Shana stood up, pushing her chair back so violently that it wobbled and almost fell. She gathered her cutlery and crockery and walked towards the kitchen, deliberately avoiding his gaze.

"Let's go for a walk, " she said stiffly when she came out. He knew he'd broached a sensitive topic, but he'd never expected her to react this strongly. Grabbing their jackets – it was chilly, and she was obviously distracted.

Before the stepped out, Kyoya handed her her jacket, and she accepted it wordlessly, giving him a silent smile of thanks.

They walked side-by-side along the beach quietly for about a kilometre, as Shana tried to gather the courage to tell him what she had to say. She had never told anyone what she was about to tell Kyoya, partially because she didn't want them to look at her any differently, but also because she didn't want to dredge up memories.

Kyoya watched her out of the side of his eye, wishing he knew what she was thinking. This was one of the few times when he didn't have a clue what was going to come next, and he found he didn't like the feeling at all. Why was it only Shana that could tie him in knots like that?

Shana abruptly sat down on a rocky outcrop, staring at the ocean, her eyes deep inky pools of mystery as she frantically tried to sort all her memories out so she could tell a coherent story, instead of the jumbled mess that they had become where she'd shoved them into the back of her mind.

"It's a long story," she finally said, and winced at the clichéd beginning. Still, what did it matter? She took a deep breath before speaking again. "Well, my parents wanted a son. I was, from the time of my creation, a disappointment to them. My father wanted an heir, and regarded me as a failure. He didn't want to have to spend more time than he had to looking at what he saw as the biggest failure of his life, so he started spending more and more time away from home.

"My mother resented me because they were a loving couple before I was born. She blamed it all on me being the wrong gender. So she was cruel and abusive to me, sometimes forgetting to feed me, and slapping me around without much provocation. If I so much as argued with her over anything, even my bedtime, I would be smacked.

"As soon as I was old enough, they hired nannies to do everything for me – take me out, feed me, and buy me clothes, though never the extravagance that they reserved only for themselves. I bought clothes not at Gucci Baby, or Bonpoint, but at little shops in Harajuku, and each piece cost about a thousand yen. Compare that to what they were spending on themselves – Gucci, Chanel, Diesel, and all sorts of imported brands.

"Of course, there were times when they had to show off what a loving family we were when they needed to invite people over for business dinners and the like. I liked those the best because although I knew it was fake, for that period of time I could pretend like we were a real family and they really cared about me, because they'd hug me and joke with me and they'd even go buy me a nice outfit to show everyone how well they took care of me."

Shana turned to look at Kyoya, to see how he was taking her story. She could detect no expression on his face, which worried her somewhat. Was he going to do something stupid?

Unbeknownst to her, Kyoya was struggling with a maelstrom of angry emotions – how could her parents have treated her so coldly and callously? He was about to open his mouth to say something, but thought better of it, and anyway, Shana had started talking again.

"Still, I tried to make them love me. I was good, I ate all my vegetables, I was the smartest girl in class. I scored the best for every exam, and I tried to be as sweet to them as I could." Shana swallowed, remembering the little girl she'd been then, starved and desperate for parental affection.

"Then, when I was seven, a miracle finally occurred. My mother somehow managed to give birth to a healthy baby boy. My father had his heir, and my mother had redeemed herself in his eyes. They became the quintessential little family. From then on, they were no longer mean or violent to me – they just ignored me.

"As a result of that, I suppose, I became very competitive in school, because that was the only time where I could feel that I was significant to anyone. I didn't mind getting a seventy-four percent on a test if everyone else got seventy-three. That made some people very resentful towards me, and I was rather isolated.

"I was just fine with that, because by that time I was pretty independent anyway. Still, I did feel a twinge of envy when I saw the other girls walking around, laughing and giggling in their cliques. And it was kind of lonely. But I got used to it.

