Heyyyy! This was started on 02/09/18! I hope it is uploaded soon XD
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This chapter begins in the present. Quick reminder: Italics are flashbacks.
HEADS UP: I don't know why but "Mrs.", "Mr.", "Ms.", and a few other words are sometimes omitted from the chapters. I have tried to go back and see if perhaps I deleted the words in my document but they are fine on the doc. For some reason, they disappear only after the document has been published. .-.
Disclaimer: I do not own OHSHC
The first thing Haruhi saw upon exiting the house was Tamaki. He was leaning against the tree in the front yard. When he saw her he walked towards her.
"Haruhi."
"I know what you're going to say senpai. I'm fine."
"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm just letting you know that you're welcome at my place anytime. Just like before."
"Where is everyone?"
"I sent them home. It wasn't easy but I managed." Tamaki thought back to wrestling the twins into their car, bribing Honey (Mori followed) and annoying Ranka to the point of a near eruption.
"I can imagine. But why are you still here?"
Tamaki smiled brilliantly. When everyone around him was feeling pessimistic, there had to be at least one optimist and that was always Tamaki. "I couldn't leave my best friend alone now could I?"
Haruhi looked up at him. She remembered how obnoxious he seemed to her when she had first met him. He was always ranting about one superficiality or another. It was as if he couldn't get enough of himself. But then she began to see another side of him. The Tamaki that helped others in need, regardless of what others said. The Tamaki that cared wholeheartedly about his family, regardless of their intentions towards him.
"Uh oh."
Haruhi snapped back to reality. "What?"
"You have that look on your face."
"What look?"
"Remember when I found your wallet in the fish pond?"
Haruhi smiled. "Of course. You really saved me back then. I might have had to babysit extra hours to get that money back." Even though she wasn't even a week into being a host, the activities were draining her work-study time. She might've over exhausted herself (which nobody thought would be possible but after a particularly bad case of mono she had taken care to relax more often).
"Ah yes!" Tamaki feigned humility. "And I saved you many more times since then, have I not?"
"Anyway, I appreciate your offer and I'm grateful to have you by my side but I think I'll move in with my dad for now. I don't want to keep bothering you."
"You're not bothering me!"
"And my entire wardrobe is at my dad's house."
"That's right! Thank goodness you haven't grown an inch in the past five years!"
Haruhi looked up at the sky. The storm would start soon. If she didn't get going now, she'd get caught in the rain.
Sensing her worry and knowing full well what it was attributed to, Tamaki took her hand instinctively. Lately, he had the opportunity to revert to his old habits. It appeared that this habit had chosen to appear at this moment.
She jumped back a bit.
"I'm sorry." Tamaki pulled his hand back. He nervously stuffed it in his pants pocket. Despite the recent dilemmas, Haruhi was married. Of course, it felt strange. Even with their renewed closeness, there was a very obvious line drawn and neither wanted to cross it.
"It's fine." The air was suddenly awkward. Tamaki cleared his throat.
"Um… My car is over there. Would you like a ride?"
" I can wal-"
BOOM! The sky flashed dangerously and rapidly as a downpour of rain was set loose.
"Yes please!" Without waiting for a response, Haruhi scurried to Tamaki's car and climbed inside. She hated cars but at the moment it was her only safe space. She wrapped herself up in a nearby blanket. Why Tamaki had a blanket was unknown but at the moment she couldn't care less.
Tamaki followed behind her quickly. Even though it took him only a few seconds to reach the car, he was soaked thoroughly when he reached the driver's seat.
Haruhi stared at him apologetically. "I'm sorry senpai. You're soaking wet."
"You can't control the weather Haruhi." Tamaki shivered a bit while starting the car.
Haruhi grimaced. She offered him the blanket "Here take this. I hope you don't catch a cold…"
Tamaki waved it off. "Nonsense. My amazing genes have given me an incredibly strong immune system. Have you ever seen me ill?"
