Disclaimer: Don't own it, so there.

Phase Five: First Fight (and First Kiss)

"How was your talk with my sister?" asked Kyoya as he sat down with Haruhi for some tea. For some reason, he felt ashamed of himself after his talk with Guinevere.

Yes, you should, chided a part of him. You told another person your feelings for her before you could even admit it to yourself or to her. You're becoming pathetic. Is this what love is?

"Well, she was really interested about my childhood, saying that commoner children live very different lives," said Haruhi as she nursed her cup. "She thought that it was exciting to be in a public school."

"I hope you don't tell her too much or she'll want to send her own children to public school," warned Kyoya. It was really nice to be beside her like this, talking of nonsense. For a moment, he envisioned himself with her everyday, drinking tea and idly chatting the endless hours away…in between taking over the stock market and courts, of course.

He had to slap himself mentally. Nothing's really decided, yet here he was fantasizing about her! Now he knows the frustration Tamaki feels every time he day dreams about Haruhi….

Tamaki! He forgot about the idiot. Tamaki was in love with the girl as well, even if he was utterly clueless about it all, insisting on calling her his daughter…. The twins could also be a great contender, with their being Haruhi's classmates. As for Honey-senpai and Mori-senpai…it was all a mystery with those two.

Kyoya resisted the urge to sigh in exasperation. He had a lot of competition for Haruhi's affections. And they were all his friends; he couldn't do it to them.

"Fuyumi-san is married?" said Haruhi, shocked.

"Yes, my father married her off to a business partner," explained Kyoya. "I was never really worried about her; she seems happy about it."

"Oh, I see…so is it really like that for you guys?" asked Haruhi.

"Like what?"

"You know, for your future to be decided for you. What will you become, what you will do…who will you marry…."

"I guess that commoners have it easy, with you not worrying about the same stuff we do," said Kyoya a bit more bitingly than he intended; he just couldn't help transferring his irritation to her. "But we have priorities and we have to follow them."

His tone greatly offended Haruhi. She didn't like what he was implying; it was as if he was saying that a proletarian like her would understand the world of the wealthy.

"I'm sorry for not understanding," she said, irked as well. "I guess my peasant brain can't fully comprehend what it's like to be you…with all the privileges at your disposal. I think that it's because that we actually had to work as hard as it was possible to imagine to even have a taste of how the other half lives." She rose from her seat. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to serve the guests. Enjoy the rest of the evening. Also, don't worry about taking me home tonight; my train pass is gathering dust and that's a real shame."

She left without another word, feeling more annoyed than she intended. Since when did she become this defensive? She needed to cool her head.

It's just that, why did his words sting so much? It's like there's a great chasm in between us that could never be filled.

Suddenly, she was instantly aware of how truly different their status are. No matter how much his father would want him to marry her, it just wouldn't work at all. She had nothing to offer him.

She read somewhere that love could be enough for two people even if their situations are poles apart from each other.

So will love be enough for them? Will it really close that gap?

The problem is, she wasn't sure if she loved him or not.

…

"Damn, why did I do that?" Kyoya banged his fist against the table. "I didn't mean for the words to sound that way. What the hell do I do now?"

"Kyoya-chan…" a voice whined from behind him. He nearly jumped out of his skin; thankfully, he caught himself just in time.

"Honey-senpai, Mori-senpai, what can I do for you?" Kyoya straightened his glasses.

"We heard what you said," declared Honey, hugging his Bun-Bun. "Did you mean what you said? It was really mean of you to say it in the first place."

"Ah," seconded Mori.

Kyoya stared at his senior. Beyond his childlike manner and exterior, the most feared warrior in the world of martial arts was also a great intellectual. Maybe he could shed some light on his situation.

"I don't know it myself," he said finally. "I just spat out those words without much thought. It was a real first for me and I'm surprised at myself."

"You should be angry at yourself," corrected Honey.

