Chapter Ten

Kyoya combed back his hair as Chikako turned the page of her novel. She was required to read an English book called 1984 for her study abroad program. "How is Big Brother?" Kyoya teased as he adjusted his tie. For some reason, he could never get it to look quite right.

Chikako sat up straight. "Still watching," she answered with a wink. She was perched on the deep scarlet armchair rest by the French doors.

"Well, don't give too much away. You're farther ahead than I am," he remarked with a pinch of disdain. He wasn't used to being second best, and, when it came to English comprehension paired with Chikako, he was always rewarded mere silver over gold. He crossed the room to the side table where a thick, expensive watch lay. Sliding the accessory onto his wrist, he glanced into the mirror and thoughtlessly added, "You should fix your hair."

Chikako lowered her book, slowly, and raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong with my hair?"

"Nothing in particular. It's rather plain-looking, though."

She rolled her eyes and tossed her book onto the mirroring armchair as she slowly stood up. "It isn't going to be a very formal dinner, Kyoya. I don't need to look absolutely perfect. Ordinarily stunning will suffice, I'm sure."

He shrugged, riddling through Chikako's jewelry box. "Try wearing your ruby pendant."

She scoffed, teasing, "Are you a fashion consultant, now?"

He tossed her an exhausted look to which she simply smirked. She walked over and took the necklace from him. She held it up to the light and felt the red reflection tickle her collarbone. Pursing her lips, she said, "It is pretty, but I prefer the blue."

Kyoya raised an eyebrow. "Really? I would have guessed you would have gone for the most ostentatious pick. Red is wild, blue is plain, and you are certainly not plain."

She blushed and turned away, appalled at how deeply her cheeks were flushed red. "I guess you're right," she muttered.

Kyoya let out a short cough of surprise. "Really? That's a new one," he joked as Chikako struggled with her necklace.

She flipped her hair, indignantly. "Shut up and help me with this clasp."

She felt the tension of the room stir as her husband's feet paced the floor behind her, and she shuttered at the cool touch of his fingers on the nape of her neck. "What are these family friends like, these 'Huffingtons'?" he asked, casually. Chikako heard to click of the chain and spun around so fast that Kyoya's fingers remained frozen near her cheeks.

"Very wealthy and heads of a few highly acclaimed history museums that feature all things Mesopotamian. It's really rather fascinating. Unless you're well versed in your ancient history, ask them more questions than you normally would about the Indus River Valley, which they are also fascinated by. Pretend you know nothing of history; they adore feeling intellectually superior. I learned to hold my tongue at a young age when I received a verbal lashing about my 'grotesque disrespect and ignorance'," she explained, rolling her eyes at the end for good measure.

Kyoya found himself smiling at the idea of a young Chikako being scolded for exactly who she grew up to be anyways: strong, stubborn, and outlandishly outspoken. Chikako's frown remained as she idly straightened Kyoya's tie. Her dress barely hit the floor, the white fabric flooding out to gray toward the bottom. Kyoya looked over her shoulder, through the mirror, and at the back of Chikako's head, thinking as Chikako continued to fix his suit and murmur to herself, "Perhaps I could wear a hairclip? Or curl my hair…? No, of course not. I don't have the time to curl my hair, but a clip could work. Something bold but classy. I think I have a feather clip…"

Kyoya backed away from her. "Do what you like with your hair. Leave it down, put it up, I don't care. Whatever you decide to do, though, you'll have to hurry. We're going to be late."

Chikako turned to her jewelry box, her lips firmly pressed together as she hunted for her feather hairclip. "They speak English, you know."

Kyoya nodded, standing up straighter. "I know."

She smiled, sweetly, a dark undertone beneath her voice. "Then tell me we will be late in English."

He sighed, but his expression smoothed over as he repeated the remark in English. Chikako smirked. "Very good, and I'll try to hurry." She raked a brush through her hair and clipped the feather into the strands behind her ear. She turned to her husband and smiled. "Better?"

"The picture of loveliness," he recited in the same tone of voice he displayed in front of his clients at the Host Club.

"Thank you, dear," Chikako mocked. "Now quit acting like you're a host and remember that you are now a husband."

A tall white woman in an appallingly bright dress flamboyantly greeted Chikako with a kiss on the cheek, exclaiming, "Darling! Darling!" in English.

Chikako grinned. "Aunt Maggie!"

"Sweetheart, I haven't seen you since you were a cute little middle schooler and now look at you! All grown up and married to such a dashing young man!" the woman added with a wink at Kyoya.

He smiled, sweetly, and nodded his head. "Thank you very much, ma'am."

She gasped, dramatically. "Oh darling, you flatter me! Don't ever call me anything less than Aunt Maggie! I'm your family too, now!"

