XXx Aya xXX

The farmer's market is busy when we get there, but not overcrowded. The air is filed with the scents of fresh fruits, new turned soil, fresh cut flowers, and handmade soap and perfume. It creates a dreamy and light perfume in the air that is almost dizzying, but in a good way.

The market is set up in a large but adorable western style cobblestone square. Multicolored booths are framed by small cafes, books shops, and trinket shops, and people stream in and out of the shops and through the booths in a natural rhythm.

"Look Aya-chan!" Honey says excitedly. "Strawberries!"

He pulls me over to a stand that is selling strawberries for half the price they go for at normal markets the last time I checked when we visited Haruhi. We pay the lady behind the table and get a box of berries that are half the size of my fist.

"They're amazing!" Honey exclaims as he bites into one.

"I'm glad to hear that," the lady says with a smile and a soft laugh. "Feel free to sample the rest of the fruit."

"Really?" he asks in awe.

"You've never been to a farmers market before?" I ask.

He shakes his head.

"Honestly, I thought there were going to be animals here," he says with a sheepish smile. "But this is great too. It's really nice and mellow here."

"I know what you mean," I murmur as we walk away from the booth. "Sometimes I'm a little bit jealous of the way the middle class lives."

"What do you mean?" he asks as he takes my hand.

"Well, it's nice having a large house and a seemingly endless supply of money," I mumble. "But sometimes I feel guilty I have all this stuff and I've done nothing to earn it. And on top of that being from a prominent family means everyone's always watching you. One mistake can ruin generations of hard work. Sometimes I wonder what my life would be like if it was simple."

"That's easy," Honey says as he elbows me softly in the ribs. "You'd be someone else's girlfriend and I'd miss out on a lifetime with you."

"Well thank God for small miracles," I giggle before giving him a peck on the cheek.

"What?" he asks with a laugh. "You're not convinced we wouldn't have found another way to meet? If you were born middle class your father would probably never have gone to France so you'd still be here in Japan. "

"Yeah," I sigh as I reach for a few strawberries. "But I don't think that I'd have been able to get into Ouran on my own. I'm not smart like Haruhi, so I doubt I'd have passed the scholarship exam…It's not something I like to think about."

Honey's hand lets go of mine and drapes lightly over my shoulder. As he pulls me closer to his body I rest my head on his shoulder, exhaling heavily. He squeezes my shoulder softly as he leans down and kisses my temple.

"If there's one thing I'm happy about with this life though…" I trail off with a soft smile. "It's this."

He smiles back down at me, his eyes large and warm like rich mahogany. His eyes are so soft that I almost don't believe that's a look for me. But then I can see myself faintly reflected in his eyes and a shiver runs down my spine.

I feel a familiar heat pooling up in my cheeks. I glance down at my feet, suddenly becoming extremely interested in the pale beige cobblestone street of the square. My legs feel wobbly and weak, and walking on them almost feels as bad as walking on legs that have completely fallen asleep.

"God, why do you keep doing that?" I mumble as my hands reach up to cover my steaming face.

"Doing what?" I hear him ask innocently as he supports my weight. "You're the one who went all mushy on me."

"Yeah, I know," I whine. "But you have that look you give me that makes my knees turn into jelly and it's not fair! I have no warning and it hits me at inconvenient times."

We stop moving and I manage to peak over the tips of my fingers.

Honey has fixed me with a look that I can't quite put a name on. His gaze is still mostly soft, but it has a slight edge of seriousness that I haven't seen in a while.

"And you don't think you have a look that does the same thing to me?" he asks softly.

I try to swallow the lump in my throat to make responding easier. But I just can't seem too.

"I-I d-didn't think I did," I stammer out.

His seriousness fades and a smile and it feels like everything about me has been melted like a stick of butter. I stagger backwards a little, and my back brushes against what feels like a brick wall. I quickly glance to the side to see I'm leaning against one of the walls of a small café.

A large flower stand is right next to us, practically overflowing with blossoms of all shapes, sizes, and colors. Certain names and meanings are printed on small cards stuck in the planters, and the lady behind the booth hands a beautiful bouquet to a middle-aged.

"Aya-koi?"

I glance back in front of me to see Honey handing me a red rose, a somewhat self-satisfied smile on his face. I manage to regain the ability to form words as I reach out and take it, stroking the tips of the soft flower petals with my fingertips.

"What?" I ask, managing my own smirk. "No more pink roses?"

"Well, aren't red roses the symbol of love?" Honey asks, his confidence wavering slightly.

"Very good," I say with a genuine smile. "How'd you know?"

