"Morning, princess."
"Morning, Daddy," I laid in my bed and stared up at the ceiling, "I need to vent. Can we talk?"
"Always, baby girl," he allowed, "Is everything ok? You sound kind of down."
"Yeah," I lowered his blood pressure, "Nothing I can't handle on my own. It's just…I think I may have ended up accidentally joining an after-school club."
"That's great, Rei," Daddy praised, "It'll be good for you to make some friends. Especially if that's where you'll be for the next four years. It'd get pretty damn lonely after a while."
"I don't even fully understand if I like them, though," I went on, "They just kind of adopted me. I didn't have much say in the matter."
"You always have a say," he assured, "if you want to tell them to kick rocks, then do it."
"It's not necessarily that," I buried myself in blankets, "One of them knows too much about me. He knows about the family."
"Everyone's a Google search away."
"I thought we made sure we were scrubbed clean, though."
"Money talks, baby," Daddy pointed out, "A few key pieces of information to latch onto and couple grand and the world is yours. Does he seem like the kind of guy with a big mouth?"
"He seems like the kind of guy whose secrets have secrets," I did my best to explain Kyoya. And I think I did a pretty good job, "He can keep a tight lip. And I'm pretty sure the rest of them can, too. We got nothing to worry about."
"So," he worried, "Everything's good?"
"For the most part, yeah." I miss him.
"Running the streets yet?"
"I just got here, Daddy," I giggled, "Give me until the end of the week. I'm sure I'll be running that after school club."
"That's my girl," Daddy approved, "But I have a quick question I need to ask you."
"Sure, Daddy," I allowed, "What's on your mind?"
"What's this I hear about you talking to some kid on a motorcycle?" Goddammit, Roy.
"Did my nanny tell you about that?" I rolled my eyes.
"I was hoping my daughter would have," Daddy guilted me, "Who was he, Reila?"
"Just a friend," I explained, "His bike was pretty. Sue me. You already know about him, Daddy. He's the same guy I had ramen with."
"And you're sure I don't have to worry about this kid?"
"Positive." I need to talk to Roy. I just want to talk, "I already told you I wasn't going to get attached here. Four years and I'll be back home."
"Counting down the days, sweetheart," he jabbed, "About fourteen hundred to go."
"And less than four months until I get to come home for a while." He wasn't the only one counting. December 17th had a big red circle on my calendar for a reason.
"Then, I have to send you back," Daddy sighed, "And cry like a baby at the airport again."
My heart shattered into pieces. The image of my father standing at the gate before I left home burned into my brain. If I said a few tears didn't fall out of my eyes, I'd be lying, "It's only four years."
"And I'll have you back during breaks," he comforted me, "We'll be ok. Did I ever tell you the story about when your mom and I first started dating?"
"Which one?" After she died, they practically became my bedtime stories. I'm pretty sure I've heard them all at least once.
"When she was still in college," Daddy began. This one didn't sound familiar, "You know how Mama's parents are."
"With their noses in the air and a stick in their asses?"
"The very ones," he giggled, "It's mostly her mother. Her old man doesn't have a spine. But her mother fucking hated me with a burning passion. Still does to this day."
"I know." Daddy didn't need to eve question that. After Mama died, that bitch wanted to do everything in her power to keep me away from Daddy. She said it'd be for my own good, but I knew better. That was a nasty custody battle that still gave me nightmares. I didn't think that at eight years old, I'd already be sitting in court.
"She wanted to keep me away from Mama," he went on, "And she tried everything. When she found out Mama had an opportunity to study abroad, she made her take it. I didn't see her for six months. But she'd call me every day and send me letters and we'd stay in contact as much as we could. I missed her like crazy. And I knew what her mother was trying to do. A beautiful American girl in Italy on her own? She's bound to find someone better than the punk she's with now."
"She really is a bitch, isn't she, Daddy?"
"With a capital B, princess," Daddy confirmed, "I haven't even told you the best part."
"And what's that?" I wiped my eyes, making myself a little more comfortable.
"Our last phone call got cut short because of her mother showing up unannounced," Daddy grumbled, "She dumped me right then and there. It was the only way to get the bitch off her back."
"But Daddy," I thought, "You two ended up getting married and having me. Why would Mama break up with you?"
"Because," a lightness returned to his voice, "Her next letter would come a couple days later. In it were a set of coordinates. They were some park in Manhattan. And a time. Nine o'clock the following night. So, I went there. Damn, she was gorgeous that night. Our six-month dry spell was over. Nothing else mattered. Those six months meant nothing. Her mother breathing down her neck meant nothing. I had my best girl back in my arms. And that's what these next four months are going to be for us. The time apart isn't what matters, baby. It's the time together. Now, it's getting late. Why don't you go to bed, ok?"
