A/N:

First ever attempt at a fic.

Host club activities were just ending on a chilly Friday.

Tamaki finished saying an extra long goodbye to the last group of girls, the twins were taking first dibs on changing out of their costumes, and Haruhi was busy cleaning up, as Honey and Mori had to leave early.

Kyoya was left to survey the finances for the day, and the budget for the upcoming week.

"So what's the damage?" Tamaki leaned over Kyoyas shoulder, eying the spreadsheet being compiled.

"Well in short we're out more than we made. We should really start cutting back, or we could auction off services or items to make up for the differences. If you have any suggestions, I'm more than happy to hear them, but if I may suggest 'accidentally' picking up some more items from the others..."

"Mmhmmm," Tamaki dipped his head in quiet thought, before springing to life in an instant. "Well I'm sure you'll do an excellent job Kyoya!" And with that he ran off to bother Haruhi about something or other.

Kyoya accepted that Tamaki probably didn't listen to a word he said. He made a mental note to slip something out of Tamakis backpack at a later date, and continued with his work.

He was so engrossed that he didn't realize that Haruhi was trying to get his attention until she worked up the courage to lightly tap on his shoulder.

"Senpai? I'm going to go change now, and I'll be leaving after. You should probably do the same, yeah?"

He looked down at his light blue kimono. 'Ah, yes, I'm still in my costume for the day. I completely forgot.'

"Yeah, sure." He was still not entirely focused on her, and it wasn't until Haruhi was walking past him uttering a goodbye that he tore himself away from his laptop to change.

He stepped out of the changing room minutes later, double-checking the clean up job; first to the window and the setting sun, then the overall room, which was spotless, then the couch, where he was surprised to see Haruhi still sitting.

"Something wrong Haruhi?"

"Eh? Oh, the doors are all locked. You have a key right?"

"What? It can't possibly be that late... Are you sure all the doors are locked?"

"Yeah I checked them all...You... Do have a key right?"

'This isn't good.'

"Well no actually, I've never had this problem before, so I never saw a reason to keep one on... It's not an issue I can just call."

He walked stiffly over to his schoolbag, running the situation through his head, already knowing that there was no chance of anyone coming for help but...it never hurt to try, right?

He looked through his bag slowly, meticulously, searching every possible area where his cellphone could be, just in case it had managed to fly into his pack somehow. He had intentionally not packed it this morning, he wanted a day off from anything Host Club related, and by that meaning Tamaki related. He would enjoy a walk home by himself with no interruptions, just for once. He hadn't really used his phone for anything else lately.

"Hey, any luck?" Haruhi called. It had already been several, and she looked over and saw Kyoya zipping and unzipping a pocket for the third time.

"Haruhi...do you have any plans this weekend?"

"Neh? Just study...why?"

"And your father, he's working overtime for both of his jobs this weekend correct?" Realization crept over Haruhis face.

She didn't answer.

'Oh no...'

"And what about you Senpai? Any plans?"

"Ah, I'm afraid not. My family has gone on a business trip, I was to stay home all weekend, so no, no outings planned for me. So Haruhi...no one would notice your absence? Because I'm afraid mine would be very much unnoticed."

"Yeah...yeah it looks that way...Ummm... Crap."

"Indeed."

They stared at each other for a second, both still not entirely grasping what this all meant, both not wanting too.

"Ok..." Haruhi began. At this point Kyoya had sat down against the far wall, pack still in hand.

"Ok... So we're locked here. All weekend. It's not SO bad right? We have food and a kitchen, a bathroom, a changing room...It's like we have an apartment right? Haha..." Haruhi giggled insanely at her own lame attempt at humor.

'Just why, why oh why, did it have to be with Kyoya? I'll be dead before the nights up.'

"Well that is true Haruhi... So this isn't...all bad. Although if there is any possibility that anyone would think to look for you here, that would be information you should not hold back."

She lowered her head in thought, then an idea sprung to mind.

"What about the others? Tamaki and all them? They'd notice that BOTH of us are missing? Especially you, right? I mean you guys DID manage to find me when I went to Misuzu-chans place last summer."

