DISCLAIMER - I do not own ouran or any of its characters - the lovely and talented Ms. Bisco Hatori does. i merely borrow them for stories that are meant to entertain, so please don't copy or sue!
Author's Note: For future reference...
Thoughts
Emphasis (or EMPHASIS)
Speaking in unison - used mostly for twins
Ch. 7
Amends
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Haruhi sat at the kotatsu in her room, sipping hot tea as she gazed out the window at the blanket of snow outside. It was pristine and beautiful, and from the muted gray color of the sky, it looked as though it would snow more later that night. She reached up and rubbed the towel on her head, drying her hair a bit more. This day had been full of new things - her massage had been wonderful, and sitting in a hot spring outside in the snow was something she had never experienced before. It was a strange sensation to have your ears and nose be chilled while the rest of your body was roasting warm. And then, getting out of the water was a challenge in itself - the cold air hit her wet skin like a blizzard, and she was grateful for the thick, plush towels and robe that were waiting in a basket next to the pool's edge. She had not seen (or heard) much of Kyoya since the massage, since the springs were segregated. She had thought she could hear him on the other side of the dividing wall between the pools, but she couldn't be sure if it was him or another guest, so she had said nothing. She had just laid in the water, submerging as much of herself as she could and thinking.
Kyoya had never struck her as the type of person who could really relax - she knew that no one could really maintain the appearance he did at all times, but it was still strange for her to think that he really gained so much pleasure in something as simple as this. Well, simple for a rich guy, anyway. He really seems ... happy? Maybe it's just because he doesn't have the rest of the Host Club here to baby-sit. She smiled, Kyoya really is like their mother, in a way. He's most responsible one in the group, and he takes care of all the planning, plus supervising everyone. Reliable, but no-nonsense.
She thought how the more time she spent with him, the more she realized what a nice person he really was. And no matter how much he may have insisted to her in the past that he was really just an egotistical jerk, she knew better. Even though he could, indeed, be very intimidating, and was not at all above being manipulative or using thinly veiled threats, she knew there was another side to his coin. He made it very easy to forget that he was, after all, only seventeen. He was so cool and sophisticated, and yet... she had seen the lengths he was willing to go to for the people close to him. Despite his claims that he never did anything unless it held merits for him, and that was the reason that he was willing to let the other Hosts see his 'true nature', that of a greedy Shadow King, Haruhi could tell there was much more to him than that. There was a strong drive in him that she could relate to - he may be rich, but it seemed that his odds of becoming his father's successor, with two outstanding older brothers, was more unlikely than her odds of becoming a lawyer. All that was standing in the way of her dream was lack of money, and that could be fixed with hard work. Kyoya, on the other hand... he was up against far more intangible things. Tradition, and the standards of his family would seem insurmountable to most people, but Kyoya just took it all in stride, and calmly decided that nothing would stand in his way. As terrifying as he could be on occasion, Haruhi had to admit that she sensed a kindred spirit in him - someone smart, driven, a hard worker, and someone who wouldn't let other people's opinions stop them from attaining their goals. It seemed that no matter how many times she had seen his dark side, or the rare occasions that she saw his kind side, that it only made her want to spend more time with him, to see more of what he was like.
She was snapped out her thoughts by a soft knock on her door. "May I come in?" Kyoya asked from outside.
"Sure, come on."
Kyoya opened the door and stepped in, a towel over his head as well. Haruhi greeted him with a smile, which he returned, somewhat hesitantly. No matter how much he prepared himself to be near her, she could always get to him with that soft, easy smile. He straightened up, and opened the door wide. "I thought you might be hungry, so I ordered room service." Haruhi was startled as two waiters walked in, each carrying a tray of food. They spread the dishes out on the table in front of her, and her mouth began to water. There was a large dish of piping hot stew, and another dish of fresh sushi, including her favorite, ootoro. There was even a platter of fresh strawberries and melons, beautiful and vibrant in their colors. She was speechless as Kyoya thanked the waiters and shut the door behind them as they left. He turned back to her, and suppressed the urge to laugh at the expression of pure delight on her face. He had never known anyone who took so much pleasure in good food. Although he was outwardly irritated with Tamaki's melodramatic statement that Haruhi should always have such good food, and should always be this happy, he agreed wholeheartedly. It cheered him in a way he couldn't describe to see her so thrilled. "I expected that you wouldn't mind if I ordered for you. Do you like it?"
"Oh yes! But, how did you get such fresh fruit at this time of year?"
"Well, its in season in other parts of the world, so it was just a matter of finding the right supplier and having it sent here..."
"You mean you special-ordered this? You had it sent here before we even arrived?" Haruhi looked up from her half-eaten strawberry. "How long have you been planning this, Kyoya?"
"Oh, not long." Kyoya folded himself up and sat down next to Haruhi, tucking his legs under the blanket of the kotatsu, pleased with the added warmth. "May I? Unless you plan to eat all that food yourself."
