Ouran High School Host Club Fan Fiction ❯ A Slanted Line ❯ Chapter 5
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: vampyremiyu 
Anime/Manga: Ouran High School Host Club Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Romance / Hentai / Drama | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 03.16.2007 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.2K | Visits: 1.7K | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: Ouran High School Host Club Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Romance / Hentai / Drama | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 03.16.2007 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.2K | Visits: 1.7K | Status: Completed
A SLANTED LINE
An Ouran High School Host Club fanfic
Written by Miyu, Vampire Princess
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Once again, thanks go to Ezri-chan for helping me to rebuild this idea with one of her own. I hope everyone will enjoy! ^_^ Romantic, but still no lemon. Sorry. I really did try for this chapter, but my muses are being fickle and I think you'll like what comes next. *wink wink* A Standard Disclaimer appears at the end of the chapter.
CHAPTER 5
Haruhi sighed as she walked down a large, wooden staircase. She felt much better now that she was on solid footing. Skiing had been a breathtaking experience. Namely, the trees knocking the breath out of her. Still, her first skiing lesson went all right. The bruises were few when compared to the twins. Thankfully, there were no broken body parts involved. However, she was grateful when the boys accepted her suggestion of a brunch to reenergize.
Looking back, the horror of flying had been well worth the several hours of entertainment she'd received that morning. Her eyes, no matter how hard she tried, were constantly drawn to a window. The waves of nausea and panic had her hands shaking almost violently. Even the wide screen television the boys had just installed only made her sickness worse. The movie, some American science-fiction story, couldn't hold her attention long enough to forget her fears. She had never been so glad to see land, let alone feel it beneath her feet.
"Over there!"
"You can see it now."
"Oh wow."
The cottage was actually part of a group belonging to a lodge on the edge of the mountain. The lodge was owned by a friend of the Hitachiin family and a place where they loved to come to unwind and relax. Offering a wide variety of activities and housing over five hundred rooms, the lodge was popular not only for the rich, but for many of the locals, too. Haruhi could hardly believe the mix of patrons as she walked from the bottom of the staircase towards a large open entrance.
While the cottage itself was fully staffed, the lodge held the same warm atmosphere as well as the space to gather and interact. The game room had everything imaginable. The lounge had a cafe and bistro. And the restaurant, where she was meeting the boys for brunch, was by reservation only. Black tie and all that.
But for today -- for the next two hours, at least -- it was for just the three of them.
She must've gone through ten different outfits before choosing the light wash denim pants and clingy red sweater she now wore. There was a reason why her father had been more than happy about this weekend getaway, and it showed in the contents of her suitcase. And while a few of the dresses and separates he'd packed would have been appropriate for the restaurant any other time, the twins had told her to dress casual. She did so gladly.
There just wasn't much to choose from.
"One of these days, dad...."
The jeans were hers. One of the few things left in her suitcase after her father got a hold of it. The sweater had been a birthday present from some relative. The wide neck graced her slender shoulders while the knit material lightly clung to her small feminine curves to just below her hips. The garment was comfortable, despite the fact that she had to wear a certain bra with it. Haruhi was simply happy to be in warmer attire after falling head first into the snow more times than she cared to remember. She didn't even care that the black boots she wore had two-inch heels and were completely inappropriate for snowy weather. Another idea of her father's. No doubt they would come off as soon as
she got back to the cabin.
"Good afternoon, Miss. The gentlemen are waiting for you."
"Thank you," Haruhi said as the door to the restaurant was opened for her.
"Aya will show you to your table," said the man at the door.
"This way, please," a small waitress said with a smile.
The restaurant was huge and quite barren without patrons. The walk seemed longer than it actually was as Aya led Haruhi to a table along the back windows. The view of the mountain was spectacular. Just like the two men sitting at the table.
"Would you like a drink?"
Haruhi was stunned for a moment. What did one order in a fancy restaurant? "Warm tea and a glass of water, please."
