Kaoru x Reader - Jealousy Chp. 8

My emotions, man.

You quietly freaked out in your head as you paced in your bedroom. Why did he do that? Why is he so interested in Haruhi? I have nothing against her, of course, she's pretty and funny and extrememly smart, and I'm happy that they're going on a date, and it's summer and it's pretty outside and everything and I really should start walking more because I'm really getting out of shape and the weather in Karuizawa is pretty now becuase it's starting to become fall and- ah, wait, what was I talking about? Er, I mean, thinking...

(_{Just a note: when I wrote 'start walking' I accidentally wrote 'start stalking' and I laughed. K bye.})

Shaking your head, you stopped pacing and slumped against the wall, placing your head in your hands. "I'm such a mess," you mumble, squeezing your eyes shut, "Since when did I care about him? Or who he hangs out with? Or... what he does?" you throw your hands into the air and grumble. "Stupid feelings..."

(_{Or who he does hehehehehehe})

You sit on the floor, your hands dangling in the air above your head, and blow strands of __h/c__ hair from your face.

"Uh...Y/N?"

"Not now Haruhi, I'm having a feeling attack." you mumbled, although she didn't seem to hear. Slowly, you arose from your position to meet the girl at the door. "Sorry, what do you need?"

Haruhi looked at her hands nervously, and waited a moment before speaking. "Can you... help me get ready for the date with Kaoru? I would ask Misuzu, but he's....busy."

Pfft.

Trying to hold back a glare that surprised you when it almost appeared on your features, you muttered, "Busy as in... he would overreact when he found out you were dating Kaoru?"

"Ah, that's not-" Haruhi's face turned red. "We're not dating, Y/N!" she shouted, and you felt a smirk grow on your face instead of a glare. "Geez, you're starting to act like Kyoya-sempai."

You rolled your eyes. "Tch. Come on, let's get you ready for the date."

As much as you wanted to leave Haruhi in the hallway to fend for herself, she was still your friend, and you never really had anyone close to you, so you didn't want to break the bonds.

Plus, it's fun seeing Haruhi blush whenever I mention her dating Kaoru.

Your hand faltered as you were curling the brunette's hair. A heavy weight set in your chest, but you brushed it off, returning back to fixing your friend's hair, who didn't seem to notice your suddenly hesitant moves.

Because of the fact that you never had much people to hang around with, you never went on dates, so this whole thing was new to you, too, but you tried your hardest to seem like you knew what you were doing, like you usually do every day.

"Y/N?"

Snapping out of a trance you didn't know you had fallen into, you let go of Haruhi's hair to glance at the door. Tamaki stood there, with a very ...weird look on his face.

"...Yeah, Tamaki-senpai?"

The blonde smiled a bit, and motioned for you to go into the hallway. Confused, you tipped your head to the side, and excused yourself for a moment from fixing up your friend's hair. Haruhi glanced at you, seeming as confused as you were as you slipped into the hallway, placing your hands behind your back as Tamaki closed the door behind you.

"What did you need?" you asked, your head filling with thoughts. He's acting weird all of a sudden... did Hikaru do something again?

As Tamaki began to speak, you reminded yourself that you had to ask Haruhi what happened the day before, when Arai had been at the pension.

Although, I highly doubt he would go to me if something was up about the twins...

"Y/N, I want you to promise me something..." you looked up at him. "Can you..."

"Oh... uh, yeah? What do you...??" you stared at the boy as he blushed and looked at the ground. Way to go, Y/N, you made the self-centered man self-consious.

"Promise me you'll take good care of Haruhi during the date!" he shouted, making you flinch and take a step back.

Seriously?

"T-Tamaki-senpai, I'm not the one going on a date---!!" your eyes widened in shock as you watched him carefully. "You're supposed to be telling Kaoru this!!" you squeaked, hiding your face in your hands from embarrassment.

"But you're going with them, are you not...?" you pulled away from your hands to peer at him curiously. "Did I not tell you the plan?"

You blinked.

"What."

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Kaoru grabbed your hand and pulled you back in order to prevent you from being seen by Hikaru or Haruhi. You both fell against the side of a buidling, and you felt Kaoru place his hands on your shoulders to seperate the two of you from each other.

