Rose of Jericho

by peterpauper

Would we laugh at gilded butterflies? Sequel to Chrysanthemum.

23. Chapter 21

-

Chapter 21

-

Yuuki sat on the couch at Tamaki's house and flipped through a magazine. Kyoya was looking over her shoulder. It had taken a month after the publishing of their interview before the girl gained the interest to read it.

"I like that." She found a picture of them. It was black and white. Kyoya was sitting on a couch, side on, with his laptop balanced on his knees. Yuuki was crossed legged and leaning against his legs, holding up a slushy. Neither looked at each other, or at the camera; both were preoccupied and just together within that distraction. "I'm actually pretty sure they took that between shoots though, when we weren't looking..."

"Me too." Kyoya looked at the picture. "If you ever tip anything with liquid in it so close to my laptop again though, you will be buying a new one."

It was Christmas day and the Host Club had gathered around the tree at the Suoh mansion. No one was doing anything at present, probably because Tamaki had rushed off to make popcorn. Which explained the burning smell that wafted from down the hall. Haruhi had rushed off to see that he didn't light anything besides the corn on fire.

The Ootori turned the page. "That's...comical."

Yuuki scowled. She was wearing a pair of heels that put her feet almost vertical and skinny jeans under a Prada shirt. Kyoya was standing with his hands in his pockets, smiling smugly as the girl tried very hard to look dignified but had ended up laughing. "My feet still hurt. If they were trying to mimic my fashion sense, they failed with the shoes."

"I thought you liked Tony Bianco?"
The girl stared into space. "I do..." she said dreamily before snapping back. "But I also like having the bones in my feet aligned correctly." Pause. Turning of page. Short laugh. The picture showed Kyoya tying his tie while Yuuki leant her arm horizontally on his shoulder, an act possible with the help of another horrendous set of heels. "You always look so serious."

"You always look so...amused."

"I am amused. Probably because I almost died that day."
"Died?"

"It's not good to have butterflies in your stomach. Like watermelon seeds. They grow into a watermelon and then you explode." Yuuki said this loud enough to catch Hunny's attention.

The short blonde was eating watermelon and looked up in horror. "WHAT?" Mori spent the next ten minutes consoling him while Kyoya spent the next ten minutes explaining why the Cunxin had issues with children.

On the eleventh minute, Tamaki appeared with popcorn. "I did it! Yeah? I made popcorn!"

Haruhi appeared behind him. "Actually, I did it. He opened the bag."

"Ah. But all that hot steam."

"Yes. You did very well." The girl smiled at her fiancé. Tamaki beamed and kissed her on the cheek with much exuberance.

"POPCORN!" He held the bowl aloft and placed it triumphantly on the table.

Yuuki picked a thread on her jersey. "He's so excited."

"Is he ever not." Kyoya said flatly.
"It's so contagious." She smiled.

"Are you excited?"

"It's Christmas! Duh." She wiggled her toes inside her new UGG boots. New Zealand wool. The best in the business. It helped with the bad peripheral circulation.

The twins watched the pair warily. They knew that revenge was imminent but didn't know when. And that was worse than what they were expecting. "I wonder if you bought us matching shirts for Christmas, again." They said in unison to the group. "It's very tedious."

"Oh, the bane of being a twin." Haruhi rolled her eyes and sat by the tree.

Hunny bounced over and just about dived into the pile of wrapped boxes. "Can we open them now Haru-Chan?"

"Ah." Tamaki sat cross legged, leant back and pulled the Vogue away from his friend's fiancé and gave it to his. "We can now."

The goal was to get everyone's attention. Haruhi however was absorbed by the article. "Famous for reasons no one can accurately pinpoint, but not judged for it. Yuuki Cunxin is a mix of business, sport and fashion. A little bundle of witty everything."

Yuuki grabbed the magazine back. "They wrote that?!"

"Well...it's about you."

"It's about me 'being famous for reasons no one can accurately pinpoint.'"

"Well. You went to the Olympics. You've done some modelling. You're going to go to university for physiology...it's like an all rounder." The other girl shrugged.

"All rounder?" The Cunxin crossed her arms. "I'm not even round."

Everyone laughed. Kyoya wrapped a comforting arm around her waist. He knew she wouldn't like anything that was said about her, even if it was the highest praise. He had even ensured that half the article was about him. The next week, they had both been on the cover of a gossip magazine coming out of a restaurant with Tamaki and Haruhi. The caption had read. The Olympic fashionista and Kyoya Ootori out and about and ENGAGED. Insert close up of engagement ring here and speculation of affairs or pregnancy or both. Yuuki had stared at the image, claiming that they weren't musicians, celebrities or whatever and thus shouldn't be a paparazzi icon. Kyoya had pointed out that Paris Hilton had been neither, she had been an heiress. The girl had gone to rebut and then remembered that he was an Heir. She promptly had a bit of a sulk before being convinced that the worst was now when the attention about them was high. Then it would dull down. Only Japan had an interest in them.