The waitress bowed, still smiling. "Of course. I'll bring that right out."
"Sure you don't want to try a glass of wine, Haru-chan?"
"It'll warm you up just as quick."
She smiled at Hikaru and Kaoru as they stood and pulled out her chair. "No thanks." She sat cautiously holding her breath as they both pushed her chair in for her and took their seats, one on each side. "Maybe later. At dinner."
It was as they sat down that she gave them both the once over. Both were dressed casually, wearing denim pants as well. 'That's a relief,' she thought with a wane smile. But where Kaoru opted for a striped green button-down shirt underneath an ivory v-neck sweater, Hikaru chose to where the same button-down shirt over a natural colored t-shirt. It shouldn't have seemed strange. The boys had grown much in weeks, if not months. But it was the most different she had seen them dress...ever.
"Wow," she uttered before knowing it was coming out.
The boys only smiled in return.
"Hope you don't mind, Haru-chan," Kaoru said. "But we took the liberty of ordering a sushi tray."
"Not at all," she replied.
Hikaru handed her a menu. "Feel free to order anything you want, even if it's just to taste it."
"There's...so much," she said, gawking at the selection on the menu. "I...I don't even know what half of these foods are."
"Kaoru can explain most of the French cuisine. He's good with French words."
"Mais Oui! Where Hikaru knows many of the Italian dishes." He leaned over in his chair and whispered. "Mostly because he's eaten them all at one time or another."
"And they're all delicious," the other boy said with a nod.
"All right." Haruhi looked over the menu with renewed determination. Everything sounded delectable, and the pictures made them even more appetizing.
They made small talk while waiting for their meal, nibbling at the sushi tray. Haruhi made it a point to try one of everything, even the ones that didn't look appetizing, but were surprisingly tasty.
Small talk gave way to more sporadic bursts as they ate their meals. True to his brother's description, Hikaru ordered an Italian pasta Haruhi didn't even want to try and pronounce. It looked good, and smelled delicious. He offered her a taste, the pasta rolled onto his fork with a small meatball stuck on the end.
"Here, give it a try. It's like spaghetti, but different."
She accepted shyly, having a difficult time getting the entire serving into her mouth. She had to cover her mouth with her hand to keep from spitting any out by accident. The pasta was plain, but the sauce had a touch of herbs and spice. The spice really kicked in when she got to the meatball. But the combination of warm and mild was quite pleasant.
"What do ya think?"
She smiled, "Delicious. Thank you."
Not to be outdone, Kaoru ordered a rather intricate French style meal. If Hikaru's had been difficult to pronounce, these were worse. But the individual plates looked simple enough. He offered her a taste of the soup, something with onions, but declined. However, she did accept his offer for a bite of the main dish: artichoke bottoms stuffed with foie gras and a side of macaroni au gratin.
"Too much?"
"Perhaps, a little."
The macaroni was delicious, something she hoped to learn to make at home. Surely the internet had a recipe somewhere. But the foie gras had a strange flavor, covered only slightly by the artichoke. It wasn't bad, just something she wasn't used to. Her nose scrunched as she got a good taste of it, but she nodded, a half smile tugging at her lips.
"The duck's a bit strong," Kaoru admitted.
"But it's not bad, overall," she replied.
Haruhi played it safe with a more familiar meal of beef stir fry and potatoes. The sauce was different, more refined, but still tasty. And in keeping with the practice the boys started, she offered each of them a bite. Of course, they accepted readily. And they didn't even fight over who got to go first! She was mildly surprised and found herself excited to be feeding the boys, even just a nibble.
Since Hikaru offered to her first, she replied in kind. Slowly, he leaned forward. Just as carefully as she had done, his lips closed around the proffered morsel. And just as slowly he backed away. His smile was the first indication that he liked it. She blushed a little, picking up another piece of beef and offering it to Kaoru. The entire scene repeated with only subtle difference. He smiled too, nodding his approval.
