A/N: I'm posting late again... -.- You may see a few (unintentional) similarities in the beginning, but it turned out okay. Please read! *smile*
Title: Snow Days
Author: liketolaugh
Rating: T
Pairings: None
Genre: Friendship
Warnings: Unlikely circumstances
Summary: The Host Club's first meeting - before it was the Host Club.
Disclaimer: Sadly, OHSHC is not mine.
Ring. Ring. Ring.
Haruhi reached for the phone before it could wake up her father and picked it up. "Haruhi," she said simply. Anyone who called their house would know who she was.
"Haruhi!"
Haruhi blinked. "Tamaki?" she inquired.
"Haruhi! Yes! So it is the right number! Haruhi, let's go out to the ice rink today!"
She blinked twice. "OK. When?"
"In a couple of hours?" he suggested hopefully. "At eleven?"
She considered, then shrugged. "OK."
She hung up and started to shuffle around the kitchen, gathering ingredients. It would be nice to have something warm to eat after they went skating, she decided. So a lot of soup, maybe…
She started to chop ingredients, preparing some broth at the same time. Her friends would like it too, she mused, and she made enough for all of them. Then she poured it into a couple of thermoses, which she knew would keep it hot until they decided to eat it.
When eleven came around, she pulled on her coat and shoes, then scribbled a short note. Went to ice rink with the boys. –Haruhi Then she walked out the door.
She remembered the way to the ice rink, somewhat. Except she forgot. She looked around, frowning, before going up to a random person and tugging on their sleeve. The woman looked down and smiled at her, a hint of concern in her eyes.
"Hello, sweetie. What are you doing here all alone?"
"Can you tell me which way the ice rink is?" she asked plainly, big brown eyes watching the woman closely and thermoses tucked under one arm.
The woman smiled. "Certainly. But I'd feel better if I went with you, just to make sure you got there safely. Is that all right?"
Haruhi tilted her head, thought for a moment, and then nodded. "OK."
She took the lady's hand and began to follow her along the road, presumably toward the ice rink. She allowed her mind to wander, looking around curiously, and making note of the route they were taking.
"Haruhi," a voice rumbled behind her. She looked up in puzzlement.
"Hi, Mori," she greeted with a small wave.
"Hi, Haru-chan!" Honey greeted brightly, waving exuberantly back from Mori's shoulders. "Going to the ice rink?"
She nodded and turned back to the street, focusing on her route again.
"Friends of yours?" the woman asked, looking down at her with a kind smile. She nodded again. "Well, I suppose I'll leave you with them." A tinge of doubt colored her voice, but she glanced at Mori – who did look a great deal older than he was – and smiled. "Have fun, then."
"We will!" Honey assured her, beaming. She smiled at him and then turned away, going back the way she had been going before.
Mori took the lead silently, with Honey chattering away. Haruhi occasionally gave noncommittal replies, though she was listening, albeit with one ear.
Finally, they reached the rink and Mori led the way, pushing open the large door, to find the other four waiting for them, with Tamaki jumping up and down, waving both of his arms, and the twins brandishing designer skates at them.
"Rich people…" mumbled Haruhi exasperatedly.
She took the skates anyway, strapping them onto her feet and heading out onto the rink, though she was the slowest and got there last. Just before she left, she placed the thermoses of soup on a table, where some of the other boys had left stuff.
The twins were waiting for her, and as she reached them, they swept her up between them, propelling her along.
"What are you doing to my Haruhi?" Tamaki objected almost instantly, spotting them with disturbing speed.
Haruhi glanced woodenly over her shoulder. "I'm not yours," she stated flatly.
Both twins sent Tamaki triumphant smirks and then led Haruhi off in another direction, away from a wilted Tamaki, who sulked (with great balance) in a corner.
"Haru-chan! Haru-chan!"
Haruhi looked over again (what was with all these rich people and calling for her? Couldn't they call for each other instead?) to find Honey skating just behind them easily, Mori close behind.
"Look over there, Haru-chan!" he cheered enthusiastically. She looked over to find Kyoya skating along, with a grace that surprised Haruhi, who hadn't thought that he would like this sort of thing. Well, she supposed she didn't really know him well yet.
Then she saw what Honey was really pointing out – Kyoya pulled out his notebook, still skating along, and made a note in it before tucking it away again, all the while not even faltering in his motion.
"Well," started one twin. Hikaru, Haruhi remembered.
"This was fun," continued Kaoru.
"But we have people to heckle," they finished together, looking straight at Tamaki, still balanced on his skates in the corner. "So see you, Haruhi!"
They skated over there, pushing and grinning at each other.
So Haruhi skated with Mori and Honey, watching with mild interest as the twins started to poke and prod Tamaki, who seemed oddly unresponsive.
"Well, aren't you the cutest thing?"
