Host Club Cafe AU

*** NOTE: This idea was given to me by Nykamito, such a cheesy yet adorable idea that hit my sweet spot perfectly. I've always loved the idea of AUs, so it was a lot of fun to put this together. I've considered writing more for this AU, as well! So be sure to let me know if you would be interested in seeing more! Also yes, the Host Club is just like the Ouran High School Host Club anime. You can't tell me you've never wondered about a KH boy host club!***

The sweet scent of cherry blossoms filled the air, the occasional pink blossom floating in the breeze and onto the sidewalk where a group of girls were walking, chattering about every little thing. Kairi had her arm linked with one of her best girlfriends, Selphie. Both of them were giggling about a cute guy they had seen a few minutes before. Sam walked beside them, mostly just giving snide remarks as she pulled her lavender hair up into a hair-tie, so it would stop being jostled by the breeze. Hinata simply chuckled at their conversation, her attention mostly focused on a falling blossom, catching it in her palm.

"Oh!" Selphie brought the entourage to a sudden halt, pointing at a cafe they were passing. "We HAVE to eat here for lunch!"

Kairi immediately agreed, both of them peeking in and pointing out the cute waiters. Hinata exchanged a look with Sam before joining them in looking inside. Sweet scents wafted from the fancy, yet sweet cafe. Booths and tables lined the walls, each one with a bouquet of flowers and lined with a satin table cloth. The center of the cafe was free of tables, covered with a polished hardwood flooring where blushing girls danced with uniformed men.

"What… sort of place is this?" Sam slowly asked before Hinata could. She crossed her arms, "Looks a bit… weird."

"Well you heard of that Host Club at University, right?" Selphie excitedly explained.

"Host Club?" Sam repeated as Hinata let out a sigh.

"You're not talking about that club of guys that basically just charm and flirt with girls all the time, are you?" Hinata asked.

"We sure are!" Kairi giggled, "And this is like a spin off cafe from them!"

"No way," Hinata declined, "I'd rather not be swooned over just because they're being paid for it."

"I dunno," Sam brought her hand to her chin, smirking, "It might be kinda fun."

Hinata looked over, seeing all of them looking at her expectantly. Letting out a breath, she resigned, "Fine…"

A chorus of excited giggles came in response as Kairi grabbed her arm and pulled her into the cafe. They came to a stop in front of the main counter, where they would be assigned their seats and preferred waiter. Kairi and Selphie scanned their eyes around, trying to find the cutest waiter, Kairi's eye caught a boy with spikey brown hair and big blue eyes that she was instantly smitten with. Elegant music played through the room, but soon fell silent as the song came to an end. Hinata looked to the dance floor, a young man catching her eye as he gave a polite bow to his blushing dance partner and turned around, their eyes meeting. His silver hair was pulled back loosely, framing his face and contrasting his bright teal eyes. He wore a cream button up shirt, the sleeves folded back, perfectly showcasing his toned arms. Silver, outlined heart pins were along the cuffs of his shirt and on his nametag, that showed his name: Riku.

Hinata felt her face warming, her heart jumping the moment their eyes met. He smiled sweetly at her, the tips of his ears darkening a shade as he stopped walking for a moment, seemingly just as lost in her as she was in him.

"Hinata," Sam's voice interjected the moment, her hand grabbing Hinata's shoulder. "Come on, we got a seat."

"Y-yeah," Hinata strained a smile towards her friend. Looking back, she shyly smiled at Riku before following after the group.

She let out a breath as she sat in the booth, trying to get her swelling heart in control. It wasn't until she felt the stares of her friends, that she snapped out of her thoughts.

"Did you hear anything we just said?" Sam asked.

"W-what?" Hinata stammered, seeing Riku out of the corner of her eye. She glanced over at him, their eyes meeting again for a moment, her cheeks warming even darker.

"OMG," Selphie squeaked. "You like him!"

Hinata darted her eyes back to the girls, "What? No," she looked down at her menu, a bit flustered. "I told you that I'm not even interested in this type of place."

Kairi leaned back in her seat with a sigh, "If I had known he caught your eye, I would have chosen him as our waiter." She missed the glare Hinata sent her.

Sam scoffed with a laugh, "What? And miss out on that guy you're obviously into?"

A flush appeared on her cheeks as Kairi pushed back her hair with a shy smile, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Why hellooo there ladies," the exact young man they were speaking of appeared at their table. He wore a charming grin on his face, his blue eyes bright and full of life. His eyes met with Kairi's, and he sent her a wink. "My name's Sora! Thanks so much for requesting me! Anything you girls want, it will be my pleasure to get it for you." He slightly bowed, darting his eyes back to Kairi as she was completely lost in him.

