A/N: It seems as if this story has morphed into something a little different than I pictured, but that happens a lot with me. The core is still the same though, and I like how this is turning out. Enjoy the new chapter!

Chapter 21 – Sorry Senpai

It had been a week since that tense and awkward meeting with Tamaki and the others, and Satoshi couldn't get the look of devastation on the blonde's face out of his mind. It wasn't that he would be willing to give up Haruhi, but something called out to the raven haired man. It had been a look he had worn in the past when he gazed upon Haruhi's smiling face as she stood next to Tamaki. Granted, Tamaki's hurt was probably intensified because he had been with her, loved her, and for a short time was loved back… and now he was bereft of the one person he wanted in his life. Satoshi, on some level, could relate to that.

Those feelings and thoughts running through him were what brought him here today. Satoshi stared at the door in front of him, willing himself to knock. He came all this way, he needed to follow through, but something kept him from doing that. Fear? Maybe a little because the last thing he wanted to do was force more hurt upon the blond, and he wasn't entirely certain he should be there. Chika had even told him to let it go, and yet, as the week wore on, Satoshi had been unable to get that look of devastation out of his head. So there he stood at the front door of the first Suoh Estate ready to face his senpai… kind of. He was still working on the knocking part.

Suddenly the door opened without warning Satoshi came face to face with a butler who had a smile upon his face, "Young Master Morinozuka, did you need to see Tamaki-Sama?"

It was now or never, but he had to wonder how long the servants had known about his presence. Was it the entire five minutes he had been standing there? "Yes, please."

"Please wait here and I will inform him of your visit. Thank you," the butler stated after ushering the visitor into a large parlor.

Sitting on one of the couches, Satoshi thought once again about how to approach his friend and senpai. He wanted to talk to him face to face, man to man, but he had a feeling Tamaki would ask him to perform the impossible.

"What are you doing here Satoshi?" Tamaki questioned the moment he walked into the room. Upon hearing he had a guest and the name, he had been shocked. Why would Satoshi come here to see him? Was this about Haruhi? Part of him wanted to turn his visitor away, but that would be unseemly as a gentleman; so he descended the stairs and greeted his guest.

Getting to his feet, Satoshi bowed low and said, "I came to talk to you, Tamaki-senpai."

"Why?" The blond asked as he moved further into the room and took a seat opposite the other man. Jealousy raged within him. This was his rival, the man who currently held Haruhi's heart.

Satoshi watched the former Host Club president and inhaled deeply before slowly releasing it as he sat down once more. His mannerisms and demeanor had to be calmed and controlled for this confrontation. "I came to talk to you about Haruhi." Not only had he been bothered by the unexpected meeting, but he knew the brunette had as well. She knew it would hurt her former boyfriend when she finally found someone else and moved on, but seeing it first hand, that look in his eyes, cut her deeply. Haruhi had never wanted to hurt anyone, least of all someone she cared about and respected as much as Tamaki.

The blond stiffened and it appeared as if a metal rod shot up his spine and now held him up. He sat straight and rigid. Hesitantly, he inquired, "What… what about her?" Tamaki wanted to ask more like: is she doing alright, or why did she choose you of all people? He also wanted to lash out about the unfairness of it all and how much he despised Satoshi for winning her smiles and her heart, but he couldn't. He wanted to rage and hate and make others hurt as much as he was hurting, but that wasn't him, and as much as he hated seeing Haruhi with Satoshi, he loved seeing her brilliant smile lighting up her face and the world around her. And he couldn't hate the man who he once called friend, even if they had never been all that close before. The man who had helped revive the Host Club when Tamaki and the others had taken off to Boston, the man who time and time again put Chika in his place, and the man who made Haruhi happy. It wasn't until he had seen her smile that it all clicked for him, and the smile had disappeared when she had exited the car and seen him. Did she hate him that much then?

Seconds ticked by and it felt as if an eternity passed before Satoshi spoke again, "I…" How did he begin? At the moment he wasn't even completely sure what he was actually doing there. He tried again, "I…"

One might think he was taking pity on the other man, or one could think that Tamaki was being a bit spiteful, "Let me guess, you are here to tell me how much you love her and will make her happy, and you just want my permission to be with her. Seeking her daddy's permission is important, but what will you do if I don't grant it?" Torment fueled his words.

