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Haruhi pushed the apartment door shut behind her, leaned back against it, and sighed. What a crazy day! “Dad, I'm home!” she called. She went to her room and picked up her pajamas, which were folded neatly on the corner of her bed, then walked to the bathroom. She turned on the shower, then peeled off her slightly damp dress and hung it on an empty towel rack. She sneezed violently twice, then stepped into the blessedly warm shower.
Haruhi woke up the next morning feeling groggy and out-of-sorts. She made breakfast for herself and her dad, then sat at the table, only picking at the food on her plate.
Ranka studied his daughter. She looked a little strange today. “Haruhi, are you feeling okay?” he asked. He pressed his hand to her forehead. It felt feverish.
Haruhi jumped, then smiled. “Yeah, I'm fine. It's just a little cold,” she replied.
Ranka flew across the table to hug his daughter. “Oh, Haruhi, let Daddy stay home and take care of you!”
Haruhi laughed. “No Dad, it's okay. You go to work. Don't worry about me, I can take care of myself.”
“How can I possibly concentrate on work knowing my little girl isn't feeling well?”
“Go, Dad.” Haruhi grabbed her dad's purse off the counter, handed it to him, and pushed him out the door.
“Take care, and don't let any strange people in the house!” Ranka said, before Haruhi slammed the door shut. She sneezed five times, then returned to her room and crawled back into bed.
A while later, Haruhi woke up to an annoying ringing sound. It took her a moment to realize that it was her cellphone. She picked it up and checked the caller ID. Kyoya. She groaned. She'd forgotten to let the Host Club know she wouldn't be coming today. She pressed the talk button. “Hey, Kyoya-sempai,” she said.
“Hello Haruhi. Would you mind telling me why you're not at the club today? Your customers are waiting for you,” Kyoya demanded.
“I'm sorry, I meant to call. I caught a cold from falling into the river yesterday, so I stayed home today.”
“A cold, huh?” Haruhi heard a loud crash and Tamaki yelling across the phone connection. She heard Kyoya cover the phone while he yelled at Tamaki. “Sorry about that. Well, hurry and get better.”
“Thanks Ky –”
“I'm adding every day that you're not here to your debt.”
“Hey! I thought you said I had paid it off!”
“You ate a lot of fancy tuna last night, and you ruined your and the twins' costumes.”
“Great...” There was a click, then nothing. Kyoya had hung up on her.
Not five minutes later, someone banged on the door. Haruhi grumbled and climbed out of bed. She opened the door just a crack, but when she saw who was out there, she let it swing open wide. “Tamaki-sempai?”
The blond boy was on his hands and knees, panting, but when he heard Haruhi's voice he jumped to his feet. He picked up the bulging bag he had brought with him. “Hey Haruhi!” he said.
“Sempai, what are you doing here? And how did you get here so fast?”
“You're sick, right? You shouldn't be alone right now. And knowing you, you probably sent your poor father off to work.” Haruhi stared at him in shock. He'd hit the nail on the head. He guided her back inside, and set his bag on a table.
“What is all this?” Haruhi asked, poking the bag.
“I asked the lady at the store what I would need for someone with a cold.” He began pulling things out. An ice-bag, a few different brands of cold medicine, tissues, every flavor of cough drops (even ones she hadn't realized existed), some cans of chicken noodle soup, and many other things Haruhi didn't recognize.
Damn rich people, Haruhi thought. “You know you didn't need to buy all this, right?” Tamaki pouted and retreated to his corner of despair to grow mushrooms. Haruhi sighed. “Thank you, though.” She turned back towards the table. “Let's see, what do I need...” Tamaki returned as Haruhi began picking things out of the huge pile. She picked up a large box of tissues, generic cold medicine, and a bag of lemon-honey cough drops. “There, this should be good.” She walked to the couch and turned on the TV.
“Have a seat, Sempai. Make yourself at home,” she said as she patted the cushion next to her.
“Is there anything I can do? I came to take care of you, after all.”
“Sit. Relax. It's just a cold, I just need to rest.” She waited until Tamaki sat down beside her, then she turned on the DVD player and continued the anime series she'd been watching all week. She sat back to enjoy the show, and Tamaki soon relaxed as well. They laughed and made fun of the characters, and Tamaki cried when the dog got kidnapped. They reached the end of the episodes, and as the credits were playing, Haruhi's stomach growled loudly.
“You're hungry?” Tamaki inquired. “I'll make some lunch for us.”
“You don't have to. I'm not so sick that I can't even make lunch.”
“But I want to!” He jumped up and hurried to the kitchen. Haruhi smiled and turned around on the couch to watch him. After lots of banging around, Tamaki found a pot and frying pan. He turned on a burner on the stove, set the pot over it, and poured in the canned soup. He found some bread and cheese, and set about attempting to make grilled cheese sandwiches. Eventually, he returned to the couch, carrying a tray laden with two bowls of soup and two sandwiches. He handed one bowl and the less burnt sandwich to Haruhi. “Here you go, Princess,” he said with a smile.
“Thank you,” Haruhi replied. They ate in companionable silence. When they were done, Tamaki took the dishes back to the kitchen while Haruhi picked a movie to watch.
“Hey, Sempai, lets go to my room to watch the movie. I'm tired of sitting on the couch,” Haruhi said.
“Are you sure? I mean, a boy and girl alone in a bedroom...”
“Pervert! I just wanted somewhere more comfortable to sit. We don't exactly have the most comfortable couch.”
“Right, of course. Sorry.”
Haruhi coughed a little. Instantly Tamaki rushed to her side. “Are you okay?” he asked.
“I've got a cold. Coughing is perfectly natural.”
They went to Haruhi's room and started the movie. At some point, she fell asleep, using Tamaki's chest as her pillow.
Ranka opened the door and entered his apartment. “Haruhi! I'm home!” he called. When he didn't get an answer, he went to Haruhi's room. “Haruhi?” He flicked on the light, and his jaw dropped at the sight that greeted him.
Hadn't he told her not to let strange people in the house? That stupid blond boy was lying with his precious little Haruhi on her bed. Tamaki's arms were wrapped around Haruhi, and she was snuggled close to him. Their legs were intertwined. Fortunately for Tamaki, both the teens were still fully clothed, so Ranka decided to let them sleep peacefully for now, and wait to destroy Tamaki after he woke up.