When the firstborn child of Haninozuka Mitsukuni and Haninozuka Reiko was an adorable little boy with blond hair and big, solemn brown eyes, no one was surprised. It was normal, even expected, for the Haninozuka line to bear sons.

When the firstborn child of Morinozuka Takashi and Morinozuka Kaori is born a year later, though, there's a lot of whispering in shock and awe. For the two of them have managed to do what was considered almost impossible – they've given birth to the first girl to be born to the Morinozuka line since Morinozuka Kanako, who married Haninozuka Akira and joined the two families.

"I wonder if Taka-chan's daughter will be good friends with Hiroaki," Hani said to Reiko as the two of them sat in the hospital waiting area. They had rushed down to the Ootori private hospital after receiving a frantic call from Takashi that Kaori was in labour, leaving their child at home with the multitude of capable servants. Rushing a toddler out of the house in the middle of the night wasn't usually a good idea, after all.

"Hmm, maybe," she hummed sleepily as she blinked blearily. Reiko typically wasn't very alert if her sleep cycle was interrupted. "You know what happened to the last boy-girl Morinozuka-Haninozuka pair, though."

Mitsukuni frowned. "Yes, I suppose that's possible, but lightning doesn't strike at the same place twice, does it?" he commented. "It would be fun, though! Takashi and I will be like brothers-in-law!" he exclaimed, flowers floating around his head.

Reiko yawned. "Yes, it would be cute, but don't get your hopes up too high. We wouldn't want to put any pressure on them."

Mitsukuni went and sat on the couch next to Reiko. "Of course not," he responded as he reached up to pull her head down to his lap. "No matter what the nature of their relationship, of course it won't matter," he said as he covered her eyes with one hand and stroked her hair with the other.

"I'll wake you up when the baby is here," he said softly. "I'll call the housekeeper and have someone bring Hiro to the hospital, and we'll see how much they like each other."

12 hours later

"Takashi, she's so cute!" Mitsukuni stood next to his tall friend in front of the nursery, peering at his hours-old daughter.

"Yeah," the circumspect man agreed quietly, smiling softly at the peacefully sleeping bundle.

"What have you decided to name her?" Mitsukuni asked, bouncing on the balls of his feet excitedly. "You should think of a name that sounds as good with the last name Haninozuka as it does Morinozuka," he said teasingly.

Takashi glanced down at the smaller man. "Her name is Kanako," he said, smiling on the inside. It seemed that both of them had had the same idea.

"Wow, really? I should have named Hiro-chan Akira, then!" Mitsukuni said.

Takashi shrugged. "Kanako is an old family name, and there aren't that many of those for girls in the Morinozuka family."

Mitsukuni hummed. "Are you excited about having a daughter?"

"It's not something I ever expected," Takashi admitted. "I think it'll be nice, though. Maybe she'll spice things up in the dojo, add some new family traditions. Kaori is excited, though. She wants to teach her all about smashing the patriarchy," he said, smiling at the thought of his fiercely outspoken and feminist wife.

"That's good…" Mitsukuni said, chuckling. "With Kaori-san as Kanako's mother, you won't have to worry about her voice being drowned out by all the Haninozuka and Morinozuka men. Speaking of which, how is she?"

"She should still be sleeping… the birth took a lot out of her," Takashi said, flexing his hand reflexively when he thought of how hard she'd squeezed it.

Mitsukuni laughed. "I think Reiko-chan and I heard her screaming from the waiting area. She has, um… very creative language."

"Yeah…" Takashi agreed, before falling silent as he looked at his daughter. As if on cue, she opened her eyes and looked directly at her father, and Mitsukuni thought he could hear his friend's heart literally melting for a moment.

That's my cue to leave… he thought as he quietly walked away to give his friend some time alone with his new daughter.

"Papa, Papa!" Hiroaki babbled excitedly from where he was sitting in Mitsukuni's lap. Takashi, holding his newborn daughter, was lowering himself onto the sofa in the hospital room next to his friend. Kaori, lying in her hospital bed, and Reiko, sitting by her side, looked on fondly as the two men prepared to introduce their children to each other.

"Hiro-chan, this is Kanako," Mitsukuni said, adjusting the little boy on his lap so that he was facing the baby. "You're going to be best friends, just like Takashi-ojiisan and I are."

Takashi brought the baby closer to Hiroaki, and Kaori, from her vantage point on the bed, almost swooned at how adorable the sight was. Kanako was a tiny infant, and was completely dwarfed by her husband's tall frame.

"B-baby!" Hiroaki managed to get out, and reached out to take Kanako's chubby little fist.

"Aww…" the adults all looked on with helpless adoration, Reiko whipping out her phone to take pictures, as Kanako opened her eyes and looked right at Hiroaki, holding his hand in hers.

Just a little drabble I couldn't get out of my head. Would anyone be interested in reading more of this? I could turn it into a series.

In my headcanon Kaori is the scholar who comes to Ouran the year after Haruhi does. Haruhi mentors her, which is how she meets the Host Club (and Mori).