My Baby, which still doesn't have a title
Title: Untitled
Disclaimer: Do I look like I can draw? 'Course 's not my creation..
Warnings: Eventual Kyoya/Haruhi, and set in the post-grad-school future. Which means I'll probably have some manga spoilage in it. I don't really watch the anime, so it's just manga spoilers I'm obligated to warn about. ;P
Notes: But, yes.. It's my baby! The one that I refused to upload until I finished my monster... Well, my monster's not finished, and my baby begs to be worked on, half done as it is. Anyway, this is unbeta'ed, and pretty messy... But it's a joy to write, and I'd love it if someone could, someday, help me out with the whole grammar/spelling thing... *hinthint* Anyway. Here she is~!
It has been years since high school, and Haruhi is nothing like the girl she has been. Not to say that she's not the same person, only that she's changed. A lot, maybe, or not at all. Either way, she has somehow become a woman, mostly a lot like the girl she had been. She still keeps in contact with some her club members, though. One of the benefits of growing up is that she has come to accept them as her reluctant friends.
She is closest to the twins, the ones she had never minded being on a first name basis with (and not just because of necessity). It may have been the years they spent together, or the times they talked her into sleeping over. Either way, at some point they had become an unquestionable part of her life. A day is not a day unless she phones one of them--long distance to Italy, which would make her cry except that they insist on paying two thirds of the bill. They need to speak with her as badly as she needs to speak with them. It was hard at first, when graduations happened and everyone began leaving.
At least Mitsukini-senpai and Takashi-senpai had stayed in Japan, because once Tamaki and Kyoya graduated, they had shipped off overseas and she was forced to realize (a little late) how much she had come to depend on them. Tamaki stalked her, so that was almost ok, but Kyoya had disappeared. Then again, according to most of her friends, she had practically done the same upon her own move to the United States.
Stanford was nice, though, and everything she had been looking for in a college. Granted, her two month cram session learning French and English with the twins (and Tamaki, though she had known he would be in town, and that he would probably appear just to spite her) had erased the language barrier, and eased the cultural shock, and she had just been so relieved to be her own woman that her perception was probably biased. But it was a lovely campus. More so because she had promptly transfered into the UC system to discourage her friends from visiting.
Not that she had anything to worry about from the twins. They were in Italy and France, for the most part. While she worked part time, supporting herself and paying for an apartment as she finished her major, they were busy building, designing, and generally just creating their own designer clothing. By the time she had made her way into Harvard Law, they were an international brand, and quite fond of sending her packages of clothing. Some outfits became treasured favorites; the rest were shoved into a storage closet. All in all, all three of them kept busy.
In fact, they were so busy that, although they spoke every day, the next time she saw them in person was after she managed to find employment... And was promptly shipped oversees to be the company's US representative in a French conference (she was really only there to explain the contract she had been hired to draft). Naturally, Murphy's law meant that she bumped into Tamaki on her way to visit the twins, and somehow Mitsukini-senpai and Taka-senpai had been visiting as well.
Talk about chaos; something Haruhi has missed. It took her all of ten seconds to realize the absence of one member, and about two hours to mention it.
"Eh? Where's Kyoya?" She was a little tipsy at this point, but not drunk. Which would explain how she missed the sudden quiet around the table. Leaning into Kaoru, she ignored the waitress setting her desert in front of her as she mumbled into her friend's jacket. "It's not like him to miss out on a gathering like this.. Reunions might not fit his reputation, but I know he's probably missed us as much as we've missed him."
Kaoru stifled a snicker as she glared at her tarte tartin before spearing it with a fork. "And with the contacts I've heard he has, it's impossible for him to not know that we're all here!" She shoved a mouthful of hot caramelized apple and vanilla gelato in her mouth and chewed it irately. "I bet he even arranged for me to be shipped out here."
"Saa, Haruhi." Kaoru settled an arm around her waist to steady her, ignoring the various looks he garnered for taking such a presumptuous action. "Relax, the tarte's not going anywhere, and you might stab your tongue if you shove your fork in too fast."
