Take one and call me in the morning

Takes place a couple of years after the end of the manga.

"Mm? …Oh. It's you."

Tamaki only smiled and finished tucking the blanket around Kyouya's shoulders. The blond man moved away from the desk and walked through the office, studiously avoiding any obstacles (i.e. stacks of paper as tall as a toddler) as he set things in order. Kyouya, in the meantime, let out a small, tired sigh and buried his face deeper into the crook of his arm.

"Long night?" Tamaki asked lightly, glancing back at Kyouya. His dark-haired friend mumbled something in response, and Tamaki nodded knowingly. "You need a vacation."

"Too much to do."

Kyouya shrugged off the blanket and groped around for his glasses. He leaned back in his seat after finding them, and shut his eyes again, pinching the bridge of his nose before putting them on. Tamaki came around with a glass of water and some Alcaseltzer in time to see Kyouya lighting up. The ex-Shadow King of their high school host club had picked up the habit some time after their graduation. Tamaki had only recently given up trying to make Kyouya quit. He was yet to ask his dark-haired friend why.

"Does your wife know you're out this late?"

"Of course. How's Haruhi?"

"Wondering when you're going to come over again. The last time was Christmas."

Kyouya didn't reply, and from that Tamaki knew that he had chosen the wrong thing to say. The blond man pulled up a chair and sat in front of Kyouya, watching the latter silently until Kyouya finished his cigarette and downed the drink with the pill.

"The coffee shop's still open downstairs."

I miss you. The words should have been easy to say. In his youth Tamaki had doled them out with liberty, for every little thing and to every person he met and ended up calling a friend. A particular look in Kyouya's eyes and something in the way he signed his name on another document killed the words before Tamaki could speak them. He ended up murmuring "see you later" and forcing a smile, just as he stepped out the door, just as he had done every other time.