Your face flushed a dark red as you jerked away from him out of instinct, brushing non-existent dirt off of your skirt that Misuzu had forced you to wear. It was short- not as short as the ones Noel and Alleah wear, but short enough for you to get a surprised look from some of the guys in the Host Club when you walked downstairs with Haruhi that morning after you had finished helping her get ready for the date later on.

"Sorry," you whispered to the fiery haired boy, who shrugged and smiled at you as if it was nothing. The two of you then resumed watching the scene before you behind a cafe. So far, Haruhi and Hikaru hadn't met up yet, but you could see both of them clearly, with the former looking around blankly, and the latter sighing in frustration.

You, however, were basically jumping in your spot beside Kaoru, you were so happy.

Ah, I'm so selfish... I didn't want Haruhi to date Kaoru... which I'm still confused on why she's not...

"Ah, Kaoru, the rest are over there." you said softly, pointing with a finger to a cafe across the street where Tamaki, Hunny, Mori, and Kyoya sat, Hunny indulging himelf in a piece of cake, whilst the other three talked 'calmly', as calm as Tamaki can get.

Kaoru nodded, and, after checking to make sure the infamous 'couple' weren't looking your way, he grabbed your hand again, much to your disliking, and dragged you to the cafe.

After you had fallen in the door, Kaoru recieved a shouting at by Tamaki at, first of all, how he was treating you so un-host-like, and second, about how horrible this whole idea was, and, even if Tamaki was the one to think it up, it was all Kaoru's fault if somehow his precious daughter got hurt.

"Wait." you said, stopping his rant. "Daughter...?"

Tamaki continued ranting to Kaoru, as said boy just sighed, while Kyoya explained to you the whole family situation.

"Tamaki is the father, I am the mother, Kaoru and Hikaru are the annoying twins, Mori-senpai and Hunny-senpai are the neighbours, and, like said before, Haruhi is Tamaki's daughter."

You placed your thumb and pointer finger on the bridge of your nose, and sighed. "That can be taken really creepily, Kyoya-senpai." you said, adding the ending to his name at the last minute. "B-besides, how are you the mother?" you began to giggle, surprised a little that you hadn't heard of this yet. "I-if anything, H-Haruhi should be the m-mother..." you tried to stiffle your giggles, but you failed, and began laughing as Kyoya stared at you, seeming annoyed.

"...Right." he said after a moment, and then retreated to writing in his book. After your laughter subsided, you sighed and turned to watch Haruhi and Hikaru, who just noticed each other. You couldn't hear them, but, from what you could see, Hikaru was just about to leave.

"Uh... Kaoru?" you winced when you said his name, and when he turned to you, shocked, you nodded to where Hikaru and Haruhi stood awkwardly. Kaoru was silent for once, and walked up beside you, placing an hand on your shoulder.

"I'm worried about them too, Y/N, mostly because Hikaru has never really been close to anyone other than myself, but you can't let it bother you too much. They will eventually have to work it out, whether they like it or not. We might have to help a little, though." he laughed, as did you, as you both watched them quietly.

Arms wrapped around your waist and tugged you away from the twin, making you squeak and hide your face in your hands as Tamaki began shouting again. "Don't touch my youngest daughter, you filthy twin!" he yelled, and your face burned a bright red as you stretched your arms out to any of the other Hosts to help you out.

"T-Tamaki, I'm not your daughter--!" you squeaked, squeezing your eyes shut as your lungs failed to give air. "A-and I c-c-can't breathe!" you felt sick as he began whirling you around, but after a moment it stopped, and you were set down to the ground by Mori.

"A-ah, thank you, senpai..."

"Oh." Hunny looked up from his cake and at the window, where Haruhi and Hikaru had walked closer to each other. Hikaru pointed to Haruhi's dress, and she began to inspect it herself. "Look, they're getting closer."

Tamaki clenched his fists and turned back to Kaoru, shaking him this time. "You! You're lucky I even agreed to this whole date, even with yeterday's fiasco. I'm still wondering how it even turned out like this!" he was shouting again, and you walked backwards to where Kyoya, Hunny, and Mori sat at a table. You quickly took a seat, still a little dizzy from being thrown around by the Host Club King.

