Work Text:
Kyoya loved the feeling of control. The rush that came from holding power over another being was intoxicating, far better than any friendship or relationship ever could be. It was the reason why he was so concerned with facts and figures, writing down everything that he could for reference, keeping a count of every expense and every earning. Holding all of the information meant that you held all the power. However, control was more than just knowing details about a person.
Control was being able to know where people would be and when they would be there. It was being able to keep people enraptured by you until you chose to leave them, and only then. It was why Kyoya had thought that he would never find an equal, because he knew all of the ways to be superior. But Haruhi was different.
She inherently knew things that only Kyoya knew, saw things that only Kyoya had seen. She could read other people and know about their habits without writing everything down. It irked Kyoya while also enticing him. He, like everyone, liked Haruhi… but he wasn’t used to feeling like someone’s equal instead of their superior.
So, he tried to keep her down. Increase the debt, heighten the stakes. It was a desperate attempt to always stay one step ahead of her. Every little slipup that she made showed that she wasn’t perfect, and Kyoya held her accountable for them all, marking down so many small payments that it made both of them dizzy. He’d overstepped his boundaries when he’d pinned her down at the beach, trying one ultimate way to dominate her, but even that hadn’t worked, because she could read him even then.
She’d said that there was nothing for him to gain from forcing himself onto her, and she was right. The feeling of guilt that would come with using power so irresponsibly was far worse than feeling like her equal. Haruhi was a very intelligent person, much more than anyone he’d ever known. And while he was impressed by her abilities to keep even himself in check, it constantly worried him to think that he wasn’t as almighty as he’d always thought he was.