Kairi began to talk with him, both of them quickly getting into a conversation that Selphie was also enthralled with. Hinata took the moment to look back over the cafe, seeing a multitude of other attractive male waiters along the dance floor and at other tables, charming the groups of girls that hung on their every word. A few of them looked strikingly similar to Sora. One of them had black hair in the same exact style, but his eyes were a golden hue, even a brighter gold than Hinata's. He wore a mischievous smirk on his lips, giving off a sort of bad-boy vibe that so many girls were into. Another had a different hairstyle, more of a golden hair color, rather than the brown that Sora had. His eyes were blue as well, and his laugh infectious. He had an exact twin going around the cafe as well, nudging him every so often to remind him he needed to care for the other patrons.

Riku was a bit awkward with his patrons, not nearly as smooth and polished as the other waiters seemed to be, yet the girls ate it up, giggling and purposefully trying to make him blush or stammer his words. Hinata couldn't help but watch him the most, feeling the smallest tinge of jealousy every time a girl would put their hand on him or he would smile at their words.

She shook her head at herself, looking back to the table. It wasn't like her to fall for a guy so quickly, but there was something about him. Something she couldn't get out of her thoughts.

"He is pretty cute," Sam whispered to her, making Hinata freeze. "You should try talking to him."

Hinata scoffed, picking up her menu to hide her face. "What, and get flirted with by obligation?"

"It's better than what you've been getting recently," Sam shrugged, smirking when Hinata peeked from her menu with a glare.

"Gosh, did you see his smile?" Selphie's lovelorn voice caught their attention. She sighed wistfully. "And he seems pretty taken by you, Kairi."

Kairi waved her off, but couldn't hide the blush obvious on her cheeks. "Oh please, he's just paid to do that. Although," she giggled, "I just might ask him to dance with me. Even if it does cost extra."

Sora came back to their table before another word was said, placing down a kettle of hot tea and flowered porcelain cups. His hand brushed against Kairi's as he handed her his cup, letting out a slight nervous laugh as he fumbled out an apology, that was a bit jarring compared to the composed charm he had before. Kairi scrambled out her own apology, twirling a piece of her hair with her fingers as she attempted to flirt with him.

Sam tried hard not to snicker, watching the two of them interact. Clearing her throat, she nudged Hinata, trying to get her out of her seat. Hinata gave her a look, but eventually stood up, watching as Sam stood next to her.

"What's wrong?" She asked Sam with a whisper.

Sam smirked, grabbing Hinata's arm and dragging her across the cafe. "Just go with it, alright?"

"S-Sam!" Hinata half-heartedly pulled back, trying to keep herself from causing a scene. "What are you doing?"

She watched in near horror as Sam marched right up to Riku as he was just turning away from a table. He startled when he saw them, his eyes darting to Hinata's before he looked back to Sam and plastered a sweet practiced smile on his face.

"Was there something either of you needed?" He asked with a cool tone, keeping his eyes fixed on Sam.

"Yes actually," Sam smirked, pulling Hinata forward, despite her gasp of displeasure. "SHE would love to dance with you."

"What?" Hinata squeaked. "T-That's not-" she looked back as Sam escaped back to her booth, leaving the two alone.

"I'd love to dance with you, too." Riku's sweet voice made Hinata look back at him. He held out his hand for her, a warmth along his face and his smile genuine. "If that's alright."

Hinata opened her mouth, seriously debating whether or not to take him up on his offer. Taking in a breath to calm her fluttering nerves, she simply nodded and took his hand. "Well, I guess it's alright."

Riku chuckled softly as he led her to the dancefloor. A new song was just beginning as they faced each other and got into position. Hinata's face was smothered in blush, unable to keep it back as Riku placed his hand along her waist and interlocked their hands. It felt so natural to be in his arms, and she felt herself getting lost in his eyes, everyone else disappearing.

"I…" Hinata began to speak, looking away a bit shyly as they began to sway to the music. "I have to say, I don't usually do things like this.

"Yeah, I figured as much," Riku smirked, tempted to pull her in a bit closer as he took the moment she averted her gaze to really look her over. "Since your friend had to tell me to dance with you."

"Sorry about that," Hinata laughed a bit nervously, looking back up at him. "But I'm sure you get a lot of girls like that, working in a place like this."

He chuckled, admitting a bit sheepishly. "Not exactly. This-um…" He took in a breath, as if a bit uneasy. "This is actually my first time out on the floor like this, as a host anyways. I'm usually one of the chefs here, but they were short on hosts, so I-uh, stepped in.."

"Oh!" Hinata realized, her heart jumping at the news, for an unknown reason to her. "I was wondering why you seemed a bit nervous with the other girls." She jumped when he gave her a surprised look. "Ah, not that I was watching, or anything." She averted her gaze, mentally berating herself.