All the while she watched, catching a hint of...something...in their eyes. They never left hers as they took her offering. The way each of their lips moved was sensuous, almost hypnotic. She felt her breath rush from her lungs, her nerves jumping in excitement. In the back of her mind she found herself thinking things she had not considered before. What if their lips moved like that over hers? Would they eat her up like a fancy delicacy? Her mind raced with possibilities, while blood ran immediately to her face.
"Ah, here we are," a man said as he approached the table. "I trust everything is to your liking?"
The twins were quick to respond.
"Yes." "Just delicious."
Their responses were deeper than their usual tone. It held something more lucrative, too. An emotion Haruhi shared, but was too nervous -- frightened actually -- to completely admit to. Her blush deepened and her eyes refocused on what was left of her meal.
As the plates were cleared, and a fresh round of drinks were brought out, Haruhi's nervous excitement heightened again. She wasn't sure why. Maybe because there were no real distractions for her to focus on. Or perhaps it was the peculiar silence that seemed to follow the end meal.
A silence that was broken as both boys stood from their seats abruptly. Unsure what to do, she started to stand, too. But the boys caught her, each of them gingerly taking a hand. As she settled back into her chair, they kneeled on the carpet.
"Ano...."
"It's all right," Kaoru soothed.
"We're not going to do anything bad," Hikaru assured.
"We just wanted to tell you something."
"Something important."
Haruhi inhaled deeply, exhaling slowly and shakily.
'Ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygod,' she repeated over and over in her head. Her mouth suddenly went dry and even her tongue couldn't moisten quickly drying lips. She probably looked as panicked as she felt, but after a moment she managed to say aloud, "Okay."
"We'll start out with, we're sorry," Hikaru said. "For all the arguing, all the fighting, and all the hurt it caused you over the past few months."
"We've been selfish," Kaoru said, biting into his lower lip. "And it's turned us into...well...demons."
"Demon bastards," his twin clarified.
"We wanted so badly to have your attentions to ourselves...as individuals. And in so doing, we lost sight of what was important."
"Our brotherly love," Hikaru bowed his head. With an embarrassed smile, he looked up at her. "And you." He squeezed her hand gently. "You are the most important person in our lives. You've opened up doors no one else could have ever managed to unlock."
"You've made us better people. Better individuals," Kaoru said, squeezing her hand and smiling when she squeezed back. "And better brothers. We've learned a lot about life through you. And grown because of you."
"Our world is bigger because of you," Hikaru added. "Better because of you."
"And we love you for that," they said in unison. "That and so much more we can't put it into words."
Haruhi didn't know what to say. There really were no words in her that could express how much their apology, their confession, meant to her. She opened her mouth to speak, but they continued.
"We want you to know that we love you. Have loved you for a long time," Kaoru said.
"We've made a lot of jokes in the past, said and one things in jest," Hikaru said. "But we meant them."
"Each and every one."
"We want you with us. Individually and together. We want to share our lives with you and this incredible love that we feel."
"We both want to love you in our own way," Kaoru said. "No having to choose between us."
"Because we'll both always be here," Hikaru added.
"And if you say you'll love us just the same...."
"We'll be the happiest men in the world."
"The universe."
The tears started falling without warning. All the pain, all the worry, all the agony came out in those droplets, rolling down her cheeks like tiny streams. She had been so afraid that she would be forced to choose. And in so doing breaking one, if not both of their hearts. Loving them came so easily to her once she thought about. It would hurt so deeply if she lost any of that feeling for either one.
Immediately they were at her side, trying to calm her.
"Did we say something wrong?"
"No, no, no." She shook her head, inhaling deeply in hope of gathering some of her composure. But it was difficult with all the emotion pouring out. "It's just...I'm...I'm glad." She managed a smile through the tears, accepting a napkin from Kaoru with a nod. "I'm happy. You have no idea how much."
