Kyoya contemplated the character selection screen in front of him.

"I just worry that I made a huge mistake. I followed her half way around the world, I was willing to leave all my friends and I…" Tamaki ran a hand through his hair as he paraded around Kyoya's apartment. Kyoya sat on his couch, laptop across his legs. Which character origin should he play this time? Kyoya was going to play through all the Dragon Age: Origins character backgrounds before he did his first play through.

"I-What if I don't really know her at all? What if this was all a mistake and I should have let her go on the exchange program by herself and broken up with her. It's clear this was more important to her than our relationship, but I…what if I just fell in love with the idea of her and…" Tamaki was pacing. Kyoya ignored the guilt in his stomach. His apartment's heat was probably cranked up too high, at any rate sweat was pooling across his collarbone. And across Tamaki's. Kyoya watched a bead of sweat travel down Tamaki's throat. Mentally he shook himself and focused.

So far he had played as an Elven Mage, a Dwarf Commoner and an City Elf. Should he be a Dwraf Noble then? Hmmm.

Kyoya clicked on the dwarf icon.

Tamaki sighed and threw himself on the couch beside Kyoya. "I just don't want to be with her because that's what I think I should do or because I invested so much. Or because it's what I thought I wanted. That could turn out really badly, it could turn out with us married and miserable and I-I don't want to make that mistake." The I don't want to make the mistake of my father went unsaid. Kyoya focused on customizing his character. His heart rate was starting to pick up with something like hope before self-hatred quashed it down.

What was wrong with him, that he was happy at his friend's pain? He knew he wasn't impartial, that liking Tamaki would make it impossible to ever be impartial about this, but Kyoya had tried so hard to get them together. He had thought he'd be able to be happy for them, and on some level he was.

Kyoya bit his lip and adjusted the skin tone of his dwarf. He didn't like thinking that if he hadn't brought the host club to Boston, Tamaki and Haruhi would be by themselves and Kyoya wouldn't have any friends left. Except Kaoru. Kyoya didn't like to think that next year, if he got into Harvard, he wouldn't have any friends at all. Not even Kaoru.

"What are you doing?" Tamaki turned to Kyoya.

"Playing dragon age. Nanako Shouji sent it to me as thanks when she realized we had been escorting her during my birthday."

"Right," Tamaki leaned in close, body heat radiating off him. He smelt like eucalyptus. "I meant, why are you using my laptop?"

"The CD only works on PC, my mac needs some direct to download thing," Kyoya waved off the question. Or he waved off the question Tamaki really wanted to ask, which was why was Kyoya even bothering to play some commoner rpg.

Since moving to Boston Kyoya had had a lot of free time on his hands. His English was pretty fluent, so classes weren't especially difficult, and without the host club activities and with America's reduced number of school hours, he had a lot of time on his hands. Especially since Tamaki was always off with Haruhi and while hanging out with Kaoru was fun, Kyoya was just a little bit creeped out by him. Honestly, who wants to wake up with someone sitting next to you on your bed, having been beside your unconscious, defenceless body for god knows how long?

"Well, if you're not going to listen to me, can I play too?" Tamaki beamed. It was just a little bit fake. Kyoya looked at him and then at the screen. He raised an eyebrow while Tamaki rolled his eyes. "Okay, can I watch you play then?" He wasn't smiling any more.

"I can't control what you do." Kyoya said. He wiped his sweaty palms on the side of his leg. Tamaki leaned even closer. "I think, with Haruhi, the best you can do is talk it out. Communication and all that. It's normal for relationships to have problems." Kyoya tried to swallow.

"I just don't like that I'm the one always apologizing, and always being accommodating and Haruhi isn't. I make a mistake and spend forever making up for it, but she makes a mistake and then what, forgets about it?" Tamaki sighed and Kyoya could feel Tamaki's breath against his face.He had a girlfriend.

"Do you remember when we met those Lobelia girls? Well I may have blurted out something homophobic—"

"That love between two women wasn't real?" Kyoya hmmed.

"Yes-Okay I realized that was dumb. But I knew it when I said it too! I was just so nervous that she would leave and I was going to say anything, (offensive or otherwise) that I thought would make Haruhi stay. But I…I keep apologizing for that, to Haruhi, and yet, she doesn't even think she did anything wrong." Kyoya raised an eyebrow. Their faces were too close for him to turn.

"You're talking about the time Benio said the host club was inferior because you're mixed race."

"YES! And Haruhi 'defended' me by basically saying I was 'too good' to be mixed. What is that? How come she never says anything about that!"