"Actually...no. But it's better to be safe than sorry."
"No way. A gentleman always puts a lady's needs first and at the moment you need the blanket more than I do." Tamaki pulled onto the road carefully. He knew she would freak out even more if he drove at his usual pace.
THUMP She squeaked, pulling the blanket over her head. Once her trembling died down she managed to speak again. "If you get sick in any way I'll come over to help you, okay?"
"A little water never hurt anyone." Tamaki flashed her a quick grin. "Besides, I've told you before right? People are always saying I'm dripping with good looks."
The packet had been on his desk since morning. He was afraid of opening it. He had a good feeling he knew what was inside but refused to acknowledge it. After ten minutes of curiosity and agony, Kyoya opened it.
He stared at the box in his hands.
She actually did it.
Haruhi actually sent him the clothes she had been wearing yesterday. In a fit of impulsive vexation, Kyoya acted on his urge to mess up the neat fold of her blouse and jeans. Kyoya crumpled up the blouse and threw it to the side. He didn't even bother to pick out the jeans, choosing instead to dump it out of the box and kick it away. He was acting like a child and he knew it. For some reason though, he couldn't help himself. In the back of his mind, he thanked the fact that he was alone in his office. On the surface, he realized that there was no other way to de-stress. He had no work to do, no coffee to drink, no projects to type up or thoughts to write down. At the moment, his mind was strangely blank and this was the only way to release his pent-up frustration.
To top it all off, a sheet floated down from the box he was still holding upside down. It landed -without a wrinkle- on the blouse. He pushed his glasses up his nose, set down the box and picked up the sheet. He blinked in astonishment. As promised, the divorce papers were tucked inside the box. Her signature was already on the paper and it was neater than ever.
He huffed. Why did Haruhi have to keep her word so diligently? With a fury he had never experienced before, Kyoya shredded the sheet. As he moved towards the trashcan, another sheet caught his eye. This one was taped inside of the box. He tore it out.
'I know you're going to shred it. I emailed you a copy. I know you'll probably delete that and ignore the fax I sent but don't worry, I will continue to send copies until you sign it. -Haruhi'
"AGH!" Kyoya shouted and threw the box across the room. He pulled at his hair and even took off his glasses. This woman!
As if it wasn't enough that she had been flirting with Tamaki mere seconds after their argument. The small, sane part of Kyoya was acutely aware of the fact that she was not flirting. It knew that Tamaki had a fairly excusable reason to reach out for her hand. Tamaki made sure to comfort her during her weakest moments when You was throwing a tantrum. And, after all, Haruhi did not take it which meant that she did not commit any act of infidelity. Even so, the bigger, unreasonable part of Kyoya entered a state of denial. It insisted that Tamaki was the reason for their divorce. It couldn't have been anything that Kyoya did, right? What had he done that was sinful enough for such a forgiving person like Haruhi to regret marrying him?
Haruhi brought yet another piece of crab up to her mouth. She bit into it joyfully.
Her father watched her from across the table. How could she be so content? He knew that buying some crab for dinner would bring happiness to his daughter but he didn't think she would recover so quickly. She was getting a divorce from the man she loved, wasn't she? Shouldn't she be depressed?
"I'm done feeling depressed dad. I can't mope around all day. I've been doing enough crying. Besides, I have work to do. If I miss another day at the firm I might get fired."
Ranka rolled his eyes, doubting the probability of that coming true. She was quickly gaining fame for her abilities and everyone knew the firm would never let her go so easily. "But Haruhi, honey, surely you feel some pain?"
Haruhi put the would-be-tenth crab leg down. "Of course I do dad." She sighed. "But our relationship is beyond repair at this point. All I can do is get over it."
Ranka frowned. "I just don't want you to regret your decision. You still love him Haruhi."
"No, I don't."
"Don't lie to me Haruhi. You think I don't know my own daughter?"
