A/N: Hi! I'm sorry for the delay. Been too busy handling other stuff, I've finally dedicated one whole evening writing this up. Therefore, I'm sorry if it's slightly choppy.

It's the last day, folks! Enjoy!

Haruhi Fujioka is a coward.

She has her qualms about going to school today – not because she hasn't finished her homework, or there is going to be a history test today, or the very fact that she feels lightheaded.

Dizzy, from Mori's kiss.

Last night, while in bed, she did contemplate about skipping the Host Club after school, but an image of a sneering Kyouya, reminding her of her debt came to mind. Definitely not a good idea. At all.

So, when she enters the Third Music Room later that afternoon, she is more than relieved to find that Mori doesn't seem to realize her presence. Unfortunately, Haruhi is Haruhi and she could not be more than wrong about sensing auras.

Because Honey definitely could see the sparks flying across the room, where Mori now stands and where Haruhi currently sits. Surprisingly, the room is extremely silent, considering the fact that the Hitachiin twins are also present, yet not causing havoc. The only sound filling the awkward stillness is Kyouya tapping away on his laptop, and only God knows what he's typing about. And then the twins begin to whisper to each other.

"What are you two whispering about?" Haruhi asks with that innocent smile on her face, her eyes large and unsuspecting. If joining the twins in a conversation is Haruhi's idea of avoiding Mori all day long, she is bound to be let down.

"Umm...we're just comparing your height with Mori-senpai's, that's all!" Kaoru replies; not quite looking at her – but someone standing behind her instead.

"Huh?" Haruhi stands in shock at the mere mention of his name. Before she could react, the twins are already out of sight, leaving her to turn around and bumping straight into someone.

A tall, stoic man who proceeds to reach out his arms to balance her stance.

"Haruhi," he calls her name gently, "are you alright?"

"Y-yeah," she croaks nervously. Her gaze stays fixed on the floor, staring hard at her small, shabby shoes. She could not help but compare them with his shiny black ones.

"Sorry," he says again, waking her from drifting thoughts. His hands are still at her shoulders, not quite ready to let go. Warm. Comfortable.

They still have not moved, as if they are frozen in time.

It seems as if he wants to pull her into his embrace, but he does not do so.

It seems as if she is swaying closer towards him, as if she wants to be pulled into his embrace, but she does not do so.

The typing sounds have stopped a long while ago, but neither realizes it.

"You're not a coward, Haruhi," Mori whispers as he brings his fingers to her chin, tilting her head up. 'Look at me,' the gesture must have said. Realization crashes upon Haruhi as she finds herself trapped between the wall of the Third Music Room and the towering height of Takashi Morinozuka.

"I am not a coward," she repeats after him almost dumbly, as if he has hypnotized her.

And so she stares.

Wide-eyed.

Mouth slightly agape.

No sound comes from her mouth, despite her attempts to let her voice out and be heard. Realizing how idiotic she might have looked, she closes her mouth and tries blinking instead. It might have given him the wrong signal, because now he might think that she is fluttering her eyelids on purpose, and that would yield even more horrendous results.

Because after her cowardly attempts of running away yesterday, she knows she still has to face him today.

And now she has.

His lazy eyes gaze into her indulging chocolate-brown ones, leaning even closer towards her. He does not speak – not through words, at least. The way he tilts his head and arches his eyebrows tells her, 'You should have seen this coming,' while his mouth curves into a smile – one of the rare instances he had ever smiled devilishly at her, indicating she shouldn't worry so much.

His daring gaze tells her, 'Screw what other people think. All I want to know is how you feel about this. About us.' He leans in closer as she expects another kiss. Instead, he growls unintelligibly which could only mean, 'Tell me.'

She keeps staring at him without recoil. 'No, wait. Don't tell me,' he signals by putting a finger up, contradicting himself slyly. Of which to Haruhi's alarm, his smirk is almost similar to Kyouya's. She gulps and looks away.

'I hereby challenge you, Haruhi Fujioka,' he dares with his dark eyes, 'to give me an answer before today ends.' As a final touch, he whispers in her ear gruffly, "Yes or no. That's all I need to know."

She could feel herself shrink. "Th-this is t-too fast," she stammers. Her gaze stays fixed at the stripes of his tie, unable to meet his eyes. "We need to talk this through," she continues, yet immediately regrets what she has just said -- because talking and Mori does not really go together.

