Rose of Jericho Chapter 22, an ouran high school host club fanfic

Chapter 22

Yuuki sat with Kyoya on a couch in the Suoh mansion. They were surrounded by travel pamphlets.

"Seychelles." The girl held aloft one of the little travel books. "Private. Pristine. Nice weather in September." It had taken a long time, but the Cunxin was finally getting used to the idea of being a business world celebrity by marriage and a minor model through her fiancé's desire to help her ease into a different life. The honeymoon idea was still a sensitive topic, but she loved travel and Kyoya decided to manipulate it.

The Ootori took the book and flipped through it. "Everyone goes to the beach for their honeymoon. Even Tamaki and Haruhi are going to the beach." The couple were headed to Greece for their trip.

As if on cue, the blonde ran through the house dressed in only in boxers and a singlet and clutching onto various items of clothing. "WHERE ARE MY SWIMMING SHORTS?!"

Kyoya looked up. "Did you go swimming today?"

"Yes."

"Did you have a shower after you went swimming?"

"Yes."

"Did you check the shower?"
"No." There was a short pause as things clicked into place. Tamaki exploded and ran through the house to the bathroom.

Yuuki looked a little horrified. "I didn't just see that."

Kyoya pushed his glasses up. "Let's hope not."

"Anyway." Moving on. "Paul McCartney went to the Seychelles. We could rent an island or something." Pause. Excited gasp. "We could go cliff diving!"

"Would you cliff dive?"
Yuuki frowned at him and threw a pamphlet. "I was having a moment. Don't burst it until I think it through."

The man laughed and looked at the offending piece of paper. "Ever thought New Zealand?"

"New Zealand? As in...with all the sheep and rugby?"
"As in just off peak ski season."

"Skiing?"
"What?"
"I suck with a bike, having skis would be a nightmare."

"We'll work something out."

"Like tubing!"

"Or...ski lessons."

"Is it private?"

"You could probably get a private house or something in the mountains near Queenstown."

"Okay. Well. That was easy. We just cut it down to two." Yuuki looked at both locations. "Now to pick one." Hot or cold. Snow or beach.

Kyoya watched her. "Both?"
"Both?" The girl looked up at him. "Like...spend-a-lot-of-time-on-a-plane both?"

"Well...two weeks one place. Two weeks another. Or a week and a few days...time to get used to the time difference."
"You would take a month off work?"
"Well. I couldn't take a month off you, could I?"

"No. Probably not." Came the smug reply.

Tamaki burst into the room with a suitcase and an armful of clothes. "Help me." The pair got covered in a variety of colours and items of clothing. "I'm getting married tomorrow!" The blonde beamed, his hands on his hips.

Yuuki sat cross legged with her hand resting above her eyes and her gaze at the carpet. Kyoya threw something out of the pile at his friend. "Tamaki. Put some pants on."

"Oh." Suoh looked down. "Well...they are boxer shorts. So technically their shorts."

"No...Tamaki....just...no."

"Is he decent?" The girl absorbed herself with images of New Zealand.

"Is he ever?" Kyoya shot back.

"Am now!" Tamaki held his hands in the air, a victorious gesture that he was now completely dressed.

Yuuki folded herself off the couch and headed for the door. "Well...it seems he's...calm?...calm enough about tomorrow. I'm going to see the bride-to-be and gauge how much hyperventilating she's doing."

Tamaki glanced up. "Don't keep her out late tonight."

The girl pointed a warning finger at the two men. "Don't drink tonight. At all. Or any night for that matter."

Kyoya looked remarkably haughty. "Oh, don't worry. We can tell the difference between Champaign and Maison."

Yuuki glared. "I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Bye."

"Yuuki?"

"Yes?"

"Love you."

"I know." She disappeared, leaving both heirs smiling.

Tamaki collapsed on the sofa and began going through the piles of clothes he had transported into the room. "So...did you decide on a location?"

Kyoya held up the two brochures. "Yes."

The blonde took them. "Two places?"
"Well...she likes privacy so the Seychelles is a good idea. But the snow played an important part in our relationship...so..."