-

Yuuki remembered shopping for presents with Kyoya. It had been an event. Once again, they had wanted to buy everyone the same thing. The Ootori wanted to get Tamaki cologne, something for the wedding day. His fiancé said that a girl should choose it because men suck at choosing men's cologne unless it's for themselves.

"Well. What cologne then?" Kyoya stared at the bottles on the rack.

Yuuki shook her head. "If I tell you, then you'll buy it."

Pause. "Okay. What cologne do you want me to wear?"

"No. You have to choose your own."

Frown. For half an hour he watched her and finally discovered that she kept going back to the Hugo Boss counter. He bought Black before she could. When they walked out of the store she had looked in his bag and stopped dead.

"You stalker."

He pushed his glasses up. "I wanted to buy him cologne."

"I wanted to buy him cologne."

"Buy him something else."
Yuuki pointed an accusing finger at him and went to say something, came up with nothing and decided to change the topic. "I'm buying Haruhi those earrings."

"Too late."

The girl scowled at his impish smile. "You're...unbelievable!"

"I got there first."

"Its not a competition."

"No. But if it was, I won." Pause. "What's so bad about not buying them exactly that?"

"Because, I wanted to buy them exactly that. And then you foiled my plans."

"Next year you can get first pick."

"Whatever." She walked off. "Don't expect to get a gift this year."

"What do you want?"

The girl stopped and turned around. "Um..." There was an easy way to break her stubbornness about shopping; suggest she get something. "Shoes."

"Shoes?"
"Shoes."

"Really?"
"No." Yuuki glared and continued on her path of obstinacy.

"You're being tenacious."

"You're being annoying."

"I'm being an Ootori."
"Exactly." She stopped, realising he was sauntering after her coolly. "You always outdo me."

Kyoya finally realised why she was angry. "No, I don't."

"Yes you do. You go to university. You're an heir. You have loads of money. You're so smart it should be illegal..."

"You're smart. You're beautiful. Which...is taken for granted; something your smarts should have compensated for...you have a very comfortable life, you will be going to university."
"You got the gifts first." She crossed her arms.

Kyoya smiled. "You'll be better at this next year."

"I'll be brilliant at this next year. So watch out."

"Okay." Change of subject. "Hunny."

"There's a new bakery that makes five tier cakes."

"I'll buy a four tier."

"Good boy." Yuuki smiled. He was forgiven for doing nothing wrong.

Later that day, the pair was seated in a coffee shop with their gifts. Kyoya leant back and stared at her. "Now, seriously. What do you want for Christmas?"

"You don't have to buy me anything."

"Not having to and wanting to are different things, although often used in the same context."

Pause. "You."

"What?"
"All I want for Christmas is you."

The song was playing in the background. "That's generic."

Yuuki smiled. She'd already bought him a gift. "I know." He could use his imagination if he wanted to buy her one.

"You're not going to tell me?"
"Work it out yourself." She stood up to leave. "And...I sort of already did." The girl went to pay for their stopover.

-

"Anyway." Hunny said brightly. "Presents!"

Mori took charge of present-hand-out-person and began passing around coloured boxes and ribbons. Hunny got numerous variations of the same thing; cake and confectionary. He was thrilled. Absolutely, sugar high thrilled. Tamaki got a surfboard for no reason specified other than that it was a surfboard. Haruhi got covered in clothes and jewellery, perfume and shoes; an effort to bring her femininity out more. Mori got a punching back. Just because. It was very difficult to buy for him. The twins a bottle of Maison. The gifts kept coming, it was easy for the rich to splurge and Christmas was a good time to do it. Santa (AKA: TAMAKI) had bought everyone tickets to the ballet. Kyoya had purchased a car for the twins, probably in the hope they would crash it.

Yuuki got books. Lots and lots of books. And surprisingly, a piano. Her fiancé must have told him about her adequate ability. Kyoya took the note off it. "For the house. When we find it."

She had stared at him, shocked. "You bought me a piano?"
"Well...you didn't learn flute, did you?"

"Where will we put it?"
"The house."
Tamaki leaned on the couch behind Yuuki. "I'll keep it until you get one. If I get exclusive playing rights. It's almost better than mine. Almost."

The girl looked at Kyoya. "Oh my gosh!"

He smiled. She liked it. He wanted her to start doing the other things she was good at; university was already a go, modelling was adequate and now her creative side could be fuelled to. If he could learn a lot of things, then she could too.

