Someone screamed.

The cry was followed by peals of laughter, and after a moment, the voice of someone chastising another.

Then, there was silence. An unnatural, tense, breath-halting silence.

Ah, blissful silence.

Kyouya glared at the other hosts, who were so content with making so much damn noise, and really wondered how he dealt with these people, day after day after day-- they were so different in their own special ways, of sorts, and sometimes he wondered if these unique (annoying) characteristics were beneficial to their friendship (if it could be called that) at all. He liked to believe in that phrase, "opposites attract" or something like that; unfortunately, certain events seemed to point more to the idea that "oil and water don't mix". Well. At least the idiots had the sense to shut up when he let that "aura" of intimidation come loose-- he didn't even have to look up for them to feel it. The fear and respect they had for him was somewhat gratifying (though he'd never admit it out loud, ever).

He'd been dragged out of bed that day, though they had the sense to come calling after noon; thank goodness. He really, truly did not believe this "weekend bonding time"-- proposed by their splendid King-- was beneficial, at all. Tamaki really was an fool. Kyouya sighed; at least his irate mood had faded somewhat.

He decided not to look at them or otherwise pay attention to them-- he'd been successful at this for the past half-hour, listening only to their shrieks. Though they were quiet, now, apparently still afraid from the last time he scared them-- ah, silent like Mori. Yes, why couldn't they all be quiet like Morinozuka-san or unwilling like Haruhi?

Oh dear. Mommy was picking favorites. He'd better stop now.

Kyouya turned back to his book (and damn, he'd just read that line three times already) and decided to leave them hanging. Maybe they'd be good and stay quiet like nice little kiddies.

Haha.

Yeah, right.

Inwardly rolling his eyes, he pondered a bit more on his own interaction with this group of "friends". He was oftentimes cold or cruel on the outward front-- something he had been perfecting all these years-- but then he did let slip the occasional sarcastic or rude comment. And as begrudging as he was to admit...perhaps Haruhi was correct when she had said that sometimes, sometimes, he did "nice" things because he wanted to do so.

However, they were typically happy pranksters, naïve and everything sunshine and unicorns (with one quiet member who didn't count). Was such his fate to be surrounded by such people…?

The racket started up again (as he had predicted), and now Kyouya's interest was piqued-- they were making more noise than usual, maybe something actually interesting had happened rather than the usual stupidity. Looking up from his (still unread) book, he saw chaos.

Well, more chaos than was normal. If that made any sense at all.

Commoner's soft drink (once again, courtesy Tamaki in all his commoner product-fascinated glory). Everywhere. How he managed to avoid being sprayed by the fizzy, sweet liquid earlier was something he could not understand. No, scratch that-- how did he not notice at all?

Kyouya disliked not knowing.

More screams, and more soda shooting from shaken bottles.

And then, it hit him.

No, not figuratively. Literally.

He sat there, dripping in disgustingly sticky brown liquid, and was silent.

He took a deep breath in.

Deep breath out.

Calm.

Glasses flashed in that way that perfectly reflected the light.

The twins, the culprits, were looking at him now, mock fear and guilt evident on their faces. Kyouya frowned at them; were they mocking him? He'd have to keep an eye out for opportunities to get them back-- ah, how petty he could be sometimes…

"Uh, well, um….sorry about that, Kyouya-senpai! If it helps, you really look good in it, brown seems to be your color, haha…" Sheepish grin from one twin, a victorious grin on the other.

Kyouya again found himself nearly rolling his eyes at their "apology"-- not that he actually would go through the motion, it was unnecessary and undignified. And they'd better clean it up, or else--

Ugh, the sugar was starting to harden.

Kyouya still said nothing. Maybe silence was a better option.

It usually was.

----

After walking back indoors, changing, getting yelled at for "all the damn noise you damn kids make", and slamming the door in the bitter old man's face, Kyouya made his way back outside. Damn commoners and their flimsy little walls that were incapable of blocking out noise-- at least he didn't have to be polite. Though, that senior's point was valid, so he brought it up as he approached the others.

"Regarding the soda-- I don't care. You guys…don't have any concept of 'self control' or 'being appropriate', and so I've learned not to fight the inevitable," he deadpanned, earning a sigh of relief from the group, "and you should really tone it down a bit, you're disturbing the neighborhood. You've ruined a nice old man's sleep, as he has informed me-- to which I apologized on your behalf, of course-- he seemed content with that answer and forgave us-- oh and Haruhi, this is adding to your debt-- and so you should really be a little more considerate, lest you disturb other residents with your play." Kyouya smiled. A blow straight to their guilty conscience, if they had one.

...Failed, though, as it seemed that his non-linear fashion of speech had lost the (only) one that would have felt guilty-- namely, Tamaki; however, most of the others seemed to understand. Haruhi protested. The twins snickered. Tamaki blinked, looking confused. Mori looked away and Hunny gasped, crying out in anguish, "Really, Kyou-chan?!"

There was a pause, during which Kyouya leveled a glare at him. "No," he answered, voice laden with sarcasm.

Hunny caught on to the acerbity, and pouted.

At least the rest of them seemed to have realized that they'd probably be kicked out if they continued with their racket. There were several murmurs of "okay we should be quiet" and "silence, you devil twins" and similar variations-- and Kyouya was just about to walk away when he heard something that made him stop and turn back to look at them.

It wasn't something particularly shocking, but rather, something that made him realize just why he was friends with them.

They were really good people.

It was something they'd had since he'd met them, individual qualities that melded together into something they posessed as a group, and it was something they still had now.

Tamaki and his unbelievable kindness and selflessness. Haninozuka-san with his childish softness that brought down the sense of severity, and Morinozuka-san with his calm that seemed to balance the chaos of the rest. The Hitachiin twins with their fun and Haruhi with her ability to understand each member of the group.

Collectively, they had a certain characteristic that Kyouta coveted; it was the reason he stayed with them as friends, regardless of how much they irritated him at times, and the reason he had warmed up to them and people in general. They made him believe in qualities such as kindness and compassion. Intangible benefits, merit.

They had said, "We're sorry."

And they weren't referring to the man. (1)

Kyouya turned around fully and felt a small tug at the corner of his lips.

As for why he was friends with them?

...They knew how to make him smile.

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(1) What they're saying is, they're sorry for dragging Kyouya out on this excursion that he so obviously was displeased with. They understood and finally decided to acknowledge it, instead of taking it for granted as they usually do.

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This is my first ever fan fiction, so any comments, criticism, and otherwise are greatly appreciated. :D