She glanced up to find an adult standing over her, leaning against the wall, smiling fondly. She slid to a stop and, unable to reach the wall from the place she'd chosen, nearly fell. Mori, who had chosen a better place (or possibly just had a longer reach) caught her and guided her over to the guard rail. She smiled at him before turning her attention back to the woman who was watching, now with some concern, as was the man beside her.
"Where are your parents, sweetie?" she asked.
Haruhi shrugged. "At home," she replied.
"She's with us," Mori rumbled.
The man looked at him and protested, "You can't be older than ten or eleven." Apparently he wasn't quite as convinced as the lady on the street.
"He said, she's with us," asserted Honey, arms crossed and expression a dark frown.
"There's Tamaki, Kyoya, Hikaru, and Kaoru with us too," Haruhi added helpfully. She indicated the corner, containing Tamaki and the twins, and then to Kyoya, who had just taken out his notebook for another note, eyes on them.
Kyoya chose that moment to approach them, looking at them with a charming smile. "Kyoya Ootori," he introduced himself, adjusting the notebook tucked under his arm. "Haruhi is here with us."
Both of them started slightly, recognizing the name.
"O-oh!" the woman exclaimed, startled. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize…"
Kyoya's smile widened a little. "It's no trouble. Now, if you'll just let us be on our way…" He trailed off and took Haruhi's hand, guiding her away from the couple, who let them go without further objections.
"What was that?" Haruhi asked him, following along.
"My family is quite well known," Kyoya explained casually, not seeming to care either way. "So the name in and of itself induces a bit of a response in most adult commoners." He looked over his shoulder to smirk at her. "It's quite useful at times."
Haruhi tilted her head. "Huh."
Kyoya smirked at her again and then let go, going his own way again. She went off, wandering the ice rink alone, not going anywhere in particular.
"Hey, it's that Fujioka kid!"
The voice had her looking over her shoulder. She winced and turned away again, but it was too late. A hand landed on her shoulder, forcing her to a stop that in turn had her falling to the ground. She looked up at them with big brown eyes and frowned, brow furrowing. "Oh, it's you."
At school, she wasn't well liked. She was too smart, too blunt, and her dad was gay. Each one individually was enough to earn a bullying remark or two, but put them together and there were a fair few people who didn't like her.
"Yeah," agreed the boy, Hikagu, with a smirk. "It's us." He was their leader, in a sense, and probably the most viciously homophobic. Haruhi looked at him flatly.
"Go away, I'm with friends."
"And if we don't want to?" challenged the second boy, Yoji, who was easily offended. He'd been on the sharp end of her comments more than once.
She didn't answer.
The third and last boy, whose name was Fumiko, dropped down beside her and made the first move, pulling hard on her hair with a mocking smirk. She winced. "Stop it!" she protested, scowling at them.
"Leave her alone," Mori rumbled, suddenly appearing over Fumiko, glowering stonily down at the boy. Fumiko blanched and scrambled back, letting go instantly.
"H-hey!" protested Hikagu, frightened but angry. "Who the heck are you?"
"We're friends of Haruhi's," Honey told him, appearing from behind Mori, with his scary look on.
The bullies dispersed without further protest, but with much yelping and fear. Mori reached down and pulled Haruhi to her feet, brushing her off gently. Haruhi smiled at him warmly.
"Thanks, Mori," she told him.
"Who were they, Haru-chan?" Honey wanted to know, clutching at Mori's leg.
Haruhi shrugged. "Bullies from school. They don't like me." She made to skate away, closely followed by Mori and Honey.
Strangely, she didn't find herself alone for the rest of the afternoon.
Kyoya was the first to leave the rink, returning to the table and lounging boredly there. Tamaki followed, escaping the twins' antics and annoying the other boy with his chatter.
Haruhi looked between the remaining boys – all near her, for some reason – and then skated toward the door, taking off her skates and returning to the table. She took the thermoses, which Kyoya and Tamaki had been ignoring, and borrowed some bowls from one of the attendants, before pouring the soup in. Tamaki leaned toward her.
"What's that, Haruhi?"
"Soup," she said simply. She pushed one of the bowls toward him, and Kyoya picked up the other. Honey appeared at her shoulder.
"Can I have some too, Haru-chan?" he asked excitedly. She nodded and poured another bowl, and he took it, bouncing (though he was careful not to spill the soup) toward his seat. She offered another to Mori, and then poured two for the twins, who each took one and plopped down on either side of her. She finally poured the last of it for herself, and picked up a spoon, which she had grabbed at the same time as the bowls, and started to eat it.
"It's yummy, Haru-chan!" Honey exclaimed happily, slurping at his soup.
"Yes, it's wonderful!" Tamaki agreed, grinning at her, leaning over his bowl.
"Not bad at all," Kyoya conceded, sipping at his spoon.
