Duet chapters 15 and 16
I'll do my best to keep things current here, but in case I can't, you can always find the latest chapters on FFN. Here's a link to my page: http://www.fanfiction.net/u/339792/Moonchild10
So if updates get a little slow, it's probably because they're all there ^^ I have to use the internet at the library, and so a lot of sites rarely work (like DA, for example)
The more Tamaki thought about it, the less sense it made. He paced furiously across the length of music room three with all the insanity of a man who does not understand the problem presented to him. He had asked to be excused from his final class of the day ten minutes early and now that he was doing what he had intended to do with the extra time- dig into his brain and figure out exactly what Haruhi was to him- he was at a complete loss.
"Come on, think," he demanded of his brain as he paced furiously, his feet starting to make a uniform trail of scuff marks on the pink tiles of music room three. "There has to be some way to figure this out!" he was starting to wonder, since the answer to his problem proved so elusive, if perhaps it was so obvious that it was staring him in the face. He struggled to move past his usual obliviousness and reach for the clarity just beyond, the patch of brilliant white light that held all the answers he was striving so hard for.
"How do I feel about her?" he asked aloud, pacing faster, arms flailing. "She certainly isn't a daughter to me anymore… but what is she? What is this feeling?"
Tamaki had never, despite all his prowess with dealing with the hearts of maidens, been in love. He had nothing to compare this feeling to, and so it confused him. Could it really be love, he wondered as he paced even more furiously across the length of his predestinated pondering area? His heart sped up at the thought of her face and for a moment he stopped pacing to clutch his chest.
"Love? Love? Can this really be love? I don't know if I…"
"Will you please quit that incessant pacing?" Kyouya asked him in a rather bored drawl as he closed the enormous door behind him. "You're leaving scuff marks and I just had that floor cleaned, you fool."
Kyouya always called him names when he was either in an extremely pleasant or an extremely foul mood, and it was impossible to tell which he was in today. There was no time for tact at the moment, however, and immediately Tamaki ran to the brunette, ringing his hands.
"Kyouya! I've been in here for just ages thinking and I… I… I don't know what I'm supposed to think!"
"What in the world are you going on about?" Kyouya asked, rather too happy for the situation, and it was then that Tamaki could tell that his mood was foul. However, he had no time to stop and think of ways to speak to the shadow king that would not irritate him further.
"Kyouya… am I in love with Haruhi?" he blurted, and for a moment he thought he actually saw Ootori Kyouya driven speechless. The two boys stared each other down for a moment, and then Kyouya smirked and turned away, moving toward his usual table and opening his laptop.
"I don't know, Tamaki. Are you?" he asked calmly, and Tamaki threw his hands in the air.
"If I knew, I wouldn't be asking you!" he shouted, and Kyouya gave him a look.
"Keep your voice down. I have a horrible headache."
"Kyouyaaaaaaa," Tamaki whined, grabbing his sleeve and tugging rather hard at the blue material. "You're not helping at all! Would it really be so terrible to help a friend in his direst hour of need?"
Kyouya sighed heavily and pushed his glasses farther up his nose. "I suppose not. What do you need help with?"
"I need help figuring out… how I feel about Haruhi! I've been thinking and thinking and I haven't come up with much!"
"Well, what have you come up with, then?" Kyouya sounded tired.
"I have one hypothesis, but I'm not sure how entirely accurate it is and-"
"If you wouldn't mind moving it along, it would be greatly appreciated. I have a lot of expenses to tally up."
"I think that I might be… in love with Haruhi."
"Oh really?" Kyouya looked up from his laptop and fixing Tamaki with an unreadable stare. He looked almost smug, and Tamaki clenched his fists.
"Don't act like this is the first you've heard of the idea! I asked you about it when you first came in, Kyouya!" Tamaki wailed, stomping his feet rather like a child. He flailed his arms a bit like a man gone mad and then began his pacing again, looking fairly rabid. "It's the only thing I can come up with, but I'm not sure if it's true! Up until recently I only saw her as my daughter so all these new feelings are… deeply confusing. I just don't know what to make of them! Kyouya, you know, right? Do I love her? Do I?"
Kyouya, obviously beginning to despair getting any work done, pushed his laptop shut and ignored Tamaki's screeches about how that was bad for the computer. "Tell me then, Tamaki; how do you feel when you're around her?"
