Chrysanthemum Chapter 9, an ouran high school host club fanfic

AUTHORS NOTE: It's time for the Yule Ball, so put a pretty dress on and make sure your heels are low enough for dancing.

Enjoy.

Chapter 9

The morning before the Yule Ball

Yuuki slept in late. For the first time in five years she had slept past nine. At ten she was supposed to be helping Kyoya at the school, preparing for that evening. The girl threw herself out of bed and scrambled to her closet, pulling on whatever she could find, hoping it didn't miss-match. Yuuki brushed her teeth quickly and pulled her hair into a messy ponytail before venturing sheepishly into the hall.

Kyoya was standing there, fully dressed and groomed.

"You slept in..." pause, he changed his statement "in...those...clothes?" he added uncertainly

Yuuki pulled her jacket on "The ruffled look is in, apparently"

"It's not that in" he handed her a juice box and ushered her to the door "Next time, put your clothes out the night before"

"Yes mom" it was snowing outside again

"How affectionate" Kyoya smiled maliciously as the driver pulled up in front of them.

Yuuki opened the car door and slid inside "Are we even allowed in the school during holidays?"

"Tamaki is the superintendent's son" he pulled out his laptop and began tapping away "Ouran seeks to keep its students happy at all times"

"That sounded very generic"

"I know, why do you think people buy so many tissues? Being generic works"

Yuuki smiled and stared out her window "It doesn't suit you"

"Being opinionated doesn't suit you"

"Well..." she thought of something to say in retaliation "green...doesn't suit you"

"Fail"

"Shut up"

It was Kyoya's turn to smile.

The pair arrived at the school and entered a huge 'foyer turned ball room' that would hold the evening's festivities. Only at Ouran was an entrance hall big enough to host a party in. Maybe it wasn't even an entrance hall, maybe it was just a massive space with a huge stair case at one end and a door at the other.

Tamaki was already there, standing on an elevated balcony that the stairs bent into.

"Don't break it!" he cried merrily to a crew of workers who were holding up a giant chandelier.

The group of men huffed as they heaved the huge piece of crystal into a holder on the ceiling. Electricians went wild. It was the first one up, there were four more to go. A truck pulled up outside with the words Ouran Florist painted on the side. Kyoya disappeared from Yuuki's side and went to greet them pleasantly.

"Yuuki, can you go to the women's bathroom and make sure that it's ready" Tamaki called from the top of the staircase that they foyer wound up to.

"Um...alright?" Strange suggestion. Surely no one had used it in the last few days since holidays began.

The bathroom was long, with a white marble floor and walls painted with a pearly tone. The sinks were white, the cubicles were pale pink and Yuuki wondered why someone had put a huge bouquet of roses on each counter. It was just a bathroom, it's not like girls congregated there for private oestrogen meetings or anything...

She remerged to discover a scene she had already viewed that week. The host club, carrying a tree through a door, or trying to anyway.

"Side door!" she yelled at them and they looked annoyed again. Flashback much. They never learned.

Kyoya reappeared behind her "They never learn"

Yuuki ignored the fact that he had read her mind and turned to him "Question"

"Yes"

"Why is the ladies bathroom like a pink runway with sinks?"

He laughed "I'm really the wrong person to ask, there some places I have never been and some things that I don't have a say in"

"But Tamaki..."

Kyoya raised an eyebrow, hinting at the answer

"Oh..." Yuuki thought it through a moment "Oh! That's disgusting"

"No, that's Tamaki"

There was a silence as both of them contemplated this. Yuuki tilted her head to one side, her face written with realisation "Point"

Some workers began to attack the tree with decorations, blue and white ones – the main theme colours for the evening. Yuuki watched them and then went to stand below one of the ladders in order to pass various ornaments to the worker above her. Hunny and Mori had taken the liberty, again, to make themselves oversized decorations. More Hunny's idea than Mori's, but he didn't appear to mind. The twins tried the glitter trick again, only this time they didn't check to see if the lids were screwed on and two members of the host club got covered in a small tub of silver. Those two were Haruhi and Tamaki and they only minded for a second before getting their own revenge. Kyoya did his normal stand-to-the-side-with-a-clipboard thing, going through a checklist of things that had been done and things that needed to be done. When the tree was finished the twins decided to use the left over blue glitter on him. Much to the Ootori's annoyance. Yuuki sat on the stairs and laughed at the anger that seemed to frighten everyone else but her.