"As much as I enjoy talking about your relationship—"

"And I'm bi." Tamaki blurted. Kyoya's heart stopped. He heat travelled to his face as his hand stilled over his laptop keys. Tamaki's breath was still at his neck.

"What."

"I haven't told Haruhi. I'm not afraid to exactly. Her dad's bi and I don't think she's going to be prejudice. The thing is I don't know how she's going to react. I know how Hikaru would react, even how Mori would react, or you, but it occurred to me I didn't actually know what she would do. Would she say it wasn't important? Would she say it was good that I was being more self-aware? I-when I figured out I liked her, I figure out that I liked guys too. Since I liked her when I thought she was a guy and straight guys don't develop crushed on people they think are men—"

"Tamaki." Kyoya's voice was steady, but barely. "Are you going to shut up? You said it yourself, you have nothing to worry about. Her dad's bi, she's a good person. Noe be quiet or I won't be able to hear the game dialogue." Tamaki closed his mouth and Kyoya finished his character creation.

His heart was beating in his chest and he tried not to feel sick. He was happy for them. He wanted them to work out. Tamaki deserved to be happy.

Tamaki. Deserved. To. Be. Happy.

n

Kyoya and his Dwarf Noble were still making their way around Orzammar when Haruhi knocked on the door. He saved his game and let her in wordlessly. She was fidgeting and holding a notebook and textbook in front of her.

"Is there something I can help you with?"

Haurhi sighed and placed her things on the table in Kyoya's kitchen. She sat down, waiting for Kyoya to sit beside her. She looked tired.

"I was wondering if you could help me with English. I'm not struggling much, but you're definitely the best person I know in English."

"Why didn't you ask Tamaki?" Kyoya sat beside her and flipped open Haruhi's textbook, it was an analysis of Shakespeare's King Lear.

"I didn't want him to…"

"Worry you'd get 'distracted'?"

"No!" Haruhi blushed. Kyoya skimmed book. It hit a little close to home, especially considering the plot of the Dwarf Noble Origins. That poor Aeducan bastard.

"I didn't want him to ask him for help. I just…" Was she being proud or were the relationship problems more severe than Tamaki had made them seem? Kyoya's gut tied itself in knots. "I used to think Tamaki was an idiot, and then I thought he was really sweet and just lonely and naïve. But sometimes it's just so frustrating because he just…"

"Is an actual idiot?" Kyoya guessed. For all Tamaki's sweetness, he was also a huge dork, and a teenage boy who with little concept for personal space and a love of terrible puns. To this day Tamaki could not keep a straight face while saying "Sandy Beaches." Tamaki was also incapable of ignoring chocolate fountains or walking by cute dogs without petting them. He spent hours deciding what to wear and constantly tripped going up stairs.

"I don't know." Haruhi said. And Kyoya realized that was the wrong thing to say. What had started as a question about Tamaki's lack of tutoring ability was quickly going to be a Haruhi Venting Session. Kyoya could feel it. "There's moments when everything great, where we're cuddling and," Haurhi smiled, wistfully, turning even redder. "But it's not like that all the time, and sometimes he's just so frustrating. He expects me to laugh at stupid jokes or stuff…well sometimes I get the feeling he'll think I'll laugh at them because you'd laugh at them—"

"Did you want to study English?" Kyoya turned the book to face Haruhi. He ignored his pounding heart and the migraine that was forming by his left temple. Haruhi looked taken aback for a moment. She narrowed her eyes, searching for something in Kyoya's expression. Then she pressed her lips into a firm line and nodded.

"Tamaki's been talking to you about our relationship." Before Kyoya could say anything Haruhi barrelled on about English and then they did spend the next hour or so studying. When she finally left Kyoya thought he'd have more time to himself, but realized he had several unread text messages from Tamaki.

I know the perfect way to resolve our problems. It's only December now, but I'll do something big for Valentine's Day!

I SHOULD TAKE HER SKATING! Haruhi said her and her dad used to go skating every year on Valentine's Day!

I don't know how to skate .

Kyoya bit his lip. Even as he typed the message he questioned his motivation.

I know how to skate

Kyoya put his phone down and didn't think about it. He wanted Haruhi and Tamaki to work out their differences. He wanted Tamaki to be happy. He didn't check his phone until right before he went to bed.

Kyoya, that's great! Will you teach me! PLEASE! :'(

Somewhere in Kyoya's brain a small voice was whispering, usually he ignored it, but just then, at one o'clock in the morning, it was hard to suppress.

Tamaki could be happy with someone else, it said. And for once, Kyoya didn't have a response.