"I have heard terrible things about you, Suou-sama," Haruhi said pleasantly once he had poured the woman her tea.

"Oh?" the woman asked, an eyebrow arched.

"Mm," Haruhi agreed with a nod. "I heard that you frowned upon the way your son disrespected his marriage vows to conceive a child with a woman who was not his wife, and protested against his divorcing said wife to marry the woman who had borne him a child," he said, still utterly pleasant and polite.

"I did," the woman agreed with a solemn nod. "I do not think this is a terrible thing that I have done though. My son, on the other hand..." she led off.

Haruhi nodded. "Oh certainly. An affair is an affair, whatever the circumstances, and should not be rewarded. The child of an affair, however," Haruhi countered, "should not be punished for the sin of his father and the foolish naivete of his mother."

The older woman huffed, but did not answer, preferring to claim her tea cup and take a sip from it.

Haruhi let the silence go, and moved on. "Another terrible thing I heard," he continued, a wry twist to his lips that said he did not mean 'terrible' at all, but was merely indicating the public opinion insofar as it had been communicated to him. "Is that when a family was falling into debt, a family that you had connection to through the foolish indiscretion of your son, you were so gracious as to rescue them from that debt in exchange for having your grandson, illegitimate though he was, closer to you. You went so far as to have that grandson placed in an excellent school where he could learn how to run the family business, if he was ever in a position to inherit it."

Suou-sama inclined her head. "You have seen through me," she noted softly. "I am surprised that one so young should, when others who are older and more experienced than yourself have not."

"When I ask Kyouya-sempai for details on customers or my fellow Host Club members, I request that no emotion colour his reports. I have cold, unpleasant, uncompromising facts. No tone or feeling to them. This allows me to see things more clearly," Haruhi explained. "If I were to ask the other Hosts about you, they would tell me all this, but their tone, their posture, it would paint you as a villain to Tamaki-sempai's tortured hero. Because they care about him so much, and... you told him that you would only pay the debts of his mother's family if he left them, and never saw his mother again. You also called him 'filthy child' when you entered earlier."

The old woman sighed. "His friends... they hold these things against me?" she said. "I do not blame them. Tamaki is a good child, charismatic, and very able to draw people to him. But as you say, Fujioka-san, I have done 'terrible' things," she continued, "and for Tamaki's sake, I must continue to do so. Tamaki... Tamaki will be stronger than his father was, and with the lessons I pass on to him through my cruelty, he learns to be a better man, as well as a stronger one."

Haruhi nodded in understanding. "The other Hosts will not believe such a thing," he told her. "I believe that they are all resolved to hate you on Tamaki-sempai's behalf, since he does not seem capable of holding onto the emotion for himself."

Suou-sama smiled fondly and the description of her grandson, but smothered it quickly. It wouldn't do for her to be seen as a pleasant person. Gracefully, she lifted her tea cup to her lips once more, and used the action of sipping to hide her expression.

"Does Tamaki-sempai know your reasons for his treatment?" Haruhi asked.

"He does," Suou-sama answered with a nod. "I want him to be successful in his career."

"We all hope to be successful," Haruhi agreed. "But, we who are members of the Host Club hope for one thing more as well. We hope for happiness. For ourselves, for each other, for our guests. After all, Suou-sama, what is the point to being the richest man in the world, if you are miserable?" he asked, just a little rhetorically.

Suou-sama narrowed her eyes at Haruhi, but it was a searching look rather than an angry or upset expression. "You are very wise, for such a young person," she decided at last.

"Arigato," Haruhi answered, and bowed slightly in his chair.

"Eclair-san asked me to introduce her to Tamaki," Suou-san divulged. "I had not mentioned him to her, had not met her at all until she called to ask if she could be introduced to my grandson. She heard of him from his mother."

Haruhi blinked, absorbed that information, and then smiled. "Ah," he said. "I think the French might fall in love a little too easily. Eclair-san is not the first young woman to come to Ouran, already in love with a boy she has never met."

"The test will be how she treats him, and how he reacts to that treatment in turn," Suou-sama agreed with a regal incline of her head.

~oOo~

Haruhi had gone up to the third music room to change into his dress for the evening, and was just collecting a few more cakes for his elegant little trolley of treats when he heard them.

