A/N: So far I have gotten some positive feedback on a sequel for Never Assume. I will probably start writing it after Another Chance, but knowing me it could actually be started earlier. LOL. The assumptions will be many and the antics will be numerous (we are talking about the Host Club after all). :D Mtnkolle thanks for the help with the formatting! For all of my reviewers, THANK YOU! I was not really expecting the kind of feedback I have been given for a Hunny story since it is not the norm, so I really appreciate it. Now on with the story and Saturday night dinner.
Chapter 20 – Dinner Time
Hunny woke up on Saturday morning ready to face the day. He was in a good mood. By the end of today, Haruhi's security force would be in position and tonight he would be attending a host club function with Haruhi on his arm. He couldn't wait. The only dark spot in all of this was in two days, Haruhi's tormentor would be released for jail. Part of him really hoped that Yasu would try something so that he could teach him a lesson that he would not forget. Haruhi deserved payback for what he did to her.
As he got up, he wondered if she would be willing to spend the day with him instead of just dinner tonight. He really didn't want to wait for tonight to see her and he wondered if Tamaki and the twins would regress back to high school and show up to kidnap her before he could arrive to pick her up. It was too much of a possibility. He chuckled to himself and grabbed the phone to make the call.
Haruhi had gotten up and got ready to start her day. She didn't need to go grocery shopping today and there was only light cleaning that needed to be done, which was good since she had plans later. Briefly wondering if Hunny was up yet, she decided to hold off on calling him until around 10:00 am. She remembered how he could be when woken up and she would rather not wake that demon. This meant that she had another hour and a half before she could call him. It was a good time to get her chores done, or at least started on.
She had barely started cleaning when her phone started to ring. She looked at the time, 9:03 am. It wasn't too early, but she was wondering who would be calling her this early on a Saturday. Quickly answering it so that it didn't bother her father who was still sleeping, she spoke without looking at the caller id, "Hello?"
"Hey Haru-Chan! How is your morning going? I hope I didn't wake you up," Hunny said happily into the receiver.
Haruhi giggled and sat down on the couch, "No you didn't wake me up. I would have thought you were still sleeping yourself Mitsukuni."
"No, I am not as bad as Kyo-Chan," Hunny laughed. "I was wondering if you wanted to come over here to get ready. Actually I was wondering if you wanted to go out to lunch with me today and spend some time together."
Haruhi smiled, "I would like that. I still have a couple of things to do around here before I can leave though."
"That is ok Haru-Chan. I still have to go to the dojo this morning. If you want, I will pick you up at around noon. We can have lunch and then I will bring you over here."
"That sounds good!" Haruhi said smiling. She was excited about seeing Hunny. The more time she spent with him, the more she didn't like to be separated from him. This went beyond friendship and simply caring for him. She knew that and it was one of the reasons she decided to give them a chance. The thought about being with someone other than Hunny in a romantic way seemed unappealing to her and the thought of kissing someone else made her cringe. She was with the right man for her and she was ready to see where it led.
"Ok Haru-Chan, I will see you then. Don't forget to bring over everything you will need for tonight."
"I won't. I will see you then Mitsukuni."
"Good bye Haruhi. I will see you soon," Hunny said quietly into the phone. He was on cloud nine. The woman of his dreams was back in his life and more importantly, his girlfriend. He was truly happy and was ecstatic that he had decided to forgo an arranged marriage. His father tried to push it, but Hunny held his ground and in the end he had won the argument. He wasn't sure why it was so important to him since the one woman he ever loved was not in his life at the time, but he felt it in his heart that he had to hold off and wait. Patience paid off and now he knew why he had waited.
Haruhi performed her cleaning duties as fast as she could before running off into her room to look through her closet. She wasn't sure what she was going to wear tonight for the dinner, but knew with her bruises that if she wore something sleeveless or strapless, she would need to wear a shrug with it.
