#flip kyoya | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

ellssbellss · 10 months

Text

Lavender Roses ~ Kyoya Ootori x Reader

pairing ~ Kyoya Ootori x reader

In which a rational head hides a generous heart, but you have always known how to see past his walls and help him bloom into the gorgeous rose he is. Enjoy a slow burn between an honor student and our beloved glasses character!

Happy 1 year to Lavender Roses and this entire, wonderful blog. Without you, this story wouldn't have reached as many people as it has. From the bottom of my heart, thank you so much.

-> summary: "But not anymore. You haven’t been alone for a long time, (Y/n), not since you joined the club. Not since you met me."

-> word count: 25.6k (she extra, extra long just for you)

tw! the scene on the cliff gets a little intense, mentions of blood, demeaning language against women, slight PTSD, weaponry (knives), verbal assault, physical assault, sexual misconduct.

legend:

(M/n) - mother's name

(n/l) - native language

(s/c) - skin color

see masterlist! masterlist

taglist: @abbysblogsstuff @sunukissed @kisskissshutmydoor @idonia-dovahkiin @greensnakegoblep @vervainnnn @desert-fern @delievia @obeythemasters @luca-nightshade @sweetandsourwrites @wrzloyd @1234567890nono @inactivecrofters @katiebwalczak03 @reader3 @radical-bunny @stevexbucky404 @localgaytrainwreck

The Sun, The Sea, and The Host Club

Silence was so underrated.

Before the host club, you thought of yourself as a sole extrovert. At the wish of your mother, you did everything you could to make solid connections with the kids in your year, flapping your wings from friend group to friend group, thinking that social fulfillment was a simple blueprint of friends, tons of conversation, and no alone time.

But then you would come home, and the minute you stepped in your room, your energy would deflate like the school bag next to your desk, setting it down with a thud!.

The comforter on your bed would dip, giving way invitingly as you sprawled across the duvet. It would hug your figure, caressing every tired muscle and massaging every sense that might’ve been overstimulated. Familiar air would flow through your nose and into your lungs, and you could finally just sit in the silence.

Your stomach would dip in guilt, even as you selfishly indulged in the absence of sound; of people. The people in your school were nice, polite, and didn’t necessarily do anything for you to not want to be around them. It’s just that there was no connection. No undeniable force that pulled you to them, no little ball of light in your stomach after spending time with them. Maybe a business connection was made, but no connection of personality, of soul.

There was a connection, however, with the silence. With your parent’s interesting habit of constant travel, you learned to respect your own thoughts and instincts, and they became a reliable companion in your never-ending search for genuine companionship. Maybe a few had made their way past your standards, like the boy you kissed under the tree, or maybe a student who sometimes traded her lunch for yours.

But the silence was really your friend.

You didn’t realize how much you could fully enjoy it until you met the Host Club. Until you met Kyoya.

Because now, you had someone to enjoy it with.

On the same duvet, you laid on your stomach, casual lounge wear draping over your body like a soft breeze, comforting and refreshing compared to the uniform you were forced to adorn. Knees bent, your ankles crossed in the air above you as you flipped a page in your textbook, highlighting the most important sentence in the paragraph with a bright yellow highlighter before switching to a new color for secondary information. Your head rested in your hand as the other threaded the blue highlighter through your fingers, the sound of plastic clicking against the rings on your finger adding to the sound of typing and the occasional sigh.

Next to you, Haruhi reclined. Instead of her stomach, she rested on her back, your pillows supporting her weight as her arms braced a book. She was nearly at the end, her eyes focused as they zigzagged down the page before shifting to the next one, engrossed in the storyline of her historical fiction.

Reading the passage you were on until your eyes had gone crossed, you turned to Haruhi to ask how her book was going before a sharp twang hit the back of your head.

A pen fell onto the bed, and Haruhi met your eyes in surprise before you both heard snickering behind you.

Rolling your eyes, you turned to see Hikaru and Kaoru fight to stop their shaking shoulders as they went back to their Nintendo games. Their thumbs turned the joysticks with no real purpose; they just wanted to look innocent.

It didn’t take much thought for you to chuck the highlighter in your hands back at them, smacking Hikaru in the forehead.

The two armchairs your mom had picked out to accent your bedroom made it hard to escape your impeccable aim as you sacrificed another writing utensil, a pencil thumping against Kaoru’s chest. The twins gasped a little, before they smirked and shrugged, placing the study tools on the small table between them, making it clear you were not getting them back.

A frustrated growl lovingly rumbled in the back of your throat as you turned to rifle through your bag, intending to pull out your entire pencil case for more ranged weapon options, before your eyes met with a deep brown.

Mori arched an eyebrow at you as he sat on a bean bag that decorated your floor, encouraging a silent conversation between the two of you. His eyes squinted slightly, as if to say Don’t do it.

Scoffing, you gestured lightly to the gingered haired brothers as they continued to ignore you, mischievous smiles playing on their faces as they watched the interactions between you.

The stoic just shook his head, his earphones dangling lightly on his ears as he turned his attention back to his phone which was probably playing a youtube video on martial arts. Mori always thought he could learn more about his practice.

Your shoulders dropped as you huffed, but in your heart you knew he was right, lest you wanted to litter your floor with anything and everything you and the twins found to throw at each other. This time, you shuffled through the case trying to find a new highlighter, or anything to underline what you needed to in your book.

You came up empty, the bag only consisting of lead containers, cool erasers, and a few expo markers. And who would ever use dry-erase markers on paper?

Next to Mori, Honey kneeled on the floor as he watched you rummage through your bag that leaned on your bed frame, once, twice, and then a third time as your luck didn’t improve. Curiously, he looked down at his coloring book, the rolling meadows already colored in a deep green with a bright yellow sun in the corner. The boy-lolita’s plump cheeks rose as he thought of an idea, grabbing the green and yellow colored pencil before pressing the tops of his feet down on the soft carpet.

Standing up, he toddled over to your side of the bed, passed the bedroom couch that Tamaki slept on, and laid the two colors out in front of you.

Seeing that his height only allowed him to barely see over your mattress, when you saw the things he offered you, you had to shift to the edge of your bed to hug him tightly, cooing a gentle thank you in his ear before letting go.

His light brown eyes were bright as he just nodded, Honey’s blonde hair bobbing with the movement as he started to walk away, but you caught his shoulder.

Beckoning him back to you, you leaned down and whispered in his ear, your stomach almost hanging off your sheets.

“Could you also grab a red pen from my desk drawer?”

Always willing to help, Honey eagerly nods, padding across the carpet to the far side of your bedroom. As he gets closer, he realizes that he has no idea where you keep your pens, or really anything about how your desk is organized. How was he to find it without messing everything up?

Once his small figure makes it to your desk, he figures to ask the host sitting in your comfortable desk chair, a pair of glasses reflecting the light of a screen.

A space on your forever cluttered desk was cleared for Kyoya’s computer. Blue and white light shines on the megane’s face as he types, switching between windows to reference his resources for a large research paper he is working on.

When he feels a tug on his sleeve, the Ootori son utilizes his skill to be able to type without looking as he slips his gaze onto the martial arts master. Kyoya only pauses his menstruations when Honey looks pointedly behind him, and he turns his lean frame to see you watching the pair of hosts expectantly, spinning the remaining blue highlighter between your forefinger and your thumb.

Rolling his eyes, he opens the drawer to his left, plucking a red ballpoint pen out from the stash you kept for moments like these and handed to his senpai before the clacking of his keyboard fills the air once more.

And when Honey hands you your pen, a small smile is penciled on your face as you casually glance around your room.

Your friends enhanced every corner in your bedroom, their presence secure and safe. Spreading your smile even wider, you go back to scanning the pages of your textbook, a contentedness warming your chest. Your definition of silence had changed into something that didn’t need to be hidden, but something that wanted to be shared.

And you were willing to soak in that feeling forever, but you had no such luck.

Sharp heels clicked against the polished tile of your home, but before you had time to think about the fact that someone had broken in, your mother’s voice managed to carry through the mansion with ease.

“(Y/n)! We’re home!” (N/l) reached the entrance to your bedroom.

Neck straining with the movement, you quickly broke your attention from your book and swung your legs over the side of your mattress.

Passing the awakening Tamaki, your bare feet padded to the door of your bedroom and you peaked around the corner.

Household maids, butlers, and anyone else employed by your family rushed past the mouth at the end of the hallway, finding the foyer that was right outside the opening. You follow their blurred movements as white uniforms come back the way they came, luggage piled in their arms and around their shoulders.

You sweat dropped, your heart picking up speed as you turn to the host club behind you.

Next to you, you saw a paused menu from the twin’s switches as they stretched their necks around you, trying to see who was calling for you. Tamaki was rubbing his vibrant purple eyes as he leaned on the back of the couch at the end of the bed, looking to a curious Haruhi to ask her what was going on?

Honey watched you from his coloring book as he chewed on the end of a pencil before turning to Mori, who was still engrossed in his video, minding his own business.

Kyoya still typed, and he too was ignoring the arrival of your parents, although you caught a not-so-subtle side eye behind the frame of his glasses.

Uncertainty waved through your vocal chords as you held up your pointer finger to the group. “Uh, give me one second.” You stepped out before swinging half of your body back into your room, sending a pointed look at the twins. “Stay here.”

And then you were gone.

Your feet touched cool tiles as you made your way to the main entrance of your home, that chandelier still sparkling, even if no sunlight was pouring in. You hadn’t even realized how long you had been studying, considering the club had arrived early this afternoon.

“Mom?” Your native language was confused on your tongue. At your call, she came around the corner that led to the kitchen, strikingly well put together considering having just come home from a two-week business trip in Belgium. Or what was supposed to be two weeks.

“Darling!” Your mother’s mouth twisted into a closed, but genuine, smile as she opened her arms out, hugging you deeply before parting from your touch. Your hold on her was loving, but still weary as you remembered what – or who was in your bedroom.

“Not that I’m not happy to see you, because I am, but what are you doing back so early?” You put on a small smile as you watched her fly between one maid to another, directing them on where to put her bags.

“The meetings ran long, but that meant that we got to finish up a couple days earlier than we planned. Marney helped keep our schedule tight so that I could surprise you!”

A hesitant chuckle seeped out of you as you walked behind your mother, even if your heart skipped at the thought that she had wanted to come home early for you.

“Well, you got me! I’m surprised!” Your tone felt too bright in your throat, but you released a breath as your mom walked straight past the hallway leading to your bedroom. “Where’s Dad?”

“Still in the car,” she replied, releasing her (h/c) hair from her ponytail as she made her way to the master suite, shaking the tension out of her roots. “You know how he gets about bringing germs from our travels into the house.”

You hummed as you nodded. When you were born, your father had been so worried for his first and only child’s health that he had adopted the habits of a germaphobe. And being the incredibly consistent man he was, he never broke out of it.

“But how was your day, dear?”

Your teeth scraped against the inside of your cheek before forming a reply. “It was good, just studied with some friends.” Not a total lie.

“That’s it?”

A small sigh left you. “Yeah, mom, that’s it.”

She hummed thoughtfully, but changed the subject, and you felt the silent judgment drip down your back, wetting your spine with its sludge.

“You’ll never guess who I saw at the Belgium Conference.” You stopped in the door of her room as she pranced around her bed, lugging one of the suitcases into her arms and onto the expensive sheets in front of her.

“Who?”

The bedroom light glowed a warm yellow against the darkness of the windows as she popped open the case by its latches. “Tomoya Arai.”

Your eyebrows raise. A sense of awareness washed over you, but you couldn’t quite place it. “Why does that same sound familiar?”

“You went to middle school with his son for a year or two before their family moved. Turns out they moved back to Japan a few years before we did!”

“Arai…Arai…” Your finger came up to scratch the wrinkle that had folded between your eyebrows. It felt salty on your tongue, the syllables releasing something recognizable, but the image was still a blur. You just shrugged. “I don’t really remember him.”

“That’s not surprising,” The woman ticked her tongue against her teeth. “His son was pretty quiet.” Rummaging through her luggage, her hands pulled out something wrapped in a thin, brown paper, too large to be another novelty pin.

The package crimped from her featherlight grasp as your mother shifted it into one hand before walking away from her bed towards you. Behind the parchment, you could see a sparkly fabric, and surprise etched onto your features as she took the steps to place the gift in your palms.

“Here, baby.” Her voice, one that would be yours in a few years, smoothed over your shock as you felt the weight of the clothing in your hands. You met her eyes again, still processing what she had given you.

“This…this isn’t a pin.”

“Or a postcard.” She said with a knowing smile as you stared down at the tiny diamonds dotting the dark fabric, still hidden behind the transparent paper.

Having contained her excitement for the entire trip back from Belgium, your mother clapped her hands in front of her. “Open it!”

It took you a minute to hear what she said, but soon you were gracefully peeling back the tan sheets, gasping as a deep, royal blue was presented from behind its curtain.

“Mom…” Once freed, the floor length dress billowed down to your feet as you unfolded it, the soft velvet fabric tracing against your arms and then your legs. You held it up as it winked back at you, the small, twinkling stars catching the light against the dark night of the gown.

“Isn’t it gorgeous?” The thin straps of the dress were transferred from your fingers to your mothers as she turned it around to place it against your front, finding that it was the perfect length for your height. “Oh my god, I just knew it would look amazing on you.”

You tilted your head down as you watched the navy dress being held against your body. It was expensive and extremely formal. The straight neckline was held up by delicate straps, while the length of the gown was an uninterrupted starry night, save for a slit up your mid-right thigh.

Could you even pull something like this off?

“Really?”

“Really,” Her eyes meet your own. “You’re becoming a woman, (Y/n), and this is the perfect dress to celebrate that.” Draping it over her arm, she handed the dress back to you as she busied herself with the rest of the luggage. You didn’t miss the extra spark in her step.

“I want you to wear that to dinner tonight.” A manicured finger pointed back at you as she started to pull clothes from her suitcase once more. Fancy blouses and modest pencil skirts lined the contents, but their colors blurred together at the mention of dinner.

“What?” Eyeing the lower neckline and the higher slit of the dress, the image of your usual Sunday night dinners came into your mind. Your dad in his t-shirt and expensive sweatpants, your mom with her hair undone and a casual dress swimming over her. And there you sat, glittering like a spotlight, trying to pull the slit of this dress closed before you could take a simple sip of water.

“The dinner. You need to wear that gorgeous thing tonight, baby, to make a good impression.”

“A good impression?” You followed your mom into her bathroom as she rounded the corner, slipping her jewelry off to place them in the dish that had a little symbol of the (L/n) Tech gracing the porcelain. “For who?”

“Arai and his family. They are coming over for dinner tonight.”

Again, the style of the dress came to the forefront of your mind, and you imagined tugging at the neckline uncomfortably in front of people you didn’t even know.

Stuttering, an awkward smile came to your face as you glanced down at the dress before lifting your head up to your mother once more. “Mom, I have plenty of business casual attire to wear for something like that. Why do I need to…to wear this?”

In the mirror, you saw a small pout form on the CEO’s lips. “You don’t like it?”

“No! No, I do!” Like a switch, the people-pleaser in you shined as you gestured to the sparkle of the gown. “It’s beautiful, really. It’s just…it might be a little inappropriate, don’t you think?”

A simper reflected back at you as your mom made a sweet coo before turning around and placing her ringless fingers on your cheeks. “You are a woman, (Y/n). A gorgeous, capable woman. Let the world see that.”

“I don’t see how a dress shows that I’m a capable woman.” Your squished cheeks deadpanned in her hold.

“It doesn’t. It just amplifies it.”

Now her hands were on your shoulders, and you’re being pushed out of the room. Her painted nails grab your forearm as she swiftly exits her bedroom and turns back into the entryway, with you in tow.

Worry starts back into your bloodstream as she turns on her heel, intending to take you back into her bedroom. You tried to dig your feet into the expensive tile, but her tug was too strong, and you needed to distract her before she opened the door to find seven random people in your goddamn bedroom.

“Wait, Mom! I, uh-”

“Don’t fight me on this, (Y/n).” The tone of a successful businesswoman laces into her speech, and you knew better than to struggle any further. With her back turned to your room, she flings open the door and grasps your shoulder. “Get changed, and meet us in the foyer in an hour. I’ll handle everything else.”

With that, she shoves you inside, turning towards the entrance of your room. You hold your breath as she meets the curious, and slightly worried stare of each of the hosts, Tamaki and the twin’s eyes wide with uncertainty.

Only a second of surprise wipes across her face before it settles into a confused, but welcoming grin. “Hi, boys.” Glancing at the brunette frozen on your bed, she adds, “And Haruhi.”

Your jaw was so agape, it nearly got caught in the door as your mother effectively shut it behind her.

And suddenly you were frozen in your own bedroom, bare feet frozen to the ground as a dress that cost as much as a small country hung loosely from your forearms.

Your friends stare back at you as an awkward silence fills the room as they try to piece together the events that had taken place outside of your bedroom. Tamaki and Haruhi note the state of your open jaw, while Mori and Kyoya see the confusion in your eyes. Honey-senpai worries over his coloring mostly, but he takes a peak at your stiff, shocked stance.

The golden hued gaze from the children of a fashion designer sweep past that, however, and spot the sparkling magnum opus that was being clutched close to your chest.

Shooting up from their seat, Hikaru and Kaoru crowd around you, pulling the piece of clothing out from your firm grasp.

“(Y/n)...” For once, Hikaru is at a loss for words, his eyelashes sifting through each tiny diamond.”

Kaoru is just as breathless, his already light-voice becoming airy in his astonishment. “What is this?”

Blinking, the twin’s orange hair finally comes into focus as you process your mother’s unpredicted reaction to a group of boys in your room, but you decide to ask her about it later. “Uh…it’s…what did you say?”

Holding it up by its straps, Kaoru raises the dress up to your body, similar to how your mother had presented it, while Hikaru lays out the skirt, the velvet material flowing over your figure.

“That’s beautiful…” You hear Tamaki’s voice in front of you now, and as he swoops into your view, you watch as the idiotic trio basically commit the dress to their memory. Their minds work with a great effort, picturing you in the dress, how the dark blue of the material would compliment the undertone of your skin. How the shape would accent your silhouette.

Tamaki’s mental theater shimmered, pink and gold lights bordering the image of one of his best friends dressed to the nines, looking glorious and worthy of the most valuable jewels.

The twin’s imagination took a different approach, thinking of the dark-haired director that sat just inches away.

But all three came to the same conclusion.

“You need to put this on immediately.” As if the twin’s had temporarily transferred their telepathy to Tamaki, the trio looked you dead in the eye, dramatic determination swirling in yellow and purple irises.

Finally shaking off the fact that your mother had zero reaction to seven random people in your room, you rolled your eyes, taking back the dress with a huff before draping it back over your arm. “I will, but you guys need to go.”

You looked at the rest of the host club, an apologetic tone glazing over your tongue. “My mom invited some old family friends over for dinner tonight. So, in addition to this,” you gestured to the dark blue fabric, “I need to get everything else ready in less than an hour.”

Shrugging, the host club watches as a sheepish posture curls into your spine. “I guess this is the end of our study session.”

Haruhi, Mori and Kyoya give you a gentle nod as they each begin to pack up their things. The more vocal of the three smiles her pretty simper at you from the place on your bed. “Don’t worry about it, (Y/n), there’s always next wee-”

“You have to try on this dress! Right! Now!”

“Tamaki!” You exclaim as your blonde best friend parks himself into your personal space, interrupting Haruhi’s calm response.

“Don’t ‘Tamaki’ me!” The prince suddenly spins you around, toward the doors leading to your en-suite bathroom. “You will march right in there and put that dress on for us so that we can see how beautiful you are!”

“Excuse me?!”

“We’ll help!” Two arms loop through your elbow as the twins support your weight and begin to drag you into the bathroom. You thrash slightly in their hold, digging your bare heels into the ground below you.

“Hey! Wait just a second-!”

“Nope! Just like you said! We only have an hour!” Hikaru says, grunting slightly as he struggles to push you from your resistant position.

“Yeah, we wouldn't want to waste any time!” Kaoru reasons, and with one final push, the twins fall into the bathroom with you. The club watches as the force of your bodies swings the door on its hinges, shutting you and the twins out of their sight.

Tamaki stands outside of the door triumphantly before a deep sigh emits behind him, one that he knows all too well.

“Was that necessary? She just sprained her ankle a few weeks ago.”

The blonde spins to his best friend behind him as Kyoya fidgeted with his glasses. “Anything is necessary to bask in the light of beauty.” Tamaki declares in a lush tone, posing with a princely demeanor. “She is going to thank me when she steps out of there looking like a goddess!”

Kyoya was about to argue, but a noise behind the bathroom doors proved the point he was going to make. The ravenet quirked an eyebrow, his gaze going past his best friend and beyond, settling on the bathroom door as it shook slightly.

Tamaki turned back around as muffled shouting and banging seeped through the cracks, and Haruhi and Honey tried their best to conceal their laughter at what they could make out through the ruckus.

“Hikaru! Stop, I can do this myself!”

“Let us help you!”

“Kaoru if you don’t-, oh my god!”

“You just need to put this on, and then-what the hell?!” A gasp breathed from his lips.

“(Y/n), I swear to God.”

“Put it down-!”

The hosts wince and freeze as a crash rumbles from inside the bathroom wall. There was a baited pause as the club listened for any sound of life from the twins, just in case you killed them.

The silence didn’t last long, to their near relief, before Hikaru’s voice rushed back into the scene. “Did you just throw a hairdryer at me?!”

“Wanna see me do it again?” There’s more rustling, and more shocked breaths.

Suddenly, Kaoru’s voice crept closer to the doorframe. “Shit, why does she have so many heating tools?”

The wood of the door creaked, and then burst open as the twins sprinted out. The host saw a blur of ginger and gold as the brothers ducked one last time, a lone curling flying through the air. It would’ve hit the wall if Mori didn’t catch it with one hand, barely looking up from his phone.

“Get out!” A final warning from you, and the door slammed closed again, locking the twins out of your sight, which was probably the best position for their survival at the moment.

Falling onto their stomachs, cat-like eyes fall onto dress shoes and then trousers as the twins land at Kyoya’s feet.

Sheepish smiles appear on their faces as an annoyed grimace displays on Kyoya’s. They laugh awkwardly before both brothers stand, brushing themselves off and then straightening out each other’s clothes.

An awkward laugh bubbled out of them as they re-tied their ties. “She’ll be out in just a minute.”

“You guys are the worst.” Haruhi mumbles as she hangs her bag from her shoulder, having packed up the last of her studying materials.

Tamaki waved a flippant palm her way, a passive lilt in his voice. “She will be thanking us soon enough, Haruhi. How many opportunities does she have to get dressed up like this?”

“Speaking of…what is she really getting dressed up for anyways?” Kaoru asks, drawing the attention of every host to the twin brothers.

“Yeah, a dress like that isn’t for a casual business meeting, that’s for sure.” Hikaru confirms.

“You think (N/n)-chan has a date?” Honey says, no longer distracted by the coloring book he put away.

“What? A date?!” Tamaki whipped his head to the boy-lolita, his dramatics inflecting his tone. “(Y/n) said nothing about a date!”

“I can assure you…” The hosts’ attention is sharply drawn back to the door of your bathroom as it opens, the clicking of heels echoing behind you as you make your way back into your bedroom. “It is not a date.”

An amazed silence glazes over the room, expressed in wide glances and parted lips as your friends take you in. The last time they saw you dressed up like this was during the Ball of the Cherry Blossoms, or how you so endearingly called it when you thought back to the night everyone at Ouran danced under pink petals. And sure, they’ve seen you in the constant costumes and get-ups that really never seem to fit you just right.

But this dress?

God, this dress was made for you.

As you step into their view, the long, dark blue fabric hugs and caresses your figure with a divine purpose, enhancing every tasteful dip and curve that your body holds. A sharp neckline frames your collarbone with elegance as your hosts notice that you stand a little taller, more proud to look this good than you are letting on. The heels picked the front of your dress a little off the floor, but weren’t so high that the small train in the back was snuffed from its glory. The extra height made your refined hairstyle just that more pristine as you exited, putting it atop a higher mantle. The neutral, deep blue complimented every color of your eyes and skin, as if it’s one job was to enchant the very soul that was dressed within it.

The twins and Haruhi shake the stars from your dress out of their eyes and glance at Kyoya, hoping for any sort of reaction. They could see that the ravenet’s gray eyes had softened, his stoic expression melting into something of…amazement? Surprise? Neither the little devils or the natural really ever got better at reading the club’s director, but they could tell that he was definitely trying to process the art piece in front of him.

But if Kyoya had heard their thoughts, he wouldn’t agree. Not entirely.

You could never merely depict something as material and fragile as an art piece.

He thought you looked beautiful, of course. And the small diamonds that freckled the fabric that wrapped you so graciously clearly resembled something that should be placed into a museum.

But to him, you were not only the person his heart had begun to yearn for just months ago, but his best friend. The person he put his trust in and someone he knew would be at his side for better or for worse if he allowed. His best friend, who was anxious and ambitious, creative and kind, had just stepped into a light that was nearly otherworldly.

You were elevated, and his heart grew for the person he saw in front of him.

“Wow (Y/n),” The twins gasped slightly as their hands reached up to their chests., “Be still our heart.”

You rolled your eyes as you fidgeted slightly, waving your hands at your friends who were staring at you. “Shut up.”

“Wow, (N/n)-chan! You look so nice!” Honey bounds up to you gleefully, rainbow-tipped fingers from his creative escapades reaching out to grab the skirt of your dress. Gasps from the twins and Haruhi blow past him as he rushes up towards your form with a gleeful smile on his face.

Suddenly, a hand shoots out, gently yanking him back by the collar of his shirt. Mori keeps a firm grasp on him as his cousin runs in mid-air for a minute before setting him down. The boy lolita’s blonde hair bounces as he glances up towards the older host.

“It’s like a sculpture in a museum, Mitsukuni.” Mori’s deep voice carries over your bedroom. “Look, but don’t touch.”

But, as Honey sulks slightly in Mori’s grasp, the stoic can’t stop a second unbeatable force.

You feel weightless as you are lifted off the ground – long, delicate arms encasing your whole body in a firm embrace. Tamaki spins you around as he cheers and coos, his eyes almost morphing into a heart shape as he fangirls over you.

“Mon ami! You look so cute! Why don’t you ever dress up for us like this?” His usual buttery voice becomes strained with excitement as he twirls you around. He drones on and continues to spin to the point where you think you might throw up all over your new dress if he doesn’t stop.

“Tamaki.” Your muffled voice vibrates against the cotton of his shirt.

“...you need to wear this 24/7, every day of every week of every year!”

Vocal chords are constricted, and his name barely squeaks out of your throat. “Tamaki-”

“...and then, we can match! I know this color would bring out my eyes, oh we would be so cute (Y/n)!”

“Tamaki! Put me down!” Your sudden volume startles him for a moment, allowing you to twist out of his grasp. Your room spins a little, the floor becoming uneven as you are sat back down, the thin, strappy heels on your feet not helping the situation.

Tamaki’s hands shoot out to your shoulders, helping you find your balance. “Sorry, amour. I just get excited when my best friend is so beautiful!”

Your smile still finds its way to your lips as those violet eyes stare down at you with a bright adoration.

A small laugh bubbles past your lungs. “You’re good, Tamaki. Thank you.” Looking towards the rest of the club, you give them a nod. “Thank you guys, too. It means a lot.”

You had to admit, the dress did feel nice. The fabric was expensive, but stretchy, as it wrapped comfortably around your figure. It lifted and tucked nicely, while accentuating those parts you loved. Your mom really had you in mind when picking this out.

“Alright,” You clapped your hands a little and gestured toward the door. “I think I have to kick you guys out now.”

“Awe, what?” Honey whined as Mori stood off of the bean bag chair, lugging the lolita’s bag onto his shoulder along with his own.

“I’m sorry,” You say, clearly not wanting them to go. “You heard what my mom said, we have company coming over.”

“What kind of company?” A deep voice resonates.

You look over to Kyoya as he lightly places his laptop into his messenger bag, his trusty dry erase board following suit.

“My mom has a new aspiring business partner that she wants my dad and I to meet. I’m not really sure what they do, but apparently they are important.” You say as you pick up Tamaki’s bag, handing it to the blonde before folding up the blanket he was using to nap with.

“Wow, a new business venture…” Hikaru says, already halfway out the door.

“Hopefully your mom isn’t spreading herself too thin!” Kaoru finishes, following his brother out as they both slip past you as they exit your bedroom.

“Of course not! (Y/n)’s mother is a wonderful business woman. Don’t underestimate her greatness.” Tamaki exclaims as he and Haruhi walk into the hallway as well.

Soon, your bedroom is devoid of the liveliness of your host club as everyone leaves. All except one.

You wait by the doorway, fidgeting with the ankle strap of your heel as it twisted unnaturally while Kyoya packed up the last of his things.

“A new business partner. Interesting.” He says, slowly buckling his bag closed.

Your eyes squint at his slow movements. “Yeah, I’m not sure what’s really going to happen with this family, but I guess it couldn’t hurt to reach out a bit more.”

“And I assume that this won’t affect the relationship your mother has with the Ootori family?”

A (h/c) eyebrow picks up while your shoulder hits the door frame as you lean against it. “Of course not. I wouldn’t let that happen.”

A final click is heard as the megane closes his bag and wraps it over his shoulder. “I would hope not. It would be a significant loss for either of us.”

Humming, you nod as his dark shoes clack against your floor, the director making his way towards you. “Significant indeed.”

Kyoya stops in front of you, a gentle smirk on his face as his gaze peers at you from behind his frames.

“You look stunning, in case you haven’t heard.”

You laugh, the sound billowing out of your throat. “I think I’ve heard it too much.”

Your eyes divert from his own, and you catch your reflection in a mirror propped against your wall. Scanning yourself, it’s too easy to point out the flaws, to pick out the things that you’ve had to grow up with. The things you’ve forced yourself to accept, but you knew that if a genie magically appeared in your grasp, your first wish would be to wish them away.

Seeing a darker spiral in the distance of your train of thought, the path is interrupted by a softer, colder touch. Kyoya’s finger directs your stare from the reflection back to him as he puts a slight pressure under your chin.

There is a more sincere visage on his sharp features as he draws a little closer. “This dress fits you well. Insecurity, however, does not.”

Lips parting slightly, you swallow. The weight of his assurance for your potential is a shocking one, and through all the time that you’ve known him, you didn’t think that you could ever get over his constant belief in you.

“Thank you, Kyo.”

Another tap from his finger before his touch is gone. “Of course.”

You smile up at him, appreciating the softness of the moment, before a familiar call bonus through the outside hallway.

“(Y/n), dear! Your friends need to leave! Our guests will be here any minute!” Your mother’s voice rattles in (n/l), breaking you from the bubble you and Kyoya had created.

You let go of Kyoya’s fingers just as he lets go of yours, and you peek your head out of the door. “Coming!” You reply back in (n/l) before switching over to Japanese. “You ready?”

