"I get it," Mr Fujioka exclaims, clapping his hands together. "You must be the Host Club I've heard so much about. You certainly are a fine looking bunch of young men. And young woman, I suspect you are part of the club as well?"

"Oh, no sir, " I say quickly. "I don't entertain like the boys and Haruhi do. I'm just a friend."

"Or more," Kyoya says under his breath, which makes me pinch his side. He doesn't flinch, but he does glare at me.

"Oh, I'm not sure which one of you I like best, what about you dear?" He squeals, asking his daughter. Haruhi just stares off, a face pulled into a 'why me?' position. "I tell you what, why don't you go ahead and call me Ranka? That's the professional name I use at the transvestite bar I work at."

"Professional name?" Hani asks, his head tilted. "You mean like a stage name?"

"That's right, Mitsukuni."

"Hold on, how did you know my name, sir?"

I look over at Kyoya, my eyebrow quirked. He looks over at me and nods. I suspected as much. Ranka smiles down at the boy.

"You two are third-years Mitsukuni Haninozuka and Takashi Morinozuka," Ranka continues, pointing to the two boys. He moves to the others. "And the two of you are first-years in the same class as Haruhi. You're the Hitachiin twins, but I'm not sure which one of you is which. And Mitsumi Inoue, a second-year student like Kyoya Ootori, who's been in constant contact with me!"

He clasps hands with Kyoya, who smiles as politely as he can.

"You know, you really are a beautiful person, Ranka," Kyoya says before they separate and start a new, more hostile conversation with Tamaki. I sigh quietly, the overall energy of the group getting to me. A light tap makes me look over at Mori, who's looking down, worried. I smile up at him before leaning against him, my eyes closing at the scene before us. A hesitant arm wraps around the other side of my waist, almost pulling me closer to him. I press a bit closer, allowing the arm to pull me in.

"I'm okay," I say quietly. "I'm just tired."

"We can leave early," Mori suggests, his voice low and soft so as to not alert the rest of the group.

"No," I insist. "I want to be with you guys. I like it."

The bickering continues, with occasional twin antics and Haruhi getting enraged over the boys. It's fascinating how even with my eyes closed I can recognize everyone and feel the emotion emanating from each individual person. It makes me feel warm, having finally felt close enough to these boys to recognize them; I haven't had that for many years.

"Wait Haruhi!" I hear Ranka call. I open my eyes to see Haruhi getting up from her seat. "Where are you going?"

'To the supermarket, alright?" She grouches, grabbing a purse from the coat hanger. "I have to go shopping and I want to do it by myself, so all of you stay here and try to behave yourselves."

She slams the door and I hear her stomp down the concrete stairs, her sandals making loud 'thwacks'.

"Wait," Hikaru argues, getting up. "I want to go to the commoner's supermarket!"

I smile at him while Ranka explains why she might want to go alone. I understand her desire for alone time, but I could do with a walk with Haruhi. I haven't interacted with her one-on-one recently, and this would be a perfect moment. I sit straight and get up from my spot next to Mori and Kyoya. They both look over at me and I gesture to the door. Kyoya nods and pays attention to Ranka's words. Mori looks troubled, but before he could try to latch on as well, I kiss his forehead, making him stop. The faint pink makes the warmth from earlier grow. I quietly head to the door and slip on my flats, grab my bag, and open the door. The group still doesn't notice me, too enraptured by Ranka's tale of a young Haruhi going everywhere by herself after her mother's death. I can still see Haruhi in her pink dress down the road with a reusable bag in hand.

I hurry as best as I can down the stairs, not caring too much if I make noise now that the boys have something to be distracted by.

"Haruhi," I call out. She turns around, looking a little alarmed at me. "Wait up!"

I walk as fast as I can, God, I wish I could run. She waits for me, looking dumbfounded.

"Let's go," I say, hooking my arm around hers. "Before the boys follow."

"Wait," She argues. "Shouldn't you be with Mori Senpai or Kyoya Senpai?"

"It's just a walk," I say a bit flippantly. "Besides, I want to know your opinions on Victor Hugo's Hunchback of Notre Dame. I believe that was the last one you borrowed?"

"I think it's a good read," She muses, looking behind her. She doesn't see anything of the ordinary, so she continues to lead us to the supermarket. "Obviously it's a tragedy, but I guess it's always going to be that way with the romantics of the Renaissance."

"I agree," I say, nodding along. "It's a commonality with writers of Hugo's time. I would have liked to have more detail on how there was a possible printing press in Notre Dame at one point. I feel like it was glossed over, but it would have been a creative outlet for Quasimodo."

"Huh," Haruhi thinks. "I think I'll have to read that over again."

"What's next on the wish list?"

"Homework has been kind of weighing me down, I might have to take a hold on that."

"I know, it's impressive how much the teachers have assigned. It is a private school, I suspect they have higher standards than public and charters, at least from my understanding."

