Too Little, Too Late

Fujioka Haruhi suffered in silence for years before she stumbled upon her own happiness. Happiness came to her unexpectedly and from the most unlikely of sources. Haruhi never thought she'd want anything to do with another Ouran alumni. She'd had enough of those conniving, selfish, rich bastards she once called her friends. That was, until she found herself drowning her sorrows away in a hole-in-the-wall bar and ran into someone she least expected. Little did she know, he would be her salvation.

Haruhi and her surprise prince shared a smile in that dark and dingy, forgotten bar as they caught up and reminisced. Whether it was the alcohol or Haruhi's desperate need for a friend to confide in, Haruhi found herself telling her new companion everything. All her painful memories, her crushed dreams, her broken heart. In less than three hours, Haruhi had spilled her guts to this handsome man next to her and she felt liberated.

It started with Tamaki. He was the first one to unknowingly push her away. Not that she had realized that that was what was happening at the time. At first, she'd thought nothing of it; she assumed he was just busy. After all, Tamaki wouldn't intentionally ignore her. Though, sometimes she wished he would. Then, Haruhi noticed that whenever she would try to talk to the silly Host Club King, his girlfriend would magically appear and drag him away.

Haruhi let it slide, even though it was painful. They, Kyoya began courting a girl and he slowly stopped interacting with her as well. It bothered her, but only slightly. After all, it was a new relationship and she wasn't as close to the Shadow King as she was to the others. It was Hikaru and Kaoru's girlfriends who first vocalized their distaste for Haruhi. She'd overheard the other women talking when they were on the traditional, annual Host Club get together at the beach.

"… it's like she doesn't even realize that none of us want her here…"

"I swear, she must be desperate or something. Did you see the way she hangs on the twins? It's pathetic."

Instantly, Haruhi understood the situation. The boys' new girlfriends were banding together against her. None of them liked her friendship with them. Haruhi tried to mention it to the guys, but they just brushed it off with a laugh, saying she was imagining things. A little hurt that they wouldn't believe her, Haruhi let it go.

Over the course of the next three years, Haruhi watched on as her friends slowly began to forget about her. It wasn't long before the only ones who bothered to keep in contact with her were Honey-senpai and Mori-senpai. But eventually, even they stopped regularly seeking her company. In time, their interactions were limited to the occasional phone call and the rare, mid-week lunch.

One day, in mid-April, Haruhi was trying to enjoy her rare lunch visit with Honey and Mori when it was suddenly interrupted by a small group of well-dressed people.

"Oh!" exclaimed an elegant woman Haruhi recognized as Mori's mother. "There you are, Takashi! I was told you were having lunch here today."

Mori rose from his chair quickly and bowed respectfully to his mother. "Mother," he said. "You were looking for me?"

The kind looking woman smiled at her son before turning to gesture at a young woman behind her. "Yes, I was hoping to catch you before you left the house today. I wanted to introduce you to Sasaki Natsumi."

Respectfully, Mori took her hand and bowed, briefly brushing his lip across her knuckles. The girl blushed but it was obvious that Mori was unaffected by her.

Mori's mother smiled again and something about her smile filled Haruhi with dread. "Natsumi-san is the woman your father and I have chosen for you, Takashi."

Haruhi's stomach dropped and Honey tensed up beside her. Mori's head snapped up to the Morinozuka matriarch and he seemed to be struggling with a frown. "I'm sorry, Mother," he said as calmly as possible. "I mean no disrespect, but I was under the impression that I was free to choose my own wife." His eyes flicked to Haruhi secretly – this did not go unnoticed by the intended bride.

His mother frowned. "Don't be rude, Takashi!" she admonished. "We have given you plenty of time to pick your own bride. It's been long enough."

"Yes, but – "

"No arguments, Takashi," she snapped. "It's been decided. Please, make yourself free for dinner tonight. We will be having the Sasaki family over."

With a stiff bow, Mori remained silent as his mother and her mini entourage left the café. He missed the mild glair Natsumi sent Haruhi.