"No, it's fine," Riku laughed a bit, "I-uh, kept looking over at you, too." He cleared his throat, his tongue feeling like it was swelling in his mouth.

Hinata looked back at him, both of them smiling shyly at the other. "So… what should we talk about?"

"Well, what do you want to know?" He asked back, his smile growing as hers did.

"Everything?" She laughed, getting him to laugh in return. "Sorry, I... " she looked down, swallowing hard. "I've never been drawn to someone so quickly before…" She confessed, looking back up to see his entire face warmed. She licked her lips from nerves, before adding in a rush, "I-I mean, I guess that's sort of to be expected in a place like this."

Riku stared at her for a moment, unsure how to respond. His heart was racing as he looked her over, wanting to know just as much about her as she did about him. He glanced up at Sora, seeing him shamelessly flirting with another girl from Hinata's table. His best friend seemed genuinely taken with her, and his seamless charm was almost oozing out of him to make her feel at ease. Taking in a deep breath, Riku looked back to Hinata, summoning up as much courage as he could muster.

"I have an idea," Riku spoke up, changing the subject. He waited for Hinata to look back at him, before explaining. "We'll take turns asking a question, the other can only give a one word answer."

Hinata smirked, "So we'll learn as much as we can about the other before the song ends."

"Yeah," Riku nodded, thankful they were able to dance during one of the longest songs in the cafe. "So, favorite color?"

"Blue," Hinata told him with a laugh, "You?"

"Yellow," he answered, "Birthday?"

"June 23rd," she smirked as his smile grew from her answer, motioning her head towards him. "You?"

"July 5th," he replied, "So really close to mine." He looked around them for a moment, "Let's see… Favorite season?"

"Autumn."

"Autumn?" He repeated, "Why's that?"

Hinata arched an eyebrow, looking away as she thought it over. "Weather?"

Riku laughed, "You can give me more than one word for that one."

"Oh," she giggled, "I just love everything about it: the weather, the changing leaves, the pumpkin spice."

"You should come here next fall then," he told her, "I make this pumpkin streusel that-" He cut himself off with a laugh, "Sorry, I messed up my own game."

Hinata smiled warmly, "No, no, that sounds wonderful. I'd love to come back for that. And… maybe a few times before that, too… If you'd let me know when you'd be hosting again."

"Yeah," Riku squeezed her hand in his, hearing the familiar notes of the song as it played its last chorus. "One last question," he told her quickly, knowing the song was coming to an end.

"Alright," she squeezed his hand back, "What is it?"

He met her eyes with his, feeling his heart in his throat as he asked, "Coffee with me next Thursday?"

Hinata elicited a quiet gasp, her eyes searching his face, as if wondering if he was actually serious. After a moment, she nodded, whispering "Definitely."

"It's a date," he grinned, unable to contain his excitement. "I can't wait."

Hinata giggled as they came apart when the song ended, pushing back a few strands of her hair behind her ear. "Neither can I." Clearing her throat, she pointed behind her, "I-um, should probably get back to my friends. But… I'll see you later?"

"Yeah," he smirked, watching her with a lovelorn expression as she turned away and went back to her booth. He chuckled to himself as she was instantly bombarded with questions from her friends.

Hinata did her best to answer their questions, continually glancing over at Riku as he continued to work. He danced with a couple other girls, but he wasn't nearly as interested in them, as he would smile over at Hinata whenever their eyes would meet. Sora soon brought them their meals, making Hinata pay more attention to her friends as they ate.

As their empty plates were cleared, Hinata did another scan of the cafe, her heart slightly sinking when she couldn't spot Riku anywhere. Trying to ignore it, she went to asking Kairi about her obvious interest in Sora. A few minutes passed before Sora suddenly returned to their table with a platter full of desserts. The girls looked up at him in confusion as he handed them out to them.

"Uh, we didn't order these," Sam told him, pointing to the delicately decorated cakes.

Sora laughed as he handed one to Sam, "Oh I know, these are on the house." He winked over at Kairi, before handing Hinata her cake. He leaned in a bit to Hinata, whispering, "I think you can guess who got them for you."

Hinata looked up at him in surprise before bringing her attention down to her cake, the warm blush returning to her cheeks. Along the top of the strawberry cake was a phone number written out perfectly with chocolate piping. She whipped her attention up, spotting Riku near the entrance to the kitchen, untying an apron that had been tied around his hips. He caught her stare, sending her a sweet smile before he disappeared into the kitchen.

"If you don't marry him, I think I will." Sam spoke up, making Hinata snort out a sudden laugh.