"But it's just like Kyoya!" She made a face at the innocent desert. "Tempting, and contrasting, and slightly burned. I bet he hates us, and that's why he's not here."
"More likely, he's busy with more work." Kaoru muttered, his twin rolling his eyes at the statement.
"But isn't that just like our Kyoya, to choose work over play?"
"Mou... If Kyoya works too much, he'll get a tummy ache again! And then Bun-Bun will have to scold him!"
A general clamor rose as the ex-host club members started ranting about Kyoya and his workaholic tendencies. For her part, Haruhi smiled a secret smile and finished her tarte. Resting her head on Kaoru's chest, she watched her friends gossip and let the familiarity of it all wash over her, even if it was a little off. A sharp pang hit her somewhere in the chest when she realized that it was Kyoya's acerbic wit that was so obviously missing.
It was over too soon. She exchanged hugs with her senpai-tachi, and promises to call them the next morning before she was sandwiched between her twins. They watched as Tamaki's car pulled away, the blond's upper body hanging outside of the window as he waved his hand frantically and shouted that he would call soon. She muffled her giggles in Hikaru's shoulder, absentmindedly rubbing her cheek against the soft wool of his coat. He smirked and ruffled her hair.
"Aren't you glad that the King'll never change?"
"If it means that he puts up with Kyoya's surliness, then yes." She wrinkled her nose at Hikaru's expression of shock. "Hikaru, do you really think it's even remotely possible that I'd forget Kyoya's birthday?"
The wind tangled her scarf was as bitter as her voice. "If Tamaki's still in town, then Kyoya's here, too. I don't think they've ever missed each other's birthday."
She readjusted her scarf as the brothers shared an uncomfortable glance. Hikaru stepped forward to help her with the knitted wool, as Kaoru attempted an awkward explanation.
"We called him, Haruhi, it's just... You know him and his work-"
Her scarf straightened out, Haruhi shrugged and interrupted him. "It's fine, Kaoru. He's moved on, and so have I. Besides, I'll see him at his wedding."
Part Two
Disclaimer: Do I look like I can draw? 'Course 's not my creation..
Warnings: Eventual Kyoya/Haruhi, and set in the post-grad-school future. Which means I'll probably have some manga spoilage in it. I don't really watch the anime, so it's just manga spoilers I'm obligated to warn about. ;P
Notes: But, yes.. It's my baby! The one that I refused to upload until I finished my monster... Well, my monster's not finished, and my baby begs to be worked on, half done as it is. Anyway, this is unbeta'ed, and pretty messy... But it's a joy to write, and I'd love it if someone could, someday, help me out with the whole grammar/spelling thing... *hinthint* Anyway. Here she is~!
It has been years since high school, and Haruhi is nothing like the girl she has been. Not to say that she's not the same person, only that she's changed. A lot, maybe, or not at all. Either way, she has somehow become a woman, mostly a lot like the girl she had been. She still keeps in contact with some her club members, though. One of the benefits of growing up is that she has come to accept them as her reluctant friends.
She is closest to the twins, the ones she had never minded being on a first name basis with (and not just because of necessity). It may have been the years they spent together, or the times they talked her into sleeping over. Either way, at some point they had become an unquestionable part of her life. A day is not a day unless she phones one of them--long distance to Italy, which would make her cry except that they insist on paying two thirds of the bill. They need to speak with her as badly as she needs to speak with them. It was hard at first, when graduations happened and everyone began leaving.
At least Mitsukini-senpai and Takashi-senpai had stayed in Japan, because once Tamaki and Kyoya graduated, they had shipped off overseas and she was forced to realize (a little late) how much she had come to depend on them. Tamaki stalked her, so that was almost ok, but Kyoya had disappeared. Then again, according to most of her friends, she had practically done the same upon her own move to the United States.
Stanford was nice, though, and everything she had been looking for in a college. Granted, her two month cram session learning French and English with the twins (and Tamaki, though she had known he would be in town, and that he would probably appear just to spite her) had erased the language barrier, and eased the cultural shock, and she had just been so relieved to be her own woman that her perception was probably biased. But it was a lovely campus. More so because she had promptly transfered into the UC system to discourage her friends from visiting.