"In a place like this?" a feminine voice asked.

"It is a music room after all," answered Tamaki-sempai's voice with gentle humour.

Haruhi finished setting the cakes on the trolley as the first strains of piano music filtered through the closed door. As much of an idiot as Tamaki-sempai could be, he really did know how to play those exquisite classical pieces.

"This is the room you use for your Host Club activities, isn't it?" Haruhi heard the girl ask through the door. "I saw how all of you interacted in the salon..." That was what they'd re-named the Central Building for the Festival. "You all seem very close to each other."

"But of course," Tamaki agreed, his hands not faltering as he continued to play. Or if they did, Haruhi didn't hear any changes. "Our Host Club is like a gathering of family members."

Haruhi smiled at that, and shook his head. A family. That was them. Even when Hani-sempai and Taka left them, they would still be family. When they got new members, they would be brought in and find a place in the family.

"In Japan, they call this family pretending game 'mamagoto', ne?" the girl asked slyly.

Haruhi shook his head. Pretending? That was cold. He had no way of knowing if Tamaki-sempai nodded or shook his head or reacted at all, but there was no verbal answer for him to overhear.

"Isn't everyone suffering... because of your selfishness?" she asked. "That Host with the glasses, he got hit by his father, right?"

The music stopped abruptly.

Haruhi stopped loading his cart, checked that his dress was sitting properly and his bra was straight, and moved to the door. Tamaki-sempai was very sensitive about Kyouya-sempai, and would need some reassurance on that point, or else he'd probably do something stupid.

"Haruhi," Tamaki-sempai greeted, his tone somewhat subdued as he stood from his seat at the piano. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to get changed," Haruhi answered with a sweeping gesture to his dress, "and to get more snacks. For the person who was so enthusiastic about the Festival to have just disappeared though, everyone is a bit angry about that," he added pointedly. "And you'd better not skip out on that 'parade' you were so keen on, or Kyouya-sempai will think of something horrible to do to you."

"Ah!" Tamaki-sempai answered a little nervously.

"Oh, I am sorry," Eclair-san said, looking through her opera binoculars at Haruhi over the back of the couch where she was settled. There was a smile on her face though, so Haruhi didn't believe for an instant that she was sorry at all. "But Tamaki belongs to me right now," she finished, still smiling. "However, you know..." she said as she lowered the binoculars from in front of her face, "you seem a little jealous."

Haruhi raised an eyebrow. "You've got the wrong Host for that," he informed her. "I'm just conveying sentiments. Also, Tamaki-sempai is a Host, not a whore. He doesn't 'belong' to you, he is simply obliging his grandmother by escorting you for two days."

"Haruhi!" Tamaki-sempai yelped. "Such language!"

Haruhi nodded at the girl, but didn't apologise, and turned his full attention to the blonde. "Also, before you start dwelling on Ootori-sama's treatment of Kyouya-sempai, remember that he said he knew, from the beginning, that this was how his father would act. Regardless of that, he did what he has done. That is his choice, Tamaki-sempai," Haruhi reminded him firmly as he pushed the trolley through the room and out of the other door.

"Hai... arigato, Haruhi," he heard Tamaki-sempai say behind him as he shut the door of the Third Music Room behind him.

Half an hour later, Tamaki-sempai came down from the music room, changed for the evening and ready to take his place at the head of the Host Club's parade of gigs – the very first gig, right beside Kyouya-sempai. Haruhi nodded to himself in approval, and then let Kasanonda-san help him up into the gig they would be sharing. Normally he wouldn't need the help, but he was wearing a dress.

After the circuit in the gigs, the Hosts invited guests to climb aboard with one of their number... and Tamaki-sempai returned to Eclair-san's side after giving a nod to Kyouya-sempai.

They must have talked while they were riding, and sorted everything out, Haruhi decided. That was good. Better, Hani-sempai was giving a gig ride to a customer, and Kasanonda-san also had a guest in his. That left Haruhi and Taka on their own without any of the other Hosts – the gig that the twins drove was large enough for three at a pinch, and they had a guest seated between them as they drove off, and of course Kyouya-sempai always had someone to chat with in that cultured manner of his, even when driving a gig.

