RECAP;

"Here they come now." Reiji grinned, gesturing with his shoulder to where a group of well-dressed men were entering the room, chatting quietly to themselves as they entered. One man in particular caught her attention. He was shorter than the rest, with perfectly tousled blonde hair. He took no notice of her, but Haruhi Fujioka was completely transfixed with him. "The Haninozuka's."

Her heart stopped dead in her chest as the representative from the Haninonzuka family took his place at the table, his eyes skimming the room before landing upon hers.

Seemingly in unison their eyes widened in recognition and Haruhi barely whispered his name, "Honey...."

Now;

Keeping her attention on the meeting at hand was almost asking too much of the small Fujioka girl. She could feel Honey's gaze upon her as she tried to take notes and she almost melted every time his sweet voice would add input to the current case. In the four years that had passed, Honey had seemed to grow up a lot, but she wasn't completely sure if the change was legitimate or if he was putting on an act for the sake of his family business.

Who else is involved in this scandal? Haruhi found herself wondering, scribbling words down upon her notepad as they seemed to be relevant. Did he recognize me? Surely from the looks he was casting in her direction he knew who she was? The question that she needed to be asking was what would he do now that he knew she was back in Japan? Would he want to talk to her? Would he tell the others she was back? How would the rest of the Host Club react? Would Tamaki even care?

Reiji nudged her gently with his elbow. "Focus." He hissed, gesturing to her trembling hand and the less than perfect chicken scratch that littered her notepad. No one would be able to read her notes later and she knew she would be forced to rewrite them.

Ten minutes on the job and I've already run into one of the many people I wanted to avoid. She thought, closing her eyes and taking a couple of deep and steadying breaths.

Four years had passed and Honey had not reached out to her once. Four years he could have sent letters or asked for her side of the story when it came to her untimely break up with Tamaki. But the Host Club was loyal and Tamaki was their King. Betraying him for Haruhi had probably never crossed their minds.

"I think we have enough for today, don't you?" Honey asked in his sweet business voice, pulling Haruhi from her innermost thoughts. Her eyes rose, finding him staring right at her once again. There was no doubt in her mind now, he remembered her.

"Yes Mr. Haninozuka. We'll reconvene in a week's time. Is there anything else we can do for you?" One of the lawyers asked, rising from his seat.

"Yes actually." Honey's lips pulled up into a half smile. "Her," he nodded towards where Haruhi was sitting, shock crossing every inch of her features. "She's your intern no doubt?"

"Miss Fujioka? Yes?" The lawyer seemed just as confused as Haruhi was.

"I would like to consult with her on the notes she's taken this morning. If that's okay with you?" Honey asked.

Haruhi wasn't breathing; she knew what Honey was doing. He wanted to speak with her in private and pretending he didn't know her was the easiest way to get around it.

"Pardon me, Mr. Haninozuka." Reiji interrupted, rising from his seat beside Haruhi. "I've taken notes today, too, and I'd be happy to stay behind to discuss them with you."

"No." Honey smiled politely. "I'd rather discus with your intern. It's always nice to have a fresh eye... especially one who isn't on my payroll. I understand your internships are unpaid?"

The lawyer nodded, taking a deep breath. "Miss Fujioka. Will you please go over your notes with Mr. Haninozuka."

Rising to her feet, Haruhi bowed awkwardly. "It would be my pleasure."

Reiji looked back and forth from Honey to Haruhi, taking a deep breath. "We'll reconvene after lunch, Haruhi." He patted her shoulder gently.

The girl stood still, quietly and unmoving, as the conference hall emptied leaving only Haruhi and Honey behind.

"Is that really you?" Honey asked, tilting his head to the side innocently. His business persona dropped when he was no longer being observed. As she looked him over, Haruhi took note to how little Honey had really changed. Buried under the business and legality, he was still the same sweet loving boy she had known in school.

"Mmhmm." She nodded, biting down on her bottom lip nervously.

"Where did you go?" Honey asked, sitting down and gesturing for Haruhi to do the same.

"Tamaki didn't tell you?"

Honey shook his head. "Tama-chan told us you had decided not to be part of the Host Club anymore now that school was over. He told us you had repaid your debt and that saying goodbye was just going to be too hard for you."

Haruhi felt her breath catch in her chest. Even after breaking his heart, Tamaki had still been kind to her. He hadn't called her out on the heartless monster she had been that final day. He had left her memory in tact.

"He said you asked for us not to reach out to you..." Honey smiled sadly. "It wasn't easy not tracking you down.... So where did you go?" He asked again.

Haruhi brushed her fingers through her bangs. "I went to college in America. I'm almost finished getting my law degree... I just have to finish this internship."

