I read through some of the previous chapters, OOCness and cheesiness are everywhere -_-; not like I've got much better. And I'm guessing by the wait for this chapter you would all believe that this is probably draft number four or five, I'm not going to make up any excuses for my slowness, I know I suck :( *awkward turtle* (I don't know if anyone knows awkward turtle... sorry if you don't get it)

Oh god. Kyouya was staring straight at her. She couldn't keep staring back; his gaze was no longer lessened by his glasses which were replaced with contacts. She turned away... and found Hikaru's grinning and blushing face far too close for comfort.

Kyouya felt the stem of his wine glass start to crack under his grip.

Everything seemed to go into slow motion for Haruhi. Or maybe Hikaru was just really slowly moving closer to her face. She didn't know but she knew she had to do something, she could practically feel the dark waves of emotions rolling off of Kyouya.

She placed her hand in front of her mouth; Hikaru's lips were millimetres away from her palm. He looked at her like he'd been caught doing something he shouldn't – which he had. Haruhi raised an eyebrow at him, 'cheek, mister.'

Hikaru didn't need to be told twice, after a swift peck on the cheek he grinned at her but was swiftly flung backwards by Tamaki, 'that's not fair! Why would you let a vile demon like him kiss you?'

'What? You want to?' Haruhi gazed at him with her usual bored look. Tamaki turned pink and tried to object but his tongue was suddenly too big for his mouth and he just spoke garble, 'it's the last chance you're ever going to get, in can tell you that,' she turned to leave but Kaoru seemed to have decided to take her up on her offer, he moved from his place from beside Huni and Mori and copied his brother's movement, kissing her of the opposite cheek. He whispered an almost silent apology in her ear as he moved away then flicked his gazed to Kyouya, Haruhi gave a barely discernible nod and smile before Tamaki lifted her chin gently with one finger.

Apparently he had had enough and hesitantly planted a feather-light kiss on her skin. When he stepped back Haruhi had to stifle a laugh at his expression – a mixture of embarrassment and childish happiness.

Huni came next, practically throwing himself at her and squeezing her in one of his hugs and gave her a chocolate-and-strawberry infused kiss on her cheekbone. Takashi simply patted her on her softly curled hair, touching his lips caringly to her forehead.

Then there was relative silence for a few moments with the idiot trio's normal bickering blending into the background and Haruhi pondered just what Kaoru knew and how. Not that it mattered. She was more worried by the aura of impending doom that was almost suffocating her. She took a deep breath and turned to face the source of the aura, he was standing as he was before; his glass in his hand, blank expression on his face.

'Kyouya?' she asked lightly. He looked up almost mechanically but said nothing; he didn't trust himself to say anything that didn't sound childish or simply spiteful. Haruhi sighed once more then walked towards him purposefully, the heels not seeming a problem. Screw what they think, she said to herself.

'You really are difficult sometimes,' she muttered exasperatedly, grabbing Kyouya's tie before he could brush her off with a cold comment or glare. She tugged him down to her height, crushing his lips onto hers with such strength their teeth almost clashed.

Huni, Mori and Kaoru all simply watched the scene play out, showing different levels of emotion, none were surprised though. Tamaki wasn't surprised either, well, not with Kyouya. He knew Kyouya had some sort of feelings, confused though they may have been... but Haruhi, The emotional void, strange phenomenon of a teenage girl? Where had this burst of passion come from? Or maybe it was just frustration.

Tamaki's thoughts began to wander, he kept changing his mind on what he wanted to say so his mouth opened and closed uselessly, giving him the appearance of a gobsmacked goldfish. Hikaru stood nearby and seemed to be copying Tamaki's expression until he managed to let out a cry of indignation, 'what the hell is going on?' his surprise was obvious as his voice rose an octave on the last word.

Haruhi released Kyouya from her grasp, giving him a chance to readjust his clothes to their former neatness and dispose of the broken wine glass in his hand discreetly. Haruhi turned to face Hikaru and the rest of the hosts.

'I thought it was pretty obvious to be honest,' she shrugged, 'do you need another demonstration? Because I think that's some of the guests arriving in the driveway...'

Hikaru spluttered for a few more moments, Kaoru tried not to laugh and gave a sympathetic smile towards his brother. Huni giggled from his position on Mori's shoulders, the taller man smiled slightly.

'I knew it!' Tamaki suddenly burst, catching everyone's attention, 'no more 'demonstrations' are needed. I always knew mother was a pervert on the inside,' he sighed dramatically but didn't seem to object any further.

'Well, that's as close to acceptance and we're going to get from him,' Kyouya muttered, he had guessed Tamaki knew something was happening because of the odd conversation they had earlier that week. Well, there was always time for sudden realisation and a freak out. Knowing Tamaki, there would be more that one.

'There's a guest at the door, we should go greet them,' Haruhi said, then turned to Hikaru, 'you should really close your mouth, you'll catch flies.'

At that moment the doorbell rang and it was time for the host charm, Kaoru quickly linked arms with his twin, Hikaru swallowed his complaint for now and forced an unconvincing smile as the first two guests stepped through the door.

~.~.~.~

'So Otori-san, who is this lovely girl you have with you?' it was another curious middle aged woman, the twinkle in her eyes made it easy to tell she was fantasising stories of secret love. It seemed most of the women's minds worked similar to Tamaki's.

