(Seina's POV)
My mother had picked out a dress for me which she felt was appropriate. It was purple and silkily smooth, with short sleeves and a skirt that fell to my knees. I spun in front of the mirror and the maid, Yuki, nodded her approval.
I made my way into the living room where my family had gathered after dinner. They'd eaten early as they didn't want to be having dinner when my date arrived and were now, for once, sat together. My mother seemed satisfied that she'd made the right choice, choosing the dress and Ayumi said I looked like a princess. Unfortunately my father and Tatsuo were at each other's throats once again as Tatsuo felt sending me on these dates like a 'prize pony' was 'barbaric' and 'disgusting'. If I had felt I could have stopped them I would have intervened but I knew from past experience that I would have no luck. Tatsuo was my fiercest defender while my father seemed to do whatever my Uncle said. I could not imagine the young man my father had once been, who passionately took a stand to choose his wife.
The doorbell rang and everyone snapped their heads in the direction of the door. My parents both jumped to their feet and hurried into the entrance hall. I was quick on their heels with Tatsuo close behind me. I came to a standstill when I saw who was once again standing in my home. Kyoya Ootori was shaking my father's hand and talking amicably to my mother while a startled maid stood uncertainly nearby, unsure what to do now her duties had been interrupted.
Tatsuo leaned down so he was at my height.
'Did you know he was your date?' I shook my head stunned.
'I had no idea.'
Once he had greeted both my parents Kyoya-senpai looked around the room till his eyes found mine and a soft smile appeared on his face. My parents then moved aside to allow me past and we exited the house.
It was early evening and the sky was still a clear blue, a sure sign that summer was approaching. I followed him to the waiting car and he held the door open for me to get in. The vehicle began moving almost as soon as he was inside and I finally turned to face him.
'I want to be home before dark.' He nodded once but said nothing. 'Kyoya-senpai why are you doing this?'
'Doing what?'
'You know what.'
He looked out the window, a hint of a smile playing on his lips. 'You look beautiful tonight.' I tried to ignore the blush creeping across my face.
'Is this business or pleasure?'
'Does it matter?' Indignant, I almost shouted yes at him in frustration but then I remembered my upcoming engagement.
'No. I suppose it doesn't.'
The driver drove into a nice area which consisted mainly of artesian shops and began to slow to a stop. 'What are we doing here?'
He smirked. 'I took the liberty of finding out about your previous dates and I imagine restaurants have become quite boring.' I shrugged.
'Perhaps.'
'Well It's a surprise.' He reached around to cover my eyes with his hands but I panicked and spun away from him, falling down into the gap between the seats. He looked at me in surprise, eyes full of concern. But I forced a laugh and pulled myself back up onto the seats.
'That was clumsy of me.'
'I'm sorry Seina-san it was not my intention to frighten you.'
'I wasn't frightened. I just fell.'
He gave me a disbelieving look. 'Seina-san I don't think you have ever been remotely clumsy.'
I sighed and refused to look at him. 'I don't want you to cover my eyes, I have to be able to see.'
'Can I ask why?' I shook my head violently. He nodded and dropped the subject. That surprised me, Kyoya-senpai was all about knowing everything about everyone and he wasn't usually the most understanding person in the world. He offered me a gentle smile and held out a hand. 'Shall we?' Wordlessly I took his hand and allowed him to help me out of the car.
I looked around and saw a dark coloured shop front with a huge front window. It was lit up like Christmas inside, and a huge, polished grand piano sat in the window. It was a music shop. I stood in the window and took in the room, a further three pianos stood in the room and a row of hand carved violins hung from the far wall. Guitars and mandolins were arranged in a corner around an antique cello. At the far side of the room I could see a doorway and a small sign which had to declare the presence of more rooms. To my surprise, Kyoya-senpai then opened the door, holding it open for me and we went inside.
It was a beautiful place full of beautiful things and I had to resist the urge to run my fingers along the top of the grand piano. The floors were composed of polished wooden boards and my shoes created a soft tap, tap sound as I walked around. I walked through the door on the far end and found it was filled with books. Sheet music, music theory and music history. Some of them were stored behind glass to protect their yellow pages and faded lettering from the elements. They were probably priceless. Others were collectible like a section of books signed by the composer. Some were brand new, and recently published. It was wonderful.
(Kyoya's POV)
She was wonderful. I knew I had made the right choice when she slowly approached the window with wide eyes. She looked like a kid on Christmas morning taking in a room full of long awaited presents. When I opened the door her face lit up and she practically skipped past me into the shop. She spun in a slow circle in the centre of the floor as if she didn't believe where she was. I wondered how long it had been since she'd gone somewhere just because she wanted to and not because she had to for work or because she got caught up in what we were doing.