"This is Haru-chan's first date, right?" Hunny asked to you, and you reluctantly nodded, which made Tamaki even more furious.

"Argh!" he let go of Kaoru and pointed to the window. "I'll get you for this, Hikaru! And what's up with that outfit!?"

Your face turned red as you slammed your head into the table, making it rattle and causing everyone except Tamaki to look at you in confusion. Goddamnit.

"She's so cute! Incredibly cute!" Tamaki continued to yell, his finger still pointed at the two outside.

I had obviously wanted to make Haruhi look cute, as this was her first date, but I didn't realize that Tamaki also.. has a thing for Haruhi? Well, I mean, does Hikaru like her too? Or.. Kaoru...

Kaoru slowly blinked out of the corner of your eye, and then chuckled. "I think Haruhi needed girl help~" he sung, walking over to you, but was stopped once more by Tamaki. You raised you head from the table painfully and sighed as you were lifted up again.

(_{You lift me uuuupppp~})

After you were thanked a million times by Tamaki, you were leaded outside the cafe, where Haruhi and Hikaru had left, and the rest of the club members filled the street instead.

Did we seriously just lose them?

The six of you wandered down the streets of Karuizawa for a while until you found the infamous duo (no, not the twins for once) windowshopping. Tamaki began to flip out again, and you retreated to walking beside Mori, who was carrying Hunny, and Kaoru, who had started to talk about his past with Hikaru, which seemed to interest you greatly. Kyoya, who stood on the other side of Mori, was still a little too intimidating and scary for your liking, and you had only talked to him a couple of times, so you refrained from doing anything else.

He might do that thing that he did to Haruhi to me... I don't want to owe him anything...

Tamaki was flipping out, as usual, and was almost seen by Haruhi and Hikaru many times if everyone else hadn't been there to stop him. You rolled your eyes after Tamaki failed in being a salesman, in which he tripped over his cart and sent souvenirs flying everywhere. Kaoru smiled briefly, which caught your attention.

You had been gone when the redhead had explained what his plan was to the Host Club, as you were upstairs in the pension preparing Haruhi, but Tamaki had made a rushed summary of...whatever it was that you were doing.

Because of this, you just had to tag along like a lost puppy, not really understanding what was going on.

I hate being left in the dust...

Flashing a quick smile at Kaoru, you returned to walking beside him and Mori, all of you resuming your walk in trailing after HikaHaru.

"Ah, I hope there aren't any thunderstorms today!"

"I know, I totally asked my father today what the weather was like today and everything!"

"Storms are so scary~!"

Flinch.

(_{Grab the wall--- sorry})

"Oooh, hey, is that the Host Club?!"

A high pitched squeal emitted above the crowds of people, making some pause in annoyance. "It totally is!"

*click click click click*

You grit your teeth and shut your eyes. Great...

"Hey guys! It's a total coincidence that you're here! Ah, Hikaru, where's your brother?" Noel asked, grabbing his arm and leaning in.

"Oooh, your outfit is so cute today, Hunny-kun!" Alleah said quietly- as quiet as talking in public with a bunch of people around can get- and ruffled his hair rather rougly.

You hold in a snort. How do they know their names? From what I remember, they were at the Host Club the last day of school... and then at the pension yesterday. That... was... all...? I think?

Struggling to remember any time you had seen the two strange girls, you hadn't realized you stopped walking in the middle of thinking.

You were now standing in the middle of the street by yourself.

Where am I?

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

"Ah!"

Mud fills your vision as you stumble and fall into a puddle, staining your clothes. You feel tears stream down your face as you lay in the mud, feeling the rain pelt your head and body.

It had been like this for what seemed like an eternity. You had tried running around Karuizawa for countless hours
gets lost, and eventually you got so frustrated that you eventually gave up.

At first, you had tried to find the Host Club members, even Hikaru and Haruhi would've been good to talk to at that moment. Sometimes, you would catch a glimpse of your new friends, but the crowds in the streets were so horrible that you couldn't find anyone for more than a second without getting dragged away.