"Do you want to die?" he said smoothly

"To die" she leaned back "Would be an awfully big adventure"

"You're not peterpan"

"Darn it. And the oestrogen levels were such a dead giveaway too, why didn't I notice before?"

Kyoya softened and resumed his business.

The afternoon before the Yule Ball

The host club moved to the third music room to rest before the party.

"Good work, go team" Tamaki said groggily

"Did he just say 'go team'?" Haruhi asked in a monotone manner

Yuuki collapsed on a couch and crossed her right leg over the walking brace. She stretched and put her arms behind her head. Yuuki was the only one not trying to get glitter off various pieces of clothing, out of hair or off skin. Kyoya was still very displeased.

"I hate glitter" he said

Hunny gasped "Heresy!"

Kyoya pushed his glasses up and sighed. The twins high fived in victory.

"He should be tried for treason" Tamaki said, also offended

"Against who?" Haruhi enquired

"Against me! The Prince!" the blonde spread his arms out triumphantly

"This isn't a monarchy Tamaki" Yuuki said, staring at the ceiling "if anything it's an oligarchy" she paused "And if it was a monarchy Kyoya is shadow KING, you are the prince"

Tamaki's bubble burst and he disappeared to a corner.

"We don't get it" Hikaru and Kouru's voices rose above the ensuing, amused, silence.

Kyoya was impressed; he stared at the girl as she stared at Tamaki in the corner, a confused expression on her face. She didn't know how she had offended him. Yuuki looked at him, Kyoya couldn't read her expression. He shrugged and the girl sighed before resuming her original position.

An hour later the club began to get ready. Their outfits had been delivered. Yuuki's came in a white box with a red ribbon around it. She had ordered it from her favourite store in London.

"Can we see?" Hikaru and Kouru stood over her as she began to undo the ribbon.

Yuuki hugged the box to her chest "No" she said stubbornly "You'll see it later"

The girl took her item and disappeared into the preparation room. There, she shut the door behind her and put the box on a table in the far corner. She opened it and lifted the tissue paper away from the material and pulled her dress out, smiling at her choice.

The night of the Yule Ball

It was snowing outside, heavily. The guests were escorted inside by doormen holding black umbrella's. The foyer was decorated splendidly, like a ball room from a movie. There were big chandeliers hanging from the ceiling that illuminated the room with a warm light, long lengths of blue and white silk were draped over the balcony above the crowd and along the banister of the staircase. The tree was covered in blue and silver and stood tall and proud at the back of the room. In different places along the walls stood ornamental reindeer, painted white and webbed in the theme colours while a string quartet played on the staircase.

Yuuki looked over the room, impressed. It was perfect.

She was wearing a black evening gown, strapless with a sweetheart neck and detailed across the waist with white beads. Her hair was up in a soft bun with a white hairpiece across the back. It was simple and elegant, perfect for her.

Fortunately though, it was warm inside.

The host club members were all dressed in black tuxes with blue ties - all were occupied with various young ladies and a dance floor. Yuuki watched them and smiled softly, Hunny's feet didn't even touch the floor when he danced and Mori was always standing by, grave and silent as per usual. Like the big brother Hunny never had. Tamaki was spinning a redhead around while Haruhi looked awkward with her partner, who was also a girl but ignorant to the fact that her host was as well. The twins were playing the 'Which one is Hikaru' game with a large gaggle of followers, all of which were dressed in pastels.

Kyoya appeared at Yuuki's side from nowhere. His previous guest had been pulled off by a group of friends to gush about the evening.

"It's nice" Yuuki said softly

"You look lovely tonight" Kyoya turned full to her

The girl didn't blush or react like the others "You don't have to host me, you know that?"

"I know, so do you"

Yuuki turned to him "I don't like men playing tricks"

"Who's playing?"