She walked around the piano in the front window slowly before tearing her eyes away to look at the rest of the shop. Every instrument was subject to her admiring gaze as she went around the first room. She reached the door to the next and looked back at me, smiling with flushed cheeks, waiting for me to join her. For a moment I stood frozen in place. She was always beautiful and thoughtlessly elegant but in that moment, smiling brightly she looked really cute.
I returned her smile and headed into the new room. She stood running her fingers over the spines of volume after volume of books, her head tilted to one side and her brow slightly wrinkled as she read through the titles. She could be so mature and serious sometimes that I often forgot she was younger than me. She was undeniably strong and fierce, but at times she seemed quite vulnerable.
The twins claimed something had happened to her as a child but the inquiries I had made on the subject had yielded no results and she wasn't one to willingly admit weakness. I was glad that today she was happy because of me.
I heard the bell on the door jingling as someone entered the shop and went to see who it was. My maid stood in the door way with a large wicker picnic basket in one hand and a blanket slung over one arm. She looked a little nervous.
'Ootori-sama a large man outside insisted on searching the hamper. I apologise deeply I couldn't stop him.' I pushed my glasses up my nose and looked out the window. There was indeed a large man outside in a dark suit, stood just off to one side. If I hadn't been looking for him I probably wouldn't have seen him at all.
'Don't worry, it's not a problem. He must be Seina-san's bodyguard.'
Not that that was necessary judging from what I'd seen on the beach in Okinawa.
I turned to find that the maid had laid out the blanket and food in the centre of the room. It looked perfect.
'Thank you for your help. That will be all.' She bowed deeply and left the same way she came in.
'Kyoya-senpai who are you talking to? I thought I- Oh wow. Dinner? A picnic? Wow.'
I stood up, an unopened bottle of wine in one hand and offered her my other. She looked at me analytically as she took it and I brought her hand to my lips. We then sat down on the blanket.
'You've had a lot of practice at charming girls haven't you?'
Her question caught me slightly of guard. 'And you haven't?'
'I'm not in a club like you are!'
I chuckled softly. 'I suppose there is that.' She was looking past me at the piano in the window again. 'Will you play for me?' She looked back at me, slightly embarrassed.
'No! I mean yes but...is it ok?'
'Of course, the owner of this shop owes me a favour. It's all yours for tonight.' Slowly she got up and sat down at the piano.
'This is the most beautiful piano I've ever seen.' She ran her fingers along the keys. A small pause as she took a deep breath. Then she began to play.
I'd seen Tamaki play many times before and I'd seen professional pianists play in concert halls, but this was different. Maybe it was because I knew her or more likely because I was too close but I could feel the emotion hitting me with the sound waves. She weaved emotion into a melody and a melody into a story. Her eyes were half closed, her body moving one way then the other with her hands, she looked so fulfilled. This was her true passion. By the time she finished the piece I felt I understood her a little better.
(Seina's POV)
When the song came to an end and my fingers finally stopped moving, I drew in a deep breath. Kyoya-senpai was staring at me, lips slightly parted. I smiled shyly. I was not accustomed to being shy but music was personal to me. It was how I expressed myself best and the one song had left me feeling exposed. Given the effect he tended to have on me anyway that was maybe not the best thing but surprisingly I trusted him. I felt safe. So I sat back down next to him on the blanket, a little closer this time. I knew that wouldn't have escaped his notice, nothing seemed to, but I didn't care.
'You're a great pianist you know. I could feel the emotion you were putting into the song.'
'Thank you Kyoya-senpai. That means a lot. Especially coming from someone with no feelings.' He gave me an exasperated sigh and I laughed.
'Would you like some wine Seina-san?'
'Wine? Oh! No, thank you. I don't drink.' He gave the bottle a disappointed look before returning it to the picnic basket.
'Can I ask why?'
'I am my Uncle's heir and a representative of the The Kamei Technological Group. I cannot afford to indulge in something that will limit my reactions and cloud my mind. I absolutely cannot get drunk, or even tipsy.'
'What are you afraid you'll do?'
'Any number of things. I have something of a temper and maintaining my self control is everything.'
'You have a temper? Completely escaped my attention.' He said teasingly and I gave him a playful shove.
'Shut up.'
'Food then.'
He pulled two portions of sushi from the basket, one for me and one for him. It was very expensive and high quality. If Haruhi was there she would have been crying with happiness. It was delicious and I ate slowly to savour the taste.
'Kyoya-senpai? Can I ask you something?'
'It depends, can I ask you something?' I hesitated, uncertain of what he was going to say.
'Ok.'
'Then you may ask.' I shook my head, everything had to have something to be gained where he was concerned.