"Haruhi, you do know that it was I that was able to locate you, correct?"

"Oh. Right. Sorry, just putting possibilities out there." And Haruhi slumped in the couch in defeat, and they were silent.

,.,.,

Haruhi never realized how distant the two of them were before. If it was anyone else, at least she could say she was trapped with a friend, but this was...Kyoya. He wasn't a bad guy or anything, he was just so...Kyoya.

'All Business... that's a good word to describe us. But this is just awkward.'

The silence was indeed starting thicken the air between them. Haruhi started to fidget a little.

"So Senpai... You uh, hungry or anything?"

"No, not really."

"Ah...Later then." And there was the silence again. This wasn't going well so far. They continued to sit still for a while longer, staring at nothing, before Kyoya cleared his throat. Haruhi perked up, hopeful.

"What's up Senpai?"

"Just thinking...this is your fault you know."

Haruhi was taken aback. "No...no I don't know. How is this my fault, if you don't mind me asking?" Her voice had taken an edge to it.

"Well if you hadn't had taken so long to clean up, you would have left earlier. You would have alerted someone to our presence, no doubt, even stopped whoever it was who was locking up for the weekend. Just an observation." Kyoya glanced down again into his bag and pulled out his black book, then began a search for a pen.

"That's not fair. You know today was busy, there was a lot to do and I had no help. In fact, it wouldn't kill you to offer a hand every now and then."

"Haruhi, I'm always working. I'm busy. It's not my fault Honey and Mori had business. Damn it all, where the hell is my pen?"

"Yeah but I'm not talking about them I'm talking about you." Haruhi was starting to get annoyed.

Kyoya continued to search for his pen.

"I'm not arguing this with you."

"You started it! And besides -gah here I'll get you a damn pen." Haruhi shoved her hand into her bag and threw a pen at Kyoya. It clicked against his head, hitting on target.

'Oh god what did I just do? Oh god oh god oh god-'

"I... I am so so sorry, I don't- please don't hurt me." She braced herself, ready to run and grab a weapon if necessary.

"Haruhi..." Kyoya rubbed the spot where she hit him, then picked up the pen and opened his book. "Please don't get violent with me. I could very easily overpower you, and you are in a position where no one can help you."

A chill went down Haruhis spine.

'I really am going to die here. I wonder if I'll be able to go through the grieving process enough to get to the acceptance phase?'

"I'm not going to hurt you, stop staring at me like I'm some wild beast." Kyoya didn't seem to look up from his writing since he picked up the pen.

"I wasn't worried about that," Haruhi lied, crossing her arms and legs as she did so. "I was just looking at your...uh...book."

"My book isn't going to hurt you either...Although I will admit it does have more potential for harm than I do at the moment." There was a trace of humor in his voice...maybe.

"You're probably just doodling or something, stop trying to freak me out."

"Haruhi, you don't need me to freak you out, you seem to be doing that very well all on your own."

"But you said!- Ah whatever, there's no getting anywhere with you." An innuendo sprung to Kyoyas mind, but he really shouldn't say it...But then again...

"You can go very far with me if you try hard enough." He said, still keeping his eyes towards his book.

"I don't think anyone could try that hard." As he thought, she didn't catch it. It could be fun to see how many of those he could use before she noticed. Kyoya didn't respond, but smiled inwardly at his victory.

,.,.,

Things had been silent after that. It had been an hour since one of them acknowledged the other. Kyoya had taken to playing solitaire on his laptop, leaving Haruhi to wonder around the room, studying each piece of furniture in great detail. She had already found a few pieces of money under the various couches, much to her delight.

Meanwhile, Kyoya was trying to discreetly shoot glances at her every so often, once meeting her eyes on accident. Haruhi guessed that he was just daring her to screw up somehow, judging by the sharpness in his gaze, and she became noticeably more careful and quiet with her movements. She also deliberately looked anywhere but Kyoyas corner of the room after that. If the air had seemed thick before, it may as well have the consistency of jello by now. To Haruhi, it felt like it was choking her, along with her light attempts to make conversation, which seemed to go unheard.

