Chapter Seven

Chikako was dozing off next to him and Kyoya had to shift his weight to support her head on his shoulder when she slumped his way. He touched her hand lightly and she jerked awake, almost bumping his chin. He whispered an apology, but she shook her head, dismissing him. Yawning over the roar of the airplane, she stretched her arms in front of her. The windows were still clammed down to block out any light and from the dimmed lights above, Chikako figured it must have been night time.

They had been flying around more times than Chikako liked. Instead of taking a train up to Scotland, they had flown down to Milan to straighten out several business affairs first. Chikako had whined about how this "vacation" was lacking, but Kyoya would always answer with a swift, "Be patient."

"Are we almost there?" Chikako now asked, sleepily.

Kyoya was closer to the aisle, reading. Without looking up from his book, he answered, "Almost."

"What's this?" she asked, peeking over his arm to see the text.

"A novel."

She sighed at his dry nature. "I hate you," she mumbled, simply.

Kyoya chuckled. "I'm taking you to Scotland to stay in a castle and you hate me? How spoiled."

She rolled her eyes and sat back. Her stomach rumbled with both excitement and hunger. She couldn't help smiling to herself, slightly. "I need something to eat."

"I believe there is a menu in the pocket of the seat in front of you," Kyoya murmured, flipping a page of his book.

She wrinkled her nose as she searched the pocket. "Oh joy, airplane food."

She ended up ordering steak and potatoes, and when she was polishing them off, her husband suddenly asked, "Did you know your attacker?"

She nearly choked on her food. "E-Excuse me?"

"It's been bothering me, is all," Kyoya explained, quickly.

Flustered, Chikako stuttered, "N-No, I did not. Of course I didn't!"

Kyoya cocked a skeptical brow. "Really? Are you sure-?"

"Quite sure," she snapped, closing her eyes and the conversation. Kyoya muttered a half-hearted apology and went back to reading and rolling his eyes when she wasn't looking. Chikako stared down at her lap for a while before quietly surprising her husband with, "Sorry for snapping. It's just a…touchy subject."

There was a long moment before Kyoya said, "Doesn't matter now," and that was that. Kyoya never liked useless arguments and Chikako never understood which arguments were useless. She loved debating; she loved being right. Kyoya loved being right without having to debate. They sat back in their seats, feeling the turbulence of the trip setting in.

To break the silence, strategically without looking at him, Chikako asked, "What's your favorite taste?"

He looked her way and she could feel his quizzical eyes stroking her skin. "My favorite…taste?"

She looked down at her fingers, eyes narrow in a forced nonchalant manner as she repeated the question, adding, "Mine is anything sweet."

"Oh, I see," Kyoya mumbled. After a pause, he answered, "I supposed anything spicy."

Chikako finally looked up at him with a smirk. "Have you ever had Indian food?"

He nodded. "Of course-"

"No, I mean, real Indian food," she countered.

He sighed. "Yes, but where is this going?"

She rolled her eyes. "It doesn't have to go anywhere. It's chit-chat. It's generally what normal people do to better understand the other. In the U.K., my friends and I called it Twenty Questions Short of the Spanish Inquisition."

"That's a drastic name," Kyoya replied.

"Well, Twenty Questions for short then. We just take turns asking questions and we both have to respond to the question asked."

"So, it's my turn, I take it?"

"Yes, and we both have to answer."

He rolled his eyes. "This game is absurd."

"You're absurd. Now play!" Chikako ordered with a smile on her face. "Come on, it won't be as bad as you think, trust me."

"Is there a point system or something?"

Chikako scoffed. "Why are you so obsessed with winning?"

"I'm not. I'm just curious about the legitimacy of this game."

"Ask me a question, idiot," she snapped, and so he did. They turned toward each other, Chikako lacing one leg over the other, and the game began.

"How many servants have you fired to date?" he asked.

"Nine."

"Two."

"Damn, you're nice. Which planet would you live on if you could?"

Kyoya wrinkled his nose. "What kind of question-?"

"Just answer it. And you can't say Earth because that's cheating."

"Oh fine. Jupiter, I guess."

"Why?"

"Can you ask, 'why'?"

Chikako shrugged. "Sure you can."

He raised an eyebrow. "Now you're just making up these rules."

She gasped, dramatically. "I am not!"

He smirked but answered her with, "I would live on Jupiter because of its moons. They're rather fascinating. It's your turn to answer and ask a question."

"Venus, because it's supposedly run by all women."

He scoffed. "Where the hell did you learn that?"

"It's common knowledge."

"No it's not!"

