Chapter Twelve: Celebration (Finale)

Kiiro was in a flurry of preparation, "Ah, the swan should be at the table with all of the cookies but the ootoro has a space at the center buffet table." she pointed out where exactly the two ice sculptures were meant to rest. The two servicemen pushing the carts hurried off in separate directions. "Thank you! Ah, are you from Grand Shore or Tadashi Catering?" she inquired of the score of well-dressed waiters that walked through the doors accompanied by carts laden with every kind of hors d'oeuvre imaginable.

"Tadashi." the foreman bowed, holding out a clipboard. "What was the name of the account I should be charging this to?"

She took the clipboard from him, signing it with a flourish, "All expenses are chargeable to Tamaki Suoh, I've faxed all of the necessary information to your office."

He bowed again, taking his leave.

Kiiro looked about, surprised that the tide of workers seemed to have lessened. Kyouya strode up to her, placing a hand at the small of her back, black notebook open in the other, "Not too terrible for a few days worth of planning."

"Mm, well, as long as he's fine paying tenfold for every service we've scheduled. Short notice and a holiday." she shook her head.

Kyouya shrugged, "It's not my money. Remember to tip well."

She grinned, "You're ruthless."

"Flatterer." he kissed her forehead, his fingers stroking the satin of her dress, warm on the skin beneath the fabric.

She giggled, ticklish, "Kyouya."

"What?" he smirked. "Between planning and holidays, I haven't seen much of you."

"We'll be back in Boston in two days." she grinned, taking his hand from her back, interlacing her fingers with his.

"So? I'm not allowed to miss you in the meantime?" he leaned in, eye-to-eye with her. "You are my fiancée after all."

She could feel the heat in her face spread all the way to her ears.

He smiled, "Anyhow, I remember how jealous you get when I attend events like these. So, I'll save you the last dance." he pecked her on the lips and walked off to get back to business.

"I said I was only a little jealous!" she corrected him as he returned to the ballroom proper. "Like he isn't the possessive one." she muttered.

Kiiro assessed the room, still in awe of how much larger the Suoh's first ballroom was in comparison to any others she had ever been in. Large glass orbs of every color hung from the high ceilings, catching the light from the three massive crystal chandeliers that bisected the place. Boughs of holly circled the pillars and framed the massive windows- which looked out at the expansive yard of the Suoh's first estate that a few snow machines and last minute landscaping had transformed into a winter wonderland. The buffet tables were being arranged and attended, an ice sculpture and a punch fountain for each and strewn across every available bit of surface white and red rose heads clustered twinkling candles surrounded in glass. In the center of the room stood a towering christmas tree decorated with countless crystal ornaments, silver tinsel, lights upon lights and surrounded at the base by a mass of glittering white fabric.

Kiiro staggered as someone bumped into her, she was steadied by the twin of that someone.

"Sorry, Kiiro-senpai!" Hikaru slowed his hurried pace.

Kaoru released her, "We're running late." he said in explanation.

"I know you are. You were supposed to be here a half hour ago." she quirked an eyebrow at the two.

"Sorry!" they said again.

"That's a nice dress, did you make it yourself?" Hikaru chirped from her left.

"You're wasting your talent by going into business, you know." Kaoru grinned at her right.

She huffed, "Flattery won't get you anywhere. Just go get changed!" she pointed to the stairs that lead to the "dressing room".

"Roger!" they stood at attention and quickly made their way back to the stairs.

Despite her seemingly unimpressed attitude, Kiiro was a little pleased with herself for the compliment. Her gown was a red wine color, with a glittering bust and a skirt that fell to just above her heels with a slit on the right that ran to just above her knee. She had thrown her hair up into a voluminous bun at the crown of her head and pins decorated with pearls stuck out from it here and there. As with every formal event, she'd opted for contacts and her eyeshadow was done up in the same burgundy color of her dress while her lips were crimson.

