A/N: I'm sorry this is up so late. I'm running on US West Coast time. Even then, I'm still damn near an hour late. Regardless, please forgive me. I will commit seppuku later. But I had some things to do in town today and here we are. So, without further dudes, let's get into this week's chapter, yeah?
Even though I had Ritsu and Goodfellas, there was no fucking way I was getting any sleep last night. It was awfully sweet of him to stick around, but unfortunately, it was all for naught. Kudos for trying, but no such luck. Why couldn't Ritsu and I ever sleep all night when we were at my penthouse? It never fails. Although, this may be a special circumstance. I rolled over and checked the clock. Three o'clock…Maybe I could sneak out of bed and up to the roof.
Slowly, I slid Ritsu's arm off me, making sure I wouldn't wake him. Out like a light. Or so I thought until I felt a tug on the waist of my pajama bottoms and a grumbly voice call after me, "Where do you think you're going, young lady?"
"Up to the roof." No sense in lying to him, "Did I wake you?"
"No," Ritsu sat up in bed, "I couldn't sleep either."
"You're more than welcome to join me," I offered, "It's been a while since we've been on the roof together."
"I'd love to," he got up and grabbed a blanket off my bed, "Are you ok, baby?"
"Yeah…" There's a time and a place when it's ok to lie to Ritsu. In this case, it's to keep him from worrying, "I just need to clear my head a little. That's all."
"Ok," Ritsu knew it was bullshit, but he dropped it.
The two of us walked up the small set of stairs and shared a chaise lounge. Ritsu covered us up and I got lost in the neon lights. They were so beautiful. Suddenly, an overwhelming homesickness fell over me that even Goodfellas couldn't cure. I cuddled into my loving and patient boyfriend, still a bit shaken from everything that happened, "Hey, Ritsu?"
"Yeah, Rei?"
"I'm really not ok," I confessed, my voice breaking a bit, "I had a rough nightmare and all I got were flashbacks to tonight, to the custody hearing. It's hell in my head right now."
"Are you sure you want to go to school, Rei?" Ritsu worried, "If you wanted to take a day, no one would blame you."
"I'm sure," I nodded, "If I don't go to school, I can't head the family."
"Rei," he pointed out, "You're exhausted. You're on the roof because you can't sleep. No one…and I can't stress this enough…No one would blame you. I'm sure your old man would say the same."
"I'll be fine," I promised, "If all else fails, I can clock out in class."
"Ok," Ritsu let it go, hugging me tight, doing his best to calm me down, "You want to talk about it?"
"They were just flashbacks," I shuddered, "The smells stand out the most. The smell of the courtroom. The fake lemon and wood combination on the stand. The cologne on the bitch's lawyer. The shit she sprayed me with before we went into the courtroom…It was awful, Ritsu…"
"I couldn't imagine," he cuddled me, "Was it really that bad?"
"Traumatizing," I nuzzled my face in his shoulder, trying to hide any possible tears, "I just lost my mom and she wanted to take Daddy from me, too."
"But she didn't," Ritsu reminded me, keeping my head above water, "We just talked to him. You want to call him again?"
"No," I shook my head, "It'd only make him worry more than he already does. He doesn't need that. There's too much to clean up back home from that bitch. He doesn't need to worry about me on top of it."
"Ok," he ran his fingers down my back, putting me at ease, "Rei?"
"Yeah, Ritsu?" I shut my eyes for a second, finally that level of relaxed.
"I love you," Ritsu kissed the top of my head, "And I'm not going to let her near you ever again."
"I love you, too." Who? Who did I save from a burning building in a past life for Ritsu to fall into my life? Because I don't know what I'd do without him right now.
A couple hours later, I woke up in my bed with my boyfriend out cold next to me. He must have carried me in from the roof. I stretched up to his cheek and gave him a little kiss, "Good morning, Ritsu."
"Morning, Reila," Ritsu pulled the blankets over us, "And you're sure you want to go to school?"
"Yeah," I shoved my fist in my eye, "I'm sure. I'll be ok."
"That's good," he kissed the top of my head, "I don't know about you, but I could use some coffee and a lot of it."