"Play something Yuu-Chan!" Hunny said through a mouthful of candy-cane.

"Oh. No." She shook her head. "I don't play very well at all. I haven't played at all for a long time. Tamaki can play it."

"No." The blonde said dramatically. "The first play goes to the owner!"

"Then Kyoya should play it. He bought it." The girl searched for loopholes.

"I bought it for you." He shot back smugly.

Yuuki raised her eyebrows at him. "Um...my fingers hurt."

Much to her surprise, Tamaki picked her up by her arms and carried her over to the gift. "There is no excuse."

"Ah. Ah." The girl squirmed and tried to find the floor. "Put me down. Please put me down. Tamaki, down. Ah." She wriggled a bit and was finally set on the ground, the blonde still gripped her arms. "Will you play?"
She shook her head. He picked her up again. "Okay! Okay! No! Tamaki. Down. Please. Put me down. Ah."

The Suoh put her down. "Yes?"

Yuuki nodded stubbornly and glared at Kyoya.

"HAZZAR!" Tamaki cheered.

"What do you want to hear?" The girl sat heavily on the stool. Displaying her frustration.

"Clair de lune." Tamaki cheered louder.

Pause. "What do you want to hear, that I can actually play?"

"Play the one you played me." Kyoya said with a small smile.

"Which one?"
"I think you know which one."

Yuuki smiled back, seeing him want it made her want to give it to him. "Okay." Pause. "Merry Christmas."

She played a flawed version of the song was very close to her. The tune she played was roughly based off a piece her mother had played her. It was the piece she played to Kyoya when they were finding each other again. Working each other out again. It was a song of their world. Melancholy and yet somehow proof that love could last. Yuuki laughed, embarrassed, when it was over.

Tamaki clapped. "Good! But you missed a few notes."

"I know." Yuuki stood up and crossed to Kyoya. "You can play it now." Get the spotlight off herself.

"Really?" He looked very excited.

"Really, really."

The man made a short noise of excitement before throwing himself onto the stool and playing a jazzy version of We wish you a Merry Christmas. Kyoya opened his arm and let Yuuki fold it around herself. It was snowing heavily outside and night was falling fast.

"Are you cold?" He asked quietly while everyone got lost in the Suoh's magnificent piano playing.

"No."

"Annoyed?"
"Somewhat."
"You like it though." It wasn't a question, more a pleased statement.

"I do." The girl wrapped her fingers around his forearm. It was wrapped across the front of her shoulders. "I like it very much." Pause. "Do you want yours?"
"You got me something?"

"Is that a rhetorical question?"

Kyoya smiled. "Just tell me what it is."
"Lots of shirts." She joked. "I'm not telling you. You'll have to open it." Pause. "Surprisingly, it goes very, very well with that piano."

The man raised an eyebrow as Yuuki asked Mori for a rectangular gift. She thanked him and handed it to Kyoya. Her fiancé liked how she had chosen a moment when everyone was distracted to give it to him. He opened the box to find two keys. One green, one blue, and an upside down photo frame. He turned it around and was confronted with an image of a house.

"You bought me a house?"

"I bought us a house."

"Next year tell me to mentally note the price we're allowed to spend." Shocked pause. "You bought a house?"

"Don't worry. I only paid the down payment, I knew you wouldn't stand for me spending that much money on something you have to share." She smiled haughtily. "I went to see it and fell in love. Its only half an hour from the CBD, on acreage, great mountain views and its very comfortable."

Kyoya stared at the image. The house was two stories, but not huge. It was made of pale sandstone and had eye-catching deep wood windowpanes with white window shutters and cream curtains that could be seen from the outside. The glass in its face was huge, enough to afford the view but maintain privacy. It had a smart black roof and a chimney indicating that there was a fireplace inside somewhere. The second story was build slightly back from the first so that the house wasn't a giant box, but comprised of eye-pleasing levels. There was a layout in the bottom corner that showed that the top level was just a bedroom, bathroom and private living area that floated above the void of the public living area below. It would be perfect for her studies and the times he got sick of working alone and missed her. The image was only of the front of the house, but it was beautiful. The lawn was covered in snow in the image, it had obviously only recently gone up for sale, but there were flowers in the garden. It had been designed to provide foliage all year round with different plants for different seasons.

Yuuki looked at the picture with him. "Do you like it?"
For the first time in his life, Kyoya was speechless. "I..."
"If you don't I can get a refund. Inside it's so much like the apartment in London, only it has a paddock. And a big old oak tree with a tyre swing." She was obviously in love with it.

"Don't refund it." He thought it was perfect. "How did you find it?" It was so perfect.
"Tachi lives in that basic area, he saw it for sale and called me. We drove out after my lesson one morning and I didn't sleep well that night, worrying someone else would buy it."

