Chapter Six

The Honeymoon was a touchy subject. Kyoya learned quickly that just the mention of a possible vacation would warrant him a long lecture from Chikako about her safety concerns. She had easily nursed herself back to health over the past couple of days, with the help of several medications and excessive rest, and she was as feisty as ever, her tongue quick and sharp once again. As per usual, she lashed out at her husband like a venomous snake teasing its prey.

"You must be in need of some relaxation after everything's you've been through," Kyoya pointed out, gently one night over dinner They were seated in a private room both in formal wear. Chikako had wasted no time in acquiring a new wardrobe, and she was now sitting elegantly in a scintillating blue formal gown, a diamond necklace around her neck.

She sipped her champagne then gently set the glass on the table. "We've discussed this, Kyoya," she answered, civilly. "I must lie low until the organization, Force is apprehended."

He sighed and continued to cut into his steak. "Of course, you are right, but perhaps you'll be safer somewhere exotic, where they won't be able to track you."

Chikako took a long, deep breath and looked him in the eye, carefully. "Why are you pushing this issue?"

He waved her off. "I'm not; I'm just making sure you've considered all of the possibilities."

Tilting her chin, she looked away from him and across the room at one of the expensive paintings. The brushstrokes warped from one color to the next, the pressure glopping with paint and others barely visible at all. Up close it would have been an absolute mess, but from this safe distance, it was a masterpiece. She contemplated if her own life was like that too.

Kyoya rolled his eyes at her. "And you are ignoring me like a child, I see. Fine, I won't bring up the topic again after I say this: It's not going to look good for the company if the public does not believe we are the picture perfect couple."

She turned her attention to him with disgust. "You've been talking to your father, haven't you?"

He narrowed his eyes. "I can make my own decisions, Chikako; I am not a dog that my father orders to 'sit' and 'speak' when convenient. He did mention it in passing, and it makes sense, no matter whose mouth it was spurted forth from."

She sat back in her chair, toyed with the cloth napkin in her lap. "You have to understand my position here," she begged him.

He shook his head. "I understand, but you're being stupid," he admitted, bluntly, causing her to jerk up her head with shock. "Honestly, Chikako, I let you get away with behaving like a child before because…it didn't really have any direct effect on me, I guess."

She narrowed her eyes. "But now it does?" she growled.

He sat up straighter in an unconscious attempt to appear taller than his wife. "Precisely. We're going on a vacation, the two of us, in three days. You've already packed a new wardrobe for a whole year, so I thought it was an appropriate time. It will also give you adequate time to heal, emotionally and mentally-"

"I'm not insane, Kyoya!" she snapped.

"I know," he sighed, aggravated. "You're not seeing the point to all this, are you?"

There was a long pause in which Chikako felt the fight in her retreating. She bit her lip and sucked in the constricting air around her. "Okay, Kyoya."

He blinked, all of his prepared speeches metaphorically thrown into the air, raining down around his shocked expression. "What?"

She pursed her lips. "I said, 'okay.' We can go on a vacation if you're absolutely going to explode otherwise."

He licked his lips and nodded, looking down at his plate. "Alright then. It's settled."

She averted her eyes over to the waiter who was lingering outside the door. She knew very well that Kyoya was far from being finished with his meal. Elegantly downing the rest of her champagne, she snapped her fingers twice. The server scurried in, crisp white towel draped over his forearm. "Yes miss?"

She glanced down pointedly at her wedding ring and the man before he corrected himself with a slight stutter, "P-Pardon me…ma'am."

"We're finished here," she replied, firmly in English. She tossed Kyoya a warning look and he conceded, putting down his fork when the server looked his way for confirmation.

"Yes we are. Add the expenses to our room, as always." He rose to his feet, the legs of the chair scratching lightly against the thin carpet of the room.

Chikako followed his actions and gave the waiter a soft smile, knowing exactly how wide to grin in order to charm him into submission. He smirked back and she purred, "And, as always, the food was delicious. Thank you."

