Haruhi was lucky enough to be the first to wake up on Sunday morning. The slight smell of alcohol wafted from Kyoyas direction, and what was becoming the oddly familiar smell of sex was barely noticeable, but still present. The gray-blue light of early morning was enough to disturb Haruhi from her sleep.

She woke up feeling confused. She had clearly remembered falling asleep huddled against Kyoya, and she had somehow managed to end up on the floor. She sat up slowly and winced when an ache shot through her groin and her back. Haruhi stretched and managed to grin at Kyoyas sleeping form. He had sprawled out, and was completely tangled up in the blankets and sheets. Haruhi was thankful that she didn't wake up in a potentially deadly situation like the day before, but the floor wasn't a much better alternative.

Haruhi gingerly stood up, and suppressed a groan in her throat. She never felt so sore in her life, and patches of skin felt raw from abuse. Not to mention the pain in her lower region. It took every last bit of her willpower to make her way towards the bathroom to see what the damage was.

Haruhi glanced in the small mirror when she walked by it on her way to the bathtub, and immediately regretted it. Her hair was plastered down in spots, and sticking up randomly in others. Her eyes were almost forced shut from puffiness, and all color had been drained from her skin. She did a quick double take, and her heart sank into her chest.

A circle of bruises.

On her neck.

There's no way I'm going to be able to hide that... I don't get it, he didn't even grab me that hard.

She raised a finger to tap the spots, and winced at the pain. For the first time in her life, she wished that she wore makeup. She silently prayed that Kyoya would have a solution, and set about preparing a bath.

The water stung what felt like every inch of Haruhis body. Her stomach sank with each new mark or scratch she found. Long lines of red were etched into her sides, and love bites covered her hips, her stomach, her breasts, everywhere. She didn't even remember how half of what was on her had happened. It then occurred to Haruhi then that if she was feeling so horrendous, Kyoya was likely to feel at least ten times worse.

She mumbled to herself about how it served him right as she unconsciously touched her fingers to her neck.

When Haruhi emerged, still slightly damp with a fresh robe on, she was surprised to see Kyoya slouched over on a couch, his little black book held loosely in one hand, his glasses in another.

"Uh hey, I figured you'd be asleep for a while longer..." She recoiled when he raised his head to look at her.

Kyoya looked like he had intent to kill. The almost black circles under his eyes contrasting his pale skin, along with the intensity in his scowl, gave Haruhi a sense of panic. She felt like the room had dropped in temperature dramatically. She had heard before that Kyoya was a grumpy riser, but it was like Haruhi was seeing a completely different person in front of her.

"Haruhi..." Kyoyas voice had an eerie smoothness to it. Haruhi didn't realize that she was holding her breath, and forgot to breathe before attempting to speak, only letting out a slight "nya," noise in response.

He repeated her name as he slowly straightened his back. He said her name once more and motioned for her to come forth. Haruhi stiffly moved forward, and sat on the opposite end of the couch. She swallowed and spoke softly.

"If you want to go back to sleep I don't mind, or if there's anything I can get you, that's fine too."

Kyoya let his head fall forward a little, his bangs covering his eyes.

"There are... some things you can do for me."

"...What would those be?"

"You will never speak of my actions last night to anyone. Besides me, of course."

"O-Of course."

"You will also never let me consume alcohol again."

"No problem."

"Finally, you will cure my hangover. I don't care how you do it, but you commoners, with your drinking habits, must have a remedy."

Haruhi snorted, scoffing a bit at the assumption.

"I'll try..."

"There is no trying. You will do this. Understood?"

"Alright alright," Haruhis voice had a slight edge to it, prompting Kyoya to raise his head slightly to cast his eyes at her. She tried hard to not be affected. "Is that all?"

Kyoya straightened himself and leaned back, eyes never leaving Haruhi.

"Do not let me fall asleep."

Haruhi raised an eyebrow, but thought better than to argue.

"Anything else?"

"No. Please go make the remedy."

Haruhi mumbled something about "bastard" and "rich" as she walked away, but Kyoya was too tired and in too much pain to care. He let himself slump down as another wave of pain shot through his head, and with a groan rubbed his temple. He felt a little bit like throwing up.

Kyoya had been mentally beating himself up ever since he reluctantly woke up. He truly wished he could blame Haruhi for his actions, but he knew it was no good. He acted out of impulse on the spur of the moment, and now he had to pay the price.

