"Then, I couldn't understand why it bothered me so. It's not that our love died, it never had the chance to grow."

"So, do you have any ideas?" Haruhi asked the next day in the second library room. The room was filled with other second years brainstorming for the second-year festival. "Because, honestly, I have no clue what we should do."

"Me, either." Kaoru answered without hesitation. "I mean, food booths are overdone. Everyone will do a food booth. Plus, we only have two people, so it'll be hard to do anything too big."

"Yeah," She agreed. "Well, we could… Oh, nevermind. It's kind of dumb."

"What is?" He perked up a little. "A dumb idea is better than no idea!"

"Um, well, I guess I thought maybe a we could do a cosplay-photo booth? You could design the costumes, and I could help sew them. Then, people would come, try on the costumes and pay to have their picture taken in them."

"Haruhi, that's—"

"Dumb, I know." She sighed and rested her head on her palm.

"No!" He exclaimed. "That's brilliant! Why didn't I think of that? It'll be the best booth for sure!"

"Really? You think so?" He nodded in excited response before throwing open his bag and digging around noisily. Haruhi leaned forward out of curiosity to see what he was doing. "Kaoru, what are you looking for?"

"My sketchbook." He answered curtly. "I have a ton of costumes planned for the host club that I never got a chance to use on account of… Well, you know."

She did know. Lately the host club's closing had been bothering her more and more. Being with Kyoya was nice, actually she really liked being with Kyoya, but it wasn't the same. She missed Honey and Mori. She hardly ever saw them now, and Tamaki… The last time she had spoken to Tamaki, he had just left, without saying a word. Maybe he was mad at her? Like Hikaru? Hikaru. That was so complicated and messy. Despite her promise to forgive him if he apologized— which Kyoya had assured her he had— she was still a little angry with him.

"Ah, here it is!" Kaoru exclaimed at last, pulling a large, spiral-bound notebook at least three inches thick from his bag. He dropped it on the desk with a loud thunk. Haruhi wondered how he could possibly lose something that size.

Kaoru's sketchbook was sectioned off with six color-coded tabs. "One for each of us," he explained, opening the white tab labeled with a capital H. "This is your part. See, about half of these are girl's clothes, so we can alter some of those… Oh, and here!" He flipped to the dark purple tab that bore a capital K. "This is some of my best work." He boasted.

"For Kyoya?" She clarified. "Wow, I really like that one," Haruhi said, pointing to an intricate kimono design.

"Me, too. Say, Haruhi… How is Kyoya-sempai lately? I mean with his…" Kaoru's voice trailed off a little as he pointed to his own cheek, indicating Kyoya's bruises.

"He's healthy and all that. I don't think it'll scar or anything." She answered directly with a shrug.

"Oh that's good, no thanks to my brother." He averted his gaze. "I, um, I'm sorry about all that. I meant to tell Kyoya-sempai that, too, but it's been difficult for me to talk to him recently."

"Why is that?"

"Eh," Kaoru searched for the right words. Haruhi was Kyoya's girlfriend after all, so maybe he shouldn't have brought this up at all. "Well I know it hasn't been long, but the host club closed, and The Boss is all depressed. Kyoya-sempai and Hikaru are fighting. Honey-sempai and Mori-sempai are so busy with school… it feels like we're all falling apart."

"I know," She agreed quietly. "And then I went and ruined everything at our picnic. I'm a terrible friend."

"Don't say that, Haruhi." Kaoru rested his hand on hers. If she was a terrible friend, what did that make him? Haruhi felt bad about telling everyone the truth, while here he was, lying to everyone— even himself a little bit. Kaoru felt like he was prying the host club farther apart by acting on his own jealousy and encouraging his brother to do the same. "I think everything will be okay, in the end." He said this as much for his own benefit as hers.

"Kaoru? You shouldn't feel guilty about what happened. It was mostly my fault. I think you should talk to Kyoya, though. He doesn't blame you for anything. Besides, we all should be together. I have a few amends to make, myself…"

"Haruhi?"