Besides, whenever you did find a Host Club member, you always saw either Noel, Alleah, or some random girl talking to them.

So you just retreated to finding the pension, which you also couldn't find.

Your head began to sting as you screamed into the dirt. I'm so stupid...

After a while, you began to grow cold, so you pulled yourself up and let the rain wash all of the excess mud off of you.

"Maybe there are still people outside..." you mumble, flinching as lightning strikes ahead of you. The rain pelted down even harder, and you groaned, tugging down your skirt. "I'm gonna kill Misuzu for this outfit he...she gave me..." you grumble, hugging yourself as you stared ahead where the trees thinned. Currently, you were standing at the edge of a forest.

I question my logic when I thought that the pension, which is located in the middle of the city, was in the forest...? I need to get home fast, I think I got rain water and mud in my brain or something...

With trembling legs, you stumble into town, where only a few buildings remained open. You had checked all of the ones that were available at the moment, asking everyone there that was hiding from the rain if they knew where the pension was, but it seemed that, between walking aimlessly around Karuizawa with the hosts and then without, you had strayed extremely far away from where the location of the pension. Gritting your teeth, you try and shake off some water and walk a little bit into a coffee shop, where two boys and three girls your age are sitting at a booth, chatting quietly.

When they see you enter, they all smile and wave as if they knew you. Struggling to smile back, you resort to waving.

"Welcome! Do you need a towel? We have a lot left, a lot of people caught in the rain come here to dry off before setting back out in the rain to get home." one of the boys say, getting up and stretching before walking behind the counter. You immediately shake your head, declining his offer.

"I-i-it's okay, I'm just lost. I-I can't find the p-pension I w-work and s-stay at." you say as loud as you can, although due to the coldness of the weather outside your voice is hoarse and is cracks every so often. Two of the girls frown and, after a moment of talking and declining everything they offer to you (coffee, towels, a change of clothes, and a hairbrush), you find that the pension wasn't that far from this shop- only a few minutes walk.

Bowing deeply, you thank the five teenagers and leave the shop in a hurry, panting as you run.

I knew I should've started walking! This is why I need to get more in shape...

You stumble to the front doors of the pension and throw one of them open, gasping for air as you lean on your knees.

"Thank goodness..." you gasp, nearly collapsing to the ground. "I have a cold for sure..." you add to yourself, coughing.

"Y/N!" You were tackled to the floor by Tamaki, and engulfed in a large hug. "Oh, why are you soaking wet? Y/N, you're gonna catch a cold if you keep out in the rain for that long! Go get some new clothes on!" he instructed, and you found the lack of humour in his voice hilarious.

"Yes, mother." you said sarcastically, setting off the blond host once more as he freaked out. Kyoya, however, approaced you with a small towel that you wrapped around your shoulders.

"You should follow his orders, for once, Y/N." he said, raising his eyebrow slightly at you. "As well, I thought you ought to know that Tamaki has officially welcomed you into the family. Don't think of it a lot, but don't make me regret my decision of agreeing with him."

And with that, the glasses host walked away.

Yay for threats by a host. you thought sarcastically, scrunching up your face to sneeze.

Hunny and Mori noticed you, and trotted over, Hunny holding a plate of cake. "Y/N-chan, you're back! We missed you lots! Although, I think Kao-chan missed you the most, because he was freaking out, hehe~" Hunny explained through a mouthful of cake. "I think he's in his room that he shares with Hika-chan if you want to see him!" he cheered, before climbing on Mori's back. "Ooh! Speaking of Hika-chan, he and Haru-chan were also lost, but Tama-chan just phoned them and now they're together I think."

Might as well go see Kaoru... I have to ask him about what happened with Hikaru yesterday, as well. Although, I think that moment has passed... it probably did a long time ago...

And he must be so worried about Hikaru... and Haruhi....

Sighing, you thanked Hunny and Mori, and then trotted up the stairs of the pension and towards the twin's bedroom. You could hear someone pacing behind the door, and as you knocked, it stopped. The door handle turned, but the door itself didn't open until a moment later, where it revealed Kaoru, looking a little disheveled and anxious.