"We're happy, too," the replied.
"I...I wasn't joking that day. When I said I couldn't choose between you. There was no way. You both mean...so much to me." Kaoru squeezed her hand, laying the palm against his cheek. At the same time Hikaru kissed her palm, then held it against his chest over his heart. "I didn't realize it at first, but...but.... I do love you. Both of you. And for possibly some of the strangest reasons." They all laughed. "But it had to be both of you. I couldn't...I couldn't hurt either of you, knowing that sooner or later it might hurt you both.
"The gifts...were wonderful, but way too much. You were smothering me without realizing it. I know you didn't see, because you're both so focused. And I had no idea how to tell you what I was feeling. I don't think I really knew half of the time.
"I was so tempted to walk away last week. You have no idea how difficult it was to watch you argue, to compete over me."
"We're sorry." "We never meant to hurt you."
"I know that. Just like I know that you two are impossible," she said, her fingertips brushing Kaoru's cheek and lightly tugging at Hikaru's shirt. "But if I can have the two of you, like this, just once in a while. I'd be the happiest woman in the world." She smiled. "The universe even."
"You can have us all the time," said Kaoru.
"That's what this trip is all about," said Hikaru.
Surprised yet again, she giggled as they moved closer each kissed a cheek. The tears were gone now, replaced with a smile that could light a dark room. She returned their kisses, chastely kissing them in turn before they helped her from her seat.
They held hands as they left the restaurant, garnering more than a few glances as they made their way towards the cabin. Haruhi knew that her silly grin was plastered to her face. Logically, she felt relief and was happy for the admissions that had come forth. But her nerves still had her flustered. And her thoughts would not leave her alone.
At least, not until they returned to the mountain and she landed face first in the snow once again.
~TO BE CONTINUED~
DISCLAIMER:
Ouran High School Host Club is a brilliant piece of work by creator Bisco Hatori. Originally published in 2003 by HAKUSENSHA, Inc., Tokyo, Japan, this masterpiece is being translated and published by VIZ Media for fans in America and Canada. I do not own a single piece of the characters used in this story. They were kidnapped and used here without permission.
An Ouran High School Host Club fanfic
Written by Miyu, Vampire Princess
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Once again, thanks go to Ezri-chan for helping me to rebuild this idea with one of her own. I hope everyone will enjoy! ^_^ Romantic, but still no lemon. Sorry. I really did try for this chapter, but my muses are being fickle and I think you'll like what comes next. *wink wink* A Standard Disclaimer appears at the end of the chapter.
CHAPTER 5
Haruhi sighed as she walked down a large, wooden staircase. She felt much better now that she was on solid footing. Skiing had been a breathtaking experience. Namely, the trees knocking the breath out of her. Still, her first skiing lesson went all right. The bruises were few when compared to the twins. Thankfully, there were no broken body parts involved. However, she was grateful when the boys accepted her suggestion of a brunch to reenergize.
Looking back, the horror of flying had been well worth the several hours of entertainment she'd received that morning. Her eyes, no matter how hard she tried, were constantly drawn to a window. The waves of nausea and panic had her hands shaking almost violently. Even the wide screen television the boys had just installed only made her sickness worse. The movie, some American science-fiction story, couldn't hold her attention long enough to forget her fears. She had never been so glad to see land, let alone feel it beneath her feet.
"Over there!"
"You can see it now."
"Oh wow."
The cottage was actually part of a group belonging to a lodge on the edge of the mountain. The lodge was owned by a friend of the Hitachiin family and a place where they loved to come to unwind and relax. Offering a wide variety of activities and housing over five hundred rooms, the lodge was popular not only for the rich, but for many of the locals, too. Haruhi could hardly believe the mix of patrons as she walked from the bottom of the staircase towards a large open entrance.
