Whew! Exams are over! What a nightmare they were too! I had so many exams I could barely see the light at the end there for a while, but now I'm back and have been working hard on a new chapter as I promised I would do so :D

One of the events in this chapter is actually inspired (slightly) by real-life events, something which happened to me when I went to Paris and I thought "hmmm how would the Host Club act in that kind of situation?" However I'll elaborate later so as not to spoil you! The chapter was originally going to be longer, but I decided I liked that it was a more group-based chapter to counter-act the very TamaHaru last previous chapter (though don't worry, there is still TamaHaru fluff in this chapter- just with a double helping of what I hope is comedy!) so I changed things around a little.

So without further adieu- I give you the latest chapter of this whacky, fluff filled adventure! Enjoy! (Disclaimer: Don't own the characters blah blah blah)

Chapter Five- France Part Two.

I checked and re-checked, and then I checked once more- until I could no longer deny the evidence my eyes left in front of me.

'Huh... interesting.' I murmured, not entirely sure if I should be angry, confused, afraid or even amused. I mean this wasn't exactly an everyday occurrence- and coming from someone like me, who lived the crazy unpredictable life of a Host Club member, that was saying something.

I stood still for a moment, watching the numerous people around me without truly seeing them. Worry and curiosity were starting to sink in- replacing the blank disbelief from before- and they came with a few questions:

First- what do I do now? Secondly, where the heck was everyone? Because being left on the top level of the Eiffel Tower at night wasn't exactly something I was prepared for.

Yes. That's right. They'd left me at the top of the Eiffel Tower.

'Mother in Heaven, this can't be happening.' I cried burying my exasperated face in my hands with a groan. 'What the hell do I do now?'

After a moment of brief but very blinding panic, I decided that it wouldn't do to lose my head (like the other's probably would once they realised I was missing). I had to be rational, and so I checked my cell phone- which I brought only in case of emergency, as international calls and texts were so expensive- only to realise with dismay that there was no service available. So I decided to sit down on one of the benches, regroup, try to think of how I had gotten into this situation and plan where to go from there.

We'd spent all day touring Paris, from the historic and quirky artists' quarter, where we'd gotten a painting drawn of all of us together, to the famous Moulin Rouge windmill. We'd driven down the Avenue des Champs-Élysées, admiring a building that was actually shaped like briefcases which- according to a drooling Hikaru and Kaoru- was the Louis Vuitton store, and everyone marvelled that the McDonalds here had the colour themes of white and gold instead of red and yellow. Tamaki told us that it was because the Avenue was so high-class, it only allowed signs to be hung in white or gold- so this was the only place in the world that you could see a McDonalds with this colour sign. At the end of this overly fancy avenue stood the famous Arc de Triomphe, with its everlasting flame and roundabout that was so dangerous- insurance people wouldn't cover you if you crashed there.

Shortly after our ride around the roundabout of death, we left the car and walked a short way to the island that hosted the immense Notre Dame cathedral, which took my breath away, but we didn't have time to see completely because we would have missed our boat. We'd had a late lunch on the aforementioned boat which had taken us down the river Seine and under a bridge that Tamaki said would grant us any wish once we crossed under it. So we'd all closed our eyes and done just that-

-'So what did you wish for?' I'd asked Tamaki once I'd opened my eyes. I glanced up at the glass roof of the boat, slowly letting in more light as we passed under the other side of the bridge. The sky above was bright and blue and made me blink as my eyes adjusted to it; I turned my face to Tamaki- who seemed to be doing the same thing.

'Hmm?' He shook his head, coming out of his reverie, and I noticed he was in a sudden calm mode, odd considering he'd been like acting like a puppy on sugar all day.

'What did you wish for?' I repeated with a curious tilt to my head.

'Oh, I didn't. I don't think I need to.' He replied frankly. I raised my eyebrows in surprise and he carried on explaining. 'Well I feel as if I already have so much, it would be pretty useless of me to wish for something that's already coming true.'