He nods, and the two of you begin to slip out into the hallway before you wince slightly.

“Shit.” You curse, gasping as a shot of dull pain pitches up your ankle.

Cotton blurs into your line of sight as Kyoya appears in front of you, his hand coming to rest on your elbow in support. “Is your ankle still bothering you?”

“A little, yeah.”

Air rushes over your arm as his touch leaves you, but he offers you his arm instead. “I can be of assistance.”

Gratefully, you sew your arm through his, pressing a little more of your weight into his side as you both begin down the hallway of your home.

“Do you know the name of the family you're meeting with tonight?” Kyoya asks as you begin to walk to the foyer.

“Arai. Apparently I knew his son back in elementary school. Him and his parents are coming over for some kind of special dinner.” You look towards Kyoya as you both keep a calm pace with one another. “Do you know them?”

A contemplative hand adjusts his glasses as Kyoya thinks. “Hm, not personally, but I have heard of them. Arai Produce is one of the main sellers for most of the products Japan’s supermarkets hold. They focus on selling very natural and holistic goods.”

“Oh, so not really down your alley then.”

The ravenet shrugs slightly as the main foyer comes into view. “As the saying goes, to each their own. I can understand the desire to use more natural products in our day to day life, as the earth could benefit more towards it.”

A small sigh blows over his lips. “But when it comes to the field of medicine, holistic followers tend to want to erase chemical medication completely. The research I’ve done shows that it should really become more of a balance rather than a battle to erase one or the other.”

“And the Arai's work to replace medications?”

“Not mainly, but they have advertised that most any common ailment can be cured with elderberry syrup and rest.”

You cringed a little. “Oh.”

“It’s not favorable, especially since they are such a large company with powerful influence.” Kyoya says, but when he sees the slight worry on your face he begins to look on a brighter side.

“They are reasonable people, I’m sure. They would have to be in order to receive the professional following that they hold.”

You hum thoughtfully, “Good to know.”

He nods as you guys join the rest of the club waiting at the front door.

“What took you guys so long?” Hikaru asks, arms folded while golden eyes catch where yours and Kyoya’s bodies meet.

“Too busy making out?” Kaoru teases, an evil smirk coming onto his face to match his brothers.

A cough blocks Kyoya’s air pipe as your jaw drops and a deep blush forms onto your face. You wack both of them on the shoulder with a decent amount of force, playful betrayal coming out of each slap. “If you two don’t shut up, I’m going to go grab more of my heat tools.”

The boys laugh and the wince as the memory of flying hair dryers and curling irons flips back into their memory. “Okay! Okay! We get it, stop!”

“(Y/n).” The laughing stops, and the host club watches as you immediately straighten at your mother’s voice. Her heels click sharply as her face gives a warm, professional smile. “Stop messing around and say goodbye.”

“Of course, Mom.” You turn back to your friends. “Thanks for coming, you guys, I’ll see you at school tomorrow.”

Mori nods at you as Honey gives you a big hug. The twins push your shoulders gently as they look from you to your mom. “Thanks for having us, (L/n)-senpai.”

“Nice to see you too, boys.”

The gingers wave back to you as they walk out the door.

“Thanks, (L/n)-senpai, your home is lovely.” Haruhi says brightly, bowing to your mother before giving you a hug goodbye.

“Always lovely to see you, Miss (L/n).” Tamaki says, bowing deeply as he takes your mother’s hand, kissing the back of it.

“Alright, Tamaki, out we go.” You say, pulling your blonde boy away from your mother before she melted completely, the sweet blush coming to her face already starting to deepen.

“And Ootori, you know you're always welcome here.”

You turn over your shoulder as you push Tamaki out the door to see Kyoya match your mother’s professionalism. If you squinted, you would see the stretch to their smile, and the stiffness of their stance, but the whining of the prince in front of you distracted you until you got him through the door.

“Thank you, (L/n)-senpai, for having us. I hope to see you at the next Ootori company meeting.” The ravenet bows with his hand over his heart, a perfect practiced position.

“As do I.” Your mother replies and watches Kyoya walk out through her front door, towards her daughter.

Her teeth clench.

Outside, the setting sun displays blends of purples and oranges descending into a dusk blue. Stairs descend into a large front yard, a home for rose bushes and lovely flowers your father picked out to keep the bugs away.

Each host has a limo parked out front, shining and crisp against the evening night. Tamaki insisted that he could take Haruhi home, but you asked one of your drivers to take her instead, knowing she would like the alone time after being around all of you for most of the day.

“Bye, you guys, see you later.” You say while watching your friends pile into their respective vehicles and begin to leave. You all wave as they vanish into the streetlamps on your avenue.

Picking up the skirt of your dress, you begin to turn towards your home before a quiet rumble interrupts your movements.

Just as elegant as those of the Ootori’s or the Suoh’s, the stretched automobile was pristine and well-established as it slowed to a stop at your doorstep. A man with salt and pepper tossed on his scalp stepped out of the driver’s seat. Suited with a dark jacket sporting an embroidered Arai on the vest pocket, he gives a respectful nod towards you as his fingers wrap around the car door handle. He pulls, and polished, dark brown shoes gracefully step onto the pavement.

Another man emerges, taller than his driver. Wearing a suit to match his shoes, who you can only assume to be Tomoya Arai rises out of his limo, pulling a finely dressed woman by the hand as he helps her out as well.

His gaze is full of melted chocolate as it meets yours, and his lips quirk up with an immediate smile.

“Miss (L/n).” The older Arai’s voice is warm and even if he is speaking at a normal volume, it’s deep note booms in the open space around you. Something familiar itches in the back of your mind, as if you’ve heard it before. “My, how you’ve grown!”

Coming out of a slight shock to his family arriving so soon, you fix a welcoming, practiced smile onto your face. “Arai-senpai. Wonderful to meet you again.” Your arm delicately stretches in his direction, and he takes it, his smile growing.

“Ah, well, it’s always wonderful to meet a young woman with a strong handshake. Please, just call me Tomoya.”

Nodding, you bow slightly. “Thank you, Tomoya-san.”

His smile grows a little wider. “It might be better than my own son’s.”

“I’m not sure if I should take offense or not.”

Turning your head to the sudden voice, that sudden familiar itch grows. Brown hair, brownish-grayish eyes come into your vision as a lithe boy rounds the back corner of the limousine.

Suddenly, you’re back in middle school. Plenty of tables are lined up in your favorite classroom, but each one is taken as you’re running late. When you reach the doorway, you scan the room, hoping for an open spot. Your eyes pass a girl who you noticed had forgotten her lunch the other day, or you pass the boy who was the star of your school’s baseball team over the weekend. Both ignore you, as they are too busy talking with the people they’ve bonded with, the people in their own inner circle.

Since this was the intermediate school that everyone in your area was assigned to go to, you had known these kids all your life, but had never really made any real, lasting connections, save for a few.

But, through the blur of your growing social anxiety, a hand shoots up.

One, pale, lithe hand waves in the back of the classroom, gently and hesitantly as if whoever owns it is already regretting their decision of putting it up in the first place.

Your eyebrows go up in surprise, but then you smile lightly when you see a boy with a tussle of brown hair and big eyes looking at you with a sweet reluctance. And when you start walking over to him, you see that reluctance change into surprise, then fear, then slowly emerge into a hint of excitement as this mystery boy tries to make his desk as organized as possible.

“Hi.” His voice was so young, so light.

“Hey. Thanks for letting me sit here.” You say as you promptly put your hand out to offer it to his own. “I’m (L/n). It’s nice to meet you.”

The boy starts at your sudden gesture, but relaxes into an awkward smile as he shakes your hand lightly, putting the other hand behind his neck.

“I’m Arai, and it’s no problem. I know what it’s like to be running a little late at times.”

You click your tongue as you begin to pull out your school stuff, arranging them nicely onto the desk in front of you. “Unfortunately, it can be a little more often than just ‘at times’. I really need to get a new alarm system.”

“I live on a farm,” Arai begins as he taps a pencil onto the wood of his desk, “so my alarm system is just a rooster crowing a million times.”

Your smile morphs into a little laugh, and you shake your head. “Okay, not that kind of alarm.”

He laughs too. “It’s an acquired taste.”

Then, the bell rings, and you're forced to turn your attention away from a potential new friend.

That all seemed so long ago now as you clasped hands with that same boy, the same awkward smile playing behind his lips, but with some additional confidence.

“Arai, it’s good to see you again.”

The man before you brightens. “You remember me?”

“A little.” Breaking the handshake, you cross one arm over your chest and grab your elbow, a sweet expression on your features. “To be honest, it took a minute. Since you moved away after we first met, it’s been a while since I’ve seen you.”

“That’s okay, it makes sense.”

“But it’s still nice to see you!” You say, hoping to put yourself into a better light. “There’s probably a lot that we need to catch up on.”

“Oh, there sure is! My boy here has grown in many ways, we are proud.” Arai’s dad slaps him on the shoulder, and the two of you are brought back into reality. As the setting sun comes back into focus, you realize that you have just been casually chatting with your mother’s esteemed guests on the sidewalk outside of your house for more than 15 minutes.

Shit.

“Oh my, where are my manners?” A manicured hand flies up to your glossed lips as you angle your body to point towards the large double doors of your parents mansion. “Would you please come inside? My mother has prepared quite the night for us, I’m sure.”

Arai’s dad just laughs it off while his mother gives you a reassuring nod. Arai is pulled along by his father as they pass you and soon they are climbing the large stairs up to the main entrance. As you fall behind them, your professional facade drops slightly, and you pick up your skirt to take each step at a time.

Watching Arai’s back, more memories begin to seep into your mind. Arai encouraged you on a test that you were scared for, both of you hunched over your notes to make sure that everything was in order. Or when he asked you if you wanted to see pictures of his new dog his uncle had bought him, and how you cooed over it for hours on end.

He was a sweet guy. Quiet, like your mom said, but also kind and supportive. You remember getting a little closer as time moved on, but he moved away pretty quickly after you two met.

A sense of peace settles over you. After your mom sprang this dress and this meeting on you, you had been a little anxious about the whole thing. But re-meeting Arai and his family puts you a little more at ease, especially with how gracious they’ve been.

This night might go better than you had pictured.

“And thank god we left, because I’m not sure how I would have gotten out of that.”

The entire dinner table erupts into a fit of refined chuckles and polite laughter as Arai finishes his story. Your napkin is pressed to your lips as you look to your side where he sits, and when your eyes meet, it causes even more laughter to bubble out of your throat at his complete shame of what he had done to prank one of his teachers in middle school.

“Oh, god, Arai, what a tale, truly.” Your father says, his cufflinks glinting in the light of the chandelier. “Who knew you were so rebellious?”

“You know what they say. Boys will be boys.” Arai’s mother, Yuko, replies, as she has opened up more throughout the dinner that you were close to finishing. The two parents have another additional giggle at that comment before the table settles down into a more mellow energy.

Your plates have nearly been cleared, the dinner that the chefs made too well-prepared to be left on the white porcelain. Conversation flowed easily when talking about business arrangements, but it took a little more encouragement for anecdotes of personal lives to be shared.

A few wine glasses for the adults fixed that, however, and your father even let you have a sip or two when your mother wasn’t looking. By now, at the end of the night, most of the awkwardness had faded, and it had become an easy night with old friends.

Your mother’s gold ring tapped against her crystal glass as she drank the last of her wine, her eyes meeting yours over the rim.

“Now that we got all of the details out of the way, and had some time to relax.” Your mother drawls. “What do you think of this partnership, (Y/n)?” She asks, folding her hands below her chin.

Straightening your spine, the attention of the table turns towards you as you answer. “I think it’s a wonderful investment. If Arai Produce is looking to build their own grocery stores, (L/n) Tech is more than capable of developing easy to use technology for their shoppers. I think we could do each other a lot of good.”

The CEO tilts her head to the boy sitting next to you. “And you, Arai? What do you think?”

“It’s smart, Miss.” Arai stumbles, also not expecting the question. “Since I’ve been working as a delivery boy, I haven’t really been involved with a lot of the networking that has led up to this point, but I’m excited to delve more into this partnership.”

Arai gives you a questionable side glance while your mother breaks her eye contact and shrugs, and you nod approvingly, giving him a small thumbs up.

“And what do you think of each other?” Arai’s father asks as he cuts the last piece of meat on his plate and forks it into his mouth. “You two get along okay?”

Lip falling between your teeth, you look to Arai again, some of the awkwardness filing back into your systems.

“Yeah, of course.” You reply, folding the napkin back into your lap before looking up to the head of Arai Produce. “It’s been nice getting to know the man Arai grew into. You raised a good son.”

Pride flourishes within the man’s chest, and he nods while keeping a smile on his mouth. “It’s good to hear you say that. It will be important that you two work well together.”

Smacking her lips as she swallows, your mother nods as well. “Yes, this deal will definitely bring our families closer together.”

“I look forward to it.” Arai says, and you two share another kind smile.

Your mom clasps her hands together and squeals slightly. “You guys are two cute! Dressed up to the nines and looking at each other like that! Arai, did you see (Y/n)’s dress? I picked it out just for her in Belgium.” She asks, using her fork to gesture to the midnight fabric gracing your features.

“I did! I did.” His manner becomes a little sweeter and more reserved as he compliments you. “You look lovely.”

You roll your eyes playfully, a small smile on your face to play off the embarrassment rising through your sternum. “Yes, I know, thank you.” Another round of laughs chime through the dining room.

Arai’s father pats his stomach before stretching, his meal settling comfortingly into his gut. “This was great, (M/n), thank you.” He praises as he pushes out his chair, his napkin falling gently next to his empty plate.

Your father promptly leaves his seat, rushing over to pull out your mother’s before following some of your butlers to the coat rack where the Arai family’s jackets hang in wait. Your mom rises as well, much calmer as the heads of newly partnered companies. You and Arai follow behind as they chatter towards the front door.

Out of the corner of your eye, Arai leans over slightly and speaks quietly next to you, out of earshot of your parents.. “It was good to see you again.”

Genuine smiles came to you more naturally throughout the night, so this one wasn’t difficult as you turned to him. “Yeah, it was nice to catch up a little.”

“Looks like we will be seeing each other more often,” The delivery boy says, his signature awkward smile creasing his cheekbones. “It might be good to get to know each other a little more? I could give you my number and we could talk over a cup of coffee. Or, actually, you might not love coffee, but I’m totally fine with whatever you would want, if you chose the place!”

Puffs of laughter ripple from your lips at his backtracking, and you put your hand on his shoulder to stop his rambling. “Coffee is fine. Even if I didn’t like the drink, I still like the atmosphere. It’s a good place to get to know anybody, even new coworkers.” Light teasing breathes from your words, and you can see Arai visibility relax from your assurance.

And as you arrive at the front doors, Arai sticks his hand out again, and you shake it, good nature winding around the both of you.

“I meant what I said earlier. You look lovely.” His dark eyes turn to crescent moons as he smiles at you.

“Thank you, thank you.” Looking down, your fingers play with the fabric of your dress. “I have a feeling my mother picked it out just to impress you all, so I’m glad it fulfilled its purpose.”

Arai chuckles along with you as he pulls his coat on. “You were very impressive. Very elegant.”

He looks at you then with a sense of admiration that you hadn’t seen before, and the feeling whiffs down your spine. Blush rises to his cheeks accompanied by a glint in his brown eyes, and you inhale a little more sharply before smiling and thanking him. Your family leads his family out to the top of the stairs that lead to the edge of the road.

‘Goodnight’s and ‘safe travels’ are shared as you all say your goodbyes, and you stand with your mom and dad as the industrial farmers begin their drive home, catching Arai’s wave in the tinted windows.

Your mother is still waving to them when she speaks behind you, a professional grin still etched into her features. “Arai is a nice boy. Driven, kind.”

“He’s cool, seems like a good person.” You say back, still waiting for their car to disappear into the night.

The tail lights glow red as the limo breaks before taking a left out of your neighborhood and into the night.

Your mothers breath matches the cool spring breeze that winds into the dress she bought for you. “That’s good to hear. Seems like you two will get along nicely.”

With yours and Kyoya’s big presentation coming up on the horizon, your brain was in full work mode. Dedication shined through you as you briskly walked the halls towards the club room, flashcards grasped tightly in your fingertips as you worked on drafts for your opening statement. Books jostled in your bag with each step, and your mouth moved with the words on the index cards as you mumbled to yourself while gliding past groups of students.

Weaving through students, the skirt of your uniform ruffles as you take the stairs two at a time, eager to meet up with Haruhi for a little study session she proposed. An extra packet of instant coffee, brand new pieces of mechanical pencil lead, and your favorite red and blue pens jumped in the side pocket of your backpack, preparing you for the long night of studying ahead.

Blindly, your shoulder juts into the wood of the door to Music Room 3, pushing it open. The sound of the twin’s voices dull in your ear as your concentration sticks to your cards, and you barely register pieces of their conversation with Haruhi as it flows into one ear and out the other.

“..the beach?”

“Of course!”

“But why?...”

“Don’t you remember what you said?”

“You said you’d like to go to a real beach!”

Still, you let muscle memory take you to your favorite studying table. Across the pink tiles, cut across the-

Boof!

Plush, foam mannequins stand in your path as you run straight into them, knocking your index cards out of your hands. It wobbles on its stand on the impact and you panic, reaching out to steady it before it falls into the two around it.

Why were there three mannequins just sitting in the middle of the club room?

Wait, not three.

“What the…” Looking around you, at least a hundred fashion statues scatter the tiled floor, each wearing a unique swimsuit over its fake form. “Where the hell did these come from?”

“The twins.” A deep voice says next to you, making you jump a little before realizing that Mori had come to help you pick up your presentation cards.

You bend a knee, thanking him before processing the sheer mass of swimsuits in the clubroom. “Why would they bring all these swimsuits all the way over here? Did Kyoya order them for another themed hosting session?”

“No. We are going to the beach.”

“Well, yeah,” You sigh as Mori places half of your precious notecards into your hands, stacked neatly but completely out of order. “Not until the end of the week though. Not like I’m looking forward to it.”

“You’re not?” Mori gives you a raised eyebrow. “Why?”

Before you can answer, you hear questions come from seemingly nowhere as they fall through the maze of mannequins.

“Is that who we think it is?”

“Do we hear (Y/n)?”

Disembodied voices branch out from the sea of mannequins, causing you and Mori to stand completely still.

You clear your throat. “Uh, yes?”

Rustling is heard as some of the fashion forms are disturbed, rattling on their stands form an unseen force.

“We’ve been waiting for you.” This time the voice was synonymous.

“Why are you guys being so creepy?” You scoot a little closer to the martial arts master, but even the stoic couldn’t locate the figures of ginger and gold. Dark eyes scanned the bikinis and one-pieces, but he was looking in the wrong direction.

Somehow, you feel twin tugs on the creases of both your elbows, and you're surprised when two annoyingly familiar voices appear on either side of you.

“(Y/n)!” Hikaru exclaims, and your body whips as they yank you back.

“We have a surprise for you, too!” Kaoru states, and suddenly your being dragged through the array of swimsuits, not having time to admire any of them as your index cards float out of your hands and onto the ground.

“You little-, let go of me!” Wiggling in their hold, you can’t seem to break it as you’re dragged through the music room. Mori tries to chase after you, but your chance at being rescued deflates when he gets distracted by a maroon, seashell themed two piece. Hikaru and Kaoru throw you into a chair on the other side of the music room, ironically right next to the table Haruhi was studying at.

As the twins step back, they pose in front of you, and even if they look smug, your temper simmers when you see genuine excitement in their stance.

Leaning over, you whisper to Haruhi through the corner of your mouth.“How long have you been sitting here listening to their nonsense?”

“Only a few seconds, but it feels like years.”

“Okay!” Kaoru points a finger out, ceasing any side conversations and directing all of your attention to them. “You know how we are going to the beach because Haruhi said she wanted to?”

“Did I really say that?” Haruhi challenges, and the twins deadpan at the natural host.

“Yes, Haruhi. But here’s the fun part!” And suddenly, their aura becomes that of a talk show host, splaying their arms to display the many arrangements of swimsuits that held a myriad of designs and lacings. “We brought some swimsuits for you to choose from!”

“Some?” You say, quirking your eyebrow at, again, at least a hundred swim pieces.

With the boys out of the way, you notice a particular swimsuit had been placed front and center, a baby pink one, with a modest cut set of bottoms and halter top, ruffles cascading down the front.

Hikaru pushes it closer to the two of you, a persuasive smile on his lips. “Pretty cute, don’t you think?”

“Not that one!” A sweet voice sprouts in the crowd, and Honey makes his way to the front, using his supernatural strength to lug a tasteful blue-shaded one piece, a mock collar and a little ruffled skirt adorning the silhouette. “I think that this swimsuit would look much cuter on Haru-Chan!”

Putting a finger to your chin, you nod in agreement. “Yeah, actually, Haru would look nice in that shade of blue-”

“I don’t think you get it, Honey-Senpai.” After clearly being ignored, you reach over and take a sip of Haruhi’s lukewarm coffee.

The boy lolita tilts his head as the twins lug Haruhi out of her chair, her already-exhausted-with-this-conversation state causing all of her deadweight to be putty in their palms.

“Just look.” Hikaru says, gesturing to Haruhi’s chest. “This uniform barely hides the fact that Haruhi is as flat as a cutting board.”

Coffee jumps to the front of your mouth as Hikaru makes his observation, and you have to cup your hand under your chin to catch any of the liquid that dripped over.

Swallowing, you gently set the cup back down. “I’m sorry, what?”

Kaoru raises a hand towards Honey’s suit of choice while the blonde hugs it protectively. “A one piece suit like that would only upset her because it draws attention to her lacking feminine physique.”

Together, the twins shove Haruhi into the direction of the pink bikini, imagining the honor student galavanting on the beaches of Fiji in the cherry blossom fabric. “That’s why we carefully selected this two piece suit, see? The ruffles help hide the fact that she’s so flat chested!”

A vein in your forehead pulses at their proud smiles, their teeth sparkling under the light of the clubroom’s chandelier. Gritting your teeth, you spring out of your chair to grab each brother by the ear, ignoring their whines as you drag them to the floor.

“I don’t know where you get off defining femininity, but before you go around calling people flat chested, how about you take a look in the mirror?” You cross your arms over your chest, nodding your head towards a full length mirror on the wall. “Go to the gym, and then we will see who the flat chested ones are.”

If you could have a large, red arrow point to their lithe, toned frames, you would.

Rubbing their heads, they pick themselves off the tile. “Hey! What the-”

Your smile spreads into something cocky and sinister. “Not so great when someone comments on your body, now is it?”

“We were just stating the obvious.” Whines Kaoru, lending his brother a hand.

Hikaru scoffs at you as he straightens. “Yeah, we can’t apologize for being right.”

“Oh yeah? Alright then, you asked for it.” Cupping a hand around your mouth, you call out into the crowded clubroom. “Tamaki!”

The Hitachiians blanch, and they lunge to cover your mouth, but you’re too fast for them. “Wait, (Y/n), don’t-!”

“The twins are sexualizing Haruhi!”

A rumble is felt from behind the swimsuits before Tamaki leaps out, majestically arching over the mannequins with a battle cry, a bat in his hands as he lands and whacks at the two perverts. “You punks had better quit sexually harassing my little girl! I’ve had enough of you!”

The twins rush behind the table Haruhi was studying at as she sits there, trying to block out the events going on around her.

They pop their heads up onto the dark wood, watching as Tamaki cools down, but shudder at the way both he and you look at them, geared and ready for any other wrongly worded sentences.

“So…” The brothers tread lightly. “We’re not going to the beach then?” Something in you feels a little relieved.

The bat falls onto Tamaki’s shoulder as he adjusts, the other hand coming to sit on his hip. “Who said we’re not going?”

“Really?” You turn to the prince, a hesitant tone in your voice. “These two are just going to goggle over Haruhi all day.”

“Gross.” Haru pipes in.

“Agreed.” You confirm.

Tamaki boops you on the nose before giving you a wink. “Not to worry, mon ami, I have the perfect solution so these perverts will never get a chance to look at my little girl again.”

“Gross.” The honor student winces again.

“Agreed. And okay Tamaki, if you’re sure.” You draw out your reply, not really believing anything could keep the twins from being their lovable, disgusting selves, but you’re always hopeful for Tamaki.

A tug on your sleeve causes you to look down and see big milk chocolate eyes peering back up at you with a pleading glance. “Can Usa-chan come too?”

“I have no problem with that.” Out of the mannequin woods walks Kyoya, poised and precise as he prims the edges of your index cards that you had forgotten in the midst of this fashion drama.

Long legs stride over to you as Honey celebrates with the twins, all three excited to be going to the beach. “You seemed to have dropped these.”

“Oh yeah, thank you.” Taking them from his grasp, you look them over, noting how they seem to have at least a sense of order compared to when Mori was putting them together. “Did you read them?”

Pale fingers reach up to adjust expensive frames as he nods. “I assessed them. There are plenty of introductions in that deck that would fit perfectly into our presentation.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I trust that you will be able to pick the right one.”

Shrugging, you move to shove them back into your backpack as you shine from the validation. “I’ll think about that later. It, uh, it seems the beach is coming up faster than I thought.”

“Huh?” That catches Honey’s attention as he breaks away from the happy gingers. “We’re really gonna go?”

“Why not?” Tamaki sighs, a content simper resting on his handsome face. “Let’s go to the beach.”

“So, why’d we come to Okinawa?” Slight distaste forms the twins' words as your group of hosts walk down the sandy beaches of Okinawa Island. The sunlight beams down onto you in glimmers, casting over your skin as the sand sinks in between your toes with each step.

It’s a calming feeling, with Mori to your right and Kyoya to your left, the less talkative of the group keeping a serene atmosphere as the other four partake in light conversation ahead of you. Now and then, while soaking in each beam of sunshine and gust of wind, you’ll make eye contact with the club’s director.

Sweet smiles were exchanged, but the silence wasn’t broken until you decided to reply, the comforting stillness making it easier to enjoy the scenery around you.

“Because Kyoya’s family has a private beach here.” You explain, your voice carrying with the sea breeze.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Honey asks, and it's hard not to agree as you spot some large cliffs bending over the shoreline, and you can’t help but imagine the view from that high up, the things you might be able to see.

And then your stomach forms little knots at what might be at the bottom of that view, making you focus on something else almost immediately.

Mori nods next to you, the sun reflecting admiration in his eyes for his cousin. “Yeah.”

Hikaru's shoulders slump. “But why couldn’t we have gone…”

“...to the Caribbean?” Kaoru suggests.

“Or even Fiji?” Hikarue finishes, and you scoff quietly, shaking your head at their ignorance to the beauty in front of them. The people you grew up with always wanted more, never being satisfied with what they had.

But with fresh air whipping through your eyelashes and the black hair of a certain man beside you, it seemed like you had all you needed.

“Do you think a commoner like Haruhi has a passport?” Kyoya barely finishes his sentence before an elbow jabs him in the side, and stumbles a little before catching your disapproving glare.

Haruhi gives him a side glance, her deadpan expression clear in the sunrise. “You do realize I can hear you, right?” She tries to hide it in the pocket of her cargo shorts, but you can clearly see her attempt to flip Kyoya off.

You can’t help but laugh a little, and your heart grows warm with the people around you. It’s nice to have your family here.

As your group rounds a corner of a large cliff, the peace is broken by what sounds like whimsical sighs and high pitched laughs breaking up the rush of the ocean. Looking to Mori with a furrowed brow, you pick your speed up, catching up to the twins before passing them completely, leaning around the edge to catch a peek of the other side.

Your visage turns from confused to jaded as you see crowds of girls from your school, grouped up in cliques adorned with expensive swimsuits and cover-ups. They talk and smile, hands going up to cover faces as they talk about the latest gossip, hair-dos too intricate to be beach appropriate swaying too and fro with their laughter.

Sighing, your head hits the rocks as you lean into them, connecting the dots in your head as the rest of the club meets you.

“What the-” Hikaru cuts off his speech as he takes in the scene before him, and both he and Kaoru whip their heads around to glare at the person who was most definitely responsible for this.

But all they find is a smirk, as Kyoya pulls his black book out from under his arm, and strides past you all like nothing is wrong.

“What?” Smooth, deep tones fall over the six of you as Kyoya walks towards the mass of women, and men, you notice. “Surely you didn’t expect to have another day off, did you? So soon?”

“Yeah, actually.” Kaoru slouches as your group begins to follow the megane.

“I think we all did, Kyoya.” You say, waving weakly at some of your regulars as you all get closer, trying to hide your displeasure.

“Don’t look so glum.” Pale fingers gesture towards a rock with a blonde form on top of it as Kyoya stops to justify himself. “At least you all got to sleep in. Tamaki has been getting requests for meetings since before the sun rose.”

Sure enough, Tamaki practically glistened in the distance as a long line of guests ended with the prince of the host club perched on a boulder surrounded by shallow water with a dazed girl at his side. The whites of his smile shine in the sunrise, you watch as his finger comes to rest under the girl’s chin, saying something to make a blush crawl up her cheeks.

Kyoya hums in satisfaction, a business owner relishing the success in front of him. Clicking his pen, he hooks it into his shirt pocket before continuing down the beach. “Breaks over. Get to work.”

Mockingly, you salute him before you make your way towards a few guests you recognize, digging up the energy to host and dazzle that you weren’t prepared to utilize.

But two hands shoot out and stop you, boring into the pit of your elbow and pulling you back.

“(Y/n), did you really think you could host in that?” Kaoru’s voice plays in your ear as the twins, once again, drag you to an unknown place.

Getting used to it, you hang limply in their grip. Your eyes travel down your figure at a simple sundress, something comfy and light to where in the heat of the sun. “Yeah? What’s wrong with it?”

“It’s basic. Too simple.” Hikaru states as your heels stop dragging in sand and start bumping over hardwood as you enter a hut of some kind, probably a beach-themed bathroom. “All those girls and boys out there need to be enchanted by you.” A judgemental eye sweeps over your frame before looking ahead again. “They can’t do that when you’re wearing something off the rack.”

An offended gasp flutters over your tongue, and your obedience is erased as you start wiggling in their grasp. “Alright, you know what? You both can let me go and suck my-

“Hello there!”

Interrupting your classy words, the twins open a door that reads Unisex across the front, and two incredibly similar women greet you, a sinister sparkle in their eye.

Stumbling as the twins set you on your feet, your brow twitches in confusion. “What is happening right now?”

“Bye, (Y/n), have fun!” Before you can react, the twins shoot out the door, getting out of range in case you decide to hurt them physically. “Make sure to pick something nice!”

The door slams shut, and you turn back to face the maids.

“Hello, Miss (Y/n).” Says the lady to the right as they both bow, a shadow casting over their faces. “We’ve been instructed to make you over.”

Looking past them, you see rows and rows of bikinis and one-pieces, professionally displayed onto the same mannequins you saw in the club room. In fact, all of these pieces look painstakingly familiar.

