Courtship - Chapter Four: " Things Get Complicated"
An Ouran High School Host Club fan-fiction
By: Saadia Mirage
Pairing: Tamaki/Haruhi
Rating: PG-13 (heh, it's gone up!!)
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Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club or any of it's characters. They belong to the original mangaka Bisco Hatori and Studio Bones. This is a fan story, for amusement purposes only.
SPECIAL Author's note: Hey everyone! I'm so sorry it has taken so long for the next chapter of this to go up! But, eh heh, I actually have some good excuses! First off, I got married (yeah, really!!). Also, we moved out of the country and halfway across the world (yes, literally). On top of all that, I haven't even had internet access at our new apartment for about a month!! Needless to say, things around here have been busy... but now I have a lot more time to write so I'll be posting the rest of this story probably by the end of this month or the next! Seriously!! Most of it's all ready written!
WARNING: This chapter has a little bit of "the gay" in it. Don't worry - the main pairing of this story hasn't changed and won't. I just like making things a little bit complicated for our boys here. Heh, I just hope I don't scare any one off. Who knows, maybe I'll gain some readers? ;; Anyways, enjoy!
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"Hey Kyouya..."
The dark-haired boy didn't answer, perferring to keep his attention on the thick textbook in front of him.
"Kyouya..."
He flipped a page disinterestedly, still ignoring the plantive voice behind him.
For a moment, things were silent. His satisfaction was brief however, as soon the distraction came from arms suddenly wrapping around his neck from behing the couch.
Tamaki bent down and put his mouth next to his ear. "If Mommy ignores Daddy he may leave her for another woman."
"Maybe Mommy would be able to get some work done, then."
Tamaki laughed at this, completely unfazed. "Oh, how cruel!"
"Do you mind? I'm trying to study."
"Don't you want to hear about my date with Haruhi?" Tamaki mumbled, not letting his grip on his friend falter. He mouth was still very close to Kyouya's ear and it tickled slightly when he breathed, much to Kyouya's annoyance.
"Not particuarly." He answered calmly, "You're not wailing like a bad soap opera actress, so I can venture a guess it didn't end badly."
"Oh, foo... You are no fun!"
"Never claimed to be."
"But you can be... so much fun. Don't we have fun together, Kyouya?"
"We have... something."
"We do!"
"If you insist."
"I do!"
Kyouya sighed, growing tired of this silliness. He straightened his glasses, trying to shrug the other boy off.
Tamaki held on determinedly, sticking his nose right behind the shell of his ear, dislodging his glasses so he had to adjust them again.
"Kyouya... me and you... we do have something special, don't you think? Our connection. We have a brotherhood like no other!"
"Yeah, Hikaru and Kaoru don't have anything like that."
"I'm talking about you and me, Kyouya. They're just fakes."
Kyoua blinked, slightly suprised at the sudden change in tone.
"What do you..."
Suddenly he felt a soft wetness against the back of his ear, the touch of lips and tounge.
Shocked, he shot up off the couch, or at least tried to. Tamaki held fast, slender arms clinging to him with an almost metallic grip.
"Wha-what... Quit fooling around!"
"Kyouya... She's just a distraction, you know? She's cute, but... Don't you think I could do better?"
A strange feeling settled in Kyouya's stomach. It felt heavy and cold. He twisted around in Tamaki's grip to look him in the face. The blond boy stared back at him, for all his strange actions he looked the same as always - the same sweet, stupid grin on his face. "What… What are you talking about you idiot?" Kyouya choked out.
Tamaki smiled wider and leaned his forehead against his. "I'm your best friend, Kyouya, and I always will be. I'm the first real friend you ever had, the only one real, and the only one who truely loves you."
Kyouya felt his face grow hot. He twisted away again, overwhelmed, but Tamaki still held on like a vice. "You..." He mumbled, "Th-this is... why are you..."
"Kyouya, don't you love me?"
His arms pulled him back down to the couch and slid down his chest, nose still buried behind his ear. "I love you, Kyouya. Better than anyone ever will."
"T-Tamaki..."