Tamaki stopped pacing and twiddled his thumbs. "Good? Like… like I can do anything."
"What else? Do you have any physical symptoms?"
Tamaki began to feel like he was at the doctor's office. Kyouya certainly looked like a doctor, staring at him sternly over his glasses. Tamaki half expected him to start marking things down on a medical chart. "Well… my face gets hot, my hands shake and sweat, my heart hurts and won't stop fluttering, I stammer quite a bit, which is strange because usually I'm so eloquent, particularly around ladies!"
"I see. Is there anything else? Anything she makes you want to do?"
"Well… she makes me smile. And I… I want to kiss her. And I want to be with her all the time and hold her and… and…" Tamaki flushed heavily and clammed up, determined not to finish his sentence. Kyouya gave a little twinge of amusement but said nothing.
"Well…" for a moment, Kyouya paused, and Tamaki leaned forward, hanging on his every word, nearly dead from the suspense in the room. "I really have no firsthand experience but from what I can tell, love does seem to be a valid possibility. But in the end, it all really comes down to you, Tamaki. Think about it. You're king of the host club, aren't you? You know more about romance than anyone. So ask yourself now, do all of those things signify love to you?"
Tamaki paused, and swore he saw a million rainbow colors flash before his eyes, blinding him temporarily as he stumbled backward, his hands on his flushed cheeks and his mind spinning like a tornado. It was as though an atomic bomb had gone off in his heart. A million things burst and danced like flurries of petals inside his heart and head and he had to lean on a table to catch his breath and then stare blankly into the ceiling until everything swirling inside finally sorted itself out.
"I… I see…" he whispered in the same awestruck voice he had used upon seeing the image of Buddha on a piece of toast. "It's all so clear to me now. I can't believe I didn't realize it sooner! All the time this has been happening and I didn't see it at all until now!"
"Oh?" Kyouya asked, peering up at him from his chair. "And what, pray tell, is it?"
"I'm… in love with Haruhi. I'm in love with Haruhi! I'm in love! With Haruhi! I love Haruhi! Love, love, love!" a switch was flipped then, and Tamaki dissolved into rather girlish giggles, blushing heavily but smiling. "I would have thought this whole thing would be shocking or a little scary but… it's just… wonderful! Love feels wonderful, Kyouya! Everyone should get to feel like this! I love Haruhi! I have to tell the world! I can't hold this feeling inside! Not even for a moment! I have to tell her right now!" he made to sprint toward the door, but Kyouya's voice stopped him in his tracks.
"Now hold on just a minute," he said, and Tamaki froze midstep, not even breathing. "Don't you think you should take some time to think about this first? To get your head on straight? If you go bursting in on Haruhi like this and gush your feelings all over her, it will be rather overwhelming for her, and I can't imagine she'd like that at all. Why not take a bit to gain some perspective and figure out a tactful way to tell her without overpowering her? These feelings will still be here tomorrow."
"You're absolutely right!" Tamaki exclaimed, throwing a fist in the air. "I couldn't have possibly come up with a better idea! If I tell her tomorrow, then I'll have time to get everything all sorted out and it will be perfect! I'll spend all of tonight planning and then I'll give her the best love confession that is humanly possible. Oh, just you wait, Kyouya! It'll be absolutely perfect! I can see it now! Well, I'm off to prepare! Adieu, Kyouya!" Tamaki shouted, and Kyouya sighed. Ordinarily he would have made him stay and lectured him about the importance of keeping up his scheduled appointments with guests, but right now all he could do was stare rather fondly at Tamaki's retreating back and give a slightly amused smile.
"I'd say it's about time."
____________________________________
It was a typical Saturday in the Third Music Room, and the decibel level was rising to astronomical proportions. Seemingly without any thought of order, girls in fluffy yellow dresses moved gaily around the room, chattering and giggling at the affections of attractive boys clad in powder blue jackets. This was the way of Ouran Academy's ever-popular Host Club. They were handsome, they were charming, and they were the forbidden fruits of the academy. "Look, don't touch" was the rule the club's vice president had laid down several months earlier after a rather embarrassing incident had taken place, and it made the seven boys even more desirable. At that very moment, one Ootori Kyouya was standing slightly off to the side, grinding numbers and keeping a watchful eye on his boys.
