Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Haruhi’s First Year at Ouran, May

“It looks awful gloomy outside, huh? It looks like it’s gonna rain,” Hunny noted as he watched the sky darkening through the large, decorative windows of the grand dining room in Kyouya’s family’s beach house. 

“It’s not just gloomy outside,” Kaoru added from his seat by the window, Hikaru close beside him. “It’s pretty gloomy here, in the dining room, as well. Just take a look at Tamaki-senpai.” At the base of one of the many pillars lining the long room, Tamaki sat on the ground, curled into himself, looking quite miserable. Hikaru and Kaoru shared a glance and rolled their eyes.

“Come on. Quit moping, boss,” Hikaru complained, exasperated. 

“You shouldn’t have picked a fight with her in the first place,” Kaoru added pointedly, sharing a look with his twin. 

Before the Host Club’s king had a chance to respond, or the twins had a chance to further badger him, the dining room’s double doors opened. Mori had returned from fetching Haruhi, at Hunny’s request, and all attention quickly left the sad, blond man. Haruhi wore a long, flowing, blush colored dress with frills around the neckline and straps, and a small, red bow on her chest. The eyes of all of the club’s members were glued to her, rarely having seen her in feminine attire. They all stared at Haruhi in stunned silence.

But of course, silence never lasted long in the Host Club. “Woah!” Hunny exclaimed, rushing toward Haruhi.

“Haruhi! Where’d you get that dress?” they asked in sync as they, along with Hunny, crowded her for a closer look.

Haruhi shook her head, glancing down at the uncharacteristic garment. “From my dad,” she explained, sounding only slightly irritated. “He must have repacked my bags when I wasn’t looking.” She touched the bow lightly with both hands, looking less than thrilled with its existence. “He’s always trying to get me to wear this frilly stuff.”

“That’s awesome!” the twins cheered, grinning widely. They both gave a double thumbs up. “Way to go, dad!” 

“You look so cute, Haru-chan!” Hunny cooed supportively. 

Tamaki peeked out from behind the pillar and it was clear on his face that he was just dying to join them, but his pride wouldn’t allow it.

After a few more compliments, and some almost inappropriate behavior from Hikaru and Kaoru, everyone took their seats. The tension in the room was palpable. No one was entirely sure how it happened, but Haruhi ended up sitting directly beside Tamaki. The host kind looked like a spooked animal while Haruhi maintained the same look of mild irritation that she had gotten while talking about her father moments before. 

Finally breaking the heavy silence, Hikaru mumbled, “Well, this is uncomfortable…” which, of course, was not very helpful. 

“Yeah,” Kaoru agreed, glancing between Haruhi and Tamaki. “Kind of awkward…” 

Hunny glanced at Haruhi, forcing a strained smile. “Let’s dig in, Haru-chan!” he suggested, trying to brighten the mood. He and Mori each held up one of the large, steaming crabs from the many plates of fresh seafood lining the table. “These are the crabs we caught! I bet they’re delicious!”

Wordlessly, Haruhi picked up a crab leg and cracked it open. The sudden, sharp noise caused Tamaki to jump. Kyouya had to resist rolling his eyes. The other second year could be childish at times, but this was getting a bit ridiculous. As he and the others, with the exception of Tamaki, began filling their own plates, Haruhi continued to loudly enjoy the food.

“These crabs taste in-crab-ible!” she praised, her mouth half full of food. “Get it?” It was easy to see that she knew that her passiveness caused her senior great discomfort, and she seemed to relish this as she ate crab leg after crab leg. 

With each new crack, Tamaki seemed to be more and more stressed, maybe even getting close to panic as he resisted the urge to speak to Haruhi. Across the table, Kyouya could hear the twins quietly betting on how long it would take Tamaki to break. 

Finally, unable to stay quiet, Tamaki hesitantly asked, “Don’t you think you’ve had enough? Give it a rest!” 

Haruhi picked up another crab leg without looking at him. “Excuse me? I thought that you weren’t speaking to me.” 

When she cracked open the piece of seafood, it was like a punch in the face to the Host Club’s king. He whimpered slightly. “You trying to be cute?” he accused, trying to sound tough. Haruhi shot him a silent glare as Hunny watched, mouth wide open. 

Finally having enough of the tension, Tamaki stood from his seat, slamming his napkin down beside his plate. “Okay, fine. I get it. It seems you refuse to admit that you were wrong. See if I care, then. I’m going to bed.” He started walking toward the exit, hands in his pockets. “Kyouya, would you show me to my room, please?” he asked, not turning around.

Though he phrased it like a question, Kyouya knew it wasn’t. “No problem,” he said, dabbing his mouth quickly with his napkin. He had finished eating quite some time ago and was more than happy to return to his own room. They had sat down for dinner so quickly after coming in from the water that he hadn’t had the chance to take a shower. “Well, excuse me everyone…” As he stood, he noticed Hikaru looking quite disappointed and Kaoru looking quite pleased. It seemed that the more rambunctious twin had over-estimated Tamaki’s patience. Kyouya wondered what Hikaru had lost in the bet as he followed Tamaki out of the room.

Once the doors had closed behind them, Tamaki lost his already very strained composure. “I can’t believe her! Acting like nothing even happened! Why is she doing this to me, Mommy? She’s so mean!” he cried, stomping his feet like an angry child. 

Kyouya rolled his eyes, pushing Tamaki toward one of the many doors that lined the hallway. “Go take a shower, Daddy , and stop being so ridiculous,” the vice president instructed, his tone just a hint more gentle than usual. Despite their many differences, Kyouya did have a soft spot for his best friend and didn’t like seeing him so upset. Regardless, Kyouya could only take so much unnecessary drama each day. Not to mention the fact he still had work to do before he could go to bed. He didn’t want to even think about the number of unread emails he had accumulated over the course of the day. 

After a few brief words of parting, and a few sniffles from Tamaki, they both retired to their rooms. As soon as the door shut, Kyouya let out a breath he had been holding for who knows how long. He leaned back against the door, letting his eyes close for just a moment. What an absolute headache this seemingly profitable weekend had become. He took off his glasses, setting them beside his bed, before taking a short, hot shower.  

When Kyouya was suitably clean, he exited the bathroom and pulled on a pair of pants, leaving a towel around his neck to collect the water still dripping from his hair. He sat down on a chair and began drying his hair with the towel. Taking a shower, while necessary to maintain proper hygiene, also gave Kyouya some quiet, uninterrupted time to just think. He could put away all of the stressors in his life, even if just for a short while. If he had less to do, he might have lingered in the water, but he had no time for that small luxury today. 

Almost immediately after he had sat down, a small form burst into his room, into his bathroom, and slammed the door shut. Kyouya considered this for a few moments before deciding that the only person it could have been was Haruhi, since it would be virtually impossible for anyone to enter the manor undetected, and if anyone had tried, the security team surely would have stopped them. Kyouya made a quick note on his phone to make sure he addressed the invoice for all of the seafood that Haruhi and Hunny had ‘found’.

Minutes passed before the bathroom door slowly opened. Kyouya set down his phone as Haruhi stepped out hesitantly.

“Are you okay?” His voice startled her and she jumped.

Haruhi quickly bowed and said, “I apologize, sir. I didn’t mean to intrude.” She didn’t recognize him? Then again, the mistake wasn’t too surprising, as Haruhi had never seen him without his glasses, half dressed, in a somewhat dark room..

“Don’t be silly. It’s just me,” Kyouya chided, continuing to dry his hair. 

Recognition dawned on Haruhi’s face as she straightened herself, her eyes widening slightly. “Kyouya-senpai?” She stopped for a moment, glancing down at her feet. “Kyouya-senpai, I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to make everyone worry about me today.” It seemed that she was finally starting to understand why Tamaki had been so upset. Or perhaps she had already understood before, but was too stubborn to admit it, which was a very real possibility. 

“Thanks, but I wasn’t especially worried,” Kyouya responded passively, moving to his feet. He took a drink from the water bottle that sat on the table beside him. “Although, I did have a hard time separating Kaoru and Hikaru from those two punks.” Kyouya had reached the cliff just after the twins only to see the younger club members beating the intruders quite violently. He honestly hadn’t known that they were so strong, but it seemed that their anger acted as fuel for their aggressive actions. “They almost beat them half to death,” he chuckled darkly. And Kyouya might have let them, if not for the legal problems it would have caused.

Although he may not have been worried when Haruhi was pushed from the cliff, as all of the other Host Club members, with the exception of Hunny, were excellent swimmers and could have easily come to her aid, he was quite irritated. Haruhi was a valued member of their club, so of course her wellbeing was important. She was an asset that needed to be protected. And, well, that one other reason, but Kyouya pushed the thought away before it finished forming.

Haruhi began to look uncomfortable as he continued. “And because of you, I had to send each of the girls a bouquet of flowers to apologize.” Kyouya set down the water and moved casually across the room. “They’ve been looking forward to this trip, and we don’t want to disappoint them.”

“I’ll pay you back for the flowers, senpai,” Haruhi offered quickly, earnestly, as she watched him stop beside a set of light switches.

Kyouya almost laughed. “Each bouquet cost me ¥ 50,000. That’s a grand total of ¥ 600,000, Haruhi.” There was no way she could afford that, especially not on top of all of the other money she owed the club. Kyouya placed his hand on the dimmer switch for the main light and slowly moved it down.

He turned to face her in the near darkness, her innocent, doe-like features looking up at him. “Uh, why’d you turn the lights off…?” Her unease and confusion were clear from her tone.

Kyouya felt his pulse begin to race. What was he doing? The others always ogled over Haruhi, especially when she wore feminine clothing, calling her cute and comparing her to a doll. But here, in his room, all the lights off, Kyouya couldn’t imagine any word being enough to describe her beauty. Her soft features, big eyes… 

“If you want…” he said, lowering his face toward hers, “You can pay me back with your body.” Kyouya grabbed her wrist as she let out a cry and tossed her onto the bed beneath him. His bed. He wondered if she could hear his heart pounding against his chest. She was so close that he almost couldn’t stand it. He could stop there. He should stop there. He knew better, yet he continued. This was all to teach her a lesson, he told himself. Maybe a little fear would make her realize just how naive she was acting.

“Surely you aren’t so naive as to believe a person’s sex doesn’t matter. You’ve left yourself completely defenseless against me.” It was almost too perfect. She wasn’t fighting, wasn’t afraid. Why wasn’t she fighting? This wasn’t what he had thought would happen. Could it be that she also…?

“Ah…” The startled expression Haruhi wore changed to one of understanding. “You won’t do it, Kyouya-senpai.” Kyouya pulled back ever so slightly, unprepared for her words. Had his lesson actually reached her? And why did he feel...disappointed?  “Because it wouldn’t do you any good. You wouldn’t gain anything from it.”

Kyouya couldn’t conceal his slight smile. So that’s what she thought of him. He ignored the twist of disappointment in his stomach as he sat up. “You’re right.” But she wasn’t. She couldn’t have been more wrong. Nevertheless, he shifted away from her, sitting on the edge of the bed while she still lay where he had tossed her, watching him. “You’re a fascinating young woman, Haruhi.” He watched out of the corner of his eye as she sat up. 

“But I’ve learned something from this,” Haruhi concluded. Kyouya glanced at her, putting his glasses on. “I never realized what a nice guy you are, senpai.” He chuckled darkly in his head. Nice guy? What kind of a nice guy would handle a woman the way he had? Now that everything was becoming calm again, Kyouya felt uncomfortable with his actions. He had lost control of himself, something he never let happen. Sure, he toyed with people, but not this way, and certainly not with her. A wave of shame washed over him. “You’re just trying to prove what Tamaki-senpai said earlier.” 

Of course her thoughts went straight to him. Tamaki Suoh. His best friend. The one man to whom he always seemed to come second. He scolded himself for being surprised since his whole plan had been to reinforce Tamaki’s words. Of course she would think of him. Kyouya rose to his feet, looking away.

Haruhi continued, “I know you’re trying to prove his point, that you’re just posing as the bad guy.”

Before Kyouya had a chance to think about her words, a soft knocking came from the door. “Kyouya?” called Tamaki as he opened the door. “Do you have any lotion? This sunburn is worse than I-” Tamaki stopped mid sentence as he realized the scene before him. 

Kyouya fought the urge to groan. How it must have looked to Tamaki, with Kyouya half dressed, with Haruhi sitting on his bed, with the lights off and the door shut. Kyouya would have laughed at how poorly his plan had gone if he didn’t think it would cause Tamaki to punch him. Kyouya allowed Tamaki time to process as he crossed the room, rifling briefly through his bag.

The shock in Tamaki’s lavender eyes melted into a look of hurt, of betrayal, and then to absolute rage in a matter of seconds. “You bastard-!” Kyouya cut Tamaki off, hitting him roughly in the face with a tube of lotion he had retrieved moments before. Dealing with Tamaki was nothing short of exhausting. 

“Here. Use as much as you want, you big goof,” Kyouya said as he walked past Tamaki and out of the room, letting the door close behind him. Nothing he could have said would have calmed Tamaki, not when he was emotional and irrational. Better to let him cool off, even if it meant leaving him with Haruhi. 

Haruhi. Kyouya replayed the scene in his head, thinking about what she said. He definitely could have handled himself better, should have handled himself better, and he was thankful it ended when it did, with Tamaki’s intrusion and all. One thing Haruhi had said kept repeating itself in his mind as he wandered through the silent house. “Nothing to be gained from it, huh?” Kyouya mused to himself as he walked down the hallway. “An interesting thought, in its own way…”

Chapter Text

Haruhi’s First Year at Ouran, August

The months following the beach house encounter were relatively quiet. Well, as quiet as things got for the Host Club. There was the usual drama, and a few interesting encounters, but certainly nothing monumental. As time went on, Kyouya thought less and less about what had happened with Haruhi and poured himself into his responsibilities. Between being a high school student, vice president of a club, and the son of a very rich and powerful man, Kyouya always had something he needed to be working on.

Weekends were all but sacred for Kyouya, especially with this weekend being the end of summer break. He could sleep in as late as he wanted with no worries as all business came to a halt over the weekend. No school, no meetings, just two days to relax and catch up.

Kyouya pushed away his mental list of all of the things he needed to do and rolled over, pulling the comforter up almost over his face. The first rays of sunlight peered through his partially opened blinds, just enough to ensure he wouldn’t sleep the day away.

But little did he know that he would not be getting any more sleep, far less sleeping all day. At the foot of Kyouya’s bed, unknown to him as he slept, Tamaki stood along with Hikaru, Kaoru, Mori, and Hunny. In his half awake, half asleep state, Kyouya could vaguely hear some discussion happening about commoners and some sort of expo. 

The first thing Kyouya truly experienced that day was waking up in a crowded mall. Parents ushered children along, someone in a mascot suit passing out balloons, couples walked past hand in hand, friends laughed as they debated where to go next. 

It took a few moments for Kyouya to piece together the bits of information he could remember, and when he did, he grimaced. That idiot Tamaki had entered his room without permission, changed his clothes, and transported his semi unconscious form out of his home. Then they chose to leave him, alone, in an unfamiliar place with no phone and no wallet. At least he had his glasses. Tamaki did a lot of stupid stuff, but this was too much.

While Kyouya was trying to figure out what to do, a voice called out behind him.

“Kyouya-senpai? What are you doing here?” 

Kyouya turned around and was surprised to see Haruhi standing behind him with an equally surprised and fairly confused expression. In a better mood, Kyouya might have been a bit pleased to see her, inwardly of course, but nothing was going to make his mood better today.

“I don’t suppose you have a phone?” Kyouya asked, straight to the point.

Haruhi shook her head. “Sorry, senpai, I don’t. Is everything okay?  I really didn’t expect to see you at a place like this.” 

“It’s fine,” Kyouya sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “Tamaki and the others dragged me here without my permission and promptly abandoned me. I suppose I might as well look around since I’m here. And I still need to track down that damn Tamaki.” 

After stopping for a quick bite, on Haruhi of course, the two walked together through the expo. Silently. Kyouya knew he could probably change the course of the day, but he couldn’t muster the energy to stir up a polite conversation. Plus, he knew Haruhi wouldn’t care. Unlike Tamaki, Haruhi didn’t always feel the need to fix everything around her.

Noticing an unusual display. Kyouya paused to look at some jewelry. “Hm, black pearls from Ishigaki Island?” he mused. He hadn’t expected to see anything like that at a place like this. Those pearls were far from affordable. “I’m surprised there’d be a buyer for this here.”

Haruhi looked at Kyouya curiously. “You can identify them just from looking?”

“Such is the education I’ve received,” Kyouya replied. It wasn’t surprising that Haruhi didn’t know. They did grow up in two entirely different worlds after all. Haruhi never had to learn how to identify priceless articles, how to negotiate business dealings, how to be the center of attention then perfectly silent in the background, how to fill the space he had been provided- no more and no less. 

“You know, Kyouya-senpai, I guess I don’t really know much about you. And you probably know everything about me. You have two brothers, right? What are they like?” Haruhi asked.

Kyouya was caught off guard by her questions. His family? He couldn’t even begin to unravel the complexities of his relationships with his family members. Not to mention, why would she care? It had nothing to do with her.  Before he thought of a reply, Haruhi spoke again.

“It’s really not fair.”

“Not fair?” Kyouya echoed, intrigued. “An interesting notion, in its own way.” He continued walking, avoiding continuing the uncomfortable situation. Even the other club members knew little about his family, with the exception of Tamaki. 

From the outside, Kyouya was the third son of a powerful man, set on a road to success supporting his brothers. From the inside, he would hardly call it a family. His mother was never around, his brothers were too focused on their own paths to have any sort of relationship with them, his father was cold no matter how successful Kyouya became, and his sister, his only true friend among his so-called family, was married off and rarely seen.

And then came his own place in his family. As the third son, he would never be his father’s heir. His eldest brother would inherit everything. His other brother would be the head of boards and hospitals. And him? That all depended on his father’s will. His father built him a frame and it was his job to paint a masterpiece deserving of a frame, but not so good as to outshine the paintings created by his brothers. From the moment he was born, Kyouya’s fate was more or less decided.

“Well, they are both exceptional men,” Kyouya replied, continuing through the expo. “They meet my father’s expectations with no trouble. But of course that means even more is expected of me.” Kyouya could not simply do as well as his older brothers. No, he had to do more, better, faster. After all, both of his brothers were top of their classes, both of them graduated with honors, both of them went to prestigious universities and got fancy degrees. If Kyouya wanted to stand out even the smallest amount, he had to do so much more.

“It sounds like things are hard for you…” Haruhi commented as they walked.

“You think so?” Kyouya couldn’t help but smile a bit. That was the understatement of the year for sure. “I wouldn’t want it any other way.” And that was true. This was the ultimate challenge, and nothing would please him more than to show his father what he could really do, what he was really worth.

A voice nearby caught Kyouya’s attention. “Oh, pieces by Komatsu Shoin? How wonderful!” Kyouya looked in the direction of the voice to see a kind-looking, older woman in a kimono that seemed too expensive for a commoner. He also saw the sleazy looking salesman, pushing her to purchase. 

Kyouya moved to stand by the woman, picking up one of the bowls she was looking at. There was no way these were actually the work of Komatsu Shoin. A simple look over the piece in his hand and he knew his suspicions were correct. “Ma’am, these are fakes.”

The salesman was more than upset. “Get out of here, kid! What do you know?” he sputtered. The man’s shouts had drawn the attention of other shoppers.

Kyouya grimaced internally. Did he really want to fight with this con man over some overpriced replicas? He glanced at the woman again and noticed a very unique ring on one hand and he smiled. “See here? The color is similar but not exact, and the lacquer is too clear.” He looked up at the salesman who looked like he was about to burst. “Oh, and I suppose you have the proper certificates? Otherwise I can simply call the Komatsu family. Our families have been in business for generations.” 

It took only a few minutes for security to arrive after being called, and the con man was promptly escorted out of the building without his phoney products.

The woman bowed to Kyouya, clearly grateful. “Thank you so much, young man. You Ootori boys are just so polite. I’ll be sure to let my husband know just how helpful you were today!” After a quick goodbye, he and Haruhi were left alone once again.

“It was nice of you to help that old lady,” Haruhi praised.

“She was the wife of one of my father’s business partners. I could tell by the ring she wore,” Kyouya explained. That had certainly incentivised him to make a scene in the middle of the crowded mall. But Kyouya hadn’t seen the ring at first and helped anyway. It was despicable to trick an old lady after all. That con man was basically robbing her. 

After walking a bit more, and purchasing some melon candy for Tamaki, the two settled on a bench. “I don’t think you knew that woman at first, Kyouya-senpai. There’s no way you could see her ring past that banner. You’re more like Tamaki-senpai than I thought,” Haruhi concluded.

Kyouya shook his head. “Tamaki helps people to feel good. I don’t.”

“Then why help her?”

Why had he helped her? Because it was the right thing to do? Maybe that idiot Tamaki was rubbing off on him. After a few moments of silence, Kyouya stood up. “We should-”

He was cut off by the sound of an announcement over the speakers. “This is a call for a lost boy named Kyouya Ootori. Your guardian, Suoh-sama, is waiting for you at the customer assistance counter on floor 2.” The message repeated, including physical attributes of Kyouya that caused some of the shoppers to look at him and even point and whisper. 

Rage boiled in Kyouya’s chest. “I’m going to kill that idiot.”

After reuniting with the other club members, they finally departed the mall. Kyouya used Tamaki’s phone to call for his car. There was no way he was going to spend another second with him without killing him. 

On the way home, Kyouya was quiet, thinking about the events of the day. It had been quite some time since he was alone with Haruhi, and he really hadn’t handled himself as well as he could have. Kyouya sighed, pulling out his phone to check his calendar for the upcoming week. If he was awake, he might as well be productive.

As he tried to check emails, Kyouya kept finding his mind wandering. He kept thinking about the conversations he had with Haruhi and was a bit surprised he had been so open with her. Well, open for him. Kyouya was not a fan of letting everyone see his dirty laundry, so to speak. Being a part of a family like the Ootori’s meant keeping up appearances and alliances no matter what. Haruhi always seemed to surprise him. She got him to say and do things that were entirely opposite to the image he always presented to any outsiders.

But Haruhi was different. She was fascinating. She was confident and bold and spoke her mind, never concerned with what others thought of her. Kyouya almost envied her simple life, though he would not give up the obstacles he was continuously presented with for anything.  

“We’re home, Kyouya-sama,” his driver announced as he exited the vehicle to open Kyouya’s door.

“Thank you, Tachibana.” Kyouya headed toward the door, mind still flipping between his responsibilities and, well, other stuff.

When the doors closed behind Kyouya, one of the household’s staff was waiting for him. “Ootori-sama is waiting for you in his office,” she announced with a bow.

Kyouya closed his eyes for a moment, collecting himself. On an already stressful day, he was being summoned by his father who never called on him for any good reason. When his eyes opened, he nodded to the staff member and headed through the mansion to the one room he dreaded to enter.

Now, Kyouya was not afraid of his father. He was not afraid of his father's expectations. But Kyouya knew that any meeting with the man would leave him irritated and insecure. His father had a je ne sais quoi that always left Kyouya gutted. He could always find some way to get under his son’s skin, knowing Kyouya would never speak back and would always rise to his challenges. Kyouya was just another of his father’s pawns: useful yet expendable.

The door was closed when Kyouya reached his destination. He rapped on the door with his knuckles and waited.

“Come in.”

Kyouya took a deep breath and entered the room. 

“Close the door.” Yoshio didn’t even bother looking up from the papers in front of him.

Kyouya did as he was told and then, again, waited.

Minutes passed until Yoshio set the papers aside and finally looked at his son. “I wasn’t expecting you to go out this morning. Playing with your little friends?”

Despite being asked a question, Kyouya knew better than to answer.

Yoshio continued. “And imagine my surprise that you would be wasting your time at a commoner’s mall of all places.”

Silence.

Yoshio adjusted his glasses. As usual, the tension in the room was palpable.

“I tolerate you being in that ridiculous club because I was under the impression you were making valuable connections. I would hate for that not to be true. I suppose your little club would have to be disbanded, if that were the case.”

And there it was. Yoshio flexing his power over his son, telling him yet again how Kyouya’s happiness was only at his father’s discretion. Kyouya clenched his jaw.

“You will be entering your final year of high school soon. Do not disappoint me.”

Kyouya waited, still as a statue, until he was finally dismissed. It wasn’t until he was back in his room, door shut, that he could finally breathe. This day was turning out to be far too much, and it wasn’t even half over. And neither were the “surprises”.

“Kyouya!” Fuyumi threw herself at him, wrapping him tight in her arms. She stepped back and took a look at him. “You’ve grown again! By the time you’re done, you might be as tall as Yuuichi!”

Kyouya cringed internally at being compared to his eldest brother but smiled at his sister. “It’s good to see you. You should have told me you were stopping by. Have you gone to see father?”

Fuyumi wilted. “Yes. He advised I shouldn’t linger when I should be taking care of my own household.”

Kyouya’s lips pursed. That man knew no limits to his cruelty. Kyouya forced his smile to return. “Well I am very glad to see you, even for a short while. It’s been a long time.”

The two sat on the sofa in his room and talked about nothing and everything. For the longest time, Fuyumi had been his confidant, the one person he truly trusted with his everything. She was just a genuine and kind individual.

