A/N: Periodic disclaimer that I don't own Ouran High School Host Club. I only own my OCs, original locations, and the plot.

As always, let me know what you think! I appreciate any feedback you might have!

Honey POV

I wiped the sweat from my face with a towel, passing one to Takashi as he stepped up beside me. We'd both just finished one of our routine night-time training sessions and I was more than ready for some cake.

"Good job Takashi! I think your reflexes were a bit faster that last time, you almost got me!" I praised, beaming up at my younger cousin.

"Thanks," he grunted, eyes pleased as he grabbed us each a water bottle and threw one to me. I swiped it from the air, screwing off the cap and gulping down its contents.

I giggled as I saw Takashi check his phone once again, ignoring the slight glare he gave me as his cheeks tinted pink. Takashi had been messaging with Avery-chan since getting her number yesterday night and I was pretty sure he liked her. Like-liked her! I wasn't that surprised, really. My cousin definitely had a thing for blue eyes and though some might be surprised that he would be interested in someone who seemed like his polar opposite (talkative and outgoing), I thought they might actually make a great match. Though we'd have to meet her in real life before I could give any real seal of approval.

Emi-chan seems like a good judge of character though so Avery-chan must be as great as she seems! Hmm… I wonder how Emi-chan is…I kinda wish I could have spent the night with her again.

I felt my cheeks warm as I thought about the curly-haired woman who had taken over my thoughts since she'd been out of my sight. Takashi smirked knowingly at me, raised eyebrow clearly saying 'Thinking about Emi again?'

I pouted, looking away from my overly observant cousin.

"I'm just worried about her! She's our friend. That's what friends do~" I said, projecting as much innocence as possible.

He leveled me with a blank look, "That's it?"

Even though most people saw me as a child, I wasn't stupid. I knew what he was implying. My cousin seemed to think that I had more than friendly feelings for Emi-chan. I did care about her a lot… but friends care about friends! Besides, despite what Kyo-chan had said at the library about her being more interested in someone like me than a manly man, I was sure a woman as beautiful as her wouldn't actually be interested in someone who looks like a teenager. Then there was the fact that she was more interested in women. Even if I was sometimes more androgynous, I definitely wasn't a woman.

So I returned his blank stare and said, "Hmm? Yep, that's it!"

He shook head, placing his towel around his neck as he dropped the subject and went back to checking his phone. To his excitement, his phone dinged with an incoming message. However, his face dropped into a frown a moment later.

I tilted my head, "What's wrong Takashi?"

"Avery is worried about Emi. She went to work and she wonders if she might be scared on her walk home. Because of what happened," he explained, his dark eyes meeting mine.

I frowned. I knew she had worked at the cabaret since moving here and hadn't had any problems getting home up until now but that had been before she had been attacked…And hadn't she mentioned that some of the customers could be creepy?

I don't like the sound of this at all! Why didn't Emi-chan just ask one of us to come with her? Why didn't she ask me?

I knew Emi-chan had refused my offer to stay with her last night and she didn't like to impose on people, independent and polite to a fault, but maybe she wouldn't mind if we showed up? Tama-chan and the twins had wanted to see where she worked…So maybe we could use that as an excuse so she wouldn't feel like we were just checking up on her or like she was burdening us.

I grinned, happy with my plan. "Tell Avery-chan that she doesn't have to worry 'cause we're on it!"

Takashi smiled and turned back to his phone and I turned to my phone as well. I had a group call to make.

Third POV

Several eyes lazily turned away from their drinks (and the waitresses) as the Rusty Dove Cabaret's front door was heard opening. The patrons of the cabaret had just clapped and whistled the last performance off the stage and were waiting for the next to begin.

Every single set of eyes did a double-take and widened as they took in the sight of seven very attractive individuals (six of them also appearing quite wealthy) entering the bar. While the Rusty Dove was by no means a sketchy hole-in-the-wall, it also wasn't the sort of high-end bar or nightclub you'd expect such individuals to frequent. They served as a stark contrast to the usual clientele: a mix of rumpled-looking older men and younger hipster-looking theatre nerds.

A tall blonde was seen exuberantly (obnoxiously) exclaiming over the small dark tables lit by candles, the dark red velvet curtain drawn across the stage, and the ancient-looking bottles lined up behind the bar. The bespectacled man next to him, rolled his eyes, never looking up from his phone. A petite, brown-haired person (dressed as a man but looking fairly feminine otherwise) gave a long-suffering sigh, took a seat, and pulled out a book.

