Disclaimer: I don't own Ouran High School Host Club or its characters.

"No, Tamaki-senpai, I need to go home!" Haruhi was beyond frustrated by this point. She'd been stuck in club activities and then playing games with her club mates for hours and it was getting dark out. There were other things she needed to do and couldn't afford to spend all her time playing around.

"Pleeeeeeease Haruhi! You have to stay! We're all staying the night with Honey-senpai tonight, doesn't that sound fun?" Tamaki had jumped into the doorway, blocking her exit. He dropped to his knees and took her hands in his pleadingly.

"No, it doesn't. I need to go make dinner for my dad, move out of my way Tamaki-senpai."

Kyoya decided to chime in, tired of this argument. "Actually, you don't, Haruhi. I talked to Ranka a few hours ago to let him know where you were and he said it would be fine if you stayed."

"Yay, Haru-chan is staying!" Honey declared running over to pull her further into his room.

"Just because I can doesn't mean that I am,"Haruhi clarified, almost wanting to take it back when Honey's face slackened into a frown. "I have other things to do, you know? I do have a life outside of you guys."

Tamaki looked scandalized. "What life? Who else are you spending time with, Haruhi!"

The twins jumped into the conversation then. Hikaru slid his arm around Tamaki's shoulder, comforting him. "I don't think she meant quite what you're thinking, boss. This is Haruhi, we're talking about."

"What-"

"Never mind that, Haruhi," Kaoru interrupted her, placing his arm around her shoulders and guiding her to the vacant couch. "Don't you want to stay for all the tasty food we'll be having later?"

She turned thoughtful, and the group knew that her arguments were finished. Kyoya decided to seal the deal so they could move on already. "You wouldn't want to miss out on the fancy tuna, would you?"

Haruhi's eyes widened and she looked over at Kyoya, sitting in his desk chair. "I guess I could stick around awhile longer..."

"Yay, Haru-chan is staying!" Honey repeated, throwing himself next to her on the couch.

Haruhi looked around expectantly. "So what are we doing now?"

"More games!" suggested Tamaki.

"Let's eat cake!" Honey proposed again.

"Dinner first?" Mori voiced.

"Let's watch a movie!" Kaoru yelled.

"Oh a scaaaary movie! Dibs on sitting next to Haruhi!" Hikaru agreed. He immediately fell onto the couch with her, intent on his idea.

Haruhi looked at Kyoya, expecting him to have an opinion too. "Don't look at me, it's up to you Haruhi."

Haruhi sighed. "Okay, movie sounds good first, you guys should pick it though." Then, deciding to keep things fair, she slid slightly away from Hikaru. "And I'll take turns sitting next to anyone who wants to."

She got up and helped rearrange the furniture for their viewing pleasure. Everything needed to face the television, and the coffee table had to be moved against the wall. This left space in the middle of the floor for people to lay down. Meanwhile the twins chose a horror film Haruhi had never heard of, but it didn't matter to her. She probably wouldn't pay very much attention to it anyway.

As silly as it was, Hikaru had called dibs, and Haruhi decided to honor that. The twins settled on the couch as the movie started, sharing a bowl of popcorn. They rushed to make space between them when they noticed Haruhi's approach, and then squeezed in to remove any remaining space when she was settled in.

"It's a good thing you picked us first, Haruhi. This movie is super scary in the beginning." Kaoru punctuated his warning with flailing fingers and wide eyes, only making Haruhi laugh.

"No worries though, we're here to protect you from all the scary monsters, so don't hesitate to cuddle up to us!" Hikaru showed his meaning by trying to further squish into her, and laying his head on her shoulder.

Haruhi rolled her eyes at them. "Man, you guys make me feel so safe here I don't think there's even a chance of me getting scared now! But thanks for the offer." She smiled as they looked at each other, frowning at being shot down.

Kaoru decided on a different approach. "Here, Haruhi." He handed the popcorn bowl to her. "You have to hold it since you're in the middle."

"Sure." It was only logical.

The movie had started while they talked, and Haruhi tried to pay attention but it wasn't possible with the twins on either side of her. She wasn't a big fan of popcorn, but the few times she reached into the bowl one of their hands just happened to always be there too. When she wasn't reaching in, they were busy spilling popcorn all over her, and then reaching into her lap to retrieve the mess.

"Hey that tickles!" She laughed as Hikaru tried to find his latest dropped piece. "Just watch the movie!"