"Me, too," I agreed, checking the clock, bolting out of bed, "Shit!"
"What?" Ritsu freaked, "What is it?"
"We're going to be late!" I skipped out on the morning shower and quickly threw on a clean uniform.
"We got plenty of time, baby," he assured, "We'll just go to the coffee cart on our way to homeroom and call it a day."
"Are you sure?" I slipped my shoes on, "Because…"
Knock, knock.
"I got it," Ritsu took the bullet for me, knowing I was in enough of a mood. I could kill someone with my bare hands right now, "Hi, Roy. Good morning."
"Good morning, Ritsu!" Roy greeted him, his normal level of uppity that would make me want to wrap my hands around his throat, "Is Rei awake?"
"Yeah," he nodded, "But I'm taking her to school this morning. Go home."
"But I just wanted to…"
"Get the fuck out of my house, Roy!" I snapped, not having any of his bullshit today, "I'm fine!"
"She's a little sleep deprived," Ritsu covered for me, "Don't worry about her. I got it taken care of."
"Ok," Roy dropped it, "I would like for us to touch base soon, Rei!"
"Today's not the day," I grabbed my backpack and headed out. I only knew one thing was for certain. My sympathies to the mother fucker who dares cross me today. Because he'll be leaving in a body bag. All of my sleep deprivation was turning me into a mega bitch. However, caffeine may fix that. God, I hope so.
As soon as we got to Ouran, I sprinted for our homeroom while Ritsu hit the coffee cart for both of us. Thank God…On time…I laid my head down on a desk in the back, debating whether or not to take a nap. Maybe just a little one. A quick power nap to get me through homeroom. Hopefully, I'll sleep long enough to feel well rested, but short enough to avoid nightmares. A girl can hope, right? However, I'm not going to be allowed my brief nap. Because of two of the same face popping up in front of me.
"Good morning, Rei!" the twins harmonized, way too cheery for my level of sleep and caffeination.
"How are you this morning?" Hikaru asked.
"Doing well, we hope?" Kaoru added.
"Both of you," I growled, "Kindly fuck off. I'm exhausted."
"We're sorry, Rei…"
"What happened to you last night?" Hikaru wondered.
"No," Haruhi stepped in as my personal defense squad. At least until Ritsu gets here and they're both shitting themselves, "That's not a question you two get to ask."
"What do you know, Haruhi?" Kaoru perked up. His brother doing the same.
"And that doesn't mean pump me for information!" she snapped.
"We don't have to pump you for information," Hikaru shrugged.
"Yeah," Kaoru figured, "We can just get Tamaki-senpai to pump you for information and ask him later."
"No problem!"
"No…" There was the head of my defense team. And he brought me coffee. God fucking bless him, "You're not getting anything out of Haruhi. You're not getting anything out of Rei. Do we understand each other?"
"Yes, sir." Both Hikaru and Kaoru sat down immediately. Like I said, Haruhi was ok for the time being, but Ritsu could make those boys shit themselves. Whatever got them to shut up.
I burned my esophagus with the nectar of the gods and promptly took a nap. Although, once in a while, I could hear Ritsu fending off either Hikaru and Kaoru or girls that regularly frequented the host club. If this boy's not careful, I may do something silly and marry him. It'd be weird to think about. A big New York mafia family and a powerful yakuza family coming together in holy matrimony? My god, we could rule the world. I'd be perfectly ok with that. Although, I'm not sure how cool Ritsu would be with it, since he wanted nothing to do with his yakuza upbringing. Maybe if I got him around the family back home, he'd come around to our side of things. Not sure how ok his old man would be with it, but it's worth a shot. Ritsu and Daddy are already buddies. Maybe…But that's a big maybe.
As the day went on, I wanted nothing more than to sleep in every single one of my classes. And I practically did. At least ten minutes per class. There'd be no fucking way in hell I'd be going to the host club after school. I didn't have my hosting duties in me today. I've been doing fake smiles and kindness already. Doing it for a crowd wasn't in the cards. Although, I did have a friendly reminder that I'd have to stop in for a brief moment or two.
