Still Too Much Time On Their Hands
 

Lucy yawned and stretched briefly as she left her last class of the day, walking with her good friend. They'd transferred to this Japanese university a few weeks ago when their respective parents had to move to Japan for work.

At least people didn't look down their noses at her, Lucy reflected as she watched a classmate hurry over to them.

"Has anyone taken you two to the Host Club yet?" their classmate asked, her cheeks pink.

"Um. No?" Lucy blinked. Host Club? She exchanged a mystified glance with Liz.

Their classmate grinned. "Come on, I'll bring you two with me this time. You'll love it!"

Liz blinked at the sudden enthusiasm for a club. That was something she hadn't seen before.

"So... what's a host club?" she asked as she followed Lucy and the other girl down the hallways of the university's electives building.

"You'll see." Their classmate grinned and opened the doors to the Host Club room, leading them inside. All the hosts were already at their appointed tables and couches entertaining guests, although Kyoya did look over at them and smile when he saw new guests.

"Welcome," he greeted them.

Lucy blinked, trying to figure out what exactly was going on.

Liz blinked, too, looking around.

"Did we just step into a shoujo manga?" she murmured to Lucy.

"Ah, you've brought us some new guests, Himiko," Tamaki said, smiling warmly. Liz blinked again when she saw her classmate promptly blush.

"I... maybe?" Lucy murmured back.

Himiko smiled. "These are Lucy and Liz, the transfers from America," she said, blushing even more when the Hitachiin twins looked over.

"From America, huh?" they said in unison.

Liz looked around, trying to figure out what exactly was going on. Although, she had to admit, none of the young men were hard to look at.

"Ah, yes," Kyoya said, giving a small smile and adjusting his glasses. "Lucinda and Elizabeth, I assume."

"That's right," Lucy said after a moment.

"Welcome to the Host Club, princesses," Tamaki said with a smile. "I'm Tamaki, and this is Kyoya. The twins are Kaoru and Hikaru, and over there are Honey and Mori. We're so pleased you could come."

"Okay," Liz said after a moment, "I'll bite. What is this thing?" She couldn't help but glance at the twins; she swore she knew them from somewhere.

"This is our Host Club," Tamaki said with a brief grin. "We entertain lovely young ladies such as yourselves."

"I imagine it's a bit of a culture shock," Kyoya observed. "From what I understand, there is no real American counterpart, is there?" He glanced at the girls.

"Not at all," Lucy said, glancing around. "However, we might as well stay and watch for a bit, if that's okay? Get an idea of what's going on?"

"But of course!" Tamaki said, smiling. "Please, make yourselves comfortable."

Lucy nodded and moved off to the side to find a place to sit and observe. The other girls all chatted while they waited, and no one seemed to mind waiting for a bit of the guys' attention. Lucy blinked again as she watched the hosts go back to work.

"I think we seriously just stepped into a shoujo manga," Liz commented quietly. "I keep waiting for bubbles and roses."

"Well, there are the roses," Lucy said, nodding to the tables. "No bubbles yet, though." She was quiet for a moment. "It's weird, but at least the guys are easy on the eyes."

"No kidding," Liz said. "Though the twins, I swear I know them. I've seen them before."

"Well, they're the, um, Hitachiin twins. Does the name ring a bell?" Lucy looked around at the rest of the group, her gaze settling on a table with two guys. One was short and blonde and eating cake, and the other was dark-haired, tall, and quiet.

Liz blinked

"Oh god it does," she said quietly. "My mother has a design contract with them, an entire season line."

"Ah. Well, there you go." Lucy grinned. "One mystery solved. You should go say hi."

"Not right now," Liz said. "Not... in the middle of all of this." She glanced around, and did a double-take when she saw the twins' routine. "Lucy... tell me you see what I see."

Lucy looked over at them and watched for a minute before she blinked, stunned.

"I do. That is..." She trailed off, at a loss for words.

"Could that be considered narcissism?" Liz whispered. "At least sort of?"

"I think so. Narcissism, to a degree," Lucy whispered back. "And yet it's kind of fun."

"Oh good it's not just me," Liz muttered. "I kind of wish we had something like this back home."

"Well, I know I'll be here for at least another full year," Lucy said quietly. "Maybe we should just... enjoy it while we're here?"