Word count: 1604
Summary: What would happen if Tamaki was scared of thunderstorms instead of Haruhi?
Ouran High School Host Club fanficton. When I thought of 'help' and 'stormy', I thought of how scared Haruhi is of them. Plus, I recently finished the Ouran live-action, so....
At first I was hesitant about Tamaki-senpai’s suggestion to stay at his family’s guest house with the others, but with the promise of professionally-made European cuisine and my own king-size bed for three days, it was hard to refuse.
The first day has gone quickly – we went swimming, played some table tennis, had a Host Club Mahjong tournament (Mori-senpai won almost immediately, taking all of us by surprise), then finished it off by relaxing in the outdoor bath. The female bath was only separated by a tall wooden fence, so Tamaki-senpai ended up talking/shouting to me as I tried to relax.
“Haruhi? Are you there, Haruhi? ……HA-ru-HIIIII-!”
“Yes, yes!” I cried, glaring at the fence as I lowered myself further into the steamed water until my chin was submerged. “What is it, Senpai? This is the only time I’ll have to relax before I go to bed, so make it quick.”
A loud gasp. “Remarkable… ‘What is it, father dear?’” he corrects, trying to imitate my voice. “I didn’t raise you to be so disrespectful. If only you could see how handsome I look right now. Mother!”
I hear Kyouya-senpai’s lazy voice: “Yes, very handsome.”
A full minute goes by before a scream pierces the fence like a spearhead.
“Ah, what is it??” Honey-senpai. “Tama-chan, are you okay?!”
“Oh! Yes…I just…I caught my reflection and I got a little startled.”
Not this again…
Unfortunately, he continues. “I forgot how good I look…naked.”
My butt loses its grip on the bottom of the bath, causing me to fall into the hot water. When I resurface, trying to cough up all of the water that I inhaled, I hear more conversation.
“You can’t see your reflection in a place like this,” Kaoru starts.
“The water’s too steamy,” Hikaru finishes.
“Ah-hm!” Tamaki-senpai exclaims. “That is correct but I’m not talking about the water. Behold!”
A pause.
“…You brought a hand-held mirror into the bath…” Kyouya-senpai.
“You see, Haruhi, this is the power of your father – always prepared. Bet you feel silly now, don’t you?” He shouts in a smug tone.
My hair’s now completely wet and my face refuses to settle on a bearable temperature. I know that I’ll faint if I stay in for much longer, so I get out.
“Don’t, you Haruhi?” he repeats after silence from my side. “Haruhi. Haruhi answer me. HARUHIIIIIII!!!”
I clench my fists and easily rival the volume of his voice: “You don’t need a mirror in a bath, you idiot!! Pervert!!”
Two sharp gasps are audible like he’s just been winded before a big splash of water silences him completely.
“Tamaki!” The twins scream in a panic.
Gurgling follows.
My hair is still a little damp from the bath as I lay in bed, but it cools me down. I smile remembering the last words that I heard before I went inside...
“Don’t go towards the light, Tamaki!”
“Think like Nekozawa! Embrace the dark!!”
Is it normal to have a chandelier in a bedroom? I ponder as I squint at the small chandelier on the ceiling. Come to think of it, the rest of the room makes the chandelier fit right in – tall elegant curtains, two sofas by a fireplace, a golden statue in the corner…it’s the most sophisticated room I’ve been in aside from the rooms at school.
As I’m admiring the style of the room, a sharp roll of thunder interrupts my thoughts. I had completely forgotten that a stormy night was predicted at some point, so it makes me jump even more.
Sitting up, I look through the window across the room, surprised by how much rain is already falling; it’s like the mansion is being put through a car-wash. I haven’t seen a thunderstorm in what feels like years, so this really is something. My heart is beating double-time as I spot a flash of lightening in the distance.
Another crash of thunder prompts a loud banging from the room next to mine. I nearly jump out of my skin.
I get out of bed and slowly walk towards the wall where the noise came from. He passed it off as a coincidence earlier, but I know for a fact that he put my room next to his intentionally. “Senpai, that’s you banging, right?” I say a little louder. Ghosts don’t exist, I know that, but the chaos outside makes me think irrationally for a second.
The thunder strikes again and with it, the knocking get more persistent, almost violent. A cold sweat consumes me. Stop being silly, Haruhi, I say to myself, it’s definitely Senpai’s knock.