"Ok," I held back a yawn, "Good night, Daddy. I love you."
"I love you, too, princess. Good night."
Click.
I plugged my phone in and went to sleep. Just like the old days. All that was missing was Daddy tucking me and kissing me good night. It wasn't the time apart, but the time together that mattered. If that didn't sound like something straight out of Mama's mouth. Alright. If Daddy could do it twice, I can do it once. Just this once, though.
The next morning began like every other morning. I woke up, got dressed, and was out the door about ten minutes before eight. Good for you, Rei. I even had time to get a liquid breakfast before catching my ride. Although, in a shocking turn of events, my ride ended up catching me with a big cinnamon twist in one hand and a triple flat white in the other. Not that it's a big deal. I'm allowed breakfast, aren't I? And I already told him to get off my dick once.
"Morning, Roy," I greeted him politely.
"Good morning, Rei," Roy sighed, "Just when I hope you'll make a healthy choice for breakfast…"
"I go with deep fried sugar and a shit ton of espresso," I played it off, "Let's go. I don't want to be late."
"Wow," he gave me a look, holding the door for me, "You're in a good mood today. What's the occasion?"
"I got good sleep last night," I slid into the back seat, "I had a nice talk with Daddy last night. All in all, everything seems to be coming up Rei. Why? Do I have a reason to be pissed off?"
"Not at all," Roy shook his head, "Everything is fine. It's just a surprise to see you so happy."
"I can be in a good mood once in a while, too," I shrugged, "Beats the alternative."
"And you're sure you won't teach my spin class?" he teased.
"I'm not teaching your spin class," I assured, "But speaking of, is today the day?"
"The day for what?"
"You know damn well what, you dog," I jabbed, "Yumi. Are you going to ask her for drinks?"
"Oh," Roy jumped, "I don't know, Rei. When I say she's out of my league, I mean I'm not even in the parking lot of the stadium."
"What did I tell you about that bullshit?" I gave him a smack to the shoulder, "You're a catch, Roy. You're a good person. You're clearly very protective. I'm sure she'd love that kind of thing. I'm telling you. All that's missing is the confidence. Have you ever even talked to her?"
"Once or twice," he nodded, "What would I even say to her?"
"Exactly this," I insisted, "Yumi, are you busy Friday night? She'll either say yes or no. If she says no, then you ask her if she'd like to go for drinks. Everything's off the table. It's just drinks and light conversation. Then, if she says yes, congratulations, Roy. You have a date Friday night. If she says no, then she says no. It'll suck to hear, but it's not the end of the world. Go out Friday night anyway. You can have a night out, too. Specifically Friday night. Because that's when everyone goes out."
"I hope she says yes," Roy crossed his fingers, "What if she does say yes? Do you know how long it's been since I've been on a date, Rei? At least a few years. What if things have changed? What if chivalry is dead? What if she's into things that I don't know if I'm ready for?"
"Roy, you're overreacting," I settled him, "So what if she's into things? Aren't we all? It'd just be a small part of her. Chivalry will never be dead. A woman will always appreciate having a door held open for her. Maybe that's just me. But going by what you've told me about Yumi, she'll appreciate it, too."
"I hope so," he winced, "Do I bring her flowers or is that too cliché?"
"Bring her flowers," I nodded, "By the sounds of it, she's already said yes."
"Am I being too optimistic?"
"Roy," I put a hand on his shoulder, "Keep up that optimism and she's already yours."
"Thanks, Rei," Roy smiled, "I appreciate the pep talk."
"Go get 'em, tiger," I got out of the car and headed to class. Come on, Yumi. I know we've never met before, but please. Take him off my hands. Give him a night he'll never forget and keep him away from my penthouse for the night while it's just Kasanoda and me. I don't ask for much.
When I walked into my homeroom, Kasanoda was already sound asleep. Well, shit. I wanted to talk to him some more, but oh, well. We can let you sleep. I know what that kind of hell that kind of deprivation can be. Rest well, sweet prince. Instead, I knew somewhere in the back where I could probably do the same thing. That is, if a certain pair of twins would allow it. Fortunately, I had a sort of bodyguard against that sort of thing.
"Good morning, Rei," Haruhi took her usual seat in front of me, "How are you?"
"Morning, Haruhi," I smiled, my arms wrapped around my bag in the same way Kasanoda's were, "I'm not too bad. Jetlag's getting easier to deal with, so I got that going for me."
"That's good," she applauded, "By the way, Hikaru and Kaoru may be a little more over the top today than they usually are, so be forewarned."
"Thanks, man," I gave her a nod, "But I should be ok. I got a good night's sleep. I'm caffeinated to the hilt. I think I can handle Hikaru and Kaoru."
