When Ritsu said he was taking me on a drive, he wasn't shitting me. This was a hell of a way out from the city. I don't think we saw civilization for at least thirty miles. This trip was definitely longer than our drives from Tokyo to Hakone. I've never been up in the mountains before. Not even when I was back home. Mama always wanted to, but Daddy can't handle those kinds of altitudes. Nevertheless, a first time for everything. It's weird how a lot of them have happened with Ritsu, though.

Then, we started to see civilization. It looked like a civilization long since passed, but that's what we call old world charm in the business. I'm not sure where Ritsu took me, but damn, this place was pretty. Between the mountains on one side of the road and water on the other, this couldn't be more perfect. It was a little like Hakone, but…I don't know. On a bigger scale.

"Hey, Rei," Ritsu leaned back a bit, "Are you hungry?"

"Starving," I nodded, "Why?"

"There's a pension coming up on the right," he explained, "Rumor has it, it's the best Karuizawa has to offer."

"Is that where this is?" I wondered.

"Yep," Ritsu nodded, "Welcome to Karuizawa. A little resort town nestled in the mountains. Quaint, quiet. A good place for a couple of kids skipping school to lay low for the day."

"Alright," I cuddled closer into him, "That pension sounds like a hell of an idea."

"Appetite starting to come back?"

"Ravenously."

"That's my girl." Ritsu pulled off into the parking lot of an adorable bed and breakfast. This spot had a charm all its own. The reds and oranges and yellows of the different flowers covered three, four, five different flowerbeds. The trees looked perfect for climbing. Although, I had no doubt they'd be thrown into the fireplace come winter. Alright. Hakone may have a rival.

When the two of us walked into this bed and breakfast, decorations hung from the ceiling in different shades of purple. Not that I'm complaining. Whoever did them did an excellent job. And they probably looked much nicer when they were first hung up. Matching flowers still covered the table, but some of them were starting to wilt.

"Damn," I took a look around, "Looks like there was a party here and we missed it."

"A wedding, actually!" a hostess…host…hostess? I wasn't quite sure. I'm guessing someone official bounced around the corner, "Welcome to Pension Misuzu! I am Misuzu. Can I help you?"

"Have you started serving lunch yet?" Ritsu asked.

"We have!" they chimed, "Would you two like menus?"

"Yes, please," he nodded.

"Ritsu," I pulled him aside, "Where the hell did you bring me?"

"It's just a bed and breakfast, Rei," Ritsu settled me, "Relax."

"Alright," I still wasn't quite sure what to make of Misuzu. Although, it couldn't hurt to ask, "Excuse me, Misuzu?"

"Yes?" Misuzu sang with a lyrical chime.

"Can I ask you a question without making you uncomfortable?" I asked.

"Go ahead."

"Could I ask you what your preferred pronouns are?" I wondered, hoping I was delicate enough.

"Oh, bless you," Misuzu awed, "Any are fine with me, but he, if it makes you comfortable. What's your name?"

"Me?" I gave him a look, "Reila. Why?"

"Just curious," he smiled sweetly, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Reila. Is it safe to assume that…"

Misuzu gestured over to Ritsu, waiting for an answer. Although, Ritsu wasn't quite sure what the question was. Fortunately, that's what he had me for, "Ritsu."

"Ritsu," Misuzu went on, "is your boyfriend?"

"I'd say so," I took Ritsu's hand under the table. It's weird. Other than Daddy, no one has ever really said anything like that out loud about us. I liked the sound of it, "What about you?"

"Yes, Rei," Ritsu nodded, "Last time I checked. Unless you got some other guy on the hook."

"No," I assured, pushing the vein back in his forehead, "Your pension is really cute, though, Misuzu."

"Thank you, Reila," Misuzu awed, spinning on his heel, the skirt of his dress billowing out from under him, "It's the best little pension Karuizawa has to offer! Although, you two seem a little young. Shouldn't you both be in school?"

"We just graduated in May," I covered, "We thought we'd take a little time away from the city for the day."

"Wonderful!" he sang, "Will you be booking a room while you're here?"

"No," Ritsu shook his head, "Although, maybe we could book one for Friday."

"Friday?" I wondered, "Are you saying we spend the weekend here instead of Hakone?"

"I don't know," Ritsu thought, "We got the rest of the week to talk about it, Rei."

"Alright," I was kind of looking forward to the Hakone trip, but who knows? Maybe the charms of Karuizawa will take their hold on me. And I'll fall in love with this place, too.

"Keep a room open," Ritsu requested, "Preferably one with a balcony."

"I'll see what I can do," Misuzu gave us a bow and left us with a waitress for whenever we were ready to order lunch. Something about pork dumplings sounded so damn good. Granted, it's not the ramen shop, but it can't be too bad.

Breaking the tradition of Hakone…Even though we'd have to go more than once in order for it to be considered tradition, but it was the only place we ever talked about going. I didn't even know Karuizawa existed before today. Hakone was the first place Ritsu and I ever went together outside the city. It was where we went after we made up from our first fight. Well…I don't know if we could really call it a fight. It was more or less an unintentional revelation turned sour. But still. Hakone had sentimentality to it. And we were just going to leave it behind for Karuizawa? Like I said, this place is really going to have to work to win me over. At least to beat out Hakone.