Her slight wince does not escape Mori's attention. "We'll talk this through," he replies idly, an answer that makes Haruhi's eyes snap and look at him startlingly. "We'll talk this through until we get to the bottom of it. We'll talk until no word is left unsaid between us," he professes.

"Mori-senpai..." is all Haruhi could come up with as her best reply.

"Takashi," he corrects her.

"You know I can't..."

"Why?"

"Because...you're you. And I'm me."

"So?"

This time, it is Haruhi's turn to become speechless. She has never seen Mori so quick in replying banters before, no matter how short his answers are. Neither has he been this garrulous nor resolute. Her instinct tells her to give in because it feels so right...but this is reality.

Reality does not usually end with happy endings, especially for someone like her in the picture. Add Mori and happily-ever-after will be even more impossible. Won't it?

She does not even have the time to think for a proper answer, because he swiftly pulls her body into his arms, catching her by surprise. He bends forward and rests his forehead on her right shoulder, letting her snuggle closer as her own arms reach up around his neck. As her fingers begin to touch his disarrayed hair gingerly, the austerity of the walls is soon forgotten as she clings to his warmth.

"Haruhi?" he mumbles into the crook of her neck, pressing her against the solid wall, yet careful not to crush her.

"Hmm?"

"You haven't answered me."

"Oh."

"And now you're beginning to sound like me," he chuckles.

Haruhi blushes, yet she says nothing in objection. This time, she'll stay silent and let him do all the talking. Because it hit her how much she loves hearing his deep voice, it feels like a lullaby – giving her hope that this might really work; soothing her fears. Especially when he murmurs sweet nothings in her ear; his hot breath tickling her cheeks.

Like now.

"You think too much, it's unlike you," he points out. Mori could feel her nodding against his chest, her grip of his blazer tightening. "This can't last forever, Haruhi," he confesses in utter seriousness.

In shock of his words, Haruhi turns her head abruptly to look at him, asking silently for explanation.

"I'm so tired," Mori sighs, nuzzling his cheek against hers. Pausing for a second, he continues, "I talk rubbish when I'm tired," he admits. "Incessantly," he added. "Sometimes I feel like I shouldn't be saying anything at all, because everything will come out wrong. And no one would listen anyway."

"I would," Haruhi responds with utmost honesty.

"Then I'm guilty for taking advantage of you," he tells her, almost sadly.

"How about Honey-senpai?" she asks quizzically.

"He's family. From that perspective, he doesn't count. You're...different."

Haruhi could feel Mori smiling wryly against her cheek. Slowly, she slides downwards, pulling Mori gently with her, never breaking the embrace. With her back against the wall, she takes a moment to examine Mori's clouded expression and notices his heavy-lidded eyes fighting hard to stay awake. She touches his cheek and guides his head on her lap, as he takes the liberty to lie on the Persian-carpeted-floor, long legs stretching out.

"It's been a long day. You should rest," Haruhi whispers as her fingers play at his temples. "At least take a nap. The Host Club will open in an hour," she tells him.

"I know," he closes his eyes for a moment, "but if I fall asleep now there won't be a chance for us to converse this well again," he explains.

"It doesn't matter. I think I can read your thoughts already, Mori-senpai." she smiles. "Like you can read mine."

"Really?"

She nods eagerly.

"Then what am I thinking about right now?"

The question catches her by surprise, yet she doesn't flinch. Instead, she takes the time to read his expression, no matter how sleepy he looks (or how good-looking he is), and comes up with a sheepish answer, "Umm...you're thinking of how I should stop calling you Mori-senpai and start calling you Takashi?"

"And that's why you're a scholarship student," Mori yawns, yet the spark of amazement in his eyes is evident. Haruhi wonders how a man still could look attractive and/or adorable when he is yawning, but probably Mori is an exception. And she beams at the compliment.

"It's also why I like you, Haruhi Fujioka."

Really, Haruhi has no witty reply to that. Instead, she leans forward to kiss his forehead and tells him gently, "Just sleep now, Takashi."

Mori wakes up 15 minutes later when Honey emerges through the large doors of the Music Room, exclaiming, "Today we're having Black Forest cake!" No one says anything at the sight of Mori sleeping on Haruhi's lap, except for Kaoru, Hikaru and Tamaki who are about to make a fuss before Kyouya tells them to prepare for their next cosplay.