You grumble, another sigh pushing past your teeth as you complain under your breath. “Let’s just get this over with.

“It’s so beautiful.” Tamaki watches as his guest’s eyes glaze over, the stretch of the horizon gleaming in her blue eyes. Her eyelids are hooded when she looks back at him again, and she gives him a look he’s seen a million times before. Something foggy and blissful takes over her face as she daringly inches her hand closer to his.

“Tamaki,” her voice is like white chocolate, pouring over him with a sweet delicacy, “being alone here with you, and looking out into the sea, it feels like a dream.”

Tamaki hums, the white chocolate mixing with butter as he reaches to touch her cheek, his fingertips dipping into her hair and she leans into it.

“It’s no dream,” He says, gazing at her with admiration in his eyes, “It’s real. And if I could have it my way, princess, I’d be in your dreams every night.” Gently, he pulls her in, resting his forehead against hers as she absolutely melts.

As planned.

“Oh, Tamaki.” Her voice says it all, and Tamaki’s heart feels a lighter, pride filling into his breath. Another woman was satisfied, feels cared for. A smile is carved into his lips.

The smile falters, however, when scratchy laughter interrupts his moment. Tamaki grimaces as the twins run by, Hikaru and Kaoru performing their brotherly love act as they run after a volleyball, kicking sand up on their heels.

“Hey, wait for me, Kaoru!” One brother calls, a romantic light being shed over the two of them.

“It’s not my fault! The ball is rolling away!” The other sings back, and their laughter pierces the air again, annoyance twitching at Tamaki’s brow.

A tap on his shoulder breaks the prince out of his annoyance, and brings him back into the moment. He turns slightly to see Kyoya holding out his hand to his guest on the rock, who thankfully didn’t notice his loss of focus.

“Her alone time with Tamaki is up.” The Ootori son declares, his voice loud enough for the infinite line of guests to hear as he helps the girl stand in the shallow water. “The next guest may proceed.”

In between the space it took to transfer guests, Tamaki took a moment to survey the beach behind him, watching his friends entertain their guests.

His violet gaze freezes on Haruhi, who is sitting on a picnic blanket under an umbrella, her antisocialism making an appearance as she separates herself from the large groups. A blue t-shirt sits comfortably on her torso, and he swears he watches her sink into it a little more as a breeze rushes by. She runs a finger through the sand, her knees tucked into her chest as she mindlessly draws before a hermit crab runs by her.

Instead of scrambling away from the thing, Tamaki smiles as she simply curls an eyebrow at the crustacean before going back to doodling, her shoulders relaxing as they exist together.

His heart sighs.

Moving along, Tamaki finds Mori and Honey with their guests, a red bucket in the smaller boys’ hand as he collects seashells and other things while Mori supervises.

The beach stretches as he continues to watch, making it clear that someone was missing.

“Hey, Kyo?”

“Hm?” Kyoya’s focus remains on his checklist before beckoning the next guest over.

“Where’s (Y/n)?”

This draws Kyoya’s attention, a confused manner coming over him as he follows Tamaki’s gaze out onto the busy beach that was missing a certain (h/c) host.

“I’m…not sure, actually.” The club’s director pointedly stares at the group of men and women making small conversation in the shade of one of the umbrellas, clearly waiting for you to show up.

Tamaki watches as his friend's visage changes slightly, watching as Kyoya’s cheek dents. It took a couple of months for the prince to notice the director’s nervous habit, but one night Kyoya had only a few more minutes to turn in a complicated project the teacher had unexpectedly assigned that day, and Tamaki saw Kyoya bite the inside of cheek subtly as the minutes ticked by.

Suoh was sure that while Kyoya was nervous for you, of course, he was always trying to think of what to do with all the guests that were currently not being attended too.

This time though, he didn’t have to chew for long, as the blonde caught a glimpse of (s/c) skin wrapped in (f/c), and he breathed a little sigh of relief as he pointed you out to Kyoya. “There she is!”

Pointed toes glided quickly on the sand as you weaved through guests, dodging and waving to the crowds as you drew closer and closer to your own set of responsibilities. Your sore ankle was clearly not bothering you as you leaped out of the way of a rogue volleyball. You were a recognizable blur as the two men followed you with their eyes, seeing you stop only when you were in front of your guests.

And when you did, both men swallowed.

“Wh-what is she wearing?” Tamaki’s voice wobbled, stunned by your fashion sense for the second time that week.

The (f/c) that tied around your skin was in the shape of a swimsuit, one that differed from the bikini you wore to the waterpark. It was clearly new, being absent of any wrinkles or tarnishes as it bent with your frame, and neither Tamaki or Kyoya had seen it before now.

It also showed a lot more skin.

It was to a level with which you were comfortable, but this piece was clearly meant to impress. Ties knotted at the back of the neck and at your hips, giving an illusion that the fabric might just fall off if you give it a good tug. The adjustability also made it easier for you to accentuate some areas, making it tighter and looser in the places you chose.

Enticing energy channeled into the suit, and it was clear your guests thought the same.

Tamaki began to panic a little, his overprotective nature kicking into full gear. “Where did she get that from Kyo, huh?” Wildness swirled in his eyes as he saw the men in your group inched a little closer to you. “They shouldn’t be looking at her like that! Why is mon ami dressed like that~?”

His whine hitched as both hosts saw two tussles of ginger run around you, throw you a quick thumbs up, and ditch the scene. And when the boys looked closer, they saw a golden H reflect the hot morning sun against the swimsuit’s fabric.

Kyoya and Tamaki frown. “Goddamn twins.”

But Tamaki continues to come undone. “I don’t care if she’s a host, it’s too much!” He thought you looked beautiful, of course, and although he would never feel that romantic pull when he was around you, he was still a man who appreciated a woman’s figure.

He just would rather not with yours.

But before the blonde could leap off the rock and cover you with a towel, Kyoya broke out of his paused amazement and continued to wave the next guest over, who had frozen awkwardly, not knowing if he should advance or stay put in Tamaki’s outburst.

“(Y/n) is a good host.” The megane’s voice sounded strained, so he cleared his throat to rectify it. “She’ll be fine. Let’s get back to work.”

But the image of you running on the beach, a pretty smile on your face as you welcomed greedy eyes roaming around your figure, never really left his mind. He didn’t take his eyes off of you.

Not that he wanted too.

Around midday, the sun hung brightly in the sky, painting the beach with serotonin and heat as activities exploded into full swing.

Somehow, you and Haruhi had managed to sneak a little ways away from the hosts, finding favor under a pink umbrella, a soft towel creating a barrier between sand and skin. Haruhi respired, still drawing shapes into the dirt.

“This sucks.” Her chin rests on her knees as she talks, causing her head to bob. “I thought going to the beach meant a day off.”

You nod, breaking your attention from Mori and Honey, who were practicing Tai Chi with their guests in the distance. “I think everyone did.”

“I guess it makes sense, though.” She draws a flower in the sand. “It’s a good business venture.”

“Sure it is. At the expense of our ability to have a relaxing time.” You both chuckle as you take a sip of your cold drink, some carbonation fizzling on the side of the cup. “It sucks that you can’t swim though.”

Haruhi just shrugs, her next art piece already in the making. “It’s part of the job, I guess.” She looks at you. “What about you? Are you going to get in anytime soon? You have a cute suit on.”

Another slurping sound comes from your straw as you look out across the endless amount of blue, and the knot re-ties itself in your stomach. “Maybe later.”

Three reflections appear in the glass, and a shadow casts over your figures as some girls appear behind you. Recognizing them as some of Haruhi’s regulars, you wave to them and excuse yourself, their voices fading away as you duck out of the umbrella.

Pulling at the straps of your swimsuit, you try to dull the anxiety sharpening in your stomach. You have no problem showing skin, but the maids had forced you into something a little more adventurous than you were used to. It was the right choice apparently, as Kyoya will be pleased to hear that you nearly doubled your guest list today, but it took you a minute to get used to the seabreeze brushing against your exposed hips.

For some reason, multiple people had taken an interest in pushing you out of your comfort zone this week, from your mother to the stylists. You were excited to change back into something more your style when the day ended.

But you had to admit, every time you came across your reflection in the water, or your image in a phone camera, you couldn’t help but stand a little taller.

This dress fits you well. Insecurity, however, does not.

The same could be said for your swimsuit.

Soft thumps interrupt your thoughts as a volleyball rolls to your feet. Looking around, you see the twins running at you, waving their hands and gesturing for you to pick up the ball. Doing so, you meet them in the middle, handing it back to them as they simper apologetically, Hikaru scratching the back of his neck.

“Hey, (Y/n). You wanna play?”

“We could use a fourth.”

“Who else is playing?”

“Mori said he would try once he was done with his Tai Chi.”

Kaoru shrugged. “He didn’t really say it, he just nodded and told us to hold on a minute.”

Shrugging, you turn back to Haruhi, who was surrounded by three blushing girls as she unknowingly glittered at them like an expensive treasure.

Giggling, you turn back to the brothers. “Sure, Haruhi looks like she’s doing okay anyway.”

As you walk, damp sand tumbles around your toes, dusting the soles of your feet.

“I can’t believe he fooled us.” Hikaru complains, tossing the ball up in the air.

Kaoru catches it before his brother can, twirling it on his finger. “Who’d have thought he’d bring the guests with us?”

“Yeah, well.” You scoff. “We certainly didn’t expect it.”

“You were invited on this all expenses paid trip for a reason.”

In the midst of your conversation, you didn’t notice that the three of you had passed by Kyoya, who was lounging in a beach chair, one of his favorite drinks at his side. “And that reason is to keep our clients entertained.”

“We know,” whines the mischievous twin, his shoulders slouching as his brother mirrors him. “But with the ladies here…”

“...Haruhi can’t change into her swimsuit.”

“That pink thing?” You say, picking up Kyoya’s drink and taking a sip. The megane rolls his eyes. “I’m pretty sure she didn’t want to wear that anyway.”

A satisfied murmur rises to the right, and you see Tamaki also relaxing, palms creating a pillow behind his head. “Don’t worry. I got it all under control.”

You all share a knowing, tired glance as a shimmering varnish washes over Tamaki’s purple eyes, a sure sign that the prince was flying to his own fairytale. “My little angel shouldn’t be prancing around in a swimsuit, at least not in front of two perverts like you.”

You almost gasped, offended, before the twins beside you groaned and rolled their eyes, and you realized your best friend wasn’t talking to you.

In fact, he was talking to anyone at this point, his cheeks becoming redder as he spoke under his breath, his voice wispy and dream-like, fully engulfed in his own world.

Folding your arms, you lean over to Kyoya as you watch a blissful smile spread across the blonde’s face. “Do you think, one day, Tamaki is going to go into his mind-theater and never come out?”

Kyoya was watching as well, his pen spinning in his fingers. “It’s possible. And what a silent, peaceful day that will be.”

But, alas, Tamaki suddenly squeals, curling in on himself as he rocks side to side in the plastic lounge-chair. “It’ll happen just like that! The greatest day of my life, I don’t know if I can handle it!”

“Is he going to have a seizure?” You ask, studying your prince as he squirms.

“Don’t get your hopes up.” Hikaru smirks, his hands coming behind his head.

Kaoru follows his movements. “We don’t wanna jinx it.”

You and your friends wait for Tamaki to come out of his excited state, but when it’s clear that he isn’t any closer to being normal again, you turn back to the Hitachiians.

“So. Volleyball?”

The twins nod their heads, ginger hair bobbing as they continue to give their boss a weary glance. As they walk ahead, you do too, then picture yourself playing volleyball in a suit of flimsy strings, and then pace back a few steps.

“Kyo?” But his attention had been snatched by his book once again.

“Hm?”

“Can I borrow your shirt?”

That gave you his attention as his lashes flicked up at you from behind his book. “Why?”

“I want to play volleyball and not worry about everything falling out.” You vaguely gesture to your figure before putting a teasingly contemplative finger to your chin. “Although, I’m sure the guests would love that.”

Kyoya’s inquisitive look flattened, and he held that deadstare as he shucked off his Hawaiian shirt, perching it off of his finger tip as he lifted it towards you from his beach chair. You fought yourself not to ogle at his toned chest, but your eyes still slipped in a few glances.

As you pulled the short-sleeved cotton fabric around your shoulders, you sighed a little bit as his expensive cologne surrounded you, and you felt a little more protected as you buttoned it up.

“You want to come with us?” You ask, slipping another button through its notch. “You could keep score.”

His gaze hadn’t left you, calmly taking in the image of you in his clothes. “Not really, but thank you.”

“Oh, come on. We both know how much you like numbers.”

A raven eyebrow quirked up, as well as the corner of his mouth. “Are you calling me a nerd?”

You smiled, deceivingly innocent. “Of course. What else would you be?”

“I believe the applicable phrase here is ‘it takes one to know one’.”

“Ah, so you admit it.” Walking around and bending over his shoulder, you look at his budgeting for the next round of inventory shipments. Tracing your finger over the left side, you simply flip the page, receiving a scoff from the director. “See? You love numbers so much, this book is full of them.”

In the close proximity, you could feel the wisp of his half-assed sigh passing through his lips as you kept flipping back pages. “Obviously this book is full of numbers, it’s my budgeting journal. It’s called math, if you need to look it up later.” Light sarcasm, the kind you loved, seeped into his voice.

Laughing, you mock amazement. “Woah, hold on, math? Let me see.” With a quicker pull than he could’ve been ready for, you yank the book out of his lap, running to the front of his chair and hold it upside down, still flipping through it.

“I can’t read this.”

“I don’t think anyone could read it like that.” Kyoya said, a closed lip smile in full light on his pale face. “Now give it back.”

“Oh wow, do these spirals mean something?” You gasp exaggeratingly, pointing to one of the doodles Kyoya made in the margins of the page. “And this smiley face is one of majestic art.” Flipping the journal around, you flashed him the drawing you made the one late night that he still didn’t erase.

“(Y/n).” Was that a chuckle in his tone? It was deep, and slight, but it still rang in your chest. “Give it back.” Upturning his palm, he waited.

But he didn’t get it.

Instead, you quickly wandered off, turning the book upright this time to trace the little circles and connecting doodles in the margins as you followed the twins' footsteps. “Come on! You can use it to keep score.”

Kyoya was frozen for a second, his outstretched hand basking in the sun as he watched you leave, waited for you to turn back, and then accepted that he would have to follow you if he ever wanted his most prized possession back in his grasp.

Sighing, he fixed the glasses that sat on the bridge of his nose as he rose out his seat, his newly bare chest and back feeling the warmth of the sun when he stepped out from under the umbrella.

Slipping a hand into his swim trunk pocket, he followed you in the sand, watching how his shirt rippled in the seabreeze on your body.

His smile cemented onto his face when he decided that he liked it on you.

“Dive, (Y/n)! Dive!”

One of your guests shouted from the borders of the court as a ball volleyed into the air, arcing over the net, and was set to go long and to the side, farther out of reach than either you or your teammate were prepared for.

And while it was nice for the boy to say something, he didn’t need to. You were already in motion.

Sand crushed and whipped under your heels as you propelled yourself forward. Running in sand was hard, and you felt the burn in your quads as you rushed forward, your breath coming to you in quick pants.

Since Mori was tall, you both had agreed that he should be in the front, to block any spikes or short balls that the twins decided to throw your way. That left you in the back, passing over serves or any balls that Hikaru accidentally put too much power into.

Which was most of the time.

This one had gone off the rails. The passes before this had been crooked and unplanned, the two identical boys just working to get it over the net at that point without dropping the ball. So when Hikaru finally hit a good set, Kaoru spiked it, victory shining in his pointy grin before he realized he basically hit it out of bounds.

Which would’ve been fine, if Mori hadn’t tried to hit it back.

You knew your fate was sealed when the stoic type’s fingertips gave the volleyball the barest of touches, sending it askew and off to the edge of the court.

Legs pulsing, knees bending, you leaped off of the uneven beach, fingers weaving together as you clasped your hands too tightly in front of you. Your shoulders whined as your muscles stretched, but you ignored the discomfort. Clenching your teeth, you put your hand under the meteor made of leather and rubber as it’s shadow began to be casted onto the dusty floor below. Arms burning, you made a move, forcefully smacking it back towards the net.

A cheer burst through the crowd as your side banged into the hard ground below. Your breath was squished out of your lungs, but you ignored it. Helplessly flopping onto your back, you turn your head to follow the ball and see the twins scrambling, surprised that you had made it over.

They fumbled again, but this time the ball flopped just out of Karou’s reach, sealing your win.

Exhaustion coursed through you, but you still opted to pump your limp arms in victory, a breathless smile coming to your face as the small audience that gathered shouted their congratulations.

Mori came into your view, his handsome face blocking out the sun.

“You okay?”

You nodded with a smile.

“Do you need help getting up?”

Another nod. And maybe a grunt.

Strong hand against strong hand, Mori pulled you onto your feet. Studying your frame a little and finding no real injuries, he put his long arm around your neck, patting you on the shoulder with a small grin.

“Good game.”

Taking a deep breath in, your oxygen finally came back to you. “Ha…good game.”

Mori smiled at you and shot you a thumbs up, then left to gloat to the twins, who were kicking sand and comforting each other. The Brotherly Love package was in full force, and the twin’s own fans awed and cooed at their performance.

You rolled your eyes as a voice swept over the crowd.

“Match point for Team Stoic and Sweet. And that is game, everyone.”

You turn to see Kyoya smiling kindly at his own admirers that were mixed into the on-lookers as he made his way towards you from his perch as the score keeper. His book was tucked neatly back into his underarm, since he needed it to keep score.

“That was quite a dive.”

“Yeah…” Still trying to catch your breath, you roll your shoulders. “I guess I’m pretty great, aren’t I?”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”

“(Y/n)! That was awesome!” Haruhi came jogging towards you both, carrying a red flag in her hand.

“You were awesome! You did a good job keeping track of what went in and out, Haru. Thanks for doing that.”

She just shrugged, a content look on her face. “It was fun, actually. I never knew volleyball could get that intense. I was pretty into it.”

Mori met you three at the base of the net with a certain golden-eyed duo, tongue in their cheeks.

“Good game, (Y/n).” Kaoru said, his tone showing he meant the opposite.

“Yeah it was, wasn’t it?” You say, putting your hands on your hips through Kyoya’s shirt. “You guys are pretty easy to beat.”

“What did you say?” Hikaru stepped forward, a mischievous grin on his face.

You met his step, your own smile locked in place. “I said it was pretty easy. Looks like you boys need to get in shape.”

“Hm.” Hikaru looked you up and down, nodding. “You seem confident in your athleticism. Doesn’t she seem confident Kaoru?”

A pale arm came to rest on Hikaru’s shoulder, Kaoru wearing a matching grin. “Yeah. Why don’t we put that to the test?”

Your confidence decreasing exponentially at the evil look in their eyes. “Hey, wait a minute.”

“Let’s see how fast you can run.” Kaoru builds your coffin.

“Until we catch you.” Hikaru nails it together.

Putting your hands in front of you, you backup a little. “Come on guys, we can talk this out.”

“Nah. You got a three second head start, (Y/n).”

“Starting….now!”

“So unfair!” You scream, but your voice grows distant as you sprint down the beach, careful to avoid the incoming waves as you laugh the whole way. The twins are giggling too, as they barely count to three before racing to catch you, and the trio of mostly stoics watches as you disappear around an edge of a large rock.

“Was that your shirt, Kyoya-senpai?” Haruhi asks, remembering splotches of damp sand on the Hawaiian pattern.

An exasperated sigh comes from the Ootori son. “Unfortunately.”

“Hey Haru-chan!” The dark-haired hosts follow the high-pitched voice a little to the left of where you and the twins had run off. Honey stood closer to the ocean, waving at Haruhi with a large red bucket in his hands. If Kyoya squinted, he might be able to see a pink bunny printed on the side. “Wanna go hellfish shunting?”

Haruhi and Mori chuckle a bit before the honor student cups her hands over her mouth. “I think you’re trying to say shellfish hunting.”

The trio begins to walk towards the boy-lolita, getting closer to the large rock.

“But this doesn’t seem to be that kind of beach, Honey-senpai,” Haruhi continues, distractedly looking around the sand. “You’re not gonna find any shell…fish?”

Suddenly, Honey steps aside to reveal large piles of all types of shellfish stuffed into pink, bunny-themed beach buckets. Haruhi’s brown eyes go wide with amazement as she whips her head around, only to find that the three of them have stepped into, what Tamaki might call, a crustacean station.

“What the hell? No way!”

“Ow! What the hell?” An exclamation is heard from behind the rock, followed by two more.

“Where the hell did this truck come from?”

“Who are these guys?”

“Hm.” On the other side of the rock, Mori and Kyoya move to investigate the source of the noises.

As they peek around the base of the large obstruction, they see a large 18-wheeler, one that Tamaki’s driver might yell at to drive faster on the highway. Many costumed soldiers stood on each side of the giant, garage-door-like opening at the back of this truck, creating an assembly line for transporting a multitude of shell-fish and other, surely invasive, shelled creatures.

They also saw you and Kaoru gingerly pulling a crab from the end of Hikaru’s finger.

Kyoya made a knowledgeable hum, whipping out his book as he recognized the situation. “Mori-senpai,” He said to his friend, “my family’s private police force has stopped by. They wanted to make it up to Honey-Senpai for attacking him at the water park. So they brought shellfish.”

“Amazing!” Honey cheers again, practically swimming in his treasure. “Look how many we got.”

Kyoya could see that Haruhi was practically drooling when she nodded her head. “We’re gonna have some fancy side dishes tonight.”

“Well, they are certainly enjoying themselves.” You shrug as you and the twins rejoin the group. “And they forgot about the other person they tried to flush down a wave pool, but whatever. I guess all's right with the world.”

“What makes you think we forgot about you?” Kyoya asks, casually recording the attendance of his guards.

“What do you mean?”

“Nothing. I was just asking a question.”

It took you a moment, but your hands came up to cover your mouth a little as your eyes gleamed. “Oh my god, did you get me something? A present?”

“Yeah, Kyoya-senpai. You get her a gift for all her troubles?” Snickered the twins.

Ignoring the ginger pains in his side, he fixed his glasses. “I can’t confirm or deny anything. I wouldn’t want to ruin any potential surprises.”

“Oh my god, you totally did!”

Rolling his eyes, the megane flipped to a new page, hiding his smirk.

“Hey, Senpai!”

Haruhi’s call brings all of your attention to her, as she perched herself on the side of the rock and started waving. “Dinner is gonna be awesome, it’s a major haul!”

In the distance, many guests look over to see the root of the commotion, but a tuft of blonde rises quickly. Too quickly.

“It’s a major haul!”

Tamaki is halfway across the beach at this point, practically reaching Mach 7 as he bolts down the sand. His legs looked like those cartoon animations, where the character runs so fast, his bottom half is just a blurry wheel.

“It’s a major haul!” Her excitement for dinner punctuates Tamaki’s arrival, as he stops abruptly at her side. She smiles at him, gesturing to the shellfish around her, and he gives her a thumbs up, a puppy-dog look in his eye.

“Dinner’s gonna be awesome! It’s a real treat!” And, even as her best friends, no one can remember when you saw her this excited. It brings a smile to everyone’s faces.

But when the natural-type wanders off with Honey to collect more shellfish, you all watch as Tamaki deflates, catching his breath as he meets your group. Pushing past some girls who had followed the sound of Haruhi’s call, he smiled at the honor student.

“Oh, I’m just so proud. Look at my little girl!” You don’t know if it was the running or if his fountain of emotion was overflowing, but it left him breathless.

“Alright, alright, have some water, Boss.” Kaoru says, handing Tamaki a bottle.

The blonde begins to drink it before a crab catches his violet eye as it struggles to climb a piece of the steep rocky structure.

“Hey, Haruhi, (Y/n)!” Tamaki picks up the crab easily, to Hikaru’s jealousy, and holds it out, putting on a charming face. “Do you think this crab is…crab-tivating?”

You couldn’t help it when a chuckle burst from your lips at your best friend’s joke. Kyoya watched you laugh, and scribbled something in the corner of his page.

Two twins appeared at his side. “You’re writing that down, huh? Who are you trying to impress?”

But he just gave them the cold shoulder, shielding the contents of his book from golden, wandering eyes. “Shut up.”

Even Haruhi giggled, too deep into her good mood to be pulled out by Tamaki’s antics. “Oh yea!”

And Tamaki practically melted before you, taking his time to capture her slight blush and what the sound of her laugh did to his heart. “You’re so cute.”

But the lovey-dovey look was sucked out of his eyes soon after as a long, twirling centipede arose from the crab’s shell. It twisted around the crustacean, and the girls who had gathered around Tamaki jumped back, horror in their features at the bug.

“Cen-!”

“Ti-!”

“Pede-!”

Even the strong prince’s arm trembled as he froze in place, shock and terror shaking through his body.

But Haruhi simply blew a piece of her hair out of her face, walked up to the president of the host club, and plucked the bug off the crab, chucking it behind her.

The bug arched over her shoulder before landing on your face with a gentle smack. You jumped a little in surprise, but your shoulders shook with a giggle as you picked it off your forehead and watched it squirm.

“Aw, cute.” You cooed, then promptly flicked it over the rock, dusting your hands off afterward.

“Oh, shoot. Sorry (Y/n).” Haruhi says as she turns to walk towards you, but she’s laughing with you, the glow on her face still present.

It’s dimmed, however, by a set of twin shadows.

“Hey, Haruhi…” Hikaru says, placing an elbow on her small shoulder.

“(Y/n)...” Kaoru reflects Hikaru’s pose, his sharp joint digging into your collarbone.

“Now, I know most girls aren’t exactly the bug-loving type, and I certainly didn’t think you were, but-”

“-Don’t you think you both could’ve been easier on that little guy?” They whine, and you roll your eyes.

“Please, it’s not dead. It takes more than that to kill a bug.”

Then more shadows join, and the four of you turn to see guests looking at the two of you with hearts in their eyes, pushing the twins off of you and surrounding you in an astonished hue.

“Haruhi is so brave, so manly!”

“(Y/n) barely even flinched. She’s the perfect woman!”

You both thanked them while looking at each other like what is going on?. This left a few very quizzical hosts looking at you through your groupies as if you both had grown another head.

“Well, isn’t that just great.” Hikaru pouts, watching as the guests swarm you.

“Yeah, those two aren’t normal.” Kaoru adds. “I thought girls were supposed to be afraid of bugs.”

Tamaki’s yellow eyebrow twitched, watching as the guests fawned over you both so easily. “I’m sure they’re afraid of something.”

That got the wheels in the twins’ heads turning. As rusty as they were in other areas, these gears were always up for the planning of a good scheme. They turned and turned until the metal scraped together and produced a spark, zipping up their brain stem to power a collective lightbulb.

“Hey Boss, listen up!”

Tamaki barely diverts his attention to the twins, the crab still waiting patiently in his grasp. “Hm?”

“We just thought of a new game to play!” Business men in the making, the twins pose pointedly, driving their offer through with enthusiasm. “It’s called the ‘Who Can Find Out Haruhi’s and (Y/n)’s Weakness Game!’ You think you’re up to it?”

But the flamboyant man blanched, a sweat dropping on his forehead. “But…that game sounds terrible.” Finding out what made both of his girls vulnerable and scared? Or sad, or unbelievably happy, without their knowledge. He couldn’t do that to you.

His purple eyes divert to where Kyoya, Mori, and Honey are walking closer to him, and follows that flash of sun against Kyoya’s rims.

Plus, he thinks, I don’t think we would have to search that far for (Y/n)’s weakness.

The twins just sigh, blowing him off as they slowly begin to walk away. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Besides, they would only really share their weaknesses with someone who they were close too so…”

All of his caution is tossed aside as his immense desire to form a stronger bond with you takes over. “What are the rules?”

Hikaru and Kaoru whip their heads over their shoulders, a dangerous look in their eye. “Now that’s more like it!”

Hikaru pops up first. “The deadline is sunset tomorrow.”

“Whoever finds their weaknesses wins.” Kaoru finishes.

“And it seems I have the perfect prize for the lucky winner.” Kyoya and the others had caught up, and with the sunlight still flashing in his lenses, the ravenet fans out four pictures in his palm.

Two of them depicted Haruhi when she was in middle school, long hair and a female uniform. The other two, unfortunately, were pictures of you.

While Haruhi’s pictures were sweet and flattering, yours were just embarrassing. One showed a time where you thought you were in a safe place to nap, drool coming out of your mouth and seeping into one of the club’s couches. But the other one was much older, where a failed ice-bucket challenge had taken place, and you stood there soaked in your middle school uniform, a brown haired boy trying to cover his laughter in the background.

An intense look formed on the faces of the Idiot Trio, and Tamaki began to reach for them, causing Kyoya to move them around the prince so he couldn’t grab them.

“We wanna play too!” Honey declares, a look that said he was just happy to be included.

“I guess that means we are all competing.” Kyoya states, lifting the pictures to the far right, trying to shake his best friend who was grumbling about where he was able to get those never-before-seen pictures of Haruhi.

“Hey, wait a minute, where did you get those pictures, Kyo-chan?”

“Yeah, where’d you get them, Kyo-chan?”

Along with the excitement for the game, Kyoya had been too immersed in his pride of finding the perfect use for these pictures to notice that you had separated from the crowd. Once again, he wasn’t fast enough as you plucked the photos out of his hand and looked through them, grimacing at the ones that defiled you.

The hosts turn, looking like boys who just got caught with their hands in the cookie jar, as you rifle through all four of them before looking up at them quizzically.

“What’s, uh…what’s goin on here?”

“Nothing!” Tamaki and the twins say immediately, but Honey bounds up to you happily.

“We’re gonna play a game, (N/n)-chan, we’re gonna find out you’re weakness! And Haru-chan’s!”

“Honey-senpai!” The Idiot Trio whines.

You give him a confused look before looking at the rest of your friends. “My weakness? Like, what I’m scared of?” Scoffing, you shake your head. “That’s stupid.”

“It’s not stupid.” Kaoru huffs.

“Yeah, it’s fun.” Hikaru counters.

Shrugging, you pull out the picture of the failed ice-bucket challenge, examining it a little closer. “Not when you already know what I’m scared of.”

There’s a small silence, and you look away from the photo to see them blinking up at you owlishly.

“We do?” Tamaki asks, his head tipping to the side.

But Kyoya flipped through a couple pages in his book and wanted to slap himself in the face. “Oh, that’s right.” A few flashbacks came to the forefront of the hosts' minds.

You and the supernatural didn’t mix very well. You weren’t weak, obviously, and would fight anything head on. But when there was a ghost that you couldn’t punch, that’s where you ran into a problem.

“What’s up with her?” The honor student asks, directing her question to the club director while still keeping an eye on you. As you pass Shiro, you give him a wide girth, your posture slouching slightly.

An amused chuckle resounds through Kyoya. “(Y/n) is scared of children.”

