"Whoa-ho! That's a pretty snazzy looking lunch you've got there, Kyon!", Taniguchi said, as I opened the lunch that Haruhi had made me.

I just decided to change things up, is all, I lied.

"Hmm? You sure some special girl didn't make it for you?", he pried.

Don't be ridiculous, I retorted, taking a bite of the fried chicken. Luckily, Haruhi didn't write anything embarrassing in the lunch or make a heart or something. I guess I know her well enough to assume she wouldn't do something like that, which is why I opened it up without hesitation. Haruhi and I may be closer now, but that still hasn't changed how dysfunctional and awkward she is with Romance. She wouldn't be so open about it. Thinking about this whole situation over again, I've realized that Haruhi has probably never had anything like this before. I mean...I haven't either...but that's beside the point. Haruhi may have dated a bunch of guys in Middle School, but I think this is the first time she's ever legitimately taken an interest in someone.

...Taken interest in me...it still feels strange admitting that. I've known for a long time, I guess. I just never wanted to admit it. The thought of being together with her...was incomprehensible to me. Now...it was a reality. Well...almost. I guess that should be something that makes me happy. I've had a few days to adjust to this whole situation, but it's still pretty alien to me. Ah...no pun intended. Koizumi was right though. Meeting time travelers, espers, and aliens; getting trapped in a monochromatic world filled with giant monsters; even skirting by death a few times. Sure. Why not? But, Haruhi and I...being 'close' like this? I never really thought I'd see the day. I don't think I ever wanted to. I guess I have to ask myself if I'm happier now than I was before. I'm not necessarily...unhappy. I did make this choice for myself, after all. I'm in no place to complain. I guess I was just expecting this whole ordeal to feel more natural.

It seems we're starting to get a better understanding of our relationship at this point, though I certainly wouldn't consider us "dating", yet. We've exchanged a few romantic gestures, but this situation is still pretty strange to us both. I wonder if it would have been easier if I asked some other girl out...but...I chose Haruhi. I'm the one who asked her out. I guess...I really do like her. It feels almost painful to admit that, but it was something I had to face at this point. Like a cancerous tumor, she grew on me.

Well...she wasn't that bad. That was a bit unfair of me. She was...different. But, I liked different. She wasn't perfect, but nobody is. As I ate the lunch, though, I remembered just how amazing of a chef Haruhi was. I didn't know if she would make lunch for me often, but even just having something this good every once in awhile was a blessing. One of the perks of being close to her, I guess.

Perks...huh?

That slider guy mentioned 'perks' when he was first suggesting this whole thing to me. But...anything more than what's going on is unfathomable to me right now. Haruhi and I would never do any lovey dovey stuff. That's just not the kind of person she is. I really don't think she'd be capable of handling something so intimate. With how isolated she's always been and how unconventionally her mind works, I think it's going to take a while before we can finally settle into this whole thing. Maybe then we can really be considered "dating". But, on top of that...she isn't interested in that stuff, right? She certainly doesn't seem like it. She's said in the past that she gets in the mood for stuff like that, but she never attempted to do anything about it. Now that she has someone to show that affection towards...would she show it?

Or maybe...maybe she'll just keep hiding it or something...

I did...kiss her, once. It was how I was able to escape that closed space. I guess that wouldn't have worked if it didn't make her happy. I guess looking at it that way, she wouldn't dislike doing that kind of stuff. But...she would never willingly agree to it. At least, not in her current mindset. I don't think I'd be comfortable with it either. Our relationship could be best described as a 'romantic gray zone' at the moment. Neither of us are really sure where to go or how to proceed. It's not something either of us have truly experienced before. Because of that, we're sort of stuck in a singularity of sorts. But, maybe taking it slow like this is really the best way to handle it. Rushing into it so suddenly...I feel like it would hurt Haruhi more than it would help. And there's no way I'd willingly let her be hurt, just for my own selfish satisfaction. Not now, anyway.