The Hosts- excluding Haruhi- wore matching suits. Black pants and white jackets with red vests and ties. Each wore a bootineer of holly.

Already she spied Tamaki at the top of the stairs, eyes glittering as he took in the scene. He latched onto a reluctant Kyouya who stood beside him no doubt blabbering about how it looked exactly as he pictured.

"He's in fine form already." Haruhi met up with Kiiro. Her dress- and she had worn a dress at the combined pleading of Tamaki, Kiiro, the Twins and Hani- was a collaborative effort between Kaoru and Kiiro. Its bust was cream with a lace overlay until it ended with a chunky black belt, beyond that its ivory, full skirt was dotted with sparkling rhinestones and ended at her knees. She wore black tights and flats with it, a single red bow was pinned to the back of her head holding two skinny braids from either side of her head in place. Other than that she wore her hair down and couldn't have had more than mascara and lip gloss on.

"You look so good, Haruhi!" Kiiro cheered.

"Thanks, Kiiro-senpai." she smiled up at her senior, a bit of pink tinting her cheeks.

Kiiro made to hug her for being so cute but she was beat to the punch by an over enthusiastic Tamaki.

"Ha~ru~hi~!" he sang, scooping her up and spinning her around, "You're absolutely beautiful~!"

"Tamaki-senpai!" Haruhi tried to disengage his crushing embrace, distressed.

He set her down, kissing her full on the lips, much to Haruhi's embarrassment.

"Oh come on, at least wait until I'm a few feet away." Kiiro shielded her eyes with her clipboard, distancing herself from the public display of affection. She glanced at the huge gilded clock that hung behind the stairs. "Ten minutes to go." she did one last visual inspection of the ballroom. "Places, everyone!" she called, feeling for all the world like a director, and made her way to the room beneath the stairs where the crew handling the lights and music were stationed to do a final run through of the night's schedule.

'It's nice to be at this sort of thing again.' she thought, because for all of her whining and reluctance it was always nice to return to what she was good at.


The guests were not all women, nor were all the women former clients of the club- though they did make up the bulk of those in attendance, the event technically wasn't a Host Club event at all. Tamaki Suoh was a popular young man, after all. Still, it was entirely obvious that the ball did cater to the fangirls in the crowd. As the lights in the grand room dimmed and the spotlight came to life focused on the blonde at the center of the group of handsome young gentlemen at the top of the stairs that fact was made glaringly apparent, "Ladies and Gentlemen, the Host Club welcomes you to this year's Christmas Ball. Please, enjoy yourselves." his soft smile was more than enough to melt the hearts of his many fans who had missed him over the last six months.

With that short welcome the ball commenced and was soon in full swing. Kiiro found it odd how there were more than just a few pairs of dancers on the floor, but the level of chatter was the same as it always had been if anything it was more boisterous as the one-time guests spoke with their favorite hosts. Even Haruhi was crowded by the girls who used to request her- happily they were not deterred by the fact that she had hid her gender for so long. These same girls nearly wiped out the supply of cookies that the hosts had prepared the day before, Kiiro felt a little bad for them as half of the cookies were on the verge of being unpalatable. Kiiro snuck one of Haruhi's sugar cookies herself about midway through the dance.

"One of Haruhi's?" Kyouya asked as he checked in with her, voice tinted with mock hurt.

She shrugged, "Like you'd have any basis to feel betrayed anyway. How are you even pointing your cookies out?" she smiled, "The Host Club has prepared their own treats for our favorite winter flowers, mine are made with love by my personal security team." she impersonated his smoothest "host voice" before she broke out into giggles.

He raised an eyebrow at her, "Perhaps I'd leave out the bit about "winter flowers". That seems more like something our glorious leader might say." his grin only served to make her laugh more.

"My bad, Cool Type. Though you can tell Tachibana that I mean no offense when I chose Haruhi's cookies over his own."

"He worked very hard on them." he smirked.


Kiiro found that even was enjoying conversation with many of her former classmates. Though that conversation often turned to one topic.

