS...

"Mitsukuni! Are you hurt?"

Honey shook his head, not taking his eyes off Tamaki.

Mori gripped Honey under the arms and gently pulled him out from under the younger blonde, who's head flopped lifelessly to the ground with a thud that sounded like it hurt.

"Tama-chan?" He repeated, now on his feet, a deep frown etched into his adorable face. "Are you okay?"

The realization suddenly hit Tamaki.

No one was going to kill him.

… Why, world... why are you so cruel...

"IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII'M SORRY!"

Time seemed to be flowing in slow motion. The prince had gone from face down in the floor to up on his feet and sprinting for the door faster than ever before. It was truly a new record.

He didn't know what he'd do, but he had to get away, out of the club room as fast as possible. Maybe move to America and live under an assumed name. He'd buy a little dog and call it Alfred. That was a nice, average, American name. And it'd have to be a mutt- maybe one of those fat wrinkly things... of course, no matter where he went, looks like his would not go unnoticed. He'd have to wear a false beard for the rest of his life. Some big bushy eyebrows wouldn't hurt, either. Or maybe he'd buy one of those big fancy hats and tell people he was an exceptionally Japanese-looking Mexican. Yes, he'd always wanted to try shaking those... shake-y things...

Ah, there was the door. Almost there. The nightmare would be over soon.

He should have known this would happen. No, he DID know this would happen.

… And yet, somehow, it felt even worse than he had ever imagined...

Even if the club didn't figure out what was going on and think he was a horrible sick freak, their last memory of him would forever be of the time he slipped on a banana peel and ended up straddling Honey-senpai in the floor.

Straddling.

Honey-senpai.

In the floor.

Oh, how they would laugh in the years to come, sitting together and drinking commoner's coffee without him.

Perhaps worst of all, nevermind everything else...

He'd knocked over Honey-senpai's cake.

He heard the plate smash on the ground. Surely the pastry was still lying there, ruined.

It probably even had strawberries.

I'm sorry...

This is the last thing I wanted...

It's okay if you hate me...

His fingers finally gripped the door handle.

"Tama-chan!"

The door flung open with a bang.

"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaait-!"

Fingers latched onto Tamaki's sleeve and he abruptly skidded to a halt.

Time seemed to stand still for a few seconds. Finally, he reluctantly turned his head.

Terrified blue eyes met a pair of big, worried brown ones. They traveled downward to his sleeve, where the small, pale hand held firm to the fabric.

He wasn't getting away no matter how much he wanted to.

Panic rose.

What NOW?

Honey-senpai watched him for a few moments. He almost seemed to be studying him. Surely to discover his dark, horrible secret any moment...

"It's okay, Tama-chan." Suddenly, the tiny boy smiled. "It was an accident."

He blinked. Could it be? Was he safe after all? It couldn't possibly-...

"Was there something you needed?" Honey asked, beaming up at him.

"Uh... uh-buh..." Was the most intelligent thing the club leader could manage and he mentally slapped himself in the head.

"Ohhh..." He said slowly. "I bet I know!"

Thud. Thud. Thud. His heart threatened to explode out of his ribcage. That would surely terrify the guests.

No... please no...

"You wanted to have some cake!"

…

Tamaki suddenly felt even more aware that the entire club was staring at them.

"... yes. Of course. I just... wanted some cake..."

If someone had told Tamaki that morning that he would end up sitting opposite Honey-senpai, awkwardly picking at a slice of cake, while Mori-senpai loomed over him with his ever-unreadable expression and all the host club members and all the guests wouldn't stop staring, whispering, and giggling, he would have believed you, thanked you graciously, and gone back to bed.

As it was...

"I hope you feel better today, Tama-chan." Honey said happily, through a mouthful of cake. "You seemed kinda sick the other day."

"Er, yes..." He muttered. "Just... a little cold..."

"Maybe it was cabin fever." Mori deadpanned.

The prince almost choked.

"Ah... ah-ha...?"

Wh-where had THAT come from? Don't tell him...

Had Mori-senpai been WATCHING him?

"Cabin fever?"Honey tilted his head. "What's that, Takashi?"

Mori gave no reply. He merely glanced at Tamaki out of the corner of his eye.

Gulp!

When would this end...?

