A/N: This story came about because of a conversation I had with a friend, so I'm dedicating this to her: SworntoChase.
Behind the Scenes
By: Embers of Inspiration
Kyouya paused in his work to glance across the club room. for a while now there had been some kind of incessant noise permeating the would-be perfect silence. Sure enough, Tamaki and Hikaru were at it again.
Most of what they did now-a-days was argue over Haruhi. Everything they did revolved around Haruhi. Every one of their thoughts was directed at Haruhi. All of their time and effort went into worry about Haruhi. Was she okay? How did she sleep last night? Did she get enough to eat for lunch?
Kyouya merely ignored them and tried to concentrate on his work. Instead, he found his attention wandering to each of the club members.
Kaoru was standing not too far away from Tamaki and his twin, wearing a goofy smile on his face and egging them on. Honey-senpai and Mori-senpai sat at a table together, watching the argument. Honey-senpai had a piece of cake sitting in front of him, as was usual. Kyouya was pretty sure it was angel cake with strawberries and whipped cream.
He watched Haruhi as inconspicuously as possible. She quietly made her way through her homework, seeming unbothered by the din, although she would look up every so often to watch the bickering.
'How can they be so foolish?' Kyouya wondered in fascination. 'Surely they realize by now that if Haruhi hasn't chosen either of them, she's probably never going to do it,' he mused as he turned his attention back to the quarrel.
But another part of him knew why they did it. It was because they both found her to be someone worth fighting for… After all, wasn't he the same way?
He had harbored feelings for Haruhi for a while now. Although he couldn't remember when it had begun, the commoner girl had somehow managed to sneak her way into his heart through a back door he never knew existed. As far as he was concerned, she was welcome to stay.
Haruhi was the kind of person who didn't look at someone for their appearance, money, or even personality. She found what was hidden in your heart and told that it was okay to be yourself, because at a school such as Ouran Gakuen, there were a lot of things people kept secret.
On their first school break she had done the same to him. She watched him help a lady he didn't initially believe he knew. Then she had all but accused him of being nice. Imagine, him, being nice. He didn't have the time to afford to be nice to random strangers. It hardly got him anywhere.
Yet he had been standing in a commoner's market, surrounded by people who weren't watching his every move. What was a small favor to a woman who was about to needlessly waste her money? Except Haruhi had seen right through him.
She could keep a secret too. She'd never told anyone about that incident.
He knew that at the moment, it was most likely that Haruhi would fall for Tamaki (if anyone at all). Hikaru had already been rejected and he hadn't made any significant moves yet. He, however, wasn't going to shock the poor girl by throwing himself at her. That was too undignified anyway. Love, he knew, was an emotion that required trust. If he worked hard enough to establish it, he would have the battle half-won already. Plus, trust was a trait that Haruhi definitely appreciated.
He wasn't going to engage himself physically in fighting for Haruhi's affections, let Tamaki and Hikaru handle that arena. While they were otherwise engaged he'd be working form the sidelines.
Kyouya broke out of his musings to find Haruhi walking toward him. "Kyouya-senpai," she began, "I'm having trouble with my biology homework."
He regarded her over his glasses momentarily before pushing his own work to the side. "Pull up a chair," he told her.
For a few minutes of this day he had Haruhi's undivided attention. Better yet, no one cared because he was Kyouya Ootori.
He was the Shadow King, and so he would sweep his queen off of her feet when no one was looking.