Disclaimer:

I do not own Ouran High School Host Club.

Never Letting Go

Kyoya walked the familiar halls of his house for the past four years. He experienced a lot of good memories in this place that took away the burdens of being the son of Yoshio Ootori and the ruthless world of business. He walked purposefully to the kitchen with documents that will make everything go back to the way it was before. A life revolving mostly on work and maybe nothing else.

"Kyoya, what did I tell you about working on a Sunday?" A woman with brunette hair said as soon as he stepped into the kitchen.

"That it is not allowed unless it is of utmost importance." Kyoya said as he rolled his eyes at the woman. "I also told you to let me help you with dinner, Haruhi."

"This is the only day I could do things on my own without the help of butlers, maids or Tachibana-san. It's my therapy." Haruhi declared as she waved around the wooden spoon she was cooking with.

"I hope you don't mind me setting up the dinner table."

"That would be great. Thanks! I will be done in a few minutes."

As Kyoya set up the plates and the silverware, he also placed the documents he brought with him. He dragged what was in it longer than he should have but now was a good time as any.

"What's this, Kyoya?" Haruhi asked as she picked up the folder containing the documents.

"Read it."

Haruhi opened the folder and scanned the contents. A slight frown graced her features but it disappeared quickly. She closed the folder and sat at the dinner table.

"Let's eat dinner, shall we?"

"Haruhi, let's talk about it."

"It can wait after dinner."

It was the most quiet and tension-filled dinner they ever had. Not even their first day as a married couple rivaled it. The normal banter that usually filled the dinner table was replaced with only the noise of silverware hitting plates.

"So," Haruhi opened as they finished the last morsels of their food, "Are you sure about this? If this reaches your father, you might be given a hard time. You don't even get enough sleep as it is."

"I'll be fine, Haruhi. I'm not even surprised that you are calm about this."

"Well, given that we were married under not so ideal circumstances. I always anticipated something like this."

Kyoya stared at Haruhi as she heaved a sigh while she read the documents silently. Truthfully, he was a bit disappointed at her reaction. He had that small hope for a bit of reluctance on her end but there was none. Haruhi is Haruhi. She is always level-headed in everything even their eventual divorce.

"For your information, I don't want the house or your money. I have my own, thank you very much."

Kyoya pushed up his glasses and responded, "Well, Haruhi, that is for my peace of mind."

"You don't need to, Kyoya. We can just sign the divorce papers and be done with it."

"Straightforward as always aren't you."

"One question though. Will you be happy with this?"

With a reluctance that can barely be seen, Kyoya admitted, "Yes, I will."

"Then, let's sign this."

The two silently filled out the documents and signed it with their respective seals. When they finished, they looked at each other briefly with the reality that their union is about to come to an end.

"I have a week long business trip and I have to leave tonight so I will have Tachibana clear out my things first thing tomorrow."

"You really had this all planned out, huh?"

"With this, we can both be free. So I hope you will be happy as well, Haruhi." Kyoya kissed her forehead tenderly and with as much affection as he can. " Thank you for everything."

"Kyoya, I also thank you for everything. You have only been good to me except for that one time I almost looked at your personal journal." Haruhi responded as she enveloped Kyoya in a warm hug.

Kyoya chuckled as he remembered that incident. "I apologized for lashing at you, didn't I? I let you do all the housework for a week without household help and even brought you to that supermarket sale you wanted to go to."

"Yeah, well, I thought it was one of my law books and then you went full blown Shadow King mode all of a sudden."

"That's over now isn't it?"

"Yes, it is." She said it knowing that the question went both ways. That past incident and their upcoming divorce.

As silence once again reigned over them, they continued to hold each other. The noise of Kyoya's phone brought them back to reality as they slowly broke free from their embrace.

"I will have one of my lawyers submit the documents so you don't need to worry about it." Kyoya said as he gathered the papers and put it back inside the folder.

Haruhi suddenly snatched the folder from his hands. "I would much prefer to submit this myself at City Hall. Not that I don't trust your lawyers. This is only because its personal. Is that all right?"

