Honey's Tree
Fandom: Ouran High School Host Club
Ship: Honey/Mori
Word Count: 1,298
Warnings: None
Honey was greeted at the door by one of the maids as he entered his home and she offered him a snack. Honey assured her that he'd gotten quite enough cakes at the Host Club so she retreated to take care of the rest of her duties. He hugged his stuffed bunny close to his chest as he smiled happily and skipped up the stairs to his room. As he closed in on the door to his refuge from an empty mansion his skips halted and he sighed sadly. He threw the door open and closed it behind him as he sat down at his desk. He placed his precious bunny on the desktop, propping it against a line of encyclopedias he had never touched.
"Usagi..." he mumbled, burying his face in the mock rabbit's stomach. "You're the only one who understands."
Honey didn't have too hard of a time keeping up his shota act at school or around the other Host Club members but once he'd arrived home he felt as though he were someone completely different. He'd admit that he was indeed rather childish by nature but he was also a senior in high school. Sometimes he wondered how many people aside from Mori remembered that. How many people saw more than an innocent, naive face staring up at them. He cursed his height often. Maybe if he were taller people would take him more seriously.
He lifted his face to stare up into his bunny's beady, glass eyes. He'd had this bunny for so long...and it reminded him of his grandmother who had made it for him. It reminded him of how she had been the only one not to spoil him. She had taught him to be a responsible, serious man before he could properly be called so. He wondered if she would be upset were she alive to see him now. He wondered if this charade would shame her.
"Honey-sama." a voice called, accompanied by a knock.
The maid's voice pierced his mind and his face locked into the serious stare he had been giving the bunny. He didn't say anything for a moment. Maybe one of his parents had called. He didn't want to talk to them at the moment. Maybe she needed to clean his room. She could do it later. Maybe he had a visitor. Tamaki. He couldn't deal with him right now. Maybe...
"You have a visitor, Honey-sama." the voice confirmed. "It's Mori-sama. Shall I show him in?"
"Hai." he sighed.
He lifted his arms and wrapped them around his bunny's neck, pulling it close against his face. He supposed he would have to reinstate his childish, innocent, carefree face again otherwise Mori would worry. He tried as the maid went to get him from the front door. He tried so hard he had his eyes squeezed shut when Mori arrived. He felt tears gathering under his eyelids but he couldn't stop them from reaching the corners of his eyes. No matter how hard he tried to squeeze that expression out he simply could not. He only got tears.
"Mitsukuni." the familar deep voice whispered from behind him.
He didn't look up as two strong arms enveloped his shoulders. Mori had to kneel in order to do this and he was almost leaning over Honey like a tree. That's what Mori often reminded him of now that he thought of it. A tree. A strong, silent, kind, protective tree. Mori sheltered the blond from all the troubles that managed to find him and always looked after his best interest. He gave Honi strong branches to grasp so that he never lost sight of who he was inside and he was always, always there. Mori was Honey's tree.
"I'm okay, Takashi." he replied, grinning through the few tears that had spilled over his cheek. "I'm happy. Genki, genki, genki...genki..."
The chant had started in a sing song sort of way but Honey couldn't maintain that childish attitude anymore. It was no good to just sweep things like this under the rug. He didn't want to burden Mori but if Mori hadn't wanted to be burdened he wouldn't be there now. He had sensed that something was wrong before they'd parted ways that day. Honey knew this because it wasn't the first time it had happened. If Mori didn't even take the time to change out of his uniform before coming over it was because he was concerned.
"Genki..." Honey sobbed into his bunny at last. "Everything's genki...zutto, zutto genki..."
"Mitsukuni, stop."
The command made him sit up suddenly and stare straight ahead with tears streaming down his cheeks. Why he had been crying he really couldn't pin point. Was it because he wanted to be seen as something more than a shota gimmick? Had thinking of his grandmother made him sad? He supposed it was a combination of the two or perhaps it was nothing at all. In a life with so little to cry over he guessed the tears were long overdue and there needn't be a reason at all. He raised his hands to Mori's and sighed softly as he ran his fingers over them idly.
They remained that way for a moment - neither needing to say a thing - and Honey could feel himself growing a little colder inside. He could feel the longing to be close to someone building up in his heart. He was in constant physical contact with someone at any given moment of the day. Even now with Mori's arms around him he was being touched but he knew that wasn't what he wanted. As though Mori sensed the feelings in his heart he pulled his arms away. For a moment Honey was saddened at the thought that he might be leaving but then his hands came down on his shoulders again.
Honey smiled as he was turned around and though he greeted Mori with this genuinely joyful expression he still looked concerned. He took his time in wiping the tears from the smaller boy's face never removing his dark eyes from those large, blue orbs. Those eyes seemed to be crying sadness even now but he could tell that Honey was feeling better. Once he'd removed all the evidence of the blond's sorrow from his cherubic cheeks Mori took his hand in his own gently. Honey stared down in surprise as he raised it to his lips. He blushed lightly as his tall, strong tree placed a kiss on his fingers.
"Takashi..."
"Mitsukuni." he interrupted. "You don't have to be happy. But when you want to be tell me."
Honey could feel more tears gathering in his eyes but these were tears of happiness. He wouldn't let these tears fall though he had to struggle to keep them in after so many kind words from Mori. He leaned down into the taller boy's arms and smiled with happy tears in his eyes. He never felt more complete than when he was buried in Mori's arms. He knew he could always count on Mori to remind him of who he was when he forgot himself. He could always count on Mori to lift his spirits when he was down. He could always count on Mori to be there when he needed him. Because Mori was Honey's tree.