(A/N: Hello peeps! I thank you for your patience. I've been attending to my other stories for a while, but they were a little harder for me to write than this. Plus, I've been arranging things for my foot surgery which is less than a week away. (Gah!) But I promise you that this chapter will be worth the wait. (*smirk*) So, I own nothing and enjoy the chapter!)
Chapter 8: Killer Queen and/or Smooth Criminal
"Is there any particular reason that there are a bunch of headless and scantily clad mannequins in the club room? Or is the theme for today, 'I'm actually a serial killer in my spare time?'" Sam queried of the twins who were looking far too smug with themselves.
The reactions of her fellow hosts were both immediate and intensely satisfying.
The twins gaped incredulously and simultaneously, Haruhi was laughing her ass off, Tamaki was looking horrified at her making such a brash comparison, Honey was edging away from the twins subtly, Mori was rolling his eyes fondly, and Kyoya was looking at her with a single raised brow, eyes dancing with amusement.
With her most innocent look firmly in place, she skipped over to move her boyfriend's laptop to a nearby table; then, she plopped onto his lap and looked at them and steadily asked, "Was I wrong?"
Seeing Haruhi literally falling onto the floor with laughter and feeling Kyoya stifle his laughter in her hair proved to be too much for Sam.
She burst into laughter, exclaiming between giggles, "Your- fucking- faces! Fucking- PRICELESS!"
The twins were a bit miffed at that point.
"Can we please do what we were planning in the first place, Sempai?" Hikaru asked sardonically, whilst Kaoru seemed to be pinching the bridge of his nose to attempt staying calm.
"Let me confer with my beau for a moment and I shall get back to you two." Sam teasingly fluttered her eyelashes and demurred.
Their eyebrows twitched.
Sam turned herself around so that she could whisper in her love's ear, "Hello, sweetheart! So am I correct in thinking that this is some irritating and perverted scheme to se Haruhi and I in swimsuits of their choosing?"
He purposefully flashed his glasses and replied in a carrying, ominous tone, "Perhaps."
She kissed right beneath his ear in thanks and then whispered, "Would you mind, then, if I went over there and turned their scheme in favor of Haruhi and I?"
He adjusted his glasses and replied, "I believe that would be satisfactory."
She then jumped up and sauntered over to the twins and Haruhi asking, "So, what is this idea of ya'll's?"
/Kyoya POV/
His mind was blank for a moment before he placed his laptop back in place rather hurriedly to hide a- erm- situation.
Thought came back to him as he watched the twins backhandedly insult Haruhi and Sam's eyes glinting increasingly dangerously.
His first thought: That evil minx!
Then: Is this love that I'm experiencing right now?
/Back in Sam POV/
"So let me see if I got the gist of what you just said: Haruhi and I have poor taste and you know better than us; the academic scholarship winner and someone at the top of the year ahead of you." Sam stated emotionlessly.
Haruhi was glaring at them now. Perfect.
Hikaru now was backtracking, "No, just that in fashion; we know better because of our mom!"
Now she had them. Her expression turned less combative and she paused as if thinking. "How about we establish a compromise? What you said right now is true, you do know fashion. But we know ourselves."
Haruhi looked calmer and the twins were doing their creepy 'twin telepathy' thing.
Simultaneously they asked, "Terms?"
Sam put on a pained and sacrificial face now. "How about… Okay, you guys still get to choose the styles and colors; but Haruhi and I get the right to veto them until we all agree?"
They looked relieved and got matching Cheshire cat-like grins at the thought of getting to show off more of their mother's designs.
Haruhi turned to her with a pained look on her face, so Sam whispered, "Look, we both know that they were going to do something like this for us going to the beach. At least this way, we have control and get a free swimsuit out of the deal."
Haruhi got a faint grin on her face. "Sounds great…. Shadow Queen."
Sam smirked and replied, "I quite like that title."
Tamaki, who had been in his emo corner about Haruhi agreeing to 'do business with those Devil Twins;' suddenly glomped them both and cried, "ADORABLE SISTERLY LOVE!"
/
As Sam readied her bag for the trip she came across her phone. Out of curiosity, she checked it. None from her parents.
It was more than odd.
Nevertheless, she decided to take the high road and shoot them a text.
Going to on a club trip to a private beach. Probably won't be near my phone, should you try and contact me.
Still no response.
A horn honked outside, breaking Sam from that train of thought.
It was time to grab Haruhi and get into Kyoya's car to go to the beach
Sam sprang up and grabbed her overnight bag that was stocked with both boy and girl clothes, placed her phone in her pocket, and locked her door on her way out.
She knocked on the Fujioka's door and waited.
Haruhi came out, already looking hassled.
Sam coughed to hide a snicker and then greeted her little sister with, "Ready to go, Haruhi-chan?"
Haruhi looked at her with a neutral expression, "Yes. Emphatically, yes."
/
Sam was half-laying on a beach towel with a couple more rolled up beneath her back so that she could play mellow tunes for her customers and ask them how their lives were going. She was wearing a Breaking Benjamin muscle tee and red board shorts. It was the height of relaxation.
