Chapter Twenty One

Kyoya's Day with the Nobles

Tamaki and Haruhi had gone off to Paris to visit his family while the twins and Tara went to Japan with Honey, Mori, and Andie. So that left Kyoya and Ami alone to do whatever they wanted. And Ami wanted to spend time with her family. She figured it'd be a good idea to get them used to having Kyoya around and plus he'd need to get used to her father. Once they graduated college, he'd be around her father for nearly ten hours a day.

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Kyoya said. He was typing on his computer but he could tell that Ami was stressing out. She was tapping her fingers on her tablet and sighing a lot.

"I'm just worried you'll think…differently of my father after a week with him." Ami said, "He's much different when he's at home."

"Amelie, I've been friends with Tamaki for practically five years, if I can handle him, I'm certain I can handle anyone."

Hours later, they landed in LAX and were met by the Noble personal staff who already had their bags and a private car ready to go. Kyoya tucked away his computer and listened as Ami told him about all the different places they'd get to visit such as Calabasas, Santa Monica, Hollywood, and anywhere he wanted to explore. Kyoya studied the geography of Los Angeles and found it interesting. On a map, it was divided by other little towns within it. It was a flat, rolling landscape of dozens of towns and cities within one city. How fascinating.

Then they entered Beverly Hills. They rolled under a gate and began to slowly ascend a hillside. There were hundreds of homes each with security and private notices slapped on the front to ward off paparazzi. "So this is where the rich and wealthy live, hmm?" Kyoya asked.

"Well, some of them," Ami said with a shrug, "They're all spread out everywhere, but for the most part, we live here. It's like a community…except we don't really socialize."

She was bored. It was no wonder she felt most alive when at school. She could do whatever she wanted and spend that time with anyone she wanted. Kyoya grabbed her hand and smiled at her.

"I mean, I'm not complaining!" Ami said and then laughed, "Everyone who lives out here is constantly working. My father included. It'd be nice to meet the neighbors beyond a brief hello, is all…We do get together for big events and stuff. There'll be one this weekend, so we have to dress our best, ok Kyo?" She kissed him on the cheek and Kyoya pushed up his glasses.

"Anything for you, Princess."

After a few more minutes of driving, they arrived at the top of the hill where there were large golden security gates with the Noble family crest over it. "Honestly, I don't know why my father insists we put the crest on everything…I don't even know why we have a crest!" Ami said as the driver typed in the code and then we buzzed in.

"Keeping up appearances," Kyoya said while rolling down the window and taking in the massive estate. The front drive way was several hundred feet long and lined with perfectly sculpted lawn decor and bushes, flowers and trees in full bloom, and a fountain that created a roundabout. The mansion looked as if it were straight out of a movie. It was white and two stories high and he was thrilled to see the rest of it.

"I know," Ami said as they got out of the car, "It's excessive."

"MY BABY!"

Terrance Noble was outside in moments and picked up Ami and twirled around with her in his arms, gushing about how much he missed her. Vivianne Noble stood on the steps, waiting for her husband to calm down. Once he put Ami down he walked over to Kyoya who already had his hand outstretched.

"Nonsense!" Terrance said as he pulled Kyoya into a hug, "You're family now, my boy!"

"Nearly," Vivianne said after hugging Ami and kissing her on the cheek. She walked over to Kyoya and hugged him as well, but more courteously than her husband.

"Vivi don't ruin the fun!" Terrance said, "Yes, we have a few years to wait, but we'll treat him like family anyway. Come with me, Kyoya my boy, I'll show you the estate."

"Daddy that'll take too long!" Ami whined, she grabbed Kyoya's hand and pulled him away from her father, "Why don't we do it tomorrow on the golf carts? We're hungry—"

"Actually I'm not hungry—"

Ami glared at him, "I said we're hungry!"

"I'll get the staff started on lunch," Viviane said, pulling Ami away from the men, "And will get something inside of our daughter. You two go have fun."

