( A/N ) I haven't been writing much, and I'm sorry. I have a lot on my mind. I'm getting cabin fever or something because I haven't left the house too much and I'm not in a play or anything so I have nothing to occupy my mind. Well, I do have something... I'm moving to Australia so mostly my days consist of packing, avoiding my mother who is like someone who drank twenty cups of coffee then tried to play tetris on "hard", and sleep. I write at every chance I get, and usually that doesn't last long. I am VERY sorry, and I'll do my best to keep it coming on both of my stories.

Eleven - The Trip Part 2

Two days later, on the twenty second, Tamaki still wouldn't let me anywhere near the ocean. I tried to dip my toe in a few hours ago, and Tamaki practically tackled me to get me away.

Kyoya and I kept up the search for Souta's dad, still in my and Tamaki's hotel room, so the only thing that happened was the goodbye handshake. Even with just a handshake, my heart raced. I hid it from Tamaki that I felt like that.

The trip had been fantastic so far. It was beautiful. We had the beach all to ourselves. Haruhi had what might be called a tan. Our skin was less then one shade darker then before, but it was worth it. We went for walks a lot and we walked around the city a lot and I got many souvenirs for Mom, Dad, and Souta. I think I got more for Souta then for me.

Even though all of this was fun, and I was having the best time ever, I never stopped thinking about my brother. I missed him. He needed someone, and I wasn't there. A few times, I have wished that I was back home, holding my brother close, reassuring him that everything was okay. I couldn't imagine being Souta and not knowing who, out of hundreds of detectives was my father. No matter how hard I try, I can't fully place myself in his shoes.

Later in the afternoon, while the boys played around on the beach and Haruhi read, I moved off to the side where no one could hear me and I took out my phone for the first time since I left. I dialed Souta's phone number and let it ring.

"Aren't you on vacation?" he answered with.

"Yes, I am. I was just missing you." I said, sitting on the warm sand.

"I miss you, too."

"How's the search for your dad?"

"It's going well. I've found ten potential fathers. It's been going so well, in fact, I am at the airport right now."

"You're at the airport?"

"You guys finished your scans very quickly and I finished as well. All of the men who could be me father all live in the same general vicinity, so I'm going to check it out."

"Oh my god, that is so exciting! Good for you!" I exclaimed.

"I called all of them and they agreed to meet me. I didn't say anything about my possibly being their son."

"Wow. That is amazing. Do Mom and Dad know?"

"No. If they call I'm going to tell them that I'm looking for a school."

"Good plan. Have you talked to them at all?"

"Mom called to check up on me. I'd call her if I were you."

"I will when I hang up with you."

"Alright."

"So," I trailed off, almost not wanting to ask the question. "What if your dad is dead?"

"I thought about that. I think if he was dead, then I'd leave home to go to school. I don't think I could handle Matthew anymore." It struck me that he called Dad "Matthew."

"I'd miss you."

"I'd want you to come with me when you're ready."

"I would go with you." I smiled. Then, there was some unpleasant noises in the background.

"I have to go, Demi. My flight is boarding. I'll call you when I get there, okay?"

"I'll keep my phone on me."

"Good. And call Mom."

"I will. I love you."

"I love you, too, Sis." I could hear his smile.

I hung up the phone, grinning like an idiot. I was happy for my brother. In fact, I was excited. Would he find his dad? God, I hoped so. I wanted this more than anything else right now. So, still grinning like an idiot, I called my mother.

She checked up on me, asked me how the trip was, and told me that the meeting was boring and she wished that she could be here with me, but she wanted me to have fun. Once we hung up, Tamaki ran over. He looked a bit excited as well.

"Let's go for a walk." he said.

"That sounds fun!" I exclaimed, "I was about to go inside and get my sunglasses. I think I left them."

"Of course. We'll wait."

I was going to look for my sunglasses, but I was also going to check on Kyoya, who stayed inside today, and tell him about Souta. I ran to the hotel room, unlocked it, and pushed inside. It was only when I closed the door and moved farther in the room when I saw that Kyoya was there, looking for something.

"What the heck are you doing here?" I asked and his head snapped up.

"Oh." he said, ""I left my notebook here last night."

I picked it up off of my side table. "Here." I held it out to him, "I was going to give it to you tonight at dinner."

"Thank you."

