Tamaki stumbled through Kyouya's house and was silent all the way home. He pulled off his clothes in a daze and found a pair of white pajama pants, falling onto his bed as if in a dream. Lost in his thoughts, he lay there for hours. And he was still lying there when Shima silently opened on the door on Sunday morning to peek in. She stared at him for a few moments, his eyes wide, bags under his crystalline violet eyes, and with s sigh closed the door behind her. Perhaps it was not her place, but it would be a good idea to call that Haruhi girl right about now. Because at this rate, the young master was likely to really get sick.
But Tamaki wasn't sick. And he wasn't unintelligent. He was just very, very dense. And his mind had been running around in circles for the past few hours, always moving back to the same exact question. And the truth was, he didn't have an answer.
…not my daughter… not my daughter… not my daughter… what did he mean? Of course she's not really my daughter. That was established a long time ago. But… what was he trying to say? He doesn't want to be mother anymore? I should not think of her as a daughter? Then what should I think of her as?
Tamaki paused. This was new. This was a train of thought he could follow. He shoved a tired hand through limp blond locks and bit his lip, deep in thought.
Well, if I don't think of her as my daughter… he began again, trying to find some deeper meaning in this train of thought. Trying to link it so something. Trying so hard to stop the aching somewhere deep beyond the reach or comprehension of his consciousness.
…and I have those hallucinations, he continued, knowing full well that such situations were not appropriate for daughters and fathers…
…then that would make her…
Tamaki sat up abruptly, jumping out of bed, then instantly regretted it as the room began to spin, and he was spiraling down… down… darkness…
"Haruhi…" he whispered as he hit the richly carpeted floor with a thud.
"Hello?" mumbled Haruhi, yawning. She should have gotten more sleep…
"Miss Fujioka?"
"Um… yes?" she asked yawning again, confusion entering her voice.
"Your presence is recommended at the Suoh residence as soon as possible."
"What?" Haruhi sat up abruptly, her eyes widening. "Did Senpai ask for me? Is everything alright? What do you mean recommended?"
"Master Tamaki is… unwell, and it was decided that you were the only person who might cure this particular ailment. It is recommended that you come as soon as possible."
"Wait, what? Hello?" Haruhi sighed as the line went dead, and proceeded to attempt to convince her tired body to rise from her sheets. "Well at least I slept tonight… some wake up call that was…"
Haruhi looked up at the towering gates to the Suoh mansion, her heart fluttering faintly. If she'd understood who she suspected to be Shima then Tamaki didn't know she was here. But… surely there would be no reason for her to call unless it was an emergency… right? She sighed and rang the bell, the large golden and black gates swinging open almost immediately. But Haruhi found that she had nothing to worry about, for there in from of her sat three limos. And none of them were from the Suoh's arsenal of long black cars. She sighed with relief and called out to the only host still outside of the building, on the phone as was to be expected.
"Kyouya! What's happened to Senpai?" she asked, jogging over. He looked up, the sun glinting off of his glasses, mumbling something into the phone and closing it.
"Apparently tono managed to get himself truly sick. He collapsed in his room. The maids found him about half and hour ago. No one knows when he collapsed," said Kyouya, slipping his phone into his pocket. He watched, face expressionless, as Haruhi's face paled ever so slightly.
"Wha-… where-… is he alright?" she stuttered. Kyouya shrugged.
"See for yourself," he said. Haruhi nodded, but was surprised when he uncharacteristically put his arm around her shoulders and guided her through the Suoh mansion to a bedroom she had begun to know well. There Tamaki lay, looking deathly pale, blond hair askew across his pillow. Haruhi made a soft sound in her throat, but no one heard it save for Kyouya. His jaw tightened slightly, but he said nothing. Instead he led her over to the bed where the host club was gathered, staring down at their sleeping lord.
"Tama-chan's never been this sick before," murmured Huni with consternation.
"Has Milord actually ever been sick?" asked the twins. Kyouya adjusted his glasses.
"Not that I can recall…" he responded, his grey-black eyes fixed on his violet-eyed best friend.
"Hm," said Mori in agreement. Haruhi looked across the bed and realized he was looking at her. He cleared his throat slightly, but Haruhi couldn't discern his meaning, which was not something that happened often. But, unseen to the slim brunette, Huni was nodding at his cousin.