A long, drawn out “Oh, yeah” exhales from the hosts as the dots connect, and the twins get a bored look on their face.

Hikaru and Kaoru begin to list them. “Sooo…ghosts?”

You nod. “Scary.”

“And children?”

“Gross.” You say shivering, save for a certain boy who had grown on you.

“Right, right.” Tamaki sighs. ‘Anything else we should know about?”

You shoot an eyebrow up. “You mean you don’t know the other one?”

This gains their attention. Kyoya continues to flip through his book to see if he wrote down anything else, but he comes up empty. “There are more?”

At this, you smile, a small chuckle bubbling over your tongue. “Of course there are more. I’m not made of steel, you know. I’m scared of all kinds of shit.”

“What is it?” Mori says, his arms folded across his chest.

“I don’t know if I want to tell you..” A coy smirk perches onto your features. “I guess I'll get to play after all.”

~ Let the Games Begin!~

A singular voice echoed off dark walls.

“This is the place…it’s the most haunted spot in all of Okinawa. The locals don’t even come out here.”

Taking a stuttering breath, the humid air of a cave rushes through your lungs. You hold it there for a second, scared to make the barest of noises in case it might disturb something. Or someone.

Another voice, similar, bounces off the rocks of the cave as they take you and the crowd they’ve brought further and further into the horror. “They say that the only time you can even find this cave is at low tide. Evidently, many people have died here from drowning, and their souls still linger. Taking revenge on anyone who dares to come inside!”

That causes a sharper stab in your side as you fear peaks. You jump as Kaoru raises his voice in the darkness, and you try to squint, but from the back of the crowd you realize that you can’t see them anymore.

“Alright, I can do this…I can do this.” Your nerves are skedaddling, fluttering in your stomach and sternum as you swallow, wincing when an unexpected drop of moisture plummets from a stalactite and onto your shoulder.

“It’s okay, (Y/n). Look over there.” Haruhi, somehow unfazed next to you, points to where the light from the beach reached the depths of this dark cave, reflecting in the condensation and creating a small little rainbow.

She smiles at you then, and you feel your nerves firm up a bit. “See? How can things be scary when there’s a nice rainbow, right there?”

The pounding from your heartbeat slows a little before Hikaru shouts from the front. “Look! A ghost!”

Whipping your head around, Haruhi becomes exasperated knowing all hope is lost when you feast your eyes on a shadowy figure, moving erratically in the shadows.

“Nope! Fuck, no!” Turning on your heel and driving it into the rocks below you, you are about to sprint to the entrance when a tall, toned torso blocks your path.

“I would watch your language, (Y/n). We are around guests.” Kyoya stands calmly in front of you as he gestures to Hikaru and Kaoru’s guests, an amused smile on his face.

“Kyoya, we have to get out of here. That thing is going to possess us, and then what?!” You whine, a hand crazily motioning to the gloom you had witnessed.

Gray eyes scan behind you, then meet yours, that smile growing. “What ‘thing’?”

Screwing your eyebrows, you turn spin to find the nightmare gone. “Oh shit, where did it go?”

“Language, again.” Kyoya’s tired, but entertained voice comes to rest beside you as he falls into step with you and Haruhi, and you feel a hand on the small of your back. “Come now, (Y/n), surely you can’t be afraid of what isn’t there?”

You scowl at him, rolling your eyes before becoming attentive to the cave around you. “Don’t patronize me. I know what I saw.” But the weight his hand provided was nice, it pulled you back to earth.

But then you jumped out of your bones when literal bones grasped your shoulder, cold and clackity as it touched the fabric of Kyoya’s shirt.

“Ah!” Going into a complete fight or flight mode, your elbow ran back, jamming into whatever had decided to take your soul at that moment in time.

“Oof, ah…” The figure’s wind got knocked out as it bent over, and you reeled to see Hikaru, clutching his stomach and bending over, two fake skeleton hands in his grasp. “I…probably should’ve seen that coming.”

Haruhi stood there, brushing off where Hiakru had placed the hand on her shoulder, and looked confused. “What’s going on? Are you guys trying to freak me out?”

Pushing past his guests, Kaoru emerges with a puppet with the same silhouette as the ghost you had seen in the darkness. An angry tick appeared on your forehead.

“What’s wrong with you?” Kaoru whines. “I thought everyone was afraid of ghosts. (Y/n) definitely is.”

“I swear to god, when I get my hands on you…” You mumble, and try to walk towards the twin before Kyoya holds you back by the collar of his shirt.

“This stuff doesn’t really freak me out.” Haruhi says, wrapping the cloth the puppet-ghost-demon thing was dressed in around her finger. “I’ve never seen a real one, so why would I be scared of it?”

You slouch, dragging your feet as your lead out of the cave. “If only it were that easy.”

~ Paranormal Fear Strategy Failed ~

“Haru-chan! Would you come over here? (Y/n), you too!”

The shirt now unbuttoned, it blew in the breeze of the sea as you and Haruhi got up from your sunbathing to meet Honey-senpai’s request. Walking past the deep, vast water of the ocean next to you lights your nerves again, but you keep a calming distance.

Rounding the corner of the large rock where the boy-lolita had found the shellfish, you see him standing and waving at the base of the large 18-wheeler that had carried the crustaceans.

“What’s up, Honey?” You say, shielding your eyes as the rest of the hosts join you.

Haruhi gasps, not having processed that a giant truck was parked on the sand until now. “Are you sure it’s okay to drive a truck like this on sand?”

“It’s A-OK!” The martial arts expert says, beaming. “Just get up here!”

After some struggling – neither of you being the most athletic type – both honor students now stand a little away from the edge of the truck, more confused than you were on the beach floor.

Your voice fills the space. “Honey, why did you want us to-”

But he interrupts you with a thumbs up in the air. “We’re ready when you are, private police people! Please,” his blonde hair flops as he bows, “lower the door.”

A hearty Yes Sir! rings through the sunlight as brown eyes meet yours. Haruhi looks at you in confusion, and when you start to shrug, you're shrouded in darkness again, the door of the truck falling shut with a heavy slam.

“Oh, mhm.” Nodding, you look around the small, dark space. “I see what he’s doing.”

“What who is doing?” Instinctively, Haruhi’s voice falls to a whisper in the quiet trunk.

Before you can reply, a cry resonates against the steel walls, and you feel around helplessly for a boy, his shoulders shaking.

“Wahh! It’s dark and scary in here, I feel like I can’t breathe!”

“Honey-senpai, what’s wrong?” Haruhi’s whisper is replaced with alarm as she tries to find Honey in the darkness.

“Somebody let me out! I can’t take it anymore!”

And with that, the door is promptly lifted, a very alert Mori holding it up.

~ Claustrophobia Attack Strategy Failed! ~

“You haven’t gotten in the water, yet.”

“Hm?” Your hum ended in a chuckle as you watched Mori point a very sharp thing at a very confused Haruhi. She reaches out and touches the end, testing it’s blade, then gives a deadpanned look to her Senpai. As defeated as Mori can look, you supposed, he dragged the harpoon in the ground and walked off.

~ Fear of Sharp Objects Strategy Failed ~

Where was he going to put that?

“I haven’t seen you swim today. I thought you’d be jumping at the chance.” Kyoya says next to you, the day having stretched and flew by as the group had focused on the recent game proposal. It had quieted down a little as nothing was working against your fearless Haruhi, but they were determined to find something.

You had been slightly forgotten, which was okay with you.

Now you lounged deeply. Your body thanked you, seeping into the beach chair without a care in the world, Kyoya’s shirt dangling off the chair’s arm. Surprisingly, he hadn’t pestered you about getting it back, not that you were complaining. Seeing him shirtless was like seeing an eclipse across a night sky. Rare, but beautiful.

“Yeah, not really my thing.”

“Oh really?” His voice picked up in an inquisitive manner, and you felt him rustle beside you as he got off his chair.

Standing in front of you, Kyoya held out his hand, the sunset creating a brilliant stream of oranges and purples behind him. “Why don’t we go together, then?”

A blush that matched the pink in the sky painted onto your cheeks, as he looked very handsome at that moment, but a certain apprehension resisted his offer.

“You want to swim? With me?”

His eyes squint slightly. “If you’d like.”

If only you could say yes.

“But, uh, what about your glasses?” It was reaching, you both knew that. “Won’t they get wet?”

“I can take them off. You do realize they aren’t attached to me, don’t you?” Proving his point, he slid his glasses down his nose, leaning over and setting them on the small, side table that had been between you.

Now he was shirtless, and wasn’t wearing his glasses.

While the sharpness of the glasses complemented the angles of his face, the complete vulnerability of Kyoya’s gaze left you a little bit speechless. His sharp cheekbones and jawline softened slightly and he looked at you, so inviting and collected. Even the air around him seemed to stop whipping around, blowing a gentle wind through his raven locks.

Your jaw muscles clenched as you swallowed. Not just from the thought of getting into the ocean, but from the sight of this man in front of you.

Needing to look away, you darted your eyes out of his sight, pulling at your swimsuit and laughing his offer off. “You go ahead, really. I don’t really want to get my hair wet.”

“Says the woman who cannonballed into a lazy river.”

Shrugging, you grab your drink, still avoiding eye contact. “I’m full of surprises.”

But the glass doesn’t reach your lips. The tips of Kyoya’s fingers bring it down, and as he leans over you, you can’t avoid the questioning eyebrow he gives you. “Why are you avoiding the water?”

“I’m not.” Bringing the straw to your lips successfully this time, you bite it between your teeth. “I just had better things to do.”

A bored sigh blows through the Ootori son’s nostrils as his sweet, gentlemanly persona is gone, arms calmly crossing over his chest. “Don’t insult my intellect, (Y/n).”

You look at him for a moment, debating whether to keep pushing it off, but you decide against it. Expelling a breath, you set your drink down and bring your knees to your chest, shielding yourself from judgment.

“The last thing I’m not the most keen about is the ocean.” Resting your chin on one of your kneecaps, your gaze focuses on the sea behind the club’s director. “Or really any large body of water.”

“Any particular reason?”

Another shrug waves through your shoulders as you stare out into the horizon. “Not really. Just don’t like the idea of being deprived of oxygen. Then I’d just sink, and be lost.”

Your voice had gone monotone for a minute before you exhaled, finally meeting your crush’s eyes. The naked, gray irises had turned thoughtful, intent.

“Sorry,” You say, a small laugh offering to lighten up the mood. “Didn’t mean to be so morbid.”

“No, no.” Kyoya says, and he wears his glasses once more. “I can understand that.”

But he has no anger in his face, no judgment. Because you’ve known him for so long, getting to know the little shifts in his features, the signals between happy and frustrated had become second-nature to you.

So, of course you saw the dimples of sincerity, of his attempt to be open to what you had to say. But did you also see a little hint of victory?

Settling back into his chair, Kyoya heaves a deep sigh, a rumble shooting through his chest before rifling through the pocket of the shirt you had stolen.

“Well, I guess these belong to me, then.” And you were right to sense victory in his voice as the air about him turns triumphant when he pulls out two of the four photos he had presented as prizes for the ongoing competition.

“You-!” You gasped as a boastful smirk appeared on his sharp features. Suspicion coloring your voice, it’s your turn to squint. “Did you even want to go swimming? What would you have done if I had said yes?”

A deliciously pompous shrug ripples across his torso as his smirk grows wider. “Who knows? I’m full of surprises.”

“Give me those!” Drink ignored, you reach over your chair, smiling as you move into his space to steal the pictures.

But his arms are longer as he moves the pictures out of your reach. “Absolutely not, I won these.”

“You tricked me!” Your voice strains as you stretch, your fingers wiggling out their efforts.

“I would argue that you let yourself be tricked.” Despite himself, Kyoya couldn’t help the chuckle that tumbled across his upturned lips as you put a knee onto his chair, reaching and reaching.

You’re giggling, still trying to make yourself as long as possible. “I would argue that you’re a dick.”

This time when he laughs, it’s much closer, his breath trickling down the nape of your neck, and you realize just how close you are.

His arm is stretched out, the pictures well out of your grasp, while the other rests on the arm of the chair. One of your palms supports your weight on one side of his hip, while the other one is extended towards what could become some embarrassingly good black mail. Your knee perched on the edge of the chair as your other leg fell straight behind it.

It wasn’t the most comfortable position, and now that you were thinking about it, you weren’t completely sure how you got there. But you damn well didn’t want to move.

The goofy smile on your face softened as your torso bent over his knees, and his simper melted into something effortless.

Your eyes followed the movement as Kyoya’s cheekbones relaxed, his dimples shallowing as you met his eyes once more.

“You’ve been smiling more lately.” You say, your voice barely above a whisper.

Sparkling gray irises flash with questions, but who were you kidding? They were always full of questions. “Have I?”

Nodding, you tug the inside of your cheek between your teeth. “Yeah. It’s nice.”

The effort in his arms dissipates slightly, and as it sinks back onto the arm of the chair, a meaningful gleam shines in his pupils. “Maybe I have more of a reason too, lately.”

Letting your hips drop, you end up kneeling on one side of the chair while partly caging him in, getting lost in the moment. “Oh, yeah? What’s that?”

“I couldn’t say.” His deep voice dipped and rolled as Kyoya leaned his chin up, keeping his lips a breath or two away from yours as you leaned over him, lost in the moment.

Winds blow the two of you ever so closer, the smell of sea salt and cologne accompanying the warm feeling of sun on your skin. That feeling paired with the one in your heart when you were asking yourself if…finally…

“I still need more time. I want to tell you, I just-”

“It’s okay. I need more time too.”

…time had run out?

As your torso began to brush his, you gently held your place. If he wanted this, he would have to make it as clear as the water behind you. You couldn’t risk making him feel pressured or uncomfortable.

Your heartbeat pitched as he still stretched forward.

“(Y/n)! Haruhi!”

The glass that was creating the kaleidoscope of romantic, rainbowy emotions around you shattered, making you jump back as it plunged into the sand.

Dazed, you look towards the shout, just now registering that Kyoya’s hand had found purchase on your waist before it completely disappeared. Your view is obstructed for a moment by another large boulder before the source comes into view.

The sun illuminated three feminine figures, waving atop a large cliff. You see one, taller with long, brown hair, cupping her hands over her mouth, seemingly trying to locate you. “Haruhi! (Y/n)!”

Blinking, your mind catches up with you as you realize what they are standing on. The tallest cliff on the island sits under their feet, thick and hulking as it stretches over the waters below.

“Those girls shouldn’t be up there.” You say, your voice wavering as they step closer to the ledge.

Turning back to the man underneath you, his usual sharpness has returned. No longer lost in the effects of the moment’s suncatcher, Kyoya nods his head before turning to you. “Go see what they need. Our guests come first.”

“Okay.” But your voice trails off while your brain overthinks everything that just happened, or what was about to happen, in what felt like hours, but really only took a few seconds.

The lightest of touches appear on the edges of your cheekbones as your director’s knuckles graze them, a reassuring gesture. “I’ll-,” he takes a second to clear his throat. “I’ll stay here. If you’re wondering.”

You can’t bite back the smile that stretches over your deprived lips as you sit back, plucking his shirt back on as you get up. “Flustered, are we?”

Scoffing at your surely ridiculous notion, the megane rolls his eyes. “I could say the same for you.” Kyoya’s gaze drops down your figure before opening his black book, filing those treacherous pictures into the side of it, and noting down whatever thoughts are running through his mind.

If only you could read what he was writing.

Heart skipping as you walk, you turn to make your way towards your guests, your footsteps printing themselves on the beach behind you.

Whatever happened, or was going to happen, with your best friend left you fluttery and nervous.

That was a close call. But it certainly felt like the right one.

“Oh, (Y/n)! Look up here!” Another girl, around your age with bobbed blonde hair started waving more frantically as you got closer to the base of the cliff.

“Woah, you guys are pretty high up there.” You call, shading your eyes as you look up towards them. “Be careful!”

“The breeze up here feels great!” The third student calls, their shoulder length hair stretched into a shaggy ponytail. “C’mon, (Y/n), join us!”

You were about to say no before Haruhi joined you at your side, her left hand shielding her eyes from the sun while her right carried a sand pail full of squirming shellfish. “What’s going on?”

“They want us to go up there,” you say wearily. “But I’m just trying to get them to come down.”

“It’s dangerous!” She calls out, but the girls just shake their heads and disappear from your view.

Haruhi’s mouth flattens into a thin line as she squints in the sunlight, and then sighs. “They probably can’t even hear us.”

But your attention isn’t on them anymore.

Silhouetted by the sun, three masculine forms stop at the bottom of the cliff, which laid a good distance from you. Your eyes narrowed as one of the figures pointed up the landmark, and they all eagerly, too eagerly, staggering their way up the path. Have they been drinking?

“If they can’t hear us, then we need to go to them. Right now.” Urgency pulses in your tone as you hastily grab Haruhi’s hand, pulling her along as you briskly walk across the sand.

“Woah, (Y/n)-”

“There are boys climbing up the cliff.”

Haruhi finds a way to keep up your pace. “Boys? Like our guests?”

Shaking your head, you keep an eye as the trio of shadows get higher and higher. “I couldn’t get a good look at them. But they were drunk, and we don’t serve alcohol to guests.”

But suddenly one comes into the light, a mess of a low bun and sharp eyes, his mouth twisting into a grueling smirk.

Swallowing, you break out into a full on jog. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

“Hm.” Chiyo says, her shorty, bouncy blond hair falling over her face as she looks over the cliff again before turning towards her friends. “I think (Y/n)-Senpai and Haruhi went somewhere else. I don’t see them anywhere.”

Her best friend since middle school, Hinata, pouts, braiding her long brown hair down her back. “Awe, I was really hoping to look at the sunset with Haruhi.”

“Yeah, and (Y/n) would’ve really loved this view.” The new girl in their class, Emi, folded her arms, her layered bangs blowing in the breeze. She had been eating lunch at Chiyo and Hinata’s usual table when the duo appeared, and they’ve hit it off ever since. Especially when they all started going to the host club together after school.

Chiyo, the bright personality of the now-turned trio, smiled a comforting smile. “It’s okay! Maybe we can get the twins’ attention, or Honey-senpai’s! I’m sure they’d love to spend some time with us.”

Hinata just shrugs, her angsty aura showing through, but Emi gives her an encouraging thumbs up. “You’re right! I’ll stay here while you two head down, so that no one steals-”

“Hey! They’re chicks up there man!”

All three girls freeze. A deep voice rang through the air, but it seemed a little far away.

“Did you guys hear that?” Emi swallows.

“I think it came from down here.” Hinata says, calculating eyes fixating on the slight slope of the cliff.

Their breaths catch when two heads appear over the slope, revealing two men, clearly older than they were by at least a couple years. Hinata’s long legs step in front of her two friends as they appear, wincing at their appearance.

One had his hood up, dark brown eyes raking over Hinata’s form before foggily swinging to her friends behind her.

The other had his hair pulled back into a low bun, his red shirt swaying with his wobbly movements as he threw an empty beer can onto the rocks.

“Oh, well aren’t we lucky..” Red shirt slowly walks up to her, his neck craning to meet her height when she steps protectively in front of her girls. “You girls want to hang out with a couple of locals?

Her face set in determination, Hinata pushes him on his shoulder, forcing him to stumble back a few inches as she gains her ground. “No thanks. Leave us alone.”

Too quickly, the man finds his footing and reaches out, pinning her outstretched wrist in his biting grip.

His voice drives onto gravel as his lips curl. “Awe, c’mon you fighter, we just want to show you girls a good time.” His hazel eyes flick behind her as she clenched her jaw.

Chiyo and Emi hug each other, protecting themselves from the stare of the man while losing sight of the other one.

“This is a private beach!” Chiyo shouts after watching Hinata stand up for her for years and finally gaining some courage. “You guys are not allowed to be here!”

The color in her face drains as arms encircle her and Emi, pulling them into a muscled torso.

“Private?” The other guy’s breath reeks of beer as it blows through Chiyo’s blonde hair. “Does that mean we’re alone?”

Suddenly, the man holding Hinata hostage by her wrist shouts out in pain, his back arching as he lets her go.

Hinata’s eyes light up when she sees Haruhi standing behind him, an empty bucket pointed right at her attacker.

She was never the one to fangirl, but damn did she want too.

“Ah!” Red shirt yells, turning around to face the person who just chucked spikey and pinchy shellfish at him. “What the hell?”

“Why don’t you quit bothering them!” Haruhi yells, her voice sounding confident but her heart beating a million miles a minute.

You and the honor student had gotten there just as the hooded boy wrapped his arms around your guests, and it left the two of you fuming.

Coming around behind Haruhi, you lifted your chin, shouting above the loud waves of the sea below you. “Weren’t you jerks listening? You better leave them alone!”

“Haruhi, (Y/n)!” Emi draws your attention as she shouts. You were so used to her smiling at your table when you hosted her. Now, her brow was stitched in fear, making your heart swell and your anger grow.

“You little runt!” The man with the low bun slurs, his words blurring together as he races forward, palms outstretched to restrain Haruhi. But you step in front and push your hands onto his chest, sending him backwards again.

“Don’t touch her or anyone else.” Your voice is stone cold as you straighten your back.

“Oh, we got a brave one, huh?” And the drunkard laughs.

Then he lunges.

Haruhi gasps as you’re pulled off your feet. The joint between your shoulder and your arm protests as Red Shirt harshly grabs your wrist and sweeps his leg under you, sending you to the floor.

“(Y/n)!” You hear Haruhi’s voice, but it’s distorted as your chin slams onto the hard ground. Your teeth crack together, and you instinctively roll yourself onto one side, wincing as you move your jaw.

“I’m fine, I’m good.” Grunting, Haruhi runs over to you to help you up. When your vision is less tilted, you see the drunkard stalking closer to the three girls.

“Hey! Douchebag!” Haruhi yells, pulling you up to your feet. “Leave them alone!”

“I can do what I want!” His words are connected by his drink, and he carelessly waves a dismissive hand to you.

Fuming, and apparently unable to learn a lesson, you rush towards him, grabbing the back of his collar and tugging him away from them. He lands on his backside, unable to catch his balance.“I said, don’t touch anyone!”

He sits there, shoulders heaving. There’s a moment of quiet where you think you won. Where he and his friend might finally leave you all alone.

“Aoi. Let them go.” Red Shirt says to his friend, apparently named Aoi, and the hooded guy hesitantly unwraps his arms from Chiyo and Emi.

The two girls immediately run to Hinata, who hugs them all gratefully, and you smile as the group is reunited.

“Girls, let’s get you out of here.” You hear Haruhi behind you as she ushers them away from the two men as they stay frozen with their heads down.

Keeping an eye on the intruders, you see the girls run around and behind you, and listen as Haruhi sends them down the cliff, out of harm's way.

You hear Aoi whimper pathetically as he slouches. “C’mon Ren, I wanted to hang out with some ladies, if you know what I mean.”

Red Shirt’s, or Ren’s, shoulders shake a little, a deep chuckle rolling out of him. “We will, man, we will.”

His back still facing you, he stands. His low bun coming loose with the action, Ren turns to face the two honor students over his shoulder.

“Let’s hang out with a chick who has some bite to her.”

Both their eyes land on you as they start to walk, their uneven steps making them seem like zombies hunting their next meal.

Heart beat pitching for the second time, you spin towards your favorite brunette. “Run, Haruhi, we gotta run!”

Trusting you, she spins and begins hiking it down the cliff. You start to follow before the collar of Kyoya’s shirt is pulled against your throat.

“Thought I’d take a page out of your book, pretty lady.” The smell of alcohol blends in with the breeze as he breathes into your ear, holding you by the back of the collar.

Hearing your struggle, Haruhi whips around, already halfway down the mountain to see the two boys surrounding you.

Shaking your head, your voice is harsh as you try to kick him off of you. “Go get help!”

Worry seeps into her eyes, her chest heaving as she bites her lip. Turning her head to the bottom of the cliff, then to the top where you were. You managed to kick Ren off of you, but Aoi was there. She knew she wasn’t going to be much use.

Brown eyes glistening, she exhales roughly as she sprints down the rest of the cliff, hoping that a certain host was where she had seen him last.

Back atop the cliff that overlooks the water, you elbow Aoi in the side before grabbing Ren’s arm and twisting it behind his back.

“You think you can just take what you want from girls? Is that it? That you can do whatever you want?” Your voice was strained, stress and emotion stretching your vocal chords to new levels.

Flashes of a dressing room come to the forefront of your mind, a doctor’s coat wrapped around a fake doctor who slipped into your dressing room and pushed you against a wall. His hand pushed into your mouth to silence you, and you couldn’t scream, couldn’t do anything.

With as much force as you could muster, you push Ren to the ground, tears of frustration coming to your eyes. “Women aren’t your toys, you asshole. Have some fucking respect.”

You were helpless in that dressing room. But not anymore.

When Aoi tried to reach for you again, you kicked him in the groin and watched him double over. Before you could celebrate, Ren scrambled back to his feet on the small rocks that littered the cliff and dove towards you. He grabbed your shoulder, spun you around to face him and slapped you. Hard.

That dizzy feeling came back, your cheek pulsing as this man yelled in your face. “Don’t talk to me like that, you bitch! Just shut up!”

Blinking, you came back to reality and jerked out of his grasp, jabbing him in the stomach before putting your head in your hands. You were okay. It was a hard hit, but you could take it. Until help came, you could take a few punches.

Once your vision was restored, you put another step forward before Ren pulled something shiny from his shirt pocket.

“I know somethin’ that’ll make you like me.” That terrible smile that will give you nightmares for weeks curled at his lips once more as he flashed open a small blade, turning it so that it glinted in the sunlight.

Your heartbeat had jumped to your head, thumping in your eardrums as all of your senses zoned into the knife he held in his large grasp.

Your throat went dry and your breaths turned shallow, the anxiety you had worked so hard to keep under control boiling to the surface.

“W-wait, hold on, man.” You say as you back up. How could you not check if he was armed?

As if he caught the scent of your fear, the back of his throat makes a satisfied growl. “Yeah? You scared? You gonna calm down for me?”

When he begins to take a step forward, you take a step back. “Please. I have people waiting for me. Let me go, and I won’t tell anyone you’re here.”

“Bullshit.” Hazel eyes flash with anger as he takes another step towards you, and you realize throughout the entire commotion, somehow he had ended up blocking the exit to the cliff. “Like I’d believe that a girl as fiery as you would let this shit go.”

“I will! I will.” You try to take a steadying breath, but it’s shaky and broken. “I swear.”

Taking another step back, your foot drags in the dirt as you hit a hard chest and feel arms wrap around your torso. A laugh rings out behind you and you recognize the cruel chuckle of Aoi as he traps you. “Don’t move, lady, or you might not like what happens.”

Arms pinned to your side, there’s nothing you can do but watch as Ren smiles, sharp canines reflecting as the sun sets behind the horizon.

“Please.” Your words breathless, fear and worry stealing your voice from your throat. “Just let me go.”

“Heh.” With a concerning amount of serenity, Ren brings the point of the knife to your chin. “I don’t think I will. I like my girls with a little fire.”

Your body was finally at his mercy as Aoi shifts his grip on you, now holding the sides of your arms instead of wrapping them around his waist.

“Whose shirt is this, sweetheart, hm? A boyfriend’s?” The hand that wasn’t holding the knife felt the fabric of the Hawaiian shirt, seeing how wrongly it fit you. “It’s definitely a men’s cut, that's for sure.”

Aoi hummed behind you, cold and disquieting. “Wanna see if she has anything under it, Ren?”

Ren’s eyes seem to flash with pride as he looks at his friend. “Absolutely.”

Shaking your head, you dig your heels in the ground as you try to push and fight when Ren brings the knife to the top button of your shirt, but Aoi holds you in place.

“Stop, stop!” Kicking your feet, you manage to make an impact with Ren’s stomach. He grunts before catching your foot in his hand.

Anger wells up in his form as he brings the knife to your calf, slashing a shallow cut across your skin.

You bite your lip to stop yourself from crying out, trying not to give them any satisfaction as a stinging, real pain burns through your skin.

“Stay still, bitch, or the next one will be deeper.”

He walks into your space again, and you turn your head, a single tear rolling down your cheek as he cuts open the buttons of Kyoya’s shirt.

Your swimsuit is revealed one button after the other, and soon the entire shirt is now hanging over your shoulders, a curtain to what was beneath.

“Oh wow, we caught a rich one, didn’t we?” Ren laughs, tracing the small H on the swimsuit with the blade he just cut you with. “What is this brand, Hitachiian? This must’ve been like a million dollars.”

“Can you pay for our drinks later, rich girl? Or maybe the rest of my tuition?” Aoi teases, and you wish something could strike him down and shut him up.

“Get the shirt off her, Aoi. Let’s see what we’re working with.”

The guy behind you’s grip loosens for a split second, and you take your chance. You push him off of you and Ren’s arm shoots out, only being able to grab the fabric of your shirt as it’s pulled off of you. Stumbling, you find a little bit of your footing and run to the edge of the cliff, stopping as you look down at the crashing waves.

“Nowhere to run, sweetheart.”

The ocean laughs at you as the water runs up the wall of the cliff, its deceptively calm waves taunting you. You wouldn’t dare.

Looking over your shoulder, Ren flips the knife in his hand. He throws Kyoya’s shirt to the wind, and you watch as it blows away, freer than you were as it succumbed to the breeze.

Your toes curled on the edge of the rocks, the heartbeat in your ears picking up its pace. You took a few breaths in, then out. In, out, in, out.

Just do it, (Y/n), jump!

But the endless blue swirled and swayed, hiding its secrets to anyone who dares to consider it at such a surface level. You imagined the blue on top turned darker as you’d sink down, lower and lower until there was nothing left.

Anxiety lurched in your stomach, but you took a step back.

But Ren’s hand spun you around by your sore shoulder, grabbing you by the straps of your bathing suit as he laughed.

“What? Too scared to take a dive?”

Part 2 is up! Go check it out in the masterlist! <- (click there)

100 notes · View notes

babyouran · 28 days

Text

Attack of the Lady Manager! - with the new appearance of a love-struck, obsessed girl she flips the norms around for the host club members who have much trouble adjusting.

pairing - fem!reader

apart of - ouran add-in

"Oh Tamaki, my dearest Tamaki! Why are you so beautiful?" A brunette girl asked, looking at the man in his expensive outfit. He peered upon her, a pipe in his hand and extensions in his hair.

"I'm hoping to catch your eye, even if for just one second."

"Then why is your voice so very sweet and mellow?" A black-haired student now wondered.

"To set your nerves at ease, so that my true feelings might reach your heart."

"Oh Tamaki," The girls sighed, cheeks flushed. They were hunched around the small coffee table, all trying to get a smidge closer to be more in the presence of the glistening Tamaki.

Over at another table filled with a wide variety of sweets and sparkling outfits, the twins were talking to their group of girls. "I think it's adorable you're wearing matching kimonos," One of them expressed, reaching out to touch a bit of the fabric.

