Intangible
An Ouran High School Host Club Fic
Rating - T
Featuring - Kyoya because he's just so mysterious
Pairing - Tamaki / Haruhi becuase it can't be anyone else
Disclaimer - Standard
Author's Notes - Well, I haven't gotten a lot of feedback yet (especially considering I posted the first chapter nearly 24 hours ago) but what I have gotten is quite encouraging. And so I post chapter 2. More notes at the end of the chapter.

Following a lengthy discussion about dinner plans, Fuyumi finally let Kyoya go home. Home was no longer the family mansion, rather Kyoya had moved into his own apartment half an hour away. He didn't want to be like his brothers, who had stayed at home when they were in school. Instead Kyoya had taken up management of a private medical clinic while attending business school. It wasn't so much that he wanted to be a doctor, rather Kyoya wanted to run things. It was much more ambitious that what his two brothers had done.

It was a nice place, not like Tamaki's little one bedroom apartment. It had a spacious living room; a decent sized kitchen (not like Kyoya did much cooking though), an office, a spare bedroom, and master suite. Decorated in only the finest materials, it was neat and organized, and just a little sterile. Despite Tamaki's common furnishings, his apartment felt like a home. Kyoya's apartment felt like a hotel. Looking around the entry hall, Kyoya felt an overwhelming sense of depression. Rather than face the emptiness of his apartment, Kyoya marched himself right out the door once more and decided that it was a nice night for a walk.

It was mid-April, meaning the cherry blossoms had finished blooming and the air was warming. Everywhere young couples were linked hand in hand as they laughed over private jokes and comments. There was no denying that Ohtori Kyoya was lonely. It had been odd that Haruhi had caught on to the real reason why Kyoya clung onto the Host Club. Something intangible. One couldn't hold friendship. It was merely there, existing.

He still kept in contact with everyone from the Host Club on a regular basis, except for Haruhi, and he cherished those bonds. He seemed so far removed from the rest of his family, save for Fuyumi, that interpersonal bonds were a strange concept to him when he met Tamaki all those years ago. Now, lacking them, he felt hollow and empty inside.

He didn't know where he was until he lifted his fist to knock on Tamaki's door. It was some sort of unknown force that had drawn him to Tamaki, but that didn't matter. He needed a little one on one time with the Host Club King.

Tamaki threw open the door with a large smile on his face. "Oh! I love company! Come in, come in! There are guest slippers over there!" Sure enough a pair of pale blue slippers sat unused in a corner of the little entryway.

Kyoya slid out of his designer loafers and into the slippers while Tamaki scurried into the main living room and cleared a spot at the table. "I wasn't expecting company, but Kyoya, you're always welcome!"

The infectious good nature of Tamaki was hard to resist. Kyoya smiled at his friend as he sat down at the little table. The kotatsu was tucked away for next winter and a fresh spray of spring flowers sat on the table along with Tamaki's schoolwork.

"I don't understand why you opted for such a common college."

Tamaki shrugged as he quickly straightened up. The Host Club King was not a slob by nature, but he did have a tendency to just toss things on the floor and then put them away later. "I don't know. I guess I like the atmosphere. And though Grandmother didn't approve, she at least puts up with it. I think my father said that I was establishing contact with the people we serve."

"Ah." Kyoya was at a loss of what to say, so he ventured on with what seemed the most natural. "So how is your grandmother?"

It was a well-known fact among the rich of Japan that the matriarch of the Suou family was fading in health. That she was being treated at one of the hospitals that the Ohtori family owned had not escaped Kyoya either. He had to wonder what this meant for the men of the Suou family.

Tamaki walked into the small kitchen and put a kettle on to heat water for tea. "Well, there's not much to say. I'm sure you already know that the doctors say she's fading. It's age, not much else. Before long she'll succumb to her age."

"So what does that mean for you? And your father?"

He was answered by a soft chuckle. "We don't know. She may have put some provision in her will that says that we'll be disowned if either of contacts my mother after her passing. It's hard to say."

Kyoya wasn't sure if he should continue, but he needed to know. "What about Haruhi?"

