A/N: HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY! Here is the last chapter of this holiday story and I hope it doesn't disappoint. Enjoy and see you in the next story!

Chapter 4 – Valentine's Choice

If Kyoya were Tamaki, his plan to woo Haruhi would consist of a title for his plan. Something like Mission to Romance Haruhi and Win Her Heart. But he wasn't Tamaki and his plan for convincing her that he loved her did not have a name. It didn't need one because when it came down to romancing his intended, he believed that simple was better.

Haruhi wasn't like most girls. She had said she wanted to be wooed, but puppies, flowers, jewels, dinners out to fancy restaurants, and such would not win her heart. Not that he needed to do that because he already possessed it, he just needed to prove that he was worthy of it. The way he figured it, he had six days to convince her that he loved her the way she deserved. Less than a week, which may be daunting for some, but thrilled him. He was up for the challenge, relished it, and would win, shutting up the naysayers in the process – not that they were that important to him. They weren't. The only person he was concerned about was Haruhi. His friends were secondary.

The first day, Tuesday the 9th, school was closed for the New Year as it was the day before, choosing not to resume again until Wednesday. It gave Kyoya time to plan his next steps, however, he wasn't about to let one day pass without trying to win her. When noon arrived, he was knocking on her door with lunch. When she answered, his heart lurched and his pulse raced. Even dressed in an old t-shirt and shorts, she looked lovely.

"Kyoya-senpai?" Her voice sounded breathless to her own ear. Surprise and excitement bubbled up within her to see him, but she cautiously looked around. Never before had Kyoya come without the others in two.

"They are not here. I thought we could have lunch together."

"My dad's already at work," she stated simply.

Withholding a smile, he nodded. He had already known that Ranka would not be there, "I realize that."

"So…"

"Will you let me in?" He held up a large bamboo dish.

"Oh! Yes, please come in, senpai." She wasn't sure why, but she was a little nervous at the thought of having lunch together…alone, but she had also never been happier to have him in her home before. "If you go into the living room, I'll make some tea." Thankfully, it had already been steeping and she only needed to pour. "What are we having for lunch, senpai?"

"Otoro."

She blinked. Her eyes darted to the container. They darted back to him. She blinked again, "Otoro?"

"Yes. If I'm not mistaken," he smirked. He knew he was never mistaken, "The one time you tasted it, you liked it."

Liked? It was more than that. The delicacy melted in her mouth and if it wasn't for the fact that she had stuffed herself, she would have indulged even more. Since that day a little over six months ago, she had not had the opportunity to try it again. Kyoya removed the lid and sitting within the bamboo casing sat enough otoro to feed at least four people. It was a simple enough gesture for him, but it also told her that he remembered what she liked and probably disliked. Then again, this was the Shadow King. He had a dossier on everyone he knew and probably people he had never met before. His information probably exceeded the CIA. Swallowing hard at the plethora of sushi before her, she kneeled next to him and said, "Itadakimasu," groaning around the bite she immediately shoved in her mouth. Kyoya was off to a good start.

On day two, he copied a love sonnet from Shakespeare and left it on her desk before school started. When she came in, she would find it and hopefully understand that it conveyed his feelings and tell her that his love would not change or diminish. His love was timeless. Not everything the poet and playwright wrote were depressing tragedies, but even in those, one could find beauty and love. However, a tragic play was not what was needed right now:

Let me not to the marriage of true minds

Admit impediments. Love is not love

Which alters when it alteration finds,

Or bends with the remover to remove:

O no! it is an ever-fixed mark

That looks on tempts and is never shaken;

It is the star to every wandering bark,

Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.

Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks

Within his bending sickle's compass come:

Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,

But bears it out even to the edge of doom.

If this be error and upon me proved,

I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

His love was timeless and unshakeable, and this poem conveyed his feelings perfectly. If he were more gifted by the word muse, he might have been able to write his own poem, but that was one gift he did not possess, thus he would let William speak for him.