One hand slid into the neck of his shirt, down over his collar bone, scratching against the skin.
The other hand took his chin in hand and suddenly they were face to face. Before he could even blink, his lips were pushed against his, suffocatingly so.
It was hot and desperate and sharp and... Good.
It was about then that Kyouya woke up in his bed, gasping for breath and drenched in sweat.
He lay staring up at the canopy of his bed for a few seconds, chest heaving, burning. He reached a shaky hand grope for his glasses on his bed side table. Before he could reach them, however, a wave of intense nausea hit him.
He hurriedly stumbled to the restroom and promptly vomited.
After retching for another minute, he wobbled to the sink and washed his face with cold water, staring blearily into the mirror. His stomach was hollow and aching.
'Sort of like being hit with a ton of bricks.'
Tamaki's description of this type of feeling was disturbingly accurate.
Thinking this, Kyouya felt sick to his stomach again.
—-
Renge smelled a doujinshi plot in the making. She had a sixth sense for these kind of things. When she entered Music Room 3 after school on Monday she could feel it in the air. Something juicy was going on and she was going to find out what it was.
Hikaru and Kaoru entered and slumped on the chaise lounge by the window, twin faces looking sulky - which wasn't especially unusual - except for the fact that they didn't seem to be taking their frustration out on anyone. Yet.
Mori and Honey seemed to sense the same tension she did and were off on the other side of the room with the tea set, trying to look busy. Kyouya was looking a little pale today, and strangely distracted as he strained to concentrate on the ledger in front of him. He kept clicking the pen he had in his hand, in and out. In and out. In and out.
...Then Tamaki entered the room and it was like the fury of a thousand suns was pointed at him from at least three different directions. Of course, he seemed oblivious.
He laughed and gave his usual greeting. "Good afternoon everyone!" He beamed, seeming even more cheerful than usual. "Ready for a fun afternoon?"
"Suoh-kun, whatever happened to your face?" Renge asked curiously.
"Ah, Renge-chan! You are looking lovely this afternoon! Don't worry about this!" He laughed pointing to the bandaid across the bridge of his nose. "Just a little accident!"
"Do you think she decked him?" Kaoru wondered aloud.
"I hope so." Hikaru grumbled.
"Who? Who?" Renge said, whirling around to the twins, who proceeded to ignore her.
"Haha, why the glum faces you two?" Tamaki laughed, coming around behind the couch and hugging them them with one arm each. "How can you look so gloomy on such a beautiful day?"
"Can I deck him?" Hikaru growled.
"If you don't I might." Kaoru sighed.
But Tamaki was all ready gone and floating around the room and greeting the other guests. Soon the room was getting full and the activity was in full swing.
Haruhi came in late, looking harried. "Sorry everyone! The teacher kept me after to discuss—"
Kyouya stood up, looking annoyed and ready to chastise, but a sudden flash of light from the other side of the room interrupted him. Tamaki had beaten him to the punch, or hug as it were.
"Ahh, Haruhi!! Welcome back! Come and sit with me and these lovely ladies over here…"
"Woah! Uh… Okay."
If Renge thought Tamaki had been acting cheerful before, now he seemed positively elated. Roses bloomed in his wake. Meanwhile Kyouya and the twins seemed to be smoldering. Something was definitely going on.
—-
"I'm going to go get some air." Hikaru said suddenly, standing up and marching towards the balcony.
"Uh, please excuse us," Kaoru said to the young ladies gathered around the tea table, bowing slightly then following after his brother. The girls proceeded to whisper intently behind him.
He opened the large glass door and stepped outside. Hikaru was at the edge of the stone outcrop by the railing looking down into the courtyard. Kaoru approached him cautiously and stood beside him. He was silent. He knew Hikaru would appreciate his mere presence and would talk when he felt like it, if at all. He simply stood there and looked out over the school grounds at his brother's side.
"Smug, isn't he?" Hikaru said finally.
Kaoru looked over at him, raising an eyebrow. "I don't know about smug, but he certainly is… uh… happy." He said, "Which I guess is pretty natural, considering the circumstances."
"That doesn't make it any less annoying." Hikaru grumbled.