"So, now that Suki's had her baby, you're going to move in?"
Yuuki smiled. "Yes. It's not properly furnished yet but I bought a giant bookcase and a couch....and kitchen appliances." Pause. "You'll have to see inside and help me buy stuff."

"Okay." Kyoya couldn't believe it. He had been outdone for the first time and thanked her silently for not having paid for it all. He would have felt very insignificant. But Yuuki knew how to keep him worthy. "Well, you already have a piano to put in it."

"Nice piano. And lots of books."

Kyoya pushed up his glasses and laughed, deep and low. "You bought a house..."

"And I let you pick what color you want the key to be!" Yuuki shook the box. "Blue or green?"
The Ootori smiled. "Green." Blue was her favorite colour.

"Sweet. Green it is."

Tamaki finished his song with a flourish; completely oblivious to the gift giving that had just occurred. "Good piano Kyoya. The person who helped you pick it must have been fantastic." He grinned.

Hikaru and Kaoru leant on each other's shoulders. "You helped him, didn't you?"

"Hah." The blonde stood. "I did."

"Was someone else there, or were you lying when you said the helper was fantastic?"

Tamaki looked like he'd been hit by a truck and took his little storm cloud to the corner to brood. Haruhi glared at the twins and took a bowl of popcorn over to the man to consol his deflated ego.

-

At dinner that night, Hikaru and Kaoru tried their shenanigans again. Only this time everyone was prepared. Tamaki had made sure that the maids serving that night had taken all alcohol off the menu and out of the house. He had also tried to cook dinner with Haruhi and most of it was overdone. No one seemed to mind though. After dinner the group headed outside. The snow had eased up but had covered the ground in a thick layer of white powder.

"Watch out. The pool is somewhere under there. It froze over. Cold winter. Global warming isn't very warm this year." Tamaki seemed to have not realized the global warming didn't mean that things only warmed up.

"Isn't that dangerous?" Mori knew Hunny would be diving in an out of the snow.

"Not really. It's a thick layer of ice. It didn't break when Haruhi and I went skating on it." He held the girls hand. "So it should be fine."

"You went ice skating on your pool?" Yuuki asked, getting an UGG boot full of snow. The wool inside got wet and cold and uncomfortable.

"Yes." The Suoh beamed in the dark. Haruhi laughed sweetly beside him, remembering something.

"Why are we outside anyway?" Hikaru asked.

"Yeah, its cold." Kaoru finished.

"Because. It's a nice evening." Hunny climbed up Mori so that he could dive into the deeper parts of the snow more effectively. "And the fire is so much nicer when you've been cold!" He jumped and disappeared into a Hunny shaped hole in the snow, only to resurface a few feet away laughing with glee.

Kyoya buried his hands in his hoodie pockets. Yuuki tucked her head through the gap between his elbow and his body and forced her way into it and pressed into his side."Hello." She breathed, fog escaped.

"Cold?"
"I have snow in my shoes. Or. It used to be snow. Its water now."

"Uncomfortable?"
"Freezing."

"Want to go inside?"
"No. This is nice." Little flecks of white had caught in her hair and in his.

Kyoya didn't say anything; he just had to match his pace to hers. And direction. It was like practicing for a three legged race, only with four legs and one body. In the effort it took to find an equilibrium for this, neither realized that they hadn't gone around the area the pool was known to be in like everyone else. The snow covered the ice just as thick as it covered everything else and made the surface worse than it should have been. Yuuki slipped first and grabbed him as her feet went one way and her body went the other. She remained standing, but in a very uncomfortable position. Laughing, the girl managed to get her feet back together and her body upright.

"Oi. Help me." Yuuki said, slipping again.

Kyoya kept his hands in his pockets and smiled smugly. She had come out from the curve of his arm and was clinging to it instead. "No. If I help you, I'll go down."

"If you don't, you'll go down too."

As if on cue, the girl slipped on a particularly slick piece of frozen swimming pool, cried out in surprise and lost her balance completely. She didn't lose her fiancé's arm though and he came down to. Kyoya landed on Yuuki and she landed in a powdery pile of snow.

"Told you so." Her tone was breathless. She was a little winded. He wasn't light but had fortunately not crushed her chest. Kyoya had caught himself when he fell by placing a hand down before the rest of him crashed to the ground.

It was half propping him up just above her. "You need to make friends with gravity."

Yuuki breathed a bit. "It's the one that keeps attacking me."

Kyoya laughed. "Well, you keep taking me down with it too."

"Yeah...well..." She shrugged. Pause. "Kyoya, it's hard to breath already, can you get off?" It wasn't snowing on her anymore. "You're a good human umbrella, but you're heavy."