They had been playing with each other since they first met; they were to each other a giant jigsaw that seemed to have missing pieces and pieces with pictures to yet be revealed.

Kyoya took her hand "Dance with me"

Yuuki's eyebrows went up "I can see at least one problem with that" the walking brace was tight around her leg.

Kyoya tugged her hand and pulled her onto the edge of the floor "Problems can be fixed"

The girl looked away from him. She didn't want to be toyed with like all the other girls in the room, but something about Kyoya's nature was different. Now that he was away from the other girls he seemed...changed, open even. He put his arm firmly around Yuuki's waist and lifted her up, settling her so that her feet were on top of his.

The girl gave a small cry of surprise and objection "I'm going to crush your feet"

"Don't be stupid" he said before moving into the waltz that had begun.

"I...uh...get motion sickness?"

"Nice try" Kyoya smiled and looked over her head at the rest of the room.

Yuuki shut up and focused on staying balanced on Kyoya's feet.

"This takes stepping on someone's feet while dancing to a whole new level" She said after a minute

"Stop complaining" Kyoya replied softly

Yuuki stared up at him and couldn't hold his gaze "Okay"

The dance ended and Kyoya lifted her off his feet "No damage"

For some reason, the girl felt disappointed that she was apart from him. She felt cold not being pressed close to someone and when Kyoya let her hand go it felt like some of her had left with him. Yuuki was confused. She didn't understand why she wanted to be near him or why she wanted to discover the innermost workings of his mind. She shook her head and tried to banish the thought but they wouldn't leave. Across the room, Kyoya was smiling and talking to a pretty blonde. She was laughing at what he was saying and Yuuki felt a strange sensation of jealousy tingle through her.

She shocked herself at her latest revelation.

An hour later Yuuki decided she needed some air. She had thought herself into an impasse and wasn't getting anywhere by arguing with herself. It was cold outside, but not exceptionally so. Yuuki stared at the sky; it was covered with snow clouds, sagging under their weight. The girl switched her view to the expanse that the balcony looked over. From it she should have been able to see as far as the Ootori mansion but couldn't in the dark.

The dark. It was cold and dark and she didn't know what to think.

"Are you alright?" A familiar voice

Yuuki turned "Yeah, I had a bit of a headache"

"You suck at lying" Kyoya said standing beside her

"Aren't you hosting?"

"Taking a break, all of those girl's brain cells die alone."

"That's a blonde joke" Yuuki kept normal conversation but inside she was going insane with confusion and an emotion she couldn't name

Kyoya smiled and pushed his glasses up "You're not cold?"

Snow was getting stuck in Yuuki's hair, the white contrasting against the dark colouring. "It's bearable"

He frowned "You don't have to grin and bear things you know"

Yuuki looked away from him and went to say something but the words died on her lips.

Kyoya looked at her, the girl's arms were wrapped around each other and her hands latched just above the elbow. Her nose was taking on a red undertone.

"Let's get you inside" he said, putting his hand on the small of her back and guiding her back inside.

Yuuki put her walking brace down on an icy patch and slipped. She braced herself for a hard landing on a cold surface, she didn't even cry out. The hand slid from the small of her back and firmly rested on her waist, the arm attached sitting where the hand had been.

Kyoya caught her fall and pulled her up, Yuuki crashed into him instead of crashing into the floor. They stood as they had been before when they were dancing, only her feet were on the floor and her hands gripped to the fabric on his shoulders in fright. Yuuki let go of her grasp on Kyoya's suit. She glanced up surprised to find his face so close to hers.

"Are you alright?" he asked softly

Yuuki could feel his breath on her cheek "Yes, thank you"

Her reply was quiet, but he heard her well enough. For a long moment, neither moved. They just stood in the snow and looked at each other.

Yuuki felt something warm on her neck. Kyoya traced his thumb in a line across the front of her throat before settling just below her jaw where the other fingers rested below. Yuuki looked him in the eye but he wasn't looking back. His eyes were heavily lidded and he was leaning closer to her.

