AN: I am truly grateful for the amount of response I got from the first chapter! The Ouran fandom is, without a doubt, one of the nicest I've participated in in a while! Between the response from this and my other Ouran fic, I have gotten nothing but nice comments from you guys. Thank you so much. And thanks to all those who faved or followed my stories, you guys are the best! I'm enjoying writing this story, and I hope this doesn't disappoint.

Haruhi yawned for what felt like the thousandth time that night, leaning further back into the leather of the seat. Granted, it was nearing 11 o'clock at night. She sat with Kyōya in the back of his limousine where the two were returning from dinner with Ranka, who had complained - to Kyōya - that they never stopped by now that Haruhi was officially a fully responsible adult and had moved out. Had she not been so exhausted, Haruhi would have been more annoyed with her father for going through Kyōya to ensure a meal from her.

But ever since the encounter at the Hitachiin gala almost two weeks prior, Haruhi had been suffering from poor sleep. She was not one to have nightmares, and yet every night as she drifted off, she was plagued with images of that mysterious man who accosted her.

The mildest one she'd had was the distorted memory, but as the days passed, they grew stranger and more uncomfortable for Haruhi. In every one, that man was there touching her in some way or another. A caress of the cheek, holding hand, playing with her hair. And those were the tame ones.

Never mind the fact that she felt as though someone were constantly watching her. Whether in class, on the bus, or even just in front of her apartment building, she couldn't get over the feeling of someone watching her every move. She'd been able to keep her unease from the others, only because due to their varying busy schedules, they hadn't been able to catch up, with the exception of a lunch date with Mori and Honey which was early in the week.

"Something the matter?" Kyōya asked as she tried to get comfortable in her seat. But she couldn't hide it from Kyōya. Never from Kyōya. Even in high school he'd had that strange ability to read her like an open book. Damn him.

With a sigh, she sat up a bit. "I'm fine. Just tired." Didn't mean she couldn't try to hide it from him.

He merely raised an eyebrow. "Oh? I hadn't noticed, with the way you seemed to be a million miles from here." Damn him and his shadow powers to hell. "Perhaps you could humor me with the truth this time?"

"Fine," she relented. "And for the record, I am actually tired. I haven't been sleeping well lately."

"Is everything alright?"

Haruhi shook her head. "That's the thing. I don't know. I have this strange feeling that I'm being followed. Or at least being watched. And it's starting to get to me."

Kyōya looked genuinely concerned. "How long has this been going on?"

"Ever since last week."

The limousine pulled onto the curb of Haruhi's apartment building, and the door was opened for the two. Haruhi smiled at the driver, who nodded in response. The two walked into the building in silence. While waiting for the elevator, Haruhi looked up to Kyōya.

"I don't mean to come off as paranoid, but I can't get that strange man out of my head."

Stepping into the elevator, Kyōya smirked. "Should I be concerned?" Haruhi scoffed, rolling her eyes. Becoming serious again Kyōya asked, "I take it that you believe he might be the one watching you?"

Haruhi nodded. The elevator doors opened on Haruhi's floor, and the two exited.

"There was something so… menacing about his eyes," she said suddenly. "The way he was staring at me. And then he wouldn't let me go…"

"Haruhi," Kyōya said, stopping her from continuing. "I know that you're normally against it, but it would put me at ease if you'd allow me to hire someone to look after you." He put a finger on her lips as she went to speak. "At least until you feel safe enough to no longer warrant the added protection."

"Will you at least let me think about it?" she grumbled. He was right, of course. She was normally against a bodyguard. He'd already tried that once, a few years back when she was mugged on the way home from the supermarket. In her mind, things could have been a lot worse. They'd only managed to take her purse, and left her with a slight bruise, which she didn't think to be a big deal. Needless to say, the entire Host Club disagreed with her, and had sworn vengeance for her. To this day she wasn't sure how they'd managed to get her purse back, and she wasn't going to ask.

"I would have hoped that you would say yes immediately, but of course." As they made their way down the long hallway to Haruhi's apartment, another idea struck Kyōya. "And what of the others?"

Haruhi blinked. "What about them?"

"Well, it might be beneficial if they were informed about all of this, don't you think?"

Haruhi tilted her head to the side, resting a finger on her cheek. "It might, but I don't know if I would really want them to worry. I mean, Tamaki-senpai and the twins alone might just try to move in if they thought it would keep me safe."