As she was going through the clothes she had in her closet, there was a knock at the door. She looked at the time and knew that it could not be Hunny yet, it was only 11:00 am. Running to the door, she tripped, but was able to catch herself before she hit the ground. She answered the door to see a courier with a large box in his hand. Raising an eye brow, she wondered which one of the hosts did it, "Hello?"
"I am looking for Haruhi Fujioka," the delivery man said with a smile.
"I am Haruhi Fujioka," Haruhi smiled back. She would not take her frustrations out on this innocent man. She already knew what was probably in the box, she just hoped that it wasn't too many ruffles or pink and girly.
"If you will just sign here miss," he said handing over a clipboard. Once he received her signature, he handed over the box and walked away.
Haruhi took the box into the apartment and went into her room. Lifting the lid, she rolled her eyes and groaned. She should have known they would do this. It was their m.o. from the past. Whenever the hosts would get together for dinner or some other function, someone in the club (usually Tamaki or the twins) would send her clothes to wear. She read the card before she pulled the dress out of the box.
Haruhi,
We weren't sure if you had something suitable to wear for tonight, so we designed this dress with you in mind. Hopefully your measurements haven't changed too much in the past couple of years. LOL. Still the dress should fit you, but if you have any problems, please call.
Yours,
Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin
Haruhi smiled at the letter. She couldn't be mad at them for taking the initiative, even though she did have plenty of things that would have been appropriate. At least it saved her from having to make a decision with what was in her closet. She pulled the dress out of the box and her smile grew. The dress was off the shoulder and long sleeve. It was a straight neckline and had an empire waist flowing from there down to just above her knees. The color was a pretty cranberry color that would look perfect with her skin tone. The box also contained a pair of black one inch heels in patent leather. The twins hadn't lost their touch, the dress and shoes were perfect.
Putting everything back inside the box, she dialed Kaoru's number and waited for someone to answer. When she got a very sleepy hello, she figured that she had interrupted their sleep, "Sorry for waking you up, but I wanted to tell you thank you for the dress."
Kaoru yawned, "Your welcome. We weren't sure if you had something to wear, so we wanted to be sure that you looked your best. I mean you are going out with six, as you say, damn rich bastards tonight."
Haruhi laughed, "Yah, I guess I have said that a time or two."
"Yes you have."
"Well thank you very much! I have to go now. Mitsukuni is picking me up soon and I need to get ready. Tell Hikaru thank you for me also," Haruhi said. She hung up the phone as soon as Kaoru said his good bye and ran to take a quick shower.
When she was back in her room, she gathered everything that she would need for tonight and threw it in a bag. She also grabbed a set of pajamas and a change of clothes just in case it was too late and she stayed with Hunny and Mori tonight. Next she dove into her closet and pulled out a yellow sundress and white shrug to wear to lunch. She wasn't sure where Hunny was taking her, so dressing up a little bit was safer than wearing just a t-shirt and jeans. She had just finished getting ready when there was another knock at the door.
Haruhi was walking out of her room to answer the door when she heard her father speaking, "Oh hello Mitsukuni! How are you doing?"
"I am well sir. Is Haru-Chan ready to go?" she heard Hunny reply in his cheerful and bubbly voice. She then heard feet shuffling and the door closing. Her father must have let him in.
"Hi Mitsukuni. I am ready," Haruhi said walking towards the door and seeing her boyfriend removing his shoes.
Hunny approached Haruhi and leaned down to give her a small kiss, "Hi. Do you need help carrying anything?"
"Yah, can you grab the box on the bed and I will grab everything else?" Haruhi said to Hunny. She then turned to her father, "Mitsukuni and I are going out to lunch and then I am going to get ready for dinner at his place. I already cooked your lunch. It is on the stove and still warm. Do you need anything before I leave?"
"No dear. You go and have fun. Don't worry about me. I will be working late tonight so I will be fine. Oh, there is a storm that is supposed to move in tonight," Ranka said to his daughter.
"Oh, I didn't realize that a storm was coming," Haruhi muttered. She still hated storms even if she was better at dealing with them than she had been when she first met the host club.
