Kyoya felt his breathing quicken sharply, and his mind went haywire. How was Haruhi able to drive him half-crazy sometimes? How could he have forgotten about Tamaki? How could he have let himself stupidly get carried away?

"Uh oh," Haruhi said as she saw what he was looking at. "Tamaki's here. Even though we broke up a while back, I don't think he would be happy to see me with you."

Kyoya just nodded. He did not want to think about how upset his friend would be if he knew the truth. Tamaki was someone who gets easily carried away. Actually, maybe he could use that to his advantage. Kyoya practically jumped out of his seat. Haruhi looked at him quizzically — no doubt she was wondering why he was acting so strange — and he hastily explained the idea that just came to him.

Tamaki's violet eyes followed Kyoya as he stepped out of the Mercedes. "Kyo-YA!" Kyoya could not be sure, but he thought he saw a few sparkles dancing around the hafu. Sigh. Kyoya felt his facade slip into place, and his fretting was replaced with irritation.

He was at least grateful that Tamaki had not noticed Haruhi, who was still in the car. "What is it now, Tamaki?" The thus-addressed blond pouted at Kyoya's lack of enthusiasm, but then quickly recovered and continued talking with his usual gusto. Kyoya was grateful that Tamaki was the way he was, because then Kyoya could be his normal Shadow King self and still keep the blond distracted (read: no amount of sarcasm could stop Tamaki and his unrealistic dreams).

"But Mommy, I had the best idea for a cosplay!" Kyoya rolled his eyes, but, like always, his mind was already working out a budget for the cosplay. Meanwhile, he knew, Haruhi was slowly getting out of the other side of the car.

"Okay," Kyoya replied as coldly as usual, taking out his black notebook and hoping that for once Tamaki's idea was not too over-the-top. "Let's hear it."

"I was thinking...What if we do a magical creature cosplay? We can decorate the room and make it look like an enchanted garden. I could be a merman, guiding the princesses of the Host Club across the sea." Kyoya resisted the urge to whack Tamaki in the head and instead took a deep, somewhat calming breath. To imagine that I was worried about him. The calm did not last long, unfortunately, as Tamaki continued rambling. "You would make a great vampire. Haruhi can be a fairy. We can have a fountain and worn-looking marble statues. We'll change the lighting to reflect the fairy-tale atmosphere! Don't you like that, Kyoya?"

I DON'T like fairy tales or magical creatures. And How on Earth would a vampire costume fit the enchanted garden decor?A vein in his face twitched as he rethought the budget. It would cost a ton to turn the room into an enchanted garden, and then there were the costumes to worry about. Outfits were pricey and had to be tailor-made, not that Tamaki cared. The blond was going on about having small animals to complete the magical creature theme (Kyoya was not sure he heard correctly, as the idea sounded even more preposterous than normal) Apparently he can't see the tick marks that appear on my head every time he comes up with a stupid idea, which happens much more frequently than I would like. Oh well, he would try to find a way to make it work. If it was not possible, he could always have Tamaki "convieniently" stumble across a better idea. He had actually been thinking of revisiting a tropical theme (his personal favorite) anyway. They should be able to do a passable French Polynesia cosplay by making relatively cheap (nothing could possibly be cheap when it came to the Host Club) alterations to the costumes and decorations they had already used in previous cosplays. Of course, he would have to do some research first before finalizing anything.

He had not noticed Haruhi approaching from behind the blond, which made it seem like she just arrived. Quite impressive. "Did I just hear that I should dress as a fairy?"

"You'd be soooo cute!" Tamaki started to rant about how adorable she would look in a fairy costume, causing Kyoya and Haruhi to raise their eyebrows in annoyance, though Kyoya secretly agreed. Haruhi would look good as a fairy and would attract a lot of clients. It'll be good for the Host Club, even though I doubt she would agree. She hates extravagant cosplays as much as I do.

Sure enough, she quickly shot down the idea. "No way in hell will I dress up as a fairy. Come up with a better idea for a cosplay." Kyoya chuckled as Tamaki ran off to brood in a nearby corner. Haruhi could be so blunt at times. "Maybe I shouldn't have revealed that I was a girl to the others before going to Boston," Haruhi mumbled to herself. She sighed and turned to Kyoya. "Hey, are you planning on hiding it from him forever?"

He shrugged carelessly, but it was actually bothering him. Now that Tamaki was not annoying him, worry flooded back. How was he going to tell Tamaki when the time finally came? It was only a matter of time before Tamaki got suspicious. The blond could read him like a book. He would be off in his world of dreams of grandeur and then, when Kyoya least expected it, would suddenly pause and stun him with his keen observations. Haruhi seemed to understand his concern and patted his shoulder. "We'll figure something out, okay?"

Kyoya was not looking forward to the mayhem he knew would soon come.

Kyoya managed to go through his first few classes without drawing Tamaki's attention, but he should have known better than to think that it would last. As he headed off to German class, his last class of the day and the one class he did not have with Tamaki, a kohai accidentally bumped into him, knocking both of their bags onto the floor.

Already feeling bad enough, he started to fume as he looked at the books and papers now strewn all around them. At least the hallway they were in was empty, but it was small comfort. He was about to give the person his infamous glare when something about the kohai's appearance registered to him. It was Haruhi, looking down at their scattered belongings with a sort of shell-shocked expression.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to…" Realization dawned on her. "Kyoya?"