"How did you get in?"

"I asked the front desk."

Kyoya leaned on the desk and looked into the clerks eyes. "I will hunt you and your family down. I am an Ootori and very powerful. Now give me my room key." he growled in a low voice.

"I see. I just came because I needed to find my sunglasses." I said as I started to look around.

"I'll leave you to it, then."

"Alright." When he reached the door, I remembered.

"Oh!" I exclaimed, "Kyoya, I meant to tell you."

"Yes?" He turned around, dropping the door handle.

"Souta has narrowed it down to ten people who could be his father. He's currently on a plane heading to meet them."

"That's good." Kyoya said coolly, "Keep me updated."

"Of course." I eyed me sunglasses near my pillow. Figures. "So, we're going for a walk along the beach. Do you want to come?"

"No, but thank you for asking. I have a few things to sort through."

"Okay. Well, if you change your mind..."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Together, we left the hotel room, but we walked in opposite directions. I hurried back outside, thankful for the warm air. It was a bit cold in the hotel, so being back in the sun was heaven. I ran back to Tamaki and the others and we started the beach walk.

Haruhi and the twins walked together, the twins making fun of her mercilessly, Honey and Mori walked together, and Tamaki and I walked together, but a few feet apart. Unless we told them, no one would know that we were engaged.

It feels a little weird to be engaged at such a young age. I can't even begin to comprehend married life. Having his kids. My eyes widened a bit at the thought, unable to imagine it. I looked over at him, not really focused on anything else but the beach in front of him. If we do have kids, I want them to have his eyes.

Wow. Now I'm even thinking about the future. And not even with the one I'm in love with. I guess I could love Tamaki. Our marriage is assured and our parents are a little too excited about this. My mother doesn't seem very enthused, but my father seems to be pushing it along very quickly. Maybe I think that I can love Tamaki because my parents want me to.

I looked at Tamaki again. He was very attractive, and I could probably be happy with him, but it might be a bit... forced on myself. I'd force myself to be happy. Of course I like Tamaki, but I can't marry him. I can't imagine it. But... can I imagine being married to Kyoya?

I closed my eyes for a minute and thought. Would I be able to? And it came flooding to me. Our child, who's face is unclear, would have red hair and dark, dark eyes. We would both be doctors at the same hospital. We would come home to our adorable child and we would watch Disney movies with Japanese dubbing. We would live in a huge house, and every holiday, we would go visit Souta and his wife and father in some rich exciting house and his child and my child would run around in the backyard the size of Hawaii. I can say that proudly as someone who's been there.

Then, I would have a son named Souta and he'll have my eyes and his fathers hair. Kyoya would spoil him to no end. Then, both of our children would grow to be rich and even more successful then we were.

"Demiya," suddenly his hands were on my shoulders and I stopped walking. I opened my eyes. The water was lapping up against my toes, "Don't go into the water."

"I won't. I was just thinking and I guess I zoned out." I laughed, trying to be lighthearted.

"What were you thinking about?" Tamaki asked and we straightened our course.

"Just... life." I said, not wanting to look at him, but doing it anyway.

"What about it?"

"How... different it is."

"It has changed a lot."

"Yeah. It's going to change even more."

"Yes... it is."

"I have a feeling that this is going to be a very short engagement." I said, looking down at the sand in front of me.

"Me, too."

The sun was starting to set, the light turning the water golden. Our shadows were long and the temperature went down a few degrees. We decided to turn back and head back to the hotel for dinner. As we walked back, a light breeze blew and made everyone in the light look beautiful. I tried to imagine Kyoya walking next to me, holding my hand, smiling. The light would add gold to his dark hair.

In a moment, I realized that Tamaki was standing there with his hand in mine, smiling, and his golden hair shimmering. Demiya Suoh... It had a ring to it, I'll admit. Demiya Ootori... I whispered both names to myself. Tamaki didn't seem to hear me, but his smile faltered a bit out of the corner of my eye. Maybe it was just my imagination.

I couldn't decide which one I liked better. I had been doing this for years, and even with my impending marriage, I couldn't decide which one I liked. We're just back to square one again. This isn't going to work out, is it? It's just going to keep going in circles, and I am never going to choose between them. Even if one is being chosen for me, it's not helping any.