Before Kyoya could thank Vivianne for her kindness, he was dragged off through the front doors. The entry way where the grand staircase and all the halls were. Terrance listed off everything so quickly, Kyoya wasn't entirely sure he had gotten everything correct. Supposedly the kitchens and the back exits were to the left, the entertainment center and gym were down the middle corridor, and to the right were private offices, meeting rooms, and the spa. They went upstairs which arched beautifully like a U. The walls in the hall were glass and Kyoya could see the rest of the estate from this view. It went on for nearly a mile. Down the halls Terrance pointed out which doors were bathrooms and which ones were bedrooms. He entertained a lot of international guests so there were extra bedrooms on the bottom floor while up here, were the private rooms.

Ami's room was at the very end of the left side of the U, next to the back staircase that led straight to the kitchens. "God help me, if I had put that girl on the other side of the house," Terrance said, "She may seem sweet, but she's as dangerous as a viper if she hasn't eaten in a few hours." He opened the door to Ami's room which was…for lack of a better word, massive. Her bed could have fit the entire host club, while her bathroom was luxury redefined. The bathtub was built into the floor with jets and painted black so it looked like a mirror. Her shower had three shower heads, each with a different setting, and there were speakers in every room for her music enjoyment.

"Excessive is a terrible understatement," Kyoya whispered under his breath as they walked through the bathroom to the room that was connected to it.

"This is where Tara and Andie stay when they visit," Terrance said, "You can stay in this room."

Kyoya bowed to Terrance, "Thank you, sir."

"Call me…Father!" Terrance said as he hugged Kyoya. Kyoya frowned, this seemed all too familiar. It was like an older, richer, Tamaki. Ami was right…he couldn't believe she was absolutely right.

"Now for the fun stuff!" Terrance said as he pulled Kyoya along with him.

They took a golf cart and drove through the back of the estate. There was an outdoor pool, a pond, a small garden maze, a tennis court in the back, and a green house. "Vivi's idea, she does like to do some things on her own." And last but not least, Terrance's favorite, a zen garden. There were spaces for yoga mats where Terrance explained he liked to meditate.

"And that's the estate!" Terrance said, he nodded as he looked around at what he had built. "It feels good, Kyoya. When you can look around and say…I did this. Me. Maybe in a couple decades this'll be yours and Ami's…or maybe you'll build something of your own. Whatever it is you go after…make sure it's for the right reasons."

Dinner was ready and Ami took her place at her father's left while her mother sat at his right. Kyoya sat next to Ami and once again thanked the family for having him over.

"So polite," Vivianne said, she smiled, "It's a welcome change."

"I'm polite!" Ami said in defense.

"When you're well fed…" both her parents muttered. Ami felt like she got hit by an arrow. Kyoya chuckled and she glared at him.

"Kyoya you haven't been home in months, you must miss, Japan?" Vivianne asked.

"It'll be nice to return home for a while," said Kyoya, "But honestly, I'm quite interested in staying in America to study."

"Focused already?" asked Terrance, "Kyoya you should really be concentrating on the now." He tapped the table with his fork, "You're with family, and the woman of your dreams!" He winked and Ami rolled her eyes and laughed, "Worry about that stuff later."

"I..have to agree," said Vivianne, Ami was shocked to hear her say this, "It's summer. The weather is perfect. Have fun."

Later…

Ami and Kyoya had finished getting ready for bed and he laid down next to her in her over sized bed with the curtains drawn.

"Your parents won't mind we're in here together?" Kyoya asked as he ran his finger up and down her arm.

Ami played with the collar to his shirt and smiled, "Well it's never bothered them before."

"What?"

"Ha! Gotcha!"

He pulled Ami closer to him and she laughed as he tickled her. Their faces were close and Kyoya leaned in to kiss her but as he did the house began to quake with intense ferocity. Ami laid back and sighed with frustration.

"He got bad news." She said.

"What do you mean?" Kyoya asked.

"Dad plays guitar hero when he gets bad news or when he's upset. He installed really high quality speakers and bass." Ami rolled over to the dresser next to her bed and then pulled out a pair of noise cancelling head phones. "You'll need these to sleep."

The next morning, Kyoya rolled over in his bed to see Ami jogging in place next to her father. They were wearing matching outfits with ipods attached to their arms.

"Morning Kyo! Time to exercise!" Ami said.

He pulled the blanket up over his head.

It was whipped off immediately by Terrance, "Now, now, Kyoya. In this family, we get up bright and early and go for a run together!"

