Haruhi sank into her seat with a heavy sigh but the dark haired teen beside her didn't even seem to notice, continuing to scribble notes in his little black book. She watched him write for a moment before deciding to leave the Shadow King to his own business and instead settling back against the cushions, allowing herself to relax a little after having just scrubbed all the teacups and saucers from today's club activities. At a coffee table not far away the twins were knelt and frantically scribbling in their own notebooks, having begged Haruhi to let them copy her notes and received them only under the condition that her notebook be returned before she left to go home and thus leaving them only about 10 minutes at best. With the twins quiet one would think the whole clubroom would be quieter but instead of course Tamaki had decided it was time to rearrange the furniture- as he seemed to decide on a regular basis- and was now instructing his moving crew of Mori and Hunny- mostly Mori- to bring the side table
"Just a little to the left- no that's not quite right…"
"To the right?"
"No! I mean it didn't look right! I want it left!"
"Leave it here?"
"No I mean move it to the left!"
Haruhi shook her head hopelessly at her sempai, shifting into a more comfortable position on the couch and beginning to let her mind wander towards grocery store sales and the chores she still had to get done when she got home.
"Haruhi."
The sound of her name brought the brunette back to reality, peering over at her couchmate. Kyoya was just finishing up a sentence before he clicked his black book closed definitively and set it aside.
"Let's chat."
He continued casually, crossing his legs and shifting in his seat to face her better. She blinked at him, a little surprised by the suggestion, searching his face for motive but finding his grey eyes to be genuinely attentive though his expression otherwise unreadable- as usual.
"About what?"
She inquired, not opposed to the idea as much as surprised he would want to bother making conversation with her; he had stated in the past he never did anything that didn't directly benefit himself, so what was the point of this?
The Shadow King pondered a moment before asking
"How are your classes so far?"
Haruhi shrugged.
"I'm doing fine in all of them, if that's what you mean. We have an exam coming up in English that I need to study for…"
She eyed the twins across the room, quipping
"And it looks like I'm doing the studying for all three of us…"
Kyoya turned his head to peer at the twins as well.
"You shouldn't let them copy you all the time; you're the one who needs to remain top of the class, not them."
The brunette side glanced at him, lifting an eyebrow.
"You let Tamaki-sempai copy your notes, Kyoya…"
"Hmm, but that's different…"
He retorted, pointedly not meeting her eye and turning instead to watch their host king a moment. The girl chuckled lightly at the response, and the Shadow King turned his attention back to her.
"If you don't mind I think I'll give you a ride home today, Haruhi."
At her questioning expression he continued
"…It's drizzling outside, probably will turn to rain soon."
Haruhi blinked in surprise before turning and craning her head to peer out the tall windows on the opposite wall.
"Really? It is?"
She could just catch sight of the fountain when she stretched, its surface dancing with thousands of little raindrops, and she collapsed back in her seat again with a huff.
"The weather's been awful lately- too rainy…"
She peeked up at Kyoya, lips pursed.
"If you're really offering then I'll accept a ride home- but you're not charging me for this or something, are you? I don't need another hundred customers added to my tab just for a ride home!"
Kyoya chuckled at the brunette, who crossed her arms defiantly.
"You make me out to be some kind of monster, Haruhi…"
"You still didn't answer my question…"
She grumbled before turning back to peer out the window again. She eyed the dark clouds a moment, expression unreadable, before asking a little quieter without looking away
"But can we leave soon, Kyoya-sempai? Before the weather gets any worse, I mean…."
The Shadow King adjusted his glasses with a knowing smile before standing.
"Of course."
She stood to join him and crossed to the twins, snatching up her notes from under their noses.
"Sorry but your time is up- I'm going home."
The pair began to whine but she was an expert at blocking it out by now, buttoning her coat and shouldering her bag before crossing over to join Kyoya who was doing the same.
"Haruhi, you're leaving so soon?!"
Suddenly Tamaki was clutching her arm, looking positively upset. The brunette groaned, wondering how the host king who previously had been so invested in redecorating the room could even have noticed her getting ready to leave. He threw back his head, draping an arm across his forehead in agony.
"But it's raining! I simply cannot allow you to go out into such terrible weather, you'll just have to stay here with me until it passes!"
Haruhi snatched her arm away from him, retorting
"Kyoya-sempai's giving me a ride so that really won't be necessary, sempai."
Tamaki dropped his pose, looking surprised.
"He is?"
Haruhi crossed over to Kyoya who was waiting by the door, Tamaki's violet eyes trailing her slowly before coming to rest on the Shadow King she stood beside.
"Kyoya?"
Kyoya met his gaze a moment before turning to open the door and hold it for his companion.
"Goodnight, Tamaki."
Haruhi waved to the other hosts before heading out into the hall, Kyoya quickly taking pace beside her as the pair made their way down the stairs and out into the mist.