"What do I owe the pleasure of this visit? I'm assuming by you coming alone Tamaki doesn't even know that you're here." The red-haired beauty wore a sinful smile as she spun around in her chair, looking out the window while twirling a lock of hair around her finger.
"He doesn't and he's not going to." Éclair's head snapped around and she narrowed her eyes on Haruhi as she rested her chin in her palm, legs crossed.
"You sound sure of that." She purred and Haruhi nodded taking a seat across from her.
"I don't think you want anyone knowing about this." The French woman raised a perfectly maintained brow, intrigued by her words.
"What is it that I don't want anyone to know?" Shuffling around in her bag Haruhi pulled out a folded stack of papers. Sliding them across the desk she sat silently as Éclair looked over everything her expression turning sour as she flipped through the pages forcefully almost tearing one, eyes scanning each line swiftly. "Where did you get this." She snapped clearly upset. Her composure was slipping.
"Honestly notifying you of this issue is just a courtesy, I didn't have to. So I'm not obliged to tell you that I do have a request though for payment of my good deed. I want to be notified of the progress on the investigation." Lying was never her strong point but she had to play her cards right with Éclair if she wanted to be successful. Fake it till you make it.
Another raised brow, "what makes you think there will be one? I could burry this and no one would be the wiser."
Shrugging Haruhi moved to stand, she was about done here anyways. "You could, but then you'd never know how deep this goes. Corruption within your own company is not something that can easily be ignored. This is also just the tip, there's much bigger issues that this plays into I've merely shown you a glimpse of my hand. Of course in the end what you do is up to you, as I said this is just a courtesy." Haruhi knew she had played her cards right from the flicker of emotions that glazed over Éclair's eyes as she starred at her, unwavering. Perhaps it was admiration, or possibly even respect. Either way it was different than the usual resentment she looked at her with after having snagged Tamaki away, even though they never pursued anything. Jealousy had already sunk its claws in deep with this one.
The silence that followed was heavy and Haruhi took it as a sign to leave. Making her way towards the door she only paused after Éclair called out to her. "Haruhi I shouldn't have to tell you this but be careful. Embezzlement is not to be taken lightly, if this is just the tip of the iceberg then I'd watch my back if I were you. Money is a great motivator. Perhaps you should take up self-defense, no?" Giving a nod of acknowledgement Haruhi showed herself out, deep in thought. Éclair had a point she probably should take some form of safety measure. Things were probably going to get more complicated from here. It wasn't a bad idea at all, but who would she ask? She could ask Kyoya but for some reason the thought didn't settle well with her. Though he may not ask why he was bound to go overboard. Hmm…
"I caught you Haru-chan!" Honey cheered rushing towards her. Panic settled in Haruhi's stomach as she was pulled back into reality starring at him with wide eyes. "Ho-hon-honey Senpai?" she stuttered freezing in place. This was not good, not good at all. How, when, why? All sorts of questions swarmed her mind as she stood motionless on the steps of Éclair's tower. Kyoya was supposed to make sure they were all distracted. Does this mean Mori is here too? Looking around she mentally sighed in relief when she didn't spot anyone accompanying Honey. Still his presence proved to be a problem as not even Kyoya knew where she was going or who she was seeing.
"You and Kyoya might be able to fool everyone else but not me." He looked so proud of himself as if he just completed a grand quest having slayed the dragon, rescued the damsel, ect. Haruhi was finding it hard to be upset with him. Maybe his Lolita charm did work on her sometimes.
Noticing her forced smile as she greeted him his mannerism quickly became filled with worry as he went into interrogation mode, spouting out a frenzy of questions mainly regarding if she was okay or not. Wincing at the number of questions he was able to ask in one breath Haruhi wondered how she was going to answer any of them without lying. Not only does he seem capable of seeing through her and Kyoya at that, but any answer she thought of would only deepen his suspicion. If that happened who knows what other lengths besides following her he would go to in order to make sure she's okay. It was too risky so she settled on being quiet, finding her shoes surprisingly interesting as Honey continued his spree of questions.
