At What Price, Love, Chapter 3
A/N: Sorry it took so long to get this one up. It's kind of a long chapter, so hopefully you will find it worth the wait. This chapter (and to some degree the whole story arc) is inspired by the flirtatious drawings of Haruhi and Kyoya in the back of volume 3 and especially volume 16. Which means the last section of this chapter is somewhat descriptive. Not explicit, but if you don't like reading that stuff, just mentally substitute in "and they kissed a lot" then go on to the next chapter.
~oOo~
"OK, that was weird," Haruhi said.
"What?" Kyoya said.
"I stopped by the market to pick up some coffee on my way to school and this guy walked up and said I was the 1000th person through the door, handed me a bunch of balloons and a gift certificate for a weekend at a spa resort."
"Balloons?" he asked, noting the lack of the same in her hands.
"I gave them to a couple of my regulars on the way in." She flipped the gift certificate from front to back a couple of times. "I'm not even sure if it's real."
"Did they ask you to go to a timeshare presentation?"
"No."
"Hmm." Kyoya considered. "Well, there's an easy way to find out." He took the paper out of her hands and pulled out his cell phone. "Yes, I would like to confirm a reservation for next weekend, under the name of Haruhi Fujioka, although it could be under 'contest winner' I suppose… yes… two rooms for two nights with a fine dining and spa package, paid in advance. Thank you." He ended the call and handed back the gift certificate. "The package is real, anyway."
"It's also a set up. One: they don't reserve two rooms for a romantic getaway package and two: they don't give those packages to 17 year old girls," she pointed out suspiciously.
Kyoya looked at her sideways. "One: if I wanted to take you to a resort, I would have simply asked you; and two: I would have chosen resort owned by the Ootori Group. That one is owned by Easton Hotels."
"Oh. So this whole absurd set up is probably Tamaki."
"I'm sure he had help, but yes."
"Which I guess makes this an apology of sorts. I guess I should go thank him. It's a shame my dad won't let me go."
"Why not? We've taken you on trips before."
"In groups. Alone with one guy is a different story."
Kyoya adjusted his glasses in disbelief. "Haruhi, in the two years since you've joined the Host Club, have you gone on a single date where at least half the club wasn't spying on you?"
"Wait … you guys have been stalking me?" She added in a mumbled aside "That's really creepy."
"In fairness, it wasn't so much you. We were watching to see how badly Tamaki, Hikaru or Kaoru were going to screw up their dates with you and I have to say, they seldom disappointed. Still, if you think it would be too problematic, you could ask your father to go with you instead. A spa weekend would be a rare treat for him…. Of course, that will be seen as declining Tamaki's apology, but by now you're immune to his sitting in a corner, pouting and turning your homework into hamster bedding."
"Why my homework?" she said.
"Well I'm certainly not going to let him do it to mine," Kyoya replied.
Thus, come Friday, Haruhi found herself standing next to Kyoya checking into the hotel. As the clerk handed them their room keys, Kyoya casually asked "Can you tell me if Tamaki Suoh or the Hitachiins have arrived yet?"
The clerk checked the computer. "Yes sir. They checked in about an hour ago."
"Thank you." Kyoya had an ever-so-slightly smug look on his face.
Kyoya went to his room while Haruhi went to hers. So this is what passes for a 5-star resort in this part of the world, he thought. The lobby had been plain, but he supposed anyone could put in marble; and the woodwork – hand crafted by local artisans – had been pleasant enough. The art on the walls of his room were lithographs, a step up from prints but well below originals. Kyoya's eyes slid over them disdainfully. The bellboy set Kyoya's suitcase on the luggage rack and moved towards the window to open the blinds. The entire outside facing wall was glass giving the room the feeling of being open to the forest. A glass door in the glass wall led out onto a small private patio. Vertical blinds functioned as curtains and would block out most of the light while still allowing airflow should the guest wish to leave the doors open. His fingers trailed lightly across the top of the bed as he moved to the doors. 300-thread count Egyptian cotton, the minimum required to achieve that truly luxurious feel. 600-thread count was standard at Ootori 5-stars, though Kyoya privately conceded that most people couldn't tell the difference. He moved to the door. Straight before him was a thick forest, no doubt carefully groomed to give the guests privacy while maintaining the illusion of free-form nature. The patio had been sculpted to look like a zen garden, the stones leading naturally into an open air bath designed to look like a natural hot spring. On the right was a high privacy fence draped with wisteria for beauty and jasmine for scent. On the left, ornate lead planters divided the patio, serving as a divider between his private patio and that of the room next door. Haruhi's room. "Have the divider between the two rooms removed by tonight."