And then he locked his violet eyes onto mine with such an intense, knowing gaze that I shivered, suddenly wanting to kiss him more than I'd ever wanted to do anything- despite where we were and who we were with. It was amazing, how one minute his actions made me want to kick him off the boat and the next second made me want to...well...

Love, I was beginning to find, was a very scary, powerful thing.

But if it meant he kept looking at me like that, I had absolutely no problems with it- even if it did make me turn as red as sunburned tomato.

Just before I began to start spluttering like a crazy idiot, Huni- thankfully- came skipping up to us from the deck outside.

'I wished for cake!' He chirped brightly and loudly enough for the whole boat to hear.

'Huni-sempai no!' Hikaru looked mortified and came rushing over from the bar- where he'd been trying to convince the bartender to give us a bottle of wine (his main argument was that this was France and everybody drank here- not very convincing in my opinion) 'You're not supposed to tell people what you wished for, or your wish won't come true!'

'I heard if you tell people what you wish for, the opposite comes true.' Kaoru whispered fearfully. I rolled my eyes, turning away from my curiously tranquil boyfriend and getting ready for a scene once Huni-Sempai realised what the two were implying. Just as I was preparing to chide the troublesome twins- a waitress stepped into the room with a cart full of desserts, mainly cakes the size of my face, and took a deep curtsy before speaking.

'Pardon me, but I am sure that I heard Monsieur Haninozuka wishing for cake. On behalf of our pastry chef, we would like to offer you all each a cake of your choosing, on the house.'

Huni-sempai had been so thrilled, he'd eaten the entirety of his cake practically whole, whilst the rest of us simply watched, stunned that he didn't get sick, andMori-sempai made him brush his teeth with a little travel kit he'd (wisely) brought along-

'Ok' I shook my head, taking me out of that pleasant but distracting memory. 'That's enough of that- focus.'

When the boat finally docked, the sun was starting to set, so we'd gone walking back along the river bank, taking photos of the sunset and each other and laughing when Hikaru and Kaoru began chasing each other, nearly falling into the river themselves.

At last we reached the car, which took us to the Eiffel tower. After a long queue and a brief argument with Tamaki, who insisted he pay for my ridiculously expensive admission ticket, we were riding the elevator to the very top of the tower, the city of lights were blinking below us and I allowed myself to get taken in by the magic and wonder of Paris. We all stood there together, feeling the gentle night time breeze and talking casually amongst ourselves, the others listening fascinated whilst I told them about the time my class took a field trip to Tokyo Tower when I was eleven.

That was when I'd lost them, after I'd told them to wait for me whilst I went into the souvenir shop. I'd bought what I wanted, hadn't been more than five minutes tops, and when I came out they were nowhere to be found.

'Of course they'd do the opposite of what I asked.' I mumbled furiously, wondering how even Kyoya hadn't been paying attention, whist thinking of my next step. So here I was, on the top of the Eiffel tower, alone, in a city whose language I was only just beginning to grasp, with no cell phone service and no idea where the rest of my group was.

I could so easily freak out right now.

Instead I did the only rational thing I could think of, took another elevator back down to middle level and then another to the ground level, where I could get my cell phone service back and try to call the others. If that didn't work I could call Anne Sophie-san, who had given me her number in case of emergency and who we were supposed to be meeting for dinner tonight. Everything would be fine.

It took a bit longer than I'd hoped to reach the ground, due to the queues and when I stepped off the elevator, I looked around to try and find the others, but they were nowhere to be found. I swallowed the lump of...concern in my throat and flipped open my phone, relieved to see that it had some service again, but I decided to walk further into the centre of the square just to be extra sure. As I was about to dial Tamaki's number I stopped, deleting the action with a sigh. Tamaki would have realised I was missing by now and was probably running around like a headless chicken- if I rung him my ear drums would never recover from the panicked yelling. I was just beginning to ring Kyoya when I was assaulted by a four foot nine blonde blur.