'This sucks. A lot. Ok, I really am going to say something this time.'

She breathed in through her nose to steady herself, and was opening her mouth to speak when Kyoya sighed heavily and leaned back in his chair. "It's getting dark, why don't you go make some food for yourself?"

Haruhi felt relieved that she wasn't the one to break the silence.

"Er, ok, I could do that." She started walking towards the kitchen, when she ran the question through her head again.

"Hey Senpai?"

"Mmm?"

"Don't you want something to eat?" He seemed to think deeply about this for a second.

"Yeah, go ahead." Haruhi raised an eyebrow, but walked to the kitchen.

What, does he think I'll poison the food or something? How do I get in these situations? This is uncomfortable...As if I need to point that out.

Haruhi sighed as she examined all the contents of the refrigerator, and then the cabinets.

"How about...curry? Curry will do..." Haruhi had a habit of mumbling to herself when she was on her own. It was something she picked up in all her years of being alone so often. She barely noticed how alone she always was, and when she did, she was ok with it. She didn't mind the solitude, but she was growing to not mind company either. It felt like a relief to be away from Kyoya for a while, but at the same time she found herself wishing they were on nicer terms so she wouldn't have to feel that way. She decided to try talking to him over dinner. If they were going to be forced to be together like this, she may as well try to find some sort of common ground.

While Haruhi was making dinner and mulling over her thoughts, trying to think of a good way to break the ice, Kyoya had adopted her idea of studying the room. It had grown very dark, and the moon was starting to rise. None of the lights inside were turned on, but the light from the full moon was more than enough to fully illuminate the entire room. Clouds were quickly creeping in, and by the end of the night would most likely cover the whole sky. He was staring out one of the full length windows when Haruhi walked in carrying a tray of food.

"Wow, you look bored out of your mind." Kyoya blinked. He was thinking deeply, and was surprised at how quietly the girl had managed to walk into the room. Only a little though.

"Well, you would be right in assuming that. Is curry really all you could think of?" Haruhis expression dropped.

"Sheesh fine I'll make you something else."

"No need, I just thought by now you would have come up with something impressive, you were in there for a long time." She had indeed been gone for a while, she had stood staring into nothingness long after the food was done, still trying to think of a good way to talk to Kyoya, but even now she was grasping for words.

"Fine whatever. Sorry if it doesn't meet your expectations." She mumbled, low sarcastic, her eyes looking towards the couch. She set the tray down, and was breaking apart her chopsticks when, to her surprise, Kyoya sat on the same couch as her, a few inches away.

Haruhi raised an eyebrow. "You know there's a seat right across from me."

"So there is."

And that was that.

Kyoya ate quickly and silently, taking small rapid-fire bites. He barely even seemed to chew.

'He's like a robot. It's like he's incapable of doing anything not perfectly.' Haruhi didn't catch herself watching him before he caught her.

"It's rude to stare."

"Uh sorry it's just...nothing."

"Something you need to tell me?"

'Plenty, actually, but how to word it...'

"Not really, I just-yeah actually!" Kyoya raised an eyebrow at her, but continued to eat in silence. "Do you...uh...Do you like card games?"

'Wow that was lame.'

The other eyebrow went up, the first falling.

"That was what you were so intent on? But, sure, I don't mind them so much."

"Great!" She chimed with too much enthusiasm, making her voice crack. She coughed and continued, "Great, would you like to play a round or so with me when we're done here? You know, give us something to do with each other."

"I can think of plenty of things we can do with each other."

"Really? Like what?" she asked excitedly, and Kyoya allowed himself a smile.

As he thought, she's still completely naive, that girl. This was just too easy.

"I know of a couple card games myself, actually. You do have cards don't you?"

"Of course, wouldn't have brought it up otherwise. I'm done eating, I'll go get mine while you finish up." And with that she walked towards her bag, a spring in her step as she went.