"That's such a cute idea! Haruhi and I decided on Greece because it was in the middle of both places we wanted to go."

"Where did you want to go?"

"I wanted to go to America, she wanted to go to Australia."
"Australia?"
"Yeah. I know right. Middle of nowhere."

Kyoya pushed his glasses up. "She wanted to go to Australia?"

"Something about the best beaches in the world. But its their Autumn now so the beach isn't a good idea. Haruhi also didn't like the idea of America during Spring Break. So we'll do both countries later and go to Greece now."

The Ootori frowned for a moment and then smiled at his friend. "Well, you'll have a good time."

"Of course we will." Tamaki winked. Kyoya rolled his eyes and pulled the suitcase nearer so that he could supervise the excited man's packing. The blonde had been known to pack a ski jacket when going to the beach. Tamaki watched his friend. "Kyoya?"
"Yes?"
"Tomorrow..."

"Mmmhmm?"

The blonde pressed his forefingers together. "Um...."

"Your freaking out."

"How did you know?"
"Short of breath, more jittery than usual, distracted..." The man took a pair of winter boots from the pile of clothes to pack and dropped the behind the couch.

"Are you scared?"

"About what?"
"When you get married."

There was a short pause. "Not really, no."

"What?!"

"Tamaki. Calm down. Yuuki and I have till September to have become paranoid."

"Will you get paranoid?"

Kyoya waved his hand dismissively. "Not to anyone's obvious attention." It wasn't that getting married unnerved him, but the change associated with it did. He wanted her, he loved her, he couldn't wait to start forever with her but...for some reason unexplained he felt a light unease. A sort of change that was coming. He would be completely himself and she would be completely her, but in being so they would be completely each other. A whole different entity contained within two bodies. And that didn't even make sense. Not to anyone. Yet, things didn't need to make sense to be understood. Nerves didn't need to be bad in order to cause disquiet. It could be caused by the apprehension of joy. An expectation that one hoped to reach. It was the continous, eternity long climb that they had before them. A whole eternity, just them. A promise. Just them. Just them. Always then. Perfection through flaws and the description of forever and a day through something indescribable to everyone but them.

I wanna laugh
Until I cry
Wake up with you each day 'till the day that I die
Let's go to New Orleans
And watch the parade
Take funny pictures, eat jambalaya, and drink lemonade
And when the day is finally over
And we stumble home
Before we sleep
Baby, marry me(Marry me, Amanda Marshall)

I wanna drive
Until we get lost
Lie in a field staring up at the sky
While you point out the Southern Cross
Somehow I know
Without asking why
That you love me more in a minute
Than anyone could in a lifetime

Dancing in the parking lot
While the band plays inside
Sweep me off my feet
Baby, marry me

We don't need no preacher man
Readin' from the Good Book
And I don't want no fancy dress
Ain't no ceremony for the vows that I took
From the moment I met you
I have been blessed

So let's make a toast
And drink up the wine
Here's to you lying here next to me
Until the end of time

Wherever you are
I wanna be
And anything that means anything to ya
Means everything to me

Sneakin' out the back door
While they're throwing the rice
And they'll talk for weeks
But we're all we need

So baby, if you're free
Marry me
Baby, marry me
Marry me

Yuuki knocked on the door to Haruhi's apartment and was greeted by her father. "Hello, Mr Fujioka. Is Haruhi here?" She didn't mind calling him Mr, even though he was dressed as a woman.

"Yes, yes!" Ranka gushed, he seemed somewhat flustered. "She locked herself in the bathroom an hour ago and won't come out!"

The Cunxin entered the unit and walked through till the back where the bathroom was situated. She knocked softly on the door. "Haruhi? Haruhi, its Yuuki. Can I come in?"

There was a soft click as the door was unlocked. The girl turned to the bride's father and smiled assumingly before slipping into the steamed up room. Haruhi was sitting on the edge of a used bath, wrapped in a towel.

"Hey." Yuuki sat beside her, feeling some displaced water seep through her skirt. "Are you alright?"

"Yes." She nodded. "I'm fine. Just nervous."

"Yeah. I would be too."

Silence. "Really?"
"Yes."