“So, tell me about school. Anything interesting?” Fuyumi asked, taking a sip of lemonade that had been delivered while they caught up. “How’s your club going?”

“I actually was with the club today. Those idiots dragged me to a commoner’s mall and abandoned me. I had to ask Haruhi for money. Think of that. Me, asking a commoner for a loan.” Kyouya shook his head, smiling. 

Fuyumi set her glass down and leaned forward. “Oh, so you spent the day with Haruhi?” she pressed, getting in his face and giving him a look. 

Kyouya felt the heat as it rushed to his face. He turned away, clearing his throat. “Haruhi is a valued member of our club. She just happened to be there and assisted me.”

“Oh really?” Fuyumi was clearly not convinced. “And that’s it? I find that hard to believe. You talk about her almost as much as you talk about Tamaki!”

“I do not talk about Tamaki that much,” Kyouya argued, frowning. 

“Of course you do! He’s your best friend whether you’re willing to admit it or not. And we both know that Haruhi is more than just a member of your club.” Fuyumi sat back, arms crossed, looking satisfied with herself. 

Kyouya opened his mouth to respond when Fuyumi’s phone went off. She checked it and sighed, visibly deflating. “We’ll have to finish our conversation later. I have to go. I’ll text you, okay?” she promised, gathering her bag. “I’m sorry.”

Kyouya walked her to the door. “It’s fine. I understand. I have things to do anyway.”

Fuyumi hugged him again before leaving the room. Kyouya closed the door behind her. His mind was racing.

“So much for relaxing today,” he sighed, sitting at his desk. “Might as well get some work done…” 

Chapter Text

Haruhi’s First Year at Ouran, November 

“Stop the car,” Kyouya instructed sharply and the car came to a halt on the side of the road.The twins and Hunny raced away from the vehicle, hurrying toward the river where Tamaki and Haruhi stood in the shallow water, dripping wet. Kyouya followed the others, smiling to himself as he watched the happy reunion. He stopped beside Mori, adjusting his glasses as the twins tried to drown Tamaki. “Oh man, he’s such a moron..” Mori nodded in agreement, a rare smile also lightening his features. After so much stress and uncertainty over the last few days, it was nice to see something so pure. Everything worked out, not that he was surprised. There was a special bond between the members of the host club. 

“If you care to remember,” Kyouya called to his drenched clubmates. “We have guests waiting for us.” 

The drive back to the school didn’t take too long, though all seven of them wouldn’t have fit in the car, so an unhappy Tamaki and an irritated Hikaru had to wait for another car to arrive. Kaoru also stayed behind, opting to try to calm down his brother. Kyouya smiled to himself, remembering the ensuing conversation between himself and Tamaki:

“If Kaoru is staying, then there’s room for me!” Tamaki had announced, looking like an excited puppy.

Kyouya had adjusted his glasses on his expressionless face, replying, “Sorry, all full.” It had been very difficult in that moment to hide his grin.

“But wait! There’s only four-” Tamaki had started to argue, but the end of his objection was muffled as Kyouya had rolled up the window, instructing the driver to go. Haruhi and Hunny had laughed, watching out the back window as Tamaki tried to chase the car. 

But now, everyone had returned and changed into the final costumes of the day. Now the final event of the day, the dance, was in full swing. Kyouya watched as Haruhi was twirled and passed from Hunny to Mori, to Kaoru, and then to Hikaru. Kyouya couldn’t help but laugh quietly as Haruhi stepped on the foot of the already injured Hikaru. She was far from the most graceful dancer, but she certainly looked lovely, the skirt of her dress moving elegantly as she moved. The gentle pink color of the dress reminded him of another pink dress he had seen her in, and the events that had occured the day she had worn it.

Haruhi wasn’t the only thing on his mind at the moment. At some point during the day, his father would have been made aware that it was not the Tonnare company that had purchased the family business, but a student investor by the name of K. O. Kyouya smirked, imagining his father’s face when he had finally put the pieces together, realizing that it was his own son, his youngest son, who had bought the company and promptly threw it back in his face. After all, with all the investments he had made, Kyouya didn’t need the company. He didn’t need his father. But with the purchase of the company, his father now needed him.

Kyouya was pulled from his thoughts when he saw Haruhi move from Hikaru, about to take Tamaki’s hand. With a devilish grin, Kyouya swiftly cut in, twirling away with Haruhi. The smile on the female host’s face was enchanting. She looked so purely happy, looking up at him. He wondered if she thought about the last time they were so close. After a few moments, he gave in to Tamaki’s angry, outraged tantrum and allowed him to retake his place.

His smile grew as he watched the looks of surprise on both Tamaki and Haruhi’s faces. He gave a brief bow before melting into the crowd. 

No, Kyouya didn’t need his father’s company. Not that he had time to run it. Not between school and the club. And his latest challenge. Fireworks began to burst overhead and the club members gathered together to watch. Kyouya looked at Haruhi, still in Tamaki’s arms, and his resolve was furthered. He would pursue Haruhi. Even if it put his relationship with his best friend at risk.

The following weeks were pleasant enough. The club went back to normal, in terms of operating. Winter break was approaching and the weather was getting quite cold. No snow, as was usual for the area, but something as simple as the natural order would not put a stop to Tamaki’s ridiculous plans.

Tamaki stood in front of Kyouya in the club room, looking so excited he might burst. “I know how we should end the year. We should have snow! We can have a winter wonderland!” He looked quite pleased with himself. 

“It’s 35 degrees (Celcius),” Kyouya responded flatly, only half listening as he worked on updating the club’s website for the new year. 

Tamaki whimpered like a scolded puppy. “But Kyouya…”

Kyouya sighed, closing his laptop and rubbing the bridge of his nose. “Tamaki, you regularly request the impossible of me and I always make it work. I’ll get your damn snow so leave me alone.” This was going to be a headache on top of the one he already had.

The mix of excitement at getting his way and fear of upsetting Kyouya left a laughable expression on Tamaki’s face. Unfortunately, Kyouya was not in a laughing mood.

“Well, uh, I suppose I’ll go get changed then,” Tamaki announced unnecessarily, heading to the changing area where the other club members were getting ready. 

Kyouya had changed first thing when he got there so he wouldn’t have to deal with the others. The theme of the day was quite simple: the usual layout of the club room had been changed to fit half a dozen kotatsu tables and the hosts were in simple, seasonal kimono. An electric fireplace added to the cozy ambiance and they had a variety of cushions and blankets for their guests. 

Thankfully, Kyouya had only a few reservations and had managed to schedule them back to back for the first part of club time so he could spend the remaining time working. It turned out this had been a very smart move since Kyouya now had to figure out how to make a “winter wonderland” in an area that rarely received snow. 

The appointments started and continued smoothly. Kyouya entertained a few of his regulars along with a few of their friends. Kyouya was by far the host with the fewest number of regular clients. His host “type” was not nearly as popular as the others, but he was more than okay with it. Kyouya far preferred running the club from the sidelines over working front and center. Having an audience was exhausting, although it was fun to have a few lovely ladies swoon over him every once and a while.

Today felt different. Kyouya was as charming as ever, his guests responded with blushing cheeks and giggles, but something was off. Kyouya couldn’t stop his mind from wandering. The events occurring just a few weeks before at the Ouran Fair were fresh in everyone’ minds, but Kyouya couldn’t stop reliving the few seconds he held Haruhi in his arms, recalling the smile she had smiled just for him. 

“Is everything okay, Kyouya?” Hearing his name snapped Kyouya from his thoughts. The three young women he was entertaining had finished their giggling and had refocused their attention on him.

Kyouya smiled, charming as ever. “Of course, my dear. Here, let me fill your tea.”

“Are you sure you’re okay, Kyouya-senpai? You seem distracted,” another guest piped in. 

Kyouya wanted to glare at her for prying but kept his pleasant expression firmly in place. “I’ve been thinking about our plans for the new year. Would you ladies like to hear about some of our upcoming events?” 

As club wrapped up for the day and the other hosts escorted their final guests from the room, Kyouya was also wrapping up his work. Importing snow was not happening. Even if they paid for it to be flown in, the temperature needed to keep it in a solid state was too cold for the room, and for their guests. Fake snow would have to do.

As usual, by the time Kyouya was ready to leave, everyone else was long gone. He took a moment to gather his things before heading to his waiting car.

The last day of the semester finally arrived. Kyouya was busier than ever. Aside from keeping up appearances and enduring boring conversations about uninteresting holiday plans from classmates, and finishing classwork, Kyouya also was on his phone every free moment he had to make sure the club room was set up as requested. When his last class ended, Kyouya made his way to the club room as quickly as possible. Thankfully, everything was going exactly as planned.

The club room glittered with fake snow and holiday decorations, strings of twinkling white lights glowing overhead. Christmas in Japan wasn’t much like Christmas in other places. As opposed to a family holiday, this was typically a time for couples in Japan. 

Kyouya had also made sure to get a number of gifts that the hosts could give to their guests in light of the holiday. This was possibly the most expensive day in the history of the club. Judging by the number of appointments for the day, though, the expenses were more than worth it. Every host was fully booked. Kyouya had even auctioned off Tamaki’s appointments, all of which were booked for an astonishing amount. 

And for all of Kyouya’s preparations, the day went exactly as planned. The guests loved the fake snow and many happy tears were shed over the little gifts Kyouya had bought. Tamaki had also suggested doing hot chocolate and cookies, which also went over well with the ladies. Kyouya had firmly vetoed Tamaki’s other suggestions including egg nog, real live reindeer, and having all of the hosts dress like Santa Claus. 

A few of the hosts were even offering kisses under the mistletoe, on the cheek of course. Kyouya had decided to skip this profitable add-on service, and he was pleased to see the Haruhi had elected to pass as well.

When the doors closed behind the final guest, everyone could finally relax. While it was enjoyable to be a host for the most part, it was also exhausting. 

“I can’t believe it’s already the end of the year,” Hikaru sighed, lying on one of the couches.

Kaoru sat nearby, his feet propped up. “Plus you finally got that cast off so we can enjoy our break.”

Hikaru rolled on to the ground, moving to kneel beside his brother. “Cast or no cast, I will always enjoy our time together.” 

“H-Hikaru..” Kaoru whispered, placing his hand lightly on the side of his brother’s face. “I-”

“Can you guys knock it off? The guests are gone and I’ve about had enough of you two,” Haruhi grumbled, rolling her eyes. 

The twins stuck their tongues out at her. 

“Well, everyone!” Tamaki spoke loudly, drawing the eyes of the other hosts to him. “With the year coming to a close, I, the king of this host club, will say a few words-”

As he spoke, the others all began gathering their things to leave. Kyouya turned his attention back to his black notebook.

“Aw, come on! Don’t go yet! We need to make plans to hang out over break!” Tamaki whined, trying to stop Haruhi from getting to her bag. He grabbed her arm, which he knew immediately was a mistake.

“Mori-senpai!”

The quiet host swooped in at inhuman speed to lift Haruhi high out of the king’s grasp.

“That’s not fair! Come on, Mori-senpai! I was only trying to-” Tamaki tried to explain his way out of it, but by then the twins were on him.

“Pervert! Pervert!” They chanted circling him, being their usual obnoxious selves. 

The nonsense continued for a while, ending as the club members needed to leave. First was Mori and Hunny. The two of them were going to be very busy in the coming months. The two oldest hosts would be moving from high school to university, and then on to running their respective family companies. 

The twins were the next to head out. “We’re going overseas for the holiday,” they said in sync. “So we won’t be back until school starts.” That put an end to Tamaki’s plans for a “family holiday”, which Kyouya was thankful for. The club took up so much of his free time, and while he did enjoy spending time with the others, some space was a nice change of pace. 

Surprisingly, Tamaki was the next to leave, though not by his own choice.

“Come on, Haruhi! Let Daddy help with cleaning up! It’ll go faster with more hands!” he begged, getting in her way.

“Leave me alone, senpai! You already broke a cup, and I don’t want to keep cleaning up your messes!” From his position in the room, Kyouya could see them, but he could only imagine the look on Tamaki’s face as Haruhi dismissed him so coldly. 

Tamaki tried a few more times to get Haruhi’s attention, still determined to make plans, even if it was just Haruhi and “Mommy and Daddy”. Kyouya couldn’t help but roll his eyes. 

Finally, only Haruhi and Kyouya were left in the room. Haruhi had already collected her things and now stood by Kyouya’s table.

“I’m heading out, Kyouya-senpai. I hope you have a nice break!” Haruhi looked tired after the long last day of the semester.

Kyouya knew he should say goodbye and let her leave, but he didn’t want to. “Are you walking home?” He knew she was. She always walked home. “It’s been a long day. I’ll give you a ride.”

“Oh, it’s fine, Kyouya-senpai. It’s not too cold out.”

Kyouya stood up from his seat, tucking his notebook into his bag and his phone into his pocket. “My driver’s already waiting and I wouldn’t want Ranka worrying about you getting home late.”

“Late?” Haruhi echoed, checking the time. “Oh, it really is getting late. Time really got away from me I guess.”
Kyouya started toward the door. “It’s no problem. Let’s get going.”

The two walked silently through the school and to the car. Tachibana was waiting beside the car, right by the front door. Kyouya had texted him on their way out, explaining the situation. Tachibana bowed as they approached and opened the door. “Kyouya-sama, Fujioka-san.”

“Thank you, Tachibana.” Kyouya got in first, followed by Haruhi. A moment later and the car began to drive. 

“Thanks for the ride, Kyouya-senpai.” Haruhi sat with her bag in her lap, arms casually draped around it.

“It’s really no problem,” Kyouya repeated. “I actually have something for you.” His heart was pounding in his chest. He had been debating whether or not he should do this for days. Kyouya rifled through his bag and pulled out a little wrapped gift box. It was too late to go back now.

The box was carefully wrapped in shiny silver paper. Kyouya held the box out for her to take.

Haruhi hesitated, looking between Kyouya and the gift. Then she reached out and lifted it from his hands, her fingers brushing against his. He shivered.

“Should I open it..?” 

Kyouya nodded, unable to make coherent words. How she could do this to him with such a small touch was unbelievable. 

Haruhi lifted the top off the box and retrieved the item within: a pair of very nice, very expensive looking gloves.

Before she could speak, Kyouya explained, “I noticed the pair you were wearing the other day had a hole in them.”

“You didn’t need to do that, Kyouya-senpai. And these look too expensive. My other ones are still fine.” She looked a bit uncomfortable, holding the gloves. 

“It’s rude to turn away a gift, Haruhi,” he advised with a smile. Kyouya was glad he hadn’t gotten her anything more expensive. His sister had recommended buying her a diamond bracelet. Kyouya had spent hours on the internet, looking through lists of ideas, and finally settled on something functional. He had also attempted to subtly get Ranka’s opinion, although he was clearly not subtle enough judging by the number of heart emojis and winky faces Haruhi’s father had sent back. “Why don’t you make sure they fit?”

Haruhi glanced at him before gently pulling on the gloves. They were cashmere and cost more than he was willing to admit. “They’re so soft,” Haruhi mumbled, looking them over. It took a moment before she seemed to remember that Kyouya was watching her. She straightened up, looking a bit embarrassed as she pulled the gloves back off. “Thank you, senpai.”

Kyouya cleared his throat, looking away so she could see the blush tinting his cheeks. “You’re welcome, Haruhi.”

It was quiet for the few remaining minutes it took to reach the Fujioka residence. As usual, an expensive car in the neighborhood drew more than a few stares. When the car stopped, Kyouya locked eyes with Tachibana in the rearview mirror. Kyouya stepped out of the car, holding the door open for Haruhi. 

The two stood outside for a moment. It was late enough that the street lights were on, giving everything an ethereal glow. 

“Thank you for the ride, senpai. And for the gloves.” Haruhi’s eyes gleamed in the gentle light. She was always beautiful, but in that moment, looking down at her, Kyouya’s heart raced. When had she changed from an awkward honor student into someone he could hope to spend his life with? He fought the urge to reach out.

It was now or never. Every step so far had gone exactly to plan. Now he just needed to muster his last bit of courage, say the words that had been on the tip of his tongue for far too long. Kyouya swallowed hard. “Haruhi, I-” 

“Oh, Haruhi! Who’s your handsome friend?” One of Haruhi’s neighbors, an older woman, stepped up beside her, giggling. 

Haruhi sighed. “Have a nice holiday, senpai.” She headed toward her door, the neighbor chattering in her ear the whole way.

Kyouya watched until she was out of sight, his heart rate finally slowing. “Well, that didn’t go as planned,” Kyouya grumbled, getting back into the car. 

Tachibana offered him a sad smile. “It’ll work out in the end, master. Just keep trying.”

“Thanks.” Kyouya looked out the window, watching as the Fujioka residence disappeared from sight. “Let’s go home.”

Chapter Text

Haruhi’s First Year at Ouran, March

It was yet another peaceful weekend day starting with Tamaki calling at the crack of dawn. Apparently some commoner’s carnival had come to town and Tamaki insisted that they all go. After some harsh words, and some whimpered apologies, Kyouya agreed to meet Tamaki and the rest of the club. But not until after ten. 

Tamaki had such a carefree life, being an only child in a wealthy family desperate for an heir, but Kyouya did not have it so easy. Even though school was out for the moment, there was summer work to complete, as well as work for the club, and personal work the Kyouya needed to complete. He sighed to himself as he buttoned up his shirt. The work would have to wait, even if it meant he would be up until dawn.

Tamaki sent Kyouya a text when they arrived. Kyouya grabbed his wallet and his phone and headed out to meet him. When Kyouya reached the foyer, Tamaki and the twins were already waiting.

“Mon ami!” Tamaki greeted his friend, much too loudly of course. 

Kyouya shot him a glare and the blond host became quiet. Ten in the morning was early enough to be awake, but certainly not early enough to deal with Tamaki’s nonsense.

“Where are Mori-senapi and Hunny-senpai?” Kyouya asked, adjusting his glasses. 

Tamaki’s head drooped at the question. “They’re not coming…” he mumbled, looking quite defeated. “They have some college thing or whatever…” The twins snickered behind him.

Kyouya rolled his eyes. “You can’t expect everyone to drop everything when you call,” he sighed. Especially since Hunny and Mori had both been accepted to prestigious universities. They would be quite busy as the new school term approached. “Now get out of my house.”

The look of shock and horror on Tamaki’s face was laughable. “What?! Have I made you upset? I’m so sorry, Kyouya! I won’t call so early next time! I won’t-”

Kyouya pushed him gently toward the door. “If we don’t leave, we can’t go to this carnival, now can we?” It was hard for him to stay mad at Tamaki, even if he was too loud and woke him up too early and caused him all kinds of problems.

After picking up Haruhi, who was not made aware of the day’s plans, and was not pleased by the unannounced visit, the five hosts made their way to the carnival. Kyouya knew that in just a few months, this would be all that was left of the club. He jotted a note in his phone to follow up on that.

Stopping just beyond the front gate, the group paused to take in the atmosphere. Kyouya had visited amusement parks and the like before, but this was different. It was much smaller, far more filthy, and the smells were stronger and not in a good way. His senses were bombarded by the screams of children and the overpowering odor of fried foods. 

When Kyouya turned to ask Tamaki what the plan was, he was unsurprised to see the king and the twins running off. The three could be so childish, especially when it came to commoners’ activities. He was surprised, however, to see that, in their excitement, they had left Haruhi behind. Kyouya glanced at her to see a look of irritation growing on her face. 

“They drag me all the way out here, and then what? They run off without me. Great,” she grumbled, adjusting her bag on her shoulder. “I don’t even like carnivals all that much…” 

“I suppose we should try to find them,” Kyouya sighed, glancing at her. Haruhi nodded in agreement and the two set off. 

Small children ran by, laughing, racing from ride to ride. Teenagers loitered by game stalls and food trucks. Parents watched vigilantly, keeping close track of their kids.

“Most of these rides are too small for high schoolers,” Haruhi noted, still sounding less than pleased. “Where did they disappear to?” 

Kyouya stopped at one of the food trucks, looking curiously at the menu. “These prices are outrageous considering the quality of the food and their target clients…” he mused.

“Everything is expensive at carnivals,” Haruhi commented, stopping beside him. “But kids really love this stuff. My dad and I always got candy apples when I was younger.”

Kyouya looked in through the window of the food truck, spotting what must have been the candy apples to which she referred. Though he wasn’t exactly sure why, he decided to buy two of them, one for Haruhi and one for himself. He wasn’t overly fond of sugary foods, and neither was Haruhi, but clearly she must have enjoyed this treat if she brought it up.

Haruhi looked surprised when he turned and handed her one of the bright red sweets. “Uh, thanks, Kyouya-senpai.” Kyouya had expected her to protest more, or to offer to pay, but she was quite focused on the treat. She inspected it for a moment before taking a bite. Kyouya turned his attention to his own apple. He attempted to take a bite and was surprised to discover that the red substance on the outside of the apple was quite sticky. 

Noticing him struggling with the treat, Haruhi smiled a bit. “Yeah, they’re kind of tough to eat. The candy on the outside always gets stuck to my teeth. You have to bite pretty hard.”

Kyouya glanced at her before trying again. The candy coating was sickly sweet but was a pleasant match for the sourness of the apple. “Not too bad…” It certainly wasn’t something he would have bought for himself, but it wasn’t offensive. Although he much preferred something less...artificial. 

“Have you ever been to a carnival before, senapi?” Haruhi asked, glancing at him between bites. 

“Not one like this,” Kyouya answered, a bit vague. He was busy watching for the other members of their group and wasn’t overly interested in the subject at hand. His childhood was less than memorable. Tamaki and the twins were constantly getting themselves into unfortunate circumstances when they weren’t properly monitored, so he wanted to find them before they did anything particularly embarrassing. As vice president of the host club, he was responsible for managing their image, which could be a tremendous challenge.

When it was clear he wasn’t planning to expand on his answer, Haruhi nodded. “I used to come here as a kid, but mostly because my dad liked bringing me. I’m not really a fan of the rides.”

Kyouya glanced around at the rides that were nearby. “They don’t seem to be constructed very well.” Big bolts seemed to hold most everything together.
“Well, that’s because after the carnival is over, the workers take them apart to move them to the next carnival or festival,” Haruhi explained. 

That seemed less than safe to Kyouya, but he didn’t really care. He wasn’t planning to go on any of them after all. When the two finished their apples, they continued on their search. They finally came across Hikaru sitting at a picnic table, looking upset. 

“Hikaru?” Kyouya called, getting the twin’s attention as he and Haruhi approached.

“Oh, hey,” Hikaru greeted them casually. “I was wondering where you guys wandered off to.”

Haruhi glared at him. Before she could snap a response, Kyouya asked, “Where are Tamaki and Kaoru?”

Hikaru nodded toward a roller coaster nearby and sighed. “They wouldn’t let me on because of my arm..” he grumbled. His arm was still in sling from when he had fractured it after falling out of the carriage at the Ouran fair. The plaster cast was off but Hikaru had refused to “take it easy” and had reinjured it over winter break.

“Well, I’m sure they’ll be back soon,” Haruhi assured the more lively twin. Kyouya glanced at her. Any and all irritation and displeasure at being abandoned were gone. Hikaru was upset that he couldn’t be with Kaoru, so of course Haruhi was willing to overlook the fact they had left her behind. Kyouya was always impressed by the way she could get past her own emotions for her friends. He would go a ways for Tamaki, and the other club members, but he wasn’t sure exactly how far. Haruhi seemed to always be ready to forgive the others, maybe to a fault. 

Suddenly, a woman nearby screamed and all three hosts searched for the cause.

“No!” It was Hikaru who was the first to see it. The roller coaster that Tamaki and Kaoru were riding had stopped at the top of the highest hill, and it was clear by the panicked people around the ride that the car was stuck. 

“Kaoru!” Hikaru wailed, sprinting toward the ride. Kyouya and Haruhi hurried after him. When they caught up, Hikaru had the ride operator by the front of his shirt and was screaming at him. “What do you mean there’s nothing you can do? Isn’t this your job?!”

“Hikaru!” Haruhi snapped, roughly grabbing his arm. “Stop! It’s not his fault! You’re not helping!”

While Haruhi attempted to save the poor man from Hikaru’s wrath, Kyouya pulled out his phone. 

“Hello, yes. Yes, well, I’m at a carnival, I’m sure you can track my GPS, and it seems two of my friends are stuck on a ride that has inexplicably stopped. Alright, excellent. Thank you.” Kyouya put his phone away and adjusted his glasses. “Hikaru, Haruhi, help is on the way. It should just be a few minutes.”

Haruhi shot Kyouya an appreciative look that made his heart beat a bit faster for a moment.  She really was an incredible woman. She had successfully subdued Hikaru and was now attempting to guide him back to the picnic table, though that seemed to me a far more challenging task. 

A few moments later, loud sirens could be heard. Kyouya looked toward the entrance in time to see the emergency vehicles arriving and people being moved out of their way. Haruhi followed his gaze, looking relieved, and then a bit confused. 

“Is that fire truck completely black...?” she asked, looking to Kyouya. He gave her a moment to think about it and she deadpanned. “Does your family…?”

Kyoya nodded. “The Black Onion Squad is equipped with all vital emergency vehicles and equipment.” What sort of specialized protection force wouldn’t be?

Haruhi stared at him blankly for a minute until the fire truck arrived and the rescue was set into motion. One of the Black Onion Squad members hurried to Kyouya. “Your priority is to retrieve Tamaki Suoh and Kaoru Hitachiin, and then you can focus on the others,” Kyouya instructed.