"Good morning, Kyouya-senpai," Haruhi said pleasantly, coming up beside him with a tea tray. Briefly, the brunette's dark eyes slid over to the Host Club's resident female.
"Good morning, Haruhi," he replied. The girl's eyes were fixed on the controlled chaos of the scene before them, and together they watched the five other hosts attend to females in this whirlwind of splendor that was typical of them. "Finished with your guests, I see?"
"No," Haruhi admitted sheepishly. "I was just getting some tea and got caught up watching everybody."
Kyouya had to admit that it was rather easy to get caught up in all the magic and bustle of the club and the antics of the hosts, particularly Tamaki. At the moment he was poised on one of the ornate silk-upholstered sofas, extending a tray of sweets to a fawning girl with dark hair. The girls around him were positively melting, and it was rather fascinating to watch. Kyouya never failed to be amazed by Tamaki's display of undeniable people skills, particularly around women. He flashed his indigo eyes, moved his head so strands of golden hair slipped in front of them mysteriously, and generally played to the crowd of girls like a show dog. Observing him was almost like a school sport, and as with any sport, spectators were more than likely to be rewarded with some kind of bizarre surprise, a twist that would bring on gossip in Ouran's newspaper and mutters around the water cooler the next morning. He was fully anticipating, now that Tamaki had realized his feelings for Haruhi, for it to involve her today.
He was soon proved wrong. In this case, the twist was Suoh Yuzuru entering the third music room during club activities for the second time this year, looking more than a bit perplexed, his usually impeccable appearance rather rumpled with what looked to be stress. Kyouya had been chancing glances up at Tamaki and the others, but now he dropped all attention from the clipboard in his hands and focused it on the scene beginning to play out before him.
"I wonder what Tamaki's father is doing here," Haruhi remarked as the two of them watched Yuzuru approach Tamaki. "He doesn't usually come around the music room." she had to admit that though she was not generally a nosy kind of person, Haruhi was rather interested to know why Tamaki's father was coming in during Host Club hours looking so very stressed. Watching Yuzuru tap his son on the shoulder to get his attention and then lean in to whisper something, she was hit with a kind of strange dread. The look on Yuzuru's face made it obvious that something was wrong, and as she stood beside Kyouya in what was most likely the calm before the storm, a pang of worry for her friend shuddered through her. It was unexpected (knowing Tamaki and his father, whatever problem there might be was likely to be minor and the entire situation was most definitely being handled with more seriousness than was warranted), but it flashed through her all the same. This new protectiveness over Tamaki that had come with her rapidly budding feelings had a way of changing her reactions to anything involving the blonde, and it was a bit disconcerting.
"I'll be back in a minute!" Tamaki informed her, catching her eye as he followed his father toward the doors, all carefree energy as though he didn't notice the obvious stress his father carried himself with. "I suppose things will have to go on without me for now! Haruhi, Kyouya, will you two mind looking after my guests while I'm out?"
"I guess so," Haruhi replied for them, ignoring Kyouya's sigh from beside her. "Is everything okay, senpai?" their eyes locked, and Tamaki paused a bit too long before he started back out the door.
"I'm sure it is," Tamaki said with a wave of his hand, pausing again at the lurid pink double doors. "See you in a moment, Haruhi!" With that he was gone and Haruhi was left to half-reluctantly lead several of Tamaki's many female charges to the sofa she herself was occupying with Sakurazuka. She had earlier been surprised to note that Momoka had not showed up to club activities today. She had been present in class, and it was unlike her to simply skip coming. She had also seemed rather preoccupied and upset since third period, and it was good to take her mind off of Tamaki long enough to wonder about it.
"I wonder what Tamaki-kun's father wants to talk to him about…" Sakurazuka said conversationally, thanking Haruhi quickly for the tea and delicately taking one of the cups on the tray.
"He seemed upset. I wonder if there's something wrong. I suppose we'll just have to ask him when he gets back, won't we?" Ayame chimed in without breathing, staring thoughtfully into her glass. Marveling as always over Ayame's ability to speak sentences without air, Haruhi poured tea into both Ayame and Sakurazuka's cups as delicately as she could, hoping the girls wouldn't notice as she spilled a bit.