"Haruhi? You should watch where you are going. I'll get the books for you." He bent down to pick up the books, and he saw her kneel beside him out of the corner of his eye.

"It's my fault I bumped into you. I should be the one picking them up." He froze as her hand brushed his as she made for the book he was about to grab. As she went to grab another book, he snapped out of his daze and picked up the two books lying nearby.

"Let me help." Finally, all their things back in their bags, Kyoya and Haruhi got off the ground.

"Umm, sorry. You are probably going to be late for class now. Better get going." He simply nodded curtly and walked away. Suddenly, he saw a streak of blond going past. Tamaki must have seen them and realized something was going on. After all, it was not like Kyoya to act nice — genuinely nice, not as part of a facade — to someone who bumps into him in the hallway.

After apologizing to his German teacher for being late, he sat down and started translating the sentences on the worksheet the students were working on. Kyoya's mind wandered to Haruhi. How on Earth was he going to hide his feelings from Tamaki? Thankfully, the Host Club was not meeting that afternoon, so Tamaki could not interrogate him as he usually would in the music room. Instead, the blond would probably go to the Ootori mansion after school. Kyoya would just have to make sure that Tamaki did not find him there.

When class was over, Kyoya headed outside and stepped inside his family's Mercedes before Tamaki got the chance to catch up with him. "To the Fujiokas, please," he ordered Hotta, who nodded and started driving. Looking out the window, he saw Haruhi getting out of Ouran and heading in the same direction. He felt bad for making her walk, even though he knew that she was probably used to it and that waiting for her would have given Tamaki time to find him and figure out the truth.

When he arrived at the apartment complex, he stayed in the car and waited for Haruhi. There was no point in getting inside her apartment before she came. Finally, he saw her approach, and he got out of the car to greet her.

"Haruhi!" he called out as he jogged towards her. "Hey." She looked stunned, but then smiled.

"Hey. Did you want to stay at my apartment for a while?" She asked shrewdly as they walked up the stairs towards her apartment.

"Yes. Sorry to impose myself on you so soon after school." They stood in front of the door to her apartment.

She shook her head. "It's fine. Why are you acting cold and formal with me again? Are you worried about Tamaki?"

How is she able to see through me like that? "Maybe I am." She looked at him quizzically before opening the door and motioning for him to come inside. "I usually have some tea when I come home. Would you like some?"

Being with her was already making him feel better. He smiled and nodded in reply. Before he knew it, they were both wearing more comfortable clothes (he had conveniently left his clothes from yesterday at her apartment) and sitting under the kotatsu, quietly sipping tea (with very little sugar, as neither Haruhi nor he liked sweet food) and simply enjoying each other's presence.

He put his cup of tea down and finally spoke. "I need to ask you something, Haruhi."

She set her own cup of tea down on the kotatsu. "Go ahead."

"Do you...Are we together? I mean, after what happened, it seemed like we are, but it's so difficult to tell, and..." His words came out hesitantly and slightly jumbled, and he mentally chastised himself for struggling with his words.

"I think I wouldn't mind being your girlfriend." A confusing mixture of relief and guilt washed over him. "Why do you ask? Are you feeling unsure? Did you not really mean what you said last night? Because..." She turned red and did not finish her sentence. Because what, I wonder.

He decided to answer her question honestly. "I want to make sure that you feel the same way, so that I know that...us...is worth it. Especially as this might hurt Tamaki."

Haruhi cocked her head. "Why won't you tell him and just get it over with?" she asked bluntly.

He thought about this, but then shook his head. "It's not that simple. I won't be able to forgive myself if this seriously upsets him. And I know it will. How could it not? I feel so guilty." He found it difficult to look into her doe eyes and instead focused on the design of the cloth covering the kotatsu.

"You really do care about Tamaki, don't you?" He could feel her smiling softly in his direction.

His head still bowed down, he sighed as he tried to word what he wanted to say. "Yes, he means a lot to me. At a time when I felt down and decided to give up on doing anything great with my life, he came in and taught me how to live." He began to fiddle with his fingers. "He taught me to enjoy life to its fullest, to dream, and to never give up. It's because of him that I want to keep trying. It's because of him that I want to act on my ambition. I owe him so, so much...but now I could possibly hurt him." His eyes began to sting painfully. He blinked away his tears and took a deep, shaky breath to steady himself.

She patted his shoulder and gave him a quick peck on the lips. "I still think you should go ahead and let him know. If it was me, I would feel much better knowing that my friend trusted me enough to tell me, even if it hurt. Tamaki would feel worse knowing that you tried to keep it a secret from him, especially as he is your best friend."

"You're right," he admitted, pursing his lips in thought.

Haruhi picked up her cup of tea and started slowly sipping her drink. "I actually don't start studying until six in the afternoon, because Dad insists that I take a break after school. We have around an hour left. Do you want to do something until then?" She flushed a brilliant scarlet.

Kyoya hid his smile by taking a sip of his own tea. "I don't see why not. Do you have something in mind?"

Haruhi grinned in return, her face still red. "Perhaps."