"You're so lucky, Harper-san." one girl was saying.

"How so?"

"I can't imagine what it must be like being engaged to Kyouya-kun." another girl averted her eyes.

'Well at least they aren't the insanely jealous type.' Kiiro smiled, accepting the congratulations from a few other students in the group around her. 'Though I doubt half of them would still be interested if they knew the real Shadow King.' she thought, trying to reconcile the sweet, almost shy personality Kyouya portrayed as a host with what lie under his mask.

"May we have your attention, please!" an all too familiar uni-voice called.

'That's the Twins.' Kiiro turned, frowning. 'This isn't scheduled.'

"What are they up to?" Kyouya wondered aloud, appearing at her elbow.

"They did show up late." she recalled, scolding herself for not accusing them of something then and there.

"Never a good sign."

"Since there're more than enough couples to participate..." Hikaru began, grinning.

"...we've decided to do things a little differently!" Kaoru finished, eyes shining.

"Welcome to the first ever Host Club Dancing Competition!" they announced.

"What?" Kiiro whispered in disbelief.

"So pair up! At the end of the song the best dancers will be announced and awarded the titles of Christmas King and Queen!" they turned to the wheel that was positioned behind them. It was labelled with nearly every style of classical dance imaginable. "And tonight's dance will be..." they both gave it a good pull.

It spun and spun and spun, landing on 'Tango'.

"Of course." Kiiro glared up at the two. "It has to be rigged."

She could hear the tell tale signs of Tamaki freaking out somewhere behind her. Whether he was upset because the Twins had usurped the event, the style of dance had no business in a holiday setting, or there was no way Haruhi would ever dance the tango even if she knew how, was really anyone's guess.

'Probably a hearty mix of all three.' Kiiro glanced over her shoulder at the so-mad-he-was-steaming Host King.

Kaoru shyly avoided his brother's gaze, "Who are you going to dance with, Hikaru?"

Hikaru lifted his brother's chin, "Forgive me for one dance, Kaoru. I promise, when we get home..." he trailed off, letting their fangirls speculate.

The former guests in attendance screamed their approval of this act of "Brotherly Love".

"Shameless prats." Kiiro grumbled.

"At least they've made things interesting." Kyouya admitted with a low laugh. "Do you know how to tango, Kiiro?"

She gave him a withering glance, "You can't be serious."

He shrugged, "You'd rather me dance with someone else?"

"Well, I'd draw the line at the tango." she decided, considering as the taut strings of the song they were meant to dance to picked up their first notes. "Do we have to?" she looked up at him imploringly. It went without saying that the tango was considered one of the most intimate when it came to ballroom dancing. There was a reason "tango" was often used as a euphemism for what went on behind closed doors.

He smiled, taking one of her hands in his own, "As a host..." his other hand at the small of her back pulled her toward him. "I ought to participate, don't you think?"

Her eyebrow rose, but she placed her other hand at his shoulder.

Even Tamaki was taking the opportunity to dance with his guests.

The music became more prevalent and the floor soon swelled with dancing pairs. The tango was a dance that required a good bit of footwork not to mention the ability to predict your partner's intention as you moved. Kiiro and Kyouya were chest-to-chest as he coaxed her into pivots and turns, stopping her in time to the music in order to redirect her into some embellishment or other.

"You're the most demanding partner I've ever danced with." she whispered, as he led her backward.

"Did you expect any less?" his laugh was a hum in his chest as she quickly closed the distance he was making between them, returning to the embrace and wrapping her leg around his as he shifted his weight. "You're pretty good at this." he admitted.

"Did you expect any less?" she swung her leg behind her as they pivotted.

She kept sync with him, crossing her feet or meeting his strides, matching the music's tempo. Still, she couldn't help but feel like he was orchestrating her every move, the patterns and combinations he led her through were fluid and without a doubt planned ahead. She smiled, twisting her hips and stepping backward as he guided her across the floor.