"Why?"
"Well..." Yuuki clasped her hands in front of herself. "I don't want to...well, I do, I just..."
"Freaking out about 'that'."

"Exactly."

"Well...I don't know. What if he doesn't like me?"

"Is that all your worrying about?"

"I worried about everything else before. I know he's the right guy. I love him. But...oh my gosh we're getting married." Haruhi buried her hands in her face. "People say marriage is the end of the relationship."

"Really? I don't think so. I think it's the beginning of a new relationship."

"But I like the old one."

"Well, it would still be the same relationship, only at a different level."

"You think so?"

Yuuki scratched her nose and nodded. "I do think so. I can't wait to marry Kyoya. You can't wait to marry Tamaki. You told me so. Tonight is about your joy at spending the rest of your life with a man you love. It's the beginning of your forever. It's not the end of anything."

"How do you know so much about this? You seem to have it all worked out..."
"Kyoya likes to work things out." Yuuki smiled. "You would have said exactly the same to me if I was in here in a towel and you were getting your new skirt wet. Although, you would probably break into that horrid song Start of Something New, but I don't have the guts. It works though."

Haruhi laughed. "Thanks."

"Well...I would be lying to say I'm not scared." Yuuki said quietly. "That's natural I guess. We've been conditioned to think marriage is a bit boring. You get married you have kids you die. But, that cant happen to us. Because we're not society, we are us. So...It will work out in the way you let it work out. Whether that be good or bad."
"I don't like bad."

"You have Tamaki. It won't be bad...it will be, um, interesting."

Haruhi smiled sweetly. "I don't even know why I locked myself in the bathroom."

"Because you're scared."
"Do you lock yourself in the bathroom when you're scared?"
"No. But I can't stand fighting. If Kyoya and I fight, I disappear. He once found me in a closet once. Last month actually. We fought about something like the people he needed to invite to the wedding. and I ended up in the closet, hiding from the argument. I didn't want to make him mad."

"Serious?"
"Very large closet. If the Ootori's had a fourth child that no one knew about they could have lived rather comfortably in it. Or all the wedding guests... But yes. Seriously. And that's something I have to work at."

"I have to work at...patience."

Yuuki wrapped a strand of hair around her finger. "Yeah...I can imagine."

The younger girl sighed. "Well. Alright." She stood up. "Alright. I'm freaking out but I know that this is what I want. I don't know it right now, but I knew it yesterday. I just need to calm down and relax."

"And love Tamaki. He's like a Labrador. A big, blonde, bouncy Labrador. He'll never fail you, even if you think he has. Contagious joy is something you'll have to put up with for the rest of your life, and that can't be as bad as it sounds." Yuuki finished sarcastically.

"You should study psychology."

"I've heard that before."

Haruhi laughed. "Thank you, Yuuki."

"You're welcome." Pause. "Can I borrow some pants? I think I sat in the place you decided to create another bath in."

"Sure." The girl smiled and opened the door. Ranka fell into the room as the steam floated away into the apartment. "Hey dad."

"Hey Haruhi." He said from the floor. "Feeling better?"

"Remarkably."

Yuuki made a thumbs up sign at Haruhi's father who sighed gratefully. As the girl's mother and father, he felt the stress of both. When his daughter had locked herself in the bathroom the day before her wedding, he had flipped out. He didn't know if she was preparing or trying to run away. Probably both. As one who had been through the wedding thing before, Ranka knew how unnerving it could be. "That's good. I set everything up for tonight already."

Yuuki crossed her arms stubbornly. "That was my job."
"No. Your job is to stand there and smile and say encouraging things."

"I've done that already though."

"Get over it miss De'ja'vous."

Haruhi appeared and tossed a pair of jeans at her friend. "Dad. Get up."

"Alright darling. Let's go make sure everything's ready for you when you wake up tomorrow so that when your friends arrive you don't have to worry about it." He closed the door on his way out, leaving Yuuki in a half steamed bathroom.