He looked down at her. "I thought you were cold?"

"Yes. I was. But there's snow seeping through the back of my shirt." The innuendo went straight over Yuuki's head. She frowned and rethought his statement, and then her statement. The girl opened her mouth to make it less suspect but couldn't with their current predicament.

"No." Kyoya rolled onto his back beside her and stared at the sky. Not a star in sight behind the clouds. "You can't take that back."

"You're such a guy."
"You're not freaking out." He said smoothly.

Pause. "I wasn't until you alerted me to the...complexity of that situation."

"You're freaking out now?"
"You're keeping the thirty centimeter rule."

"Thirty centimeter rule?"
"That rule for middle school where guys and girls have to stay thirty centimeters apart."

"There wasn't one at Ouran."

"No. That would have put you out of business. When Suki was in school they had that rule, she told me about it." Pause. "But, no. I'm not freaking out as much as I would have been."

"Really?"
"Scared. But not freaky." She turned her head to look at him. "Enough to not want to talk about it anymore though." Pause. "You don't freak out or get scared?"
"I'm wired differently."

"Uhuh. But still..."
"I've also put up with Tamaki since middle school, he never believed in the thirty centimeter rule."

"Huh." Yuuki stared at the sky again. "Funny how that works. Socialized to feel differently. Or maybe it's the girl boy thing. Haruhi isn't so keen on the idea either...well, keen isn't the right word. She's had a little freak out too."

"Well, neither of you would do anything like that unless it meant something." Kyoya knew the conversation was going to end. If he was honest, it unnerved him a bit too when he actually thought about it. This is probably why those of the male gender don't think too much about intimacy; or not as much as their opposites.

"Yes. Because it's...for the female side...um...invasive....Okay. T.F now. T.F." Things getting a little too close for comfort.

"T.F?"

"To Far."

"Where did that come from?"
"Abbreviation."

"Don't people only do that in junior school?"
Yuuki laughed. "Have you ever tried to say abbreviation, abbreviated?"
He stared at her and replied that he had not.

"Try." Pause. "Abrvtn." The word came out like a splutter.

"It's like my teaching you to speak properly never happened." Kyoya laughed.

"Yes. It never happened." She sat up and began the careful process of standing. "To my knowledge."

The Ootori offered his hand as leverage and Yuuki found her feet and helped him to his. She skidded a bit and then began the careful walk to where she thought the edge of the pool would be. As kismet would have it, she misjudged the distance and caught her shoe on the edge of the basin and face-planted into the patio around the pool.

Kyoya stood with his arms crossed, safely off the ice. "Are you alright?"
Yuuki brushed the snow off her face and hair. "I'm cold."

"Inside."

"Yes. The outdoors is trying to kill me."

Kyoya helped her up and then steered her away from the way they had come and right around the general vicinity of the ice. "Around the pool."

Yuuki kept her eyes glued to the ground. She could hear the rest of the Host Club already inside. They had been smart and abandoned the snow for the fireplace. "I'm cold."
"Yes. So am I." The Ootori buried one hand in his pocket and grabbed hers with the other. Her fingers were a lot colder than his. Part of her peripheral circulation problem, the blood didn't warm right to the tips of her hands and feet. "You need more Vitamin B."

"Why?"
"It helps the capillaries open; the blood would reach your hands."

"Myth."

"Fact."

"It might promote general health by helping circulation. I'm not that cold."

"You're hands are colder than mine."

"Really. Wow. That's amazing. You're a very cold person." Pause. "I win."

Kyoya scowled at her. She was the one person he could not be a frozen demeanor around. He let her hand go. Yuuki suddenly realized how cold her hand had actually been and searched for his again. The Ootori hid it in his pocket.

"Okay. I'll up the intake." The girl bounced on her feet as they neared the house. Her feet were cold, her hands were cold and she really wanted a beanie. Just because. She slipped her arms around him, under his own, and pressed her face into his hoodie. "It's cold."

Kyoya had to stop walking or run her over. He preferred the former to the latter. "Invest in some gloves." He quoted from their time in London.

"I told you to do that."
"Yes. But I have pockets."

"I have pockets too. But their full of snow." She sounded lightly mournful.

Kyoya looked down; his hands were pinned inside his hoodie; somewhere between himself and her. "Yuuki?"
"Yes?"
"Look up a second."

As she did he pressed his mouth to hers. Yuuki lingered a moment and then let him go. "No. It's not you, you're warm. It's just cold. Inside." She beckoned him towards the door.