But there was one class I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep in. I could still phone most of it in, though. When I got dressed for kendo, I took a seat on the mat with my bamboo in my lap. Honestly, these mats were kind of comfortable. Maybe I could just shut my eyes for a moment or two. That's all I'd really need. I'd be ok after that. However, the teacher wouldn't be too keen on it, so after he finished yelling at me to wake my ass up, I bit my tongue. And I bit it hard. Shake this off, Rei. You still had an image in this room to uphold.
And so, I started my regularly scheduled match with Mori. Yet my body still felt pretty limp. So much for my little naps throughout the day amounting to anything. Maybe more coffee from the coffee cart on the way out today. That might be a necessity. Just as Mori had me pinned to the nap, he looked me over. And he made sure to catch me on the way out of the kendo room.
"Are you ok, Rei?" he wondered, "You're sloppy today."
"I had a bad night last night." I'm so glad I could tell Mori anything and he'd take it to his grave, "A really, really bad night. Ritsu tried to help and God bless him for it, but…"
Without another thought, Mori threw his arms around me, hugging me tight. Wow…Now, I understand why he was a popular host, "I'm sorry you had to go through that."
"It's not your fault, Mori," I reveled in his embrace, "But I appreciate the sentiment."
"You're ok now, though," he hoped, "Right?"
"Yeah," I nodded, "For the most part. I mean, aside from the whole shitty sleep thing. But I think I'll be ok. Shit's worse than jetlag."
"What happened?" Mori treaded lightly, "If you don't mind me asking."
"Well…" Like I said, I could tell Mori anything and there's no way he'd tell anyone. It's not like the twins would know anyway, "I almost got taken from Japan last night. By force. As homesick as I've been lately, I don't want to go back to the US like that. I guess it's one of the cons of being me. Sometimes I get wrapped up in the family business a little too tight."
"I'm glad you're still here," he draped an arm around my shoulders. I knew Mori wouldn't ever try anything with me. He's friends with Ritsu and he knows I can kick his ass. If it were anyone else, I wouldn't be nearly as cool with it.
"I am, too," I rested my head in his shoulder. Covertly, I opened up my bag and showed Mori what was inside, "Someone had to give Kyoya his black book back, didn't they?"
"Is that really his black book?" Mori gasped. And that's the most emotion I've ever seen on that boy's face.
"We need to keep that our little secret," I insisted, "I've seen what's in it. I now have something on Kyoya he doesn't know I have. We'll call it my insurance. Or possibly my ticket out of the host club."
"Oh…" a sadness fell over Mori's face. That wasn't my intention.
"I'm not leaving the host club, Mori," I assured, "Just for today, though. I couldn't host today if I wanted to."
"Ok…" he relaxed a bit, "Good. It's our secret."
"Takashi!" a sweet little voice sang out, "Rei-chan!"
"Hi, Honey," I mustered up as much of a smile as I could. It's Honey. He's an infectious ball of joy and sunshine. Just like any other day, the three of us headed for the host club. Although, I had no intentions of sticking around. Drop off Kyoya's black book and get the hell out of there. That's the plan anyway. I let Honey and Mori go in before me and I pulled the black book out of my bag, making sure to leave a note in the back of it.
Keep us out of it.
x R
There. That should be good enough. I walked in only to be wrapped up in Tamaki's arms, "REILA! I MISSED YOU SO MUCH!"
"PUT ME DOWN, TAMAKI!" I demanded, "OR I SWEAR TO CHRIST I'LL TEAR YOUR FUCKING HEART OUT AND HOLD IT IN FRONT OF YOUR FACE STILL BEATING!"
"Yes, ma'am," Tamaki put me back on the floor, "But Rei…I missed you."
"You just saw me Friday," I reminded him, "I didn't give you the time to miss me. And you're going to miss me a little longer."
"Why?"
"I'm not hosting today," I told him, "I just dropped in to say hi. This past weekend kicked my ass and I need to go home and clock out for a while."
"What did you do this weekend, Rei-chan?" Honey wondered, so sweet and innocently.
"I went out of town for the weekend," I told him, keeping Victoria out of it, "Ritsu and I took a trip to Karuizawa, just the two of us."