Kyoya stared after her. She had been alternating between icy and angry all day, and he knows he hasn't exactly been the most charming lock-in buddy, and suddenly she wanted to play card games with him.

But then again, it has been excruciatingly boring.

She returned a few moments later, and after some clean up and a small argument over what to play, they settled on Haruhi teaching Kyoya how to play War. They moved to the floor to allow them some space, Kyoya leaning against the couch. They finally were able to have light conversation, and Kyoya actually laughed when he messed up and smacked her hand on accident. Haruhi stared, surprise on her face.

"Haha-er, sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you."

"No, nothing like that it's just...I've never seen you laugh before. It's kind of refreshing."

"Well contrary to popular belief, I am human too, you know." He seemed to pout a little when he said this, making Haruhi giggle.

"It is hard to believe, I DID see you eat earlier, but you've still yet to convince me entirely." Kyoya sat up a little straighter.

'She's being coy now is she? Don't get too comfortable Haruhi.'

"There's plenty of things that are very human about me," he couldn't help but get a little defensive, "I want and feel and scream and cry, just like anyone else." Haruhi cocked her head. It was very hard to imagine Kyoya doing any of those things.

"Oh yeah? And what's something you want?"

He thought about it.

"Plenty of things. I want the stock in the Ootori business to raise in value, I want to meet all expectations of me, and go beyond them, I want this club to gain profits, rather than lose them like we have been. I think you get the picture."

"Right... Let me rephrase the question. What's something you want to feel?"

He stared at his hands in thought. He remained that way for what felt like an eternity. Haruhi was beginning to really regret asking the question.

"You don't have-"

"Accepted." He said it quietly, never looking up.

Now Haruhi was feeling even more uncomfortable, she was at a complete loss for words, and she felt bad for asking something so personal.

"Um, hey?" He looked up from his hands, his expression blank. "It probably doesn't matter, but I'm pretty sure everyone here accepts you. I do anyway."

Kyoya chuckled and slouched over again.

"Thanks for the thought, but I know how people feel about me. Your comment earlier about how inhuman I am proves that. Now before you protest, you should know that my slip out of character puts you in a lot of debt to me." His tone was pleasant but Haruhis heart sank into her stomach.

"I'm afraid your debt to me has spiraled out of control, in fact. Due to the amount not being within anything you could possibly pay back within this lifetime, you now owe me your soul."

It was all Haruhi could do to not run away in fear. Instead she stared wide-eyed at Kyoya until he sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"I can't even make jokes around you. My mistake for trying to poke some fun at the situation." Haruhi deflated, but her panic was replaced with annoyance.

"That...that was not a good joke Senpai. Please don't do that again." Kyoya laughed softly. "How about you then? What's something you want to feel?" He leaned over on his side, holding his head up with his hand, looking intently at her. He had evidently decided to go all host-mode on her.

"I...er... I dunno..." Haruhi was much more vocal in the thinking process than Kyoya was. "I don't know actually. 'Comfortable' would be a nice feeling right about now."

"Hmm. I could make you feel very comfortable."

Haruhi cocked her head to the side.

'Damn, she almost caught on.' Kyoya pushed up his glasses before continuing.

"There's some blankets in the storage room we could use. It is starting to get cold in here, is it not? And let's continue when I get back. I still have a game to beat you at."

He stood up to leave. Haruhi shifted as she prepared to stand up, but he motioned for her to sit back down. She instead stared at their game. She had completely forgotten they were even playing in the first place. She then looked towards one of the many windows. It was starting to snow lightly. The snow always looked so soft to Haruhi, like she could just lay under the sky and feel nothing but pure cold play gently over her skin. For one insane moment she wanted to fling herself out of the window into the nothingness, and then it occurred to her that she now had a more complete answer to Kyoyas question.

Kyoya returned to where Haruhi was. She was laying on her stomach, staring out the window. He followed her gaze when he sat down next to her.

"It's snowing." Kyoya stated, shocking Haruhi out of her thoughts.

"Yeah...Looks soft."

