Between arcades in Akihabara and shopping in Shibuya (and Harajuku for a brief moment. I might have Daddy wrapped around my little finger and I might be a spoiled little bitch. What can I say? I'm a girl with expensive tastes.), my ass was wrecked. It made me realize just how much I missed my dad. We used to do shit all the time when I still lived in New York. Anything I wanted was mine. The two of us would go to Broadway shows, concerts at Madison Square Garden, occasionally play a game we liked to call overly dramatic tourist. Those rules were simple. We'd overexaggerate about everything we saw like we had never been outside before. Sometimes, we'd annoy some of the other locals, but it'd be enough to get us to have a cheap laugh, so we didn't give a shit.

But for now, I needed my bed. And maybe I wouldn't want him to leave this time. When Daddy and I got back to my penthouse, I threw some pajamas on and crawled into bed. Just like the night before, Daddy pulled my blankets over me and made sure I was tucked in tight enough to keep me warm for the night. It's going to fucking suck when he leaves again.

"You know, baby," Daddy sighed out, pushing my hair out of my face, "I've been thinking."

"Be careful with that thinking, Daddy," I babbled deliriously, "Your best ideas come from you thinking."

"That's the plan," he giggled a bit, "But I'm serious, Reila. I've been thinking about this whole you and Ritsu thing."

"What about us?" I wondered, nestling further down into my pile of blankets.

"Would you say you two are close?" Daddy asked.

"Yeah," I nodded, "We shared a hotel room when we were in Osaka. Hell, he's crashed here before."

"Excuse me?" he glared a hole through me. Shit. Damage control.

"Yeah," I confirmed, "When we were in Osaka, they let us share a room, but it was more of a suite. We were nothing but roommates. And there was one night where we hung out and when we got back here, he was so tired he could hardly stand, so we didn't have the risk of him crashing his bike, I let him stay here. He knows to keep his hands above the covers, Daddy. It's like I've told you from the beginning. There's nothing for you to worry about with Ritsu and me."

"Good," Daddy settled himself, "Now, I want you to see how close he'll let you get to him."

"What do you mean?" I gave him a look, "We're close now."

"Have you been to his house yet?"

"Not yet," I shook my head, "But I'm sure I will one day. He's been to mine a million times. It's only fair."

"Make it soon," Daddy insisted, cradling my cheek in the palm of his hand, "And I want to hear all about it, ok?"

Wait a minute…This didn't sound like Daddy wanting me to make a new friend. Was he…Is he putting me on a job? And that job just so happens to be Ritsu? No. Daddy wouldn't do that. He just wants to make sure I'm being social and having a life. I'm sure that's all it is. At least, I hope so, "Ok."

"Good," he kissed my forehead, "Now, get some sleep, princess."

"I will," I shut my eyes, "Good night, Daddy."

"Night, Rei," Daddy got up from my bed, "I love you."

"Love you, too." There's no way he's making Ritsu into a job for me. There's just…There's no way.

The next morning, I woke up bright and early to find Daddy sitting in my living room chair with a copy of the Wall Street Journal in his hand. I didn't even know they got the Wall Street Journal in Japan. He probably brought it with him. It wouldn't surprise me. Daddy always did like to keep a close eye on his financial investments. I slipped back into my bedroom and grabbed my uniform out of the closet. After a quick shower, I figured I'd say hello.

"Morning, Daddy," I leaned over the top of the chair, kissing his cheek.

"Morning, princess," Daddy looked up at me, "Where do you think you're going?"

"School?" I pointed out, "It's Tuesday. I have to go to class."

"That's all well and good, Rei," he checked me over, "But why are you in a boy's uniform? I thought you were supposed to be in a dress that looked like something you'd wear to the Kentucky Derby in the thirties."

"This one's a lot more comfortable," I explained, "And there was a bit of a mix-up on my first day. They sent me the wrong uniform and no one's corrected me on it. Maybe it's because they saw kendo on my electives list and made the assumption from there."

"Why would kendo be the giveaway?"

"Because girls aren't allowed to take kendo," I told him, "Bullshit, right?"

"Clearly," Daddy held back a smirk, "They've never seen you at work, have they?"

"They have now," I mirrored him, "But I don't have a problem with it."

"Alright," he let it go, "You want a ride?"

Knock, knock.

"I think my ride just got here," I bit the inside of my cheek, answering my door, "Hi."

"Roy?" Daddy assumed.

"Better."

"Hey," Ritsu greeted me, "You ready to go?"

"Yeah," I threw my arms around my dad, "I'll see you at five."

"Five?" Daddy wondered, "Why so late?"

"I got my after school club today," I reported, mentally cursing them all in my head, "I promise you'll live."

"I know," he kissed my forehead, "Ritsu, right?"

"Yes, sir," Ritsu perked up.