"Excuse me?" Tamaki's eyes turned red.
"And he gave me a present," I showed off my new bracelet, "Isn't it nice? It's our entire relationship on my wrist. And I love it. Plus, I get to jingle when I walk, so I have that going for me."
"It's so pretty!" Honey looked over the charms on it, "How is it your entire relationship?"
"Every charm means something different," I explained, "But yeah. I'm heading home. Before I do that, though, Kyoya, I have something for you."
"For me?" Kyoya gave me a look, "What do you mean?"
"I found this in the hallway," I pulled his black book out of my bag, "And I'm pretty sure it's yours."
"Thank you, Rei," he gladly accepted my offering, "That's been driving me crazy for the last few days. How did you find it?"
"In one piece." What? Like I'm going to tell him I took it. Please, "Now, if you boys will excuse me, I'm going to go home and take a long, well deserved nap. I'll be in here Friday."
"Rei," Tamaki pointed out, "None of us will be here Friday. We all get out of school on Wednesday for the next couple weeks."
"That's right," I had totally spaced. But I've also had a lot of shit on my mind, "Then, I'll be in here on Wednesday."
"Ok," Tamaki allowed, "I guess we can do that."
"There's no guessing about it," I put my foot down, "Last night was a bad night for me, Tamaki. I'm fucking exhausted and I want to take a nap. There is no goddamn way I'm hosting today. Got it?"
"Yes, ma'am," he straightened up, "Go ahead. Enjoy your day off."
"That was the plan," I waved behind me. My head was killing me. My feet hurt like a bitch. And I wanted nothing more than to crawl back into bed. Would you look at that? My ride's here, "Hey, baby."
"Hi there," Ritsu pulled me in for a quick kiss, "That was a quick in and out at the host club. What's the occasion?"
"I basically told Tamaki to fuck off for the day," I jumped on the back of his bike, "Now, the question is, are we going back to my place or yours?"
"I think we could go to your place," he decided, swinging his leg over the seat, "It's closer."
"Do you mind if we just clock out when we get there?" I asked, burying my face in his shoulder blades, "I'm kind of tired."
"I was hoping you'd say something like that," Ritsu admitted, "I'm tired, too, Rei. It might not have been the same as you, but I slept like shit last night, too. Mostly because I had to take care of you."
"No one asked you to."
"Bullshit," he retaliated, "Your dad asked me to."
"Dammit," I let him have that one. Daddy's word has always been law.
"We'll go back to your place," Ritsu thought, "We'll take a much needed nap. Maybe order in some ramen instead of going down to the ramen shop. Have some dinner. Then, we can go back to sleep. Sound good to you?"
"Sounds perfect," I agreed, "Let's go."
And go we did. Ritsu and I headed straight for my building and I rode his back to the elevator. And into my penthouse. And maybe into my bed. When the two of us laid down, I nuzzled my face in his ribcage, shutting my eyes for a little bit. This was much better than last night. Oh, Ritsu…If only I had you while I was fighting my jetlag. I'm sure I would've straightened out much quicker. Oh well.
Ring, ring.
I looked over at my phone. Just about seven o'clock. And even better was the man on the other end, "Hi, Daddy."
"Hey, Princess," Daddy's voice warmed me to my core, "I didn't just wake you up, did I? You sound like you were sleeping."
"I was sleeping," I admitted, "I didn't get much for sleep last night, so I'm making up for lost time."
"You feeling ok?" he worried, "You're not getting sick on me, are you?"
"No," I promised, "I'm perfectly healthy. I mean…Minus the mess upstairs, but I should be alright. Eventually. Daddy, I need a hug."
"It's only a few more days, baby girl," Daddy pointed out, "Is Ritsu with you?"
"He's asleep next to me," I looked over my shoulder at my boyfriend practically drooling on himself. Isn't he the cutest?
"That's good," he let out a sigh of relief, "So, when am I going to be able to see you again?"
"I'll be on the first flight out Thursday morning," I couldn't fucking wait for Thursday. Hell, I might even go right after I have to deal with the host club on Wednesday.
