Seafood

He grasped her left hand with his right, his own left hand reaching into his pocket to finger the small velvet box that had been weighing him down for the entire evening.

"Haruhi," he began, but was cut off by the loud, obnoxious ringtone coming from her cell phone, signifying that Tamaki was calling her. She answered immediately. Kyouya was rather put off by the extremely untimely interruption, vowing to wring his hands around Tamaki's neck the next time he saw him. He also noticed, with annoyance, the speed with which she had answered - but then he remembered it was because she could not stand the noise but hadn't had the heart to change it (Tamaki had, after all, been gone for seven years), and he relaxed.

The ghost of a smirk could be seen on his face when he heard her address the blond with a tone of resigned annoyance and the addition of an honorific to his name even after all these years (not that she hadn't taken a long time, and some convincing persuasion on Kyouya's part, to get her to simply call him 'Kyouya'...but it was still self-satisfying to know that in Haruhi's mind, he stood apart from the French idiot; countless occasions of being compared to the blond had worn down his ego long ago).

"What is it, Tamaki-senpai, I'm a little-"

"Haruhi~~! Daddy has missed you! It's so unbearably lonely here in France! I long for your sweet melodic voice to soothe my ears once again!"

"Tamaki-senpai, you've already called me three times today. Is there anything important you need?"

"Can't a father call up his daughter just to talk? Must there be something important to communicate? Oh, Haruhi, your coldness sends a crack through my heart the size of the stupendously breathtaking Grand Canyon! OHH~! And it's your birthday today too! You should be spending time here with Daddy! Haruhi~~!"

"Tamaki-senpai-"

"How's Kyouya, by the way?"

She was startled into silence for a second at the sudden change in subject. She also noted with curiosity that the exuberance and irrepressible energy usually bursting from his voice seemed subdued, though he did not come across as sad.

"Kyouya?" (The brunette's eyes narrowed imperceptibly at the mention of his name.) "He's right here, we're walking back to my apartment...did you need to speak with him?" There was a hinted 'why didn't you just call him yourself?' in her tone.

"Oh! Yes! Just for a moment...but I don't mean to-" His agitated rambling was lost on her as she all but threw her phone to Kyouya.

"Tamaki."

The nonsensical melodramatics on the other end ceased immediately at the sound of his voice, and there was blissful silence for perhaps half a second, to be replaced with, "Kyouya~! Mon ami! You never answer your phone! I hope you've been taking care of our lovely and cute daughter! And checking up on her every hour and making sure she-"

"Tamaki. You'd better start arranging your funeral now, because the next time I see you, I am going to kill you."

The indignant (but not entirely unjustified, considering the nature of the threat) squawk was cut off as he hung up.

Haruhi blinked at him. "That was an interesting way to end the conversation." Years of being in his company had caused her to pick up the phrase from him.

He snorted lightly (but gracefully, of course). "It was necessary," he said vaguely, too busy inventing creative ways to successfully (and discreetly) murder his old friend.

He noticed that Haruhi was mumbling something along the lines of, "Honestly, he's all the way on the other side of the world and yet he still manages to make his presence felt by everyone."

My thoughts exactly, he agreed silently.

Then as they neared the end of the path and came into sight of her street, he realised that his first and foremost priority at that moment should be to salvage the situation at hand with minimal damage to his dignity.

Fortunately, she helped.

"What were you going to say before?"

"Ah...," he shifted uncomfortably and slowed down his pace, unsure of how to proceed now that her attention was focused solely on him once more.

She stopped and waited patiently.

Ah, what the hell, he thought, then launched himself straight in.

He grasped her shoulder lightly with one hand.

"Haruhi. We've been together for five years now. Your father obviously likes me and has given his consent. My father finds you impressive and you are probably, secretly, his favourite out of all his children's partners. But even if they didn't approve...I could not care less. You are the only one for me. You always have been. And you always will be."

"Kyouya, what are you getting at...?"

The next second saw him kneeling on one knee in front of her, holding out a tiny velvet box, its contents sparkling in the evening twilight.

He took her hand.

"Fujioka Haruhi. Will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?"

She blinked down at him, then her lips quirked up into a knowing smile.

He was about to break into a relieved smile at seeing her expression when he heard her words.

"Ah. So that's why you took me to that seafood restaurant."

He had just proposed to her and all she was thinking about was the meal they just had?

After a moment of regarding him seriously (although to Kyouya, knelt on the grass in front of her, that moment felt like eternity), she replied (finally) with a warm, heartfelt smile in place.

"Yes, Kyouya, I will marry you. Now stand up before your pants become stained and you blame me for it," she teased gently, pulling him to his feet. "Besides, it wouldn't do for people to see Ootori Kyouya kneeling on the ground in front of a commoner."

He could not stop smiling also. "Let them see. I bet they'll be jealous." She laughed, and to his ears it was the most wonderful sound in the world. He gently slid the cool metal ring onto her finger.