"Our mother designed everything the host is wearing today," Hikaru told the girls. "If you see something you like, we can take an order for you."

"Our grandmother even helped us put them on."

"But you know the only one who will be undressing you is me, Kaoru," Hikaru grabbed his chin, blushing evident on Kaoru's face.

"Hikaru, you're embarrassing me, in front of everybody."

"What a tender embrace," The girls giggled.

Nearby another younger girl complimented the secret one, "Haruhi! You look so cute in your kimono, almost like a girl!"

"Thanks," She smiled lightly.

Y/n was present with her growing group of both genders. She sat in a kimono of a light green color with a matching mask and bows in her hair the same color.

"Y/n! You look so pretty, especially with your bows," A boy complimented, a tough look on his face with sweaty palms reaching for one of the treats.

"Awh, thank you, I'm glad you enjoy them. I was worried they wouldn’t fit me,” she looked down at her lap, soon moving her eyes back up towards her guests and fixing the said accessories.

"They look beautiful on you! Y/n your hair looks so amazing with them," Another boy spoke, who was trying to indulge in some of the offered refreshments but his hand was shaking madly. The boy, who previously spoke, started to move his hand out to touch the bows. He leaned across the table as Y/n was looking down at the secret book on her lap, fingers mere inches away but didn't get the opportunity as his hand was smacked with a pen causing him to pull away.

"Do not touch her," He glared at them. "It's not appropriate,” and without sparing another glance he placed his attention onto Y/n, “You have been doing well lately, with a steady flow of customers."

"Thank you Kyoya-senpai," She bowed in her seat. "The compliment is kind, and I must say, I like your kimono," She complimented. In response the boys across from her mumbled about how it wasn't fair she complimented him instead of them. Kyoya just pushed up his glasses and walked away. He had to move his notebook to cover his face due to an unwanted pink arriving on his cheeks. It was a strange reaction as he had been complimented by many guests before, fellow girls, but none elicited a response like Y/n was able to. He just chalked it up to her newer continual presence in the group and that he would eventually get over it.

"Do you have any more picture books coming out?" A girl pondered, walking over to Kyoya who was answering their obsession desired questions.

"N/n-chan, n/n-chan, I don't know how but I lost one of my sandals," A sad Honey wandered over, just the one sandal hanging in his hand. A large pout was plastered on his face, puppy-dog eyes staring upon the younger girl eliciting sympathy.

"It's okay Honey-senpai, we will look for it," Y/n walked closer to the boy, putting a hand on his shoulder in a comforting pat.

"Mitsukuni," Mori voiced, now walking over all stoic, bending down to his knees to take his foot and slide on the missing sandal.

"Takashi," He spoke, tears bubbling in his eyes.

"I noticed that you dropped it.”

Honey embraced him in a large hug when a new swarm of ladies came around, all awing at the scene. Not too interested in watching the scene Y/n moved her eyes over to Haruhi where she bumped into one of the twins, a small bottle of eye drops falling onto the ground.

"You guys use fake tears?" Y/n asked, walking over and inspecting the bottle Haruhi found.

"For your information, it's common for a host to use eye drops," Kaoru spoke, standing on the side of Y/n.

"No woman alive can resist a man on the brink of tears," Hikaru added, moving to her other side.

"I could," Y/n mumbled, passing the eye drops back to Haruhi.

"That's cheating," Haruhi declared, holding the eye drops in the air. Hikaru swiftly moved over to her side, tsking to himself.

"Oh, don't be such a party pooper."

"Here Y/n," Kaoru tapped her shoulder, pulling out a little box with a sweet pastry inside it. It was wrapped in a small green box, matching her outfit, and a silver bow wrapped it up all neatly.

"It's for me? Really?" She looked up excitedly, eyes beaming wide. It was a look that interested Kaoru differently, he watched closely, a genuine smile morphing on his face as she took the top off to smell it.

"Aren't you so cute," he chuckled, the twins admiring her reactions as Hikaru was leaning over Kaoru’s shoulder.

"I didn't know you liked sweets, Y/n," A girl commented, watching her admire the treat. Y/n bashfully stepped away from the crowd, putting the top back on the sweet treat and holding it off to her side.

"I do, but I'm going to give it to Haruhi so she could give it as a memorial to her mother. I do wish to visit her one day," Y/n looked at her friend, whose eyes lit up and they hugged each other.

The girls melted, watching them exchange a moment.

"How kind of you, looking after your friend," Tamaki mentioned, getting close to Y/n and leaning dramatically on her shoulder. "Being so kind, please take some for yourself, and Haruhi! You take some for your mother too," He started to pile up their hands with different colored boxes of an assortment of treats.

"I can afford these myself," Y/n grumbled while Haruhi gave Tamaki an odd look. She put the boxes down and stepped closer to Tamaki, looking at him as if she were trying to find some hidden secret about him.

"Those are fake tears, right?" Haruhi questioned.

"I'm offended,” Tamaki gasped, hand to his heart, “Being able to cry without eye drops is the mark of a true host," He let a single tear fall from his face like a professional actor would and turned to Y/n. "I'm amazing right, have you fallen for me?"

"No," Y/n deadpanned, turning away.

"Haruhi?"

"Nope," She agreed.

"Why isn't it working," He wondered out loud.

"Who's that?" Y/n pointed over to where a young girl was hunched and peeking out, catching the attention of Haruhi and Tamaki who were also looking at the same scene.

"Looks like the host club has a brand new guest!" The twins observed.

"Come on in, what are you waiting for?" Kaoru asked, rose in hand.

"Watching from afar is no fun," Hikaru spoke, an identical flower in his hand as well.

"Stop that," Tamaki popped up in front of them, somehow magically having a rose too. "How many times do I have to tell you boys to be more courteous to our first-time guests? Please, you don't have to be afraid my princess. I welcome you to the Ouran Host Club.” He stuck out his hand, hoping for the girl to grab it.

"No! Don't touch me! You're phony!" She yelled, slapping Tamaki's face, hard. A similar reaction appeared on the features of the other club members, shock and confusion at the very abrupt words and actions of the mysterious young lady.

"What do you mean I'm phony?" Tamaki questioned astounded, tears welling in his eyes.

"Just what I said, you're phony! I find it hard to believe that someone like you is the prince character of this host club!" The auburn-haired girl pointed her finger at the president. "You shouldn't go spreading your love around so easily like that, you're stupid! You must be a dim-witted narcissist! You're incompetent, you're a commoner! You're disgusting!" She exclaimed, shaking her hands, raising her voice, and stomping her foot.

Tamaki took each insult to heart, every word she threw out he stepped back, acting as though it were a punch to the gut, and landed till his back hit the pillar in the room, sliding down to sit on his bottom in defeat.

Kyoya stepped forward, a finger on his chin. "I don't suppose you are," He tapped his chin before opening up his notebook and flipping through scribbled cursive pages.

"It's you, Kyoya!" The girl spoke, tears in her own eyes now. Her whole personality did a 180, stepping on the feet of the diminished Tamaki and reaching out towards Kyoya, arms wide. "Oh how I've longed to meet you, my one and only prince charming," She hugged him, yet Kyoya’s arms just stayed stiff on his side. He made no effort to reciprocate the action.

"Your fiancée," Hikaru started.

"Kyoya-senpai?" Kaoru finished, eyes wide and staring at the man in shock.

"Of course,” She smiled confidently, pushing a bit of hair back, “ My name is Hoshakuji Renge and I'm transferring into Ouran Academy's First Year Class A tomorrow," She introduced, now sitting on a red couch with a hot cup of tea in front of her.

"Why is he sulking?" Hikaru wondered, referring to a sad Tamaki in the corner.

"Because Mommy was keeping a secret from Daddy," Kaoru told his brother.

"Why does everyone insist on referring to us as husband and wife," Kyoya grumbled.

Renge started on with a story, explaining she met the money-obsessed man while he was in a backyard looking at flowers and then ended up helping a kitten.

"She serious?" The twins sarcastically asked.

"A kitten," Y/n tried to stifle her chuckle. "Kyoya and an injured kitten," She now let her laugh exit her mouth. However, the action quickly ended when Kyoya sent a glare and she straightened up in her seat with her mouth shut.

"Could you have the wrong person?" Haruhi questioned Renge.

"No way! I could recognize my love anywhere!" She continued with her ramblings, telling the group how Kyoya was a very humble man who was always looking out for people in need.

It was madness inside Music Room 3 with the very conflicting image Renge was trying to tell about Kyoya and how he truly was. The twins ran around with their hands in their hair, clearly shocked about such chaos. Haruhi, Mori, and Honey all had more composed expressions as they just let her babble on, hoping to figure out a better explanation soon. Y/n couldn’t help but giggle because she enjoyed seeing and hearing a different side of Kyoya, even if it was not true. She couldn’t help but hold a slight interest in the man as their situations with their family were similar in multiple ways. Tamaki on the other hand, was also displaying characteristics that were out of his norm as he was making no noise, no movement, and just stayed sulking in a corner.

"He looks exactly like the star of the popular dating sim, 'Uki-doki Memorial'! You're my real-life Ichijo Miyabi!" Renge asserted, pointing at Kyoya. Her eyes were wide and she danced around in a circle while she mentioned his whole look alike.

"Uki?" Haruhi began.

"Doki?" Honey added on.

"OTAKU!" Tamaki yelled.

"OTAKU?" Hikaru questioned, stopping his running and moving towards Tamaki in a frightened stance.

"I've never seen one!" Kaoru spoke scared.

"Oh," Y/n stopped laughing, walking towards the girl. "You think Kyoya is him, so this Ichijo, he has glasses, correct? And you're in love with him?,” Y/n sighed, shaking her head and facing the whole group, “She most likely just made herself believe that you are engaged," Y/n realized, Kyoya nodding in apparent agreement. Y/n took a seat next to him while the group crowded around the duo in relief.

"So she made it up? You're not her fiancée, right?" Tamaki queried.

"Well, no, I don't ever remember asking for her hand in marriage. Besides this is the first time I've met this woman.”

"According to my research, I understand you're in charge of managing the club, is that true, Kyoya?" Renge moved to his open side, leaning in uncomfortably close. Y/n stayed in her seat behind him, now with a small bowl of popcorn in hand as she watched it go down. After a bit of a rude glare from Renge sent her way, Y/n got up and stood by the twins who immediately reached their hands into the salty treat, eyes intently staring at the two now on the couch.

Kyoya's eyes followed Y/n as she moved away from her spot, a little annoyed that she didn't stay by his side. For some odd and unknown reason, it was comforting, his nerves and anger bubbling up at this random woman's absurd words lessened having Y/n just in his presence.

"That's right, Kyo-chan is our director!" Honey told her proudly.

"You're the club's director! That's perfect. Oh wow, I've always wanted to wear a sandwich board to advertise business.”

"We don't advertise, we're just a host club," The twins stated.

"I've made up my mind! From now on, I'm going to be the manager of this host club!" She announced, ignoring the twin's words.

"Um, listen Kyoya," Tamaki leaned over the back of the couch that Kyoya was sitting on.

"Miss Hoshakuji is the only daughter of a very important Ootori family client. So, please be polite and try not to offend her, alright?" Kyoya warned Tamaki, his voice rough, trying to hide his annoyance with the new presence of the girl. Tamaki stepped away, putting his head down like a dog that was just scolded.

"Well boys, I can't wait to work with you," Renge smiled.

Later the next day, the club gathered back in their classic room. Yet, Tamaki now had a different outlook on Renge’s presence.

"I thought about it a lot last night and maybe having a lady manager isn't such a bad idea," Tamaki spoke.

"Why do you say that?" The twins wondered.

"With Renge, she can help Y/n. Renge is very outspoken and Y/n can be, but she doesn’t show her true self enough. Not to forget that she can help make Y/n want to show her femininity, maybe even her face. Or maybe Y/n will now want to be closer to us like Renge is with Kyoya!"

"Pardon me?" Y/n looked up from her book, not paying attention till her name was used.

"It can also help Haruhi, maybe she will want to show some more femininity too!"

"Good grief," Haruhi sighed.

"Now is our chance to help Y/n and Haruhi! This is very important men!" Tamaki stood up, though the two they were mentioning weren’t too involved in the conversation. Y/n was still reading her book and Haruhi was trying to peak over to get a glance at it.

"Hey everyone! You'll be happy to know that your new manager, Renege, has baked all of you some cookies!" She popped her head from the door, chocolate chip cookies in a napkin for the group.

"She's so ladylike! I'm moved by your generosity!" Tamaki preached, winking his eyes at the twins.

"I didn't bake these cookies for you, you phony prince," Renege had stuck her hand out in his face, stepping away to move towards the others in the group. "I'm sorry, I burnt them a little bit, I did the best I could. I already know what you're going to say!"

"She wasn't kidding, these cookies really are burnt," Honey spoke, some of the cookies in his mouth with crumbs falling all over.

"Don't eat that Mitsukuni, it's bad for you," Mori rushed over to his side, a different napkin in hand for Honey to spit them out. This was something that Renge had overheard and went on to chase the two around the room, yelling about their ungratefulness.

"She's scaring me!" Honey yelled in Mori's arms, shielding his face.

"They don't look horrible," Y/n added, taking some for herself. "What do you think, Haruhi?"

"They have a good flavor to them."

"May I try?" Hikaru questioned, taking a bite of the cookie that was in Y/n's hand. She just looked down at him in confusion as Tamaki turned around to watch this action.

"Oh look, there is a crumb," Kaoru noticed, licking the girl's finger. Y/n stood still, staring at the wall when she felt a little warmth go to her face. She just looked at her finger and wiped it on the skirt of her dress, refusing to give them their wanted reaction.

"Don't do that-"

"Did you see what he just did? HE JUST TOOK A BITE FROM HER HAND!" Tamaki started yelling incredulously, pointing to the two brothers. He was jumping up and down from his anger, hands pulling at the roots of his hair.

"Ah, Haruhi, you have some crumbs on your face," Y/n mentioned, licking a finger and wiping the crumb from her face. Haruhi stood, a pink blush forming its way on her cheeks as she lifted a finger to feel where the crumb was.

"And the four classmates get closer than they have ever been," Kyoya added.

"Y/n! Just tell them off, causally brush them to the side," Tamaki spoke, moving his hands towards her cheeks, covered with the mask. He peered into her eyes, jealously clearly swarming in his lobes as he waited for her response.

"This is inappropriate," Y/n commented, looking down from his glare and feeling the heat once again. She moved his hands from her face, turning around to take a breath from all the close touching that had happened within the evening. It was something she was not used to, this type of physical affection, and easily had a response to her. She didn’t like that it could quickly make her feel something different as she was used to just showing a more neutral or emotionless self.

"Inappropriate? They are twice as guilty! Someone call the police!" Tamaki started freaking out.

"Renge-chan, Renge-chan, want some? It's milk," Honey questioned, hoping to make amends with the once-raging girl. He held a cute pink glass that was filled with the liquid, reaching high to let her grab the cup. Although her response was not as welcomed, she took a sip and quickly spit the liquid out onto Honey. Mori and Y/n moved over with towels, trying to help the boy dry off a bit.

"Lukewarm, Like every single one of you!" She interrupted the twins and Tamaki's fighting with her loud statement. Even Mori and Y/n stopped in their tracks to put their attention on the very angry Renge. "Except for Kyoya, all of your characters are lukewarm! Each of you needs to have some sort of dark side, you understand? Girls are vulnerable to handsome, young men who are troubled. Boys are puppies to sappy, pretty young women. If you keep carrying on like this, it's only a matter of time before the girls and guys get tired of you and stop coming all together. Are you trying to ruin my precious Kyoya's business? As your manager, it's my job to change your character backgrounds," She finished in a huff.

"Let's start with you," She pointed with a sharp nail to Honey who was startled and a bit frightened. "If all you are is cute inside and out then you're no different than a baby. Therefore, from now on you're the baby-face thug!" She demanded. This was something that Honey wasn’t looking forward to as he let out a horrified scream in response, hands on his cheeks.

"Mori-senpai, you're his childhood friend, the flunkie! The twins are basketball players, enslaved in their own world! Haruhi, you're an honor student who is constantly being bullied. Y/n, you are the lovestruck girl, obsessed with romantic stories, never achieving it. Lastly, Tamaki, you're the school idol who is admired for his good looks but you really have an inferiority complex that you're hiding from the world. The lonely prince!" She renamed them, going around the group to assign them their new characters.

"I do enjoy a good romance book, but currently I am more interested in mystery novels," Y/n corrected, moving over to her bag to look at the multitudes of books she was carrying with her.

"And Kyoya, you're perfect just the way you are now. So I want you to stay as kind and affectionate as ever, ‘kay?"

"Thank you, I'm honored," Kyoya smiled lightly, but his attention shifted over to where Y/n sat sifting through a pile of books present on her lap. "I wonder what she thinks," He wondered aloud quietly, looking at the dedication shining through her glare as she picked up a new book to begin.

"The lonely prince, it's true, the title is perfect for me," The blonde man thought, a light shining directly onto him as the rest went out.

"Come on Kyoya-senpai," Kaoru began.

"You gotta do something," Hikaru finished.

"Why? It seems like the boss is up for it," He pointed over to Tamaki concentrating on trying to master his part. "Let's just wait and see how things turn out. I bet it'll be interesting. It always is."

Magically enough, the twins were on a basketball court with a crew behind them. The stands were filled with onlookers cheering over the buzzers as it was announced a basket had just been made. Yet, the yelling of the crowds soon calmed down as someone on the court was injured.

"Get a stretcher, take him to the infirmary immediately!" A voice yelled at someone.

"Kaoru?" Hikaru ran back, looking at his brother who was clutching his knee. "Kaoru!"

"You've got to get back in the game Hikaru, we need you!" A teammate told the star player, trying to pull him away from his brother.

"Shut up!"

"Hikaru, listen to me, please don't worry. There's nothing you can do. You can't share my pain. You're not the one who got hurt, now go on," Kaoru moved his hand to his brother's cheek, tears welling up in his eyes.

"I can't, it hurts. It hurts Kaoru," He clutched the hand on his cheek.

But soon enough that scene disappeared and it cut to a rainy scenery outside, where the twins lay on the ground with a soaked Tamaki.

"I'm sorry, but I'm envious. The way you two support each other like that," Tamaki shook his head, looking down at the mushy grass, hair damp from the raging rain.

"But Suoh-senpai, how can you be envious of us?" the twins wondered. "You're the school's idol."

"An idol, right," Tamaki sighed, laughing to himself. "I hate that people worship me for something so superficial as my appearance. I think it would be much better for me to be alone."

The image panned to Y/n sitting underneath a tree with a jacket over her head while reading a popular romantic novel.

"Oh, how she will never find love. I'll never find love," Y/n fake cried. "My appearance is nothing like these fellow girls, I'm yet a hopeless romantic, looking for someone to save me. Someone to dig me out of this hole and…and… date me!"

The image switched to a fast-paced and intense scene with Haruhi now running away from a mysterious villain.

"You can't run away forever, I'm going to show you what happens to anyone that crosses me," Honey threatened, walking towards a Haruhi who was sitting against a tree.

"Don't do it Mitsukuni, you should have realized by now that whenever you hurt others, you're really just hurting yourself," Mori said, standing next to the other fellow third year.

"I didn't ask you for any advice, you want me to put you over my knee, again?" Honey looked up at Mori, threatening glare on his soft features. "You know, it pisses me off when people don't know their place.” He couldn’t hold his act for a long time because soon enough he jumped into Haruhi’s arms yelling multiple apologies.

"Cut! Cut!" Renge yelled, snakes almost coming out of her hair. "What's wrong with you? You gotta stick to the script! Stop rolling cameraman!" Renge ordered, the man mentioned putting a thumbs up.

"How'd we go from changing our characters to shooting a movie about them?" Hikaru asked, sitting in a chair next to Kaoru. Y/n was standing beside Kyoya behind the boys.

"And why is there an entire film crew here to shoot it?" Haruhi pondered.

"Apparently, she flew them in from Hollywood," Kyoya told them.

"Yeah, she made me help convince them. She has the money, and I have the new equipment," Y/n sulked, thinking back to how Renge threatened to poison her tea if she had not agreed.

"Y/n! How was I? Did you like it?" Tamaki ran over, to ask the girl, towel draped around his neck.

"It wasn't bad."

"I think I'm starting to discover a new side of myself and I'm thinking of exploring it," He admitted proudly.

"Tamaki-senpai, do you really think you should? I don't think you need to, you being yourself is good enough," Y/n walked away, leaving a blushing Tamaki. "Hey Haruhi-chan, you did good out there," Y/n complimented.

"Thanks, you were able to play your part well too."

"Hey, Haruhi! You're on!" Renege called out. "Oh, Y/n, come over here too!" The girls walked over, looking for her until she motioned for them to come around the building, to the back. "These guys are going to make an appearance in the film!"

"In your film? What are you talking about?" One of the brooding men asked.

"Y/n, you get in there too, after all, we are going to need some big tough guys for the climax! And having your lovestruck heroine, this will be amazing!" Renge smiled, she then went on about her plan and tightly gripped one of the larger man's arms, trying to drag him in a certain direction.

"Renge, maybe you should-" Y/n began.

"Hey! You think you can push me around?" The boy went to put his arms on Renge before Y/n jumped in front, able to lightly push her away. The man instead pushed her harshly and she fell back into the equipment.

"Y/n!" Haruhi yelled, rushing over to the girl.

"Renge you can't do that, you can't do that to people and stereotype them," Y/n stood up, looking down at her leg.

"Y/n? Are you alright?"

"Haruhi, what's wrong? Y/n?" Tamaki moved forward.

"Y/n got hurt," Haruhi admitted to her older classmate whose expression changed, and he angrily marched up to one of the men. "It's not his fault," Haruhi voiced yet Tamaki and the men both stared at each other angrily, one clutching his fists. Tamaki stepped closer, grabbing onto his shirt with a fire burning in his glare.

"Tamaki, I'm fine. It wasn't his fault," Y/n told him, looking up from where she sat on the ground, clutching onto her leg. In response to her words, he slowly let the man go, facing his attention back to Y/n.

"Are you okay?" He looked to Y/n, putting a hand out to help her stand up. Once she was standing he let her put an arm over his shoulder to help her regain her balance.

"Just scraped my knee," She shrugged.

"N/n-chan, N/n-chan," Honey ran over, looking at the bloodied mark. "We will take you to the nurse," Honey nodded to Mori, Mori took the girl’s arm and let her wrap it around his waist. Though he was the one to initiate the contact, it was also one that brought little butterflies into the stoic man’s stomach.

Tamaki sat down, smiling at the girl walking away who looked back to give him a thumbs up. Haruhi sat down beside him when a tear dropped from her eye. It freaked Tamaki out but luckily Haruhi brushed it off with just being a problem with her contact.

"Please tell me you got all that cameraman?" Renge turned to look toward the man in question.

"Yes, boss."

"That was an ideal final scene!" She exclaimed. "All it needs now is a sweet narration by my Kyoya," But before she could utter any other words a loud crash echoed with glass pieces littering the ground. A rock had smashed through the camera lens. "What, is something wrong?"

"I'm terribly sorry, but I cannot allow there to be any record of a club member engaging in violence, I also can't let such film be released of a member getting hurt," Kyoya explained. "I think you've caused enough trouble around here Renge, please stop being such a pest,” He spat out the last word, a disgusted look on his face, quickly turning around to move off and see about Y/n’s whereabouts.

"A pest?" A tear fell from her eyes. "But you're supposed to pat me on the head and tell me not to worry! You're supposed to be kind and affectionate, Kyoya! Why are you acting so differently now?" She sunk into her seat, tears streaming from her eyes.

"That's not the real Kyoya," Tamaki told her, sending a disappointed glance to the girl.

A few days later the club was back in its normal running action. Girls and boys were surrounding the Music Room in an attempt to get closer to its hosts. Delicious treats and piping hot teas littered the coffee tables and sweet chatter echoed throughout.

"I bought the film, that scene in the rain was just phenomenal!" A girl beamed and was overheard by many others who were quick to comment on their ideas about the scene in question.

"Y/n, that scene where you got hurt protecting someone was so heartwarming," Another girl spoke up, now a crowd surrounding the young women.

"Oh, right," She quietly mumbled, looking down onto her lap.

"Are you okay? Let us see your knee," One girl commanded and the boys who were once nea were pushed back by the emerging crowd of a female population. Y/n decided to follow their requests, hoping to quickly shut down the whole thing, and rolled her dress up a tiny bit so they could see the bottom of her knee where a little bit of the bandaged injury peaked through. This was an action that enchanted some of the men, pushing closer in hopes of seeing more.

"That's enough," Kyoya intervened causing the crowd to disperse. He took a step forward himself, "I never did ask if you are okay, I shouldn't have let it get that far," He sat down beside her.

"Don't worry Kyoya-senpai. I was taken care of, it was just a little scrape. Either way, I'm glad you did that movie and got the money for the club," Y/n nudged him in the shoulder, soft eyes looking upon him with admiration.

"I hope you don't mind too much that I did purposefully break one of your family's products," Kyoya admitted, looking up from his notebook.

"That's okay," She laughed and Kyoya could feel his heartbeat just a little faster. With the kindness of her voice and their shoulder practically touching it just caused a new feeling to erupt inside him. "My father won't know. However, he did find out about the scrape from a maid and that was a long, boring conversation."

"Good evening everyone!” Renge waltzed into the room confidently. “Thank you Y/n, I realized how brave it was for you to rescue me, it was your way of showing your love. Now, come on Y/n, let's go to my house."

"Wait, what? Kyoya-senpai? Tamaki-senpai? Haruhi? Anyone?" Y/n asked frantically while getting dragged out of the room.

"Wait don't take Y/n!" Tamaki yelled.

next chapter - The Twins Fight!

#ohshc haruhi #ouran hshc #ouran highschool host club #ouran high school host club #ouran host club #tamaki x reader #tamaki suoh #ohshc tamaki #haruhi fujioka #honey x reader #ouran koukou host club #kyoya ootori #kaoru x reader #kyoya x reader #mori x reader #hikaru x reader #ohshc x reader #ohshc fanfic #ouran x reader

37 notes · View notes

cophene · 4 months

Text

𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐂𝐄 | ohshc; ten.

* • ° something to shake things up

previous chapter || next chapter || table of contents

pairing : ohshc x gn reader summary : perhaps no one at ouran is more qualified to deal with a broken heart than the host club. with a student’s heartbreak painfully obvious to everyone but themself, the host club takes it upon themselves to remedy that. all against that student’s better judgement. notes : multi-chapter fic, sfw, doesn’t follow canon plot word count : 2.4k+

“Why are we having another meeting?” Haruhi grumbled to herself. She stabbed her chopsticks into her bento box, irritated at having been dragged from the dining hall to Music Room 3 by the twins.

“You know I don’t call these meetings unless absolutely necessary,” Kyoya said, flipping through pages in his notebook.

“Don’t you enjoy spending time with Daddy?” Tamaki said, making to steal a piece of egg from Haruhi’s lunch.

“Not more than is necessary, actually.” She pointedly pushed her lunch away from him. Tamaki’s lip trembled and he sniffled as he went back to take his seat. “Why are you still so mean to me?”

“What are we waiting for? Everyone’s here,” Hikaru said, draping an arm over the back of his chair.

Honey looked up. “Actually, we’re still missing—”

The doors of the music room opened with a theatrical bang. Who else but Renge stormed in, dressed in a long trench coat and oversized sunglasses. She tossed a manilla folder onto the table the hosts were gathered around, grabbed a tart from the plate in front of Honey, pushed Kaoru out of his seat and nearly whipped Haruhi in the face with her hair.

“Hey!” the affected parties yelled.

“Hope you weren’t thinking of starting without me,” Renge said, taking a huge bite of tart. “I haven’t been working my butt off for the past few days just to be left out.”

“Working on what, exactly?” Hikaru said, lifting up the manilla folder with a finger. Renge slapped his hand away, sliding the folder toward her.

Kyoya raised an eyebrow.“Is that what I think it is?”

Renge smirked. “It most definitely is.”

“Do I even want to know?” Haruhi sighed.

Renge slid the sunglasses into her hair. “After countless hours of sleuthing, reaching out to my extensive network of informants and connections, and using my cognitive excellence and prowess, I have done the impossible.” Renge looked from one host to another, clearly delighting in the suspense. “I have discovered the identity of Y/N’s ex.”

“Isn’t that a breach of privacy?” Haruhi began to say, but was drowned out by the other hosts.

Honey: “Who is it?”

Kyoya: “What connections do they have?”

Hikaru: “Are they hot?”

Kaoru: “Where do they live?”

Mori: “...”

Tamaki: “Well, they can’t be as charming as I am.”

Renge finished off her tart before saying, “His name is Nishio Keiji.”

The hosts stared blankly at her. “Who?”

“He’s the one who won the Young Leaders Award, isn’t he?” Mori said to Renge. “Candidates are chosen from upstanding students who display a prerogative in improving their community. Keiji was able to bring together teenagers and the elderly in his community by involving them in a documentary paralleling their experiences.”

“Mori, how do you know that?” Tamaki asked, sounding scandalized.

Mori blinked. “I watched the documentary,” he said simply. “It was well done. I just didn’t know he used to date Y/N.”

“Way to steal my thunder,” Renge said, pouting. “I was going to say all of that.”

“But how did you find that out?” Haruhi said.

“Oh, backwards searching,” Hikaru said, scrolling through his phone with Kaoru. “Y/N deleted all of their photos but this Keiji person didn’t. There are still a bunch of photos of the two of them together.”

“I thought I was the one doing the explaining!” Renge whined. By now, she was totally sidelined in favour of the hosts opening her manilla folder and going through all of her intel.

Keiji Nishio. He was indeed young and upstanding. He liked creating his own music and short films. He was an avid public speaker and lover of dogs. His parents were executives, hardworking and respectable. He was easy, casual, and very charming. Looking at the snapshots of him and Y/N together, it wasn’t hard to see why Y/N had fallen for him.

Tamaki grew visibly distressed. “He seems so … so…”

“Normal?” Haruhi said.

“Why don’t you try perceptive?” Kaoru said.

“Capable,” Hikaru suggested.

“Confident.”

“Striking.”

“Self-possessed.”

“He seems really nice,” Honey said, nibbling on a cookie as he spread a few photos in front of him. “How could he have broken Y/N’s heart?”

“I was just about to ask that,” Kyoya said. “While all of this is invaluable, we still don’t know how Keiji and Y/N fell apart.”

“Well, I haven’t gotten to that part yet,” Renge said defensively. “This is just the background.”

“It must have been serious,” Mori said, and everyone seemed to agree.

“How is this information invaluable, exactly?” Haruhi asked. “What does knowing who Y/N’s ex is do for us?”

“Now we know how to approach Y/N,” Kyoya said. “And what we should avoid.”

Haruhi narrowed her eyes. “Are you sure? Because this just seems like you were too curious to leave it alone.”

