Tamaki

*spoilers for the manga* can be read and enjoyed the manga as well*

Living on the coast was pretty cool most of the time, but it was terrifying when the storms came.

It had been four months since she had come to live in Boston and most of it was a dream come true; the school she was going to was fully paid for, sampling Western style food and clothes was becoming a favorite hobby of hers, and everything was in walking distance the way she was used too.

The only problem, she quickly found out in the weeks following her move, was that the storms here were terrifyingly noteworthy. The windows of her seven story apartment overlooked the horizon of the Atlantic Ocean, which she supposed was something most people would want living in a coastal city, but it only made Haruhi more anxious.

The ocean was her best determinate on how the weather would be; days that tended to be sunny and calm usually started out with a with a beautiful sunrise that illuminated the sky with beautiful hues of pink and orange. The days that were doomed with horrible storms didn't even start with the sun—instead, a dull grey hung in the air and grey clouds were visible over the water hours before the rain and wind even came.

Today was one of those days, where the clouds hung on the horizon for several hours, taunting her as they rolled closer to the shore. Haruhi hugged herself as she stared out of the window at the harbor down the coast a ways. The waves were already getting rough. That was the other thing that sucked about living in a coastal area during a thunderstorm—not only did she have to worry about the terror that is thunderstorms but also the possibility that some freak flood could happen and kill her.

Of course, that was mostly irrational paranoia, especially for someone as levelheaded as Haruhi Fujioka, but thunderstorms were where she couldn't exactly think straight even after all of these years. She wasn't sure how she would have survived the first thunderstorm in Boston without the Host Club, who had dropped everything and left Japan and followed her to America.

Up until that point, Haruhi had been a little annoyed that they couldn't just let her be independent. Less than a week later the first thunderstorm hit and Haruhi was swept up in Kyoya's weather updates, drawing with Kaoru, cooking with Hunny and Mori, blaring American music with Hikaru, and Tamaki's reassuring hugs. It was when she woke up in the morning surrounded by her boys that she finally realized that she needed them as much as they needed her.

Unfortunately, it was spring break and five-sixths of them were back in Japan visiting their families. Tamaki stayed behind to keep her company, amidst the twins' protests of wanting to stay too, but he currently was enroute back to their apartment from a job interview.

Huffing to herself indignantly, Haruhi closed the blinds in the living room. Remembering her thunderstorm protocol that she was accustomed to with the boys, Haruhi flipped on the TV to the news to make sure she didn't miss any updates on the weather. She slapped down her crayons and latest notebook from Kaoru on the coffee table, turned up the volume on the mix CD Hikaru had made, and then sat down with a rabbit themed muffin that Hunny had left behind for her the day they left.

The only thing missing now was Tamaki's arms around her…

The first strike of lightning peaked through the thin curtain, preparing Haruhi for the rumble that followed. The deep sound resonated in her chest, echoing the rapid beats of her heart.

"Don't stop believin'," she sang to herself obnoxiously loud as a means of drowning out the sound as she scribbled a red blob in her notebook that resembled a crab. She gripped her crayon as another bout of thunder slipped through her musical barrier. "Hold onto that feelin'."

Haruhi finished her muffin and tossed the wrapper to the side, bringing her attention to her cellphone setting on the corner. Why hadn't he called her yet? Usually he would have called or at least sent a text to make sure someone was with her.

Maybe that was why he hadn't checked in? Because he already knew that was going to be alone in the apartment? Haruhi shook her head, trying to focus on her drawing but the thunder kept making her stomach clench. Tamaki would have called regardless if he knew she was alone or not. If he hadn't called then it was because something was preventing him.

Groaning, Haruhi tried to enjoy the K-Pop song that had just replaced Journey. It seemed like no matter how much she immersed herself in different projects, the thunder always managed to rile her when she was alone. Why couldn't Tamaki just hurry up?

The wind was starting to pick up when the door swung open. "Haruhi?" Tamaki's frantic voice exclaimed from the doorway.

Haruhi slid off of the couch, secretly relieved that he was home safe. He was soaking wet and he was trying to stand on the welcome mat exclusively, probably trying to keep from dripping on the carpet. A grocery bag hung from his hands. "Tamaki, where have you been?" she asked, helping him slip off of his coat.

"I wanted to make sure we had your favorite snacks, Haruhi," Tamaki sang excitedly. "When I saw the storm clouds, I rushed from my job interview to pick them up and make it back in time!"

Haruhi inhaled deeply. "You didn't get the job then did you?"

Tamaki laughed nervously in the cute way that he did. "Haha, no, Haruhi. I may have left before my interview started."