"Look, all I'm saying is that if this host club is going to stay together, it's up to us to keep it that way."

"Right!" He smiled.

"Well, let's get this over with." Hikaru sighed with annoyance.

"Um, what do you want to do, Hikaru-kun?" Kurikano asked quietly from her desk in homeroom. All the other pairs had retreated to the library rooms or clubrooms, leaving them alone in class 2-A.

"I'm indifferent." He declared.

"Oh, I see." She answered. There was silence. Hikaru twirled his pencil between his fingers. "Hikaru-kun," Kurikano began again. "Are you really that upset that you have to work with me? I mean, that is… I was kind of looking forward to working with you, but I see now that you must really be annoyed by me."

"No… It's nothing personal. I find most people annoying."

"Oh." Her voice got small.

"Shit. No, that came out wrong. Look, I'm really bad at talking to people. I think I'm getting better, but obviously it's not something I'm naturally good at. I'm sorry, you're not that annoying, I promise."

"Not that annoying?"

"Damn, I didn't mean—" She put a hand up with a small smile to stop him.

"It's okay, Hikaru-kun. I'm not good at it either. I'm really shy and people used to really scare me. That's why I do student government. I guess it makes it easier to talk to people when I feel like I have the upper hand, like being in charge. That sounds cowardly, right?" She dropped her gaze, and let her long hair fall in her face.

"No way," Hikaru answered. "I get it. Totally. People can't hurt you if they mean less than you do. I know, I can come off as a jerk sometimes, but it's not because I like being mean, it's just like, if I make myself better than someone, they don't have any power over me." He let out a small laugh.

"I don't think you're a jerk, Hikaru-kun. I think you're being honest with your feelings. I admire that."

"Well, for what it's worth, I don't think you're shy. You seem to be able to talk to me just fine."

"That's because," A pale pink blush crept across her cheek, as she pulled her hair behind her ear. "That's because you're not uncomfortable to be around."

"Not uncomfortable?" He raised an eyebrow; unsure as to whether that was a compliment or just a statement.

"Yeah, not uncomfortable." Kurikano held a small smile on her lips. Suddenly, the room was quiet again as it settled into an awkward silence. "So," She clapped her hands together. "About that booth…"

"Kyoya! Kyoya! Pst! Kyoya!"

Tamaki's harsh whisper filled Kyoya's ear. Slowly, he turned in his chair and shot a glare at the idiot behind him. However, as usual, Tamaki's warm smile beat Kyoya's icy stare.

"What?" He hissed back. Tamaki only smiled brighter before holding out a neatly folded note sealed with a pink heart sticker. The front read, "To Mommy, with all of Daddy's love".

Kyoya reluctantly accepted the note and peeled back the sticker to open it. He paused for a moment to let out an exasperated breath. Tamaki's handwriting was awful. Never the less, he began to read.

"My Dearest Kyoya,

You should tell me what's going on with the host club. Is it true that you and Hikaru are being mean to each other? How is Haruhi? Is she mad at me?

I know you were wondering, but I'm fine. Don't worry about me, okay? Seriously, she's not mad, is she?

Class is so boring, Kyoya. Do you know what this lesson is about? I stopped paying attention at the beginning… Haha. You know what? I think the only thing that used to make school bearable was that I knew that I got to go to the host club after.

I know I should be happy about living in the main residence, but I'm really lonely.

Do you think maybe we could all get together for lunch again, soon? Well that is, if Haruhi's not too mad at me… And if you and Hikaru make up… Then again, maybe not…

Much Love,

Tama-chan (Daddy)"

Kyoya sighed again. This guy really was hopeless, and now, he had made Kyoya feel really guilty. He ripped a page from the back of his notebook and scrawled quickly.

"Tamaki:

I understand that you're upset. I suppose that, if it really means that much to you, you and I can eat lunch together tomorrow.

But you'll owe me.

Kyoya."

A.N.: I bet you thought I was never going to update this again… Honestly I surprised myself by writing. I'll definitely finish this, I promise!

(P.S. Kurikano and Hikaru is my crackship…)