Title: Simply Business
Author: BookyJuliet
Prompt: Lilac
Genre: General
AU/CU: AU
Rating: K+ to be safe
Warnings: Lilac allergies could be a concern, be safe, avoid the flower!
Word Count: 1,725
A/N: Happy readings! Reviews are always loved (:
Summary: The host club as a collective seemed to holds its breath, the newly posed question lingering in the air, mingling with the soft scent of jasmine tea, the musk of summer sweat and the soft tickling lilac of her French perfume.

Simply Business

Chapter 1: Lilac

Bare feet padded softly against marble floor as one Fujioka Haruhi crossed the music room to lean against the grand piano. It was rare that the instrument was ever used, especially by her. Though she had the fingers of a musician she lacked the skill and training, the best she could do was pick out the theme from Titanic or create some broken rendition of chopsticks. Nothing worth hearing, and the girls of Ouran stopped asking her to play pretty quickly.

Today however was rare, but special on the host club calendar. There were no guests to entertain, though the members of the club, all male, plus one female, were gathered in the space, dressed casually, or...as casually as they ever dressed. It was summer, mid-July, and the heat rolled over Japan in waves that left them all feeling hot, lethargic and maybe even a little exhausted. What would have been a lazy day, had been rocked by the announcement of the decade. Which was why the club was called in for an emergency special meeting, and why a bare-foot, summer dress wearing Haruhi was moving to the piano bench to sit next to Tamaki while his fingers moved about the keys, the music broken by his thoughts as he occasionally paused, his fingers going still, his face contorting with whatever crazy and dramatic scenario that ran through his head before he caught himself and continued on.

"Marriage?"

The brunette tilted her head in the direction of the voice, the music filling the room hit a sour note, before continuing on slowly.

"But you haven't graduated..."

She frowned, a marriage before graduating seemed rash, even in the world of the filthy rich. But then again, arranged marriages had been happening for thousands of years, and at ages much younger than their current youth. It wasn't really such a leap to imagine that it would happen. It had almost happened to Tamaki not that long ago.

"It isn't like its unusual,"

The voice countered, following her train of thought. Still, it depend her frown to hear it spoken aloud. They were people. Rich people, mind you. With too much money and never enough time, but it was still shocking how easily it was accepted. And she still felt uneasy. Ever since she'd turned on the news that morning and heard the news she'd been walking with a weight on her shoulders.

"He was given a choice, that's a plus. It's not like he has to marry some stranger-"

"Unless he doesn't choose fast enough."

Slamming her hands down against the keys the sudden sound breaking the moment. Her eyes turned on the twins as she stood, her already nervous stomach giving a lurch that she fought down. "Enough. Talking about it that way isn't helping. Kyoya brought it to us for help and support and this is really the best we can do?"

All eyes were on her as she crossed the room again. She paced in front of the couch that faced the door, Tamaki's usual haunt, her mind miles away as she tried to think of a way out, a loop-hole, some good excuse, anything that would get her friend out of his current situation. The harder she thought, the more confused she became, and with the confusion came frustration.

"How long?" Her chocolate eyes searched him out, staring him down.

Kyoya looked for all the world the picture perfect persona of cool, calm and collected. His glasses were discarded on the table, next to a sweating glass of ice tea, his eyes, though tired, barely betrayed the storm he was facing down. She watched as his lips tilted to reveal a frustrated smile. Of course. Of course she would be the one to ask the question no one else had thought of.

"Seven days. Father was kind enough to give me a full week to choose my bride before he chooses one on my behalf."

Haruhi sighed heavily, all the air rushing out of her lungs at once as she moved to the couch, plopping unceremoniously between Honey and Mori who had been silent for most of the afternoon, a look of deep thought etched on their faces.

For a long time, everyone remained silent, lost in their own world. No matter who he choose, it would be an inconvenience to the club. No woman in their right mind would want to marry a man who was an active host. Without him, business wouldn't be good. Besides that problem stood the issue of his friends. If she didn't fit in with the club members, it would be hard. Not only for Kyoya, but for them as well.

