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Chapter 2

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow…

About nine years ago, Kyoya and Nanami were snowed in together at Nanami's house for two days. It was also December when it happened. It was only a couple months when they agreed to start going out. Nanami's parents were visiting relatives and their flight was delayed because of the bad weather. They had asked Kyoya to keep an eye out for Nanami so he went to her house just as the storm was beginning. They were alone together for two days, much to Nanami's chagrin.

Kyoya felt a sense of déjà vu knowing that they were in the same position as they were nine years ago. Nanami's attitude towards him right now was a lot like her attitude towards him when they were in the first couple of month into their relationship: somewhat distant and uptight.

Currently, Nanami was in the bathroom taking a shower while Kyoya was using his cell phone to talk to his father.

"I can't come home tonight, Father. When I took Nanami back to her apartment, the snowstorm was just beginning, so I have to spend the night here," Kyoya reported.

"That's fine. Your brothers and I have are stuck in the hospital," Yoshio replied.

"Will you be fine handling the hospitals without me?"

"We've done it before, haven't we?"

Kyoya smiled wryly. "Yes, you're right."

"…Answer me, Kyoya. Is this the same Nanami I engaged you to nine years ago?" Yoshio asked.

"Yes, Father."

"Are you trying to win her over again?"

"Something like that."

"Don't do anything stupid, Kyoya."

The phone was hung up afterwards.

"Whatever."

Kyoya placed the cell phone back on the kotatsu and turned on the TV to watch the news. It was then that he suddenly smelled a surge of strawberries. It was so familiar…it was so her. Nanami had entered the kitchen, now wearing a white shirt and dark blue track pants. There was a towel draped over her neck. She opened the fridge and peered inside it. Kyoya watched her from the doorway with interest.

"Hey, Kyoya! Do you want something to eat?" She asked as she turned around to see him gazing at her intently. "What?"

"Your hair…I have never seen it down before," He commented slowly.

Ever since meeting Nanami, her hair always had its outward flair. Like Ruka said before, the flair represented her independence. He was surprised to see her with a ponytail at the hospital. But now, for the first time, he saw her with straight and slightly messy hair. The only curls were the small natural ones at the tips.

"What are you talking about?"

Kyoya walked up to her, the smell of strawberries getting even stronger. She was the culprit for that sweet smell. It was absolutely tantalizing his senses, and he couldn't control it. In front of Nanami, he began to fiddle with the ends of her slightly damp hair, allowing his fingers to tangle deeper with it. His face moved closer to hers as he whispered, "I have never seen your hair so straight before." Closer and closer, his face moved towards hers. At the very last minute, Nanami turned her head so Kyoya's lips only brushed her cheek. He frowned at her resistance. His free arm was about to reach up and grab her chin when the phone rang startling both.

"I'll get it!" Nanami answered quickly. She escaped from Kyoya's clutches and ran to the phone. "Hello? Yes… Okay. No problem! …Bye." She smiled softly at him. He could see the evident blush on her face. "That was the school. This snowstorm is going to prevent everyone from attending tomorrow, so we all get a day off!" She chuckled and said, "Okay, how about dinner now?"

Nanami brushed past him and opened the fridge.

Kyoya smiled humorously. "You can cook?" he asked.

"Of course I can! I live on my own. I have to learn how to feed myself."

"You always struck me as the type to live off of instant ramen noodles," Kyoya joked.

Nanami shot him a dirty look. "Do you want to eat or do you want to starve today?" She asked crossly.

"I'll take the former."

The women put on an apron and said, "Good. I thought so. Now get out of my kitchen."

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The food that Nanami had cooked for both of them was curry rice. It wasn't Kyoya's style, but he didn't want to be rude since Nanami was treating him. They ate in silence. Afterwards, Kyoya retreated back into the living room, reading the newspaper. He could hear Nanami washing the plates and then fixing up her apartment.

Several hours later, Nanami appeared in the doorway of the living room. Kyoya was asleep on the floor with one of Nanami's books on his chest. The woman gently lifted the book from him and nudged him awake.

"Hm?"

"Come on."

She pulled Kyoya to his feet and dragged him to her room.

"You can sleep on my bed," She replied.

"Where will you sleep?" Kyoya asked.

"On the floor. Unfortunately, I don't have another futon, so I'm going to have to sleep with extra blankets as cushions."

"You don't have to sleep on the floor. We can share the bed, like we did the last time," Kyoya suggested.

Nanami blushed and glared at him.