He pulled his hand away with an innocent shrug and Haruhi saw him give a suspicious amount of focus to the movie. While she was watching Hikaru, Kaoru was patiently waiting. He waited for something in the movie to pop out, and with the loud change in music he attacked Haruhi, trying to scare her. He grabbed both of her sides, fingers acting like claws, and growled.

Hikaru was ready. He turned to Haruhi, arms open wide and pulled her into a crushing hug. "Don't worry Haruhi, I'll protect you!"

Her laughter rang out, muffled by Hikaru's chest. She tried to stifle it as she pushed herself back into a sitting position, not wanting to disturb the others. "You really don't know me well if you thought that would scare me!" Haruhi took a deep breath, pulling herself together. "Anyway, time's up Hikaru, Kaoru. Thanks for the laugh!"

They frowned again as she stood up and walked away. It hadn't been enough time, but then again, they knew it never would be.

Kyoya was Haruhi's next target, and he was alone on the loveseat. He had his laptop out and was typing away, hardly glancing at the movie. She lowered herself down softly next to him, and he only looked at her through his peripherals.

"You don't have to do this. The others look much more eager for a piece of your time." Kyoya nodded his head subtly towards Tamaki who kept stealing glances at Haruhi.

Haruhi didn't follow the direction he was looking but instead stared straight at him. "You're right, I don't have to," she answered simply. She then settled back into the couch, content to watch the movie.

Kyoya stiffened at her answer, fingers frozen above his keyboard. After a moment he closed the laptop altogether and matched Haruhi's posture to watch the movie. He only lasted a few minutes.

"How can you watch this?" Kyoya asked as horribly fake blood spattered across the screen.

"I'm not really. This type of thing isn't my cup of tea, but the others wanted to watch it so I have to at least try." Haruhi's gaze never left the screen, but Kyoya was now solely watching her, as it was infinitely more interesting than the movie. One of her eyebrows would rise when some remarkably stupid dialogue came on, and she'd smile at all the jump scares.

Eventually her focus shifted back to him openly staring at her. "We can talk if you want. What were you working on?"

Kyoya had to think for a moment, having completely forgotten about his laptop abandoned on the side table. "Just going over some of the club's finances. What kind of movies do you like?"

The question surprised Haruhi. That wasn't the type of thing Kyoya usually cared about. "Comedy if I have to pick, but I don't really like movies in general. They're fake and pointless. Life has enough drama and horrors and such without taking on the extra baggage from characters someone pulled out of their imagination. I don't have time for that." Haruhi shrugged.

Kyoya nodded his understanding. "I'd have to agree."

A few more minutes of silently watching the movie passed before Kyoya spoke up again. "Haruhi why are you covered in popcorn?" He knew why; they all knew why. Each of them were watching every move she made and trying to hear everything she said. It's what they always did.

"Oh, Hikaru and Kaoru pretty much dumped the bowl on me. I should go get cleaned up."

She stood and so did he. Haruhi looked at him questioningly. "I'll come too. I asked Ranka for some of your clothes. You didn't exactly have the chance to pack your pajamas."

He was right, and Haruhi wasn't sure if she should be more thankful for his thoughtfulness, or angry at how far ahead they had apparently planned this little sleepover. Kyoya led Haruhi out of the room with his hand on the small of her back. They only traveled a few doors down the hall to a bathroom. "They're laying on the counter there," he waved his hand in the direction of the clothes. "You can change in here, no one will bother you." He turned to leave.

"Thank you, Kyoya-senpai." Haruhi smiled and Kyoya answered with a nod, closing the doors as he left.

When Haruhi arrived back in Honey's room wearing a colorful pajama set she didn't fail to notice that the guys had all changed as well. The movie was still playing and Haruhi went back over to Kyoya. She placed a hand on his shoulder to support herself as she leaned down to whisper "I'm sorry to cut your time short senpai, but-."

"I know, Haruhi. Changing took some time away, it's fine." Kyoya shifted back into business mode, retrieving his laptop from the table. Haruhi sent him a sad smile as she left to join Tamaki.

He was in the middle of the floor in a pile of blankets and propped up against several pillows.

"Haruhi! Come join your father!" He lifted the blankets up so she could climb under. She crawled over to him and lay down. Tamaki's eyes were darting between her and the movie for a while before finally settling on Haruhi. "I'm so glad you stayed, Haruhi! Are you having fun?"

