KyoHaru Goodness
Author's Disclaimer: No, I don't own OHSHC. All rights go to their respective owners. It is erichi25's birthday today, so happy birthday! Her KyoHaru fanart always inspires me, and I've been meaning to do something based on one of her fanarts, a chef AU for KyoHaru. I hope you enjoy the KyoHaru goodness!
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Story 2: Let's Bake Together
All Haruhi wanted was to have her bakery, just like her mom had. Was that too much to ask?
Unfortunately, her father had to close her mother's bakery upon her death since he was no baker, and they did not have a lot of money.
Haruhi used the drive her mother had, and managed to score a scholarship to attend the most prestigious of schools for chefs, and she learned the finer arts of baking.
From there, however, her luck was not with her. At first, no one was hiring chefs fresh out of school. Then, she found one, but they overworked her. For five years, she worked there to save up enough money to open her own shop, and when she thought she had saved enough, she quit. Her boss told her she would never succeed and that she should not come back to him when she could not make it on her own.
She set out to prove him wrong. She had a dream, and she was going to be like her mother.
Six months earlier, a small building, a corner spot, had opened up. Haruhi had claimed it at once, and now freed from long hours, she began to set up her own bakery.
In a month, she bought everything she would need and had it set up. She opened the bakery, with little business. Within a few months, her equipment and building costs were far more than she had expected, and she was going to have turn things around quickly in order to save her business from dying. She had to advertise, or make more people realize that she had delicious baked goods.
Being a practical woman, Haruhi asked the bank for an extension for one month. They agreed. Two weeks after that, a tall, dark-haired gentleman with glasses entered her bakery.
"What's your specialty of the day?" he asked.
"Specialty? What specialty?" asked Haruhi with confusion.
The man narrowed his eyes and gave her a pitying look. "How do you expect to run a good bakery if you don't have a specialty in general or for the day for new customers to try?"
"What are you trying to say? Who are you?" asked Haruhi defensively. She did not like his pitying look and wanted him gone.
"My name's Kyoya Ootori. I work at the bank that gives you your mortgage. They asked me, as someone who has good taste in food, to check in on you. I can see why you need an extension. It's lunch time, and there's no one here."
"It's not like this every day," said Haruhi, walking around the counter to speak to Kyoya, face to face.
"I hope so, or else you're going to fail sooner," he said, pleased to see that she had some spunk in her. She may be clueless about running a business, but she had a good head on her shoulders from the way she spoke.
"Do you have anything constructive to say about this place, or do you intend to just critique it the whole time?" asked Haruhi. "There's bread I need to make."
"What do you do with all your leftover bread?" he asked, suddenly curious.
"When it's stale and not sellable, I give it to the poor and homeless. They'll eat anything and always love my bread."
"Do you give away all your old, stale food like that?" asked Kyoya skeptically.
"Yes. I don't like to waste good food," said Haruhi. I keep some for myself, as well. I'm used to eating stale bread."
"Interesting. In that case, I've seen all I need to," said Kyoya turning around. "I won't keep you from your bread."
When he saw the exterior, he thought it adequate. The interior was much brighter and more cheerful and warm in general, which spoke well. The fact that she had no customers or advertising worried him considerably.
"You don't even want to try some bread, as a food critic?" asked Haruhi, rushing toward him with the bread in question. "I wouldn't make you pay for it. It's fresh. I'm just curious to know what you think."
He looked her up and down, taking in her white uniform and red scarf. White and red was the general theme of the bakery, so that did not surprise him. What did surprise him was that there was not a jot of flour on her anywhere, quite spotless. She kept her hair short, and her eyes seemed to see through him at once. He did like the way she assessed him, so he took the bread. He took one bite and nodded.
"It's good bread. I hope that the next time that I come in, you'll be showing off this bread more prominently. Specialties are normal in bakeries."
With that, he left with the whole loaf in his hand. Haruhi did not understand at first what he had meant, but after she got over her initial pleasure at being praised for her bread, she thought more about what he said. First, he was challenging her to think of specialties, involving the bread. Second, he was coming back.
By the next day, she had bought two chalkboards and made sure that her specialties were proudly displayed. By dinner time, he came back, glad to see more people in the store.
"I see you took my advice. Have you had more customers?"
Haruhi looked up from her frosting of a cake, almost squirting frosting in his face in her surprise.
"Yes. There's been a few more, which was good."
"It's a good start, but it won't save your bakery. You should consider ways to cut back, to make do with less. That, or you're going to have to do a lot better job of advertising yourself to get more customers in here."