Taka draped an arm around Haruhi's back, and guided him back inside.

Haruhi had time for little more than pleasantries as Taka guided the two of them through the crowd until they reached the place where her parents and Haruhi's dad were all standing together by the photo display.

~oOo~

Haruhi was back in his trousers and waistcoat the next day, and seated at a table with Eclair-san at her request. Tamaki-sempai was discussing something with Kyouya-sempai at the other end of the room, and she would 'collect' him again when she left the Central Building. While she was there though, he was allowed to be as well.

"It seems you were Tamaki's favourite," Eclair-san said lightly, her opening gambit in their conversation.

"So, basically, you're jealous?" Haruhi answered just as lightly, repeating back the words Eclair-san had said to him the previous day.

"Ara, well said," Eclair-san parried as she lent forward. One elbow was rested on the table between them, and then her chin rested on the back of her hand. "I offered to give him a real family, did you know? I told him I knew where his mother was, and that I would be happy to give him children of his own, if he would just come back with me to France as soon as this festival was over... and if he would dissolve the Host Club."

"Ah? But the Host Club is too successful to dissolve, even if we were to suddenly be without our King," Haruhi answered with a slight smile.

"Are you his girlfriend?" Eclair-san demanded.

"Iie," Haruhi answered dryly. Really, see him in a dress once, and apparently he's a girl. "I am not a girl. I am an okama, that is why I was wearing the dress you saw me in last night. I will wear it again tonight, but I am a boy."

"Then, his boyfriend?" Eclair-san checked.

"Iie," Haruhi repeated. "I have no romantic interest in Tamaki-sempai."

"So. Wonderful," Eclair-san said happily. "Then you are nobody to him."

"Iie. I am not 'nobody'," Haruhi corrected. "Eclair-san, how did Tamaki-sempai answer you last night, when you made this 'offer'?" he asked carefully.

Eclair-san's eyes twitched to be a little narrower, just for a moment. "Tamaki... is discussing that with Ootori-san right now," she informed Haruhi with an air of peeved superiority, assured that she would have a positive response before the day was out.

Haruhi's slight smile grew, and became more at ease. "Then I shall give you my condolences," he said kindly. "Because, Eclair-san, you are wrong. I am not and never have been Tamaki-sempai's favourite, though I am his friend. Tamaki-sempai's favourite is Kyouya-sempai, and if Kyouya-sempai wants Tamaki-sempai to stay, then he will stay. By coming here, you have given Kyouya-sempai a chance to tell Tamaki-sempai that for himself."

Eclair-san's eyes went wide and her head whipped around to stare at where Tamaki-sempai stood, smiling happily, with Kyouya-sempai.

"If you leave for France tonight, Eclair-san, then you will leave without Tamaki-sempai," Haruhi informed the girl softly.

"Iie..." the girl denied. "He wants a family. I will give him that. I will give him his mother, and children of his own..."

"But you would part him too violently from the friends that he holds dear," Haruhi countered. "If he believed that leaving would be what is best for those he cares for the most, then he would leave with you, who he hardly knows. He would not be happy to leave, but he would leave all the same, and try to be happy wherever he found himself," he explained.

"Iie," Eclair-san denied again. "He will choose me! For his mother if nothing else!"

"Hmm? Well, we shall see. If he decides not to leave with you though, Eclair-san, what will you do?" Haruhi asked gently.

Eclair stood from her chair abruptly, and left the table to fetch Tamaki-sempai away from Kyouya-sempai. Haruhi watched it happen, and was himself about to rise and go in search of Taka when Kyouya-sempai walked over to him.

"Thank you for all your work until now, Haruhi," Kyouya-sempai said. "Eclair-san was your one-thousandth designation. Quite the milestone for only one year as a Host," he added.

Haruhi gave a crooked smile in return. "You and Tamaki-sempai sorted everything out while I was keeping her busy?" he asked.

Kyouya-sempai nodded. "Hai," he said. "Arigato."

Haruhi nodded in return, and stood. As he did, two other figures approached them. One of those two was Kyouya-sempai's father.

"Although you may hold the misconception that you have all the time in the world when you are young," the man said as he stopped behind his son, not turning to face Kyouya-sempai, or requesting that Kyouya-sempai look at him while he was speaking. "Reality isn't always like that. Stop wasting your time on worthless activities," he advised, and moved to continue walking.