Eyes dropping to the floor momentarily in order to escape the anguish he saw, Satoshi once again lifted his eyes so that he could look the blond in the eyes when he explained, "No senpai. I'm not here for your permission. However, I know how much Haruhi meant to you… still means to you, and I guess I'm here to tell you that I understand."

"You understand? You couldn't possibly," Tamaki scoffed.

"I do. The only people who really know this are Takashi and Yasuchika. Mitsukuni might know since he and my brother are close though, but I had feelings for Haruhi since high school. I watched her with you and it hurt."

"So you came here to gloat?"

"NO! I would never do that, especially to you. Yes, I wanted to tell you that I love her and will do everything in my power to make her happy. Yes, I want to promise that I will never hurt her or allow harm to come to her. I will protect her with my very life if I need to. I know that the break-up hurt you and that you were in love with her, and I know you had every intention of proposing to her, but that plan was ruined when she broke up with you. The only intention I had in the beginning was to be her friend, to be there whenever she needed me; but somewhere in the middle of everything, I fell further in love with her and the same could be said for her. We never intentionally set out to hurt you, and yet… you can't pick who you fall in love with."

A silence so thick, it was almost suffocating filled the room, but neither man broke it. Minutes ticked by and finally Tamaki spoke, his voice soft and barely heard by his guest, "I know that. If you could, I think Haruhi and I would still be together, or I would have already forgotten her and moved on."

Another silence.

Tamaki observed the man sitting across from him, studying his intense eyes, the firm set in his mouth, the tightness of his jaw. Satoshi was serious, and for whatever reason, the blond found himself smiling, happy that this man had come to talk to him face to face. Although, he really wasn't sure why since this was still his love rival. Unbidden a snicker escaped which turned into a chuckle and finally a laugh. The tension was broken, but not completely gone. Shaking his head, he stood up and offered his hand, "I believe you might be exactly what she is looking for. I just wish it had been me."

Taking the offering of peace, Satoshi responded, "I know senpai. I think she feels the same, but…" He wasn't sure what to think by the smiling and laughing man across from him though. Had Tamaki completely gone off the deep end? Had he inadvertently pushing his senpai past the point of sanity?

"Say no more. She is a wonderful girl," the blond grinned and pulled Satoshi close, "But if you hurt her, you will regret it."

"Don't worry senpai. My brother and Mitsukuni said the exact same thing. I think if anything happened to Haruhi, I better dig my own grave."

"No."

"No?"

"No because you wouldn't have the time. You would be dead before your shovel even touched the dirt."

Satoshi gulp. His cousin, Hunny, was great at threatening people, and Kyoya senpai was even better, making one fear for his life; however, the threat in Tamaki's brilliant eyes made the raven haired teen break out into a cold sweat. Tamaki has never been threatening before. He is the nice senpai, and yet, right now Satoshi feared for his very life if Haruhi got so much as a paper cut. How was this even possible? "Uh, yah, you're probably right." He only stayed a few more minutes before he left the Suoh mansion as quickly as possible.

Ascending the stairs and returning to his room, the quiet tapping of the computer reminded Tamaki that he was not alone. He and Kyoya had been studying for a test when he had received word he had an unexpected visitor; although he believed the studying was a ruse to make sure he wasn't trying to do something stupid or overly dramatic. It was Kyoya's silent way of looking out for him, and Tamaki was grateful for it.

"How did the visit with Satoshi go?" Kyoya asked without looking away from his computer screen.

"I think he might actually be the one to give Haruhi everything she is looking for."

"You really believe that?"

He closed his bedroom door and sat down in the seat he had vacated when he went downstairs. Shrugging, Tamaki said, "I don't know, but I know he seems to really love her."

"Does this mean you have given up?"

"For her love yes, but as her daddy… I AM GOING TO MAKE SURE THAT SATOSHI MORINOZUKA DOES NOTHING TO HURT MY LITTLE GIRL! Don't worry Haruhi, daddy will watch over you!"

Sweat dropping, Kyoya thought, "Here we go again! This might be worse than pining away for her."