She smiled. "Thanks. I'm better at soup than at egg rolls, so I decided to make this."
They all paused and gaped at her. "You made this?" Tamaki exclaimed, looking even more delighted.
She nodded. "Mm-hm."
They beamed and, after that, they seemed to enjoy eating it a little more than before. She shrugged to herself and turned back to her soup.
Eventually, they left the ice rink in a tightly clustered group, just in time to miss Ryoji bursting in, crying, "Haruhi!"
"Where should we go now?" Tamaki asked excitedly, having long recovered from his depression. He directed his question to Haruhi, knowing that she spent the most time around here.
Haruhi rubbed her hands together, trying to warm them, and shrugged. Kyoya, though, spotted it and suggested, "Perhaps a café? We can get hot chocolate."
The twins both grinned and grabbed one of Haruhi's hands, spinning her around as they ran in circles around her, chanting, "Hot chocolate! Hot chocolate!"
Haruhi shook herself free and sighed. "OK. There's a café nearby, we can…"
"But there's a café right over there, Haru-chan!" Honey pointed out, pointing at a combination café and bakery that was almost right next to them. Haruhi looked at it.
"But that's for…" Oh. She rolled her eyes. Rich people. It was a rich people café, but then again, considering who she was with… "OK."
Tamaki grinned, grabbed her hand, and bounced over to the café, storming in unrepentantly. The others followed close behind, and Haruhi only just had time to note the quiet atmosphere of the café before Tamaki started talking, drawing several gazes to them instantly. "OK, so each of us can get a hot chocolate! But it's a bakery, so it would be a shame not to get something else!" He grinned.
Honey's eyes sparkled. Cake. Then he frowned. "My dad said that I should restrain myself from indulging too much," he said quietly.
Tamaki smiled at him encouragingly. "Come now, Honey, one piece can't hurt!"
Honey looked uncertain and glanced up at Mori, who smiled at him softly. "If you're sure…" he said hesitantly.
Tamaki grinned and shot over to the man behind the counter, who looked at him a little warily. "Hello, good sir! What kinds of cakes do you have?"
Haruhi, meanwhile, looked at the menu and winced. Those prices were really high…
Everyone else was listening as the man rattled off the list of cakes without hesitation, and then finally places their orders – Honey ordering three different cakes – and then Kyoya putting in the hot chocolate that all the others had forgotten they had come here for.
Finally, all of them looked at her. "What are you getting, Haruhi?" Hikaru asked.
Haruhi shuffled uncertainly and glanced at the menu again. "I don't think I'll get anything…" she said quietly. "It's all too expensive."
Honey beamed at her. "It's okay, Haru-chan, we can pay for it!"
Mori glanced at her and nodded once, while Tamaki nodded in furious agreement and even Kyoya didn't particularly object. Much.
She smiled at them and then stated, "Well, okay…" She looked up at the man behind the counter. "I'd like strawberry, please."
The man nodded and then set about getting all the cakes, which Haruhi privately thought looked far too fancy, and then preparing the hot chocolate. Finally, he set them all on the counter, and each person picked up their plate and cup, happily darting off to the largest table in the room, occupying it and ignoring the stares they were receiving. Well, Tamaki, Honey, and the twins darted. Mori, Kyoya, and Haruhi just followed along behind.
By the time they'd reached the table, all of those already present were digging into their cakes, grinning, and almost ignoring their hot chocolate. Haruhi sat next to Kaoru and sipped at her hot chocolate. Her eyes widened slightly; it was better than any hot chocolate she'd ever tasted.
Kaoru spotted her expression and grinned. "You like it, Haruhi?"
She looked at him and nodded. "It's good." She sipped at her hot chocolate again, finding it a bit odd that it wasn't hot enough to burn her tongue, and then set it down to try the (far too fancy) cake. Her eyes widened again at the taste of it, but she was a bit less surprised this time.
Hikaru looked at her and grinned at his twin, who grinned back. "So you like fancy cakes?"
Haruhi shrugged. "I don't like sweet things a lot," she admitted. "But I like strawberries."
Hikaru grinned again. Bingo! He'd gotten a strawberry-chocolate cake, and he speared one of the strawberries, smeared with chocolate frosting, and offered it to her. "Here, try this!"
She looked at him for a moment, considering, and then leaned forward to bite it off the fork. The table leaned forward, watching her as she chewed, swallowed, and smiled. "I like it. Thanks, Hikaru."
Even with her having identified him correctly numerous times now, Hikaru nearly dropped his fork. Then he recovered and both he and Kaoru grinned at her. She just turned back to her cake, eating it happily.
They ignored the stares that they continued to receive from the other patrons.