The game became more heated and, in spite of himself, Kyoya was having fun. He laughed at all of Chikako odd questions and she poked fun at how uncreative his were. Before they knew it, the plane had landed in Edinburgh Airport and the attendant was telling them to collect their things. Kyoya grabbed his bag from under his seat and Chikako stretched her arms above her. "Well that was a nice flight."

He looked back at her over his shoulder. "Really?"

"Yeah, why do you seem so surprised?" Chikako snapped, standing up and following him out.

"Because you're usually complaining instead of complimenting."

She glared. "Do you want me to complain?"

He turned away from her to shuffle down the aisle and out of the plane, a smile on his face as he answered, "Well, it would certainly make me more comfortable since it's what I'm used to."

"Do you think I'm deaf, Kyoya?" she growled. Her tone abruptly changed as she courteously thanked the stewardess for a lovely flight. They descended the long ramp and headed toward the baggage claim, all the while arguing about which type of transportation they should take: train or taxi.

"I'm just saying, a taxi is much cozier and less…grimy."

Kyoya scoffed, loudly, lugging their bags onto a cart. "I beg to differ; trains, especially the one I would book us for, are just as luxurious as airplanes, if not more so."

Chikako, through with fighting because she secretly knew he was right, conceded with a loud sigh. "Fine, fine, we'll take the train."

"Naturally," Kyoya responded as apathetically as he could with a victorious smile tugging the corner of his mouth.

She glared at him and landed a soft blow to his arm. "Don't get cocky, !"

"I'll try not to," he murmured as he reached for Chikako's hand and steered them toward the exit. When they were outside, he dropped his grip and took out a map. Chikako flexed her fingers, the memory of his grasp still tingling in her nerves. "So, we'll ride the train to Duns. We're staying in the Duns Castle. It's about an hour from here. Here's a picture," he added, passing her a pamphlet with a gorgeous citadel perched on a green hill. There were pink and purple trees lining the photo and the sun was casting the stone in a warm, earthy glow.

Chikako grinned. "It's beautiful!"

Kyoya smirked. "I thought you would like it."

She bit her lip to dim her smile and peeked up at her husband as subtly as she could. He looked different in the sunlight; happier almost. Even though it was below freezing, his skin glowed in the sunshine and he closed his eyes like he was enjoying a simply summer breeze instead of a biting winter wind. Involuntarily, Chikako grasped his sleeve and he opened his eyes. She let go immediately and looked back at the road ahead of them. "We should get car. We need to get to the station."

"Our tickets are for two hours from now. Why don't we have lunch?"

"I would rather have lunch at the station," she murmured as they headed toward the transportation booth to get a taxi.

Kyoya sighed. "Why are you so obsessed with getting to the station?

"So we don't miss our train," she answered, simply.

"We're not going to miss our train."

She cocked an eyebrow. "How do you know that? If we waste all of our time lollygagging and eating lunch together, we'll very well miss our train."

"No we will not!" He stopped and growled in frustration. He grumbled about how infuriating she was, but his charming grin was plastered on his face when they walked up to the window. "Hello," he said, sweetly in English. "We would like a taxi service, please."

A young woman replied and Chikako turned a bit by Kyoya's side to see her. She was curvy, blonde, and quite pretty. Her voice tinkled like a pixie's as she answered, "Where are you going, sir?"

"To the Edinburgh Haymarket station, please," Kyoya said with a trophy worthy smile. Chikako felt a twinge of jealousy, even though she knew it was all an act bred into his personality.

"You could always take one of our buses. The fare isn't very expensive," the young woman pointed out. She then oh-so-casually flipped her hair over her shoulder and batted her eyelashes before looking down at some pamphlet on the desk in front of her. "Surely you wouldn't want to waste your money and it's right here. If you would like, I could call one of the classier buses for your convenience."

Now, Chikako intervened. Her English accent was flawless and gave away her time spent in London immediately: posh from the classroom and a bit cockney from Jake. She pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes. "Miss, terribly sorry, but we need a taxi, not a bus."

She looked up, blankly and blinked a few times, curiously, as if she just noticed Chikako's presence. "I'm sorry, ma'am, I just thought it would be simpler-" she replied, defensively.

Chikako shook her head, abruptly, silencing the girl. "I don't want to hear your silly advice, Miss…?"

Startled, the girl stuttered out, "Peppers."

In her head, Chikako wondered what kind of person was named Peppers. Out loud, she said with a curt smile, "Thank you so much for the friendly help, Miss Peppers, but we just want a taxi service as quickly as possible. Please."