"Cold it seems...but soft, I suppose that works too. Hopefully this will suffice though." He threw a large blanket over them both. Haruhi looked around, confused.

"Only one?"

"Well I'd rather not freeze to death tonight, you understand my meaning."

"Neh... Makes sense." Haruhi sat up, undid her tie, flung it across the room, and resumed her position on her stomach.

"This is going to kill our backs if we sleep on the floor..." Haruhi said quietly.

"Sorry, but we don't exactly have futons at our disposal. Actually we should get those, a slumber party theme would work well sometime..." Kyoya trailed off for a moment and grabbed his chin in thought, before laughing once again, much to the confusion of Haruhi.

"It just occurred to me how a few certain others would do just about anything to be in the very position where I am now."

Haruhi rolled over on her side, the expression of confusion still on her face.

"Although...I suppose you have been in a similar position before..."

"What in the world are you talking about?"

"That brings me to another question, actually. That night with Hikaru, when you two were alone in that church together, did anything...?" Kyoya leaned in a bit too close, staring at Haruhi with what looked like genuine curiosity.

"Nope," she dead-panned.

Kyoya smiled at her abrupt answer, and Haruhi blushed, rolling onto her back to stare at the ceiling.

"I really mean it, nothing happened. We sort of just hugged all night, and that was only because I was scared."

"So you wouldn't just let a person do that when you're completely ok?"

"Since when did you start caring about people?" Haruhi quickly rolled over so her back was facing him. She flinched a little at her own words, but he deserved it.

"How uncouth of you Haruhi. Are you going to tell me to make like a tree and leaf next?"

She didn't answer.

"I'm allowed to be curious aren't I? And besides, I do so care about people. I just don't show it the same crazy way the rest of you lot do..." He draped a hand over her shoulder, which she promptly shrugged off. Undeterred, he grabbed her arm and forced her on her back, making her let out a slight "oh," her head hitting the floor hard. She stared up at him with wide eyes, without expression.

'Now that face looks familiar...Ah yes, that was the same face she wore when she thought I was going to rape her. My attempts at showing I care are not going well, I see.'

He flinched, remembering his panicked thoughts that night with all too much detail.

'She looks scared. Am I going too far with this? Why hasn't she said anything yet? I've been hovering over her for way too long. Should I get closer to scare her more? My chest hurts. She really is pretty, I see why all those other fools pine for this...this little thing now. No, this little girl. I'm threatening a child. Why isn't she saying anything?'

"You wouldn't do it Senpai..." 'Is that a challenge? Or a desperate cry? This is infuriating. I could kiss her right now-'

"Because you wouldn't get anything out of it...You would have nothing to gain."

'Ah...Is that what she thinks?'

But he only smirked and agreed with her that night, and the rest was history. He was relieved that she only praised him and thought no more of it, but a tiny part of him still was curious as to what would have happened had she remained silent, and had he followed through with his urges.

And now here they were again.

It seemed like Kyoya had been holding her there for ages, just staring into her eyes without really looking at her, and she staring back. Her mind was a complete blank, her only thoughts being those of curiosity, and the occasional pang of fear in her belly.

And then he let go. The moment had only lasted about five seconds in reality.

He stood up again, straightening his coat.

"I'm going to grab some more comfortable clothes for us to sleep in, and find something to use as pillows. We'll catch a cold if we stay like this. I did say I'd make you comfortable." And before Haruhi could think to say anything, he was gone.

She blinked a couple times, reality coming back to her.

'What the hell was that all about?'

She realized how extremely uncomfortable she actually was, and grabbed the blanket and changed positions to the couch, sitting close to the armrest. She looked out the window once more, by now the moon was high in sky, obscured by the snow that was falling in droves now. She shivered.

"See? Told you we'd get sick." Kyoya returned, dressed in a yukata, arms loaded.

"I never disagreed..." Haruhi mumbled before having the pile thrown at her.

"Another blanket, along with a yukata for you. Go change before you really do get sick."