Haruhi glared at him as he spoke, even as she realized that he was right. Something was going to have to change. She could make less food, but how would that support more customers?
"How do I advertise more?" asked Haruhi, putting down her supplies and bringing two slices of cake to a table. "I've put ads in papers. What else can I do?"
"There's the radio, television-"
"Something that I can afford, please," interrupted Haruhi, indicating for him to sit.
"You could start by letting me try that cake," he said, putting out a hand to take the plate from her.
"Word of mouth?" she asked, tilting her head at him and his desire to take her food so quickly. Yesterday, he had to be forced, but not he knew. It was something to take pride in.
"Yes. I noticed cakes are your specialty today. Have you tried talking to people on the street?"
Haruhi winced at the thought of talking to random strangers and asking them to come in and try one of her cakes.
"Let me try it once, and then you tell me how I did," said Haruhi, finishing up her piece of cake.
Kyoya nodded, enjoying his cake while she went and grabbed one of her freshly made cakes.
The first people Haruhi saw were two men, a tall, dark-haired one, and a short, light-haired one. The short one bounced as he walked, and Haruhi wondered how young he was. Figuring he was young enough that he might enjoy cake still, she waved at the pair, the shorter one bouncing up to her at once.
"Hi! What's with that cake you're holding?"
"I made this," said Haruhi, unsure of what else to say. She had had a sales pitch in mind, but she hated the idea of trying to convince them to come inside, especially with Kyoya in there. Instead, she pushed the cake into the shorter guy's hands.
"I'm trying to spread the word about my cakes. Here, have it. You look like the sort of guy who enjoys strawberry cake."
"This is strawberry? Oh boy!"
All at once, a fork appeared in the boy's hand, and he was eating the cake with gusto.
"This is delicious! I'm definitely coming back for more. Come on, Takashi, we need to tell others about this!"
And off the two went.
Haruhi was unsure if she had done the right thing, and when she saw the grin on Kyoya's face, she was sure she had messed up.
"Not much of a seller, are you?"
"The product should speak for itself," deadpanned Haruhi.
"I see that now," said Kyoya with a little shake of his head. "I hope for your sake that you're prepared to give away enough food until that works out for you. If you change your mind, give me a call. I can help," he said getting up from his seat and handing her a card. "Your products are good, so you just need to find the right way to show them off."
For a week, she gave away food at high traffic hours. The only true increase came from cakes, as the pair that she had first met now came to her bakery every day for more cake. Mori usually got something small while Hunny devoured a whole cake by himself, occasionally buying a couple to take home with him.
After a week of not getting enough sales through those means, she called Kyoya back, loathe as she was to do so. She did not like the idea of asking him for help, as he seemed the type to call in favors. But, she was desperate and had no choice.
"I need to observe you for a day," he first said.
"Why?" she asked, skeptical at once as she stood in front of him.
He just smiled and said, "If you want my help, I need to know what a normal day looks like so that I can best assess your needs. I have several ideas, but I need to watch you to decide on the best course of action.
And so, at four in the morning, Kyoya found himself quite tired and annoyed in front of the bakery, with Haruhi nowhere in sight. A couple minutes later, she rushed to him, carrying two cups of coffee.
"Here. I figured you might want this. It's got lots of espresso in it."
That made Kyoya smile for the first time since he woke up, which was quite impressive for him waking up early. But she did not need to know that. He took the coffees while she opened the shop, and soon his was gone.
Haruhi's cup disappeared in the course of the morning, as she got to work on her cookies and cake. Kyoya stood behind the counter with a notebook, writing down something frequently. Her first customer, a regular, gave her a smile but looked concerned upon seeing Kyoya with a notebook.
"Is everything alright with your bakery? Why is that guy here?"
"He's helping me increase my business by giving business advice and help with advertising. Why?"
"Well, he just looks like he's an inspector or something. That's all. Gives me the creeps, and I'm sure my brother will think the same thing when he comes in. If you really want help, you should ask us. We do photography and would happily help you. You can actually tell us apart, somehow."
"Thanks, Kaoru. I'll remember that."
After Kaoru left, Haruhi knew that she had to do something about Kyoya, lest others get the wrong idea. So, she went into her storage closet and found an extra set of clothing she had saved, in case she ever had enough to afford a second person.
"Could you put these clothes on, please? I don't want you to scare away my customers."
Kyoya's lips hardened into a line, and his eyes met hers through his glasses. She continued to stare back seriously, waiting for him to take the offered clothing. When she did not flinch at his challenging gaze, he took the clothing and changed into them.
