Author's note: Wow, chapter 10 already! Time flies, doesn't it, dear Reader? I hope you've enjoyed the ride so far. Before reading this chapter, please prepare yourself. Grab some tissues, your teddy bear, and some ice cream to soothe your broken little heart.
Trigger warning: BIG TRIGGER WARNING: Although this chapter starts out silly and fun, it grows very dark very quickly. Sky's scars are noticed by all. She talks about the rape and abuse of the foster hell. (I purposely left the details a bit vague, but it's fairly obvious anyway) The attempted suicide is also spoken of in this chapter. Please tread lightly, dear Reader. And don't worry, things will be MUCH lighter in the next chapter!
Nope, still don't own the Hosts.
Reviews and PMs are welcome as always!
-A little later-
After several very silly rounds, the boys got tired of teasing each other and settled down marginally. Sky looked around at her friends and couldn't quite stifle a giggle. Tamaki's hair was pulled up into tiny little pigtails, Hikaru was wearing far too much of Sky's lipstick, and Kyoya had been coerced into wearing eyeliner.
"You know, Kyoya, that's actually not a bad look for you. It really makes your eyes pop. Style your hair a little different, you'd totally look like a rock star."
She grinned broadly when he blushed faintly. She reached over and pinched one pink-tinted cheek.
"Just too cute! And before you say anything, yes Hikaru, you're adorable too. But I really think you need a different shade of lipstick, maybe something a little cooler, not so red."
"What? You don't think my lips are perfect and totally kissable?"
Sky let out a little snicker at his mock pout and shook her head. She actually took the time to rummage through her makeup kit before selecting a different lip tint and chucking it at the redhead.
"There, try that one. It's got just a hint of brown to it, so it isn't as brassy as the other. With your hair color and fair complexion, you need to tone down the red a bit."
Hikaru rolled his eyes at the girl. Who knew she could actually be girly? Then he shrugged and wiped off the bright lip color. After swiping on the new shade, he leaned in and made an exaggerated kissy face at her and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.
"How's this? Want to kiss me now, princess?"
Sky tilted her head to one side and then the other, studying the new color. Hrm… She blinked twice and tucked her lip between her teeth. After a moment of consideration, she leaned in close. Hikaru's eyes went wide with shock, and Sky offered a tiny smile as she laid her hand on his cheek.
"Hikaru…"
The redhead blushed and swallowed audibly. Sky even thought she felt the tiniest little shiver.
"Um. Yeah?"
"You have lipstick on your teeth, my dear."
As the boy's jaw dropped, she sat back with a wild giggle. She tried to stop, but to no avail. She stuffed her knuckles in her mouth and finally had to bite down hard to silence the hysterical laughter that kept bubbling up. After a minute of wheezing and gasping for breath, she sniffed and wiped away tears of mirth.
"That's just cold, Pixie."
"Aw, poor little monkey. I'm sorry, but I'm not going to kiss you just because you're pretty."
She grinned a little and stuck her tongue out at her friend. After a second, he grinned back, and Sky leaned over to pat him on the head.
"So wait. You really think I'm pretty, huh?"
"Um, duh. I mean, have you looked in a mirror, dude? All my boys are gorgeous."
She said it casually, with a little shrug. She yawned just then, and missed the amused glances from all sides. She rotated her shoulders and stretched her arms above her head, then rubbed her eye, not noticing the eyes locked on her in shock.
"So, what's next? What, what's everyone staring like that for? Did I turn green all of a sudden?"
"Your sleeves, Sky."
She whipped her head around to look at Takashi. As his words sank in, her already pale face blanched further, and she stared down at her arms. When she stretched, her sleeves had ridden halfway to her elbows. Oh shit. Shit shit shit SHIT! She let out a muttered string of expletives that the lads hadn't heard from her before, stunning them.
She sat and clenched her hands together in her lap, hanging her head and quaking in fear. Things had been going so well, but she just knew it was all over now. Why? Why did this have to happen?! Damnit. I knew it was too good to be true… She sighed quietly and stared at her hands, too terrified and ashamed to look up.
The whole room was silent, and Sky's breathing became ragged and shallow as her trembling grew worse. She was completely stunned when a pair of slender hands very gently tugged hers apart and held them carefully. She looked up with tear-filled eyes to see Tamaki, his own lovely eyes filled with genuine sorrow. He lifted one of her arms and examined the thin line of scar tissue.
"This is what you meant that day, isn't it? You said the scars on the back of your hand weren't the ones that were hard to talk about."
There was no judgement in his soft voice, only compassion and pain. Sky sniffled as her tears fell, and could only nod in reply. She tried to swallow past the lump in her throat, but it wasn't budging. Tamaki brought his free hand up to carefully brush away her tears before cradling her cheek gently in his palm. He spoke again, with no theatrics, no drama, just love and tenderness.
"We won't make you talk about it if you can't, ma cherie. But you know that we love you, and we're all right here for you. You can tell us anything, you know that, right?"
Sky covered his hand with her own and nodded again. She sniffed and cleared her throat roughly, twice. When she finally spoke, her voice was quiet and unsteady.
"I… I love you guys, too. I couldn't have picked better friends if I searched the whole world. I just, I… I didn't want you to find out, I was terrified that you'd leave…"
"Leave? Are you kidding?! We'd never leave you, Pixie, you're the greatest girl we've ever met!
She let out a watery laugh as Hikaru spoke, and was thoroughly shocked when both twins pushed Tamaki out of the way. The redheads wrapped their arms around her from either side and hugged her tightly. She curled an arm around each of them and held the pair close for a moment.
"We love you, Pixie. You're stuck with us!"
A small but genuine smile appeared on her tear-streaked face, and she gave the twins a squeeze.