The girl looked at herself in the mirror. She wasn't tall, she didn't have a curvy figure, she didn't have blonde hair. Apparently she was the opposite of every man's fantasy. She knew exactly how Haruhi felt. Self conscious and doubtful as to the attraction her fiancé had to her. Kyoya had told her she was beautiful, but she didn't know if she believed that for herself. Sure, she didn't think herself ugly, but the opposite end of the spectrum was just as hard a stretch to imagine. Pretty, cute, lovely. Not beautiful, breathtaking, captivating. Since their Vogue interview, Yuuki had been in a few other shoots for various lines, but nothing outstanding. Just confidence building stuff. Apparently her face photographed well and she moved well, but she didn't know what to think. There had been very little feminine influence in her life and she was lucky to have turned out not afraid of dresses. Her perception of herself was what the world thought. Not what she thought or what Kyoya and her friends thought. It was blurred, unachievable and defined by some material beauty that no one knew the origins of.

It's funny how a guy will worry about commitment and a girl will worry about composure. That's probably why they worked together so well, they overcompensated for the part that the other missed some of. Mars and Venus. Two opposite worlds that worked so well together in one galaxy.

Yuuki was sitting on a couch, surrounded by girls, when her phone went off. It was Kyoya.

"Hello?" Pause. "Hold on. It's too loud in here." She escaped outside. "Okay."

"Single ladies?"

"It's a hen's night. Get over it."

"Having fun?"

"Totally." She smiled and put on a playfully sarcastic tone and played with her hair for dramatic effect. "We're all wearing plastic tiaras with little veils attached and baking cookies and listening to single ladies and having pillow fights in our underwear."

Humoured silence.

"I was joking about that last one."

"Yes. I know."

"You rang?"

"Is everything ready for tomorrow?"

"The bride is fine, if that's what you meant. And I'm staying here tonight. You're staying with Tamaki and the..."

"I meant the twins."

"Oh. If their sober now, they won't want to be this time tomorrow."

"They won't be."

Yuuki smiled evilly. "That's terrible...I like it."

"Yes. Thought you might." He laughed quietly.

"Where are you?"

"Outside."

"All partied out?"

"No. Everyone's headed back to Tamaki's for some 'male bonding'."

"Aw. Guy love."
"Reliving high school."

"That sounds more dangerous than a buck's party." Pause. "Sorry. Bad pun." He was rich, those things happened.
"Haha. No. We lay on the driveway and looked at the stars before changing grades. The only time we didn't was graduation; and that didn't go well, did it?"
"No. It didn't."

"Mako called." Abrupt change of topic.

"You?" Her brother had rung her a few times, just to chat. But never her fiancé.

"Yes. He wants to meet you."

"He asked you?"

"Well. You would have said yes straight out."

"Yes. But..."

"We'll talk later. Just letting you know."

"Okay." Pause. "Are you driving?"

Amused silence.

"I'm hanging up."

"Okay. Night."

"Night."

Silence. "Yuuki?"

"Mmm?"
"I'll see you at the altar."

The girl smiled and hung up on him. The door to Haruhi's apartment flew open and the girl popped her head outside. "What's happening?"

Yuuki put her phone back in her pocket. "Sweet revenge."

"You're getting the twins back at my wedding?"
"Well...at the reception." She walked back inside. "It's the only place serving alcohol."

Haruhi laughed and shut the door. What better revenge than the original plot? Yuuki rejoined the party..There was only one person in the room she could call a close friend, and only one other besides her existed. He was driving to his best friend's house to look at the stars and just be. To help calm him down in the perfect way for him. It came from knowing and understanding. Very few people actually understood others. When you found someone who understood you, you understood them and nothing else mattered because you didn't need to ask, you didn't need to wonder what that expression meant or have to question why the revenge plot involved a bar tab and not what was in the bar.

I wish I knew you
Way back when
Before you were part of my plans
I think that we would have been friends(You'll always be my best friend, Relient K)

There's only time to live our lives
And you'll be the one who's by my side
And I can promise you then
You'll always be my best friend

Till the end when we part
I will give you my heart
And I'll promise to love you with all that it is
And I'll promise to be there whenever you need me
Because you'll always be my best friend

Yuuki woke up on the couch the next morning. Ranka was sitting at the kitchen table drinking a cup of coffee and smiled perkily when she opened her eyes.