“Yes, Ootori-sama,” the man said with a quick bow before running back to his team and barking orders. Kyouya watched as the ladder began to expand toward the trapped carnival patrons. In all honesty, the roller coaster wasn’t that large. It didn’t take long for the rescuers to reach them.

The first to be retrieved was Tamaki. Kyouya could hear him blubbering before he even reached the ground. When he did, he leaped onto Kyouya, holding on tight and sobbing. Kyouya tried desperately to avoid Tamaki’s attempts at...what was he doing? Trying to rub their faces together or something? “Oh, Kyouya!” he cried. “You’re my hero! My hero! Mon sauveur!”

Kyouya chuckled lightly. “Get off me, you big dummy. You were never in any real danger anyway.” Tamaki could really be a goof sometimes, and though he would never admit it, Kyouya enjoyed that quality in his friend.

If someone thought the ‘reunion’ between the two friends were dramatic, they would be shocked at the sight that occured when Kaoru was retrieved.

“Kaoru!” Hikaru wailed, trying to climb onto the fire truck to reach his brother. 

“Hikaru, be careful!” Kaoru called as he was helped down to the ground. 

The two rushed to each other, embracing tightly. “Oh, Kaoru, I thought I’d lost you!” Hikaru wailed, his eyes full of tears. “Never scare me like that again!”

“I’m so sorry, Hikaru! It’s okay! I’m okay!” Kaoru tried to soothe his twin, holding him close. 

Hikaru pulled his head back a bit to look at Kaoru, his eyes filled with tears. “You’re everything, Kaoru. I-If I would have lost you…” 

Kaoru smiled softly, resting his forehead against Hikaru’s. “I’m not going anywhere. I promise.” 

It’s unclear as to when the large group of girls had gathered around the twins, but it was at this point that they could no longer resist the ‘brotherly love’ and exploded into flames of moe, screaming and cheering at the forbidden display. 

Of course, this was not an act put on to impress the girls. After knowing them for so long, it was easy for Kyouya to see when the emotions between Hikaru and Kaoru were real. Kyouya didn’t pretend to understand their relationship. He glanced at Haruhi, who was watching the twins, not in the way the other girls were, but with a relaxed smile. The twins were Haruhi’s best friends, so of course she was feeling better now that the brothers were together again.

Kyouya finally managed to pry himself out of the idiot king’s arms as the fire truck departed and the crowd began to disperse. Now that the excitement was over, Kyouya took a moment to check his phone: there were a couple missed calls and an abundance of unread emails. Not to mention the fact that the day was already half over. He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.  

“Uh, Kyouya-senpai?” Kyouya looked away from his phone to see Haruhi trying to get his attention. She was holding a few coins in one hand, offering them to him. “I forgot to pay you for the apple earlier.”

Putting his phone away, Kyouya shook his head. “It’s fine.” Haruhi looked a bit confused, which was to be expected. Since her first introduction with the host club, every minor transgression and expense had diligently recorded for her to repay. Gifts were not commonplace. Kyouya looked away, his neck growing warm as she continued to stare. 

“Tamaki, we should probably get going,” Kyouya decided, avoiding further conversation with the female host. 

Tamaki looked immensely disappointed. “Already?” he whined like a child, having already forgotten his earlier trauma. 

“Yes. Although you may not, others have things they need to be doing. We can’t play with you all day.”

The hosts piled back into Tamaki’s family car, Tamaki and the twins chattering about the events of the day. Apparently the three had ridden several rides in the short time they were there. When the car arrived at the Hitachiin estate, Tamaki got out to walk Hikaru and Kaoru to the door, leaving Kyouya and Haruhi alone. 

Kyouya could feel her eyes still on him, studying him. She was confused, but Kyouya offered no explanation for his actions. After a few tense moments, he finally lowered his phone and turned to look at her.

“Do you need something, Haruhi?” 

Another silent moment passed, and then “You can be a nice guy, Kyouya-senapi.”

Judging by the tone in her voice, Haruhi wasn’t just thinking about the apple. “Is that so?” This was so similar to what she had said that night at the beach house that it made his chest tight. He remembered every detail of that interaction.

He turned back to the email he had been writing, trying to seem casual, but he found it impossible to concentrate. Why was he doing this? This wasn’t some kind of game. He should just tell her. He’d spent months trying to find the words, trying to pick the right time, and couldn’t. There would be no perfect words, no perfect moment. Turning back toward her, Kyouya started “Haruhi, I-”

Tamaki jerked the car door open, hopping in on the other side of Haruhi. “Off to Haruhi’s house!” he chimed. “And then- Uh, is everything okay?” His cheerful, sing-song voice was replaced with hesitation and uncertainty.

Kyouya realized that he was looking at Haruhi with an uncharacteristic intensity. He shifted his gaze as nonchalantly as possible back to his phone. “Why wouldn’t it be?” he asked, typing the last few words of his message before pressing send. “Let’s get going. I have a lot of work to finish.” Inside, Kyouya was reciting every curse he knew. Every time he got up the nerve, someone got in the way. This was beginning to get stressful.

The ride to Haruhi’s house was quiet with only a few words exchanged by Haruhi and Tamaki. When Tamaki returned to the car after walking Haruhi to her door, he watched Kyouya. His gaze was uneasy.

Finally, Kyouya sighed, putting his phone away entirely. “Do you need something, Tamaki?” 

“Is something up with you and Haruhi?” Kyouya expected panic, worry, but not subdued and quiet.

“What are you talking about?” he responded, a bit annoyed. He could deal with almost every one of Tamaki’s crazy, overly heightened emotions, but Kyouya was always unsettled when Tamaki acted serious. 

“I’m not blind, Kyouya.”

Kyouya could feel the tension heightening in the vehicle. How had Tamaki figured it out? Tamaki was always so oblivious, and Kyouya had been so careful to hide any feelings, not to treat her special or to do anything that might tip the others off. There was no way of talking his way out of this.

“What do you want me to say, Tamaki?”

“I want you to tell me the truth, Kyouya. Things have been changing, you know, since the fair. You’ve been changing. I just need to know…”

Kyouya straightened his shoulders a bit and adjusted his glasses, readying himself. 

“...are you mad at Haruhi?”

What? Kyouya couldn’t believe his ears. Mad at Haruhi? So Tamaki didn’t know the truth? Kyouya burst out laughing, his eyes watering. It had been a while since something had made him laugh that way. How had he ever thought that Tamaki would have figured it out? 

“What?!” Tamaki was starting to freak out. “Why are you laughing?”

“Stop being such an idiot,” Kyouya sighed as his laughter subsided. “There is nothing negative between Haruhi and I. You worry about the most ridiculous things.” 

So he was still as oblivious as ever. At least that was one thing that had stayed the same. But he was going to have to find out some time. 

Kyouya knew that the longer he waited to tell Haruhi how he felt, the greater the chance of Tamaki realizing his own feeling. Or Hikaru, for that matter. If Kyouya wanted a chance with her, he needed to act. He needed to make a plan.

Chapter Text

Haruhi’s Second Year at Ouran, April

As the new school year started, the Host Club was unusually quiet. Now that they were down to five members, they saw fewer guests. And without Hunny and Mori, they were missing variation. They needed to make a decision.

On the first day of the new semester, the remaining club members sat down. They would not be seeing guests, but instead, they would be discussing adding new members to the club. Starting the previous fall, Kyouya had been accepting applications for potential new hosts. After vetting them, going through their backgrounds with a fine tooth comb, and considering their personalities, Kyouya had ended up with five very promising candidates.

Kyouya opened the files and placed them on the table. Each file was prepared with pictures along with each applicant’s strengths, potential weaknesses, affiliations, and interests. All five of the men were very promising. Each belonged to a very reputable family and would meld easily into the club’s dynamic.

“I have interviewed each of them individually. Please read the files and choose your top three,” Kyouya instructed, leaning back on the sofa. 

After all of the hosts had a change to read each of the files, discussion ensued. They were able to narrow the choices from five down to three.

The first candidate was Naoki Ikeda. Hida was a high school second year, the same class as Haruhi and the twins, though he was new to Ouran. He was quiet and polite and seemed like he could be a good replacement for Mori.

The second candidate was Asahi Masuda. Asahi was a first year high school student. He was on the shorter side, a good fit for the loli-type host, but had a bit of a temper which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

The third candidate was Kenta Takeda. Kenta was a middle school third year, the same age that the twins had been when they joined the club. He would also be a good replacement for Hunny, especially since he was young. He liked cute things, too, which was a bonus for Hunny’s former guests. 

“Well, I think Naoki for sure,” Haruhi decided, glancing at the other hosts. “Since he would be a good fit for the strong silent-type.”

“I agree,” Tamaki mumbled, scrutinizing the other two files.

“I don’t know about Kenta,” Hikaru commented. “I know we were his age when we joined..”

“...But what if he just seems like the loli-type because he’s young and immature?” Kaoru finished.

Haruhi nodded slowly, considering their words. “True, but it does say here that Asahi can be described as ‘aloof’ which doesn’t really seem like what we’re looking for, right?”

“They both have their faults,” Kyouya noted. They were only human after all, and teenagers no less. 

“I think we should go with Kenta,” Tamaki decided, closing Asahi’s folder and passing it back to Kyouya. 

With the decision made, club time ended early. Kyouya decided to stay for a bit and try to get in touch with the new, probationary hosts to set up a meeting. Tamaki sat down beside him, crossing his legs and leaning back.

“Naoki and Kenta, huh? It feels so weird, picking out new members. It seems like yesterday I was just convincing you to agree to join. Still don’t know how I managed that,” Tamaki chuckled, shaking his head. “And now we’re in our third year of high school. It’s kind of..unreal, you know? This time next year, we won’t be a part of the club either..” 

Kyouya nodded slowly, setting his phone in his lap. “We’re about to be adults, Tamaki. The time for deciding our futures is almost up.”

Tamaki sighed. “Even with my path laid out for me, I’m still terrified. I know I’ll never live up to Grandmother’s expectations, and I accept that, but I still have to become, well, everything my father is and maybe more. It’s...hard to picture myself doing that, being him..”

“You shouldn’t talk like that. You should know that you don’t have to follow the path laid for you. And even if you want to take over the company, you don’t need to be your father. You can still be you. Me, on the other hand…” Kyouya chuckled darkly. “That’s a whole different story, isn’t it?”

“You’re already a greater man than your father.” Tamaki sat up and leaned toward Kyouya. “You’ve done it. You bought out his company from under him. Hell, you could like off your investments alone! There’s no doubt you’ll be a success. But me?” He leaned back again, looking away. “Good looks only get you so far. I didn’t grow up the way you did. I still have so much to learn about running a business.”

Kyouya smiled just a bit. “Well, one important part of being successful is having a network full of powerful allies. You certainly have that down.”

Tamaki turned back toward him and smiled. “Thanks, Kyouya. It’s nice to know you always have my back.”

A sting of guilt went through Kyouya. Sure, he always had Tamaki’s back. Especially with planning to ask out the girl he loved. Kyouya had tried very hard not to think about how his actions would affect Tamaki, but he knew that it would cause a rift between them. Part of Kyouya wanted to go back to suppressing his feelings. But he knew he couldn’t. If Kyouya didn’t tell Haruhi, he would regret it all his life. Tamaki would just have to understand.

“Kyouya?” 

Kyouya snapped out of his thoughts. “Yes?”
“I was saying we should make plans with Hunny-senpai and Mori-senpai! We should try to make time to get everyone together, even though they’ve graduated,” Tamaki explained for a second time.

“Yeah, sure,” Kyouya answered, not able to bring himself to look at Tamaki.

“Excellent! Well, I’ll let you know when I think of something. But now I’ll leave you to our work. I know you’re busy.”

A quick goodbye and Kyouya was alone.  Alone with his thoughts.

The following day, the club was introduced to Naoki the wild-type host and Kenta the loli-type host. Instead of doing appointments as usual, the club was having an open house of sorts. This way the new first years could meet the hosts and the second and third years could meet the new hosts.

Right away both Naoki and Kenta were big hits. They were able to work together similarly to Mori and Hunny. Kyouya was pleased that the new members wouldn’t need much work to shape into full hosts. The club time went on a little longer than usual as it was hard to get all of the guests to leave. Normally the ladies had a time limit, but today the room was packed to the brim. 

Finally after half an hour of ushering and good byes, the five hosts and two probationary hosts were left in peace and quiet. 

“That was fantastic!” Kenta cheered when the doors finally closed. “This is even more fun than I thought it would be!”

“We’re glad to have you here, and you too, Naoki!” Tamaki chimed. “And if you thought today was good, just wait until we start doing cool stuff like themes and destinations and-”

Kyouya blocked out the sound of Tamaki’s voice, going over the notes he had jotted down. He would type them up tonight and send them to the new members as an initial review of sorts. Naoki was doing great but was a bit too shy. The girls who came to see Mori would want someone more confident. Kyouya considered advising him to join some sort of martial art. Kenta was also doing very well, although he was a bit too much at times. He needed to learn to dial down the happy and excitement, possibly even trying other emotions. Hunny had always killed it when it came to tears. 

“Do you have anything else, Kyouya?” Tamaki called. Kyouya looked up from his notes to see Tamaki standing on a table, his stretched out wide.

“Get down from there before you hurt yourself,” he deadpanned, turning back to his work.

The twins burst into laughter, making fun of the king, and Kenta even tried his hand at joining in. Any concerns Kyouya had as to the cohesion of the club were alleviated with this first day. 

When the excitement died down, everyone started getting ready to leave. 

“Come on, Kaoru!” Hikaru called, waiting by the door. The new hosts and Tamaki had already left.

“Go without me! I’ll be there in a sec!” Kaoru shouted back.

Hikaru paused for a moment then shrugged and headed out.

Kyouya made his way to the changing area to put his uniform back on. The suits they wore for the open house were very nice but far from comfortable.

“Hey Haruhi, can we talk?” Kyouya could hear Kaoru’s voice. It seemed that he didn’t realize that Kyouya was there. Kyouya buttoned his shirt slowly, listening.

“Sure, Kaoru. What’s up?”

There was a pause. 

“Kaoru? Is something wrong?”

“I need to tell you something, Haruhi.”

Kyouya’s stomach flipped. Was Kaoru about to..?

“Come on, Kaoru, what is it?”

“I...I really like you, Haruhi.”

“I really like you too.”

“No, that’s not what I mean. I really like you, Haruhi.”

Silence.

“Kaoru, I didn’t…”

“Wait. Don’t. I just… I needed to tell you. I know you don’t seem me that way, and that’s okay. It’s just that so many things are changing, and I just wanted you to know.”

Silence.

“Kaoru-”

“Hey! It’s cool! Don’t worry about it! I should get going. Hikaru’s gonna get worried. I’ll see you tomorrow!”

Kyouya could hear the doors open and then close. After a few moments the doors opened again, and then closed, and Kyouya was alone.

How was he supposed to process that? Kyouya slumped to the floor of the changing room, leaning back against the wall, trying to recall the entirety of Kaoru and Haruhi’s conversation. Kyouya hadn’t accounted for such an audacious act from the more mild of the twins. Kaoru confessed his feelings for her. And then turned himself down? Kyouya knew he could never let either of them, nor anyone else, know what he had heard. What he did know was that time was up. If Kaoru was feeling bold enough to do this, surely Hikaru couldn’t ignore his feelings much longer. 

Tamaki would be last, undoubtedly. The so-called king was so obsessed with the whole image of them being a perfect family that it would take something big to wake him up. 

Kyouya finished changing, gathered up his things, and left.

On the last day of the week, Kyouya put his plan into motion. Club went on as usual, but when it ended, he caught Haruhi on her way out. “Haruhi, can you help me with something before you go?”he requested. “It should only take a minute.” 

Kyouya had some menus laid out on a table under the guise of having Haruhi pick the snacks for the next theme day. He knew if he asked her to stay for no reason that the others would be suspicious. When the other hosts had all departed, Kyouya took a deep breath.

“Haruhi, are you busy tomorrow?” he asked, evoking all of his charm. Kyouya knew that if he screwed this up, it could be his last chance. 

Haruhi set down the paper she was looking at. “Tomorrow? I have to go to the store at some point. Is Tamaki-senpai trying to plan something? If so, I appreciate the advance notice.” 

Kyouya winced internally that the conversation was starting with talk of Tamaki. “Ah, not exactly. There is a cherry blossom festival taking place tomorrow afternoon. I was hoping you would go with me.” He desperately hoped she couldn’t hear how loud his heart was beating. 

“A festival?” Haruhi looked at him with a mix of confusion and curiosity. “Just the two of us?”

“Yes. Just the two of us.”

Haruhi still didn’t look very sure. Such a request was very unusual, coming from Kyouya. Had Tamaki asked, it would have been more than normal. As far as Haruhi was concerned, Kyouya only ever acted with a purpose, right? That was the guise he presented. But Kyouya was ready to let her have a glimpse beyond his mask. 

When Saturday morning arrived, Kyouya could hardly breathe. He had woken up far earlier than planned and now he couldn’t focus on anything, work nor school. Around 11:00AM, Fuyumi arrived as planned. Kyouya had picked this specific day because he knew his father and brothers would be out of the house all morning. There was a risk of seeing them at the cherry blossom viewing, but he didn’t plan to stay there for too long.

“How are you feeling?” Fuyumi asked as Kyouya started getting dressed.

“Nauseous.”

Fuyumi giggled, shaking her head. She held out his kimono and tied it for him. “You shouldn’t be nervous. You’re a wonderful guy, and everything is going to be great. And even if it doesn’t go to plan it’ll finally be over, right?”

Kyouya shot her a look.

Fuyumi put her hands up. “Okay, okay, we’re sticking to positive vibes. It’s going to be great. You’re going to be great.” A few finishing touches and she stepped back. “Absolutely perfect!”

Kyouya moved to look in the mirror. The dark blue kimono was decorated with the subtle outline of waves as well as firefly squid. He studied his reflection, looking for any imperfections he could fix or change. 

“It’s going to be fine, Kyouya,” Fuyumi repeated, laying her hand on his arm. 

Kyouya covered her hand with his own and smiled. “I know. Thank you, Fuyumi.”

At 1:30PM, Tachibana pulled the car around to the front door.

“The delivery was made successfully and on time,” Aijima assured Kyouya as he walked toward the car.

“Everything according to plan,” Hota confirmed, reviewing a check list as they walked. The staff members stopped as Tachibana opened the car door.

“You’ll be great, Kyouya-sama!” The three men cheered together. Kyouya covered his face with his hand, hiding his embarrassment as he got into the car. Who needed a parent to embarrass them when he had those three around?

On the trip to Haruhi’s, Kyouya watched out the window, going over the plan in his head one last time. 

“Kyouya-sama, we have arrived.”

Kyouya waited for Tachibana to open the door before getting out of the car. Tachibana adjusted Kyouya’s kimono before handing him a bouquet and giving him a double thumbs up. Kyouya couldn’t help but smile as he turned away, walking toward the door. When he reached his destination he paused and took a breath before knocking.

As planned, Ranka opened the door. “Oh, Kyouya-kun! You look so handsome!” Haruhi’s father cooed.

“Thank you. These are for you.” Kyouya held out the bouquet and smiled. “Although they don’t compare to your beauty.”

Ranka giggled, taking the flowers. “Oh, stop. Come on in, she’s just finishing up.”

Kyouya followed Ranka into the house and waited for Haruhi to appear. Haruhi’s father had been instrumental in the success of his plan. Unlike with Tamaki, Ranka already liked Kyouya, so when Kyouya had requested Ranka’s help, the doting father couldn’t say yes fast enough. 

When Haruhi finally made her entrance, Kyouya couldn’t breathe. Haruhi wore a light pink kimono with white cherry blossom flowers, courtesy of his sister’s excellent taste. She also wore the hair pin Kyouya had ordered custom, adorned with delicate white flowers.

“Wow…” he breathed, in absolute awe. It was apparent from Ranka’s delighted expression that he agreed.

“Oh, Haruhi, you look so lovely!” There were tears in Ranka’s eyes as he hugged his daughter.

“Dad, stop, I’m just going to look at some flowers. It’s not a big deal.”

Ranka met Kyouya’s gaze and smiled, knowing better. To Haruhi, he replied, “Of course, dear, you know how I get..” 

Goodbyes were said and Kyouya and Haruhi headed out to the car. Tachibana was waiting and opened the door as they approached. Tachibana looked at Haruhi, then at Kyouya and tried not to smile, but did a poor job of it.

Kyouya gave him a look and Tachibana grinned, closing the door behind them before getting into the car himself. 

“You do look very lovely,” Kyouya commented as they drove away.

She smiled awkwardly. “Thanks, senpai. You look nice too… Can I ask you a question?”

“Of course, Haruhi.”

“Why did you invite me to go with you? And why are you going at all? A festival doesn’t really feel like something you would be interested in.” Haruhi was as straightforward as ever.

Kyouya took a moment to respond. “I thought it might be a nice change of pace. As for why I invited you…” He hesitated. “I wanted to, I suppose.”

“You wanted to?” Haruhi repeated, not looking convinced. “I’m sure there were plenty of other people you could have invited. What about Tamaki-senpai?”

There was that damn name again. Kyouya felt himself becoming a bit irritated. “Yes, there were other options,” he confirmed, adding nothing else to explain his choice.

Haruhi stared at him, waiting, then turned to look out the window. Kyouya closed his eyes for a moment. She certainly could make things a challenge, but that’s part of what made her so different from the other girls at school. Haruhi didn’t simply follow the rules without question, a concept Kyouya was only starting to understand. 

The festival was already full of life by the time they arrived. There were food stalls, game stalls, and souvenir stalls. And of course, there were cherry blossoms. The festival took place in a park full of cherry trees. Everywhere you looked you were greeted with the lovely sight of the iconic flowers. While families and groups of friends could be seen, the majority of visitors were couples, holding hands, sharing treats, taking pictures. It was a perfect place for a first date. The sight was as he expected which increased his confidence in his plan. Kyouya remained cautious, though. He had been confident in plans before, only to have them fall through at the last moment. 

“What would  you like to do, Haruhi?”

Haruhi looked a bit surprised that he had asked. Had she expected him to drag her there and not even let her choose what they would do? That didn’t sound far off from the Shadow King she knew, though. Kyouya frowned a bit. It was difficult, showing her parts of his true self. The wall he had constructed from a young age to keep others a bay was hard to ignore.

“Could we get some candied strawberries?” 

Kyouya looked down to see her looking up at him. He clenched his jaw, trying to calm the butterflies in his stomach. “Of course.”

Moments later the duo were sat together on a bench beneath one of the many cherry trees, each with a skewer of fresh strawberries coated in a thin, glass like layer of melted sugar. The candied fruit reminded Kyouya of their time at the carnival trying the candied apples. For someone who didn’t care for sweets, Haruhi sure seemed to have an interest in them. Kyouya finished his last strawberry and glanced at Haruhi. His chest felt tight as he noticed a bit of sugar stuck to her cheek. He could recall many times the twins had licked crumbs from Haruhi’s face but he dared not try, especially in such a public setting. 

Kyouya picked up a napkin in one hand and guided her chin toward him with the other. “Hold still.” It was more than difficult to ignore the curiosity in her eyes as he removed the bit of food.

“Senpai?”

He could feel the redness creeping up his neck. Had that been too bold? Kyouya set the napkin down beside him, avoiding her gaze. “Yes, Haruhi?”

“Why did we come here?”

Kyouya supposed now was as good a time as any. If he tried to buy more time, he could decrease his chances of success. He glanced around, checking that they were still relatively isolated from the crowd. “Haruhi…” He took her hand in his. It was so soft and small. Kyouya had dreams of this moment. But he also had nightmares.

“Haruhi, would you be my girlfriend?”

The silence was like knives in his chest. Kyouya wished he could see what was going on in her head. Her initial look of shock had shifted to one of contemplation as she presumably went over his words in her head. Kyouya was not one to allow himself to regret his actions, always going in to situations with a detailed plan, but had he made a mistake this time? If Haruhi said no, there could be very uncomfortable consequences. Surely things would not go back to the way they were, and the club would notice.

"You want me to be your girlfriend? Why?" 

Kyouya considered this. The truth was that she was amazing. She was bold and brave and determined. She always spoke her mind, ready for the consequences. Not to mention how beautiful she looked to him all the time, especially now in her blush kimono, shakira petals falling like snow as the faintest breeze tickled the trees. Kyouya wanted to tell her but he couldn't. The fear of embarrassing himself was too strong. But what to say?

"I think I'm in love with you." Kyouya couldn't stop the words as they poured from his mouth. That was probably the worst thing he could have said. He couldn't imagine how overwhelmed Haruhi must be.

Haruhi's jaw dropped for just a moment before snapping shut. She stared at him, wide eyed. If his initial proposition had been a lot to process, this must be a thousand times more complicated for her. 

"Senpai, I don't know what to say.." she mumbled, staring at her feet. "I didn't know you felt that way…" 

Kyouya couldn't muster a response. The heat that had been rising up his neck made his ears burn. He unfurled his fingers so her hand was laying in his, expecting her to pull away. When she didn't, he looked at her. Haruhi was still staring at her feet but her look of alarm was fading into a more neutral expression.

"Haruhi.."

