A.N. - Please don't hate me! But I had to do a cutaway here to explain what's going on around the house and how people are reacting to everything that's going during the trip. It's very important to the plotline, and I listen to what the characters are telling me to do, not the other way around, so blame them! That said, enjoy the story!

Chapter 12


Tamaki was surprised when the door opened.

Kyoya avoided his gaze, retreating into his dark room behind him.

"What do you want, Tamaki?"

Tamaki flinched slightly at the severity of his friend's tone, but he soldiered on forward, as he always did, and boldly stepped into the shadow king's room, closing the door behind him. The darkness of the room felt like a physical presence, but he brushed it off.

"Kyoya-senpai…what happened?" The silent leader said nothing, so he pressed forward. "What happened with you and Haruhi?"

At this question, his eyes snapped up to meet Tamaki's, and the blonde was surprised by the emotion that he could see in them, as they were unguarded by his glasses.

The moment held…and then was broken.

"It was a misunderstanding."

That was all he said.

Tamaki gave him a truly concerned look, tilting his head slightly as he tried to ascertain why his usually in control friend was reacting in such a way to such a simple question. He then stepped forward once more, trying to gain understanding.

"Did it have to do with me?"

At this, Kyoya's eyes snapped back up to his, shock written across his features. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but no words came.

However, the look in his eyes spoke volumes to Tamaki.

Yes, it did have to do with him.

Quickly, he mentally took in all of the information that he had managed to ascertain and tried to deduce what might have happened between the female host club member and their dark-haired leader, and then something clicked.

His gaze softened slightly as he said, "I see. It was a lesson…"

Kyoya looked shocked at what Tamaki had just spoken, and, finally, he spoke.

"Yes…it was a lesson." He paused, gathering his thoughts for a moment, and then continued. "Haruhi had put herself in a position that she shouldn't have been in. She has no thought or regard for the fact that she's a girl. It was a lesson that needed to be learned…"

Tamaki nodded.

"So you showed her how vulnerable she was…" Kyoya nodded. "…and then Mori walked in."

Kyoya nodded again.

"Yes."

A faint smile crossed Tamaki's lips, and now without any fear he walked the last few feet to the bed, where Kyoya sat, and sat down on the bed next to him.

"Have you told Mori-senpai?"

At this, a short bark of laughter broke through the young man's lips at his friend's comment. Kyoya lifted his eyes to his friend and gave him a look.

"In case you hadn't noticed, Suoh, Mori-senpai is not talking to me…"

Tamaki shrugged his shoulders in indifference. "So what? That doesn't mean that you can't talk to him…"

Kyoya's eyes turned once more to his friend, a faint smirk lurking at the corner of his lips at hearing these words. It was typical Tamaki style, and it reminded him of how the two of them had become friends in the first place.

"You're right."

However, he said nothing more, and for several long minutes they simply sat there on the bed, saying nothing.

It was strange, but Kyoya found himself having to hold back an impulse to reach for Tamaki's hand, which lay only a few scant inches from his own on the covers.

Neither knew how much time had passed, but, finally, the shadow king came to a decision.

Quickly, before he could change his mind, he stood, grabbed his glasses, and walked to the door of his room, opening it with a deft turn of his wrist, but hesitating a moment before leaving, casting his eyes back to Tamaki who still sat on his bed.

"Thank you…"

And with those parting words, he closed the door behind him, knowing that the blonde prince would be there when he returned.

For some odd reason, the thought was comforting.

In bold strides, he walked down the corridor, heading towards Mori's room, determined to tell him what had happened between he and Haruhi. He lifted his hand to knock on the door…but then heard the faint notes of the piano being played.

He followed them down to an old music room that hadn't been used since his family had bought the house.

Unaware of Honey standing in the shadows, he approached the door, prepared to walk through and see who was playing at this late hour.

But he stopped at the sight before him.

There was Mori, sitting regally at the piano, as though it were the most natural thing in the world for him to do so, and there was Haruhi…her hand lay on Mori's shoulder, and Mori's fingers were over hers. Kyoya then saw Haruhi about to speak, but Mori's fingers on her lips stopped her.

"Haruhi," was all he said, but there seemed to be some sort of deeper meaning in the way he said it.

The dark-haired leader watched in strange fascination as Mori's hand moved from her mouth, his fingers sliding into the young girl's hair.

And then, Kyoya was shocked to see, they both leaned in to the other and they kissed.

His breath stopped in his throat as he watched Haruhi's own hands slide to Mori's shoulders and then slide up his neck to caress his face as the two of them kissed.

For some strange reason, unknown to Kyoya, he felt his heart skip a beat at this sight and something inside of him broke free…like something had been holding him back, tying him to the ground. And he thought of Tamaki still waiting for him in his room…

…and he smiled.

He watched the two of them kiss a moment longer, and then he left and walked back down the hall, the smile still on his face.

He was unaware of the pair of eyes that watched him from the shadows, following him as he walked away.

As soon as he was back at his room, he swung open the door and was pleased to see Tamaki still there.

The blonde prince, however, was no longer sitting on the bed, but was sprawled across it, lying on his back, his eyes closed. However, he wasn't asleep, as a faint smirk crossed the corner of his mouth as he heard Kyoya close the door behind him.

"So, Kyoya…how'd it go?"

Kyoya said nothing, and instead strode forward, listening to the urge that called to him, and slowly kneeled on the bed, leaning over and placing a hand to either side of the young man on the covers.

He leaned over him, staying silent, letting his eyes brush over the prone form of his friend, his eyes finally lingering on his friend's face, whose eyes were still closed.

Kyoya slowly brought his face down to his Tamaki's.

"Tamaki…" he breathed, and the young man's eyes bolted open, a small gasp of surprise forming on his face as he saw how close Kyoya was, but then Kyoya closed the distance between them, their lips brushing against each other.

The dark haired king pulled back slightly and shivered as Tamaki whispered his name.

"Kyoya…"

They leaned in once more and kissed again, relishing the feel of the other and the freedom of what they were doing.

Kyoya had one last thought as he lost himself to his friend.

If Mori can take a chance, then so can I…


Part 12/?