The silence between the three former hosts was almost tangible. After a few moments, Haruhi drew out her cell phone, pretending to have gotten text message. "I have to go," she said blankly, indicating her phone. "A client of mine needs to push up our meeting. I'm sorry, you guys. We'll have to catch up next time."

Haruhi quickly gathered her things and stood to leave. "Haruhi-" Mori said, attempting to stop her departure.

"I really can't stay," she said with her best smile. "I'll talk to you guys later. Congratulations, Mori-senpai."

Mori flinched as she walked away. It had been years since Haruhi had referred to him as her senpai. She'd called him Takashi for ages now.

Honey reached out a hand to grasp his cousin by the shoulder. "You have to fight this, Takashi."

"How?" he replied.

"I don't know, but you have to try. I thought you were interested in Haru-chan?"

Mori tensed briefly. "I was going to ask her to dinner tonight," he confessed.

Honey's eyes grew wide. "Then you have to speak to your parents! You can't give up yet. You deserve to be happy with Haru-chan!"

Mori flushed a bright red. "I'll try."

Two weeks later, Haruhi got a surprise visit from Sasaki Natsumi herself.

"Ah," Natsumi said in a sickly-sweet voice. "It's so nice to formally meet you, Miss Fujioka."

Haruhi smiled lightly at the woman who had just invaded her office so unexpectedly. Haruhi could hear the false kindness dripping from her visitor's voice. "Oh, what a surprise! Miss Sasaki, I wasn't expecting a visit from you. It's lovely to see you again. Is there something I can help you with?"

Natsumi's smile turned into a small smirk. "Yes, actually," she said in a false, happy tone. "I came by to express some concerns."

Haruhi tilted her head slightly in confusion. "Oh?"

"I was delighted to meet Takashi-san the other week. I've been very anxious to meet the man I was told I would marry. However, I must admit, I was a little concerned about the company he was keeping at the time."

Haruhi frowned. "I'm afraid I don't understand. He was having lunch with Honey and myself. Honey is his cousin and I'm his friend."

Natsumi gave her a hard look. "His friend, huh? Well, I couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable with the way you two were looking at each other. I hate to ask such a thing, but I'm afraid I wouldn't feel comfortable otherwise. I'm going to have to ask you to leave him alone. At least until after the wedding. You see, he'd going to be very busy with the planning until then and we can't afford any distractions."

Haruhi stood rooted to the spot in shock. No matter how she tried to spin it, Natsumi had just demanded that Haruhi stay away from Takashi. Quickly, Haruhi regained her composure. "I'm sorry, Miss Sasaki, you'll have to forgive me, but Takashi is my friend. He and I have known each other since high school and I find it rather unfair of you to ask me to jeopardize that friendship. Takashi is important to me and I can't just give up contact with him."

Natsumi's eyes narrowed in clear distaste of Haruhi's reply. "I don't think you understand, Miss Fujioka. Morinozuka Takashi is going to be my husband and if I don't want someone to have contact with him, it would be disrespectful for that person to go against my wishes."

"And what about his wishes? If Takashi does not wish to see me, he is more than capable of telling me that himself. It seem to me that you have disrespected Takashi by not taking his desires into account."

"Miss Fujioka! If you do not cease contact with my fiancé, there will be severe consequences! This is your only warning. Do not speak to him again. You will regret it if you do." Natsumi then stormed out of Haruhi's office, leaving the former female host before she could say anything else.

A few hours later, Haruhi received a phone call from Honey.

"Hey, Haru-chan!" came the enthusiastic greeting.

"Hey, Honey. What's going on?"

"I was wondering if you might be free for lunch tomorrow?"

Haruhi hesitated. "I don't know, Honey…"

"Aww, come on, Haru-chan! We miss you! Takashi-"

"No!" Haruhi cut him off abruptly. "I'm sorry, Honey, but I'm busy. Maybe you and I can get together another time. I'd love to have lunch with you, Honey, but I'm in the middle of a very important case right now. Besides… I've been informed that you'll all be busy planning a wedding. I know when I'm not needed. Good-bye, Honey."

