He clenched his fist and pressed his forehead against the wall. He squeezed his eyes tighter and tighter until it became uncomfortable. Bitter tears he refused to let out welled up under his scrunched lids and pooled in the nooks of his temporary crow's feet.

"It's not fair." He exhaled. The sun should not have risen today. No one should be smiling. How could life go on when she might… No. If she was still fighting then he would fight. He turned around and leaned against the wall. He combed through his blonde locks with his fingers. He would stay strong for her today and tomorrow and every day after that. Even if the unthinkable happened he would carry his strength and her soul inside of him till the end of time.

The door to room #258 opened and another nurse entered. In that brief moment Tamaki Suoh was able to make eye contact with Ranka. The drag queen sported completely androgynous attire today. He also had more than a little stubble. He looked awful. His face stared straight ahead at nothing. His puffy red eyes starkly contrasted the rest of his makeup-less face. Tamaki could hardly blame him.

Since Haruhi had been admitted, Tamaki had only been in the room once. It was right after the surgery they performed to reduce the swelling in her brain. He hadn't said a word. He simply kissed her on the cheek lingering because he knew it might very well be a goodbye kiss. His eyes were closed. He didn't want to picture her this way ever again. He had happier pictures stored in his mind. His senses drank in everything else. He wanted to remember how she smelled, how her skin felt under his lips, that slight tingle when his forehead brushed her eyebrows. After that he excused himself and did not go back in. He was a friend but that was all. Even in the short visit Ranka allowed them he had been overwhelmed by the feeling he was intruding on an intimate moment. The two men had nodded wordlessly. There was nothing to be said.

Now they stood guard over their wounded angel; one inside and one haunting the halls. Footsteps squeaked and clacked on the tile floors. Phones rang and pagers buzzed. It was all one million miles away from him. Tamaki padded back into the small alcove and sunk into the chair he had claimed. It was just about to take on his shape. He had cast an apathetic glance towards the magazines. He had long since given up the façade of reading them. That was for a time when they thought she would wake in a matter of hours. Now it was turning into days. Besides if he saw any giggling supermodels or makeup adverts he might vomit.

"Um excuse me…sir?" Tamaki suddenly registered that the nurse had been trying to get his attention for some time now. Wow he was a complete space cadet lately. It was the same nurse who had gone into Haruhi's room. "You wouldn't happen to be a visitor of Miss Fujioka would you?" Tamaki sprung to his feet.

"What-is-it-what-happened-is-she-awake-is-she-alive-please-tell-me!" Without meaning to Tamaki had started yelling at this woman. She didn't seem shocked. This was the ICU. It probably happened more often than not.

"Relax." She spoke soothingly with a maternal tone. "She is stable. No changes."

"Oh." Tamaki took a breath. He was relieved beyond words that nothing had gotten worse but he was a little annoyed that she would get his hopes up only to tell him nothing changed. She continued.

"It's her father. He's in horrible shape. He hasn't had anything to eat or drink since he arrived. He won't leave her side. We've offered him food multiple times and each time he's refused. I couldn't help but notice that you've been here quite a while. You must be closely tied to her family. Maybe you could go get him something from the food court. He won't eat for us but maybe he will for you?"

Tamaki kicked himself internally. How could he have been so stupid? So dense? So clueless? He had been so worried about Haruhi that he forgot all about Ranka. He is her family. Her only parent left. He should have been doing everything he could to make him comfortable. It was the least he could do after…

"I'll go right now!" He reported sharply and started marching toward the elevator. The nurse watched him go.

He must really love her. She thought to herself. That's the worst part of all of this. It's going to be so hard on him.

Tamaki scurried around the open cafeteria like a chicken with its head cut off. What would Ranka like? There were sandwiches, salads, prepackaged sushi, milk, ketchup packets. Tamaki quickly loaded up a tray with a little bit of everything. He balanced it carefully and tottered over to the cashier. This woman was older than the nurse and far less empathetic. There was a long awkward pause. Tamaki felt like he was forgetting something.

"Sir…you know you need to pay, right?"

"Right. Right. Of course. Money. Currency to be exchanged for goods and services. I know I know." He babbled like a mad man while fishing in his pocket. He pulled out a bunch of coins and handed them to her.

"Is this some kind of joke?" She snapped.

What? Tamaki's pupils swam in confusion. Is that too much? Not enough? What? The woman scowled and pushed up her glasses.

"This is not legal tinder." She shoved the sum back into Tamaki's hands. He saw then that they were all arcade tokens. Something in his mouth tasted foul like orange rinds, his sinuses began to slip beyond his control and his temples throbbed. He was about to burst into tears in front of everyone. No. Not here. Not now. I was supposed to be strong. I was supposed to be strong for her.

He felt an arm wrap around his shoulders from behind and heard a familiar voice.

"Thank you very much but I don't believe we'll be requiring your services today after all."

The woman's face erupted into flames. She was even more livid than before.

"What are you talking about? Just who's going to put all of these back? If your slack-jawed friend can't manage his own affairs then maybe he shouldn't be allowed to walk around by himself."

That familiar voice didn't skip a beat. "I'm sure you'll be more than happy to take of this for him." He reached into his wallet and produced an ID for the employee. She stopped cold.

"Oh my goodness! I am so sorry. I will take care of that right away. I apologize for my disrespect. I had no idea I was speaking to a member of the Ootori family. Tamaki blinked. His urge to weep had dissipated. He turned and found himself staring into those deep brown eyes behind spotless lenses. Kyoya

The woman was still apologizing as the two men walked away. Neither of them paid her any attention.