'Haru-chaaaaan!' It was Huni-Sempai, now clinging onto me for dear life, as if I would go missing again the second he let me go. Mori-Sempai came up behind him.

'M-Mori-Sempai, what's going on?' I asked, flabbergasted. 'Where are the others?'

'They went back up to look for you.' He replied simply looking upwards at the vast iron latticed structure, lit up and sparkling in the night, I followed suit- suddenly feeling very small. 'We stayed in case you'd come back down.'

'Are you ok? We didn't realise you weren't with us until we got off the elevator. You're not mad are you?' Huni sniffed, teary eyed. 'You're phone wasn't answering and everyone was worried. Tama-chan wanted to call the National Guard, Hika-chan and Kao-chan thought you'd been kidnapped again! I was really scared.'

I blinked, amazed they'd gotten themselves that frantic in that short of a time- and actually glad that these two had found me instead of the others. Being glomped by one hysterical Lolita-type was by far better than being practically assaulted by two five foot ten demons and one six foot hyperactive puppy.

'I'm fine.' I reassured patting Huni-sempai awkwardly on the head. 'I wasn't kidnapped obviously, I just went to the gift shop, and I thought you heard me when I told you that was where I was going.'

'You're not angry.' Mori-Sempai replied and it was more like a statement than a question. For some strange reason I got the feeling he was reading my aura or something. I nodded. 'Good. I'll call Kyoya.' And with that he walked a few steps away so that he was out of earshot but could still keep an eye of the both of us.

Huni-sempai let me go but kept one hand clutched on my jacket sleeve, looking up at me with sparkling, worried eyes.

'Are you sure you're not mad?' He asked quietly. I smiled.

'Really, I'm not.' I replied truthfully and so we stood there in silence, watching the traffic go by and watching the people of all nationalities. There were fellow Japanese people with cameras chatting excitedly in their groups, English tourists who fondly reminded me of London, Germans whose thick accents made it seem like they were angry with each other but really they were just passionate with what they were saying, and of course there were French people from outside of Paris come to marvel at their countries most iconic structure.

'I like it here.' Huni-Sempai said after a few moments. I turned to face him.

'Me too.' I replied. 'What's been your favourite part so far?'

'Well, when the nice lady on the boat gave me that huge cake. That was great!' He replied and I chuckled in response. Huni-Sempai looked up at me, his warm brownish-golden eyes serene and happy, showing the wise person within the happy-go-lucky exterior. 'But I think just all of us here together has been great. It's like some crazy adventure, something we'll all remember forever ne?'

I looked up once more at the vast tower of intricate steel looming above me like a giant brown beast- the lights illuminating the skyline of this fascinating, quirky city. And I thought back on everything that had happened since I'd first opened that door to the seemingly empty music room so long ago- how different, how colourless my life would have been if I'd chosen another door, another place, another time to go and study. This holiday was making me reflect on all my life had become since that fateful moment when the eight million yen vase had broken into eight million pieces.

'Yeah...' I replied turning back to my short blonde companion with a soft smile. 'It's definitely a crazy adventure- one I'll always be grateful for.'

Huni returned my smile with a gentle, knowing one of his own and the pair of us went back to people watching when Mori-sempai came back over to us, having just hung up the phone.

'Takashi!' Huni-sempai greeted cheerfully, climbing back up on his faithful companions shoulders. 'What did they say, are they on their way back down? Is everyone relieved that Haru-chan's ok?'

'Mm' Mori-sempai nodded, clearly having felt like he'd said enough for one day. I sighed in relief that this was all soon to be forgotten.

'Well that's good then' I spoke my thoughts aloud 'we only have to wait for a few minutes and then we can go meet Grantaine-san for din-'

'HARUHIIIIIIIIIIII!' the cry was so loud, it echoed around all four corners of the tower and caused people to stop in their tracks, looking for the source of such noise that could carry over the sounds of the tourists and the Parisian traffic (which was no mean feat). I span around, mouth agape, my mind choosing dumbstruck over mortification- though I was sure that would follow shortly.