"...Y/N..." he said, a small smirk playing on his lips, but it dropped quickly. "Where were you?" Kaoru's voice was calm, but his eyes were worried. "I...I looked for you everywhere!"

You grimaced. "I'm s-sorry." you say quietly, returning to your stuttering and quiet self, looking down at your soaked shoes. "I got lost and I couldn't find my way back. Please forgive me." you mumbled, feeling tears well up in your eyes. Uhg.

A moment passed, and you looked up a bit to see that Kaoru had gone. You tried your hardest to fight back the tears that were almost flowing down your cheeks again as you heard him walk back, wrapping your head in something fluffy. You were pulled towards him, and your eyes widened.

"...Kaoru?"

"Yes, Y/N?"

"W-why are you...?"

"Why am I what?" his voice softened, and he let go of you to bend down, looking you in the eyes. "I'm not mad at you, Y/N."

The tears streamed down your face and into the red towel Kaoru had thrown over your head and onto your shoulders. Without realizing it, you had thrown your arms around the boy and had pulled him into a hug. A small smile peeked at your lips, as Kaoru slowly returned the hug, wrapping more of the blanket around your body to keep you warm.

Oh. I'm still wet from the...rain...

Deciding to ruin the moment, you mumbled, "And you're welcome for getting water all over your clothes." you giggled, thinking up his reaction, but Kaoru just shrugged and pulled you closer.

"I don't really mind."

Your tears stopped eventually, although you were still gasping for air and squeezing your eyes shut every so often. Pulling back, you bow down and apologize to Kaoru over and over again.

"I didn't mean to worry you, and get your shirt wet, and to use your towel..." you looked up as you said this, and the red towel draped itself over your head. You both laughed a bit, and Kaoru shrugged off the apologies. You glanced down at the ground again, not sure what to do now.

Should I ask him? Although, Hikaru and Haruhi are still gone... so I don't want to bring up that at all...

"Do you..." you looked up, your cheeks now drying, as you watched Kaoru carefully. "Want to go sit outside? There are benches that didn't get hit by the rain in the back of the pension."

Tipping your head to the side, you found yourself confused. "But... isn't it still raining?"

Kaoru rolled his eyes playfully, moving a bit so you could see out of his window and outside. It had indeed stopped pouring, and was instead just lightly raining.

"Oh..." A smile rose to your face, and you grinned at him, nodding. "Then, sure! I wanna change, though..." you look down at your clothes, and Kaoru nods, promising to meet you outside at the benches.

Once you had successfully dryed and brushed your hair, you pulled it back and changed into comfy (f/c) clothes, and met Kaoru outside at the benches that he spoke about before.

You looked out at the sunset as you sat down beside him. "It's so pretty~" you mumbled, tipping your head to the side a bit.

Kaoru looked at you. "Huh?" when he followed your gaze out to the sun, he smiled and nodded. "Yeah..." he mumbled, "Almost as pretty as you."

I shoud've saw that coming.

A blush creeped onto your face as you hid behind your hands. "K-Kaoru!"

"What?" he laughed, and you giggled as well.

"You're acting like Tamaki!" you continued laughing as the boy pretended to look hurt, placing a hand over where his heart would be.

"Y/N, that hurts my feelings!" he squeaked. His high voice cracked, and soon enough you both found yourselves laughing.

After a few moments, you sighed and stopped. "On a serious note, though..." you looked away from him. "Why did you call me out here? Was there anything specific you wanted to talk about?"

A heavy silence rang through the air, and you could hear the gears in his head turning.

"Why do you ask? I just wanted to talk to my toy~" Kaoru wrapped his arms around your waist, pulling you closer to him. Frustrated, you sighed and gave him a pointed look.

"I thought it was only Hikaru that calls me or Haruhi his toy." you pointed out, though you weren't sure whether that was true or not.

Kaoru looked into your eyes, and, after a moment, sighed and muttered, "I was just worried about you were lost." he confessed, his amber orbs travelling over your face briefly. "How did that even happen, anyway?"

You bit the inside of your cheek so hard you tasted blood. "I was lost in thought. It was when Alleah and Noel arrived there, right? Sometimes, after I was lost, I would find you or another Host Club member like Tamaki or Hunny, but they were always accomplanied with them, and then I would get carried away by the current of people, so I stopped trying to find you guys and eventually tried to get back to the pension." you said in one breath.