Haruhi finally looked up, meeting his gaze. "I need to think."

Kyouya nodded, trying not to feel hurt, and refused to let any disappointment show. “Of course, Haruhi. Shall we walk a bit more?”

Silent agreement and the two started off through the trees once again. Kyouya’s mind was a battle ground. He shouldn’t have said anything. He should have said more. He should have picked a different place, or a different time. He should have said this. He shouldn’t have said that. Kyouya had been expecting one of two outcomes: either a yes or a no. He hadn’t prepared himself for a “let me think”. He glanced at Haruhi who was looking at the flowers. Had he really messed this up? Maybe he was overly confident in himself.

Then Haruhi stopped, turning to look at him. “Senpai, I..I’m not sure if I can be your girlfriend. I don’t want to make you a promise I can’t keep but...I think it would be fun to do this again." 

Kyouya's heart swelled in his chest. Sure, it wasn't the most ideal answer, but Haruhi had never been the kind of girl to swoon for some sweet words. 

"I would love to do this again," he murmured, smiling. Kyouya was surprised to see her blush. The rose tint bathed her features, making her even cuter than before. Without thinking, Kyouya reached out, touching his fingers gingerly to the side of her face. Her lips were parted ever so slightly and glistened. Was that lipstick? Desire burned inside him like white hot flames. Just a taste.. 

"Senpai?"

Haruhi's questioning voice snapped him out of his head. Kyouya quickly dropped his hand to his side, clearing his throat as he turned away. "We should go enjoy the festivities. What do you want to do next, Haruhi?"

Later that day, after Kyouya had dropped Haruhi back at her home, he laid on his bed, still in his kimono, and stared at the ceiling. He went over the afternoon again and again in as much detail as he could recall. Once they were up and walking, things lightened up considerably.  And the outing ended relatively well, too. Ranks had greeted them at the door so there was no need for an awkward, lengthy goodbye. Plus, Ranka was quite pleased with the gifts they had purchased for him at the festival. Kyouya had tried to buy gifts for Haruhi as well but she continuously turned him down.

Kyouya pulled out his phone and sent a quick text to Fuyumi, letting her know he was home, before looking through the abundance of missed calls, text messages, and emails that had accumulated in the few hours he had been gone. 

As he was getting ready for bed, Kyouya checked his phone one last time. 

1 NEW MESSAGE

From: Fujioka Haruhi

Today was fun. Thanks! Goodnight! :)

Kyouya grinned, staring intently at the screen. He typed a quick reply, "Goodnight Haruhi", before finally ending the day.

Chapter Text

Haruhi’s Second Year at Ouran, April

When Monday arrived, Kyouya prepared for school like it was any other day. But it wasn’t, and he knew that. Since he had returned home from the sakura festival, he and Haruhi had been texting each other on and off. And sure, it had only been a day, but Kyouya already felt...different. 

Fuyumi had been very excited to hear how the date had gone. So excited in fact that she felt the need to call him very early . Kyouya had reminded her very kindly that she would need to wait until a more reasonable hour. When they finally did talk, Fuyumi had so many questions, from the generic “How did it go?” to the far more specific “You almost kissed her under the cherry blossoms?!” It felt...nice to tell Fuyumi the details from the day and to hear her supportive responses. 

Kyouya finished getting dressed and headed to the front door. To be honest, he was a bit concerned as to how club would go that day. Naoki and Kenta would be none the wiser, and Tamaki would be as oblivious as ever, but those devilish twins could pose a problem. 

“Off to school?” 

Kyouya turned to see an unexpected sight: his older brother, Akito. “Shouldn’t you be...somewhere else?” His tone was flat, uninterested. Like with their father, Akito and Kyouya didn’t have the best of relationships. Normally all of the Ootori men kept each other at arm's length, so to have Akito show up could only mean bad news.

“I don’t have class for a bit so I thought I’d stop by. Still running that silly little club?” Akito asked, crossing his arms. Akito never liked the idea of Kyouya wasting his time with clubs instead of putting all of his time studying, preparing to fill his future role. 

“What do you want, Akito?” Kyouya didn’t have time to play. Akito liked to think he was like their father: cold and powerful and intimidating. Kyouya was far from impressed. 

“A little birdie told me you went to a commoner’s festival Saturday,” Akito noted, leaning against the wall beside the door. “And that you weren’t alone. Haruhi Fujioka, right?” 

By his tone, Kyouya could tell that Akito thought he had caught him with his proverbial pants down. Sadly for him, that was far from the truth. “It seems your intel is correct. Congrats.”

Akito scowled. Kyouya half expected him to stomp his foot like an angry child. Unlike himself and their oldest brother, Yuuichi, Akito lacked an Ootori’s calm facade. “So I suppose you know that father is also aware?”

Kyouya had expected that. He was almost surprised that his father hadn’t summoned him to his office yet, though he was certain it was coming. 

“You should also know that both Yuuichi and I know what you did last fall.”

“Is that so?” Kyouya’s irritation was growing. What was Akito trying to get at? Had he really come here just to waste his time, attempting to scare him? “Again, congrats.”

“You know you won’t get away with this. Just wait,” Akito hissed, turning and stalking away.

Trying not to overthink his brother’s not so veiled threat, Kyouya finally escaped the house.

Kyouya arrived in the club room promptly after his final class ended. Today was to be a very average day: no theme, no costumes, just appointments. Next to arrive, shortly after, was Tamaki as per usual. 

“Hello, mon ami!” Tamaki greeted him, bright as always. “How was your weekend? I noticed you were late this morning.”

“Hello, Tamaki. And yes, Akito decided to drop in and held me up,” Kyouya murmured, trying to focus on his black book. 

“Akito?” Kyouya could tell by Tamaki’s voice alone that this occurrence was very concerning to his blond headed friend. His concern became irritation. “What the hell does he want?”

Kyouya looked up, a small smile dancing on his lips. Tamaki was always such a good friend. Kyouya infrequently confided in the host club king about the problems he had with his family. Never anything too personal, but enough to let Tamaki know Akito’s appearance meant nothing good.

“Oh, not much. Just to threaten me for buying out the family company and still having time to play dress up,” Kyouya sighed, closing his book and looking to Tamaki, who looked as upset as he sounded. “Calm down. He was just being, well, himself. I’m not concerned.”

Tamaki still frowned but quickly lightened up. “If you say so. But let me know if anything happens, okay?”

It was then that the newest hosts joined the group, providing an excellent distraction for Tamaki. Kyouya was able to get back to work as Tamaki lectured Naoki and Kenta, teaching them the ways of a host or something. Finally, the remaining hosts arrived.

Haruhi entered the room with one Hitachiin twin on either side, chatting away.

“Well we have to do something ,” Kaoru was saying.

“It is a school break after all,” Hikaru added. “Isn’t there anything you would want to do?”

“Not really.” The twins both deadpanned, then shook their heads. 

Before the harassment continued, Tamaki merged the groups. Kyouya ignored whatever drivel they were going on about, switching tasks to check his email. He was quietly delighted to see he had an unread text. Kyouya couldn’t help but smile as he read Haruhi’s message. He quickly replied, locking his phone just as Kaoru and Hikaru appeared beside him.

“Did you see what I saw, Kaoru?” the more assertive twin purred.

“Oh, I think I did, Hikaru,” his brother agreed.

Unfortunately, their words drew the attention of the other hosts.

“Did our Demon King just...smile?” The twins acted aghast, as if it was some sort of disaster in the making.

“Tell us,” Hikaru began.

“What could possibly make our dear vice president show emotion?” Kaoru finished.

Kyouya wanted to curse them and chase them off. Obviously, that wasn’t an option. He chose simply to ignore them, but he knew this wasn’t over. The twins tried to provoke him further but were forced to stop as guests began to arrive. 

When the final guest had left, Kyouya fully expected the twins’ assault to continue, but was pleasantly surprised when their attention was trained on the newest club members instead. He briefly caught Haruhi’s eye but was quick to look away before anyone noticed.

It took what felt like forever until the club members began to take their leave. As was becoming the new norm, Naoki and Kenta were the first to leave. Kyouya was pleased that they seemed to have connected so quickly. Their act for the ladies was shaping up more quickly than expected. Hikaru and Kaoru were next to leave. They attempted to drag Haruhi with them, spouting some nonsense about a fashion show, but of course she declined. And then there were three.

Kyouya could feel his irritation returning as Tamaki bounced around Haruhi. It seemed that too many things were testing his patience. He tried to focus on finishing his work. Thankfully, the situation resolved itself. Unfortunately, it ended with Haruhi leaving. With nothing left to do, Kyouya said a quick goodbye to Tamaki and went home. 

Kyouya began working on school work as soon as he got home. He had a terrible headache and wanted to get it out of the way. The day hadn’t been overly complicated but it had been very trying and he wanted nothing more than a hot shower and to turn in early. Then his phone vibrated beside his hand on the desk.

1 NEW MESSAGE

From: Fujioka Haruhi

I have a question. Do you have a moment?

Kyouya smiled, seeing her name. 

K: Of course.

H: You seemed kind of off during club. Is something wrong?

Kyouya’s smile slipped.

K: Not in the least. Why do you ask?

H: Idk. I felt like you were kind of distant.

The smile was now entirely gone. 

K: I apologise. I didn’t believe my actions to be out of the ordinary.

H: I guess

A deep frown creased his features. Kyouya took off his glasses, setting them on the desk and pinched the bridge of his nose.Yet another complication to the day. Kyouya lifted the phone to his ear, listening to it ring.

“H-Hello?” It was clear that Haruhi hadn’t expected a call. 

“Hello, Haruhi.”

“Hi, senpai.”

“I wasn’t sure I could properly respond via text. I hope that’s alright.” 

“Yeah, it’s no problem.”

Kyouya sighed, leaning back in his chair. “Care to expand upon your observation?”

Haruhi was quiet for a moment. “I don’t really know what to say. I don’t know what I expected. Just, after Saturday, I guess I thought…” she trailed off.

“Did you want me to behave differently? I was under the impression we were still...testing the waters, so to speak.”

“I guess you’re right.” Kyouya listened closely to her tone. She didn’t seem upset.

“If you’ve changed your mind…”

Haruhi paused again. “I’m sorry, senpai. I don’t think I’m ready.”

Kyouya closed his eyes. “You did say you would go on another date with me,” he reminded her. “Have you come up with an idea yet?”

They talked for well over an hour. They talked about dates, about the other club members, about upcoming exams. It was so easy to talk to her, so natural. Eventually, though, Haruhi ended the conversation.

“I promised my dad I’d make him something to eat for when he gets home,” she explained.

“That’s fine. I have to take a shower still anyway. And Haruhi, if you do decide to change your mind, just let me know, alright?”

“Goodnight, Kyouya-senpai.”

He loved hearing his name from her lips. “Goodnight, Haruhi.”

Over the course of the rest of the week, Kyouya began to work on his latest project: The twins, and then Tamaki as well, insisted they go away for spring break. Many ideas had been suggested but as usual it was up to Kyouya to do the leg work. After much conversation with each of the club members, it was decided that they should go back to the beach, just as they had done the year before. Kyouya also reached out to Mori and Honey who were glad to join. Kyouya even agreed to refrain from inviting guests. It would be a purely relaxing vacation.

Before that, though, he and Haruhi had planned their second date. Haruhi couldn’t come up with anything specific but did request something a bit more laid back. And the day had finally arrived. Just before lunch time, Kyouya arrived at the Fujioka home. To his surprise, it was Ranka who answered the door, and he didn’t look overly pleased. “Kyouya, please come in.”

“Thank you, Ranka.” 

“Haruhi just ran to the store. She should be back shortly.”

The two sat in the quaint family room. The silence between them was mildly alarming.

“Your father called me yesterday. I’ll admit I’m disappointed I didn’t hear it from you,” Ranka sighed, crossing his arms.

Kyouya was entirely lost. “I’m not sure what you mean. Why did my father call you?” 

Now it was Ranka’s turn to look confused. “You don’t know?” Kyouya shook his head and Ranka continued. “Your father called to arrange your marriage to my daughter.”

Kyouya gritted his teeth. It seemed Akito was not far off, predicting problems in Kyouya’s future. His father could never admit defeat. “Ranka, I assure you, I knew nothing about this.”

Ranka let out a relieved sigh. “I was hoping you would say that. I know you’re a good person, Kyouya, and I do like you, but Haruhi is my everything. You know I would never agree to something like that.”

“Of course, Ranka, and I would never ask that from you. If some day she did...if she would agree, I would be more than honored, but I have no interest in forcing Haruhi into anything. I promise you, I will get to the bottom of this with my father.” Kyouya hesitated. “Did you tell Haruhi?”

Ranka shook his head. “I didn’t want to cause drama before I knew all of the facts. And I’ll keep it to myself until you have a chance to talk to your father,” he assured Kyouya.

The two sat quietly, each lost in their respective thoughts. Kyouya worked to keep himself calm, the fury he felt toward his father boiling inside of him. He craved the day he had the freedom to finally get away from him, but even then Kyouya dubbed his father would truly leave him alone.

It wasn’t long before Haruhi returned. “Sorry that took so long, dad, I had to-” she stopped abruptly when she noticed Kyouya. “I didn’t expect you to come so early, senpai.”

Kyouya stood, softening his features. “I am a bit early. I apologise. I’m happy to wait as long as you need.”

Haruhi set the bags of groceries in the kitchen. “I just need a few minutes to change, then I’ll be ready,” she promised, disappearing into her room.

“And I should get ready for work,” Ranka sighed, stretching his arms high above his head. He gave Kyouya an uncomfortably serious look. “I trust you’ll keep me updated?” He walked away before Kyouya replied. They both knew Kyouya would pass on any information he received promptly. 

As Ranka left, Haruhi returned. She had changed her t-shirt and shorts to a light blue sundress. “I hope this is alright. You weren’t very specific on where we were going.”

“It’s absolutely fine.” Kyouya stepped forward, taking her hand to his lips.Without breaking their gaze, Kyouya kissed her hand softly before letting it return to her side. He was pleased to see pink tinting her cheeks. “Are you ready?”

It didn’t take long to drive to their destination. Kyouya had selected a quiet park for their second date. As they got out of the car, Tachibana retrieved a picnic basket and blanket. “Shall I carry these for you, Kyouya-sama?”

Kyouya shook his head, taking the items. “That won’t be necessary. I will let you know what we are ready to leave.” 

Tachibana bowed deeply before returning to the car.

Kyouya turned to Haruhi. “This way.” He led the way into the park to a predetermined spot, private and out of the way. Kyouya laid out the blanket before settling down to unpack their lunch. “I wasn’t sure what you would want so I had the kitchen make a variety.” All of the food looked delicious and was packaged expertly.

“Wow,” Haruhi breathed, her eyes wide. Kyouya had almost forgotten was a foody she was. Kyouya passed her a plate and the two began to eat.

“How’s this for a second date?” Kyouya asked between bites. Each time he said the word “date”, Haruhi seemed quite flustered. To his understanding, which was usually fairly thorough, she had never been on a date before. Except for that trainwreck of an afternoon she had spent with Hikaru all those months ago.

“It’s nice, senpai. Thanks.”

“Kyouya,” he corrected nonchalantly, though his heart was racing.

“What?”

“My name is Kyouya.”

Haruhi looked timid, lifting a few more morales onto her plate. “Senpai…”

Kyouya adjusted his glasses, waiting.

“...Kyouya.”

He shivered. Kyouya set down his empty plate, still watching her. He could tell his gaze was making her nervous. He laid back on the blanket, hands interlaced across his stomach, and stared up at the clouds in an attempt to appear less...intimidating? 

The continuing conversation was nothing out of the ordinary. They talked about school, the club, asked each other questions that seemed to become increasingly personal.

“Would you want the others to know? If you changed your mind, I mean.” Kyouya was truly curious as to her answer. He even propped himself up on one elbow so he could see her.

While still in a sitting position, Haruhi was also staring up at the clouds with a sort of dream-like expression. “Probably. They would find out especially. And I wouldn’t want to have to put on an act the whole time.”

Kyouya had more than enough experience with using a false front to know just how exhausting it could be.

“Why would you want me to be your girlfriend?” It was Haruhi’s turn to look over at Kyouya.

“I’ve already answered that, Haruhi.” Kyouya sat up, subtly moving closer to her. “Or have you forgotten?”

Haruhi’s face colored a soft blush and she looked away. “I know what you said, but it still doesn’t explain much. What do you...like about me?”

“Looking for some flattery?” Kyouya teased. “Well, I like how strongly you care for your family and friends. I like your determination. I lo- like,” Kyouya cleared his throat. “How you speak your mind.”

Haruhi looked at him thoughtfully but didn’t reply.

Kyouya’s phone chimed and he checked it. He was surprised to see they had been there for a few hours. “I didn’t realize it was getting so late.”

Harhi checked her phone as well. “I should probably be getting back. I have a lot to do tomorrow.”

While Kyouya planned to have his staff clean up, Haruhi vehemently disagreed, starting to pick up the used dishes and stuff them back into the basket. Kyouya sighed, smiling as he began collecting the blanket. The two were greeted by Tachibana when they reached the street and got into the car.

Kyouya was fairly tired when he finally returned home, but his day was far from over. He still had to do one of the most unpleasant tasks that could possibly have reached his agenda: confronting his father. He decided to finish a bit of school work before seeking him out. Kyouya had only been in his room for a matter of moments before a knock sounded on his door. Upon opening his door stood the very man Kyouya needed to speak to: Yoshio Ootori. 

Yoshio pushed past his youngest son and into the bedroom. “I’ve decided to pay you a visit as we seem to have some things to discuss.” He stood beside the sofa, arms crossed. The patriarch’s presence filled the room. Now speaking to his father was unavoidable. Kyouya bristled as he closed the door. He turned to stare at his father.

As a child, Kyouya was intimidated by Yoshio, and it wasn’t hard to see why. His father’s appearance resembled his own, but while Kyouya was still a lean teenager, Yoshio was a broad shouldered adult. He did have some happy memories involving his father, but even in those, he was very young, and his father played the role of a background character. 

But since Kyouya had met Tamaki, since he had realized he didn’t need to paint within the frame his father provided, he was no longer intimidated.

“Not going to greet your father?” Yoshi sighed, shaking his head. “I thought I raised you better than that.”

“You never raised me.” Yoshio had never attended a graduation ceremony, never came to performances and school events, and more often than not missed birthdays and other holidays. He was always off on some business trip, meeting with important people, or locked away in his office. Kyouya’s mother hadn’t been much better. If anyone raised him, it was the house’s staff. And Fuyumi. Until their father sent her away to become a wife for his benefit.

Yoshio scowled at his youngest child. Kyouya almost smiled. Making his father lose his composure was almost an award worthy accomplishment. 

“I’m here to discuss a proposal I’m currently preparing: a marriage contract between you and Haruhi Fujioka. I’ve had my eye on her since that little fair last fall, and imagine my surprise when you took an interest in her as well.” While it was phrased as a statement, his father’s tone made it clear that he expected a response. 

“I’m afraid I’ll have to ask you to cease your meddling.” Kyouya adjusted his glasses, one hand casually in his pocket. “I’ve tolerated your control until now but I will not have you messing with my personal matters.” 

Yoshio took a few steps toward him. You insolent brat. I let you do whatever it is you do with those so-called friends of yours, but you belong to me and you will do what I say.”  Two years ago, Kyouya might have caved. He probably would have, desperate to please his father, the decider of his fate. But he was not the same person anymore. 

Kyouya adjusted his glasses. “While I’m sure that this will come as a surprise to you, I have decided to disregard you in terms of my future. I bought you one and I can do it again. I understand you have this ridiculous notion that you are my lord and master, but you should remember that I can bring you to total ruin.”

Never in his life had Kyouya seen his father really become angry. “You think that you can speak to me that way? To your father?” While Yoshio’s voice was still fairly even, Kyouya could see the fire burning in his eyes.

“Actually, yes. Honestly, I don’t need anything from you, so I have no reason to jump each and every time you ask.”

“You little-”

Kyouya didn’t let him finish his rage fueled response. “I own you.”

The fire in his father’s eyes seemed to double for a moment before extinguishing entirely. He expected the older man to yell, to argue, to say something, but no words came. “You shouldn’t have done that- stealing my company,” Yoshio growled. “You had no right. That was your brother’s birthright.”

“You’re stuck in a world that no longer exists, father,” Kyouya snapped. “The world of birthrights and arranged marriages and parents deciding their children’s futures is long gone. You need to wake up. My siblings may be brainwashed into obeying your every word, but I will make my own future. And in this future, you work for me. You want the company back in your name? Fine. Pay me double what I paid and it’s yours. Then your pride will be restored, right? You can pass it down to Yuuichi and everything will be right in your sad little world.”

When the door shut behind his father, Kyouya let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. That had gone far more quickly than he expected. Kyouya had just done something that he had never done before: he had finally stood up to his father. And he had won? Kyouya couldn’t be sure. While his father certainly had more than a few flaws, Yoshio was an undeniably brilliant man. Kyouya locked his door before sitting down at his desk and opening his laptop.

“Okay. Beach trip. Let’s get this finished.” 

Chapter Text

Haruhi’s Second Year at Ouran, May

Although the club’s trip to the beach was only two weeks away, Tamaki had insisted on getting together with the founding members. After snoozing his alarm three times, Kyouya was finally awoken when a very timid maid opened the black out curtains. He felt bad, later, about the terrifying glare he shot her way, causing her to squeak and flee, especially as she was only doing as he had specifically asked the day before. Kyouya took his time dressing, preparing physically and mentally for what was to come. When he and Haruhi had spoken the day before, as they were now in daily contact, Kyouya had inquired how Haruhi wanted to handle the situation. As she had yet to formally agree to be his girlfriend, the two decided it would be best to continue as usual.

After departing from his family home, Kyouya instructed Tachibana to stop at the Fujioka’s apartment. Haruhi had agreed to let him pick her up on his way to Tamaki’s. Each week, as Tamaki had explained, they would have their ‘family breakfast’ at a different location, and the first week would be at ‘daddy’s’ house, the second estate of the Suoh family. After breaking off his forced engagement to Ms. Eclair Tonnerre, his grandmother’s brief tolerance of her son’s bastard child came to an immediate end. Yuzuru had offered to fight the family matriarch, but Tamaki was just fine where he was, and he didn’t want to start any more trouble.

When the car stopped, Kyouya got out and walked to the apartment door, knocking lightly. Ranka opened the door quickly, smiling warmly at the highschooler. “Why Kyouya-kun! You look so handsome! Haruhi! Kyouya is here! Time to go!” 

Haruhi appeared a moment later. While Kyouya had selected a simple tank top and jacket for the casual event, Haruhi had chosen to dress up a bit more, wearing a white blouse with thin, ruffled sleeves, and light pink skirt with a subtle, floral print. 

“You look wonderful, Haruhi,” Kyouya commented with a slight smile.

Ranka pulled his daughter into a tight hug before she had a chance to reply. “Oh, I hope you have a good time with your little friends, Haruhi!”

“I’ll text you when I get there, okay?” Haruhi promised her father, looking a bit embarrassed as Ranka released her.

The ride to Tamaki’s wasn’t overly exciting with only a few words passed between the two. But it wasn’t an uncomfortable quiet. When they arrived at Tamaki’s home, Tachibana opened the door, allowing Haruhi out first. Tamaki was there waiting by the door along with the twins, Mori, and Honey. It seemed they were last to arrive.

“Haruhi!” Tamaki squealed, scooping his ‘daughter’ into a tight hug. If Kyouya didn’t know how Tamaki truly felt about Haruhi, he would laugh at how similar the host club king’s actions were to the actions of Haruhi’s own father. 

“Stop it, Tamaki-senpai!” Haruhi complained, pushing her senior away. 

Unphased, Tamaki turned as Kyouya approached. “Kyouya! You’re finally here! And you brought Haruhi…?” The high school senior’s excitement dimmed as his confusion grew. Kyouya readied himself for an accusation from his best friend, but Tamaki’s confusion snapped to sadness, his focus again on his “daughter”. “Haruhi! If you needed a ride, you should have called daddy! I know mommy can get you too, and that’s okay, but daddy-!”

“Knock it off, Tamaki.” Kyouya’s words came out far more harshly than necessary. All eyes were now on him. He hadn’t meant to say anything, but Tamaki’s rough handling of Haruhi, and all of the ‘mommy’ and ‘daddy’ talk was too much for his already stressed mind to handle. Kyouya was quick to smooth over his grievous error. “You make me get up first thing in the morning and now you make me stand here by the door? Am I here for breakfast or should I be leaving?” he growled, trying to play up the ‘demon king woken up too early’ angle. 

Thankfully, it worked like a charm, at least on those he was concerned about. It was hard to get anything past Honey and Mori. They always seemed to know more than they let on. Now, the club members sat around a long table in Tamaki’s home, chatting as the food was brought out. Tamaki had arranged for a western menu: eggs prepared in a variety of ways, sizzling meats, breads and pastries, fresh fruit, and pitchers of juice and milk, and, of course, coffee. None of them took long in filling their plates. 

Conversation came easily to the group as was usual. Honey and Mori shared their experience so far as college students, the twins poked fun at Tamaki, and Haruhi fought to keep everything calm. It was cathartic, watching the others interact. Kyouya took the opportunity to check emails on his phone, nibbling at the food on his plate. Normally, he would never use his phone during a meal. It was an incredibly rude thing to do. But he needed a distraction, and work seemed like a safe option. Between his new almost-relationship,  his father’s continuous meddling, preparing to finish high school, working to keep his friends in the dark, and all of his everyday concerns, he was a bit overwhelmed to say the least.