Except for the death glares she was getting from Haruhi, who was on the other side of Kyoya; underneath the huge umbrella.
When Kyoya went to make sure that the line of Tamaki's fangirls kept moving, Sam spoke to her quietly. "Look, I know that you were looking forward to a vacation. I was, too. Unfortunately, with how long the club was put on hold while I've been healing….we need the money to keep the club going. If we ask Nekozawa-sempai nicely, we might get to relax in his indoor pool or hot tub and relax. Presuming that he has one."
Haruhi smiled then. "I guess it's not so bad, then. Though you shouldn't be guilting yourself about this, Sempai."
Cue the dandelions. "MOE~!"
/
Sam refused to play the asinine 'Guess Haruhi's Greatest Fear' game on the grounds that she thought it was stupid. And cruel.
Plus, she was feeling so relaxed for the first time in weeks. She was just strumming a guitar, laying in the sun, and idly chatting with people her age.
She did raise a brow at her Kyoya when he produced creepy pictures of Haruhi to perpetuate the game.
Then she blew it off because of the amused glint in his eyes when he saw her expression.
But Sam was in heaven.
Then she heard some girls shouting from the top of the cliff and Haruhi telling them to get down because the daft dimbos might fall off and get hurt. And then some seemingly drunk thugs started to harass the girls. Something didn't seem right about them to Sam, but she didn't have time to think because Haruhi was now trying to take all three of them on at once.
Sam dropped her guitar and ran full tilt up to the cliff, the other hosts at her side. They made it there right as Haruhi was thrown off the cliff.
Sam saw red.
She went at the men, holding nothing back.
One tried to pull a knife on her, but she kicked his hand so that he would reflexively let go. It skittered away.
They stood no chance; but something still didn't seem right to Sam.
As the others scurried about, trying to salvage the situation (and make sure Haruhi was alright), Sam picked up the knife to examine it.
It looked horribly familiar.
Sam started to shake.
Kyoya came over to her, because to him, she was just crouching there with a knife staring into space like a lunatic.
"Sam, what's wrong? Surely you've dealt with knives because of your family's business." Kyoya pleaded, trying to comfort her.
Sam gave a wry laugh, "That's just the thing. I do recognize it; and the sign carved on the handle. This particular knife only looks like a normal switchblade. In actuality, this knife has a paper thin sponge soaked in a deadly cocktail of snake venom that transfers to the blade whenever it is opened. One slight cut from this is almost certain death, I heard my dad bragging about it. It hasn't been released even to our government yet." She paused and then spoke more quietly and with a slight quiver of rage, "Yet plain as day, it has KNIFE's symbol engraved on it."
Kyoya's eyes widened.
"I think we're going to have to accept the fact that my father has been dealing under the table with terrorists." Sam stated grimly.
/
Sam tried to put her troubling discoveries to the side as she dressed for dinner. She decided to wear a strapless corset top and some forest green cut off shorts. She didn't even bother with shoes. She had gotten a little too much sun and was just burnt enough to feel like it was a million degrees in the mansion. She tied her hair into a high enough ponytail that it wouldn't brush her shoulders or neck.
When she went to meet the other hosts in the dining room, most of them were already fawning over the frilly dress that Haruhi was wearing. (She did look quite adorable.)
She could feel Kyoya's eyes on her and she smirked and sat on his lap. "What? They know I'm taken or are taken- with Haruhi. Plus, this sunburn has me boiling."
He looked at her with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "That's not what is bothering me. What's bothering me is how reckless Haruhi was today. She's too naïve. It's dangerous."
Sam's eyes darkened. "I know. I'm not thrilled with her either. I was thinking that I would talk to her and maybe give her self-defense lessons."
He nodded absently.
Sam frowned, "Where are you, sweetheart? Because you're not here with me."
Her love didn't respond.
She sighed. "I suppose I'll go join Haruhi and see if she can teach me the joys of cooking seafood and I can teach her the joys of American fried chicken."
/Kyoya POV/
Sam wasn't going to like his plan to help Haruhi realize her vulnerability. This is why he wasn't going to tell her.
Honestly, the likelihood of her walking in at the wrong moment was one in a million.
Only Tamaki would have such luck, the moron.
/Back in Sam's POV/
"I can't believe that neither of us remembered some after-sun!" Sam exclaimed, walking besides Tamaki.
"Well, Kyoya is bound to have some! He's always prepar-" Tamaki opened the door and froze at the scene in front of them.
Kyoya had Haruhi pinned to the bed and was shirtless.
Sam began shaking and a dangerous combination of rage, hurt, and betrayal roiled through her in waves. "What the hell are you doing on my sister, Ootori? You have 5 seconds to explain."
But she didn't and couldn't wait to hear what he had to say.
She couldn't handle this with everything that had gone down on this shit-tacular day.
So she ran to her room.
It was too quiet.
She tried to play her guitar; but it was full of sand from-
She tried to hum, but that made her think about-
She was alone and there was no sound other than thunder to let her delude herself otherwise.