"I am."

"So just say sorry to Haru-chan," advised Honey. "It's the best thing to apologize when you've wronged someone. I think she'll appreciate that. Now, I don't want to hear you talking like that again, okay Kyoya-chan?"

Kyoya looked at his upperclassman as he left the table in search of cake. He wanted to ask something else: how to apologize when you've never done it before?

…

Haruhi's bad mood continued through the night, even when she was with possible customers. When the party was over, she packed up and left without another word, not wanting to even glance at Kyoya.

I never thought that having a fight like this with him could hurt this way….

It was becoming quite late. According to Haruhi's watch, it was already eleven p.m.

She had to walk quickly or risk missing the last train home.

While she was walking along road to the train station, she didn't notice as dark, angry clouds loomed overhead that threatened of lightning and thunder.

At the first rumble, Haruhi nearly jumped out in fright.

This is no good…the storm is coming and I haven't even reached the train station.

She walked faster until she was practically running.

Finally, she was in front of the station, only to be disappointed.

The last train to her neighborhood left minutes ago. It was already eleven fifteen; the train left at eleven.

Well, I guess I wasn't really concerned about the train as I thought that Kyoya would take me home….

Ah, screw it. He's a snobbish upper class ass. I don't need him to get home.

She could take a taxi but she'd be spending her money for the rest of the week. It was really a problem.

A flash of lightning ran across the window to her right followed by the loudest rumble. Haruhi resisted the urge to run for the nearest table to hide underneath it.

Not left with many choices, she decided to hide in the toilet for the rest of the night. She could catch the early morning train for home, change into her uniform, then race back to school.

Lightning flashed again. She nearly knocked over a few people in her haste.

When she was halfway to her goal, she bumped into someone.

As Haruhi looked up to apologize, the words died in her throat.

"I told you to wait for me," said Kyoya, steering her away to the car parked at front. "I knew that the train bound home would leave at eleven. Haruhi? Are you listening to me?"

He looked down at the girl who was covering her ears with her hands—she was positively shaking with fear.

"There's a storm broadcast tonight; don't you ever listen?" he continued as he jogged her to his car. Once safely inside, he pried out her hands from her ears.

"Did you hear a word I said?" he said gently, not wanting to scare her further.

Haruhi couldn't reply; she was too paralyzed with fear.

Taking in her in his arms, Kyoya barked sharply to the driver, "To Miss Fujioka's apartment! Drive as quickly as you can! This is an emergency!"

"Yes, sir!"

…

They made it to Haruhi's house in no time. Kyoya took her keys from her and ushered her inside as quickly as he could.

It was a good thing that he took the time to visit here a lot more than the others; he was able to move around the tiny flat with ease, fetching everything Haruhi needed including hot tea and a blanket.

She looked so small, he thought. Here, the fearless Haruhi unable to move because of a little storm.

His heart wrenching inside his chest, he embraced her again. She was crying so hard he could feel her tears drench his shirt.

This was his time to apologize.

"I am so sorry, Haruhi," he said softly. "I never meant to hurt you. Please forgive me for what I said before. I had a lot of things on my mind but even I admit that it was no excuse to talk to you that way. I hope that you can forgive me for that. I promise not to be so tactless anymore."

"I was just…surprised that you could say those things," mumbled Haruhi in his chest.

Kyoya cupped her chin to make her stare at his eyes (incidentally, he removed his glasses).

"I know, and I'm sorry," he said again. Suddenly, he chuckled. "Did you realize that we just had our first fight?"

Haruhi couldn't help but smile. Just being in his arms made her forget the raging storm outside. He was warm and strong…not unlike Tamaki when he held her before but there was something about his embrace. It was as if he was treating her like a fragile crystal; close enough to feel her yet not pressing her too hard against him for fear that she would break. Tamaki had held her as if in a vice.