Kyoya pushed his glasses up and watched her trudge through the snow before following. It was easier for him, he was taller. Half her shin disappeared into the powder. Once inside, Yuuki pulled her shoes off and carried them to the fireplace. There she propped them up, close to Hikaru and Kaoru, and folded herself against the coffee table. Kyoya appeared beside her and pulled a strand of damp hair off her cheek bone. The girl smiled at him and let gravity help her lean against him.

Beside them, Haruhi and Tamaki were doing the same thing, except in their own way. Hikaru and Kaoru were roasting marshmallows with Hunny and Mori. Perfect pairs. All drawn to each other and then together by bonds no one actually knew existed.

Etta James played in the background, setting the mood delicately. It was nearly midnight and the day had been perfect. Cold, wet, soggy, but perfect. They were together.

-

At last, my love has come along
My lonely days are over
And life is like a song
Oh, yeah, at last
The skies above are blue
My heart was wrapped up in clovers
The night I looked at you
I found a dream that I could speak to
A dream that I can call my own
I found a thrill to rest my cheek to
A thrill that I have never known
Oh, yeah when you smile, you smile
Oh, and then the spell was cast
And here we are in heaven
For you are mine
At last

(At last, Etta James)

-

Everyone woke up in Tamaki's lounge on Boxing day. It had continued to snow the whole night, making driving dangerous. Yuuki was adamant that they stay where they were until it eased up. It didn't. So they slept at the Suoh mansion.

The Cunxin woke up curled in an armchair. Everyone else was still fast asleep. Tamaki was laying on his stomach, his arm under his head and his face like a sweet, yet remarkably annoying, angel. The twins were entwined in a way only siblings knew how to do. Hunny had curled up on Mori's stomach like a cat. It was amusing to watch him rise and fall with his cousin's breath. Mori would be annoyed when he woke up and couldn't move for fear of the blonde exploding. Everyone knew Hunny was bad, if not worse, than Kyoya in the morning. Haruhi was on the couch beside the armchair. The girls had been talking when everyone else was asleep. Chatting in their own private corner about things that anyone with a Y chromosome wouldn't understand. Kyoya was near Tamaki, lying on his back with one arm behind his head and the other on his stomach.

Yuuki rolled her neck. She had slept in the wrong position. The girl stretched out of the chair and swore never to sleep in something you couldn't lie flat on again. She looked at the tree and smiled. Christmas had been good. They were all finally moving forward, but doing it together. A bond that deep doesn't just disappear over time. It doesn't disintegrate. It was rare. Just like her and him. Yuuki looked at Kyoya, his glasses were on the coffee table, yet, he didn't look any different. Maybe it was because his glasses didn't have rims and that made them almost invisible unless there was a glint of light on them. But maybe it was because he was no longer defined by what people defined him as. He had erased that definition and created something different that encapsulated him, but allowed for him to learn from his mistakes. He was still Kyoya Ootori. But he was still hers. Yuuki smiled at the thought and turned to the window and watched the sun glint brighter on the snow as the morning woke itself up.

There was stirring. The morning person of the Host Club woke up. Tamaki yawned and stretched. He looked around. "Ah! Good morning princess!" He was remarkably perky first thing.

Yuuki didn't get it. She was still groggy. "Morning."

The blonde stood up and bounced over to her side. "Ah. You're the first person who has ever woken up before me."

"Creature of habit."

There was a shuffling down the hall and a bright blonde burst into the room and tackled the man. Tamaki hadn't let his dog out for Christmas because she would mug him the whole night. "Antoinette! Hello!" The dog licked him. He'd bought her the day he'd kidnapped Kyoya and dragged him to an exhibition.

Yuuki took a step back. Such an excitable dog wouldn't work with her. She'd never had a dog and didn't even know what to expect.

Tamaki stood up and brushed himself off. "This is Antoinette, Yuuki." The golden retriever wagged its tail and tensed up.

Yuuki couldn't help but think that the pair was remarkably alike. "Hello...dog..." She knelt down to pet her head. Bad idea. She was soon on the ground, the dog on top of her and Tamaki laughing and claiming that she had found a new friend. The girl covered her face, not wanting to be licked with whatever Antoinette had eaten for breakfast. "Turn it off! Tamaki! Get off, dog!"

The twins had woken up from the noise and were watching gleefully. Haruhi was the one who came over and pulled the retriever off her friend. Yuuki sat up, disheveled. "Thank you." She breathed.

Mori was awake, but unmoving. He couldn't see what was going on but didn't dare move for waking Hunny. The blonde and Kyoya were still like rocks.

The Cunxin stood up and put as much distance between herself and the dog. And this meant sitting between Mori and Kyoya. Of course, Antoinette wasn't finished with her yet and launched herself across the room with a bright bark. Yuuki covered her head with her hands and squeezed her eyes shut. Nothing hit her. When she opened her eyes she found the dog sitting obediently in front of Mori, of whom the animal would have jumped on. The man had his hand raised in front of the dog's face.

