A/N: UWAHHHHHHH! I'm so sorry for the long absense! School sucks the life out of you, I SWEAR! Also, another reason why this one took so long was the length. It was originally just going to be two separate chapters, but if I had split them, they both would have been on the shorter side. So enjoy this amazingly long chapter! Next chapter is the climax, and then we're in for a bunch of action packed, drama filled chapters! XD Actually, I've already started to write the last chapter, so that I know where I'm heading. I hope it's to your liking.

And don't forget! Whoever is the 200th reviewer gets a free oneshot request! ^^

After his alarm went off for the fifth time that morning, Kyouya finally rolled out of bed and staggered to his bathroom. He let the water in the sink run for a while, the soft hissing noise of the faucet waking him up a bit, and then he splashed his face. He blindly reached for a towel, pausing in the middle of wiping off to glance at the mirror. Kyouya lowered the towel and squinted a little closer. Even without his glances, he could tell his reflection was not a pretty sight. The man in the mirror looked haggard and tired, and to Kyouya's disgust, he thought he could detect dark circles gathering under his eyes.

"I'm only going to make her worry," he grumbled under his breath as he turned off the water with an irritable snap of his wrist.

But all the late nights at the piano were going to be worth it. He was so close now. All it needed were the final touches. Kyouya let out a sigh, carelessly tossed his towel away, and went to get ready for school.

"What about you, Haruhi?" a customer asked with sparkling eyes.

Haruhi blinked out of her reverie when she heard her name and quickly struggled to remember what the conversation had been about. "Oh, I'm not too sure yet," Haruhi said, smiling softly as she gazed at her tea. "But I sure wouldn't mind staying at home this winter break. Spending it with family and just relaxing after a marathon of Christmas reruns and hot chocolate, you know? That's my kind of vacation."

The three girls at Haruhi's table let out a soft squeal at their host's day-dreamy look. They were going to faraway places for their vacation, and yet they acted as if Haruhi's break was going to surpass them all. Then just stay put instead of wasting all that money for no reason, Haruhi thought to herself, with only the slightest bit of annoyance, as she sipped her tea. It's too cold to do much of anything this time of year anyway.

"HaaaaaRUhiiiiii!"

Haruhi cringed imperceptibly and had enough sense to quickly put her cup down. As soon as she had done so, she was nearly crushed to death by two pairs of arms.

"Haruhi, Haruhi!" Hikaru exclaimed excitedly. "You should go on a trip with us!"

"Yeah, we'll take you out to some tropical island with a lot of sun and plenty of beach."

"Don't waste your money on me," Haruhi muttered, exasperated. But to the three girls at the table, all they say was a coy, blushing Haruhi who turned her head in anguish as she asked the twins not to spoil her so. When one of them nearly fell back in her chair due to overexcitement, Haruhi glanced at them with her eyebrows raised, wondering what the heck they were fantasizing about.

"But we know that you don't like the cold. Come escape with us!" Hikaru persisted.

"No thanks," Haruhi deadpanned, freeing herself from their arms.

The two twins pouted at her, Hikaru more so than Kaoru. Kaoru noted his brother's aggravation and quickly intervened. "Well, we still have about week until winter break, so think about it until then," Kaoru said, ruffling Haruhi's hair. When she frowned at him, he winked at her. "There'll be a plane ticket with your name on it."

"Like I said," Haruhi muttered, but to her relief, the twins left her alone. Her customers immediately started discussing in serious, hushed tones what the twins and Haruhi would do on their adventures, mostly excluding Haruhi from their conversation. Haruhi didn't mind. She was left to return to her own thoughts.

Kyouya. She still hadn't gotten a chance to ask him what was wrong. Haruhi didn't know why or how she could tell, but she got the feeling he was avoiding her. Not in the normal way though. Actually, to the outside eye, it might have looked as though Kyouya was spending even more time with her than ever before. But Haruhi wasn't stupid. She noticed that whenever he was around, there was almost always someone else there. There was hardly any private time, no alone time, so Haruhi was always frustrated in her attempts to hold a more serious conversation. Even those quiet car rides every day after school had slowly vanished. Kyouya kept coming up with excuses and then apologized for not being able to take Haruhi home.

He must know that I'm curious. But why won't he let me know what's been bugging him? Tamaki said he doesn't like to make people worry, but . . . Haruhi exhaled quietly and rubbed her eyes. All this nonsense is only making me more worried.

When her customers let out gasps and/or clapped their hands to their mouths in shock, Haruhi cocked her head at them in confusion. But then a hand alighted on her shoulder. Haruhi swallowed, even before she heard his voice.