She looked over at him and smiled. "Yeah I guess so. This isn't as bad as it could be."

All Tamaki seemed to hear was "yeah" because his face lit up with glee. "Good! I knew you'd have fun. You really should listen to me more often, Haruhi! Father knows best!"

"Sure, Tamaki-senpai." Her attention returned to the movie until Tamaki slipped his hand into hers. She looked over, her eyes asking the question for her.

"So you won't get scared," he answered.

Haruhi smiled. "Thanks." It was sweet of him, if not at all necessary, so she allowed the contact. They remained that way for the rest of Tamaki's turn with Haruhi.

Eventually, Haruhi had to say her farewells to Tamaki and slipped out of his pile of blankets.

It was Mori and Honey's turn next, but Haruhi wasn't sure what to do. Mori was comfortably reclined in a chair, with Honey in his lap. There wasn't room on the chair for her to join, and she hated to ask them to relocate while they were so engrossed in the movie.

As she drew up next to them Honey looked up, smiling. "Can I sit in your lap Haru-chan?" he asked. "That's better than sitting next to you."

She agreed and Mori started to rise so she could take his seat, but Haruhi held her hand out to stop him. She had an idea. Haruhi sat down on the ground in front of Mori, nudging his legs apart. She was then able to lean comfortable against the chair between his legs, with her own legs crossed. Haruhi glanced back up at Mori for confirmation. "Is this okay?" She didn't want to deprive him of his turn with her, and was happy when he nodded his agreement. Then she looked expectantly at Honey who happily flopped into her lap.

As the movie continued something jumped out at the main characters, causing Honey to jump too. He gave a quiet squeak of surprise and reached down to grab her right arm. He pulled it into his own lap and squeezed it. A few scary scenes later he was cutting off her circulation and had half turned into her chest in an effort to hide from the movie.

She decided to bring her other arm up around him too, wrapping him safely in a hug. "Don't worry Honey-senpai, it's just a movie. Nothing is going to hurt us."

Honey just squeaked and jumped a bit in response, having been scared yet again. Haruhi smiled and held on tighter.

Haruhi was fairly sure the movie was nearly over when she noticed the others joining them. Hikaru sat down on her right, legs spread open for Kaoru to plop down in front of him and lean into his brother. Kyoya sat on her other side, knees lifted so he could lean forward to rest his arms on them. Finally, Tamaki came and settled in front of them. He lay down on his side using his arm to prop up his head to continue watching the movie.

Haruhi smiled at the way the group had come together. Right then, she was happy she had decided to stay.

When the movie ended they all stood up to stretch.

"Time for cake!" Honey declared.

"Dinner time," Mori translated. They all followed Honey as he marched to the dinning area where a table full of food was waiting for them. One end held nothing but desserts and Honey claimed that section of the table for himself.

"Come sit next to me, Haruhi! I'll let you have some cake too!"

Haruhi joined him, not honestly caring where she sat. She loaded her plate up with normal foods and left the sweets to Honey. The club members sat around talking and laughing as they filled their stomachs. Everyone was in a good mood.

Honey was especially happy as he dug into his third cake. "Haru-chan try this! It's so yummy!" He held a fork out towards her with a small bite on it and, not thinking anything of it, she leaned forward to wrap her mouth around it. The other five boys had frozen at Honey's actions and were just watching Haruhi now, surprised she would eat off his fork.

"Mm that is good!" Haruhi was glad to have tried it. "You you all should try-" she stopped mid sentence as she turned to the others. They were all staring at her. "What's wrong? Did I get frosting on my face?" Haruhi reached up to wipe her mouth, just in case.

"Don't mind them, Haru-chan! They're probably just jealous that I'm only sharing my cake with you!" Haruhi didn't miss the look that Honey sent the others.

"Haha, yeah, that's what we're jealous of sen-Ow!" Kaoru kicked his brother under the table mid-sentence.

"There goes clumsy Hikaru again, hitting his foot on a table leg," Tamaki tried to cover.

"Haha, clumsy Hikaru," Kaoru joined in.

"Well as we were saying before our, hem jealousy, got the better of us, explain more about your idea for a futuristic day for our clients, Tamaki." Kyoya wanted to get everyone back to talking normally as quickly as possible.

Haruhi slowly turned back to her food as everyone joined back in the conversation. A few minutes later, Honey repeated his offer of cake with his newest conquest. "Here Haru-chan, this one's even better!"