"Yes sir," the bellboy answered. "Would you like me to hang your clothes, sir?"
"Yes do," he answered and went next door in search of Haruhi. He found her in her room staring at an enormous spray of flowers, predominantly sterling and wine red roses. This must be what those ¥50,000 bouquets that Kyoya sent to the Host Club clients looked like, she thought.
"Who sent flowers?" Kyoya asked.
"You did, apparently," she said handing him the card.
I adore you more than a rising stock market – K.
"That's a stupid statement,"Kyoya said reading the card. "Whether you want the market to rise or fall depends on whether you're selling or buying."
"You know, I originally thought there's no way you could write something that bad, but now I'm not so sure."
He gave her a wry smile. "Then we'll split the difference. I'll take credit for the flowers, but not the note."
"And the chocolate dipped strawberries on the bed?"
"Do you like chocolate dipped strawberries?"
"Quite a bit."
"Then I sent those too," he teased her, making a mental note of them and wondering how those twits had known something about her that he had not.
"Anything in your room?"
"An itinerary. It appears there's an arts festival this weekend. Preliminary viewing begins this afternoon and concludes tomorrow night with awards presentations and fireworks. In between is your spa package. By the way, I feel no obligation to follow this itinerary."
"Well," Haruhi considered, "they may be insane, but they do know how to have a good time. Let's give it a try."
~oOo~
Five pairs of eyes peered around the corner. "How's it going?" asked Mori.
"Kyo-chan doesn't seem to like much of the artwork…" said Honey.
"That's because most of it isn't very good," Hikaru muttered under his breath.
"… but Haru-chan seems to be having a good time."
"Oh hey! An ice cream stand," they overheard Haruhi say.
"You'll spoil your dinner," Kyoya replied.
"What is he, her father?" Hikaru said.
"Mother," corrected Tamaki in a low voice.
The twins turned around and gave him a withering look. "You gotta get over that, boss."
"I want to try as much of the cuisine as we can at the resort so I can compare it to what we serve at our resorts," Kyoya said.
"They serve this kind of ice cream at the hotel, I saw it on the room service menu." Seeing his look, she added "Fine, we'll split one." She ordered a single cone and held it out to him for the first taste. He wrapped his hand around hers and held her eyes for a moment, then leaned forward to take a slow, sensuous bite. The five watching hosts' jaws dropped in unison. Haruhi, oblivious, took a quick bite and looked around. "Oh look! Floral arrangements." She grabbed his arm and pulled him off in that direction.
"You know," Honey said, "maybe Kyo-chan isn't the one who needs helps with this."
.
The Hosts threaded their way through the crowd to keep their eyes on the couple.
"You have to admit, these are pretty good," Haruhi said as they stood in front of an orchid and bamboo arrangement.
Kyoya nodded but added "Hikaru and Kaoru's are better."
"Yes but they both have black belts in flower arranging," Haruhi replied.
Tamaki did a double take looking at the twins.
"Yeah, what of it?" they said.
"We need to find a way to make her notice him," said Honey still focused on his targets.
"I've already taken care of that," said Tamaki. "In fact, I'm surprised it hasn't worked already."
The entire group turned to look at him in alarm. "What did you do, Tamaki?"
"Women can't resist a man who's irresistible to small animals."
"Even assuming you're right…" said Kaoru.
"Which I don't," said Hikaru.
"…we're setting her up with Kyoya not Mori," finished Kaoru.
"Wait, I stood a chance with Haruhi?" said Mori.
"No, no," Tamaki insisted, "it's perfect. Just watch."
"Huh?" Kyoya looked down. A small cat had snuck out from under one of the display tables and began rubbing against Kyoya's legs.
"Oh how cute!" Haruhi bent down and scratched the cat between the ears. The cat emitted a loud purr. Haruhi looked up at Kyoya, her eyes sparkling.
"Why didn't anyone tell me I stood a chance with Haruhi?" Mori said.
"Too much competition as it was," said Hikaru.
"How'd you do that?" asked Honey.
"I doused his socks with spray-on catnip."
As she stood up, a second cat appeared and began rubbing against Kyoya's other leg. "Looks like you're magic today," Haruhi teased. A third cat came up, but when it saw the first it immediately puffed up and growled. Claws came out and Kyoya became the victim of a poorly aimed swipe. When he tried to back away, the second cat wrapped its claws around his leg and bit his ankle.