As expected, Mori is back to his silent self when he wakes up, yet the yearning manifests in his eyes. His gaze seems to be questioning Haruhi, 'Is this still deemed a proper conversation?' while his little smile asks her, 'Will you still be joining me in this little awkward silent world of mine?'

Two full seconds pass before the determination in her eyes tells him, 'Alright, I'll do it,' despite the gruelling fear pitting in her stomach. So she returns his smile with her own, of sweet innocence and sunny disposition, which is entirely Haruhi's.

The words are still unspoken, yet they understand each other perfectly.

'Were you mad at me?' she asks him from afar, as he sits stoically among his customers.

His brows wrinkled. 'What for?'

'For running away,' she shrugs.

He tilts his head to one side, 'Never.' He smiles, 'Actually, I already expected that response from you.'

She shudders in disbelief.

'Oh, believe me,' he nods stealthily. 'I can read your mind, remember?'

She pouts in retort. 'Oh really? Then what am I thinking about right now?'

'You're thinking hard of something witty to say to me next.'

Mori 1, Haruhi 0.

Even through simple gestures, they can hear each others' voices, loud and clear.

She touches her lips. 'I still can taste you,' she confesses.

He sips his tea – the strawberry-flavoured tea, a twinkle apparent in his eyes. 'I can taste you too,' he holds the cup up towards her. To outsiders, it would seem as if he is inviting Haruhi to join him for a drink, but she knows better. 'This was how you tasted like yesterday,' he puts the cup back on to the saucer, 'I wonder if it will stay the same today. And I can't wait to find out.'

He always gets the last word.

Mori 2, Haruhi 0.

For the first time in her life, a conversation with Mori is never awkward despite the silence. In fact, she seems to be enjoying this tranquil game laden with excitement.

'Since when?' her brows knit up.

'Good question. Since I held you the first time and realized you're a girl? Since I went to your house with the Host Club, maybe? I don't know...you?'

'The day you said my name out loud for the first time, I guess. You know, when...'

His eyes shoot up. 'Mitsukuni disappeared.'

She nods. 'Because I thought you hated me. Because you've never really acknowledged me as a Host Club Member...'

His mouth opens slightly as if to speak, then he closes it again. 'Haruhi,' he silently pleads.

She knows this round belongs to her.

Mori 2, Haruhi 1.

"We'll talk until no word is left unspoken between us," he has said. They're talking to each other, alright. Let the others keep on guessing. This is a language Haruhi would never regret learning.

The customers have left, and now they opposite each other at the table, eating the Black Forest cake Honey brought.

Haruhi brings the spoon to her mouth.

'Where is the rest of the cheesecake?' she twirls the spoon mischievously.

'Mitsukuni. He couldn't help but take a bite,' Mori bites a little cherry as he eyes Honey.

She blushes. Knowing entirely what Mori means, because 'a bite' in Honey's dictionary means a quarter of a cake, or even half.

'But,' Mori stands up, takes Haruhi's plate and adds another slice on top of it, 'half of it is still sitting pretty in my fridge at home.'

She blinks once, twice, her expression befuddled. 'Who's gonna eat it?'

Mori places the plate back in front of Haruhi. Leaning closer than he should have, he tilts his head and narrows his eyes dangerously. 'Why, you, of course. The little slice I brought the other day was just a teaser.'

The plate hits the table with a soft 'clank', the same moment her heart skips a beat, as she struggles to translate the hidden innuendo behind his furtive gaze.

'Yes, Haruhi. I'm inviting you back to my place,' he scoops a tiny piece of cake using her spoon, stretching his arm, raising it up to her mouth.

Her mouth opens slightly as he waits for her answer.

'Yes,' she ultimately accepts, by letting him feed her, gazing into each other's eyes. As he wipes the edges of her mouth gently, she knows she has lost the battle.

Mori 3, Haruhi 1.

--to be continued--

Yup. That's the fourth chapter...but the day hasn't quite ended -- yet. This gives me the reason to write a fifth chapter...the ultimate finale (Mori invited Haruhi to his house, woot!), I hope. XD

So...what do you guys think? Is it good? Bad? So-so? Substandard? Reviews are welcomed!