Haruhi sighed as she changed back into her school uniform. Unfortunately, that was a task that only involved her hands. Her mind was free to roam and wander, a dangerous prospect. The girl kept thinking about how Kyouya had not said anything to her today. Or, how he had seemed even more buried in his notebook than usual. Or, even worse, that kiss from yesterday. Haruhi felt the phantom of his lips brushing against hers, and she stiffened in surprise before shaking her head wildly to rid herself of the illusion.
She had no idea how to deal with this.
Haruhi walked out of the dressing room, heaving another sigh, when she realized she wasn't the only one in the room.
"Ah! Tamaki-sempai!" Haruhi exclaimed, trotting over to the Host King.
Tamaki had been staring out the window wordlessly, but when he heard his name, he turned around and smiled warmly. "I knew it! I knew my daughter was still here! Are you just amazed at my intuition?" he gushed over-dramatically.
Though his antics were often exhausting and idiotic, Haruhi couldn't help but smile slightly as she shook her head. "I'm normally always the last person, Sempai. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out," Haruhi muttered bluntly . . .
To which Tamaki suddenly zoomed over to his corner of woe and summoned dark storm clouds to rain over his head.
Haruhi rolled her eyes at him. "Anyway, why did you stay behind so late, Tamaki-sempai?"
"Oh! That's right! How terrible, simply terrible, of me to forget!" Tamaki exclaimed, jumping to his feet.
Wow. Such a speedy recovery, Haruhi thought to herself, somewhat resigned. But then she blinked in surprise when Tamaki flourished a bright yellow umbrella in front of her.
"It looks like it's going to rain. The clouds outside are getting thicker and thicker," he explained, suddenly soft and quiet. "There was no weather prediction for rain today, so I figured you didn't have an umbrella on you."
Haruhi took the umbrella with wide-eyes, startled at his consideration and gentle chivalry. Despite herself, she felt a slight blush coming on, an occurrence that had been happening more and more frequently whenever she was with the King of the Host Club. "Th-thank you," she stammered, embarrassed.
"I had one of my servants buy one from Tokyo and deliver it to me right away so that I could give it to you. Do you like it? It even has the character of 'sunshine' written on it, done by a master of calligraphy."
Alright. Any admiration or warm fuzzy feelings she had been experiencing before completely disappeared. Rich bastard, Haruhi thought to herself.
Tamaki's face fell at her lack of response. Haruhi flinched slightly when she caught the beginnings of the dreaded puppy dog face.
"You . . . you don't like it?" Tamaki pouted with tears in his eyes. "Maybe I should have gotten something cheaper and more commoner-like? Commoners use umbrella hats, right?"
Who do you think we are? Chinese farmers?!? Haruhi thought in exasperation. But she really couldn't resist his expression. It made her heart melt too much. So, for him, she coughed and said, "Not really. It's fine. An umbrella is an umbrella." And then, after a slight hesitation, she flashed him one of her 'natural' smiles.
Tamaki grinned back, awed at her cuteness. He ruffled her hair, which made Haruhi blush at the contact. Noticing this, Tamaki stopped and peered at her face. "You know, Haruhi," he said, leaning in close. "Your cheeks look a little flushed. You're not getting sick, are you?"
"Of course not!" Haruhi exclaimed a little too loudly, flustered.
"Are you suuuuure?" Tamaki said, drawing out the vowel.
He leaned in even closer. Suddenly, Haruhi had a flashback of what had happened yesterday. Her. Kyouya. The kiss. Before she knew what she was doing, her hands reached up and shoved Tamaki back roughly. Breathing hard, face completely red in embarrassment, Haruhi said, "I told you, I'm fine!" She averted her eyes and wondered, Why did I think of Kyouya when Tamaki got too close?
Tamaki was a little taken aback at her rejection, but he persisted for a little while longer. "Well, would you like me to walk you home at least?" he offered concernedly.
Haruhi shook her head. "I'm fine. I can walk alone. Besides, my apartment is in a different direction from where you live."
"But Haruhi—"
"It's fine. Go already," Haruhi laughed, giving him a helpful push towards the door.
Tamaki scratched the back of his head for a moment, undecided. But then he consented. "Alright. I'll see you tomorrow then." Tamaki turned abruptly serious and assumed a heroic pose. "If any thugs on the streets start to bug my daughter, don't hesitate to give me a call! Daddy will be there in a jiffy to murder them all!" And then Tamaki's expression blanked out as he began to have a "Tamaki Theater" moment.
"You don't have to worry so much. I'll see you later."
"Bye, Haruhi!"
The door clicked shut. Haruhi sighed out in relief when the eccentric blond had left. She gathered up her books and packed them back in her bag. Tamaki had been right. As soon as Haruhi was finished and ready to go, it started drizzling outside. The large, arching windows depicted a gray, dreary afternoon. Haruhi moved towards the door, but stopped when her eyes caught sight of that piano in the corner. It had been covered with a white sheet, for later use. Haruhi looked around her, checking to make sure the room really was empty. Then she hurried over to the piano.