"Maybe I used too much catnip," Tamaki mused.
~oOo~
Kyoya had meant to just go into his room and clean off his mauled ankle and come right back out to Haruhi. He had even left the door ajar, something he never did. He really didn't suspect anything dangerous – the cats were almost certainly pets – but having grown up with a father and two brothers who were doctors, leaving an animal bite untended went against the grain. His computer flashed with an urgent message. Well, he'd just deal with this one email.
A soft knock on his door interrupted his thoughts. "Kyoya, is everything ok?" Haruhi poked her head around the door.
"What?"
"You've been in here an hour and half."
Kyoya swore under his breath. "Sorry. I was taking care of some business."
"What business? It's Friday evening. The market is closed."
"Tokyo is closed. The market in London just opened."
"Your British biotech?"
He smiled. "You remembered."
"You haven't taken care of your leg yet! If you get gangrene, this is on you." She marched past him into the bathroom, reemerging with a towel, washcloth and the little coffee pot filled with warm water from the tap. She knelt on the floor at his feet, removed his shoe, carefully rolled up his pant leg and slowly peeled off his sock lest dried blood had attached it to his skin. He closed his laptop and set it to one side. She dipped the washcloth in the water then gently, carefully began washing his leg and foot. He'd been flirting with her all afternoon; was she finally flirting back? Or was she just being Haruhi? Then it hit him. Tamaki and the twins were constantly pawing at her. Kissing her, touching her, feeding her. If she'd ever given them any encouragement, they'd be all over her. No wonder she was cautious. No wonder she set limits.
She dried his leg and started on the other one even though it was barely scratched. Every bit as slowly she slipped off his shoe, rolled up his pant leg and peeled off his sock. His hands dug into the comforter and his breathing became shallow. The warm washcloth massaged his leg. Don't do anything, he thought. Just let her finish.
He was staring at her so hard he barely noticed when she switched to the towel to dry him off. Done, it slipped from her hand. Kyoya had honestly meant to reach down and help her off the floor, but as soon as she was eye level with him, he pulled her to him and kissed her hard. Then he froze, as surprised by what he'd done as she was. He waited for her to slap him or push him away with a cutting remark, but she merely looked at him as though trying to process what had happened. She leaned towards him until her lips were only inches from his then stopped.
"Haruhi," he breathed.
She leaned the rest of the way in and kissed him to forestall whatever he had been going to say.
"We have dinner reservations in one hour," she said, removing his glasses and setting them to one side. "If it takes us a half hour to get ready, we have a half hour to kill."
We're going to miss those reservations, he thought as he pulled her to him. He ran his tongue over her lower lip, then paused.
Limits.
She had set a limit.
He'd bet his entire stock portfolio she had never offered any of the others a half hour. He kissed her lightly. "One half hour," he agreed as he turned his face to inhale the scent of her hair. They'd keep that reservation if it killed him.
And privately, he suspected it might.
~oOo~
Dinner was probably very good. Kyoya honestly wasn't paying any attention. When the meal was finally over and they were leaving the dining room, Haruhi paused by the windows. "Look! They have the gardens lit up. Do you want to go for a walk?"
No, he thought. What I want is for us to go back to my room for another half hour. And another half hour. And another half hour after that. But instead he gave her an indulgent smile and led her out onto the terrace.
As soon as they were out in the garden, she slipped her hand out of his and stepped away. In and of itself, he didn't mind. He'd always felt that public displays of affection were indicative of insecurity, insincerity or a lack of self-discipline. It was the way she did it, like she suddenly wanted physical space between them. What the hell had gone wrong? Had somebody said something to her? Had one of the morons called her? He wondered if he could steal her phone long enough to check her call log. She'd certainly enjoyed the art show this afternoon, amateurish though it had been. She'd damned near seduced him in his room afterwards. If it hadn't been for that stupid 30 minute time limit…
The time limit.
There was only so far things could go in a half hour. She felt safe within that constraint. Now, with the whole night in front of them, there was no predicting how far things might go.
She strolled with her arms coyly behind her, admiring the artfully pruned plum trees showing their first blooms over beds of camellias. The night blooming jasmine filled that air with a sweet scent. If her obvious delight hadn't had that little bit of an edge to it, he would have enjoyed watching her. "When the lights change color on the fountain, it's like the water itself is changing color," she said.
"Enough, Haruhi." Kyoya caught her by the arm and pulled her over to him. "It's getting cold. Let's go back to our rooms."