"It's probably nothing," she told them, more to assure herself than either of them, secretly. She could still not shake the feeling that things were about to become overwhelmingly bad for her senpai, and Haruhi's gut feelings were nearly always right. She could not deny how worried for him she was. "Maybe we should all just enjoy our tea?"
"Of course, Haruhi-kun!" agreed one of Tamaki's regulars whose name Haruhi could not quite place, and she and the other girls drank their tea and made rather comfortable small talk. Their conversation turned to classes and to what Haruhi had planned for the upcoming Sunday (namely, nothing), and that was that. Things progressed and everyone moved on, as was typical of any situation involving Tamaki; he was far too exhausting to occupy anyone's mind for too long. The club had closed, the girls had gone, and Haruhi had nearly forgotten about Tamaki completely when finally the blonde burst through the double doors, looking as though he had just witnessed the death of his best friend.
"Hey, tono, where have you been?" Hikaru droned, looking up from the comic book he and Kaoru were reading together.
"I don't want to talk about it!" the blonde declared, tossing his hair in a fit of melodrama and plopping down on one of the ornate sofas. This was clearly the wrong thing to say to the twins, as they exchanged an amused glance and sidled up to their King, one on each side.
"Oh really?" Kaoru purred in Tamaki's ear, making the tall blonde jump several inches into the air. He slowly turned his head to face Kaoru and gave him a rather irritated look that looked strange on his soft face.
"Yes, really! I really, really don't want to talk about it!" Tamaki exclaimed, leaning back against the back of the sofa and draping a hand over his eyes. The twins exchanged another glace and moved closer.
"Come on, tono! Tell us! Did you get laid or something?" Hikaru asked, snickering faintly, and Haruhi looked up from the homework she'd been working on and fixed both twins with an intimidating stare.
"If he says he doesn't want to talk about it, then he doesn't have to talk about it," she snapped, and both twins looked up at her, their expressions laden with surprise. "Leave him alone already, would you?"
"Okay," Kaoru said, his eyes a little wide with shock. He glanced between Tamaki and Haruhi for a moment, in slight awe. He was surprised by the fire in her eyes. "So it's finally happened…the carriage has turned back into a pumpkin."
"Thanks, Haruhi," Tamaki said, sounding a bit weary. He rubbed his eyes slightly and Haruhi was surprised to see that tears had broken out slightly over the corners. Abruptly he stood and grabbed his school bag, heading toward the door. "Well, I really… should get going. I have a lot to do this weekend and… I should really get started. Goodbye!"
"But wait, tono!" Hikaru said after him, but already Tamaki was slamming through the double doors. Without thinking, Haruhi leaped up and ran after him. Since meeting Tamaki she had begun allowing her heart to take priority over her brain much more often than normal, and this was one of those occasions. She followed the boy she loved as he tore down the corridor, weaving and distressed and obviously close to a breakdown. She caught him when he got to the stairs and managed to grab hold of his elbow, holding it gently but firmly.
"Senpai, are you okay?" she asked him, surprised by the tears that were streaking down his cheeks. He wiped them away quickly and no more came. He looked embarrassed and he tried to break away, but she caught hold of his sleeve at the last possible second. "Wait, please! Are you okay, senpai? I can't let you go like this… I have to know that you're okay!"
"Of course I'm not okay!" he said rather viciously, and Haruhi drew back as though burned. Immediately he looked sorry and he held his hands out to her, asking for her forgiveness. She touched one of them tenderly.
"Can I help?" she asked quietly, almost afraid to break him with words. She had never seen him quite so vulnerable. He shook his head.
"Thank you, but no. I can't see how you possibly could."
"Will you tell me… what's happening?" she asked as gently as she could, worried and slightly afraid of whatever answer he would give her.
"Why does this have to be happening?" Tamaki asked. "It almost happened once before but last time the situation wasn't like this! It's almost worse to say no than yes. She's given me an ultimatum this time, Haruhi."
"What do you mean?" facing him with both feet on the ground, Haruhi steeled herself and petted his arm slightly through the fabric of his blazer. "What's… what's going on?"
Tamaki swallowed and looked out the window and into the courtyard which had earlier been streaked with sunlight but was now shrouded in the foreboding shadows of an oncoming storm. When he looked back at her, he looked like he would rather be anywhere else in the world.