"And how are you ladies doing today?" Kyouya asked smoothly. "I trust that Haruhi is entertaining you all to the best of her abilities."

Haruhi felt him give her shoulder a slight squeeze.

The girls nodded eagerly. One said behind her hand, "Haruhi is so popular! If you get her as a host, you're bound to get visits by the other hosts as well. It's like getting a double dose of bishie for less!" But that girl failed at being quiet, and Haruhi heard her whispering all too well. A slight flush crossed the natural host's face, and it only increased when Kyouya actually sat down at the table.

The customers automatically understood the treat they were being giving, as they knew that Kyouya was the most aloof of the hosts. All three tried their best to impress Kyouya and show off in their shameless, spoiled way. Kyouya responded to them in his usual fake polite demeanor while Haruhi mostly ignored them. She wordlessly poured Kyouya a cup and slid it over to him. He thanked her with a nod of his head and smoothly resumed the conversation with the ladies. But when he took his first gulp, he realized that it was not tea, like the rest of the table was drinking.

It was coffee.

Haruhi looked at him meaningfully from the corner of his eyes. Kyouya smiled, for just a moment abandoning the fake smile and smiling something real for Haruhi. But it vanished in the quickest flicker. It didn't matter too much. The table was small, so Kyouya had to sit close to Haruhi. Under the table, he grabbed her hand. But Haruhi wasn't smiling. She was staring at her own cup.

It's always when someone else is around . . .

Haruhi thought back to the days when they first started going out. She had complained to Kyouya that they were always alone, as if she were ashamed to be with her. But now Haruhi would go back to those days without a second thought. Compared to this, it was heaven. Compared to this, where even though Kyouya was taking more risks with her in public, it was even more secretive than usual, and he was even more secretive than usual.

Hadn't he once told me that he wanted to go somewhere, just the two of us?

Kyouya noticed her somber mood, and reluctantly he released her hand.

After hosting activities, Kyouya was found, as usual, at his laptop. It wasn't long before he heard something thump into the table. The chair next to him scraped against the floor as it was pulled out and occupied.

"What do you want, Tamaki?" Kyouya asked with a heaved sigh.

Tamaki looked over him, sitting backwards in the chair like an ill-behaved child. He offered his friend a grin. "Eh? This chair looked empty, so I sat down. What do you want?"

Kyouya paused to readjust his glasses, making his eyes unreadable. "What a ridiculous question. Absolutely nothing at all. There is nothing I want that I don't have."

"What a carefree life," Tamaki remarked with amusement. With a strangely sad smile.

Kyouya paused again, then resumed his typing. "Well, perhaps it would be nice if I didn't have to so constantly deal with a certain idiot's frivolous demands."

Tamaki laughed, and when he laughed he laughed with his whole being. Tilting his head back as if there was no one to hear and scold him for it.

Kyouya envied him.

"I'll rephrase the question so that maybe you'll leave me alone and I can return to work. Do you need something? Do you have to ask me something?"

"Yep," Tamaki said with an energetic bob of the head.

Suspicion laced through Kyouya when he saw the way Tamaki was looking at him. Immediately switching on the defensive, Kyouya replied, "I told you before. I'm fine. And if I look tired, it's only because I've been busier than usual helping father. Something that you're not helping with."

Tamaki pouted and waved his hands. "That wasn't it at all," the blond insisted. "I know I'll only annoy you if I keep asking, and you'll tell me what's wrong on your own eventually."

"I said there's nothing—"

"I had something else I needed to ask you," Tamaki interrupted, abruptly turning seriously. He dramatically glanced around him, checking the vicinity, before lowering his voice to a loud whisper. "I want some advice. Because you seem like the cool type who knows how to handle this sort of thing."

". . . huh?"

But their conversation was cut short by Haruhi's soft exclamation. She was standing a ways away, looking out the gray window. Both boys couldn't help but stare and hang onto every word, even before she started talking.

"Aww, it's raining," Haruhi mumbled distantly, not to anyone in particular.

Kyouya immediately turned back to his laptop, but he didn't touch the keyboard. He could hear Haruhi sigh out, could sense her looking hopefully in his direction.

"Could you take me home, Kyouya?"

Next to him, Tamaki made a noise of astonishment. Because she had not used sempai as she did with Tamaki, as well as her boldness to even ask a favor of the Shadow King. Really, it was natural for the blond ditz to be surprised. But it made Kyouya twitch a little. Without looking at her, he said, "Today, Father wanted me to observe one of his meetings—"

"DADDY WILL TAKE YOU HOME!" Tamaki exclaimed, jumping to his feet and slamming his hands against the table.

"Eh?"