The brief expression of panic that flashed across her face confirmed the problem. She looked everywhere but at him. He gently tilted her face up towards his. "Look at me, Haruhi." Reluctantly, she did so. "I will never take more from you than you are ready to give. Never. I care for you. I will not leave you just because you say 'no' to me. Now, I will take you back to your room and if you change your mind about how you want to spend tonight, if you want to pick up where we left off or merely repeat earlier, I will leave the glass door open and you may come or leave as you please." He slipped his arm around her and led her back towards their rooms. He'd probably given Tachibana a coronary for the security nightmare he had just created, but oh well, Ootori employees had nothing if not good medical benefits.
When they reached her room he kissed her on the forehead, wished her goodnight and went to his own room. He closed the door behind him and leaned on it, letting out a breath he didn't even know he was holding.
The maid had been in the room. The towel and washcloth were gone from the floor, replaced by fresh ones in the bathroom. The coffee pot had been washed and placed back on the coffee maker. The rumpled bedcovers had been straightened and turned down. There was a chocolate mint on the pillow.
She wasn't coming.
He pushed off the door, turned off the light and went onto the bathroom. He took off his clothes, wrapped a towel around his waist and draped another over his neck then went to soak in the open air bath.
They hadn't actually removed the barrier between the adjoining patios – those planters must have weighed over a thousand pounds each – but they had opened a passageway between them. An archway draped in green foliage this time of year. The flowers would come later in the spring.
From the bath he could see the light spilling out from her room onto her half of the patio. He saw it go out.
A surge of anger washed through him. She should have come to him. He was an Ootori, damn it. He'd paid a high enough price for the god-damned name. There should be some benefits that came with it. A commoner like Haruhi should be pleased that an Ootori wanted her in his bed.
But Haruhi Fujioka was not common.
She's already had three millionaires make a play for her and fail. Four if you counted Kasanoda. Kyoya might not like where Kasanoda's money and power came from, but there was no denying that he had it. The competitive part of Kyoya want to win her simply because the others had failed.
The introspective part of him wanted her because she was the first girl to ever look at him and not see the Ootori Group. She didn't see bank accounts, business deals or familial alliances. She saw a man: quiet, calculating, determined, protective of his friends. She saw Kyoya.
He closed his eyes and leaned back, letting the moonlit water wash over him. He had no idea how long he was there before he finally got out, dried himself off, wrapped the towel back around his waist. As the darkness of the room enveloped him, he became aware of her silhouette still in the dress she'd worn at dinner. The tight bodice accentuated her tiny waist, giving her is definitively feminine shape. Hitachiin original, he calculated; ¥200,000 minimum. Custom made for her, add another 200,000. Yuhuza or Hikaru? The designer made a difference in the value. Kyoya had long ago realized that artistic and versatile Hikaru would take over his mother's fashion empire while clever and innovative Kaoru would inherit his father's software and computer firm, though the two would cross pollinate their whole lives making a creative force that would render them both unbeatable in either industry. Neither designer, he decided. That had the clean lines of Kaoru's work. Add another ¥100,000 for the exclusivity of the designer. He wondered if she had any idea what she was wearing.
"If I didn't tell you earlier, it's a lovely dress."
"Thank you. It was left over after one of the Hitachiin fashion shows. They said if it fit, I could keep it."
The odds of it not fitting were about one in ten million, Kyoya thought.
They lapsed into silence for the space of three breaths.
"Haruhi," he whispered.
" … One half hour … " she said before she lost her nerve.
"One half hour," he agreed. He glanced at the clock on the nightstand. 10:02. He moved forward slowly and touched her very gently, as though afraid she might evaporate. His finger lightly traced the silk of her neckline. He bent to kiss her shoulder then began to work his way up her neck to nibble on her earlobe. She tentatively raised her hands and placed them on his chest, still damp from the bath. Her fingers lightly traced up the contours of his chest before wrapping around his neck to draw him closer. The silk of her dress brushed against his bare skin, taunting him. His hand tightened around her waist as she kissed his neck in echo of his earlier movements. He slid his hand up her back and began unzipping her dress.
"No." She stiffened and pulled away.
His hand immediately dropped to her waist.
Her eyes filled with a mixture of fear and regret as she waited to see how he would react.
Kyoya regarded her intently, wondering if there wasn't something more at work than those idiots pawing at her constantly without invitation. He should have put a stop to it long ago. Well, now that she was his, it would stop today. The twins might mess with Tamaki by continuing their physical flirtation with his woman, but they were not going to do that to Kyoya.