The song ended and she was very nearly out of breath. Unsurprisingly, the tango was a hit with their guests, especially the girls lucky enough to dance with one of the hosts. The twins were once again highlighted by the spotlight at the top of the stairs.

"The tango is such a passionate dance!" Hikaru said with a grin.

"I guess it's no surprise then that our winners were just engaged!" Kaoru grinned too as the pair of them looked out into the crowd.

Kiiro's cheeks reddened, "This has to be a set up." she muttered as the spotlight swept across the dancefloor.

Landing on her and Kyouya.

"That's right!" the brothers announced. "This year's King and Queen are Kyouya Ootori and Kiiro Harper!"

The pairs around them applauded. The Hitachiins were suddenly right next to them, "You two have some nice moves." Hikaru leaned on Kiiro's shoulder.

"We were going to announce you two as the winners either way." Kaoru said with a shrug.

"But you really were the best dancers!" they admitted with their grins growing more mischievous by the moment.

"So this was a set up!" Kiiro whispered harshly. "I should have known from the start that you two were up to something!"

"Of course we were!" they said, laughing. "We could never pass up an opportunity to embarass you, Kiiro-senpai!"

"You two!" she fumed as the pair took their leave, having achieved their desired outcome.

Kyouya defused the situation by holding her hand in his, "You're letting them get you worked up, Kiiro." he said with a smile. "The next song will be the last, didn't I say I'd save you the last dance?"

She sighed, turning her attention to him, "As long as it's not the tango."

He gave her a sidelong glance, a glint in his eye, "Salsa?" he joked.

"No." she said firmly, but she was grinning and moments away from giggling like an idiot at the mere idea.

The music was slow, and they turned slow circles to reflect that.

"It'll be in early summer." Kiiro spoke up, smiling to herself.

"Hm?"

"The wedding. Just after we graduate from university."

He considered this, "We'll be twenty-four."

"That's a perfectly acceptable age to be married." she nodded. "That gives us six years."

"Plenty of time to plan, unless you're giving yourself time to reconsider?"

"As if I would." she averted her eyes when his most genuine smile made an appearance.

"It's always nice to feel appreciated." he chuckled.

Her smile turned playful, she leaned into him a bit, "Am I not appreciating you enough, Kyouya? I'd be glad to correct that once we get back to Boston." she whispered.

His eyes would have widened at her teasing had he not had such good control of his composure, "Is that a promise?" he countered, eyelids drooping as he met her eyes.

"Of course." she held his gaze coyly.

"I promise to return that appreciation in kind." he said into her ear.

Heat swirled in her stomach shooting like lightning over her skin. She was saved from having to reveal her red face to him when Tamaki's voice spoke over the speaker system.

"Ladies and gentlemen, midnight draws near." he announced. "If you'll please make your way out onto the grounds, we've one final treat for all of you."

Kiiro rolled her eyes at his syrupy sweet voice, but Kyouya led her by the small of her back out into the artificial winter wonderland that awaited them beyond the walls of the ballroom. Within moments of the elegantly dressed elite gathering in the chilly night a vibrant spray of fireworks flew up into the dark sky.

"To all of our friends at Ouran Academy: Merry Christmas!" Tamaki cheered.

Their guests watched the spectacle of light as the fireworks began forming the shapes of stars and bells.

Kiiro felt the weight of something fall on her shoulders, Kyouya had given her his suit jacket, she smiled to herself.

He entwined his fingers with her's, she leaned against him, "You were right." she said with a soft smile. "We didn't do too bad."

He grinned down at her, and for a moment she thought he might gloat, but his expression gentled and he pressed a kiss to her lips, "Merry Christmas, Kiiro."

"Merry Christmas, Kyouya." she returned, watching the colorful reflections of the fireworks play in his eyes.