Kyoya smiled sweetly at her. Haruhi knew him well enough to read the sarcasm in the expression.

“Well, we’ll be taking these then,” the twins said, neatly sweeping up everything on the table back into the folder.

“That’s all my hard work! What are you going to do with it?” Renge said.

“Blackmail,” the twins answered.

Haruhi gaped at them, then turned to Kyoya. He didn’t seem concerned, however, setting out his laptop on the table.

“Now to move on to the next order of business,” he said. “The Host Club’s profits aren’t where I’d like them to be, especially this far in the semester. I would like some ideas on how to generate more profit and potentially bring in new guests.”

“The Host Club isn’t doing well?” Tamaki gasped.

“Read between the lines, Boss,” Kaoru said. “If the Shadow King said we’re not doing well, it means we’re doing fine.”

“Yeah. Kyoya is just a greedy Vice President,” Hikaru said. “You know we make more money than all of the sports teams combined.”

“Not the swim team,” Kyoya said. “Which is why I’m concerned. It’s embarrassing that we’re being beaten out by a bunch of hooligans in swim trunks.” He finished whatever he was typing and looked up expectantly. “Well? Any suggestions?”

“We should have a bake sale!” Honey exclaimed.

“Too much effort. And your dentist has you on watch for another cavity.”

“Photoshoot?” Hikaru suggested.

“After your social media debacle? No.”

“Neolithic bonfire,” Tamaki announced. For a second, everyone had to stop to just process the ludicrousy of it.

“I’ll put it under consideration,” Kyoya said, if only to prevent Tamaki from skulking off. Tamaki beamed at him.

“Banquets tend to do pretty well,” Haruhi mused. “It’s a little soon to be hosting another one, though.”

“You need something to shake things up,” Renge said. “Something unexpected.”

“We aren’t doing that already?” Haruhi said dryly.

“Something unexpected…” Tamaki said, tapping a finger against his chin. His eyes glazed over. “Something like…”

He paused. A sparkle entered his violet eyes.

“Someone like.”

“Someone like what?” the twins asked bluntly.

“Kyoya, what do you say to adding a new member to the club?” Tamaki said, an eager, almost manic smile lighting his face.

Kyoya was typing away on his laptop. “That’s a terrible idea.”

Tamaki’s jaw dropped. “Terrible? But it’s unexpected, isn’t it? A new face is just what the Host Club needs! We need to add more variety to our services! Like a neglected bouquet, a single bloom can reawaken notice to its surrounding flowers. Our guests are getting tired of looking at our beautiful faces!”

“There’s a reason the hosts in this club are here. We all occupy a specific type, and that already allows us to cater to a large guest base. I wouldn’t have allowed Haruhi to become a host at all except that she managed to find a different host type we hadn’t thought of.”

“There are countless types of hosts that could join our ranks,” Tamaki argued.

Kyoya looked over his glasses at him. “Yes, but none with the appeal to remain a long term host.”

Tamaki crossed his arms. “You’re being unfair.”

Kyoya sighed and closed his laptop. “Fine. I’ll humour you. Say we wanted a new host, long term or otherwise. Just who do you have in mind?”

Kaoru snapped his fingers. “Kasanoda, the Delinquent-Secretly-Soft Type.”

Hikaru grinned. “Nekozawa, the Dark-Hidden-Charm Type.”

“Oh, who’s the kid that Tamaki trained for a while?” Kaoru asked.

“Takaoji … Shiro?” Haruhi said.

“Yeah, just bring him back,” Hikaru said. “We had a whole bunch of new guests because of him.”

Kyoya gave Tamaki an unimpressed look. “Need I say more? We’d be using more resources than we are already just to train a new host.”

“We’d be willing to help train a host if it will help the club, right, Taka-chan?” Honey said, and Mori nodded.

“You’re not thinking out of the box enough,” Renge said dismissively. “Those are all people who have been in the Host Club before.”

“Precisely,” Tamaki agreed. “I have someone very specific in mind.” He smiled beatifically at the hosts, as though expecting them to read his mind.

Surprisingly enough, they did.

You had come to associate the Hitachiin twins as the harbingers of misfortune. You couldn’t think of one good thing that could come from the two of them striding towards you. As such, you immediately turned on your heel and tried to go back the way you’d come from.

As always, the twins each clamped a hand on your shoulder.

“You’re coming with us,” they said together.

“I’m taking a day off from the club today,” you said, backing away from them. “I mean, you’re all so busy, you shouldn’t have to deal with me all the time. You have your guests and it’d be selfish to be spending so much time—”

“Blabber all you want, but let’s go,” Hikaru (or at least who you thought was Hikaru) said. You had no choice but to go along with them, because it was easier than causing a scene in the hallways.

If you couldn’t beat them and all that.

Maybe it was just you, but the twins seemed to have a little extra pep in their step. They were excited about something, and you were sure you didn’t want to know what about. Once you were in front of Music Room 3, they pushed you in before quickly closing the doors behind them.

You were early. None of the guests had arrived yet.

“Welcome back, my dear,” Tamaki said, walking towards you with his arms raised. “We’ve been expecting you.”

You sidestepped the hug and Tamaki nearly tripped. He recovered himself with a wounded cough.

“Did I do something wrong?” you said, looking around for Haruhi, Honey and Mori. Good. They were here. You wouldn’t have to suffer this alone.

“Not at all,” Tamaki said. “In fact, we have wonderful news for you.”

You looked around at the hosts, trying to gauge by their faces what “wonderful news” entailed. Tamaki was beaming, but when was he not? The twins looked devious as ever, and Kyoya’s face was a smooth lake. Honey was bouncing on the balls of his feet and Mori’s lips were pursed. When you glanced at Haruhi, she gave you a small, apologetic smile.

All of a sudden, Renge’s voice came from behind you, rising from her platform out of the ground. You startled, forgetting it was there.

“Starting today,” she said grandly, “you are a host.”

You stared up at Renge on her platform. Then you turned around and reached for the door handle.

“Where are you going?” Hikaru said, stepping in front of one of the doors.

“You don’t have anything to say to that?” Kaoru said, blocking the other door.

“Hell. No,” you said. You turned back around to the other hosts. “I don’t know what kind of joke this is supposed to be, but it isn’t funny. I don’t want to be a host. I don’t have any interest in that whatsoever.”

The hosts seemed surprised at your vehemence.

“You won’t even give it a try?” Honey said, widening his eyes hopefully.

“Why? You said you were going to ‘heal my broken heart.’ How is making me a host going to help that? Isn’t that your job?”

“You don’t need to know the specifics, but you are aware that the Host Club operates on payments from guests, yes?” Kyoya said. “While Tamaki was generous enough to offer our services for free, the fact remains that we need to be compensated for our time.”

You scowled. “I don’t know how many times I’ve told you that I never asked for this.You all started this yourselves. It's unfair to expect anything of me.”

“Y/N’s right,” Haruhi said and you liked her all the better for it. “They never wanted to be a host. If they don’t want to do it, then they don’t want to do it.”

“If you’ll excuse me, I have things to do,” you said, even though there were no such things to do. The twins reluctantly stepped aside and you had just twisted the doorknob when Renge said, “You’re just afraid, aren’t you?”

“What?” “You just don’t want to be a host because you’re afraid no one will like you. You’re scared you won’t know what to do. You just don’t want to embarrass yourself.”

Renge’s voice was high and taunting. You gritted your teeth, seeing the bait plainly and willing yourself not to take it.

“You’re just too scared that you don’t know how to flirt.”

“You think I don’t know how to flirt?” You spun around. You couldn’t let this slide. Your pride wouldn’t allow it. “You’d be hard pressed to find someone better than me.”

“Really?” Renge said.

“Yeah, really. I’m not afraid. I can flirt and charm and swoon people just fine. Whatever you do at the Host Club isn’t hard. You just talk and smile and look pretty.”

“You think we’re pretty?” Tamaki said, but you ignored him.

Renge leaned over the railing of her platform. “I wonder if you can back up those claims.”

You scoffed. “You know what? Fine. I’ll be a host then. You just watch how well I do it, and by the end, you’ll regret making me a host because I’ll have won all of your guests over.” It was a ballsy thing to say, but you didn’t care. Renge’s goading had worked. You were all fired up now.

Renge smiled, not at you, but at Kyoya. “Told ya.”

Kyoya shrugged. He glanced at his wristwatch, then straightened out his blazer.

“We’ll open the Host Club for business, then.” He glanced at you. “I hope you won’t make too many mistakes. We are still a business at the end of the day.”

You blew out a breath through your nose. “I’m well aware.”

previous chapter || next chapter || table of contents

#ohshc #ohshc x reader #ouran high school host club #gender neutral reader #disceohshc

49 notes · View notes

reallyromealone · 2 years

Note

I finally have thought of another request. Ok so the host club is going to hang out at Tamaki's house and reader is Tamaki's little brother (2-3) and he's obsessed with onesies. When reader hears Tamaki's voice he runs down the stairs to show Tamaki his new onesie it's a bear onesie like Tamaki's bear Kuma. Reader stops in front of the host club and holds up Kuma and then points to himself with with a big smile and Tamaki starts fanboying and some of the other hosts start cooing over him. You can stop there or continue if you wanna add anything else.

I gotchu

Also enjoy my grade school french ayyy

The only person who knew Tamaki had a baby half brother was Kyoya, the black haired teen often having small conversations with the toddler when he somehow makes his way to Tamakis room or one of the many sitting rooms.

"And this is my humble abode!" Tamaki said loudly as the maids bowed at his entrance, the host club majority looked unphased as haruhi could look in shock at Tamakis enterpretation of the word 'humble' because if this was humble then what was her place???

"Tama!" A tiny high pitched voice asked from atop the grand staircase, a toddler in a bear onsie smiling down at them before crawling down the stairs as Tamaki ran up to meet with the toddler "whose that?" Hikaru asked as the teens watched Tamaki coddle the small child.

"That would be (name) Suoh, Tamakis brother" Kyoya said calmly as he checked his flip phone for any messages.

'Brother?!' the group thought in shock as Tamaki twirled the tiny tot around "Tama! I look like 'uma!" (Name) said happily as he showed his brother the stuffed Kuma toy Tamaki passed down to his brother and then himself and Tamaki just melted at that and snuggled his baby brother.

"Look at how precious he is!"

Some of the hosts cooed over the toddler who just looked generally happy to be there as he waved at the teenagers "hi 'yoya!" He said sweetly to the black haired teen who waved back "Mrs. (Nanny) and I made 'ochi!" (Name) said happily to his brother who looked at the toddler in awe.

"mon petit ours en peluche est un maître cuisinier!" Tamaki rambled in french as the teens and Tamaki went to go to (name)s area and enjoyed the delicious snack with the tiny boy.

#ohshc x male reader #ohshc x reader #tamaki x male reader #tamaki x reader #fluff

589 notes · View notes

ouranbutworse · 9 months

Text

its funny thinking about ohshc bc its so old and i forget, nowadays theyd all have the latest smart phones and the latest tech and like gaming rooms and stuff. hikaru and kaoru would be successful tiktokers and tamaki would be unsuccessful. honey would order so much food via delivery apps. mori would crush his weakass iphone in his giant hands. kyoya would have one of those folding tablet/laptops with a pen half the price of the computer itself. haruhi would still have a flip phone

#ohshc

72 notes · View notes

snnbnny · 2 years

Note

Sad anonymous back at it again.

How would Bokuto, Ushijima, and Kyoya (or pick one you don't have to do all three) react to a s/o who starts crying after a verbal fight. Feeling extra sad today.

Hi sad anon!! love your lil asks omg!!

Wakatoshi Ushijima reacting to his partner crying after a verbal fight!!

'•.¸♡ C/W for W.U : Stone cold ushi, Repressed issue, miscommunication, several mentions of pregnancy so afab! reader or if you wish omega reader, little out of my own cannon ushi, soft ushi at the end, this is hurt comfort btw, its nice I swear, mentions of jealousy and falling out of love ♡¸.•'

'•.¸♡ Tagging: @wakatshi @towoshi♡¸.•'

'•.¸♡ A/N: this totally went in my own spiral but I hope its something similar to what you wanted! I'm low key proud of this so.... also listen to FINNEAS while you read this,, just a suggestion. Idk the vibe kinda fits.♡¸.•'

╰─▸ ❝ W. Ushijima

"Ushi?" The two of you were halfway threw yet another silent dinner which you had graciously created. "Has everything been ok?"

"Why do you ask?" His tone was flat, you tried to reason with yourself that the lack of emotion in his voice was the same as normal. But the past few weeks had felt so different to you, you were so worried that you had upset the man in someway or that your first fear has come to florishion- he didn't love you anyone or never really did and he found some he did love.

"You've been acting strangely," you couldn't really name the small things that really drew your attention to it.

"You have to be specific, Y/N." A shiver went up your spine.

"You've been distance, more emotionless. Ignoring my messages, hell you've barely made eye contact with me this whole night!" The anger came out of the depth of your chest, it was not truly anger- more like grief.

"Sound's like my normal behavior to me, Y/N." A pin could drop and it wouldn't break the tension. He stood from his seat and walked to the kitchen in order to dump his half-eaten plate and place the dish in the freshly cleaned sink. "Maybe it's you that has a problem."

You couldn't bring yourself to look at the man, your watery gaze fixed on the barely touched dish before you, "Yeah, maybe..." There was barely any confrontation but you were already so defeated. So tired. You had waited so long, hoping it would have resolved by itself- instead it only festered and exhausted you.

"I'm heading to bed, I have an early flight tomorrow." God, you forgot he had an away game in the following days prompting him to be gone for at least a week. Of course you had forgotten, you were so wrapped up in the drama you were possibly creating in your head that everything else lost precedence.

"Goodnight, Ushijima. Good luck." You couldn't let yourself move until he was gone. When he did, the dam broke. Choked down sobs accompanied your waterfall of tears. Quietly you placed your plate into the sink and rushed into one of the guest rooms you use to store some of your personal items. The sound of the soft click which accompanies the closing of door gave you enough sense of safety that you let out a loud sob, followed by others and other sounds of saddness.

It was only made worse by the secret you had yet to tell your husband, one that would normally only tie the two of you closer if it wasn't for

a) the current turbulence in your relationship

b) his past hesitance towards the topic of children

Your hormones were so all over the place, you didn't know what emotions to believe at this point. Maybe it was the pregnancy hormones causing you to flip out at something which was probably non-existent.

You were to lost in yourself to hear the sounds of your husbands heavy foot steps coming closer only noticing the hint of his existence when three soft knocks wrapped at the door, "Darling, are you alright?"

"Y-Yes!"

"Then why are you locked in the guest room instead of in bed with me?"

"I-I'm not feeling well Wakatoshi! You need your sleep!"

...

Even Ushijima could smell the bull, "I'm coming in!"

The sight he was by was pitiful, but pulled on his iron heart strings. There you sat curled on the floor still dressed in your day cloths and face covered by tears, snot, and running makeup. He hurt more when you scooted away from him, it took him this long to realize he had truly upset you- that the last interactions the two of you had just had were actually a fight of some manner.

"Y/N-" He knelt down so he was closer to your height almost as if you were a scared dog. "I'm sorry, dear. I didn't mean to upset you. There is nothing wrong between us."

He was dumbstruck by the following question you asked, "Is there anyone else, Wakatoshi?"

He almost laughed at the inclination, "No- not at all. Not ever. I don't think any one else could stand me."

Just as quickly as you had pulled away from him, your were jumping into his arms- hiding your face in the green t-shirt he had deemed appropriate to sleep in after knocking him on his ass. He smelt of freshness, sandalwood, and home.

" 'M sorry." You whimpered, he was holding the back of your head and had an arm wrapped around your back.

"It's alright love, it was my fault. I got so wrapped up in my work life I didn't notice that you were hurting." He kissed the crown of your head as he petted your hair.

"The hormones don't help though," the remark slipped threw before you could think about it.

"What hormones? You aren't on your-" For once, your husband was truly thinking. It was like it clicked right away, you could even tell before he said anything by the fact he pulled you back and looked you up and down before whispering. "Are you- Are you pregnant?"

"Yes." You responded, no strength to try and change the subject or be coy in any way.

"Thats-" A pause, "-That is amazing, Y/N."

"You're not mad?"

"Mad? No not at all, my love. Having a child with you is a gift! I know I've been awkward about the subject due to the timing, but I've always wanted a big family with you. Our children would not only be as pretty as you, but have so many inherited talents."

You laughed, kissing him in order to stop him from rambling.

659 notes · View notes

host-club-hq · 1 year

Text

Indeed: ~The Host Club Declares Dissolution!~

➼ pairing: kyoya ootori x reader

➼ summary: the carpet is quite literally pulled out from underneath you. two morsels of unfortunate news befall you. how are you going to tell the club?

➼ word count: 8.4k

➼ what to expect: "I'm not going."

➼ warnings: heavy angst, abuse

➼ chapter navigation

➼ talk to my characters!

➼ prepare the waterworks, my loves

The school grounds are buzzing with excitement and activity. Although, this activity comes from the construction crews scattered about the courtyard, directed by teachers and administrators alike.

It's not any type of ordinary construction you'd expect for a mere school fair. There are cranes lifting metal support beams, scaffolding building enormous creations, and teams of construction workers moving furniture and props.

The Host Club, in particular, has extreme influence when it comes to the Ouran Fair, considering they're the most popular club on campus, and the Ouran Fair revolves around clubs and their creations.

So, just as you'd expect, the Host Club is among the directors for the crew to put everything in its place.

"Oh, and those go in the building's main salon, okay?" Kaoru cranes his neck over his shoulder when he spots two men transporting a particular box.

"Alright!"

"Hey, be careful with that." He calls to another pair of men, handling a piece of furniture carelessly.

"Uh... aren't school fairs meant to be, I don't know, more about students proudly showcasing unique things that they've made by hand?" Haruhi stands adjacent to Kyoya, observing all of the extreme effort that goes into making this fair look like a prestigious event. But... she can't spot a handmade vase or carefully painted canvas by a student anywhere.

Kyoya scribbles in his brown, leather-back notebook that he uses for... less important things, to say the least, "Perhaps for a mere average school, yes." He shuts the book securely as the leather strap wraps itself around the two covers, keeping it shut. He shoves it into his pocket.

"But at Ouran, the emphasis is on planning and leadership skills. Keep in mind, most of our students are being groomed into positions of leadership, so they're required to showcase a talent for upward mobility, no arts-and-crafts."

Kyoya's explanation makes perfect sense. The students here are held to higher standards than that of a normal high school. The arts don't necessarily guarantee you a position taking over your parents' company. But, leadership skills get you closer than anything.

"Huh." Haruhi nods to herself. Her next thoughts are interrupted by a whinnying horse, coming to a halt just before them.

An elegantly decorated black and cherry red horse-drawn carriage is driven by Hikaru with Mori at his side. Hikaru pulls on the reigns, "Whoa, whoa!" The horses obey his command immediately, shaking their manes with vigor.

"Nicely done. You handle the reigns like a pro." Mori nods to Hikaru seated beside him.

"Haru-chan!" Honey calls from the back seat, waving Usa-chan's arm in her direction.

Tamaki spins theatrically, offering Haruhi his hand, "Climb on board! We're rehearsing for the big Ouran Fair parade!"

Seated just beside the dancing pair of blond boys, you roll your eyes, rising to your feet and leaning over the side.

"Too much?" You chuckle as Kyoya approaches you, head angled up to your height as he stands below you.

"Just a tad." He smiles back.

"Yeah, I tried to tell him, but he wouldn't have it." You sigh.

"He never will. But, nonetheless, it is a nice touch." Kyoya shrugs, flipping through his pocketbook quickly.

Just after Haruhi climbs aboard, Tamaki immediately fawning over her, you extend your hand and offer it to Kyoya, "Come on, Kyoya, get on the carriage." You urge.

Kyoya blankly stares at your extended arm before shaking his hand, "Absolutely not, get off of there."

You blink, eyes wide-set, "What? But-"

"Just trust me." Kyoya smiles impishly.

You raise a brow, shrugging.

"Alright. I trust you."

You step down from the carriage on the steps provided, waiting for Kyoya's next action. Oddly enough, just as you set foot on the ground, Kyoya strides behind you and hoists himself up into the carriage.

"But you just-"

"M'lady." Kyoya offers you his hand, similar to your gesture before. You merely stare at it for a moment.

You snort with laughter, "Ah, what a gentleman." You giggle at his intentions, delicately placing your hand in his as he helps you into the carriage.

Kyoya's eyes disappear in a smile as you sit beside him, offering your hand a squeeze before settling his own hands in his lap.

The carriage pulls the group along, passing most of Ouran's female students, watching you all with awe and fairytale-like wonder. Mori was right; Hikaru handles the horses exceptionally well.

"Think you could handle the horses like Hikaru?" You nudge Kyoya in the side playfully.

"If I set my mind to it, perhaps." He shrugs at your odd question. When would he ever need to handle a horse-drawn carriage?

"You never know when you'll need to." You tease. Kyoya scoffs, rolling his eyes.

"Right."

Kaoru turns over his shoulder to his brother, "Hey, you know, you've gotten pretty good at this." He grins.

"There's nothing to it; you should have practiced with me earlier." Hikaru reminds.

"Well, just because we're twins doesn't make both of us good drivers." Kaoru jokes at the expense of himself.

You smile fondly, your ears easily picking up the light-hearted conversation between the two. It's quite nice to listen to each twin speak to each other rather than with each other. It's not often that they're not finishing each other's sentences, but it's pleasant when it does, in fact, happen. The notion of individualism shines through a bit more nowadays.

"It's kinda neat having all of us together like this. for a carriage ride, huh?" Honey smiles widely, settling into his seat comfortably with Usa-chan in his lap.

"Yeah, whatever." Haruhi grumbles, squished between your shoulder and Tamaki's. At least yours doesn't sport a stabbing shoulder pad.

"Oh, and for the actual parade tomorrow, we'll all be in 18th century French costumes." Tamaki pipes up excitedly.

You purse your lips, "18th Century France? As in... the century when women wore thousands of layers, including a suffocating corset, and garish makeup that makes them look like they've seen ghosts?" You deadpan.

"Precisely." Kyoya nods from beside you.

"I don't know what you expect me to wear, but it won't be that." You shake your head, chuckling with faux-mirth as you cross your arms.

"It won't be quite that accurate, but you'll still be wearing a corset." Kyoya explains casually.

"If you'd like me alive and breathing, I suggest you find something else for me to wear."

"It's only for a few hours, y/n, you'll be fine."

"Oh, so you get to tell me when I'm fine? How would you like it if I took a thick piece of fabric and wrapped it around your torso so tightly that it felt like all of your organs were being pushed together?"

"Settle down, we'll discuss it later." Kyoya urges with a nearly stern glare.

You blink, unaware of where this sudden attitude was coming from. You cross your arms and settle back into your seat, more confused than upset.

The clock tower chimes loudly at the top of the hour.

"Ah. The fair's opening ceremony has started." Tamaki observes excitedly.

"It seems it has." You peer over the side of the carriage as Tamaki offers you a beaming smile.

"Let's make this fair the best one yet!"

You snicker, "Let's do just that." Just after your statement, the clock tower continues to chime.

~The Host Club Declares Dissolution~

♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡

~Ouran Fair Opening Ceremony...~

The chorus of violins produce elegant pieces of music as students waltz along the grounds contently. Rose petals floating gently through the soft breeze, oddly reminiscent of the Host Club.

Inside the central building salon, a lush array of pink chandeliers decorate the ceilings with grace, adding a certain poshness to the atmosphere.

On the main floor, the Host Club is open to the general public. Which basically means the students of Ouran and their beyond wealthy parents.

You busy yourself with a tray of assorted sweets and pastries, pushing them along in a serving cart. You're dressed somewhat similarly to your fellow club members, but obviously differently because of your gender. Although, you do like your outfit far better than the others. A simple, beige colored dress with a thin red ribbon sitting at your color with a dark gray turtle neck sitting under it all is just perfect for you.

"Now, remember, as part of the fair, the Host Club will be open to parents and visitors for the next two days, which means we will need to be even more charming than usual. Let's get out there and and how our honored guests the time of their lives!"

... That almost means that you'r practically working at least three times as hard as you usually would need to. You're constantly running low on refreshments and you're constantly being called over for favors, asked questions, and cleaning empty tables.

It seems that, today, your duties are reduced back to errand girl.

"Isn't it just wonderful, Mother? This is the Host Club I've been telling you so much about. What do you think?" One of the regular guests gushes to her mother fervently.

"Well, actually. I cannot say I approve of this. I think that these young men just enjoy being fawned over." Her mother replies in the haughtiest of tones.

Tamaki quite literally slides to her side, "You are quite right, Madam. We are such shameless, selfish creatures." He takes her hand in his with the gentlest of natures, "All of this is mere pretense- for spending time with lovely young ladies such as yourself. It is a weakness. Forgive me."

"Oh!" Tamaki has reduced the esteemed business woman to nothing but a flushed, infatuated mess in his hands.

"What an enchanting club!" Her attitude suddenly makes a flip at his display of flattery.

"I told you!"

"You're too kind, both of you."

"Seems we're open for business using counter-madam tactics." You grumble jokingly to yourself as you continue to push your cart along.

Knelt before Honey, Mori adjusts and pulls at his vest, "Here, your buttons are mismatched. Allow me." He fixes them promptly.

"Thank you very much!" Honey giggles charmingly.

A nearby table has the privilege of witnessing the scene, "How adorable! They must be brothers. The older one is so thoughtful." The guest's mother gushes.

Adjacent to your side, Haruhi groans, "Wrong." You snicker at her scowl.

The twins' hair is neatly combed for this momentous occasion, putting on their best 'good boys' behavior for the prestigious parents they will be attending to.

"But you see, our mother and father were both so busy that they had no time for the two of us." Hikaru's eyes remain downcast, as does his brother's.

"We played by ourselves. Which is the reason we're so lonely now." Kaoru finishes with.

Sitting before them, a guest and her mother express their sympathy, "Oh, you poor things!"

"They've got the sob story down almost as well as you do." You nudge Haruhi in the side. She's probably already used her late mother tactic on a few guests and their parents.

"You have got to be kidding me." Haruhi grumbles.

You happen to notice a group of parents surrounding Kyoya, and for good reason. The insight into his tactics for maintaining the club financially (and in many other aspects) is practically priceless.

As you wheel your cart over, several parents thank you briefly before picking up a new cup of tea and setting their empty ones back in the places of the fresh cups. You nod, "My pleasure."

"One of our daily goals here at the Host Club is to evoke different time periods. So we make it a point to thoroughly research a wide variety of historical traditions in the interest of maintaining authenticity."

And by we, he means himself. Although, when busy, Kyoya has often asked you to take up the research on certain eras and their culture so that they won't be missing anything essential.

"That's quite impressive!" A father chirps.

You place the empty teacups on the lower tray of your cart so as to keep up a clean image and bring up new, filled cups to the top.

"Yeah, quite impressively political." Haruhi mutters beside you.

"You're just not having any of this today, are you?" You sigh, propping a hand on your hip.

"Excuse me, young lady?" You turn at that, as you're the only young lady associated with the club.

"My daughter has been gushing over a charming fellow by the name of Tamaki, do you happen to know where he is?" A student's mother approaches you, looking quite lost.

"I certainly do, ma'am. He's the blond-haired princely looking host speaking with that group of lovely guests. Please, don't hesitate to ask for anything else." You bow after pointing in Tamaki's direction with an open hand rather than one finger.

"Thank you, my dear." She brushes a hand gently against your shoulder in thanks as she she slides along past you to Tamaki.

"Wow, Senpai. That was quite the act." Haruhi observes as you sigh exasperatedly.

"Kyoya told me that I 'must be on my best behavior.' Lord knows what he meant by that." You groan.

"I noticed he's been kinda stressed recently." Haruhi glances over to the host in question.

"I've been trying to be patient with him. I know Tamaki's extravagant ideas have him scrambling a bit. I know he's trying." You sigh tiredly.

"They must have had you scrambling, too." Haruhi points out.

"Oh, yes. Advertising for this event was an entire ordeal all by itself. Not to mention I had to go over plans with Tamaki for days." It makes you exhausted just thinking about it.

"Is your dad coming?" Haruhi glances around in question.

"Mm, not sure. He mentioned he might or might not. Not sure what that means." You chuckle apprehensively.

"I think he should. You're doing a really great job." Haruhi beams kindly.

"Oh, well thank you. Tamaki's been working me like a horse, but I'm happy with how everything turned out. And... if he does come, I do hope that he behaves." You chew your lip anxiously.

♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡

Kyoya's keyboard is under much strain as he clacks his fingers across the keys, gaze determined under the glare that his glasses produce. Haruhi takes in her surroundings with wide set eyes, just a bit bewildered by the nature of the event.

"This is a bit too much even by our standards." She turns slightly to Kyoya by her side.

She sighs, letting her head dip, "You could buy a small country with all the money we're wasting."

Tamaki appears behind Haruhi in an instant, startling you, "What nonsense! That's not the Host Club way at all and you know it! Happiness is above any price tag! Besides, think of all the exposure! We'll-" Haruhi stops Tamaki's tirade by pinching his hand. He squeals, pouting.

"No, Haruhi's right, you have overshot the budget." Kyoya announces.

You take one look at Tamaki's expression after that statement and you feel your heart pulse sympathetically, "It's not that bad, is it?" You peek over at Kyoya's computer and your eyes grow considerably wide when you read over the current numbers.

"Kyoya." Tamaki whines.

"The use of this salon notwithstanding, you had a period-style carriage shipped in all the way from France. Must you always be so capricious? Your impulsiveness is overwhelms my accounting skills." Kyoya shuts his laptop and adjusts his glasses.

"Hey." You nudge him in the side when you take another glance at Tamaki's expression.

"Typical." Haruhi scoffs.

"Whatever! Capricious is just another word for creative! I'll have you know that the whims of the Host Club King are stuff of dreams, no price is too high!"

As Tamaki practically storms off, you pull up a chair and sit across from Kyoya, "I think we need to talk about your people skills." You inform him, somewhat serious.

"My people skills are not the problem." Kyoya resumes work on his laptop.

"Fine, then let's talk about your friend skills. You can't just tell Tamaki that, you know how he is." You hiss in a whisper, becoming much more stern.

"I'll have you know that I know Tamaki probably better than you do." Kyoya peeks at you over his laptop.

"Then you must know that he takes everything to heart. And if I were him, what you just said would have hurt my feelings a lot, and I would be thinking really hard about it." You narrow your eyes.

"Good thing you aren't Tamaki, then."

You scoff, "What is the matter with you? Listen, I know you're stressed and accounting is difficult, but that doesn't give you the right to treat people however you want-"

"If you wouldn't mind, y/n. I'm a little busy."

Your stunned silence is almost in disbelief. You stand up from the table, "Fine. Suit yourself." You turn on your heel and move to attend to any guests that might need you. You're much too busy to put up with his bad attitude, anyway.