The offending hand remained on her waist while his other hand ran through her hair. He brushed his lips over hers lightly en route to her shoulders, where he began his seduction of her over again from the very start. It was going to be hard not overstepping her boundaries if he didn't know where they were.
He swept her into his arms and carried her to the bed then lie down beside her.
"Kyo…" he put his fingers across her lips to forestall her objections.
"I promised you, Haruhi. So trust me."
His fingers slid off her lips, down her chin, traced across her throat, between her breasts and down her belly. She shivered in pleasure. He allowed himself a half smile of satisfaction before he wrapped his arms tightly around her and in one swift motion rolled onto his back pulling her on top of him. He gave her a heartbeat to register their change of positions then laced his fingers through hers and pulled his hands down onto the bed by his head. It looked for all the world like she had him pinned. He cocked one eyebrow in challenge and waited.
Haruhi hesitated. She kissed him lightly at first, a second time a little more firmly then a third time with long hard passion. In every case, Kyoya matched her intensity exactly. She went back to the lightest possible kiss and again, he matched her. She knew it was illusory, but it gave her a curious sense of power. She freed her right hand from his left and lightly raked her fingernails down his forearm and across his midsection. He arched his back and she took advantage of his change of position to run her tongue over the base of his neck. He freed his other hand then pulled her up into a slow, consuming kiss. She started to protest that he was cheating when he gazed into her eyes and said "One half hour, Haruhi."
She pushed herself up and looked at the clock. 10:35. She stared at it until it said 10:36.
Kyoya gently turned her face back to his. "One half hour?" he asked.
She took his arms and pushed them emphatically back onto the bed. "One half hour." She gave him a stern look for moving his hands and resumed her attentions to his neck. He laughed at her softly, so she bit him.
"Ow, you horrible creature."
She nuzzled the spot by way of insincere apology.
His hands disobediently encircled her again. The zipper of her dress had been about a third of the way down when he had stopped. He slipped his hand into the opening to feel the skin of her back, but found instead satin. She was wearing a slip. He traced the top of the slip, the line matched the dress exactly. Custom slip. Add another ¥20,000. Realistically, he knew the slip was there to make the dressing hang properly; but a sneaking part of his mind wondered if Kaoru wasn't taunting him. Telling him even if he got the dress off of her, Haruhi would still be fully dressed.
"I thought I told you to leave those on the bed," she said.
"It is an expensive dress Haruhi," Kyoya chided. "We really ought to remove it before we damage it."
Her eye is clouded over a bit. Boundaries.
"You're wearing a slip, it's not like you would truly be undressed," he added. The comment made her keenly aware that he was still wearing nothing but a towel at his waist.
She pointedly moved to put his hands on the bed. "They stay there or we are done for the night," she said firmly. She sat up, her legs now straddling his body. He arched an eyebrow in surprise. She slowly, very slowly, unzipped the dress, the silk coming looser with every inch. She reached down to the hem separating the dress from the slip and with deliberate movements begin to peel it upwards so as not to pull the slip by mistake. She arched her back to get the dress clear of her shoulders, shifting her weight against him if she did so. Much more of this, he thought, and I'm going to be done for the night regardless. She neatly folded the dress and set it on the corner of the bed. She put both palms on the center of his chest and butterflied them out. She watched with weird fascination as her hands circled over his chest and down toward his waist of their own accord. Men and women were built so differently.
"Haruhi," he said in a ragged voice, "please let me have my hands."
"Five more minutes," she said.
He looked at the clock. 10:50. He clutched the bedcovers to keep his hands where they were.
Carefully, so as not to dislodge the towel, she skimmed over the outer line of his hips. He emitted a low sound from somewhere deep in his throat. A wicked smile flashed across her face. This woman was going to be hard to hold, Kyoya realized. This was the active Haruhi they had seen briefly her first year. The twins would have gone insane had they realized what they had missed out on. But they were not going to find out, at least not from him. His hands reached up and grasped her waist firmly. She started to protest then glanced at the clock. He had ten minutes to inflict as much torment on her as she had on him that evening. He knew he would not succeed, but it would not be for want of trying.
Abruptly their kisses switched from deeply passionate to barely there. "One half hour," she whispered.
"One half hour," he acknowledged. He ran his thumb once more lightly over her jaw line and let her go. If they extended their time again, it would be for the rest of the night and they both knew it. She slipped from his bed, draped her folded dress across her arm and disappeared through the door of false dreams.
He watched as the night enveloped her. He had one more night before they headed home.
