Disclaimer: Bisco Hatori owns Ouran.

Happy holidays, everyone, and may your season be bright and full of love.

Carolers sang as she opened the door
Faces of friends in the crowd
And all of the shadows of lonely reminders
Driven away by the sound.

"Stop it, you two!" Tamaki shouted over the sound of a jaunty and obnoxious Christmas tune. Even with the festive atmosphere, he was moments from pulling his hair out. Hikaru and Kaoru turned toward him, golden eyes gleaming by the light of the fireplace, and fixed him with matching stares. Their fuzzy royal blue sweaters, Hikaru's emblazoned with an H and Kaoru's with a K, did little to hide the cunning in their smiles.

"And what are you going to do if we don't, tono?" Hikaru asked.

"We're just having fun!" Kaoru protested.

"Well I doubt Haruhi is finding it very fun!" Tamaki argued as the twins moved with perfect synchronicity, looping more of the length of blinking colored lights around the bemused girl who stood looking rather small in her white sweater and moving her mug of hot cocoa off to the left to avoid it getting hit by Kaoru's arm.

"Senpai is right," she muttered. "You two really need to knock it off. If you want to be home before midnight, you should probably stop screwing around."

"Maybe we don't want to be home by midnight," Hikaru said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, maybe our plan is to keep you here with us all night," Kaoru shot Tamaki a smug look, at which the blonde turned his head away and huffed.

"Your tricks will not work on me tonight! I am going to enjoy Christmas eve and I will not let you horrible doppelgangers ruin it for me!" he turned back to the three first years. "Please let Haruhi go, though?" he said helplessly.

It was without a word that Mori came up behind the four of them and pushed the twins gently aside, unwrapping the Christmas lights from around Haruhi's body. He lifted her gently out of the tangled pile and placed her safely on the floor to the left, managing not to spill her cocoa in the process.

"Good job, Takashi!" Hunny shouted happily, dropping the ornament he was hanging on a low branch of the enormous Christmas tree and running up to the tall boy. Mori smiled warmly down at the tiny blonde, allowing him to clasp his hand in his own.

"Thanks, Mori-senpai," Haruhi told him with a smile, compulsively smoothing out her sweater.

"I could have done it too, Haruhi!" Tamaki reminded her.

"Well, you didn't," Haruhi informed him, taking a long drink of cocoa. "And since when is there a fireplace in the music room? I didn't notice it yesterday."

"That's because it wasn't there yesterday," Kyouya looked up from his place at one of the tea tables, where he sat placidly watching the spectacle before him, looking very faintly miserable in the itchy maroon sweater Tamaki had purchased him as a Christmas present. When the club president had made the decision that his gift to each individual member would be a matching, custom designed sweater, he had not anticipated such unpleasantness and had certainly not expected to spend the evening itching. "Tamaki had it installed this morning for some reason."

"So we could all decorate our tree together by the warmth of a roaring fire!" Tamaki explained frantically. "Like they do in the storybooks."

"I still think it's a waste to put in a fireplace for one evening," Haruhi told him, her eyes focused out the windows at the rapidly falling snow that rushed past the huge panes. "Wouldn't it have been easier just to light a few candles or something?"

"It's not the same," Tamaki said sigh with a slightly dreamy sigh. "When I was a little kid, Mother and I used to do this kind of thing-- minus the tree-- together with her parents and all of the servants. Last year, you were all out of the country for Christmas, so it's been years since I got to do anything like this…" he trailed off, suddenly looking embarrassed. "And look, we even took down the trees that the guests decorated to make room for our own special Host Club tree! Did you notice the special ornaments?"

Dragging her gaze away from the snow, Haruhi moved a bit closer to the tree and squinted among the branches. There were small, wooden carvings of each Club member nestled among the bright glass baubles and flashing lights. "Oh yeah, I see them!" she exclaimed. "Wow, those are really cool, senpai. Where did you find them?"

"I got them from Nekozawa-senpai," Tamaki answered proudly. "You know how apt he is at arts and crafts!"

"I never really had him pegged as the crafting sort," Haruhi mused, touching the Tamaki ornament and making it swing.

"And I suppose you never had me pegged as the baking sort?" Tamaki asked with a wink. "Because this year I've taken the liberty of baking my own buche de Nol! Mother would be so proud!" he gushed, hands flying up to his cheeks.

"Um… what's that?" Hikaru and Kaoru asked together, exchanging a confused glance.

"It's a cake eaten during the holidays. It's shaped like a Yule log," Kyouya explained, and when he received quizzical glances from the twins, he sighed and adjusted his glasses. "It's a French tradition."

"Oh yeah tono, I always forget you're French," Kaoru laughed slightly.

Tamaki smiled. "It is important to embrace one's heritage!" he said loudly and grandly, sweeping an arm around Haruhi's shoulders. She sighed and attempted to escape, but his grip was far too strong and so she gave up and stayed put. "Which is precisely why I am hosting le Réveillon at my home this evening at seven and I am inviting you all to come!"

