Part 26

We all returned from Keruizawa a month before our summer break would be over.

It seemed like no one had found out our secret. Not even Haruhi seemed to know which, which was kinda shocking. But we didn't complain; we just acted like nothing had changed and that we were still busting each other's chops

Anyway, on the last day of summer break, I called up Haruhi and we decided to get together and go to the Cultural Expo to see what they had.

We were walking around, talking and laughing, when a little boy ran past us like there was a monster after him.

We looked to see where he ran from and there, with some extremely disheveled hair, was Kyouya. And, from the look on his face, he wasn't happy.

"Kyouya-senpai?"

He looked at the both of us. The brief eye contact that we made sent a message between each other; act normal.

I smirked and scoffed. "Nice hair. Ever heard of a comb?"

He, briefly, scowled, but then looked at us really thoughtfully.

Then, he asked, "How much money do you two have?"

…

We stood in line for a fast food joint.

"Kyouya, are you sure this is where you wanna eat? There are much nicer restaurants to choose from up stairs."

"Well, you both don't have much on you, so our choices are limited. Just be sure to get a receipt."

He got this really dark look in his eye and said, "Tamaki will reimburse you both, ten-fold."

I turned to Haruhi and said, so that Kyouya would hear, "Eh, let him eat the fast food. He needs a little bit of a social status shock."

He looked back at me with a face that said "don't push me" but his eyes were singing a different tune.

Though, I started to wonder if I should back off when he was completely rude to the teller.

After she, frighteningly, rang up our food, we sat down in a corner table.

"Kyouya-senpai, just because you're in a bad mood today, doesn't give you the right to go around talking to people like that. The poor girl was just doing her job."

Kyouya unwrapped his burger and said, "Her job is to serve us food, not irritate me with some weak sales pitch."

A he took a bite of his burger, I watched him, listening, and said, "Dear god, it's my father times 10."

They both just kinda looked at me, wondering what I meant.

"My dad was in the mortgage business so he was always going on about sales pitches. I swear, when ever solicitors came to our house, my dad would judge them, "American Idol" style, in his head."

They were both silent for a second and then Kyouya said, "You're just in your own little world over there, aren't you?"

I scowled and said, "Hey, better than being the only guy in the world with PMS."

I smirked at his now scowling face and we ended the conversation.

Eventually, I heard this girl say to her friends how hot Kyouya was.

I scowled at them when they, flirtatiously, asked if they could take our extra chair. Of course, when Kyouya answered in an unexcited tone, I felt a little better.

After that, Haruhi and I learned how everyone in the Host Club managed to pull it together enough to work with each other. Kyouya explained.

"The glue that holds the Host Club together is our mutual egocentricity. It's the principle that drives the alliance between our families and ensures each of our futures. Though … well, let's just say there's still quite a bit you two don't understand about that. Although, Tamaki is a fool and self-sacrifice does come naturally to him. So, I guess the point in this is, we are very different creatures."

Opposites attract. That kinda of explained how Kyouya and I even ended up together.

…

After lunch, we all decided to have a look around.

"Black pearls from Ishigaki Island. Odd, to find them here, considering how much they go for."

I was admiring these black pearls, of course. More, specifically, a black pearl necklace. It was dark and beautiful. The kinda jewelry I always wanted, which is saying a lot cause I, usually, didn't like a lot of jewelry, much less dreamed about it.

Haruhi took a look, too, and said, "You're kidding. Really? That's incredible. How can you tell, sempai?"

"I am the product of excellent breading."

I whispered to Haruhi, just loud enough for Kyouya to hear, "Sounds like he came from a puppy mill or something."

Kyouya and I scowled at each other.

"Why are two bantering each other? I thought you two were going out."

We both looked at her.

"You knew?"

"Of course, I knew. I knew after the day after the paint ball game."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"I didn't think that it mattered. Why does it matter?"

"We thought you didn't know and we want as few people to know as possible, so we acted like nothing has changed."

"Oh… sorry. You two can flirt, if you want. I won't tell."

I kinda laughed and look at Kyouya, who was, finally, smiling. "Sorry for all I said."

"It's alright. I know you didn't mean it."

We gave each other a hug and then we started walking through the expo again.

Since Kyouya seemed to know everything about our living and family situations, Haruhi decided to ask him about his family.

He seemed like he really didn't want to talk about it but Haruhi still asked what his brothers were like.

He thought for a really long time and, then, said, "They are rather exceptional. Enough so that my father puts a lot of stock in them. Though, as the third son, things works out a little differently for me."

He went into how much pressure was on his just to be noticed.

I kinda got mad at the fact. "So it's just a big game for attention? A dog-eat-dog game for the bone? That's a lot of pressure.

"Pressure. Oh, no. I can think of nothing more fun than this… then again, getting you was pretty fun."

A smirked at his jest and, playfully pushed him. It managed to lighten the mood, which was something we all needed.

That's when we heard a woman talking to a vendor that was, apparently, selling pieces from the Komatsu Shyoin Collection, what ever that was.

That's when Kyouya got this weird look in his eye.

The vendor started bragging about he wasn't even supposed to have the pieces out on display, as they are incredibly rare.

I didn't like the way the vendor was acting.

And, apparently, neither did Kyouya.

He walked right up to the vendor and said, straight out, "With all do respect, these are fake."

"Hey! Get out of here kid! What do you think you're doing?"

"This shade of blue is strongly reminiscent of Shyoin's work, but looking closely around the base, you'll notice the color graduation isn't quiet dark enough to be authentic. That, and the lacer is too clear."

"Th-That's enough of you, Mr. Expert! I'll report you for obstructing my business!"

That's when Kyouya flipped a bowl over and looked at the seal on the base. "Just as I thought; the brush strokes on this seal are uncharacteristically broad as well. For your sake, I hope you have certificate. That is, if you still insist it's real."

The vendor was, clearly, panicking. "Of course it's real! I have the certificate at home."

"Ah. Then, surely, you won't mind if I call the Komatsu family right now to verify your claim. My own family has had dealings with them for generations. It would only be a matter of minutes."

At that point, the vendor, pretty much, died and my jaw had dropped to the floor.

Security dragged the vendor away while he was babbling about how he had his rights. The woman who we saw looking at the bowls started thanking Kyouya.

"After everything you've told us, senpai, stepping in on a complete stranger's behalf seems a little out of character for you."

He looked at us with a smirk and said, "Oh, that. Well, she's hardly a stranger. You, mean you don't know? He husband is the CEO of a major electronic company. This is my first time to meet her, personally, but that ring on her left hand is unmistakable. My family has dealings with her husbands company."

The woman came up to us and said, "Ah, one of the Ootori boys. Imagine running into you here, incognito. The next opportunity I have, I'll be sure to take advantage of one of your families beautiful health resorts."

"We'd be honored."

I smirked and shook my head at the liar.

The woman was standing behind a flag when we first saw her. There was no way he could have seen her ring.

He did just decide to help a stranger out.

After we purchased some candy for Tamaki and the twins, we went back on our way.

As we were walking, I whispered into his ear, "I'm not gonna lie; that was pretty damn sexy."

He looked at me with a smirk on his face and pulled me into a long kiss.