A/n: REVISED. I apologize for any grammatical errors and I hope you like it.

Chapter 12

Haruhi's eyes shot open, fear running through her veins like ice water as an arm tightened painfully around her middle. She gasped out in pain at the pressure being applied to her ribs and instinctively reached down, ready to fight off the band of steel that held her prisoner. It was then that the arm flung away from her, followed by a troubled moan that Haruhi immediately recognized. It wasn't someone who wanted to hurt her—it was Hani.

She turned towards him and when his brow furrowed and his fist clenched in her bed sheet, she realized that he was having a nightmare. She placed her hand gently on his shoulder and whispered his name, trying to do for him what he had so often done for her.

"Hani…Hani…"

She felt him shift and then the world became a blur as she was flipped onto her back and held down, his hands holding her wrists to the bed so tightly she knew they would bruise. Even though she knew that he was only startled and that he would never hurt her, she was overcome by the fear of once again being held down by a man whose strength far exceeded her own.

A raw and broken sound ripped itself from her throat as she began to struggle, her body bucking against the weight holding her hostage. The darkness around her soon began to grow darker as she started to hyperventilate and then suddenly she was free. She instinctively rolled off the bed and ran to the door before she realized that he had let her go…and that the boy behind her was not some monster, he was Hani. She stopped and stood in front of the door, her body still trembling as she slowly turned to the figure hunched over on her bed.

Hani sat with his feet on the floor, elbows resting on his knees as he cradled his head in his hands. He looked absolutely defeated and just as broken as Haruhi felt. She cautiously took a few steps forward until she was standing in front of him, staring down at him as she raised her hand to rest it on top of his head, threading her hands through his tousled blond hair.

She felt him stiffen beneath her touch and she felt a tear slide down her cheek when he gently reached for her hand to pull it away from him. "Don't Haruhi…please don't try to comfort me."

Haruhi shook her head, after all the times he had been there for her how could he think that she would not do the same for him? She took another step towards him so that she stood between his legs and pushed aside his other hand to thread her fingers through his hair, giving it a little tug to raise his face up so that she could look into his eyes. "You had a nightmare Hani…there is nothing wrong with that."

He tried to pull away, but her grip on him tightened, "Dammit Haruhi, I could have really hurt you! You were crying—you were scared of me."

Haruhi gave a barely noticeable shake of her head, "I wasn't scared of you Hani. You know why I reacted the way I did, but I promise you, I know for a fact that you would never hurt me."

Hani's eyes were lowered as he refused to look at her and Haruhi frowned, "I'm fine Hani, but I won't be if you continue to not look at me."

After what felt like an eternity to Haruhi his eyes slowly rose to meet hers, his insecurities and regret reflecting back at her through his whiskey gaze. She pulled one hand out of his hair and ran the pad of her thumb beneath the shadow under his right eye. "You forgive me for my screams at night…and when I attack you in my sleep. You even hold me afterwards. Can it be my turn to hold you Hani? Will you let me take care of you this time?"

Haruhi could see the moisture in his eyes even in the darkened room yet still, he did not cry. Her gaze slid away from his and caressed his face. Her other hand fell away from his hair to trace the curve of his jaw with her fingertips, her thumb taking the short journey from the tip of his chin to stroke the curve beneath his bottom lip. She watched mesmerized as his lips parted and she found she could not resist the temptation to slide her thumb along the fullness of them. Her eyes flickered back up to his and she found herself caught in the fire she saw inside of them.

His hand reached up to curve around hers and before he pulled it away, he pressed his lips against the pad of her thumb. He released her hand and wrapped his arms around her, burying his face in her stomach. She immediately placed her hands on his head and whispered, "Hani?"

He turned his face so that his cheek rested against her middle before answering her unasked question. "When I kiss you for the first time Haruhi, I don't want to taste the salt of your tears. When you let me touch you for the first time I want for us to have at least spoken about what we are to one another."

Haruhi looked down at the top of his head and though she was a bit disappointed, she couldn't help the small smile that tugged at the corner of her mouth. He was right and as much as she did want to take the next step, she wanted the moment to be right for the both of them even more. She wrapped her arms around him and held him close to her and whispered, "Thank you."

~oOo~

Hani brushed his teeth all the while watching Haruhi run around the house looking for her school bag. As soon as he was done he blocked her path and grabbed her by her shoulders, turned her towards the direction of her desk and pointed beneath it. Her shoulders drooped before she turned to glare at him, "You knew it was there the whole time, didn't you?"