"Morning dear!" He waved.

"Morning..." Came the groggy reply. "What time is it?"

"Its seven."

The girl's little hello smile disappeared. She groaned and lay back down with her arm across her eyes. "I only went to sleep at four..."

"What time did my Haruhi go to sleep?"
"Um...two."

"You stayed up for two hours?"
"The floor was covered in party streamers and the sink was piled with glasses and plates..."

"You cleaned it?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Haruhi's not the only person with nerves."

Ranka laughed heartily. "Why would you be nervous?"

Yuuki looked at him and let her arm fall off the couch and onto the floor as she rolled onto her side. "Because...it's me next. This is like the warm up."

"Oh. You'll be fine."

"Are you nervous?"

"Wouldn't you be if your daughter was marrying Tamaki?"

"Point." Pause. "You re-packed her suitcase last night, right?"
"Yes. You were right; she had packed jeans...for Greece. I don't know why."

Yuuki smiled, she knew why. "You think the dresses I got her will fit?"

"Probably."

"Alright." The girl stood up and stretched. "She needs to be awake at nine. Make-up at ten thirty, hair at eleven thirty, dress at one, car at two, arrival at three thirty. Alter at four."

Haruhi's father blinked. "Planner much?"

"I learnt from the best." She opened the fridge and pulled out a bottle of orange juice and poured herself a glass. "Looking forward to walking your daughter down the aisle?"

"I am. She's a short haired version of her mother."

"Tamaki's not a short haired version of you though." Yuuki laughed. "Although, he did dress as a woman once..."

"As an armature. He's nothing to us professionals."

The girl leant against the counter. "Hmm...."

Two hours later, the pair burst into the bride's room and bounced on her bed until she woke up. Yuuki grinned. "Wake up, wake up! We've got to get you to the church on time! Wake up!"

Haruhi shoved her friend and caused her to topple off the bed.

The Cunxin slid her feet into a cross legged position and stared at the sleepy face watching her. "You're going to the chapel and you're going to get married." She sang sweetly.

The younger girl sat up abruptly. "I'm getting married today. Jehosephat. I'm getting married today."

Ranka stood at the door. "Yay!" He clapped.

Haruhi stared around and ran a hand through her hair and smiled. "I'm getting married today."

Meanwhile, at the Suoh mansion, everyone was sleeping peacefully. Until Tamaki woke up. He ran through the house in his pyjama bottoms until he reached the spare room that Kyoya was staying in.

"I'M GETTING MARRIED!" he jumped on his friend's bed. "YAHOO! Mon ami, I'm getting married today!"

Kyoya rolled over and stared at the blonde. He groaned and rolled over.

"WAKE UP!" Tamaki shook him. "TODAY IS THE DAY!"

The Ootori sat up and pulled his glasses on. "Okay. Okay." It was his friend's wedding day, he couldn't kill him. "Valium?"

The blonde sat on his feet. "I'm so happy!"

"Yes. I can see that."

"It's your turn next."

"Yes."

"And I'll run through the halls and wake you up then too. Only, you won't be grumpy. You'll be happy." Tamaki put his fingers on Kyoya's face and forced his mouth into a smile. "Smile for me mon ami."

The Ootori pulled the blondes hands away and swung his legs over the bed. "Today is your wedding, I agree with everything you say and do everything you want me to."

Tamaki stared. "No conditions?"

Kyoya pushed his glasses up and smiled. "Congratulations."

Going to the chapel
And we're gonna get married
Going to the chapel
And we're gonna get married

Gee I really love you
And we're gonna get married
Going to the chapel of love

Spring is here, The sky is blue
Birds all sing, Like they do
Today's the day
We'll say "I do"
And we'll never be lonely anymore

Because we're
Going to the chapel
And we're gonna get married
Going to the chapel
And we're gonna get married

Gee I really love you
And we're gonna get married
Going to the chapel of love

Bells will ring
The sun will shine
I'll be hers
And she'll be mine

We'll love until
The end of time
And we'll never be lonely anymore(Going to get married, Various)

Because we're
Going to the chapel
And we're gonna get married
Going to the chapel
And we're gonna get married

Yuuki stood at the altar across from Kyoya and held her little bouquet. Three were a couple hundred people packing the ancient church chosen by the soon to be Suoh couple. All of whom were staring at Tamaki, not the best man or maid of honour. The blonde was beaming. He was like a little sun that had descended from the sky and landed inside the building. He was also about to leap out of his skin from waiting.