"Haruhi, if you're worried about me telling anyone you don't need to be. Takashi doesn't even know that I followed you." She grimaced at the idea of forcing Honey to keep things from his cousin, she knew how close they were, though she was partially relieved as well. "It's not that Honey Senpai and I greatly appreciate you keeping this between us. I just can't answer any of your questions honestly. I promise that it's not because I want to keep things from you but not even Kyoya knows anything other than that I'm working." Her answer seemed to appease him. "That's fine Haru-chan. Just know that you can ask me for anything at any time, kay?"
"Actually, there is something you might be able to help me with." His eyes lit up and the way he was looking at her reminded her of the way he looks at cake. Is it really that satisfying to be needed? His excitement seemed to triple as she starred at him, it really must be. Maybe that's why Kyoya is always reminding her that she can go to him for help. It must feed into some sense of responsibility they have. "I need someone to teach me self-defense. But I'd like to keep it a secret, even from Mori-Senpai. I understand if that's asking too much of you and if so I can find someone else." Honey didn't miss a beat and Haruhi wondered if he even thought about what she said before he burst out with a "kay, we can start when we get back." That or he truly didn't mind keeping things from Mori. He has surprised her a lot lately maybe she misjudged him a bit.
Offering Honey a smile she linked her arm with his and allowed him to guide her down the steps onto the sidewalk. "The others aren't far so I told the driver he didn't need to wait. Are you okay with walking?" Giving a slight grunt Haruhi nodded. Walking will give her time to collect herself before joining up with everyone again. "Also Haru-chan, if you and Kyoya want some time together Takashi and I can distract the others for you guys." Heat rising to her face from his assumption Haruhi looked away trying to hide her blush. Damn him for being so perceptive, was he always like this?
"I already told you, you can't fool me. Takashi figured it out too but we'll keep your secret since it's not really our place to tell anyone anyways. I do hope that you two will talk with Tamaki and the twins soon though that way we can all celebrate together." Muttering something under her breath Haruhi sighed heavily. "Kyoya and I aren't even sure if there is anything to tell, we're still figuring things out." Again her blatant honesty seemed to be enough for Honey as he beamed up at her, eyes twinkling. "Well, my offer still stands. Though I may just make the suggestion to Kyoya since you seem unlikely to take me up on it. Paris is a romantic city after all. It might be a good place to figure things out." His tone was suggestive and Haruhi spent the remainder of their walk red as a tomato. She was definitely going to be teased relentlessly for her blush once they joined up with the others.
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Letting out a groan Haruhi threw her comforter to the side dreadfully sneaking a peak at the digital clock set up on the nightstand next to her bed. It was almost two in the morning and she cursed jet lag and time differences to hell as she sat up. No matter what she did sleep would not come and she tried everything she could think of all the way down to simply counting sheep. Of course after a thousand that got boring and still failed to calm her troubled mind. She tried to convince herself that she couldn't sleep because she was anxious about the events set in motion as a result of her meeting with Éclair. She tried to anyways, but the truth was she slightly missed Kyoya.
They had a case of bad weather for a few days before leaving for Paris. Kyoya ended up staying with her right up until they left. At some point during that time she got used to his presence, it was as if he became part of her nightly routine. Now here she was sleep deprived and unable to relax because she missed him… whatever he is. She still wasn't sold on the idea of them as an item yet. They had just reconnected and were obviously closer than before. If things didn't work out would they become bitter towards one another? She hoped they would be the exception and remain close friends no matter what happens between them, but she knew that was wishful thinking.
This was one of the main reasons she didn't want to pursue anything with Tamaki back in the day. She valued their friendship and didn't want to chance losing what they already had. She's definitely taken it a step farther with Kyoya though, but does that mean she's ready to cave and seriously consider being with someone, and Kyoya of all people? She never gave herself the chance to think of him this way while in high school and now she was wondering if she only fell for Tamaki because Kyoya was seen as off limits. The guilt these thoughts brought twisted her stomach and she felt sick as she crawled out of bed.
The tile floor was cold against her bare feet as she poked her head out into the hall checking to see if there was any sign of life before slipping out of her room. She didn't want to bother with anyone right now. At the least she wanted to find the kitchen and get a glass of water. Maybe the expedition would tire her out. Tamaki's mansion in Paris was more extravagant than the one she had visited in Japan and she was sure it would take her time to find her way. Not that she minded much. After a few minutes of wandering down different corridors she managed to find the kitchen, or at least one of them. She was sure in a place this big there were multiple.
