Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Ouran High School Host Club nor any of the characters. They are owned by Bisco Hatori. This is a work of fiction.
"Milord, when is the last time you fed your precious teddy bear?" Hikaru asked, before tossing the stuffed animal to his twin brother.
"Gosh, really. It is looking a bit light on the fluff," agreed Kaoru, squeezing the teddy bear with enough force that the sunken eyes protruded from its head.
"You devils! Give me back my Kuma-chan!" yelled a furious Tamaki. "It is by no means your place to judge how I care for my child!"
"Whatever, fine," said the Hitachiins. "Catch!" they yelled, tossing the plush carelessly into the air.
Tamaki screamed in horror and scrambled to catch his beloved brown son before it abruptly hit Haruhi -the youngest host club member- on the top of her head. She stood slowly to face the culprits. "Why are you throwing things at innocent people?"
"Our bad, Haruhi. We had no idea that Milord would fail so miserably at catching," shrugged the twins.
"And you call yourself an Englishman," Kaoru added.
"I'm French. French! And anyway, what does being European have to do with poor hand-eye coordination!?" the blond snapped back.
"Oh-ho! So you admit it was your fault!" the Hitachiins snickered. "Didja hear that, Haruhi?"
"Enough! I'm tired of you three acting like grade-schoolers! No offense, Honey-senpai."
"None taken, Haru-chan," replied Honey, mouthful of cake.
"You guys need to chill out! You two!" Haruhi pointed at the twins. "Go sit in separate corners! And you, Senpai!" Hearing his name, Tamaki jolted with fear, small tears filling in the corners of his violet eyes. Haruhi sighed. "Here," she said, handing back the teddy bear to its owner. "Sit on this couch. And hush, please. All of you. Just… five minutes, okay?" She sat back down at the table, exhausted, and ran her fingers through her short brown hair.
A small smile spread across the ivory face of the shadow king that stood behind her. Despite being the youngest one, Haruhi Fujioka sure knew how to keep peace in order. She was practically the shadow queen.
"Fujioka," Kyoya looked up from whatever he was writing in that mysterious black book of his. "You have been doing a sufficient job hosting, and your debt has decreased dramatically due to your hard work here. It is quite commendable. However, if you wish to speed up the process, I have recently devised another plan of payment for you, that is, if you are interested."
Kyoya did not fail to notice how Haruhi's eyes lit up at the talk of money and the possibility of getting out of this mess as soon as possible. He continued. "And I'm sure you'll be pleased to hear that it would be quite different from your current form of work."
"Music to my ears," said the young girl, slumping a bit in her chair. She was beyond tired of being a host club employee. It wasn't necessarily her job of wooing the ladies with her "natural" charm that was exhausting, but her coworkers; being the obnoxious rich brats they were. Haruhi's eyes flicked to her Senpai, who was still sitting in his designated corner like a good boy, albeit pouting like a scolded puppy while doing so.
"That is understandable. If you wish to discuss it further, I can have one of my family's employees pick you up after school and bring you to my home."
Haruhi shrugged. "That's fine. I'm open for a little while."
* * * (Ootori Estate) * * *
Kyoya's house was beyond grand, which was to be expected of such a wealthy family. Too wealthy for their own good, Haruhi often found herself thinking. Her eyes wandered, interested in the multiple winding staircases leading to deep hallways she couldn't see the ends of, the ornate furniture and elegant decorations, as well as the maids and servants busily cleaning up rooms that Haruhi could tell were hardly used, if ever.
"Geez, Senpai. You could feed all the orphans in China for weeks if you sold this house."
"And why would I want to do that?" Kyoya asked, a bit taken aback by this remark.
"It was just a thought. And anyway Senpai, I can see through your 'evil shadow king' act. You're not all the bad guy you pretend to be," Haruhi asserted with a smirk. Kyoya came to a halt.
"That's a very intriguing notion, in its own way," he nodded in thought.
"I mean," continued Haruhi, "If I had a house such as this one, I would be constantly getting lost and it would just become frustrating. Do you really need this many rooms?"
Kyoya let out a rare chuckle and continued walking. "No, not particularly. But housing plays a large role in where you stand compared to your competitors. It would be most difficult to host business parties and hold meetings seriously if we lived in a meager commoner-sized dwelling, don't you agree?" Haruhi shrugged and mumbled something under her breath. "In any case," he continued, "You might as well get used to it, given that if you accept the job offer, you will be seeing a lot more of this home."
Haruhi wasn't too sure if she liked the sound of that. A pit formed in her stomach at the thought of possibly being a servant at Kyoya's house. There was no way in hell she would be wearing one of those frilly maid outfits. She shook the image out of her head. "Are we almost there?" she asked, tired of trekking through his ridiculously large residence.
"Yes, were are to simply turn this corner and- ah, here we are," Kyoya said, opening the tall double doors to reveal a large, modern-style room. Placing his schoolbag on his desk, he motioned for the girl to take a seat. "Would you care for some tea, Miss Fujioka? It is mauka oolong from the volcanoes of Hawaii. I found it would be appropriate, given that this season is starting to ease its way into summer," he asked once she was settled in the large navy sofa.
"No, thank you. I don't want the price of whatever fancy tea you have to come back and bite me in the butt later..."
"Unlike the other occasions, in this one, you are a guest…" Kyoya paused to see that the girl still had no interest in the warm beverage and felt no need to push something so trivial. "Alright, if you insist to resist," he nodded, sitting across from her and lifting a teacup and matching saucer prepared for him and his guest by one of the servants. "Speaking of prices and your debt, I would now like to speak with you concerning the extra means of payment. If you are in favor with this job, your hosting hours will be cut in half." Kyoya took a sip from his teacup, his onyx eyes beaming from behind his glasses. "You see, it can get so dreadfully boring and dull around here, seeing as how I'm the youngest and my parents are always at work. I couldn't help but notice the way you handle situations and people at school; I must say it is quite… captivating." Kyoya raised an eyebrow, curious to see response he would receive from the girl.
"What exactly are you getting at, Kyoya-senpai? Do you want me to be your little brother or dog or something?" Haruhi asked, sarcastic yet curious.
"Not quite…" the young man shifted to where he was comfortable in his chair. "You see, I have been thinking for some time now that someone of your maturity and intelligence would be most beneficial for me, and Ootoris everywhere."
Haruhi sat, puzzled.
"Haruhi Fujioka, how would you like to become my… significant other?"
A/N: Hello everybody and thank you for reading my first published fic! Please comment and feel free to offer likes/dislikes as well as polite criticism. The next chapter will be up shortly! Until next time!