He nodded, his thick London accent coating his murmurs of gratitude. "'Ave a wonderful night, ma'am. Sir."

They nodded and left the hotel restaurant. As the two filed into the elevator, Kyoya pressed the button for the penthouse quickly so no one else joined them in their ascent. "So, that was the end of the fight?" he asked his wife, cautiously.

She smiled, thinly. "I have no idea what you're talking about. We were never in a fight; we were simply having a small disagreement."

He sighed. "Chikako."

Rolling her eyes, she answered, "Yes, yes, don't worry, I'll agree to this vacation idea of yours as long as you remember to sign us up for the American transfer classes next semester."

Kyoya smiled. "Was that really all you wanted?"

Slyly, her eyes rolled his way, a slight smirk perched on her lips. "Not all I wanted, but for now…I suppose it will do."

They reached their floor and the doors slid open, revealing the darkened penthouse. Chikako breathed deeply through her nose and gulped, telling herself silently that nothing was hiding in the darkness. Kyoya walked in first, chatting about their forthcoming holiday. "First thing's first," he started, dropped their floor key on the countertop and flicking on the lights. "Where do you want to go?"

She smiled, her bucket list of places to visit flashing through her mind. She had already crossed off quite a number of destinations, but the world was still vaster than she could imagine and it wasn't getting any smaller. "Scotland," answered after a long moment of thought.

Kyoya kept walking to his work area. "Are you sure you wouldn't rather go to Italy or the Carribean islands or perhaps a Greek cruise?"

She shook her head, following him over to the living area. "I've always wanted to stay in castle like a princess. If I have to act like a queen, I might as well take the proper steps."

Kyoya chuckled, sitting at the couch and leaning toward the laptop. "Right, of course. I'll get right on the preparations, then."

Chikako sat next to him, leaning over to see the monitor. "May I help? I want to make sure you don't get anything wrong."

"I won't get anything wrong," he snipped. "But if you must, you can pick the castle we stay in, the travel guide, translator—"

Chikako scoffed and switched from Japanese to English, flawlessly. "I'll be the translator. Besides, if we're going to America, our English has to be perfect. Do you understand?"

"Yes, yes," Kyoya answered, copying her accent for practice. "I understand." English had never been his best subject, but since he had the highest marks of his entire class, that meant nothing. It was odd being around someone who was better at something academic than he, like Chikako was at English.

She leaned back in her seat. "Good."

They were quiet for a while as Kyoya typed up a business report or something else equally as dull. Chikako didn't care about the document as she lingered, mesmerized by the movement of his fingers on the keyboard. His eyes darted to the side, and he reverted back to their native tongue. "Are you going to watch me all night or come out and say what's on your mind?"

Chikako moved her gaze up to Kyoya's face, his eyes still glued to the screen. "I was just wondering why you slept out here on the couch last night instead of by my side when I was taken from my bed on our wedding night because I was sleeping alone."

Without hesitating, Kyoya replied, swiftly, "I was giving you your space, Chikako. You aren't even eighteen yet and I assumed this was still too overwhelming for you."

"So is being kidnapped and liberally drugged twice," she growled, dryly. In her head, she thought, Besides, it isn't like I've never slept with a man… She sighed. "I'm through with being a lone sleeper."

"Alright then," Kyoya answered, a slight hint of anxiety disturbing his tone of voice.

Chikako yawned. "I'm going to get cleaned up for bed then. Goodnight."

Distractedly, he mumbled a slurred, "Sleep well," as he continued typing. Chikako froze, a curiosity bubbling up inside her. Before leaving, she bent down and quickly kissed Kyoya's cheek. His fingers stopped tapping, abruptly, hovering over the keyboard in surprise. Without looking at her, he composed himself and returned to work, but that small peck had made it clear: Chikako knew how to win battles, even when they were silent.

Showered and dressed, Chikako clung to the covers of the bed. Because of the kidnapping, she would always get chills when the lights were off. She would always find her eyes darting to the window every now and then, frightened she couldn't be guarded by a comforter. Kyoya had ordered extra blankets, but they never did any good. Chikako continued to shiver the night away from the temperature and from her newfound fear.