"Um… translation, Kyouya-senpai?" Kaoru asked.

The dark haired boy sighed. "It's a huge feast traditionally held in France after the Christmas Eve mass," he explained.

"I… don't have anyone to attend at the moment but my father," Tamaki said sheepishly. "But I really… I really want all of you to be there." for a moment, he seemed almost shy, and then his usual air returned. "So what do you say!?"

"I believe I've already RSVPed," Kyouya reminded him.

"Count us in," Hikaru agreed.

"Takashi and I will be there… won't we Takashi?" Hunny declared, and Mori nodded solemnly, a smile slipping across his lips. Hunny sipped happily at his cocoa, kicking his tiny legs that came nowhere close to touching the ground in the chair he sat in.

"Haruhi?" Tamaki asked, and when he turned his eyes on her, she was suddenly hit with the full brunt of his desperation. She had expected some kind of silly, excited sparkle to his eyes at that moment, but what she found was uncertainty and was that… worry that she would refuse? It was odd to see him looking so fragile, and somewhere deep inside, Haruhi felt her emotions jolt. She was touched. Slowly, she nodded.

"Sure, Tamaki-senpai. I'll be there."

It was odd the way his entire air changed and his expression lit up more brightly than the rainbow colors of the Christmas lights that lit his skin at her words. "Thank you, Haruhi," he said softly, and Haruhi felt that jolt again and had to turn away. She was finding herself being surprised by his depth more and more lately, and it opened up things she would honestly rather not feel, warm as they were. It was impossible not the realize what they were, and as interestingly pleasant as it felt, it was a bit confusing all at the same time. For a moment, he locked his eyes with hers, and time seemed to stand still.

"We need more decorations!" Tamaki declared suddenly, turning away with a red face and heading toward one of the practice rooms where the decorations were being stored. "I'llberightback!"

Haruhi left her cocoa on one of the tables, and Tamaki had nearly reached the practice room, a red blur in his bright sweater, when she caught up to him. She supposed realistically it wasn't 'now or never', but it helped her courage to tell herself it was. "Wait, senpai!" she called out, and the tall blonde stopped in his tracks and turned to face her.

"Yes, Haruhi?" he was still blushing faintly.

"I have something for you," she said, rummaging in her pocket and pulling out a small wrapped lump. "The others helped me find somewhere I could get it made. I know it's not much but… I thought you might like it."

Tamaki unwrapped it delicately, smiling widely all the while. When he drew out the small snow globe with small figures inside, he looked surprised and leaned in closer to look at them. As Haruhi watched him stare in at the seven small club members encased in the plastic with the tiny fake snowflakes rushing around them, she couldn't help but grin happily.

"I also wanted to say that… well… I know you really miss your mother still. I know now that you see all of us as a family to you and I… wanted to tell you that I… you're part of my family too, senpai," the words came out without her real conscious consent, and she blushed fiercely at them. She supposed, however, that it was good to be honest with him, and she did not apologize for speaking too boldly to him. Tamaki was just as red as she was, and she was surprised to find that his eyes were moist.

"Thank you, Haruhi," Tamaki charged forward without warning and clasped her against his chest. "For the present and… for that. I really… needed to hear it."

"Tamaki-senpai…" Haruhi relaxed slightly and let her head rest more comfortably against him. There was something fantastical about this moment, as though it was something out of the storybooks Tamaki had talked about earlier and she was not really here now experiencing it. "I really…"

"Oh look, mistletoe," Tamaki gestured upward with one hand, blushing furiously. Haruhi glanced upward and caught sight of the small plant dangling above them in the doorway like some sort of omen. Haruhi was unsure of whether to laugh it off or walk away, but Tamaki seemed to have other plans. Without warning and without the hesitation she expected, he leaned down and pecked her tenderly on the lips.

"Uh… um… oh," touching her lips, Haruhi backed up slightly, conscious of her hot cheeks. "Uh… thanks."

At that moment, Tamaki looked down awkwardly and his eyes fell on the snow globe and wrapping he still held onto. He caught sight of the gift tag that still clung to the green paper, and his heart leapt.

"Merry Christmas… with love." -Haruhi

For a moment he swore time stood still. It was unclear in what sense she had meant that beautiful four letter word, but at that moment, standing there under the mistletoe and smiling madly at her as though the world would end tomorrow, somehow it didn't matter. There was a song in his heart and stars in his eyes, and the world seemed in perfect harmony with itself. In that perfect moment before some crisis arose or the twins rushed over to tease them or Hunny informed them to hurry up with the ornamental poinsettias, he swore he could feel her heart beating, and he smiled.

"Merry Christmas, Haruhi."

"Merry Christmas, Tamaki-senpai."

Just for this moment, he couldn't think of anything else in this world that he needed.

Now the heart that for years had been silent
Was suddenly filled with a song
As she clung to their hands like a child in the night
She found her self singing along.

Merry Christmas to all who may dwell here
Merry Christmas if even just one
May the joy of the season surround you
Merry Christmas with love