"You really had no clue" Hani- senpai asked Haruhi. "I thought it was pretty obvious myself Haru-chan."

The men and one woman that had been members of the Ouran Academy Host Club were catching up at the private beach owned by the Otori family. It had been a year since Haruhi and the twins, Hikaru and Kaoru had graduated, and started on their own paths. The twins in business management, and Haruhi in law. The other members had already graduated and started their University schooling, each doing something different. The members made it a point to meet once a year, since they never saw each other besides that time, with the exception of Haruhi and Mori, since they were both studying law.

"No I really didn't know" Haruhi mused quietly, sitting on a towel underneath an umbrella. Mitsukuni Haninozuka was sitting next to her, munching on a piece of strawberry cake. Some things really never change.

"Well it was pretty obvious how Tama- chan felt. He treated you like his daughter because he wasn't sure how to accept his true feelings." Hani remarked.

"I figured that one out a long time ago." Haruhi chuckled. "I let him down gently by saying I wasn't interested in a relationship. He took that rather badly, but got over it quickly, as far as I can tell. In truth I think he always just wanted to be friends."

Hani rolled his eyes at Haruhi's ignorance. She was extremely observant about anything unless it had to do with herself.

"I didn't know about Hikaru however" she continued. "I just thought Hikaru and Kaoru were feigning interest to annoy Tamaki."

"Kau-chan wanted you two to be together. You really invaded their lives, you know. You're the only person besides the other twin they let get close to them. That's why Hiku-chan exploded at your friend Ari back during your first summer. He didn't know how to react to you being friends with someone else, he wanted all your love and attention."

"I thought that was just about friendship" Haruhi sighed. "I never would've guessed that it was about something more."

Hani shrugged, finishing off his cake. "They're living happy lives now. They're managing to share a girlfriend. I'm not really quite sure how that all works."

Haruhi shrugged. She'd stopped trying to figure out the inner workings of her friends' brains long ago.

"Want to come swimming with me Haru-chan?!" Hani asked.

"No Mitsukuni" a deep voice said.

"Hey Mori-senpai" Haruhi remarked.

"You just ate, wait an hour" Mori stated. Hani pouted.

Takashi Morinozuka turned to Haruhi. "Hello Haruhi."

Looking at her sitting next to Mitsukuni, he was reminded of the time that Mitsukuni made him realize his depth of feeling towards her.

"I see the way you look at her" He had remarked one day while Takashi and Mitsukuni were warming up in the dojo.

"Who?" Takashi asked, pretending not to know.

"Haru-chan" Mitsukuni replied. "I see how you look at her."

"Hnn"

"I know how you feel about her Takashi. You love her, don't you?"

Takashi didn't respond, but instead, he stood stalk still. Did he really love her? She was beautiful, in every way. And he wanted to protect her as much as he felt like protecting Mitsukuni.

"Think about it Takashi" Mitsukuni replied. "I see how you treat her."

It's true that Takashi gave her special treatment. Besides Mitsukuni, she was the only person he referred to by name. He was viciously protective of her as well. Many times he had been tempted to free Haruhi from the grip of the twins and Tamaki when they were fighting over her. The look of pain on her face almost killed him. Mitsukuni nor Kyouya, nor even the others never seemed to notice that. Eventually he was so frustrated by how they treated her that he did intervene.

The twins had attacked her while she was carrying tea to a guest, grabbing on to her arms. Tamaki came over to break up the fight and only proceeded to make it worse, claiming that Haruhi was his. It was all about possession with them.

"Stop that hurts!" Haruhi had exclaimed as she dropped the tea tray, spilling hot tea over her uniform.

Takashi had looked to Mitsukuni but he was eating a cake and didn't notice. After another cry of pain from Haruhi, he went over and picked her up, carrying her to the other side of the room.

"What was that for?" the twins asked while Tamaki pouted. Haruhi smiled gratefully up at him when he set her down.

"You were hurting her" he remarked, and walked away.

Tamaki had stared back at him dumbfounded, while the twins just shrugged and walked away. Ever since then, Haruhi knew that she could rely on him to break up their fights, when her yelling didn't quite seem to do it.

"You see?" Mitsukuni remarked, bringing Takashi back to the dojo. "You just look at her differently than you do everyone else."

From then on Takashi was acutely aware of his feelings toward Haruhi. He remembered letting that one guest down, who had asked him to be her boyfriend. She had thought he had feelings for Mitsukuni, but really, it was Haruhi who he loved.

He never told her, but showed her in the most basic of his actions. One day, while putting away tea sets she almost fell off the stool, and he had been there to catch her. Then, before the club opened the next day, he rearranged the tea sets so that the heaviest tea sets stayed on the bottom shelf. He carried her when they were looking for Mitsukuni in the water park designed by the Otori family. He also would always give her his strawberries, his favorite fruit, because he knew that they were her favorite as well. It was always worth it to him to see that smile of hers whenever he shared.