So, after class, I headed right to the clubroom. Alone, this time. And honestly? It felt a bit better that way. Whenever Haruhi and I found ourselves alone, it felt uneasy. It was probably because both of us want more from this situation, but don't know if we should proceed or not. Neither of really had the courage to make a big move. Haruhi has been making small efforts to push things along, and I've gladly accepted most of them, but she still isn't being completely honest. I think it would be more out of character for her to admit she's doing something out of the kindness of her heart for me. I haven't really done much in the way of moving things along, but that's mostly because I don't want to push her any further than she's ready to go. Not only because I don't want her to be hurt, but if her mood or psychological state gets upset, then it could spell trouble for the whole world.

I knocked on the clubroom door, expecting to hear a soft "Come in!", but all I heard was Koizumi. I guess he happened to be there alone. Well...besides Nagato. But, she was more like an accessory to the room. It would be more strange for her not to be here.

No one else is here?

"Nobody except Miss Nagato and I.", Koizumi smiled, "I believe Miss Asahina is organizing some things with Miss Tsuruya. As for Miss Suzumiya..."

Haruhi said she needed to take care of some things before she came to the clubroom.

"Ah, I see.", he said, acknowledging the situation, "Well then, how about a nice game of chess? I'm sure we'll have time to talk while we play."

What made him think that I wanted to talk?

"I just find that we usually have interesting discussions when left to our own devices. And...Since Miss Suzumiya isn't here..."

Yeah...I get it. We could talk about how everything was going.

"I must say, it's good to see you being so faithful to Miss Suzumiya.", Koizumi commented while setting up the pieces.

I had no idea what he was talking about, I told him.

"I just notice that you've been looking less at Miss Asahina and more at Miss Suzumiya. That's all.", he explained, "I'm sure Miss Suzumiya has noticed it, as well. It may be why she's so chipper lately. And it may also be why she's treated Miss Asahina so differently."

It wasn't intentional, I replied.

"Well, that just makes it all the more genuine now, doesn't it?", he chuckled as we began our game. I guess he was right. Typically I'd just disagree and throw it in his face, but there was no reason for that anymore. I asked Haruhi out, after all. I basically admitted to liking her. I realize that I do like her...but there are definitely some things she could improve on. She could be a little more honest with herself, for starters. She's going out of her way to move our relationship along, but she never admits to doing it. I mean, would it kill her to be a little more genuine? As I was contemplating all that, Koizumi moved his King on his second turn.

Moving a King from a safe position? Was that supposed to be a joke?

"I was just thinking that the King should set an example for his men, is all.", he replied.

That was fine and all, but it's still not a wise move.

"True!", he agreed, laughing, "Perhaps I'd just like to spice things up. Seeing you and Miss Suzumiya having so much fun...I think I might be a little jealous."

Yeah, well I think he'd be surprised of how easy it would be for him to get a girlfriend. Not that it mattered to me, or anything.

"I suppose you're right. But, having a secret identity would definitely be a tough thing to maintain while dating, don't you think?", he added, honestly.

"I guess so." So, Koizumi and I continued our game, lightly chatting about various subjects, but also bits and pieces about Haruhi and I. Thinking about it, Koizumi really was my only confidant when it came to my relationship with Haruhi. That kind of made me feel pathetic for some reason. You'd think after all my time in High School, I might have multiple friends that I could share something like that with, but Koizumi was all I had. With that thought, there was a soft knock on the door. There was only one person it could be.

"Hello, everyone! Sorry I'm a little late!", Miss Asahina apologized, opening the door.

"No worries. We were just enjoying a game.", Koizumi assured her.

"I'll prepare some tea!", she smiled, brightly.

As Koizumi mentioned earlier, something else that's changed since I asked Haruhi out was her treatment of Miss Asahina. Ever since then, Haruhi isn't requiring her to wear any outfits. She's been treating her more like a friend than a toy. That was definitely a welcome change. Maybe it really was because she didn't feel that she needed to compete for my attention anymore. Miss Asahina wasn't an obstacle between her and I, so she had no reason to vent her frustration. It definitely makes it easier on me, but I was glad that Miss Asahina had some breathing room. Perhaps due to that, she had been in a lot brighter mood herself.