Kyoya's face was nothing short of pure evil, and it was met by the glowing smiles of Ami and Terrance. Fifteen minutes later, Kyoya was slowly walking behind the family. Vivianne was on the phone about something and Ami was chatting with her father.

"What had you so upset last night, Daddy?" she asked.

"Oh just business stuff. It appears that Jack Koby is trying to run our business into the ground by hiring people to write bad reviews about us. You may think that journalist are nothing, but to a business like ours, it can make us or break us."

"What are we going to do?"

Terrance looked down at Ami and winked at her and gave her the peace sign, "We're gonna fight fire with fire, sweetie!"

Kyoya was incredibly fascinated by how Ami and Terrance interacted. She was everything he was. Forward, loud, inventive, and enthusiastic. How did Terrance end up with someone like Vivianne? She was still on her phone talking about work. Wasn't she the one who told Kyoya to relax? He jogged a bit to catch up with her. Once she noticed Kyoya, she smiled at him and hung up her phone.

"Hello Kyoya. Enjoying the family jog?"

"It's…early." Kyoya said, Vivianne smiled, a real smile.

"I used to hate it too. To be honest, I hate getting up so early. But Terrance is…persistent. When we get back, I'll make us both a strong cup of coffee."

"That sounds wonderful Mrs. Noble," he looked at her and noticed that Ami took heavily after her mother as far as looks went. He wondered if the same would happen with their children? If they ever had any…why would he be thinking about that now?

"You probably wondered why I've been on the phone so much, hmm?" she asked. He nodded. "Terrance is…God bless him…a great man. He's a wonderful father, a great husband, and he has such great ideas…he just…can't run a business to save his life." She chuckled and then went on, "I end up taking care of all the finances, the arrangements, and end up managing the VPs and managers. It's tiring work."

"What does Mr. Noble actually do?" Kyoya asked.

"He's the face of the company. He's the one all the men want to be and all the women want to seduce…"

"Doesn't that make you jealous?" Kyoya asked. He looked over at Ami and thought he couldn't be jealous of anyone, but as the last year showed him, that was a misconception. He was jealous, frequently. When they walked around in public he saw all the looks they got from men and women. Mostly the looks Ami got. She was always so lost in her head that she didn't notice.

"Why in the world would I be jealous?" Vivianne laughed and then placed her arm around Kyoya. She motioned to Ami and Terrance who were plotting something up ahead, "Look at the people we've fallen in love with. When they want something, they get it. They wanted us and got us and they're going to keep us. Terrance never notices any other woman. He talks with them, flirts with them, but it's part of a plan. A means to get himself closer to his objective. I admire it."

Perhaps this was the family Kyoya belonged to all along.

"I trust him with all of my heart. We balance each other. He's the yin to my yang. Without me, I think he could do alright. My husband could run everything if he wanted to. He's just so focused on making sure it all runs well and everyone is happy. The things that make the company run…he tends to neglect. But as long as at the end of the day everyone is smiling…he's a happy man." She looked at Kyoya, "It's what he's been raising Amelie to be all her life."

Kyoya raised an eyebrow, "I thought you wanted her to be—"

"Successful and smart. A person who could lead the company once her father and I retire. Yes. Unfortunately, you sidelined those plans." Kyoya was going to try to say something but Vivianne interrupted him, "But it's for the better I think. We have you now. And I'm sure you'll do this family proud by running the company."

Kyoya was surprised yet honored at the same time, "You don't believe Amelie will run the company?"

"Oh not at all. But she's truly taken a new appreciation for music and I believe her studying psychiatry will benefit her in the long run. I'm happy she met you. You're apart of this family Kyoya. Everything we do from here on out, will include you."

"REVENGE!" Cheered Ami and Terrance, who Kyoya had nearly forgotten about.

"You're not burning down his company…" Vivianne said with a very, very, deep, irritated sigh.

"Why not?" Terrance whined.

"Run why you still can," Vivianne whispered to Kyoya. She then caught up with her husband and daughter and hit them both in the back of the head, "Idiots…the both of you. What kind of press do you think we'd get if we tried that?"

"I'm teaching our daughter about taking initiative!"

"Yeah!"

"DON'T ENCOURAGE HIM, AMELIE!"

Kyoya laughed as he watched them interact. He liked being apart of this family already.