"Oh my gosh. Thank you." Yuuki whispered.

Tamaki walked over and took his dog by the collar and began dragging her outside. The trance was broken. Antoinette dragged back and pulled her owner right over Mori and Hunny, into Yuuki and then heaped on top of Kyoya. There was dead silence as everyone waited for hell to erupt.

Hunny sat up at the top of the pile and glared at everyone in the room. "I'm still tired." He seethed.

Haruhi looked around and pulled a candy cane off the tree. "Sugar will wake you up."

The blonde stared at the desperate girl and then at the candy. He smiled instantly and crossed the room quickly. The twins sighed in relief, knowing they would have been blamed even though they had done nothing but lie there.

Mori stood up and lifted Hunny so that he was out of the way of Kyoya's inevitable awaking. The Ootori stared at the ceiling and then at the threesome crushing him. Dog, man, woman. He growled. Antoinette whimpered and left the room with her tail between her legs. Hikaru closed the door and then realized that was probably not a smart thing to do, especially considering they would have to run away in a second. Kyoya could not be pleased by treats.

"Um...morning." Tamaki said awkwardly. He had sandwiched his best friend's fiancé between them. He then pointed at Yuuki, passing the blame over.

The girl stared up at the blonde. "Tamaki. Get off."

"We don't want to startle him." Came the harshly whispered reply.

"Yes. Well. You startled me." She pushed him, hoping it would have an effect.

Kyoya sat up and pushed Tamaki firmer. Along with Yuuki's shove, the blonde stumbled backwards and landed neatly in a chair. The girl turned around and smiled sweetly. She raised a hand in pleasant greeting. "Hi."

The Ootori dropped back to a horizontal position. "Next time..." His voice was hard and cold and threatening. "Next time you bring a dog into the room. Don't. Next time you wake me up. Really don't. If you do, something exceptionally terrible will befall each and every one of you."

Yuuki was the only person who pulled a face at him that wasn't comprised of shock and horror. Kyoya opened an eye and looked at her. He was short sighted so having her close wasn't an issue; he couldn't, however, read the writing on Haruhi's shirt but could imagine her face. His fiancé hadn't moved. She had actually crossed her legs and arms stubbornly and was staring at him. Tamaki was telling her to back away while she still had the chance. Hunny was hiding behind Mori's head, the twins were standing, hands on the door and Haruhi stood, expecting something but not knowing what exactly. She'd never been around Kyoya when he woke up, neither had her friend; they'd just heard the legends about the dramatic event. Yuuki reached behind her and grabbed Kyoya's glasses and held them out to him.

"Wake up." She said flatly. It wasn't a demand, but more a request.

She was answered with a low growl as Kyoya put his arm over his eyes to block out the light.

"Oi." Yuuki poked him in the ribs. "You'll adjust, remember? Wake up." Pause. "Please?"
"Why?" Came the stark and grumpy reply.

"Because, its morning and you're lying on Tamaki's floor like a drunkard. If you were on a couch, then you could sleep. So move or wake up." It was like Mori dealing with Hunny when he woke up. Everyone else was scared, but the man knew exactly what to expect and how to handle it.

Kyoya rolled onto his stomach and pulled the hood of his jersey up over his head. Yuuki pulled it down gently. "Kyoya."

"No." He hissed. "Go away."

"You're being a child."

"Coming from you."

Yuuki smiled. He was waking up enough to make comebacks. She prodded him again. "Come on. The sun has come out to say good morning!" The girl tried the annoying tactic. "I bet its even smiling for you! And it stopped snowing for you and the sky is blue for you and the birds...are all away because it's too cold but they would be singing for you..." Pause. "I can even get Riki to come say good morning to her favorite boy-band member. Bet she'd love to see you and say hello too..."

Everyone, Cunxin included, got a fright when Kyoya rolled over and sat up sharply. He took his glasses, put them on and glared fire into the souls of everyone. When he got to Yuuki, she threw her arms around him brightly, unafraid of his demonic stare. "Good morning!"

Kyoya was surprised at the opposite reaction to the ones provided by everyone else. He was still in a bad mood however. "Why are you so awake?"

"Because I woke up." She stood up, making him aware that he was the only one who had actually been asleep. Making him aware that everyone was freaked out and on the opposite side of the room. "And everyone else woke up. You're just a low blood pressure demon lord in the morning."

The man growled again and stood up stiffly.

"Oh. You'll adjust." Yuuki ran a hand through her hair and smiled. "I'll adjust too. Then we'll both get up normal time, no?"

