This story is the joint work of Stella Malodi and CatrinaSL. The excellent cover art was commissioned from SF; you can find his work on DeviantArt (pm CatrinaSL for the link to his page). Special thanks to fringeperson and My Ashland for their beta work.

Disclaimer: We do not own Ouran High School Host Club, but we do like climbing trees.

It seemed odd to Haruhi that so little time had passed since she'd stumbled upon the Host Club. The tree on the hill almost immediately became one of her favorite places. She could sit there for hours, and she usually did. Mori-sempai was busy after school. He always put her in the tree before any activities he had to attend (unless, of course, she had to be somewhere right after school) and he came to get her down when he was done.

When she'd finished her studying that first day- the first time she'd ever done her studying in a tree!- she took a moment to wonder why he insisted on placing her in the tree, rather than just letting her study on the ground, in the shade of its branches. Then she had looked around, and her question was answered. The view from where she sat was fantastic, even better than she had imagined it would be.

She couldn't get down on her own (or up, for that matter), which was, admittedly, rather inconvenient, but she trusted Mori-sempai to remember to help her down. His activities gave her time to study, and she'd be forever grateful that he'd given her such a quiet and peaceful place to do her work. She could concentrate more easily there, and with no loud father or chatty students to disturb her, she got loads of studying done. When she was finished, there was no shortage of things to look at. The grounds were beautiful, and she was in a perfect position to observe kendo practice, or watch for Mori-sempai's return, if that's what she wanted to do. She found that the nearly silent hour she'd spent with him in the Host Club was, in fact, enough to start a friendship, and much to her surprise, the senior quickly and easily became a constant in her life.

The first day, the day she'd been hosted, Mori-sempai returned after kendo and lifted her from the branches. He then walked with her as far as his car, where they waved cheerfully at each other. Well, Haruhi waved cheerfully. Mori-sempai gave a little wave and a little smile, and Hani-sempai, who'd been waiting by the car, bounced enough to make up for his friend's stoic demeanor.

On the first day of the next week, when he came to retrieve her from the tree, he brought the blond senior with him. Mori-sempai clambered onto the branch next to her without much fanfare, but Hani-sempai insisted on climbing the tree himself. Haruhi tried not to giggle at the sight of him hugging the trunk and scooting his way up until he could maneuver himself onto her branch. The three of them chatted happily; the taller senior was as quiet as ever, but still managed to be involved in the conversation. The cousins (as she learned they were) walked her as far as their car, as Mori-sempai had done the previous week, and waved goodbye. When the car blocked Hani-sempai's view of Haruhi, he climbed his cousin in the same manner he had the tree, and seated himself on the tall man's shoulders so he could continue to wave.

As she walked away, she heard Hani-sempai say, "I like her. We're gonna be her friends, right, Takashi?"

"Yeah."

She smiled.

The next day, there was a sale at the supermarket, and she had to leave almost immediately after school. She still chatted with Mori-sempai for a few minutes before she left, letting him know where she'd be. He seemed sad; she hoped whatever was wrong would be better by the next day.

On Wednesday, he came by himself and climbed into the tree. They stayed there for over an hour. They sometimes talked- well, she talked; he was a very good listener- and sometimes they just sat quietly. Now, this was an experience that might fit the description of "basking in the richness of companionable silence." Luckily, Suō-sempai wasn't around, so she didn't have to hear a speech about how wonderful silence was.

Haruhi was having a wonderful time; between the company and the views, she wasn't sure when she'd last enjoyed herself like this. Well, that wasn't completely true, but she was aware that the last time involved the same location and similar company. Spending time alone with Mori-sempai was just a little bit different from spending time with him and his cousin. It was obviously quieter, calmer, and the scenery had more of an effect on the atmosphere surrounding their conversation; she'd barely had a chance to notice such things with Hani-sempai around. There was less communication through speech, and more through looks and gestures. Her favorite moments were the ones in which they would just look at one another and smile.

The day after that, she found herself distracted from her studying. It seemed, no matter what she did, her eyes were drawn from her books to the tall form practicing kendo in the distance. She huffed and turned to face the other way. She was still distracted, but it was more manageable when she knew that the motion in the corner of her eye probably wasn't her tall, quiet, and handsome friend.

Once, however, it was him; he'd come to collect her from the tree.

"I'm sorry, Mori-sempai, but I'm not finished yet," she said as he lifted her from the tree.

He nodded at her and laid his hand on her head. "Sit. I'll help."

She sat. He removed her things from the tree and set them on the ground before her. He sat next to her and looked over the assignments she'd been working on. "I'm almost done," she tried to explain, somehow embarrassed that she hadn't managed to finish in time for his arrival. "I've only got this one assignment left..."

He gave a little smile as he glanced at her, that smile that was just a twitch, barely a change of expression, but was as good as grinning when it came from him, and bent over her work. And then, to her surprise, he began to help her. She didn't really need much assistance, but it was appreciated all the same. He had a talent for explaining things with only a few, well chosen words. He didn't seem to have the same need for words that others did. Still, even with his continued avoidance of speech, she heard more from him in this one afternoon than she had in all the others combined. Once they'd finished, there was only one thought circling through her mind.

"You really do have a wonderful voice..." she murmured, then blushed as she realized that she'd spoken out loud. Maybe he didn't hear...? she hoped, but the blush on his cheeks said otherwise. The walk back to his car was filled with shy glances; their blushes never seemed to fade, as they were renewed each time they caught the other's eyes. She wasn't even sure why they were blushing, but they were and they couldn't seem to stop. It was probably a good thing that Hani-sempai had gone home instead of waiting for his cousin.

The next day was a Friday, and she was distracted from the moment he picked her up to put her in the tree. He seemed somehow gentler, though she couldn't have said why she got that impression. It was a good thing she didn't have much homework that day, for she was the picture of preoccupation. It was almost impossible for her to focus on the words before her, and her eyes were constantly drawn to the school. She thought she knew approximately where the Third Music Room was, and she couldn't help trying to find its windows.

She once thought she saw him standing just behind one of the windows, and it was in the right section of the building, so she gave a little wave. He waved back, then looked over his shoulder before turning and walking away. Somehow seeing him actually helped her concentration- she knew he was there and looking out for her, and the feeling that knowledge brought was as overwhelming as it was difficult to describe. Something had changed, and she didn't know what.

When he came to get her that afternoon, the gentleness was still there, but he also seemed quieter, almost shy. She called his name, to ask him if something was wrong. When he looked at her, the words got stuck in her throat, but she found herself smiling. She didn't know why; sometimes it seemed as if she couldn't look at him and not smile.

The words never made it out of her mouth, but that was okay, because he smiled, too. They both relaxed, though neither had noticed any tension until it was gone. With him, a smile was enough to make everything perfect. They spent a quiet afternoon together, thinking, reading, enjoying the view, and speaking in smiles. When Haruhi reluctantly admitted that she had to go home, he smiled softly and walked with her to his car. To her surprise, he stopped only briefly, saying something to the driver, before catching up with her. He walked her to her door, laid a hand on her head, gave another of those little smiles of his, and said goodnight.

Author's Note 8/2/13: We hope you've enjoyed the first fluff-filled interlude! Check back next Friday for Chapter 2! -Stella Malodi & CatrinaSL