Fumbling around in the dark she shuffled through the cabinets until she found a glass. "Stupid rich bastards and their unnecessarily large kitchens." She grumbled as she turned the faucet on.
"You always have an interesting opinion." Startled Haruhi dropped the glass in the sink flinching as it clattered against the metal. She hadn't even heard Kyoya come in, was she really that spacy? In an instant he was standing beside her examining the glass to make sure it didn't break. "I didn't mean to scare you." He whispered grabbing hold of her hand, inspecting it thoroughly as well.
"It wouldn't have mattered if you were trying to or not, I wasn't paying attention so I would have jumped anyways." He nodded determining that the glass and her hand were fine he let go of her and took a step back. She was somewhat disappointed by his action but she had asked him to keep his distance during this trip and he was only doing what she asked.
"Couldn't sleep?" Nodding Haruhi leaned over resting her head against his shoulder. She knew it went against her rules of engagement but right now she could care less. Everyone was asleep and even if they weren't, the chances of anyone else wandering into the kitchen at this precise moment was slim. She needed the little closeness this gave her and Kyoya seemed to be able to sense it. He didn't move away and after a few seconds he relaxed himself, pulling her against him.
Comfortable and warm in his embrace Haruhi could feel herself begin to drift and she wished that she didn't have to make the trek back to her room. The exhaustion hit her all at once and she buried her face into his chest even more fighting to keep her eyes open. Whatever she wanted to happen between them she wasn't going to fight it. Kyoya and her were both the most logical and calculating individuals of their group. If they decided to enter a relationship and give things a try it would be because they knew it would last.
"I couldn't sleep either." He mumbled against her hair. His statement didn't sound odd to her from what she understood Kyoya was adjusted to staying up until the wee hours of the morning. She assumed it was partly why he slept in so late, aside from his low blood pressure of course. Still, a part of her hoped that he too was restless because he had gotten used to her lying beside him.
"I think I missed you today," she managed to say. At least she thought she did. Honestly her mind was powering down and she knew for sure the words 'miss' and 'you' came out clearly. The rest was a daze. Chuckling softly Kyoya held her tighter now supporting her entire weight, he was actually the only thing keeping her upright. "I missed you too. Now let's get you to bed." Incapable of arguing Haruhi draped her arms around his neck as he picked her up carrying her bridal style out of the kitchen and back to her room. At some point she surely dozed only waking up when he laid her down in bed. She didn't want him to go and he remained reluctant to untangle his arms from around her as well.
After a few minutes of mumbled sleepy nonsense and a few laughs on Kyoya's part he settled himself under the covers, pulling her to lay on top of him as he usually did. "By the way, how did you manage to get Tamaki to send me off just from telling him that I didn't sleep on the plane?" she asked yawning loudly. "I'm not allowed to tell you, it's a surprise. Just please don't be mad at me." Came his gentle reply. Confused as to why she would be mad Haruhi grunted unable to form words. Kissing the top of her head Kyoya ran his fingers through her hair massaging her scalp and that was the last thing she recalled before succumbing to sleep.
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Two chapters in one day isn't too bad if I say so myself. The beginning part of this I struggled with. I'm ready to get rolling on other aspects of this case and I'm somewhat getting impatient with myself but I can't rush it.
I also feel a need to focus more on Haruhi with Honey and Mori because I felt like they didn't get much attention in the original story. The main focus was of course Tamaki and Haruhi and then Haruhi and the twins. There were small moments where she bonded with the others but not on the same level. I guess what I'm saying is they got their spotlight, I want to cast the other hosts as leading roles in this story.
Of course if you haven't realized by this point, I am a huge fan of Kyoya and Haruhi. They're really the only couple I ship. I can't really see Tamaki and Haruhi being together at all, and there's the small fact that IT'S KYOYA. Is there really anything not to love about him?
I'm just ranting now so I'll stop. I do hope you all enjoyed the last bit of this chapter, I know I did.