Kyoya just stared at her. Tamaki was contagious. It was annoying when he infected the one person who could use it to manipulate him. No one was ever happy around him in the morning. Cautious, yes. Happy, never. Everyone else in the room was breathing again. Tamaki was gaping. "Oh my gosh! IT WAS meant to be!" He embraced his friends.

"Oh my gosh. Touch my again and I'll hurt you." Yuuki said, tensing up, infected no more.

The blonde let go, realizing that both of those he had hugged were not morning people, the girl had just timed her clock wrong and had a generally better temperament. They were both still less than tolerant before ten when they didn't have prior obligations.

Under this epiphany, the host club retreated away to breakfast and put themselves as far away from Hunny and Kyoya as possible, using Yuuki as a barrier. After half an hour, the Ootori was awake enough to say good morning.

"That took way to long." The Cunxin said, sipping a glass or orange juice.

"Learn then. Don't wake me up."

"Or..." She put her glass down. "Wake you up more that you get used to the morning."

"If I don't have to wake up, then I don't."

"Would you wake up for me?"
Pause. "I guess we'll find out." If he could wake up with her, then surely it would be worth adjusting his clock.

"Just, handle with care when you wake up then, alright?"
"Alright." Pause. "We're not getting a dog."
"Agreed." Yuuki shuddered. "Gosh. Why did he even buy that thing?"

"Because it's him in an alternate mammalian form."

"There should never be more than one Tamaki happening at once."

"Agreed."

The blonde looked up at his name. "What about me?"

"Nothing. Just that you're going to die if you wake me up like that again." Kyoya seethed across the table.

Yuuki stared at him. "Be nice. You're awake now."

The man turned and smiled a ghost at her, pushing his glasses up. "He isn't aware of the fact."
The girl bit a piece of toast in his face as a comeback. She didn't want to defend Tamaki, but she didn't like him being attacked either.

"Just because I have to handle you with care, doesn't mean I have to do the same for him." Kyoya pointed out, taking the piece of crisp bread from her and putting it back on the plate.

Before Yuuki could answer the twins appeared on either side of them. "So, seeing as you scared everyone this morning, does that count as your revenge?"

"What revenge?" Kyoya mocked sweetly.

The girl turned to them. "Oh, boys." She smiled. "You have no idea."

Hikaru and Kaoru stared. If it wasn't the Ootori/Cunxin pairing, then they wouldn't be afraid, they would have actually tried another 'practical joke'. But because it was, they had reason to worry; his meticulous calculations and ability to manipulate with perfection and her quick wit, bright nature and easy charm would create the perfect entity for any act of deviance. They disappeared into a corner where they whispered defense tactics.

"Handle with care." Kyoya said smugly with an undertone of sarcasm.

"Uh." Yuuki corrected. "That only applies to me." Pause. She caught Haruhi's pleading eye. "And Haruhi. On occasion."

Her fiancé smiled and finished her orange juice. "No. Just you." He kissed her temple. "Only you."

-

I won't bring things up, if upon them you don't touch.
If that's what you want, it's whatever you want.
I couldn't be more clear, how day or night I'm here.
So we'll leave it there, we'll leave it there.

Just never stop singing your song
I hadn't heard it in so long.
And if I handle you with care
It doesn't mean I don't think you are strong.

You say don't worry, but how can I not?
When once you were everything, and then some more.
I can't promise not to worry, only not to scratch beneath
The skin that is so thin, when it comes to me.

Just don't forget it's everything
That you're not like everyone
And never stop your singing.
You're as good as people come.

Whatever we have seen, it's just you and me, I haven't gone.
You're right to believe, I'll always keep you safe from harm.
I'll always keep you safe from harm.
I won't bring things up, if upon them you don't touch.
If that's what you want, it's whatever you want.

(If I handle you with care, Trembling Blue Stars)

-

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The piano piece. .com/watch?v=ittjyowKX6Q

If you've seen the movie it's from (La Vita e Bella/Life is Beautiful with Roberto Benigni), then it's presence within this story makes a lot more sense. Amazing film. It's so beautiful.

The final song was really everything I tried to convey, but in a different format. Sort of how they are apart, but at the same time complete with the other. Like...how you can be in a relationship and still be yourself. Which is what it should be. Also, it's about being the one that's not afraid of a reaction or who knows how to handle a reaction. Yuuki knows how to wake him up without getting decapitated; like Mori and Hunny. But still...their only human. More of that discussed in the next chapter. (Which is the Haruhi x Tamaki wedding. ^-^)

So...I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please, do tell me what you thought, I value your input a lot.

If you have any questions for the author, please don't hesitate to ask.

Blessings,

-pp