"I would personally see to it that they didn't," Kyōya muttered. Haruhi shook her head, laughing quietly. They turned the corner, having finally arrived in front of Haruhi's apartment. They both stood still, staring at an object placed there.

A large floral arrangement, consisting of yellow roses and purple tulips sat in front of Haruhi's apartment door.

"Kyōya, did you leave me flowers?" Haruhi asked quietly, already knowing the answer.

"No. I did not." Haruhi nodded, and reached for the card sitting in the flowers. Kyōya pulled her back.

"It's alright. I'm just getting the card." Kyōya let go of her arm reluctantly, and Haruhi cautiously walked up to the arrangement. They were beautiful flowers, but the mere fact that she had no idea where they came from gave Haruhi pause. With a shaky hand, she plucked the tiny white card from where it lay.

Kyōya watched in apprehension as Haruhi approached the flowers. Their appearance only added credence to her worries, which lead to his own concern for the petite woman. He wasn't blind. He had noticed how distracted she'd been over the past few days. He had just hoped she would have spoken to someone about it. He then remembered who it was that he was thinking about.

"I-I think maybe giving the others a call might be a good idea," Haruhi said, hurriedly moving away from the flowers. She handed Kyōya the card, looking around the hallway frantically.

Kyōya took a moment to watch her, before flipping the card over. The message was brief, but he could understand her upset.

Soon. -Sachio

Within seconds, his cell phone was out of his pocket and he was dialing Tachibana's number.

Chewing on her nail, Haruhi silently watched Kyōya speak on the phone. The hand holding onto the note card was clenched tightly into a fist. Her stalker had a name, and he was becoming more daring. She eyed the flowers warily, unhappy that this person knew where she lived. Had he actually been following her? Her concentration was broken by the sound of Kyōya sighing.

"My men are on their way to watch over the apartment," Kyōya told her, pocketing the cell phone. He took the keys from Haruhi's hand, moving around the vase to open the door.

"Actually, would you mind if I went over to your place?" Haruhi asked, fear evident in her eyes. "If someone is leaving me threatening flowers, I don't want to stay here by myself."

"I wouldn't mind at all."

Opening the door, Kyōya entered her apartment first, and flipped the light switch to make sure there was no one waiting in the dark. Once he'd deemed it safe, he allowed her to enter, and closed the door behind them, locking it. The flowers remained on the other side of the door.

Haruhi practically ran to her room, pulling a duffle bag from her closet. She quickly began to stuff a few days' worth of clothing, toiletries and anything else she thought she might need into the bag. Kyōya stood at the doorway, watching her, and occasionally grabbing an item if she asked for it. She nodded to him when she was done, signaling that she was ready. He grabbed her bag for her, and began making his way to the door.

Before following Kyōya, she turned to the shrine she'd set up in her mother's memory. It sat in a corner of the living room, visible from almost every place in the apartment. Haruhi let out a shaky breath.

She picked up the photograph of her mother. 'Please watch over me, Mom.' Running her fingers over the picture, she put it back down.

"Haruhi?" Kyōya called from the doorway.

"I'm ready. Let's go." She stepped out of the apartment, making sure to steer clear from the flowers. Kyōya closed the door, locking it behind him.

This newfound paranoia of hers was not something she appreciated, Haruhi thought as she and Kyōya made their way back downstairs. The past two weeks had been stressful for her. She had continued attending her classes, she wasn't going to allow anything or anyone get in the way of that. She still managed to get to work, even if she wasn't functioning at full capacity.

It just bothered her that she now had almost concrete proof that her worries were right.

"Sir," Hotta's voice brought Haruhi out of her musings. She hadn't even realized that they'd made it back to the limousine. She pulled her coat tighter around herself to ward off the late January air as she watched as several men in black uniforms entered her apartment building. "I've been updated by Tachibana. The Zeta Team is already heading upstairs and will retrieve the package for inspection."

"Good. How soon can I have the results?" Kyōya asked.

Checking his watch, Hotta answered, "It could take up to twelve hours for a thorough investigation, sir."

Kyōya hummed thoughtfully, pushing his glasses up. "That's fine. Make sure it is thorough."