"Shut up."

It was true. They shared the same bed the nights they were stuck together during the snowstorm.

"Well? The floor gets to be really cold in the morning, and I'm sure you wouldn't like that."

"You…You're unbelievable."

Kyoya moved past her and slipped under the covers of Nanami's bed. He moved to the farthest end. "You can have the other end if you want."

After several minutes, he was sure she was going to sleep on the floor instead. Much to his satisfaction, she slid under the covers next to him. When he turned to look at her through the darkness, he saw she was close to the edge of her side with her back to him.

"Nanami?"

"What?"

"When we were dating…did you ever love me?" Kyoya asked.

"No," She answered quietly.

He raised his eyebrows. "Why not?"

"When it comes to teenage romances, there is no such thing as love," She replied. "Teenagers are too young and immature to know what love really is."

"Then what did you feel for me?"

Nanami turned over to look at him. She stared at his gray eyes with an appraising look.

"I liked you enough to date you."

Nanami closed her eyes, a small smile playing at her lips. Kyoya clasped onto one of Nanami's hands, and pressed his lips to it.

"You're cold."

She didn't say anything. Kyoya's arms snaked around her waist and pulled her closer to him. He felt Nanami tense a little at his touch, but soon relaxed as they both drifted off to sleep.

(- -)

Winter mornings were always chilly. As Nanami awoke that morning, she immediately felt the chill. Instantly, she moved towards a warmer spot of her bed with her eyes still shut. Funny…when did her bed get a faint smell of cologne? She could feel something around her waist tighten. Slowly opening her eyes, she found that she had moved closer to the person next to her: Kyoya. Her face widened. Oh yeah. She was definitely awake now. She tried moving away, but Kyoya's grip was like iron.

"Kyoya, let go of me!" She hissed.

No response.

"Let go!"

"You have guts waking me up this early in the morning," Kyoya mumbled to her.

"Just let go, and you can go back to sleep."

Kyoya complied and turned over.

Nanami quickly got up from the bed and into the kitchen.

When Kyoya finally did wake up, he drowsily made his way into the kitchen. He found Nanami there wearing an apron and holding a plate of pancakes.

"Morning," She greeted. "I made breakfast!"

Kyoya had another sense of déjà vu. Nanami had cooked him omelets for breakfast the last time they were caught in a snowstorm. Not only that, Nanami looked like a housewife who had just cooked her husband a loving breakfast as if they were newlyweds. Oh great, now he was having a newlyweds' fantasy, very much like the one that Tamaki had of him and Haruhi when they were in high school.

The one thing that would complete his sense of déjà vu would be a kiss between them. The last time, Kyoya kissed her just so he could view her reaction. It was then, that she accepted him stopped being so distant.

"What's wrong?" Nanami asked.

"N-nothing," He answered. They sat down together at the kotatsu and began eating breakfast together. She seemed to be in a better mood than yesterday and was a little chatty as well.

Nanami cleared the plates when they were done, washing them in the sink.

"Nanami, you have a new text message," Kyoya called from the living room.

As soon as she had finished washing the plates, she went back into the room. She sat down next to Kyoya, looking for her cell phone. Kyoya handed it to her and she accepted it. She read the message, which said:

Expect something to happen once something slips through your fingers.

She gazed at the message with absolute confusion. What did this mean? She only got a glance at the number of the sender when she realized what was going to happen next. Nanami's phone fell to the floor with a clatter as Kyoya's hands shot out and grabbed her wrists. He pulled her close and into a kiss that tasted like sweet, sweet maple syrup. Nanami found it hard to struggle when her wrists were pinned to the floor with a grip as strong as iron.

Nanami was the first to pull away. Her face was flushed as she averted her eyes away from Kyoya.

"Nanami, do you love me?" Kyoya asked seriously.

"No…" she answered softly.

"That's a shame, because I love you," He said to her. "We aren't teenagers anymore."

"I…I don't get it," She whispered suddenly. "You can have any girl you want, but why does it have to be me?"

"It is because it is you." He replied.

Well, that ends this chapter! Notes...Okay. Reason I chose Nanami to smell like strawberries is because her last name is Ichigo, and that is Japanese for strawberry. xD Yeah, I have no clue why I chose Ichigo as her last name, but I did. I originally did not plan on Kyoya almost kissing Nanami when they were in the kitchen, but when I was writing, the idea seemed to be so cute. So, I think that's it for now. Thank you, thank you for reading!