“What do you think, Kyo-chan?” Hunny’s words brought his attention back to the group.

“I’m sorry, senpai, what was the question?” Kyouya asked, tucking his phone away and taking a sip of his coffee. Black, of course.

“We were talking about our trip to the beach!” Hunny explained, biting into a sweet roll. “I think we should have tasty seafood again, just like last year!”

Kyouya noticed that, while Hunny’s voice was cheery as usual, the small man’s eyes told a different story. It was easy to forget, with his cutesy exterior, that Mitsukuni Haninozuka was an adult, a master of martial arts, and a very intelligent individual. He was to be the next head of his family, after all.

“That sounds like a fine idea, Hunny-senpai,” he answered coolly. “I’ll make a note of that.” Kyouya jotted down a note on his phone to remember to alter the food order.

“How about you, Haruhi? What do you think?” Hunny asked brightly, leaning a bit on the table to get just a tad closer.

“That’s fine with me,” Haruhi said, pushing the food around on her plate and looking a bit bored. 

Tamaki noticed Haruhi’s antisocial behavior and began to look worried. “Is something wrong, Haruhi? Do you not like the food? I can have something else made for you!” he offered quickly, scooting his chair closer to her. Of course, Tamaki had sat himself right next to her.

“No, Tamaki-senpai, this is fine. Nothing’s wrong,” Haruhi replied simply. “I’m just not overly hungry.” 

But of course, Tamaki couldn’t accept her answer and continued to fuss over her, moving even closer. He kept touching her and making her increasingly uncomfortable, despite her constant protesting. Kyouya’s blood was boiling but he had promised Haruhi to act as normally as possible. He had already explained away one outburst, he doubted he would be successful a second time.

Thankfully the twins stepped in, getting up from their seats to harass Tamaki.

“Bad touching! Pervert! Pervert!” Hikaru and Kaoru chanted, waving little red flags. It seemed that they had prepared well for the day. 

Things settled back down eventually and the hosts continued to eat and chat. Kyouya stayed busy, writing down all of the ridiculous suggestions the others were throwing out for both their trip as well as future club events. 

When everyone was finished and most of the platters had been depleted, everyone was ready to go. Often the club members had fun together, but each of them had responsibilities to handle and needed to get back to them. When the car door closed behind Kyouya, he let out a deep breath. “Glad to be done with that.”

Haruhi smiled. “Oh, it wasn’t that bad. And the food was pretty good too.”

Kyouya returned her smile. “Do you have other plans today, Haruhi?”

The two decided to make a day of it, stopping at a few different places to do a bit of shopping. Kyouya was careful to pick places he wouldn't easily be recognized. Lunch time arrived and they stopped at a cute cafe, finishing the meal off with ice cream. 

Eventually Haruhi did have to return home, as did Kyouya. He now had only a few hours to get through a lot of work. 

The weekend ended far too quickly, as usual. The only notable event from Sunday was a conversation Kyouya had with Hunny and Mori. It was clear at the breakfast that his seniors knew that something was off, so Kyouya confessed to them his arrangement with Haruhi. As expected, the two already had guessed the change and offered him their support. That, if nothing else, took a bit of the weight off his shoulders. But just a bit.

The following week went quickly too, until Friday. The club was doing a tea ceremony, similar to the one they had done the year before, complete with elaborate kimono and a rock garden. Hunny and Mori even joined in as they had the afternoon off. To say the amount of money spent on that one day was a lot would be quite an understatement. 

Despite the hefty price tag, the guests adored the theme. Being outdoors was a nice change of pace, and it also gave the hosts more room to work. Hikaru and Kaoru were feeling especially dramatic, even drawing other hosts’ clients at some points. Kyouya took advantage of the large turn out to sell not only merchandise but exclusive tickets to upcoming events.  By the time the final guests took their leave, the club had almost broken even.

The hosts headed back to the club room to change back into their uniforms. Kyouya had quickly changed before the others, as he often did, so he wouldn’t have to be a part of their nonsense. He was focused on his black book and didn’t notice the scene unraveling before him until it was too late.

Hikaru and Kaoru had captured Haruhi as she was exiting the changing area. With the beach trip just a week away, the twins had come up with several designs for swimsuits for Haruhi and were badgering her as to which one she would wear. When Tamaki got a glance of the sketches, he went into full on “protective father” mode. Words were exchanged and Tamaki ended up grabbing Haruhi, trying to drag her away from the devilish twins. Naturally, Haruhi was not pleased with any part of the situation and objected multiple times.

Finally Haruhi couldn’t take it anymore, a look of desperation on her face. “Kyouya! Help!” 

The scene before him reminded Kyouya of a few different times in which Tamaki had previously put Haruhi in a similar situation, and Haruhi had called out for Mori to come to her rescue. The wild-type host had swooped in, just as he would have done for Hunny. But now, instead of calling for her tall, strong friend, she was calling for him. Even though Mori was there, ready to intervene, she had called for Kyouya. And what really made his heart catch in his throat was that she had left off the honorific from his name, which she had never done before in a public setting. 

Before Kyouya even finished processing, everything froze. 

“Kyouya…?” Tamaki’s voice was hesitant as he glanced between his best friend and Haruhi, taking a step back. 

This certainly would not end well. Kyouya tried to quickly evaluate his options, how to defuse the situation, but was coming up empty. He couldn’t simply talk his way out of this one. His frustration was beginning to grow. He needed to regain control of the situation. If that idiot could just keep his hands to himself, none of this would have happened. Kyouya wasn’t even sure how to begin as he and Haruhi had yet to become official.

Taking a slow breath, Kyouya made sure to keep his voice even and relaxed. “You should listen when people ask you to stop, Tamaki.” Kyouya attempted to go back to his notes but he could feel all eyes darting between Haruhi and himself.

“I was just… Haruhi…?” Tamaki was somewhere between hurt, confused, and alarmed. “What’s going on? Why did you say...?” 

Based on her expression, Haruhi was slightly embarrassed at her slip up but more so irritated. Kyouya never would have guessed what Haruhi would say next: “We’re dating.” She spoke the words so simply, so passively. Kyouya’s chest and throat became very tight as his eyes moved between his friends’ faces. Neither Hunny nor Mori looked surprised, as Kyouya had already clued them in. Kenta and Naoki had thankfully departed earlier. Kaoru looked shocked as he processed Haruhi’s words. Eventually, Kyouya imagined, the shock would become disappointment. After all, only a few weeks earlier Kaoru himself had confessed his feelings for Haruhi, and now she was dating someone else. Hikaru’s shock was already becoming anger, which Kyouya would have easily predicted. He was always so easy to anger, especially when it came to his brother and Haruhi. Tamaki looked to have multiple emotions fighting for control, though the primary at the moment was still confusion. 

Kyouya snapped his black book shut, tucking it into his bag. “Haruhi, I suppose it’s time for us to go, if you still wanted a ride.” Kyouya stood, remaining deliberately calm, and waited as Haruhi gathered her things. Haruhi gave him an apologetic look as they made their way out. Before they reached the door to exit the music room, though, the scene behind them unfroze.

“Dating?!” Hikaru shouted, dropping his sketches onto the ground. “What the hell is she talking about, senpai?” Despite the fact it had been Haruhi who alerted the others to their relationship, Kyouya knew he would be the target of any resulting emotions.

Tamaki seemed to leech off of Hikaru’s rage, letting it bury any other emotion he might have displayed. “Well, Kyouya? Say something!” he demanded.

Kyouya adjusted his glasses as he turned to face the others. “While it isn’t really any of your business, Haruhi and I are dating.” 

“What do you mean, you’re dating?! Haruhi?!” Tamaki drilled Haruhi with a look of desperation.

Haruhi’s embarrassment was but a faint memory now as her irritation increased.  “Yes, Tamaki-senpai. Dating.” Kyouya wondered just how long her patience would last. “I’m not sure what’s so hard to understand.”

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Hikaru cried, kicking over a table. It hit the floor hard, making a loud banging sound, increasing the tension in the room. “And why would you choose him? Why?!” Kyoya could almost hear the unspoken question that followed: and why had she not chosen Hikaru?

“Hikaru, calm down!” Kaoru begged, tugging at his twin’s arm. “Please, Hikaru!” Kyouya could see that Kaoru was struggling with his own emotions, but he always prioritized his brother over everything.

“Why?” Haruhi shouted back. “Because I don’t have to tell you everything about my life! Because I’m allowed to make decisions, whether or not you like it!” 

Hikaru charged toward her, getting in her face, eyes full of confusion, desperation. “You’re supposed to be our friend! Our friend! What are you doing with someone like him?” he spat. Now that was too far. Kyouya opened his mouth to tell Hikaru that he was crossing a line, but he didn’t have the chance.

The sound of Haruhi’s hand connecting with his face was as sharp as the crack of a whip. Hikaru’s hand moved slowly to his pulsing cheek, jaw dropped. Kaoru hurried to his brother’s side. Haruhi turned and stormed out of the room. Kyouya’s gaze locked with Tamaki’s for the briefest of moments before he turned, following Haruhi. 

He managed to catch up with her just outside. For being almost a foot shorter than him, Haruhi was fast when she wanted to be. She didn’t wait for Tachibana to get out and open her door, wrenching it open herself and slamming it shut. Kyouya joined her, allowing Tachibana to gently shut his door behind him. “Haruhi…”

“I doubt there’s any way that could have gone worse,” she sniffed, holding her head in her hands. 

Kyouya laid one of his arms across her shoulders in a comforting way. It actually hadn’t gone that badly. No matter when or how the rest of the club found out, Kyouya had expected yelling, but he had also expected to have greater control over the situation. He longed to say something to console Haruhi, but couldn’t find the words.

“You know how they are,” he sighed, pulling her closer. She was so upset that she let him, pressing her face against his chest. “They’ll get over themselves. They always do.” Kyouya glanced at his phone. He already had missed calls and unread messages from the two most obnoxious club members. He knew he would need to address them promptly, but not until he got Haruhi home. He sent a detailed message to her father, explaining what had happened, before turning his attention back to Haruhi.

It seemed that Haruhi had calmed down a bit. She had moved back to her side of the car and was staring at her feet. “I’m really sorry, Kyouya. I should have been more careful.”

Kyouya shook his head. “You really don’t need to apologize. If we had continued as we were, they would have found out eventually.”

When they arrived at her house, Ranka was waiting by the street. A quick word to Kyouya and then he was ushering his daughter home. Kyouya began to read through and listen to some of the messages. They were less than friendly. 

Kyouya got out of the car as soon as they stopped, not waiting for Tachibana. He needed time to think. As he walked through the front door, Hotta stopped him. “You have a visitor, Ootori-sama.” 

“And I suppose you let him into my room?” Kyouya didn’t wait for a confirmation, pushing past him and going to his suite. 

Kyouya opened the door to see Tamaki sitting on his couch, head down, waiting. He looked up as Kyouya entered the room. “Kyouya…”

His friend’s tone was cool, uncharacteristically emotionless. Kyouya could count on one hand the number of times he had seen Tamaki like this. “Yes, Tamaki?”

Tamaki straightened himself up. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Well, I was hoping to get some work done. I have a report to finish.”

“You know that’s not what I mean.”

Kyouya lowered himself into the chair adjacent to the sofa. “Is that so?” He knew that he was just riling him up by playing dumb, but he didn’t care in the least. He was done babying Tamaki.

“What do you think you’re doing with Haruhi?” Tamaki snapped, glaring at Kyouya. 

Kyouya wasn’t sure that he’d ever seen his friend this angry. “I already explained that to you, Tamaki. Haruhi and I have decided to pursue a relationship. We are dating.”

“Why?! You’re not interested in her! She’s just a commoner. What use is she to you?!” His voice continued to rise, growing in intensity and volume.

“I’ll ask you not to talk about Haruhi as if she were an object to be judged. You know exactly why I’m doing this. If you’d get over this whole ridiculous ‘family’ thing, you’d realize that you’re just angry because I acted on my feelings first.” 

Tamaki sat back, his expression similar to how Hikaru looked when Haruhi smacked him. “Feelings…?”

Kyouya sighed, taking off his glasses to rub the bridge of his nose. What an absolute headache. He felt a little bad about being so blunt, but Tamaki needed to grow up. “Think about it, Tamaki. How you treat her. How you act around her. You know those aren’t feelings of friendship. You may refuse to acknowledge it, but you’ve fallen for her. Just like Hikaru, just like Kaoru. Just like me.”

“Y-You’re using her,” Tamaki stuttered, refusing to acknowledge Kyouya’s words, refusing to ask himself why he felt the way he did about Haruhi, what those feelings meant.

“We both know that’s not true.”

Tamaki began to get angry again. “You must be! That’s the only reason you ever do anything! You say it yourself- you only do something if there’s something to be gained!” 

“You’re starting to piss me off,” Kyouya snarled, moving to his feet. It seemed that he had lost his temper more that morning than he had in the past year. “You need to watch your mouth, Tamaki, before you say something else you’ll regret.” 

Tamaki looked like he was ready to continue, to fight, to scream every nasty thing that could come to mind. And in the blink of an eye, he was crying. It seemed that all of the anger, all of the tension, was too much for the overgrown child. Kyouya sighed, sitting down again.

“How did you know?” Tamaki whispered, tears still rolling down his cheeks. “How did you know before I even did?”

A ghost of a smile appeared on Kyouya’s lips. “Because I know you, dummy. You’re my best friend.” 

For the next hour or so, the two stayed in Kyouya’s room, talking. They even had food brought to them at one point. Kyouya answered all of Tamaki’s questions with more patience than he ever knew he had. Yes, the relationship was new. No, they hadn’t been secretly dating for months. Yes, Kyouya had been interested in her for quite some time. No, he had no ulterior motive. Yes, Haruhi also wanted this. No, he wasn’t blackmailing her. There were a few points, like with that last question, that Kyouya considered just killing Tamaki. Not seriously, of course. Probably.

Finally, Tamaki stood, still looking unhappy, but at least he was calm. He sniffled, rubbing at his red eyes. “Okay, Kyouya. I get it. But if you hurt her…” 

Kyouya rolled his eyes, standing as well, and ruffled Tamaki’s hair. “Stop being an idiot.”

Tamaki smiled a bit. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine, Tamaki. Really.”

Kyouya could finally breathe when Tamaki left. He knew this wasn’t over, but everything seemed to have calmed down for the moment. He went to his desk, opened his laptop, and began to reread the portion of the report he had written previously before continuing to write. 

The next morning, Kyouya started on his work after getting dressed. In the course of a few hours he was able to get a decent amount accomplished. Kyouya had really needed the distraction. He also had the opportunity to text Haruhi some and he was relieved that she was feeling better. It turned out that Mori and Hunny had stopped by that morning with some sweets and gave her their full support of their relationship, as they had already done for Kyouya.

However, the drama was far from over. There was a panicked knocking on the door to Kyouya’s suite. When he opened it, Tachibana bowed to him quickly. “Kyouya-sama, two of your friends are here, and one of them, well, he’s trying to peel the siding off of the house and screaming something about you stealing something?” The normally calm Tachibana looked very frazzled. “Would you like me to have them removed?”

Calling on the Black Onion Squad certainly would be the easiest option in this ridiculous situation, but Kyouya knew that he couldn’t do that. Or, at least, that he shouldn’t. It would only make the situation worse. “No, I’ll take care of it. Thank you, Tachibana.”

“Of course, Kyouya-sama.”

Kyouya made his way across the house to the front door. He opened it slowly, having to slam it shut immediately as a broken piece of siding smacked against the door where his head would have been. Kyouya tried again and, this time, he was able to safely exit the house. 

“Hikaru, stop!” Kaoru’s voice was desperate as he stood by their car. It was clear that Kaoru had been trying, and failing, to calm his brother. 

Hikaru, on the other hand, was trying to tear yet another piece of siding off of the house. And screaming. He could be such a child. “Get out here, Kyouya-senpai! You coward!” Seeing as they had not yet noticed his presence, Kyouya took a few moments to study the situation as Hikaru continued his blind assault. 

“Could you keep your voice down? I’m right here,” Kyouya noted, adjusting his glasses casually, continuing to observe the less sensible twin from a safe distance. “And I’ll need to ask you to stop destroying my house.”

Hikaru turned quickly, glaring fiercely at Kyouya. “You bastard!” He sounded almost more animal than man. “What kind of game do you think you’re playing? What the hell do you think you’re doing with my Haruhi?!”

To Kyouya’s surprise, Kaoru was the one to answer. “ Your Haruhi?” he repeated, crossing his arms. It seemed that at least some of the sympathy he had for his brother had faded. Kyouya was even more surprised that Kaoru had called his brother out on his claim. He would have expected Kaoru just to stay quiet and to continue in his attempt to defuse the situation. It seemed that the Host Club members really were changing.

“Yes, Hikaru. Your Haruhi?” Kyouya echoed, glancing between the twins. It was actually a bit amusing, in a dark way, to watch the twins bicker. 

Hikaru’s eyes darted from the shadow king to his brother. He had backed himself into a corner, it seemed. “Y-You’re avoiding the question!” The mighty tiger was now more akin to a scared deer. Hikaru looked like he might bolt at any moment.

Kyouya shook his head. “Am I? Here’s what I think,” Kyouya began, taking a few steps toward Hikaru, not stopping until they were face to face. “I think you’re the exact same as Tamaki. I think you also have feelings for Haruhi and were too much of a coward to act on them. So now you’re here, taking your anger at yourself out on me because I did what you couldn’t do. I think that-”

The moment that Kyouya knew for certain that he had gone too far was when Hikaru’s fist connected with the side of his jaw. They both seemed stunned for a moment, Kyouya surprised the younger man would have the gall to lay his hands on him, and Hikaru shocked by his own actions. 

Normally, Kyouya avoided getting his hands dirty. He had an entire private police force for that sort of thing, after all. If he signalled, hidden security would neutralize the threat to his person in the blink of an eye. But with the sort of day he’d been having, he was ready to take matters into his own hands.

“Kyouya-senpai, I-” Hikaru tried to apologize, taking a half step back, his hands up in front of his chest.

Too little, too late. Kyouya drew back and punched him square in the face, dropping him in an instant. He might not be the strongest, but if he knew anything, Kyouya knew how to win. That and the fact he had taken several years of self defense training. He wouldn’t be able to defeat someone like Hunny or Mori, but he could protect himself. 

“Hikaru!” Kyouya had momentarily forgotten about the other twin. Kaoru rushed to his brother’s side. It seemed that Kaoru’s displeasure with his brother was no longer of any importance. Their driver also ran over, quickly checking on his unconscious master before carrying him to the car.

“That was too far, senpai,” Kaoru said, frowning. “You know Hikaru loses his temper sometimes…” Always his brother’s protector. Always cleaning up his brother’s messes.

“Yes, I do. And so do I.”

Kaoru glanced back at his car. “I should probably get him home.” It was clear that he was anxious to leave. “Want me to write you a check? For the house, I mean.” The two glanced at the damage that Hikaru had caused.

Kyouya shook his head, feeling a bit of guilt for losing his composure and striking Hikaru as he had. “It’s fine. You can repay me by watching him better.” The two locked eyes for a moment before Kaoru offered his senior a shallow bow and departed. Kyouya watched the car disappear, touching his throbbing cheek. That was sure to leave a bruise. 

Chapter Text

Haruhi’s Second Year at Ouran, April

Kyouya went back into the house after the Hitachiin’s car had disappeared from sight. After stopping by the kitchen for some ice, and grabbing a few leftover onigiri, Kyouya retreated back to his room. To his chagrin, he was not alone. His brother, Akito, stood beside his bookcase, scanning the titles. “Kyouya, there you are. What happened to your face?” Akito’s smirk was infuriating to his already angry younger brother.

Kyouya walked across the room, dropping himself onto the sofa, setting his lunch on the seat next to him and holding the ice to his face. “Do you need something, Akito?” The afternoon was only half over and he was already exhausted. He didn’t need one more thing to deal with. 

Akito moved to sit as well, taking the adjacent chair. “Can’t a brother just want to check in, see how things are going?”

Kyouya didn’t bother to respond.

Akito grinned as if he had won some imaginary competition, relaxing into his seat and crossing his legs. “You can keep your secrets. We both know why I’m here. It’s time for you to stop lashing out and to let things go back to the way they’re supposed to be. Give father back the company. You’ve rebelled enough.”

“Rebelled?” Entirely uninterested in the conversation, or any conversation at all for the moment, Kyouya took out his phone.

Akito’s tone became cold. “Word is beginning to spread. You’re an embarrassment to the Ootori name.”

Kyouya sat up a bit straighter, abandoning his half-written email. “I believe what you meant to say is that my success is embarrassing to the rest of you.”

“What are you doing, Kyouya? Are you trying to prove something? Because you’ve made your point.” 

“Oh, I know that I have,” Kyouya replied. “I am done with listening to people tell me what I am, who I am, what I can amount to. Being a third son is not what defines me.”

Akito scowled. “But did you ever stop to think how that makes father look? How that makes Yuuichi look?” Kyouya knew exactly how it made his father look, but he hadn’t considered the damage to his brother’s name. “How it makes me look? And that ridiculous alius you used? K.O.?”

Kyouya was silent. Akito was trying to make him feel guilty, not that it was working, but to what end? He still couldn’t determine his brother’s motivation. “And what do you want me to do?”

“Sell Yuuichi the company.”

This was an unexpected turn. “Yuuichi? Not father?”

Akito nodded solemnly. “He’s the rightful heir. He’s the first son. He can give you what you paid for it and we can put this whole thing behind us.”

“If we’re talking rightful heirs, then perhaps I’ll sign the Ootori group over to Fuyumi,” Kyouya argued, sitting back. “She is the first born, after all.”

“That’s not how things are done,” Akito growled, sitting forward. “You know that, Kyouya. Why do you have to be so difficult? You used to know how to follow the rules.”

“I think I’m finished with being worried about how things are done.”

“Is that why you’re dating the girl that father picked for you?” Akito sneered, hoping to hit a sore spot.

Kyouya couldn’t help but laugh. “You won’t win here, Akito. Why are you even doing this? There’s nothing for you to gain here.” 

Akito was unexpectedly quiet. 

“You don’t need to fight their battles, Akito. You don’t need anyone’s permission to make your own decisions.” It was an epiphany that Kyouya himself had only recently come to terms with. “You don’t have to let Father control you.”

Wordlessly, Akito stood and walked out of the room, shutting the door as he went. Kyouya watched him go, staring at the closed door. He wondered if what he had said had actually gotten through to his brother. When he was younger, Akito was different. He had dreams outside of the family, but as soon as he started high school, everything changed. Kyouya almost pitied his brother.

“One more year,” Kyouya sighed to himself.

Haruhi’s Second Year at Ouran, May

Kyouya was more than ready for the break from reality when the day of their trip finally arrived. In lieu of packing, Kyouya had his staff send his things over earlier in the week. They had also prepared the beach house for guests, stocking the kitchen and making up the bedrooms. Kyouya had secured a skeleton staff to provide for him and the others over the weekend. 

The plan was to meet up at the Ootori family’s beach house just in time for lunch. Kyouya stopped on his way to pick up Haruhi. Tachibana stored her bag and then they were off again. The staff had prepared bentos for each host and had set up outdoor seating. Kyouya and Haruhi were the first to arrive as he had planned. Soon the others began to roll in: first Tamaki, then Honey and Mori, then Naoki and Kenta. The hosts had already started their lunch when Hikaru and Kaoru finally showed up.

“Hika-chan! Kao-chan! Come get your lunch!” Honey called cheerfully, waving as the twins approached. 

Until their arrival, things had been going well more or less. But now things were a bit awkward.  Going around the table, the seating order was Haruhi, Kyouya, Tamaki, Honey, Mori, Naoki, and Kenta. Kaoru was quick to sit next to Haruhi, keeping a buffer between her and his brother. 

“So, uh, what’s the plan?” Kyouya hadn’t expected Hikaru to be the first to speak. The more emotional twin was staring at his bento, pushing his food around with his chopsticks and avoiding eye contact with anyone else.

Honey was more than happy to respond. “Well, after we’re all done, we’re going swimming!” The first year university student bounced in his seat. “And we can pretty much do whatever we want for the whole day! Right, Takashi?”

Mori responded with a simple “Yeah” as he continued to eat.

“Say, Kyo-chan, do you have any more desserts?”

With the discomfort eased thanks to the former host’s chatter, the air around the group finally relaxed. As requested, more sweets were brought out to finish lunch. By the time all the dishes had been taken away, the club seemed back to normal, more or less. The newest hosts served as a great distraction, keeping some of the usual attention off on Haruhi. 

Honey led the charge into the beach house to change into suits for swimming. Kyouya had to check on a few work things and ended up being the last host to reach the beach. Honey and Mori sat in the sand with a plethora of beach toys building an extravagant, though far from structurally sound, sand castle that was leaning dangerously to one side. Tamaki, Hikaru, and Kaoru, along with Naoki and Kenta, were all in the water. The newest hosts seemed to be racing each other while the twins appeared to be playing the Who Can Drown Tamaki First? game. 