Honey looked at his phone in shock. Haruhi had never spoken to him in such a way before.

"Mitsukuni," came the deep, concerned tones of his younger cousin. "What's wrong? What did she say?"

Honey looked up at his cousin sadly. He couldn't find it in him to repeat Haruhi's words. He knew it would crush the Kendo champion. "I don't know, Takashi," he whispered. "Haru-chan said she had to work, but I could tell that there was something wrong. I… I think she's mad at us…"

Honey tried to get Haruhi to meet with them repeatedly over the next three months, but she always said she was busy with work. Mori had tried to call her a few times, but always got her voicemail. It wasn't until the day of the dreaded wedding that either of them saw Haruhi again.

It was at the reception when Takashi finally spotted Haruhi trying to slip away. He was so shocked to see her, that he almost missed seeing Natsumi following her. With a sinking feeling, Mori glanced at Honey and they both slipped away to follow the two women. What they found made both men's' blood boil.

"What the hell are you doing here, commoner?" spat Natsumi as she smacked Haruhi soundly across the face. "I distinctly remember telling you that there would be consequences if you ever came near my husband again!"

Haruhi picked herself up from the floor. She hadn't expected the slap or the taste of blood from a split lip. With a rough sigh, Haruhi dusted herself off and touched her lip gingerly. "I'm sorry," she said in a bored tone. "It seems I misunderstood. I thought that by being invited to the wedding, that meant you were done threatening me. My mistake."

Natsumi sneered at her. "I didn't invite you!"

Haruhi shrugged and drew out a formal invitation from her purse to show it to Natsumi. "If I wasn't wanted here, then I suppose that means I received this by mistake."

"Obviously," hissed the bride. "Now, get out of here before-"

"No," Mori spoke up as he and Honey emerged from the shadows. "Haruhi. Stay, please. I sent you the invitation."

Haruhi looked up at him blankly and Natsumi paled at the unexpected appearance of her new husband. "Takashi-san," she stuttered. "What a surprise! I was just escorting Miss Fujioka out. It seems she took a rather nasty fall and-"

"Really?" Honey interrupted with a deadly tone to his voice. "Because I saw you wrongfully raise a hand to her. You slapped Haru-chan."

Natsumi grew flustered. "I don't know what you're talking about! You must've seen wrong-"

"Don't lie," Mori practically growled at his new wife. "It's insulting."

Natsumi was about to object when Haruhi spoke up. "Don't bother," she said in a defeated tone. "It doesn't matter. You know, Natsumi-san, a few months ago, I might have had you charged you with assault for that slap. But now? I just don't have it in me to care anymore. You're not worth it. I'm done, Mrs. Morinozuka. Good-bye."

Mori flinched at her words and his heart ached at the hollow look in her eyes. He moved to go after her but was stopped by his cousin. "Stay, Takashi. I'll go. This is your wedding, after all. You have guests to entertain."

Mori hesitated but allowed Honey to go after Haruhi on his own, while sending a cold, angry glare at the woman he was forced to marry. He prayed to the gods that Haruhi would forgive him.

Unfortunately, Honey was unable to find Haruhi again that night and she wouldn't answer his calls or texts.

A week later, neither Honey nor Mori were able to get a hold of Haruhi, so, they decided to visit her at work. That's when they learned the truth.

"I'm so sorry, Morinozuka-sama, Haninozuka-sama, but Fujioka-san doesn't work for this law firm any more. She was let-go on Monday."

"Don't sugar-coat it, Akira-san," huffed a man in a crisp suit who had overheard. "Fujioka-sama wasn't let-go. The Boss forced her to resign after some rich snob threatened to destroy the company if she didn't leave. Thanks to some spoiled little brat having a grudge, we lost the best damn prosecuting attorney this firm has had in thirty years!"

The man ended his angry rant with a huff as he stormed to his office. Honey and Mori looked at each other. Honey's eyes were wide and Mori's held a mixture of anger and absolute dread. Without a word, the two cousins rushed back to their waiting cars, desperate to get to Haruhi's apartment as soon as possible.