"Good," he applauded, "Because I miss you, Rei. And after what happened with…"
"No," I stopped him in his tracks, "Don't even say her name. She's not worth coming out of your mouth. And we're wasting breath on someone who doesn't even matter. The only good thing that bitch ever did was bring Mama into the world. After that, she can burn in hell."
"I know, sweetheart," Daddy dropped it, "But I pinky promise. As soon as I see your ass come out of that gate, you best believe I'm hugging you tight. And never letting you go."
"But what about when I have to come back to Japan?"
"No one likes a smartass, Reila…" I had to do something. Daddy being upset was never good for anyone. Especially him.
"But you love me," I teased, "You've told me yourself on many, many occasions."
"That's true," Daddy confirmed, "Come on. You look like Mama, you talk like me. How can I not love you?"
"I miss you, Daddy," I held back any tears that wanted to come up, "I'll see you Thursday."
"Damn right, you will."
"I love you."
"Love you, too, princess."
Click.
I put my phone back down on the nightstand and curled into Ritsu's chest. He was still sleeping like a baby. Good. I'm glad my phone didn't wake him. It's bad enough I woke him last night. He needs all the sleep he can get, too. Although, I felt him move around a little under me. And his eyes opened up, "Morning, Rei."
"Good morning," I got comfortable again, "Sleep well?"
"Better than I did last night," he chuckled to himself, "What about you?"
"Me, too," I nodded, "I just got off the phone with Daddy."
"And how's Frankie doing?"
"Not too bad," I figured, "Just wanted to touch base. He sends his love."
"So," Ritsu put his hand on my cheek, "How are you feeling? Any better?"
"A little better," I reported, "But I'm kind of hungry. What about you?"
"I could stand some dinner," he agreed, "What do you say? Should I call the ramen shop?"
"No," I pushed myself up, "Let's go to the ramen shop. Why break tradition?"
"Are you sure?"
"Positive."
"Ok," Ritsu followed suit, "Go get your jacket. It's a little cold outside tonight."
I think he likes me. I'm not quite sure, but I think he might like me. Just a little. I grabbed my leather jacket off the chair in my living room and my backpack off the table. Then, Ritsu and I headed downstairs and enjoyed the brief walk to the ramen shop. I did say I wanted things to stay as normal as they possibly could. Where better to restore that sense of normalcy than the ramen shop? It's been my go-to since I moved to Tokyo.
"Hey, Ritsu," I stared into my lemonade, "Can I ask you a question?"
"Sure," Ritsu allowed, "Fire away. What's on your mind?"
"Did you have any plans for the break?" I wondered.
"Not really," he admitted, "I kind of thought we'd do something. At least once. Some kind of cute, couple-y bullshit. Although, we are kind of a fucked up romcom."
"Totally," I giggled, "But the best kind. Where there's no haunting ass laugh track in the background."
"Thank God…" Ritsu laughed with me, "But why do you ask? What'd you have in mind?"
I had been thinking about this for a while now. About this break and about my trip back home and how Ritsu would tie into that. I'm sure he'd miss me terribly while I was gone, but he'd understand that I needed to see my dad from time to time, too. Although, I could think of a remedy for that. And I really hoped he'd be on board for it, "Ever been to America?"
"Can't say that I have," he told me, a hint of a smile on his face, "Why?"
"Because I leave this Thursday…Possibly Wednesday afternoon." A sudden silence fell between us. And I didn't like it. Because Ritsu looked like he just had his heart torn in two, "I want you to come with me."
"Really?" he perked up a little, "That wouldn't be me overstepping?"
"Not at all," I assured, "I'm sure Daddy would love to see you again and in light of recent circumstances, he probably doesn't want me traveling by myself anyway. And I've made that long ass flight by myself. It sucks dick for dimes. If you come with me, we won't have to miss each other. Come with me, Ritsu. Please?"
"Well," Ritsu thought it over, "The old man's going to be out of town. I'd mostly be sitting at home, bored as fuck anyway. And sitting at the ramen shop by myself would just be a downer. It would be pretty great to see your dad again. Alright, Reila. You have yourself a traveling companion."
"You're going to go to New York with me?" I chirped, internally buzzing.
"I'm going to go to New York with you," he nodded.