Tamaki came back into the living room and leaned against the wall. That curious small smile graced his lips, his eyes hooded. "What about her?"

"Tamaki, you have to know how you feel about her by now."

"She's my sweet daughter."

Kyoya sighed. He knew that Tamaki was dense, but seriously, after three years Tamaki should have realized that he was in love with her. "Tamaki."

"Hey Kyoya? Catch." Tamaki tossed a small box to Kyoya.

Catching it, Kyoya fingered the velvet box and looked up at his friend questioningly. Opening it, he found a ring inside. A single solitaire diamond, but upon closer inspection, he found that the princess cut diamond was perfect. It was completely flawless and close to four carats. "What is this?"

"It's the ring that my father gave to my mother when he asked her to marry him. But you know how that story ends."

Kyoya did all too well. "How did you get it?"

"It showed up in the mail a few days ago. I'm not sure how it got here, but I know it's hers. Her name is engraved in the band. I remember when I was little she used to touch it when she thought of my father." Tamaki was staring out of the window.

"So what are you going to do with it?" If asked to anyone else it would have seemed like a stupid question, but Kyoya still had his doubts about Tamaki.

"I'm going to ask Haruhi to marry me. After she graduates, of course. Maybe she'll want to wait until after college. I'll ask again if that's the case. But I'm not going to give up. I will marry her. I love her." He looked at Kyoya, who was staring at his friend with a dumbstruck look on his face. Laughing at the expression on Kyoya's face, Tamaki continued. "I realized, as we graduated, that I loved her. It wasn't the love you might expect of a father for his daughter. I realized that I loved her as a woman. Because as much as she tried to hide it, she was a woman and I couldn't help it. I fell in love."

"You surprise me. I was sure that you would stay in a state of denial for the rest of your life. You do know that the twins aren't going to give her up without a fight."

"Yeah, I know. And what about you?"

Kyoya remained cool and impassive. "What about me?"

"Don't try to fool me, Kyoya. I know you well enough to see through it. You fell in love with Haruhi at some point. I don't know when, but I know you did."

Kyoya looked at Tamaki in disbelief. When did the idiot lord become aware of the world around him?

"I know, I know, you're stunned. I grew up."

Kyoya looked around at Tamaki's apartment. It wasn't nearly as large as Kyoya's, but it wasn't tiny either. In fact, it was a decent size. The little foyer led into a living room that was about twenty by twenty feet. Off of the living room was a combination kitchen and dining room. A door led to a bedroom and bathroom that together equaled the same size of the living room. Tamaki had covered it with his commoner treasures, and as a result the room was comfortable and homey, unlike the sterile environment of Kyoya's place. "Why did you pick this place?"

Tamaki let out a genuine laugh, a pure sound from his gut that made Kyoya envious. "Truth be told, Kyoya, after a month I was ready to move back to the Suou mansion."

"What changed your mind?"

Tamakit hit the lights and indicated to the window. "Look."

Kyoya peered across the alley that separated Tamaki's building from another apartment complex and gasped in surprise. Tamaki's apartment looked into the one across the way, where Kyoya saw a young woman busily working at the table. "Is that Haruhi?"

"It is. I saw her one morning going to school, but I don't think she saw me. I didn't pick this building for that specific purpose, it just happened that way. Funny, huh? Anyway, whenever I feel like I'm loosing myself, I just look across into her apartment and think of whatever she'd say to me. Then I'd pick myself up and keep going."

"So you're not stalking her?"

Tamaki looked appalled. "I would never!" He flipped the lights back on and joined Kyoya on the floor at the table. "At any rate, it was just an odd coincidence."

"Like you getting your mother's ring?"

"Kyoya, I'm not sure that it was a coincidence. For all I know, my father has always been in contact with my mother."

Nodding slightly, Kyoya had to agree. Despite the iron fist of the Suou matriarch, Kyoya knew enough about the Suou men to make an educated guess that Tamaki's father was keeping in touch with Tamaki's mother through some secret method. Mulling over the night's revelations, Kyoya was struck with a plan. "A party," he said quietly.

Tamaki had left the living room and had gone to the kitchen to make tea. "Kyoya, did you say something?"

