(A/N: Yeah, this has definitely taken on a life of its own. Ain't it grand? ;-) )

All day at work, Haruhi was distracted. Her mind kept wandering to Hikaru and whether he was ok being alone in her apartment. Eventually, it reached the point that her boss was concerned about her and sent her home early. She reluctantly accepted.

She was not sure what she had been expecting when she opened the door, but she was surprised to see Hikaru asleep on the couch. It was not a peaceful sleep, however. His eyebrows were furrowed, and he was tossing and twitching and moaning in his sleep. He seemed like he was in pain.

She walked up to him and stroked his hair gently. Almost immediately, his face relaxed, and his breathing evened. He looked so child-like and innocent when he slept. It caused her to feel a pang of guilt. He would not be so miserable right now, if she had not gone to him in the first place.

It had only been about a year and a half ago, but it seemed like another lifetime.

*.*.*

"You and Tamaki haven't done it yet? Seriously?"

"Ssshh! Don't say that so loudly!" Haruhi hissed at her friend Annabelle.

It was a wednesday afternoon, and the two young women were having lunch at a nearby cafe, after spending the morning studying for an afternoon test.

"But you have actually done it before, right?" Annabelle continued a bit more quietly.

"..."

"Are you serious?"

"Sshhh!"

"Has he?"

Haruhi sighed. "I don't actually know. I've never asked, and he's not the type to bring the subject up voluntarily."

Annabelle considered for a moment before replying, "Well, I suppose that could be a good thing. I mean, if he's too shy to even talk about it without blushing, then maybe he's still as much of a virgin as you are."

"Annabelle!" Haruhi hissed while Annabelle snickered.

"Even if he's not, you should just ask him. It's always better to know these things ahead of time. ...You know, so you can be prepared."

A concerned expression found its way onto Haruhi's face. "Prepared you say... Exactly what do I need to prepare for? Is it really as painful as they say it is in manga?"

Annabelle took another sip of her coffee. "Well, it hurts some, but to be honest, that's not what I remember most... My first time sucked," Annabelle stated bluntly. "But that was ok because it was with a friend of mine who was helping me practice."

"Helping you...practice?" Haruhi asked, trying to sound more curious than incredulous.

"Yeah," she elaborated, "I was curious, and I didn't want my first time with someone I cared about to suck. So I figured I would get the first time over with, with someone who wouldn't judge me."

Haruhi was slowly digesting this concept, when Annabelle added, "And when I did have my first time with a boyfriend, it was spectacular."

More for Haruhi to consider...

*.*.*

First things first, Haruhi needed to know whether Tamaki was actually a virgin or not. Because, if he was, then there was no need for her to worry about it at all. So she called the person whom she knew, for sure, would know.

"Hello, Kyoya, I'm very sorry to be bothering you; I know you're on your way to class."

"Not a problem. Is there something you need?"

"There's something I wanted to ask you..."

When she did not ask her question right away, Kyoya prompted her, "Go ahead."

But Haruhi continued to hesitate. "Um... It's a little embarassing..."

"Would you prefer to ask in person?"

"No!" she exclaimed a little too emphatically. "Sorry... no, in person would be so much worse." She paused again. Kyoya was about to check whether she was still on the line when she blurted out, "Kyoya, is Tamaki a virgin?"

Kyoya was taken aback by this question, so it took him a moment before answering. "No, he's not... Why do you ask?" he queried. "And why would you ask me? Isn't that something you should be discussing with him?"

Haruhi completely skirted his question. "Ok. Thank you so much Kyoya. I'll let you get to class. I'll see you at Hani-sempai's party. Bye."

Kyoya let it slide. "Ok, bye."

"Who was that?" Tamaki asked curiously, noticing Kyoya's bemused expression as they walked to their next class together.

"Just a friend who needed some information."

*.*.*

Haruhi tossed and turned in her bed that night. She continually had visions of what her first time with Tamaki would be like if she did not know what she was doing. She imagined how upset he might be if she stopped him midway because it hurt too much. She imagined him breaking up with her because the sex was bad- as well as a hundred other ridiculous notions that her mind manufactured. Then she began to hear Annabelle's words in her head about how spectacular it had been after she had had some practice. It was then that she resolved to ask for help (like this was freaking math homework). It put her mind at ease and she fell asleep.

A/N: I don't think it's as long as the previous chapter or as long as I would have preferred, but I like where it picked up and where it ended, so I guess it's fine. If you liked it, please review. Reviews are so much fun! -Or if you didn't like it, or found mistakes- or if you figured out what the hell I'm talking about (lmao)!- then, yeah, reviews plz :-D