You find an unfamiliar guest sitting by herself on one of the many loveseats set up for the guests to rest on. She doesn't look old enough to be a student's mother or guardian, but she doesn't look young enough to be a student yourself. Nonetheless, she's a guest.

"Welcome." She lowers her pair of theater binoculars and you're almost rendered speechless by the striking aqua color of her eyes. She's not from here.

"May I get something for you? Perhaps I could interest you in something sweet. We've got a wide selection of teas as well."

She only stares at you a moment, her gaze unabashedly judging as she rises it to meet your own.

"You're with the Host Club?" She folds her hands in her lap and you can't miss the way her posture is perfectly set.

"Yes, ma'am. I'm here at your disposal." You bow with a polite smile.

"Father!" Both of you are distracted by Tamaki's exclamation and direct your attention to a man entering, dressed completely in white save for a colorful purple necktie.

"Do not refer to me as father. The term is far too familiar. You will address me properly as Chairman."

This is one of the few times you've ever had the pleasure of meeting Tamaki's father. Your gaze narrows upon his entrance and Tamaki shuts his mouth, embarrassed.

Although, Kyoya is quick to step in and direct him elsewhere, "Ah, very good! Welcome, sir. Please, let me show you to your seat."

"Thank you."

You glance back at the woman behind you and notice that she quickly lowers her theater binoculars and turns away as if she hadn't been watching the ordeal take place.

You're not distracted for long as a very notable entrance is made not long after Tamaki's father.

You dare to meet his gaze, quickly apologizing to your guest, who doesn't seem to mind your absence terribly, and rush to greet him.

Your father barely spares you a glance as you offer him a deep bow, "Welcome, Father. I'm elated that you could make it."

"Yes. Quite the... little party you have going on." Your father scans the crowd of fawning ladies and the hosts that attend to them. He'll never quite understand why you ever joined this frivolous club.

"May I show you to a seat?" You gesture.

"If you must." He follows you as you scurry to one of the nearest open sofas. He sits down, crossing one leg over the other and glowering at you expectantly.

"Can I get you anything?" You don't specify what you have in stock- whatever he wants, you will bring to him.

"Why are you wearing that?" Your father scans your attire with a disapproving expression.

"What? This?" You glance down at your own outfit and dust if off anxiously.

"Why the turtle neck? The dress is quite perfect on it's own."

Your cheeks heat up in a terribly strong shade of red. You fiddle with your sleeve, "It matches the club..." You inform, gesturing to the other members scattered about who are dressed similarly to you.

"Well you're not even a host, are you? Shouldn't you be dressed in... something else?"

"Father... I'm still a part of the club, I'm still a member of the team-"

"You're not on a team. You're an errand girl." Your father scoffs, glancing around to see if any other parents are witnessing the exchange.

You open your mouth to retaliate, but quickly realize that you have nothing to retaliate with. He's not wrong, not wrong at all. In fact, he's completely correct. You hang your head apologetically.

"Where's this Ootori boy that you're so infatuated with?" Your father cranes his neck over your shoulder, searching for him.

"Kyoya is..." You search for him with your eyes, but they widen considerably at what they find.

You barely have time to react before a loud smack! echoes through the salon, followed by several appalled gasps, including one of your own.

A pair of thin-rimmed, silver glasses hits the carpeted floor from the force at which Kyoya's father strikes him across the cheek. No verbal or even physical reaction follows from Kyoya, he only kneels to the ground to pick up his glasses, his dark bangs covering his eyes.

You don't even manage to excuse yourself from your father before you're practically sprinting to where he kneels.

But your father isn't paying attention to you anymore, he's watching the scene unfold before his very eyes.

Is that what it looks like?

"Kyoya-Senpai!" Haruhi calls from her seat beside Tamaki and his father.

Just as you reach him, he's managed to put his glasses back on the bridge of his nose with a soft, pained breath.

"Is this how my son has been wasting his time?"

You can't seem to bring yourself to step any closer to him, watching him solemnly rise to his feet, expressionless.

"That's Kyo-chan's father, isn't it?" Honey inquires quietly.

"Yes."

"You are an embarrassment to the Ootori name." Without another word, Yoshio steps away from his son, a similar glare on the lenses of his glasses as his son's.

Kyoya pushes two fingers against his glasses to adjust them. Silently.

"Suoh, my friend. I am sorry you had to witness that." Yoshio apologizes to the Chairman as he passes him.

"That did seem rather harsh, given how exceptional he really is. For a man with three fine young sons to carry on his legacy, your avarice would seem to run deep."

Yoshio does not reply. The Chairman continues.

"I've heard about your trouble. Believe me, it's only a matter of time before the media gets wind of it. Please tell me you're not taking that out on your son."

Nothing more is said before Yoshio departs.

"Kyoya, are you alright?" Tamaki and the rest of the club approaches him cautiously.

With your arms seized to your chest, you part the crowd of hosts and finally manage to near him. Getting a better look at him, you can spot the reddening mark on his cheek as he stares down at you wordlessly.

You suppress the tightening of your throat to speak, "Are you okay?" You gently reach out to place a hand on his arm.

"I'm perfectly alright. Your father is here, isn't he?" Kyoya brushes past you gingerly.

You blink, "Y-yes, but-"

"By all means, we should greet him." Kyoya cuts you off.

Your heart sinks as he walks off. Haruhi catches his attention, "Senpai, he wasn't upset with you 'cause of the Host Club, was he?"

Tamaki tenses, anxiously awaiting his reply.

"Don't worry about it." He pushes past them easily, "It's not like I haven't been expecting this." He moves along, but not to your father like you'd expected.

"Wait, Kyoya-!" You start off after him.

"Because of... the Host Club?"

The Chairman passes his son who is frozen in stunned silence, "Whims have consequences, Tamaki. Take my word for it, they do not come cheaply for people like us. Accept it. Life is hard. It's time for you to grow up and realize that dreaming only postpones the inevitable."

"y/n!" A familiar student calls.

When you turn at your name being called, you lose Kyoya in the crowd. You sigh, putting on a stunning smile and making your way over to the group of girls that called your attention, "Coming!"

When you arrive, they greet you with excited smiles, "We really appreciate that you made time to visit us." You bow.

"Start thinking about the future, son. If you plan on becoming the head of the Suoh family, there's a long, hard road ahead of you. You're going to have to live with the choices you make for the rest of your life. I advise you to think very carefully about what it is you really want before it's too late."

The Host Club isn't going to last forever.

The doors to the salon creak open, handled by two men, and in walks an elderly, strict-looking woman.

"Now look sharp. Your grandmother is here."

Tamaki grins widely, dashing to greet her, "Grandmother! I'm so glad you could come!" He beams.

The entire Host Club watches. All, save for one, are glaring.

"Aw, that's so sweet. So that's Tamaki-Senpai's grandmother?" Haruhi smiles.

Your clench your hands into fists, brow twitching with rage, "I hate that woman." You growl darkly.

Haruhi nearly physically flinches at your harsh words, mouth agape with surprise at your choice of speech when she returns her attention to Tamaki.

"Please come in, take a seat." Tamaki gestures openly to one of the many empty sofas in the salon.

"Don't patronize me." Tamaki is left frozen at her response as she waltzes past.

"Filthy child." She spits bitterly.

Haruhi can hardly believe her ears, gasping at how shockingly Tamaki had been treated today.

"Lady Éclair, come over here for a moment, please."

At her demand, the woman you were tending to just moments ago strides along to greet Tamaki. Her hands are clasped behind her back, twirling her theater binoculars with a smug grin.

"For the remainder of the day and tomorrow, you will be Lady Éclair's personal escort."

Lady Éclair thrusts her chin up at Tamaki insistently, humming curiously. She peers at him through her theater binoculars.

"What's wrong? I gave you an order."

"Hello there, Tamaki." Éclair smirks. Tamaki remains speechless, then adorns a smile as best he can manage.

"Very well, grandmother. I will do everything in my power to ensure her happiness. Just as you wish."

You set a new cup of tea before your father on the table, regaining a straight posture to gauge his reaction.

He lifts the cup to his lips cautiously, savoring the taste a moment before humming, neither with approval or disapproval, and setting it back down on the matching saucer.

"Your friends seem to be quite busy." He acknowledges, unabashedly scrutinizing each one with judging eyes.

None of the hosts are as enthusiastic as they were before Tamaki decided to abandon you all. It seems that the entire aura has changed. Nonetheless, the absence of your boss doesn't mean that any of you get to shirk your responsibilities, no matter how confused you are.

"Yes, sir." You nod, watching your friends along with him.

"That scene with the Ootori boy seems to have put a damper on things." Your father sighs, somewhat pensively.

You huff, "He isn't the one that caused the scene, Father." You remind.

"I do think it's quite necessary. This club is a waste of time." He ignores you, scoffing.

You shake your head with furrowed brows, disoriented, "A waste of time?" Where did that even come from?

"I actually applaud Yoshio for taking the initiative."

"You applaud Mr. Ootori for abusing his son?"

Your father nearly snaps the handle of the teacup off its base and narrows his gaze toward you, "Abuse and discipline are very different things, young lady."

A very thin line separates them, apparently.

"Like you would know."

Your audacity catches your father completely off guard. Just as he's about to retaliate, you turn on your heel, steam practically coming from your ears as you make way to storm off and occupy yourself elsewhere.

But your father is faster. He lunges and grabs your upper arm, effectively stopping you in your tracks.

"Don't turn your back to me when I'm speaking to you, disrespectful child." He sneers.

You twist to face him the best you can in your position, gaze boring into his own.

"I'm turning my back so I don't do something I'll later regret."

Your father blinks, caught off guard once again. You challenge him with narrowed eyes.

"Excuse me, sir?"

A polite, disembodied voice comes from behind your father. There stands Kyoya with a familiar cellphone held in your father's vision. As he turns, he releases you, and you're quick to backpedal away, rubbing your arm sorely.

"Does this belong to you? I found it on the floor just now and thought it might be yours." Kyoya manages the most passive aggressive, feigned smile that he can.

Your father all but snatches the phone away from Kyoya, shoving it back into his pocket with a grumble, "Yes, thank you, Ootori."

Kyoya nods, "It's my pleasure. Now, I'll be needing to steal y/n away for a moment if you don't mind. An errand girl's work is never done." Kyoya brushes past your father to place a hand on your shoulder firmly.

"Go on."

Kyoya makes quick work of leading you away, almost too quickly for your liking. You half expect him to actually lead you to a guest in need when he stops you after some distance away from your father, placing both hands on your shoulder and assessing you with concerned eyes.

"Are you alright?"

Your heart warms and you offer him a weak simper, "Perfectly fine." You assure.

"No bruises?" He takes your arm carefully in his hand.

"Not yet, anyway." You joke lightly. "But, thank you."

Kyoya can't help but return your grateful smile with one of his own, "Of course."

"Senpai, are you okay?" Two voices pipe up behind you. You turn to face them, greeted with two identical heads of ginger hair and two pairs of concerned eyes.

"I'm fine, really. Don't worry." You assure, waving them off with a soft laugh insistently.

Hikaru and Kaoru glance at each other with apprehensive eyes, leaning on one another affectionately. Another parent is added to their list of people to keep an eye on...

♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡

The hosts have made a group that consists solely of themselves, observing that their guests are becoming quite self-sufficient in terms of entertainment. At this very rare break, Kyoya attempts to chip away at the ever growing budget with his laptop at the ready.

"Tama-chan isn't coming back, is he?" Honey whines.

Kaoru appears with Hikaru perched atop his head, "So does he really plan to spend-"

"- the entire fair escorting some stranger?" Kaoru grumbles.

"Éclair, right? Or something like that." Hikaru mutters, looking entirely bored.

"Who is she to him? That's the mystery." Kaoru chirps.

"I could tell you."

For the first time, the voice that pipes up is not unwelcome, but it's not enthusiastic either. You perk up when Renge approaches the group, looking solemn.

"Oh, Renge?"

"Éclair, Tonnerre, she's the youngest daughter of the renowned French Tonnerre family. They descend from royalty."

Glasses shining and keyboard clacking, Kyoya adds on, "Indeed, the family has quite a history. Their wealth something of a legend among financial heavyweights. In fact, just being associated with them makes you part of a very elite group."

That name rings a bell in your mind. Your brows crease, "Don't they own Grand Tonnerre?" You pipe up curiously.

"They do. It's a firm that's been buying up a lot of businesses in Japan lately." The club seems enthralled by Kyoya's vast knowledge. But, then again, who wouldn't be?

You groan, "But that doesn't explain why French Princess stole our boss way from his own event." You grumble.

"It does not." Kyoya sighs.

You catch Haruhi in your peripheral vision, her back is turned to you and the group. She's uncharacteristically un-inquisitive and quiet for a topic like this that usually would have piqued her curiosity by now. But, it seems that Lady Éclair is a sore subject.

♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡

The clock tower chimes, indicating your second costume change of the day. Honestly, you have no problem with changing costumes throughout the day, but you are dreading the last day's costume- the corset. But, for now, your outfit consists of an off-white, lace dress to match the cream color of the hosts' tailcoats. Your neck is adorned with a simple red choker to match the hosts' red neckties.

You feel like you belong to a singing barbershop quartet, but you don't mind in the slightest.

You hang your previous garments on the costume rack in the back room of Music Room #3, along with your future outfits. You grimace at the frills and ruffles adorning both your and Haruhi's costumes. Just as you place your hands on your serving cart to exit the backroom and rejoin the club that's already waiting for you, your ringtone goes off.

Your brows crease with confusion- who on earth could be calling you if the club members are off doing their jobs?

You stride to your bag sitting in a far corner of the room, kneeling down to the tile floor to dig through it. You fish it out of the confines of your smallest pocket and reveal the caller ID- your father.

He was less than happy with you when he left about an hour or so ago. But you imagine he's had enough time to cool down and is calling for another reason.

"Hello?" You exhale carefully.

"y/n, what's the name of that hotel we stay in when we go to London? I'm always forgetting what it's called." He demands immediately.

You cock an eyebrow, lips tugging downward in confusion. That's a very odd question to ask somewhat urgently over the phone.

"Er... the Bulgari? It's on Knightsbridge..." You chew your lip, thoroughly disoriented by the question.

"Ah, I knew it was something along those lines. I always enjoy our stay there, don't you?"

You chuckle nervously, still unsure about why he's asking, "I do, Father."

"I've had the maids pack everything you need; they've been quite speedy about it."

You let out a breath of air, "Are we going to London for a visit?" You inquire curiously. To be quite honest, that's exactly what you need right now. You need to step hundreds of miles away from all of this drama and return to a normal club.

"Not visiting, no. Say, do you happen to remember the name of the driver we always reserve? It's on the tip of my tongue." Your father groans, shuffling around at the other end of the line.

"Andrew. Father, why are you asking all of this?" You exhale in a wispy laugh, beyond baffled by this weirdly upbeat conversation. Has he had a drink or two? His cheery demeanor seems to indicate so...

"Well, we'll need to stay there while they're preparing our estate, now won't we?"

You blink, the gears turning in your brain and working overtime to make sense of all of this, "The estate? Why can't we just stay at the Bulgari? It's perfectly luxurious and the service is quite wonderful, at least that's what I recall."

"We can't stay in the Bulgari forever, y/n." Your father nearly laughs.

"Forever?" You inquire curiously.

"Well, not forever, I guess. Until something new comes along."

"When do we leave?" You glance out the window to the large clock tower across the courtyard.

"Tomorrow. I've waited to schedule the flight until after your little fair so that your... friends won't be too upset. Not that you'll have much to do, anyway..."

You ignore his comment with the shake of your head, "Wha- tomorrow? When will we be back?" You ought to inform Kyoya of your traveling dates.

"...y/n, we're moving there. We won't be returning to Japan."

It doesn't set in right away. Your lips falter downward from a confused smile, gaping in shock. The stunned silence seems to last minutes, hours before you manage to speak again.

"That's not funny, Father. Please put whatever drink you've gotten out away." You feign a laugh, brows creasing angrily.

"It wasn't supposed to be funny. I thought I told you about this." His voice is deadly serious.

"About what? Your little moving joke?"

"It's not a joke, young lady. We're moving to London. Did I really forget to mention that to you?"

Your heart all but falls out of your ass as you sit there, dumbfounded, on the floor of your beloved clubroom. Your face pales considerably and you feel you're going to be sick to your stomach at the way it flips violently.

"My apologies. That's my fault."

Your chest heaves, letting out a faint cry as you lean forward, placing your hand down onto the tiled floor for support.

Moving.

Moving. As in not coming back. Permanent.

"You're not serious..." It's more of a plead than a statement. You hear your father sigh heavily.

"I thought you'd be excited." That's a blatant lie and he knows it. He sits in your living room, surrounded by papers and his phone pressed to his ear.

"How could you do this?" Your voice becomes more desperate and weepy with every passing second. You knew your father would jump through hoops, dragging you along with him to accomplish his means, but nothing like this.

"You're always talking about? You love London-"

"To visit! I love to visit London!" You shriek hysterically.

Your father can hear the absolute heartbreak in your shaking voice. He can't deny the way his chest aches at the sound of it. He pushes on despite that fact, clearing his throat.

"Father, we've been in Japan for four years... how could we just pick up and go so soon?" You whip your head around and glance once more at the clock tower in a newfound light.

"It'll be quite easy, you know. You haven't many things to pack-"

"But, Father, I go to a wonderful school, and- and I've got friends! I don't know what I'll do without the club-" You hiccup, throat constricting around your words as you force them out of your mouth and past your lips.

"The club and that Ootori boy are two of the main reasons we're moving you away. And my company is fairing very well in London, and they've been needing a lot of my attention recently. So, it's really a win-win situation-"

You let out a desperate cry, heaving in an inhale, "For who, Father?" You hiccup once more, clamping a hand over your mouth as fresh tears create a river down your cheeks.

Your father is silent. You're completely right. He knows this is a decision that will likely tear your life apart for the next year or so. But it must be done. You can't keep influencing yourself with those idiots you call friends any more. He's not blind to the way teenagers' minds are influenced.

"I'm not going." You straighten up defiantly.

A deep, heavy sigh, "Yes... you are-"

"No, I'm not!" You whimper pathetically, nearly collapsing to the ground if it wasn't for your arm holding you up, trembling.

"Compose yourself. This is not the way you are to behave."

And you do, as much as you can, out of instinct. You sniffle, wiping your tears away only for more to trickle down.

"We're leaving tomorrow after your fair. I'll have to arrange you a ride since I'll already be at the airport by the time it's over."

"Can we even talk about this? T-this is my life too! You can't just uproot me out of nowhere." You plead.

"It's all done. We will discuss this later."

Your eyes grow wide, "Wait, wait, Father, please-"

But nothing. The line goes dead and you're left staring at your lock screen. Ironically, a beautifully angled photo of the school's clock tower, doves soaring across the screen.

A trembling breath passes your lips, your phone clatters to the ground, teardrops hitting the screen.

How are you supposed to leave everything you've ever known? You've never spent more than one school year in one place in your entire life. How are you supposed to leave everyone you've ever known come tomorrow? You thought Japan was a permanent arrangement. It just goes to show you how cruel reality can really be. Not even the refuge of your precious Host Club can save you now.

You gasp as a realization hits you, immediately crumping over in a sob: how on earth are you supposed to tell the club? How are you supposed to tell them that, come the end of the fair, you'll be gone without another trace? You're supposed to live without Hikaru or Kaoru ever teasing you again? Without Honey begging you to please, please, please have just one more sweet with him and Usa-chan? You'll forever be lost without Mori's comfortable silence by your side, without Haruhi's grumbles and stories of hardships... without Tamaki's charismatic whims. You don't even know if you'll even see Tamaki tomorrow.

How... are you supposed to tell Kyoya? How are you supposed to give up this relationship that both of you worked so hard to begin and maintain? Just like that? You can't even imagine living without his witty comments and snarky remarks, his almost smiles when you manage to amuse him, his sweet, loving gestures of kindness when he isn't quite sure what to do to console you or spoil you.

And so, you lay there. Curled into the fetal position on the floor of the Host Club for possibly the last time, hugging your arms to your chest as you let our heart-wrenching sobs. The clock tower chimes at the top of the hour.

♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡

You are... a terrible mess. Not to mention, terribly late for meeting the rest of the club to resume the festivities. You worked tirelessly to clean up your smeared makeup, doing a poor job covering up the redness and puffy nature of your eyes. At least you managed to cover the red tint of your nose. You merely ran a few fingers through your hair before stepping out with deep, heaving breaths.

You sorrows are slightly consoled when you enter the central salon.

"y/n-chan looks great!" Honey beams.

"She does." Mori concurs. Such compliments from them are high honor, you would be a fool not to appreciate them.

Kyoya's gaze only manages to slide over to peer at you through the corner of his eye. Something... is wrong.

"Not bad." HIkaru smiles. You glide past him without a word.

"You clean up nice, y/n." Kaoru grins. You don't spare him a glance.

"So where did the boss go?" Hikaru inquires to the room.

"He was looking forward to this the most." Kaoru recalls.

Grumbling, Haruhi is less than happy about knowing the answer to that, "Our King is lounging in Music Room #3. He's entertaining Lady Éclair."

You sigh heavily with frustration, pulling out the only empty seat available, across from Kyoya.

"Well, well, well."

"It sounds like someone's a little jealous." The twins are back to their prying antics. Mori and Honey nod in agreement.

Unbeknownst to you, Kyoya reaches a hand across the table and brushes his hand against yours. You jump out of your skin, yelping.

"Is something wrong?"

You feel immense guilt pile onto your shoulders all at once. Your lip trembles before you clear your throat, hardly offering him a sheepish simper, "Nothing's wrong. Why do you ask?"

Kyoya cocks a brow, "You seem a little down."

"Just missing Tamaki, is all." You shrug. Kyoya hums. He's not entirely convinced.

"You said it yourself, Kyoya-Senpai. He's impulsive." Haruhi suddenly drags Kyoya into their conversation; your saving grace.

"Tamaki is impulsive, Haruhi, but he's following orders given to him by his grandmother." You remind, features solemn. Haruhi turns away slightly, reminiscing on just what his grandmother had said.

"Um, you know, now that I think about it, Tamaki-Senpai's grandmother seemed really cold toward him earlier. Is there some special reason for that?"

You sit up, raising your chin from your hands. You and the rest of the Host Club exchange apprehensive glances. Yours and Kyoya's eyes meet briefly.

"Well, everyone else knows about it." Hikaru shrugs.

You glance up at here where she stands, "Um... Tamaki's an illegitimate child." You timidly inform.

Haruhi gasps, baffled. Hikaru begins to spin his tale.

"Twenty some-odd years ago, the Suoh Family patriarch died at a young age. For political reasons, Chairman Yuzuru was rushed into a marriage at the behest of his mother to a woman of her choosing. That's how he became head of the family. But several years later, the chairman fell passionately in love with a beautiful young woman he met in Paris."

You adjust your position in your seat, "Not long after that, Tamaki was born." You continue.

"No, Mother. I'm leaving my wife. I'm going to marry her."

"The boss's grandmother vehemently objected. Because of her poor health, living in Japan proved too difficult for Senpai's mother, and so she raised him in France until he was fourteen. His childhood seems to have been a happy one. But as time wore on, the family business on his mother's side went belly up, and when they were forced into debt-"

"- The boss's grandmother, worried about there being no heir to carry on the family name, came up with a proposal."

"I will provide you with the means to live comfortably for the rest of your days. In exchange, Tamaki is to come and live with me in Japan. Without you. All contact between the two of you will be prohibited forever. These conditions are non-negotiable."

Haruhi sits dumbfounded at the side of the indoor fountain. You and Kyoya have migrated to a sofa while the rest of the club stands around her.

"Wow..."

"The current patriarch may be Chairman Yuzuru Suoh technically, but for the time being, all the family's assets remain under the control of Tamaki's grandmother." Kyoya adds.

"Even then, his mother's health is so fragile, Tamaki was very aware of the fate that she faced if she were left by to live in debt, even with him." You prop your chin up on your arm.

"So..."

"I've decided... I'm going to go to Japan. It's all for the best. Just promise me, Mom. Promise me you'll take care."

"Not long afterward, either out of anguish or just plain guilt over having bartered her son away for financial security, Tamaki's mother left France in shame and went into hiding. Her current whereabouts are unknown. To this day, he's never seen her again. Not once."

With all that you've been through today, you can feel your throat close up at the mere story, lip nearly visibly trembling.

Haruhi's head hangs shamefully. Throughout the entire time she's been in the club, she's never once considered his childhood. It's strangely reminiscent of her own, having lost her own mother at a young age.

Kyoya stands to his feet with a fond smile. You follow him with your eyes, "It's easy to feel sorry for him. But the hardships that he endured as a child helped mold him into the person he is today."

"He'll be fine. The Host Club is his refuge, which means when all is said and done, he still has us."

Your heart cracks in two, reaching for Kyoya's sleeve, "Kyoya. I have to tell you something."

He hums expectantly. You seem to have gained all eyes on both of you.

"I-"

The doors are thrown open before you can even begin. The Host Club is completely distracted away from whatever you had to say, and so are you.

Honey gasps, "Tama-chan!" He exclaims.

Tamaki's fringe covers his eyes, but his mouth does not move. Something is off; you can feel the tension forming in this very room.

"Everyone, I have an important announcement." His tone is foreign. Never have any of you heard such seriousness in his voice.

You all stand directly below him at the bottom of the staircase, patiently awaiting his aforementioned announcement.

"As of today, Lady Éclair Tonnerre and I are officially engaged. Furthermore, the Host Club will be permanently dissolved after the Ouran Fair. That is all."

Suddenly, your news seems insignificant in light of recent events.

🎵I run and run a thousand miles, and I am barely breathing. Only the fuel of a passionate heart keeps this body strong and moving forward.

Could it be I found a place to rest? How far until I’m OK?

Trees of the town reveal the time has come once again to shift our shade and colors. 🎵

🎵The world always changes around us but weakness will always remain;

Through all the pain, believe in who we are right here and now! 🎵

🎵Raise one hand to the sky; raise them both lift them high!!

And you’ll cut through the darkness make it go!

The time to start is now! And I can show you how.

Start with me, and the world will be even bigger than ever before. 🎵

♡Next time, on Indeed...♡

There's no easy way to say this... but you and Tamaki seem to be leaving the Host Club for good. Just like that, you're gone. That is, until a certain pair steps in and declares what they've been feeling all along...

♡We'll see you then!! ♡

want to read more? here's my ouran masterlist 🌹

and here's my bts blog💜

want me to write something you want to see? request something💌

have any questions? talk to my characters!🙏🏻

Adieu~ 🌹🌹🌹

280 notes · View notes

protags-fic-blog · 4 months

Text

I’m probably going to write this but I just have to get it out of my system

I’ve watched a couple reverse harems. Usually, they give each character a different time to shine. Close moments with the girl, intimate kisses, etc etc. but Ouran often prioritizes comedy. Haruhi leaping in to Tamaki’s arms in Ep 19 is played for comedy instead of the perfect romantic moment. So I’ve done a little bit of thinking.

I haven’t fully read the manga. But I think, if this played out like a standard reverse harem, Tamaki would be last. Everyone gets their chance to give Haruhi a kiss. Honey gives her a little peck after she does something nice for him, Hikaru and Kaoru are just playing around when they kiss her, Kyoya and Mori probably have a whole moment, but Tamaki does nothing. In every case, the boys would be the one to initiate, except Tamaki. Haruhi initiates the kiss.

A few reasons. 1, typically protagonists don’t usually initiate. This whole anime is flipping the genre on its head. Having Haruhi take that step is in character for her. 2, there is no way that Tamaki would dare. He has built everything up to be perfect. He knows he’s already pushing boundaries, but that would be one step too far, even for him.

I think, though, in the context of the anime, I the kiss wouldn’t be when they fall from the bridge in the last episode. They get to shore, soaked and breathing heavy. They sit down, legs weak after the rush of adrenaline, when Haruhi leans over and kisses him.

Neither of them say anything, but it didn’t need to be said. Don’t leave again.

#ouran high school host club #okay maybe I’m delulu but it works in my head

20 notes · View notes

dark-elf-writes · 6 months

Note

… wel if you don’t mind and want suggestions:

I say Hitoshi if only cause then we have a second coming of EraserMic that isn’t ShinKami. Because Hitoshi big time can sing with his voice and who stares after the sunshine boy with big eyes and who carefully interrogated Shouta about his own wooing of Mic.

(Hitoshi declared the man useless when Shouta admitted he has no idea HOW he landed Mic but he’s rolled with it since.)

Hitoshi who braved Kyoya to ask for music references and who cautiously approached Shouto who ‘just so happened’ to be creating ice weapons that could withstand being on fire. You know, just in case.

Hitoshi who saw this boy sing and gained a crush. Hitoshi who saw as Inko flipped out over Izuku being taken from her due to neglect charges and who screamed at her son as she was dragged away from the school.

(Who remembered his mother taking him away from his screaming father.)

And we can add Yuuga to the mix to. Yuuga who sees Ozuku’s bravery and Hitoshi’s drive. Who watched as they come together and work together. Izuku who confesses every bruise he’s gained from his ‘diagnosis’ forced upon him by his mother. Yuuga whose stomach churns and aches.

Yuuga who before the summer camp goes to his teacher to confess. Who learns how to sing and dance so he can woo the two boys he’s fallen for, his sins coming from his lips.

They’re all cute~

Jwnsnsnsbsb yes yes yes

Hitoshi who, after the sports festival — after seeing another kid from the bottom, another villainous quirk step up to the plate and dare them to knock him down — finds himself drawn further and further into Izuku’s orbit both because he can’t bring himself to pull away from the sunshine boy with laughter in his songs and a tongue just as deadly as his own and because Izuku is just Like That.

Who unearthed that buried part of himself that used to sing as well, so Izuku knew how he made everyone around him feel. So Izuku knew how he made Hitoshi feel.

Yuuga who sings for both of them, who lays each and every fault bare at their feet — another boy from the bottom, another boy left behind and twisted into something he wasn’t by cruel hands — and is pulled up to meet them both.

The three of them all shattered and scarred in their own ways finding a piece in each other. A symphony of broken instruments that’s learned to play themselves.

#the elf talks #mha #bnha #bard zuku

25 notes · View notes

agerefandom · 11 months

Text

Agerefandom 2022 Masterpost

This is a belated collection of my content from 2022! If you’re interested, here are the previous years: 2021 and 2020!