She inspected it with interest. He knew that she would not be one to complain about its simplicity, but felt he must explain anyway. And alert her as to its value.

"It may look a little simple, but I figured you wouldn't want something heavy and impractical and troublesome, especially when you're doing housework. However, it's still a full one-carat diamond of the highest quality, ethically sourced, and handcrafted to suit you. So don't you dare lose it."

"Kyouya, you know I don't really care for any of that. I would have been happy to wear a piece of tin."

"Really. Then I suppose you won't object if I take it back to the store and return it? After all, the money could be spent on other things..." He made a move as if to take the ring off her finger, but she slapped his hand away lightly, laughing.

"No way. I'm rather attached to it now. You wouldn't be able to remove it even if you tried to cut it off me."

Her words were simple and in jest, but they struck a chord deep in his heart. He was suddenly overcome with a warm, fuzzy feeling, thankful that she had agreed and was happy and was still here, with him, after all these years.

He touched her cheek gently. "Thank you, Haruhi," he said softly, and she smiled again.

"Idiot," she said fondly. "You're welcome."

He pulled her into a crushing hug, one hand around her waist, the other in her hair. She slowly wrapped her arms around him as well, and there they stayed in the dwindling light, oblivious to the descending darkness and chill of the evening.

When they eventually returned to her apartment after another walk around the park, they were surprised to find that Ranka was still up...

...bawling his eyes out as he watched a cheesy romance movie.

"Dad? Why aren't you at work?" Haruhi asked, perplexed, though she could not keep the smile out of her voice. She was positively glowing in happiness, and Ranka knew that she has accepted Kyouya's proposal.

Ah well, he thought. May as well make the most of this while I still can...

And he proceeded to launch into his usual melodramatics.

"Can't I take a night off to spend time with my daughter on her birthday?" he sniffed dejectedly in response. "Even if she doesn't want to spend it with me, and runs off to dinner at some fancy restaurant with some handsome, rich bastard."

"That would be me you're talking about, Ranka-san," Kyouya said mildly, while Haruhi laughed and rolled her eyes good-naturedly.

"Haruhi dear? Can you hear anything?"

"Yes, Dad, now be serious for a moment. I have something important to tell-"

"Whaaat? You're pregnant?! Haruhi~~! How could you?! And with him, no less!" Ranka exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger at Kyouya. He was fully enjoying himself now, and was unable to stop in his amusement at irritating his daughter.

Kyouya tried hard not to smile. "That's funny. A moment ago I was nothing more than a few air particles, floating around in oblivion."

"Kyouya, don't encourage him!" Haruhi snapped, before turning back to find her father blowing his nose loudly into a massive handkerchief.

"Dad! For goodness' sake!"

He finally stopped, and looked up at her, knowing what her next words would be.

"Dad...I'm getting married to Kyouya. But...I want your blessing first."

Ranka finally stood up and came over to her.

"Haruhi, darling, you have my full blessing to marry whoever you choose - as long as it's not that blond idiot who keeps trying to usurp my place." He took her hand. "Congratulations, sweetheart." Then he took Kyouya's hand, and placed it on top of Haruhi's. "Kyouya-kun, I trust that I can leave my daughter in your hands, and that you will love and care for her to the best of your ability, for the rest of your lives. And if you don't..." He left the threat hanging, and Kyouya tried hard not to shiver at the menace in the okama's gaze.

"Dad, stop threatening him!" Haruhi protested. "You know he can be trusted."

"I know, sweetheart. I wish you both every happiness for the future."

"Thank you, Dad," she said softly.

"Yes, thank you, Ranka-san," Kyouya said.

"'Ranka-san'? Shouldn't you be calling me 'Daddy' now?"

Kyouya smiled. "Yes, Dad."

"Oh, how wonderful! It's like having another child!"

Later, Haruhi and Kyouya knelt before her mother's altar.

"Mum? Kyouya's here with me again."

"Hello, Mother."

It's so strange hearing him call her Mother...actually, it's just strange having to share her now. "Mum. Kyouya and I are getting married. I hope you'll give us your blessing."

"Kotoko-san, I promise that I will love, cherish and care for Haruhi for the rest of my life. Please give us your blessing."

"Dad?"

"Mm?"

"Do you think Mum approves of Kyouya?"

"Darling, your mother would support you no matter who you chose, as long as you loved each other and he understood how precious you are. But for what it's worth, she would have loved Kyouya."

"...I hope so."

"Tachibana."

"Yes, Kyouya-sama?"

"I'm getting married." He could hardly believe it himself, and it was not until he spoke the words aloud that they became a reality to him.

"...Congratulations, Kyouya-sama."

"Thank you, Tachibana."

Both of them smiled contentedly (though hidden to the other), Tachibana in particular. The loyal manservant to the Ootori family for the past forty years had always known that Kyouya was different from the other men in the family, and had never doubted that one day he would marry for love and not profit. He drove on into the night with a fatherly pride deep in his heart.

Kyouya's heart, on the other hand, was singing.