"Fine. But you know what? Every day I spend with him makes me love him less than before. We're already on horribly ugly terms and I want to preserve the last bits of good I see in him no matter how hard they are to find."
"That's reasonable given the situations you have confronted without him. I'm just saying Haruhi, don't act rashly. Don't do anything you'll regret."
Haruhi resumed eating. "So far, the only thing I've done and regretted later is marry Kyoya."
Ranka simply shook his head. His daughter was so stubborn. He also held resent towards Kyoya. Nobody should treat their spouse in the way Kyoya had treated Haruhi! Ranka fought the urge to kill him every day. If it wasn't for the fact that Ranka was a lover and not a fighter, Ranka would have killed Kyoya a long time ago.
- A couple of days later-
Ranka sipped his tea quietly in the dimly lit, empty office. He had been waiting for about twenty minutes already. With only his thoughts as company, Ranka patiently waited for his daughter's father in law. You'd think the man would make some time for something as important as discussing his son's marriage. Then again, Ranka did stop by after a rather spontaneous decision. He had woken up that morning with such energy! Ah yes, it was a lovely day! The birds were chirping and the spring flowers had bloomed beautifully. He was on his way to work when he realized that perhaps the day was bright enough to visit Yoshio Ootori. After all, he just couldn't enjoy such a beautiful morning when his daughter was pretending not to be a depressed mess. After a quick jaywalk back into his house and a change of clothes, Ranka headed off to the Ootori Company's headquarters. After some serious explanation of who he was, the secretary moved him into Yoshio's office.
There was a soft knock at the door before the young secretary walked in. "Mr. Fujioka? I've just been informed that 's meeting has finished. He should be here shortly. Is there anything you need?"
"I'm fine thank you."
The secretary exited as quietly as she had entered. Ranka continued to sip his tea, relishing the warmth spreading through him. He had a feeling today would be a good day. He truly felt that progress could be made. He just hoped he was correct this time.
Yoshio entered the room. For the first time in forever, he had taken a short break before his next meeting. It seemed as if Kyoya didn't do much for the company but the truth was that without him around, Yoshio's schedule was twice as packed if that was even possible. Despite this, he knew that he couldn't just provide the distraction of work to Kyoya. That boy had to think about his actions and resolve his problems. Although Yoshio wasn't the type to be sentimental or to frantically worry about his children, he did acknowledge that Kyoya was in quite a predicament.
"I'm assuming this meeting is about our children's marriage?"
"Or possible divorce."
"Right. Well, what do you propose?"
"I was hoping you had an idea."
Over the last few years Ranka and Yoshio had found that although they had very little in common, they got along quite nicely. In fact, although they were not close enough to speak completely colloquially, they were comfortable enough to relax their speech. It was more difficult for Yoshio than Ranka but it worked.
"I'm a strong advocate for letting them figure it out on their own. As you know Kyoya rarely encounters a challenge that truly stumps him. I believe this crisis can benefit him in more ways than one." Yoshio stated.
"Well, what do you know! I had similar thoughts about Haruhi. But I'm still incredibly unhappy about the way Kyoya has treated my daughter. All she has ever done is love and support him."
"I have heard bits and pieces of the story but since Haruhi requested that I refrain from keeping tabs on their personal life I only know so much." And, in all honesty, Yoshio was both relieved and annoyed by this. He was relieved because it was one thing he didn't have to keep track off. He was annoyed because nothing irritated an Ootori more than being ignorant of an important subject.
Ranka sighed. "Of course. That girl does value privacy. Well...it's a long story. Do you have time to hear it?"
As with anything and everything, Yoshio weighed his options in the span of a few seconds. Finally, he nodded and picked up the phone. "Itsuki, please cancel all of today's future appointments and bring us some light snacks and coffee."
"Tea please." Ranka chimed in.
"Make that tea. Thank you."
"Sorry about that. I have to watch my figure. You know how it is."