"If it will not be a problem for you. I will have you do it then."

"I'll miss you, rich bastard, so don't be a stranger."

"I'll miss you too Haruhi." In his mind Kyoya added 'I love you.'

Kyoya went to his awaiting car with Haruhi close behind to send him off. Sitting in his car, he watched as Haruhi waved him goodbye which he returned with a small smile.

As they drove farther away from the house and from Haruhi, Kyoya remembered how his father arranged their marriage dangling in front of Haruhi the debt she owed him when he paid for her father's emergency heart surgery. Kyoya intended to pay off the debt for her but his father never intended it to be repaid with money only their union. Kyoya dragged the engagement for as long as he could hoping to effectively end it. After 6 long months, his father caught him in a stalemate when he convinced the major investors of the company he owned outside the Ootori family to withdraw their investments after its existence was discovered. Even with the financial support of the Host Club, it was impossible to salvage the company from its apparent bankruptcy without risking their families' businesses. Realizing, he was outmaneuvered by his father, Kyoya resigned to his fate not wanting hundreds of his employees to suffer for it.

Admittedly, he still tried to make an escape plan for Haruhi on the day of the wedding. Surprisingly, it was Haruhi herself who nixed the plan stating that she preferred not to owe anyone so she just decided to marry him and not cause anymore trouble. He tried earnestly to be the best husband for Haruhi by giving her everything she might need. He even distanced himself from her. Two months into their marriage, Haruhi confronted him about it stating that she feels alienated in her own house. She told him that they should be friends who happened to be married.

As days passed by, they eased into their married life, albeit, still lacking romance but grounded in the deep friendship that formed between them.

Kyoya liked Haruhi well enough before their marriage and spending the days with her just sealed the deal for him. He fell in love. He really wanted to deny it but it was a lost cause. He hid his blossoming affection for the Host Club's crossdresser because he knew that she wouldn't return it, and he was still dead set on breaking the union for her sake.

Kyoya thought his affections were well-hidden but the Host Club (sans Haruhi) figured it out. They even staged an intervention for him about it! He never admitted to the Host Club, of course, even though they piled a lot of evidences proving that he did love her. Knowing that he will never admit it to them, Hani-senpai left him with a simple message.

"You may choose to deny it, Kyoya, but when someone sees the way you look at her they will know how much you love her."

He did not say anything in return but deep inside he couldn't deny what his senior said. This fueled him even more to set her free from a marriage she never wanted. Finally, after four years he made it into a reality by breaking free from his father's influence in terms of business and his life which was not an easy feat. The event that transpired this evening was a testament of his hard work - the woman he loves is finally free.

As he boarded the plane that will take him to his destination, he knew that once he leaves everything will fall into place. Haruhi will be free to love and marry the one she really loves, and gain the happiness she deserves. When he comes back, he will return to a busy but lonely life.

A week later

An exhausted Kyoya stepped out of the airport, his trip was a success, but the successive meetings and his divorce weighed heavily on his mind. He plans to sleep for a full day the moment he steps home. He has a company to lead and he can't let himself be weak. Kyoya dozed the moment he sat in the car and didn't even feel that he was brought inside his home.

The moment he woke up, he was surprised to find himself not in his new condo but his former home. He never expected to be back here of all places.

"I'm sorry I was the one who asked Tachibana-san to bring you here." a feminine voice said as she opened the lights. "To be honest, I was at the front seat when Tachibana-san picked you up but you were too tired to notice."

He watched as Haruhi slowly approached his bed with a tray of food. A familiar looking folder peeking out of the tray that caught his interest. Haruhi saw what he was looking at and spoke with a small smile.

"Let's eat dinner here. It's Sunday after all."

Haruhi started eating dinner and Kyoya followed soon after but was a little distracted by the folder in front of him. No words were said between them as they ate, however, the silence gave them a sense of calm that was not present the last time they had dinner together.