Tears started escaping and there was no end to them in sight.
/A few minutes before, Kyoya's POV/
He immediately jumped off of Haruhi when he heard the snarl and hate that emanated from his girlfriend.
He looked around, but she was already gone.
Damn.
He had to explain.
He ran to her room, past Tamaki who was arguing with Haruhi again.
When he walking into the room he was staying, the first thing he noticed was that she was crying silently and was rocking slightly, holding herself. Signs of an anxiety induced panic attack.
Then he remembered. Her worst fear was being alone in the silence. It was something of a phobia, she had explained, stemming from being so isolated since birth.
He calmly and gently went over to her, slowly approached her, and drew her into his arms. Her arms almost reflexively wrapped around him. Then he started explaining in a calm and gentle voice, "Sam. You know that I only have eyes for you. I was just trying to show Haruhi her vulnerability, like we discussed."
/Sam POV/
That brought a somewhat hysterical laugh from her.
But then she sobered up and asked him a question, "Do you respect Haruhi?"
Kyoya furrowed his brows, uncertain what tactic she was using. "Yes, of course. What-"
But Sam wasn't finished. "Do you respect me? Your sister? Your mom?"
Kyoya looked slightly angry now, "Yes!"
Sam didn't want to hurt him, but he needed to know exactly what he did; how wrong it was. So she steadily looked him in the eye and said softly and sadly, "No; you don't. No man who truly respects women would think that doing what you did or even threatening to do what it looked like you were doing was right. A woman's body is sacred to her, and one of our most instinctual fears is that someone will attack us in such a personal way. Even threatening it… it leaves a seed of fear that she will hold onto for years. So either you don't respect women, you weren't taught to, or you suffered a severe lapse in judgment. Which is it?"
He looked floored. And more worried than when he walked into her sobfest. "…Sam! Has anyone ever-?" He couldn't complete the sentence.
Sam smiled wanly and wryly, "I'm on my way to being a Ni-Dan, Kyoya. I can take care of myself. My point is that you should have trusted my judgment and let me handle this situation. You can't solve everything, and you shouldn't have to. We should be equal partners in this relationship. You can be open with me and ask questions if you don't understand something. You can be yourself with me, sweetheart."
He held her more tightly and was shaking slightly.
She decided to lighten the mood.
She brought out her trademarked smirk and commented, "Though you having all those creepy and perverted pictures of Haruhi on your person did not help your case."
He chuckled and she couldn't help but join him until they were both laughing somewhat uncontrollably.
When they caught their breath, Kyoya's eyes were glowing and he quietly murmured, "I love you."
Then he froze.
Sam didn't think she'd smiled any wider or more earnestly than she did now. "I love you, too. Idiot, why else would I put up with your nonsense?"
Kyoya smiled and then playfully said, "Perhaps my dashing good looks?"
Sam raised a brow and then, still smiling replied. "Nope. Definitely not that. I think it's because my parents dropped me on the head as a child or something."
He then poked her in the side and she gave a very shrill squeak. He smirked.
"Oh, you know that I was joking! I do well and truly love you Kyoya Ootori." Sam said earnestly.
They were silent for a moment.
"So could you sleep here? It's still entirely too quiet in here for me to do anything but have so many panic attacks that I pass out; and you do NOT want to deal with a grumpy Sam tomorrow." Sam asked somewhat shyly.
"What kind of man would I be if I said no to an offer like that?" Kyoya replied with a very slight smirk.
/
Sam was warm and cuddling with her man.
Why was someone waking her before it HAD to happen?
She threw the nearest thing she could grab at the source of the noise.
Everything was right again.
/
"I said I was sorry!" Sam pleaded.
"YOU THREW A LAMP AT MY HEAD!" Kaoru shouted.
"It missed, though. Didn't it?" Sam asked, still foggy on the details.
"Because I ducked!" Kaoru huffed.
"Then what's the problem?" Sam asked, an angry pout on her face.
Kyoya was chuckling as he followed behind the bickering pair whilst they headed towards their car that the entire group was going to share.
Hikaru told the driver to drive a few blocks without Tamaki for some reason, to which Sam and Kyoya both raised a brow.
Then looked at each other and shook their heads.
"Does anyone feel like we missed something?" Haruhi asked the others.
Sam smirked.
/
"Sam?" Kyoya called looking up from his phone towards the end of their return trip.
"Yeah?" She responded, finishing drawing a flower on a sleeping Kaoru's forehead in black nail polish.
"My dad wants to meet you. Tonight." Kyoya said with the air of someone announced that there was no more coffee in the world.
"Then it's a good thing I made a plan for just such an occasion isn't it?" She replied, drawing a bee on Hikaru's forehead.
She looked up at him and smirked.
They were the only ones awake, so he replied. "God I love you, Koi."
/
(A/N: I have been waiting to write these scenes for weeks. But I still laughed, cried, and fangirlled whilst writing them. I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter as much as I did! Lemme know!)