"You're going to have to," Haruhi winced, "They've been cooking up plans with Tamaki-senpai for after school today."
"Oh, shit," I jumped, "I forgot to tell my driver about that. He's going to be pissed. I can always text him at lunch or something. Or he'll just get the fuck over it. I'm sure he'll be buzzing after his spin class today anyway."
"Why is that?"
"I may be inadvertently setting him up," I told her, "Hopefully, it'll keep him out of my house on Friday long enough for Kasanoda and me to have the place to ourselves."
"When who and who…"
"…Have where to yourselves?"
Oh, son of a bitch, "You guys already knew about that."
"Yeah," the twins harmonized, "But we didn't know you'd be by yourselves."
"I wonder what the boss would think about that," Hikaru wondered.
"His new little girl spending time alone with another boy?" Kaoru figured, "He'd probably freak. Something about her virtue."
"I'm not his little girl," I argued, "And my virtue is none of his fucking business."
"Tamaki-senpai gets protective," Haruhi explained, "If you stick around the host club long enough, he starts to treat you like family…Like you're his own."
"Aww," the twins gushed, "She really does love him."
"Shut up," Haruhi slinked down in her chair.
"So, Rei," Hikaru took one side of me, "About you and Kasanoda…"
"Are you going to tell him your big secret?" Kaoru took the other, "How his new best friend happens to be a lady?"
"Again," I rolled my eyes, "I don't see the big deal. It's not my fault they sent me the wrong uniform. Although, it is my fault that I make it look so good."
"Well, well…"
"Aren't we full of ourselves?"
"There's nothing wrong with a little bit of confidence," I shot them a wink, "It might be what allows me to have my penthouse to myself Friday night."
"What do you mean?" Haruhi asked.
"Right now," I smirked, "I think my driver is in his spin class asking a woman on a date for Friday night. I blew his ego up before I got out of the car this morning. Hopefully, I could get him fired up enough to actually go through with it."
"That was nice of you, Rei," she awed.
"I mean," I giggled, "I have ulterior motives, so I don't know how sweet my actions were. It'd wasn't to help him find love. It was to get him out of my ass."
I could hear the muffled laughter from a few desks ahead of me. Looks like someone's woken up from his morning nap. As much as I wanted to invite Kasanoda to join our little circle, I doubt he'd be able to stomach Hikaru and Kaoru for very long. Not that I could blame him. Hell, I could hardly do it through homeroom. I wonder how long he's been listening. Go ahead, Kasanoda. Listen all you want. I got nothing to hid. And it's not like you weren't going to find some shit out eventually. If our possible friendship ever turns into anything beyond that, then you'll meet the family. I just hope they don't scare you off.
As the day went on, I found myself fresh out of my kendo pads and all kinds of achy. Damn…I think I might have gone a little hard today. Or I need to learn to block better. Once I get home, a hot bath sounded like a hell of a plan. And maybe dinner in the bathtub. Oh, yeah. A pile of buffalo wings and a bath. That sounds fucking wonderful. I threw my bag around my shoulders and started heading out. That is, until I felt two pairs of arms on me.
"Target…"
"Captured…"
"What the hell?" My captures dragged me down the hall. I didn't have the energy to fight, but I tried my damnedest to escape their grasp. But unfortunately, I was down for the count. They dragged me into some sort of dark room and I gave serious consideration to a nap. My abductors weren't very menacing. And it's not like this is the first time this has happened. The first time was one of my uncles just to desensitize me to it. That way, when the real thing happened, I wouldn't get scared. The only time I got scared was when I had a gun between my eyes. He didn't see me sweat, but his brains also painted the wall, so…Should've known better.
Then, a bright light shined in my eyes. Was I in an interrogation? I haven't done anything. For the most part, I've been a good girl since I got here. No attempts at joining local gangs. No kicking too much ass. But here I am, seeing spots. Not to mention, I don't think I'm consorting with any known felons. Even if I was, I knew better than to rat someone out. Deny, deny, deny until the lawyer shows up. Even then, we keep our mouths shut.
"Hey, guys?" I requested, "You think you could turn the lights down? It's giving me a bitch of a headache."
"Forgive them, Rei." Sounded like Kyoya, but I have to wait for my eyesight to come back, "They can't help themselves when it comes to their theatrics. Are you alright?"
"No," I grumbled, "I'm fucking exhausted and should be in my bathtub right now."
"Rei…" Tamaki gently cradled my cheek in the palm of his hand, "Were they too rough on you?"
"They dragged my ass from the kendo room to here," I growled, only getting more and more pissed off as this went on, "Up two flights of stairs and down a metric shit ton of abandoned hallway. They can get fucked right now."