The girl nodded, typed up a few things, asking for the names and such, and picked up a phone. A stout little black car soon arrived on the scene and the two were being driven to the station. Kyoya glanced over at her. "You were a little rude, Kako-chan."

She scoffed. "Oh, please I could have been ruder-!" She stopped and smirked at him, slyly. "Kako-chan? she echoed, her voice jumping up very slightly.

He cleared his throat. "You wanted a nickname, don't you remember? Do you not like 'Kako-chan'?"

She chuckled, a voice in the back of her head scolding her for being such a giggling girl. A voice she ignored as she continued smiling. "No, 'Kako-chan' is…cute. It's what the club calls me. Is that where you picked it up?"

He scratched the corner of his eye, idly. "I suppose so," he murmured. "But we're getting off topic. You were unnecessarily curt with that young woman."

Chikako rolled her eyes and looked out the window. "Where are we right now, Kyoya?"

He sighed. "In a taxi."

She gave him a victorious smirk. "Exactly."

"We would have gotten a car sooner or later, though, is my poi-"

She yawned. "Well, is it so wrong of me if I chose to receive a taxi sooner than later?"

He narrowed his eyes at her. "You're married now and the corporate executive of the Ootori-Akiyoshi company. We can't afford your immaturity when-"

Her eyes lit up with frustration and she turned her entire body toward him, a finger jabbed in his direction. He was so surprised by her sudden change in attitude, he leaned back a little. "Don't you dare lecture me like you're my mother or something!" she barked. "I am your wife and we have a mutual respect that must be apprehended, am I clear? I do not want to ever be patronized like this in public, so don't develop a habit of disregarding me in private!"

There was a sudden silence and even the driver up front felt the tension through the divider before the back seat and him. The car took another turn and finally Kyoya sat up straighter than before, his lips parting to speak. "You said that we have a mutual respect that we both must apprehend, correct?"

After clearing her throat, Chikako responded with an abrupt nod.

"Then you should respect me by not yelling at me like a child."

She bit her lip. "Then don't call me a child, if-!"

"I'm not calling you a child; I'm saying that you refer to me as such. You speak to me as if I am some idiotic toddler with glasses who needs a stern talking to every time I speak my mind!" His voice was crisp and clear, the consonants almost being spat at Chikako. She could feel the pinch of his words grazing her skin as he snapped at her, and deep down, a part of her knew she deserved this. He continued, "I'm through with the two of us yelling back and forth and never really getting anything done. I'm through with ignoring the fact that we aren't simple friends, but a married couple, as well. We have different rules we must abide by and I think that's the point of the honeymoon. To learn what those rules are and how we're going to tolerate each other for the rest of our lives."

The word, "tolerate" seemed more accurate than Chikako cared to acknowledge. Her fire was down to a dim flicker as she nodded. Her face felt red, her stomach churned, and she had a strange overwhelming urge to cry. We're going to tolerate each other…for the rest of our lives… She swallowed her urge and turned away to look out the window. Thinking this was another act of defiance, Kyoya snapped, "Did you even hear anything I just sai-?!"

"Yes," she growled, loudly, adding in a softer, breaking voice, "I-I heard."

The crackling of her words closed Kyoya's angry mouth. "You're crying."

"No, believe it or not, I am actually not crying, Kyoya," she retorted. "I'm just… overwhelmed and maybe I wanted to forget that we were married and tolerating each other." She coughed out the words like water down her wind pipe.

There was a short moment before Kyoya reached over and touched her hand. She didn't look back, although she did flinch a little at his touch, surprised by how close he was at that moment. "Perhaps 'tolerate' was the wrong word?"

"No, it was the right word." In her head, Chikako added, and that's why I'm so hurt. She shook her head and feigned a smile as she stared down at his black cladded knees, avoiding his face. "You're right; we absolutely should spend this vacation learning to…to tolerate each other." Laughing, humorously she added, with a feistier tone, "Which will be a challenge within itself since we are two very insufferable human beings."

Kyoya chuckled. "At least we're well-bred."

The implication was just as mocking as every thought Chikako had ever had whenever their parents would discuss her and Kyoya's engagement. They're well-bred so they're well suited. That meant nothing, but no one cared for her opinion. It was nice to know her fiancé and now husband had been rolling his mental eyes at the faulty logic as smiled up at him just as the car stopped and driver announced that they had arrived at their destination. Kyoya inclined his head toward the door. "Insufferable ladies first."

A/N: So, though I doubt anyone will object, the next few chapters will be a little fluffier than Book One chapters were. As always, though, I am hungry for your opinions and criticisms on my plot lines and writing! Please review or send me a PM and let me know what you thought of the chapter :)