Kyoya nodded again and murmured to Chikako, "I thought they were family friends."

Chikako grasped his hand, affectionately. "They are, but Aunt Maggie is practically inherited family with the number of visits I paid her when I was younger."

Aunt Maggie grinned. "Oh so true, sweetie!" she cooed.

"Now come into the parlor. Mr. Huffington is dying to meet you, Kyoya! Oh and your English is excellent!" she flounced away, her wildly curly hair bobbing around her shoulders.

Kyoya and Chikako followed behind, slowly, so he could lean down and whisper, "Mr. Huffington is called…Uncle?"

Chikako murmured back, "I refer to him as simply 'Mr. Huffington'. He and Aunt Maggie are only happily married in public."

Kyoya nodded. "And you and I are-?"

Chikako stopped walking and stretched her toes up so she could kiss him on the cheek and whisper, "Happily married, of course. Our arranged married worked out serendipitously and we've had a wonderful honeymoon. We can't wait to go to America to study and, if it does come up, the Host Club is a society that strives to-"

"Create respectable young gentlemen out of this generation of muck, dishonesty, and cruelty," Kyoya said, professionally.

Chikako blinked. "That's a good slogan."

"Thank you," he whispered to her as they walked into the tearoom where Aunt Maggie was sitting on a violet armchair with a black Persian cat on her lap. On the chair beside her sat Mr. Huffington, bald in a tweed suit and cigarette in hand. He narrowed his eyes but smiled at Chikako.

"Chikako, welcome," he greeted her, standing up. "Please sit."

Kyoya advanced to shake Mr. Huffington's hand. Mr. Huffington cleared his throat, loudly. "Good evening, Mr. Ootori."

"Akiyoshi," Chikako interjected. When the Huffingtons gave her a look, she added, "We combined our names for the purpose of the company. It's Ootori-Akiyoshi."

"Ah, wonderful, splendid, splendid!" Aunt Maggie exclaimed so loudly that her cat jumped off her lap and fled the room. "Now sit, our maid will serve the tea, and we can catch up! Please Kyoya, tell me all about yourself! You go to school with Chikako, yes? That must be marvelously romantic!"

He and Chikako sat together on the loveseat facing the two armchairs. Kyoya chuckled. "Our attending the same school is very convenient."

Chikako giggled in such a light-hearted way that Kyoya didn't recognize that it was his wife next to him. Was this smiling young girl her true self or was it just another rouse? "We tutor each other sometimes. He's remarkable at just about everything, it seems," she gushed, adding a small cringe as if out of jealously. Her acting skills never ceased to impress Kyoya. "I'm only good at English."

He took her hand, playing along with the façade. "Oh, don't put yourself down like that! Languages are difficult and yet look how wonderfully talented you are."

Chikako smiled, sweetly, and looked away, as if embarrassed. "Oh, well, thank you, dear." The nickname tasted like a raw onion but Kyoya kissed her cheek for show, regardless.

Aunt Maggie squealed with delight. "Oh Chikako, you are lucky!" she sighed, loudly, adding, wistfully, "I remember those days…being young and so in love!"

Mr. Huffington cleared his throat, disapprovingly. "Well I think it's nonsense to be so happy this early in the game, 'ole chap. Be extremely careful with your emotions or you'll end up hurting yourselves unproductively. Marriage is a time-old business tradition, mind you, and therefore-"

Aunt Maggie groaned. "Oh darling, you are such a downer! I love their enthusiasm!"

Chikako giggled in the same strangely giddy manner. "I'm very sorry, Mr. Huffington, but I disagree! Business doesn't always have to be so gray! Marriage is colorful and if it is business as well…you can see where I'm going."

He huffed and nodded.

A tall and thin young woman in a gray skirt filed into the room with a tray of sandwiches and behind her came of shorter girl, still relatively thin in the same uniform with a tray of tea cups. The staff seemed well trained and very stylish in dress and stature.

When Chikako openly commented about this, Aunt Maggie grinned and gaily responded with, "It's my strong belief that a wealthy person's life should be classy and well-composed all around from dressing the part, oneself, to fashioning one's company and staff in similarly fabulous garb, don't you agree, dear Chi?"

Chikako giggled. "You've always had a wonderfully stylish philosophy in life, Aunt Maggie."

Aunt Maggie smiled wider. "But you agree, don't you, darling?

"How could I not, sweet Maggie?" Chikako exclaimed.

Mr. Huffington chuckled and leaned forward toward Kyoya. "Don't you dare let her near your wallet for such frivolous purposes, dear boy."

Kyoya gave a hearty and obviously forced laugh—obvious to Chikako, that is. "I'll certainly keep a sharp eye on her," he assured Mr. Huffington, leaning toward Chikako.