"Oh, senpai..." Haruhi sighed, trying to be discreet in observing from across the room.

She felt... bad. She didn't know what Tamaki must be feeling right now, having never been in a situation like this herself... but he looked scared out of his wits. Really, anybody would, what with Mori-senpai staring at them like that.

"So tell me, Haruhi..."

She froze. Kyoya's voice had come from almost directly behind her ear.

"How long has this been going on? It's why he dragged you into the closet, am I correct?"

She bit her bottom lip. Oh, great...

"What did he tell you? Not that your testimony is really a requirement at this point..."

It was at that moment that the twins chose to slide up from behind them.

"What are you talking about, Kyoya-senpai?" Kaoru said.

"Hold up, what's going on?" Hikaru followed. "That was funny and all but why is the boss eating cake with Honey-senpai, I didn't even know he liked sweets that much."

"Well," the bespectacled boy began, a small, evil smirk forming. "Why don't you ask Haruhi?"

"H-hey, wait a sec!" She backed up, waving her hands frantically, trying to decide what to do. "I don't know what's going on either..."

Okay, so maybe it was obvious at this point... to Kyoya-senpai, anyway... but still, she'd promised...

The twins, however, were not fooled.

"... Tell us..."

"Tell us..."

"Tell us tell us tell us tell us tell-..."

"-... us tell us tell us tell us!"

"Tell us tell us tell us tell us!"

Oh, GREAT...

"Well, I'm glad everything's A-okay now!"

"Yeah... me too..."

The blonde stared down nervously at his half-eaten slice of cake. He'd finished the first one only for Honey to immediately replace it with another.

"You need to be careful not to get sick again, Tama-chan!"He reached out a hand and gently patted the prince on the shoulder. It sent a shiver up his spine, which the smaller by didn't seem to notice.

"Ooh, I bet I know what else would help!"

He really hoped it wasn't more cake.

"Here!"

He jumped as two fluffy feet suddenly flew into his face.

"You should hold Usa-chan! He'll protect you! Hehe!"

Tamaki was about to try and politely decline, but past the bunny's ears, he caught sight of Honey's face. So happy... so cute... so... so...

"...I'd love to hold Usa-chan."

"Guys!" Haruhi whispered desperately. "GUYS! CALM DOWN!"

Her pleas fell on deaf ears. Hikaru and Kaoru were far too busy seemingly having a stroke.

Why me... why me...?

"What else did you expect them to do?" Kyoya smirked.

"You made me tell them!" She glared at him, before turning back to the twins. "Come on you guys! Now look, you all stay out of this okay? He's having enough trouble already!"

Instantly, the pair stopped gaping like fishes and their eyeballs ceased bulging out of their heads.

… Why did she say that? Why. Did. She say that?

"Oh, but Haruhi," The grinned. "He looks like he needs some help!"

Haruhi's face fell. Kyoya just smiled.

Actually... this wasn't so bad.

Since Mori-senpai never said anything, if he tried hard enough, he could almost pretend he wasn't there. Honey-senpai just continued on eating cake adorably, chatting about nothing in particular. Eventually, he found himself chattering back almost intelligently. This was... nice. Even kinda fun... and after all, he was spending time with Honey-senpai...

But all good things must come to an end. Oh, how the world loved to remind him of that.

"Hey, boss!"

Before he could even blink, there were the twins, waves of raw mischief radiating off of their matching grins.

"Hey Hika-chan! Hey Kao-chan!"

"Hey Honey-senpai! Mmm, that cake looks good! So boss, there's something we need to tell you!"

"Yeeeeeees?" Tamaki asked slowly. All of a sudden, he felt this familiar sense of dread.

"Some guests asked us to play the pocky game!" They both declared. "But there's a problem!"

"Kaoru has terrible cold sores!"

"That's right, I can't share food or kiss anyone!"

Honey blinked, curiously. Even Mori raised an eyebrow. Tamaki squinted.

"You don't look like you have cold sores to me..."

"Oh, but of course he does! It's just terrible!"

"Uh huh." The prince said, unconvinced. Something in the pit of his stomach told him that this could not be going anywhere good.

"But we can't let the guests down!"

"After all, you say it yourself all the time, it's our job to make every woman happy!"

"So..."