"Hikaru! Kaoru!" Tamaki summoned them.
"You called for us, boss?" the twins appeared.
"You got carried away with her," he scolded them, "I told you to go get Rei and bring her back here. Look at her. She seems like she could fall apart at any given second."
"Um, Tamaki…" I started to cool off.
"Hold on a second, Rei," Tamaki went back to tearing the twins a new asshole, "I didn't ask you to bring me damaged goods. How are we supposed to get anything done when she's in this condition?"
"Tamaki…"
"In a minute," he went on, "Do you two have any idea of what this could do to the club's reputation? Or if word gets back to Kasanoda about this?"
"Tamaki!" I shut him up, "Listen for a sec here."
"What is it, Rei?" Tamaki asked, holding me up on the pedestal, "Is everything ok? Would you like to take your frustrations out on the twins? I can point you in the direction of a good secluded storeroom you could use."
"What the hell, boss?" the twins freaked.
"Settle down, boys," I assured, "Your asses will remain unkicked for now. It's not their faults that I'm like this. If you really want to know, where's Morinozuka?"
"Mori-senpai?" Tamaki gave me a look, "What would he have to do with it?"
"Morinozuka and I were giving it our all in kendo today," I explained, "I'm just hella tired. Granted, Hikaru and Kaoru didn't help, but this isn't entirely their faults. I appreciate you going to bat for me, but back off on them."
"See?" Hikaru whined.
"It's not completely our fault, boss," Kaoru pouted.
"Well…" Tamaki let it go, "Are you really just tired, Rei?"
"Yeah," I curled up in this surprisingly roomy chair, "A ten-minute power nap? All I need. Or if you guys have somewhere a good cold brew, that'd be phenomenal."
"Haruhi," Tamaki called, "Could you go get our guest some coffee?"
"Sure," Haruhi got up, "How do you take it, Rei?"
"Cold, black, two sugars, whipped cream," I ordered, "Thank you, Haruhi."
"No problem," Haruhi smiled sweetly and ran off. Good. I got coffee covered. I got a comfortable place to take a nap. I wonder how far I could push this. I know I told you to give me until the end of the week, Daddy, but this might be a little sooner."
"Is there anything else we can do for you, Rei?" Tamaki pulled me into his lap.
"I'll be fine," I hid a smirk from him, "Maybe a snack?"
"Of course," he insisted, "Anything in particular?"
"I'm sure you don't have any strawberry macarons," I hoped, "Would you?"
"Honey-senpai," Tamaki asked, "Do we have any macarons on hand?"
"Sorry, Tama-chan," Sunshine's bottom lip quivered, "We don't."
"Do you know any bakery nearby you could get some from?" he suggested.
"I do!"
"Could you get some?"
"Yes, sir!" Sunshine chirped, "Come on, Takashi. You said strawberry macarons, right, Rei-chan?"
"Please," I smiled. Alright. He's adorable, "Thank you, sweetheart."
"You can just call me Honey!" he insisted, "Everyone else does!"
And just like that, Honey and Morinozuka took off for my macarons. There was a café a couple blocks away from the old penthouse that had some of the best macarons. They were all so pretty. The owner would give me half a dozen at least once a week. He paid us to make sure things ran smoothly for him, so I got held up on a pedestal around there. He loved me anyway. I got to test his new flavors and any of the ones that I thought wouldn't make the cut were gone. I miss that café.
"Now," Tamaki really was eager to please, "Is there anything else I could get for you? And I do mean anything at all."
"My god," I gasped, "There would be some gentlemen in my neighborhood back home that would love to have you. No, Tamaki. But thank you. I really appreciate it. If you don't mind, I think I'm going to clock out now."
"Go ahead," he allowed, getting a blanket for me, "Would you like somewhere more comfortable to sleep?"
"Nope," I shook my head, shutting my eyes, "This is just fine. I am good right where I am."
"Alright then," Tamaki dimmed the lights, "Rest well, dear Rei. Rest well."
"Will do," I gave him a half-hearted salute and took a good, solid power nap. This was nice. And when I wake up, I'll have iced coffee and strawberry macarons. It's going to be a good day for me. I don't even know what's going to happen for the rest of the day, but I know one thing was for certain. I got these boys wrapped around my finger. And I am not complaining.
A/N: It's nice to have the host club wrapped around your finger, isn't it? Lana knows what that's about. For those of you who have no clue who the hell I'm talking about, clearly, you've never read the Kiss, Kiss series. I'm not faulting you. That's ok. Now, I'm sorry this didn't go up yesterday like it was supposed to. I had too much get in the way and I couldn't sit down to write, so here we are. I will see you next chapter! xx