Ouch…What the hell? Slowly, I opened up my eyes and looked outside. Pitch dark with the exception of the neon. I'm still on my couch? The hell, Rei? You didn't think to go to bed? My couch felt lumpier than normal, though. I reached back and felt something a little more solid than couch. Instead of cushion, I felt Ritsu's shoulder, his soft snoring rumbling in my ear. I'd say I hated it, but in a way, it's kind of cute. I'll take it. By the looks of it, he hasn't moved. Have we moved since we got back? Or did today kick that much of my ass? I dug my phone out of my pocket, checking the time.

Holy shit…I knew it was late, but I didn't think it was that early. Three o'clock? Really? Damn, Rei. You could've gone to bed, but here you are. Way to go, dumbass. My back had a knot in it the size of Texas, but I'm sure it'll work itself out eventually. The early ass clock wasn't the only thing on my phone screen. By the looks of it, I had three new voicemails, too. And all of them came from the same phone number. Would I like to listen to them? Yes, I would.

"Hey, baby girl," the speaker hummed, melting me to my core, "I just landed in Honolulu. I got an hour layover to deal with and then, it's off to the west coast. Thought I'd call and check in. I love you, princess. I'll let you know when I'm on the mainland again."

Click.

Dare I go on? I mean, I got three of them. Might as well listen to them all.

"It'd be nice if you picked one of these up, Reila," Daddy scolded me on the other end, a hint of teasing in his voice, "But I get it. You got a life, too. But I just landed at LAX. One more flight and I'll be home. But I miss the hell out of you, baby girl. Love you."

Click.

One more, Rei. It's just one more.

"Hey, princess…" Daddy's voice sounded so strained and tired. What was left of my heart was now on the floor, "I just got in. Home sweet home. Not quite the same without you, but we can wait. We made it a month. What's a couple more? I know I worry a little too much about you, but this is for your own good. I'm going to go fight jetlag and go to bed. I love you, Reila."

I love you, too, Daddy. I love you, too. I threw my phone down on my coffee table and tried my damnedest not to start crying. Dammit…Why'd I have to stay here? Even worse, why did he have to go? I know a little homesickness is to be expected, but I didn't know it'd hurt this bad. Unfortunately, a couple of light sobs escaped the back of my throat and a few tears out of my eyes. I don't want to wait another couple months. I don't want to go through this again.

"Rei?" Ritsu woke up, his voice a bit raspy. He pulled me in closer to his chest, "Are you ok, baby?"

"Daddy's home," I cleared my throat, shaking off the crying shit, "I just got his voicemails."

"Are you ok?" he repeated himself.

"Yeah," I swallowed the lump in my throat, "I'm fine."

"What time is it there?" Ritsu asked, knowing damn well I wasn't ok.

"About 2PM," I figured.

"Shit," he did the math in his head, "Is it really that late?"

"Yeah," I nodded, curling back into him, "Looks like you're crashing here tonight. Inadvertently."

"Looks like it," Ritsu wrapped his arms around me, "What should we do? Do you want to stay up or go back to sleep?"

"I want to go back to sleep," I let out a little yawn, "It is too fucking early for me.

"Alright," he wasn't going to fight me. Again, Ritsu knew better, "Do you want to stay here or go to your bed?"

"My bed please," I sighed out, rolling into his chest.

"Looks like we'll have to do this the hard way," Ritsu got up and scooped me into his arms.

"Bold of you to assume I didn't plan this all along," I babbled deliriously, ready to go back to sleep as soon as my head hits the pillow.

"You're lucky I like you," he carried me across my penthouse and into my bedroom, gently putting me down on my bed.

"And why do you say that?"

"Because if I didn't," Ritsu crawled in next to me, "I would've dropped you."

"You'd never," I cuddled back into his ribs.

"Why not?"

"Because," I got in his ear, kissing his cheek, "I could kick the shit out of you."

"Yes, you could, baby," Ritsu hugged me tight, "Go back to sleep, ok?"