Even now, looking at her, his heart skipped a beat. He was lucky, he got to see her more often than all the other boys, but she stayed just as oblivious to his feelings as she did back at Ouran. Mitsukuni would tease him about this when they were alone, but never said anything to Haruhi. Takashi was pleasantly surprised to find that she had no interest in any of the other boys either, who never quite got over their pining for her. He almost chuckled, remembering when Kyouya had proposed to her at his father's bidding, and how hard she had slapped him. She had seen through his tricks, he was just charming because he wanted to be. After that all the other boys moved on, except for Takashi. He had vowed to one day make her his bride, but he was unsure that it would ever happen. Surely she would react the same to him as she did to Kyouya. She wasn't interested in the type of boys that became Hosts.

"Well" Haruhi remarked, getting to her feet. "I think I'll go for a walk down the beach. Hani-senpai, Mori-senpai, would you like to join me?"

"No thank you." Hani said, "I think I'll stay here, but Takashi should go with you!" He grinned, beckoning to Mori, and whispered in his ear, "I didn't tell her Takashi. I know you will when you're ready."

Haruhi watched them curiously, wondering what they were whispering about, then smiled as Mori joined her.

"You know Mori-senpai, it's been nice getting to see you more often"

"Hnn"

"Though I feel like you act more like a body guard than a friend."

"I don't want you to get hurt" Mori replied, a slight blush coloring his cheeks. Haruhi didn't notice, and Takashi sighed. He thought about telling Haruhi how he felt, they were alone, and saw each other more often now. She didn't seem to realize that he didn't want anyone to hurt her, because he loved her, not because that's who he was as person. Takashi was never inherently violent, just skilled so he could protect the ones he loved. The men of the Morinozuka family were driven by action, not by words. Would he ever have the courage to tell her? He was so weak.

Mori-senpai looked distracted, Haruhi thought. But she enjoyed her walk with him, feeling the sand beneath her toes. She wondered why Hani-senpai didn't come with, it seemed that he was trying to push her and Mori-senpai to go on this walk together. Not that she minded, she always did find Mori handsome, and she thought he had a soft spot for her, something like his soft spot for Hani-senpai. He seemed to be her protector, and he always did kind things for her randomly, without saying anything or expecting her to notice. He was the only one in the group that seemed to be selflessly kind to her. The others always expected something of her, but not Mori-senpai.

Takashi cleared his throat "How are your studies Haruhi?" He asked, cursing himself silently for being reduced to making small talk.

"Oh they're good! How're yours Mori-senpai?"

"Takashi" he mumbled, "You can call me Takashi."

"But only Hani-senpai is allowed to call you Takashi.

"And now so are you." He glanced her up and down. She was so beautiful, it almost hurt him. She blushed a little, and his heart fluttered in his chest.

"Alright then… Takashi" she whispered. His heart soared, hearing her say his name. He felt a pulsing in his swim trunks, and he grunted, realizing how amazing his name sounded on her lips.

"Takashi?" She asked, confused. "Aren't you going to answer my question?"

"Right…" he murmured. Haruhi giggled, Takashi really was distracted. He got so clumsy when he was like this. "My studies are going well, thank you."

They lapsed in to silence once more. Takashi felt his hands quivering slightly, he was so nervous, though his stoic expression didn't break. As they walked Haruhi's hand brushed against his, and he felt a jolt of electricity travel through his body. This time, Haruhi did notice that he caught a breath when their hands touched. What did it mean?

His feelings really hadn't changed, Takashi noticed. He loved her more than ever, and felt more protective than ever. He was able to admit it to himself that he loved her, but would he able be able to admit it to her?

"It's starting to get dark" Takashi muttered. "We should head back"

Haruhi nodded in agreement, staring up at the sky for a moment.

"The sunset sure is beautiful" she remarked, smiling.

"Hnn" Takashi remarked. "Almost as much as you" he breathed, under his breath, never intending her to hear.

Haruhi's eyes widened as she heard those words, realizing they weren't actually meant for her ears. Did he really feel that way about her? She had accepted long ago that she could never feel that way about her Host friends. They were on a different level than she, socially, financially, everything. She would never be on par with them, never had a chance. It was just her novelty that made her interesting to Hikaru and Tamaki-senpai, but what made her interesting to Takashi?

She turned to him. "Takashi… I…" She reached her hand up to touch his face, and he reached to wrap his arms around her waist and pull her closer.

"Hey guys!" Tamaki called. "It's getting dark. Let's get back to the Villa, okay?"

Haruhi drew her hand back from Takashi's face. "Coming Senpai!" She called, running after them. "Come on Takashi!" She smiled back at him, but he stood petrified. She knew. She had figured out how he felt, and still reached out to him. What did that mean? How did she feel about him?

He trudged back after Haruhi, eventually reaching Mitsukuni, who was finishing off another piece of cake.

"Sooooo?" He asked eagerly. "What happened with you and Haru-chan?"

"She-She knows" Takashi stuttered, his stoic poise finally breaking a little. "I slipped."

"Does she love you too?"

"I- I don't know. She didn't treat me like the others." Takashi sighed. "She reached for me." His eyes closed. What now? What comes next? How would she react, when he asked her the inevitable question?

"Come on Mitsukuni" he mumbled. "Let's head back" And with that, he meandered back to the Villa, watching Haruhi laugh with the others.

Hani smiled as he stared after Takashi. It would all work out, he knew. She treated him differently, she wouldn't deny him like the others. She would come to love him too.