a little/long introduction (my thoughts/views/worries on this fic):

this fanfic was a big "first" for me in lots of different ways (i.e. first romantic fanfic, first yaoi fanfic, first crack pairing fanfic, possibly first lime fanfic, first OHSHC fanfic, and so on and so forth)

anywhow, i greatly encourage reviews.

the chapter titles usually have little to no bearing on the chapter contents…its jus a suggested tune to go along with the chapter b/c 1) the lyrics might correspond to the chapter or 2) i was listening to this song as I wrote the chapter (usually the latter)

onto the formalities…the disclaimer stuff: I don't own Ouran High School Host Club. Bisco Hattori does. But I wish I did own OHSHC insert evil grin…anyhow there's yaoi and possibly lime/lemon...Beware if you're close-minded, homophobic, and of an inappropriate age. Otherwise, enjoy.

CH1: Koda Kumi - 1000 no Kotoba

"And…how does this make sense, Tamaki?" asked the twins in unison."Because it will broaden our horizons!" Tamaki began waltzing around the room now, one hand extended to the heavens and one hand placed on his chest. "It will bring a new type of love to the customers: a love that's wild, exotic, and…and completely unforeseen!" "…Actually, wouldn't that be a reason for why it would fail? Because it's so unpredictable that no one would have even imagined it?" interjected Haruhi bluntly.
"Oh come now Haruhi, you can't always play by the book! You have to think outside of the box…" pleaded Tamaki.
Kaoru zoned out of the conversation. Tamaki, as usual, was ranting about a new concept. Funny thing, however, was that it was a completely original concept of Tamaki's own design. Of course, that meant it was: 1) doomed to failure even before he could even tell the others about it or, 2) it was implemented, then faced disastrous results which resulted in a loss of profits and an extremely angry Kyouya. Today, this plan seemed to be following the latter option. However, Kyouya was away for the week and even though he left strict orders not to do anything drastic, there they were, the entire Host Club, listening to Tamaki. As if listening to him wasn't drastic enough.
"…and that's why this plan will work!" shouted Tamaki with a look of determination. Everyone was quiet momentarily. Kaoru regained focus on the discussion, trying to decipher what had just happened.
"Oye, Haruhi, did Tamaki say anything important while I was nodding off?"
"…All he said was to think outside of the box and that's why the plan will work" replied Haruhi with a dangerous twitch in her eye. "THAT MADE NO SENSE WHATSOEVER!" yelled Haruhi.
"But…Okaa-san(1)…said I could be creative…" mumbled Tamaki weakly as he in sat in the corner. Snowflakes started to fall on his head as he tried his best to look rejected.
"Haaaru-chan! I think Tamaki has a good point!" cried Hunny cheerfully. Hikaru started to nod, so Kaoru took his cue to nod as well. Mori just grunted a sound of what sounded like approval. Haruhi sighed deeply.
"Alright…we'll try it" she said with a tone of regret.
"Really! That's good to hear! You make Otou-san so happy!" cried Tamaki as he burst forth to hug Haruhi. However, Kaoru threw his banana peel on the floor in time for Tamaki to slip and fall flat on his back.
"By the way…" said Haruhi, with a finger rubbing her chin. "We haven't even heard your plan yet." True enough, the Host Club had almost rejected another one of Tamaki's ideas without even hearing it.