"Just you and me, Haruhi! FATHER DAUGHTER BONDING TIME!" And Tamaki very nearly broke out into an impromptu dance.

"I'm not—" Haruhi began.

Kyouya narrowed his eyes and cleared his throat. Change of plans. He couldn't stand the idea of Haruhi suddenly making it a habit to ride home with Tamaki all the time. "I didn't finish," he stated quickly, just barely keeping the anger out of his voice. He snapped the laptop shut. "Father wanted me to observe one of his meetings, but it's on the way to your house. We have to leave immediately though."

Haruhi blinked, surprised that she actually won. Tamaki looked like a little puppy thrown out in the rain after being kicked a couple of times. "But that's no fun," Tamaki whined.

Sagging wearily, Haruhi tried to make it up to him. "It's out of your way, anyway, Tamaki-sempai. I don't want to inconvenience you. We can have bonding time later."

The sad puppy eyes turned hopeful. "Really?" Tamaki gushed.

"I said, we have to leave now, Haruhi," Kyouya said coolly, already halfway to the door.

"Ah, right!" Haruhi replied, jumping a little. "Just let me grab my things."

Kyouya wordlessly held up her bag for her to see. Haruhi rolled her eyes and hurried after him, leaving the pouting Tamaki behind.

Once they were out of earshot, Haruhi threw Kyouya a side-long glance. "Why so cold, Kyouya?"

He looked stonily ahead. "It's no secret that that idiot gets on my nerves sometimes."

"Uh huh," she said with a skeptical snort, and she was relieved when she noticed him relaxing.

But Kyouya stiffened up once they reached the limo. He knew what was coming. The Inquisition. He had been trying to evade her prying questions, at least until he really knew what he was going to decide. But she was intelligent. She couldn't be fooled for long. That was one of the reasons why he had fallen for her in the first place.

Kyouya sat down in his usual spot, expecting Haruhi to do the same. But she slid over and sat in the middle seat, keeping her face impassive when Kyouya arched his eyebrows at her. Instead of defending or explaining her action, Haruhi remarked, "It's been a while since you've taken me home."

"It has, hasn't it?"

The limo started, and they pulled out into the wet streets. The thrumming of the car's engine mixed with the smattering of the raindrops was pleasantly smoothing, but Kyouya resisted the lull and remained on alert.

"You've been avoiding me."

"I have not."

Haruhi rested her head on her shoulder, but didn't say another word. Kyouya kept waiting and waiting, until he finally said, "You're very quiet."

"I'm enjoying it while it lasts," Haruhi replied simply. As if that was that.

She didn't see him smile gently. "It really has been a while," he repeated. He slipped his arm around her, allowing Haruhi to snuggle a little closer, her eyes closed.

Kyouya didn't ever want the car ride to end.

Another late night at the piano. But Kyouya was distracted. Exhaustion was catching up with him, and he found his fingers moving slower, his mind beginning to wander. Kyouya stopped and shook his head to clear his thoughts, and he resumed playing again.

So close . . .

But it was no use. Focus was futile tonight. An A chord invoked the image of Haruhi leaning against him in the limo, her eyes shut wistfully. F sharp called upon the scene of Haruhi laughing as he tickled her. A mellow G showed Kyouya a wide expanse of innocent white skin, seen only by him and yet not his to claim—yet. He could see everything as it happened, played back in a un-sequential, skittering reverse. Haruhi struggling to impress him with her piano. Haruhi squirming under what she called his "death glares." Haruhi peering over his shoulder curiously to see what he was jotting down in his folder. Haruhi flashing smiles at him for seemingly no reason at all. Kyouya could imagine the way it felt when her hands were trapped under his, dancing over the monochrome keys. And when his own hands finally stopped, and the piano's vibrations were slowing and fading away, he could perfectly picture what had been burned into the inside of his eyelids, the look on her face when he first kissed her . . .

But she's not happy, Kyouya thought as he remembered the discontent flicker of Haruhi's brown eyes that afternoon. It's so painfully obvious.

The third son rose from his seat, stretching his fingers and arms. A break. Just a quick one, he told himself, throwing himself on the sofa in the room. But sitting still only made the memories that much more potent and relentless as they threw themselves against the walls of his skull. Kyouya endured it for a moment, and then, as if in an afterthought, he grabbed his laptop to distract himself with.

11:05. That was when the first bolt of lightning invaded his room and threw up shadows on the walls. Kyouya froze for a moment, listening. Five seconds later, the thunder followed. Immediately, Kyouya fished for the cell phone in his pocket.

"Haruhi?" he said when she finally picked up.

"Nnggg . . . Kyouya?" Haruhi answered groggily. "What is it? It's late."

