Disclaimer: I do not own "Ouran High School Host Club" or any of the characters in this wonderful manga/anime in any way.

Shelter in the Storm

Previously in chapter thirty one: She had a sparkle in her eye as she turned to go inside. "Oh, and you might want to call Mitsukuni and plan something fun today instead of immediately starting her on training. It is summer break after all." And with a smile and a wave, she ducked into the house to find her husband.

Chapter Thirty Two

Takeshi's mother had never steered him wrong, so they decided to postpone training for a day. It wouldn't hurt anything really. So they sat in the rose garden for a little bit longer and then went inside to call Mitsukuni. As they walked in the door, Kimiko greeted them. She had been informed that she would get the next two weeks off, paid vacation. She had never had a vacation in the five years that she had worked for the family, as she usually chose to work full time instead of part time during her breaks from school. Since this would probably be her last summer with the family, as she would graduate at the end of the school year, it was decided that for her five years of faithful service she would get the two weeks off, and full time pay. Kimiko knew that the young couple would want to spend time together, but she was excited and wanted her new friend to go shopping with her to find a new dress. She and her boyfriend would have an official date that night. They hadn't really had dates before because their days off conflicted. Takeshi had called Mitsukuni while the girls were talking. As he came around the corner he heard what Kimiko was suggesting. Before Haruhi could decline he asked if he could tag along.

Kimiko had no problem with Takeshi tagging along since she saw him as a little brother figure, even more so since her stay with Haruhi. So the threesome got ready and headed to the mall. In the car on the way over, Takeshi smiled as he watched the two girls talk animatedly about what style of dress would look best on the other one. He didn't remember ever seeing Haruhi get so excited over a dress. Ranka would probably die happy if he were to see this. He tries way too hard to get Haruhi to accept her feminine side, but all it really took was another girl that accepted her as a friend, Takeshi mused. When they got there, Takeshi was shown a seat where he could watch the girls as they came out of the dressing room and viewed themselves in front of the multi-directional mirror. He sat there as Haruhi and Kimiko went looking for the perfect dress. After Kimiko took a few into the dressing room, Takeshi went to find Haruhi. As she looked for Kimiko another dress to try on, he glanced through the rack as well. He pulled out two dresses; he handed the first one to Haruhi. "Take this one to Kimiko-san." Then he handed her the second dress, "And you try this one on."

"But I'm not here to find me a dress," she started to protest but the look in his eyes told her not to. "Oh, alright." She did as she was told, without even looking at the dresses that she had been handed.

Kimiko had tried on the couple of dresses that she had taken into the dressing room with her, but none of them looked right. She took the newest dress from Haruhi and put it on. She was shocked. It fit perfectly and looked absolutely stunning from what she could see. She made her way out to the mirrors where Takeshi had taken his seat. The moment that she walked out of the dressing room, the sales lady that had been assisting her gasped. Takeshi smiled at her as she walked over to the mirrors. She didn't know that he had been the one to choose the dress for her. Haruhi had handed it to her, so she assumed that the girl had chosen it. Moments later, Haruhi walked out in and equally stunning dress. This time, not only did the sales lady gasp, but so did Kimiko and Takeshi. She walked over and stood next to Kimiko.

"Eh, how can a boy know how to pick such amazing dresses?" she asked in complete awe. Takeshi had chosen the absolute perfect dress for each of them on the first try.

"A boy? You mean the young master picked these out for us?" Kimiko asked with her jaw agape.

"Uhn, he looked with me for only a few seconds when he pulled these two off the rack and handed them to me. How? We looked and looked, but he just glanced over them racks and picked out perfection."

Kimiko had to agree. She didn't think that she would find another dress as beautiful. She didn't hear Takeshi stand and walk over to them.

"I'm no Hitachiin, but the two of you would make any dress look beautiful. It's not hard to pick out lovely dresses when the models are such stunning creatures. Would you two like to look some more?"

"No, why mess with perfection. Now all I need is to find shoes to go with it." Kimiko smiled. She would knock her boyfriend's socks off with this dress. As she spoke the sales lady who had been assisting them brought over an equally perfect pair of heels that went with the dress. She tried them on and was quite pleased with the overall image.

Haruhi was handed a pair of shoes as well. She dutifully put them on and turned to the mirrors. Dad would absolutely flip if he saw me looking like this. Come to think of it, any of my friends would, especially the host club.

Takeshi spoke to the sales lady in private, who then looked at the price tag of each item that the girls had selected and then left the area. The girls returned to the dressing room to change back into their own clothes. Haruhi handed her items to the attendant, but Kimiko was about to take hers to the front when the attendant said that she would take them for her. The girls followed the attendant to the front where Takeshi was already speaking to the sales lady. Haruhi protested as both dresses and pairs of shoes were boxed up. "I wasn't planning on buying it. We just came after her dress."

"But Ma'am, both outfits have already been paid for."

"Eh, what do you mean? I haven't paid for mine yet." Kimiko questioned the sales lady as she handed the bunch of boxes to Takeshi.

"You're right, you didn't pay for it. I did. Ever since I got over my crush on you, I have since seen you as a big sister type. I can't very well let my sister go out on her date without the family buying her a new dress to impress her boyfriend with, can I?" He smiled as he took all the boxes and turned to leave the shop. Looking back over his shoulder at the girls with a big grin he said, "Come on, we have one more stop to make before we leave."

Kimiko turned to stare at Haruhi, who just shrugged and stared back at her. Both girls giggled and they jogged to catch up to Takeshi who had been purposefully taking long strides. Takeshi slowed down as the girls caught up to him. Kimiko stood to his left, where he was holding the boxes, as Haruhi reached his right side. He reached down and held her hand as they walked through the mall.