Haruhi snorts and we head into the supermarket, the fluorescent lights making my head hurt for a second. She grabs a basket and I do the same, staying a bit closer to her than I normally would.

"Alright," She says, placing her purse in her basket. "What are we thinking about for lunch?"

"I'm fine with anything." I reply, my eyes bouncing from each brightly colored thing to the next. "How about we wander and pick and choose? I'll pay for the groceries, no arguing. I'm not like Kyoya, anyways, I prefer paying for my friends."

"Fine," She says reluctantly. "I'll meet you over by produce."

She points to a sign labeled as such, with gorgeous fruits and vegetables gleaming in bins and racks. I nod and head off into an aisle, an array of colorful objects capturing my eyes.

"Mitsumi."

I involuntarily jump, my heart going a mile a minute. I take a breath, my hand over my heart. Mori hangs above me, obviously startled by my reaction. I laugh a little, more of a wheeze than a laugh. I try to slow down my heart rate, but it takes a minute.

"I'm sorry."

"Takashi, no," I reassured. I grab his hand, it's warm and fits perfectly with my own. "Don't apologize. I shouldn't go off into my own world so often, yeah?"

"Only if you tell me your thoughts."

A flush of red takes over my cheeks, and my cheeks almost hurt from how large my smile is.

"Of course, Takashi. Always."

"Here."

He plucks the basket from my hand and gestures for me to lead the way. I beam and we head into the aisle. It's mainly snack food that I can't have, but I pick strawberry sweets and 'chocorooms', a cute snack that I think the Club would get a kick out of. Mori grabs more savory chips and crisps, the differences between him and his cousin clearly showing. We walk slowly, taking in the brightly colored advertisements and families shopping together. Occasionally, I see the other members of the Host Club at the ends of the aisles, the twins specifically. Their chaos makes the whining children and frantic workers look tame.

"Mitsumi."

"Yes, Takashi?" I looked up at Mori who stopped in the center of the aisle. "What is it?"

"This feels oddly domestic."

I stop from walking away from him and look at the situation; we're grocery shopping, together, with him holding the basket while I pick things out. I look around us, and other couples, some with children, some without, are doing the exact same thing as us. Something makes my heart beat a little faster and a smile creeps up on my face. Not a blinding one, not something that stretches across it like the Cheshire Cat, but a soft one. Even with the elevated heart beat, I feel calm.

"Is that alright?" I ask, walking up to Mori, his eyes trained to mine. I reach out and thread my fingers between his, our hands locked together. "I think I like it."

"Hmm."

He looks down at our hands together before looking back at me. A small smile, something barely seen, makes it into his face.

"It's alright."

I feel my face turning red, the warmth making me want to cover my face. I stand close to him as we continue down the aisle, making it to where the rest of the hosts are. Tamaki found Haruhi and was choosing vegetables for our lunch, the twins found the wonders of shopping carts. Hani even takes part in their shenanigans, which instantly makes Mori separate from me and grab his older cousin. I stand off to the side, watching as they all goof off.

"You disgust me," A teasing voice says above me. I look up to see Kyoya, for once his notebook isn't out. "Honestly, how am I going to take you anywhere?"

"Leave me be," I huff, the red still not fading from my cheeks. "I never thought I'd feel like this."

"I know," He murmurs. He looks over the crowd of hosts. "I'm happy for you."

I hold my chest as it beats faster, the happiness and adrenaline making me feel a little lightheaded, but nothing to worry about. It's perfect.

"Mitsumi-Senpai," Haruhi argues. "You really don't need to pay for it, I can do it myself."

"It's the least we can do!" I insist. "We popped over here unannounced and it's not fair to you to have to pay and cook for us. Besides, I'm not like Kyoya, you won't have to pay me back."

"I take offense to that."

"Take offense, you're a miser."

Haruhi smiles at the interaction before letting me swipe my card in the reader. The rest of the crew is fiddling with packing the plastic bags provided, the workers getting a little frustrated with their antics.

"Kyoya, can you take them outside please?" I ask, not wanting to cause more of a ruckus than already caused. "We can handle it."

"As you wish."

He takes the boys out, leaving Mori, Haruhi, Ranka, and me to deal with the bags. Fortunately, it went smoothly as soon as the troublemakers were outside, as we were able to bag everything and leave within five minutes. The Host Club had taken a liking to most things in the store, and so there were quite a few bags. As I go to pick some up, Ranka hastily grabs them.

"I've got them, my dear!" He exclaims, placing them on his arms. "Why don't you run along and talk more with my little Haruhi, or maybe the twins have some interesting prank?"

"I don't mind helping, sir," I protest, a little confused on why he's wanting to push me away. "I'd rather help than hinder."

"Aren't you sweet? I know your predicament," He says, waving a hand. "That dear boy Kyoya filled me in, it's no trouble to help!"

