Author's notes: This takes place between the scenes of "Someday in the Rain". Further notes are spoiler-ridden, so I've put them on the bottom. The characters and milieu of this fan fiction work are property of Nagaru Tanigawa, Kyoto Animation, and Funimation.

I Was Asleep for this Part, Too

Haruhi was having a terrific day. The best day she'd had in weeks, in fact, and when she thought it over, there was only one thing that could explain why she was having such unprecedented fun: Because Kyon was not around.

That thought hit her as she was walking back to the clubroom with Mikuru and Koizumi, and it was a revelation. Of course she had planned out the situation, sending Kyon off to fetch a space heater so that she could take the photos she wanted for the DVD bonus features without his interference, but she hadn't anticipated just how liberated she would feel without him around. For once, she could do whatever she liked with Mikuru, without his nagging objections interrupting the fun.

It had been a blast.

She saw now that she'd allowed Kyon's presence to be too pervasive. He sat in front of her the whole school day, except for lunch break, and then he was in the SOS Brigade with her for the afternoon, and she was even in the habit of calling him on weekends and vacations for SOS Brigade activities. She had needed a break from him.

Then again, maybe more than just a few hours' break was called for. Being able to talk to someone about whatever was on her mind when she was in class was nice, but when it came to the SOS Brigade, having Kyon was like carrying an anchor with you. Okay, so his contribution to the SOS Brigade wasn't zero, but anyone could do the stuff he did, and in the meantime, he was seriously inhibiting their momentum. Maybe all she needed to do to kick her life into high gear was kick Kyon out of the SOS Brigade.

"You know what the SOS Brigade is missing?" she announced to her two companions.

"Um..." Mikuru said, with a touch of fearfulness.

"Personally, I had been thinking of how wonderfully complete the SOS Brigade seems now," Koizumi offered. "In addition to an organized system for our mission of finding aliens, espers, and time travelers, we now have an awe-inspiring project on our figurative resume."

Haruhi disregarded that. "We need a fat person!"

"Ah."

"Oh?"

It was strange to hear only their monosyllabic responses to one of her grand proposals, instead of some sharp-tongued criticism. "Every group that encounters the paranormal has a chubby character to provide visual variety, easy comic relief, and a touch of sympathy," she explained to them. "The trouble with the SOS Brigade up until now is that we're all too stylish looking, except for Kyon. And no one is going to sympathize with someone who looks apathetic and bored all the time."

She grasped the doorknob of the SOS Brigade clubroom. "In fact, I think we can do without -"

When she flung open the door, the sight that awaited in the clubroom momentarily struck her to stock-still silence.

Not out of shock. There was nothing surprising about what she saw in the clubroom. She had expected, or at least anticipated, every element of the scene. She just hadn't anticipated how it would make her feel.

It was only a second, though. Neither Mikuru or Koizumi noticed her brief halt, or at least, didn't think enough of it to comment on it as they shuffled into the clubroom.

"Oh, look Miss Suzumiya!" Mikuru whispered in an adoring hush. "Kyon brought the space heater."

"Of course he did," Haruhi muttered, a little embarrassed that she was following Mikuru's example and keeping her voice low so as not to wake Kyon. "If he couldn't even follow simple orders, there'd be no hope for him."

"Oh, but it was such a long errand you sent him on, with a heavy heater to carry for half of it – you have to give him credit for that. Look, he's all tuckered out."

The directive to look was unnecessary. Haruhi was in fact trying not to look at him too fixedly. "It's his own fault for not exercising properly."

"He always works so hard for us," Mikuru sighed, hands clasped over her heart. "No matter what the task, there's nothing Kyon wouldn't do for the SOS Brigade."

"Except stay awake when he knows his Brigade leader will be back soon."

Koizumi approached the coat rack. "Miss Suzumiya, it's getting late, and Miss Asahina still has to change back into her regular clothes. Are we done for the day, or is there something you would like me to help with?"