A set of ginger-haired twins examined the bartender's outfit, debating about the merits of vintage bowties, while a man who could easily be described as tall, dark, and handsome quietly ordered an 'old-fashioned'. The bartender appeared relieved to have an excuse to turn away from the overly forward twins.

A small honey-haired young man (whose ID the bouncer had checked three times before allowing him to enter), bounced on the balls of his feet excitedly as he looked around the establishment.

A certain waitress was about to receive quite the shock.

Honey POV

I looked around the cabaret eagerly, trying to spot Emi-chan. It was my first time in this sort of place, and while it definitely wasn't very high-class, there was something cozy about the vintage style and candlelight. It reminded me a lot of a cabaret from the 1920s and I almost expected to see flappers winding around the tables.

Then I spotted her. Emi-chan was wiping down a table across the room. I gulped as I took her in. A black mini skirt over black fishnets. A black button-up waistcoat with no blouse underneath. And a sparkly silver bowtie hanging from her neck. Her outfit wasn't immodest at all but that almost made it all the more tantalizing.

No, no, not tantalizing! Friends aren't tantalizing! She's cute! Friends can be cute…

Her hair was styled into two symmetrical braids, and she wore dark eye makeup and red lipstick, giving her an almost sultry look.

Shhh! Friends don't think friends look sultry!... Can friends be sexy?

I tilted my head, eyes dazed as I puzzled over this internal dilemma, then turned to glare when I heard my cousin snickering quietly. Huffing, I quickly made my escape, bounding over to Emi-chan, who still hadn't noticed us somehow.

"Emi-chan!" I called out a moment before I glomped her (gently though since I knew she was probably still bruised). She smelled intoxicatingly of lilacs, her usual coconut scent just barely coming through.

"H-Honey?" she said, arms hovering for a moment before they settled around me lightly, "What- what are you doing here?"

I pulled back to beam at her as the rest of the hosts came to join us.

"Darling daughter! You look so wonderful! And what a perfect place of performing arts this is! I can't believe we didn't come sooner!" Tama-chan exclaimed, as dramatically as usual. His eyes were full of hearts as he spun in place, arms outstretched. I giggled at how silly he looked. He looked almost high, but Tama-chan was just high on life.

Emi-chan just looked at him, lips parted as she tried to glean some sort of answer from his speech.

Haru-chan sighed, "Sorry about him Emi. He and the twins have been wanting to see where you work and Honey and Mori were worried about you getting home in the dark."

I twitched, just barely holding on to my cutesy smile as I was called out. Haru-chan was just way too blunt sometimes.

"Uh… oh, that's okay Haruhi," Emi-chan spoke, then shyly turned towards me and my cousin, rubbing the back of her neck, "It was really nice of you two to worry, you really didn't have to…"

Takashi shrugged, "We wanted to."

I smiled at her, agreeing with my cousin, "Yeah Emi-chan, we wanted to! Besides, I was also curious about the cabaret!"

"Hey," the twins interrupted, speaking in unison, "Aren't you going to ask why Haruhi is dressed like a guy?"

Emi-chan looked from the twins to Haru-chan, looking almost confused, "Oh, well, I don't really think clothes have a gender so I just assumed she was wearing what she wanted to wear… Er, is that not the case Haruhi?"

Haru-chan shrugged uncaringly, "I mean I don't really care what I wear, but the guys thought I might draw less unwanted attention here if I was dressed more masculinely."

Emi-chan nodded in understanding, "Ah, well they were probably right about that. Anyway, thank you Honey, Mori, for your concern... Listen, I have to get back to work but why don't you all sit down?"

"Ouu, can you be our waitress? Do we get to have the whole experience?" Kao-chan asked, eyes glinting excitedly as he leaned against his twin.

Immediately, Emi-chan straightened her posture and stuck out her hip, lips curving upwards invitingly, "Of course! Please follow me."

She walked away, beckoning for us to follow her as she led the way to a set of midnight velvet sofas facing the stage. I kept finding my eyes drawn to her swaying hips and was relieved when she stopped, motioning for us to sit down.

"Now, there's going to be another performance any minute and trust me, you're not going to want to miss it," she said, winking charmingly, "Can I get you any drinks in the meantime?"

We gave her our drink orders and watched as she sauntered away. I frowned as I saw the way some customers leered at her as she passed or when she took their orders. I was so busy keeping an eye on the creeps that I barely paused when the next performance started, only noting that the performers were actually dressed like 1920s flappers. A couple times I even saw some old man reach out to touch her and had to suppress the urge to go rip off his hands.