I am definitely removing all alcohol from the kitchen first thing tomorrow. Whose stupid idea was it to put wine in a high school anyway? Probably the twins... I'll have to chat with them tomorrow.

Kyoyas eyes snapped wide open. He hadn't even thought about Monday. There was so very much to be done, so many skeletons to put in closets. Would he even recover in time at this rate, even with Haruhis help? The stress sent another ripple of pain through Kyoyas head.

He groaned again and leaned back, seeing if maybe a change in position would help his situation.

This is just too much...

Haruhi appeared beside him moments later, bearing a tray with an assortment of foods.

"That was fast. Is the remedy that simple?"

"To an extent, I guess. Eat it all and you should feel better."

Kyoya examined the food closer and grimaced.

"Is this a commoners joke? A tradition maybe?"

"I'm completely serious."

"Burnt toast and fruit. You're feeding me burnt toast."

"Yup."

"And this will cure me?"

"Uh huh."

"You realize if you poison me there will be repercussions?"

"My Dad wakes up with hangovers all the time, and this is what makes it better. If you don't want it that badly it's fine by me-"

"Take it away and I'll-"

"Great! Then eat it."

Kyoya made a face at the pieces of toast, and gingerly took a bite. It took every bit of willpower he had not to gag. He was used to only ever eating the finest foods, and he was still not entirely convinced this wasn't a joke of some sort. "This is horrible." Kyoya said in between another bite.

"Don't you ever drink cough medicine? Or eat anything bitter for that matter?"

"When you have enough money you don't have to worry about inconveniences like that."

"But that's not even an inconvenience... Your family is involved with hospitals right? I can't imagine you would never have something like simple home remedies. What do you do when you're sick?"

"We either grin and bear it, or we go to a hospital and have the problem fixed immediately."

Haruhi grunted in response and they were silent.

The silence began again after that. Haruhi moved to her new favorite armchair after panicking about the sheer amount of homework she had failed to do, and set about doing it. She marveled at how Kyoya had somehow managed to do all of his homework without her knowledge. It made her silently wonder what else he could have done when she wasn't looking. Haruhi cast her eyes up from her textbook and towards Kyoya, looking for anything subtle that she might have missed.

He looked like he was starting to recover bit by bit. The threat of death seemed to have vanished for the time being, and the cold air around him lifted a little. He was occupied with whatever he was writing in his black book. Haruhi was amazed that he didn't have a hand cramp from his constant scribbling.

It was when she finished her homework that an idea occurred to her. If it worked, she would know exactly what he was always writing in that damned little book of his. If it didn't... Well, she would worry about that later.

Haruhi stood up slowly and walked around the table, making the journey to Kyoyas couch. He didn't look up from his writing, but she knew she was being obvious. Making as little noise as possible, she sat as close as she could to him and snaked under his arms, her head resting on his lap. Kyoya made an odd choking noise and set his book to the side. Haruhi scooted back slightly until her head was hanging off of his lap, holding her textbook over head. Kyoya shot her a look.

Damn it, I didn't even get to see anything!

Haruhi quickly tried to cover up her actions.

"Hey I wanted to stretch out, and you just so happen to be on the only couch in the room." Kyoya said nothing, but his gaze sharpened. Haruhis stomach sank. "A-and it is also our last day together, we won't get to be like this again, right?"

Kyoyas shoulders fell a little.

Haruhi smiled inwardly at her victory, but the reality of her words felt a little strange. "Well, I... actually, I mean-"

"It's ok, Haruhi, you're right." Kyoya absently let a hand fall on Haruhis forehead, his little book thrown elsewhere. His thumb stroked her temple. "We need to clean up today, it would leave a poor impression if we left the room in this state."

Haruhi hummed in agreement, feeling slightly lulled from the massage. Kyoyas hand drifted downwards and brushed her neck. He rubbed little circles on it, but pulled back when Haruhi twitched.

"Is something-... My god..."

Kyoya pulled Haruhi up to look at her neck better. Haruhis eyes didn't meet his.

He swallowed. He was at a complete loss for words.

Things were adding up, bit by bit. It was going to be harder and harder for Kyoya to prove that nothing had happened between the two of them that weekend.