"Yes sir." Hotta bowed quickly. He went inside the apartment building, following the others as Kyōya handed the duffle bag to the driver. He motioned for Haruhi to enter, sliding in after her. The driver closed the door after him.

"You're exceptionally pensive," Kyōya told her. Indeed, Haruhi had been staring out of the window, watching as the city went by, her eyes slightly distant.

"What investigation was he talking about?" she asked, turning her head only slightly enough to look at him from the corner of her eye.

Kyōya folded his arms across his chest, looking towards the floor. "We don't know where those flowers came from. I'm having my men try to find out." Haruhi nodded, going back to staring out the window. Quietly, he spoke again. "I know this may be a stupid question, but are you alright?"

Was she alright? Haruhi was aware that Kyōya was waiting for her answer. All of her concerns and worries of the past few weeks seemed to be valid. He'd listened to her fretting and took immediate action, and for that she was grateful. She supposed that would just have to do for now.

Ruffling her hair, she shrugged. "Honestly? I don't know. I've never had to deal with something like this before. I guess I don't really know how I'm supposed to feel." Seeing him nodding at her words, she asked, "Are you alright?"

Clearly not expecting the question to be asked of him, Kyōya sat up, his head tilting to the side in concentration (a habit he'd picked up from Haruhi). "I'm concerned for you. It has been a while since I've seen you this burdened by something out of your control."

He scooted closer to Haruhi, wrapping his arms around her. She, in turn, leaned against him, resting her head against his chest, taking in his steady heartbeat. It was a level of intimacy that they would only indulge in private, as neither were all that comfortable with showing it around others. PDA was just not for Kyōya and Haruhi.

"I'm not fond of someone I love being in any kind of distress. I'll have you know," he said, his tone light, "that I have quite the vested interest in making sure that you, especially, are always safe and happy."

"Oh do you? What merit could you possibly gain from something like that?" she smiled.

"Well for one, should anything happen to you, I would have to bear the brunt of anguish from not one, but both of your fathers." Haruhi chuckled quietly. "That's something I completely intend to avoid at all costs." His arms around her tightened, and he lowered his voice. "As for merit, your happiness is directly correlated to mine. I truly don't know what I would do should anything happen to you."

Haruhi sat up at the change in Kyōya's tone. She brought her hand to rest on his cheek, as their eyes met, her brown orbs taking in his grey. The concern in them was clear. She sat up in order to press her lips to his. "I love you, too," she whispered into the kiss, as both pairs of eye shut.

"Ah! My apologies!" The couple pulled apart at the sudden flood of light and cold air from the driver opened the door. Haruhi felt her cheeks flood with warmth as her blush spread. Looking at the now irritated Kyōya, she was slightly glad to see the same splash of color on his face. Kyōya stepped out first, shooting a glare to his driver while helping Haruhi out of the vehicle. She smiled shyly at the driver as he went to retrieve her bag from the truck. Handing the bag to one of the servants who was waiting, the driver slyly winked, causing her blush to go passed her neck. He bowed, returning to the limousine.

Kyōya was still muttering about potential layoffs.

Once inside Kyōya's house, Kyōya instructed the servant to get Haruhi's room ready for her, as she'd be their guest for the foreseeable future. Kyōya had a very (unnecessarily large, Haruhi thought) large house. With Haruhi being a frequent guest, he had a room in the same corridor as his ready for her for whenever she needed. It was in this instance, however, that they were both glad for that.

It was almost midnight by the time everything was ready. She informed Kyōya that after the long day, she was going to shower and then go to sleep.

"Do you need any help with either of those?" he'd asked.

"Don't you have a certain group of gentlemen that you need to speak with?" she countered. Smirking, he pulled his cell phone from his pocket, leaving her room and closing the door behind him.

Haruhi navigated around the now familiar room to where the maids had laid out her things for her. Even with the amount of times she'd been over, that was just not something she ever grew comfortable with. Gathering her clothes, she headed into the enormous bathroom. She raised the dimmer switch, bathing the room in light. She placed her clothes on the counter.

She looked up as the lights above her began flickering slightly. She lowered the dimmer, hoping to prevent more flickering. As she passed the mirror to turn on the tap for the shower, the lights began flickering again. This time, it was accompanied with a strange, not quite hissing noise. Once she managed to get the shower running, the noise grew louder. She took a step back, looking up at the light again.