"Yay!" I squeaked, about to come out of my skin, "Ritsu…I'm so glad you said yes. I don't know why, but I had it built up in my head that you were going to say no and I'd have to break the news to you that I'm going home for two weeks and we'd be without each other. Because when I go home, I basically fall off the map and I can't get shit for signal some places. And…"
"Reila," Ritsu stopped me, "You're spiraling, baby. Relax. Besides, we still have two days of school to get through before we leave. Do you already have your plane tickets?"
"Hold on," I screwed around on my phone for a couple minutes.
"Rei…?" he gave me a look, "Rei, what are you…"
"Shh," I held a finger up to him, finishing things up, "Now, I have our plane tickets. You should be getting the link in your texts shortly."
"Jesus Christ," Ritsu shook his head, "Isn't modern technology something?"
"It's fucking awesome, isn't it?" I beamed, hearing a beep on the other side of the table.
"You didn't have to get my ticket for me," he scolded me.
"Don't worry about it," I brushed him off, "I asked you. I might as well pay for the flight."
"If you say so," Ritsu let it go, knowing better than to fight me, "So, you want to head back to your place? Go back to bed?"
"Yes please," I had a belly full of ramen and the prospects of traveling to my hometown with Ritsu. Where could this night possibly go wrong? It couldn't. The world was a beautiful place. And even more beautiful with the future ahead of us.
Then, the time finally came. I had said my goodbyes at the host club and jumped on the back of Ritsu's bike. All we had to do was grab our bags and we headed straight for the airport. After a quick layover in Hawaii and another few hours, I could see JFK outside my window. And in that moment, with my boyfriend at my side, I was home. I was truly home. Outside this plane was JFK International Airport. And outside that lies New York City. The greatest city in the world (Although, for obvious reasons, Tokyo's becoming a close second). I'm home.
"Rei?" Ritsu looked over at me as we landed, "You ok? You look like you're about to break down."
"Because I am," I admitted, wiping the tears from my eyes, "Ritsu, I haven't been home in a while and I forgot how much I missed it. Chances are, when we do this again to go back to Tokyo, I'll do the same thing. I'll be fine. We just need to let it pass."
"Ok," he wasn't going to push me. And that's why I love him. But I knew what was coming next…And those are going to be some ugly tears. Big, fucking, ugly tears.
Just as we got off the plane, I saw a familiar face. Not quite the best one, but it'd do. I'm not any less happy to see him, "Uncle Tony!"
"Hey, Rei-Rei," my uncle threw his arms around me, "Sorry your dad couldn't make it. He had some shit to take care of, so he sent me instead. Who's the punk in your shadow?"
"What was that?" Oh, no…Ritsu does have a little bit of a hot temper sometimes. And this would be no different.
"Dammit, Uncle Tony," I let out a heavy, exasperated sigh, "This is my boyfriend Ritsu. Ritsu, don't tear Uncle Tony's head off. Sometimes, he's a bit…Let's just say incompetent. He means well, but…"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Uncle Tony gasped, taking a little offense to what I said, "You really are Frankie's girl, aren't you?"
"It's either him or the milkman," I shrugged, "And I'm pretty sure Mama never slept with the milkman."
"You had one job, Tony…" There's the one I was looking for, "One fucking job. Don't piss off the boyfriend. And what do you do?"
"Daddy!" I ran to him and threw myself into his chest. If he were any lighter, I guarantee Daddy would've fallen to the floor. Instead, he scooped me up in his arms and hugged me tight. As promised.
"Hi, princess…" his voice broke, "Oh, I missed you, baby girl."
"I missed you, too," I bawled in his shoulder.
"I'm just glad to see you again, Rei," Daddy held me against his chest, "You and me, right? We're a team."
"Damn right," I wiped my eyes again. Fuck, I'm emotional today.
"Thanks for bringing her to me, Ritsu," he shot Ritsu a nod, "I appreciate it."
"It was my pleasure," Ritsu beamed, giving me a quick wink, "I didn't have anything better to do anyway."
"Come on, princess," Daddy put me back down on the floor, "Let's go home, yeah?"
"Ok." And damn, it was good to be home…