When they got there, they were filled with panic when there was no answer at her door.

"She's not there," croaked Haruhi's elderly neighbor. "She packed up and left two days ago, I'm afraid. It's a shame, too. She was such a lovely, quiet neighbor. I'm going to miss her."

Their dread increased at the news and Honey quickly drew out his phone to call Haruhi. After three rings, an exasperated voice answered the call.

"What is it, Honey?"

"Haru-chan!" he exclaimed with relief. "Where are you? We've been trying to call you all week! I was so worried, Haru-chan!"

A heavy sigh was heard as Honey put the phone on speaker so his cousin could hear as well.

"Don't worry, Honey," Haruhi said in a resigned tone. "I'm fine."

"Where are you?"

Haruhi paused, clearly not wanting to divulge her location and likely have to endure visitors. "I'm about to have lunch with a friend."

"Haruhi," Honey said seriously. "Where are you? We went to visit you at the office today. They told us what happened."

Haruhi snapped. "Oh, good. So, you already know that I was forced to quit because the lovely Morinozuka Natsumi practically twisted my boss' arm? That's just wonderful. I'm going to assume that you already know that I was forced to move out of my apartment because, without a job, I can't afford it anymore!"

"Haru-chan…" Honey started.

"No, Honey!" she hissed. The two men flinched. "No. I've dealt with this all pretty well since it started, but I am beyond over the women in your world feeling threatened by me for whatever reason. That woman nearly got me blacklisted, Honey! All my hard work would have been pointless! This has gone too far. I'm done."

With that, the line went dead and Honey's eyes filled with tears as he looked up to his cousin. "We… we lost her, didn't we, Takashi?"

5 Years Later

Late Wednesday evening, Nekozawa Haruhi (Fujioka), 29, passed away due to unexpected complications from a routine medical procedure. Mrs. Nekozawa was an established prosecuting attorney for the Yamaguchi Law Firm and the wife of Nekozawa Umehito, the current patriarch of the well-known Nekozawa family and –

Ootori Kyoya let the newspaper fall to his desk as he removed his glasses to brush away the stray tears from his eyes. The sudden emotion caught him off guard. The last thing he had expected to see when he sat down to read the paper that morning was Haruhi's picture and name at the top of the obituaries. He hadn't seen or heard from his old friend in over five years. If truth be told, it had been quite some time since he'd even spared her a thought. Hell, he hadn't even known that she'd gotten married, let alone to their old high school senpai, Nekozawa Umehito. Still, Haruhi's unexpected death made his heart ache.

With a deep breath, Kyoya picked up his phone and tried to prepare himself for the conversation he was about to have. Informing the others of this tragedy was not going to be easy.

Two days later, Haruhi's funeral was held at the Nekozawa estate. With somber faces, the six former hosts quietly made their way through the small crowd to pay their final respects to their beloved Haruhi, the Host Club's secret princess.

They were the last ones to make it to her casket, beside which stood her devastated husband, Nekozawa Umehito. Hikaru and Kaoru held each other in comfort as Honey openly cried. The group of grieving men were broken from their trance by the quiet, yet angry voice of Haruhi's husband.

"I don't recall inviting any of you to my Haruhi's funeral." Umehito's voice was a deadly whisper.

Tamaki tried to defend them, even though the hostility confused them all. "Now, Nekozawa-san," he began in a placating tone. "Haruhi was our friend. She was dear to all of-"

"Lies!" Umehito spat, careful to keep his voice quiet enough so the other guests wouldn't hear. "How dare you claim such things after all you've done! When was the last time any of you even spoke to Haruhi?" He didn't wait for an answer. "With the exception of Haninozuka-sama, none of you have tried to contact her for years! You have no right to claim you cared for her when you all so easily let he be alienated by your partners. Haruhi changed all of you for the better, but you let others manipulate you into forgetting about her. You were so love-struck you were blind to the fact that your female companions were slowly forcing Haruhi out of your lives! Haruhi loved all of you, and you forgot her. And you! Morinozuka, you're probably the worst offender!"