"Ranka, if it is ok with you, she can stay at my place tonight. She has already claimed the guest room as her own," Hunny said jokingly coming out of Haruhi's room with the box and the bag giving her a wink.
"That will be perfect! Do you have clothes for tonight and tomorrow?" Ranka asked Haruhi. He always worried about her being alone during storms and especially with Yasu about go to free. He knew his daughter's nerves would be on end.
"Yah, I packed some just in case it got too late," Haruhi mumbled.
"Good! You two have fun tonight and Mitsukuni, please keep that idiot Suoh away from my daughter," Ranka said smiling at the younger man.
Hunny laughed, "I will make sure he doesn't get too close to her sir!" He turned to Haruhi, "Was this everything you needed for tonight?"
Haruhi seemed to snap out of a trance and look at Hunny. She noticed he had the bag she packed and the box from the twins that contained her dress and shoes, "Yah that is everything. I just need to grab my purse. Do you want me to take the bag?"
Hunny shook his head, "No, I have this. You get your purse and we will be on our way."
Soon enough Ranka was waving good bye to his daughter and her boyfriend. He didn't worry about her spending the night with Hunny because he knew the younger man truly loved his daughter and would do anything for her. He thought back to Wednesday night. Hunny had come over for dinner and to discuss the security measures they were putting in place for Haruhi's safety…
Flashback to Tuesday
"Sir there are a couple of things I would like to discuss with you tonight," Hunny said a bit nervously to Haruhi's father. He knew how protective the older man was of his only child and he knew that it had gotten worse since everything happened with Yasu, so telling him that he was now dating said daughter was a little nerve wracking. He had seen how he treated Tamaki in high school and he didn't want that.
"Yes, you wanted to tell me about the plan for Haruhi's safety," Ranka replied. In all honesty, he suspected that Hunny had wanted to talk to him about something more than just security.
"That is one of the things I wanted to talk to you about, but I also wanted to ask your permission to date your daughter. We have feelings for each other and are giving a relationship a try to see what is there, but I wanted to formally ask you for permission," Hunny rushed.
Ranka picked up his cup and took a drink to hide the giddy smile that was threatening to appear. When he had his features under control, he plastered on a sly grin and raised an eye brow, "Is that so?"
Hunny gulped. The expression on Ranka's face said that he wasn't happy about this new development, but the sparkle in his eye said that he was. Hunny just hoped that he was reading the older man correctly, "Yes, sir. I love you daughter very much and have for a long time. I am lucky that she has decided to give me this opportunity and I will do anything I can to make her happy."
Ranka couldn't hold in the smile any longer and soon the biggest grin he can ever remember having appeared on his face. "Of course you have my permission Mitsukuni! I am just so happy for you two! Honestly she has been so much happier since you came back into her life and I know that she smiles a lot more when she talks about the hosts, but especially you," Ranka gushed.
Haruhi had been cooking dinner and heard the whole exchange. She couldn't believe that her dad was spilling all of that to her new boyfriend, "Ugh dad will you stop it already!"
"Sorry Haruhi, but daddy is just so happy and excited for you!" Ranka exclaimed.
Hunny giggled, "Thank you sir."
"I couldn't ask for someone better than you Mitsukuni, but make sure you treat her right or you will pay," Ranka threatened.
"I understand sir," Hunny said solemnly. He would rather hurt himself than hurt Haruhi.
"So now down to business, what is this plan of yours?" Ranka asked seriously.
"Haruhi will have a protection detail around the clock. It will consist of officers from Kyo-Chan's private police force around the perimeter here, at school, internship, and work. In addition, she will have three body guards that will take shifts throughout the day and night," Hunny started to explain.
"That sounds like you have all of the bases covered," Ranka said taking another sip of tea. He was worried about Haruhi, but this plan made him feel better.
"That isn't all of it. We will also have officers watching your bar to make sure nothing happens to you or that Yasu doesn't try to approach you to get to Haruhi," Hunny said seriously.
"I hadn't thought of that. Thank you."