That night, even, as I laid next to him, watching him sleep, I knew I was never going to choose. I might as well not like either of them like that. No... I couldn't start with those thoughts. It was Kyoya and it would always be Kyoya. Right?

"Demiya," his eyes opened and he looked at me.

"Yes?" I asked.

"Let's get married."

"I'm sorry?"

"Let's get married." Tamaki sat up, "Let's just stop with the suspense and pretend we fell in love on the trip and want to get married in two weeks."

"So, we're going to get married in two weeks?"

"If our parents want us to. I mean, we might as well just get it over with and pretend we would die without each other." Tamaki looked into my eyes. He didn't sound terribly enthusiastic about it.

"But-"

"I mean, we're just postponing the in-enviable." My words... "We might as well just get it over with. I don't see what we're waiting for."

"We're sixteen." I said, "We're waiting for age and maturity."

"They this us so mature they're getting us married."

"Ten years from now." I stated.

"Let's just tell our parents we can't wait. We might as well."

"Yeah." I agreed, "Let's just get married."

I thought of Kyoya. This engagement was hard enough for him. Now... marriage. That was going to kill him. It would probably kill all of us, to be honest. Kyoya... would he even be able to show up. Even if Tamaki asked him to be his best man, I doubt he would show. I don't blame him, and neither would Tamaki.

"Alright. Two weeks it is." Tamaki said.

Then, without warning, he put a hand on my shoulder, leaned over, and gently set his lips over mine.

~!~!~!~!~!~

Three days later, on the last day of the trip, Tamaki and I still hadn't told anyone else that we agreed to get married. We hadn't given it a second thought at all, which I thought was surprising. We hadn't even talked about it. I could just see it in his eyes every time we looked at each other.

Tamaki wasn't acting like himself. He was more serious when we were together. When it was just us, he would hardly speak and when other people were around, he wouldn't talk to me. When he was on the beach or by the pool with the boys or Haruhi, he was himself. Goofy, a bit of a pervert, and all of the good things about him.

I didn't know why he was practically ignoring me. We had just agreed to get married. He was treating it like a business deal. I would try to talk to him tonight before bed, I suppose. If we ever go to bed.

This morning, the manager came by our table during breakfast and informed us of a teen-only pool party tonight, free all-expenses paid. We decided that it would be fun to go as an end-of-trip finale, so we decided to go. So, today, we all laid out in the sun, including Kyoya. I had Kyoya on one side of me, and Haruhi on the other. Tamaki was next to Haruhi and they were indulging in a conversation about the Host Club and what to possibly do next.

As I laid on my stomach, I looked over at Kyoya. He was laying on his back, his eyes closed behind his glasses, and his hands behind his head. I wished I could find something to talk about. Something. Anything. Anything except my impending marriage. I couldn't do that to him. Not now. Not ever.

Six years from now, Kyoya and I will meet each other passing from one class to another at medical school. I'll be married, and I'll look at him and I'll remember how much I loved him all those years ago when we were in high school. He'll look at me like he's managing to get along and we will both pretend we are extremely happy, and then we'll only see each other at Christmas parties or pass each other on campus a few times, and we won't exchange more then ten words a conversation.

It was a depressing thought, but I knew it was going to happen. If Kyoya and I had kissed, then things might have been different, but it's like this. A former crush that is going to make things awkward.

Suddenly, Kyoya's eyes opened and he looked at me. For the longest time, we just looked at each other. I didn't care that Tamaki was next to Haruhi, and up on his elbows watching us while talking to her. I didn't care about anything else.

"Save me a dance tonight?" he asked.

"Sorry?"

"Save me a dance. There is going to be dancing tonight. We have never danced with music where it was a real dance before."

"Oh, of course." I smiled, "I'll save you a dance."

"Thank you."

And that concludes Kyoya Ootori's speaking portion of the afternoon.

A few minutes later, Tamaki got up and headed towards the ocean. Something was obviously on his mind. I waited a few minutes for Haruhi to get up, but she just started talking to Hikaru and Kaoru, so I got up and followed Tamaki. I followed him down the beach for quite a distance until I finally stopped him.

"Hey." I called, and he turned around, "Talk to me."

"Talk to you about what?"

"I don't know. What ever is on your mind. I mean, this is my job."

"Demiya, I don't know what to think."

"About what?"

