"Who was it," asked Haruhi when Kaoru silently sat the phone on the table. She wasn't stupid. Something was up.
Kaoru was faced with a dilemma. The chance that Haruhi might decide to meet Hikaru seemed to loom dangerously close. He wasn't sure why, but his instincts were telling him that that would turn of events was not acceptable. He shook his head. He was just being silly. There was no real harm in Haruhi meeting his brother right?
"Hikaru," he answered finally. "He wants you to meet him at the clock tower around 6 o'clock." But I have a bad feeling about it, he thought. Then, he cursed his own stupidity. Never believe anything without a second opinion or hard proof. He smiled to himself. That was a lesson he would never forget.
"Hmm," mused Haruhi as she absently chewed and swallowed the last bite of her cone--she wasn't one to waste anything. "I wonder what he wants? I'm sure it's not that important or he would've called you." She gazed at Kaoru across the table.
He suddenly felt fidgety and couldn't sit still, so he checked his iPod for the time. 4:00 p.m. "Hey," he said," we need to get going if we're going to shop for a gift."
Haruhi nodded and picked up her purse. When she started to get up, Kaoru was holding his hand out to her. She looked at him questioningly. So cute, he thought as he blushed a crimson color. "Let's go," he said enthusiastically as he tried to cover up his unusual coloring with a smile. Haruhi smiled almost knowingly and took his hand. Then, together they headed out of the shop.
--
Kyouya sat down his coffee. The ice cream shop just happened to be across the street from a very well known coffee-house. He let his gaze follow the happy couple. With a small smile, he waved a waitress over.
"What can I help you with, sir," she said brightly. After all, it was usually old men that she waited on, so Kyouya presented quite a welcome change from the usual.
"I'll need my bill now," he said without taking his eyes off the window. "On second thought," he said looking up. "I think this will cover it." He slipped a folded bill into her hand.
"Thank you! Please come again," she said as he walked out the door. She unfolded the bill and immediately her eyes threatened to pop out of her eyes. She had just been given a 98 tip.
Kyouya closed his eyes and smiled as he sat on a bench where he could watch the pair shop. That girl had been studying for business. She would make a good secretary one day. Maybe I will hire her, he mused. He sat awhile longer before conceding that maybe Haruhi was right. Maybe he was softer than he thought.
--
"Haruhi, look at this," said Kaoru holding up a large teddy bear. "Isn't it cute? Doesn't it remind you of our King?"
She bent down for a closer look. The bear had a stupid grin on its face that looked very much like Tamaki. "Yes," she said after a small smile. "It does." They both laughed.
"Look at this," she said picking out a samurai figurine. "It's Mori-senpai!"
Kaoru inclined his head. "How are you today, Mori-kun?" The silence that followed was so like Mori that it threw both of them into fits of giggles till tears reached their eyes.
"And this one," continued Kaoru after wiping away the tears,"is Kyouya-kun." He presented her with a small stuffed black kitten. It's obviously stony frown and black shiny eyes presented almost an animal version of Kyouya. Needless to say, this was the one Haruhi laughed the most at. Whether because she liked the idea of the One Who Doomed Her as a furry animal or that it just really suited him, Kaoru didn't care. As he laughed along with Haruhi, he somehow just felt it was a perfect moment because he had made her laugh. No one else. Just him. Kaoru.
"What's so funny," Kyouya growled. He knew why they were laughing, and it had not made him happy. He would not be as soft as Haruhi thought he was. What P.O.ed him the most was that the little stuffed critter did really look like him. He picked it up and stared at it. If this was some strange trick, he would definitely give the trickster a fate worse than death.
At seeing Kyouya glaring at the little animal so intently, the pair burst into a whole new round of giggles. Kyouya glared at them. The pair shut up after a few snickers. Kyouya sighed and replaced his glare with a sweet smile as he gazed at Haruhi. He could never stay mad at her for long but keeping her indebted to him was a whole other story.
Kaoru's face stayed blank for a moment as his brain registered, Kyouya is smiling at Haruhi. At the same time he discovered this, the same feeling that he had felt when Hikaru called asking to meet Haruhi arose. He was jealous, but he trusted Hikaru way more than Kyouya. "Haruhi," he said holding a picture frame engraved extravagantly with a rose twining around the sides. "Do you think Hikaru would like this?"
Haruhi peered closely at the frame. "I think he might like something a bit less extravagant," she mused.
"Yes," affirmed Kyouya as he peered over her shoulder. I didn't ask his input, Kaoru huffed inwardly.
"Well, we need to find something quickly," he said. "Haruhi, you've gotta leave soon."
She looked at her watch. 5:30, the blinking lights declared. "But I haven't helped you pick out a gift yet," she said feeling it was her duty to help him.
"That's okay," he smiled. "Kyouya will help me." He shot Kyouya a glance that said, Don't say anything.
Kyouya raised his eyebrows in an expression of almost disbelief.
"Alright," nodded Haruhi in surprise. She couldn't imagine Kyouya shopping at all. "Bye!"
Kyouya nodded, and Kaoru waved happily. "I'm not shopping with you," he muttered.
Kaoru held up the kitten. "Oh, I think we can come to an arrangement," he smiled.
--
Well, here is Chapter 2! I'm sorry that it's a bit short. . . --' My rough draft didn't quite work out right so this is the revision. Please review! I have decided not to post again until I get at least 5 reviews. I need some name suggestions (for the story) and comments on OOC-ness if you think there are some.
Thanks, SplashofColour! -