Just Look into It

45. Habits

Ryo was completely soaked by the time she got back to the pension and chilled to the bone. She could feel herself shaking slightly, though not enough to worry about getting a cold. She didn't want to go too far into the building since she was dripping wet, so she was going to attempt to sneak up to Haruhi's room to change. 

She sneezed as she opened the door, and instantly found Misuzu and the hosts will a wall of fresh towels ready.

"Can I at least change first?" she groaned, glancing around at the others. No one replied, glancing between each other and her dripping appearance. She reached up and starting to wring out her hair, the strands hitting her neck with a wet slap once she let them go. 

"Fine!" Tamaki decided, throwing a towel over her head. "We can't let you catch a cold so hurry!"

She nodded and hurried up to Haruhi's room where her things were stored. Not wanting them to burst in on her, she quickly changed into the thick sweater and extra jeans she had brought exactly in case this had happened. 

Ryo hurried back down, attempting to dry her hair off. Misuzu took her clothes straight to the dryer, though they had to wait for Haruhi first. Honey practically pushed her into a chair and she found herself presented with a cup of hot chocolate. 

"Thanks," she muttered, holding the towel over her head. 

She could tell that everyone was worried. Tamaki fluttered between watching the door and fussing over her. Kaoru was staring at the door rather often as well, biting at his thumb. He was sitting at her side, but his gaze was a thousand miles away. Kyouya was on her other side, showing little emotion on his face like always. Mori was the same, but the two would glance out the windows or towards the door. 

She placed a hand on Kaoru's shoulder and gave it a light squeeze. His gaze whipped to hers, and he gave her a faint smile. When she pulled her hand back, he quickly grabbed it and intertwined his fingers in hers. She stared, a bit confused, but he refused to meet her gaze. 

Ryo gave his hand another light squeeze. 

"How are you feeling?" Kyouya piped up. 

"I'm fine," she replied, leaning back further into her seat. "I hope they get back soon, it's getting dark."

"Yeah..."

Luckily, the storm broke shortly after. 

Haruhi and Hikaru appeared, and Ryo smirked as the two were properly attacked with towels and hugs. It seemed like it was going to be an early night for almost everyone. 

"Miss Ryouka?" Kyouya called, packing up his things. "Are you about ready to go?"

"Ah, yeah." She stood and went to grab her things, cursing as her notebook slipped from her fingers and fell open on the ground. She knelt down to pick it up, eyes going wide as she caught sight of one of the notes she had taken earlier in the trip. "Shoot!"

"What's wrong?" he asked almost immediately, moving to her side. 

"I completely forgot! Kyouya, go on ahead," she told him, dropping her things back in the chair as she pulled out the other papers. "I forgot to do something. I'm such an idiot..."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Worse case I sleep on the floor in Haruhi's room," she muttered. "I'll be fine. Have a good night, Kyouya."

"Alright. See you tomorrow then. Try to get some rest."

"No promises," she shot back. 

Ryo quickly lost herself in her work, wondering how she could have gotten so careless as to forget something so important. She forced any yawns back, wanting to stay fully focused on her work. 

It didn't work too well, as her thoughts often traveled back to Kyouya and the twins. 

It was difficult keeping things to herself and she wondered if he was already aware of how she felt towards him. He wasn't stupid. Kyouya was one of the most observant people she knew. She wasn't sure which would hurt worse: him knowing about her feelings and not responding or suffering in silence until they eventually went their separate ways. After all, she didn't think she would ever have the courage to tell him upfront about how she felt. 

It didn't seem right for her to care so deeply about him. 

She couldn't be sure if she was imagining it or not, but Kyouya seemed different recently. He almost seemed warmer. That didn't seem like the right word, as he was never overly compassionate towards those close to him, but he had been doing a lot of things for her. He asked about her health a lot and had become more vocal when he disapproved. 

It felt nice whenever he asked. She enjoyed his company even though they weren't too good at making small talk. 

She was finding herself more and more wrapped up in the hosts. She wanted to help them solve their problems. They had helped her and she wanted to pay them back. 

Of course, she wondered how badly it would hurt when she was forced to try and untangle herself from them. 

It would hurt even more if they decided to rip themselves away from her. 

Yuu seemed to care for them all as well, which made things harder to think about. He cared for them like brothers. Despite her initial opinion of them, they could be rather good influences. 

She yawned, her things scattered across a table. Ryo had finished her work and triple checked for anything that she had missed. The sun hadn't risen yet, but when she glanced out the window, she could see the sky starting to shift colors into a beautiful sunrise. 

Her eyes started to fall shut against her will. Exhaustion laid heavily on her as she tried to run through her list one last time. 

"Did you stay up all night again, Ryo?" Misuzu asked, moving towards the kitchen to start cooking. Surprisingly, Tamaki wasn't with her. 

"Yeah," she yawned. "I forgot to do something pretty important. You're all set now though."

She leaned forward over the table, resting her head on her arms. Within seconds, she found herself drifting off. Images flashed in front of her eyes throughout her fitful sleep. 

The sound of quiet chatter woke her up. 

"What an idiot," Kyouya sighed, pulling out a chair to sit next to her. 

"You'd better not be talking about me," she demanded, turning her tired gaze to glare at him. 

He stiffened slightly, smirking. "Ah, it appears you are awake."

"Answer me."

"I'm assuming you didn't get much rest since you fell asleep out here," he mused, ignoring her.

Ryo yawned, nuzzling back into her arms. "I'm fine."

She felt a hand on her head, already starting to drift off once again.

"You should take better care of yourself."

"What about you? Your habits are just as bad as mine."

"I don't think that's true, Miss Ryouka."

"Why's that?"

"I can be much more honest with myself than you. You're quite the liar, Ryouka."