"Ok," I rubbed my eyes, "Hey, Ritsu?"

"Hmm…?" he moaned, almost back to sleep.

"Are we going to school today?" I wondered.

"Yeah," Ritsu ran his fingers down my back, "That is, if it's ok with you."

"We have to," I pouted, "If I don't do good in school, Daddy says I can't take over the family business. In order to do that, I have to actually go and not skip because my boyfriend is a bad influence on me."

"I'm a great influence on you," he kissed the top of my head, "Sleep, Rei. I'm tired, too."

"Fine," a big yawn escaped my throat, "Nighty night, Ritsu…"

"Good night, Rei," Ritsu pulled the blankets over us a little better and the two of us went back to sleep. To think, this was the asshole that knocked me down in the hall on my first day of school. The guy that told me to be a dick to the host club in order to get out of their claws. The guy that did my calculus homework for me at the ramen shop. The guy that scored me sake in Osaka. The guy that refused to let me go to school horribly depressed. I don't know what I did to deserve Ritsu, but goddamn, he's nice to have around.

A few hours later, I expected to be woken up by my alarm clock. However, I didn't get that lucky, "Rei!"

"Fuck…" I grumbled to myself, just barely opening my eyes.

"Everything ok, baby?" Ritsu mumbled in his sleep.

"Get down," I ordered.

"Got it," he wrapped himself around my waist, laying his head on my belly. Not what I was expecting, but this morning was full of surprises.

"Reila!" Roy's sunshine disposition floated through my penthouse, "It's time to get up! I thought you'd be awake by now."

"Shut the fuck up, Roy!" I snapped, shutting my eyes again, "I had a hard night last night and I don't need you shooting rainbows out of your ass!"

"So bitter," Roy stood in my doorway, "You need to get up, Rei."

"How the fuck did you get in my house?" I wondered.

"Your father gave me back my house key," Roy held up a little keychain with my penthouse key hanging from it. Goddammit. Daddy…Why would you betray me like that? I took it away from him for a reason.

"I'm still in bed, man," I groaned, "Can't you give me a minute?"

"Nope," Roy grabbed a hold of my blankets and yanked them off my bed, "Come on, Rei! Time to get up!"

"What the hell…?" Ritsu grumbled, "Who the fuck does that?"

"Um…" Roy turned bright red. Should've seen this one coming.

"Do you mind?" Ritsu grabbed the blanket back, "Some of us are still…"

"Out!" Roy demanded, doing all but hitting Ritsu with a newspaper, "Get out! You shouldn't be here! Out! Out!"

"Roy, it's just Ritsu!" I defended him, "Stop!"

"What was he doing in your bed, Reila?" Roy continued shooing Ritsu away. If he's not careful, Ritsu's going to deck him and I'm not going to have any sympathy for him.

"Sleeping!" I snapped, "Jesucristo madre de dios…Este jodido pendejo…Roy, it's fine! It's not like you caught him and me in here having sex! We didn't do anything wrong!"

"Rei…" Ritsu settled me, "It's alright. I got this."

"What you got," Roy's tirade only got worse, "is five seconds to get out of this bedroom before things start getting ugly."

"Maybe for you," Ritsu figured, "Do you know who I am?"

"You're Ritsu," Roy knew all about him, "You're Rei's boyfriend as far as I know."

"I'm working a job for Frankie."

Roy suddenly went pale, "What?"

"That's right," Ritsu nodded, "I'm working a job for Frankie. Real hush, hush, under the table shit. A hundred percent off the books. The night before he left, he told me to take care of his little girl in any way she needed. And that's exactly what I'm doing. Right now, you're interfering with that. Unless you want to answer to him, I suggest you back the fuck off. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes," Roy backed off as he was told.

"Good," Ritsu praised, "Looks like you got more sense in you than I give you credit for."

"Rei…" Roy turned very meek very quickly. And if I said watching Ritsu make him that way wasn't a little bit of a turn on, I'd be lying, "Am I taking both of you to school?"