'Why did you do all this for me? No one has ever thought of me like this.' He paused as if considering how much information to give away.
'To spend time with you without any watching eyes. To get to know you better. I wanted you to enjoy yourself.' He was leaning back on his hands, legs outstretched and the top few buttons of his shirt undone. He looked so relaxed, somewhat at odds with how I was feeling.
'Why would you want that?' He pushed his glasses up his nose.
'That's a second question. I'm not required to answer.'
'Please Kyoya.' I'd subconsciously gravitated towards him and we were only inches apart. His cheeks were tinged pink as he carefully chose his words.
'Do you remember our conversation in Okinawa?' I nodded, replaying the moment in my head.
But I wasn't talking about Haruhi.' He reached out and cupped my face with the palm of his hand, stroking my cheek with his thumb. 'Seina-san I was talking about you.' My heart stopped then began racing in my chest. 'Me...' 'I don't want anyone other than you.'
His voice jolted me back to reality. 'What I'm trying to say is...I love you Seina.' Heat rose to my cheeks and exploded within my chest as my pulse spiked.
'But...we barely know each other?...You love me?' Somehow I knew instinctively that his confession was different to Kaoru's, he meant it. He was so close to me, all I had to do was nod my head and our lips would meet. He watched me through half closed eyes, leaving that last move up to me. I'd never seen him so vulnerable as his eyes swept my face, tracing every feature. He had bared his heart to me and although I wanted to return his feelings I had nothing to offer. I pulled away and saw a flicker of hurt glance across his face before his features settled into detached resignation.
My heart ached for the pain I knew I was causing him but found no words to offer him.
He retrieved the bottle of wine from the basket and uncorked it, pouring a glass. 'You'll forgive me if I have a drink.'
I watched him sadly and began picking at my sushi again, eating a couple of pieces. 'I still haven't asked my question.'
'Go ahead.'
He twirled his empty wine glass between two fingers. 'When we were leaving my villa in Okinawa, you lay on my shoulder to sleep. Do you remember what you said to me?'
'Yes.'
'What did you mean when you said that you lost sleep because of me?' I choked on my food, coughing before swallowing the sushi. I knew my face was a fiery shade of red as I remembered my dream.
'That's a second question. I'm not required to answer.' I retorted, parroting his earlier words. I busied myself, putting my plate and chopsticks back into the picnic basket only to find him staring at me intently, still waiting for an answer. Determined to avoid the subject I took his plate, chopsticks and empty glass and put them away as well.
'Shall I guess Seina?' I shook my head but he went right ahead. 'If you lost sleep because of me you must have been awake thinking about me or dreaming about me. Correct?'
'Does it really matter? Kyoya. I am to be engaged. No matter what the answer is, it is meaningless.'
'Not to me.' He carefully tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, then ran his fingers through it. I leaned into his touch and half closed my eyes. 'Do you trust me Seina?' I slowly nodded my head.
'Yes.'
'If you weren't to be engaged would you kiss me?'
My eyes widened as he moved a little closer and before I could think better of it, I pressed my lips against his. He was quick to kiss me back, cupping my face to pull me closer and wrapping an arm around my waist. In turn, I snaked my arms around his neck and knotted my fingers into his hair as the kiss became more heated. I pulled away, gasping for breath and he took the opportunity to tug me into his lap, kissing me again. The outpouring of emotions between us was electric after so much restraint. He slipped his tongue into my mouth and deepened the kiss. Being less experienced than the older boy I was largely under his mercy but god he was a good kisser. When we pulled apart again, I rested my head against his shoulder and he held me close to him, hands slowly running up and down the length of my back.
'Kyoya. We lost track of time. It's dark outside.'
'I'm sorry. I'll get you home safely.'
'I wish things were different, I really do. I want to stay with you, but I don't want to hurt you either.' He kissed my forehead.
'I know.' I sighed and got out of his lap, standing up. 'Something to consider Seina. Things are not always exactly what they seem.' I frowned at him, puzzled by his enigmatic statement but he turned away without another word.
I helped him fold up the blanket and he gave me a quick kiss before we left the shop.
Once we reached my home, Kyoya escorted me to my front door and once again waited patiently for the maid to answer. We then parted with nothing but a smile and a quick nod.
My mother was waiting anxiously in the living room and stood up as I entered. I kept the coffee table between us, knowing that if she got close enough she'd smell him on me.
'How did your date go?'
'Fine thank you mother. Business is good. Now if you'll excuse me I think I'll get an early night.'
Only when I got into my bedroom and collapsed down on the bed did I relax, a huge grin appearing on my face. I kissed Kyoya Ootori. Kyoya Ootori was in love with me.