Once he tells me to come in after I knock gently on his door, Tamaki-senpai shoots up from his position by the wall, putting both hands on his hips. “Hello, Haruhi. …Glorious night, isn’t it?” His clown-like smile unnerves me, but I understand the meaning behind it.
I lean against the doorframe and fold my arms, raising an eyebrow at his performance. “You alright in here?”
“Me? Oh, yeah, yeah.” He turns on his heel and gathers his bed sheets, draping them around his shoulders and sticking his chest out. “A price needs a robe, right?”
“What are you doing?”
“What are you doing?” He responds too quickly. Holding the sheets around him with one hand, he points at me with the other shaky hand. “You…you snore too loud, Haruhi, cut it out!”
I lower my eyelids and close the door in case the others haven’t been woken by the thunder. “I’ve been awake this whole time.” He needs help, so I don’t want to leave him just yet.
He opens his mouth and hesitates, slowly drawing his arm back into the duvet.
“Are you okay?”
“Never better.” His voice is a little shaky too, and he wraps the sheets tighter around his shoulders.
“You sure?”
He laughs nervously. “Haruhi, I appreciate your concern, but I’m f--”
The thunder interrupts him and he drops the sheet in order to run towards me. I see the whole thing in slow motion; his eyes are wider than I’ve ever seen them which causes a weird pang in my heart. He hugs me so that I can barely move my arms, shaking like he’s outside in the cold rain. “…Senpai.”
“It…” I hear in a small, strained whisper by my ear, “it’s just…loud.” These words are pronounced as though they had been waiting patiently to get out. “Don’t leave, okay? Promise me.”
I read the atmosphere and know that it would be a bad time to tease him. “I promise.”
He settles down slightly.
“But, you’re gonna have to let me go a little. Just for a little while so I can comfort you properly, okay?”
“You won’t leave?”
“Don’t be silly, how can I leave?” I know you’ll drag me back inside even if I tried , I add in my head.
The monster grip on my body loosens, just before the thunder makes another appearance. I quickly hold his head to my chest and we collapse to the floor due to the spasm that his body makes. My legs are in a slightly awkward position, but I don’t mind too much. I lean against the wall behind me and stroke his hair before covering both of his ears.
“Bear with it, it’ll pass soon.”
He responds by holding me tighter and sniffing.
The storm lasts for about ten minutes more and we stay in the same position.
As soon as the storm is over, I move my hands from his ears and look down at him. “Senpai, the storm’s over, are you ready to go back…to bed?” My voice slows as I realise that his eyes are closed and he’s breathing rhythmically.
I’ve never seen his sleeping face. In fact, it surprises me that he’s capable of making such a peaceful expression. Almost all of the panic is gone, though his eyebrows still look a little irritated.
“Hey, I thought you were meant to be the parent,” I say in a low voice.
~
When I wake up, I have no idea where I am. Where’s the kitchen? The futon? The pile of books by the wall? There’s a small weight on my chest and my field of vision is filled with blonde hair. That’s right, I was shielding Senpai from the storm and we must have fallen asleep like this. It surprises me that we’d stayed in the exact same place for hours. My back aches and my legs feel numb.
“Tamaki, good morning!” someone slams the door open and runs into the room. It’s Hikaru…or Kaoru, my vision’s still blurry.
When I look back at Tamaki, he’s raised his head and is looking at me with tired eyes. At almost the same time, our faces heat up and we scramble away from each other.
“Oh~~?” Hikaru sings with a dirty smile. “We seem to have interrupted something special here, Kaoru.”
Kaoru steps into the room from outside and stands next to his brother. “Very special,” he joins in, looking at me and Tamaki-senpai in turn.
“We just fell asleep like this!” I’m not helping the situation. “It’s a misunderstanding!”
“Haruhi’s chest was too comfortable!” HE HELPS EVEN LESS!
“Senpai…” I start, trying to control the anger that's desperate to be let loose.
“Yes?”
“Choose your words properly!” I cry, kicking him in the head before pushing past the twins and slamming the door to my own room.
The last thing I hear before I pull the covers over my head are Hikaru and Kaoru fussing over Tamaki as he wails like a baby.
You deserve it…idiot prince.
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