Everyone exchanged wide-eyed looks at the accusation. Mori cringed openly.

"Haruhi may have loved all of you idiots," Nekozawa continued. "But she was in love with you, Morinozuka." Mori paled and his heart clenched painfully. He grit his teeth as a single tear rolled down his cheek. "After the hell you all put her through, I'm lucky she even fell for me at all."

Silence echoed around them and was only broken by two tiny voices as two small boys tugged on the sleeves of Nekozawa's dark suit.

"Daddy," said one little boy as he looked up at Nekozawa.

"When is Mommy gonna wake up?" asked his brother.

All six hosts' attention snapped to the identical twin boys before them at Haruhi's casket. Both boys had Nekozawa's pale hair and Haruhi's big brown eyes. They couldn't be quite four years old yet. Kyoya, Tamaki, Hikaru, Kaoru all exchanged surprised looks. Honey looked at his cousin, trying to gauge his reaction. Clearly these children were Haruhi's. Mori's breath caught and his heart shattered a little more.

Nekozawa crouched down and gently took one of each of his sons' hands in his own. "Boys… we talked about this, remember? I know it's tough, but Mommy… Mommy can't wake up this time. She went to Heaven."

"But, Daddy," the one on the right began.

"Mommy didn't meet Kotoko-chan," finished the one of the left.

A tear fell down Umehito's face as he drew his young sons in for a hug. "I know. Mommy was looking forward to meeting her. Don't worry, boys. Mommy will always be looking down on us from the stars. She'll be in our hearts forever."

As if sensing the emotional distress, a little cry emitted from a tiny carriage previously unnoticed beside the casket. Gently, Umehito extracted himself from the little twins and carefully a tiny pink bundle from the carriage. "Shhh, my sweet Kotoko," he cooed at the squirming newborn.

Umehito looked up at the six men who had all broken his late wife's heart in one way or another. He sighed in defeat as his sons each wrapped themselves around one of his legs. The looks he was getting were to be expected. Though he was tempted to let the former hosts suffer in their agony and curiosity, he knew that Haruhi would not approve. So, instead, he introduced them to the three, beautiful children that Haruhi had blessed him with.

"Gentleman," he said quietly. "I'd like you to meet mine and Haruhi's children. These are our sons, Eiichi and Nankichi, and this… is our daughter, Kotoko." Umehito watched as tears filled their eyes. Reluctantly, he continued. "Haruhi… she always wanted you guys to meet our family. Haninozuka-sama, she wished for you to be their godfather."

Honey's eyes grew wide and he gasped lightly.

"If you're willing," Umehito continued. "I would like to make that wish of hers, a reality."

Honey was silent for a moment before nodding firmly. "I would be honored, Nekozawa-sama."

Nekozawa nodded respectfully before turning to the others. "I'm sorry, gentleman, but you'll have to excuse us. It's past time for the twins' nap and Kotoko need a bottle."

"Nekozawa-san!" Tamaki called out to him desperately, though he wasn't entirely sure what to say to the heartbroken man. Umehito paused in ushering his children out of the room. "Were you… were you guys happy? Was Haruhi… happy?"

Nekozawa Umehito looked hard at the Suoh heir. "Haruhi… my wife was the best thing to ever happen to me. Together, we created a family. Our family means everything to me. Haruhi was the single most amazing, kind-hearted, caring person I've ever had the privilege of loving. I am beyond happy that she agreed to share this life with me, despite how sort of a time we were granted together. I cherish every moment I've ever spent with her. She's the reason I'm the man I am today… None of you deserved her…"

A/N: Hey guys! So, I'm sorry this one is so sad, but I couldn't help it. It's just something that kind of popped into my head and I just had to write it down. I've become quite obsessed with OHSHC lately and my fingers were itching to write a couple fics for this fun fandom. I hope to contribute more, eventually. Anyway, I apologize for any mistakes there might be. I tried to make it as perfect as possible, but hey, everyone makes mistakes. Well, I hope you all enjoyed this and I can't wait to hear from you!

XOXO ~ Andromeda