Blow Me One Last Kiss Chapter 14: Love Somebody, an ouran high school host club fanfic

Love Somebody

A/N: When I started writing this chapter, this was THE SONG, the one I had on repeat all the time (I habitually pick up a new favorite song at least once a month) and I was delighted to realize that I could write a chapter based around this song. Mwahaha! The song is Love Somebody by Maroon 5 and it seemed like an appropriate way to bring us all up to speed on Kyouya and Tamaki's life. (The current song of the month will be featured in an upcoming chapter… not sure exactly when I'll write it, I have like four chapters I want to write, but I'm still deciding on the order)

Disclaimer: I don't own Ouran Host Club or any of the songs or lyrics used in the creation of this fic

Anyone looking at Kyouya who didn't particularly know the man well would have assumed he was devoting every ounce of his attention to the presentation in front of him. Intense slate gray eyes never moved from the presenter, not even to make a few quick keystrokes on his laptop. Usually it might be considered the height of rudeness to have a laptop out during such an important meeting, but people always seemed to make an exception for Kyouya. No one would have dared to suggest that his attention was anywhere but on the other men in suits seated around the table. And yet… those people would have all been wrong.

Next to Kyouya sat his partner, Tamaki. Partner in business… and in his personal life, but few people knew about that. The blonde man was still boyishly handsome even as he approached forty, and normally his violet eyes sparkled and an easy grin tugged at the corners of his mouth. It was a delicious contrast to his partner, whose black hair had just a few strands of gray beginning to appear and who almost always had a serious expression on his face. But today… today, something was wrong. Kyouya could see it plainly. Tamaki's fingers occasionally drummed on the tabletop and his head was propped on one hand, which was also conveniently covering his mouth and making his expression all but impossible to decipher.

As the speaker mentioned several key numbers that Kyouya wanted to remember, he keyed them quickly into his laptop, but he continued to watch Tamaki using the magic of peripheral vision. Violet eyes caught him watching, and Tamaki tried to twist his mouth into a reassuring smile, but it didn't quite work.

It wasn't long before the presentation was finished, and Kyouya and Tamaki shook hands with their prospective clients, promising to call soon to schedule a follow-up meeting. Then Tamaki walked into his office, which was right next to Kyouya's (and their offices had connecting doors that were never ever locked), and he didn't seem surprised when Kyouya followed him.

I know your insides are feeling so hollow
And it's a hard pill for you to swallow, yeah
But if I fall for you, I'll never recover
If I fall for you, I'll never be the same

"What's wrong?" Kyouya asked without any real preamble.

"Nothing," Tamaki said, a little too quickly, as he sat down at his desk. And the sparkle that seemed to perpetually surround him was definitely not present. Kyouya took a few steps closer, leaning one hip against the desk.

"You know that doesn't work on me," he said, not quite scolding his lover yet. "You've been distracted all afternoon, so what's wrong?"

Tamaki sighed. "Sometimes I hate that you know me so well."

"No you don't," Kyouya said, leaning forward slightly to brush his lips over Tamaki's forehead.

Tamaki finally offered up a genuine smile. "Fine… Listen, you know that new office assistant… Maki?"

Kyouya thought for a moment. "Aged 16, long black hair, green eyes…?" He trailed off and Tamaki lifted an eyebrow, clearly waiting for him to continue. "Attends public school, working part-time here, was hired approximately four months ago…?"

Tamaki nodded. "And?"

Kyouya stared carefully at Tamaki, trying to figure out what answer the blonde was searching for. "…And we suspect she is being physical abused at home," he decided at last, "even though we have no actual evidence to support this."

Finally Tamaki's eyes had some of their sparkle back. "Yep, that's the one."

"Yes, what about her? She seems very capable and organized, and I've heard no complaints about her work."

"Well…" Tamaki hesitated. "I… She looked upset this afternoon, so I was talking with her… and she… Well… She's gotten herself into some trouble."

Kyouya's eyes narrowed at the word 'trouble'. "What sort of trouble specifically?" he asked before coming to any conclusions.

Tamaki's cheeks went pink and he squirmed a little. "She… uh… that is…" He visibly swallowed. "She's… expecting."