"We thought maybe you and Honey-senpai could fill in for us!

THERE was that brain implosion he'd been looking for earlier.

Tamaki's eye started twitching. He couldn't breathe. His whole brain shut down.

"Aw, really?" Honey-senpai looked up at the twins uncertainly. "Well, we wouldn't want all the ladies to be sad..."

"There you go, Honey-senpai!"

"You've got the right idea!"

"We knew we could count on you!"

A single stick of pocky was shoved into his small hand.

"Chop chop! Can't keep the guests waiting!"

He stared at it for a moment, then nodded slowly. "... Okay." He smiled, but it fell abruptly. "Tama-chan? What's wrong?"

All the color had drained from his face. He found himself clinging to Usa-chan as if hoping somehow the bunny could save him.

"I don't think you're better yet, Tama-chan. Come on, let's do this quick and then we'll go and put you down for a nap. Doctor's orders!" The small boy stuck the pocky into his mouth and leaned forward, waiting expectantly.

Those...

Those... Those...

Those treacherous twins! How had they found out?! They knew! They had to! It was official. His life was over.

At least Alfred wouldn't judge him...

"Tama-chan," Honey muttered around the pocky. "Come on!"

Okay, okay... stay calm. Maybe he could save this. There was always hope, right? He could at least try to avoid humiliating himself further. The twins would surely make his life even more miserable, but at least Honey-senpai didn't hate him, right?

He had to at least try.

Taking a deep breath, he leaned towards the older boy and the stick of pocky. Steady now...

Surely he was blushing. His heart sped up. Surely somehow those two hooligans knew THAT, too. He did his best not to look at them and their poorly hidden sadistic grins. If he made it through this, he swore he would get revenge.

Heads turned. The guests held their breath. Haruhi and Kyoya watched from the corner of the room.

I'm sorry, senpai... She thought to herself miserably.

Stay calm. Stay cool. It wasn't a big deal. Just pleasing the ladies, that's all. Doing his job. Nothing funny going on. The fact that he was about to play a kissing game with Honey-senpai was no... big... deal...

If his mind had been able to form even one more thought, it would have been: Squeak!

It would all be over soon. He had just started to open his mouth to take hold of the pocky when...

"Huh-?"

"AW!"

"AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!"

...

"... Takashi, what'd you do that for-...?"

Mori held up the pocky he'd snatched and, without a word, chomped the while thing down in three bites and chewed.

…

Swallow.

"... I was concerned that perhaps Tamaki had not brushed his teeth."

Tamaki and Honey both stared incredulously.

"... I'm sure it would have been okay, Takashi..." He trailed off, unsurely.

Mori gave no reply.

"Alright you two, that's enough!" Haruhi came up from behind the twins, dragging them away by their collars.

"But-! But-!"

"Ah, don't mind us!" She called to the three remaining host club members before making good her escape.

…

"Ah... well." Tamaki slowly stood, clearing his throat. "This was fun, Honey-senpai. We should do it again some time! But I should really be getting back to work..." He tried not to look at him as he awkwardly handed Usa-chan back.

There he was. Running away like a coward. Again.

"I had a good time too!" Honey beamed up at him, taking the bunny and nuzzling it against his face. "So did Usa-chan!"

"I'm glad..." He muttered. "Now if you'll excuse me..." He turned to go...

"Hey, wait a sec!"

The prince turned and tried to give him a casual smile. "What?"

"Me and Usa-chan thought we would check out this new cake shop that just opened up! It looks REALLY cute! We thought we'd go tomorrow after school. Why don't you come with us?"

Cake? With Honey-senpai? Tomorrow? Wait...

"... You know... on a date!"

Phew! Sorry about the wait, folks! I hope you're still with me! It took me a bit, but I swear that I will never abandon a fic, or my yaoi sandwiches aren't yummy! Hmmm, I wonder if Mori was really worried about Tamaki's oral hygeine, or if his true problem lies elsewhere...?

I really hope you'll stick around for the final chapter of The Prince's Crush- which I promise will be up soon!

All comments are appreciated and please- tell me what you'd like to see next! Especially if it's Ouran, I'm still on an Ouran kick, and need something to do after this fic. So again, please- request away!

Next chapter: Tamaki and Honey-senpai's First Date!