He grabbed his tie from where it hung over her chair and with a grin he shrugged his shoulder, "Maybe."

She moved her desk chair out of the way and bent down to pick up her bag, nearly knocking her head on the bottom of the desk when she heard a loud and much too enthusiastic knock on the door.

She straightened and turn to look at Hani who frowned and asked, "Expecting someone?"

She shook her head and made her way to the front door only for Hani to stop her, frown still in place. "Go ahead and make the coffee Haruhi, I'll answer the door."

"Why?"

"You dad wouldn't knock on his own door and if you weren't expecting anyone then…I'm just being cautious."

Haruhi stared for a second before nodding her head, "Okay."

He watched her head to the kitchen before going to answer the door, swinging it open at the insistent knocking and freezing when he was met with dark gray eyes hidden behind glasses. Kyoya stood there with his arms crossed beside a confused Tamaki.

"Hani sempai…what…are…you…"

Hani knew what they were seeing and if he had been on the other side of the door, he would be thinking the same thing. He stood there barefoot with only his school pants and a half way buttoned school shirt with a loose tie hanging around his neck.

Tamaki shook his head, "Please tell me you didn't."

"I didn't."

"It sure as hell looks like you did," Kyoya growled out.

Hani's eyes shot to Kyoya, his voice low with anger, "If I had, then I wouldn't deny it."

"Explain yourself then."

Hani laughed, "I don't need to explain a damn thing to you."

Haruhi came around the corner and stared at Tamaki and Kyoya from the sitting room with a cup of coffee in each hand, "What's going on?"

Tamaki waved his hands in front of his face and chuckled uncomfortably, "Nothing! Kyoya and I were just wondering if you wanted to drive to school with us."

Hani turned to her and shook his head, "They think I'm sleeping with you."

Haruhi frowned, "You are sleeping with me."

Hani sometimes forgot how incredibly literal Haruhi could be; it was one of the many things about her he found so endearing. He chuckled, "Perhaps I should rephrase—they think we had sex."

He watched as her face turned bright red before she cleared her throat, "We sleep together, but we haven't…we just sleep and sometimes talk."

"It's none of their business Haruhi, you don't have to explain if you don't want to. We should finish getting ready though or we'll be late."

It was a clear dismissal and to avoid further conflict Tamaki grabbed Kyoya's coat by the elbow and dragged him away, anger still emitting from the dark-haired boy. Haruhi frowned after them, confusion in her eyes when she turned to Hani and asked,"Why are they so upset?"

Hani wondered how Haruhi still couldn't see how the others felt about her. If he was a better person he would tell her, but he was selfish. "I don't know."

Haruhi passed him his coffee, "Finish getting dressed or we won't have enough time to stop for breakfast."

Hani closed the door and leaned against it—he valued his friends even if his attitude said otherwise, but he valued his growing relationship with Haruhi more. He needed to talk to them and while he hated to explain himself, he didn't want any bad blood between them.

~oOo~

Kaede walked in and smiled at her receptionist. "Any messages for me?"

Yuka nodded, "Yes. I forwarded one of them to your office phone, I think that it may be something you would like to hear yourself."

Kaede's brow arched, "Is there a reason you are being so mysterious?"

Yuka shook her head, "Not mysterious, I just know it is something you would prefer to hear firsthand rather than by message."

With a nod Kaede walked into her office and got comfortable before pressing the button beside the blinking red light.

"Dr. Yamada, this is Dr. Yamato Inoue of the Mental Health Clinic. I was calling about one of my patients, Satori Nakahara. She has given me permission to share her case with you…I'll cut right to the chase. Satori is one of the girls that Kimura held hostage, she actually shared a cell with your patient. Satori is not doing very well and I believe that Ms. Fujioka might be able to help in her healing process. I do not want to impede on Ms. Fujioka's own progress, but I wanted to let you know of the situation so that you might pose the question to your patient. Please, if you could return my call, my number is…."

Kaede stared ahead, a deep frown on her face. She would like to think that Haruhi would be able to handle the situation, but she couldn't assume. She had to look out for her patient's welfare first and foremost…especially since she genuinely cared for the young girl.


A/n: The interaction with Hani and Haruhi in the beginning of this chapter is my favorite so far. I hope you liked it. Reviews are treasured.

Thank you.

~Inari