There was Tamaki- standing a few feet away from the elevators, panting like he'd just ran a hundred miles, beads of sweat at his temple, staring straight at me.

'Tamaki- wha- I- how- did you run halfway down the tower?' I spluttered in disbelief, there was no way he'd been able to get down here so fast otherwise. But still, there were about six hundred steps from the top to the middle floor- he must have practically flown down them to reach me so fast.

He didn't answer my question, just raced over to me and pulled me into an embrace so tight- I could only remember one other time him having done so. Then I recalled what Huni-sempai had said, about him wanting to call the National Guard and suddenly, I understood.

'It's alright.' I said, trying to sound soothing as I wrapped my arms around him in response to his embrace- I wasn't exactly the best person to comfort and calm people (contrary to what others have said about me, I just don't see it). 'I'm alright.'

'I thought that you'd...' Tamaki mumbled and I was surprised to see how much this had got to him, from how much his voice trembled and his body shook- although that could have been the adrenaline of running down six hundred steps in what could have been no more than three or four minutes- which was practically impossible, but if anyone could do it- it was the man currently holding me like there was no tomorrow.

'I know. It's ok.' I replied softly. 'Of course I wasn't going to get kidnapped- idiot. There are so many guards here, it's impossible.'

Oh yeah, that's great Haruhi- call him an idiot, I'm sure that's really comforting.

What surprised me is that it really did seem to calm him down. He stepped out of the embrace but still kept a soft grip on my shoulders. I looked up at him; heat rising to my cheeks a little, the night air was suddenly much colder than it had been before he hugged me. He was like a beacon of pure heat.

'Yeah I guess you're right- it was pretty stupid of me to get so worried in such a closely surveyed area!' He chuckled sheepishly, tossing one hand up to scratch the back of his blonde locks. I just stood there, wondering how someone who was shaking moments ago could be so easily calmed by me calling him an idiot. Maybe it was because he really was an idiot, but no- I think it was much more than that. The thought made me blush again, which by the way was starting to get ridiculous. I really had to learn to pull myself together, or I wasn't going to get out of this relationship alive.

Or I was going to have to learn to fight fire with fire- like Kyoya once told me to.

'Haruhi!' once again the square was filled with the sounds of people yelling my name as a whirlwind of dust came shooting towards us- knocking Tamaki flying and the next thing I knew I was being practically strangled by the enormous bear hugs being given to me by Hikaru and Kaoru.

'Haruhi there you are!' Hikaru cried whilst Kyoya approached the scene in a far more dignified way.

'We were so worried about you!' Kaoru whined nuzzling his face against my cheek. Tamaki got up off the floor, fuming.

'You devils!' He yelled furiously dusting off his jacket and sending an accusing finger pointing in the twins' direction. 'Haruhi and I were having an intimate, beautiful moment and you ruined it!'

'You can't hog her all the time, we were worried about her too Tono.' Kaoru replied poking his tongue out at Tamaki.

'That's great guys' I wheezed. 'But right now I can't breathe-'

'Yeah Tono' Hikaru replied, completely ignoring me and actually holding me tighter. 'We've got to hug her any time we can, and save these precious moments- who knows when Haruhi might run off again.'

'Seriously guys- can't breathe.' I cried pushing them loose off of me when Hikaru's words registered and I responded with indignant fury. 'And I didn't run off! I told you guys where I was going; you just didn't listen to me!'

'Right, right, don't blame us for your mistakes Haruhi.' The twins said in unison as they bounced off towards the car, Huni and Mori-sempai following close behind. I stood there seething.

'Now, now the both of you need to calm down. It would be quite troublesome if the twins dropped down dead from looks you both were giving them now wouldn't it?' Kyoya said in his usual matter-of-fact tone. But I couldn't help but get the feeling he was teasing us both as he adjusted his glasses coolly.

'Yeah but it would make my life a lot easier.' I murmured to which I heard him hum in amusement (yep he was definitely teasing us) walking a few steps ahead and calling out over his shoulder.