Haruhi didn't know about Koizumi sometimes. She had already said they were done and were heading back to get their stuff. "Yeah, you can go, Koizumi."

She looked back towards Kyon and saw Mikuru gently poking his cheek, smiling fondly. "Hey!" she hissed. "What do you think you're doing?"

Mikuru recoiled in fear. "I-I-I was j-just -"

"Let him sleep. Can't you see he's exhausted?"

"But I need to get changed..."

Haruhi leaned towards her and grinned widely. "Then you'll just have to keep a lot quieter than you usually are when I'm changing you, won't you?"

Mikuru quivered and whimpered.

With a final adjustment of his coat, Koizumi smiled and waved. "I'll leave you two to your privacy. See you both tomorrow!"

He closed the door behind him, and Mikuru was at her mercy.

Mikuru really did make much less of a fuss than usual, just the occasional squirming and vocalizations which were limited to whimpers and soft gasps.

This corroborated Haruhi's growing suspicion that Mikuru's dramatic struggles and distress during changing were strictly for the benefit of the boys. She just wanted to maintain her image was a pure and helpless damsel. Of course there was no such thing as a genuinely pure damsel, but guys were gullible like that.

Through it all, Kyon remained in sweet slumber. She didn't trust that, and when the undressing of Mikuru worked its way around to the windowed side of the clubroom – the side Kyon was facing away from – Haruhi was struck by inspiration.

She winked at Mikuru, who was now down to her underwear, the waitress costume in a heap on the floor. "Now, Mikuru, let's get that bra off!"

"H-huh? B-but I don't need it off to get back into my uniform – Ah!" she gasped, an impressively restrained response given that Haruhi had just grabbed her bra strap.

"Don't you know that you've got to air them out now and then? Ooo, yeah, look at those beauties!" Haruhi said, without making any move to remove the bra. She winked again at Mikuru, who looked utterly confused. "Let me get a feel of them... yeah, nice and firm! Hey, Mikuru, how about we make out while we're at it? You're just so kissable!"

"Wh-what? Please... no..."

Haruhi shot a glance back at Kyon. He still had his head on the table, facing the opposite direction, his breathing low and steady.

"Huh." She released Mikuru's bra strap. "He really is asleep."

"D-Didn't you say he was?"

"Yeah, but I thought he'd perk up if girls started changing in here, no matter how quiet we were." She retrieved Mikuru's school uniform from the hanger.

"But Kyon wouldn't peek at us! He respects us more than that. He's -"

"Don't be a fool. I know for a fact that he's watched us changing multiple times." Girls were gullible like that too, it seemed. There was no such thing as a genuinely decent guy, but they wanted to believe there was. That she would believe that of someone as openly disrespectful as Kyon... She yanked Mikuru's arms forward so that she could pull the uniform onto her. "You shouldn't be so trusting of boys, Mikuru. They'll all ogle your naked body the moment they get the chance."

Once the changing was finished, Mikuru breathed a sigh of relief, gathered up her things, and headed for the door.

"Hold on." Haruhi didn't know why, but she kept looking at Kyon. He seemed... "Kyon looks cold. Put your cardigan over him."

"But Miss Suzumiya, it's much colder outside, and I have to walk home..."

"So you think Kyon deserves to be cold? You were just saying how hard he worked to bring us this heater!" She sniffed and added, "You'll be fine. You have your coat, and once you get walking, your body burns enough calories to keep you warm. I once went for a run in minus ten degrees weather, and by the time I was done, I was sweating."

Mikuru fidgeted. "Oh. And Kyon is resting there, so he..." She took off her cardigan and laid it over Kyon, just as ordered. Well, maybe with a touch of tenderness that she in no way indicated to Mikuru and was in no way deserved. Haruhi supposed she could let that slide.

"Pull it up more on the left side. Covering both his shoulders is the most important thing."

