Chapter 9 - The Awkward Dinner

While Kyoya was still reeling from the well-played mind game, Mori stepped forward and offered his arm to Haruhi to escort her to dinner.

All Kyoya could do was stare. He wanted to pinch himself to see if any of this was real. He had been a step behind Mori all day. It was not something he was used to - and by Mori of all people! It was petty, but Kyoya started addressing Mori informally - at least in his mind. He refused to recognize his senpai in a senior capacity while they courted the same woman. They were equals.

Kyoya stopped himself. No, not equals - Kyoya planned to be the victor. He needed to pull himself together and actively pursue Haruhi. No more planning, no more behind the scenes, no more big-picture anything. He needed to act, otherwise all of Mori's minor victories would end up turning the tide of the battle. Kyoya adjusted his glasses and made them gleam. He was ready to go to war.

Kyoya walked into the great room with a renewed sense of purpose and stopped in front of the table. The seating arrangement was extremely interesting.

Mori sat to the right of Honey-senpai who sat next to Haruhi. Kyoya wished he could have been there for that exchange. Voices in his mind that sounded like the twins chanted "Somebody's in trouble." Holding back a grin, Kyoya started to take the seat to the left of Haruhi when Tamaki walked into the room from where he'd washed his hands.

Damn it. Kyoya's conscience gave him pause. He could give up the seat next to Haruhi to Tamaki in the hopes of promoting reconciliation. But he had just decided to fight and make the most of every opportunity. Grrr! His eyes flicked momentarily to Haruhi. He wavered, then sighed. He truly believed Haruhi would be happier and more at ease if she and Tamaki resolved their issues.

With that, Kyoya put his hands on the back of the chair and made eye contact with Tamaki. Indicating that the king should sit there, Kyoya walked around the table and went to wash his hands.

Coming back, Kyoya sat in the place across from Mori. He stiffened as he recalled "she was beautiful" and images of Mori and Haruhi being intimate flashed in his mind. Gritting his teeth, Kyoya opened his black book to make it look like he wasn't bothered by Mori's mind game. He told himself that even though Mori had been ahead during the day, Kyoya was going to get ahead during the night.

Kyoya's eyes closed as his brain processed the unintended innuendo. The phrasing of that particular sentence turned him on and brought to mind his earlier idea of throwing Haruhi on a bed... and the many things that could be done on a bed. Though happy his thoughts turned from her and Mori to her and him, he was in public so he tamped down on those thoughts and crossed his legs. Thankfully, he was sitting down.

From beside him, Hikaru spoke up. "Well, this is uncomfortable."

Kyoya's head flew up in surprise, but he relaxed when he realized Hikaru was talking about the atmosphere.

"Yeah, kind of awkward," Kaoru seconded.

Kyoya was amused at how perfectly timed their comments were.

Honey-senpai smiled tensely. "Let's dig in Haru-chan. These are the crabs we caught! I bet they're delicious."

Kyoya glanced over and watched Haruhi begin to eat. The moment the first bite touched her tongue, she closed her eyes in ecstasy. His stomach tightened in response. Kyoya could stare at her making that face for hours and would happily be the cause of that expression.

It felt like reality doused him with a bucket of ice water when he realized that she was only making that face because of a meal his rivals made for her. His happy, bed-throwing-fantasy induced state of mind dissipated quickly.

That was when he decided that he, Kyoya Ootori, absolutely would take cooking lessons. How could he have thought there was no merit in learning how to cook? Food was obviously a great way to win her heart. He was jealous that his senpais had thought of it first. What if she went to them for a more private demonstration?

Haruhi interrupted his inner monologue to provoke Tamaki. "These crabs taste in-crab-ible. Get it?" she taunted, taking exaggerated bites.

Kyoya held back a smirk. The little minx was trying to get a rise out of Tamaki. He regretted giving up the seat, but his Shadow King side enjoyed the show and mentally stood up and applauded. Being able to politely use one's words to get under someone's skin was a high-society skill. It was crude, yes, but effective. Still, Kyoya would rather have sat next to her and attempt to win her favor than cause more chaos.

He sighed. The severity of the argument between Tamaki and Haruhi would require more work than simply sitting next to her at the table. If his plan for later broke through Haruhi's defenses, he'd try to make steps towards fixing their miscommunication. But for now, Haruhi was determined to rile his friend. Haruhi even ate far beyond her normal limit just to get a reaction out of him.

Then, stupidly, Tamaki fell for the trap.

"Don't you think you've had enough? Give it a rest!" Tamaki said, looking disgusted.

She went in for the killer blow. "Excuse me? I thought you weren't speaking to me." She kept eating.

"You - trying to be cute," Tamaki pouted.

Kyoya and Honey-senpai looked on in utter disbelief as Tamaki made stupid-man mistake after mistake. For all his hosting, one would think - even hope - that Tamaki would know more about a woman's psyche.

Haruhi suddenly glared at Tamaki and the king had had enough. He slammed his hand on the table and stood up.

"Okay, fine, I get it. It seems you refuse to admit that you were wrong."

He closed his eyes haughtily and started walking away. "See if I care, then. I'm going to bed. Kyoya, will you show me to my room, please?"

Loathe to be away from Haruhi when the thunderstorm could hit at any minute, Kyoya bought himself some time by patting his mouth with a napkin and quickly weighed the pros and cons of this situation. Eventually deciding that distance between the two would be the fastest way to help Haruhi process, Kyoya said, "No problem," and made to stand up.

"Well, excuse me everyone," he drawled. He eyed Haruhi surreptitiously and saw the frustration and confusion on her face.

Kyoya raised an eyebrow at Honey-senpai and Mori as he left the table and they nodded discreetly. He wanted to be able to stay and help Haruhi sort through what just happened, but at least she wouldn't be alone. He reminded himself that he'd be seeing her soon.