Just the sight of the letter caused Tamaki's heart to begin to hurt again. All the emotions that he had spent years pushing aside and working through came crashing into him. It shook him thoroughly to realize that these feelings still existed within the core of his being. He was just glad that no one was around him to see his solid demeanor crumble like a ceramic mask being thrown to the ground, shattering and now just dust. There was a part of him that didn't want to open the letter, but the curiosity got the better of him.

Reaching for the letter opener on his desk made him realize there was a tremor in his hand. The shaking made him miss the letter top of the letter multiple times, almost cutting himself times trying. After his fourth attempt, though, he finally got the sharp tip into the small opening. Simultaneously with the envelope's top slowly slicing open, it opened the thin threads that he had used to sew his wounds back together. The sound of it tore through the air, anticipation and fear filling his veins with ice.

He pulled the letter out slowly and shook it open, seeing more of the familiar penmanship. Tamaki began smoothing the pages out, pulling them the rest of the way to make them lay flat. Taking a deep breath he began to read:

Tamaki,

I hope the years have been good to you. I have seen all of the good that you have done with Haruhi in the papers, and must say that it has been impressive. There have been all sorts of pictures of you and your family as well. It was nice to see you and your father, side by side smiling. I it must be satisfying to have that type of acceptance from your father after all the years of feeling unwanted. And how could I forget about your son! He is such a handsome little boy. He must have gotten that from Haruhi.

I am, however, sorry to hear about your grandmother's passing. I know that she was a reason for much of your hardships while you were younger. While I know it was most likely the reason you and your father were able to reconnect, it was still a shame she passed and must have been hard on your father. She was, after all his mother, and as you know, there is pain in being parted from your parent. At least you were able to be there for him.

I feel that I owe you an explanation, and an apology. Let me start by saying that I did have a valid reason for all of my actions, regardless if you believe me or not. Everything I have always done has had a point and purpose, as you may well remember. I want you to know my reasoning behind it, even if if may be a little late.

I once lived my life for my gains only. It was a selfish notion, though it helped me survive my family for so long. Then I met you. Originally, it was another example of my selfish motives. All of it was so that I could become close to your family, even if I found you to be completely insufferable, but you managed to show me something more. Your selflessness showed me that sometimes what was good for yourself was making sure that others got the most out of their experience, even at the cost of person sacrifice. My personal sacrifice was for you.

You have to understand that on the last day of school, when I said goodbye, was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. I knew that we should go our separate ways though in order for us to grow and reach our true potential. For myself, I needed to see what I could accomplish without relying on you as a security blanket. I spent years with you being my security blanket, but I had to take time to see if I could catch myself if I was to fall.

And you, Tamaki, needed to see what you could do on your own too. You would help everyone else, but it was time you helped yourself without worrying about others happiness. I knew that you had Haruhi to help you grow, and that she would help take care of you. I knew she would stand by you because she loved you as much as you loved her. She could be your safety net if you needed one, as long as you let her be.

The thing I didn't anticipate was how confused and hurt my actions would make you. I could hear how upset you became as I was leaving. I had seen you cry on command all those times for years in the Host Club, but hearing you cry out like that, in actual pain, crushed me. It hurt me even more knowing that I was the reason you were hurting like that. All I wanted to do from the moment I walked away was to turn around and be there for you, but I had to leave. I figured that a clean break would be the best for both of us, but I was clearly wrong about how it would hurt you. For this, I am terribly sorry.

I would think about calling you constantly in those first few months, but I didn't know what I would say. Something like 'I'm sorry I walked away like that. Can we forget it happened? Lets go visit the temples or go to one of the resorts. Bring Haruhi, we can all enjoy ourselves together,' but I knew that would have been harder and not fair. Because I had started this, I had to continue and carry through with the plan. Even if I was hurting, this was my entirely my idea and any pain I was in was brought on by myself.

Though the time passed, and I was able to show my father constantly how I was able to handle the family money and investments, the pain didn't lessen. I still thought about our adventures, and the happiness you brought to me. I had come to care about you so much more than I thought was possible. Maybe it was because of how my family dynamic was, but I cared about you more than I cared for my own kin.

I have regretted the pain I put you in for years. You truly could not understand how utterly sorry I am for being the cause of any pain you felt that day. I contemplated sending you a letter such as this for awhile now, but was never sure how to put this all into words. I still feel like I am going in circles with my explanation. I am so sorry, Tamaki. Please, I would really like to be able to talk to you again. Would you please reach out to me? Maybe you could find it in your hearts to forgive me for it all. I know now that we would have ended up doing well in life no matter what, but we would have had each other.

I look forward to hearing from you, my old friend.

~Kyoya

Tamaki read through the letter over and over, trying to process the words on the paper. Kyoya seemed to be genuinely sorry. It was just as Haruhi said years ago; Kyoya had his reasons. He justified it all so well, but Tamaki still hurt so badly. Words, written on paper. Did they really have meaning?

He paced the room, letter clenched in his hands, unsure how to react. Anger raced through him, consuming his pain, but slowly it changed. He stopped pacing. Even if the apology didn't have any sincerity behind it, it didn't matter. He finally had an explanation. A strange feeling was taking him, one that he couldn't explain. Looking down at the letter, he noticed a watermark, realizing a single tear had fallen from his eye.

"Tamaki, what's wrong?" Haruhi said, having entered the room silently. "Who was the letter from?"

Suddenly, he knew the feeling that was running through him. It was so obvious.

"Nothing's wrong. And the letter, it's just junk mail cleverly disguised as a hand written letter."

Tamaki crumbled the letter into a ball, launching it into the fire. He crossed the room and led Haruhi out. Just before he closed the door, he glanced back at the letter, fully engulfed in flames. The emotion made him smile as the words turned to ashes.

Closure.

The pessimist in me had every intention of ending the story right here. The optimist in me has decided that maybe Tamaki and Kyoya will have one more chance to reconcile. Only time will tell.