She obeyed silently, still feeling a little odd around him after what happened a few minutes ago. She went into the bathroom instead of the changing room, changed, washed her face, and went back to the main room. Kyoya had taken her spot on the couch, and was actually trying to scribble into his little black book.

And then she remembered where she was. In Ouran High School. In the hosts club room. And she was alone. With Kyoya Ootori. It was her turn to laugh.

"Something funny?" Kyoya set his book down and turned his gaze to her.

"It's just... I see what you mean now," She sat down next to him, imitating his movement from dinner, "a lot of people I know would totally kill to be in the position I'm in with you right now."

Kyoya leaned back and cast his eyes down at her, smiling. She continued to laugh.

"I mean, this is totally something a crazed fan girl would love to see right? Two hosts locked up together? This whole thing is so ridiculous! In fact, I bet you're videotaping all of this just so you can sell it later." She continued laughing. That quip about the video tapes stung Kyoya, but only for a second. He chuckled with her, draping an arm around her. This situation was absurd after all.

"Haruhi, mind if I say something dumb?" Haruhi stifled her giggles and nodded at him, smiling.

"Out of all the people I could have possibly gotten locked up with for a whole weekend, you are the least horrible."

'Was that...a compliment?'

"Haha, uh, thanks I guess." His fingers tapped on her shoulder lightly, and she realized that they were awfully close together. Their legs were touching, and his hand was now around her back, lightly caressing her.

"This is more close to how I show I care about people, in case you were wondering..." He said it quietly, Haruhi barely heard him before his voice trailed off. Haruhi looked up at him, she wanted to make a remark about how impractical that is, but the way he was scratching her back felt a bit too nice for that at the moment. It was calming, his thin fingers sending chills down her spine. She didn't want it to stop. She swayed a little bit, feeling at ease, and Kyoya grabbed her and pulled her closer. Her side was now completely touching his, and she looked up towards him and cocked her head. He was still leaning back, still only surveying her from above.

"For the warmth, you see..."

"Yeah...yeah the warm is nice..."

"I could make you very warm, if you wanted."

Haruhis eyes widened.

That...was not a good innuendo to blurt out. Maybe she'll misinterpret that?

"Senpai...I don't..." She looked down and blushed.

In his attempt at covering up his words, he grabbed the other blanket off the floor and thew it over them with one arm, the other arm still holding Haruhi by the back.

"This...isn't what you meant, is it?" She looked him in the eye. Her eyes were wide again.

'Why is she pursuing this? Is she insane?'

Unsure of what to say, he moved his hand around her waist, tapping the side of her stomach.

"Haruhi, I...didn't mean it to come across that way. I'm sorry."

She smiled. She was glad nothing happened because of something so silly as an innuendo.

"That's ok. The warm is nice, I don't mind it." She burrowed her head into his shoulder to emphasize how completely ok she was.

He smiled, and with one movement, reached down and grabbed both her legs, placed them over his so they were across his lap, and held her bridal style. She made an odd squeaking noise in surprise, but was soon overcome with how comfortable she was. He moved his hand up and down her back, lightly tracing her spine, making her shiver and curl up even more. They remained like that for a while, completely content, both almost falling asleep. Something clicked in Kyoyas head almost a hundred years later, and moved his other hand out from under her legs, and instead placed it on her shoulder, staring into her eyes. He remained expressionless.

She had had her eyes closed with a small smile on her lips up until that point, but now she stared back at him, eyes growing. Even now, with him holding her the way he was, and how natural if felt to be held, she still felt the fear in her belly under his cold gaze. Remembering again who this was, she blushed, and looked down. He moved his hand up, brushing past her neck, and cupped her chin, forcing her to look at him.

She hadn't realized that she had stopped holding herself up long ago, and it was only his arm keeping her from falling back, and that support was slowly lowering her down, and they never broke their stare. Their gaze remained steady, even after Kyoya was on top of her, she between his legs, his hands holding her down. She swallowed.

"Is this...what...?" Words wouldn't come out right.

He grasped her wrists before moving his hands down her body.

"For the warmth, you see..."