"What does Tama-chan have?" he asked innocently, turning to Haruhi and, incidentally, Kyouya, who was still standing close to her, although he had taken his arm from her shoulders. Haruhi shrugged, barely sparing Huni a glance as she stared at the unconscious Tamaki. But Kyouya was quite aware of the senior's gaze and shifted uncomfortably, adjusting his glasses again. "Do you know, Kyo-chan?" Huni was pressuring him, pushing his luck; this he knew. But Kyouya was in no mood to snap at Huni, so he did was he always did.
"He mentioned something abut his chest…" he said, smoothly stepping aside of the question as if he was avoiding a mess on the sidewalk. Huni pouted slightly but said nothing.
"A chest cold wouldn't make someone faint…" murmured Haruhi. The room turned to look at her. "Has a doctor seen him yet?"
"He's on his way. His father only wanted the best for his son, so someone is coming that he asked for specifically. His father is in a meeting right now. He wanted to come here immediately, but I convinced him that we could handle it. Rushing out of a meeting to watch your son lie unconscious in bed is meritless," said Kyouya. Haruhi sighed; merits. Was that all the Shadow King could think of? "Especially when there are others without obligations willing to sit with him instead."
Or perhaps not. Haruhi looked at the Shadow King, and realized that, as usual, it was all a façade. She hadn't known it was possible for someone so pale skinned to get any whiter, but his face was just as colorless as hers was. Kyouya had always been pale, the stark contrast to his hair making him look like some prince of the night. But now, he simply looked like something out of a horror movie, skin deathly pale. Haruhi would have thought that he was sick too.
"I'm… I'm sure Senpai will be alright…" she mumbled quietly so that only he would hear. He turned and looked down at her sharply, then nodded curtly. "Of course he will." He let no trace of worry enter his voice, but Haruhi still looked at him with pity.
Is it that easy to see through me right now? Was it that obvious to see my guilt? he wondered. If I hadn't… I know the baka. He must have stayed up all night, with those raccoon eyes. Worrying about what I'd said. If I hadn't said anything then he wouldn't be sick and we might actually have a chance…
He looked up at the twins, watching as they whispered to each other. Every so often they would glance at the Host King, Kaoru looking distraught. Hikaru looked torn, but from across the oversized bed he couldn't catch a word of what they were saying. Mori was too busy looking confusedly at Huni to notice the drama taking place beside him. Suddenly Kaoru made a noise in his throat and stormed out of the room. Hikaru twitched for several moments, wanting to follow, then turned around and stared at Tamaki with a stormy look, avoiding the eyes of the other hosts.
The tension was suffocating and Haruhi wanted to scream, cry, do anything except stare numbly at Tamaki and wonder if it was her fault. What was happening to them? What happened to the times when they (almost) all got along and their lives were laughter and fun? She'd mocked them for their luxurious lives, but truthfully she loved having no cares. She was sucked into this kalopsia when she was with them. But now all she felt was tense and angry, hurt and confused. She just wanted it to stop.
So she was very relieved when a knock on the door startled them all out of their various reveries. The doctor stepped in and cleared his throat.
"I'm sorry, but only one of you can be with him at a time while I work…" he murmured with regret, pitying the little group gathered around their friend. Hikaru nodded and left immediately, Huni and Mori following. Haruhi looked at the shock-stricken Kyouya, far too proud to admit he cared for tono, too proud to say that tono was his best friend. He was too proud to admit that he, who had known Tamaki the longest and knew him the best, wanted to stay even more than she did. He opened his mouth to tell the doctor he was leaving, but Haruhi beat him to it.
"I… I would like to wait outside," she murmured. He looked at her suspiciously. "I… I don't want to watch."
Kyouya seemed pleased with this excuse, and nodded to her. "I suppose I will stay then."
Haruhi beamed at him. "Thank you Kyouya-Senpai," she said, turning to leave. As she pulled the door shut she cleared her throat, making Kyouya turn to her again.
"Senpai will be fine," she said again, and closed the door quietly.
A/N: Ok, I know in the manga he's been sick once but this is based on the anime so… yeah. Now, I'm sort of at a loss with what to do. I don't want to end this so quickly, but I simply had to do something with that comment Kyouya made. So if anyone has any suggestions, I'm open to them. But I have a vague (and sort of mean XD) plot in my head, so don't be too offended if I don't take anything. R&R please!
P.S. Unconscious... get it? Get it? Unconscious of feelings??
XD, sorry, corniest thing ever...
