Ouran High School Host Club © Bisco Hatori

A/N: Random 5AM dribble.

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I'm Yours

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From the moment she stepped foot through the door of the Third Music Room, life at the Ouran High School Host Club was never quite the same. Chatter buzzed with news of the arrival of the scholarship student, Fujioka Haruhi and she -- or he, as she was first introduced to them -- was lucky enough to find the group of handsome young men while searching for a quiet place to study. As fate would further have it, her entire high school career was handed to them as the eight million yen vase flew through the air, crashed on the floor and shattered into hundreds of irreparable pieces.

To their extreme surprise, Haruhi turned out to be, in fact, a girl; a girl with little care of her physical appearance, but a girl none the less. Now the group of young men were faced with a challenge: keeping Haruhi's gender a secret. While this seemed to be their biggest challenge ever, an even more destructive challenge arose from the shadows and bit them right in the butt.

How to keep from falling in love with the insanely adorable and brilliantly oblivious Haruhi.

For the Host Club King, Suoh Tamaki, that challenge was one he could not win against. He was helpless to say the least but at least it provided comedic relief amongst the club. Not that they needed it, anyway.

Things weren't much better for Hitachiin Hikaru, who seemed quite smitten by the girl; his twin Kaoru appeared somewhat unreadable at times when he saw his brother with Haruhi. It was an indescribable look that arose in his eyes. But he stayed by his brother's side, regardless; their world still involved only themselves but the light that was Haruhi was slowly breaking through.

Ootori Kyoya seemed indifferent. He liked Haruhi, yes, but no one could be sure. He seemed more interested in shoving the poor girl's debt down her throat, although he had developed kinder ways of doing it as of late.

Haninozuka Mitsukuni loved Haruhi. That was obvious. While he was 2 years her senior, she often treated him as a mother would treat her child, or an older sister would treat her little brother. Regardless of how their relationship worked, there were pure feelings between the two, fluffier and softer than Usa-chan, the plush toy Hunny carried with him everywhere.

But when it came to Morinozuka Takashi, things became a bit complicated. Because of his constant silence and outstanding poker face, it was difficult to decipher what he was thinking at the present moment, much less trying to figure out how he felt for the female host. There were ways to find out though; tricky ways. Small gestures and looks that he would often display or his many rescue missions to save her from the clutches of the King or the Twins and secure her to her only safe haven in the Host Club: his arms.

Kyoya had told them that at her middle school, Haruhi was asked out at least twice a month. Upon hearing the news, Mori could not understand why. But after spending time with Haruhi, he fully comprehended the justification behind those actions.

Haruhi was smart, funny, kind and blunt. She looked deep into your eyes when she spoke to you. She smiled in earnest and wasn't afraid to show when she was annoyed, angry or bored. One could say she wore her heart on her sleeve but it was more than that. Haruhi was an open book. She cared about her friends but wasn't afraid to put them in their place if need be. She was just an average girl in a very unaverage place and that is what made her so extraordinary; she maintained her normalcy in such an abnormal place.

For that, Mori liked her. Quite more than he should, he often reasoned with himself.

While it was clear that the majority of the Host Club felt the same way about their natural rookie, Haruhi was Haruhi and showed no preference for one host over the other. It was that attribute that made it so difficult to wonder what to do.

Trying to woo her off her feet wasn't working, as Tamaki's actions so plainly displayed. Involving her in schemes and sandwiching her between fellow classmates wasn't working either, Hikaru saw. No one else made much of a move, however. The two top contenders for her heart were somewhat stumped. Haruhi was definitely different; any other girl would have been madly in love with one or the other.

As much as he cared about her, Mori decided to leave her alone and see where things would go. A natural approach. As fate would have it, Haruhi once confessed to enjoying his company more than the other Hosts. He would leave her alone if she needed the time and he would be there when she needed him. Mori would help her, rescue her and keep her safe until he knew she could be returned to the world.

Haruhi thanked him profusely for that.

Mori didn't like to assume things, but he sometimes felt a pair of eyes transfixed on him as he listened to the idle banter of his customers. He'd glance in her direction and there she'd be, staring at him with warm eyes and a welcoming smile. And in her own cute style, she would wave at him, along with her customers and Mori would smile at Haruhi, earning himself a blush that she brilliantly wore with pride each time.

Haruhi would sometime wait with Hunny after school. Mori would attend his Kendo practice and when he'd emerge, tired, there she'd be with a soothing smile and a warm greeting. Mori would gladly accept it, the warmth behind it caressing all the aches he felt.

Haruhi had a tendency to make him feel that way.

That was the way things were.

Whenever Haruhi needed him, she'd call out his name and there he'd be, ready to protect her and fulfill whatever need she had. Loyalty flowed in his blood and Haruhi knew that. She knew Mori would always be there. He'd be there to protect and rescue her. He'd be there to listen and he'd be there to make her smile. Mori's hand would always be there to hold hers, his fingers to intertwine with hers and grow a blush out of her.

Haruhi would always be there to soothe all his aches away. She would be there to greet him with a smile, to regale him with stories that he would faithfully listen to. She would be there to make him smile, to make him quietly chuckle and make him actually speak. He knew Haruhi would be there. She would be there to be rescued, to sigh in gratitude and adoration, because Mori was her hero and she couldn't get away from danger, no matter how hard she tried. Her small arms would always be there to wrap around his chest, to wrap around his arm and keep her by his side, earning her such a smile from him that rivaled the sunrise.

One day, Mori looked across the Third Room and glanced over at Haruhi. She sat up and looked around until their gazes met and they smiled at one another, amidst all the chaos in the room.

With that glance, Mori knew that Haruhi would wait for him after Kendo practice and Haruhi knew that Mori would walk her home.

They didn't need any words for it because, somehow along the months, they found that they were more than friends or any romantic label.

Mori belonged to Haruhi.

And Haruhi belonged to Mori.

There wasn't much to explain.

After the Host Club activities were done for the day, Mori went to retrieve his and Haruhi's book bags from their cupboards and headed toward the door. And there was Haruhi, holding the door open with a funny grin on her face as she waited for him to return to her. Mori smiled at her and shook his head slightly.

He often wondered if Haruhi knew how she affected him sometimes. How she made his heart skip a beat and how she made him want to smile for no reason at all. But, Mori rationalized, Haruhi wasn't doing it on purpose.

She was just exercising her right to be loved.