"We just want to make sure that everyone stays safe," Hunny explained.
The talk was stopped temporarily as Haruhi placed dinner on the table for the three of them. They all ate and after dinner the talk continued. By the end of the night Ranka felt more at ease about Haruhi's safety than he had in years.
End of flashback
Ranka smiled, his little girl was happy again and had a wonderful man in her life. He could not ask for much more than that. He just prayed that the plan worked and Haruhi stayed safe.
Hunny had driven his own car in order to go to the dojo and pick Haruhi up for lunch. As soon as they were out of the apartment complex and on their way to the restaurant, Hunny grabbed Haruhi's hand and pulled it towards his mouth for a kiss. He briefly glanced in her direction and noticed that she was leaning her head back on the headrest and had her eyes closed. Frowning he asked, "Are you tired Haru-Chan? If you are, we don't have to go out for lunch."
Haruhi gave him a small smile, "I am fine. We can go out to lunch. I was just thinking."
"What were you thinking about?"
"How perfect everything is and I don't want it to change," she said opening her eyes and looking at him.
He kissed her hand once again, "Me either. You know we will do everything possible to keep you safe, don't you?"
"I know you will. I trust you guys and since you helped train Kyoya's men, I will trust them also."
"Good to hear. Now where do you want to go to lunch?"
"Sushi?"
"Sushi it is," Hunny said smiling at the girl.
Lunch and the rest of the day passed in a blur for Haruhi and Hunny. Before they knew it, it was time to get ready for dinner. Both of them went to their rooms and started the process.
When Haruhi exited her room, Hunny was waiting for her in the living room and as he turned to look at her, his jaw dropped open. She smiled and twirled around in a circle, "Do I look ok?"
"Haru-Chan, you look beautiful!" Hunny said breathlessly.
Haruhi blushed, "Thank you Mitsukuni. You look very handsome yourself." That was a fact. She had to work hard to keep her mouth closed. The suit hugged him just right and made him look elegant. Just then Mori walked out of his room and Haruhi turned around. She was impressed, but then again all of the hosts were hosts at one point because they looked good. Nothing had changed.
Haruhi jumped a bit and was pulled out of her thoughts to the sound of her phone ringing. She knew it was her dad's ring tone, but she couldn't fathom why he would be calling her right now. She pulled out the phone from her purse, "Hi dad."
"Haruhi were you supposed to go to the dinner with this blonde moron?" Ranka said exasperated.
"What blonde moron?" Haruhi said the words before she could stop them and face palmed. There was only one blonde that her father called a moron and didn't like, Tamaki.
"Tamaki Suoh showed up tonight saying that he was here to take you to the host club dinner. Of course I told him that you were with Mitsukuni and he was taking you, he started to say something about his daughter being mean," Ranka snarled into the phone.
"What happened?" Haruhi asked exasperated. She could only imagine what happened from there.
"I might have slapped him and told him that you were not his daughter because you were my daughter. Then he started to cry. He tried to come in, but I wouldn't let him. I don't want him growing mushrooms here like he used to. He said that he was supposed to take you tonight and I told him that your boyfriend was supposed to take you and that he needed to get over himself. So now he has planted himself by the front door and is pouting," Ranka rambled.
"UGH! Sorry dad. Put him on the phone," Haruhi said trying to maintain her patience. She heard her dad call Tamaki a moron and tell him that Haruhi was on the phone. When she heard Tamaki's voice, she immediately was irritated and she snapped, "What the hell are you doing at my house? Did I or did I not tell you that I was going to the dinner with Mitsukuni?"
"But Haruhi, I just thought that you could ride over to the restaurant with me and still be Hunny's date. It is only right that a daughter," Tamaki was cut off by Ranka yelling and a foot on the face.
Haruhi waited for the commotion to die down again and she started, "No, I am not your daughter and when I said that Mitsukuni was escorting me that meant I was his date and he was giving me a ride to the restaurant. He is my boyfriend and as such, he will be the only person driving me unless he appoints someone else because he is unable to do it himself! Now I suggest you get up off of the ground and stop pouting. Get in your car and get to the restaurant for dinner because I know for a fact Kyoya will not wait for you to order. Do you understand?"