Yoshio nodded although he didn't exactly know how it was.
After a long two or maybe three hours Ranka concluded his story. "And so that's how we ended up here. Terrible isn't it?"
"Indeed. I had no idea… nevermind. It seems that helping them mend their relationship will be more difficult than anticipated."
"Yes. That is exactly why we are going to, " Ranks made quotations with his fingers "'push them' a little bit."
"How so?"
Ranka smiled. In a conspiratorial tone, Ranka described his plan to Yoshio. He couldn't believe the head of the Ootori group was actually nodding along to his plan!
The feeling was mutual. Yoshio didn't know what to think but he knew that given the circumstances and his child's attitude, this was the best - although admittedly childish- solution.
When Ranka was done Yoshio could only think of one thing. "You and Haruhi are much more alike than what people give you credit for." Ranka chuckled, extremely aware of what moment Yoshio was referring to.
~5 years earlier ~
Kyoya nodded at the secretary's announcement and squeezed Haruhi's hand tighter. Haruhi's heart was pounding frantically in her chest. She knew that people said Ootoris don't get nervous but she was positive that Kyoya's heart mimicked hers at that moment. Together they walked into Yoshio Ootori's office. Haruhi intended to pull her hand back as soon as Yoshio turned to face them but Kyoya had different plans. "Don't."
"Kyoya-"
"Trust me. You'll do fine." He said that as if she was the only one worrying. As if she would be the one doing most of the work.
"Kyoya, I figured it was about time for you to show up. I even cleared fifteen minutes of my time for you."
Kyoya bowed his head and Haruhi followed suit. "Thank you, father." Any other child might have taken offense but Kyoya knew that every minute was precious for the head of a company as big as the Ootori Group. He didn't exactly like it but he couldn't complain either.
"Get to the point then."
"We-"
Yoshio held up a hand. "Not you, Kyoya. Ms. Fujioka, go ahead."
Haruhi swallowed but lifted her head with as much confidence as she could muster. If she was going to pass the bar exam, she had to have more confidence than this.
"Kyoya and I want to get married. We have come to ask for your blessing."
Kyoya tensed. Sometimes his girlfriend was too blunt.
"Why would I let my son - a potential heir to the Ootori Group - marry a commoner?"
Kyoya stepped forward."Father-"
Haruhi's hand instantly shot out to stop him. "I do not see why the fact that I'm not as rich as Kyoya should be a reason for us to not get married. Your son loves me and that is all that matters."
"Not when it comes to business. I didn't think you were the naive type. Tell me, what merit can you possibly offer if you marry my son? You are not going to inherit a company or money. The most fame you have received came from being a cross-dressing scholarship student at Ouran Elite Private Academy. Why would my son marry someone like you?"
"I know that I seem to have nothing but audacity to my name but I can promise you that everybody has something to offer no matter how poor they are." Haruhi glanced at Kyoya. She guessed it was time for her to take the suggestion he had given her in the car. He told her that if she wanted to impress his father she had to plainly state her accomplishments. No cheesy lines (but it was worth a shot). As awkward as it felt for Haruhi to say such things, she realized that Kyoya had anticipated this moment and perhaps his suggestion was the only way to go. "Kyoya told me you would not accept any pathos based answers so I will state my most recent accomplishment plainly. I completed the preliminary test that allows me to take the bar exam ahead of my accomplishment of law school. As you know, the Japanese bar exam is one of the toughest in the world. Not to mention that not many law students are sufficiently confident or prepared to pass even the preliminary test. "
"So what?"
"So, I am often sought out by various major companies even though I have yet to finish my studies.I think this is sufficient proof of my ability as an attorney. I strongly believe that having a lawyer in the family is more than beneficial for the future of the Ootori Group."
"Are you saying we may need a lawyer someday? This company has never been at the center of a controversy."