"Ok, now I definitely don't like your idea" protested Hikaru.
"It's just for a week! Besides, mixing up the pairings would make it seem all that more interesting! It would add jealousy, lovesickness, desire, longing…" continued Tamaki. He had proposed dividing the Host Club into new pairings.
"But…but our pairing is the reason why we're requested!" shouted Hikaru. "Putting me with someone else would just ruin the whole concept of brotherly love! The girls dig that stuff!" However, Hikaru seemed to be the only one protesting. Hunny looked happy as always, Haruhi just listened, and Mori…well Mori's face was unreadable.
"Well Hikaru, Kaoru doesn't seem to be protesting, so I don't seem why we shouldn't split you two up" replied Tamaki nonchalantly. Hikaru gave Kaoru a glare of death. Kaoru took his cue.
"Uh, actually Tamaki…" started Kaoru, but before he could finish, Tamaki interjected and finished Kaoru's statement with his own.
"You like my idea Kaoru? Glad to hear that. Well then, I've already made the pairings!" A thought bubble began to emerge from Tamaki's head. Once again, everyone could see inside the thought bubble. This time, it showed Tamaki and Haruhi, in a very exposing bikini, running across a beach in Hawaii.
"Tamaki-sempai, we're still in Japan you know…" said an irritated Haruhi. Tamaki woke from his reverie.
"Anyhow, I'll tell you the pairings now!" cried Tamaki triumphantly. But before he could say a word, Hunny jumped on him.
"I wanna go with Tamaki!" he cried gleefully.
"Well, then I wanna go with Haruhi!" volunteered Hikaru. That left Kaoru…with Mori. Not that he didn't like him. Nothing like that. It was just…he didn't know him. There just seemed to be an inseparable distance between Mori and everyone else.
"But…but Haruhi was s'posed to go with Otaa-san…" cried Tamaki on the verge of crying.
"Never," replied Haruhi bluntly, "you hentai." An arrow flew across the room and stabbed Tamaki.

Their supply of cake and sweets ran out the next day. Without Kyouya to supervise the inventory, Hunny had gone on an eating spree."Tamakiii! We hafta go buy more sweets!" pleaded Hunny, tugging at Tamaki's shirt end.
"But we can't just leave the girls like this" whispered Tamaki.
"Then take 'em with us!" said Hunny, now on the verge of crying. The girls immediately agreed and started dragging Tamaki along with them as they left the building.
"Hey, Tamaki's gone. How's bout you and me go for a walk?" Hikaru asked Haruhi devilishly.
"Uhm…wouldn't we be really short of hosts then?" asked Haruhi innocently.
"Ah, but my brother and Mori can take care of them. Besides…" Hikaru looked particulary devilish at the moment. "…Ootoro" he muttered under his breath. Haruhi's eyes flashed open.
"…let's go" she commanded as she took the lead out of the room.
"Take care of the gals will ya, Kaoru?" laughed Hikaru as he ran out.
"But!" cried Kaoru after him. The door slammed. Now the only people that were there were him and Mori…and 50 girls holding signs reading 'MOE!'
"Heh…uhm…so how are you all doing today?" asked Kaoru nervously. This was much more difficult without Hikaru. In the 1 minute since Hikaru's departure, Kaoru realized how much he depended on Hikaru for cues.

-10 minutes later-

The girls were gone. After 5 minutes of Mori's silence and Kaoru's fruitless attempts at conversation, the girls more or less made an excuse that they needed to be somewhere else. Now it was just him…and Mori. The silence was unbearable."Y'know Mori…you don't talk a lot" chuckled Kaoru, trying to start up a conversation.
"…Mhm." Mori didn't even open his mouth. But the silence was killing Kaoru. He had to continue talking.
"Well, uh…why's that?"
"…Why's what?" replied Mori, coolly. His eyes seemed to be fixed on the door.
"Why don't you talk more?"
"…Because there's not much to say." Kaoru's right eye twitched. Talking to Mori was like talking to a stone.
"Well, there's lots to talk about" said Kaoru, regaining his composure.
"…Like?"
"…Like talk about yourself!" said Kaoru, suddenly getting interested. It was true, Mori never talked about himself (he didn't talk in the first place), and so no one really knew what Mori was like (except for his devotion to Hunny).
"…Well, my name is Morinozuka Takashi." He spoke slowly for some reason.
"Well I know that" sighed Kaoru.
"…I'm Japanese…I'm tall…I go to Ouran HS…I'm a senior…" continued Mori in his slow, monotonous voice. Both of Kaoru's eyes were twitching now. Was he deliberately treating him as someone stupid?
"How's bout something I don't know already. Something you don't normally talk about." Mori's eyes seemed to widen, if just for a moment. It then returned to normal.
"…There's some things better left unsaid" he replied calmly.
"But there's always things better when said!" replied Kaoru cheerfully.
"…what do you want from me?" asked Mori, suddenly serious. His eyes were now transfixed on Kaoru. Kaoru started to back away, feeling Mori's killer intent.
"Ah…well, uhm…never mind." Kaoru turned his back to Mori. Mori's aura seemed to be screaming "Kill!" at the moment so he didn't feel like persisting in conversation. Kaoru sat with his knees drawn to his chest and looked out the window. He could see Haruhi and Hikaru running around in the garden maze. Running happily. Like…like those lovey-dovey couples.