Haruhi leaned forward for the second time, noticing the conversation begin to wane. She paused, giving the others a sidelong glance, causing them to immediately start talking faster. Haruhi quickly tried the offered cake and sat back in her chair to chew.

"You're right, Honey-senpai, that cake is better!" Honey seemed to glow at her praise and went back to his sweets.

When he then tried to offer Haruhi a third bite, Haruhi had to decline. "Here senpai, why don't you try something other than sweets. These noodles are really tasty." She held a bite out for him as he had for her and Honey smiled.

"Sure, Haru-chan." He tried the offered food and chewed quickly. "It was good, thank you! But I think I'll stick with my cakes!" Haruhi couldn't say she was surprised, but at least she succeeded in getting a bite of normal food in him.

They ate until everyone was full and then returned to Honey's room.

"Time for more games!" Tamaki's announcement forced a groan out of Hikaru.

"Let us digest a bit before we start running around more, boss."

"Plenty of games call for sitting in place! We could play just about any card game, or talking game, or hmm," Tamaki trailed off thinking of what else they could do.

"Homework is a stationary past time. How about we do that?" Haruhi said it mostly as a joke but her friends were exchanging looks at her suggestion.

"I do have a lot of work I need to do," Kyoya agreed.

"We could work on our history homework together, Haruhi!" The twins said simutaniously, getting on board with the idea.

"History? I'm great at history so I'll help!" Honey made his way over to the youngest members of the club.

Tamaki shrugged. "I guess I do have a paper to write."

Mori nodded as he pulled out a textbook to join the others.

Haruhi was pleasantly surprised. Everyone was actually working, and quietly at that. Honey was helping as offered, and even the twins were laying off their jokes. Haruhi went with it for awhile, happy to be finally getting some work done, but less than an hour later she couldn't take it anymore. When this group was silent and behaved for this long, something was definitely up.

She looked at each of her friends, trying to find some hint of what they were planning. There was no exchange of scheming looks, or homework being folded into paper air planes. Hikaru was clarifying something with Honey, and Tamaki was using Kyoya as a fact checker.

"Okay, enough!" Haruhi slammed her pen down on the table and every eye in the room spun to look at her. "What the hell is going on here?"

"What do you mean, Haru-chan?" Honey was looking up at her innocently, like he didn't have the faintest idea what Haruhi could mean. She wasn't buying it.

"I mean, look at you guys!" She held her hands out to encompass them all. Quizzical looks were sent every direction as the others obliged and looked around. "No, ugh! I didn't mean literally look! I mean, what are you planning?"

"Well I was planning on finishing this assignment, but if you want to do something else, Haruhi…?" Kaoru held up a half finished worksheet as proof of his intentions.

"I don't buy it. Nope, no way. I'm not that stupid! None of you sit around doing homework! You scheme and you plot and you plan. You're always out having fun or going on an adventure or just playing around! Now just tell me what the current scheme is already so we can get on with it!"

Hikaru and Kaoru turned towards Tamaki, now wondering if they were missing out on some plan as well. He shrugged at them and shook his head.

"Kyoya, am I forgetting something?" Tamaki asked, knowing he wasn't exactly the most reliable of the group.

"No, there's nothing planned right now, though we do need to go over more details for the African Safari event for the club before Monday."

They all turned to Honey then, as this was his house and maybe he had some sort of plan. Honey frowned and turned to Haruhi. "Haru-chan, no one is scheming anything. We're all just doing homework."

"But you never do homework!" Haruhi was sure of it.

"Well that's a bit ignorant of you, Haruhi. Do you really think we'd all be at or near the top of our class if we never did any homework?" What Kyoya said made sense, Haruhi had to admit, but she was still skeptical and it showed.

"Haru-chan...you always leave us as soon as club activities are over or right after we finish an event. You say you have things to do. We don't just keep playing around after you leave; it's not nearly as fun. And, we all have things to do too. We all have family obligations, and Takashi and I teach martial arts classes. We're all busy. So when we have the chance, we all stay together to do homework, because that's what friends do." Honey paused to look at the others who were nodding their support. "You've never asked us to work before, or you'd know. We figured you would rather do it on your own."

Haruhi couldn't believe her ears. Honey looked so sad having to explain something he found so basic, and Haruhi felt horrible. She looked down at her work not sure what to say. She'd been so sure that they were up to something, and now she just looked like an idiot.