While the cottage itself was fully staffed, the lodge held the same warm atmosphere as well as the space to gather and interact. The game room had everything imaginable. The lounge had a cafe and bistro. And the restaurant, where she was meeting the boys for brunch, was by reservation only. Black tie and all that.
But for today -- for the next two hours, at least -- it was for just the three of them.
She must've gone through ten different outfits before choosing the light wash denim pants and clingy red sweater she now wore. There was a reason why her father had been more than happy about this weekend getaway, and it showed in the contents of her suitcase. And while a few of the dresses and separates he'd packed would have been appropriate for the restaurant any other time, the twins had told her to dress casual. She did so gladly.
There just wasn't much to choose from.
"One of these days, dad...."
The jeans were hers. One of the few things left in her suitcase after her father got a hold of it. The sweater had been a birthday present from some relative. The wide neck graced her slender shoulders while the knit material lightly clung to her small feminine curves to just below her hips. The garment was comfortable, despite the fact that she had to wear a certain bra with it. Haruhi was simply happy to be in warmer attire after falling head first into the snow more times than she cared to remember. She didn't even care that the black boots she wore had two-inch heels and were completely inappropriate for snowy weather. Another idea of her father's. No doubt they would come off as soon as
she got back to the cabin.
"Good afternoon, Miss. The gentlemen are waiting for you."
"Thank you," Haruhi said as the door to the restaurant was opened for her.
"Aya will show you to your table," said the man at the door.
"This way, please," a small waitress said with a smile.
The restaurant was huge and quite barren without patrons. The walk seemed longer than it actually was as Aya led Haruhi to a table along the back windows. The view of the mountain was spectacular. Just like the two men sitting at the table.
"Would you like a drink?"
Haruhi was stunned for a moment. What did one order in a fancy restaurant? "Warm tea and a glass of water, please."
The waitress bowed, still smiling. "Of course. I'll bring that right out."
"Sure you don't want to try a glass of wine, Haru-chan?"
"It'll warm you up just as quick."
She smiled at Hikaru and Kaoru as they stood and pulled out her chair. "No thanks." She sat cautiously holding her breath as they both pushed her chair in for her and took their seats, one on each side. "Maybe later. At dinner."
It was as they sat down that she gave them both the once over. Both were dressed casually, wearing denim pants as well. 'That's a relief,' she thought with a wane smile. But where Kaoru opted for a striped green button-down shirt underneath an ivory v-neck sweater, Hikaru chose to where the same button-down shirt over a natural colored t-shirt. It shouldn't have seemed strange. The boys had grown much in weeks, if not months. But it was the most different she had seen them dress...ever.
"Wow," she uttered before knowing it was coming out.
The boys only smiled in return.
"Hope you don't mind, Haru-chan," Kaoru said. "But we took the liberty of ordering a sushi tray."
"Not at all," she replied.
Hikaru handed her a menu. "Feel free to order anything you want, even if it's just to taste it."
"There's...so much," she said, gawking at the selection on the menu. "I...I don't even know what half of these foods are."
"Kaoru can explain most of the French cuisine. He's good with French words."
"Mais Oui! Where Hikaru knows many of the Italian dishes." He leaned over in his chair and whispered. "Mostly because he's eaten them all at one time or another."
"And they're all delicious," the other boy said with a nod.
"All right." Haruhi looked over the menu with renewed determination. Everything sounded delectable, and the pictures made them even more appetizing.
They made small talk while waiting for their meal, nibbling at the sushi tray. Haruhi made it a point to try one of everything, even the ones that didn't look appetizing, but were surprisingly tasty.
Small talk gave way to more sporadic bursts as they ate their meals. True to his brother's description, Hikaru ordered an Italian pasta Haruhi didn't even want to try and pronounce. It looked good, and smelled delicious. He offered her a taste, the pasta rolled onto his fork with a small meatball stuck on the end.
"Here, give it a try. It's like spaghetti, but different."