It was close to midnight when Kyoya meandered in, wearily to find Chikako still awake. He sighed, opening up his dresser. "Why aren't you asleep?" he asked, groggily. She didn't give him an answer and he didn't prod for one. After rifling through his drawers for his night clothes, he headed into the bathroom to change.

Chikako thumped against the mattress. "This bed could be softer," she mumbled to herself. She missed her own bed at her personal Versailles-styled mansion. She missed Sonohara and Haruhi and those delicious Host Club sandwiches. Why couldn't they skip the honeymoon and go back to Japan, back to normalcy again?

He came back into the room in gray sweats and a navy t-shirt. His hair was ruffled as he yawned and lied down next to her. She turned on her side to face him as he stared up at the ceiling, frozen as a block of ice. "You forgot your glasses," she whispered. "And the lights."

He took a deep, weary breath and blew it out through his lips, slowly, color washing into his now emotive expression again. Groaning, he sat up and his knees crunched in toward his chest. He lifted the glasses from his nose and closed his eyes, lingering in the oddly casual sitting position. After a few moments of squeezing the bridge of his nose, he placed the spectacles on the side table and clicked off the lamp beside him.

Chikako continued to stare at his profile as he lied on his back, staring up into the darkness. "What were you doing before?" she asked softly. "Out in the foyer, I mean."

"Expense calculations."

"You could have saved that for tomorrow," she pointed out.

He didn't answer, unwittingly signaling that she was right. It was enough for her as she rolled on her back and closed her eyes. Even though there was a foot separating them on the bed, Chikako felt safer somehow. She drifted off immediately.

"Hurry up, Chikako!" Kyoya barked, checking his watch for the fourth time that morning. It was early and his young wife had slept in longer than he had liked. They needed to catch their plane, but at the pace she was going at, they were going to end up in coach. "Chikako!"

"Oh shut up," she snapped back from the bedroom, thumping around as she undoubtedly packed all of her things at the last minute.

Kyoya dropped his bags to the floor and stomped over toward the door. "Would you like some help-?"

"No thank you!" she replied, tartly. Another series of thuds echoed throughout the penthouse followed by an orchestra of parading clothes no doubt being dumped into a suitcase.

He scoffed at the noises. "Are you even paying attention to what you are packing?"

Another scuffle. "Of course I am paying attention, you idiot! Do you think I would pack a bundle of schmo clothing or something? Sheesh, Kyoya!" She let out another frustrated groan. "Where in hell is my medication?"

Kyoya scoffed and walked over to the kitchen, mumbling, "Obviously not in your possession from the way you're acting."

"I heard that," his wife snapped. He turned at the sound. The door had slammed against the wall as it swung open. Chikako stood, glaring in the doorway, and was lugging three heavy suitcases with clothes spilling from the unzipped sides.

Kyoya sighed and walked over to her. "Look at you. You're a mess!"

Chikako shoved two of the suitcases at him, stubbornly. When he finished struggling with them, she smirked, dryly and announced, "I'm done packing," in an exaggerated sweet tone.

Her husband smiled back, patiently. "Excellent. The car is out front and there are bell hops waiting to be rung up. We'll need help with all your new clothes you seemed to acquire so quickly in two days like the world was about to run out of fabric."

Chikako jutted her chin out, indignantly. "I hardly see how that last bit was pertinent," she snapped.

Kyoya sighed as he pressed the elevator button and the doors opened automatically. He put his hand lightly on the small of her back and let her in front of him, muttering, dry, "Well this going to be a fun vacation…"

A/N: Sorry it took so long to get this update posted. How were all your Winter Breaks? Did y'all get some shopping, sleeping, and/or hard partying done? Haha let me know! Also let me know what you thought of the chapter and of the story so far! Nothing really happened in this chapter, I know, so I don't expect too many reviews for it, but I do love reading every one of your opinions! :)

~Kit Koko