In 2020, I wrote eighteen fics: In 2021, I wrote twenty-two. In 2022, I only wrote five full fanfictions, but that’s probably because I was writing so many more headcanons this year! Here are the fanfictions I wrote last year:

Angels At The Window (Hazbin Hotel, caregivers!Charlie and Vaggie, regressor!Reader) As Sleeping Amber (Phantom of the Opera, regressor!Erik, caregiver!Christine) Flourishing In Sunlight (Avatar: The Last Airbender, postcanon, regressor!Katara, careiver!Zuko) Fancy Tuna and Frantic Texts (Ouran High School Host Club, regressor!Haruhi, caregivers!Tamaki and Kyoya) Natasha Is Young (Great Comet of 1812, regressor!Natasha, caregiver!Helene)

In 2020, I wrote thirty-two headcanon posts! In 2021, that went down to nineteen, but in 2022 I wrote forty-three headcanon sets!

regressor!Gary King (World’s End) caregiver!Jareth (Labyrinth) regressor!Vaggie (Hazbin Hotel) flip!Sans (Horrortale) regressor!Adam/creature (Frankenstein) caregiverse!Sundrop and Moondrop (FNAF Security Breach) regressor!Brahms Heelshire (The Boy) regressor!Severus Snape (Harry Potter) caregiver!Pennywise (It) caregvier!Annabelle Crane (Magnus Archives) regressor!Beetlejuice (Beetlejuice musical) regressor!Jade Harley (Homestuck) caregiver!V (V for Vendetta) caregiver!Val Frizzle (Magic School Bus) regressor!Stanley Pines (Gravity Falls) caregiver!Alastor (Hazbin Hotel) caregiver!Angel Dust (Hazbin Hotel) caregiver!13th Doctor (Doctor Who) regressors!Anna and Elsa (Frozen) regressor!Angel Dust (Hazbin Hotel) caregiver!Count Dooku (Star Wars) caregiver!Caleb Widogast (Critical Role) caregivers!Ruby and Sapphire (Steven Universe) regressor!Dana Scully (X-Files) regressor!Victor Frankenstein (Frankenstein) regressor!Stevonnie (Steven Universe) caregiver!Anakin Skywalker (Star Wars) regressor!Sam Winchester (Supernatural) regressor!10th Doctor with caregiver!Rose Tyler (Doctor Who) regressor!Eleven (Stranger Things) regressor!Bea and caregiver!Mae (Night In The Woods) regressor!Monika (Doki Doki Literature Club) regressor!Yuri (Doki Doki Literature Club) regressor!Sayori (Doki Doki Literature Club) regressor!Natsuki (Doki Doki Literature Club)

Disney Caregivers Gaston (Beauty and the Beast) Belle (Beauty and the Beast) Snow White (Snow White and the Seven Dwarves) Bruno (Encanto) Tiana and Naveen (Princess and the Frog) Oogie Boogie (Nightmare Before Christmas) Ariel (The Little Mermaid) Captain Amelia (Treasure Planet)

Under the ‘keep reading’ I’ve collected links to my thirteen favourite moodboards from the seventy-three I made in 2023, and some of my favourite art and edits as well!

Favourite Moodboards:

caregiver!V

regressor!Will Graham

regressor!Dipper Pines

regressor!Erik/Phantom

regressor!Peter Parker

regressor!Kylo Ren

caregiver!Count Dooku

regressor!Charles Xavier

regressor!Cal Strider

caregiver!Bakugou

regressor!Shigaraki

regressor!Noah Czerny

caregiver!Jasper Cullen

Favourite Art/Edits:

Tokoyami and Dark Shadow

regressor!Jade Harley

regressor!Angel and regressor!Charlie edits

regressor!Himiko Toga

regressors!Mae and Gregg

regressor!Ashton and cg!FCG

regressor!Bruno Madrigal

#this was in my drafts from before my hiatus!!#i was supposed to put it out in january #but that's when i dropped off the map whoops #anyways here it is now!!!#sfw agere #fandom agere #misc fandoms #agere writing #masterpost #agere headcanons #regression headcanons #my writing #2022 masterpost

44 notes · View notes

eurydicees · 2 years

Text

ok but. kyoya who can't fucking cook to save a life and refuses to accept help whenever he tries, until it's midnight at a sleepover and tamaki gets a craving for some simple dish and they sneak down to the kitchen, and kyoya tries to make it, and fails miserably, and tamaki gently takes the pot/pan/spoon/whatever from him and shows him how to do it.

kyoya who doesn't know where the spices are stored quietly letting tamaki cook for him, and even more quietly allowing tamaki to show him how to. it stops being reluctant, at some point over the years of doing this routine, because, actually, taste testing the food is really nice and tamaki's hand on his hand as they stir something in a pot on the stove feels really good and tamaki gets this smile on his face whenever kyoya tries and fails at flipping pancakes or folding an omlette, and he gets an even bigger smile when kyoya succeeds.

and maybe it's ok to accept help, actually, because tamaki wants to give it. and he's getting warm, homemade meals (and tamaki's smile and his touch and his laugh and and and) whenever he does let tamaki teach him to cook something, so, yeah, okay, maybe it's worth it to sacrifice his pride.

#ohshc #tamakyo #kyoya ootori #tamaki suoh #kyotama #ouran high school host club #ohshc headcanons #i'm. really hungry #so. thinking about food. and them #as always

260 notes · View notes

ellssbellss · 2 years

Text

Lavender Roses ~ (Kyoya Ootori x Reader)

pairing- Kyoya Ootori x Reader

In which a rational head hides a generous heart, but you have always known how to see past his walls and help him bloom into the gorgeous rose he is.

Enjoy a slow burn between an honor student and our beloved glasses character!

tw!: there is a descriptive panic attack. reader's discretion is advised.

-> word count: 5.5k

-> summary: You noted the way your heart rate picked up once again, but for an entirely different reason than earlier. Something had changed.

see masterlist! : masterlist

Starting Today, You are a Host! pt. 3

Your first day of the rest of your hosting career, and you were underwhelmed. Kyoya had mentioned that the spring season for sports was barely beginning, so a lot of the customers, especially your audience, were stuck in sports practices for most of the club hours. You had some appointments nearing closing time, but it wasn’t nearly as much as you had yesterday. You utilized your first hour, completing the homework that you had not been able to finish in class, but by the second, your boredom took over. You stared into your tea cup, watching the liquid swirl into the center as you willed time to move faster. There was a series of squeals from the ladies at the table next to you, and you rolled your eyes as the Hitachiian twins embraced each other.

“What are they so excited about? I just don't get it.” Haruhi asked as she stopped near your table, uplifting your mood immediately. You two had gotten closer, considering you and Kyoya were the only ones to know her true gender so far, and you three had placed bets on which host would be able to realize it first. You had said Mori, considering how observant he was, and you knew although he didn’t talk much, he always surprised you with how much he already knew. Haruhi placed her money on the twins, considering that from the moment she walked into the door, they were always in her space. From that distance, it was only a matter of time before either one or both of them got an idea. Kyoya had surprisingly chosen an underdog, Honey. He explained that while Honey seems to only have an interest in materialistic things, nothing seems to stop him from making a new friend. He also mentioned that he and Mori got along so well for a reason, as they could both be observant, but Honey just had a more social side then Mori did.

However, you all agreed on one thing. Tamaki would be dead last.

You shrugged, inviting her to sit for a moment since she had been running around for the Host Club all day. You knew what that felt like. “They make each other seem so romantic and innocent, but we both know how irritating they can be.” You sent the twins a glare from your table, in which they stuck their tongues out at you in response. You cracked a small smile and returned to the conversation, “How is everything going?”

“Eh, I mean, I can’t really complain, since I’m basically being forced to be here. Talking with you makes me feel less miserable.” She stated extremely straight-faced, which made you laugh.

“I’m glad that I can be your saving grace.” You joked, causing Haruhi to roll her eyes and kick you under the table. Another giggle escaped your lips, and you felt your bond with Haruhi grow a little bit stronger.

“Excuse me, ladies, I’d hate to interrupt, but I need Haruhi to make more instant coffee before our guests begin to notice it’s gone.” Kyoya lowers his voice as he comes up to the table you were sitting at, making sure the guests didn’t hear him refer to Haruhi as a ‘lady’.

Haruhi stands to leave with a nod, and you stand with her. “I can help! I don’t really have much to do right now.”

“Actually, (Y/n), I was wondering if you had seen Honey-senpai? He didn’t tell me he was going to be late today, and neither did Mori-senpai.” Kyoya said, flipping through his black book, surely trying to find a note he might’ve written about Honey-senpai’s absence.

Haruhi turns around, “Honey-senpai isn’t here?”

You scan the music room, and the door opens. “Speak of the devil.” You point and Kyoya follows your finger, and sees Honey walk in, holding Usa-chan lazily as his side, the other hand rubbing his eye. He was clearly tired.

You lean over towards Haruhi. “Honey-senpai isn’t much of a morning person.”

Honey spots you three and walks over to Kyoya, “Sorry, we're running late. I was waiting for Takashi to finish his Kendo meeting and I fell asleep. And I'm still not completely awake.”

Haruhi leans over to you and whispers in your ear. “Is that boy really a third year student?”

You chuckle and nod, “Honey-senpai may seem young and childish, but he's a prodigy.”

Kyoya spoke up, “And then Mori-senpai's allure is his strong and silent disposition.”

“Haru-chan!” Honey runs up to Haruhi, grabbing her hand to get her attention, “Hey, Haru-chan, do you wanna go have some cake with me?”

Haruhi smiles but shakes her head, making Honey frown slightly, “Thanks, but I don't really like cake.”

Honey quickly shakes it off with another idea, “Then how would you like to hold my bunny, Usa-chan?”

“I'm not into bunnies.”

You can see Haruhi’s grimace when you lean over to tease her, “Are you saying you don't like Usa-chan, Haruhi?” She looks over to you with a knowing glare. Honey makes a deeper frown, but Haruhi is quick to cheer him up. She leans down and takes Usa-chan from Honey, her facial features in full view for Honey. To your dismay, his eyes widen, and you can almost see a light bulb go off above him. Honey figured it out first, and you just lost the bet.

“I guess he is kinda cute, huh?” Haruhi quirks a small smile, and Honey brightens up even more.

“Take good care of him, okay?” And with that, Honey skips off, eager to eat the cake that has been awaiting him.

Kyoya looks over to you, clearly on his high horse as a smug smile graces his face. You groan, mumbling choice words as you fish out your wallet and pull out three thousand yen. While you hesitantly place the money into Kyoya’s open palm, Haruhi does it robotically, seemingly distracted with something else.

“Honey-senpai’s act really works with the girls here?”

After filing the money into his jacket pocket, Kyoya leafs through his black book, coming to a page near the beginning. He nods.

“You'll notice that our club utilizes each man's unique characteristics to cater to the desires of our guests, and Tamaki is number one around here.”

“He is the king.” You say, as you look over to read the page Kyoya is on, “His request rate is seventy percent.”

“What? Tamaki? What's this world coming to?” You giggle as Haruhi sweat-drops, her disbelief of reality clearly on her face.

Kyoya turns back to a more recent page, and quirks an eyebrow at her. “And in order for you to pay off your eight million yen debt with us, you will act as the Ouran Host Club's dog until you graduate.” You elbow him in the side, and he corrects himself with his host smile, “I'm sorry, I meant our errand boy.” He looks down again, clicking his pen, “By the way, do you have a passport?”

Haruhi grasps Usa-chan a little tighter,“Save me from him, (Y/n).”

You shake your head, “His family employs a private police force of over one hundred officers. No chance.”

Tamaki walks over to your group, coming up from behind Haruhi and speaks into her ear, “You're going to have to work hard to pay off that debt, my little nerd.”

Haruhi shrinks back, and you cringe at the sight. “Please don't do that again,” she pleads.

“You need a makeover, or no girl's going to look twice at you.” Tamaki says, folding his arms across his chest.

“I don’t think Haruhi is really trying to get girls to look at him.” You say, reasoning with Tamaki, “Since Haruhi is working as an errand boy, most of the guests won’t even notice him, since he’s considered ‘the help’.” You put air quotes around your statement, a clear distaste in your mouth as to how your society treats people.

“Are you kidding me? That's the most important thing!” Tamaki grabs your wrist and pulls you toward him, “He has to learn how to be a gentleman and please the ladies.” He wraps his arm around your waist and dips you, bringing his other hand to cup your cheek, “Like me.” He flourishes his charm.

You deadpan. “Tamaki. What did we talk about?”

Tamaki’s smooth facade is overtaken by his dramatics almost immediately, “But mon ami! I was demonstrating something for our little piglet! He needs to know how to please a woman!” Kyoya helps you struggle out of his grasp and dust yourself off, using his outstretched hand to help you regain your balance.

“So leave me out of it! That flirty stuff gives me the heeby-jeebys.” You shiver, and scold him. “Your punishment is no weekend movie night tomorrow. I’m gonna study instead.”

His face contorts into a depressive state as he finds comfort in his mushroom corner, his eyes watering. You roll your eyes, pinch your nose and sigh.

“Fine, we can have movie night, but I choose the movie!” You announce, still trying to make it seem like he didn’t just guilt trip you into a lesser punishment. The prince jumps up and goes to hug you, spinning you around.

Kyoya released an annoyed sigh at the two, turning back to Haruhi. “It wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world to focus on your appearance. If not to help the club, but to take the focus off of (Y/n) for a few days.” He gestures to the scene of you loosely swinging around in Tamaki’s grip, giving him all of your dead weight.

Haruhi shrugs, “I just don't think it's all that important. Why should I care about appearances and labels anyway? I mean, all that really matters is what's on the inside, right? Sometimes, I really don't understand why you even have a host club like this.”

Tamaki freezes his movements, and carries you back over to the group. “It's a cruel reality, isn't it? It's not often that God creates a perfect person like moi! Beautiful both inside and out.”

“Tch.” You scoff, as you are set back on your feet. Your mind is still reeling with dizziness as you try to steady yourself, but you trip over your own feet. Kyoya catches you mid-fall, an arm shooting out to pull you to his chest. You give him a grateful smile as you release a breath of tension, and you are straightened out. A cold feeling blows over you at the absence of his chest against yours.

Tamaki is, somehow, still talking. “I understand how you feel since not everyone is as blessed as I am, but you must console yourself, otherwise how would you go on living? And think about this, Haruhi. Why do you think they put works of art in museums? Because beauty should be shared with the world. And those born beautiful should promote other beautiful things.”

You stare in disbelief as Tamaki’s mouth moves a mile a minute, “There's a word to describe people like him.”

Haruhi joins your side, “What is it?”

You can hear Tamaki’s rambling that’s diverted into how to hold a tea cup, the twins walking past you two with a sympathetic look on their faces. “Oh man, I wish I could remember that word.”

“Maybe, a pain in the neck?”

You shake your head, “No. There's something that fits him perfectly.” You look up and snap your fingers, a winning look in your (e/c) eyes.

Tamaki notices this, a prideful smile forming on his lips, “Oh, did I strike a chord?”

“Obnoxious.” Tamaki immediately grays, his eyes twitching. You look over to him, a sad smile on your face. “Awe, I’m sorry, Tamaki.” You put your hand on his back to comfort him and you hear a whimpering ‘mon amiiii’.

Haruhi brought her hand to her chin, a thoughtful look on her face. “He may be a pain in the neck, but his lesson did strike a small chord with me.”

Tamaki lightened up immediately, “Really? It did? Let me teach you more!” He presents his charm in full swing.

You look over at Kyoya, “Well, he got over that quick.”

The twins walk over to Haruhi to save her from Tamaki’s teachings, “Boss.” They say together.

Tamaki flips his hair, “Call me king.” Kyoya rolls his eyes.

Kaoru steps forward, “You can teach him all the basics of hosting…”

Hikaru walks in front of Haruhi, reaching into her personal space, “...but he's not going to get very far with the ladies if he doesn't look the part, you know. He's not exactly host club material,” Hikaru grabs her glasses off her face, much to Haruhi’s protest, “but maybe if we took off his glasses, it'll help.”

His eyes widen, and Kaoru joins him. You rise behind them, your curiosity getting the best of you. Her picture in her profile was the only time you had ever seen her without her glasses, and it did not do her justice. You were pushed out of the way by a surprised Tamaki, but you didn’t care. Something needed to be done.

Tamaki snaps his fingers, all the hosts standing at attention. “Hikaru, Kaoru.”

“Got it!” Another lazy salute, and they were off, dragging Haruhi with her.

Tamaki began to give off orders. “Kyoya, my hair stylist.” Kyoya was already on the phone. “Mori-senpai, go to the eye doctor and get him some contact lenses.” Mori took off running.

“(Y/n)! A uniform!”

“Yes sir!” You race to the costume closet in the music room, trying to find a small enough spare for Haruhi. You come back with a uniform in hand to see Honey pouting with Usa-chan at his table, a decent portion of cake in front of both of them. Before you can ask, the twins bust back into the room, and you race to give them the clothes.

They take it from you and turn around, forcing it into Haruhi’s arms as they race her into a changing room. “Here. Change into this uniform.”

Haruhi looks at the fabrics, bewildered. “What? But why?”

You give her the final push into the dressing room, “Don't ask questions!”

Hikaru and Kaoru begin chanting, “Change! Change! Change!”

You turn to them, “He will, but you two have to get out!”

The twins exchange a glance, “Huh?” You grab them by their collars and drag them out. You look behind you as their eyes suddenly widen into realization, two more light bulbs seemingly coming to life in your mind. You crossed your fingers, pleading Mori would figure it out before Tamaki, just to dodge complete embarrassment.

Kyoya makes his way back to your side as the host club waits for Haruhi to finish changing.

You look up at him and then around to see that the guests have gone, even yours. “Where did the students go?”

“I told them that we were closing early. They are used to the little tangents that we tend to go off on, so it wasn’t much of a surprise to them. Still, I offered them pre-reservations to our party next week.”

“How did the boys take it?”

“They were disappointed to not see you, but now you are doubled up on Monday, so make sure to bring your A-game.”

You hum, nodding. “I’m beginning to regret this bet.” You say as you watch the twins snicker on the side lines, then turn your glance to Mori, who is leaning up against one of the pillars in the room, watching Honey play with Usa-chan.

“May I remind you that it was your idea?” Kyoya replies, readjusting his glasses with a smirk.

You sigh, closing your eyes, “That just makes it worse.” A sharp breath of air escapes Kyoya, and you know that’s probably the closest thing to a laugh you will get out of him.

You hear a voice from behind the curtain, making you raise your head. “Um, senpai?”

Tamaki impatiently whines from his place in front of the curtain, “Aren't you done changing yet?” You had all gathered in front of the changing room, waiting for her to come out. You looked around and were once again reminded of the club’s lack of boundaries.

The curtain swishes to the side, and Haruhi stands dressed in a boys uniform. You gasp and clasp your hands together over your mouth. She looked beautiful.

“You sure it's really okay for me to keep this uniform?” Haruhi asked with a tilt of her head.

Tamaki exploded in blushes and tears, “Cute! You're as pretty as a girl! Adorable!” The hosts exclaimed their praises as well.

“Haru-chan, you look so cute!”

“If we had known that's how you really look…”

“...we would have helped you out sooner.”

Kyoya hummed, “Who knows, maybe he'll draw in some customers.”

Tamaki looked at Kyoya and smiled, “You know, that's just what I was thinking! Our errand boy is moving up the ranks.” Tamaki pointed at Haruhi, “Starting today, you are an official member of the host club. I will personally train you to be a first-rate host.” He turned on his charm, a confident, dreamy gleam in his eye.

“If you can get one hundred customers to request your service, we will completely forget about your eight million yen debt!”

Haruhi looked at herself in a mirror in the dressing room. “A host?”

“A host?!” The hosts turned to you as you stared at them in disbelief. Your mouth twitched into a frown, looking at all the hosts’ faces, wondering just how oblivious they can be. “Haruhi has been here for only a week and somehow he’s been made a host?” You gestured to Kyoya and Tamaki, sputtering as you recollect all the times you came to them, asking for that same position, only to be immediately shot down. “Do you know how long I had to beg for just the slightest chance to get promoted? I only got this position because Haruhi broke that vase, and it was either hosting or quitting all together.” You didn’t yell, not raising your voice a time as you called them out. In fact, you got quieter, realizing how emotional you were getting over something so trivial as a host club.

It still hurt. How you worked your ass off to earn their trust, respect and friendship, without ever needing to be asked. Over the year that the club had been made, you had helped create sales pitches, suggested new menu items, planned parties, and scheduled vacations on top of doing the shopping, serving and cleaning. You wanted to do those things because the host club had become a family to you, considering the one you have at home can barely find time for you.

You absolutely loved the host club, and you knew they loved you too. So why did you feel so small right now?

“(Y/n), do you not want Haruhi to become a host?” Kyoya asked, looking at you with his eyebrows stitched together.

You looked at Haruhi frantically, seeing her worried face, “No! No, that’s not what I’m saying at all…I just, I- um.” You took a breath, casting your head down to try and hide the small frustrated tears in your eyes as you struggled to identify your feelings.

“Haruhi would be an amazing host.” You started, looking back up to your friends, eyes glistening slightly. “I just…I’m jealous of his opportunity, I guess.” You shrugged slightly, cooling down from your outburst slowly. Realizing you were still in the middle of the music room made reality rush to the forefront of your mind, and you blushed. You were still sad, but maybe you could’ve handled it better? You didn’t know. You walked past them to grab your bag, apologizing to them for being dramatic.

“Congratulations, Haruhi.” You told her as you walked past the group once more, and exited the club. You tried to muster a smile for her, but there were too many emotions going through your mind, it was hard to do anything but keep your mouth in a straight line. You didn’t notice the host club watching you leave.

:::

You walked to one of your favorite spots in Ouran Academy. It was a gazebo in the middle of a rose maze. Thorny vines would crawl up the pillars holding the roof above you, and you always ran your fingers over the chipped stone, realizing that the imperfections made it even more beautiful. You found comfort in its notion that there was no sweetness without difficulty.

It was the only place that you could think clearly. When your first boyfriend broke up with you, you cried there. When your parents left to go back to (C/n) without you for a business trip, you sat on the bench and stared at a lone rose, wondering if that rose had chosen to be planted farther away from everyone else, or if it that was simply it’s fate.

When you were asked by Kyoya to join the host club, you nearly skipped to the safety of the stone roof, too excited to go home. He had noticed your knack for planning and organizing, which was something you picked up as your parents traveled constantly and didn’t have time to take you into consideration, leaving you the responsibility of raising yourself. Once you were old enough, you had let go of the maid and butler assigned to you by your parents because you felt like they could be doing more with their time, rather than waiting on you hand and foot.

And not only had you grown close to Kyoya and his blonde friend Tamaki, now you were gonna be surrounded by people who wanted you there? Doing something you were good at? You had opted to lay on the soil right outside of the gazebo, your feet slightly propped up on the stone entryway and your arms perpendicular to your body, looking up at the sky. It was the first time you had felt wanted.

But now as you walked, embarrassment and frustration crashed through you. Keeping your head down, you watched the tiles on the floor blur as your vision was slightly obstructed by the small droplets that had formed. You felt unseen. As if nothing that you had done over this past year had mattered to them. Your emotions were coming in through waves, rational thought floating further out to sea. You knew you were spiraling, so you tried to take deep breaths, using the five senses in an attempt to ground yourself. You felt unappreciated for your efforts, but you regretted your outburst because now how were they ever going to let you back in the club? You gaslighted yourself into thinking that it really wasn’t that big of a deal and that acting so dramatically was a big mistake.

You began to walk faster. How were you not even out of the building yet?

The oxygen around you felt limited, and your heart sharply protested to the lack of air. Control, control. Where did I lose control? How did I let myself lose control like that?

You stopped in the hallway, turning to lookout the large windows of your school. Having gone through this alone a million times, you knew what could happen if you didn’t rangle your thoughts back in check. You couldn’t afford that in a public place.

(E/c) eyes found a cherry tree that was barely budding, the green studs peeking out through the brown of the branches. It breathed with the gust of wind that path, motioning for you to go with the flow. The corners of your lips twitched, the lilt of the tree grounding you.

You sat on the window sill and rested your back against the window, reassured with that calming presence. You took deeper breaths, inhaling when the tree swayed to the right, and exhaling when it swayed to the left.

Flashes of the hosts’ faces crossed your mind and you screwed your eyes shut. You knew that you were just trying to convey your feelings, and Kyoya had always said that you should feel comfortable with identifying your feelings for your friends so that they could help you in the nest way they could. But it still didn’t stop your feelings from affecting them, and that was the part you hated the most. You scanned their faces from when you scolded them, their eyes full of worry and slight hurt. If you just kept your feelings to yourself, no one would know, and no one would feel guilty.

It’s healthy, it’s healthy. They can help you now, they can make you feel better.

But, why didn’t it feel like it?

You heard a click clack of heels echo through the hall, and the sound was getting closer. You opened your eyes to see red hair fluttering with each step. It was so familiar that you cursed your luck, already knowing who was approaching. You rolled your eyes from your sitting position, hoping she would walk right past you.

“(Y/n)-san? Are you…alright”

If luck is a lady, she’s kind of a bitch.

You turned to her, a host’s smile on your face, hoping it wasn’t obvious you had just settled down from a minor panic attack.

“Miss Ayanokoji. I hope the club today was to your liking? I apologize for the early closure, you know how Tamaki can get.”

She smiled, and it resembled one of Kyoya’s, forced and fake. “Yes, it was quite nice. Although I haven’t gotten to spend much time with Tamaki as of late ever since your dog joined the group.”

You swallowed as Ayanokoji-san insulted Haruhi. You had always known she was akin to a brainwashing leech, slithering onto an idea, and sinking her teeth to control what was ‘rightfully hers’. Control, (Y/n), take back control. In the back of your mind, you find yourself beginning to act like a certain Ootori.

“Tamaki has many clients, so he is used to diverting his attention, madame. He strives to hold himself to high standards and be loyal to all of his guests and friends. Haruhi is the new addition to our family, and our prince is just making sure he is comfortable.”

“Please”, the ginger princess scoffs, her eyes narrowing, “Tamaki would never hold so much admiration for someone so below him.”

You tilt your head, “Really? Then how do you explain the adoration he gives to you?” Passive aggression seeps through your words, slapping her across the face.

Her eyes widened, “You have some nerve speaking to me that way.”

“You’re of similar nerve to insult a great friend of mine.” You stop looking at her and look back at the cherry tree. Its waving has stopped, as if it’s frozen in the tension between the two of you.

“You know what? I don’t understand why Tamaki gives you any light of day either!” Her tone becomes more pompous and grand, as if her inflection can justify her words, “You’re an honor student, too. From (C/n), no less! What makes you think that you deserve to go to this school? What makes you think anybody actually wants you here? You are just another speck of dirt on the host club, but they are just too nice to dust you off their shoulder.” She smirks as your hands start to shake slightly, your feelings from your panic attack fresh on the surface.

You sigh, “I-”

“(Y/n) is a crucial part to how our club operates. She is a part of our family, as is Haruhi. Please do not talk about them in such a manner, lest you would like to risk your banishment from the host club.”

Kyoya walks out from the right of you, the darkness in the hallway hiding him from sight. A purple aura embraces him as he walks towards Ayanokoji. His book is tucked under his arm, and his glasses are hiding his expression, but you can assume it’s as threatening as his entire presence seems at the moment.

“As one of our frequent customers, and as the daughter of one of the largest monopolies in Japan, I’ll give you one more chance to act as a lady should. I’ll see you Monday, Miss Ayanokoji.” Kyoya lifts his head and meets her gaze.

“Kyoya-san!” Her lips twist into a practiced, innocent smile, “It’s not what it looks like, we were just-”

“I said, I will see you on Monday.” And with that he holds out his hand, lifting you up from your seat and leading you down the hallway, your backs fading away from the angry heiress.

:::

There was a long silence as you led Kyoya to the gazebo. He knew that was where you liked to go to sort things out, so it made sense to him when you stepped into the maze only to look back at him, silently asking him to follow.

You two sat next to each other, each waiting for the other to start a conversation, the tension hanging heavy on your shoulders. You decided to apologize first, not wanting the tension to go on even long-

“I’m sorry, (Y/n).”

You snapped your head to face him, your eyebrows knitting together. You’ve never heard Kyoya genuinely apologize for anything, not without something to gain. You were also certain that it was supposed to be the other way around, but when you opened your mouth to protest, Kyoya gently held up a finger to his lips, faintly shushing you.

“I didn’t know that you felt so underappreciated.” He started again, leaning back onto the heels of his palms, watching the sunset in motion. “I knew I was pushing you to try harder, but I didn’t see the emotional toll it was taking on you. I only wanted you to grow as the host’s club manager. I was trying to help you towards the great potential that I know awaits you. But, once you reached that point, I only set new standards to push you towards.” He ran a hand through his hair, tilting his face slightly to where you couldn’t see his expression.

“I enjoyed having you as my partner with the business side of things, and I didn’t want you to leave. I wanted someone I could trust by my side, someone like you.” He sighs, turning to face you. “When Haruhi broke the vase, I was backed into a corner. She needed a way to pay the debt, and you so badly wanted a way up and out. I didn’t make you a host until I absolutely had to because what was I to do without my partner?”

You looked at him, and you truly saw him. You truly saw his vulnerability, in his eyes and in his words. You saw your best friend that you had come to depend on and who you never knew for sure if you were annoying him or not.

And you saw his want for your presence. As the sunset, he showed you your importance to him. The rose petals twirled slightly in the breeze, and you saw him as someone you might be able to… your breath hitched in your throat.

“Thank you, Kyoya.” Your lips curved up into a smile. “I have an idea that could benefit both of us. A business deal of sorts.” You tease.

“And what might that be?” Kyoya smirked.

“What if I did all of it?” Kyoya quirked a hesitant eyebrow at you. “You said it yourself, most of my audience would only book me during the later hours, so during the other half I could help you with the finances? I enjoy my time with you too, Kyoya, you’re important to me.” You grinned and tilted your head. At your small confession, Kyoya’s eyes widened slightly. He then turned his head and smirked while pushing his glasses back onto the bridge of his nose.

“If you believe you can keep up with those responsibilities without exhausting yourself, we have a deal. I trust you to know your limits.” He got up from the bench, sensing that the problem had been resolved. But you weren’t finished yet.

“And Kyoya?” The ravenet turned back around. “I’m sorry too. To everyone.”

He shook his head, “(Y/n)-”

“If you’re allowed to own up to your mistakes, so am I. I know that expressing emotions is healthy, but my feelings bubbled up and I didn’t think rationally before kinda just dropping all of it on you guys and then leaving.” You stood up from the bench, clutching your bag to your chest, “I need to trust my friends and not let my emotions get the better of me.”

Kyoya’s mouth sank into a comfortable smirk. “Yes, (Y/n), please do have a little more faith in us.”

After you two had parted ways, saying your usual goodbyes and stepping into adjacent cars, you reflected on the way the orange sunlight had reflected in Kyoya’s eyes under your gazebo. You noted the way your heart rate picked up once again, but for an entirely different reason than earlier. Something had changed.

#kyoya ootori #kyoya ootori x reader #kyoya x reader #haruhi fujioka #hikaru hitachiin #honey senpai #kaoru hitachiin #mori senpai #mutual pining #ouran fanfic #tamaki suoh #romance #makingpeoplemeltwithlove #x reader

157 notes · View notes