"Your hair got long..." Honey reached out running his fingers through her soft hair as if no time had passed between them at all. Honey could always be relied upon to ease the tension, to not hold grudges. His love for Haruhi had been strong in school and was obviously still strong now. "So did mine, see?!" He grasped her hand gently in his and put it in his hair, smiling brightly.

"Yes, very long." Haruhi smiled slightly despite herself.

"And you missed us, didn't you Haru-chan?" Honey asked, releasing her hand.

"Very much." She admitted.

"All of us?" He smiled.

"All of you. Every day."

"Then why couldn't we visit you? Why couldn't we write you?" He asked, pouting slightly.

"Because..." Haruhi wanted to tell Honey everything. She wanted to tell him that she was afraid, that she didn't want to take Tamaki's future away from him and that she had needed to break his heart in order to save his future. But Honey wasn't known for keeping his secrets well. "Because I needed to keep my promise to my mom. I needed to finish school."

"I think I need cake." Honey admitted, smiling brightly up at her. "Your boss said you didn't need to be back until after lunch. So let's go get lunch!"

"Honey, I..."

"No excuses. I'm technically your boss for a little while so you have to do what I say. Just don't tell anyone I'm going to eat cake." He grinned, throwing a casual wink in her direction. "Shall we, Miss Fujioka?" He teased, putting back on his professional air.

"I guess I can't refuse with logic like that... can I?"

XXXXX

"THAT CAKE WAS DELICIOUS!" Honey grinned, pushing his plate away and waving to the waitress to bring him another plate of Strawberry Shortcake. "Do you want my strawberry, Haruhi? I know that they're your favorite."

Haruhi smiled lightly, nodding her head and poking at the strawberry on his plate with her fork and popping it into her mouth. "Thank you." She smiled once she had finished it.

"So you really haven't spoken to anyone since before graduation?" Honey asked, waiting patiently for his next piece of cake.

"Nope. And I would appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone that I'm back or where I'm doing my internship. I'm not ready to see anyone else yet, Honey." Haruhi smiled, hoping he would understand.

"I may have already told someone." Honey smiled apologetically.

Haruhi's face fell. "Who?"

"Me."

Turning in her seat, Haruhi's eyes landed upon the tall and unemotional boy turned man. He was taller now, if that was even possible, dressed in an impeccably pressed suit that seemed to almost match Honey's. His hair was cropped shorter than she remembered but his stature hadn't changed at all. He was still stoic and unmovable. He was a polar opposite of the boy bouncing in his seat across from her.

"Mori-senpai." She blinked up at him in surprise. She should have known that the first thing Honey would have done in finding her is reach out to his bodyguard and best friend. The two were less of opposites and more of two halves to the same person. Anywhere Honey went, Takashi was not far behind.

"Your secret is safe with us." He promised, pulling out the empty chair at their table and taking a seat beside them.

"I'm sorry, Haruhi. Takashi missed you, too!" Honey admitted, smiling brightly as his second piece of cake was placed before him.

Nodding his head slightly, Takashi took a cup and the pot of coffee that had been sitting before Haruhi, stirring himself a cup.

"Are you back for good now?" Honey asked, biting off a huge piece of his cake.

"I'm back for awhile at least." Haruhi offered, stirring the tea that sat before her. "I have six months of internship here and then I head back to Boston for my graduation... after that I'll go where the jobs are, I guess."

"You can come work for me!" Honey beamed.

"Eat your cake, Mitsukuni." Mori interrupted.

"I don't think working for any of the Host Club families would work." Haruhi smiled appreciatively. "But thank you for the offer."

"And we can't tell Tama-chan that you're here?" Honey asked.

"Especially not Tamaki." Haruhi spoke.

"He'll find out soon enough." Honey huffed, popping another piece of cake into his mouth.

"I think it's time for me to head back to work. Thank you for lunch, Honey-senpai. Here." She put a card down on the table before him, one with her phone number and her new address written upon it. "If you promise to keep my secret we can get together again soon."

Honey watched with a smile upon his lips as Haruhi exited the small diner, popping yet another piece of cake into his mouth. "I told you she hadn't forgotten about us, Takashi."

Takashi nodded, also watching as the girl vanished through the door and around the corner. "Why didn't you tell her about Tamaki?"

"What?" Honey asked. "About his family also using Haruhi's lawfirm for the Monpetite suit?" He smiled innocently. "I guess it completely slipped my mind."

"Mitsukuni." Mori warned, his voice even.

"I can't tell Tama-chan she's working there and I forgot to tell her Tama-chan will be coming into her office soon." He shrugged, popping yet another piece of cake into his mouth. "They'll know soon enough."