Haruhi didn't bother to mention the immense time gap between the time he left the doctor's office he was going to work at and the time he got home. "I'm going to throw this in the bathtub. Go change."

Haruhi left Tamaki pouting in the entryway as she hurried down the hall with his coat, hiding a small smile. Just him being home was enough to make the thunder a little more bearable. She unceremoniously tossed the sopping coat into the tub and then padded back into the living room where Tamaki was dressed in his blue silk pajamas.

Apparently he was attempting to move fast because he nearly set the cuff of his pajamas on fire as he lit a pair of candles. Crackers and other goodies were dumped into the middle of the table, including one of her favorite American delicacies, Girl Scout cookies.

"What's all this?"

Tamaki nearly jumped out of his pajamas. "Haruhi, you were faster than I expected," he exclaimed dramatically, stepping in front of the table to hide the setup he was creating. "Daddy's not done yet, darling."

Haruhi rolled her eyes. "You're not my dad. And relax, Tama-"

The loudest clap of thunder growled through the apartment, and Haruhi's heart would have jumped straight out of her body had it not been for her ribs caging it in like a frightened animal. It didn't help that it was at this moment that Hikaru's CD ended and was waiting on stand-by.

The second burst of growls and Haruhi was on her knees, holding her face in her hands. It seemed like an eternity before Tamaki scooped her up into his arms, whispering reassuring words that she didn't quite catch through her stupor.

He lowered her onto what she knew was the couch, but she didn't open her eyes until he was sitting with his arm around her tenderly. "Alright," he said cheerfully, flipping the input mode on the TV to their BlueRay player, "while I was getting the essentials, I happened to find a 'five dollar DVD' bin so I bought a whole bunch! Walmart is the best commoners' store ever, Haruhi!"

Haruhi leaned into him, numbly looking up at the TV screen. It was at the DVD menu for some romantic comedy. "How many did you buy?"

Tamaki giggled nervously again, wrapping his arms around her protectively...or he was subtly pinning her down so she wouldn't flip out on him. Either way it didn't matter; she was content in his firm hold. "I may have grabbed ten of them," he admitted, "but they were at such a good prince Haruhi."

"I'm pretty sure you could have bought this for two American dollars on Amazon," she deadpanned.

"Haruhi," he sang, "I was only trying to be thoughtful!"

Haruhi smiled into his arm. "It was," she mumbled. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see him blushing.

"Shall we watch the movie, then?" He clicked play without waiting for a response.

It was barely ten minutes into the movie when her cellphone went off. "It's Hikaru," she said, looking at the caller ID.

Tamaki grunted, burying his face into her hair. "Don't answer it. We're watching a movie."

"You can pause it," she retorted softly, answering the phone. Off to her side, Tamaki muttered about the meddling, good for nothing twins as he paused the the movie. "Hikaru?" she asked into the phone, "is everything alright over there? This better be important if you're making me take an international call."

"Haruhi!" both Hikaru and Kaoru's voices chorused together in relief.

"Haru-chan," Hunny whimpered into the phone, "please tell me that you're alright!"

"We were all at dinner with your dad," Kaoru said.

"My dad?" Haruhi barked.

"When Kyoya mentioned that Boston was supposed to have a big storm tonight!" Hikaru finished, ignoring her interjection.

"We were so worried, Haru-chan! We wanted to make sure you were okay!" Hunny.

"Your father says hello, by the way, Haruhi," Kyoya's calm voice came from her reciever.

Haruhi stifled a laugh. "Tell him hi for me, would ya?"

"Kyoya!" Tamaki shoved his face into the phone so that he and Haruhi's faces were touching as they spoke into the phone. "I miss you!"

Haruhi could practically hear the sigh on the other end. "It's only been three days, Tamaki," he said, "It hasn't been long enough for you to miss me, nor for me to miss you."

Tamaki pouted, "You don't miss me, Kyoya?"

"No."

"Hey, boss," Kaoru's voice took over, "you're taking care of Haruhi right?"

"Yeah." Mori.

"I don't wanna come back to Haruhi sitting in the corner, traumatized because you sucked at comforting her through the storm." Hikaru.

"How dare you!" Tamaki exclaimed into the phone. Haruhi giggled. "Haruhi! How could you laugh when they're being so mean to me?"

And as far as Haruhi was concerned, let the thunder come. If it meant that she was with her boys, it was worth it.

Haruhi sighed, relaxing into Tamaki's sighed. "Don't worry, guys," she assured her friends on the other line, "Tamaki is keeping me safe."

2/24/17