The host club filled the first pew, gleaming in new suits and bright smiles. The twins looked a little uncomfortable, they knew something was coming. Yuuki caught Kyoya's eye and smiled. He returned the gesture and then nodded at the door. It was beginning. There was a creaking noise as everyone turned in the pews to see the doors at the back of the church open. A little girl holding a basket of petals walked down, she forgot her task and didn't distribute the roses. Halfway she remembered and dropped large fistfuls of petals in chunks along the aisle. Then a pair appeared in the door.

Ranka was dressed as a man for the first time in years; in order to uphold the status the classes in the room had set. Haruhi had a hand through his arm and was smiling in a shy manner. People were whispering.

"Oh...isn't she lovely?...that dress is amazing...I wonder what perfume she's wearing..."

Haruhi was beautiful. Her short hair was decorated with small white flowers and trimmed with white lace that signified the beginning of a veil that fell gently across her joyous face. The dress was perfect. The shoes were perfect. The setting was perfect.

Yuuki watched the little brunette blush her way to the side of her fiancé and take his hand in her own. Her father lingered for a moment before sitting down, his eyes moist. He was handing over his daughter. She was no longer his, but she belonged to another. Yuuki wondered if her own father would have ever felt that way for her and doubted it.

The ceremony started. The couple didn't take their eyes of each other once. It was obvious that they loved each other, it radiated around the room and bounced off the walls, it reverberated through the aisle and through the pews. The 'I do's' sunk into each member of the audience and confirmed something known to all but misunderstood by many. The Ootori's breathing quickened as he realised who would be saying those two words next. It would be him next. September seemed so far away. So lax in coming. If he could speed time up, he would. Their day would be different. The atmosphere would be them. It would be warm, like Tamaki's, but not as bright. It wouldn't be tangible to anyone except himself and the bride. It would be slightly mysterious; the things no one else knew but that the other understood. It would be so deep that the end was not visible, if it ended at all. Tamaki and Haruhi had created a setting that would last eternity for them, it defined them. But it defined no one else. And that was what Kyoya and Yuuki had been the whole time they had been together. Intangible.

"You may now kiss the bride." The ministers voice joined them officially.

Tamaki didn't hesitate a moment. Yuuki looked at Kyoya. He was watching his friends, a soft smile playing across his face. He was happy. He approved. If he approved, then he had calculated it. He had weighed it and found it good. And it was obviously that. The Ootori looked up and met her eye across the room. His smile spread a little more. Tamaki broke the kiss and grabbed his best man's hand as everyone else clapped. He embraced the other man. Haruhi grabbed Yuuki's fingers and smiled.

"Congratulations." The Cunxin said warmly.

"We did it."

"You did it." The smiling was contagious.

Haruhi disappeared back down the aisle as Tamaki pulled her towards the door. Kyoya took Yuuki's now empty hand and followed the couple out. They would be in the car following to the photo location and then again on the way to the reception.

"Next time..." He put his mouth close to her ear to talk above the applause and to avoid the confetti.

"I know." Yuuki glanced up. "Next time."

Kyoya kissed her temple briefly before breaking into the sunlight of outside behind the newlyweds. Next time.

The reception was in a giant hotel that overlooked a lakefront. There were birds playing in the water as the sun set and dragonflies buzzing everywhere. Spring had sprung. Just like love.

Hikaru and Kaoru waited.

Yuuki watched them from her seat beside Kyoya at the groom's table. Only the maid of honour, the best man, the bride, groom and the parents of such were allowed there. "They have no idea."

"No idea." The Ootori replied smugly. "But one wouldn't in these circumstances."

The girl smiled haughtily. "Well...that's your job. Isn't it?"

"Patience. Patience, dear." His tone was light.