Mikuru did as she said, then stood back and clasped her hands just below her bosom. "He's so cute sleeping there, isn't he, Miss Suzumiya? Don't you wish you could curl up with him, and just have a cozy little nap?" Then she went pink. "Um... I mean..."

"Great, now I can't get that nauseating image out of my head." She could imagine how that would play out, too. His eyes would crack open, and...

"What are you doing, Haruhi?"

She drew back. "I, uh... I was just keeping warm! What, does that bother you?"

He got to his feet and glowered down at her. "Yeah, it bothers me. You could have asked permission for a change, instead of just taking whatever you want."

"I wasn't just taking! I was keeping you warm, too!"

"You're telling me you had intentions that weren't purely selfish? If your goal was to insult my intelligence, you sure have succeeded. And incidentally, I'd rather freeze than share your body heat. Where's my scarf?"

Stupid Kyon.

"Miss Suzumiya?" Haruhi blinked and noticed that Mikuru was now standing very close to her. "Miss Suzumiya, we have to wake Kyon up now, don't we? We can't just leave him here..."

How strange. Just a few minutes ago, she had been thinking of how much better it was when Kyon wasn't around. Now all she wanted was to have Kyon to herself for a half hour.

"Don't worry," she told Mikuru with a smile. "I'll take care of Kyon and lock up the clubroom. You can go home now."

"Oh! You mean, you..."

"Kyon won't sleep much longer. If he's still sleeping into dinner time I'll box his ears, but it won't come to that, I'm positive. And there's no sense in us both waiting around just to lock up."

"Yes... That's true. Well, you and Kyon have a good night, Miss Suzumiya."

Mikuru scurried out in her adorably mouse-like manner. The door shut behind her, not too loudly but still definitively final, and Haruhi and Kyon were left alone.

Haruhi got out her camera and took a few photos of her slumbering underling. You just couldn't have too many photos of that face, especially asleep. When he slept, it was like the mask of cynicism fell away and you could see the dreamer he was deep inside.

Of course that wasn't really the case; all that was happening was that the lines of his face were relaxing. It created the appearance of him being less grim and more at ease and content, but really had nothing to do with the inner workings of his mind and heart. But Haruhi could still pretend.

After she had obtained shots from all the major angles, she put her camera away, took out the book she was in the middle of, and sat down to read while waiting for him to wake up.

The ensuing minutes were pleasant. She had been enjoying the book, so it was fun and even a little exciting to sneak in an extra reading session with it. And in the background was the anticipation for Kyon waking up, for the moment when he would blink his eyes open, and...

...notice the cardigan on him.

Haruhi's fingers dug into the pages of her book as she suddenly saw what would happen then.

"What's this? Someone put their cardigan over me to keep me warm." A dopey smile came over his face. "How very thoughtful of Miss Asahina."

"Wait a second, what makes you think it was her?" Haruhi demanded.

"It's not hard to narrow it down. No one but the SOS Brigade ever goes into this room, and it can't have been you – you're wearing your cardigan. Not that I would believe you could ever be that thoughtful anyway."

She could say it was Yuki. No, wait, that was too risky. She didn't know when Kyon got back to the clubroom, when he fell asleep, or when Yuki left. If Yuki left while he was fetching the heater or asleep, it would be fine, but if he saw Yuki leave then he would know she was lying.

"Well, this decides me." Kyon clutched Mikuru's cardigan to his heart. "Now that I'm sure Miss Asahina returns my feelings, I'm going to ask her to go steady with me. And nothing you say or do can stop me. I don't care that I'm not worthy of her or give a damn about your stupid concerns that I'll defile her."

The pages crinkled in her hands. Aaaaugh! What have I done?

She grabbed hold of her wrist. Okay, okay, calm down. Just get that stupid cardigan off of him before he wakes up.

She set her book down and stood up from her chair. Then she took a breath to steady herself. Not allowing any further hesitation, she walked over to where Kyon slept.

He still looked so peaceful, so weary. It was a shame to have to let him catch cold – no, she couldn't think of that. She carefully reached for the cardigan to pull it off.