She took the hint and hugged his arm, tossing him a dazzling smile. "Don't worry, Kyoya, I'll be nothing but an angel!"

He chuckled and leaned down toward her ear to whisper, "How ironic."

She pinched his arm, subtly, and he grimaced while the Huffingtons ate their snacks.

Around seven, they sat down in the dining room for dinner. Mr. Huffington quizzed Kyoya on his own company while Aunt Maggie complained about never being invited to Chikako's wedding. "It wasn't in my control, Aunt Maggie," Chikako explained. "My mother handled all the invitations."

Aunt Maggie sighed. "Oh, well, your mother hasn't always felt fuzzy toward the Huffington family. I'm just happy I've gotten to meet your fabulously handsome husband," she added with a wink.

Chikako smiled. "I was rather lucky to marry such a dashing young man."

Kyoya smiled, mid-sentence, but continued his conversation with Mr. Huffington. "I don't think the Japanese trade with that business is truly depleting as you say."

Mr. Huffington cleared his throat. "Well, while I might agree with you in certain areas of business, the primary route…"

It was becoming very heated and Chikako bit her lower lip in concern. Picking up her glass as if to take a sip, she casually pinched Kyoya's forearm. He pressed his lips together in slight annoyance, but smiled, softly, and leaned toward his wife. "Yes, dear?" he murmured with a slightly strained tone.

"Oh nothing, sweetie, nothing," she chucked. "My fingers slipped. So, Aunt Maggie, what's the new museum going to look like?"

She waved her hand and surprised Chikako with, "Oh who cares? Let's talk about your marriage!"

Chikako blinked a few more times than she meant too, surprised. "I-I…well…w-what would you like to hear about, Aunt Maggie?"

They paused as they were served their meals and bowed their heads. The Huffingtons were Catholic, mostly because of Aunt Maggie, who went on in prayer, thanking various saints for various blessings for almost five minutes. When she finished, they dug into their salads first, beginning the parade of meals. Aunt Maggie grinned. "So, how many children do you expect?"

Kyoya tried his best to not choke on his lettuce. Chikako failed, coughing loudly until her throat was clear. "Uh, I haven't really-"

Kyoya smiled, serenely, and spoke up. "No matter the number, we can financially support as many as Chikako desires. We will require a boy as an heir of course-"

Chikako sat straighter, and retorted, "We will try for character quality, dear, not gender. I mean, look at me," she added with a distinguished smirk.

Aunt Maggie laughed and applauded. "Good show, Chi, I love your ambitious fire!"

Mr. Huffington harrumphed. "I rather like Kyoya's notion about a male heir, actually. Less emotionally unpredictable."

Chikako clenched her jaw. "Really? Because if I recall correctly, the vast majority of the wars and massacres have been violently generated by the men in power."

Aunt Maggie cleared her throat. "So, what number are you thinking, deary? I know you'd want at least one girl, right, Chi?"

Chikako took a cleansing breath. "I would, I suppose, but Kyoya and I have a business to run, Aunt Maggie; this isn't the time to be thinking about children, wouldn't you agree, Kyoya?"

He nodded, quickly. "Speaking of the company…"

Aunt Maggie scoffed. "No more business talk! What was your wedding like?"

Chikako's smile thinned as she remembered the way her stomach spun as she stood there in her wedding dress. "It was wonderfully beautiful," she breathed, fully aware that Kyoya was staring at her. "Everything was perfect and Kyoya was the perfect gentleman."

He blinked after a moment of comprehension and smiled, softly, obviously faked.

Chikako continued. "To be quite frank, Aunt Maggie, Kyoya's been lovely—I've always been the problem," she chuckled.

Mr. Huffington smiled at that. "That's what I've always liked about you, Chi. You never make it easy. I bet this lad here had to really work for it."

Chikako nodded. "He still does."

Aunt Maggie smirked, warmly. "Don't forget it goes both ways, deary. He deserves hard work, too."

Kyoya subtly nudged his wife and she tossed him a glare. "Don't expect too much," she grumbled.

Dessert was served with tea. The night never ended, it seemed. Chikako knew that if she smiled for one minute longer, she would explode. Kyoya didn't seem to notice as he enjoyed his crème brulée and chatted about British politics. His English was improving greatly by the hour. He corrected his own grammar every now and then quite smoothly and always with a winning smile. The Huffingtons adored him and Aunt Maggie couldn't shut up about how "lucky" Chikako was.

Chikako looked over at her husband. "Eh, he's not too bad, I guess."

Kyoya glanced over at her, smiling very professionally, and the two continued their dinner conversations. The night was a breeze up to the dessert chit-chats. Chikako barely spoke, ravishing her taste buds with the richest tiramisu she had ever had. They were back in the parlor with coffee, tea, and sweets galore. Chikako and Kyoya were squished together on the loveseat so Kyoya put his arm around his wife, loosely, and continued to talk politics with Mr. Huffington. His English was strained by now and these subtle slip-ups indicated to Chikako that he was tired.

