"Haruhi, would you like to go out with me?"
"Sorry?" she said, headed tilted to one side in confusion.
Kyouya's expression remained unchanged. "I asked you if you wanted to go out with me."
"Out where?" she wondered.
"Dinner perhaps, and whatever else interests you."
"Why?" she had to ask.
Kyouya sighed and leaned across the table, resting his chin on his neatly folded hands. "Because that's what boys and girls do, Haruhi. When a boy finds himself attracted to a girl, he asks her to date him."
Haruhi blinked at him. They were sitting in one of the Ouran libraries at a quiet table in the back. Haruhi had been hard at work on calculus while Kyouya had been pecking away at his keyboard, ignoring her up until just a moment ago.
"Ano... when you say "date" do you mean as friends?"
"No, Haruhi, not as friends."
"Then... a real date? As boy and girl?"
"Of course."
Haruhi frowned at him, setting her pencil down and leaning back in her chair. "But Kyouya-sempai, what would be the merits in that?"
"Merits? What are the merits to any relationship? I am simply... interested."
Haruhi pondered the information for a moment. "I suppose... I am interested as well. I would like the opportunity to get to know Kyouya-sempai better."
A slight smile altered his features. "Very well. Would this Saturday at seven be acceptable to you?"
She nodded and then picked up her pencil and went back to work. Kyouya watched her for a few minutes, his insides (which had been on fire a moment ago) slowly relaxing and allowing him some peace of mind. He couldn't help feeling that their conversation had been more like a work proposal than a request for a date.
Simultaneously, he thanked the gods that Haruhi was not a normal girl.