It made him long for something. A certain type of companionship. He wanted something, no, someone that would take his cues for a change. Someone who could read his signs, act accordingly, and pull it off without a mistake. Someone who actually understood him, who complemented his existence. Someone…he could share his love with. Not brotherly love though. He needed to find someone other than his brother. It seemed he was far from finding this person. All he knew was that this someone…could not be a girl. He was fundamentally not attracted to girls. But why was he here in the Host Club in the first place?
"…They look happy."
"Yeah…" sighed Kaoru. He then jumped 5 feet into the air. He hadn't even notice that Mori had snuck up next to him.
"…Did you forget I was here?" asked Mori, as he patted Kaoru's head.
"Well, yeah kind of."
"…Even if I don't say anything, I'm always there." Mori grinned. It was rare to see him grin…especially a grin that he had given so wholeheartedly.
"…What happened to your killer intent?"
"…?" Mori looked at him questioningly. But Kaoru didn't expect an answer. He just stared at Mori's smile…a smile that seemed to be but a small curve on a solemn face. Yet it seemed so…understanding. Possibly even loving. Before he had realized it, he had closed his eyes. His body seemed to move on its own as he suddenly leaned his face forward. He didn't know what the hell he was doing. He didn't know if Mori was leaning forward too. He didn't know if this would be his first real kiss…if their lips would actually meet. He didn't know what would happen if their lips did meet. He didn't know…and he never would. At that instant, the door was rammed open and in came Tamaki and Hunny followed by hundreds of cakes.

"Weee're back!" cried Hunny as he jumped into his seat and started eating a cake."Where's Haruhi?" asked Tamaki in a demanding voice.
"Having a walk with Hikaru" replied Kaoru evilly. Tamaki's face changed to horror as he ran up to the window, opened it, and jumped out. Kaoru burst out laughing, as did the other girls in the room. The laughter subsided as Kaoru started to realize something. He had leaned forward, expecting a kiss from Mori. From Mori, emphasis on the fact that Mori was a guy who showed no interest in gals, let alone show interest in the same gender. His mind raced furiously as the horror started to sink in. 'Mori's not gay…hell he's not even straight…but what about earlier? Did he see me? Does he know? What the hell was I doing anyways? We were just talking…what the hell was I thinking? A kiss? For what? We weren't even talking about anything remotely close to that. Am I getting desperate?'(2). Kaoru clutched his forehead tightly as his thoughts started to swirl around him. His inner mind began to sink into a deep hole as he thought of what would happen to him if Mori said anything about this to the others. What brought him out of his confusing reverie…was a sudden pat on his head. He looked up to meet Mori's gaze…and smile.
"This is why I said…some things are better left unsaid" he said quietly. Kaoru sat dumbfounded. It seemed…it seemed as if Mori had just miraculously read his mind. Kaoru sat silently, letting relief creep back into the confines of his mind.
"…I'm not sure what to say, Mori-sempai. But…thanks anyhow." Kaoru tried to play dumb. He didn't want Mori to catch on more than he had already seemed to.
"It's all good" chimed in Renge…Renge! The hell! Without pausing, Renge picked up a microphone out of nowhere and started the "MOE!"(3) chant. A chorus of over a hundred girls joined in.
"This is so much better than brotherly love!" they cried in unison as they scrambled all over Kaoru. Kaoru stood up as fast he could to escape the assault…only to slip on his own banana peel.

TBC

some quick notes to enhance the reading experience…

1) although most ppl know these words, i mite as well put em in jus in case: okaa-san mom, otou-san dad.
2) this part of Kaoru's inner thoughts should be read/read aloud amazingly fast…just think caffeinated-panic mode.
3) to be honest, i still don't understand the concept of moe. it seems to me that they scream it whenever the guys do something very emotional/cute/no reason at all. care to clarify for me?

R&R please, cuz everyone knows fanfic writers are actually secretly depressed angsty teens looking for an outlet…or not