"At this Host Club," Haruhi said firmly, "Kyouya-sempai works very hard to make sure that everybody can be happy. By making everyone happy, we also feel accomplished and pleased within ourselves. Is making everybody happy that worthless of an activity?" he demanded softly.

Behind him, Haruhi was aware of Taka and Hani-sempai coming to stand with him, and the twins as well. He didn't need to look to see that Kyouya-sempai was a little surprised at their support of him – he knew well his own reputation as the 'shadow' king, and the manipulative member of their little group.

"I... we all think that Kyouya-sempai is very admirable," Haruhi finished firmly.

Ootori-sama, Kyouya-sempai's father, had been still during Haruhi's little speech. He hadn't turned to face him, but he had stood there and listened. He did not turn now either. He simply continued on his course.

Haruhi turned to face Kyouya-sempai once Ootori-sama was out of sight. "Not least because he already owns his family's business, without his father even knowing," he added with a knowing smirk. "Ne?"

Kyouya-sempai chuckled. "Hai," he agreed happily. "Arigato, minna. Now come along, we have guests to entertain. Tamaki will be back with us for the final parade this evening, and the dance, but he must still escort Tonnerre Eclair-san until then."

"At least he showed up," Hikaru grumbled.

"He even did a once-around the room with Kyouya-sempai while Haruhi kept her busy," Kaoru agreed.

Taka pressed a kiss to Haruhi's hair, and the pair exchanged smiles before the group broke apart to continue meeting and entertaining their guests.

~oOo~

Eclair-san left for France at the end of the day, and Tamaki remained. If he stood a little closer to Kyouya than he had in the past, then for once the rest of the Hosts followed Taka's lead, and kept their mouths shut. Winter was almost upon them, and with it came exams, graduation, and the anticipation of Christmas and the new year.

Christmas was a Western holiday, but it had been readily adopted. For the Host Club, it was another theme to exploit for cosplay. The freshmen and the seniors were elves, while the juniors were in resplendent red outfits that had been trimmed with white fur. There was a large, decorated tree in one corner of the room, making the whole place smell wonderfully of pine, and Tamaki had plans (confirmed by Kyouya-sempai, who was actually the one selling the idea to their guests) of having a large sleigh pulled by reindeer. Obviously it wouldn't fly, but the idea was there. There was also going to be a 'one-horse open sleigh' for more romantic little joy-rides, as opposed to the larger sleigh which would be for groups to ride in together.

And all this while they were taking exams as well.

Haruhi's table at the Host Club, even with him in costume, had become a true workstation. He tutored the girls who designated him with whatever they struggled with, and they likewise helped him with anything he was confused over that they could explain to him.

Taka challenged Mitsukuni. They would be going to different colleges, and besides her not being there to keep an eye on him, her status as a girl was going to be ousted after graduation. She made a list of things she wanted him to do, and to stop doing, and after their last exam, they fought.

Mitsukuni held back. Ever since the day he had defeated his father, he always held back. Taka, however, did not. She went all out. She used every hold, every trick, everything she knew and all of her strength. Considering her years of training, that strength was considerable.

The fight lasted two hours, but eventually Taka won.

Mitsukuni accepted her list as gracefully as he could, and ceded to her 'requests' for his behavioural conduct for while he was at college.

Then the graduation ceremony was upon them. Being a member of the Host Club meant that Taka was particularly used to wearing kimono, hakama, and robes of all sorts above and beyond her simple kendo uniform. The ceremony was fairly dull. Sitting around listening to speeches, then walking across the stage to collect a roll of paper. The reception afterwards was better. Jun-chan and Misa-chan were the photographers for the event, and Taka actually dragged Haruhi over to them, a foolish grin on her face, to get a graduation picture.

"In just two more years, you will drag me to the photographers while you wear a gown like this one, and we will have another picture just like this one," Taka whispered happily into Haruhi's hair – a task much easier now than it had been at the beginning of the year, since Haruhi had grown a bit in the intervening time. He still only came up to her collarbone, but it was better than the nearly two-foot height difference it had been.

Hauhi smiled back at her, and nodded happily.