"Oka-san told me once when I was little," he says as a soft blush rises in his cheeks. "I guess it did come in handy after all."

"Give me a minute," I say before turning back to the flower stand. "I'll be right back."

Clutching it to my chest I glance over the buckets of flowers, trying to find a good response to the red rose. After a few minutes of searching I finally find what I'm looking for. A thick stemmed plant that branches off into four supports for a cluster of tiny disk flowers surrounded by five white ray petals.

I pick out one from the bucket and pay the lady behind the booth before running back over to Honey.

Skidding to a stop in front of him and hold out the cluster of flowers.

"Here's my response," I say breathlessly.

"What does it mean?" Honey asks as he takes it from me carefully.

"It's yarrow," I explain. "And it means a cure for a broken heart."

He looks at me over the flower, his eyes widening slightly. I step closer to him, wrapping my arms around his neck and resting my face in the crook of his neck. My lips slip into an easy smile as I feel his arms curl around my back and waist and his cheek rests on the crown of my head.

"I'll never be able to thank you enough for what you've done for me," I murmur into his neck. "And I never thought I'd be so eager to share my life with someone. I honestly can't wait for spring and whatever comes after that."

I pull my head away from his neck to see his face, but his head is still bowed. The tips of his ears are glowing red, and giggling lightly I unhook one of my arms from his neck to brush the bangs out of his face. He lifts his head slightly, still flushed but eyes sparkling happily. His happiness feeds mine, leaving me lightheaded and feeling bolder than usual.

"S'il vous plait…" I whisper as I look up at him, my fingers trailing from his temple and down the side of his face to cup his cheek lightly. "M'embrasser Mitsukuni."

I'm hoping he gets the message as I close my eyes and tilt my head slightly. Sure enough, warm lips cover mine and the arms around me tighten. I can feel myself smiling stupidly in between kisses, but I can't help it, the happy is too infectious. His kisses are warm and soft as ever, but there's a new hunger to it, and I can feel my knees go weak and the bones and muscle in my legs feel like they're been turned to jelly.

Normally I'd hate to think of any part of me being weak, but when it's like this, it somehow doesn't feel so bad…

And since Honey is supporting my weight and all, I'm fully ready to just stand here and let him kiss me senseless. But my plans are cut short by the obnoxiously loud click of a camera phone.

At first I think nothing of it, but in the next few seconds there are more rapid fire clicks that grate on my nerves.

I pull away from Honey and my eyes scan the surrounding area for the source of the annoying sound.

But my heart stops beating for a second when I find the not so inconspicuous camera phone poking out from behind a large flower display and pointing right at us.

What the…is this seriously happening right now?

"Hold on," I whisper before I let go of Honey.

I start walking over to the display, and the photographer quickly jumps to their feet and begins to run. My blood turns to lead as I see a pair of wide blue eyes narrow as their owner shoves the phone into her jacket pocket and takes off through the crowd.

I take one quick look over my shoulder to see Honey looking slightly horrified. Our eyes meet and I nod before taking off after the girl. I look for any glimpse of her ash brown hair as I crane my neck the best I can over the crowd. I shuffle around, trying to maneuver around the flow of traffic while keeping on the tips of my toes.

Damn it all, its times like this when being just a little taller would be convenient.

Elbowing my way through the crowd I finally manage to break into a small open area that surrounds a fountain in the middle of the square. I run towards it and jump up onto the little wall around the pool of glassy water. Getting back on my toes I anxiously scan the crowd again, gnawing on my bottom lip.

I'm just about to go into a full scale panic when I catch a large mass of ash brown hair slip into a small gap in between a used bookstore and a needlework store.

Tripping over my own feet I scramble down from the fountain and across the square to the little alley-like gap. My heart is in my throat as I pause at the entrance.

The girl is slumped against the wall with her back to me. Her shoulders are trembling as she stares down at the phone she has clasped in her white knuckled hands. The phone's screen illuminates the shadows of the small space, as well as a picture of Honey with his arms around me and our rather…enthusiastic kiss.

I take a deep breath and take a step forward. I'll bet the sound of my thudding heart is more than enough to get her attention. But oddly enough, she doesn't even notice me when I step up right behind her. She just keeps trembling and staring at the picture on the phone.

I take a sharp breath before steeling my spine and hope this doesn't end up being a huge mistake.

"Meirika," I call out softly, somehow managing to sound a lot calmer than I actually feel.

She jumps and turns around quickly before she begins stumbling backwards. The alley is not deep, and is one way. Her eyes go wide with panic as her back hits the brick wall.

I take a step towards her, and she flinches before rapidly pressing some buttons without taking her eyes off of me.