Tamaki yelped, "Yes, I will see you there."
Haruhi heard the phone shuffle and her father return to the line, "Sorry about that dad. I don't know where he gets his ideas sometimes. Is he leaving?"
"Yes he is. It is a good thing too because I have to head into work now. You have fun tonight. I love you," Ranka said.
"I will. Love you to," Haruhi said as she hung up. She had sat down in a chair in the dining room during her conversation with Tamaki and now rested her forehead on the heels of her hands and groaned.
"Are you alright Haru-Chan?" Hunny asked concerned resting his hand on her back.
"Tamaki?" Mori asked in turn.
Haruhi slowly looked up at her friends, "Yah, apparently he showed up at my apartment so that he could drive me tonight. I had already told him that you were escorting me. He said that he wanted to drive me and I could still be Mitsukuni's date."
"It is a good thing that you came here earlier then," Hunny said rubbing her back.
"He hasn't learned," Mori said with a flash of irritation alighting upon his usually stoic face.
"Well he better learn quickly," Haruhi mumbled. She shook her head and stood up, "Let's just go or we will be late."
"Calm down," Mori said.
"Takashi is right Haru-Chan. You calm down first and then we will go. Do you need anything?" Hunny said. He was seething on the inside and was planning on having another little talk with Tamaki.
"Just some water please," Haruhi said sitting back down.
Mori went to get her a glass of water and brought it to her. She gave him her thanks and a smile. He figured Tamaki would have a problem accepting things. He had always hated change and anything that had to do with Haruhi was that much worse. It didn't surprise him that the younger man had showed up at Haruhi's house, but that didn't mean he liked it. His cousin was happy and he would do what he could to make sure it stayed that way.
When Haruhi had calmed down, she stood up again, "Thank you both. I think I am ready to go now."
"Are you sure Haru-Chan?" Hunny said pulling Haruhi into an embrace.
"Yah, I am," she responded. She felt Hunny free her of his arms and grab her hand. Together all three of them walked out to the car and got into the limo. Each of them wanted to kill or at least maim a certain former host club king.
When they arrived at the restaurant, they were about ten minutes late, but none of them could bring themselves to care about being tardy due to the reason behind it all. They walked into the establishment and were immediately shown to the private room that was reserved for tonight. Before they entered, Hunny let go of Haruhi's hand and put it around her waist. Leaning in, he said, "We will make sure they stay away from you. After all, I did promise your father that I would make sure I kept Tama-Chan away." He gave her a wink when she looked at him and they both chuckled.
Mori walked into the room first to make sure to catch any human projectiles coming their way. Upon entrance though, everyone looked up, but did not move from where they were since they only noticed the tall stoic host and not the couple behind him. The twins were poking fun at Tamaki and Tamaki was in a corner. Kyoya watched on looking exasperated, but he did look up when Mori entered and a fleeting look of relief appeared on his face.
"I just don't understand what could be keeping my daughter! She told me that she would be here and that Hunny was bringing her. He must have kidnapped her or something. She was so mean to her daddy and told me that I couldn't drive her to dinner. Isn't that what fathers are supposed to do?" Tamaki wailed.
"Shut down before you could even start. You know she has spent the night over at Hunny and Mori's place," Hikaru teased.
"And now that they are dating, they are going to be spending a lot more time together," Kaoru added.
"I wonder if we can have a sleepover with her," they said together.
"You devil twins, stay away from my Haruhi! She does not need you to corrupt her also!" Tamaki yelled.
"Hikaru have you noticed how beautiful she has gotten. She doesn't look like a boy any more, does she?" Kaoru smirked.
Hikaru leered, "No she doesn't and she has filled out a bit more in the last couple of years also. We had to make some adjustments for that on the dress we sent her."
"What are you two talking about? Mommy, the twins are being mean to me again!" Tamaki cried.
