Tamaki misses them, all of them. He never knew how much they meant to him until they were gone. He misses Hunny and his cuteness. He misses Mori and his stoic silence. He even misses Hikaru and Kaoru, and the grins they got when they teased him! But most of all, he misses Kyoya and Haruhi, his best friend and the girl he adores, 'Mommy' and 'Daughter'.

He hasn't been in contact with any of the Host Club. Eclair insists it's for the best, and he's so afraid they'll never forgive him for leaving, he hasn't argued. Even seeing his mother, as wonderful as that is, doesn't stop the ache in his heart. He can't stop thinking about them, wondering where they are, how they are doing.

Is Hunny still eating cake, he wonders, and is Mori still standing by him as his silent protector? Do the twins still play pranks, or have they retreated back into their little world? Is Haruhi still thought to be a boy, does she wear dresses, has she gone back to how she used to look, does she hate him, is she happy? And then there's Kyoya.

Some days he hopes Kyoya is making a plan, being the evil mastermind they both know he is, and coming to take him home. Other days, he just wants him to be happy, for them all to be happy, even without him. Most of all, he just misses them, wants desperately to be back in Music Room Three with his friends surrounding him. He misses them so much it physically hurts.

Still, each day, all he can do is take a long breath, and continue on. Maybe he can't be with them right now, but one day, they will be together again, laughing and smiling like he remembers.

One day.

Kyoya calls Tamaki often, though Tamaki never picks up, and he never leaves a message. He knows all too well how easily phones can be intercepted, messages overheard. He will not let Eclair take anything else from him.

Without the Host Club, he also has a lot of free time on his hands, all of which and then some he spends on his newly acquired business. He is determined to get Tamaki back to Japan, and if that means destroying Gran Tonnerre, he will do so. It doesn't hurt that buying out Gran Tonnerre would result in bigger profits for Ohtori Enterprises.

He spends less time with the Host Club these days, having trouble finding the time between business and school. Truthfully, he could make the time if he really tried, but he doesn't want to be hurt again, not that he'll ever admit as such, even to himself. No one has ever made their way as far into his heart as Tamaki, and therefore no one has hurt as much when they left. He refuses to let that happen again.

As much as he hates it, he sometimes finds himself looking around for a head of blond hair, or hearing a familiar enthusiastic voice. Despite spending less time with the Host Club, he thinks of them as much as ever, remembering the costumes they used to wear, and the afternoons they'd spend with the half-French idiot who brought them all together. He still watches out for the Host Club, using the Ohtori police to look out for them unobtrusively, even Hunny and Mori. He's already lost Tamaki, and he will not lose another friend, not to anything.

He has never been an optimist, but there is a little voice in his head that sounds achingly familiar. It tells him, one day, things will change, and Tamaki will return. He has the patience, he can wait.

One day.