Keep Hangin' On

Void

Wednesday, September 10th

. . .

Kyoya.

The teen sat at a small table by the windows of a quaint pastry shop, waiting for his friend to arrive. He had politely ordered a coffee, but it was quickly cooling, as it had remained untouched for a number of minutes. Having sacrificed precious time for the late afternoon meeting, Kyoya was seconds away from leaving when his blond friend came bustling in.

To Kyoya's trained eyes, Tamaki was clearly disheveled, still strangely dressed in his Ouran uniform despite his usual uptightness about his appearance. His bustling was more muscle memory than anything, and he did not even stop to fluster the female greeter of the shop.

All this served to taper Kyoya's anger at his friend's lateness, and it showed in his warmer-than-normal greeting:

"Tamaki."

"Kyoya," the teen greeted back, taking his seat without much commotion. The two slipped into practiced idle chit-chat until a waitress came over and was shooed away by Tamaki's order. Only when it came did the conversation begin to slow.

"Mon ami, I'd like to talk about Haruhi." Tamaki finally said, lips stretched unnaturally in a frown.

"...Let's take this outside." Tamaki nodded distractedly, placing a bill on the table before following his friend out the door.

. . .

Kyoya slowed to a stop behind Tamaki, who abruptly paused mid-step. Turning to his best friend, Kyoya was unsure of the wide smile that he received.

"So, how are club finances going along, mon ami?" He started casually, heightening Kyoya's suspicions.

"Fine," he answered carefully. "Where are you going with this?"

At this, Tamaki laughed. "Why the look? I'm just curious!" He turned around and began to walk again, much more slowly than before. "How much more does Haruhi owe?" He asked a few moments later.

Kyoya didn't respond.

"Kyoooooya! I only deserve to know about what my daughter is getting herself into!" He whined, eliciting a sigh from his companion.

"Tamaki, you know I can't tell you that." Kyoya regretted the foreboding feeling that came with the lie.

"Sure, you can! You can just-"

"-Tamaki."

The blond froze at the sound of Kyoya's voice. When he turned around to face him, his eyes were glittering.

"Don't let her leave," he cracked, tone flat compared to his earlier cheer.

A pregnant pause passed between them.

"I've been taxing her on every little thing, but in actuality, Haruhi's been debt-free for a while. There's nothing binding her to us anymore." He admitted, not exactly sure why.

"Kyoya-"

"-I was going to tell her yesterday, then today, and now, tomorrow."

"Kyoya, please-"

"-You know I have to."

"You don't!" Tamaki shrilled. "It's not safe for my daughter to leave, not when there are so many people who could take advantage of her! It's not safe, and I won't allow it. As her father, I forbid her to leave this family!"

Kyoya's eyes widened as his friend's breathing sped up--it was clear that he was experiencing a panic attack. "Tamaki, calm down!" He tried, attempting to hold his shoulders, but the blond batted him away violently.