Once we finished eating, Ritsu had booked our room and the two of us took off. We hung around the parking lot for a hot second, though. Ritsu looked down at his bike, then back to me, then back to his bike, then back to me. Then, in a shocking turn of events, Ritsu tossed me his keys, "Here."

"Uh…" I looked them over, not completely believing they were there, "Here where? What are these for?"

"For the bike," he explained, a hint of sarcasm in his voice, "See, they go in the ignition and they make the bike go down the road."

"No shit, Sherlock," I rolled my eyes, not exactly appreciating the mansplaining, "Why did you give them to me?"

"I'm letting you drive," Ritsu allowed, "That is, if you want to."

"Seriously?" I squeaked, about to come out of my skin, "I get to drive your motorcycle?"

"I trust you," he insisted, "You're not going to do something stupid like wreck it, are you?"

"Not with both of us on it," I promised, "I value our lives far too much to do that. Not to mention, if I ended up getting you majorly hurt because of my own stupidity, I'd never forgive myself for it."

"Go ahead, Rei," Ritsu patted the seat in front of him, "It's alright."

"Ok," I threw my leg over the seat and stuck the key in the ignition. Oh, it has been a minute since I've done this.

"I'm riding bitch on my own bike," he grumbled, "The fuck is the world coming to?"

"You're the one who said you were cool with it," I reminded him, revving the engine. That's nice. That's very nice, "And I suggest you hold on. Do you know where I could find some back roads?"

"Take a right up here," Ritsu wrapped his arms around me. And in that moment, everything felt like it was going to be ok. Yeah, it sucked that Daddy had to leave, but I'll see him again. It'll only be another few months and then, it'll be Christmas and we'll be off for a couple weeks before the new semester starts. But the time before that? I think I'll be alright.

As soon as we were a decent distance away from civilization (and more importantly, any chance of law enforcement), I got curious. How fast could Ritsu's motorcycle actually go? I mean, the speedometer said 180MPH, but that doesn't mean that's its top speed. I want to know how far past the dial it can really go. I kept going faster and faster and the wind whipped against the backs of my arms. God, I forgot how good this rush felt.

"Hey, Rei!" Ritsu got in my ear, "I like your spirit, but you might want to slow down."

"I might," I agreed with him, hiding the smirk on my face and pushing a little harder on the gas, "But…"

140…150…Apparently, I was making Ritsu twitchy, "REILA, SLOW THE FUCK DOWN!"

"Fine…" I found the breaks and started slowing down, "What a fucking buzzkill…"

"Excuse me," Ritsu scoffed, "I want to make it home in one piece and without the tires falling off my bike. Sue me. And when you've slowed down enough, pull over."

"Aww…" I whined, "Come on, Ritsu. I can get it back to Tokyo."

"No," he put his foot down, "You're not driving my bike back to town. I love my bike. I don't want anything happening to her."

"Fine," I pouted, pulling off to the side of the road, "Buzzkill."

"There's nothing buzz killing about safety," Ritsu moved back to the front, holding the handles tight, "She didn't rough you up too much, did she, sweetheart?"

"I'm sorry that I was rough on her," I teased, "Maybe you could stand to be a little rougher once in a while. I bet she'd like it."

"Innuendo aside," he rolled his eyes, "Come on. We need to be getting back to town anyway. School should be letting out soon. I'm sure Roy dropped you off this morning, right?"

"Yeah," I nodded, "Because I had to leave Daddy at the gate. Otherwise, he'd be more than happy to see me off to class. But don't worry about Roy. I already told him you were giving me a ride home."

"Let's go, baby," Ritsu helped me back onto the bike, "I wouldn't want to make you a liar to Roy."

"It's fucking Roy, Ritsu," I giggled, "You really think I care about him? I got him a girlfriend, so he'd leave me alone. He's just some guy my dad hired. It's not like we're buddies."

"But still," he gave the engine a couple revs, just to warm it back up, "We should go back to your place."

"Or," I proposed, "We could go back to yours."

"No, no, no," Ritsu shook his head, pulling away from the side of the road, "Out of the question. You and I are nowhere near being ready to meet the family."

"You already met Daddy," I nuzzled my face in his shoulder blades, "It's not like it'd be the end of the world."

"Trust me," he shot me down, "It'd be better for us to go back to your place than for us to go to mine."

"Ok," I wasn't going to push it any more. If I did, it'd only make him pull away and I didn't need that kind of sadness in my life. This morning was plenty. As the beauty of Karuizawa shrunk behind us, I started to drift off in Ritsu's back, my arms firmly affixed around his waist. I knew I wasn't going anywhere, but if I wanted to, I could happily fall asleep. Between all the globetrotting we did today and the emotional turmoil from this morning, I needed a chance to relax a little. Once we got back to my penthouse, I got just that. Ritsu and I sat on my living room couch and immediately, I curled up with my head in his shoulder, slowly falling asleep.

"Hey, Ritsu…?" I sighed out.