Early before the first period bell, he snuck into her classroom and left a rolled up scroll on her desk. It was tied with a red ribbon with a purple rose secured in the knot; and then he returned to his own classroom and waited for her to arrive. Pulling up an app on his phone, he was able to watch everything that happened using the various cameras he placed around the room. Nothing would escape him.

Haruhi arrived early, as she always did, and found the gift on her desk. Unfortunately, Hikaru and Kaoru had also chosen this day to arrive early and the older twin tried to pick up the scroll before Haruhi could. A quick chop to his head by her and he dropped it quickly, his hands holding his aching skull. Carefully, she picked it up, a small smile on her face, and sniffed the rose. It was not overly fragrant and had an almost sweet fragrance that blended with the rose perfume…a natural occurrence with some of the hybrid roses. Removing the rose and the ribbon, she unrolled the scroll and her smile grew, her eyes misted, and she sighed. Her entire reaction was very subtle, and if he didn't know her so well or if he hadn't been watching her so intently, he may have missed it all.

"Let us guess," Kaoru began.

Hikaru rolled his eyes, "From the Shadow King."

"How droll," they announced together.

She snickered a little, "Not droll. It was…classy and beautiful."

"If that's all it takes, I can leave pieces of paper on your desk too!" Hikaru snapped.

"You don't even know what's written."

"I don't have to."

"Watch it Hikaru! Kyoya-senpai is trying!" She thought to herself, 'And he's doing a great job.' Reading the words he had written made her heart flutter and feel lighter than it had previously.

On day three, he arranged for her to sit in a session of the High Court for the day, Ouran agreeing to give her an excused absence so that she could participate in this learning opportunity. She only had to report on what she saw and learned.

At first, Haruhi was a little irritated that she would be missing class, however that soon gave way to other feelings. This was an opportunity most never got to experience and she desperately wanted to watch. The whole day was spent listening to court proceedings and meeting the judges. She was on cloud nine. Kyoya knew her well.

On day four, she woke up with a fever and had been unable to attend classes…even though she tried. The twins caught her when she was a little unsteady on her feet and took her to the nurse. Had Kyoya not seen the twins practically carrying her to the nurse, Hikaru and Kaoru would have kept it from him for the day. Instead, he took her home, arranged for one of his maids to do the housework, grocery shopping, and cooking, staying with her the entire day to make sure her fever broke and she got better. Seeing her sick tore at him and he felt helpless, but being with her helped to ease the worry.

Thankfully, day five landed on a Saturday and although her fever had broken late the day before, Kyoya wasn't going to let her do too much. He had stayed with her through the night, sleeping in the living room – close in case she needed him.

On this day, he handed her the lecture notes from the two days of school she missed having emailed her teachers in order to request the information. Then he spent the day helping her with her homework and making sure she understood the lessons she had missed. That night, he took her to dinner at a family restaurant not too far from her home. It was not up to his standards, but he knew it would make her happy. It turned out that the food, while heavier than he was used to, actually tasted pretty good.

"Surprised?" Haruhi snickered.

"In reference to what, may I ask?" He lifted a brow in question, his smirk firmly on his face.

"The food."

"I will admit that I expected it to be tasteless and subpar, but this is quite tasty."

Her gentle laughter engulfed their table, "I know."

He could live forever and not get enough of her laughter, her voice, the way she looked at him in that moment, or her…just her. And when he walked her to her door, he kissed her goodnight and reluctantly left her. Now that he had a taste of what it was like to be with her – without the others – for 24 hours, he was loathe to leave her.

Day six had finally arrived. Valentine's Day. Today he would declare himself to her and see if he had won her over. If last night was any indication, he had.

Dressing carefully in a black suit, white button down shirt, and red tie, he placed a red bud through the hole on his lapel and then grabbed the bouquet of roses he had customized for her. The two dozen roses were dyed so that each rose was half purple and half red. Red and purple petals melding together creating one special rose.