"You're taking your bike, I'm assuming?"

"Yes, sir."

"You got an extra helmet?"

"Of course," Ritsu assured, "It's not that I don't trust my own abilities, but I don't want to put Rei at risk."

"Good man," Daddy applauded, "I love you, princess. See you after school."

"Bye, Daddy!" I waved behind me and pulled the door shut.

But as soon as we got in that elevator, Ritsu gave me a more proper good morning kiss, "Hi."

"Hi," I smiled.

"I missed you, Rei," he pulled me into his arms, "It sucked not having you this weekend."

"Daddy's in town," I shrugged, "I can't turn him down."

"That's fine," Ritsu understood, "But that's what we have now for, right?"

"Coffee date?" I beamed.

"Coffee date." The elevator emptied us out into the lobby and I jumped on the back of Ritsu's bike. Hell of a way to start the morning. I got my man. I got an engine rumbling between my thighs. And I'm about to have the gift from the Columbian gods in my body. Life is good.

Ritsu brought me to a cozy little café a few blocks away from Ouran, holding the door for me and everything. Was he trying to impress me? Because he really didn't have to do that. Although, the gesture was appreciated. I'll take it. This place was different from my usual coffee stop. Then again, my usual coffee stop was my building's lobby. This might need to be added to my list, though. It's like the ramen shop only bright and early in the morning instead of at night.

"Get whatever you want, Rei," Ritsu allowed, "I'll take care of it."

"You don't have to do that," I brushed him off. He really was out to impress me today, wasn't he? "I got me."

"It's fine," he insisted, "Really. Promise."

"You sure?" I asked, treading lightly. It's not like I was dirt broke. Daddy made sure the money never ran out and I had a few…let's call them sound investments back home that kept my bank account comfortable.

"Rei," Ritsu glared down at me, "It's cool. I got it. I'm sure. Now order or I'm going to order for you."

"Alright!" I backed off, "Damn!"

"That's better," he nudged me forward. Ritsu did say anything.

"I need a triple flat white latte," I ordered, "Two white chocolate chip cookies, a cinnamon roll with walnuts, and a blueberry muffin."

"Jesus Christ, Rei…" Ritsu caught himself, steadying his balance, "Appetite?"

"I'm fucking starving," I glared a hole through him, "Bite me."

"I did say anything," he dropped it, likely regretting his decision now. But I had been fighting grumbles since I woke up, hoping to God Daddy wouldn't hear them. He gets kind of testy when I don't eat, "It's fine, baby. Eat. I'm not going to stop you."

My heart fell straight through the floor. I would say it ended up in China, but given that China's not all that far away (compared to what I'm used to), I'm sure it ended up back in New York. And in that moment, I think it just dawned on Ritsu what had just stumbled out of his mouth. Because oh, did that boy start turning red.

"Ritsu…" I tried to draw attention to it in the most discreet way possible, "Did you…Did you just call me…"

"No!" Ritsu jumped on the defensive, "Black, two sugars. Make it quick!"

"Yes, sir!" the poor girl behind the counter quivered, working her little heart out.

All the way to school, things were quiet. And not the good kind of quiet where nothing needed to be said. The entire ride to Ouran, Ritsu's back muscles wouldn't relax to save his life. I think he scared himself more than he scared me. Although, that was kind of out of left field for him. When we got to homeroom, he sat down and buried his face in his back, hiding himself from the world. Uh…Ok. But I could understand. Because I did the same damn thing.

I knew things were doing well in our relationship. And they were doing really well. Ritsu was just getting to the point where he'd stop getting nosebleeds when he'd see me all cute (Is it bad that I'm going to miss that phase of our relationship? In a sort of sadistic way?). We had plans to go away together for the weekend. And now, he's dropping the baby bomb on me. I needed some time to think and a secluded place to do it. And the shitty part about that is I won't have somewhere quiet to myself until after the host club today. I had a text from Kyoya almost as soon as I touched Ouran ground saying I had to host today since we didn't have school Monday. Which sucked ass, but I could manage. I can hold it back until then.

I just hope things between Ritsu and me are ok.

"Hey, Haruhi…" There's a pair of voices I didn't need today, "What's going on with Rei?"

"I don't know," Haruhi brushed them off, "But I figured it'd be best to leave Rei alone."

"Why wouldn't you ask her?" Hikaru wondered.

"I'm sure she'd tell you," Kaoru agreed.

"Because," Haruhi pointed out, "If there's something Rei doesn't want to talk about, forcing it isn't going to help on either side. If you two want to ask questions, be my guest. I wouldn't advise it, but if you're ok with possibly being bitten, go ahead."

"You two should both be more like Haruhi," I mumbled into my bag, "Haruhi's smart. Haruhi doesn't meddle in affairs that don't concern her. Haruhi, you're my fucking hero right now."