"I don't know," I looked down at Ritsu, "Are you coming over after school today?"

"Do you want me to?" Ritsu asked.

"It's your choice," I allowed, "You don't have to if you don't want to."

"I think I will," he decided, shooting a quick glare toward Roy, "Besides, who knows what kind of weirdos are going to try breaking into your house? You may need me to hang around a little longer. Just to make sure you're safe."

"Ritsu," I reminded him, playing into this a little more than what I probably should, "You've seen the knife I sleep with."

"And I'd hate for those pretty hands of yours to have to use it," Ritsu took my hands into his, running his thumb over my tattoo, giving it a gentle kiss, "The Queen of Diamonds can let her knight take care of her business once in a while, too."

"I suppose you're right." My god, I swear. I'm going to swoon, "Roy?"

"Yes, ma'am?" Roy straightened up quickly.

"Let us get ready real quick," I told him, "And we'll be down in about ten minutes, ok?"

"Whatever you say, Rei," Roy gave me a half assed salute and bolted out the door.

And I belly laughed my ass off, tears streaming down my face, "Oh my God, Ritsu…"

"What?" Ritsu let out a couple giggles himself.

"That was fucking awesome," I rolled some more, "I thought Roy was going to piss himself!"

"He probably would have if we left him long enough," he figured, "I'm glad you're so amused."

"That made it worth the wake up call," I let him slide, "He really should know better than to wake me up. I get kind of bitchy."

"So I've noticed…"

"Hey!" I threw a pillow at Ritsu's head, "What the hell, man?"

"It's true, Rei," Ritsu chuckled to himself, smoothly dodging it, "You can get kind of bitchy when you first wake up. But you get over it."

"Thanks," I pouted, crawling out of bed, "Asshole."

"Come on…" he teased, trying to pull me back down, "You're just mad that I'm right."

"Partially mad that you're right," I admitted, "Can I go get dressed please?"

"Be my guest," Ritsu let me go.

"In my own fucking house?" I squeaked, "I don't think so."

"Go," he got out of bed and looked for his own uniform. Last I saw it, he had it folded on the living room chair.

"Hey, Ritsu," I yelled, "Could I ask you a question?"

"Sure, Rei! What's up?"

"Did you mean what you said to Roy?" I wondered, "About working a job for Daddy?"

"I wasn't lying to him," Ritsu came back in the bedroom while I hid in the closet, "I meant every word about working a job for your old man and I've enjoyed every second of it. You're not the only one that wasn't in the mood to go to school yesterday."

"What was going on with you?" I was so wrapped up in my own shit that I didn't even give Ritsu any consideration. In hindsight, I'm a shitty girlfriend. But in my defense, I also had my own shit to take care of. Lucky for me, I didn't have to do it alone.

"If I would've gone to school yesterday," he assumed, "Do you know how many rumors would get started? People would say I had you killed. Or some bullshit like that. You and I both know…"

"That I could kick your ass sideways if I so choose," I finished the top button on my shirt.

"That I wouldn't dream of hurting you," Ritsu corrected me, "Although, the other part is true, too. But I'd either have to deal with the overactive Ouran rumor mill or quite possibly just as bad, the host club. Who would more than likely start the rumor that I had you knocked off. Obviously, I didn't."

"And now," I figured, "We're going to have to deal with the rumor I ran off with you for the day."

"That's not a rumor," he pointed out, sticking his head in my closet, "It's true."

"You're lucky I'm not in here naked," I teased, "You would've died from blood loss."

"What do you mean?"

"You would've had a nosebleed so bad," I pulled him in, "You would've bled out and died on my closet floor. And we can't have that."

"Aww," he threw his arms around me, "Thanks, Rei. That's so sweet of you."

"Some of my white skirts are vintage," I explained, "And they were hella expensive. If you would've gotten blood on them, you'd pray for death."

"Wow…" the sudden fuzzy feeling disappeared, "Thanks, Rei. I see how I rank in your eyes."