"Haruhi… I'm getting married."
So if updates get a little slow, it's probably because they're all there ^^ I have to use the internet at the library, and so a lot of sites rarely work (like DA, for example)
The more Tamaki thought about it, the less sense it made. He paced furiously across the length of music room three with all the insanity of a man who does not understand the problem presented to him. He had asked to be excused from his final class of the day ten minutes early and now that he was doing what he had intended to do with the extra time- dig into his brain and figure out exactly what Haruhi was to him- he was at a complete loss.
"Come on, think," he demanded of his brain as he paced furiously, his feet starting to make a uniform trail of scuff marks on the pink tiles of music room three. "There has to be some way to figure this out!" he was starting to wonder, since the answer to his problem proved so elusive, if perhaps it was so obvious that it was staring him in the face. He struggled to move past his usual obliviousness and reach for the clarity just beyond, the patch of brilliant white light that held all the answers he was striving so hard for.
"How do I feel about her?" he asked aloud, pacing faster, arms flailing. "She certainly isn't a daughter to me anymore… but what is she? What is this feeling?"
Tamaki had never, despite all his prowess with dealing with the hearts of maidens, been in love. He had nothing to compare this feeling to, and so it confused him. Could it really be love, he wondered as he paced even more furiously across the length of his predestinated pondering area? His heart sped up at the thought of her face and for a moment he stopped pacing to clutch his chest.
"Love? Love? Can this really be love? I don't know if I…"
"Will you please quit that incessant pacing?" Kyouya asked him in a rather bored drawl as he closed the enormous door behind him. "You're leaving scuff marks and I just had that floor cleaned, you fool."
Kyouya always called him names when he was either in an extremely pleasant or an extremely foul mood, and it was impossible to tell which he was in today. There was no time for tact at the moment, however, and immediately Tamaki ran to the brunette, ringing his hands.
"Kyouya! I've been in here for just ages thinking and I… I… I don't know what I'm supposed to think!"
"What in the world are you going on about?" Kyouya asked, rather too happy for the situation, and it was then that Tamaki could tell that his mood was foul. However, he had no time to stop and think of ways to speak to the shadow king that would not irritate him further.
"Kyouya… am I in love with Haruhi?" he blurted, and for a moment he thought he actually saw Ootori Kyouya driven speechless. The two boys stared each other down for a moment, and then Kyouya smirked and turned away, moving toward his usual table and opening his laptop.
"I don't know, Tamaki. Are you?" he asked calmly, and Tamaki threw his hands in the air.
"If I knew, I wouldn't be asking you!" he shouted, and Kyouya gave him a look.
"Keep your voice down. I have a horrible headache."
"Kyouyaaaaaaa," Tamaki whined, grabbing his sleeve and tugging rather hard at the blue material. "You're not helping at all! Would it really be so terrible to help a friend in his direst hour of need?"
Kyouya sighed heavily and pushed his glasses farther up his nose. "I suppose not. What do you need help with?"
"I need help figuring out… how I feel about Haruhi! I've been thinking and thinking and I haven't come up with much!"
"Well, what have you come up with, then?" Kyouya sounded tired.
"I have one hypothesis, but I'm not sure how entirely accurate it is and-"
"If you wouldn't mind moving it along, it would be greatly appreciated. I have a lot of expenses to tally up."
"I think that I might be… in love with Haruhi."
"Oh really?" Kyouya looked up from his laptop and fixing Tamaki with an unreadable stare. He looked almost smug, and Tamaki clenched his fists.
"Don't act like this is the first you've heard of the idea! I asked you about it when you first came in, Kyouya!" Tamaki wailed, stomping his feet rather like a child. He flailed his arms a bit like a man gone mad and then began his pacing again, looking fairly rabid. "It's the only thing I can come up with, but I'm not sure if it's true! Up until recently I only saw her as my daughter so all these new feelings are… deeply confusing. I just don't know what to make of them! Kyouya, you know, right? Do I love her? Do I?"
Kyouya, obviously beginning to despair getting any work done, pushed his laptop shut and ignored Tamaki's screeches about how that was bad for the computer. "Tell me then, Tamaki; how do you feel when you're around her?"