Wait. She paused, thinking. He would catch cold, probably very suddenly, no matter how careful she was removing the cardigan. That very likely would wake him up, and then he'd think...

"Haruhi? Were you putting this cardigan on me?"

"Wh-what? Where did you get a ridiculous idea like that?"

"Well, there's this cardigan that wasn't here before, and you're holding it..."

"It's not even my cardigan! I'm wearing mine, as you can plainly see."

"True, but then what are you doing with the one in your hands, if not putting it on me?"

"Um... Uh..."

"You could hardly have been taking it off me. That wouldn't make any sense." He smirked. "Unless Miss Asahina put it on me, and you didn't want me to know."

"Th-that's even more ridiculous! It's absurd!"

"Then as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle once said, once we have eliminated the absurdly ridiculous -"

"He said once you have eliminated the impossible, you illiterate nincompoop."

"Whatever. The truth is obvious. You care about me, a lot more than I care about you."

She dropped her hands and backed away from the cardigan like it was a mother bear. Then she heaved a frustrated growl.

Isn't there any way out of this stupid dilemma? If only I could leave the cardigan on him without him being able to guess whose it is, or at least not make such a big deal of it. I wish I could pile a dozen cardigans on top of him, so that each individual one would seem meaningless.

She fired off a puff of breath, thinking for a moment of how nice it was to be able to do that in the clubroom without seeing her breath.

...Wait a second, that's it! I can't put dozens of cardigans on him, but I can put mine on him, so he'll have two, and I'll tell him both Mikuru and Yuki put theirs on him. One person doing it is romantic, but if two people do it, you can't deny that it's just a gesture of friendship. And if he asks where my cardigan is, I'll tell him I gave mine to Yuki when she left because she didn't bring a coat. It's perfect!

It was a shame that Kyon didn't appreciate how brilliant she was, she reflected as she stripped off her cardigan. Though he did at least always back her up when she went through with her plans; that was something.

Taking great care, she again stepped forward, and feeling strangely like a mother tending to a favorite child, she spread her cardigan over Kyon's backside.

His eyes flickered.

END

Author's notes: The question of who put the other cardigan on Kyon has teased me for years. Nothing too special about that of itself (in fact, I'm far from the first to write a fanfic addressing the question), but I feel like the specific way it happened for me is unusual. I first thought Kyon had concluded that Asahina had put it on him. Pretty natural, given how lovestruck Kyon was with the "clubroom angel" at that time. But then someone edited the Haruhi Wiki to say that the episode implies the cardigan was left by Nagato, and I suddenly thought, "Wait, that's right. Doesn't Nagato turn to face Kyon after she gets up to leave?" Then I rewatched the episode, and found I was wrong on both counts, which is pretty startling considering that I had watched the episode three times before. Kyon's only comment about Asahina is how she changed while he was sleeping, and Nagato simply stands up from her chair without showing the slightest interest in Kyon. There are no obvious clues to who left the cardigan.

Thinking it over, it doesn't make a lot of sense for Nagato to be the culprit. Such an illogical gesture is out of character for her, and if she did want to put her cardigan on him, why would she wait so long? Kyon was freezing his butt off with Nagato sitting right there for quite a while. And I always liked the idea of Haruhi ordering someone else to put on the other cardigan; it compounds the already present irony of Kyon pondering about the mystery woman while standing right beside him is a girl who has just shown him an unprecedented sign of affection.

But there remained one glaring problem: Why would Haruhi put a cardigan on Kyon when there was already one there? Of course, that's a problem regardless of where the first cardigan came from, but it sticks out more if Haruhi was behind both. At this point I didn't really think I had a story on my hands here, so I took my time pondering this problem, and it was a long while before I looked at the situation from Haruhi's perspective and asked, what would have happened if she didn't put a second cardigan on him? Then I started to see a story.

That's kind of a long explanation for such a short story, but I like keeping a record of how my stories were born. They're my babies, after all.