Kyouya just stared at him, wondering why that was so hard for him to say, and also why Tamaki was so concerned. Certainly it was unpleasant to hear that such a young girl was pregnant… she would almost certainly be a single mother, and her life would become even more difficult… He found himself vaguely wondering if the poor girl intended to drop out of school so she could work and raise her baby. "That… is unfortunate," he said at last.

"Kyouya, it's more than unfortunate, it's awful! The poor girl!" Tamaki exclaimed. "She's abused enough at home already, they certainly won't be thanking her for adding another mouth to feed!"

"If she was so irresponsible…" Kyouya began.

"That's just it though!" Tamaki interrupted him. "She wouldn't tell me who the father was or how she…" He stopped, the blush appearing on his cheeks again. "I… didn't get the impression that she had a boyfriend… She really didn't want to talk about it."

"Maybe she didn't want to talk about something so sensitive with her much older unmarried boss?" Kyouya suggested sarcastically.

Tamaki gave him a withering look. "Do you really think that our staff doesn't know about us?" he asked dryly. "Give me a break. We're not that good at hiding it. I think almost everyone knows about us, they're just too polite to say anything as long as we don't do anything overt."

Kyouya gulped, unable to form a response to that. Tamaki just smiled, reaching out to wind his arms around Kyouya's waist.

I really wanna love somebody
I really wanna dance the night away
I know we're only halfway there
But you can take me all the way, you can take me all the way
I really wanna touch somebody
I think about you every single day
I know we're only halfway there
But you can take me all the way, you can take me all the way

Deciding not to pursue that particular avenue of conversation, Kyouya tried to return to the original topic. "Her state is unfortunate, but I fail to see…"

"She wants to give the baby up for adoption when it's born," Tamaki continued, beginning to chew on his lower lip again.

"That seems like a very sensible decision," Kyouya said.

"But…" Tamaki began, then he hesitated. "She… she doesn't want to just send the baby into the system… where she has no control over who adopts the baby… She wants to make sure her child has a good home."

"Understandable," Kyouya agreed, still wondering where Tamaki was going with this conversation. Then his eyes widened slightly. "Tamaki…"

The other man looked up, eyes shining with obvious hope. "Yes?"

"You are not thinking…" Kyouya couldn't even finish the thought… it was so absurd!

"Why not?" Tamaki demanded.

"It's ridiculous!" Kyouya spluttered. "Us… as parents? Have you lost your mind?"

"Of course not," Tamaki said as he waved a dismissive hand. "We'd be fantastic parents, don't you think? I can't get enough of Mori and Haruhi's little girl, and you adore her too, don't pretend that you don't! You should just see the way your face lit up when Haruhi put An in your arms that first time…" Tamaki's eyes half-closed and a grin appeared on his face. "You tried to hide it, but… you looked so right holding that little girl."

Kyouya gaped at his lover for a full minute before he could bring himself to speak. "Whether you think I'm the fatherly type or not is irrelevant. There is a huge difference between holding the child of a dear friend and actually trying to raise a child of our own. That just… it isn't something you're supposed to do on a whim, Tamaki!"

"Of course not," Tamaki agreed. "We have at least five months to make our decision, although sooner is probably better because I'm sure it'll take time to draw up any papers and…"

"Are you kidding?" Kyouya exclaimed. "You make it sound like all you have to do is bring me around to your point of view, which will not be happening…"

"Oh really?" Tamaki asked, pulling Kyouya a little closer. Kyouya reached out, his hands resting on Tamaki's shoulders.

"I will not be going along with this," Kyouya insisted sternly. "You can't just hear a teenager's sob story and suddenly decide you want us to adopt a child. We've never even talked about the possibility of bringing a child into our lives, so you'll excuse me if I think this is a bit too abrupt."

"I hadn't really thought about it either… until recently," Tamaki admitted. "When I saw Haruhi and Mori with An right after she was born… that was the first time I started thinking about it."

"That was almost six months ago," Kyouya said, feeling even more dismayed. "When were you going to actually talk to me about it?"

"When I was sure it was something I wanted," Tamaki said. "And now I'm sure."

"Well it's all well and good that you're sure, but somehow I doubt you've really stopped to think anything through," Kyouya began, then a thought made him pause. "Why did you need to be sure? Why couldn't we have this debate earlier?"

"Because you have a very hard time telling me no when I really want something," Tamaki said with a smile.

