I don't own Ouran High School Host Club.

When the day had worn down and the clients had finally gone home, Haruhi made the decision to begin something. Taking a seat at the Shadow King's table, she approached pleasantly, exhibiting neither a show of permission nor an explanation for her presence. His table was simply the place where she had wanted to be.

Initially, her sudden closeness warranted little more than a seemingly bored, albeit polite glance from the corner of his eye. It had previously been unlike her to accept company while studying, and the very notion of her now sharing his own workspace seemed entirely unthinkable. Alas, he found himself unwilling to send her away.

Therein laid the foundation of a new brand of normalcy between them.

She could find no reason to inform him of the several truths she had discovered, especially since it had all been internal, emotional, and above all circumstantial.

That she had first decided to sit there in order to see just how he might truly make her feel. Or that her suspicions had been confirmed.

How maintaining this new, short proximity was her way of demonstrating that she preferred not to merely exist in the same space as him, but that she would always choose to genuinely see him.

Because there was something about him that fearfully suggested that one day he could simply disappear, and she needed him to know that a certain sadness would inevitably wash over her, should that ever happen.

Unable to foster illusions of grandeur, Haruhi believed to know her station in this particular piece of the world, and was therefore keeping these delicate observations to herself. Her outward actions served as a gesture of courtesy toward her feelings, and were meant to go no further.

At the same time, should he ever decide to inquire into the motivation behind her company, she would not necessarily lie, either.

.

Glancing away from the pages of her book, Haruhi watched while he quietly and furiously applied pressure to the backspace key on the computer. To the untrained eye, his actions would have gone unregistered and his facade would have seemed as cool as ever. Having now logged in countless hours of time tableside, she had learned to understand the discretionary moods which laid beneath his surface.

What remained unclear, however, was where the root of his pressures and frustrations stemmed from. By no means would she consider Kyoya an angry young man, although moody had proven to be a fairly accurate term to describe him. Whether his insurmountable pressure was rooted in his father's or his own standards, it was clear that the bar had been set no lower than some faraway stratosphere, that perhaps even Kyoya could not see.

Her only concern resided in the curiosity over whether or not there were any proper outlets into which he could pour whatever internal qualms he held onto. On an exterior level, he was clearly a beautiful individual who had it all together. Understanding and often declaring the lines of health and well-being in order to sway or impress guests of the club, Kyoya left no room for anyone to question the status of his own well-being.

It had not escaped him, however, that despite his appearance of overall mortal perfection he was also the least requested of hosts. It did not matter whatever apparently respectable reasons clients had for admiring him from afar; they still remained detached from him according to one choice or another.

In one way it was a comfort, as superficial interactions were better suited for the more light-hearted hosts. In another way, however, it was an additional chip on his shoulder to not know what details about himself kept most people away.

Noticing the studious girl now sitting across from him, Kyoya breathed a barely audible sigh. Smiling inward as it elicited the desired response, he looked up only as Haruhi began to speak.

"Challenging work today, Senpai?"

"Not necessarily, Haruhi. I was just thinking about the weather."

"What about it?"

"The forecast called for the possibility of storms this evening. Perhaps I should offer you a ride home."

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Ah, it's been so very long since Kyoya and Haruhi have crept into my head together! I'm happy to be writing this and hope you enjoy it! I think I have a notion of where this is going and how long it will or won't be. There should be a nice bit more. Thanks for reading, take care!