After that, the day went by pretty smoothly, as everyone assumed that she had finally gotten some help in the back, and that he was eagerly taking notes on all her methods. At the end of the day, the two sat down with a plate of cookies, and he told his observations. She did not like all that he had to say, but she was glad that he was upfront with her about what would be needed to lean out her business. Advertising held more promise.
"I have a friend who is a model. If you gave him some free food, I'm sure he'd advertise anything for you. His name's Tamaki. Also, those are the Hitachiins, those early regulars. They're excellent photographers. You should ask them for help taking pictures of your food. If both of those work out as I suspect they will, you'll be in a good place and not have to cut out as much."
"Thank you for your help today. I really appreciate it. Why don't you take-"
Haruhi was going to let him take home the rest of the cookies on the plate, but then she realized that all the cookies were gone.
"What should I take?" asked Kyoya, going towards her at the counter.
"Well, I was going to have you take home cookies, but it seems they're all gone. How about day-old bread?"
"I'll take it. I'm not a fan of sweets, so I'd much rather take bread anyway," he said, taking the offered bread into his hands at once.
"But, then, why did you finish all those cookies and cake?"
Haruhi was beyond baffled, and Kyoya laughed.
"That's why the bank sent me, because I don't like sweets normally. However, yours are really good, and not so horribly sweet that I can't stand it. Consider yourself lucky."
He said it all so businesslike, as though it were all okay that the bank would send someone like him to her. But, she was glad that he enjoyed her cooking. It gave her hope as she watched him prepare to leave with the bread.
"I will. But aren't you going to return my clothing?"
"Oh? I'm still wearing it, aren't I?" he asked, looking a little sheepish for once.
"And you tied the scarf all wrong," said Haruhi going over to fix it at once on him.
Kyoya was going to tell Haruhi to not bother since he was about to remove the clothing, but he found himself immediately caught up in what Haruhi was doing, so focused she was on fixing his scarf. She dropped her hat on Kyoya, her left arm hooked around him with the other up front, moving the scarf into the right place before untying and retying the scarf.
"There's a very particular way to ty a scarf in the kitchen," said Haruhi, eyes on the scarf as she folded the fabric.
"Mm-hm. Yes, of course there is," Kyoya said to placate her, placing his hands on his hips to keep them steady.
With her face downcast and leaning close to him for support as she focused on his scarf, Kyoya watched Haruhi fix the scarf as he tried not to think about how good she smelled up close, smelling like a combination of her bread and shampoo. His thoughts left him with a guilty conscience, but considering the captivating woman in front of man, he did not think he would be blamed.
There was no desire to tell her that he did not have to watch her to know what she needed. He had known as soon as he had seen her talk to Hunny. But, it meant he could spend more time with her, and that he wanted. If he were not employed by his family at the bank, he would consider going out on his own in order to make sure that Haruhi succeeded. With her drive and skill, and his money, they could do amazing things together.
There was also no desire in him to tell Tamaki, the Prince among women, about Haruhi. Kyoya wanted to keep this determined, brilliant baker to himself. Unfortunately, if he did not share her, she might not have a reason to see him ever again, which was far worse.
When the scarf was finally tied properly, she stood back to admire her work. Satisfied, she said, "Much better. And see? Now that it's done like that, all I have to do is pull here, and it's all undone."
As she spoke, she pulled on one end of the scarf, and the scarf came apart as she said it would. Pulling it off of Kyoya, she motioned for him to change, which he did quickly. He had people to call, and he did not have time to waste.
Once he was in his normal clothes, the two parted ways.
"We both have much to do in the next couple days. I'll see if I can't bring Tamaki over soon to meet you, and then you need to see about photography for your food with the Hitachiins," he said, counting off tasks on his fingers. "If, for any reason, they charge you a larger amount than you can afford, tell me. I can forward you the money ahead, and you can pay me back. With interest, of course."
"Definitely a banker," mumbled Haruhi.
"I'll give you the average going rate, whatever it happens to be at the time. That's very generous," he said, a grin forming on his face. It was one of securing contact with her if all else failed.
"I doubt it'll be necessary, but thanks. I'll keep that in mind," said Haruhi, hoping and praying that the twins were genuine in their offer to help.
Within the next three days, the advertising for Haruhi's bakery was resolved. As it turned out, the twins only wanted free food and drinks for a week, and Tamaki only had to hear Haruhi's tale and try her food to do the gig for free. Haruhi insisted upon giving him more free food, much against Kyoya's wishes for her to save money. After that, photos started appearing in newspapers and magazines, and Tamaki's face was selling cakes by the dozen. It also helped that Mori knew several well-known food critics and suggested that they try Haruhi's bakery. Their reviews were all favorable.