"Kyoya..." Six sets of eyes turned to look at the blonde who had spoken, the room seeming eerily silent in the wake of his sporadic concerto. "Do you even have a female friend, other than Haruhi that you could trust with the family business?"

The host club as a collective seemed to holds its breath, the newly posed question lingering in the air, mingling with the soft scent of jasmine tea, the musk of summer sweat and the soft tickling lilac of her French perfume. Time stretched on, tormenting them all as the answer was a heavy weight in all of their minds before he even said it.

"...No."

The bomb dropped and six set of eyes turned to focus on her as she tried to formulate what to say. What to do. What would get them out of their current mess and leave them all free. As hard as she tried to think, her mind was slowing down. The apparent answer already smacking her in the face. She was already trapped. Already sinking.

"But...you don't mean..."

"Haruhi. There is no one else..."

Detonation.

"It's just Kyoya, how bad can it be?"

She felt her stomach drop.

"It's not like it would be forever either, once he takes over you two can get a divorce, and you'll be able to go abroad and study at Harvard like you want to."

Marry for money? Everything she had ever been taught rebelled at the idea. There was no way humanly possible she could allow herself to do that. She was a romantic, though she hid it well enough, and she knew what real love looked like. To marry for anything less was a cop-out.

As if reading her thoughts, the man in question shook his head, sharing a look with Tamaki who seemed to catch the cue as he stood, and in a few quick strides crossed the room to perch next to her.

"We aren't saying to marry for the money alone, Haruhi..." His blue eyes danced as he smiled at her softly. "Karu was simply telling you what you'd get out of the deal. To remind you that it wouldn't be a waste of your time." She watched him glance at Kyoya, knowing that the true nail in her coffin was coming. "Don't think of it as arranged, or for money...consider it a favor. You're doing a friend a favor."

Though Kyoya remained silent, his eyes unfocused, she could see the strings he was pulling. It was a ventriloquist act, and he was the best. She was corned. It was the kink in her armor. Her one true weakness. The chronic disease that had caused her nothing but trouble since she'd started at Ouran, and in the host club.

They had done so much for her already, trips, presents, a place to belong. Even if she wanted to, and her head was screaming for her to run, to reject the very idea, scream about it being unfair...she couldn't.

"Kyoya...?" She watched him. Him. Her last chance at freedom. Her last chance at escaping this whole fiasco. All he had to do was reject the idea. Reject her; and all of this would be over, and she would go back to wracking her brain for something. Anything to get them all out of this mess. But she knew better. This was ideal. His father loved her intellect and work ethic. He loved her ideals, the strength that came from being common, raised by a single parent. And if all that wasn't enough. The people would love her too. She was one of them. She wasn't rich born and bred, she was common, she knew what they wanted, and how they wanted it. It made her relate-able. It made her approachable. But more than anything else. It made her trustworthy.

By the time he was staring her down, she already knew the answer.

"Though I don't approve of the idea, it does seem the best solution. People in the upper-class get divorced more often that we care to admit. If we get married, I won't have to worry about ulterior motives, and you're smart enough to keep up with me and the demands of the company. You learn fast, you'll look good to the people and when the time comes, we claim we got married too young, and that its an amiable split, we do a few events as companionable friends and it's all over. I call two years tops."

She hadn't agreed yet, and already he had everything planned out, from matrimony to divorce. Everything already blue-printed in the mind of a genius.

"Friday."

Her head shot up at his voice, the question on her face.

"Friday, we will meet for dinner. We can discuss the finer details and you can tell me weather or not you are willing to go through with this. As easy as it would be for me, and as much as I prefer this solution to the alternatives I won't force you to do this, Haruhi."

She stayed quiet, silently considering what her life would look like from this point forward. If being his friend was enough of a reason to go through with this crazy scheme. And, if she would ever have the guts to turn it down.

"Alright...Friday."