Haruhi sat on a towel a few feet from the water. She was close enough to chat and watch her friends play, yet far enough to avoid being drenched everytime one of the twins managed to tackle Tamaki under water. Kyouya sat beside her, watching the others play and laugh. 

“Not interested in swimming?” Kyouya questioned, glancing at her. Haruhi had agreed, after much begging and a bit of coercion from Hikaru and Kaoru, to wear a swimsuit. She had negotiated that she would wear the top of the bikini they had selected if she could keep on her shorts. The top wasn’t overly revealing and was covered in ruffles, only exposing a small strip of skin between the suit and her shorts.

Haruhi shook her head, still watching the water. “Maybe later, after they get some energy out.” 

Kyouya simply nodded, not pressing. Swimming wasn’t really his thing either, and he would always choose a filtered pool over the ocean. After a short while, Honey’s sand castle inevitably collapsed and he whisked Haruhi away to search for shells. Kenta had convinced Mori to throw him repeatedly into the water. 

Tamaki raced to the edge of the water, panting. “Come on, Kyouya! We’re playing a game and we need equal teams!” the host king shouted, grinning his usual idiot grin. Kyouya considered turning down the request but it was nice to see Tamaki reaching out. They had last ended things on fairly good terms and Kyouya hoped they could stay that way. He wasn’t sure if Tamaki was ever going to get past his friend’s apparent betrayal, but Kyouya hoped for the best.

The day turned out to go even better than expected. Kyouya even managed to have some fun. It took a while but even Haruhi ended up joining them in the water. By the time the sun had started to set, the hosts were exhausted. After toweling off, the group headed into the house where dinner had been prepared. Kyouya’s staff had prepared a spread of delicious seafood dishes. Mouths were watering all around as they each filled their plates. Like the majority of the day, dinner went well. There was more chatter and jokes and pleasant feelings all around. Kyouya hadn’t anticipated the day going as well as it had. 

After Kyouya showed each of the hosts to their rooms, he finally retired. Kyouya stopped after the door closed behind him and let out a breath. He had prepared himself for the day to be a disaster, had even come up with contingency plans, but nothing of the sort had been required. After a quick shower, Kyouya actually climbed straight into bed, not even checking his phone. He just wanted to end the day on a good note. Anything else would have to wait until the following day.

The following day did, of course, arrive far too soon. Kyouya had arranged wake up calls so that none of the hosts would miss breakfast. Unfortunately, that included him. Whichever staff member had drawn the short straw had made the wise decision to awaken Kyouya’s quietly and to leave the blinds closed. It took a few minutes but he finally managed to drag himself from bed to check his laptop. There were a few things that needed addressing, including an email from Akito that spelled nothing but trouble, but nothing so urgent that it couldn’t wait.

After breakfast it was back to the water. While a few of the hosts had gone swimming again, the majority remained on the beach. Around noon, cars began to arrive for the hosts. Kyouya stood outside the beach house, watching as Mori and Honey were driven away. The Hiitachins were getting into their car as well, and Kenta and Naoki had already left. Tamaki’s car was waiting, but apparently he had forgotten something in the house and gone to retrieve it. 

When the Hiitachins had vanished from sight, Kyouya checked his phone and frowned. “He’s been gone for a while,” Kyouya mumbled, looking back at the house and sighing. Either Tamaki had lost whatever he was looking for or he himself was lost. Either way, Kyouya was going to have to deal with it. As he approached the room Tamaki had been occupying, he was surprised to find he could hear voices. He frowned a bit when he realized they were coming from Haruhi’s room.

“I-I just had to tell you…” That was undoubtedly Tamaki’s voice. It seemed Kyouya was joining in the middle of some conversation. He grimaced, silently listening.  

“Uh, I’m not sure why you…” came Haruhi’s reply. Kyouya could hear her discomfort in her voice. He reached for the door but froze when Tamaki spoke again, his voice louder.

“Because- Because-.” Tamaki was struggling to get his words out and ended up shouting. “Because you should be with me! Not him!”

A tightness began to form in Kyouya’s chest and throat. Was he really hearing this? Was his best friend, who he had just spent a pleasant weekend with, confessing his love to Kyouya’s girlfriend? He took a half step back from the door, not knowing how to react. His instinct was to be angry, to rush in and demand that Tamaki leave, but he had to think this through. How should he-

“What do you think you’re doing here, Tamaki-senpai?” Kyouya almost feel her anger through the door. “Did you really think that I’d just leave Kyouya because you asked?! You must be out of your mind!”

“What do you even see in him? I could treat you so much better! He never even smiles!” Tamaki’s aggression, and possibly also desperation, were growing. Kyouya wondered if part of it was how Haruhi had said his name so familiarly and smiled a bit. He remained quiet, ready to intervene, but it seemed Haruhi had everything under control for the moment.  

“I don’t have to tell you anything, Tamaki-senpai! And if you think that, you clearly don’t know him! He’s a really wonderful person, unlike whoever your jealousy is turning you into!”

The silence that followed her words was deafening. 

“Haruhi, I…” The king’s voice was so soft that Kyouya had to strain to make out the words. 

“No, Tamaki-senpai.” Haruhi’s words were firm, but free from her earlier anger. “You don’t get to do this. You don’t get to barge into my room, act the way you did, and expect me to forgive you. I think you should leave, senpai.” 

Kyouya rapped his knuckles against the door. “Haruhi? Do you need help with your things?” He called, pretending not to have heard any of the exchange. This was between Haruhi and Tamaki. If either of them wanted him to know, they would tell him.

It was Tamaki who opened the door, a happy go lucky smile plastered poorly over his features. “Mon ami! It seems you’re too late! I’ve already offered my assistance.”

“Oh, so you found whatever you forgot?” 

“What?” Tamaki shot a quick glance at Haruhi. “Oh, uh, yes, I did. And if you’re here to help, I suppose I’ll let myself out! Bye!” He slipped past Kyouya and out the door, closing it behind him.

Kyouya walked over to Haruhi and sat on the edge of her bed. “Need any help with that?” The contents of her suitcase were still scattered on the floor. 

Haruhi sat on the bed beside him. “Kyouya-senpai, I  have to tell you-”

“I heard. It’s fine.”

Her eyes widened for the briefest moment. “Oh.”

Kyouya leaned closer to her. “So, I’m wonderful, am I?” he teased, enjoying the blush that began to appear as a result. “Well, Haruhi?”

“Kyouya…”

There were those beautiful eyes he so loved. Kyouya placed a gentle hand on her cheek and did something he had been longing to do: he kissed her. 

It wasn’t a deep kiss, full of passion. It was a gentle touching of their lips as Kyouya’s heart pounded in his ears. There had been so many moments when he had needed to remind himself to not to stand so close, not to hold her hand or share a smile, especially when the clients were around. Even without clients, Kyouya had needed to consider the other hosts and how they would react. Now it was just the two of them.

When they separated, Kyouya was without words. He had never felt this way about anyone before. Sure, he’d gone on dates, even had a few girlfriends, though none of his relationships lasted more than a couple of weeks. Why was everything so different with her? He could see it, looking back : all the times that his heart beat just a little faster, or he caught himself staring at her for seemingly no reason, or took a second look in the mirror to fix his hair when he knew he would be seeing her. Maybe Kyouya had known for longer than he had been willing to acknowledge that he had always had these feelings for her.

Brushing his fingertips along her cheek, her jaw, her lips… This must be love.

“Kyouya…”

It was Haruhi who pulled him back into the kiss, a gentle touch on his cheek to guide his lips back to her own, just as timidly as the first time. With each passing moment, every little touch, Kyouya’s control over himself seemed to lessen. In a moment of daring, he pulled her onto his lap, wrapping her in his arms. Her eyes widened and she let out a little sound of surprise. He smirked, relishing her attention and reactions. He felt alive. Their lips met again for a third time with a bit more excitement than before. Kyouya was careful to read her responses and react accordingly, though he wanted so much more.

Kyouya didn’t even hear the door open.

“Hey, Haruhi, listen, I just wanted to say-”

“Damnit.” Before Kyouya even turned his head, he knew Tamaki would be standing in the doorway, probably with some stupid look on his stupid face. Kyouya knew that he had a few options and little time to sort through them. Tamaki’s emotional capacity had been expanding recently as he worked through his feelings about Haruhi, finally tapping into the sadness and anger that he had always forced down for as long as Kyouya had known him, so he had no doubt that his friend was about to explode. One option, maybe the best option, would be to separate himself from Haruhi, physically, and to try to talk, to explain, to reason. 

On the other hand, Kyouya could fight back. He could show Tamaki his true face; because as much as he tried to maintain his role of shadow king, keeping his emotions masked from even his closest friends and family, and as much as he wanted to keep the peace in the group, he was tired. He was the one who had to comfort Tamaki and help Tamaki, the one who had to leash Hikaru and pacify Kaoru, the one who had to smooth over every little bump, and, most painfully, be the one to bear the looks of judgement from his seniors who, despite his best efforts, could see what he truly was.

Unfortunately, Kyouya’s deliberation took too long, or he had underestimated how long Tamaki would take to process. When the host club king had first found out about Haruhi and Kyouya, he had gone from anger to sadness to desperation. Apparently Tamaki was back to anger. “What the hell are you doing?!” 

Tamaki’s words seemed to unfreeze Haruhi, who quickly scooted herself off of Kyouya’s lap. Kyouya moved to his feet, taking a deep breath that did nothing to help the hurricane of emotions devastating his mind. “I’d ask you the same thing.” His voice was ice. Kyouya was willing to do a lot for his friend, to put things aside, to sit by him through tough times, but watching Tamaki go behind his back twice in the same day to speak to Haruhi, to convince her to be with him instead? This was too much. 

The smallest spark of fear lit behind Tamaki’s eyes, but he held his ground. “How could you take advantage of her like that?” Tamaki shouted his accusation, glancing at Haruhi before locking his gaze on Kyouya. “This is why she shouldn’t be with you! You just do whatever the hell you want with no regard for anyone else!”

“Do you mean with no regard for you?” Kyouya sounded a bit like a beast now, a sort of growl to his voice. The anger and resentment he held locked in his chest was beginning to leak out. “As if I should prioritize your wants before everything else in my life like always?”

“Of course not! I mean no regard for her! You wait until no one else is around and you take advantage of her! You’re almost an adult and she’s just a kid! You are a disgusting-”

Tamaki stopped short when Haruhi stood up. Both boys watched her as she took a moment to collect herself. Kyouya was prepared for a sudden burst of anger from her as he had seen and heard before, but her response this time was different.

“You have to stop. I know you’re having trouble dealing with this, but you’ve gone too far. Kyouya doesn’t do anything that I don’t want him to do. Implying that he would be going against my wishes makes me wonder if you know him at all. You have to stop, Tamaki-senpai, or I’m quitting the club.”

Kyouya noticed that her hand was shaking, just enough that he could notice. He touched her hand gently and she squeezed his fingers.

“Don’t say that, Haruhi..” Tamaki whispered. All color had drained from his face and his eyes kept darting between their faces and their entwined hands. Haruhi had never spoken to him like this before. Sure, she had yelled at him, scolded him, but this kind of seriousness, this ultimatum of sorts, was the most terrifying for him. “I-I’m just trying to help you, I’m just-”

Haruhi shook her head. “No, senpai. You need to leave.” 

When the door shut behind Tamaki, the two finished packing Haruhi’s bag in silence. Kyouya’s car was waiting when they reached the front door. Tamaki’s car was gone. Haruhi called her panicked father once they were on their way, assuring him that she was fine and had not been kidnapped and would be home soon. When they reached her house, Kyouya opened Haruhi’s door as Tachibana gathered her’s bags. Ranka met them at the door, his hands clasped together by his face. “The happy couple returns!” he cooed, allowing Tachibana in with the bags. “Did you all have fun? Tell me you at least swam a little, Haruhi. Oh, Kyouya, you should’ve seen her when she was young! We would go to the beach all the time, and she’d run around in the water! You know, I think I have some videos-”

“Another time, dad,” Haruhi interrupted him. Based on her expression, Haruhi was not ready for Kyouya to see embarrassing moments from her childhood, especially given what had just occurred back at the beach house. Kyouya said his goodbyes and got back in his car.

“Is everything alright, Kyouya-sama?” Kyouya could tell from Tachibana’s voice that the older man was concerned.

Kyouya sighed. “More or less. Let’s go.”

When Kyouya was safely back in his room, door shut, he began preparing for the week to come. After avoiding it as long as he could manage, Kyouya finally checked his phone. There were a few messages from Haruhi but none from Tamaki. After responding, he turned his attention to the rapidly growing number of emails in his inbox. Kyouya opened the one from Akito and his stomach sank like a rock. 

“Kyouya,

Mother was in an accident. She is currently being hospitalized here in Seoul. I thought you’d want to know.

Akito”

It was times like these that Kyouya was especially lucky- within fifteen minutes he was on a private flight out of the country. A car was waiting when he arrived and took him straight to the hospital. Kyouya felt numb as he followed the nurse through the building, up to his mother’s room. To his surprise, his father as well as all of his siblings were seated outside the closed door. Kyouya swallowed hard.

It was Yuuichi who noticed the most recent arrival first. “Kyouya…” The others all looked up as well. With the exception of his father, Kyouya could tell they had all been crying.

“Took you long enough,” Akito spit, staring at the floor.

“Akito, that’s enough.” Kyouya was surprised to hear his father scold the family’s second son.

Fuyuumi looked like she wanted to say something but tears welled up in her eyes and she looked away, burying her face in her husband’s chest. 

It was Yuuichi who addressed him again. The eldest son approached him, placed a hand on his shoulder, and guided Kyouya down the hall. When they were out of ear shot, they stopped and Yuuichi faced him.

Kyouya couldn’t remember the last time he and Yuuichi had spoke. With the age difference, Kyouya had still been a child when his oldest brother had left for school. Sure, they had been in each other’s presence every so often, and exchanged necessary pleasantries, but nothing more. 

“Kyouya, it’s not good.” Kyouya had almost forgotten how kind Yuuichi’s voice could be. “Mother was in a car accident. Her driver died at the scene and she lost consciousness before she arrived at the hospital.”

“What are you saying, Yuuichi? What’s going to happen?” Kyouya’s voice shook like a scared child. 

Kyouya could tell it was very difficult for his brother to get out the next words: “Kyouya, she’s not going to wake up.”

Chapter Text

Please feel free to leave your thoughts in a review! どうもありがとうございます!  

Haruhi’s Second Year at Ouran, May

Kyouya spent the better part of the following week in Seoul. He had made brief contact with his staff to give instructions then turned his phone off. A message was to be sent to each of the hosts, letting them know what was happening. He also had Hotta monitor his business communications and had Ajima manage the club. Otherwise, Kyouya did little besides waiting for news and trying to process the reality of the situation. 

On Monday, Akito left. He had an exam the following day that would set him back greatly if he missed it. Kyouya wanted to be angry that his brother was abandoning their mother at this crucial time, but he could see the distress and conflict on Akito’s face as their father accompanied him out. Akito couldn’t help the situation anyway. And he was the most volatile of the Ootoris, ready to yell and demand as he felt was needed, so Kyouya was sure the hospital staff were put at ease to see Akito finally depart. 

On Tuesday, there was no improvement. Her condition remained the same. His mother remained alive, but entirely comatose. Despite the poor prognosis, Yuuichi had arranged for specialists to be flown in, so doctors went in and out of the room for the better part of the day as Kyouya sat outside and watched numbly. They would always walk in with an air of confidence and walk out in small groups, talking quietly. Kyouya didn’t have much of a relationship with his mother, but that didn’t matter now that he was faced with the possibility of losing her. His emotions were confused and contradicting and it gave Kyouya a terrible headache.  

Wednesday was when Yuuichi took his leave. He had meetings to attend and research to do. He promised Kyouya he would keep looking for other specialists as none that had come the day before had any good news. Fuyumi and her husband also left that day. Fuyumi quietly told Kyouya and their father that she would be back on Friday, but Yoshio convinced her to go home. There was nothing she could do, and each time a doctor reported a negative test or suggested a most likely ineffective treatment, she became more upset, which was understandable. Kyouya was having an increasingly difficult time keeping his own emotions in check, refusing to acknowledge them.

On Thursday, Yoshio addressed youngest son. “You should go home. You don’t want to miss any more school.” His father’s voice was disturbingly soft as if he had already accepted what Kyouya feared. “I’m having her relocated to a facility in Tokyo. You can visit her there if you’d like.”

“She’s not going to wake up, is she?” Kyouya felt like a silly child asking as the answer was so obvious at this point. If there was a chance of her waking up, the others wouldn’t have left. 

“No, son. It doesn’t look like she will.” 

It was times like these that Kyouya appreciated his father’s blatant honesty. No mincing words, straight to the point. So many doctors tried to make things seem better than they were which just made the truth that much more painful.

In a shocking move, Yoshio pulled Kyouya to him, wrapping an arm around the highschooler. It was only now that Kyouya realized they were both crying. This was the first time he had cried, regarding the situation, and the first time he had cried in front of someone else since he was a small child. Showing emotion was not the Ootori way, after all. They stood like that, tears silently rolling down their cheeks, for several minutes as life went on around them. No one dared interrupt.

Yoshio stayed by his son’s side, as he had done with each of his other children, until Kyouya was boarding his flight. Kyouya turned to his father, wishing he had something to say, but no words came. Part of him hated his father, part aspired to be him, and part still longed for his praise. Despite what a poor parent he was, Yoshio did care for his children, in his own strange way. Yoshio hugged Kyouya once more before allowing him to board. 

Kyouya slept on the short flight, and again on the car ride home. When he arrived back at the Ootori estate around midday, he ate the minimum amount necessary and laid on his bed. Between the emotional toll and the lack of sleep, Kyouya could barely think. He finally turned his phone back on to see dozens of missed calls and well over a hundred new messages. Kyouya rubbed at his already red eyes and took a deep breath, steeling himself to the outside world. His email wasn’t nearly as overwhelming, thanks to his staff. Kyouya scrolled through the missed calls, ignoring the dozen or so voicemails. A few were business related but Hotta would have already followed up with those. He chose not to listen to the ones from family or the hosts. He couldn’t deal with managing others’ emotions on top of everything else. He still had to unpack his own emotions, though he put it off once again.

He did look at the messages. Most of them were the expected “I hope everything is well” and “I’m so sorry to hear what happened” type messages. There were a few from Tamaki back from Sunday afternoon but Kyouya couldn’t care less at the moment, and more recent messages from his friend showed Tamaki was no longer focused on the events of Sunday either. Kyouya sent a few obligatory thank you messages, especially to Honey and Mori, both of whom had sent very nice messages, before opening the messages from Haruhi. There were only a few of them and they were short, but reading them made his heart just a tiny bit lighter for a moment, which then drowned him in guilt. How could he possibly smile at a time like this? Kyouya let her know he was home then plugged his phone in.

Tachibana came to his door a short while after Kyouya returned. Kyouya could tell Tachibana was upset, as were many of the other staff but putting on a brave face for his sake. “These arrived while you were gone, Kyouya-sama.” Kyouya was relieved when he didn’t ask any stupid questions like “Are you okay?” or the like.

“Bring whatever it is in,” Kyouya sighed, moving slowly to sit on his sofa, rubbing the back of his neck. Days of half sleeping while sitting upright in the hospital had taken a toll on his body and his muscles were beyond sore. 

“Of course, Kyouya-sama.”

Tachibana and other staff members brought in gift baskets and fruit brackets and other ridiculous things, piling them on various flat surfaces throughout the room. “Each item is marked with the sender and date of arrival. Please let me know if you need anything else.” The staff members each bowed to him before following Tachibana out.

Kyouya waited for them to leave before investigating the gifts. He didn’t really care about them but he knew some would need thank you notes. Some were from family friends, some from business partners, and some from classmates. He noted various family names as he scanned the items. It seemed that the news of his mother’s accident had traveled quickly. Kyouya stopped when he came upon a bag marked ‘Suoh’ and opened it. He almost smiled, pulling out some of his favorite snacks and an interesting collection of foreign hot sauces. “That idiot…” He sat back down, dropping the snacks beside him, and turned on the rarely used television.

When it was dark outside, a staff member ventured to his room with his dinner. Kyouya wordlessly accepted it, staring at the food. They had made some of his favorites. Kyouya felt a sob rising in his throat and choked it back down. The Ootori family always took care of their staff, and the staff was in turn undeniably loyal. 

Kyouya picked at the food, trying to focus on the movie he had turned on, but the noise was exacerbating his headache. He turned it off and sighed, taking another few bites. In the silence, his thoughts burst forth. Kyouya’s mother was essentially dead. Her body was alive, but there was seemingly no chance of her waking up. Kyouya felt like he should cry, but tears didn’t come. He did love his mother, and he had a few good memories of her, but while he at least fought with his father, Kyouya and his mother had little contact in general. She traveled a lot, for work and pleasure, and missed most important events and holidays just like Yoshio had. Part of Kyouya knew that his life wouldn’t change a bit with her gone, but he couldn’t think about that. He finished off his meal and laid in his bed again, staring at the ceiling. 

The next morning, Kyouya got up and ready for school like it was another normal day. He did take a few extra minutes to prepare himself mentally for the attention he would undoubtedly be bombarded with throughout the day. A few of his personal staff members tried to convince or suggest he wait to return until Monday, but Kyouya didn’t see the sense. It’s not as if three more days would change anything, after all. And he really wasn’t interested in being alone with his thoughts. It had taken a long time for Kyouya to fall asleep as unwanted thoughts forced their way into his mind.

As each class came and went, Kyouya was approached by teachers, the children of families who worked closely with the Ootoris, and, of course, guests of the Host Club. A few gave him gifts, a few shook his hand, most offered their sympathies and hopes for a swift recovery, though Kyouya knew that was near impossible. The guests from the club were the most work to deal with: almost all of them cried and a few dared to hug the demon king. When it was finally lunch time, Kyouya was definitely regretting not staying home. He was exhausted physically and mentally, and he just wanted to go back to bed. 

“Kyouya…” The familiar voice caught his attention despite the noise of the cafeteria. Kyouya turned to see Tamaki who already had tears in his eyes. What an emotional fool… Tamaki quickly closed the distance between them and hugged Kyouya tightly. For the first time since leaving Seoul, Kyouya had to work to fight back tears of exhaustion. Unfortunately, Tamaki’s public display drew way too much attention and students from other classes felt the need to approach. It took several minutes for them to escape, and when they did, they took their lunches and sat outside.

Tamaki seemed like he was waiting for Kyouya to say something, but he had nothing to say. The two ate quietly, listening to the wind and birds and gentle chatter from unseen students. 

“Kyouya, if you need anything-”

“I know, Tamaki.”

The host king clearly wanted to say more, but didn’t, and Kyouya was glad for that. With how the past week had gone, the demon king was just barely holding himself together.

Luckily, Tamaki was in the rest of Kyouya’s classes so the host king helped to engage the unwanted well-wishers, serving as an excellent buffer. At the end of the last class, they walked to the club room.

“I’ll make a sign to let everyone know we’ll be closed today,” Tamaki decided as Kyouya settled in his usual spot, retrieving his notebook and laptop. 

“There’s no need.”

Tamaki frowned, looking like he was going to argue, but wisely chose not to. The other club members trickled in over the next few minutes. Each of them acted like they had to tiptoe around, which Kyouya found more irritating than the well-wishers. Haruhi was the last to arrive, looking quite surprised. It was then that Kyouya realized he hadn’t told anyone that he would be at school that day. Kyouya stood, walking back toward the changing rooms, and Haruhi wordlessly followed.

Haruhi spoke once they were secluded. “I didn’t expect you to be back so soon.” Her voice was even, but her eyes told a different story. Haruhi’s own mother had passed, years ago now, but Kyouya imagined the pain had never truly gone away. He wasn’t close with his own mother and couldn’t imagine thinking about her and feeling okay, and she was still alive. 

“I didn’t think sitting around at home would do me much good.”

Haruhi took a tentative step forward before wrapping her arms around him. If a hug from Tamaki had been difficult to endure, this was almost impossible. Kyouya returned the gesture, holding her to his chest and closing his eyes. He wasn’t sure just how long they stood like that, but eventually Tamaki popped back to let them know the guests had arrived. Haruhi took a quick step back from him, looking a bit embarrassed.

After checking that he was okay, that he didn’t need anything, Tamaki and Haruhi went back to the main room to greet their guests. After steeling himself, Kyouya joined them. He didn’t have any guests that day, though he rarely did in general, so he spent the time working. Kyouya had a lot to catch up on. A few groups of girls from younger classes approached on occasion which Kyouya handled the same way he had all day. Even with the distraction, Kyouya got quite a bit done, taking some pressure off himself. 

Instead of sticking around like usual, Kyouya gathered his things as soon as the guests were gone. It seemed like Kenta was planning to approach him, but after a few words from Tamaki, he and Naoki wisely departed. Hikaru and Kaoru stopped at his table as they were also seeming to be leaving. 

“I don’t know what to say, senpai.” Hikaru was uncharacteristically serious which almost made Kyouya a bit uncomfortable. 

“Did you get our messages? And our gift?” Kaoru asked timidly.

“I did. Thank you, both of you,” Kyouya said simply, focused on packing his things. The twins knew better than to continue badgering him so they left as well.

“Leaving already?” Tamaki asked as Kyouya got to his feet. When Kyouya nodded, Tamaki added. “Want some company?”