Not really. At least, not to him. "What's going on over there?"

". . . mmm?"

Kyouya tried to ignore how sexy Haruhi sounded when she was half-asleep.

"How is the weather over there?"

Haruhi moaned a little as she forced herself to crawl out of her warm, toasty bed. She slipped on some slippers and shuffled to the window. "The rain's stopped for a few hours or so, but the sky still looks pretty dark. I'm sure it'll rain again later. Why?"

The storm must not have reached her yet. The merciful thing to do would be to let Haruhi fall back asleep before the thunder came. Even so, Kyouya had to almost drag the words out, not really wanting to let her go. "No reason. If all is well, then that is all. I apologize for disturbing you, and I'll—"

"Wait," Haruhi interrupted before he could hang up.

Kyouya's thumb hovered over the red end call button.

He heard her yawn a little, and when she next spoke, she sounded a little more awake. "I have to talk to you anyway."

His thumb twitched closer to the red button. "About?"

"About whatever the hell's been upsetting you so much," Haruhi said, a little sharply, as if she was grumpy from just being woken up. "I figure, if you're too embarrassed to tell me in person, maybe it'd be easier on the phone?"

"I'm not embarrassed."

"Then you simply don't trust me?"

Her voice was hard, like a challenge.

"I do trust you," Kyouya countered with a soft, velvety tone. "More than you could ever know." And somehow, Kyouya knew with complete certainty that Haruhi was blushing on the other line.

11:11. The room was quiet. The rumble of thunder was beginning to slow as the storm passed over Kyouya's house. It was moving faster than he thought. He sighed and stood up, heading for the garage.

"Then what?"

As his eyes grazed over the widespread selection of cars, Kyouya tried to fish for a suitable response. Which turned out to be harder than usual. Maybe because he truly did hate lying to Haruhi and leaving her in the dark like this? "I . . . I simply don't expect you to understand." It was pretty lame, but Kyouya was preoccupied. He should probably go for something more discreet, right? "It's just drama in the business world, as usual." Oh hell, he'll just use the Corvette Convertible. At least it was black.

"Try me."

Kyouya chuckled at her persistence as he pulled out of the garage, liking the purr of the engine.

"Why is that funny? You know that I'm perfectly capable and intelligent."

"Yes, yes I do. Fine, you win, Haruhi Fujioka." Kyouya readjusted his glasses and didn't notice how he was already starting to ease up and relax, how just talking to this peculiar girl was enough to calm him. Lights rushed past him on the dark, wet streets, but he was too attuned to Haruhi to properly enjoy the adrenaline of speeding. "I will not go in depth. It will only be boring, and I don't have the patience for it. Simply put, the stakes are being raised higher and higher for the third son of the Ootori family."

"But you like challenges," Haruhi reminded gently.

"Yes, I do. But Father has put even more pressure on me. I now face a series of life-changing—" Kyouya broke off when he heard her giggling. "What?"

"This isn't a shojo, Kyouya. You sound like a melodramatic teenager."

"I assure you, this is very serious," Kyouya replied, and something in his grim tone sent a quick shiver down Haruhi's spine.

"I apologize," Haruhi said, keeping her voice light.

"Anyway," Kyouya sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Soon I have to make a very difficult decision which could impact my future success, as compared to my brothers." When the other end was silent for a while, he asked, "Haruhi? Are you still there?"

She was quiet for a little longer, thinking, before finally opening her mouth. "That's all very fine and well, Kyouya, but you make the problem sound so scientific."

"Scientific?"

"Oh, well . . . maybe that's not the right word. What I mean to say is, what you've described to me . . . you talk as if it's so clear cut. As if it's obvious that there's really only one option, and that would be the one that would ensure your victory. But you wouldn't concern yourself over it so much if it wasn't more complicated than that, right?" And as Haruhi asked the next question, Kyouya's mouth went dry. "What exactly is the choice you've been given?"

"I told you I would not go into detail," he responded quickly, smoothly.

"Ehhh? That's not fair. How am I supposed to give you advice if I don't even know the question?"

"I didn't ask for advice."

"Well, I'm giving it anyway." He heard her inhale deeply, stalling. "Kyouya, the only thing I can tell you is to think about it. What could you stand to do? What could you stand to do without?"

Kyouya snorted. "Thanks for the vague answer."

"I've told you before, haven't I?" Haruhi continued, ignoring him. "You need to be more honest with yourself. What is it that you truly want?"

Though he chose to remain silent, Kyouya could feel a soft smile crossing his lips.

Haruhi hesitated on the other line. "Was that not helpful?" she asked worriedly.

"Mmm . . ."

"Too cheesy?"