Tamaki stopped pacing and twiddled his thumbs. "Good? Like… like I can do anything."
"What else? Do you have any physical symptoms?"
Tamaki began to feel like he was at the doctor's office. Kyouya certainly looked like a doctor, staring at him sternly over his glasses. Tamaki half expected him to start marking things down on a medical chart. "Well… my face gets hot, my hands shake and sweat, my heart hurts and won't stop fluttering, I stammer quite a bit, which is strange because usually I'm so eloquent, particularly around ladies!"
"I see. Is there anything else? Anything she makes you want to do?"
"Well… she makes me smile. And I… I want to kiss her. And I want to be with her all the time and hold her and… and…" Tamaki flushed heavily and clammed up, determined not to finish his sentence. Kyouya gave a little twinge of amusement but said nothing.
"Well…" for a moment, Kyouya paused, and Tamaki leaned forward, hanging on his every word, nearly dead from the suspense in the room. "I really have no firsthand experience but from what I can tell, love does seem to be a valid possibility. But in the end, it all really comes down to you, Tamaki. Think about it. You're king of the host club, aren't you? You know more about romance than anyone. So ask yourself now, do all of those things signify love to you?"
Tamaki paused, and swore he saw a million rainbow colors flash before his eyes, blinding him temporarily as he stumbled backward, his hands on his flushed cheeks and his mind spinning like a tornado. It was as though an atomic bomb had gone off in his heart. A million things burst and danced like flurries of petals inside his heart and head and he had to lean on a table to catch his breath and then stare blankly into the ceiling until everything swirling inside finally sorted itself out.
"I… I see…" he whispered in the same awestruck voice he had used upon seeing the image of Buddha on a piece of toast. "It's all so clear to me now. I can't believe I didn't realize it sooner! All the time this has been happening and I didn't see it at all until now!"
"Oh?" Kyouya asked, peering up at him from his chair. "And what, pray tell, is it?"
"I'm… in love with Haruhi. I'm in love with Haruhi! I'm in love! With Haruhi! I love Haruhi! Love, love, love!" a switch was flipped then, and Tamaki dissolved into rather girlish giggles, blushing heavily but smiling. "I would have thought this whole thing would be shocking or a little scary but… it's just… wonderful! Love feels wonderful, Kyouya! Everyone should get to feel like this! I love Haruhi! I have to tell the world! I can't hold this feeling inside! Not even for a moment! I have to tell her right now!" he made to sprint toward the door, but Kyouya's voice stopped him in his tracks.
"Now hold on just a minute," he said, and Tamaki froze midstep, not even breathing. "Don't you think you should take some time to think about this first? To get your head on straight? If you go bursting in on Haruhi like this and gush your feelings all over her, it will be rather overwhelming for her, and I can't imagine she'd like that at all. Why not take a bit to gain some perspective and figure out a tactful way to tell her without overpowering her? These feelings will still be here tomorrow."
"You're absolutely right!" Tamaki exclaimed, throwing a fist in the air. "I couldn't have possibly come up with a better idea! If I tell her tomorrow, then I'll have time to get everything all sorted out and it will be perfect! I'll spend all of tonight planning and then I'll give her the best love confession that is humanly possible. Oh, just you wait, Kyouya! It'll be absolutely perfect! I can see it now! Well, I'm off to prepare! Adieu, Kyouya!" Tamaki shouted, and Kyouya sighed. Ordinarily he would have made him stay and lectured him about the importance of keeping up his scheduled appointments with guests, but right now all he could do was stare rather fondly at Tamaki's retreating back and give a slightly amused smile.
"I'd say it's about time."
____________________________________
It was a typical Saturday in the Third Music Room, and the decibel level was rising to astronomical proportions. Seemingly without any thought of order, girls in fluffy yellow dresses moved gaily around the room, chattering and giggling at the affections of attractive boys clad in powder blue jackets. This was the way of Ouran Academy's ever-popular Host Club. They were handsome, they were charming, and they were the forbidden fruits of the academy. "Look, don't touch" was the rule the club's vice president had laid down several months earlier after a rather embarrassing incident had taken place, and it made the seven boys even more desirable. At that very moment, one Ootori Kyouya was standing slightly off to the side, grinding numbers and keeping a watchful eye on his boys.