Haruhi felt little odd being stared at. It didn't hurt when Kyoya touched her, not really, but having him touch her there so soon...

She sat up and sighed.

"I don't really mind it, it's just going to be hard to explain away..."

Kyoya continued to stare but his eyes widened. "I don't understand..."

"Er, what? You remember how this happened-"

"I don't understand how you can act so cold towards all this,"

It was Haruhis turn for her eyes to widen.

Kyoya? Telling me? That I am cold?

"I don't think I've been acting like that... It's just a bruise anyway, it's not like it matters,"

Kyoya grabbed her by the shoulders. His voice rose slightly when he spoke.

"I'm not just talking about that! Don't you care about your own body? Don't you care about anything that has happened? Why are you doing this?"

Haruhi was taken aback.

He sounds just like Tamaki... "I've already had that lecture long ago Senpai, I don't need you telling me how to feel."

Kyoya had to resist the urge to dig his nails into her. Haruhi tried to move away from him, but to no avail.

"Will you let go? Why does it matter to you anyway?"

"Haruhi..." Kyoyas grip softened slightly, surprise evident in his voice. He didn't quite let go.

"I don't understand that either... Why would you say that? How could you be so..."

"What? So what, exactly?"

Kyoya released her and looked away, and she took the opportunity to stand up.

"Forget it then, I don't care."

Haruhi felt a pang of anger as she walked away towards the kitchen. She glared behind her, and saw Kyoya still sitting, holding his head.

Everything was perfectly fine just a few minutes ago, why did he have to overreact?

She decided to clean, willing to try anything to work off her anger. She picked up several dirty dishes and threw them with unnecessary force into the nearby sink. She leaned over it, grasping onto the side.

Haruhi and Kyoya had been through a lot in their short time together. She had seen a completely different side of him, but it was still so hard for her to understand what was going through his head. It was true that he had opened up a lot to her, more than she ever would have expected, but she wasn't sure what to do with all of this new information.

She just simply didn't know what to do with Kyoya.

What made Haruhi especially distraught was knowing he assumed that nothing that had happened mattered to her. She knew there was a strange sort of connection they had made. There was something there, certainly, but she wasn't entirely sure of her own feelings towards him. The physical aspect was one thing, sure, but the way he said it...

What the hell is he thinking?

"Why do I have to be stuck in here another day..." Haruhi muttered to herself staring at the dishes. She was careful not to move when she heard footsteps coming towards her.

"Please... not now Kyoya."

"You don't understand."

"You already told me that."

"Damn it..."

It was hard for Haruhi not to shiver when she felt a light hand tap on her shoulder.

"It doesn't... feel right... to know that you... don't care about me at all..."

Haruhi turned her head slightly.

"I think you're reading too much into it."

"That's how it is though, isn't it?"

Haruhis looked at the floor.

"Wasn't I the one asking if you cared or not?"

"You know the answer to that, we're just going in circles at this point..." Haruhi heard him sigh behind her. He continued to speak.

"I feel... bad, about earlier. I can't make you feel what I want you to feel, I know, but..."

Haruhi turned around slowly. Kyoya looked utterly defeated.

"It's not that I'm cold or that I don't care about you or whatever..." Haruhi began slowly, "I just don't know exactly how to feel about you."

"That sounds... not great."

"It isn't bad, really!" Haruhi was at a loss, but she stammered on. "I just don't know exactly how you feel so that makes me not entirely sure how I feel, and I don't know what we have here or what is going on between us, and I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow and I don't know what I'm supposed to do now or what I want to do for that matter and... bah."

Wow, I sound pretty clueless.

Kyoya leaned back against a nearby counter.

"If it makes you uncomfortable to just tell me that you don't... Want me, I guess, it's ok, you don't have to go through all that."

Something clicked in Haruhis head.

"Wait a minute... You're saying that you...?"

Kyoya shot her a questioning look, but remained silent.

"You think of me as more than a friend?"

Kyoya groaned and slumped back.

"You're just now realizing this?"

"How was I supposed to know?"

"I told you! Several times!"

"Maybe you weren't clear about it or something."

"Fine!"

In one movement, Kyoya grabbed Haruhi and forced a rough kiss on her, muffling her yelp of surprise. They stayed like that for only a moment before Kyoya pulled back, grasping Haruhi firmly before looking straight in her eyes.