I stop moving towards another set of bags, my whole body feeling frozen. A numb, almost nauseous feeling passes over me. How much does he know?

"Mitsumi?"

I snap out of it, looking over at Mori. He's worried.

"I'm fine," I say, it sounds mechanical. "I can still help, Ranka. Please let me."

I grab two bags and head out the door, leaving the others in the store. I blink a bit from the sunlight before centering on to the Host Club. Tamaki was berating the twins for something, Hani was watching, almost enamored by what was happening. Kyoya looks over at me, his eyes calculating. I feel that sickness reoccur, and I have to break my gaze at him. I walked past the boys, towards Haruhi's home, them not quite noticing where I was going.

"Not waiting for us?" Kyoya asks, trying to sound nonchalant. "How unlike you, Mitsumi."

"What did you tell Ranka?" I blurt out, glancing to make sure the rest of the Host Club can't hear me. Mori, Ranka, and Haruhi are outside as well, talking with the boys that are outside. Mori looks over at me before his attention is taken by his cousin. Hani flings himself into his arms, which is always a cute sight to behold. I look back at Kyoya.

"No one else knows what it is," I mumble. "Why would you tell Ranka?"

"I told him bare minimum information," Kyoya says, crossing his arms. "He's an adult that we are to be in contact with, of course I would tell him if someone is disabled-"

"I'm not disabled," I cut in. "I am just a little sick."

"You've been sick for years," He rebuts. I looked away from him, my eyes focused on the plastic bags in my hands. I grabbed the ones full of the snacks Mori and I picked out. "Honestly, we've had this conversation before, and with doctors present. We must notify every adult of your condition in case something were to happen."

"What did you tell him?"

He stays silent. The sound of the chaos takes over, but it's muted. Like I'm covering my ears, the voices are so faint.

"I told him that you require more help than us," He says briskly. "I told him that you are in the Ootori care and there are times where you can't walk and may need a hospital. We're around you all the time, and I doubt Mori would let you go so far as to need hospice."

"Mori doesn't need to 'let' me do anything," I snapped. "He understands that I do the things I want to and I choose when to stop."

"Then you made the right call in dating this Host," He muses.

The silence overtakes us again. The Host Club finally collects themselves and starts heading over to where we are, but slowly; they're still in conversations.

"I'm sorry, Mitsumi."

I close my eyes and take a deep breath.

"I know. I'm just so tired."

"I know."

The rest of the Host Club catches up to us, making Kyoya and I's conversation dissipate. I walk in the back of the group, still keeping pace, but not engaging fully. I pipe on conversations here and there, taking part in teasing Tamaki in front of Ranka. He truly is a lovely man, I wouldn't be surprised if we were to become friends when I come to see Haruhi. Mori stayed by me the entire walk, a hand around my waist giving me great comfort.

Once we got back to the apartment, we slid our shoes off once more, and Haruhi started cooking with Ranka. I sat next to Mori, the day having exhausted me. I rest my head on his shoulder, which makes him tense for a second, before relaxing into the touch. The room is warm and while the conversation is loud, it doesn't affect me. I yawn, the sleep I missed last night catching up once more.

"Mitsu-Chan," Hani pokes me lightly in the shoulder. I look over at him. "Do you want to take a nap?"

"I will later," I mumble, sitting up and wobbling a little. "I won't be hanging out here too much longer."

"We can get you a car, can't we, Takashi?" He looked up to his cousin, who was looking down at me. "You don't have to be here if it's too much, you know."

"Thanks for the concern, Hani-Senpai." I give him a sleepy smile. "But I want to be with you guys. It's always an adventure with you."

He smiles and hugs one of my arms, clinging to it. It's comforting. I look up to see Mori looking at the two of us with a blush on his cheeks. He smiles when we make eye contact, lowering himself to lightly press a kiss on my forehead. My face feels warm and I tuck into him to hide the pink that must be evident.

"Lunch is served!" Ranka says, placing a hot pot in the center of the table with an array of vegetables and sliced meat, the flourish definitely reminds me of one of the blondes at the table. Haruhi rolls her eyes and places chopsticks and bowls at the table as well, letting everyone choose their own items.

"Thank you, Ranka and Haruhi!" I give them a smile before starting to place items into the hot pot. "We really appreciate this, especially without the notice that we'd be here."

"Oh it's our pleasure to host such lovely guests," Ranka says, placing a dainty hand on my shoulder. "I'm so happy my Haruhi has made friends at school."

"Good work, Haru-Chan!" Hani exclaims, having started the meal. "It's delicious!"

"Not bad," Mori mumbles out, relaxing a little. The rest of the Host Club gives out compliments to the girl and her father, and it's a perfect moment; the warmth that started earlier today with just Mori and I spreads across my body. I smile at the Host Club as they squabble over items in the hot pot. I truly love the people around me.