Kiiro was getting ready to leave, making sure the cleanup crew had finished their duties to the best of their ability. The Hosts, excluding Kyouya who was just now changing out of his rental suit after filling out the forms that came their way at the end of the event, had all retired. Even Tamaki had stepped out to go with Haruhi as his driver took her home. Kiiro realized she still had Kyouya's jacket draped around her shoulders, 'Ne, this has to be returned the day after tomorrow. If I don't put it with the rest of the set I'll end up misplacing it.' she made her way back to one of the impromptu "prep rooms" at the top of the stairs.

"It's just me." she announced as she walked in on Kyouya changing.

"Kiiro, I'm scandalized." he said in a flat tone, not even bothering to halt in undoing his dress shirt.

"Please, I've seen you shirtless more times than I can count." she carefully returned the jacket to its garment bag. Sparing him an appreciative glance over her shoulder she added, "In fact, I've seen you in less."

He grinned, his eyes had the same intensity that shone in them on the night of their engagement, "I take it the pinkness in your cheeks has nothing to do with the fact that I'm undressing, then?"

"Entirely unrelated." she forced herself to meet his eyes.

"Is that so?" his wicked grin remained as he meticulously unfastened his belt, sliding it through the loops in his trousers with a slight twist to his hips, obviously he was not above putting on a show for her.

She cocked her head at him, leaning against the table beside him and crossing her arms, "Kyouya, if I didn't know any better I'd think you were trying to seduce me."

"And if I was?" he placed a hand at either side of her on the table, effectively ensnaring her between them. "Is it working, Kiiro?" he murmured into her ear.

She should have rolled her eyes at him and retreated, instead she closed the distance between them and urged him downward by his undone shirt, she pressed a needy kiss to his lips. He returned her kiss with fervor, the soft warmth of it giving way to the graze of his teeth against her bottom lip. The heat she felt ran rampant over her, head to toe, and her heart was pounding in her chest. He backed her up against the wall, gripping one of her hands in his. She pressed up against him, and he responded by pulling one of her legs up to his side, better pinning her hips with his own. She whimpered into their kiss as she felt him stiffening against her. Through the headiness she pulls away from him, still only a breath apart, "Kyouya, we can't do this here." she reasoned unevenly, breath shallow.

"Let me take you home then." he said, voice gruff.

She considered this, her staff was dismissed for the holidays. She only had a skeleton crew of security and a driver. She nodded, and he kissed her once more before releasing her, running a hand through his hair as he stepped away from her. His eyes were like liquid mercury as he studied her.

"Hurry up and get dressed, Kyouya." she said with a smirk of her own, wrapping his name up in her sultry tone.

He hummed, eagerly obeying her for once.


The ride over had been a stifling experience, the way he insisted on running his fingers over the sensitive skin at the nape of her neck had only fueled the heat that seeped through her body. She had never been more glad for the cold, night air. With a sly smile she led him into her house and up the stairs to her bedroom. Nearly as soon as the door was shut behind them he grabbed her by her hips, wrapping an arm around her waist and pressing kisses into the crook of her neck. She sighed, leaning back into him, threading a hand into his hair. He undid the zipper of her dress and his hand wandered into it, leaving a trail of goosebumps as he caressed her curves. She pulled away from him enough to slide the dress off of her shoulders so it could fall to the ground.

He turned her in his grip and when she looped her arms around his neck to go in for another kiss he lifted her up.

Surprised, she wrapped her legs around him as he made his way to her curtained bed, depositing her onto the mattress. She kicked off her heels and let her hair down as he sat back to pull off his sweatshirt and slip out of his jeans. He returned to her to kiss up her stomach, over the swell of her breasts along the dip of her collar bone. She moaned, lifting her hips up off the bed to meet his. His mouth covered hers as he sucked at her bottom lip, she trailed her fingernails lightly up his back. When he pulled away she removed his glasses, safely settling them at the other end of the massive bed. Something about the way he looked without them on- especially in situations like this- made her heart skip a beat.