The girl didn't know what to do. This sort of thing had never happened to her before. She exhaled and felt her own breath wash of Kyoya's face and mix with his before rushing back against her. His mouth lingered just above hers. He ran his nose down the side of her own and held her ever so slightly tighter. Yuuki closed her eyes; a whole colony of butterflies had hatched in her stomach and she no longer cared for the cold.

Kyoya kissed her. It was soft, lingering and sweet. His fingers moved slightly behind her neck as he pulled himself to linger above her, just as he had moments before. Yuuki opened her eyes and found herself staring into Kyoya's, neither of them broke the gaze. She could still feel him breathing on her, the warmth spilling from her face and dripping down her neck.

He smelled like peppermints.

Yuuki extended her neck the short distance and pressed her lips to his once again. Kyoya felt her relax against him. She smelled like white rose and sandalwood and she kissed gently, with care but without caution. They pulled apart and stared at each other, nothing was said. Nothing needed to be said. He wasn't being a host and she wasn't arguing with herself anymore. They just were and stood there just being. Pressed against the other in silence and wondering when it all started. Yuuki would have put it down to the day in they did homework together for the first time, Kyoya would have said the day in Zero's stall. In the silence though they knew it wouldn't be an open relationship. He was a host. They lived in the same house. Yuuki had decided a long time ago to not put herself in the way of temptation and living within a few meters of the man she was falling for was going to be difficult.

"You can't move out" Kyoya broke the silence and pressed his mouth to her head, he had read her thoughts again.

"Then promise" she said quietly "...let's not get into that situation"

He respected and understood her "I promise"

Inside they both knew that just the words of a promise might not suffice. They were young, they were falling for each other and, to be honest, were both a little reckless. They knew that with school, the club, riding and final year approaching that their relationship would not be as much as they both wanted it to be. In the snow they decided silently to keep things the way they were, Kyoya hosting, Yuuki instructing and both of them doing homework together. This would be a secret. They would create little moments to cherish until they were both free.

Yuuki pressed her nose into Kyoya's neck, he was warm.

Kyoya let her stay there for moment before letting her waist go and finding a cold hand. Wrapping his fingers around Yuuki's palm he tugged her softly to the door. She was freezing even if she didn't realise it.

"Inside" he put his other hand on the small of her back and ushered her back to the party.

"Can I slip again?" Yuuki asked

Kyoya smiled "If you like"

Before she could find a piece of ice he had pressed his lips to hers again. Yuuki liked the non-business Kyoya allot. She liked the business one to, but the non-business one was even better. The private man no one saw but those he let into his walls.

Kyoya liked that now he knew the way through Yuuki's mazes. Even so, he wanted to walk through them forever.

"You kiss by the book" Yuuki quoted

"Don't compare us to them" he replied softly "we're not a tragedy"

She felt him squeeze her hand before letting it go.

When she looked at him later in the night he had put on his masquerade of host, but now that she knew the way through his walls, Yuuki could see something warm glowing from deep within the business persona and tolerated dalliances with silly girls.

Yuuki was the only girl Kyoya would truly smile for and dance with for a profit beyond monetary value.

Remember those walls I built
Well baby they're tumbling down
And they didn't even put up a fight
They didn't even make a sound
I found a way to let you in
But I never really had a doubt
Standing in the light of your halo
I got my angel now

It's like I've been awakened
Every rule I had you breakin'
It's the risk that I'm takin'
I ain't never gonna shut you out

Everywhere I'm looking now
I'm surrounded by your embrace
Baby I can see your halo
You know you're my saving grace
You're everything I need and more
It's written all over your face
Baby I can feel your halo
Pray it won't fade away

I can feel your halo (halo) halo
I can see your halo (halo) halo
Woah...

Hit me like a ray of sun
Burning through my darkest night
You're the only one that I want
Think I'm addicted to your light
I swore I'd never fall again
But this don't even feel like falling
Gravity can't forget
To pull me to the ground again

Feels like I've been awakened
Every rule I had you breakin'
The risk that I'm takin'
I'm never gonna shut you out

I can feel your halo (halo) halo
I can see your halo (halo) halo

(Halo, Beyonce, 2009)

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You know the drill. Rate and review.

P.S – I've never written anything remotely romantic before. I hope that was alright.