A/N: Alright, you guys. Here is where I give my incredibly long (and probably still unforgivable) apology. Yes, I acknowledge the fact that I haven't updated in months. And yes, I acknowledge the fact that half of it was due to my stubborn laziness. But I do have a life, and therefore I had other reasons as well. This year, in just one class alone, I had to write 40+ essays (use your imagination for the crap i had to do for all the other classes) I've gone through four different national testing/exam weeks in the last semester. I've been in two major performance productions at my school. And to top it all off, quite frankly I lost my desire to write this story after several less-than-pleased reviews and an incident where some loser kept stealing and copying my work (especially my kyoharu fanfics).

To be honest, I almost regret extending this story beyond a two shot. I'm half tempted to just delete all of these chapters . . . or at the very least snip some of the cuter scenes and post them as separate oneshots.

But the problem is, this is the first story I've written that has ever made it to 100 reviews. So I feel like I owe you guys a lot. Therefore, I'll make it your decision. If you want me to continue, tell me and I'll keep it going (even if I have to ducktape my butt to the computer chair and invest in a small coffee maker) If you'd rather not listen to what may potentially be a bunch of rambling fluff (though I will say, I DO know how I'm going to end it, so it won't be TOO rambly . . . maybe) tell me and I'll turn this back into a two-shot. It's all up to you. And if I don't get reviews at all, I'll just assume that that means you don't want more.

Now . . . as an apology for listening to my overly long and pathetic apology . . . I decided to get my act together and post a little tidbit. It's much shorter than usual, but it may take me a while to get back into the swing of things.

Something tickled Haruhi's cheek. She opened her eyes, feeling disoriented for a moment when she saw a scene of a sunny beach even though it was almost the end of autumn. But then she realized that it was only the television playing in a dark living room. Her living room.

"It's getting late. Your dad will be here soon."

Groggily, Haruhi rolled onto her back and found herself looking up into Kyouya's face. She must have fallen asleep, using Kyouya's lap as a pillow.

"How long was I out?" she asked. Her head still felt fuzzy and warm with sleep, and without thinking of much of anything, she reached out a hand and stroked Kyouya's cheek.

Kyouya stiffened a little in surprise, but only for a moment. "Approximately two and a half hours, actually."

Haruhi paused, and then all of the drowsiness suddenly left her at once. The girl jerked into a sitting position, wincing when the action gave her a head rush. "I'm sorry, Kyouya. I didn't mean to. I guess I just wasted all of our time, huh?"

The light from the TV put a glare on his glasses, preventing her from seeing Kyouya's eyes. "Oh no, it wasn't all that bad. You simply made me re-appreciate my detest for television and soap operas. And having my legs fall asleep after the first twenty minutes wasn't all that bad either. Trust me."

For a moment, Haruhi couldn't tell if he was being serious, and the fact that she still couldn't see his eyes wasn't helping. But then she noticed the corner of his mouth lifting up, and she relaxed.

"If it bothered you so much, you could've just pushed me off the sofa," she laughed, giving his shoulder a playful shove.

"Yes, but then you would've woken up. The expressions you make when you're asleep are just too amusing to pass up. Not to mention that all the things you mutter when you're dreaming are nothing short of . . . interesting."

Haruhi blushed and grabbed Kyouya's shirt in a panic. "W-what! What's that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what I said of course."

"That's not fair! What did I say?"

Kyouya met her eyes for a while before averting his gaze and letting out a dry cough. Dread pooled in the deepest part of Haruhi's stomach. In vain, she tried to recall what she had been dreaming about. I have a feeling that he's going to file it away as blackmail, she thought to herself in resignment.

Kyouya coughed again, smirking as Haruhi squirmed. "Anyway, none of that matters. You can repay me for the agonizing torture you unknowingly put me through. After all—" Kyouya gently pushed Haruhi down on the sofa. Stunned, Haruhi found that her body couldn't do anything but consent. "—that's what having the personal debt is for, right?"

Haruhi's heart hammered in her chest. Right here. This was always the place where she froze and squeaked for him to stop. Where she always chickened out. But at the moment, she was far too distracted by the fact she still couldn't quite see Kyouya's eyes, even as he hovered over her. Slowly, she reached up and removed them. Behind the glasses, his eyes were shocked and half-nervous. That surprised her. But more than anything, the look in his eyes was almost identical to the pair in Haruhi's memories, back at the night in the summer home.

Haruhi lowered the glasses and softly smiled at Kyouya. "That's better," she whispered. "I see you."

For several moments, no one moved. And Kyouya was too speechless to say anything. But then he took his glasses from Haruhi and half-placed, half-tossed them out of the way so he could focus on more important matters. Like kissing Haruhi. Like holding her close. Like whispering in her ear words that he never thought he'd say to anyone in his life. And the whole time he could feel Haruhi shifting and breathing underneath him, returning his kisses and feeling so undeniably real that Kyouya was half tempted to cry out in victory. But instead he chose to kiss her again.

Eventually a clock somewhere in the house chimed seven. Haruhi's father was sure to be home at any minute now. Kyouya had enough sense let in him to break the kiss. Haruhi, with her arms still tangled around his neck, very nearly pulled him back for more. But with a chuckle and a sigh, Kyouya disentangled her arms.

"Don't push it," he mumbled after a quick peck on her left temple. "So far I've been in pretty good standing with your father. I'd rather not have him stumble in on us and dismiss me as being a person of Tamaki's level."

Kyouya straightened up and started to pack up his things, but Haruhi never once moved. Still lying down, she said quietly, "You scare me sometimes, Kyouya. I always thought I was so sensible and smart, but when I feel your arms around me, I just . . ."

Kyouya froze. Quickly he put his glasses back on and looked at Haruhi, but her face was turned away in embarrassment, staring at the old cushions.

"You . . . you scare me sometimes too, Haruhi. Truly," he admitted. Even in the dark room, he could tell she was blushing. But she still refused to look at him. Must have been her stubborn pride.

Grinning, Kyouya leaned over Haruhi once more and whispered in her ear, almost in a singsong fashion, "Ha~~ruhi." When that still didn't get any response, he tried something new. "My Ha~~ru-chan."

Haruhi's eyes widened, and she finally made eye contact. Satisfied, Kyouya pulled her up off the sofa and into a warm embrace. The girl gasped in his arms. "Do you know what I want to do, more than anything else?" Kyouya continued to whisper. Blankly, Haruhi shook her head. "What I want more than anything else . . . is to be with you. I want to go somewhere where it's only just the two of us. No interruptions. No last-minute appointments. Just you and me and—"

Kyouya broke off when he felt Haruhi nuzzling her face into his shoulder. He looked down and caught her peaceful, coy little smile. A smile that made his chest knot up, and for the second time that evening he realized how solid and real she felt in his arms. He held her a little tighter, but she murmured no complaint. And when he finally released her, they were both swallowing back waves of reluctance.

"See you at school again tomorrow, Haruhi," Kyouya said, straightening his tie and smoothing his shirt.

"Mmmm, see you," Haruhi agreed happily as she fixed her messy hair.