"S-stay back," she stammers. "I-If you come any closer I'll send this picture to Kisa."

I stop, trying to push aside the pure terror I feel at the threat. I shake my head and force myself to push those feelings aside. I won't be able to handle this if I can't even think straight.

"You know," I force myself to chuckle. "It's ok. We really don't care if everyone finds out."

"W-what?" she stammers, her face falling. "Th-then why did you follow me here huh?"

"I just wanted to know if we really had our own paparazzi," I say lightly.

I take a step forward and she cringes again.

"It's ok," I sigh. "I'm not going to kick the crap out of you. Setsuko was just teasing the other day. Just between the two of us I'm kinda out of practice."

Her shoulders lose a little bit of their tension as she straightens up again. Her blue eyes try to sear me with a glare, but it really is mild compared to Kisa's.

"Why are you telling me that?" she growls. "How do you know I won't take advantage of that information?"

"Because despite the fact that you think I'm a freak…I don't think you're a bad person," I admit. "I don't think you're one to sink low enough to exploit the weakness of others. Or am I wrong?"

She goes ridged before her eyes narrow dangerously.

"You don't know anything about me," she growls. "So don't act like you do."

"But really though, jokes aside, what is this all about Meirika?" I ask tiredly. "I know you don't like me, and I know that after Karuizawa I'm not really one to talk, but stalking people on dates is a bit much."

She stares at me silently, but her lip is trembling hard.

"Is this for Kisa, or for yourself?"

I'm shocked as all of a sudden tears push themselves over the line of her lower lashes and snake down her cheeks. She covers her face with her hands and sinks down to the ground, resting her forehead on her knees.

"W-wait!" I stammer as I close the gap between us and kneel down in front of her. "Why are you crying?"

She shifts away from me, brushing the away my hand as it was making its way to the top of her head.

"Stop it!" she wails. "Stop being nice! It's not like you!"

"But you don't know me either Meirika," I mutter as I cross my arms over my chest. "So that's an unfair accusation."

"No it's not!" she spits. "I've seen you at the club! You have all the Hosts wrapped around your finger and you treat the rest of us like shit! And you stole Honey-senpai from Kisa!"

"So this is about Kisa," I muse, only cringing a little at the accusation. "What's going on there? What is showing that picture to her going to accomplish? Come on, enlighten me."

Meirika brings her head up from her knees. She looks at me oddly, as if she can't quite decide if I'm joking or not. I just smile and motion for her to speak.

"What makes you think I'll tell you something like that?" she snaps. "It's not like we're suddenly all buddy-buddy."

"I never said we were," I counter. "But I'm curious. Now, this might just be the opinion of a two-faced bitch, but it sounds like Kisa doesn't treat you quite as well as she does Sumi. Is that it?"

Meirika's face pales considerably as she looks at me with large eyes.

"Yes I was awake at the beach," I say with a smile. "But forget that for a minute and tell me about you."

I sit there patiently, waiting for her to speak up. But Meirika just sits there with her head hung low over her knees. A soft breeze blows into the alley, blowing our hair out around us and rustling old newspaper and other garbage on the floor.

"It seems like I'm always saying something wrong," she finally whispers. "I always make her mad. I never mean to, but it just happens."

"Like when you said I had Honey wrapped around my finger," I say softly.

She nods and looks up at me, her eyes red and puffy.

"She's still mad at me," Meirika says bitterly. "I thought if I could get her proof that you were trying to steal Honey-senpai from her then she would forgive me and start being nice again. Or at least she'd redirect her anger to someone else."

"I see," I murmur. "But if you like Honey so much how come you let Kisa walk all over your feelings?"

"Kisa told me that they were together," she mutters. "They've known each other for years, and he does pay more attention to her than any of us. At least he did until you came along…I didn't think I had a chance with him even if hell froze over if he had someone like her."

"I'm sorry," I say as I reach out again.

I press my hand lightly to the top of her head, and this time she doesn't slap my hand away.

"How did you do it?" she asks softly.

"Do what?" I ask stupidly.

"Get him to kiss you…" she trials off. "Or get him to be interested in you at all."

"I didn't try to be his ideal girl," I reply. "I was just me. All stubborn and childish and even bratty. Because of someone likes you they should know all sides of you, even if you're not proud that they exist in the first place. They should know full well what they're walking into from the get go."

I stand up, mostly because my legs were starting to get all tingly like they were going to fall asleep. I stick out a hand to her and after hesitating a few times she takes it, but still treats my hand like she's holding a slug.

Well at least it's a start.

"Aya!"