Kyouya considered this for a moment before shrugging. “Sure. Haruhi, do you want a ride home?” He pretended not to see the shocked look on Tamaki’s face. Normally he would have turned down his friend’s company without a second thought, but he didn’t want to spend the rest of the day alone and thinking.

“No thanks. I’m actually meeting with a study group, but I’ll text you, okay?” Haruhi gave him a quick hug before leaving. 

Tamaki and Kyouya walked together out to Kyouya’s car. They didn’t say much until they reached Kyouya’s room. 

“Want to play a game? I can have one brought over if you don’t have something,” Tamaki offered. 

“No, not really.”

“Well, how about a movie? There’s a new one out about-” Kyouya ignored the rest of his prattling and accepted. 

As Tamaki turned the television on, Kyouya asked Tachibana to have their meals brought up to his room. When they finished eating, Kyouya opened his computer on his lap despite the movie only being half over. If Tamaki noticed, he didn’t comment. It was comfortable, sitting like this. It had been a long time since they had just hung out. Back when they first met, they went on trips together all the time. Fuyumi even teased that they were attached by the hip. So much had changed since then.

“Kyouya, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t, Tamaki.”

Tamaki sat up, turning slightly to face him. “I really am, though. I-I keep messing up. Everytime I think I’m okay, I do something stupid, like Sunday-”

Kyouya locked eyes with him. “I wasn’t joking, Tamaki. Don’t.” He couldn’t handle another thing on his plate, especially if that thing was an emotionally conflicted Tamaki. 

Tamaki cowered a bit. “Okay, okay, got it.” He couldn’t keep his mouth shut though. Thankfully, he chose a different topic. “Do you...know what’s going to happen?”

Closing the computer and setting it down, Kyouya focused his attention on his friend. “No, not really. You should pretty much be up to date with what’s going on.”

“Yeah, I got the messages…” Tamaki looked at his hands. “I don’t want to compare what’s happening to you with what happened to me but if you want to talk, I feel like I can kind of understand.” While Tamaki’s mother was still alive, and fully conscious, Tamaki hadn’t spoken to her in years. 

“I don’t really have anything to say.”

“And that’s fine. You don’t have to say anything. I just know how it feels, kind of, I guess. I know it’s not the same situation and all…” It was clear Tamaki was really trying to connect with Kyouya, but Kyouya wasn’t ready for that. He needed to figure out his own emotions before he could even think about sharing them.

“How about you call for that game you mentioned?”

The two spent hours playing games, most of which Tamaki lost despite Kyouya never having played them. At one point Kyouya even laughed, though he was immediately drowned in guilt. Around 1:00AM, Tamaki fell asleep, slumped over on the couch. Kyouya turned another movie on and eventually closed his eyes as well.

When Kyouya woke up, he was covered with a blanket and Tamaki was gone. Sunlight penetrated the tiny gaps in the curtains. Kyouya checked his phone and was surprised to see it was almost 11:00AM. He pushed off the blanket and stood to stretch. His door opened violently, banging against the wall.

“Breakfast!” Tamaki announced cheerfully, holding out a tray. “I helped make it!” 

Kyouya groaned as Tamaki set the food on the table in front of the couch. It actually didn’t look bad, but Kyouya would have to thank the kitchen staff for indulging his ridiculous friend. “You didn’t need to do that.”

“But I wanted to!” Tamaki chimed before explaining the lengthy process he had gone through while cooking. A minute or two in, Kyouya started eating.

It was well past noon by the time Kyouya finally got Tamaki to leave. He took a moment to gather himself before going to the hospital. Kyouya was shown up to her room by a staff member where another family member was already seated.

“Hi, Fuyumi,” he greeted half-heartedly. 

Fuyumi hurried from her seat to throw her arms around her brother. “Kyouya…” she sobbed. For some reason, today the physical contact was not bringing him to the verge of tears. When Fuyumi finally stepped back, Fuyumi retrieved a tissue from her pocket to dab at her red eyes. “There’s no change, if you’re wondering.” She also dabbed at the marks her tears had left on his shirt, which was very on brand for his sister. It was comforting, in a way.

 “Are you not allowed to go in?” Kyouya asked, glancing at the closed door to their mother’s room.

Fuyumi shook her head. “No, I can go in. I just...can’t. It’s so strange seeing her like that.” 

Fuyumi sat back down and Kyouya took a seat beside her, not sure what to say. “Have you heard from Father?”

“He stopped by this morning before he left for America. He was supposed to be gone for a week but he said he’d be back on Wednesday.”

Kyouya stared at his hands, his head buzzing and aching. He took off his glasses to rub his face.

“Kyouya, it’ll-”

“I know, Fuyumi.” He couldn’t take one more person saying “it will be okay” or whatever.

Fuyumi fidgeted a bit, clearing her throat. “So, I also have some news.”

Kyouya glanced at her, sliding his glasses back into place.

“I found out a couple weeks ago. I told mom first…” She stared at the closed door. “Dad knows too, but I haven’t told anyone else yet.” Fuyumi took a deep breath, facing him. “I’m pregnant.”

That should have been a gleeful announcement with a celebration, but it was almost uncomfortable to think about under the current circumstances. “Congratulations, Fuyumi.” Kyouya forced a smile, doing a halfway decent job of it.

Fuyumi smiled a bit, fussing with her hair. “Thanks. It’s weird. I mean, we wanted a family, but now with mom…” Her smile was short-lived. 

Kyouya placed his hand on top of hers. “One thing doesn’t rule out the other. This is still a good thing,” he reassured her, his smile becoming a bit more natural. Kyouya knew that it was his place now to provide Fuyumi with the extra support she had always given him.

Fuyumi seemed to relax a bit. “Thanks, Kyouya. I can always count on you.”

As days passed, things became more and more normal. Kyouya was busier than ever. Outside of his normal responsibilities, he had to address the gifts he was given and figure out what the hell he was going to do with all of the fruit. He also had to address the ongoing correspondence from “family friends”, relatives, and business partners. Kyouya was thankful for his personal staff’s support in this, sometimes answering messages before Kyouya even saw them. At random times, his mother would appear in his thoughts, but it didn’t hurt the way it had the first week. It was more like an aching feeling in his chest. 

The next weekend, Kyouya had yet another task to add to his ever growing list. Fuyumi had asked him to go shopping with her. Although she wasn’t due until November, she was already buying baby things left and right. Kyouya guessed it was probably to keep herself distracted. The first stop of the day was some fancy boutique. Kyouya followed Fuyumi as she browsed, commenting only when required. They ended up buying a ludicrous number of baby outfits in a variety of sizes. 

“Remind me, Fuyumi, why an infant would need to wear a full suit?” Kyouya was exasperated, holding up the complicated outfit.

Fuyumi’s bubbly joy was not dampened a bit. “You never know! It’s best to be prepared.”

A few stores later they had also gathered furniture, toys, and books. Then it was off to their last stop: lunch. Kyouya was relieved when he finally sat down. Fuyumi sat across from him, ordering for both of them.

“This is one of my favorite cafes,” she enthused. “I’m sure you’ll like it!”

Kyouya chuckled. “I’m sure. So, did we get everything on your list?”

“I think so,” Fuyumi replied, pulling out her phone. “I’ll have to see everything set up before I know what else I’ll need.”

There was a moment of quiet as the two checked their phones. 

“Hey, Kyouya?”

“Yes?”

“How are you doing?” Fuyumi’s voice was soft and timid.

Kyouya put his phone down, avoiding her eyes. “Fine, I guess. It’s still weird to think about, but I think I’m okay.”

Fuyumi nodded slowly. “That’s how I’ve been feeling too. I mean, I’m still sad of course, and I still go visit her every few days, but…”

“But?”

Fuymi frowned, searching for words. “We weren’t close, you know? She’s our mother and I love her, but I’ve seen her more in the past two weeks than I have in the past two years. Even when I told her I was pregnant she was…subdued. I wish we could have been closer…”

Kyouya nodded slowly. “I know what you mean. I’ve been having similar thoughts. I know logically that I should be sad, but I’m…fine. I shouldn’t be fine, but I am.”

The conversation changed when their food arrived, which Kyouya was glad for. He did end up enjoying the food as his sister had predicted. Afterward, he was returned back to the Ootori mansion. Fuyumi got out with him and wrapped him in her arms. “Thank you for today. I’ll talk to you tomorrow, alright?”

Kyouya nodded. He had been talking to her even more often than he had before. He had also been in contact with his brothers off and on which was entirely new. Kyouya watched Fuyumi’s car drive away before heading to his room. 

Chapter Text

Haruhi’s Second Year at Ouran, June

Over the course of the next month, Kyouya fought to find some semblance of normal. He resumed management of the Host Club, continued his studies, increased his investments, supported his sister, and even found time to go on a few dates. Kyouya felt bad that he had all but ignored Haruhi for the weeks following his mother’s accident but Haruhi was beyond understanding. There was still no change regarding his mother’s condition, over a month later, and Kyouya had just about come to terms with it.

“What are you thinking about?” Haruhi’s voice pulled Kyouya from his thoughts. She was watching him from across the small cafe table. “You look tired.”

Kyouya smiled, gazing at her. No matter how many times he saw her, no matter how often he heard her voice or felt her touch, Kyouya was enthralled by Haruhi. 

Haruhi fidgeted a bit. “Why are you staring at me like that?”

“Oh, no reason.” Kyouya sat up, taking a sip of his drink. “I was just thinking that summer break is less than a month away. Do you have any plans?” Tamaki, of course, had already made several suggestions, and Kyouya had gotten the opinions of the other hosts as well. He had even spoken to Honey and Mori who agreed to join the group wherever they decided to go. 

“Not really,” Haruhi replied, picking at her food. “Is the club going to do something?”

“Most likely. Is there anything you would want to do, or any place you would like to go?”

Haruhi considered the question for a moment, glancing out the big window they were seated beside. “I guess I’d like to just relax, wherever we end up. It’s been a busy year and it’s just going to get busier.”

Kyouya retrieved his phone, tapping a few times. “I have a list here of suggestions from the other club members. Why don’t you stop me when you hear something that sounds interesting.” With a nod from Haruhi, Kyouya began to read the list. “A resort in Bora Bora, a tour of Rome, this one just says “Santorini”, there are several different suggestions in America-”

“Senpai, you-”

“Kyouya,” he corrected. Haruhi blushed, embarrassed. It was cute that even after dating for almost three months, she still made that mistake.

“Kyouya, you know I don’t have a passport. I can’t go to any of those places.”

“Then we’ll get you a passport, that’s not a problem,” Kyouya noted, about to return to the list when Haruhi spoke again.

“Can’t we just do something here, in Japan?” Haruhi asked, looking uncomfortable as she avoided meeting his eyes. 

Kyouya frowned, setting his phone on the table. “Yes, we can. But may I ask why?” If the passport problem could be corrected, what else could need fixing?

Haruhi mumbled something, still not looking at him. Kyouya reached across the small table, taking her chin in his hand and guiding it up so she was forced to meet his eyes. She begrudgingly looked at him and repeated herself: “I’ve never been on an airplane before.”

Although he wasn’t surprised that she’d never been on a plane, he hadn’t considered that would be the reason Haruhi always turned down chances to travel internationally. “Are you afraid to fly?” Kyouya asked, pulling his hand back. It was one of the more common phobias after all.

“Not exactly…” Haruhi sighed, leaning back in her seat. “I don’t know. I guess I’m more nervous than afraid.”

“I thought you wanted to study in America after you graduate. Is that not the case?”

Haruhi frowned. “It is the plan. I do want to study abroad there.” Kyouya waited for her to elaborate but she didn’t, focusing on her food again.

“I won’t push the issue, but it might make you feel more confident to go there prior to essentially moving there,” Kyouya offered, trying his best not to guilt her into anything she didn’t want to do. He could certainly plan another trip in Japan. “Just let me know what you want to do, okay?”

When they finished their meal, Tachibana brought the car around for them.

“Well, Haruhi, what would you like to do now?” Kyouya asked, turning a bit to see her better. 

After a few moments, Haurhi shrugged. “I’m not sure. I guess we could go to the mall, but there’s nothing I need to buy. And a lot of outdoor places will be crowded on such a nice day.”

While Kyouya was more than happy to have their relationship in the public eye, Haruhi wasn’t a fan of the attention from strangers. Plus if people at school found out, it could put an end to her time as a host. “We could just go back to my place,” Kyouya suggested casually, adjusting his glasses.

“And do what?” The sweet look of innocent confusion made Kyouya’s heart skip. 

“We could watch a movie. I think Tamaki left his game system in my room if you’re interested in that.”

Haruhi considered this for a moment before nodding. “Sure, a movie sounds fine.”

They discussed a genre as Tachibana drove, ruling out categories until they decided on action. Upon arriving at the Ootori estate, Kyouya was relieved to see that none of his family members were home. They were able to make it to Kyouya’s room with no interruption, though Kyouya figured someone in his family would find out at some point.

Kyouya closed the door behind them before sitting on the couch. He opened the video streaming service and began to scroll through the movies. Haruhi walked a bit further into his room, looking around. 

“Are you looking for anything in particular, Haruhi?” Kyouya glanced at her over the back of the couch and smirked.

“Ah, no, no, nothing,” Haruhi responded quickly, awkwardly, before moving to sit on the couch beside him. Kyouya noticed she didn’t sit too far away from him, but also not too close. 

“How’s this?” Kyouya asked, gesturing at the television.

“Yeah, that’s fine,” Haruhi agreed, still seeming a bit embarrassed. 

Kyouya smiled to himself as he started the movie. He focused less on the intro and more on her presence. Could he move closer? Put his arm around her? Pull her onto his lap? Kyouya decided to test the waters and shifted, inconspicuously moving toward her as he made himself comfortable. His arm brushed against Haruhi’s and she tensed. Kyouya was about to move away when Haruhi relaxed, even leaning against him a bit. He wished he could tell what she was thinking, but the blush blossoming across her cheeks had to be a good sign. 

Half an hour or so into the movie, Kyouya had already lost interest. He considered checking his phone but didn’t want to be rude. He glanced at Haruhi who was still watching the screen. Kyouya slid his arm over Haruhi’s shoulders, pulling her toward himself just a bit. Haruhi looked up at him.

“Yes, Haruhi?” Kyouya stared back with a devious sort of smile. He brushed his fingers across Haruhi’s cheek as he held her close. “Can I help you with something?” 

Haruhi couldn’t seem to find any words.

Kyouya leaned forward slowly, watching her expression. The color continued to bright on her face but she didn’t move. “Haruhi?” he asked, his voice soft and sultry. 

Haruhi swallowed. “Yes, Kyouya?” she breathed.

“May I kiss you?” Kyouya hoped she could tell just how fast his heart was racing. When Haruhi nodded, Kyouya quickly closed the distance between them. Since Tamaki had walked in on them, he and Haruhi hadn’t had much physical contact. Kyouya had been so busy, and under so much stress. Haruhi’s lips were just as soft as he remembered as he kissed her. She was so timid, and her lack of experience was evident, but Kyouya didn’t care in the slightest. Kyouya guided her onto his lap, her legs on either side of his. 

“K-Kyouya…” Haruhi mumbled, looking embarrassed once again.

“Yes, Haruhi?” Kyouya rested his hands on her hips, his face only a few centimeters from Haruhi’s. 

Haruhi bit her lip. Kyouya doubted she was aware, but every little movement she made was driving him crazy. In a bold move, Haruhi was the one to kiss Kyouya this time, wrapping her arms around his neck. Kyouya grinned against her lips, her reciprocation driving him. His lips moved to her cheek, then her neck, and Haruhi gasped but didn’t pull away. Kyouya felt like his body was on fire. His mind was racing as his heart pounded against his chest. He wanted her so badly but didn’t dare push. One wrong move could make Haruhi uncomfortable, and he wasn’t willing to let that happen. From the very start Kyouya had promised himself that Haruhi would be the leader in their relationship. 

Kyouya’s hands moved upward from Haruhi’s hips as their lips met again. His fingers brushed against her skin and he shivered. It was getting harder to concentrate. Kyouya’s lips found their way back to Haruhi’s neck, then further to her collarbone, dotting kisses along the neckline of her shirt. There were so many things he wanted to do, so many dreams to make a reality, he just wanted to-

A knock at the door caused them both to freeze in place. 

“Just my fucking luck,” Kyouya hissed, allowing his mask to fall for just a moment.  With everything he had to deal with, of course he would be interrupted now of all times. Kyouya seriously considered ignoring the knock, but depending on who it was on the other side of the door, there could be varying consequences. Kyouya gently helped Haruhi back to her place on the couch before rising. He glanced at Haruhi who was staring at him, but not at his face. Kyouya cleared his throat, drawing her eyes to his face. He gave her a devilish smirk causing Haruhi to bury her face in her hands. 

When Kyouya reached the door, he whipped it open, stone-faced. The employee that had disturbed him cowered. “I-I’m sorry, Ootori-sama. Y-you have a visitor!” she squeaked.

“And who would that be?” Kyouya growled, not caring in the moment that he was clearly misplacing his irritation. The poor staff member was just doing her job, after all. 

“It’s your s-sister, sir,” the employee replied. “She said she brought paint swatches?”

Kyouya groaned internally. What impeccable timing, Fuyumi. He took off his glasses, rubbing his eyes. “I’m surprised you were able to stop her from rushing in,” he sighed. “One second.” Kyouya walked back over to Haruhi, leaning over the back of the couch. “How do you feel about meeting my sister?”

Haruhi seemed to have composed herself in his brief absence. “Your sister? Ah, sure, I guess.” Kyouya hadn’t expected her to agree so easily but Haruhi seemed confident in her decision. 

A few minutes later, Kyouya was seated beside Haruhi, a fair distance apart, while Fuyumi sat in an adjacent armchair, beaming. When she had been led up to Kyouya’s room, Fuyumi had squealed, dropped all of her things, and rushed to hug Haruhi. Thankfully Kyouya had been able to detach his sister from his girlfriend without much trouble. Even when things were settled down, Fuyumi was still entirely focused on Haruhi.

“Really, Haruhi, dear, it’s so nice to meet you,” Fuyumi repeated, smiling brightly. “Kyouya has told me so much about you! You know, I helped him plan your first date and-”

“Fuyumi!” Kyouya’s face felt hot. “Didn’t you come here for a reason?” He glanced at Haruhi who seemed to be trying not to laugh. 

“Oh, right!” Fuyumi retrieved her bag from the floor beside her, dumping it onto the coffee table. Paint swatches, wallpaper samples, and magazines poured out. “I’m hoping to at least narrow down the options.”

Kyouya deadpanned. “Fuyumi, there have to be at least one hundred different paint colors here, not counting everything else.” 

Fuyumi pouted, crossing her arms. “Well, I couldn’t make up my mind! Be nice, Kyouya! You’re supposed to be nice to me! Do you see this, Haruhi? How mean he is to his own sister?”

Haruhi chuckled, shaking her head. “Not very nice at all, Kyouya.”

Fuyumi leaned forward in her seat, eyes wide. “Oooh! Are we already on a first name basis?” Her eyes darted between the two. She looked especially mischievous, a trademark trait of an Ootori. “Speaking of which, Kyouya, what were you two doing in here before I arrived? Hmm?”

Kyouya glared at his sister, causing her to laugh. “Oh come on, Kyouya. I’m only teasing. Now help me look through these!” 

The trio sifted through the ridiculous pile of swatches, setting them in various piles. After almost an hour, they had about fifty paint colors and wallpaper options. 

“I didn’t realize picking a paint color was this difficult,” Haruhi remarked as Fuyumi began placing the rejected options into a trash bin. 

“Everything has to be just perfect for the little one,” Fuyumi cooed, placing her hand on her stomach where a bump was just starting to appear. “And Kyouya has just been so helpful to me. Which is good, because he’ll know what to do when the two of you are expecting one of your own!”

“F-Fuyumi!” Kyouya snapped, blood rushing to his face. 

It was clear by the look on her face that Fuyumi recognized that she had gone a bit too far. “Well, I should be heading out now! Goodbye Kyouya! Nice to meet you Haruhi!” she called as she dashed toward the door.

An uncomfortable silence weighed on the room. What had Fuyumi been thinking? Apart from the fact they hadn’t been together very long, they were still in high school! Kyouya removed his glasses to rub his face, regaining his typical composure. “Sorry about that, Haruhi. My sister sometimes speaks without thinking.” 

“It’s, ah, okay,” Haruhi replied awkwardly. “You know, I should probably get going too.”

Kyouya groaned inwardly as he walked Haruhi out. A quick, uncomfortable goodbye and Haruhi was off. Normally Kyouya rode with her, but he let Tachibana take her, not wanting to make things any more weird than they already were. He returned to his room, glaring at the mess Fuyumi had left. He piled up the magazines and such, leaving them in a neat pile by the door to be returned to her later. 

Sitting down at his desk, Kyouya pulled out his laptop. He was determined to focus on work to get his sister’s words out of his head. One of their own? A baby? Kyouya could feel his face growing hot again. It was absurd; he didn’t even know if Haruhi wanted kids. Did he even want kids? But the idea of it made his chest tight. Kyouya shook his head, trying to lose the thought. 

“Come on, Kyouya, focus…” he sighed to himself. “Planning a summer trip, but somewhere in the country. We can’t exactly go to the beach again. Going to a big city is an option… Kyoto? Hokkaido isn’t really a summer destination…” Kyouya clicked around a bit until an interesting prospect appeared. “Tateyama, hm?” It wasn’t a luxurious destination but the mountains could be a nice change of pace. It also happened that Mori’s family had property in the area. 

Kyouya sent a quick text out to each of the hosts and former hosts with his proposition before checking the time. He sighed again, seeing that it wasn’t that late. He had hoped to spend some more time with Haruhi, maybe even having dinner together. Fuyumi definitely spoiled that idea. Speaking of his only sister, Kyouya’s phone vibrated as he received a very long message. In summary, Fuyumi was very sorry, she was only trying to help, and she didn’t want Kyouya to be mad at her. Kyouya sent her a reassuring reply before opening his messages with Haruhi. He wanted to say something but he couldn’t figure out what. Before he thought of anything, Haruhi texted him. 

“You had a nice time, hm?” Kyouya relaxed a bit as he read her message. He had been concerned that things would be uncomfortable between them, thanks to his sister, but it seemed he had worried for nothing.

Monday arrived sooner than desired, but that was how every week went. Kyouya never had enough hours in the day. When classes finished, the club members gathered as usual. 

“Kyouya!” Tamaki chimed as he joined his friend. “How did you possibly think of Tateyama? That is so perfect for a summer get away!”

“I’m glad you think so,” Kyouya replied, focusing more on his notebook than on Tamaki.

“I don’t know, senpai. Tateyama?” Kaoru commented as he had his brother crossed their arms.

Hikaru nodded in agreement. “Why can’t we go somewhere more interesting?”

Tamaki was aghast, staring wide eyed at the twins. “Tateyama is interesting! There’s hiking in the breathtaking mountains, plentiful onsen, traditional life with little family owned shops!” He continued to list positive aspects of the destination but no one was listening.

“I think it could be cool,” Naoki commented with a shrug. The others were surprised to hear the most quiet club member voicing his opinion. 

Kenta bumped his shoulder against Naoki, bouncing in place. “It’ll be great! I love onsen!”

The conversation immediately lightened as the group discussed potential plans for their trip. Even Hikaru seemed to come around to the idea of spending their vacation in the mountains. 

Kyouya watched as everyone interacted. Things had changed quite a bit since the beginning of the school year. It seemed that bad feelings regarding his relationship with Haruhi had died down. Additionally, Kenta and Naoki had blended seamlessly into the group dynamic, as Kyouya had anticipated. The more Kyouya watched, the more he focused on Kenta. It seemed that the middle schooler had a lot of charisma and even more confidence. Since Kyouya and Tamaki would be graduating at the end of the year, someone would have to step up to run the club, and Kenta seemed to be a good candidate.

“Wait, are we having guests come?” Kaoru’s question sent all eyes to Kyouya. 

Kyouya hadn’t put much thought into that with everything else that had been going on. “I’m not sure if guests would be willing to travel that far. I suppose we could hold a raffle and bring a few select guests.”

“Are they staying the whole time?” Hikaru asked, frowning. “Haruhi won’t be able to enjoy the onsen if we have guests.”

“Haruhi could always use the men’s onsen!” Kenta laughed, though his grin was short lived as his upperclassmen’s steely gaze bored into him. “It was a joke, it was a joke!” he apologized quickly, holding up his hands as if to fend off his attackers.

Thankfully for Kenta, it was then that guests began to arrive, saving him from the combined wrath of Tamaki, Hikaru, and Kyouya. 

Haruhi’s Second Year at Ouran, July

Over the next four weeks leading up to their trip at the end of July, Kyouya fell into a solid routine. Wake up, school, club, business, homework, repeat: that was his typical week day. Kyouya pointedly made time every Saturday to spend time with Haruhi. It was a bit difficult, balancing their time together with the attention required by his sister, the newfound interest of his brothers, school work, business, and generally taking care of himself. It seemed each week brought about more things to do, to remember. Every other Sunday Kyouya visited his mother.

The Sunday leading up to their break arrived and Kyouya got up earlier than he normally would on a weekend day to head to the hospital. When he arrived, Kyouya was surprised to see his father waiting for him outside his mother’s door. 