"Good morning, Kyouya-senpai," Haruhi said pleasantly, coming up beside him with a tea tray. Briefly, the brunette's dark eyes slid over to the Host Club's resident female.
"Good morning, Haruhi," he replied. The girl's eyes were fixed on the controlled chaos of the scene before them, and together they watched the five other hosts attend to females in this whirlwind of splendor that was typical of them. "Finished with your guests, I see?"
"No," Haruhi admitted sheepishly. "I was just getting some tea and got caught up watching everybody."
Kyouya had to admit that it was rather easy to get caught up in all the magic and bustle of the club and the antics of the hosts, particularly Tamaki. At the moment he was poised on one of the ornate silk-upholstered sofas, extending a tray of sweets to a fawning girl with dark hair. The girls around him were positively melting, and it was rather fascinating to watch. Kyouya never failed to be amazed by Tamaki's display of undeniable people skills, particularly around women. He flashed his indigo eyes, moved his head so strands of golden hair slipped in front of them mysteriously, and generally played to the crowd of girls like a show dog. Observing him was almost like a school sport, and as with any sport, spectators were more than likely to be rewarded with some kind of bizarre surprise, a twist that would bring on gossip in Ouran's newspaper and mutters around the water cooler the next morning. He was fully anticipating, now that Tamaki had realized his feelings for Haruhi, for it to involve her today.
He was soon proved wrong. In this case, the twist was Suoh Yuzuru entering the third music room during club activities for the second time this year, looking more than a bit perplexed, his usually impeccable appearance rather rumpled with what looked to be stress. Kyouya had been chancing glances up at Tamaki and the others, but now he dropped all attention from the clipboard in his hands and focused it on the scene beginning to play out before him.
"I wonder what Tamaki's father is doing here," Haruhi remarked as the two of them watched Yuzuru approach Tamaki. "He doesn't usually come around the music room." she had to admit that though she was not generally a nosy kind of person, Haruhi was rather interested to know why Tamaki's father was coming in during Host Club hours looking so very stressed. Watching Yuzuru tap his son on the shoulder to get his attention and then lean in to whisper something, she was hit with a kind of strange dread. The look on Yuzuru's face made it obvious that something was wrong, and as she stood beside Kyouya in what was most likely the calm before the storm, a pang of worry for her friend shuddered through her. It was unexpected (knowing Tamaki and his father, whatever problem there might be was likely to be minor and the entire situation was most definitely being handled with more seriousness than was warranted), but it flashed through her all the same. This new protectiveness over Tamaki that had come with her rapidly budding feelings had a way of changing her reactions to anything involving the blonde, and it was a bit disconcerting.
"I'll be back in a minute!" Tamaki informed her, catching her eye as he followed his father toward the doors, all carefree energy as though he didn't notice the obvious stress his father carried himself with. "I suppose things will have to go on without me for now! Haruhi, Kyouya, will you two mind looking after my guests while I'm out?"
"I guess so," Haruhi replied for them, ignoring Kyouya's sigh from beside her. "Is everything okay, senpai?" their eyes locked, and Tamaki paused a bit too long before he started back out the door.
"I'm sure it is," Tamaki said with a wave of his hand, pausing again at the lurid pink double doors. "See you in a moment, Haruhi!" With that he was gone and Haruhi was left to half-reluctantly lead several of Tamaki's many female charges to the sofa she herself was occupying with Sakurazuka. She had earlier been surprised to note that Momoka had not showed up to club activities today. She had been present in class, and it was unlike her to simply skip coming. She had also seemed rather preoccupied and upset since third period, and it was good to take her mind off of Tamaki long enough to wonder about it.
"I wonder what Tamaki-kun's father wants to talk to him about…" Sakurazuka said conversationally, thanking Haruhi quickly for the tea and delicately taking one of the cups on the tray.
"He seemed upset. I wonder if there's something wrong. I suppose we'll just have to ask him when he gets back, won't we?" Ayame chimed in without breathing, staring thoughtfully into her glass. Marveling as always over Ayame's ability to speak sentences without air, Haruhi poured tea into both Ayame and Sakurazuka's cups as delicately as she could, hoping the girls wouldn't notice as she spilled a bit.