She accepted shyly, having a difficult time getting the entire serving into her mouth. She had to cover her mouth with her hand to keep from spitting any out by accident. The pasta was plain, but the sauce had a touch of herbs and spice. The spice really kicked in when she got to the meatball. But the combination of warm and mild was quite pleasant.
"What do ya think?"
She smiled, "Delicious. Thank you."
Not to be outdone, Kaoru ordered a rather intricate French style meal. If Hikaru's had been difficult to pronounce, these were worse. But the individual plates looked simple enough. He offered her a taste of the soup, something with onions, but declined. However, she did accept his offer for a bite of the main dish: artichoke bottoms stuffed with foie gras and a side of macaroni au gratin.
"Too much?"
"Perhaps, a little."
The macaroni was delicious, something she hoped to learn to make at home. Surely the internet had a recipe somewhere. But the foie gras had a strange flavor, covered only slightly by the artichoke. It wasn't bad, just something she wasn't used to. Her nose scrunched as she got a good taste of it, but she nodded, a half smile tugging at her lips.
"The duck's a bit strong," Kaoru admitted.
"But it's not bad, overall," she replied.
Haruhi played it safe with a more familiar meal of beef stir fry and potatoes. The sauce was different, more refined, but still tasty. And in keeping with the practice the boys started, she offered each of them a bite. Of course, they accepted readily. And they didn't even fight over who got to go first! She was mildly surprised and found herself excited to be feeding the boys, even just a nibble.
Since Hikaru offered to her first, she replied in kind. Slowly, he leaned forward. Just as carefully as she had done, his lips closed around the proffered morsel. And just as slowly he backed away. His smile was the first indication that he liked it. She blushed a little, picking up another piece of beef and offering it to Kaoru. The entire scene repeated with only subtle difference. He smiled too, nodding his approval.
All the while she watched, catching a hint of...something...in their eyes. They never left hers as they took her offering. The way each of their lips moved was sensuous, almost hypnotic. She felt her breath rush from her lungs, her nerves jumping in excitement. In the back of her mind she found herself thinking things she had not considered before. What if their lips moved like that over hers? Would they eat her up like a fancy delicacy? Her mind raced with possibilities, while blood ran immediately to her face.
"Ah, here we are," a man said as he approached the table. "I trust everything is to your liking?"
The twins were quick to respond.
"Yes." "Just delicious."
Their responses were deeper than their usual tone. It held something more lucrative, too. An emotion Haruhi shared, but was too nervous -- frightened actually -- to completely admit to. Her blush deepened and her eyes refocused on what was left of her meal.
As the plates were cleared, and a fresh round of drinks were brought out, Haruhi's nervous excitement heightened again. She wasn't sure why. Maybe because there were no real distractions for her to focus on. Or perhaps it was the peculiar silence that seemed to follow the end meal.
A silence that was broken as both boys stood from their seats abruptly. Unsure what to do, she started to stand, too. But the boys caught her, each of them gingerly taking a hand. As she settled back into her chair, they kneeled on the carpet.
"Ano...."
"It's all right," Kaoru soothed.
"We're not going to do anything bad," Hikaru assured.
"We just wanted to tell you something."
"Something important."
Haruhi inhaled deeply, exhaling slowly and shakily.
'Ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygod,' she repeated over and over in her head. Her mouth suddenly went dry and even her tongue couldn't moisten quickly drying lips. She probably looked as panicked as she felt, but after a moment she managed to say aloud, "Okay."
"We'll start out with, we're sorry," Hikaru said. "For all the arguing, all the fighting, and all the hurt it caused you over the past few months."
"We've been selfish," Kaoru said, biting into his lower lip. "And it's turned us into...well...demons."
"Demon bastards," his twin clarified.
"We wanted so badly to have your attentions to ourselves...as individuals. And in so doing, we lost sight of what was important."