Suddenly, music started to play, and Kyoya paused in his eating, digging something out of his pocket and eventually pulling out a cell phone and answering it. "Hello, who is this?" he asked, sounding annoyed and impatient. Then surprise crossed his face. "Fuyumi?" A scowl. "No, I'm with friends." A deeper scowl, slightly defensive. "I can make friends!" He sighed and placed his arm on the table, leaning on it slightly. "I'm not going, Fuyumi. Aren't you always telling me I need to make friends with people?" He listened for a moment, and frowned again, covering the mouthpiece and informing the table, "Fuyumi wants me to go with her… somewhere. I wasn't really listening."
"Don't go," Hikaru said instantly, logically.
Haruhi tilted her head and looked at Kyoya, agreeing. "If you don't want to go, then don't."
"She's being pushy!"
Honey looked up at Kyoya and smiled. "Then we can hide from her."
A hint of excitement, almost completely disguised, glinted in Kyoya's eyes, and he sat up slightly, pushing his glasses up his nose. "I'm not going, Fuyumi."
And then he hung up.
Kyoya stood and shoved his phone back into his pocket. "Let's go."
They abandoned their plates at the table – most of them having finished their cake anyway – and stormed back out the door, leaving the café as silent as it had been when they arrived, but significantly more rattled.
The twins, rather pleased to be defying authority, led the way, ducking this way and that and getting the group lost in the crowd, before finally diving into a clothing store.
"Why'd you bring us here?" Tamaki wanted to know, looking around.
Both twins shrugged. "Haruhi needs better clothes," they answered together, eying Haruhi's current outfit distastefully. Haruhi crossed her arms and frowned at them.
"What's wrong with my clothes?"
"What isn't wrong with your clothes?" Hikaru replied almost instantly.
"We can't do anything conspicuous," Kyoya disagreed. "Or Fuyumi will find me and this entire endeavor will be pointless."
The twins looked at each other and shrugged.
"He's got a point," Kaoru commented.
Hikaru sighed. "Fine," he muttered grudgingly. Then both he and Kaoru grabbed one of Haruhi's hands, and Hikaru one of Kyoya's, and dragged them into the racks of clothes, which turned out to be an excellent hiding place, with no one being able to easily see inside. Tamaki, Mori, and Honey made to hide in one nearby.
Haruhi looked up at Hikaru and asked curiously, "Why are we in here?"
Hikaru grinned at her and pointed at the clothes around them. She followed his finger and sighed. Girl's clothing. "Really, Hikaru?" she complained.
Hikaru just grinned at her and started pointing out clothes (in a whisper) that she should wear. She tried her best to ignore him. Then Kaoru started putting in his opinions.
She tried harder.
It was an eternity and a half before the clothes in front of them parted and all three of them got deer-in-the-headlights looks on their faces. A girl, who somewhat resembled Kyoya, was looking down at them with a frown. Then she blinked.
"You really were with friends," she mused, sounding surprised, and presumably speaking to Kyoya, who scowled at her.
"That's what I said, Fuyumi."
Fuyumi shrugged and then grabbed his hand, dragging him up. "Well, either way, I've found you! Sneaky brat," she grumbled. The twins caught each others – and, surprisingly, Kyoya's – eyes, and grinned. Kyoya chuckled, almost inaudibly, but frowned again, waving once as Fuyumi dragged him away, still muttering to herself.
Once they were gone, there was a brief silence, and Tamaki peeked out of his clothing rack and frowned disappointedly. "He's gone?"
"Fuyumi found him," Haruhi explained. He wilted. She tilted her head and added, "I should go now. Dad's probably wondering where I am."
Outside, a distant 'Haruhi!' could just be heard.
"Or looking for me," Haruhi amended.
Tamaki flew into a corner to sulk. She sighed and turned away, waving over her shoulder. "See you tomorrow," she threw out, heading for the door.
Tamaki bounced up and hurried after her, catching up quickly, and hugged her tightly, seemingly delighted. "See you tomorrow, Haruhi!"
"Yeah, see you tomorrow!" agreed Hikaru, grinning. Then both of them dragged Tamaki off of Haruhi and hugged her in his place. She squirmed.
"I need to go now," she informed them.
They didn't let go. She squirmed and looked over to Mori. "Mori, help me!" she requested.
Mori walked over and picked her up, out of the twins' grasps, and unintentionally causing them to tumble to the ground as they lost their support beam.
"But Har-u-hi!" they whined together.
She looked at Mori and smiled. "Thanks, Mori."
He nodded and placed her back on the ground. Then, "Bye."
"See you tomorrow, Haru-chan!" added Honey, jumping up and hugging her tightly for a moment before he let go. She turned away again and successfully left, mind already on other things, like what she'd make for the sides to dinner that night. And if they had something for a main dish… did they have something for a main dish? She mulled that over, beginning to walk home.
But, briefly, the thought did flicker across her mind that it had been a nice day.
This one was actually harder than the last one... it probably shows. Oh, well, future ones ought to be better. I hope you all liked it anyway! Please review!