Hunny and Haruhi followed Mori into the room and upon seeing the sight before them, they both laughed. It was high school all over again. The couple started to walk towards the table where Kyoya was seated and Mori was just sitting down, but were soon surrounded. Hunny's grip on her waist tightened ever so slightly.
"Where have you been young lady?" Tamaki asked abruptly and tried to pull her into an embrace, but Hunny held firm and wouldn't let her go. "Hunny you need to let Haruhi go. I am just trying to say hello to my daughter."
"You are not my father and you need to back off Tamaki! The reason we are late is because you decided to show up to my house without permission and bother my father when you knew that Mitsukuni was bringing me tonight. He and Mori had to calm me down," Haruhi growled giving Tamaki a glare.
"I was only trying to give you a ride like every good father should," he whimpered.
The twins laughed and tried to pull Haruhi into an embrace to further antagonize Tamaki, but she backed away from them. They realized that it probably wasn't the best course of action given the circumstances. To cover up their faux pas they turned to Tamaki and said, "How does it feel to be shot down multiple times in one day boss?" This received a cry of despair and found their king back in the corner.
Haruhi rolled her eyes at the scene. Although it all irritated her, it also made her feel on the nostalgic side. She had missed them being all together and the antics that ensued, but she wouldn't admit that aloud. Once she was seated at the table between Mori and Hunny, she looked over to Tamaki's corner of woe and said, "You know if you keep that up, you won't be able to eat with us." That worked because he popped his head up and rushed over to the table to take his seat. Everyone laughed at him. Haruhi just shook her head.
The night went well and although there was another moment or two (ok let's face it a lot more) of Tamaki and the twins acting like fools, it was very enjoyable and there was plenty of laughter. Tamaki tried to offer to take her home for the night, but Hunny spoke up and said that he would be taking Haruhi home and that he promised her father that he would take care of her, "How was your meeting with Ranka Tama-Chan?" He noticed that Tamaki backed away and looked a bit frightened at the mention of the older man.
"Tamaki you are not my father and you need to stop this possessive and controlling attitude you have. Mitsukuni is taking me home and will be driving me to these functions going forward. So stop showing up unannounced and without permission, or do you want another blackout session?" Haruhi asked softly raising an eyebrow.
"N-no that is fine," Tamaki said hestitantly. It looks like he was losing the war and not just the battle. Was he ready to concede defeat?
"Ew strike three and you're out!" The twins joked, but they were curious what Haruhi was talking about.
When they were leaving the restaurant, Kyoya waited until Tamaki and the twins had left before turning to the three remaining hosts. "Where are you going to be tomorrow Haruhi?"
"I am staying the night at Mitsukuni's since there is a storm coming in. So I will probably be at his place for part of tomorrow. Why?" she replied.
"My police force is currently stationed around your apartment and doing a sweep. They will find the best hiding spots and vantage points, but tomorrow I need to introduce you to your bodyguards. They will be with you 24/7 starting tomorrow since I am not sure when on Monday Yasu is going to be released," Kyoya explained.
"Oh," Haruhi choked out and looked down. Monday was fast approaching and all of the good feelings from tonight left in an instant replaced with fear and foreboding.
Hunny saw how Haruhi reacted to Kyoya's words and pulled her into his arms and holding her tight, "Haruhi this is for your safety. It will be alright." He kissed her temple and felt her nod. Looking up at Kyoya he said, "Bring them over to our place tomorrow."
Kyoya nodded, "We will be there by 1:00."
"Thank you Kyo-Chan," Hunny said softly holding onto Haruhi.
"You're welcome. I will see all of you tomorrow then. Good bye," he said before getting into his limo and driving off.
"Come," Mori said as he gestured to their car. Hunny led Haruhi to the car and let her get in before following her. Mori was the last to get into the car and he watched as his cousin pulled the young girl back into his embrace and held her tight.
With the presence of security and bodyguards the threat seemed more real and Haruhi could do nothing to make it all go away. She just hoped and prayed that no one would get hurt because of her.