Hello! This is my first Host Club fanfiction. There's just so many options for these fanfics aren't there?

Title: Charity Ball

Rating: PG

Pairings: Kyoya/Haruhi… kinda

Although I can't see this relationship going really far in the canon, I really like the Kyouya/Haruhi pairing. Kyouya seems to have his feet on the ground more than the other club members, huh? I'm not sure if its more correct to spell it as Kyouya or Kyoya, but in English writing Kyoya looks a little smoother so I'll be using that one. Sorry if that upsets anyone. Enjoy!

Useless Disclaimer: I don't own Host Club.

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Haruhi, would you like to try some French delicacies?"

Haruhi stumbled away from her conversation with Kyoya, her head still reeling. He had approached her with that question about food, added her debt into the equation, and then asked her to go with him to some charity ball. She had no choice but to accept.

"Ehhh, Haruhi is going to a banquet?" the twins asked in unison, hanging their heads over the back of the couch. All the guests had just left for the day, and the seniors had left just a few minutes ago.

"Why aren't we invited?" Hikaru drawled.

"Your family is not closely tied to mine," Kyoya answered bluntly, pushing his glasses up his nose before continuing to write in his ledger. "And there will be no students there besides Haruhi and myself."

"Mother!" Tamaki whined, groveling at Kyoya's feet. "Why wasn't Father invited? Surely your best friend should be allowed–"

Kyoya ignored Tamaki's whining and stepped on their king's hand when he walked back to Haruhi. While the king mourned his throbbing hand (and the twins were no help, poking him like that…), Kyoya handed Haruhi a list.

"These are the things you'll need for the ball. The minimal requirements, actually. If there's anything of the correct quality that you do not have, I'll provide it for you."

Haruhi studied the list thoughtfully, her brow furrowed in a way that made the king stop crying and the twins stop being annoying so they could watch her. "A dress?" she asked in confusion. "Shouldn't I be going as a boy?"

"Of course not," Kyoya replied calmly. "It wouldn't have near the same effect if I brought a boy with me to the banquet. As I said, there will be no students there, and the adults won't care if you're a girl."

"Ah…" Haruhi said, scratching her head. What had she gotten into now?

"Kyoya, Tono's dead," chorused the twins, pointing to their fallen leader.

Kyoya rolled his eyes at Tamaki's dramatics and looked down at him with a cold eye. "If you must know, Tamaki, your father politely declined our invitation, saying that both he and you had prior engagements." Kyoya did not add that his father had been sorely disappointed at this development, but his tone certainly hinted at it.

Tamaki sat up and pouted. "Yes, we're having supper together tomorrow night," he answered. Kyoya nodded and disappeared from the scene to take a call about flowers they would need for the next week's theme.

"Hmm, so why is Kyoya taking Haruhi?" Kaoru wondered out loud.

"So she can see him in victory, of course," Hikaru answered.

"Eh?" Haruhi asked.

"Rumor has it that Kyoya's father is going to announce the heir to the family business at that charity ball," Hikaru supplied.

"Kyoya is the third son, but he's nearly positive to be the heir," said Kaoru.

"And of course he'd want you to be there to see it," they finished in unison. "We've never seen this side of Kyoya before."

"I don't think that's it," Haruhi answered, laughing uneasily. Kyoya had mentioned as much. He wanted her to come because the presence of a "lower person" would make him look benevolent at the ball. When Haruhi's mind came back around the twins had already moved on to more important matters; namely, rubbing Tamaki's sad situation in his face. It did not matter to Haruhi and she finished cleaning up quickly so she could leave.

Her plans for escape were short lived. "Haruhi, stay after everyone else," Kyoya said. "I need to talk to you about tomorrow night."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Haruhi felt like a fish out of water standing next to Kyoya. She curtsied for the umpteenth time to a person she would never meet again and fiddled with her ridiculously heavy skirts. Kyoya had ended up providing everything on that list, including the ornate ballroom gown Haruhi wore. It was pretty in theory, a pale pink color that looked very good on her, but Haruhi found that it was so inconvenient that any ascetic value it held was a moot point.

"Smile," Kyoua instructed through an emotionless grin. Haruhi quickly schooled her face and turned to meet the next couple.

