A.N. - This takes place during Episode #8 - "The Sun and the Sea"…my own little twist on how things could have easily happened to fit my favorite pairing of all time… Mori x Haruhi! Please enjoy!

The Encounter

Morinozuka Takashi felt his stomach plummet as he heard the cry from the top of the rock.

He knew that voice…he recognized that cry.

It was Haruhi.

In a blind panic, a feeling that he was not used to, he ran in her direction, determined to be there first, to be the one to save her. He had to get to her, no matter the cost. He had to save her.

He had to save her.

However, he saw Tamaki leap off the rock and dive into the water, and he knew that he would not be the one to save her.

A few moments later the blonde boy walked onto the beach, Haruhi in his arms, and Mori winced.

That was not the way to hold a young woman. You didn't crush her to your body as though she were…a bag of grain. You held her gently against the chest, like he had done once before…and he felt a stab of guilt at not being the one to save her.

He listened silently to the bitter words exchanged between the two of them, but he said nothing.

In his mind, however, he agreed with Haruhi.

She always did what she felt needed to be done. If she hadn't done anything, or wasted time trying to get someone to help, then those boys might have hurt the girls.

But at the same time, he wanted nothing more than to hold her in his arms and protect her as best as he could from the dangers of the world around her. She was so giving, and because of that it was easy for people to take advantage of her.

As they walked back to the house, Tamaki not among them, having forged ahead, Mori kept his eyes trained on Haruhi.

Honey-senpai saw this, but said nothing.

Even though Mori looked emotionless, if you paid attention to his body language, he was easy enough to read.

Honey could tell that his friend and guardian wanted nothing more than to find a way to talk to the female host, to find some way to tell her that she was in the right, and not Tamaki.

They reached the house, and Honey quickly came up with a plan. He and Mori walked into the kitchen with the food and began to cook it. No one else among them, besides Haruhi, knew how to cook. All of the others were horribly pampered in their homes, and they didn't know the difference between and spatula and a whisk.

As the inseparable two began to cook, Honey decided to see if he was right.

"Takashi…were you worried for Haruhi?"

"Hn."

Honey decided to try another question. "Do you think Tama-chan was right?" Nothing. He pushed it further. "Well, I did-"

Suddenly, Mori swung around from where he'd been cooking and Honey held back a slight whimper at the look in the taller man's eyes.

"No. He wasn't."

With that, he turned back to cooking and Honey silently smiled at the reaction he'd received from his taciturn friend. Yes, he was right.

With that thought in mind, he quickly came up with the rest of his plan while finishing the cooking with his lifetime friend. They were soon finished with the shellfish and headed out to the dining area, each of them easily balancing the platters on their arms.

As soon as they placed them down on the table, Honey said,

"The crabs are boiled!"

He then turned to his silent friend, but was halted by Kyoya.

"I'm sorry, senpai, that there aren't any maids here now…" Of course he would be.

Honey quickly responded, needing to get the conversation over and done with so he could put his plan into play.

"We're the ones that barged in on your home, Kyo-chan." He then turned to his Takashi and quickly said, "Takashi, go call Haru-chan in."

"Hn," was all he said in response, but Honey could see that he was relieved.

Good, maybe he would finally do something about how he felt towards the girl.

Part 1/?