"I'm sorry, Kyoya," Haruhi apologized as she bowed slightly. "I never submitted the divorce papers because I wanted to say something first."

Kyoya kept his face as blank as he could and for all he knew she might have decided to take the alimony after all. He did not expect anything, he cannot get his hopes up.

"We agreed to be friends throughout our marriage. I know you love someone else and you were averse to any romantic development between us. However, I love you."

He was surprised with her sudden declaration, not believing it at first. As he looked at Haruhi, he saw that she was serious. He felt a surge of emotion welling up inside of him and he expressed it by wrapping her up in his embrace. "It was you, only you."

Haruhi suddenly pulled away from his embrace with a confused expression. "What do you mean by that?"

"The only one I ever loved was you. Only you."

"You jerk! Here I was thinking you will reject me. Now, your saying you love me?"

"Yes, I love you, too."

A mischievous twinkle reflected in Haruhi's eyes as she swatted Kyoya's shoulder. "You are indebted to me now. I'm charging you with mental damages. Really? Divorce? Why didn't you confess instead? I'll charge you extra because I told you first."

"My father forced us into this." Kyoya said as he held her face. "So I didn't want you to live an unhappy life with me when you can marry someone you love and a divorce was a way for you to do that."

Haruhi laughed slightly as she said. "Of all the Host Club members, I didn't think you were the type to think melodramatically. Honestly, I was unhappy to be married off because of a debt when mother specifically told me to marry someone I love. However, the longer that we spent time together it made me realize how kind you actually are and not some elitist bastard who only wanted to make money."

"I'm amazed of how badly you think of me. I should have raised your debt even more when we were in high school but this is one of the things I love about you though. However, it does make me think twice if you actually love me." Kyoya joked as he poked Haruhi on the forehead.

"I really love you but we were starting to sound kind of sappy. I think we were unconsciously influenced by all those dramas Tamaki forced us to watch."

Kyoya laughed heartily as if a weight was suddenly lifted. "That was my fault because he only made the Host Club watch those so I could 'learn' from them to confess to you."

"Really? Maybe that was what Fuyumi-san and Mei-chan are doing to me, too? They force me to watch romance dramas all the time."

"I don't think so, my sister said she just wants someone to fangirl about it with someone from the family. I don't know with Mei. But I wouldn't put it past them to be honest."

"Okay, just so were clear, we both love each other. So, should we still submit the divorce papers?" Haruhi asked with a smirk.

"Do you want to through with it?" Kyoya replied as he hugged her again.

"Hmmm, no. But, maybe I'll keep it just to rub it in your face if you direct your Shadow King powers at me."

"That's okay but what if somebody finds it and submits it for us. What will you do?" Kyoya asked mischieviously.

"Then, I'll force you to marry me again." Haruhi stated with a chuckle.

"Fair enough. Since I'm indebted to you, how should I compensate you?"

"Love me and never let me go? They say that a lot in dramas."

"Sounds cheesy."

"Well, I'm starting to like being cheesy for a change. Indulge me."

"Fine. Let's love each other for ten lifetimes over and never letting each other go for all eternity."

"Wow! You say its so well but with such a deadpan voice."

"Well, you wanted cheesy. But I can never deliver it like Tamaki or the twins so deal with it. I meant every word though."

"I love you, Kyoya."

"I love you, too, Haruhi."

Two people who started out from a seeming misfortune but ended up falling in love. They looked at each other knowing that some things have finally changed and there are some things that will remain the same. The one thing that they are sure of now is that they love each other and will never let go.

Author's Notes: Happy Chinese New Year! I started writing this years ago and it was supposed to be a series of one shot and more angtsy but well things changed. I'm kind of worried if I understood correctly the legal process regarding consensual divorce in Japan well so correct me if I'm wrong. As always, reviews and constructive criticisms are welcome. Thanks for reading and hope you enjoy!

P.S. Edited this a lot because there were some scenes that I was dissatisfied with so I changed it. I also changed the summary. Hope you still like it! (2/27/2019)