"You're welcome," Haruhi knew how those boys worked better than anyone. Possibly even better than they knew themselves. If anyone could empathize with my plight of wanting some quality time in my head, it's her. Hikaru and Kaoru wonder why I'd open up to Haruhi before any of the others (except for maybe Mori, but that's because he can tell when I'm having a shitty day. Mostly because I take it out on his back).

"So, Rei," Hikaru got on my left.

"What's going on with you?" Kaoru slinked to my right.

"Nothing," I snarled, ready to line those two up like the Newton's Cradle on Daddy's desk in his office.

Don't get me wrong. I like that I've somewhat made friends since I got here, but occasionally, the fear I strike into the twins once in a while gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling. One that I so desperately needed today. Since my boyfriend is being weird. And I'm feeling a little weird, too. For the rest of the day, Ritsu and I kept our distance from each other. It had been the first time since that asshole ran into me in the hall that he wasn't by my side.

The events of this morning still burned in my brain like it happened mere seconds ago. I could hardly even keep breakfast down. Never in a million years did I ever think Ritsu Kasanoda would've ever called me baby. He didn't seem like the baby type. Although...I'd be lying if I said I didn't like the sound of it. Even if it did come out as an accident. It got me curious. How long had he been wanting to do something like that? I never had anything against pet names. In fact, the more old-school they sounded, the more I liked them. If Ritsu ever calls me doll, my ovaries might fucking disintegrate.

By the time Mori and I got out of kendo, everything started to feel better. A little physical release of kicking the shit out of the only guy in my kendo class that wasn't afraid to fight me was good for the soul. Mori and I hardly ever held a conversation, but that didn't mean we didn't talk. He knew I wasn't ok and he was perfectly ok with me taking it out on him. Although, on our way to get Honey after class, something borderline miraculous happened.

"Hey, Rei," Mori's deep, rumbly voice caught me off guard. As it did every time he spoke, "Are you ok?"

The twins think that out of everyone in the host club, I'm most comfortable venting to Haruhi. When in actuality, they couldn't be more wrong. They assume that I'm more likely to open up to a girl friend than any of them, but the truth is, I'd rather vent to Mori over anyone. Because he wouldn't say shit if he had a mouthful, it meant him knowing to keep his mouth shut. And I don't know about anyone else, but that's a damn good trait to have.

"It's been a day," I admitted, keeping my voice down, making sure only one person could hear me, "My boyfriend has the emotional mentality of a rock and I'm not much better. He was being cute with me this morning before we got to school and he freaked out about it. He hasn't said a word to me since."

"Kasanoda's just processing it," Mori explained, leaning against the wall outside Honey's last classroom, "It'll take him a minute, but he'll be fine. What about you?"

"I don't know," I took a spot on the wall next to him, "No one aside from my parents have ever called me baby before. I kind of liked it, though."

"Does he know that?"

"Like I've had the chance to tell him," I sighed out, "He's been avoiding me like the plague."

"Make him listen," Mori and I had learned quite a bit about each other through our miniature sparring matches (Because, let's be honest. In a down and dirty street fight where the rules don't matter, I'd probably be able to kill him. But I wouldn't do that. Not to Mori. We're good.) and in my time at the host club. I'm sure he's the kind of guy that's the fly on the wall most of the time. I knew some guys back home that would love to have him join their team. Mine. They're my guys. If I didn't make it clear on my first day at the host club, then the rest of them were fucking dumb. Mori? Mori was not one of them. And he knew damn well I could get what I want if I wanted it hard enough.

"Hell of an idea," I agreed. I wonder if Ritsu's going to come into the host club today. Normally, it's not his thing and I knew it wasn't his thing. But ever since a certain host (me) caught his eye, he's been coming in more and more. I know Kyoya wanted me to get him in here as a full time host on my schedule, but Ritsu wouldn't go for that. There's no fucking way. I knew better than that. He doesn't come in here for the ladies. He doesn't come in here for the hosts. He comes in here for one reason and one reason only. And he called her baby this morning.

"Takashi!" Honey squeaked running out of the room, "Rei-chan!"

"Hi, Honey," I couldn't be upset. This kid was vallum in a human being. Honey radiated pure sunshine. Strangely enough, though, today, he chose a different ride. Honey sat on my shoulders instead of Mori's, content with the world, "The hell are you doing up there?"

"Change of pace," he shrugged, "Wow…You're a lot smaller than Takashi, Rei-chan."

"Thank you, Honey," I stared blankly in front of me, "That's great to hear. I got stuck being short, but I'm leggy, so it balances out."

"Let's go to the host club!" Honey sang out, pointing toward the music room like I was his steed. In a way, I was today. Mori looked a little mortified at first, but once he saw how cool with it I was, he let it slide. Granted, I wanted to host like I wanted a fucking hole in the head today, but I can manage. It's only an hour and a half. I can manage. Besides, maybe Ritsu will have everything sorted out and he can face me again.