He thought – naively believed really – that he would arrive at Haruhi's apartment, sweep her off of her feet, and they would live happily ever after. He was wrong. He should have known the other hosts would show up at her door, each worried that she had missed two days of school, wanting to check on her and give her their Valentines' to her. In the case of Mori and Hunny, it was fairly innocent – or so Kyoya believed. For Tamaki, he thought that while the blond had feelings for her, he knew she belonged to Kyoya – or so Kyoya believed. For the twins, there was nothing innocent about them or their actions – or so Kyoya believed – actually that one is probably right. He had miscalculated, something that hardly ever happened; however, this could be turned into a positive. With them there, they could bear witness and see for themselves that Haruhi had chosen him, that he had met the challenge and won the princess.

When he had pulled up in front of her apartment building, he could already see the others clamoring around her door and then being admitted into the sanctity of the Fujioka home. Kyoya growled under his breath and got out of the car to make his way up the stairs. He would not allow the other to deter him in any way. A brief knock on the door and his smile faltered. It wasn't Haruhi who had answered, but Hikaru…or was it Kaoru?

"Sorry, we don't accept solicitations," the redhead sneered and attempted to slam the door in the older host's face.

Hikaru, definitely Hikaru. Even if Kaoru was upset, he wouldn't be that mean, stupid, or childish. Grabbing the door before it could close, Kyoya told him, "I'm here to see Haruhi." His voice was louder than normal because he wanted to be sure she had heard him.

"Come on in, Kyoya," Haruhi called from the kitchen, smiling as she popped her head into the open space between door and jam. "Hikaru, you promised you would behave. Now go and wait with the others while I get the tea."

Raising his brow in question, he asked, "Behave?"

"I told them that you were coming over today and that if they came in they had to behave," she explained when Hikaru grumpily stomped off and joined the others in the living room.

Five heads peered out of the room he had disappeared into and watched the exchange near the door. Haruhi had let the Shadow King in, but they still stood near the exit, neither saying anything.

"Boss, shouldn't we do something?" Hikaru growled softly.

"No, we stay put men, but if he makes her cry, we will save her!" Tamaki ordered

"What do you mean 'if'? He's Kyoya. Of course he'll make her cry!"

"You don't know that, Hika-Chan!" Hunny snapped.

"Shhh!" Kaoru hushed them all in order to listen the exchange.

In the kitchen, Kyoya handed Haruhi the roses, "These are for you."

Gasping, she gently fingered the petals, feeling their softness with her fingertips, "They're beautiful." Her eyes lifted to his and she smiled, "Thank you, Kyoya."

"Hey did anyone else notice that she isn't adding the senpai today?" Hikaru whispered and received four nods of agreement.

Fighting the urge to roll his eyes because everything they said in the other room could be heard, Kyoya said, "I love you. I'm no longer unsure or hesitant, and I want more than a few days to show you what you mean to me. I'm not proposing today – I know you are not ready for that, and neither am I – but I am proposing that we take another step in our relationship to see where this goes. You are more than just a commoner to me. You are the woman that captured my heart, who showed me that it was all right to love, to find love, and to be loved. I made a mistake the other night due to my uncertainty about my feelings and those of everyone else, but I realized that it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks or says – your opinion is what matters in this situation. I want the opportunity to woo you as you should be so that we can each see what lies between us. Will you give me a chance?"

Tears clouded her vision, however, they did not fall. With a broad smile on her face, she nodded and sniffled, "Yes." Throwing herself in Kyoya's arms, she felt at home when he pulled her towards him in a tight embrace. She pulled back a little and kissed him, slipping a fortune into his palm, "I guess my fortune was right after all."

"I thought you were supposed to leave this on the tree," he chucked and unrolled it. "Good fortune and love will find you in the New Year." Nodding, he kissed her and whispered against her lips, "It would appear so. I guess we should go to the temple and give thanks to both the kami and cupid."

This wouldn't be their first New Year's or Valentine's together. They had many more through their marriage and life, standing side by side. And even though they had a less than cool and perfect start, they naturally fit as two pieces of the same puzzle, and found love and happiness together.