New Year's Eve, Ouran Style

All around Boston lay a blanket of white.  White, powdery snow had come, just in time for the host club to experience their first Christmas in Boston.  Together, they celebrated being together while studying abroad, with one addition.

Coming from the well-to-do families that they did, it had been fairly easy for all the male hosts to see their family before Christmas.  Haruhi was not so lucky.  To make up for it, Tamaki had given Haruhi an early Christmas present of her father.  Ranka would stay for two weeks, long enough to celebrate Christmas and the New Year with Haruhi before he had to return.  Haruhi had been so happy after that, giving Tamaki a slightly tighter hug than normal when she thanked him.  Tamaki smiled, glad to give his girlfriend something special.

Christmas Day had been a grand affair.  Several cooks were brought in to prepare traditional American cuisine for Christmas (at Tamaki’s insistence, of course), while the club had gone outside to see Boston in the winter.  After a snowball fight that Mori and Hunny won, all came inside for hot cocoa and to open presents. 

Tamaki was trying to be careful, though.  Someone (more like the mischievous, snickering twins) had managed to string up mistletoe all over the place, so he was trying to steer Haruhi away from it, lest someone else try to kiss her, or worse, Ranka caught them kissing.  Now that he was finally on Ranka’s good side, he wanted to stay there.  Somehow, the mistletoe kept appearing.  Tamaki succeeded in keeping everyone else away from Haruhi, at the cost of several kisses in front of Ranka.  Ranka did his best to ignore the pair, while Haruhi blushed with all of the attention.

Gifts were exchanged, with much flourish from the males.  Meanwhile, Haruhi had simple, homemade gifts for all except Tamaki.  He had gotten an empty box, which confused everyone.  Tamaki almost went to his corner to grow mushrooms.

“Haruhi, did you forget my gift?”

“No, Tamaki-senpai, I didn't.  What I have for you, though, cannot be packaged, only said.  I know you have been hinting that I don’t have to call you senpai anymore, but I can’t help it.  You will always be my senpai, silly and loving as you are.  As a result, this Christmas, my gift is this: I won’t be calling you senpai anymore.  Merry Christmas, Tamaki.”

There were many things that Tamaki had been expecting, but not that.  Instantly, he was out of his seat, kissing Haruhi and squeezing the life out of her.

As usual, Haruhi said, “You’re crushing me, Tamaki,” which soon brought Mori over to pull Haruhi away.  However, before Mori could, Tamaki grabbed one of Mori’s arms and pulled him into the hug, too.  Hunny soon followed, trying to rescue Mori, but he, too, was pulled into the hug given by Tamaki.  The twins, not to be left out, looked at each other, and then at Kyoya.  Kyoya tried to give a threatening look as he watched the happy couple, but it was not enough.  Soon, the twins had each grabbed an arm of Kyoya and dragged him into the group with them.  Ranka smiled and laughed, taking pictures of the tangled arms and smiles.

Finally, the group pulled apart, all with smiles on their faces.  Once all were seated, Ranka shared a hug with his daughter and Tamaki, thanking them again for letting him come.  Once all the gifts were given, they had their dinner.  While eating, Tamaki began talking of New Year’s Eve.

“This has been such a perfect day for us! I can’t imagine it getting any better than this.  How will our New Year’s celebration be able to compete?”

“Don’t worry, Tamaki, I’m sure you will find a way.”

“Thanks, Kyoya.  We are in America now, and you know what they say-“

“When in Rome, does as the Romans do.”

“Yes! Exactly, Haruhi,” exclaimed Tamaki.  Since Tamaki was across the table from Haruhi, he contented himself with reaching for her hand and squeezing it.

“But what should we do?”

“Well, Kaoru, I was thinking about what commoners normally do for the New Year based on what I see on the TV, and-“

A smile suddenly appeared on Tamaki’s face, and everyone knew that he had an idea.  Kyoya got out his cellphone in preparation for what was next said.

“Kyoya! Do you or your company have any associates who own property in Times Square?”

“Yes, I can think of two.  Why?”

“You see, I know commoners here like to go to Times Square to watch the ball drop.  I thought, why shouldn’t we join them? We can rent a floor for the night that has a perfect view of the ball as it drops, with our group together to celebrate.  We can go down and buy streamers, noisemakers…”

Tamaki continued to ramble on about all the things that they would need, while the others talked excitedly amongst themselves.  Kyoya was making calls, while the twins plotted about what they could get Haruhi to wear.  Mori conferred with Hunny about what kinds of cooks and foods they should have.

Haruhi looked excited to travel, and then she asked her dad, “What about you, Dad? Do you want to go to New York and Times Square?”

A smile erupted on Ranka's face, of similar magnitude as Tamaki's.  “Yes, I do.  I've always wanted to.”

“Just imagine the view from up there.”

“Oh, I’m not going to spend it with you, Haruhi.  I know there are a number of bars that I have heard about that I want to see.”

“That’s fine, Dad.  If that makes you happy.”

“It does, Haruhi.  Then you can be alone with your friends.”

“Then it’s settled,” yelled Tamaki, “we will leave early on December 31 and spend the day in New York City.  We will see the city, and then spend the night together, celebrating a new year.  Ranka-san will be going to some clubs, while we watch the ball drop.  Kyoya, do you have a place?”