"Yeah, Rei?" Ritsu ran his hand through my hair, pushing a few stray pieces out of my face.

"Thank you for today," I babbled deliriously, "I don't think I would've been able to handle a day at school. But this? This, I could do again."

"And it'd be my pleasure," he kissed the top of my head, "I just wish our first time skipping school together would've been under better circumstances."

"Me, too," I shut my eyes, "But I think I'll be ok."

"That's good to hear," Ritsu made himself comfortable, kicking his feet up on the other side of the couch, "So, what should we do now?"

"I don't know about you," I rubbed my eyes, "But I could seriously do with a nap. Just when I thought jetlag was done kicking my ass."

"Bullshit, jetlag," he knew better, "Rei, we've had a long day. You, more so than me. It's ok if you're a little tired. No one could blame you."

"Does that mean I can take a nap?" I hoped.

"I insist," Ritsu gave me a few lazy kisses, "Go ahead. I'll be right here when you wake up."

"Bless you, Ritsu," I cuddled a little closer.

"You're welcome."

Knock, knock.

"Son of a bitch…" I growled, "Fucking why?"

"You want me go see who it is?" Ritsu offered.

"No," I took in a deep breath, "It's open!"

"REI!" Oh, someone's getting stabbed today. And that someone may or may not be Tamaki Suoh.

"Oh, goddammit," I groaned, "What do you want, Tamaki? I'm busy."

"You weren't in school today, Rei," Hikaru poked his head over the back of my couch.

"We were worried." Oh, look. Kaoru's there, too.

"We're not interrupting anything, are we, Rei?" Kyoya took a seat in my big chair. Who the fuck does he think he is…?

"I was just about to clock out for the afternoon," I glared.

"Where were you today, Rei-chan?" Honey crawled up next to me. Ok…He's an exception to most things. This would be no different.

"We went to Karuizawa for the day," I pulled him a little closer, "I needed some time away and Ritsu was kind enough to give me just that."

"Is everything ok?" he worried, his eyes quickly filling with tears.

"I'm ok, Honey," I promised, "My dad left for the US this morning and I was pretty torn up for a while. I didn't have it in me to deal with everyone today, so Ritsu and I left to have fun instead."

"Wait a second," Tamaki gasped, "You mean, you skipped school today?!"

"Yep," I confirmed, letting out a little yawn, "And if you don't mind…"

"Reila!" Tamaki's tirade only got worse, "You're a good girl. What are you doing, skipping school to run off with some boy to Karuizawa, of all places?! I'm highly disappointed in you."

"Oh, ouch," I grumbled sarcastically, "I'm crushed. However will I live on knowing you're disappointed in me for skipping school? If you think about it, Tamaki, Ritsu was doing me a favor and taking care of my mental health. We've done nothing wrong."

"No," Tamaki shook his head, "Inexcusable. Reila, I forbid you to see Kasanoda any further."

"Not happening," I assured.

"Not on your life, Suoh," Ritsu hugged me tight, "She's not going anywhere."

"Look, guys," I settled them before things got ugly, "I appreciate the house call, but at the same time, I'd like to be left alone."

"Although," Tamaki chirped, "Since we're here…"

"No," I stopped him before anything could start, "No plans. No schemes. No prospects of us hanging out. Get the fuck out of my house."

"But…!"

"No," I stood my ground, "I have all intentions of doing absolutely nothing for the next few hours. In those places, there is nowhere for wiggle room. There's nowhere for host club shenanigans. I am fucking exhausted. I've had a very long day and I could stand a nap. Now, Tamaki. Get. The fuck. Out of my penthouse. Before. You end up. Having to go. To the emergency room."

"You…" Tamaki twitched nervously, "You wouldn't actually hurt me…Would you, Rei?"

"I've nearly kicked the shit out of you before," I reminded him, "What's stopping me from doing it again?"

"Hopefully a moral code?"

"Mine's a little sketchy," I smirked, laying back in Ritsu's ribs, "Now, I'm sure you guys can show yourselves out."

"Will you be back at school tomorrow, Rei-chan?" Honey wondered.

"Yes," I promised, hugging him tight as I put him back down on the floor, "Bright and early with a reinvigorated lust for life."

"Good," he smiled, "Because we really did miss you."

"I missed you, too, Honey," I melted inside, "Not the rest of them too much, but you and Mori are ok."

"Yay!" Honey sang out while I caught Mori smiling out of the corner of my eye.

"Now, all of you," I ordered, "Out."

"See you tomorrow, Rei!" the twins sang on their way out. There…Peace and quiet. No one left but the ones that mattered.

"What about me?" Ritsu wondered, cuddling the shit out of me, "Do I have to leave, too?"

"No, dumbass," I giggled, giving him a kiss on his cheek, "You stay. I like you. You don't make me want to punch someone. You don't interrupt when I try to take a nap. If I ever snap one day and go on a killing spree, your life will be spared."

"Good," he laughed a bit, "Go ahead, Rei. You get bitchy when you're without a nap."

"I don't try to be bitchy," I yawned, shutting my eyes, "It just comes naturally."