The second trip to the beach was a wonderful idea... for about half the day. Haruhi noticed the sky starting to take a turn for the worse around noon after having lunch on the beach with the others. She had hoped that it wouldn't be a thunderstorm that would cause the others to worry about her and cancel the rest of their trip. At least there weren't any customers with them this time around. This was strictly a vacation for hosts only.
"Haru-chan! Haru-chan!" Hani said, running up to Haruhi and tugging on the sleeve of her white T-shirt, "Do you wanna play in the water with me?" Haruhi smiled at him, "Maybe later, Hani-Senpai."
"Okay! How about digging for clams then? Or maybe build a sand castle?" Haruhi couldn't help but laugh. "Alright, a sand castle then," she said as Hani lead her to an area away from the waves. As they began building, Tamaki looked over at them, lowering his sunglasses. He smiled, seeing Haruhi having fun.
"Kyouya, great idea planning this second trip out here minus the customers," Tamaki said, laying back in his chair, "We can just relax and enjoy the sun."
"Even we deserve a true vacation," Kyouya said, pushing up his glasses, "Besides, the last trip wasn't all that pleasant." Tamaki looked up into the sky. The last trip here wasn't pleasant, like Kyouya said; Haruhi was shoved from a cliff into the ocean, she had tried to take on two guys by herself and made the entire club worry, she and him had an argument.... Haruhi wasn't exactly happy when they left the next day.
"Hopefully, she won't be left alone with the S&M king again," Tamaki heard two voice say as he sat up.
"I already told you two it was nothing like that!!" he yelled as Hikaru and Kaoru smiled. Kaoru looked over at Haruhi and Hani and sighed. Hikaru picked up on what Kaoru was thinking and grinned mischievously.
"Hey, Kaoru," Hikaru said, "I wonder why Haruhi is covering up the swimsuit we picked out for her with that oversize T-shirt and shorts?" Tamaki quickly looked over at them as Kaoru nodded.
"Same here. I mean, we picked out such a cute and frilly pink and white bikini and with no customers around, she could show us how she looks in it." The blonde stood up in front of the twins. "What do you mean by that?! My Haruhi shouldn't be running around in a bikini!" he yelled, flailing his arms as a thought popped into his head. In his mind, he pictured both twins helping a half naked Haruhi into a frilly pink and white bikini.
"See, Haruhi? It's not so bad, isn't it?"
"You look so wonderful in that, Haruhi... will you show that off for us on the beach?"
"But Hikaru, Kaoru... I feel so exposed in this."
"Don't worry, we'll take good care of you..."
"How dare the two of you convince my precious daughter to dress like that?! And even worse, how did you two get to dress her like that?!" Tamaki yelled as the brothers looked at him.
"What are you talking about, boss?" Hikaru asked.
"All we did was picked it out," Kaoru answered, "When we went back to check on her, she had the shirt and shorts on."
"That doesn't matter! You two perverts aren't going anywhere near Haruhi for the rest of this vacation!!"
"What a cute sand castle, Haruhi," Kaoru said, smiling, ignoring Tamaki's rant. "How would you like to live in it?" Hikaru asked, "A princess like you deserves to live like one." Haruhi smiled.
"Thanks, you guys," she said as Hani placed a sand dollar on top, "But there's a downside to living in a sand castle like this." She stood up as a wave came and washed away the castle, "It was a nice thought..." Haruhi stopped for a moment, hearing thunder in the distance. Tamaki looked up and saw the dark clouds slowly moving closer to the beach. "Let's head inside for dinner, everyone," Tamaki said, walking over to Haruhi, "We're going to have baked fish and boiled shellfish." Haruhi smiled and picked up her beach towel.
"Hani-Senpai, Mori-Senpai. Might I bother the two of you to cook for us again?" Kyouya asked, pushing up his glasses and grabbing his tote bag, "I don't think we have any servants here to cook." Hani-Senpai smiled as Mori began to pick up his and Hani's items, "It'll be no trouble at all, Kyo-chan~! Right, Takashi?" Mori nodded as everyone began to walk to the Ootori family Villa.
---
"Dinner's ready, everyone~!" Hani said carrying two plates of boiled shellfish with Mori behind him with several plates of baked fish. "Thank you both for cooking," Kyouya said, as Hikaru and Kaoru look outside.
"Is it just me..." Kaoru said.
"...or does it look like it's going to storm outside?" Hikaru asked, finishing Kaoru's statement. Hani looked outside as thunder rumbled softly, shaking the window a little, "Takashi, please go get Haru-chan." Mori nodded and headed for the hallway as the doors opened and Haruhi stood there, wearing a pale pink sundress with flower prints along the bottom of it. "Whoa~ Haru-chan, you look so cute!"
"Did your dad pack that for you?" both twins asked as she nodded.
"Yes. He repacked my things again."
"Has anyone seen Tamaki?" Kyouya asked, "Everything will be cold." Haruhi sat down at the table, "He said something about an important family call when I last saw him." She took a bite of the fish, "This is really good." As the others sat down to eat, Haruhi saw a flash of lightening and tried to keep still and quiet. Hikaru and Kaoru stood up quickly and started to close the blinds and curtains. "Who wants to look outside anyway?" Hikaru asked, sitting next to Haruhi with a smile. Kaoru sat on the other side of Haruhi, "If you want, you can listen to my MP3 player, Haruhi."