"True." Kaoru nodded, "But… Well… Haruhi looks kind of happy too, don't you think?"
Hikaru just frowned and said nothing.
Kaoru sighed, and gently put an arm around his twin and leaned on his shoulder. "That kind of makes this worse, doesn't it?" He said softly.
Hikaru nodded sullenly. "We'll just see how long it lasts."
Kaoru frowned a little at that, but squeezed his twin's shoulder supportively. He looked down at the fountain beneath them and felt his stomach tighten. It was a little strange to have his brother so jealous over someone else. He had seen it before over the summer, with Haruhi and her friend from middle school… But it really wasn't the same now. It was starting to dawn on him that what his brother was feeling was more than just childish selfishness. This wasn't about sharing a "toy" anymore and perhaps it never was.
For Kaoru it was different. Sure, he was a bit sore about being left out, but if it made Haruhi and Tamaki happy… wasn't that good? He liked Haruhi, but even if she was with Tamaki she was still the same Haruhi. She would still treat them the same.
Hikaru didn't seem to see it that way. Kaoru was, for once, feeling something essentially different than his brother. It was a lonely feeling.
Hikaru sighed and stood up straight at the railing. "Sorry. I'm done sulking now. It's annoying but.. Let's go back inside before the girls leave. I don't think we want to face Kyouya-sempai's wrath today."
"What is with him, anyway? It's like he's angry over the date thing, too." Kaoru wondered, glad for the change in subject.
"Maybe he's jealous." Hikaru laughed, walking towards the door back into the club room. "Haruhi's got everybody worried about her."
"You think so?" Kaoru frowned a little, looking thoughtful. "Maybe…"
"What?" Hikaru said, looking back over his shoulder at him.
Kaoru shook his head. "Nevermind. Let's go."
"Yeah."
—-
The end of the club meeting was swiftly approaching and Haruhi was at a complete loss. What was she going to say to him? She thought it would be easy just to stand in front of him and say something like "I don't think it is going to work" or "it's too weird" or "I have too much work to do." All of her excuses had a certain amount of truth to them and weren't especially cruel. Just one date with him should have been enough and he should be happy. That's all Hikaru got, after all.
But…
It was a little different somehow. She felt a powerful, sudden curiosity. Could something like this work? Should she try it? How far could it go before he just got bored and gave up? Did he really… Like her that much?
It wasn't actually that uncomfortable of a thought. Somehow it didn't seem like a horribly awful idea to date Tamaki Suoh and she couldn't explain why. Logically they were a terrible match and not suited to each other at all. They came from different worlds.
But…
Did something like that really matter that much? Was it really that terrible to have fun with him for a little while on Sundays? It… It had been fun. It was weird, but she was happy. Kaoru, Hikaru, and even Kyouya for some reason seemed annoyed by it all, she could tell.
But she was happy. It didn't make sense.
She collected the dishes from the tables as the girls filed out of the room. She picked up a teaspoon from the floor and set it on the tray resolutely. She couldn't put it off anymore. She turned around and faced him.
He had very obviously been watching her, and looked startled and embarrassed when their eyes met.
"Tamaki-sempai, can I talk to you outside for a minute?" She said more stiffly that she meant to.
He reddened, with a nervous smile. "Ah-ah, yes. Of course!"
He followed her to the balcony. The eyes of the rest of the host club members did the same. She closed the door behind them and sighed. She looked up at him. He was fidgeting with his tie, cool Prince Charming persona evaporated into anxious teenage boy. He stopped abruptly when he saw her looking at him and quickly put his hands behind his back and bounced on his heels a little.
"So... Uhmm…" He laughed, "Did you, uh, make a decision?"
She nodded and reached up to brush her hair out of her eyes. "I did."
"W-well?"
"…I really don't know why I'm saying this, but…"
"But?"
She sighed. "How about we try this Italian place I know next time? They have a pretty good lunch special on Sundays. We can meet at the same time and place as last week. Okay?"
At first all that she could read in his reaction was shock, but then, slowly, it turned into a 5,000-watt smile.
"Okay!"
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To be continued...