"Oh, shut up and kiss me," I brushed him off, getting a delightfully yummy kiss from my boyfriend, who wasn't bleeding out in my closet today, "If I didn't like you, Ritsu, you'd know it."

"You wouldn't let me make out with you in your closet," he smiled, "Or your elevator. Or on your couch."

"We get it," I settled him, "We've made out in a lot of places in this building."

"The roof," Ritsu gasped, "How the fuck did I forget the roof?"

"We had our first kiss on the roof," I remembered, hiding a little smile, "I still have dirty dreams about that kiss."

"Really?"

"Once in a while," I confessed, throwing on my Ouran blazer, "But technically, that wasn't in the building."

"On top of the building counts," he took my hand, "You ready to go?"

"For the most part," I nodded, "I'm as good as I'm going to get. What about you?"

"We're kind of running short on time, baby," Ritsu showed me his phone. And it was nearly eight o'clock. Shit. He wasn't joking.

"Dammit," I groaned, "I don't want to go to school."

"I don't either," he grabbed his bag off the living room floor on our way out while I got mine off the table, "But it's a necessary evil. Although, I bet I can make it a little better."

"How's that, Ritsu?" I leaned against him in the elevator.

"You want to stop by the café in the lobby on the way out?"

"Marry me," I demanded, falling a little harder for him with each passing second.

"I don't think so," Ritsu settled me, "Not right now anyway. We hardly started dating. But I know how you operate."

"Yes, you do," I nodded, "And that battery is coffee."

"That's my girl," the two of us got off the elevator and Ritsu ordered my liquid breakfast of choice. And just like that, we slid in the back of Roy's car and headed to school. Much to both of our chagrin. We could do it, though. We missed yesterday. Today will be fine. In the nick of time, Ritsu and I had made it to our homeroom and took our seats in the back of the room. Someone was awfully daring today. I wonder what got into him. Not that I'm complaining. If Ritsu wants to sit by me, then who am I to stop him?

"Morning, Rei," Haruhi turned around, "Morning, Kasanoda."

"Morning, Haruhi," I took a good, heavy drink from my coffee.

"Morning," Ritsu mumbled from his bag. Someone's going back to sleep, by the looks of things.

"How are you feeling?" Haruhi asked, "Better, hopefully?"

"Much better," I confirmed, "It was a quiet night after you guys left. But this morning was…Eventful, to say the least."

"What happened?" she listened intently. Along with catching the ear of a couple of guys who are rapidly becoming my favorite pair of idiots.

"Well," I was at that point in my morning where I didn't give a shit as to what came out of my mouth. The line between asleep and awake was still a blur to me and delirium was my happy fuck you to the world, "When I was still sleeping this morning, Roy, my driver, my whipping bitch, my PA for all intents and purposes, took it upon himself to come wake me up. Because I had a hard night last night. Much like the gentleman to my left."

"Is he sleeping?" Hikaru wondered, fighting the temptation to poke at him.

"I think so…" I put an ear up to my boyfriend, who let out a little rumbly snore. Aww…That's him. That's my man, "Yeah. He's out cold."

"Should we wake him up?" Kaoru asked.

"Oh, hell no…" I stopped them both, "Let him sleep. Anyway, back to the story. So, Roy comes in thinking he's hot shit all because my dad gave him my penthouse key back. Which, someone remind me to have words with Daddy later about that. I'm sure it's one of those in case of emergencies things, but I don't like Roy having that kind of access to my place. But he comes into my bedroom feeling particularly brave and he yanks my blanket off me. He knew I was still going to be asleep. What he didn't know was I had a little something, something else to keep me warm."

"Another blanket?" the twins assumed.

"Better," I looked over at my little space heater, "Ritsu never left me last night. And Roy found him bundled up in my bed this morning, all wrapped around me like he was trying to protect me."

"Kasanoda stayed at your place last night?!" they gasped, "And slept in your bed?!"