After finishing her cake, she set her plate down on the coffee table in front of her and let out a soft yawn. Kyoya took the hint and rose to his feet. "I'm terribly sorry, but it appears that my wife has been over exhausted by the night, isn't that right, love?"

She leaned against Kyoya and gave their hosts a weak smile. "I am growing rather tired. Thank you so much for the delicious meal and delightful dinner conversation." She gave Aunt Maggie a big hug and Kyoya shook both their hands, respectfully.

"I am so happy that you have gotten a happy ending, Chickie," Aunt Maggie whispered to Chikako. "Kyoya is a wonderful man for you and you are much better off than…well…"

She meant Jake, and Chikako felt a pinch in her chest at the implication. She felt tears drown in her eyes, but, as always, she forced a smile and tried to pass the tears off as signs of her joy and not her gut-wrenching betrayal. "Thank you," she murmured.

She turned to see Kyoya smirking, hand outstretched. She felt some invisible force shove her toward him despite her hesitation and she could have sworn it was the Lady of Fate. Kyoya grasped onto her hand and they were soon in their car outside of the magnificent, museum-like house. As soon as the driver put up the divider screen and started the engine, the two let go of each other's hands. Chikako's fingers tingled from the touch and an overwhelming anxiety boiled up from her stomach and into her throat. She took a deep breath and looked over at her husband who was on his smart phone, booking appointments, replying to emails, and working on other general business dealings.

With her lips pressed together, Chikako looked back into her lap. A curiosity burned into her brain as she fingered the hem of her dress. The words Aunt Maggie had murmured to her echoed in her mind like a dripping faucet in an empty gymnasium. "I'm so happy you got a happy ending…Kyoya is so much better for you…than…than…" Chikako felt her cheeks grow hot and she looked over at Kyoya for another moment.

Feeling eyes on him, Kyoya put down his phone looked up to find Chikako inches from his face. She made her way to his side of the backseat. Her eyelids were fluttering, cautiously. He felt himself lean into her as she whispered, "I just want to try something…"

She closed her eyes, hand gently touching his face and lips touching his. When she pulled back an inch, her eyes remained closed and she waited. Then she felt Kyoya lean in again and kiss her back. A hand slid around her waist and she had to scoot closer to fit her body into his arms. Both her hands were holding his jaw as if she was falling from a cliff and he was the only thing that could keep her suspended in the air forever.

He pulled back for a breath and Chikako's hands fell to his chest as she rested her forehead against his, still grasping for support. He opened his eyes. "What was that…?" he murmured, thoughtlessly.

"An experiment," Chikako mumbled.

"Testing what, exactly?" Kyoya sounded annoyed, but he didn't back away, still holding her in place.

She opened her eyes now too and searched his gaze for something. She didn't know what she was looking for; she was hoping that whatever it was would find her first. She didn't think she had any more strength to search. "I…I'm just thinking."

"You have a strange way of expressing your thought process," he mumbled.

She ignored his comment as she focused on her careful breathing. The darkness of the car made her mind flashback to the darkness of Jake's pantry. The dizziness of the night brought back the nauseating tingle the drug used to have on her. She swallowed her anxiety, trying to stop the shaking. Kyoya pulled back to look at her as she swayed, overwhelmed by the most tangible feeling of attraction she had ever felt since Jake. Thankfully, Kyoya's gentle hand on her waist was nothing like Jake's hungry grip. Kyoya's curious kiss had been foreign compared to Jake's controlling lips that forever haunted Chikako's blurry and yet vivid memory of him.

"You're paling," she heard Kyoya whisper. He sounded like he was across an empty room, his words echoing off a massive cathedral ceiling and floating back to her ears.

Telling herself to stay awake, to not sink down in the darkness again, she fell back into her own seat, but her hand grasped Kyoya's. He was her lifeline as they drove back to their hotel and, for the first time, she was okay with it.

"Are you sure you're alright?" he asked, warily, as if his brain was desperately trying to cover up the worry in his heart.

She nodded and laid her head back against the leather. "When am I not?" she muttered, cheekily.

"Too often," she heard him confess.

Her weak smirk fell. "I will be okay. Not tonight, but…one day."

There was a long pause. Chikako and Kyoya looked over at each other, simultaneously, and she saw a smile on his lips. "Then I'll wait."

A/N: Sorry it's been so long, but rapping up senior year hasn't been the piece of cake I thought it was going to be. Anyways, I really hope you guys liked this chapter and, as always, feedback is MORE than appreciated! :) Review, review, review, my lovelies!

~Kit Koko