Hi guysss! I'm really sorry for the wait guys but damn these classes are taking up more of my time every day. And now finals are coming! Does anybody else have tests they were/are anxious about?

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter :D I'm sorry once again for the long wait. Feel free to complain XD


Sitting alone in a car was boring. Sitting alone in a car without a clue about where one was supposed to go was boring and frustrating. Sitting alone in a car without a clue about where one was supposed to go, knowing that time was running out was boring, frustrating and maddening.

Needless to say, Kyoya was bored, frustrated and extremely irritable.

Where was his damn wife and those idiots they called friends?

Kyoya hit his head against the steering wheel and regretted it a second later. Damn that hurt...

He sighed wishing the chauffeur could be driving instead of him. Then a lightbulb went off. Of course!

"Hello?" It was a little girl's voice. His daughter probably.

"Hello, this is Ootori Kyoya. May I speak to Mr. Saito?"*

He heard quick shuffling and muffled voices on the other line.

"How can I help you Master Ootori?" Yuki Saito was relatively new as a chauffeur and he absolutely loved working for the Ootoris. Mainly because he was assigned as Haruhi Ootori's driver and she rarely called for him. It was like getting paid to do nothing all day! Although he did occasionally miss driving around everywhere.

"I'm sorry to bother you on your day off but did you by any chance ever drive my wife to her monthly meetings?"

There was a short pause as Yuki Saito thought about it. The pause was short because preferred to walk to most places.

" Yes I believe I did once." He wasn't sure if that was the day she went to a monthly meeting but recalled that rare occasion clearly. It was while she was pregnant and the entire household was fussing over her. Who could blame them? She was always looking after the staff so of course they wanted to look out for her and her baby.

"That's great! Do you remember where it is?"

Yuki hesitated. That was unfortunately the only thing he couldn't recall as clearly. "Only vaguely sir."

"I see…"

"But...I do recall writing down the address in a small notebook kept in the car."

"Really? Thank you very much . You should find a rather pleasing bonus in your account by tomorrow."

"Oh no really it was no problem. Thank you but I did not do this for money. "

"I insist. Thank you again."

Before Yuki Saito could respond the line was dead. He put the phone down and looked at his family. He guessed they could use a bonus but why did he suddenly feel bad for ?


Kyoya looked around the car in every nook and cranny he could think of but found nothing. That was when he realized that he had three more cars at home and forgot to ask which one the book was in. Slightly annoyed but by no means discouraged, Kyoya drove home and briskly walked to the front of the garage where he could see all of the cars.

He stopped and looked at each one, trying to determine which one Haruhi would use. The biggest one? No she would find that a waste of gas. The newest one? Too conspicuous. The third one then. That one was practical, small and plain. He snorted; the car was just like her.

Grabbing the keys from the hook he unlocked it and looked in the compartment. There it was! He opened it and found only two addresses logged - a cafe and a clinic. Ignoring the clinic he tried to think about where the cafe was. The address sounded familiar. It was a hazy memory he was desperately trying to make clear.

It couldn't be that one a couple of blocks away or Haruhi would have walked.

Then he remembered and mentally slapped himself.

He never thought he'd say it but he was a bigger idiot than Tamaki.

Kyoya quickly turned on the car and drove away, no longer bored, frustrated or irritable, just disappointed in the one person he never thought would let him down- himself.


The first ones to see him were Honey and Mori. Honey's face lit up. What a pleasant surprise! Mori grinned. Kyoya wondered if he was sleepy.

Next to see him were the twins. Their easy grins faded as he approached the table. They stared at him suspiciously. Kyoya showing up after a year (probably more. It was so long ago they couldn't recall)? That meant something was up.

He greeted them as if they had just sen each other a day ago.

"What are you doing here?" Hikaru bluntly asked.

Kyoya merely tilted his head. "Aren't I on the guest list?"

"We made some adjustments while you were busy with work."

Honey calmed Hikaru with a stern look and then looked at Kyoya. "Of course you are Kyo-chan. It's just been so long since you were here. Why don't we celebrate with cake!"

"Can you eat cake Honey-sempai? I thought you had some problems with toothaches?"

Honey turned ice cold at the mention of his dental problem. He turned away silently, leaving Kyoya to wonder what caused the sudden change.

Mori was left to ease the tense ambient.

"Why are you here?" Takanshi Morinozuka was not the best at these type of things.

Kyoya grinned causing the table's occupants to shudder. "I wanted to spend quality time with my former schoolmates."

Hikaru coughed, "Bull."

"You don't have to believe me."

"So where's Haruhi?" Kaoru piped up.