The boy peered at you curiously, a smirk evident on his face. "Do they bother you that much, Y/N?" he asked, amused.

"No, but it just..." you groaned as a few girls looked your way from the streets. You glared at them, and they scurried away like mice. "It just annoys me! I can't stand seeing Noel and Alleah hang off of you like they're five-year-olds..." you huffed, crossing your arms as you looked the other way. "Especially when they weren't nice to begin with... and I still have no clue why they know all of your names when you only met twice." you grumbled.

Kaoru let out a chuckle, which turned into a laugh that turned your ears red and forced a small smile onto your face, but you forced it to be formed into a frown once more.

"You're even cuter when you're jealous, Y/N." he mused, and you felt one of his hands reach out and brush some of your hair away from your face, but you instantly retreated, shocked.

"W-w-w-what?!" you squeaked, startled. "I-I'm not jealous!"

"Denial~" he sung, twirling a finger in the air, which caused you to shake your head. "You know you were jealous, Y/N~"

A heavy silence hung in the air, full of your blushes and Kaoru's smirks. You looked away, pouting, and placed your hands on your lap, staring at them.

"Well, you don't need to worry," Kaoru said finally, gaining your attention once more, "Because I would choose you over them any day." his smirk was replaced with a soft smile as he reached over to overlap your hand with his.

A blush was slapped on your face, and you squeezed your eyes shut and looked away.

"T-thank you for choosing me!" you squeaked, and then opened your eyes. "I-I mean... you didn't have to, since there are so many other girls and stuff, but thank you, because you....uh..."

Ah, I'm acting like an idiot...

You buried your face in your hands, embarrassed, and waited for Kaoru to laugh at you. Waited for him to snort and retort sharply that he was joking, and then get up and leave, which would make you alone once again. Your heart started to ache as you remembered that you were even lonelier when the summer started, but the Host Club filled the void in your heart.

Even now they still make me happy... but I'm too different than them... they already have their own friends... so I'm useless...

Your hands dropped from your face onto your lap, and soon became strangely wet. You hadn't even realized it, but tears streamed down your face once more as you stared blankly ahead. Kaoru tilted his head back in shock.

"Did I freak you out that much?" he asked, bringing up his hand again to wipe away the tears, which startled you. You both jumped, and fell onto the ground. It took a while for both of you to get up 'gracefully', with you nearly stumbling over Kaoru's shoes.

"I'm sorry!" you stuttered, bringing your hands to cover your face again. "I-I didn't mean to cry... you didn't do anything wrong! I-I'm just overreacting again..." you laughed nervously, your hands still over your face as you hid from him.

Why isn't he walking away? Does he not realize I'm making a fool of myself?

Instead, you felt hands wrap around your wrists, pulling them away from your face and instead into a body as Kaoru wrapped his arms around your waist. You opened your eyes to see the sunset behind the boy, and felt a small smile raise to your face.

"You're not overreacting," he said quietly. "I would probably act the same way if Hikaru or Kyoya started to hang around you more than usual."

If you weren't the shade of his hair before, you probably were now. Inhaling sharply, you rested your chin on his shoulder. "It's not that..." you mumbled, and when he pulled away with a curious look on his face, you both sat down on the bench once more, and you explained everything to him. How you were always alone when you were little because you were 'odd', and how the Host Club members were your first friends. When you finished, you looked away, your blush gone, but you were still left flustered.

I've never really told anyone this before...

The Host grinned and wrapped his arms around you again, this time pulling you closer to him so you were almost sitting on his lap. Sadly, your cheeks reddened again, nearing the colour of Kaoru's hair once more who whispered, "I've felt the same way for years." into your ear.

As awkward as it was, the two of you talked for a long time, sharing how you both purposely excluded yourselves for the benefit of others, you being for your friends in general, and Kaoru for Hikaru.

It was all good until you realized that you were still sitting extremely close to each other, so close that your noses were brushing. A giggle burst from your lips, and Kaoru smiled, cutting off your laugh with a kiss.