'Come along you two or Grantaine-san will be left alone at the restaurant'

Taking a deep breath I took Tamaki's hand and glanced up at him to steady my nerves, I knew if I didn't calm down I'd get a headache and that was the last thing I wanted. So I did the best thing I could think of- change the subject.

'Are you sure I'll be ok going to dinner dressed like this?' I asked looking down at my clothes shyly. That seemed to do the trick. Tamaki snapped out of it instantly, transferring his anger to defensiveness on my behalf.

'Why, what's wrong with the way you look? You're perfect.' He replied with a sort of finality in his tone that told me he'd take on anyone that said otherwise. It was... flattering but mostly silly and I snorted in response.

'Yeah right, anyway nothing's wrong with the way I look exactly, and it's not just me- it's all of us. Aren't we a little...underdressed for dinner?' I explained as we climbed in behind Kyoya into the car. 'I thought at least Kyoya-sempai would make us go back and get changed.'

'I did consider it, but once Tamaki told me of the nature of the restaurant, I decided that our casual clothes would be more in keeping with its tone.' Kyoya responded glancing at his PDA. I looked to Tamaki, whom I'd noticed had switched from fury to excitement at the prospect of spending dinner with his mother and the Host Club, getting to share both his worlds, and stepping ever closer to his kotatsu dream.

'It's a small family-owned restaurant mother and I used to go to when I was young and she was feeling well enough to venture further outdoors.' He explained with such happiness, such serenity that it brought a smile to every ones faces. Even Mori-sempai's usually stoic face bore a small grin. 'It'll be great to go there with all of you- I'm sure you'll love it.'

I raised my eyebrows in surprise. The excess of the Host Club was something I wasn't exactly thrilled about, but something I was very used to. So whenever they mentioned taking part in something that wasn't either steeped in grandeur, or some far-fetched notion of 'common culture', it genuinely surprised me. Despite this I realised, Grantaine-san was very down to earth and so of course she wouldn't want to be surrounded by extravagance every waking minute of the day, it was partly why I liked her so much, and her illness would have made her prefer the more quiet setting of family owned restaurants. Perhaps this was where Tamaki's calmer side had first stemmed from.

Either way I would finally be able to relax and enjoy a meal in a restaurant where a bowl of soup didn't cost more than my soul. It was a comforting thought.

'This is a joke, right? They're joking?'

Not for the first time that day was I frozen in disbelief at the sight in front of me. We had just finished our lovely meal at the small Chez Rousseau, a little restaurant hidden away on a side street of mostly old-timey apartments. Its insides were warmly lit, the colours a comforting mauve and deep red, giving an inviting atmosphere that could have been romantic or just platonic, depending on each person's individual mood or who they were with. We'd chatted amiably with the wait staff, who spoke a number of languages and let me practice my French with them whilst Tamaki beamed proudly and the twins cheered me on embarrassingly. We'd also met with the owner- Monsieur Rousseau- the head of the family that owned the restaurant and good friend of Anne Sophie-san. He was a man coming out of middle age, slightly portly with thinning tufts of still mousy hair occasionally speckled with grey. He was definitely aging well and that could have been due to the constant friendly smile, stretched over his wrinkling but welcoming features as he complimented us all, gushed over Anne Sophie-San, and admired how tall Tamaki had gotten. His overall attitude, it seemed, was reflected in the atmosphere of his restaurant.

'No Mademoiselle.' Rousseau replied with a chuckle, talking to us now in English, the language that we all could talk to each other in with most ease. 'Zis' is no joke, in fact many a customer has risen to ze challenge of Chez Rousseau.'

'I don't understand why eating escargot is a challenge, well I do, but I don't understand why you chose to make it a challenge.' I replied staring at the silver tray of snails, and feeling my dinner start to rise up into my throat. Anne Sophie-san giggled.

