DISCLAIMER: (copied from the talented Author: vampyremiyu)
"Ouran High School Host Club is a brilliant piece of work by creator Bisco Hatori. Originally published in 2003 by HAKUSENSHA, Inc., Tokyo, Japan, this masterpiece is being translated and published by VIZ Media for fans in America and Canada. I do not own a single piece of the characters used in this story."

Selfishness Runs in the Family

"Thank you, Kyouya. For the picnic. It's perfect." Haruhi looked down at the beautiful china, hoping her clumsy self could manage the light meal without dropping the bowl and breaking it or dumping its contents on her clothing. She looked up to see Kyouya balancing his bowl in one hand steadily. Of course. She wondered if he had ever done a single clumsy thing in his life.

"You are very welcome. I wanted something more personal and reserved than a restaurant. But not something cliche or overly romantic." Kyouya said it all in that calculating tone of his.

"Like something Tamaki would do." Haruhi baited him. He fell for it. His eyes clouded over for a second and she almost didn't catch his grip tighten on the bowl.

"He gets the most clients at the club, so maybe I should take notes." He tried for playful but actually sounded rather bitter.

"Ah, but you actually managed to get a girlfriend before him." She said, trying to ease his ego. "And you should know me better than that, Kyouya. I would run screaming from Tamaki's idea of a date. This," she waved her hand at the flowers around them, "is perfect."

Kyouya smiled. He hadn't meant to make her feel guilty, but the compliment felt good anyway. "I just wanted to be away from the rest of the world for once."

Haruhi smirked, "Does your laptop know you're cheating on it with someone else?"

Kyouya chuckled. His fingers did itch momentarily thinking of his laptop, but when he looked into those huge brown eyes he felt the anxiety disappear. "It only gives me stress. You bring me peace. It'll understand my choice." His tone was light, but she knew he meant it.

A piece of seaweed escaped her and drifted to her lap. She sighed. Then she cocked her head and looked at him with curiosity. "What were you like as a boy? I can't see you crying because you lost your teddy bear or anything else of that nature."

Kyouya smiled, almost sadly. "I was pretty much treated as a miniature adult ever since I could walk. I emulated my brothers and tried very hard to be the perfect Otori. I assure you that there must have been cute and funny stories about me as a small child, but I'd have to track down my nurses and ask them."

"Your mother...?"

"She tried, but she just didn't know how. She was just a rich spoiled girl when she married. And I'm sure marrying my father didn't exactly bring out her sweet maternal side."

"Oh. Better to have loved and lost then." Haruhi hung her head. She felt guilty for bringing up the subject.

"Better to love without losing." His playful banter was honest and she realized that he wasn't too affected by his family dynamic. He was tough and had had years to accept his life. But now he had her.

Raising her gaze back up to him she smiled sheepishly. "How can you love without losing your heart?"

He raised his eyebrows, and pushing his glasses up his nose he replied in a very teacher-like tone. "You don't lose your heart. I know exactly where mine is. It just so happens that it is in your hands, not my chest."

Haruhi's jaw dropped. "A romantic Kyouya?" Despite her blush she started laughing. Kyouya looked slightly insulted, but laughed too, understanding the absurdity. When she managed to calm herself she blushed again and said softly, "I don't think I'll ever get used to you saying things like that, but I don't dislike it..." He smiled at her, appeased that she didn't think him a fool for his unguarded words.

"At least you know that everything I say is honest. I'm not sure I could lie to you even if I tried." He thought back to the day at the beach. When she had provided a reason for his behavior, about his wanting to reconcile her with Tamaki, he had been unable to answer. He couldn't agree with her, it would have been a lie. The last thing on his mind at the time had been Tamaki.

"Do you ever lie? I don't think you need to. You just flash your glasses at people and they're too afraid to question you further."

He flashed his glasses at her in mock intimidation and they both chuckled.

"How is your father? His work?"

"What's this? Small talk?" Kyouya raised an eyebrow so she explained herself. "You keep tabs on my father, I'm sure. You probably know better than me how his job is going. Probably have copies of the bar's tax records and everything." Kyouya didn't answer. There was no need to. They both knew she was right. "So. How is your father doing? Is the company doing well?"

A shadow flitted across his face and he put down his nearly cleared plate.

"The company is doing very well. In fact, they are having a celebratory banquet of sorts this afternoon...."

Author talking: Just in case anyone was curious, chiaccherare means to converse, or talk amicably, in Italian.