Kyoya brushed away the stray tears from her face with a gentle thumb. Haruhi was suddenly over-sensitive to his presence. She could feel his body heat, smell his spicy cologne, hear his resounding heartbeat….

"And fights between couples are best resolved with a make-up kiss," he continued. Haruhi stared at him, uncomprehending.

"What do you--?"

She was abruptly cut off by his mouth descending on hers. His mouth was soft and sweet, taking his time exploring her to his desire.

Haruhi went weak; she was thankful that she was already sitting down otherwise she would have collapsed in shock.

With his arms around her and her mouth engaged to his, Haruhi felt more safe than she had ever before. This was admittedly better than when she was comforted by Tamaki or Hikaru.

All too soon, it was over. Not wanting Haruhi to see how the kiss greatly affected him as well, Kyoya pressed her to his chest. He never expected this to happen. He was only counting on holding her for longer. But staring at her like that, with her sweet lips just begging to be kissed, he just let his mind wander around

His heartbeat was steady, unlike Haruhi's which was going haywire. She couldn't believe that she kissed Kyoya! Most of all, she let him!

She closed her eyes. She was too tired to think right now. Better to sleep it all with these warm feelings inside her than lay awake in doubt and suspicion.

Kyoya waited until Haruhi's breathing became steady and deep: a sign that she was asleep. He didn't want to let her go, but she needed to be more comfortable.

He laid her down the tatami mat as gently as he could. After he found a futon in one of the closets, he proceeded to divest her of her suit jacket before placing her in the makeshift bed. As he covered her with the comforter, Haruhi reached for him in her sleep.

She gripped his jacket tightly, mumbling, "Don't leave me, Mom."

"I'll be here forever, as long as you need me," whispered Kyoya, taking her hand.

"Will you stay with me?"

"I promise."

…

When Kyoya made it home at the break of dawn, he went immediately for his computer.

The words blinked repeatedly on his monitor:

Phase Four: UNCOMPLETED (ABORTED)

Phase Five: COMPLETED (WITH MIXED RESULTS)

Phase Eight: COMPLETED (AHEAD OF SCHEDULE)

The satisfaction Kyoya should feel didn't come. All he felt was dirty. These tricks are going to cost him more than the zaibatsu; it was going to cost him his most protected possession: his heart.

---

What was Phase Four supposed to be, then? I don't know either, so don't ask me! - This kiss was Phase Eight? Just what the hell is this story, anyway?--;

Short, but I like to think that it has enough fluff to keep you guys going for a while. This was pretty hard to write without going over so much detail that it would make my head spin. I promised that I would be direct to the point with this story, but….

Ah, their first kiss and first fight! Didn't you notice that Haruhi's been comparing Kyoya to Tamaki a lot lately? Uh oh, is she falling for Tamaki instead? Poor Kyoya.

Thanks a lot for your kind reviews! I'll keep working hard to give you guys hopefully the best in Haruhi and Kyoya fluff without going over the top!

Oh, here are some of my responses to some of the reviews. I'm sorry that I couldn't respond to them all, as my time is rather limited.But please, keep them coming! I so love them!

Adria Li: Thank you very much. I don't like to think of myself as good as analyzing people; in fact, nobody really is good at that. I just happen to understand people (fiction or non-fiction) characters more strongly than others do, that is all. As for my profile, it's just random stuff about me. I'm not a really deep person. --;

JenovaJuice97: I wasn't really planning on Guinevere to be a 'slutty' character. In my humble opinion, she's just determined. : )

Kichou: No, Fuyumi doesn't really do anything for the couple except serve the tea and embarass their lights out. She's the kind of character who's mainly in the background but just added in for some comic relief. I tend to place a lot of characters on that role. (laughs)

If you are wondering why none of the Host Club has really made much of an appearance in the story, it's only because when I write, I tend to focus only on the main characters; I forget everything else. But their parts will come shortly I hope...

Please,READ AND REVIEW!

Rienne :P