"I am merely pointing out that it would be awfully naive to believe that a problem in which a lawyer is needed will never emerge."
"I realized that a long time ago. That's what our legal team is for, ." Yoshio looked from Haruhi to Kyoya. Did they think he would give in so easily? "My answer is no."
"We'll get married without your consent then," Kyoya stated firmly.
"Kyoya, stop." Haruhi's gaze on Yoshio was unwavering. "I was hoping to avoid this but I guess I have no choice. We have to tell him."
Kyoya stared blankly at Haruhi before nodding slightly. What could she possibly have in mind?
"Mr. Ootori, Kyoya and I... " Haruhi's voice faltered. Kyoya couldn't tell if she was playing a role or truly hesitant to say the next words (whatever they were). "We are expecting a new addition to the Ootori family."
Kyoya nearly choked. What the hell?! "Haruhi…" She turned to him with a serious look on her face. As convincing as it would be to outsiders, Kyoya saw the hidden mischievousness that was so rarely on Haruhi's face. Luckily for the couple, Kyoya and Haruhi were quick.
"I know we promised to keep it to ourselves as long as possible but given your father's answer, I thought it was best he knew about his future grandchild. After all, he will be born out of wedlock."
Yoshio was stunned. Out of all of the tricks they could have pulled, why was it this one?
"Kyoya! What is the meaning of this?"
"We didn't expect for it to be this way. As the heir to a company based on medicine, of course, I took the necessary precautions but there is a reason for why they are only 99 percent effective..."
The couple looked at the floor. The action appeared to be one of shame but they were trying to conceal their laughter. Haruhi didn't like to deceive people. She really didn't but it was the only way to get Yoshio's blessing. Although she told herself that she would never resort to trickery in order to attain her goal, her conscious had to make this exception.
Yoshio glared at Haruhi. "Ms. Fujioka, I do hope this isn't a joke. I never figured you be the type of girl to..."
"I don't lie," Haruhi said, her voice breaking.
Kyoya coughed. "She's the most honest person I know father. In case you couldn't tell she is very transparent."
Yoshio's mouth quivered, threatening to form a smile. "There is no way I could ever allow an Ootori to be involved in such a scandal. A child born out of wedlock? It isn't out of the ordinary nowadays but this is unacceptable for a family of such high prestige. I will not abandon my future grandchild."
"So…"
"So, given the circumstances, I am obligated to grant you my blessing. I assume it has to take place as soon as possible? Perhaps in a month if not less than a month."
Kyoya tentatively voiced the concern that had been gnawing at him. "What about my trip abroad?"
"There is absolutely no way to dismiss that trip and you know it. As soon as we settle this matter you will leave for the United States. The only difference is," Yoshio nodded at Haruhi. "You will now have a wife to accompany you."
Soon after the couple had retreated, Yoshio picked up the phone to gloat. He was well aware of the fact that he didn't have a grandchild on the way. Kyoya and Haruhi were the most cautious couple in Japan and anybody could see it. But he needed to test Haruhi's intelligence somehow. Yoshio nodded to himself while he waited for the recipient of his call to answer. Yes, Haruhi had impressed him greatly. She sacrificed her most beloved value - honesty- for the sake of marrying her possible soul mate. And Kyoya? Well, Yoshio was proud. His son had realized what he wanted in life despite the strict upbringing Yoshio had pushed onto him. Under his cold demeanor was a Yoshio that truly wished for his children's happiness (after business was taken care of, obviously). After those unexpectedly reflective thoughts, there was finally a response on the other end of the line.
"Yoshio, what do I owe this lovely surprise to?"
"Yuzuru, do you remember that bet we made?"
Note: Yuzuru is Tamaki's father.
Thanks for making it to the end! I'll try to upload the next chapter ASAP or as soon as I further organize ideas for the plot (because I have LOADS of them just scrambled around in my brain and various docs)! Please feel free to leave reviews. I welcome constructive criticism.