"Keep it down, you morons!" I snapped, thumping them both on the tops of their heads. Ritsu let out a little groan, nuzzling his face deeper in his bag. Rest well, sweet prince, "Yeah. Ritsu crashed with me last night. We shared a bed. If you really wanted to know, I was the little spoon for the most part. Mostly because of the size difference."

"We're so telling," Hikaru confessed.

"The boss is going to burst a blood vessel," Kaoru assumed.

"No," Haruhi stopped them before they could start anything, "You two aren't telling Tamaki-senpai anything. This isn't your news to tell him."

"Thank you, Haruhi," I applauded her, "Besides, I'm not going into the host club today. It's a day off for me. Not until tomorrow. Therefore, I am off the clock until tomorrow. Not even a host."

"No problem." This. This was why I kept Haruhi closer than the others. Aside from Mori. But I also hand him his ass on a regular basis. Except for the rare occasions he's the one handing me my own. But neither one of them pry. Not like the others. Except for Kyoya, but if there's something he wants to know, he'll do it the sneaky, conniving way like thumbing through my records. I'm curious about what's in that little black book of his, though.

"Still…" Hikaru sighed.

"This isn't going to sit well with him…" Kaoru joined his brother.

"You think he'll cry this time?"

"Probably not. But stranger things have happened."

"Hey…" Way to go, boys. You woke the baby, "Hikaru, Kaoru…"

"What?" the twins chimed.

"You breathe a word of what Rei just said," Ritsu threatened, "And I will make the next week of your lives a living hell. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," they both shut up. Not many could get them to do that. Yeah. That's mine.

"Thank you, Ritsu," I bit the inside of my cheek to keep myself from smiling too big.

"Got it, baby…" And there he goes. Back to sleep.

"Rei…" Haruhi's ear perked up, "Did he just call you…?"

Ring, ring!

"Oh, son of a bitch…" Ritsu growled.

"Morning, sunshine," I giggled. I like this one. Can I keep him? Because I think I'm going to keep him.

"Morning…" he shoved his fist in his eye and threw his bag around his shoulders.

"Sleep well?" I wondered.

"Off and on."

"Aww…" the twins hummed.

"They make a cute couple, don't you think, Kaoru?"

"Absolutely, Hikaru. The cutest."

"We're totally telling the boss about this, right?"

"Definitely."

"Boys," I settled them with a quick glare, "No."

"Cute…"

"But scary…"

And that's the way we liked it.

A/N: Hi, friends! Look. We're here strictly on business. Because as of now, I'm on a slight hiatus for NaNoWriMo season. If you don't know what that means because you're not here from the Kiss, Kiss series, that means I'm gone for the entire month of November, working on an original novel. The goal is to get fifty thousand words in thirty days. I've done this time and time again. My record is over 174,000 words. But normally, I go completely ghost for the month. Note: I only said slight hiatus. Look. You guys aren't going to get your usual Friday update and you'll be losing your Friday updates altogether. I know. Downer. But fortunately, in my training for this epic undertaking, I've been working on some other fun shenanigans that'll be going up while I'm gone.

We'll be back to daily updates again, which is neat. Although, I don't think I'll have anything going up on Thursdays. Because Trouble Comes in Threes is ending this week. Regardless, you're losing your Friday update, but I'm also starting three new stories once November starts, so there's that to look forward to. Yay! I have one for Mystic Messenger, one for Fairy Tail, and one for Hetalia that'll be going up on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. If none of those really do it for you, fear not. Because you're still going to get updates on Mondays. It's better than nothing, right? I've been working my ass off for the last month and a half to make sure you guys still have something to hold you over while I'm gone, so if you want to be cool and give them the old college try, that'd be fantastic. I'd really appreciate it and I'll love you forever.

But if you're wondering when I'll be back, it'll be on December 2nd for more fun and adventures. So, behave yourselves while I'm gone. I'll leave you with the nanny. And…That's it, I guess. I love you. I'll miss you. See you next chapter! xx