"Haruhi."

Still fully clothed, she opened the bathroom door to see if Kyōya or one of the maids was calling her. There was no one on the other side of the door. Out of curiosity, Haruhi checked the bedroom door, to see if it was locked. It was. She unlocked it, just in case. She again entered the bathroom and closed the door. She left this door unlocked as well.

"Haruhi."

Removing her shirt, she stood in front of the mirror. The flickering of the lights grew more turbulent. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw movement. Was that a face in the mirror?

"Haruhi!"

Haruhi yelped, tripping on the rug in the dark. The lights grew uncomfortably bright before going out completely. She hit her head on the corner of the shower, lying there dazed. The design of the bathroom left if without windows, leaving Haruhi in complete darkness.

She heard hurried footsteps, and then knocking at the door. "Haruhi?" Kyōya called from the other side of the door. "Is everything alright? Why are the lights out?"

"The door's unlocked," Haruhi called out. She gingerly sat up, putting a hand on her temple, wincing at the wetness she felt. The door opened, and Kyōya stood there, phone ignored in his grip. "The lights went ou…" Before the sentence was finished, the bathroom lights flicked back on, much to Haruhi's annoyance. "…are you kidding me?"

Kyōya knelt in front of her, pulling her hand away from her face. "That's going to leave a bruise," he muttered to himself taking in damage from her fall. She flinched at his touch as he pushed her hair off the cut. "I apologize. We're going to have to clean this out. Can you stand?"

Haruhi nodded carefully, not wanting to aggravate the headache she felt growing. She took the proffered hand, standing up.

"What's going to leave a bruise?! Kyōya?! What's happened?!"

Kyōya cursed, glaring at his phone. He bent down, picking it up. "Tamaki. I am going to hang up now, there is something I need to take care of."

"I heard you say Haruhi's name! Is my daughter alright?! Does Daddy need to come rescue her? What are you doing at her apartment so late at night anyway, Mother?!"

Kyōya rolled his eyes, throwing a "Why me?" look at Haruhi. "I'm not at her apartment. She's at my house. And…"

Haruhi sat on the edge of the bed after having grabbed the phone from Kyōya. "Tamaki-senpai, three things. First of all, you're not my father. Second, I am fine. I just tripped. Lastly, don't worry about why I'm at Kyōya's house. Neither Kyōya nor I need to explain ourselves. We've had this discussion before."

By this point, Kyōya had disappeared into the bathroom, retrieved the first aid kit, and returned. Tamaki was still weeping into the phone, that much he could make out, but he couldn't hear all the words. He began pulling things out to clean Haruhi's wound, which seemed to have just stopped bleeding.

"No, you don't need to stop by just to make sure I'm not going to die," Haruhi said into the phone. Covering the mouthpiece, she glanced at him. "I told you this is how he would react." Instead of answering, Kyōya merely shrugged, and tended to her wound. "Actually, Tamaki-senpai, there is something that I need to speak to you about. Well, everyone really. Do you think you could get everyone together in the morning? That's…yeah, that's fine. Thank you. Good night, senpai."

"That went better than planned, then?" Kyōya asked.

"As far as I can tell, yeah."

With Haruhi's wound cleaned and bandaged, Kyōya placed the items back into the first aid kit. "How did this happen?"

"I tripped. No, really, I did," Haruhi elaborated at Kyōya's incredulous look. "There was something weird going on with the lights. They kept blinking on and off. And then the lights got really bright, bright enough that it hurt, and that's when I tripped. And then they went out. And I managed to hit my head on your unnecessarily large shower."

"I apologize for the size of my shower," he retorted.

She rubbed at her head, ignoring his comment. "I probably shouldn't shower with this on."

Kyōya shook his head, standing from the bed. "No, I don't think that to be a wise idea. You could always use the unnecessarily large bathtub. I know for certain you're a fan of that." Haruhi blushed at his innuendo. "I'll have the one of the maids bring a few candles just in case the lights act up again. First thing in the morning, I'll have someone look into them. I'm also going to remind the security staff that under no circumstances is Tamaki to be allowed on the premises before 10 in the morning."

It was nearly 1 AM before all everything was all settled. Haruhi had taken a quick bath, not wanting to risk another facial injury, with Kyōya nearby in case she needed medical attention. At least that was what he'd told her. After being assured that everything was taken care of, and that she had nothing to worry about in his house, Kyōya headed off for his own room.