"I'm sorry everyone. I didn't know. I just thought..." She didn't know how to complete her sentence aloud. She thought they were all a bunch of slackers who only wanted to have a good time. Well, not all of them individually maybe, but definitely when they were together.

"It's okay, Haru-chan, we know what you thought."

His sad smile still adorned his face and Haruhi couldn't stand it. She jumped up to wrap Honey in a tight hug, and he was quick to return her embrace. "I'm so sorry, senpai. I'll be better now that I know, okay? I'll stick around longer and work with you all. Please don't be sad anymore."

"We'll hold you to that Ha-ru-hi!" Hikaru said in a singsong voice. He was sharing a devilish smile with Kaoru as Haruhi let go of Honey.

"But for now, if you don't want us to be sad then it's time for another game!"

"Damn." Haruhi now completely regretted speaking up. Not only had she made everyone sad by throwing accusations around, but she'd ruined a perfect opportunity for her to catch up on her homework.

"Sounds good to me! What do you have in mind?" Tamaki was quick to jump on board as always.

"Hold on a second!" Haruhi didn't know what the twins wanted to play, but she didn't particularly want to find out either. She had an idea that she hoped would wind up less hectic than whatever Hikaru and Kaoru wanted. "How about Honey-senpai picks? It's his house after all."

Hikaru and Kaoru deflated, knowing that the group would do exactly that now that Haruhi had suggested it. Everyone looked over at Honey who smiled wide at Haruhi. "That's a great idea, Haru-chan! Let's play musical cakes!" Honey skipped out of his room and lead the group back to the dining room.

"What's musical cakes, Honey-senpai?" Haruhi was already regretting letting him pick.

"It's just like musical chairs, but with cakes!" He clapped his hands and a maid brought 6 pieces of cake out to the table. "Some music will play and we'll all walk around the table. When it stops everyone has to rush for a piece of cake! Whoever doesn't get some cake is out, and we start again. In the end we'll have the ultimate cake champion!" Honey was laughing, imagining anyone but himself winning.

"That sounds amazing! You're going down Honey-senpai!" Tamaki was getting fired up, and his enthusiasm was contagious.

They all took up positions around the table, Honey in front of Haruhi who led Mori, followed by Hikaru, Tamaki, Kaoru, and then Kyoya bringing them full circle. The music started playing, though Haruhi really wasn't sure of the source, and they started marching around the table (more like dancing in Honey's case.) When it stopped, there was a mad dash for the cakes. Honey was, of course, the first to grab some and stuff it into his mouth, smiling as he chewed. Hikaru would've been next but Tamaki tripped him up to get there first. Kaoru had it easy, as he'd been directly next to a piece when the music stopped. A piece was evenly spaced between Haruhi and Mori, but being the gentleman, Mori dived for a further piece, allowing Haruhi to take the closer one. Hikaru grabbed the last, glaring at Tamaki the whole time, leaving Kyoya with nothing.

"Oh no, I seem to have lost. I guess I'm out then." Kyoya's monotone wasn't fooling anyone. He took a chair to a corner of the room out of the way of the game, and pulled out his laptop. Haruhi realized he must've been planning on losing if he knew to bring it with him.

Back at the table the cake plates were being taken away and replaced with five pieces of pie, causing Haruhi to quirk an eyebrow. "I thought this was musical cakes, senpai."

"Oh, did I say cakes? Well I meant musical sweets!"

Haruhi rolled her eyes, and started marching again as soon as the music started. They were in the same order, but no one was prepared for how quick the music stopped this time. They'd each taken about three steps before coming to an abrupt halt. In the confusion Tamaki failed to get any of the pieces near him, as did Haruhi. They both ran for the far piece of pie, but Hikaru tripped Tamaki on the way and down he want.

"Oops!" Hikaru laughed. "How clumsy of me to pick the worst possible time to pay you back!"

Haruhi grabbed the pie piece and shoved it in her mouth, not having noticed her sizable lead against Tamaki. He went to join Kyoya in the corner, sulking.

For the third round, four brownies appeared on the table. The music started and the group began walking. They walked and walked and then walked some more.

"Oh come on!" Hikaru's impatience got the better of him. His exclamation slowed his reaction time to the coincidental stopping of music, and he failed to reach a brownie in time.