"With Tamaki I assume."

"You assume?"

"Well I can't keep tabs of all of my wife's whereabouts now can I?"

The table was silent after that comment. It was a tense silence but soon enough it dragged on seemingly endlessly and nobody at the table noticed anymore, all of them too busy with their thoughts.

Finally, a throat was cleared. "Excuse me, I couldn't help but notice you've all been here for more than 20 minutes and haven't ordered anything. Do you need help deciding?"

"No thanks." The twins shooed the employee away much to her dismay. Forget the rudeness, these guys were handsome and obviously rich. There was no way she'd miss this opportunity. She was especially determined to get to that raven haired one with glasses.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah." The twins responded in a monotonous voice.

They watched as the stubborn girl huffed a little, adjusted her shirt so that the already low collar would be even lower. Then she pulled her already short skirt higher up on her waist and leaned across Kyoya to reach the menu.

"I don't believe I've seen you around. Do you need help picking an item?"

Kyoya glanced over her behind his concealing glasses. He noticed her obvious attempt at a seductive attire. "No I am not. Are you new here by any chance?"

She grinned, obviously pleased that he had noticed. "Yes. I started just last month." She inched closer to him until her breasts were at eye level with him (or at least they would have been if he had been facing her).

"I see…" Kyoya gave her another glance over. This time she noticed and smirked thinking she had him wrapped around her finger.

The twins, Honey and Mori watched in disbelief as Kyoya asked for the girl's name and then work schedule.

"I'll have a strawberry milkshake and a slice of fruitcake then."

"Coming right up!"

When the girl left the hosts glared at Kyoya. Didn't the bastard realize he was married!?

He noticed the glares and simply sighed. "You guys discredit me too often." As soon as the girl had taken his order to the table and then left Kyoya pulled out his cellphone and dialed a number.

Hikaru could only feel disgust. "Hey if you're going to talk about business do it somewhere else Kyoya-senpai."

Ignoring him, Kyoya waited for a response. "Hello? Is this the manager of the Sweets, Sugar and Even More Deliciousness Cafe?...This is Kyoya Ootori calling to report a rather unpleasant problem. You see one of your employees is far too...well let's say she's not wearing the proper attire. Actually she's missing about half of her outfit….Yes that is her name...I see...Yes...Thank you I hope you take care of the situation soon. Goodbye." He turned to the party seated at the table and signed again at their shocked faces. "Like I said, you guys discredit me too often."

Suddenly Kyoya heard a familiar laugh. Then he heard another one. They belonged to the two people he trusted the most in the world, the ones he loved the most, one more so than the other. He stayed put in his seat despite the need to get up and hug her.

"Oh," the male's laughter stopped abruptly.

"What?" The female asked.

"TAMA-CHAN!"

"HARUHI!"

Kyoya could feel an actual breeze as they flew past him and into the arms of the pair behind him. After a while, when Kyoya figured the rest had fussed enough, he got up and faced them.

"Tamaki."

"Hi Kyoya. What a delightful surprise…" Tamaki's attempt to sound cheerful fell flat.

"Haruhi." Kyoya walked up to hug her.

She remained stiff and expressionless in his arms.

Never one to bounce around the subject, Haruhi asked, "Why are you here?" Kyoya was really tired of answering this question.

"Can't I spend time with my wife," the emphasis on wife went unnoticed by everybody except Haruhi. "and our old high school buddies?"

"You can, but why would you want to reclaim that right? You've never cared to before."

"Better late than never right?"

With a look and a sigh Haruhi nodded. "You're absolutely correct."

The hosts watched as she turned around and walked back out the door with Kyoya following right behind her a split second later. There was no way she'd run away from him again.

They watched through the large glass window as she started walking faster and eventually started jogging as Kyoya relentlessly followed her.

Finally, he caught her arm and she stopped without facing him. He said something and she turned, not furious but definitely not calm. The married couple exchanged a few words before Haruhi shook her head and Kyoya ran his hand through his hair. Finally, they walked towards Kyoya's car in dry ice cold silence. Once in the car Haruhi opened the passenger door and slipped in. Kyoya sat down at the wheel. Starting the engine, Kyoya reminded Haruhi to put on her seatbelt. She looked at it distastefully to his confusion. Haruhi was insistent on safety so why did she seem so repulsed at the thought of putting on a seatbelt?

Kyoya cleared his throat. "I bought you a strawberry milkshake and fruit cake."

She didn't look at him but replied, "Thank you."

"I would give bring it out but it...it's in the cafe. You left before I had a chance to give it to you."

"I figured. Thank you anyway."