"Oh, have you met my guest Haruhi?" Kyoya was saying. "She's a scholarship student at Ouran and she's helping with our host club in order to pay off a debt."

"Oh you poor thing," cooed the woman, hanging on her escort's arm like a handbag.

"Not at all," Haruhi replied automatically. "I get to eat exotic foods and go to places like this, and I'd never get to do any of that if the host club hadn't taken me under their wing."

"I see! How kind of them."

Haruhi nodded and smiled, but the conversation returned to Kyoya. She gave a silent sigh of relief. Kyoya had coached her relentlessly on how to answer things, but it was still tiring. She was relieved when the company was called to the dining hall for the banquet.

Kyoya's instruction soon went out the window when Haruhi saw all the food laid out for them. Fortunately for Kyoya her lack of manners was turned in his favor when everyone sitting around them became entranced by Haruhi's sob-story life. She soon received sympathy for everything she said and had five women arguing about who could adopt her and "give her the finer things of life." Haruhi looked ready to throw her fork at them, and Kyoya kicked her under the table just in case she was getting any stranger notions.

The commotion settled down when Kyoya's father stood up to make an announcement. Haruhi watched Kyoya's mouth tilt up ever so slightly in a self-assured smirk.

"Welcome ladies and gentlemen to our annual Ohtori Charity Ball," he said, waiting for the smattering of clapping to stop before he continued. "As I'm sure you've heard, I have decided to lay out my decision as to which of my sons will be heir to the family business." There was a sudden tight atmosphere in the room as everyone wished to break into chatter, but knew they were not allowed. "This is, of course, not set in writing as of yet; however as you are aware, my word is trustworthy."

The older man paused and glanced over at Kyoya, who was wearing a calm smile that looked like it would begin to strain soon. "Although my eldest son is an upstanding man, I have decided not to name him my heir." Kyoya's smirk was back.

"Instead I will name my second son as my heir."

A light applause echoed through the room, and Kyoya participated. Haruhi didn't pay attention to whatever the older man continued to say, and instead looked over at Kyoya in concern. His smile never faltered, but his eyes had grown considerably darker.

About an hour later Kyoya rose from the table and strode off quickly. Without thinking twice about it Haruhi pushed her chair back and hurried after him. Her skirt did not allow for much speed, and neither did her heels. Haruhi became quickly fed up with them and stripped off the heels before resuming her chase. She tailed Kyoya through the halls until he darted into a dark office, and she followed him in cautiously.

"DAMN!" The sudden sharp sound of Kyoya's voice made Haruhi jump in surprise. He was bent over a desk and his hair was falling over his face in a way that made him look more imposing than usual. Haruhi had never seen him look so mad before, and it scared her a little. Kyoya never got mad! He kept his cool no matter what and calmly manipulated the situation… right?

"M-Maybe you could just start your own company," Haruhi offered, unsure as to what advice she was supposed to give in a situation like this. "And you'll still be rich, won't you?"

"That's not the point," Kyoya said darkly. "I never did anything wrong! And Yamato was the worst of us three to choose. What was father thinking!" He brought his hand down so hard on the desk that a mug of pencils toppled over. Haruhi jumped and watched the pencils roll off onto the floor.

Before Haruhi could say anything Kyoya straightened up and heaved a long sigh. When he glanced up at Haruhi he looked more tired than any teenager had business looking. "I have a few backup plans in case something like this happened," he said. "And it's not like its set in stone yet. I may have a chance yet."

"Oh, good," Haruhi replied, studying his face a little closer. "Maybe… Maybe for tonight you shouldn't try as hard. You look tired."

Kyoya looked at her oddly, and then crossed the room in a few strides of his long legs. Quickly he stooped and gave Haruhi a small kiss. It was quick, but the sweetness of it lingered on her lips even when he pulled away.

"Thank you Haruhi," he said softly, letting a genuine smile touch his lips.

Then he reverted back to business. "Alright, let's make a show of dancing for a little while. After that we'll get back to socializing. If you mess this up I'll add more customers to your debt." He walked purposefully out of the room and Haruhi followed him with a small groan.