Haruhi had hoped that the change of scenery would have helped with the nightmares. It did not.

Haruhi found herself seated in an ornate throne, a brilliant green gown adorning her body and a heavy crown resting atop her head. Sitting in the throne next to hers was the man who had been haunting her dreams for days, his lips twisted in a malicious grin. He wore an all-black ensemble, his crown nowhere to be seen.

He snapped his fingers and the doors opened. Two guards entered, dragging in a limp figure. On his head was the missing crown. At the man's nod, the figure was thrown to the ground roughly. One of the guards pulled his sword from its sheath, and simply stood, waiting for instructions.

The figure looked up from the floor. Haruhi gasped and stood as Kyōya's eyes met hers from the floor.

"No!" she cried, rushing forward intending to aid him. A firm hand grasped her wrist, pulling her back onto the man's lap.

"Let her go!" Kyōya growled, attempting to get up. The guard not holding out his sword pressed his foot on Kyōya's back, preventing his movement.

"Now, now, my dear. You should know better than to disobey me. Didn't you like my flowers?" the man whispered into her ear. Haruhi shuddered at the feeling of the hand not holding her gently rubbing along her front.

"Please," she pleaded, never taking her eyes off Kyōya. "Let him go."

"You just had to go and run to the boyfriend, didn't you?" He let go of her wrist, only to grab her by the hair. "He cannot help you now. You belong to me!"

He twisted her head, mashing their lips together in a bruising kiss. She struggled against him, trying with all her might to put distance between them. He ended the kiss, never letting go of her hair. He turned her so she was facing Kyōya, though she was still sat on his lap with his hand wrapped around her waist.

"Poor, poor Boyfriend," he taunted, trailing kisses along Haruhi's neck. "He's going to lose so much very soon." He nodded, and the guard removed his foot from Kyōya's back. He grabbed the crown from the ebony locks, and presented it to the man. The other guard raised his sword, waiting to strike.

Haruhi struggled more, trying to get the man's hands off of her so she could get to Kyōya. "Stop! Please stop!"

Haruhi watched in horror as the sword came down.

"Kyōya!"

Under normal circumstances, she would never do this. She was very much aware of the dangers of waking up Kyōya, especially in the middle of the night. Having spent the past twenty minutes alone in her room crying over the image of the man she loved murdered in front of her, she didn't care about incurring his wrath. As long as he was alive, she would do so a million times, happily.

Kyōya groaned as he shifted in his bed. In the back of his mind, he knew it was morning. He knew he ought to get up and begin his day, there were many important things that he needed to take care of. He just really, really, really didn't want to be bother by them yet.

He turned onto his side, hoping to manage at least another hour of sleep. He blinked and saw something strange in his bed. Something he was very sure wasn't there when he went to sleep. He sat up, taking in Haruhi's form deep asleep on his bed. He looked over at the clock which read 9:27. When had she come in?

Just as he predicted, she had a bruise along the side of her face from the impact she'd made with the marble bathroom tiles. He could see it well, even without his glasses. Putting them on, he watched her sleep, having given up on getting any more himself. He really had been quite fortunate to win her heart, he mused with a smile, gently brushing her bangs out of her eyes. He retracted his hand as she began stirring.

She blinked a few times, looking around the room. He was shocked when she suddenly sat up, he wide brown eyes looking around frantically. She stared at him for a few seconds, surprising him again as she burst into tears.

"Haruhi, what…?" Haruhi threw her arms around him, repeating to herself over and over "You're alive!", confusing him, until he recalled the conversation they'd had the night before in his limo.

"I'm fine. Just tired. I haven't been sleeping well lately."

In all the time he'd known her, Kyōya never once suspected that Haruhi would be brought to tears by a nightmare, of all things. Instead of saying anything, he just held her, allowing her to let out all her anguish, knowing that was the reason she made her way over in the night.

AN: Ok, so I still haven't gotten to the other Hosts yet. They were originally going to be part of this chapter, but I felt it was getting too long. But they will appear first thing in the next chapter! And I got some hysterical over-the-phone Tamaki, so, there's that.

Also, I'm trying to keep everyone in character (despite their older ages) so if anything is off about anyone, please let me know! Thanks for reading!