Kyouya sighed, rubbing his forehead. "There's a big difference between acquiescing to your sexual demands in a supply closet when we're late for a meeting and adopting a child!"

Tamaki shrugged off the distinction in his usual flippant manner. "Well I think we should go talk to Haruhi and find out just how difficult it would be for us to adopt a child."

Kyouya sighed again, wondering whether it was even worth it to point out that he STILL had not agreed to this. "You know it's going to be almost impossible. As far as the government is concerned, we aren't…" He paused, then shook his head. "The government would not give a child to two men, especially without any sort of… civil commitment," he decided at last.

Tamaki's face fell. "You're right about that," he agreed sadly.

Kyouya didn't know what to say. For some absurd reason, he wanted to apologize… after all, it was partly because of his family that they had decided not to take any steps to make their relationship more official.

You're such a hard act for me to follow
Love me today, don't leave me tomorrow, yeah
But if I fall for you, I'll never recover
If I fall for you, I'll never be the same

When Tamaki's grandmother had passed away shortly after Haruhi and Mori announced they were expecting a child, the penthouse that Tamaki had been living in had been left to Tamkai's father. The man had gone to the penthouse to see for himself how it looked and what his son had done with the place, and had been more than a little taken aback to find it empty and unlived in. Tamaki had then been sheepishly forced to admit that he had moved in with Kyouya, and when his father had been baffled as to why he'd moved… Tamaki had felt he had no choice but to admit to their relationship. And, to the relief of both young men, Tamaki's father had quickly given his unconditional support to both of them. It had been more than either had hoped for, and this support had given Kyouya the courage to come out to his family.

To say that it had been a disaster was an understatement of spectacular proportions.

It hadn't quite started out that way. Kyouya's father had plainly been seeing red, his lips pressed so thin that they'd nearly disappeared. But then he'd started talking about Kyouya remarrying, this time to a more compliant woman… and for the first time in his life, Kyouya put his foot down and openly defied his father.

It had gone precisely as well as he had anticipated.

That is, a disaster.

The explosion hadn't come from his father though. It had come from his oldest brother, Yuuichi. And as the older man ranted and raved about Kyouya's complete lack of regard for his family, Kyouya… had just let the abuse rain down on him. He deserved it and he knew it. But when Yuuichi drew breath and started ranting about Kyouya's divorce from Haruhi, that was where he drew the line.

"She didn't leave because of that," Kyouya couldn't resist interrupting.

Yuuichi actually stopped mid-word and turned to stare at his younger brother.

"She left because I lied to her and I couldn't be bothered to pay attention to what she might have wanted. I will never be able to understand why, but she loved me once and she wanted me be happy. I wanted her to be happy too, but I didn't really try to make her happy. And when she found happiness with someone else, I let her leave so she could have it." Kyouya wondered how his nails hadn't dug through his palms yet. It was painful to admit these things, especially under the judgmental eyes of his father and brothers. But Fuyumi and Tamaki both stood behind him, silently supporting him. "So you WILL leave her out of this conversation. If I couldn't make things work with Haruhi, they aren't going to work with any girl. And Tamaki has moved in with me, and we have no intention of changing that."

Predictably, that set off a whole new round of explosions.

"I knew that damn Suoh brat was trouble the moment I laid eyes on him," his father fumed, as though the man in question wasn't standing a few feet away.

Kyouya gritted his teeth. "Don't you dare pin this on him."

"Oh, are you saying that you want to take responsibility for this MESS?" his father shouted.

Kyouya didn't flinch. "It isn't a mess. We've kept our relationship under wraps for the last decade and no one ever knew about it, not even our closest friends and family. We can continue doing so."

"He's moving in with you!" Yuuichi exclaimed. "That's not the sort of thing you can keep secret! Are you trying to ruin our family?"

Kyouya's lips pressed together. "In the business world, no one will care as long as we're discrete. In high society, the worst that will happen is we won't get invited to some of the big galas. Hardly a crisis, those things are terminally boring at best."

That had led to a whole new round of shouting, and he noticed more than once that Fuyumi tried to pull Tamaki from the room, but Tamaki (patient, loyal, WONDERFUL Tamaki) refused to leave the room, bearing the insults with a fortitude that impressed Kyouya. The handsome blonde never said a word, knowing that Kyouya wanted to handle the conflict himself, but the fact that he stayed meant more than Kyouya could ever hope to put into words.