'It's nice to meet you 'ma'am,' Haruhi smiled for the umpteenth time, bowing and introducing herself as Ouran's scholarship student. Usually this was enough to steer the guests' interest over to Haruhi's background and intelligence, leaving the question of her relationship with Kyouya unanswered. It was a good thing too because somehow, they had forgotten what they would tell guests about what Haruhi was doing with her hand in Kyouya's as they opened the door.

When the twins had seen the blank looks on Haruhi and Kyouya's faces as two guests asked what their relationship was, the twins wandered off, 'they must have been far too busy together to think of the little details,' they stated in their usual bored matter-of-fact tone.

Haruhi kicked one of them in the leg inconspicuously with her heel and the couple who had been talking to them blinked in surprise as the identical brothers stumbled onto the floor. Kyouya glanced sideways at Haruhi as she smiled at the twins triumphantly while he took the distraction as an opportunity to slip away from the crowds of curious people.

The two of them ended up on a balcony that stood only centimetres above the snow that had been piling up over the last few days. The sky was still heavy with clouds but the air was fresh and empty of snow. Haruhi was grateful for the heaters that were built into the sides of the balcony fence and she closed her eyes and sighed deeply.

'Tired?' Kyouya passed her a glass of champagne he had somehow picked up on their way.

Haruhi shrugged, 'talking to so many people is exhausting but it's interesting,' she sipped her drink slowly, enjoying the bubbles fizzing on her tongue, 'but I guess you've done this so many times it gets a bit boring.'

'There are only so many interesting people to talk to, the rest never seem to have anything original to say,'

Haruhi shook her head and frowned in disagreement before she voiced her own opinions, starting a one-sided argument with herself. Kyouya just watched her lips move and the expression on her face change as she stared at the view of snowy mountains from their position on the balcony. He glanced behind them; from where they were standing it was impossible to see into the large dining hall, thanks to the decorated Christmas tree beside the large French doors. Perfect, Kyouya smirked. He had never liked a tree more.

Haruhi was still debating with herself when he turned back to look at her, the topic had somehow changed to whether global warming existed. That was another thing for Kyouya to add to his files – alcohol made Haruhi incredibly chatty, it might be a useful fact in the future.

He cut off her sentence by one finger under her chin, tilting her face upwards to meet his. Haruhi's eyes closed automatically but nearly shot open again in surprise at his forcefulness, his teeth grazed her lower lip before she pulled back slightly, and she looked up at Kyouya with shining eyes and a dark blush, he looked back at her with an intense gaze and his usual smirk.

Without his glasses Haruhi momentarily forgot how to speak and just continued to stare, when she finally did speak she only managed one syllable, 'what...?'

'I don't share,' he didn't even try to hide his jealousy.

'OK. Because I don't want to share either,' she grinned and turned her hand so the tips of her fingers touched Kyouya's. He grabbed her hand without looking at her face, it surprised Haruhi that he seemed so nervous, the speed that he'd grasped her hand – it was like she was going to disappear. Haruhi bit her lip, feeling guilty, no wonder he doubted her.

'I'm sorry,' she held his hand tighter and he turned to look at her, his blank expression back in place, 'I shouldn't have let them kiss me, even if it was on the cheek. I wouldn't have liked it if it was the other way round.'

'I don't think I would either to be honest,' Kyouya noted dryly, 'I'm never letting Tamaki – or any of the others – anywhere near me.'

Haruhi laughed and Kyouya smiled then they both stood in comfortable silence. A gentle wind had picked up, the strength of the wind didn't matter and it still carried the icy air from the mountains surrounding the ski chalet. The cold penetrated the warmth of the outdoor heaters and slipped through the translucent sleeves of Haruhi's dress sending a quick shiver down her spine.

Kyouya seemed unaffected in his silk-lined jacket but glanced behind them through the glass doors into the room full of guests, 'we should probably go back inside.'

'Ok,' she turned to face him and he offered his arm as an escort, she took it then looked up at him curiously, 'what am I supposed to say next time someone asks what relationship we have?'

Kyouya paused, 'or words to that effect?'

Haruhi raised her eyebrow at the blatant use of stupid questions to stall, 'yes – or words to that effect.'

'I suppose hiding here won't work a second time,' he mused to himself.

'I don't mind just saying we know each other through school activities, it'd be the truth anyway,' Haruhi shrugged, 'I don't understand how your society works but I know your dad probably wouldn't like me and I'm not giving him a reason to use you as a punching bag,' she thought back to the school festival and cringed slightly at the terrible impression she had probably made by objecting to Kyouya's father. Oops.

'He's not going to have power over me for long,' Kyouya muttered it as a threat to his father but it sounded more like a promise to Haruhi.

The girl smiled and opened the door to the large dining hall, 'I know.'

D:

So. Fudging. Short.

But I had a reader telling me off for taking so long and being a (very) lazy ass (it's a good thing you messaged me, I'm not trying to sound mean ^^) so I kicked my butt into gear and then I just had to edit the chapter.

Then my hard drive corrupted. I nearly died. Mr Computer Man was nice though and got me a new hard drive quickly so I typed up something as quick as possible when Microsoft Word was installed, my exams are over now so I have time now to do that, yay~

I plan on writing one more chapter based on the party evening or maybe the day after, one for the trip back and/or an epilogue leaving the story open for a sequel with faster updates because I feel horribly guilty for being a bad author.