"Mitsukuni," Takashi said warningly, though he was also frowning at the man.

I pouted, sinking into my seat and crossing my arms. Sometimes having a responsible younger cousin sucked.

A couple minutes later Emi-chan came back with everyone's drinks balanced on a tray. I could have sworn I saw a flash of relief cross her face as she got closer to us. I perked up as she placed a fruity pink drink in front of me. "Thanks Emi-chan, this looks yummy!"

"You're very welcome Honey!" Emi-chan responded, eyes sparkling as she served everyone else their drinks.

I took a sip of my drink and hummed in delight. It was as good as it looked!

Suddenly Tama-chan went to his knees in front of Emi-chan, amethyst eyes looking up at her pleadingly. She stared down at him in shock, eyes flitting up to look around at everyone else in puzzlement, as if asking what was happening.

"Please daughter, daddy wants to see you perform! Won't you dance for us?" he begged, sweeping aside his bangs to better reveal his puppy-dog eyes. I winced, Tama-chan...don't you realize how dirty your words sound?

Emi-chan's jaw dropped, eyes darting around as though looking for an escape. "Er… I actually already did my performances earlier and I'm not scheduled to do anymore tonight. Actually my shift is ending in like thirty minutes…"

Hika-chan and Kao-chan, having perked up the moment they heard Tama-chan's request, sidled up to poor Emi-chan, winding around her like a set of cats begging for scraps. "Yes dear sister we do so want to see you perform~ We've been waiting for so long!"

She looked between them, taking a careful step back, "Um…I- I don't think-"

Kyo-chan sighed, looking up from his phone, "Well you have seen us do our work as hosts, so I suppose it's only fair that we get to see you do your work." He smiled, tight lips brooking no arguments.

Emi-chan looked at Haru-chan, who just shrugged apologetically, then she looked at me. I beamed at her, sipping my drink innocently, "It would be fun to see Emi-chan dance!"

Looking totally defeated, her shoulders slumped and she nodded, "Fine, fine, I'll ask the girls if they'd mind switching up the schedule a bit. I guess it'll make the time go more quickly anyway."

There was a round of cheers, the twins whooping in victory. I giggled, kicking my feet back and forth in excitement. Emi-chan simply sighed and walked towards a door set off to the side of the stage.

I felt my stomach flutter with anticipation. The last time I had seen Emi-chan dance was when we crashed her date with Aiki, but back then I'd been distracted by my worry for her. Still, I did know that she knew how to move her body in a way that could be extremely seductive.

I shook my head, I have to stop thinking about Emi-chan like that!

But a small part of my mind disagreed, But, it's just a fact… Friends can have seductive dancing skills…And my vision is perfect so of course I'd notice!

Thankfully, the velvet stage curtains began opening, successfully distracting me from my inner conflict.

[A/N: Check out Jojo Gomez's choreography to Taki Taki to get an idea of Emi's upcoming performance]

Red and yellow lights bathed the stage in a warm glow, revealing the forms of three women who had their backs turned to the audience. Emi-chan stood in the middle, wild coils tumbling down to her shoulders, easily setting her apart from the other two women, along with her darker skin tone and curvier figure.

They slowly turned as the music started playing. It was music with a Latin influence, the warm tones matching the heat of their movements perfectly. I sat, mesmerized, as Emi-chan's hips circled and swayed to the rhythm. The red cropped hoodie that ended just below her bust showed off the lines of her stomach, the previously hidden muscles rippling as she undulated sensuously.

I felt my cheeks flush as I watched, the anticipatory flutters evolving into full butterflies. Actually, forget butterflies, it felt like I had a bunch of Usa-chan's jumping around in my stomach!

She rolled her body on stage and I saw her underneath me, my lighter-skinned hands running down her body and contrasting sharply with her darker skin. She flipped her hair and I felt my hands tangling in her mane. I saw her on the stage floor, dipping her hips down to meet it and I saw her dipping her hips down to meet mine-

I heard a throat being cleared pointedly and snapped out of the haze I'd been in, blinking in disorientation. I avoided my cousin's amused eyes as I sucked down my pink drink desperately, throat dry and body on fire. I shifted in my seat, thankful for my poor Usa-chan and the long, loose sweater I'd chosen to wear tonight.

Uh oh… those were not just friendly thoughts… I'm in big trouble aren't I?