With his ever present sinful smirk he ran his hand down her thigh, sliding her stockings down one at a time until she could kick them off, his fingers sending that giddy feeling in her stomach a bit lower. She sat up snaking one hand up into his hair as she kissed down his jawline and neck before venturing back up to suck at his earlobe. He forced her legs farther apart with his own, pulling her fully up into his lap so she could better feel what she was doing to him. He ground against her and the gasp at his ear was enough to make him do it twice more. He quickly unclasped her bra, urging it down her arms, catching her gaze as she pulled back. The way her chocolate eyes seemed to darken when she wanted him set his blood on fire. He dipped his head to lick up her breast before bringing a nipple into his mouth. She whimpered, grinding again against his hips, arching her back and returning her hand to his hair while the other ventured down his stomach to palm at his groin. He grunted, pushing his free hand into her panties to knead her ass.

"Fuck, Kyouya." she muttered, urgent into his ear, pushing him onto his back and tugging at the hem of his boxers.

He obliged her, sliding them down his legs as she pulled off her panties. She steadied herself with a hand on his hip and took him into her mouth.

He moaned, one hand in the sheets and the other in her hair. She ran her tongue up his length slowly, looking up at him. Just meeting her eyes was enough to make him throb almost painfully hard. She took the head of his cock into her mouth sucking and tracing the curve of him with her tongue. He bit his lip, half-suppressing his groan.

She abandoned her attentions and straddled his hips, flashing him a naughty smile. She lined him up with her entrance and sank down on him. A small gasp left her lips, she rested her hands on his chest to steady herself. He felt out of breath as he held her gaze, one hand went to her hips. His free hand trailed down her stomach, fingers tracing around her navel until they made their way further down. He pressed his thumb to her clit, applying gentle pressure.

"Kyouya." she murmured, leaning back a bit so she could roll her hips. Moving even a little only served to thicken the fog in her mind.

"God you feel good, Kiiro." he panted, tentatively thrusting up into her.

Her rhythm was unsteady at first as she tried to find what worked best, not that either of them were complaining. She leaned a bit further back and when he thrust up into her the way it felt made her heart pound, she gasped more loudly, covering her mouth with a hand, she clenched around him.

"That good?" his teasing weak now that his composure was completely wrecked.

Her flush still darkened even as she rolled her hips to feel more of him. He ground into her pulling her down by her hips. Her skin tingled and with every thrust she could feel her blood rush hard and hot through her. Her pleasure building, wrapping him in her tight heat. She made a broken sound when he returned his thumb to her clit, knowing she was close. She reached one hand down to twine with the one he had around her hip. The sparkling warmth in her abdomen shot through her and she felt lighter than air. Still he ground up into her, drinking in the way her eyes widened and her mouth opened to whimper his name. The hand toying with her clit rested on her hip pulling her down to him roughly. Every nerve in his body was on fire as he spent himself inside her, mind going blank as he climaxed.

They caught their breath, his head fell back to the bed hair disheveled and sticking to his forehead. She loved the way he looked after sex, flushed and a little unkempt, this time there was even a bit of her lipstick on his neck. She lifted her hips, pulling away from him and sitting back. He sat up, smirking at her, "I missed that."

She laughed, leaning over to kiss him, "Me too."


"Can I stay the night?" he asked as she returned from the bathroom. He reclined into her many pillows looking for all the world like the spoiled bastard he was.

"You won't get in trouble?" she cocked her head at him, though the prospect of him staying made her heart flutter excitedly.

He shrugged, "I am eighteen now."

She smiled, joining him on the bed, "Then, yes. Did you even have to ask?"

"I am a gentleman, remember?" he waggled an eyebrow at her.

She chuckled, "When it suits you, you mean?"

He grinned, "Exactly."

They settled themselves under the blankets, he draped an arm around her waist taking one of his hands in hers. Calmed by his warmth wrapped around her she fell asleep quickly, deciding that this Christmas gift was her favorite by far.