Not that she had anything to worry about from the twins. They were in Italy and France, for the most part. While she worked part time, supporting herself and paying for an apartment as she finished her major, they were busy building, designing, and generally just creating their own designer clothing. By the time she had made her way into Harvard Law, they were an international brand, and quite fond of sending her packages of clothing. Some outfits became treasured favorites; the rest were shoved into a storage closet. All in all, all three of them kept busy.
In fact, they were so busy that, although they spoke every day, the next time she saw them in person was after she managed to find employment... And was promptly shipped oversees to be the company's US representative in a French conference (she was really only there to explain the contract she had been hired to draft). Naturally, Murphy's law meant that she bumped into Tamaki on her way to visit the twins, and somehow Mitsukini-senpai and Taka-senpai had been visiting as well.
Talk about chaos; something Haruhi has missed. It took her all of ten seconds to realize the absence of one member, and about two hours to mention it.
"Eh? Where's Kyoya?" She was a little tipsy at this point, but not drunk. Which would explain how she missed the sudden quiet around the table. Leaning into Kaoru, she ignored the waitress setting her desert in front of her as she mumbled into her friend's jacket. "It's not like him to miss out on a gathering like this.. Reunions might not fit his reputation, but I know he's probably missed us as much as we've missed him."
Kaoru stifled a snicker as she glared at her tarte tartin before spearing it with a fork. "And with the contacts I've heard he has, it's impossible for him to not know that we're all here!" She shoved a mouthful of hot caramelized apple and vanilla gelato in her mouth and chewed it irately. "I bet he even arranged for me to be shipped out here."
"Saa, Haruhi." Kaoru settled an arm around her waist to steady her, ignoring the various looks he garnered for taking such a presumptuous action. "Relax, the tarte's not going anywhere, and you might stab your tongue if you shove your fork in too fast."
"But it's just like Kyoya!" She made a face at the innocent desert. "Tempting, and contrasting, and slightly burned. I bet he hates us, and that's why he's not here."
"More likely, he's busy with more work." Kaoru muttered, his twin rolling his eyes at the statement.
"But isn't that just like our Kyoya, to choose work over play?"
"Mou... If Kyoya works too much, he'll get a tummy ache again! And then Bun-Bun will have to scold him!"
A general clamor rose as the ex-host club members started ranting about Kyoya and his workaholic tendencies. For her part, Haruhi smiled a secret smile and finished her tarte. Resting her head on Kaoru's chest, she watched her friends gossip and let the familiarity of it all wash over her, even if it was a little off. A sharp pang hit her somewhere in the chest when she realized that it was Kyoya's acerbic wit that was so obviously missing.
It was over too soon. She exchanged hugs with her senpai-tachi, and promises to call them the next morning before she was sandwiched between her twins. They watched as Tamaki's car pulled away, the blond's upper body hanging outside of the window as he waved his hand frantically and shouted that he would call soon. She muffled her giggles in Hikaru's shoulder, absentmindedly rubbing her cheek against the soft wool of his coat. He smirked and ruffled her hair.
"Aren't you glad that the King'll never change?"
"If it means that he puts up with Kyoya's surliness, then yes." She wrinkled her nose at Hikaru's expression of shock. "Hikaru, do you really think it's even remotely possible that I'd forget Kyoya's birthday?"
The wind tangled her scarf was as bitter as her voice. "If Tamaki's still in town, then Kyoya's here, too. I don't think they've ever missed each other's birthday."
She readjusted her scarf as the brothers shared an uncomfortable glance. Hikaru stepped forward to help her with the knitted wool, as Kaoru attempted an awkward explanation.
"We called him, Haruhi, it's just... You know him and his work-"
Her scarf straightened out, Haruhi shrugged and interrupted him. "It's fine, Kaoru. He's moved on, and so have I. Besides, I'll see him at his wedding."
Part Two