He went to the corner, cursing the whole way, as three cupcakes were arranged on the table. With the group cut in half there was plenty of space between each person when the music started again. They all tried to linger near a cupcake as long as possible before rushing ahead to be near the next closest dessert. When the music stopped, Haruhi was on a table end with a cupcake which she was quick to grab. Honey and Mori were on opposite sides of the table, both in the middle. Honey's quick reflexes won him that cupcake, forcing Mori to dive across the table to the end farthest from Haruhi in an attempt to get the cupcake in front of Kaoru. He failed to make it in time, and slumped off to the corner.

Two chocolate-covered strawberries were on the table as the next round began. It was another short round and Haruhi counted herself lucky as she once again ended up directly next to one of the desserts. Kaoru didn't even have a chance at the other one, as Honey seemed able to just appear wherever a dessert was.

"Just you and me now, Haru-chan!" Honey sounded like he couldn't have been happier at the outcome.

A single cookie was brought out for the final round and placed dead center on the table. The two remaining competitors faced each other across the table and waited for the music. It began and so did they, sprinting the lengths of the table and then slowing back down every time they neared the middle and the waiting cookie. Haruhi knew she wouldn't have a chance if this continued long, as she didn't have near the endurance that Honey had, but luck was on her side again. She'd only made two rotations around the table when the music came to an abrupt halt and she happened to be just an arms reach away from the cookie. Haruhi grabbed it and shoved it into her mouth, half of it forced to stick out when it didn't fit. Honey, on the opposite side of the table hadn't been as close, but he jumped up and placed his hands on the table, using them to vault himself to the other side where Haruhi thought she had just won. He landed quickly, opened his mouth wide and went for the cookie sticking out of Haruhi's mouth. His lips closed around it and he bit his half away from Haruhi's, giving her a quick kiss before pulling away completely.

The spectators in the corner were all wide-eyed, not believing what they'd just seen their oldest member do. Tamaki stood up, fuming, and having every intention of telling Honey off. Kyoya reached up to grab his arm, effectively stopping him. He had been the first to notice what everyone else was starting to catch onto. Haruhi was laughing!

"Haha senpai!" She couldn't get a full sentence out, breaking into fits of laughter every few words. "I can't believe, hahaha, you just leapt, ha! The table! Haha you didn't have to steal my cookie senpai! Haha knowing you there's plenty more in the kitchen! But I think after that you definitely deserve to be crowned Musical Cake Champion! Oh! I mean sweets!"

Her laughter was infectious, and one by one the others found themselves joining Haruhi. Honey wore a huge grin, glad not only that he had won, but that Haruhi apparently didn't mind the kiss. He was sure he'd hear it from the others later, though.

Haruhi had to be guided back to Honey's room, to busy cracking up to be able to walk straight. Having arrived safely they left her to her own devices, and she managed to almost immediately trip over a pillow Tamaki had used during the movie, sending her sprawling to the ground. She reached out in a panic and managed to latch on to Honey as she fell, bringing him right down with her. This renewed her laughter and had the others starting again too.

"If you wanted to cuddle, Haru-chan, all you had to do was ask!" Honey managed to roll Haruhi onto her side and slid up behind her. He wrapped an arm around her waist. "You can be my Usa-chan for the night!"

She tried to calm her laughing down, and was now just chuckling silently. Honey couldn't stop smiling as her body continued to vibrate.

The others looked on, unsure of how to proceed. They half wanted to throttle Honey for his actions, and half wanted to thank him for being the cause of so much laughter. They didn't get to listen to Haruhi's laugh nearly enough, after all.

Kyoya finally broke the silence. "Tamaki, didn't you mention wanting to sleep as a group on the floor, to make this sleepover more...authentic?"

Tamaki could've hugged Kyoya then. He always knew what to do and had reminded them of a way to make Honey's actions much more innocent.

"You're right! Everyone, dog pile on Haruhi and Honey-senpai!"

They all jumped at the excuse to join Haruhi on the floor and were soon sprawled in a tangle of limbs. Haruhi laughed louder, and everyone else smiled.

They all slid apart, finding space to sleep in the bundle of pillows and blankets. Honey had been forced to end his spooning of Haruhi but was glad when she reached for his hand, keeping them from being separated. Tamaki had claimed Haruhi's other side and was curled into a ball looking at her.

After they were all comfortable and Haruhi's laughter finally died down, they talked. They joked and shared stories, continuing to laugh late into the night. Even Haruhi joined in, shocked at how much fun she was having with these goofballs.

All in all, Haruhi was glad she stayed.