"T-thanks, you guys," she said softly as Kyouya stood up and left, "I think I'm doing pretty well.... right?"
Hani sighed, "Haru-chan, if you're scared we can always take you home. It'll be no trouble at all." Haruhi shook her head.
"No, I wouldn't want to ruin your vacation," she said, standing up, "I just need to find Tamaki-Senpai." She quickly walked out of the dining room as Hani, Hikaru, and Kaoru sighed.
"Well, that was a bust," Hikaru said, "We tried to help but she still wants to see Tono."
"Well, Tama-chan was the first one to figure out Haru-chan's fear and tried to comfort her," Hani said, taking a bite out of a slice of cake that looked like baked fish, "I just hope she finds him soon." The twins nodded as the doors opened.
"I'm here, everyone!" Tamaki said, "Let's eat." Hikaru and Kaoru stared at him, wide-eyed as Mori sighed and shook his head. "What?" Tamaki asked as thunder boomed overhead, shaking the windows violently and causing the lights to flicker, "Where's Haruhi?"
"She went looking for you," Hikaru said, standing up, "You didn't see her at all while you were out there?!" Tamaki shook his head as lightening flashed brightly behind the curtains.
"Tama-chan..." Hani said quietly, "Go find Haru-chan. She's very scared right now and needs someone to help her."
"You're right, Hani-senpai!" Tamaki said, running down the hallways and opening the doors at random, hoping to find Haruhi in time.
---
Haruhi ran into the closest room she could find, trembling in fear. Why couldn't she find Tamaki of all times? Any other time she didn't want him around or needed him, he'd pop out of nowhere. She rested her head against the door, feeling tears starting to build up in her eyes. "Are you okay, Haruhi?" she heard someone asked.
Haruhi turned to see Kyouya with a bottle of water walking towards her. He was wearing a dark blue silk shirt with matching bottoms. Haruhi calmed down considerably and smiled, "I've been better, Senpai. How are you- -" Lightening flashed behind Kyouya and Haruhi clung to him, knocking the water out his hand and spilling some on his shirt.
"I'm so sorry, Senpai," she said, letting him go as he sighed and took the shirt off.
"You know," he said, tossing the shirt on a chair, "I ought to add that shirt to your debt..." Kyouya looked at her as thunder shook the villa and Haruhi clung to him again, trembling. It took him half a second to remember that she had a fear of thunder and lightening. How something so important slipped his mind was a mystery.
He remembered Tamaki yelling at Hikaru about Haruhi's fear over the phone during their summer vacation after he left her alone. Thinking about what either Tamaki or Hikaru might do to help her, he awkwardly wrapped his arms around her shoulders and held her. Haruhi quickly wrapped her arms around Kyouya's waist and held herself closer to him. Kyouya lowered his head against her hair and whispered softly to her.
"It's going to be okay, Haruhi..." he said, softly, "It's almost over..." Haruhi nodded, but still trembled when she heard thunder in distant. Kyouya sighed and kissed her forehead gently, but nervously. Haruhi looked up at him, very confused by his actions. She opened her mouth to ask him why but instead, when the harsh light from a bolt of lightening flashed in the room, she jumped and screamed. The scream didn't last long; Haruhi found her lips pressed against Kyouya's and a confused look in his eyes that mirrored hers. She pulled away quickly, blushing, and looked away.
"I'm so so so sorry about that, Senpai...." she said as Kyouya collected himself. Haruhi looked up at him again as he smiled and pulled her closer again, gently pressing his lips against hers. She stood frozen for a moment before closing her eyes and kissing him back.
'Distraction is the key...' Kyouya dimly thought, counting three separate thunder booms and noticing that Haruhi didn't jump. After a moment, Kyouya pulled away and placed a hand on Haruhi's cheek, smiling at her. Haruhi smiled back and rested her head on his chest. The dark-haired teen looked over his shoulder to see the storm clouds fading away.
"Kyouya-Senpai?" Haruhi asked as he looked down at her.
"There's no need for honorifics, Haruhi," he said with a smile, "Besides- -" A knock came from the door then it opened.
"Kyouya," Tamaki said, walking in, "Have you seen Haru...?" He stopped seeing his friend, shirtless with his 'daughter' in his arms.
"Senpai... it's not what it looks like..." Haruhi said as Tamaki screamed.
"What the heck are you doing to Haruhi in this dark room without your shirt on, Kyouya?!!!" Tamaki yelled as a last distant thunder boom caused Haruhi to cling to Kyouya again. Tamaki's attitude quickly changed.
"Oh, Mommy's protecting our precious daughter since I couldn't," the blonde smiled, "Good job, Kyouya." Tamaki gave Kyouya a thumbs-up before leaving. Haruhi sighed in relief as Kyouya sighed himself.
"What an idiot," Kyouya said with a grin, "But as I was saying, this will be our little secret, Haruhi." She smiled at him as he placed a kissed on her forehead.
"Okay, Kyouya," she smiled back, resting her head on his chest again.