After Miss Asahina gave us some tea, Koizumi and I continued our game. We didn't have much time, though, because only a few minutes later, Haruhi burst through the door, saying,

"Sorry to keep you waiting, guys!"

"No problem at all, Miss Suzumiya.", Koizumi smiled. As I sipped my tea, I didn't notice the strange silence until I saw Koizumi smiling at me. Glancing to my left, I saw Haruhi looking at me with a blank expression, as if waiting for me to say something.

"Uhm...w-welcome back.", I said, fumbling with my words. With that utterance, she lit up once more.

"Well, I think it's time we get to making some decorations! I ran out and grabbed all the materials for us, so we can start right away!", she exclaimed, as she set the bag down on the table and began unloading all sorts of arts and crafts items.

You mean you aren't gonna send me to do the legwork?, I snarked. She paused, rather unexpectedly I might add. She didn't throw an immediate comeback at me, telling me that I was stupid or anything. She just...paused, if only briefly.

"You can't always trust a grunt to do everything. Sometimes you have to do something yourself if you want it done right!", she replied, taking on that high and mighty persona once again. Both Koizumi and Miss Asahina were probably just as shocked as I was. She wasn't going to admit it in front of everyone, but she actually gave me a break for once. Normally, she'd send me to run all the errands...but...this was a welcome favor. Realizing that she did this out of the kindness of her heart, I thanked her. Koizumi and Miss Asahina smiled warmly at our exchange, but Haruhi brushed it off, per usual.

"It's not like I'm going to stop sending you to do stuff!", she bantered, "You're the lowest on the Brigade ranking system! You're required to do the hard work! Jeez..."

Yeah, yeah, I replied, waving it off.

Based on the reactions from Koizumi and Miss Asahina, I think that the Slider was right. I guess Koizumi was right, too. Haruhi and I being together like this...it really did make things a lot better for everyone involved. Haruhi's little bits of kindness were tossed my way from time to time. Even though it was only directed at me, the whole clubroom felt a lot warmer during those times. I guess...it was because we were really good friends. It made everyone happy to see their friends being happy together. And I realized that everyone in the room was as close to a best friend as I had. I'm sure it was the same for Haruhi. No...especially for Haruhi. For two whole weeks, we worked on decorations and planning for the stage show. And even though the work was a bit monotonous, the atmosphere in the clubroom was warm and positive. It made it a lot easier to deal with all the work we put in.

On the first Saturday, I decided that I wasn't satisfied with how I was doing things. I don't want to pressure Haruhi into moving too fast, but I also didn't want her to be the only person trying to make this thing work. So, after we got home, I looked on the internet for anything interesting happening in our area. It just so happened that the perfect kind of attraction was right by us. So, I called Haruhi up and invited her to spend the following afternoon together. But, this time, it would be a lot better. There was a new attraction in the next town over. A sort of museum of occult and strange things. Conspiracies and theories, unsolved mysteries and world wonders. All the kind of stuff that Haruhi loved to delve into. It was a perfect time to thank her for all the effort she was putting in, and a time for me to show that I also cared about making this whole thing work.

I guess it was because of how good we were all feeling by working together that I found so much courage, and had the will and drive to make things better between Haruhi and I. I wasn't sure how receptive she would be to it, but I wanted to try.

"Are you serious?! There's something like that right by us?!", she shouted.

Yup. So, I figured we could use a little break from all the work we've been putting in, I told her, she's been working really hard, after all. Even though she's the Brigade leader.

Even though she tried her best to hide it, I could hear her sigh happily on the other end. It feels embarrassing to say, but it made my heart skip a beat, I guess.

"Are you inviting the other Brigade members as well?", she asked, taking on a curious tone.

No, this was just an outing for the grunt and the Brigade leader, I assured her.

She paused, then returned to her confident tone.

"Hmph! Very well, then! I commend you for finding something so useful! I suppose I should I accompany you as a reward!", she boasted.

I would be honored, I told her.