Disclaimer: I don't own Ouran High School Host Club, Bisco Hatori does.

1

The Last Wilting Rose

"At the stroke of midnight, the carriage always turns back into a pumpkin. That night, when the spell broke on our own carriage, will remain in all of our thoughts, reminding us of what we took for granted."

On the last night that Haruhi Fujioka spent, with the host club boys, was the celebration of her school graduation. There was no longer a secret to keep, and much to Tamaki's delight, she could dress like a girl. The long gown, that made her look most radiant, was of the faintest lavender. That night, the celebration was a elegant ball, at the home of Tamaki Suou, Haruhi's long term boyfriend.

"Tamaki, I have something to tell you," Haruhi whispered.

Tamaki couldn't hear her properly, because of the music. "Haruhi..." he whispered.

"Tamaki, I..." The rest of what Haruhi said, was drowned out by the sound of all the other guests clapping at the end of the song.

"I love you, to," Tamaki said, assuming that as what she had said.

For now, Haruhi decided to leave it at that, she knew that he probably hadn't heard what she had said. When they where alone, she would tell him again. At the end of the song, Tamaki and Haruhi parted ways. Tamaki had to speak to his father, and Haruhi wanted to check the buffet. After actually tasting fancy tuna, she had actually taken quite a liking to it. Honey was also at the buffet table, holding his beloved Usa-chan, trying to decide what cake he wanted. He was still just a small as he was, when they were back in high school.

"Hi, Haru-chan!" Honey said, with a extra cute smile. "Having fun?"

"Hi, Honey," Haruhi replied, smiling in return. "I am. I thought I would see if there was any fancy tuna."

"There is! Kyo-chan and Tama-chan made sure there would be," Honey replied. He pointed right at the plate, containing Haruhi's favourite, fancy tuna.

Haruhi ate some fancy tuna, talked to Honey some more, then headed out of the ballroom. She was sure that Tamaki hadn't returned to the ballroom, or he would have requested another dance, like he promised. Down the hallway, in the dark corridor, Haruhi could see a door partially open at the very end. It was only open a tiny crack, but that was open enough, for her to hear voices in that room. Normally, she would have walked away, but she heard Tamaki's voice. She tip-toed down the corridor, and peeked into the room, through the crack in the door. Haruhi took a step back, and held her hand over her mouth to stop her from gasping. A single tear fell from her eyes.

That, was the last time she saw Tamaki Suou, because she fled into the night, not leaving a single thing behind, save for one: the rose he had given her at the start of the ball. It now lay on the patio, wilting, and the last symbol of what was once their love.

Three Years Later

"I'm sorry, Dad, I'm not ready to come home yet..." Haruhi replied, her voice full of anguish.

"Ok, Dear, but remember I'm here if you need me," Ryoji Fujioka said, his voice full of concern for his only daughter.

"I know..." Haruhi replied.

"I'll call you next week."

When Haruhi put the phone down, she wanted to cry. All she had thought about, was that night at the ball, it flashed through her mind, on a continuous loop. Her heart ached, because she had offered her heart to the man she loved, and in turn had her heart handed back to her broken. She hadn't spoken to any of the boys, since that night. It wasn't that she didn't want to see Kyoya, Mori, Honey, Hikaru & Kaoru, it was that she just wasn't ready to face them yet. Her moment of anguish was broken, by the sound of a girl calling her.

"Maa..." A golden haired toddler called, as she proudly walked into the room grasping a handful of crayons.

"Aya, have you drawn me a picture again?" Haruhi asked.

The golden haired girl, Aya, nodded her head. Her eyes resembled Haruhi's, they had the same soft chocolate brown colour. Aya's hair was long and wavy, falling to her elbows in length.

"Did you draw it on the wall?" Haruhi asked. She forced a smile, when the toddler nodded her head again. "Let's go get the camera..." Haruhi said, with fake niceness.

Haruhi walked back into the living room, with little Aya, to retrieve the camera from the closet. She loved her little girl greatly, but sometimes, little Aya just didn't know when to behave. Haruhi pretended to be happy, as she took pictures of the drawing of a squiggly shape, that Aya claimed was "Maa" and the one next to it was "Ryaaa." Ryaa was Haruhi's father, Ryoji, but Aya was too young to be able to pronounce his name. Haruhi thought that Aya's misbehaving, was probably because she was in that 'terrible twos' phase.

"Maa... hungy..." Aya said, once Haruhi had taken a photo of the drawings on the wall.

"Well, I'll just have to make you something to eat, then won't I?" Haruhi replied.

Haruhi walked back into the kitchen, to make something for her daughter to eat. She made two bowls of tempura rice for herself, and Aya. The mother and daughter sat at the table in the living room, to eat their dinner. They had a low table, just like the one that was in the Fujioka apartment, when Haruhi still lived with her father. Ryoji still lived in the same apartment, and often wished Haruhi would come home. After the two of them had eaten, Haruhi had to clean the drawing off the wall, while Aya rummaged around in the closet, playing dress up with whatever items of clothing she could find of Haruhi's. There was a box of old clothes, that either had a small hole in them, or had gotten a bleach stain on, that Haruhi had given Aya to use, for something to wear during painting, so she wouldn't ruin her own clothes, or play dress up with.

"Maa! Me, you!" Aya shouted.

Aya was wearing one of Haruhi's dress tops, with a small bleach stain on the front - the stain was barely noticeable, one of Haruhi's old socks on her left foot - the other had gone missing somewhere. The dress to was much to long for her, and she kept stepping on it, and tripping over.

"It's like looking in the mirror!" Haruhi told her, much to Aya's delight.

A/N: I'm dedicating this one to a very close friend of mine, that always puts up with my OHSHC obsession, and reads my stories without protest. She's the coolest person I know.

This one, I really enjoyed writing. I got the idea totally randomly, and just had to write it. That being said, the only thing I own is the plot, and Aya. :P