They stared straight ahead for a couple of blocks. The silence was intense but not awkward. It wasn't the type of silence that would linger around strangers or even exes. At least exes pretended they didn't care. These two cared and both of them knew it (well knew that they themselves cared but not that the other did as well) but neither could read the other, they were too damn good at the poker face game. Of course, they did know each other perfectly well ever since high school but for some reason, in the situation where understanding was most important, they couldn't.

He finally pulled into their driveway.

Haruhi waited for Kyoya to unlock the car door and get out but he just sat in the driver's seat. She started to pull off her seatbelt when he spoke.

"I was fired."

She stopped, letting the belt slowly drift up on its own but didn't say anything. What could she say? Working was his life and she hated it she really did, but she also knew how devastated he must have been. Consoling him would make him think she had given in and not consoling him seemed too harsh even for a future ex wife.

"I wasn't getting work done anymore. All I could think about was how to get you home Haruhi."

"I'm not a lost child Kyoya. In case you don't remember, leaving was my choice."

"And when I got home all I wanted to do was find that cafe. And you know what? When I found it I realized how stupid it was of me to forget it."

"It was where we had our first date..." She looked away from him blinking rapidly. Why was she so emotional lately? So much crying was coming from her that she wondered where all that water came from.

He nodded. That was a perfect day so he figured that it would also make a perfect place to propose years later. "And where I proposed...or tried to anyway."


5 years earlier

"You noticed them too right?" Haruhi threw a glance at the table less than 10 feet away. The occupants immediately shuffled around.

"How could I not? Those idiots are more obvious than the fact that you were a girl dressed as a boy."

"Oh please, at least I fooled almost a whole school, these guys aren't fooling anybody."

The couple was referring to the 5 customers sitting at the mentioned table. One was short and had a baby face except for that humongous black mustache that did not at all match the blond hair on his head. Next to him was a tall, lean, dark haired male that was supposed to be a child apparently. He was wearing a colorful cap and holding a giant lollipop. In his mouth was a rather cheesy looking pacifier, but his face remained blank. Across from them were two "gals" with too much makeup on and high pitched voices that made the people nearby cringe. They were busy tittering at everything said. At one end of the rectangular table (really, out of all tables they choose the only one with a different shape than the rest?) was a red haired "wrestler". He looked older than the rest and fawned every time Kyoya looked at Haruhi but continuously glared at the person across from him. He was wearing a purple leotard and black boxing boots. At the other end was yet another blond guy, dirty blonde, dressed as an old man. You'd think he'd at least add a streak of gray.

They both shook their heads at the thought of how often they were forced to do such things.

A waiter arrived at the table.

"Why does a cafe have waiters? Damn rich people." Haruhi muttered. Of course, even the most simple of cafes for wealthy people had it's exaggerations.

"Are you ready to order?"

"Yes. I'll have a hamburger, some fries, and a soda. The lady will have some fatty tuna and fruit punch."

"Wait, " Haruhi skimmed over the menu. "Kyoya that's not on the menu."

"Of course it is."

"No it isn't."

The waiter chimed in, "Actually it's today's special. "

"You have two specials?"

"Yes."

She shrugged. How could she complain when she was going to eat the most amazing meal ever created? Not to mention he was eating a "commoner" meal willingly. It was like that day at the shopping center.

The waiter wrote down the orders then went on his way.

"So what did you want to talk about?"

"Haruhi…" Kyoya hesitated for a second. How would he say this? He guessed the best way was the way he always said things and the way Haruhi preferred. "My father is sending me abroad to study." Bluntly and to the point.

She stared blankly at him, unable to process the news. "Didn't you say he agreed to let you study in Japan?"

He sighed. "And I didn't lie. However, we've begun to negotiate with an incredibly powerful company in the United States."

"...Meaning that you studying there would give you the experience necessary to negotiate most effectively."

"Exactly. I thought about my brothers. They would be more than willing to study in America for a year then in Europe for a year and they're done with school so why not them? Why not have them gain additional experience?"

"I'm guessing there was an argument?"

"Yes. Unfortunately, the company has taken an unusual interest in me. For what reasons? I have an idea but it's a little far fetched."

The table with the unusual group held their breaths. So that was it?

"So then...is this it? You called me over to..." Her eyes were downcast.

At that moment the waiter arrived with their food.

"Here you are. Two specials for the lovely couple."

"Thank you."

"Will you be needing anything else?"

"No thank you."

The waiter retreated.

"What do you mean?" Kyoya resumed their conversation.