I turn over my shoulder to see Honey jump down from the roof of the bookstore. He lands lightly behind me and I let go of Meirika's hand and fully face him. His eyes quickly dart from me to her and back again.

"It's fine," I say as I walk up to him.

I reach for his hand and lace our fingers together before turning back to Merika.

"I don't care what you do with that picture Meirika," I say calmly. "Show it to Kisa if you want, but there's not much she can do that can hurt me."

I turn back to Honey and nod towards the exit of the alley.

"I think that's more than enough excitement for one day," I say with a sigh. "And I need to get back home to study for my math test tomorrow."

And with that I turn to leave, Honey only a few steps behind me.

XXx Honey xXX

As we step out of the square and to our waiting limo my pulse is pounding in my ears. Aya keeps a steady grip on my hand, but I can feel her pulse is racing just like mine.

As soon as we close the limo door behind us she collapses on the seat, her entire body trembling.

"Holy shit," she mutters. "I've never been so scared in my life."

"Are you sure about this Aya?" I ask as I wrap an arm around her waist and pull her closer to me. "There's a good chance she'll show the picture to Kisa. It can be all over the school by tomorrow morning."

"You told me the night we went to Disneyland that you didn't care if people knew," she whispers. "Well, I'm over it. If that happens I won't be embarrassed to step up and say that you're mine. That way maybe I'll actually get to spend time with you at school."

"Well when you put it that way it sounds great," I say as I slip an arm under her legs and pull her into my lap.

"Yeah," she sighs as she rests her head on my shoulder. "I just need to brush up on my form just in case."

"Sure," I say with a dry laugh. "You need to be at full power to take out a bunch of high school girls armed with well-manicured nails and stilettoes that have had their heels filed to a deadly point."

"Well you never know," she sighs. "Maybe they use those heels for darts and have become pretty good shots. Maybe I'm doomed."

"Then we better get married right now," I joke as I ruffle her hair. "I won't have that taken from me."

"Well I'm wearing the white dress," she laughs. "And that way I don't need to wear a stupid puffy floor length dress that I'll probably trip over as I walk down the aisle."

"So it'll be a western style wedding?"

"Yup," she sighs. "It gives Mama more to do with wedding preparations. She can color coordinate the streamers with the napkins and the frosting on the cake. My eye shadow will match your tie and a whole bunch of other bullshit like that. I think the only thing we can actually choose for ourselves is who we want to carry out the Duties."

"Any ideas?" I ask.

"I thought you'd want Takashi to be your best man," she responds. "But other than that I have no fricken idea."

"Well we still have a few months to decide that," I murmur as I stroke her arm. "No rush there. Though I at least hope we get to choose where we go afterwards."

"Oh you mean the honeymoon," she sighs. "Well where do you want to go? So far I don't think that's been decided."

"I haven't given it much thought," I reply. "It really doesn't matter to me where we go, so long as we can actually spend some time together without all kinds of weird stuff happening."

"So somewhere halfway around the world?" she chuckles. "Sounds good to me. I've always wanted to go somewhere tropical though. Is that ok?"

"Sure," I say as I lean back in the seat.

"You're the best," she giggles before she cranes her neck up and places a soft kiss on my jaw.

The car glides to a stop at that moment and she groans before shifting back into my arms. She lops her arms around my neck and buries her face in my shirt.

"Do we really have to go back?" she complains.

"That depends," I chuckle as I stroke her hair. "Do you really have a math test to study for?"

"Nope," she says.

I can feel her lips curl into a smile against the skin of my neck.

"Well in that case…" I trial off as I pick her up and exit the limo. "We'll just have to have a dinner date instead. How about out in the gazebo?"

"Sounds great!" she says as I place her back on the ground. "I'll race you inside chérie!"

And with only that as a warning she takes off towards the door, leaving me standing in front of the limo. I shake my head quickly before taking off after her. I catch her quickly and wrap my arms around her waist before flinging her around in a circle.

She laughs as I set her back on her feet.

All of a sudden two other voices join her and she stops laughing abruptly. We turn to see both of our mothers standing on the porch, watching us and giggling like a pair of high school girls.

I look down at Aya, who's blushing heavily and trying not to look at them. I just glance up and wave at them before taking Aya's hand and leading her around the side of the house and to the dojo.

"Guess I better get used to that," she mumbles.

"Well if you can't manage our parents how will you ever deal with the girls at school?" I tease as I elbow her in the ribs.

"Them I can handle," she assures me. "Whatever happens tomorrow I can handle."

XXx Author's Notes xXX

Well, that derailed quickly. I dunno what I was planning but it wasn't that

Lotsa love, Krystal