"Us. I'm in love with someone else and I'm willing to marry you. It's bothering me."

"Me too."

"Do you love me?"

"As a friend, of course." I said.

"Me, too. But... don't you think it seems weird that we've kissed twice now?"

"Four times." I said, flashing back to that night. Nothing major happened. Just a very long kiss. Far longer then two minutes.

"See, you counted. So did I."

"So, we're crushing on each other?" I asked.

"A famous American actor said, 'If you fall in love with someone and then you start to love someone else, then choose the second person. If you really loved the first person, then you wouldn't have fallen in love with the second person.'"

"I don't love you like that."

"What do you want to do right now, Demi."

"Talk about it."

"All I want to do is kiss you."

"This isn't you, Tamaki." I felt obliged to let him know, "When you're with me, you're not you."

"I know. That's because I'm confused."

"How about, we kiss one more time. That could either make things better, or we will just have to wait until marriage to go deeper because you won't tell me who you're in love with."

"They're watching."

"What?"

"Haruhi, Kyoya, Hikaru, all of the them... they're watching us. I can't kiss you."

"Walk with me." I took his arm and pulled him with me for a few minutes before releasing him. We were walking farther away.

"I think I love Haruhi." Tamaki said, and I stopped.

"Haruhi?" I grinned.

"Yes."

"Good. I think she loves you, too. You should do something about it."

"I can't."

"I think you can. Tonight, while I'm dancing with Kyoya, you dance with Haruhi. Of course she'll say yes."

"Dance... with Haruhi?" Tamaki seemed lost in thought.

"I think if you dance with her, when a slow song comes on, you won't want to kiss me anymore."

"Why?"

"You two need a moment. A moment where something could happen. Whether something happens or not is up to you."

"That's a good idea." Tamaki looked over at me.

"Thank you." I smiled, "So keep it in mind."

~!~!~!~!~

We expected the party to be lame, but after eight o' clock, it really got interesting. The music picked up, people jumped in the glowing pool with multi-colored lights, the dancing started, soda was being drunk by that gallon, and there were some pretty intense make-out sessions going on. I was surprised that the Host Club stayed as long as they did, but Haruhi and I were having fun.

We jumped into the crowd of bouncing teenagers and we only stopped a few times for drinks to rehydrate ourselves. We danced for a good two hours, and then, a slow dance came on. Haruhi and I sat on the side of the pool, dipping our feet in the water. I glanced over at Tamaki who was watching us. I nodded slightly and he took a deep breath and advanced.

I stared into the rippling water, shining in many different colors. Was Tamaki that slow? It took him a good sixty seconds, but I finally heard his voice.

"Do you want to dance, Haruhi?"

"You... want to dance with me?" Haruhi asked softly.

"Of course." Tamaki said lightly.

Haruhi and Tamaki took hands and she stood up and moved onto the dance floor. I moved over to the table where the Host Club sat, looking slightly bored, but everyone but Kyoya was eyeing the dance floor. I pulled my dress over my head to be in my swimsuit and I hurried over to the pool and jumped in.

The cool water enveloped me, gravity pulled my into the depths and then I raised my head above water, my feet still touching. I can't deny that I was nervous as hell, but I powered through it. When I looked back, Kyoya looked nervous, but Tamaki and Haruhi had their arms around each other, and they were looking at each other like no one else was around. I moved to the edge, farthest away from everything and I turned around and put my arms up on the edge.

I observed everything from here. The Host Club waiting for a fast song, the people in the pool wading around, the couples dancing, and Tamaki kissing Haruhi. I grinned. Haruhi looked shocked, but Tamaki pulled away for a minute, then Haruhi kissed him. I climbed out of the pool pretending not to see and headed to the hot tub a few meters away. It had a purple glow to it.

I let the hot water wrap me in the warmth. I sat on the little ledge and leaned against the wall of the small pool. I closed my eyes, enjoying the water moving over my body. A few minutes later, I sensed another person getting in with me. I opened my eyes. Kyoya sunk down to sit across from me. He took off his glasses and put them by his head on the concrete of the poolside.

"Why did you jump in the pool like that earlier?"

"Because. I knew I could touch the ground." I stated, "I was nervous, but I got out quickly. Give me credit for that at least." I closed my eyes and sunk back.

"I'm just worried about you."