"Our brotherly love," Hikaru bowed his head. With an embarrassed smile, he looked up at her. "And you." He squeezed her hand gently. "You are the most important person in our lives. You've opened up doors no one else could have ever managed to unlock."
"You've made us better people. Better individuals," Kaoru said, squeezing her hand and smiling when she squeezed back. "And better brothers. We've learned a lot about life through you. And grown because of you."
"Our world is bigger because of you," Hikaru added. "Better because of you."
"And we love you for that," they said in unison. "That and so much more we can't put it into words."
Haruhi didn't know what to say. There really were no words in her that could express how much their apology, their confession, meant to her. She opened her mouth to speak, but they continued.
"We want you to know that we love you. Have loved you for a long time," Kaoru said.
"We've made a lot of jokes in the past, said and one things in jest," Hikaru said. "But we meant them."
"Each and every one."
"We want you with us. Individually and together. We want to share our lives with you and this incredible love that we feel."
"We both want to love you in our own way," Kaoru said. "No having to choose between us."
"Because we'll both always be here," Hikaru added.
"And if you say you'll love us just the same...."
"We'll be the happiest men in the world."
"The universe."
The tears started falling without warning. All the pain, all the worry, all the agony came out in those droplets, rolling down her cheeks like tiny streams. She had been so afraid that she would be forced to choose. And in so doing breaking one, if not both of their hearts. Loving them came so easily to her once she thought about. It would hurt so deeply if she lost any of that feeling for either one.
Immediately they were at her side, trying to calm her.
"Did we say something wrong?"
"No, no, no." She shook her head, inhaling deeply in hope of gathering some of her composure. But it was difficult with all the emotion pouring out. "It's just...I'm...I'm glad." She managed a smile through the tears, accepting a napkin from Kaoru with a nod. "I'm happy. You have no idea how much."
"We're happy, too," the replied.
"I...I wasn't joking that day. When I said I couldn't choose between you. There was no way. You both mean...so much to me." Kaoru squeezed her hand, laying the palm against his cheek. At the same time Hikaru kissed her palm, then held it against his chest over his heart. "I didn't realize it at first, but...but.... I do love you. Both of you. And for possibly some of the strangest reasons." They all laughed. "But it had to be both of you. I couldn't...I couldn't hurt either of you, knowing that sooner or later it might hurt you both.
"The gifts...were wonderful, but way too much. You were smothering me without realizing it. I know you didn't see, because you're both so focused. And I had no idea how to tell you what I was feeling. I don't think I really knew half of the time.
"I was so tempted to walk away last week. You have no idea how difficult it was to watch you argue, to compete over me."
"We're sorry." "We never meant to hurt you."
"I know that. Just like I know that you two are impossible," she said, her fingertips brushing Kaoru's cheek and lightly tugging at Hikaru's shirt. "But if I can have the two of you, like this, just once in a while. I'd be the happiest woman in the world." She smiled. "The universe even."
"You can have us all the time," said Kaoru.
"That's what this trip is all about," said Hikaru.
Surprised yet again, she giggled as they moved closer each kissed a cheek. The tears were gone now, replaced with a smile that could light a dark room. She returned their kisses, chastely kissing them in turn before they helped her from her seat.
They held hands as they left the restaurant, garnering more than a few glances as they made their way towards the cabin. Haruhi knew that her silly grin was plastered to her face. Logically, she felt relief and was happy for the admissions that had come forth. But her nerves still had her flustered. And her thoughts would not leave her alone.
At least, not until they returned to the mountain and she landed face first in the snow once again.
~TO BE CONTINUED~
DISCLAIMER:
Ouran High School Host Club is a brilliant piece of work by creator Bisco Hatori. Originally published in 2003 by HAKUSENSHA, Inc., Tokyo, Japan, this masterpiece is being translated and published by VIZ Media for fans in America and Canada. I do not own a single piece of the characters used in this story. They were kidnapped and used here without permission.