At the end of the day, Kyouya and Tamaki were both thrown unceremoniously from the house, and Kyouya knew he would be disinherited (this was confirmed later after coercing a law clerk in the office his family employed to check to see if his father had updated his will). He was also immediately fired from his job at the family company, but Kyouya had expected that as well, and the fledgling company he had started in preparation for just such an event now received his full attention. Within days, Tamaki had resigned from his position in HIS family's company to take his place by Kyouya's side at their own company.

The lack of support had not surprised Kyouya in the least, but it had still been a painful experience. He had brooded even more than usual for days afterwards, locking himself in his study until impossible hours of the morning. Tamaki had borne it without complaint as usual, and it had been the blonde who had mentioned that perhaps they'd be better off keeping their relationship the way it was. They had considered some sort of civil ceremony, but now… Now the idea was being summarily ejected. It would be too much, too public… The idea was discarded, and never really reexamined.

To Kyouya's surprise, he and Tamaki were not immediately blacklisted from high society. Whether this was due to the Suoh family influence, or just the Ootori family not wanting to cause a scandal by obviously disinheriting one of their sons, Kyouya was never quite clear… but somehow, he and Tamaki found themselves at yet another tedious gala for the rich and powerful the evening after his surreal conversation with Tamaki about adopting a child.

The pair had done an appropriate amount of mingling and Kyouya was beginning to glance around for an escape route when he saw Haruhi enter with Mori. She looked beautiful as usual, somehow still retaining the radiant glow she'd carried throughout her pregnancy. Motherhood suited her, and Kyouya felt a pang as he realized that he'd never even bothered to find out whether she wanted children. It had never been on his agenda, and he'd just assumed it wasn't on hers either… but apparently it had been.

He shook his head to banish those thoughts. Just more proof that Mori was a better husband to her, not that he needed more proof of that.

And then he had no more time to think as Tamaki was practically dragging him across the room towards the couple he'd been regarding. Before Kyouya even had a chance to regain his composure, Tamaki had inquired about baby An and then moved on to telling Haruhi that he and Kyouya were thinking about adopting a child. That got Kyouya's attention.

"Tamaki!" he hissed. "Despite what you seem to think, I still have not agreed to your ridiculous plan, so you really shouldn't go around telling our friends."

Haruhi had to cover her mouth to keep her laughter from being too obvious. "And just where do you two think you're going to get a baby from?" she asked, her eyes sparkling with amusement. Mori had a half-smile on his face as he feigned disinterest in their conversation.

Tamaki quickly outlined the story of the office girl for Haruhi, with plenty of embellishments about the poor state of her home life, the sort that made Haruhi's underprivileged upbringing look as lavish as any Ouran student. Haruhi lifted her eyebrow at that comment, and Kyouya tried to interrupt to point out that they actually had no idea what the girl's home life was really long, but Tamaki couldn't be bothered to let either of them interrupt his dramatic tale.

Breathless, violet eyes sparkling with unshed tears, Tamaki clasped Haruhi's hand. "So will you help us? That poor baby deserves a loving home, don't you think? And who better than myself and Kyouya?"

Haruhi made a face, and Kyouya pressed his fingertips to his forehead, wondering why he put up with this idiotic man and his absurd ideas.

"It won't exactly be easy," Haruhi sighed. "I suppose I could find a way… if the girl in question showed a pressing need to give the child up because she couldn't provide a safe environment, you two could probably be granted temporary guardianship. And if you can prove you can care for the child successfully for some period of time, I don't see why they wouldn't let you adopt later…"

Kyouya sighed, wondering why no one seemed to listen when he protested that he didn't want the responsibility of caring for this child… And then he noticed that Haruhi was staring over his shoulder, her expression becoming increasingly alarmed. Next to her, Mori was also tense. Kyouya turned and saw Akito approaching him, Yuuichi and their father watching from the other side of the room. Kyouya's hand automatically clenched into a fist and he gripped Tamaki's elbow, cutting off the tidal wave of words pouring from the other man's mouth.

"Kyouya, what…?" Tamaki began, than he shut up when he saw Akito.

