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

Disclaimer: We do not own Ouran High School Host Club, and neither of us has a pet snake, but Stella does have a wizard staff!

It seemed odd to Tamaki that his new protegé was seeking so much supplementary advice from the Wild Type. After all, being the Natural Type, he didn't need training from anyone, except, perhaps, the King Himself.

The dance was over, he was tired, and he wanted nothing more than to retreat to his lair in the Third Music Room so that he could change, gather his things, and head home. He began to open the door when he heard voices: a man and a woman. Stopping to listen, he recognized Mori-sempai's voice. Tamaki wondered why he had returned to the club room with one of the guests; hadn't they escorted all of the ladies to their cars? Tamaki peeked in, wondering who Mori-sempai could be honoring with a moonlit tour of the Third Music Room.

"What is that?" the girl was asking, pointing at an object on a nearby pedestal. "It's very pretty."

She had been about to touch it, but drew back when Mori-sempai spoke: "A vase by Rene," he said. "It was appraised at the school auction for 8 million yen."

"What is it doing on a pedestal in the middle of the room?" she asked. "It's hanging off the edge!" Moving forward, she put both hands near the bottom and scooted it back into a safer position, then stepped away from it. "Anyone could have knocked it over, and then all its beauty would be wasted."

He heard Mori-sempai chuckle. "Beauty should never be wasted."

"Well, then why don't we move the whole display closer to the wall, where there's less of a chance of someone bumping into it?"

"If it's out of sight, isn't that a waste, too?"

"I suppose... But this is fragile. It shouldn't have been placed so carelessly."

"Mm. Beautiful things should never be treated carelessly. They deserve to be appreciated, admired... and protected," he said, reaching out to take her hand.

"T-Takashi?" she asked, looking up at him with wide eyes.

He smiled down at her and gently laid his hand on her cheek. "Beautiful..." he murmured, staring into her eyes.

Tamaki's eyes were filled with the tears of a romantically touched heart, and even though he knew he shouldn't be watching, he longed to see the ending of this beautiful scene. The Host Club King held his breath as Mori-sempai pulled the girl into his arms, closer, closer, until his lips were almost on hers.

Then he whispered, "Haruhi."

Tamaki's jaw dropped in shock. He sucked in a huge breath of air, prepared to storm into the room and demand to know what was going on between the Wild Type and his own protegé.

Before he could make a sound, a small person jumped onto his back, holding himself in place by wrapping his legs around Tamaki's stomach and his hands over Tamaki's mouth. His arms were both grabbed, and he was dragged backwards. In front of him, he saw Kyōya-kun quietly but firmly close the door before turning to follow Tamaki. He was stepping deliberately and glaring the Glare Of Death. Tamaki whimpered.

He was pulled down several hallways before they finally stopped inside an empty room. His arms and mouth were released, and he turned to see that Hani-sempai had just dropped to the floor. The door behind him opened again and closed with an ominous thud.

He turned around slowly, and winced when he saw his friend. "What's going... Why did..." he suddenly remembered what he had seen before he was pulled away. "Mori-sempai! We have to stop him! He was corrupting Fujioka-kun!"

"No, Tamaki," Kyōya-kun said, his voice cold enough to freeze even the most oblivious of persons in their tracks. "Mori-sempai was merely trying to enjoy his first kiss in privacy."

"But... but Fujioka-kun!"

"Tama-chan," Hani-sempai chimed in, "They love each other! You don't want to stand in the way of true love, do you?"

Tamaki stopped short. He was caught it a vicious circle of thought. But... but, Fujioka-kun... and Mori-sempai... but, true love... between Fujioka-kun and Mori-sempai? But if it's true love... But it's Fujioka-kun! And Mori-sempai! They're in love! Suddenly, something occurred to him, and his jaw made its second journey towards the floor that night. "M-Mori-sempai is GAY?!"

The twins groaned at this remark, simultaneously putting their heads in their hands.

Kyōya-kun snorted. "No, Tamaki-kun. Mori-sempai isn't gay. Neither is Fujioka-kun, actually."

"What... huh? But how...?" His shoulders slumped. "I am so confused."

Hani-sempai giggled. "Tama-chan, Haru-chan is a girl."

Tamaki took a moment to process this.

Then another.

And another.

Finally, the explosion of realization came. "W-WHAT? He's a... HE'S A GIRL?"

He collapsed in a heap on the floor. "I-I don't understand..." he said in a very small voice.

"That's okay, Tama-chan," Hani-sempai said, patting him on the shoulder. "Someday you will."

Author's Note 10.11.13: Thanks for reading/favoriting/following/reviewing! We love our readers, so if you ever want us to write something JUST for you, you can pm one of us or go check out iwillwriteyourfic DOT blogspot DOT com!

Speaking of "just for you," if you're also a Fruits Basket fan and you like weird pairings, you'll love our next project, "Unexpectedly Wonderful," debuting SOON! We think it's awesome and we hope you will too.

Don't forget to check in next week for the finale of The Unbroken Vase!