"Well, my family couldn't care less about how I fared in school, but I couldn't go around getting pregnant and everything, or creating big scandals that would potentially harm the family's reputation. They would still have to show the world what a nice and bonded family we were because it was expected – after all, who wants to do business with someone who treats their children badly when there are so many others? They would take us out on outings and holidays, and after taking a few pictures, they would leave me to my own devices. They would also tell me about the horrors of unwed pregnancy, and insinuate that if I were to have sex out of wedlock everyone would lose all respect for me. I don't really know why I listened to them, but I always thought that you had to be married or something to have sex.

She fingered her hair. "And did you wonder why I dyed my hair? Well, at the end of high school, I was really tired of the digs I got for being Plain Jane, so I decided to try being a blonde, to see if blondes really have more fun. It was a whim, but I think it worked pretty well. Now I have some good friends," she said softly, warmth blossoming inside her as she thought of Kaori and Haruhi.

Having finished her story, she turned to Kyoya, wondering how he would take it. Would his gaze, which once smouldered at her with desire, now change to a pitying one? She had meant it when she'd said she was fiercely independent, and that included a pride that would not take kindly to being pitied by anyone. If he reacted that way, could she deal with it? She had a feeling that she couldn't stay with anyone who didn't look at her as an equal.

She was almost afraid to look at Kyoya for fear of what she would see in his eyes.

She didn't need to. Kyoya turned towards her, tipped her chin up, and kissed her gently. "What they did doesn't matter," he murmured to her against her lips. "You have me, and all your friends, and no one is going to judge you based on what your asshole parents did."

Buoyed by his assurances, Shana smiled as she flung her arms around his neck and kissed him back. "You are the best boyfriend ever," she whispered in his ear, before kissing him again.

The kiss quickly grew more heated, as their passion was still new and sharp. Kyoya's tongue thrust gently into Shana's mouth, further igniting Shana's passions.

Before things got too heated, Kyoya tore his mouth from Shana's. "We can't, not here," he gasped, his breathing laboured with arousal and restraint. He wanted to bear her down and take her right there, on the sand, but he knew that the sand would get everywhere, and that would be uncomfortable for the both of them tomorrow.

Giggling like children, the two raced back to the villa, more out of urgency to feel each other pressed against themselves, than out of a desire to win the race. When they got back, Kyoya and Shana helped each other out of their jackets, and then moved to the bedroom.

"Wait," Shana said, as a thought abruptly struck her. "The birth control…" she trailed off, knowing Kyoya would understand. He smiled at her reassuringly. "Don't worry. I got my housekeeper to get some condoms. Tomorrow you should go and get morning-after pills if it'll make you feel safer."

With that, he walked to the table, where a pack of condoms rested. He shook them, suddenly feeling very reluctant to use them, and carried them to the bedside table, before taking her in his arms again.

That night, their lovemaking was sweet and gentle, Kyoya trying his best to show her that he cared for her.

He forced himself to use birth control that night, although for the first time, he bitterly resented the thin layer separating the two of them. He managed to bring the both of them to a rousing climax despite it, though, and some time after they had both reached their peaking, he recovered enough to stand on shaky legs and dispose of the condom, as well as clean himself up some.

He returned to the bed and snuggled against Shana, hugging her to him, desiring the physical contact in a way that was not carnal in intent.

As Shana burrowed into Kyoya's warmth, and felt that someone truly cared for her, she felt the bitterness that had hardened into a hard ball in her heart from the way her parents had treated her when she was a child melt away, to be replaced by a bliss that flooded her insides with a warm feeling, almost as if she was being dipped in honey.

Long after she'd fallen asleep, though, Kyoya sat awake, pondering the changes that Shana had wrought in him. While they were not all bad, some of them certainly were so great as to be alarming. He stroked Shana's back as he reflected, and the changes in him disturbed him more and more, as he thought about them.

Hey guys!~ Yay, I finished this big, important chappie! I'm sorry there's no lemon though, I'm still worn out from writing the previous one. Haha. (: Hope you enjoyed, please R&R! And no, I'm not anywhere near done with them, this story is going to be longer than First Love, definitely! And I'm going to be skipping time in a few chappies, so be on the lookout and stay fast on the uptake! I really hope this story turns out well, it combines a few of my fave elements in a love story! 3 Haha.

Love,

Peachy Hikaru