Kyoya leaned back a little so he could see Tamaki through the little window that opened from the kitchen into the living room. "I said that we should throw a graduation party for Haruhi and the twins."

"Oh?" Tamaki answered, looking thoughtful. "Where should we hold it? And who would we invite?"

"I was thinking that the guest list would include only the original Host Club members, plus Haruhi. As to a location, my apartment would work, or we could hold it here."

"Nah, though this place seems large, it gets crowded quick. We could hold it at Ariel's."

Ariel's was one of the hottest restaurants in town. Serving only the best gourmet food, the price of a single meal could run up into several thousand yen. It was something that Haruhi could never afford, and Kyoya almost felt guilty for agreeing. The key word being almost. "Ariel's? I like that. Good food, good atmosphere."

"And I'll pay for Haruhi's dinner," Tamaki said as he walked back in with the tea. "There's no way she can afford it."

Kyoya had to laugh at Tamaki's statement. Despite living like a total commoner (except the closet of designer clothes), Tamaki was still wealthy and had plenty of spending money to burn. Two dinners at Ariel's would be a drop in the bucket. Besides, if Tamaki didn't pick up the tab, the Hiitachin Twins would.

"What, you think it's funny?"

"Are you going to propose that night as well?"

Tamaki rolled his eyes. "Though I may be known as the Baka no Tono, I'm not that stupid. I'm hoping, that just maybe, Haruhi will agree to a steady relationship."

"And what about Ryoji?"

Tamaki blinked at Kyoya a few times until he realized that Kyoya had actually used Haruhi's father's given name. Tamaki was so used to referring to the okama as Ranka that it seemed strange to call him Ryoji. "I'll just have to take whatever he dishes at me. As a father, he's going to be reluctant to let his little girl go."

"A feeling you're well aware of," Kyoya noted lightly.

"Oh yes, you're so hilarious."

"Just making an observation."

"Kyoya, I'm serious about Haruhi. No one else makes me feel the way she does. I get all jittery and feel like a little kid when she's around. My stomach does flips and I always feel like I'm going to say something stupid."

"Because you usually do."

Ignoring Kyoya's last comment, Tamaki continued. "No matter what I do it always seems to be the wrong thing."

"Because it is."

"Kyoya!" Tamaki said with a pout. "For once could you just shut up and listen! You always make some little snide comment even when it's not needed!"

Taken back in surprise, Kyoya found himself rendered speechless. Oh yes, Tamaki had grown up quite a bit over this last year. "I-"

"Don't worry about it," Tamaki said with a sigh and a dismissive wave of the hand. "Just listen. I feel incomplete without her in my life. She sees my flaws, she accepts them. She makes me a better person for it. I need her in my life."

Suddenly intense loneliness closed in around Kyoya's heart. That was a hell of a proposal Tamaki had just come up with. Haruhi, oblivious as she was, would be a fool to turn down Tamaki. His earnest love was pure and true. He really meant to spend the rest of his life with her. It was so much more than Kyoya could ever hope for. Then again, Haruhi had that effect on people. Kaoru had become aware of it, though Kyoya had his dobuts about Hikaru's acceptance of it.

Haruhi had even made his icy heart melt just a little.

Baka no Tono - Idiot Lord. This is the Twins' pet name for Tamaki, which everyone else picked up on.

Ariel's is the name of a gourmet shop in my town. I liked the name so I decided to call this imaginary restaurant after it. (Also the name of my favorite character from The Tempest, too.)

I figured that after a couple of years, Tamaki is still Tamaki, but he's grown up in some ways. I figured that it was about damn time that he figured out how he felt about Haruhi. Besides, it's much more interesting with a black velvet box in the picture, isn't it? (And be honest ladies, we all love the black velvet boxes!) I had no idea that he was living so close to Haruhi until I wrote it. I think that Hatori-sensei was on to something when she said that computers were magical.

So yeah, this fic is all about Tamaki and Haruhi, but as I said in chapter one, it's all from Kyoya's point of view.

Leave me reviews. Constructive criticism and critques are welcome. Suggestions are pondered. Flames will be deleted with a sadistic laugh.

Mercy-Angel-09