"Thank you." I smiled, "But... I don't especially need to be worried over."

"Of course you do. You're going through a lot."

"I am going through a lot, but... it's going to become a lot simpler soon."

"How so?"

"Tamaki and I are going to ask to get married sooner when we get home." I opened my eyes. Kyoya's face paled.

"What? Why?" Kyoya asked, his voice slightly weaker.

"We just decided to get it over with."

"Demiya..."

"There's nothing we can do to get out of it, so we decided to just do it. We haven't told anyone yet, so don't let on that you know."

"But... you can't." he switched sides to sit next to me.

"Yes, I can. I have to."

"No, you don't."

"I'm going to. There's nothing you can say that's going to change my mind."

Kyoya kissed me.

Did you catch that?

Me neither...

He put a hand on the back of my head and kissed me for just a few seconds. "But... is there something I can do?" he asked and kissed me again. It took me a few seconds to really comprehend what just happened. After a few seconds, my eyes closed my eyes and I kissed him back. I put one hand on his shoulder, then my other hand on his other shoulder, and soon both of my arms were all the way around his neck.

Kyoya's skilled lips moved over my moderately experienced ones. His arm snaked around my waist and pulled our bodies together. We parted only to twist our heads and get a breath of air before our lips were practically dancing together. It was like I had died and gone to heaven. A real kiss with feeling behind it felt... good. Sparks were flying, it seemed and I never wanted to stop, but Kyoya reluctantly pulled away. He pulled his lips from mine and kissed me one, two, five short times before pulling all the way away and looking down, dropping the hand on the back of my head to my shoulder.

"Are you convinced yet?" he whispered.

"I don't think so." I said, "Just a bit more..."

~!~!~!~!~

The jacuzzi bathtub felt fantastic with bubbles right after a dip in the pool. I'd washed my hair, and the rest of my body before I just sunk down in the stirring water. My eyes closed, but I wasn't the least bit tired.

Kyoya and I had kissed for a longer time then I'd like to admit. I kind of hoped that Tamaki didn't see us kissing. I would probably feel a bit guilty. The kiss probably looked intense, but Kyoya was very good and sweet and he was very careful and considerate. Just thinking about it made me want to kiss him again.

I knew I was going to like kissing Kyoya, I thought as I drained the bath and dried off, I just didn't know it would be like that. I could have never imagined it like that. His lips... As I stood in front of the mirror, I gently touched my lips, remembering the feeling.

I was still feeling them when I pulled on my pajama's and went over to the bed. Tamaki was already there, reading a book. I didn't bother with the title. I got under the covers and picked up my book, The Da Vinci Code, from the side table. This book was fantastic, and I was surprised I even let it leave my hands. It was really good.

"Demiya, I... might have kissed Haruhi."

"I have been waiting for the day." I admitted, opening my book.

"Really?"

"Of course." I looked over at him to meet his eyes, "I'm not stupid. I've known for a while."

"Huh..."

"So, do you want to kiss me?" I asked.

"No."

~!~!~!~!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Haruhi laid in bed, her hands to her lips. She could hardly believe what just happened. A kiss... a romantic one at that. With... Tamaki. Her first kiss with a boy was with Tamaki. She could have never imagined that he would kiss her.

Of course, she'd wanted him to, but never imagined that it would be like that. It... was perfect. Haruhi smiled for a moment, then remembered what he had said to her.

"I'm getting married."

Haruhi cried for the first time in a long time.

Tamaki looked over at his fiance. She was reading her book like nothing happened. Every once in a while, she would gasp, but otherwise, she was silent. He had seen them kiss. As he held Haruhi close, he turned to just the right angle and saw them accidentally.

Her arms were wrapped around his neck and he was holding her as close as they would go. Part of him died a bit inside, and another, bigger, part of him was happy for them. They finally got what they had been longing for so long. So, he kissed Haruhi once more, and she didn't seem to protest.

Kyoya was happy, he couldn't deny it, but he was also sad. It may be the last kiss he'll ever have with her, and that just wouldn't do.

For a minute, he thought about Souta instead, trying to distract himself. How was he? Has he found his father? Maybe he should call him to see how he was doing. No... it would probably be odd. Kyoya would wait until the morning.

Man, he missed Demiya already.

(Oh, man, you are going to LOVE the next chapter.)