"Oh, right...sorry."
They ate in companionable silence, only commenting on the food or occasionally asking the other to pass something. Kyoya kept stealing furtive glances at Haruhi, thinking that he had successfully recovered from the awkwardness that morning. Things were shaping up nicely, and as they both finished the main dishes and moved on to the fruit, their towels still draped around their necks, he thought that he would still have his chance to tell her how he felt that night.
"Mm... these strawberries are perfect. How's the melon? It's your favorite, isn't it, Kyoya?"
He blinked and looked up, halfway through a mouthful of what was, indeed, his favorite fruit. He swallowed, "Indeed it is. How did you know?"
"Well, you had to special order this, right? And this is the only thing that isn't specifically one of my favorite foods. I mean," she rushed, not wanted to sound spoiled, "I like them, they're delicious. And besides, that day at the mall, the snacks that you picked up for the other hosts were all melon-flavored. So, they must be your favorite. Right?"
He allowed himself to smile at her. "Well done. I knew you were smart; I should have guessed that you would figure it out." She smiled back, slightly flattered that Kyoya, possibly the most intelligent person she knew, had complimented her like that.
"Well, senpa...er, sorry, Kyoya, what did you have planned for the rest of the night?"
"What makes you think I have anything else planned?" He chuckled as she raised her eyebrow and looked at him knowingly. "Alright, alright. I thought we would head back down into the city and go out dancing."
Haruhi was so shocked she almost fell over. "Dancing? Kyoya, really?" She was having trouble picturing him dancing anything other than a waltz.
"Would you not like to go? Because I'm afraid I'll have to pull rank on you there, since it is MY vacation, after all."
"No, no, that's not it. I just never pictured you as much of a dancer. And, well, I've never been. I don't think I'll be very good at it."
"To be honest, neither have I. But my sister has been hassling me lately about getting out and doing 'fun' things like other people my age. She's been very insistent..." She really had been, but he didn't want to tell her that he really had been dying to try it, especially with her, so this little fabrication seemed the next best thing. "So I thought I would bring you along, since I can't really go alone. And this seemed the best time; since we're not at home, we're unlikely to run into anyone who knows us, so you can feel free to dress as a girl. Plus the Host Club isn't here either, so if we're not any good at it, it can be our little secret." He winked at her.
She considered him for a moment. Apart from the wink, this sounded slightly more like the Kyoya she knew. "Alright. I'm not sure that I have anything to wear, though."
"I'm sure you do. Let me see what you have."
Haruhi got up and dug through her suitcase, pulling out jeans, sweaters, nothing suitable for a night out, until she found an unfamiliar package wrapped in tissue paper. "What is this?" She returned to the table, set it down, and carefully tore into it, revealing something deep purple, along with black tights and a white belt. Kyoya leaned over to look at it as well - he had not seen it yet. She pulled it out and held it up to her, and turned around to face him. The dress was a color that suited her well; somewhat short, but not too short, and looked like it had a wide neck. "Where did this come from? I don't recognize it at all - its not something I would normally wear."
"You should thank me. Ranka wanted to pack you something of her own."
"You? You picked this out?" Haruhi suppressed a chuckle. "I didn't know you shopped for girls clothes..."
He frowned. "Ranka said she would pack something of her own for you, but I thought that you would rather have something else. I asked my sister, she picked something out for you; we had it sent to your house, and Ranka packed it for you." He sat up slightly and straightened his glasses. "I do NOT shop for girl's clothes."
She continued to chuckle, and looked down at the dress. The material felt wonderful between her fingers, and it was a gorgeous color. "Well, thank your sister for me. It's very nice."
Kyoya stood up and turned to leave. "Well, I'll leave you to get ready. I need to get ready myself. I can't exactly wear this out dancing, not when you're going to be all dressed up." He indicated his clothes, a loose gray t-shirt and jeans. "Just come and get me when you're ready to go."
"Alright, I'll see you in a bit." Dancing with Kyoya... this should be interesting.
--
Author's Note: I know, I know, this chapter's pretty fluffy, and not a whole lot happens, but things get rolling again in the next chapter. And I apologize for this chapter being a bit shorter than the others (only 4 1/2 pages instead of my usual 6 :p). Oh, and I just wanted to clarify my timeline. Since the timeline of events isn't really clear in the anime, or the manga (they jump from season to season quite a bit with no one ever graduating), I have kind of decided that most major events have happened before this story. For example, the beach house, the mall excursion, Kasanoda, Renge, pretty much everything except the anime finale. I love the manga, too, but it just seemed to work out that this story is mostly Anime-centric. Oh well - there's a few manga references - mostly that any time Haruhi has a question, Kyoya is magically by her side (I think that's so cute!) I'm working on Ch. 8 right now, so I hope this will tide you over until then. And, as always, please enjoy, and remember, I live off reviews!! - 3 htac