"I want you and I care about you deeply, I have for a long time, and I wish you felt the same. Is that clear enough?"

Kyoya stood up straight, adjusted his glasses, and swiftly walked away, leaving a frazzled Haruhi in his wake.

She stood rooted to the spot as she watched Kyoya leave. She had the desperate urge to run away, away from Kyoya, from the music room, and from Ouran High School. Knowing the futility of this, she wasn't sure where she should go now.

She turned around and quietly returned to cleaning the dishes.

Kyoya was staring out of one of the windows. It was snowing again, and the sun was still visible. The day had still barely begun, and he already felt exhausted. He wanted to melt through the glass and float down to the bottom, and just have a quiet walk home like he had originally planned a million years ago.

Why did I have to say so many unnecessary things?

Kyoya leaned against the window and watched his breath fog the glass. He was tempered to never let his emotions betray him, no matter what, but just a few claustrophobic days with Haruhi had made him weak and tired. It would be very easy from then on to just go about business as usual. Uncomfortable, perhaps, but certainly very easy. He had been exposed, and had admitted a small part of himself that he had originally never planned on sharing.

And now he was stuck.

All Kyoya could do now was wait and see how Haruhi would react.

Meanwhile, Haruhi herself felt like she was watching herself move in slow motion. It was not her hands that carefully placed the clean dishes in the shelves, it was not her legs that moved stiffly under her as she paced the kitchen, looking for more busy work to help her bide some time before she had to face Kyoya again. And she would have to eventually, and in that same day, that was something she had begrudgingly come to accept.

Haruhi felt unbelievably embarrassed at how oblivious she had been the past few days. She kept telling herself over and over again that there was no way that she could have picked up that Kyoya thought of her... that way, and there's no way she could have known that their nightly actions had some sort of purpose besides just being something to do. However, a tiny voice in the back of her head told her that it should have been obvious, since the beginning.

And now he thinks I have no feelings for him at all...

Haruhi couldn't help but feel slightly guilty. She hadn't had felt anything towards Kyoya before Friday, and even after that night she still wasn't sure how she should feel towards him. Though it felt strange to calmly give up a part of herself to a man that she hadn't even yet considered to be more than a fellow club member, on a whim no less, she couldn't bring herself to be sad or angry about it. In fact, it wasn't until after Kyoya confessed to her that she bothered to consider her own feelings.

Maybe I am cold...

Things had changed a little though. Now that Haruhi had some time to think, she mentally backtracked through the weekend, searching for an instance when she felt... something towards Kyoya. She wanted to show him that he was not alone, but she couldn't bring herself to lie if the feelings just weren't there. She had been flustered, embarrassed, ecstatic, and content because of him, but other than that...

A thought dawned on Haruhi.

Excited, she rushed out of the kitchen, reality returning to her as she ran.

Kyoya looked almost like he had passed out leaning against the window pane.

How long was I in there? Haruhi brushed aside the thought and shook Kyoya. He faltered slightly and looked at her with tired eyes. His glasses were askew.

"I realized something, Kyoya,"

He blinked slowly in response, still not entirely there.

"I want you to be happy, and I want to be able to make you happy. So that I means that I do care! So it's a start right?"

Haruhi gave him a desperate smile as she clung to him.

Kyoya adjusted his glasses in an attempt to hide his smile, but ended up letting out a light laugh anyway. He was still very tired.

"I can accept that, for now at least," He pat her on the head. "And if this is a start, then that means that this gives me a challenge. I'll just have to try harder I suppose."

Haruhi laughed.

"What, are you going to try to woo me now?"

"Something like that. Anyway, we have some things to take care of."

"Oh, right..." Haruhi grimaced as she looked around the room.

Neither of them had any idea how they managed to tear the room up quite the way they did. Several couches were missing their cushions and were pushed haphazardly to the side, but that was the only thing that was self explanatory. Food crumbs were absolutely everywhere. Blankets, both dirty and clean were tossed about the room. Their various articles of clothing were everywhere, and it would be a while before either of them would find their complete school uniforms. A couple chairs were knocked over for some reason.

"I really don't feel like doing this." Haruhi mumbled as she reached down to pick up her tie.

"We can leave our 'bed,' but we better take care of everything else sooner rather than later."