Kyouya's grin widened. "And here you were lecturing me on how this wasn't a shojo."

Haruhi laughed, and it was a beautiful laugh. Kyouya almost joined in, but then the laughter stopped abruptly with a strangled sort of choke.

"Haruhi?"

She didn't respond, save for a slight intake of breath. But in her silence, Kyouya imaged that he could hear a faint rumble sound in the background.

"Hello? Haru—"

"Uh, Kyouya!" Haruhi interrupted, a little bit of franticness slipping into her voice. "Well, um, since I gave you the advice, I suppose I should be going now. I hope things work out. Kay bye!"

"Wait, I'm not—"

The phone's solemn beeping cut him off. Kyouya scowled at his cell irritably for a moment before tossing it in the back seat and urging the car to go a little faster.

Less than ten minutes later, he parked next to Haruhi's apartment. Seeing the dark complex like that gave him an odd feeling. Like maybe he was inappropriately sneaking. It was almost midnight after all. Idly, he wondered if Ranka was home as he slipped on a raincoat. How would he explain his late night arrival? But a clap of thunder made up his mind for him, and the next thing he knew, Kyouya was dashing out in the rain, running towards Haruhi's apartment even though all of the mud puddles were probably ruining his expensive shoes.

He caught his breath once he made it to Haruhi's door and was shielded from the rain. Even with his coat, it was still very cold. He shivered as he unlocked her apartment and stepped inside.

It was dark. Not that that was unusual. Kyouya turned on a light and wandered around. When he passed by the fridge, his suspicions proved true. Haruhi was here alone. Ranka had left a flowery pink post-it that said he would be at work extra late tonight. On the inside, Kyouya felt himself relax. At least that meant avoiding awkward situations, for the time being anyway.

"Haruhi?" he called.

The entire apartment flared with light for a brief moment, dazzling Kyouya's eyes. Not even five seconds later came the thunder, loud enough to give the apartment the slightest tremble. The storm must have picked up strength as it barreled along. After the thunder, Kyouya's ears detected a small squeak coming from the far end of the apartment. He headed towards it and found himself standing in front of the one room he had not yet been in.

Haruhi's bedroom.

Hesitating, Kyouya lifted his fist to knock, but he changed his mind and just walked right in. As his eyes grew used to the darkness, he spotted a rounded lump in the middle of Haruhi's bed.

"Haruhi?"

At first nothing happened. Then, slowly, cautiously, Haruhi's head peaked out from under the blankets. She almost looked like a comical little turtle, only she certainly wasn't laughing.

Gaping in shock, Haruhi choked out his name. But another roll of thunder sent her scurrying back inside her blankets.

Kyouya took off his shoes and his coat, and he walked over to Haruhi, tiptoeing even though he knew that they were the only ones in the house. He carefully sat on the edge of the bed and tried to unearth Haruhi.

"I'm here, Haruhi," he whispered gently.

The next thunder was almost deafening and right above the apartment. With a soft scream, Haruhi suddenly lunged at Kyouya, who was caught off guard and knocked backwards. The terrified girl clung to him tightly, shivering and whimpering into his shirt with her eyes screwed shut. Kyouya lied there in a daze, all too fully aware of how she was lying on top of him in the middle of the bed. The way her body naturally seemed to fit into his, and the thudding of her heart above his.

A stray voice in his head told him that he should take advantage of the situation. That he should save her by distracting her.

"Kyouya—" Haruhi moaned before jumping at the roar outside.

Kyouya bit his lip, swallowed down hard. He rolled her over, as if attempting to shield her from her fears with his own body.

"Shhh, I know," he murmured, kissing her left temple. "You don't have to be scared anymore. I'm here."

But Haruhi didn't seem to hear. Her arms remained rigid and tense around his torso.

"I'm here, Haruhi," Kyouya repeated.

"Can you stay?" Haruhi squeaked out in a tiny, pitiful voice.

Kyouya's brow furrowed. He didn't know if he trusted himself to last an entire night. "Haruhi," he said patiently. "Be reasonable. What would your—?"

Haruhi leaned up and kissed him. But just when Kyouya felt the last bit of his self-control slip away, she pulled back and whispered, "Please."

Kyouya waited for the next roll of thunder to die down before answering. Although he noticed that this time Haruhi didn't flinch as much as before.

"How can I ever say no to you, Haruhi?" he wondered aloud.

With a defeated exhale, he rolled off of her for a moment to retrieve the blankets. Once he had covered them both, he held her in his arms again and prepared himself for what he thought would be a long night.

In reality, however, as soon as the storm had passed and Haruhi's breathing slowed, he found himself drifting off, and he slept better than he had in days.