~oOo~

Haruhi was wearing his best suit as he stood at the bottom of the stairs, waiting. At the top of the stairs, Taka's parents stood together as Morinozuka-sama explained that his daughter had spent her life masquerading as a boy to prove her strength, and now that she was of age, he welcomed her to take up her role as his daughter as she should have from the beginning. The two stepped to the side, and Taka appeared from behind them.

Her hair was still short, it had not been so long that it had really had a chance to grow. Despite this though, she was clearly a woman. There was no binding over her chest, and though it was small it was there, lending curve to her black velvet dress. Her shoulders were still and always would be broad, but that was hardly an issue. The figure-hugging dress also revealed that Taka had hips slightly more pronounced than a boy's would have been. The long white gloves lent an air of elegance as well, as did the diamond necklace she wore, and that very nearly dripped into her minor cleavage.

Haruhi's breath caught, hitching and looping and knotting up tightly around his collarbone and tying itself up in a Winston knot just like his tie. Yes, he'd said that appearances didn't mean much to him, that it was what a person was like inside that mattered to him... but he couldn't deny that Taka was beautiful. He wouldn't. Even if he was offered enough money to buy his own law school and legal practice, he would still have declared Taka to be the most stunningly radiant beauty he had ever seen in his life.

And he'd seen a lot of girls over the past year, acting as a Host.

Slowly, Taka descended. One hand on the railing of the stairs so that she didn't fall in her heels. In deference to her not being used to such footwear, and her natural height, they weren't high heels, but there was still more heel than she was used to.

When she reached the bottom of the stairs, Haruhi was there, and quickly took her hand as it left the railing. He bowed and kissed the gloved hand that he held in his own.

"May I have this dance?" he asked when he looked up.

Taka smiled shyly at him, and nodded.

Haruhi smiled back, and carefully arranged her arms around him so that he was the one leading. At the Ouran Festival, with Haruhi in his dress, he'd been passed around every other Host and been led by them through the steps. Even Taka had led him when they danced together. Now, he was the one leading.

Taka's smile grew slowly as they continued to dance and she relaxed more into the situation of being the person being led, rather than having to do the leading. When they had enough of dancing, Haruhi led Taka to the buffet table and sat her down. He collected a plate of treats, returned to her, and asked her to close her eyes.

Taka smiled happily, and obediently closed her eyes.

As he had at the first ball they had both attended, Haruhi fed Taka one treat after another, giving her a bite and then taking a bite himself. Unlike that first time though, Haruhi would occasionally surprise Taka by giving her a kiss, rather than a new morsel to taste. She accepted these just as readily though, and there was always a content expression on her face when Haruhi pulled back to offer her the next treat from his plate.

Satisfied, and feet rested, they returned to the dance floor, and continued to dance until the party was called to a close. The couple knew though that they would be fielding calls from the other Hosts for the next few days. They had all been present at the party after all, even if none of them had approached the couple. In fact, no one had approached the couple.

Ranka-san had been very busy (but happily so) in running interference for them that evening, even if he had questions of his own.

~oOo~

They had two weddings, when both of them had graduated from law school. The first, a grand, public affair where everything was 'perfect' and 'proper', with Taka resplendent in her wedding kimono (which changed several times) and Haruhi in his. The second was an intensely private affair, done more for laughs, as Haruhi was dressed in a white, western wedding dress, and walked down the isle by his father to where Taka waited in a tuxedo, with Mitsukuni as her best man. They had both giggled the whole way through it, even though they were adults and had never really been inclined to giggle back when they were teenagers.

Kyouya had toasted them in the dining hall where they'd held their second reception. "Our Okama Couple," he called them happily, a sentiment that was cheerfully (and a little drunkenly) echoed by the twins, Kasanonda-san, Tamaki, Mitsukuni, Ranka-san, and Jun-chan and Misa-chan. The full guest-list for their second ceremony. Taka's parents and Satoshi had been quite satisfied with the proper wedding.

"When we get married, which of us is going to wear the dress?" Tamaki asked Kyouya. He was a loud drunk, but he was also an adorable drunk, so everybody forgave him and simply laughed.

"You," Kyouya answered simply and firmly.

They all simply laughed harder.

~The End~