When I walked in, I made a beeline for my section and plopped my ass on my couch. A nap sounded like a good idea, but what would really hit the spot is a big ass cup of coffee. Heaven forbid I'm left alone, though. Just as I got comfortable, Tamaki sat down next to me, staring a hole through me. Color me a tad disturbed.

"Hi, Tamaki…" I backed away slowly, thinking sudden moves would be a bad idea.

"Hi, Rei," Tamaki treaded lightly with me, too. What the hell? Is he more afraid of me than I am of him or…?

"Did you need something?" I wondered.

"I just wanted to make sure you were doing ok," he worried, "I heard things with you and Kasanoda were a little rocky these days."

"From who?" I squeaked. As if I didn't already know. Tamaki immediately pointed to the twins. Surprise, surprise. I'm so fucking shocked. Also, Tamaki, you're sweet, but goddamn, do you fold like a cheap suit, "Hikaru! Kaoru! Come here! I'd like to have a word with you!"

"Yes, Rei?" Hikaru popped up behind me, sufficiently scaring the shit out of me.

"You called for us?" Kaoru mirrored his brother, making sure my heart stopped beating altogether.

"Come here in front of me," I ordered, batting my eyelashes at them, "Please?"

"Sure, Rei," the twins knelt in front of me, giving me a bit of a power trip. I've seen Daddy use this trick a million times before. I put one hand on Hikaru's right cheek and the other on Kaoru's right, giving them both a sweet, little smile. Something I knew they loved to see. Because they didn't get to see it often. That's by design, though. I ran my thumbs over the tops of their respective cheek bones, playing up that innocent card. But then, without warning…

CONK!

"There," I beamed while Hikaru and Kaoru nursed their aching heads, "Class warfare has been settled."

"What the hell, Rei?" they both whined.

"You two had that coming," I assured, "Don't start spreading shit about Kasanoda and me. Got it?"

"Yes, ma'am…" The twins hung their heads in shame and walked away.

"Tamaki," Kyoya asked, "Is it time?"

"Is everyone here?" Tamaki took a quick headcount. I was here. Honey and Mori came in with me. Hikaru and Kaoru just got their heads knocked together. Haruhi had just finished setting tables, "Looks like it. Alright! Open the doors!"

"Got it, boss!" The twins recovered quickly. Good for them.

And so, as it was any other day, the host club began to flood with various female Ouran students. Yay. And a good majority of them started to puddle around my section. Even better. I wanted a nap. I wanted some coffee. I wanted a nap and coffee. I cranked my neck over the back of my couch, "Hey, Kyoya…"

"Yes, Rei?" Kyoya joined me, "Is there something you need?"

"We wouldn't happen to have any coffee here," I asked, "Would we?"

"Of course we do," he assured, "Haruhi, could you bring Rei's section some coffee please?"

"Sure," Haruhi brought me what looked like a nice teacup full of the dark nectar of the gods, "Here, Rei."

"Thank you," I sighed out, taking a drink from the de…

PPPBBBBTTTTT….!

"Oh, mother of Christ," I gagged, wanting nothing more than the vile taste out of my mouth, "What the fuck was that shit?"

"It's instant coffee," Haruhi backed away nervously.

"It's the official drink of the host club," the twins added.

"It's fucking pond sludge," I damn near threw up. That wasn't coffee. That was lies in a cup, "Tell me we have more than just that shit."

"Haruhi…" Kyoya called out, "Could you go and get…"

"Already on it," Haruhi nodded, "I'm sorry, Rei. What's the difference between instant and what you drink?"

"Mine was brewed with love and care," I explained, "That…That is an unholy abomination. I don't mean to be a huge coffee snob, but goddamn. I can't do instant coffee. That's as bad as decaf."

"What do you want me to get you?" she asked, ready to atone in any way she could.

"Flat white," I ordered, "Double. And if you have time, a chocolate chip cookie. If it's not too much to ask."

"Not a problem," Haruhi smiled a bit, "I understand."

"Thank you, Haruhi," I looked around for some tea towels to clean up the line of spit that just came out of my mouth, "I'll pay you back when you get back here."

"You're welcome," she started heading out, only to bump into something twice her size, "Oof…I'm sorry, sir."

"Be careful, kid…" a familiar voice put a knot in my stomach. That's not Ritsu. That's definitely not Ritsu. If it were Ritsu, things would be so much easier to explain, "Watch where you're going, ok?"

"Yes, sir," Haruhi bowed and took off for my coffee and my cookie.

But then…His eyes locked with mine. And I could smell the disappointment from here. Shit, "Mother of God, I raised a pimp…"