Her hands pulled back the white sheet and uncovered the piano. For a moment, Haruhi simply let her index finger skim the surface of the keys, not making a sound. Tamaki's sheet music was still propped up and open. Haruhi glanced at it, but immediately looked away again. All of those complex black notes made her head hurt. The music almost looked like a foreign language, one she would never know.
"I wonder how Tamaki-sempai and Kyouya-sempai can play this," Haruhi muttered to herself, and she pressed down on a single key, letting the note ring clearly into the silent room.
"Are you interested?" a voice whispered in her ear.
Startled, Haruhi squealed and jumped, her hands accidentally slamming against the piano and creating a loud, ominous "DOM!" noise. Her hands reached up for her chest where her heart was throbbing painfully. "Kyouya-sempai!" Haruhi gasped when she tossed a look over her shoulder. Seeing his smug face made her angry. "Don't sneak up on me like that! And why are you still here anyway?"
Kyouya ignored her demands. Instead, chuckling, he stepped closer to her back and gently but firmly grabbed Haruhi's hands in his own. He pulled them away from her chest and placed them back on the piano. "Are you interested?" he repeated amusedly. "Would you like to learn?"
"Not really," Haruhi said, sounding a little harsher than she felt because she was still a little pissed about him scaring her.
"Oh?" Kyouya responded simply. With her fingers trapped under his, he began to play the piano. Haruhi's hands followed Kyouya's hands step by step. Like they were dancing together on the piano. "But you already have such talent for it," he teased as he lead her fingers into something that sounded like Chopin.
Haruhi stared up at Kyouya's face as he played the piano. His eyes were closed, and the small, soft smile revealed that he was actually enjoying himself to a certain extent. That amazed Haruhi. But then, a thought occurred to her.
"Kyouya-sempai," she began quietly. "Were you . . . were you waiting for me?"
"Yes," he replied immediately, without the slightest pause. "Though I thought you and Tamaki would never finish talking."
"But why?" Haruhi prodded, genuinely curious.
Kyouya's hands ceased to play. They resting, unmoving, for a couple of seconds before snatching up Haruhi's hands once more. "Come on. We're going," Kyouya ordered.
"What?! Going where?" Haruhi exclaimed in shock as she was dragged along.
In a single, smooth motion, Kyouya released one of Haruhi's hands and scooped up her other belongings from the floor. He handed the girl her bags but kept a firm grip on the bright yellow umbrella. "It's raining," he stated flatly.
"I'm aware of that. Thanks," Haruhi spat sarcastically.
Kyouya's glasses flashed as he adjusted them. "You're not allowed to walk out in the rain by yourself," he said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Haruhi gaped and stammered incoherently at him. After the first few flights downstairs, she was finally able to speak again. "Wait, wait. Says who?"
"Says me, of course."
"And what exactly are you going to do about that?" Haruhi asked through gritted teeth. She stumbled slightly, finding it hard to keep up with Kyouya's long-legged pace.
"You will be accompanying me in my limo. Please do try to keep up, Haruhi. I'm going to be late enough as it is."
"But—b-but! I can't do that!" Haruhi spluttered. "I know you. You'll just add the gas spent driving to my house to my debt. I really, really can't afford to increase my debt from you any further."
"Nonsense. I won't do anything of the sort," Kyouya muttered, actually sounding indignant.
"Then why are you doing this for me? Where's the merit?"
"Eh? Don't you remember?" Kyouya asked. "You told me to be more open about my feelings. So I'm showing them to you" Kyouya flashed Haruhi a crooked, mischievous grin, one that made the poor girl swallow hard. Not necessarily because she was scared, but because the grin looked really . . . good on Kyouya. "Do you really not remember yesterday that well? Do I need to give you a replay?" he asked, starting to bend down.
Haruhi squeaked and threw her bag up in the air to shield herself. "That won't be necessary," Haruhi said in a small voice.
Kyouya straightened, his grin gone. "What? Did you not like it after all?" he murmured, almost too quietly for Haruhi to hear. "I'm really going out on a limb for you."
Haruhi's face burned in mortification. Dear mother in heaven, how had she ended up here? It nearly caused her mental agony to look Kyouya in the eyes at the moment!
"You're confusing me," Haruhi admitted reluctantly. "Just . . . just give me a minute."
Kyouya didn't respond at first, instead choosing to squeeze Haruhi's hand even tighter. Almost possessively. It made Haruhi's whole arm tingle.
"I assure you, I could wait forever . . . but only if the answer is favorable," Kyouya sighed. "You know I don't like wasting time, almost as much as I don't like not getting my way."
And together, hand in hand, they walked out into the rain.
A/N: So I decided that I wanted to continue this. I couldn't help myself. It just had so much potential. But to be honest, I have no real idea of where this is going. Bear with me. I'll try to plot it out sometime soon so I'm not just rambling.
As usual, please keep reviewing. And if you give me suggestions about what you would like to see, well . . . I could give it a try. Ideas are always welcomed and appreciated.