Haruhi glanced at Takashi seated at the little armchair with a book open in his hand, he had been almost overbearing in his expectance to carry everything Haruhi bought. She'd given up having him stand anywhere but at the door while she visited a few vendors for the party after the vacation as he would then stand directly behind her. She waited to see him flip the page with his thumb not even bothering to use his other hand. Glancing at her own hand holding her pen she pondered how big his hands might be in comparison.
Five days had gone by quietly, she took up cleaning out her office for much of it making calls back and forth to other vendors as well as prepping the guest list that had been given to her the day before. There were several names she didn't recognize and only a handful of names from their previous parties. One such trio of names had been noted to receive a high status seating arrangement and their own kitchen staff and attendants to them. Haruhi had been having invitations made but wasn't sure how to send them without their courier staff.
"Morinuzuka-sama...?" He was attentive in half a second. This still flustered her how easily he'd drop what he was doing if she so much as moved. "How will I send the invitations?" She was getting more familiar with the minute changes in his expressions spending this much time with him, not that it made her feel at ease. He smiled gently turning over his book.
"It will be taken care of." He had started to meet her eyes which only further flustered her, she'd only just gotten used to him being in the room and tailing her from the moment she woke up to when she turned in but each day he seemed to push her limit a little further. She wondered briefly if he was missing Mitsukuni's ever needy presence. She nodded flipping open the ledger she used most and reading through some notes on undocumented purchases.
Every ounce of her wanted to just ask Takashi about the many secrets that Tamaki and Kyouya harboured in the mansion. They'd barely spoken another word about the incident from before, but Haruhi wondered often about the events of that night. She had been secretly scouring old ledgers and prior maids notebooks and something had caught her attention. The one she followed should've been from years ago while everyone in the mansion were children given Haruhi was the same age as the twins, but there was never mentions of tutors or nanny's working on staff. Nor had there been mentions of infants being brought to the mansion in the years prior.
The most confusing detail was how far back the notebooks went, considering this was not the home of the main family it could only prove that something here didn't follow the rules she'd believed to exist in the world. But she couldn't figure out how. She jotted a note, the strange behaviour about the gun and why she had been asked to carry it, the long line of prior maids notes that never mentioned children being housed here or babies being brought, and- "Stop searching."
Haruhi jumped finding Takashi standing over her his hand covering hers to stop her writing, some of the envelopes of invitations fell to the floor. She knew he was quiet but how easily he got in front of her without her noticing was terrifying. She could see he looked concerned, if it was for her or the secrets she was searching for she wasn't sure. "...I can't help it." She whispered. His expression fell slightly at her words. It felt like they were paused for eternity there her heart pounding in her ears. His hand was ginormous over her own, she glanced down at it in a brief moment of clarity and he let her go.
Just as she had gathered herself to look up at him there was a knock at the door. Flustered once again she closed her notebook and gathered the fallen invitations. Takashi's face went emotionless as he crossed the room to open it. "Well, well, well would you look at that." Kyouya side eyed Takashi as he entered the room. Haruhi stood grabbing her notebook and moving from the desk. Something felt off, Kyouya radiated a near suffocating energy.
"Perfect you're nearly done the invitations. I will have my team retrieve them for delivery." He noted something down of his own seating himself at her desk. He looked, somehow dishevelled but dignified, it unnerved her further. "I've come to inquire full details about the budget and to be sure that the three lovely ladies from Lobelia are well taken care of." Haruhi nodded flipping open to her notes on the party.
Kyouya grilled her for 3 hours over details on the party, she'd need to contact the florist to change the table arrangements for the three women of Lobelia. Something about the name Lobelia struck Haruhi as familiar but she couldn't be sure why, however after Takashi's sudden plea she pushed it behind her for the moment. She yawned finishing the seal on the final invitation. Takashi had lost his prior comforting look and was stood near the door in perfect silence. He'd refused to sit again after Kyouya had come in. Another thing she would need to ignore for the moment.
"I'd like to turn in for the night, the invitations are complete." Takashi said nothing simply turning to open her doors. She felt a sting in her chest at how distant he felt from her, despite barely having any conversation with the man she felt he'd been the most comfortable to be around. Now that he was acting like a servant she felt isolated. Locking her notebook in her desk she stood selecting an easy book to read before leading the way out.
"Goodnight Morinozuka-sama" He didn't speak and she refused to let this bother her further. She'd heard his warning but she couldn't sit still for too long with so much going on inside her head. Locking her door she crossed to her bed. Things to think about later.
So university and work full time is a heck of a lot of things to do. But I finally completed this chapits like I wanted, well shorter than I anticipated but I just couldn't get the feel I want with more. I ripped it to bits and tried to write it about 6 different times, but there's a direction I'm going and I needed some tension build. Updates will be sporadic as I deal with medical, work and homework related obligations. I hope you're all warm and cozy, its been very cold here.