Kyouya's older brother looked very uncomfortable as he stood before them. "Kyouya. You look well," he said after a moment's hesitation.

"Akito." Kyouya didn't feel the need to try to make small talk.

Akito flinched a little before greeting the rest of the group. Tamaki was overly-demonstrative as usual while Mori was as quiet as ever. Haruhi didn't seem to know what to make of her former brother-in-law's appearance.

"What do you want?" Kyouya asked as soon as the polite greetings were finished. He didn't want to hear any gloating or threats or demands. He just wanted to leave this damnable stuffy gala. "If you have some message to deliver from our father, I'm sure I can determine the gist of it and you can take your leave."

"Well, he did give me a message, but I have no intention of delivering it," Akito practically whispered.

Tamaki's jaw dropped, as did Haruhi's. Mori actually stared. Kyouya didn't know what to say.

"What Father did to you… It was wrong. You didn't deserve any of that," Akito said, speaking as quickly and quietly as he could, as though their father or brother would appear behind him and catch him speaking his mind. "I… Fuyumi and I have talked about it. It wasn't right. I thought… I should tell you that. And if you need anything…" He made an abortive gesture with one hand before glancing back at their father.

Mori murmured something that might have been an excuse before slipping around them and walking across the room. It took Kyouya only seconds to realize that Mori was actually blocking Akito and himself from their father's view, and he took the opportunity to grasp his brother's hand more warmly. "Thank you," he said quietly.

Akito managed a smile. They didn't hug. They were Ootori's, it simply wasn't done. Then he clasped Haruhi's hand for an instant, a murmured apology crossing his lips, then he turned and headed back to the rest of the Ootori family. Kyouya turned away as though hiding his reaction from his father and oldest brother… and in a way, he was. They'd have questions if they saw the smile that was crossing his face.

Haruhi gripped his elbow for a moment. It was a silent gesture of support before she hurried off to find her husband. Kyouya started walking towards the door, and Tamaki matched him stride for stride. And for once, the blonde was silent, letting Kyouya process the evening's events in peace.

I don't know where to start, I'm just a little lost
I wanna feel like we're never gonna ever stop
I don't know what to do, I'm right in front of you
Asking you to stay, you should stay, stay with me tonight, yeah

Kyouya didn't really expect to hear from Akito after the surprising show of support, but he'd underestimated his brother. Fuyumi would often text or call him, and she would pass messages from Akito. Sometimes they were as simple as a hello, but sometimes he would pass on crucial information about the Ootori's company and their clients, allowing Kyouya to keep his small company competitive. The support of the Suoh family and their company also helped immeasurably, and Kyouya found himself relaxing some evenings, gradually becoming convinced that things were really going to work out.

Of course, all that work mostly served to distract himself from Tamaki's insistence that they adopt that child… Kyouya could only shake his head whenever he let himself think of those conversations. Tamaki had let the topic drop after seeing Akito, but Kyouya was sure it was never far from the other man's mind. In fact, he saw Tamaki talking to Maki several times in the office, though they usually clammed up as soon as they noticed him. Kyouya knew he should probably put a stop to whatever they were plotting, but somehow he kept putting it off…

And then, after several months had gone by, Kyouya noticed that Tamaki wasn't in his office. So he stepped out to ask their secretary if there was a meeting that he'd managed to let slip his mind (he was reasonably confident that this wasn't the case, but it never hurt to double check). And that's when he learned that Maki had gone into labor, and Tamaki had accompanied her to the hospital. And Kyouya had closed his eyes, counted to ten, and prayed for patience.

Later, Tamaki had texted him. "U shud come to hospital"

Kyouya glared at his phone. "I can't. I'm trying to run our company, remember?"

An hour later, he'd received another text. "It's a girl!"

"Tell her congratulations then. Are you coming back to the office?"

"Cud you pick me up from hospital? After work of course!"

Kyouya sighed. "Fine. See you in an hour."

And that was how he ended up in the hospital, searching for his partner. He found the blonde in a waiting room, cradling a small bundle of blankets to his chest.

"Now really, Tamaki, you shouldn't be getting attached…" Kyouya began.