As the weeks passed, Haruhi got to know everyone who helped her in some way, especially Kyoya. He was now a fixture during his break times, set up with his laptop in a corner table away from the masses. She always insisted on serving her customers, and whenever she came to refill her coffee, he had more statistics and business ideas as backups, in case things did not work out.
He was the last one to leave, usually staying until she closed the shop. The twins did not dare call him a pervert to his face (unlike with Tamaki), but they told Haruhi that plenty since he stayed so much when there was no reason to do so. Haruhi ignored the twins, but she wondered all the same why he stayed so long. She was glad he did, as he was a wealth of knowledge about running a business, and he was a good conversationalist at the end of the day, ready to chat about anything and everything. It was something that Haruhi started to look forward to each day.
By the time it came time to pay off what Haruhi owed, she had just scraped up enough. All involved in "Save Bakery Kotoko" rejoiced when she had enough, Kyoya most of all (albeit silently). He personally walked her into the bank on the due date and took her to his office.
Shaking her hand, he said, "Haruhi, I'm very impressed by how much you managed to turn around this bakery. Not many would have had the drive and patience to do what you just did."
Haruhi smiled her normal smile as she said, "Thank you for all your help and challenges. This wouldn't have been possible without you. You're very good at what you do; your family must be so proud."
"They're not ones to give out compliments freely, so your words are more than enough for me," said Kyoya freely as he looked around the small office.
"They ought to. You know this so well; you could go out on your own in banking," said Haruhi indignantly.
If Kyoya had been the type of person to give hugs, he would have done so then after Haruhi's comment. But, he was not, so he settled for giving her a genuine smile.
"Thank you for vote of confidence, Haruhi. I have considered it, and Tamaki tells me I should, as well. But, that is another story for another day. I have to take your case to the board, and when it's done, we'll talk about it over dinner. Can you wait here?"
"Sure, of course," she said, taking a seat. "I'll be here when you get back."
"Good," he said, glad that he would not lose her yet. With one last shared look, Kyoya left with Haruhi's casefile.
When Kyoya came back, Haruhi's smile dropped. He was not happy, or at least did not appear as he had when he had left her earlier. She waited for him to speak, but instead, he pulled items off and out of his desk, putting all of it into a box that seemed to appear from nowhere. When everything was inside the box, he smiled.
"Shall we go to dinner?"
Now completely baffled, Haruhi nodded and held the door for Kyoya as he walked, head high, out of the office. At dinner, Kyoya told her the whole story.
"The board does not see the merit in supporting yet another small bakery when it already finances several large, chain ones. In addition, the board felt that I was too involved in the process to make a decision, but they're wrong. Involved I am, but not incapable of seeing the future of your bakery. Yours has a bright future, if it continues to be managed properly by someone with a business background."
"But I don't have a business background," stated Haruhi, confused.
Kyoya got up from his chair, and when he was in front of Haruhi, she got up as well, trying to understand.
"You have me now. I'd like to enter into a joint venture with you, if you'll have me," Kyoya said, getting more quiet at the end. He looked hesitant for a moment, as if unsure how she would respond.
"But what about your job at the bank, your family?" asked Haruhi.
"I thought I made that clear at the bank. I quit. I'm going out on my own, as you suggested," he said, his smile gaining more radiance.
"Oh. Then I accept. I'd be happy to work with you for a long time to come," she said, pleased that he had made the decision.
"I think we'll make great partners," he said, his eyes full of meaning as they shook hands.
"But are you sure you want to risk your future on me?" asked Haruhi seriously. "It's a big risk."
"It's one I'm willing to make. In this case, perhaps I'm a little more biased and involved than I should be, but I believe in you."
"Why?" she asked, at a loss as to how he could believe in her so soon.
Leaning in, Kyoya pulled Haruhi to himself and kissed her. When she got over her initial shock, she kissed him back.
"Does that answer your question?" he said with a smile. "Is there any way that I can convince you to become more than my business partner?"
"You'll have to date me first," said Haruhi seriously.
"Then we'll start now. So, what are you interested in eating?"
"Do they have fancy tuna here?" she said, her eyes getting wide and excited.
"I think we can arrange that," he said with a smile.
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Author's Notes: Well, that was fluff that took a little longer than I expected it to. Oh well. It was something I wanted to do for some time. Happy birthday to Erin! Thanks to everyone for reading! I really appreciate it, and I hope you enjoyed!