'Well, you see, Haruhi- many tourists come to France believing that all we eat are frogs legs and snails. It is a very common stereotype.' She explained. 'When they come here they believe they have to find a place that serves either one or both, or they wouldn't have had the true French experience and to be polite they pretend to enjoy escargot especially, even though many of our own countrymen do not like the taste or the texture- they believe it would offend our ego's if they did not like such a well-known delicacy!' She laughed once more and the rest of us followed suit.

'Man, those people are idiots.' Hikaru replied. 'I can understand if they did it to not offend somebody important, like if the President of France offered it to you, but to go into a restaurant and order something you know you're not going to like-' He didn't need to explain further, just rolled his eyes and began chuckling again.

'Well zat it why I 'ave chosen not to put them on my menu.' Rousseau explained. 'But, instead I offer customers a more, what I 'ope to be a fun experience, of making it a challenge- so zey know it is just a game and we will not get offended if they do not like them.'

'Oh. I get it. That seems like a great idea. And people actually take part in the challenge?' I asked.

'More people do then don't- especially ze men, I believe it is, how you say, ze male pride?' He threw back his head and gave a hearty laugh, I caught Tamaki's eye and smirked, he shot back an indignant stare which caused me to laugh outright. I decided I liked Monsieur Rousseau. 'So- come, come, which of you is brave enough to take on ze challenge of Chez Roussau?'

'I am!' both twins and Tamaki called out simultaneously.

'Tama-chan, you lived here for most of your life, you must have had snails before ne?' Huni-sempai asked with a tilt to his head. Tamaki froze mid-reach to the snail.

'Y-yes but even so, a man does not back down from a challenge if his honour is on the line, right Kyoya?' He peered over to his best friend, who responded by raising his eyebrow.

'In a way, you're right I suppose. However this is one challenge I will not be taking part in.' He responded, clearly seeing no benefit.

'Me neither, they look kind of gross.' Huni-sempai agreed.

Tamaki's face dropped.

'Oh come on men, where is your sense of adventure?' He argued and was about to carry on what was obviously about to be a very long winded speech when suddenly Mori-sempai reached down, and in one sweeping motion- ate one of the snails, placing the empty shell back onto the tray.

We all sat in stunned silence for what must have been a full minute- before Rousseau begun to applaud.

'Bravo Monsieur, very casually done.'

'Wow Mori-sempai that was so cool!' The twins remarked and everybody nodded in agreement. And spurred on by this sudden moment of coolness- pretty soon all of us succumbed to the challenge of Chez Rousseau- even Huni-sempai.

'Oh god that was awful!' Hikaru cried wiping his tongue on his napkin, tears in his eyes.

'Terrible!' Kaoru agreed, following his twin's actions.

'Why are they so chewy and stringy? Not like cake at all!' Huni-sempai cried whilst Kyoya said nothing, but had gone suspiciously thin lipped.

'Never, ever, again.' I gagged sipping at my lemonade, hoping to get the taste of garlic and rubbery evil out of my mouth. 'Never, never, never again.'

'I forgot how much I didn't like them.' Tamaki replied sipping at his water but in far better shape than the rest of us. All the while the rest of the wait staff were chortling amongst themselves, Monsieur Rousseau laughing uproariously along with a chortling Anne Sophie-san, who admitted she knew this was going to happen, but promised Tamaki's father she wouldn't say anything to deter us from taking part in the challenge, so she could tell him what happened later on for his amusement. However in response she did bring some extra-strong breath mints that were guaranteed to get rid of the taste.

And so on the minty-fresh note that we would promise to one day come back to Chez Rousseau but never take part in the challenge again, we said our goodbyes and headed back to the car.

So yup, on a secondary school trip to Paris- my group left me on top of the Eiffel Tower whilst I was in the gift shop, so I found another group and they decided they wanted to take the stairs (until the middle, because there are no staircases from the ground to the middle- just elevators). That is how I know that there are over 600 steps. Because I counted them along with my adopted group XD So yeah I thought this was something that would happen to Haruhi (obviously I changed it a lot so it was more original!)

Reviews would be amazing...really amazing! I know this sounds lame but they really inspire me! (^_^)