They worked slowly, but they chatted lightly as they went. Haruhi noted that it was the first time they were able to talk, just talk, without bickering, or about anything overly serious. She said nothing about it, but she smiled. She also smiled every time she noticed Kyoya stealing a glance at her, and giggled when he made an offhand remark about her being pretty when she caught him once. She responded playfully, telling him that he was quite pretty as well. She laughed when he blushed slightly, thinking about how incredibly uncharacteristic that was of him.

I bet he's just doing this all on purpose to get me to like him.

But Haruhi just smiled.

Later, after they had deemed the room acceptable for the time being, they sat on the bed, still quite content with each others presence. It was then that Kyoya cleared his throat and became more serious.

"We're going to need to take care of those bruises on you."

"Great!" Kyoya raised an eyebrow at her enthusiasm. Haruhi cleared her throat before continuing.

"So uh, how, exactly?"

"Well, we have a few options. We could try both of them and see if that works."

"Options?"

"One, we freeze a spoon and then apply it to each bruised area for as long as you can stand it."

"Are you trying to make me sick now?"

"Two, I massage it. Either way will break up the dead blood."

"Sounds painful..."

"It's one or the other, Haruhi. Unless you want to explain to our dear companions and your father where those bruises came from."

"Alright alright, I get it," Haruhi winced at the thought of both options, but it had to be done.

"I guess I'd rather you just massaged me."

"Ah, I realized there are many jokes I could make about what you said..."

"Just shut up and do it ok?"

Kyoya smiled slightly as he moved in front of her.

"Spread your legs, please."

"Oh come off it-"

"I'm being serious."

Haruhi looked away as she did so, feeling very silly. She let out a "Gah!" when Kyoya pulled her towards him so that she was sitting on his lap, he in-between her legs.

"I figured this would be the most convenient way to go about it." Kyoya said cheerfully as he gently tapped on her neck.

"Of course you did..." Haruhi looked down and crossed her arms.

Haruhi had almost managed to forget how sore she was, but the memory came rushing back to her as she winced with each little bit of pressure applied on her neck. Kyoya noticed and used his other hand to gently trace her side.

"I thought you said you never used home remedies Kyoya,"

"You didn't ask about injuries, that's an entirely different story."

"Huh. So that means that you injured me..."

"Does that bother you?" Kyoyas heart skipped a beat when he asked the question.

"Not really, it's not like you intended to hurt me, right?"

"...No, I suppose not," Kyoya seemed to consider this for a moment, then laughed.

"Something funny?"

"You know, the way we are now, this would be a very interesting position sometime..."

"You act more like a pervert every day,"

"And I will continue to tell you every day that I am merely calculating the fringe benefits."

"And just when I was starting to think you were a normal human being..."

"Don't talk while I'm getting the front here."

Haruhi sniffed and rolled her eyes, but let him continue. He pulled down her kimono slightly around her shoulders to gain better access, but released her suddenly and raised his hand to his mouth. There was damage there too.

"I wonder..." Kyoya said quietly as he peeled her kimono apart a little bit at a time. Each inch revealed a new mark or scratch on her tiny pale body. Haruhi quickly realized what the pained expression on Kyoyas face meant and made no protest as he pulled her kimono down until it was hanging on only around her hips.

Did I really do all of this?

Kyoya sighed and hugged Haruhi against him. She blushed at the feel of her nakedness against him so suddenly, but didn't move.

"I... I really am sorry... I don't even remember most of this..."

"That's funny, neither do I." Haruhi said delicately, trying to alleviate him of some remorse.

He only hugged her tighter though.

"I promise you I will never touch alcohol ever again..."

"I'm not even sure if that was it. I did wake up on the floor this morning though..." Haruhi mumbled the latter part into Kyoyas chest.

"I must have done that too... I must have been horrible."

"Nah." Haruhi wrapped her legs around him and snaked her hands inside his kimono, hugging him back. "Nah, you're a bad drunk, but you're not a violent one. You're too nice for all that,"

"Heh... Well nevertheless, it is going to take a while to work out all of this mess."

"Th-that's really not-"

"It is completely necessary," Kyoya said as his hand returned to Haruhis neck.

"And it's like you said," Kyoya whispered, "it's our last chance to be together."

"You know that may not have to be true..."

Kyoya chuckled as he pushed her away slightly to work on the rest of her body.

"I guess we'll just have to find out..."