Notes and disclaimer: Ouran and its characters belong to Hatori-sensei, and Aiko belongs to BlackRosary. As for Kaede…who knows? Thank you for not suing.

CHAPTER 3: ALL THAT GLITTERS EVENTUALLY TARNISHES

Place and time: Hitachiin estate, two years after the wedding.

Hikaru's POV

Okay, so this is argument number 455 I just had with a newly-pregnant Haruhi. Or is it number 456?

I think I've lost count at this point, and I think that my brother is slowly losing his mind because of it. And he's not the only one.

I'm going to be a father.

The paternity test showed it's mine. I know I should be happy about this, and maybe I am deep down. But why now?

I don't know how the hell I'm going to handle this. It feels overwhelming in the midst of all the other crap going on. This is super-bad timing.

I don't know thing one about being a father, except through our *ahem* self-proclaimed father Tono. My real father was always away on business, and even when he was here, Kaoru and I never really saw him.

I sort of resent him for it. Why couldn't we have had a relationship with him like the commoners do? Haruhi had an awesome relationship with her father by comparison, even if Ranka-san also had to act as a mother, and not just fashion-wise.

Haruhi can't handle being pregnant either. She has a huge caseload to work on and she isn't far enough along to be able to take maternity leave. Not that she would if she had any say in it, but if need be I will MAKE her take leave, since she got so absorbed in her work she forgot to take her pills…and now look what has happened?

Okay, I admit I feel kind of bad for pinning some blame on her, but if she had just paid a little more attention to something other than her work, then maybe…oh well, I guess we'd better make the most of it. She's probably blaming me also.

Why does she have to be this way? Okay, so she's going to be dealing with hormones and cravings and other stuff that Mom went through, but she can still find some way to make time for us right? I mean, Kaoru and I both love her and we want her to be happy, but lately she's been hiding out in her office working on cases.

I try to talk to her after I've had a long day at the office, and she just replies with "we'll talk later" and continues writing up legal briefs and conducting research.

Looking across the bed, I see that Kaoru has put those earplugs back in his ears so he won't hear me silently arguing with Haruhi again.

He's changed too. I remember when we were at the wedding we were so happy and it was so much fun. We had the woman of our dreams all to ourselves. It was perfect. Everything was perfect. We brought Haruhi to our room and placed her between us after that blissful day, and we've been together ever since.

Now Kaoru seems to be looking to other things that are going on, and not just with the business or with Haruhi or me. Something's bothering him, and I don't know what. He doesn't really discuss it with me, and it's pissing me off that he won't confide in us about it.

Gods, this is just another burden to add to my already-burgeoning plate of things I have to deal with. I have to get ready for several fashion shows in Paris, New York, and Milan…or is it Dubai? Haruhi is pregnant and swamped with work, and if that isn't enough, Kaoru seems to be withdrawing from me for some odd reason.

Our glittering gold paradise is starting to tarnish.

Starting?

What am I saying? It's already tarnished. Two years ago, we were so happy. We had each other, and life was perfect, peaceful, and the three of us…

Oh wait, there's four of us.

Yes, Aiko is still here, probably counting the number of dresses and shoes she has in her closet for the umpteenth time, or picking through some random fashion magazine trying to figure out what else she can buy with our money.

How much money can one person spend anyway?

And why can she still not tell us apart after all this time?

Sure she tries every now and then, but during the odd times when she gets it right, Kaoru just pretends that he's me, at least when I'm around, and that gets her to back off.

That was amusing to watch for a while, but not anymore.

I wonder what kind of life Aiko has ever had aside from being a rich wife who just spends money on clothes and shoes and jewelry and art supplies and other crap?

Oh yeah, before that she was a girl dreaming of being a rich wife who just spends money on clothes and shoes and jewelry and art supplies and other crap.

Maybe Miss Rembrant fancies herself as an artist. Well, I've seen some of her outfits, and if her taste in clothes is any indication, her art is probably just as hard to look at. Incredibly gaudy, too many patterns, and just plain unsightly.

A walking monument to all that is tacky and ridiculous.

Of course, I have to be polite and cordial to her when I see her, since her family owns a major textile company and is one of our most prominent subsidiary companies. Thanks to the marriage between her and Kaoru, the Hitachiin business has been able to expand a great deal, increasing productivity and profits.

I guess I owe Aiko a debt of gratitude for that, but I wish she'd smarten up a little and realize that money isn't as easy to come by as she thinks. And I really wish she would learn to tell Kaoru and I apart so that she doesn't look like a total idiot and embarrass us.

It's really getting old.

Now don't get me wrong, I don't really hate Aiko as a person. I can't hate her since I don't really know her as a person, but I don't like her shallowness, passive-aggressive behavior, materialism and utter tackiness. It's annoying and it reminds me of how those stupid eighth grade girls acted when they wrote those vapid love letters and got Kaoru and I mixed up.

That's right, as far as I know Aiko never went to school past eighth grade. She probably had private tutors after that, ones who taught her how to be a perfect lady and a good rich man's wife, good for spending money, hosting parties, and not much else.

What a useless bunch of knowledge, but at least I can tell when Aiko is in the area when she walks around the mansion for reasons that I can't even begin to imagine.

Her outfits crinkle.

She probably has money stuffed under there or something. Who knows?

Who cares?

And who's Kaede?

The servants say that Aiko mentions that name under her breath when she's walking around and thinks she's alone.

Jeez, I wish she were less spacey. Those private tutors of hers probably drained those brains right out of her.

Of course, for Kaoru's sake and PR purposes, I have to indulge her and her ridiculous taste in fashion, and pay her and her family compliments in order to maintain good business relations with them.

What a bunch of stiffs they are.

If their business wasn't so important, I wouldn't have anything to do with them. Why does Aiko let that bunch boss her around anyway?

Oh, yes…conditioning and honoring her family name.

Now Kaoru is leaving the room. I guess he's fed up with me and Haruhi arguing.

Guess I'll be following him if Haruhi kicks me out within the next few months. I should say when she kicks me out.

She's already asleep, facing away from me. And now I can't sleep.

This whole situation is making me crazy.

TBC…

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A/N: I decided to do Hikaru's POV next, since it seemed logical. I did Kaoru's POV first, so his brother follows.

I will probably do Haruhi's POV next, since she has her own set of issues to deal with. The truth is, as sorry as I feel for Aiko, I feel even sorrier for Haruhi.

Think about it. Imagine yourself in a high-powered career, married to two men (despite the law) who are also in high-powered careers, and then becoming pregnant before you're ready. I can't imagine what it must be like for Haruhi, but it's probably not much fun, to put it mildly. It's probably very exhausting and strenuous.

Thank you for your reviews everyone.

T.H.