"I love you too, silly monkeys."
Tamaki thumped the twins on their heads and shoved them both out of the way. They started to complain, but the serious look on his face stopped them in their tracks. He took Sky's face in his hands and pressed a tender kiss to her forehead.
"Je t'aime, ma belle princesse."
Sky smiled softly and shook her head the tiniest bit, then laid one hand on Tamaki's cheek and replied quietly, the French words full of emotion.
"Je t'aime aussi, mon doux petit chardonneret."
His eyes lit up and he smiled brilliantly at his friend. Then let out a little squeak of surprise when she grinned and kissed him on both cheeks before hugging him gently. He wrapped his arms around the girl and held her close.
After a moment, there was a gentle tug on her sleeve. She gave Tamaki a nudge and looked down to see Honey, his big eyes so full of sorrow they overflowed. Sky gasped and gathered the little blonde into her arms immediately.
"Oh no, Honey, don't cry. Please don't."
He placed his hands on her shoulders and looked her straight in the eye. The adorable loli-boy was gone, and a very serious look came into his eyes. When he spoke, his voice was calm and steady, without even a hint of the childlike giggle he usually employed.
"You must have been in so much pain, to do something so drastic. I wish we had known you when that happened, we could have helped. We could have saved you!"
Sky laid her hands on his cheeks and tenderly brushed away the few tears that had fallen. She offered the boy a little smile and spoke without hesitation.
"But my darling Mitsukuni, you have saved me. When I moved here, I was still so broken. But you never saw the broken pieces, or the walls I spent so much time building around my heart. You boys didn't just help me put the pieces back together, you've mended them so well that there aren't even any little cracks left. I'm whole again, because I was lucky enough to faint in a room full of valiant knights."
A slight blush came to Honey's cheeks and he smiled at his tall friend. He kissed her cheek and wrapped his arms around her neck. She hugged him close and patted his head.
"I wouldn't exactly call all of us knights, Pixie, my dear. I would point out more than one jester in the bunch."
Sky glanced up at Kyoya, who was staring pointedly at the twins and then Tamaki. She grinned and shook her head. With a quiet laugh, she tugged the serious boy down beside her. He let out a particularly undignified squeak, and Sky couldn't help the giggles that bubbled up.
"God, you're cute. But you're wrong. You are all knights, little owl. I may not have literally died, but I can't honestly say I was living the last six years. You guys didn't just mend a broken heart, you quite literally brought me back to life. I am so thankful for every moment I get to spend with you."
She offered Kyoya a little smile. After a second, he smiled back softly and put his arm around her shoulder.
"No no, little owl, that won't work. You give me a real hug right now."
She tried for a stern look, which made Kyoya's lips curve in a genuine smile before he curled his arms around Sky and hugged her gently. She held him tight for a moment before letting go with a small grin.
"See, that wasn't so hard, was it?"
"You are so odd, Pixie."
"Oh, please. You have no idea the depths of my depravity."
Kyoya chuckled quietly and shook his head at her. She flashed a cheeky little smile and bumped her forehead against his affectionately. Things were just starting to settle down, but then Tamaki made an observation that brought the atmosphere right back to serious.
"Hey, how come Kyoya and Mori-senpai aren't surprised by your scars, Pixie?"
Oh, damn. Why must he be so observant now of all times? She sighed softly and gave a little shrug, wincing when her shoulder started to ache sharply again. She cleared her throat quietly.
"Well, Tamaki dear, that would be because they knew about my scars before now. Remember the day I found out that you guys knew way more about my past than I thought? Takashi saw my scars that day, before Honey came looking for us. And Kyoya… Um… That background check was a lot more thorough than he let on."
Without a word, Takashi had come to sit beside Sky, and she was beyond grateful when he and Kyoya each took one of her hands. She entwined her fingers with theirs, drawing strength from their gentle touch. She swallowed thickly and cleared her throat again, then took a deep, trembling breath.
"You don't have to do this, Sky."
She gave Takashi a very small smile and squeezed his hand lightly.
"It's ok. The past can't hurt me anymore, not really. I'm not that scared, defenseless little girl anymore."
"No, you're not. You are incredibly strong."
He brushed his thumb over the back of her trembling hand, and she laid her head on his shoulder for the smallest moment. Then she sat up straight and took another deep breath, still clinging to the hands of her friends.
She kept her eyes down as she related the nightmarish details of the hell she went through in the foster home. Her voice wavered and completely failed for a few seconds as she described the first time her foster father, Carson, came into her room in the middle of the night. She tried to block out the horrified gasps and quiet sniffles as she described the constant terror she lived in. She had to stop a few times to clear her throat and take tiny sips from the water bottle Kyoya had handed to her. She didn't go into the most graphic detail, but the way she described those two months of hell was plenty horrifying. She finally wound down, her voice growing quieter as she spoke of the night, just one month after her twelfth birthday, she found herself in the kitchen, the way the moonlight glinted off the blade of the knife she had chosen.
"No one had believed me before, so I figured they never would. I was just the broken, grieving little girl, lashing out and transferring my grief onto a convenient target. I couldn't spend one more night in that hell. I thought, if there was a real Hell, it couldn't be any worse. I don't remember if it hurt when I finally put the knife to my wrist, but I remember the way the blood kind of gushed out. It was so bright against the white tiles, it reminded me of peppermint candies. Everything's pretty fuzzy after that, until I woke up in the psychiatric ward a couple days later."
She sniffled and glanced down at the water bottle in her hand, surprised to see it nearly empty. She wanted to say something, make a joke to break the tension, but her mind was blank. She was still racking her brain when a sudden loud crash made her whip her head up.