“Hello, Kyouya,” Yoshio greeted his son simply, standing up from his seat.

“Father. I didn’t expect to see you here.” Despite the tender moments the two had shared in Korea, their relationship wasn’t magically fixed. It was improved, most assuredly, as they could now have a civil conversation. Having a normal father and son relationship, Kyouya knew, was a pipe dream. 

“After you visit, I hope you have time to speak with me.” Yoshio sat back down without waiting for a response from Kyouya, immersing himself in his phone. 

“Visit?” Kyouya echoed, not entirely sure what his father meant.

Yoshio looked up. “Visiting with your mother?” He gestured toward the door.

Kyouya adjusted his glasses, feeling a bit awkward. “Oh, I don’t usually go in.”

His father frowned, setting down his phone. “You come all this way to sit and what?” Yoshio patted the seat beside him. “Come here, Kyouya.”

Kyouya sat beside his father, more confused by the moment. 

“Kyouya, you don’t need to keep coming here. I won’t stop you, but you don’t need to feel like you have to. It’s kind of you to visit her, but if you can’t even go inside, you might be able to spend your time better elsewhere.”

A mixture of embarrassment and irritation bubbled up in Kyouya as he listened. “I-...” Kyouya stopped, realizing he didn’t know what to say to that. His father was right, in a way. On the other hand, it was none of Yoshio’s business. Still his father felt the need to give him undesired advice. Kyouya just wanted the conversation to be over and to go home. “I understand what you mean. Thank you for your input,” he managed, trying to keep his hands from tightening into fists. “Is that all you came here to say?”

“No need to get upset, Kyouya,” Yoshio started, which only increased his son’s irritation. “There was one other thing. I wasn’t sure how to tell you.” The older man turned in his seat to face Kyouya, a very serious look on his already stoic face. “Kyouya, you’ll be graduating soon enough. I’m sure you already have plans for university and beyond. But I’ve decided that I am making you heir to the family business. Now, I know the irony in this as you still own the Ootori Group.” Yoshio reached into his jacket and handed his son a check. “Here’s what you paid for it, plus a bit more. I’ve already told your brothers and they have assured their support.”

Kyouya was dumbfounded. He looked from his father to the check and back. He would’ve thought this was a joke if it hadn’t been his father saying it. Less than a year ago, Kyouya had undermined his father, upset the careful balance of his family, to acquire the company against Yoshio’s wishes. He had lived his entire life being told what he was, where he would go, what he would do, what he deserved. Kyouya stared down at the check, his mind tearing itself apart as he attempted to not only understand the situation and its repercussions, but also his emotions: the confusion and sadness around his mother, the distrust and desire for acceptance he felt toward his father, and now his joy and anger at this decision. Before Kyouya had met Tamaki, this decision, to have him become the heir to the Ootori empire, would have filled him with pride and satisfaction, seeing years of work and effort pay off in the most significant of ways. But Kyouya wasn’t that perfect boy anymore. So much had changed in just a few short years: his priorities, his dreams, his plans. 

Yoshio’s eyes burned his skin. Kyouya knew he needed to say something, to do something, to face the man who had raised him, but how? What was he going to say? He could accept the check and keep the company, as his younger self would have, or maybe he would turn everything away. In this moment, Kyouya had the power to make a very important decision. Whether his father truly believed that Kyouya was the best for the job, or if he was just trying to play catch up and save face, Kyouya knew he had already decided. Becoming Yoshio’s successor in this manner would certainly settle things in a very official manner, and no one would be able to complain. Kyouya considered handing back the check, though he intended to accept the rest of the offer, but knew his father would find offense in that. 

Though it felt like an hour in his mind as he turned over every possibility, only seconds of reality had ticked by. Kyouya straightened himself, meeting Yoshio’s eye. “Thank you, father. I will do my best.” 

Chapter Text

Haruhi’s Second Year at Ouran, July

The following days leading up to the Host Club’s trip, Kyouya was busier than he had ever been. Adding onto everything he regularly dealt with, he was now learning the inner workings of the Ootori Group. He had meetings with his father, each of his brothers, hospital staff, legal staff, administrative staff, and shareholders. While some of this seemed overkill, Yoshio insisted that it was important that Kyouya understood every aspect of the company from every angle. Every moment of every day was planned down to the minute. Kyouya had taken to eating meals and taking naps in the car as he was chauffeured back and forth from home to school to meetings and back. 

The night before the club’s departure, Kyouya didn’t return home until especially late. Kyouya groaned as he eased himself on his sofa. He was beyond exhausted and still needed to finish packing. The five day trip would begin with three days acting as a host and the final two days relaxing and exploring, though Kyouya planned to do a lot more relaxing than exploring. A staff member brought Kyouya his dinner, something light as requested, but it still made his stomach turn. His body wasn’t handling the stress and lack of sleep very well at all. Kyouya took some ibuprofen and an antacid, and, while waiting for them to kick in to quell his nausea and aching back, looked over his packing list. 

After a half an hour or so, Kyouya had finished packing his bags and felt marginally better. He sat down to eat and managed to stomach about half of the lukewarm food. Kyouya checked his phone and noticed an unread message from Haruhi, asking about his day and wishing him well. Kyouya sighed, sending a quick reply with the last bit of energy he could muster. He hadn’t spent any time outside of school with Haruhi since his father’s proclamation. He hoped that after this trial period of sorts that his father would loosen his grip, allowing Kyouya to reclaim his life. After all, running a business was not something new to Kyouya, and most of what he was supposed to be learning in all of these lessons and meetings seemed common sense to him. 

When Kyouya finally dragged himself to bed, deciding to shower in the morning, he had a rough time getting to sleep. His mind buzzed constantly and even with the dark curtains his room seemed too bright. Kyouya pulled the blanket up over his head, beginning to get irritated. It wasn’t the first time he had trouble falling asleep, and it wouldn’t be the last, but it was very inconvenient on this night in particular. Kyouya eventually gave up, retrieving his phone from his nightstand to return some emails.

When morning arrived, Kyouya woke up despite not remembering having fallen asleep. His limbs were so heavy and he already had a headache. Kyouya dragged himself from his bed, feeling his muscles ache as he got ready to shower. The hot water was incredibly revitalizing. Kyouya wished he had enough time for a bath, but he would be in a hot spring soon enough. Kyouya pulled on the outfit he had selected the night before and checked his phone again. It was more than a habit, looking for emails and messages. A few moments later, staff arrived to take his bags and bring him his breakfast. 

“Everything is ready to go, Kyouya-sama,” Tachibana reported as he bowed. “I will wait downstairs until you are ready.”

Kyouya nodded, quickly stuffing a few bites of food into his mouth. “Let’s just go. I’d rather not have one of the others arrive first.”

Tachibana hesitated, looking like he wanted to speak, but chose not to and bowed again. “Of course, Kyouya-sama.” 

Once the two were in the car, Kyouya took off his glasses, leaned his head back and closed his eyes. “So, what were you going to say?”

“Sir?” 

Kyouya’s eyes opened again, meeting Tachibana’s gaze for a moment in the rear view mirror. “Before. When we were leaving. What were you going to say to me?”

“Ah, well…” Tachibana started. “I don’t want to speak where my words are unwanted, but I’ve been concerned for your health, Kyouya-sama, and I know the others share my thoughts. You haven’t been eating and you’re hardly home but to sleep, which, judging by your eyes, you haven’t been sleeping.”

“And?” Kyouya’s eyes closed again, waiting for Tachibana to get to the point.

“We’re- no, I’m worried, sir, that you’re pushing yourself too hard. With everything that’s going on…” Tachibana trailed off, clearing his throat. “Please take care of yourself, Kyouya-sama.”

Kyouya was quiet, repeating the driver’s words in his head. He knew Tachibana wasn’t wrong, but it wasn’t as if Kyouya had much of a choice in any of this. He couldn’t simply walk away from his responsibilities, despite how they continued to multiply. “Thank you for your concern, Tachibana,” he replied simply, not wanting to start a conversation. Kyouya was glad when Tachibana chose not to respond. 

“Sir? Sir?”

Kyouya’s forced his eyes opened at the sound of Tachibana’s voice. He blinked a few times to clear his blurry vision. “Huh? What?” Still a bit disoriented, he removed his glasses to rub his eyes. 

“I apologize for waking you, sir, but I have to get gas. If you would like, it is a good time to stretch your legs. Or there is a small shop here if you’d like something to eat or drink.”

Kyouya replaced his glasses, grunting in reply as Tachibana exited the car. Kyouya got out as well, blinking in the harsh daylight. “What time is it?”

“Around 10:00 AM, sir. We have about two hours remaining,” Tachibana answered promptly.

Kyouya grunted again, running his fingers through his hair to smooth it a bit. He glanced around the mostly empty parking lot before turning back to Tachibana. “I’m going to get a drink.”

“Of course, sir.”

Upon entering the small shop, Kyouya headed to the coolers at the back. Basket in hand, he picked out a few drinks, grabbing something for Tachibana as well. He headed toward the cashier while glancing around for anything else to grab. While this wasn’t his first time in a convenience store, Kyouya wasn’t overly familiar with them. He paused by a display of prepared food before picking up a sandwich and a few onigiri. Being in the store was oddly calming, just doing simple tasks with no long term meaning in an unassuming environment, 

Back in the car, Kyouya felt more awake. He dropped the things he had purchased for Tachibana into the front seat before opening one of his drinks. Kyouya also checked his phone, ignoring most of the emails that weren’t vital. Unfortunately, some did require addressing. He delved into his work, not even realizing that the journey had continued. Tachibana even thanked Kyouya for the snack, but Kyouya was too focused. Kyouya made sure to check in with their accommodations as well as the other hosts. Everything seemed to be going as planned. 

Kyouya also made sure to keep in contact with Haruhi. He felt bad about canceling so many plans and leaving so many messages unread. Though Kyouya now had time to talk, it was Haruhi who was unavailable. She had agreed to make the trip with Hikaru and Kaoru who were undoubtedly talking her ears off. 

The final leg of the trip seemed to last much longer than it should. When they finally arrived, Kyouya was glad to get out of the car, leaving his untouched food on the seat. He had probably spent an equal amount of time in and out of a car over the past few weeks and he was getting pretty sick of it. While none of the current nor former hosts had properties in the area, Kyouya was able to acquire one without much trouble. A few modifications and it was all set. Their guests would still be staying elsewhere, not under the same roof as the hosts. 

Kyouya took a quick tour of the house to confirm that everything was up to par.  While the exterior of the building looked quite traditional, much in line with other buildings in the area, the interior was newly refurbished with all of the modern essentials. Not long after he was satisfied, the other hosts began to arrive. First to arrive was Tamaki, as expected, though the others were close behind. 

“Alright, everyone,” Kyouya started when the last host had arrived. “Please see your emails for a copy of the itinerary. In review, today we will greet the guests before touring local shrines and then seeing fireworks. Tomorrow will be dedicated to the alpine route or hiking, ending with star gazing. No, you may not change your mind now as to which you would prefer, the schedules are set. Tuesday will begin with a viewing at Shomyo falls followed by a picnic lunch before the guests depart. The remainder of Tuesday, Wednesday, and the first part of Thursday are essentially free choice. If you have any questions-”

A few hands rose as he spoke.

“-don’t.”

And the hands were quickly retracted.

“That is all. Be ready to leave in fifteen minutes.” 

The hosts split off into their usual pairs: Hikaru and Kaoru, Mori and Hunny, and Kenta and Naoki. Tamaki and Haruhi lingered near Kyouya, both looking a bit timid. 

“Uh, Kyouya?”

Kyouya turned a steely gaze onto Tamaki. “What?”

Tamaki shrunk back, hiding behind a frowning Haruhi. Kyouya’s eyes softened when their eyes met. 

“Is everything okay, Kyouya?” she asked gently yet firmly. While Haruhi showed concern, Kyouya knew she wouldn’t tolerate his attitude.

“Everything is fine.” Kyouya looked away, adjusting his glasses. For a moment he considered being honest, to tell them he wasn’t sleeping, that he was beyond stressed, that his body hurt, that he couldn’t eat, but he didn’t. Kyouya was different from the boy he was when he first met Tamaki, but he still wasn’t comfortable revealing all of his weaknesses. He still had an image to maintain. He was an Ootori afterall. 

While it was clear on her face that she didn’t believe him, Haruhi let the subject drop. The next few hours seemed to drag on and on. Kyouya forced himself into his role as a host, charming and flattering the guests, just like the others. When the fireworks concluded, the guests were taken back to their lodging and the hosts eagerly returned to their abode. 

“That was so much fun!” Hunny enthused as the hosts relaxed in a sitting room. “The fireworks were so cute! Don’t you think so Haru-chan?”

“They were definitely cool,” Haruhi replied with a tired smile. 

“Hey, we brought a game if anyone wants to play,” Hikaru invited as Kaoru began hooking a game system up to the television. 

While the group dissolved into chatter, Kyouya slipped out of the room. He had planned to head to bed, but everything was spinning. He slumped to the floor in the hallway, trying desperately to pull himself together. He couldn’t let the others see him like this.

“Kyouya?” Haruhi called, stepping out of the room, closing the door behind her. She jumped, surprised, when she saw him sitting on the ground. “Hey, are you okay? What’s wrong?”

Kyouya was grateful that he had been lucky enough to have Haruhi be the one to find him. “Will you help me to my room?”

Haruhi silently helped him to his feet and they moved slowly through the building to his room. Kyouya sat on the edge of the bed, dropping his spinning head into his hands. He tossed his glasses onto the bed beside him and covered his eyes, welcoming the darkness. 

“Kyouya, what’s going on? Are you sick? You look terrible.” 

Kyouya chuckled darkly. “Why thank you, Haruhi.”

“I’m serious, Kyouya. What’s going on?” Haruhi’s soft, caring voice was becoming increasingly sharper as her patience thinned. 

“Can you get me some water?”

Kyouya listened to her footsteps as she retrieved a bottle of water. He lifted his head as she returned, holding out the bottle. He took a few sips before abandoning it beside his glasses.

Haruhi sat on his other side. “Please talk to me. You look like you need a doctor.”

“I’m just tired. I’ve been busy.”

Haruhi frowned. “Yeah, I’ve noticed. You text me so late at night. How are you sleeping?”

“I’m not.”

“Kyouya, this isn’t funny.”

“I know.” Kyouya took another drink of water. “I’m exhausted. I can’t sleep. I don’t have time to sleep. I can’t eat. Everything hurts.” He couldn’t look at her. He should be able to handle this. Kyouya felt shame weigh on his already aching shoulders.

Haruhi gently took his hand. “You have to stop.”

“I can’t-”

“Yes, you can. And you need to,” Haruhi insisted, placing her hand on his cheek to force him to look at her. “Look at yourself. You can’t keep doing this. You’re hurting yourself, Kyouya.”

Kyouya didn’t know what to say to that. She was right, and he knew that, but he needed it not to be true. Kyouya needed to be stronger, he needed to keep up and carry what he was given. “I’ve been working toward this for my entire life. I don’t know how to stop.” Kyouya’s voice cracked as he spoke. He felt tears welling in his eyes and blinked them away.

“How about we start with you getting a good night’s sleep,” Haruhi suggested, though Kyouya knew it was more of an instruction. 

Kyouya allowed her to lay him down, covering him with the blanket. He never slept in his clothes but he was too exhausted to care. He watched as Haruhi set his water and glasses on the bedside table along with medicine that she had found while going through his bag. 

“I’ll be back in a few minutes, okay?” Again her voice was soft. Haruhi leaned down and kissed him gently on his cheek. 

Kyouya’s eyes closed against his will, no matter how he fought to keep them open. He wanted to wait until Haruhi returned, to thank her for helping him, but his body wouldn’t let him. It took just a few minutes for Kyouya to fall into a deep sleep.

The next time Kyouya’s eyes fluttered open, bright sunlight filled his room. Kyouya sat up, which was a far more laborious task than it should have been. He reached to get his glasses and noticed food, more water, and a note had been left for him. Sliding his glasses on, Kyouya read the note. In summary, Haruhi had decided Kyouya needed to stay in bed. The other hosts had left without him. While in another situation he probably would have been beyond irritated, relief washed over him. Kyouya retrieved the food she had left which was all bland: rice, chicken, and crackers. He nibbled at the food and finished off his water from the night before. 

When he had stomached all that he could, Kyouya climbed out of bed, stripped down, and stepped into the shower. The hot water felt amazing. Kyouya sat down in the shower, letting the water pour over him. After a little while, Kyouya was surprised to find that he was starting to feel hungry. Pulling on some sweatpants, he finished off the food and more water. He also took some of the medicine. Then he went back to bed.

When Kyouya woke up for a second time, he checked his phone. It was almost 2:00PM. He was supposed to be escorting guests along the steep mountain trails. He took some time to answer emails and messages, but that only took about an hour. It felt weird, not having anything to do. It had been months since he had this kind of down time. 

There was a soft knock on his door, and when Kyouya went to investigate he found his lunch had been left for him. Kyouya then did something else unusual: he sat on the small sofa in the room and watched TV while he ate. He thought of nothing, letting the show consume his mind. It wasn’t an especially good or interesting show but it served as a great distraction. He couldn’t remember the last time he just laid around and watched TV. More food was delivered around 6:30PM. Other than that, he did nothing. Absolutely nothing, and it felt incredible.

It was just after 9:00PM when he heard the others returning, right on time. Kyouya could hear them chatting and laughing. He weighed the pros and cons of getting dressed to greet them and decided to stay where he was. If he tried to act like everything was fine again, Haruhi would probably drag him back to bed anyway. So he ignored their voices and decided to pay more attention to his phone again. As Kyouya responded to messages and emails, he wondered how Haruhi had explained his absence. He hoped she hadn’t revealed too much, but Haruhi wasn’t like that. She knew he was a private person, not one to share every little detail of their life with others. Or even any details for that matter. 

A knock on the door drew his attention. 

“Co-” Kyouya quickly stopped himself, hearing the crack in his voice. He cleared his throat and tried again. “Come in.”

Haruhi appeared in the doorway, holding a tray that Kyouya assumed was his dinner. “How do you feel?” she asked, closing the door and moving further into the room. 

“Better.” It wasn’t worth trying to lie to her. 

Haruhi set the tray on the coffee table and took a seat beside him on the sofa. “That’s good.”

Kyouya sat up straighter, suddenly aware of his state of undress. He wished he had decided to put on a shirt when he had grabbed his sweatpants. If Haruhi was bothered by it, she didn’t let it show. “How did everything go today? You didn’t respond to my messages.” After waking up, Kyouya had sent Haruhi messages every few hours, hoping for an update.

Haruhi looked a bit guilty, averting her gaze. “I’m sorry about that but I didn’t want you to be focused on the other hosts or the guests.” She turned back to look at him again. “You were supposed to be resting, and Tamaki-senpai and I had it all under control.”

“Tamaki?” Kyouya raised a brow, skeptical of his friend's ability to have anything under control, especially himself.

This brought a bit of a smirk to Haruhi’s face. “Okay, well, I had it under control anyway. There were a few bumps but all the guests left happy.”

Kyouya frowned. “Bumps?” 

Haruhi ignored him. “So all that’s left is tomorrow’s trip to the falls and the picnic, then the guests will be gone. Everyone else is planning on splitting up for the most part, to do some shopping or relax, but we all agreed to go to the hot spring on Wednesday, since there probably won’t be enough time on Thursday before we leave.” As she spoke, Haruhi took the two dinner plates off the tray, handing one to Kyouya.

Kyouya took a few bites as he listened.“And what are your plans?”

“My plans?” Haruhi seemed a bit confused. “What do you mean?”

Kyouya leaned toward her a bit. “Well, you told me the others’ plans for the remainder of the stay. What about you? What do you plan to do?”

Haruhi considered this, as if she had never thought to make plans for herself. “Honestly, I figured I’d just be dragged around,” she sighed, beginning to eat as well. 

“We could do a bit of shopping, walk around…” Kyouya started but trailed off when he noticed the sharp look Haruhi was giving him.

“Kyouya Ootori, you are not going anywhere. You are supposed to be resting. Do I have to keep reminding you of that?” A bit of irritation colored her tone.

Kyouya put his hands up defensively, his plate abandoned on his lap. “I’m not talking about anything strenuous. I told my sister I would bring her a souvenir, and I wouldn’t mind spending some time at the hot spring either.”

“Oh.” Pink flushed across Haruhi’s cheeks as she became very interested in the remaining food on her plate.

He smiled, leaning forward to kiss her, only to find a hand in his face.

“Absolutely not,” Haruhi scolded, the color on her face becoming a deeper shade. “That’s not resting.”

Kyouya chuckled, leaning back again. “I suppose you’re right.”

The two chatted and finished their dinner. They decided to spend Wednesday morning shopping, and then to join the others at the hot spring.

“Only if you’re feeling well,” Haruhi warned as she headed toward the door. 

“Goodnight Haruhi.”

Haruhi couldn’t help but smile. “Good night.” 

The next morning was, again, rather uneventful. The other hosts went off with guests while Kyouya stayed behind. When it was finally time for the guests to go home, he decided he would join the others to see them off. It was later than anticipated, but there was nothing to do about that now. It just meant anything the hosts had planned to do that afternoon would have to be saved for Wednesday, or Thursday morning before they made their own departure. Regardless of what the other hosts were thinking, they made no comment nor expression upon Kyouya’s sudden reappearance. He managed to brush off guests’ prying questions and, after many goodbyes, they were gone. 

As soon as the last car disappeared from sight, Haruhi turned to glare at Kyouya, but she said nothing.

“Kyouya! Are you okay? How are you feeling? Should you be out of bed? I wanted to call a doctor but Haruhi said you would probably be mad and I know you would’ve been mad but-” Tamaki’s words blurred into each other as he rushed to get them out, throwing his arms dramatically around Kyouya. The cascade of words was put to an end when Kyouya shoved his hand into Tamaki’s face, pushing him away.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Kyouya replied passively, trying not to smile. Tamaki could really get on his nerves, but he did have a way of making Kyouya feel better. “I’m fine.”

The twins shared a look. “Are you sure, senpai?” Kaoru asked hesitantly.

“Yeah, you were gone for a whole day on a club trip. You must’ve felt pretty sick to let that happen,” Hikaru unsympathetically noted. Kaoru stepped on his twin’s foot, letting him know it was time to shut up. 

Now it was Kenta’s turn to pipe up. “I mean he’s right though. Kyouya-senpai never misses anything!”

While the others were buzzing, Honey pulled himself away from the other hosts, closing in on Kyouya. “You don’t have to say anything you don’t want to, Kyo-chan,” he said loudly, catching the other hosts’ attention. Kenta looked a bit chastised, shuffling his feet in the dirt. “We just all want you to feel better!” Honey finished with one of his famous, adorable smiles. 

“Thank you, senpai,” Kyouya responded with a small smile of his own. If nothing else, he knew he could count on Honey to quell any tension.

“Now let’s go get dinner!” Honey decided, turning back to the group. “We’re having a barbecue!”

The question of Kyouya’s health seemed to be settled, despite being unanswered, as the hosts headed into the house. The dining table had been set up with small barbecue grills, as well as enormous platters of meat and various side dishes. 

Just like that, everything was back to normal. It was like Kyouya hadn’t been sick at all. But he had been sick, and even now he was still unwell at best. Kyouya chatted and laughed with the others as they ate their fill, but he could feel his internal battery draining far faster than normal.

Kyouya let the conversation continue around him, just watching the others interact. Hikaru and Kaoru had positioned themselves across from Tamaki in order to steal any meat he was cooking if he dared to turn his head. Each time they did, Tamaki shouted at them and pouted until Haruhi dropped more food onto the grill. Kenta and Naoki were leaned forward in their seats as they listened to Honey chatted on and on about something or other. The youngest hosts seemed to really look up to the former hosts, though that wasn’t all that surprising. Honey and Mori were definitely worth looking up to. 

Slowly the plates began to empty, dessert was served, and the day was essentially over. The hosts split off, some going back to their rooms while others stayed up. Kyouya walked Haruhi back to her room, after shaking off Tamaki and the twins. They had tried to insist that they chaperone so that nothing inappropriate happened, but the powerful combination of Kyouya and Haruhi’s glare sent them running.

The pair stopped at the door, Haruhi hesitating to go inside. “Are you sure you can manage tomorrow? You look exhausted.”

It was still a bit unsettling at times just how well she could see through any facade Kyouya put in place. Though Haruhi was overly innocent when it came to some topics, she had an eerie sort of wisdom as well.

“It will be fine.” Kyouya found himself using that word more and more. It was fine, he was fine… “You know how Fuyumi would act if I didn’t bring her something.”

Haruhi frowned. “And you know how she would get if she found out you were hiding that you’re sick.” She certainly had a point. Kyouya’s sister was very protective, even more so since their mother’s accident. 

“I will take it easy. I promise,” Kyouya tried to assure her, though Haruhi didn’t look very convinced.

“I’ll see you in the morning.” Haruhi started to turn away when Kyouya stepped forward. He tilted her chin up, their faces only inches apart. Redness painted Haruhi’s face and ears. “W-What?”

Kyouya smiled, leaning even closer. “You’re not going to say goodnight, Haruhi?” Haruhi’s lips parted, but no words came forth. He closed the distance, brushing his lips ever so lightly across her’s. “Goodnight, Haruhi.”

“G-Goodnight, K-Kyouya…”