"I mean is this it for us? You leave to America and we break up." She looked at her utensils, trying to occupy her mind with whether using a fork and knife would be better than grabbing it with her hand or using chopsticks. Basically she didn't want Kyoya to see that if he said 'yes' she would be devastated. Haruhi decided on using her chopsticks and lifted a roll to her mouth, plopping the entire thing in her mouth.

"No."

The table exhaled.

Her chewing slowed. Her eyes expressed the question she wanted to ask. 'How would it work with him abroad and her in Japan?'

"I want you to come with me."

There was an audible collective breath intake from the other table.

Haruhi was so surprised she swallowed the half chewed roll and began to cough. The attendant quickly ran to her side and patted her back until the coughing settled.

"Go with you? Kyoya, my life is here."

"I know. That's why…" He paused trying to calm his nerves. This was something he wasn't accustomed to. Who knew being nervous felt like a heart trying to escape and palms trying to fill a swimming pool?

"What?"

He looked at her plate. She had eaten only one roll. The roll that was supposed to hold….

He looked at the waiter, slightly panicked. Where was it?

The waiter realized what was going on and shook his head. He was certain it was in the roll.

"Haruhi, did you feel anything unusual in the roll?"

"I...no not really. What does this have to do with what we were talking about?"

"Are you sure? When you bit into it, did you feel any unusual hardness?"

"The roll was fine Kyoya. Why are you being so strange?"

"Are you sure you felt nothing?"

"Only fatty tuna. Kyoya, what's going on-"

"OH MY GOSH YES I WILL MARRY YOU. I THOUGHT YOU WERE GOING TO BREAK UP WITH ME BUT NO IT WAS THIS. YES YES YES! I DO!" There was suddenly screaming and babble from across the room. A girl was screaming yes and jumping up and down over and over again while a confused looking guy tried to calm her down. What the heck was a ring doing in the food?! It's tuna not a ring box!

The waiter glared at his coworker, the new guy had messed up big time.

Kyoya facepalmed. He knew he should've rented out the whole restaurant. But nooo! It'll be suspicious they said! It'll be fine they said. He glared at the odd table. Somebody would pay for this.

"Wait…"

He looked up.

"Was that..?"

"Meant for you? Yes it was." He grimaced. "But as you can see, it is now hers."

They glanced at the girl that was still babbling about the ring being too small but super expensive which was fine by her. The guy was looking around wildly, obviously trying to figure out what the heck to tell her.

Haruhi smiled but it looked closer to a smirk. "So the great Kyoya Ootori messed up?"

He glared at her. "The great Kyoya Ootori did not."

"Really?" She began to laugh. "Because it seems that-"

Kyoya shifted so that he was fully facing her and grabbed her hand. Her laughter died.

"Do you feel this Haruhi?"

She nodded at his sweaty palms.

"And this?"

He brought her hand to his chest where she could feel his heart racing and pounding.

She nodded again.

"This is what you do to me Haruhi. I don't know how or why you affect me like this but trust me I'm not complaining. You've given me things I wouldn't have thought possible, helped me realize that there is merit in everything, helped me become human.

Being cool is my specialty, yet here I am, nervous beyond belief because I can't bear the fact that you might reject me. Not to mention I'm giving the cheesiest speech ever uttered.

You can turn away and tell me to leave without you. You can realize at this moment that you deserve better. That I'm too cold, too calculating and way too much.

And it's really tearing me apart.

That's why I hope,...I pray that you'll accept me Haruhi Fujioka and if you do I promise I'll always strive to be better for you. I'll do anything you want me to, be anybody you want me to be and be anywhere you want me to be.

Haruhi, I love you."

She stared at him for a long time. It was so long that Kyoya let go of her hand, his heart no longer quick but sinking. So that was it.

The cafe had gone silent.

"Kyoya…"

He looked up.

She gave him that famous smile of hers. The one he adored and wished he could keep forever. The one that had trapped him and made him into such a cheesy fool.

At her nod he laughed. It was relieved laughter, a laugh that conveyed happiness beyond what he imagined possible.

He stood up and scooped her into his arms. They were a perfect fit.

She hugged him back, equally happy, as unable to believe this wasn't a dream as he was.

Then he kissed her.

And she blushed until her face was redder than the tuna.

Then there was the applause and the seemingly endless cheering.

"I'm sorry I lost your ring."

"It's okay." She smiled again. "This was perfect."

He pulled her closer and nearly shouted like a crazy man when she whispered those blissful five words, "I love you Kyoya Ootori."


Any feedback? I realize it may have been way out of character for Kyoya but ahh imagine Kyoya being like that! Geezes...

Anyway thanks for reading guys :D