"It's probably nothing," she told them, more to assure herself than either of them, secretly. She could still not shake the feeling that things were about to become overwhelmingly bad for her senpai, and Haruhi's gut feelings were nearly always right. She could not deny how worried for him she was. "Maybe we should all just enjoy our tea?"
"Of course, Haruhi-kun!" agreed one of Tamaki's regulars whose name Haruhi could not quite place, and she and the other girls drank their tea and made rather comfortable small talk. Their conversation turned to classes and to what Haruhi had planned for the upcoming Sunday (namely, nothing), and that was that. Things progressed and everyone moved on, as was typical of any situation involving Tamaki; he was far too exhausting to occupy anyone's mind for too long. The club had closed, the girls had gone, and Haruhi had nearly forgotten about Tamaki completely when finally the blonde burst through the double doors, looking as though he had just witnessed the death of his best friend.
"Hey, tono, where have you been?" Hikaru droned, looking up from the comic book he and Kaoru were reading together.
"I don't want to talk about it!" the blonde declared, tossing his hair in a fit of melodrama and plopping down on one of the ornate sofas. This was clearly the wrong thing to say to the twins, as they exchanged an amused glance and sidled up to their King, one on each side.
"Oh really?" Kaoru purred in Tamaki's ear, making the tall blonde jump several inches into the air. He slowly turned his head to face Kaoru and gave him a rather irritated look that looked strange on his soft face.
"Yes, really! I really, really don't want to talk about it!" Tamaki exclaimed, leaning back against the back of the sofa and draping a hand over his eyes. The twins exchanged another glace and moved closer.
"Come on, tono! Tell us! Did you get laid or something?" Hikaru asked, snickering faintly, and Haruhi looked up from the homework she'd been working on and fixed both twins with an intimidating stare.
"If he says he doesn't want to talk about it, then he doesn't have to talk about it," she snapped, and both twins looked up at her, their expressions laden with surprise. "Leave him alone already, would you?"
"Okay," Kaoru said, his eyes a little wide with shock. He glanced between Tamaki and Haruhi for a moment, in slight awe. He was surprised by the fire in her eyes. "So it's finally happened…the carriage has turned back into a pumpkin."
"Thanks, Haruhi," Tamaki said, sounding a bit weary. He rubbed his eyes slightly and Haruhi was surprised to see that tears had broken out slightly over the corners. Abruptly he stood and grabbed his school bag, heading toward the door. "Well, I really… should get going. I have a lot to do this weekend and… I should really get started. Goodbye!"
"But wait, tono!" Hikaru said after him, but already Tamaki was slamming through the double doors. Without thinking, Haruhi leaped up and ran after him. Since meeting Tamaki she had begun allowing her heart to take priority over her brain much more often than normal, and this was one of those occasions. She followed the boy she loved as he tore down the corridor, weaving and distressed and obviously close to a breakdown. She caught him when he got to the stairs and managed to grab hold of his elbow, holding it gently but firmly.
"Senpai, are you okay?" she asked him, surprised by the tears that were streaking down his cheeks. He wiped them away quickly and no more came. He looked embarrassed and he tried to break away, but she caught hold of his sleeve at the last possible second. "Wait, please! Are you okay, senpai? I can't let you go like this… I have to know that you're okay!"
"Of course I'm not okay!" he said rather viciously, and Haruhi drew back as though burned. Immediately he looked sorry and he held his hands out to her, asking for her forgiveness. She touched one of them tenderly.
"Can I help?" she asked quietly, almost afraid to break him with words. She had never seen him quite so vulnerable. He shook his head.
"Thank you, but no. I can't see how you possibly could."
"Will you tell me… what's happening?" she asked as gently as she could, worried and slightly afraid of whatever answer he would give her.
"Why does this have to be happening?" Tamaki asked. "It almost happened once before but last time the situation wasn't like this! It's almost worse to say no than yes. She's given me an ultimatum this time, Haruhi."
"What do you mean?" facing him with both feet on the ground, Haruhi steeled herself and petted his arm slightly through the fabric of his blazer. "What's… what's going on?"
Tamaki swallowed and looked out the window and into the courtyard which had earlier been streaked with sunlight but was now shrouded in the foreboding shadows of an oncoming storm. When he looked back at her, he looked like he would rather be anywhere else in the world.
"Haruhi… I'm getting married."