Tamaki ignored his words, shoving the bundle towards him. Kyouya had a brief moment of panic, remembering the first time he'd held little An… that had been terrifying, he'd been scared to death he would drop her, and then Haruhi would have skinned him alive and murdered him in some horribly gruesome way. That thought crossed his mind at lightning speed, but he managed to accept the bundle without dropping it.

"Isn't she beautiful?" Tamaki asked.

Kyouya cautiously glanced down. Downy black hair covered her scalp, and then her eyes opened and they were the most brilliant green he'd ever seen. And Kyouya felt himself melt a little. "Yes, she's lovely, but we need to give her back to her mother," he said firmly.

Tamaki's face fell. "I really haven't convinced you, have I?"

Kyouya closed his eyes. "We never REALLY talked about this, you know. You can't just dangle a baby in front of me and expect me to jump right into this without planning… anything. There's so much we'd need to do, and to buy… people to hire, schools to look into…" He shook his head. "We haven't made any plans, and adopting a child isn't something you can do on a whim, Tamaki."

Tamaki sighed sadly. "You're right, Kyouya… you're right."

Kyouya sighed. "If we talk about it in more detail later… then maybe… in the future…"

Tamaki's face was lighting up already, and Kyouya wondered what monster he'd just unleashed. "Come on, let's go see Maki!" Tamaki said brightly, leading the way to her room.

But the room was empty.

The bottom dropped out of Kyouya's stomach.

And the baby in his arms let out a small whimper.

A nurse walked in at that moment, her eyes taking in the empty bed. "Oh…" she whispered. "Oh dear. Have either of you seen…?"

"No… No we haven't…" Kyouya said quietly.

"And her baby?"

Kyouya wordlessly lifted the child in his arms.

The nurse threw up her hands. "I knew I should have watched that girl more closely," she muttered in exasperation. "Well, I'll call Children's Services… This isn't the first baby that's been abandoned here."

And Tamaki's eyes latched onto Kyouya. Those violet orbs made a wordless plea. Kyouya glanced down at the baby, who was watching him just as intently with her emerald-colored eyes. And Kyouya knew when he'd been beaten.

"Actually… the mother did at one time express an interest in letting us adopt her child… Would it be possible for us to call a lawyer friend and have a temporary guardianship order drawn up?" Kyouya asked before the nurse could reach out for the child.

She looked taken aback for a moment. "Well… I suppose so," she said at last. "That's… a bit unusual… but somehow I doubt the mother will come back to object. Yes, call your friend." And with that, the nurse hurried off to attend to her other patients.

Tamaki was already pulling out his phone and dialing Haruhi's number. Kyouya slowly sank down into a chair against one wall of the room, still cradling the baby gently. He looked down at the little girl, this tiny person who would very soon be depending on him and Tamaki for everything, and to his surprise, he wasn't as frightened as he'd assumed he would be.

"Thanks Haruhi! You're the best!" Tamaki exclaimed happily. Then he hung up the phone. "She'll be here as soon as she can."

Kyouya nodded, feeling a little dazed. Tamaki sat down next to him and touched Kyouya's knee gently.

"I know we just got done agreeing that we needed to talk first," Tamaki sighed. Kyouya nodded. "I'm really sorry about this, honestly. You're right, we should have talked more first… But honestly, I can't just let this little girl go."

Kyouya managed a smile. "I have to admit… I don't want to let her go either."

The relief on Tamaki's face was obvious. "You've bonded with her then?"

Kyouya chuckled. "I suppose you could say that."

"What are we going to call her?" Tamaki asked suddenly. "We can't just call her 'her' all the time."

"No, we can't," Kyouya agreed.

Tamaki thought for a minute, then shook his head. "I'm no good at names… You come up with something."

Kyouya thought for a moment as he cradled the little girl in his arms. Her eyes fluttered, then closed completely. Kyouya was astonished that she apparently considered his arms a safe enough place to fall asleep in. Then a name came to him.

"Let's call her Kasumi."

A/N: Umm… is it just me or did I randomly make Kyouya sound like Sherlock a few times? I am reading way too many Sherlock fanfics. This is probably not healthy, but I don't care! No one can stop me, bwahaha! This may or may not be part of the reason why I take so long to write chapters…

Anyways, that chapter ended up being longer than expected, but I really wanted to do the scene with Akito… then I got completely carried away at the end there… Ahhh Kyouya being all cute and adorable with a baby!