“Indeed, I do.  One of the company’s associates has graciously given us full use of their building for the night.  Best view there is.”

“Haruhi, we need to go shopping!”

“I’m coming with you three! I’m not leaving you two perverts alone with my Haruhi!” Tamaki added quickly.

“Guys, do we have to?” sighed Haruhi.

“Yes we do! You need to look trendy for the New Year.  We have to greet it properly.  Everyone else dresses up, and so should we.”

“Fine.  But it has to keep me warm.”

“Tomorrow we will go,” said Hikaru with a gleam in his eye.

“I might come with you all.  I think I will need another outfit for the night out as well.  I’m so excited!” cried Ranka.

Before they knew it, it was already December 31.  Shopping had been wildly successful, with a cute red dress and warm, matching coat for Haruhi.  The twins were pleased with themselves and got it for Haruhi. 

Tamaki saw her try the dress on, and went into hysterics over how pretty she looked.  His inner mind theater was already imagining how he would steal her away, just before midnight, where he would take her to the roof.  There, they would declare their undying love for one another as the wind blew gently through Haruhi’s hair and face, making her cheeks adorably pink.  Then, they would share a midnight kiss.  It was going to be perfect.

Once in New York City, they travelled in style as they saw the sights with personal tours.  Haruhi enjoyed the different museums, while Tamaki loved the art.  Kyoya typed away, occasionally looking at things and spending the most time at Ellis Island looking at books and names.  Hunny loved the New York cheesecake, especially at Carnegie Deli, while Mori enjoyed the sandwiches.  The twins loved shopping on Fifth Avenue, thinking up even more outrageous outfits for Haruhi to try.  At the end of touring, they took a helicopter back to their party’s building to eat and prepare.

Inside the building, the floor that they had prepared was decked out in color and streamers, enough to fill all of Times Square.

“Where did you guys manage to find so many streamers?”

“Easy, Haruhi.  There are vendors all over the city.  I just bought a whole cart’s worth,” said Tamaki.

“And so did we!” chorused Hunny and the twins.

Haruhi just stared at the color extravaganza before going to the bathroom to change as she grumbled about rich people.

Once everyone was dressed and ready, Haruhi eyed the food.  She could see fancy tuna, and she was excited.  The problem was, there was way too much food for just seven people.  She stopped puzzling when she heard a knock on the door, and Kyoya went to answer with his host smile on.

“By the way, I wanted to let you all know that I invited a few people over for dinner, and dinner only.  They were in town for the festivities, so I thought it was appropriate and convenient,” said Kyoya smoothly. 

The rest of the club sweat-dropped at suddenly hearing about this change in plans, but they all changed when the doors opened and girls from Ouran appeared.  All went into Host mode, and Haruhi understood why there was so much food.  Even with Haruhi’s reveal, girls still flocked to talk to her, as well as watch her and Tamaki interact with one another.  Tamaki had extra reason to kiss Haruhi chastely on the cheek and hand as Haruhi blushed.  The girls kept telling Haruhi how lucky she was.  Even Renge, who was surprised by the reveal, watched the couple with glee as she tried to talk to Kyoya.  When the girls left, the hosts finally relaxed, rearranging the furniture so that they could face one another to talk and play games. 

At 11:00 PM, the hosts put on all their gear to celebrate (as Kyoya did not want to wear the silly glasses over his own).  Music was blasted in an effort to not hear all the music and people beneath them as the hosts talked.  At 11:30 PM, they went to the windows, admiring just how many people had managed to cram into Times Square.  Then, they told each other what their New Year’s Resolutions were. 

With five minutes left, Tamaki tried desperately to pull Haruhi away from the group, but he was always stopped.  First, it was the twins taking pictures with Haruhi in her dress, then Hunny having her try another piece of cake.  Again and again, Tamaki tried until there was one minute left.  As they counted down together, Tamaki got next to Haruhi, pulling in the others as he had done at Christmas.

When the ball dropped, the noise inside and outside was ecstatic.  Faces of joy could be seen as hugs were exchanged.  Tamaki slipped his arms around Haruhi and whispered, “Happy New Year, Haruhi.  I’m so happy to have you in my life, especially as my girlfriend.”

“Happy New Year, Tamaki.  I’m so glad to be a part of your life, too.  I hope this will be the first of many new years together.”

“Me too, Haruhi.  Me, too.”

For those several moments, the couple lost track of all else around, absorbed in one another.  The midnight kiss they shared was not done alone in the gentle breeze, but it was just as promising.  Instead of the cold breeze to greet them when they broke apart, they had warm smiles and hugs to welcome them back to the rest of the party.  Everything was as it should be.

As the celebration died down, Haruhi addressed her friends.  “It seems like just yesterday, I stumbled into the third music room, looking for a quiet place to study.  Ever since then, my life has changed in so many ways, all for good.  I got mixed up in your crazy lives, and I haven’t looked back.  I can’t imagine my life now without you guys.  I have had the honor of getting to know each of you, and for that, thank you.  I’m so excited for what this year will bring with all of us.  Happy New Year!”