Haruhi and Tamaki were sitting close beside them, completely closed off to everyone except themselves.

"Are we like that?" Yuuki asked.

"Like what?"

She pointed at the newlyweds.

"No."

"What are we?"

"Us. You. Me."

"We can't be defined by anything?"

"I thought that. But no. I've realised that we cannot be defined by anything but ourselves."

"It's funny how that only applies here."

"Well, if it applies here, then it applies to everywhere else. Because here decides the rest of your life."

"Thanks Ghandi."

Kyoya laughed. "See anything you like? Any inspiration?"

"I'm surrounded by Vera Wang, Couture, Royal Dalton...and its glorious." Pause. "But I'm not copying this wedding."

"Mm?"

"I was thinking...somewhere in the country. In a big white tent, with an oak tree inside hung with lights. Head table below it."

"A tent so big it can hold an oak tree?"

"I saw it done on Oprah." Yuuki looked over the rim of her glass and spoke matter-of-factly.

"Is that so?" Kyoya replied.

"Mmm. It was warm and passionate and made a lasting effect."

"Just like you."

"Well...I was thinking just like you."

"No one except you and maybe Tamaki thinks I'm a warm person."
"Well, no one else knows you like we know you." Yuuki smiled.

Kyoya pushed his glasses up and smiled, turning back to face the mass of people in front of him. He rose and tapped his glass to begin the round of speeches. "Excuse me. May I have your attention please." It was not a question. He commanded the room thanks to years of Host Club practice and business experience. "Thank you. Well, we all know why we're here today." Pause. "Tamaki is the most unconventional man I have ever met." Small round of laughter. "And Haruhi is one of the brightest, most beautiful people I know." The happy couple were beaming. "And I know that their union was not one expected from birth, but it was one expected from heart. And it is one I know will last." He raised a Champaign glass at his friends. "Congratulations." The room followed suit and clapped. Before Kyoya sat down he gained the attention of the hundreds of attendee's first. It was not a small wedding. "And. On another note." He turned his gaze to the twins. "I would like to send my thanks, on behalf of the room, to the Hitachiin twins who have graciously opened a TAB for anything your require tonight. Please feel free to use all resort facilities at their expense." He sat down as another round of applause circled the room.

Tamaki leaned over. "But Kyoya..." He whispered. "...you're paying the TAB...This is your resort..."

The Ootori smiled roguishly in his own sly manner. "I'm getting paying back with the TAB. You'll find it's quite different."

Yuuki looked at the twins. They were horrified. Every meal, every drink, every napkin, every broken crystal glass, every cracked vase, every ounce of crust need, everything in the room that night was charged to them. Everything. And the guests, knowing they were not paying themselves, would manipulate the fact. Toy with Kyoya; expect your savings to be depleted at a rate faster than one playing Lady Luck at a casino.

Haruhi was humorously horrified. "You two..."

"Hey. They started it." Yuuki said in defence.

"They pay tenfold for what they did to both of you." Kyoya leant back and watched the room.

"I don't think Maison costs that much." Came the startled reply.

The man just laughed, deep and low, while his fiancé smiled. "Don't worry Haruhi. Just enjoy yourself. We're just tying up an odd end that Deedle De and Deedle Dum left untied." Yuuki said in a light tone. "We all know they have enough money for it. We wouldn't have done it unless they were amply prepared."

Haruhi leant back. It was true. Any Ootori or Ootori to be wouldn't suck the money out of someone if it sucked the life out of them too. Everything had been planned for maximum displeasure with minimum long term discomfort. The twins just wouldn't be able to buy any new clothes from high range for a month or so. They looked royally pissed at the fact. Especially when Hunny ordered a cake for himself that was almost as large as the extravagant, six tier wedding cake.

Tamaki and Haruhi managed to cover each other in their dessert whilst doing the traditional feed-your-partner thing. They did manage to drink properly though. Maison. They were happy. Overjoyed. Contagious. Anything the Suoh and his new wife did was infectious. This meant that Kyoya got cake on his face too.

"Let them eat cake." Yuuki said laughing at his reaction.

"No more French Revolution. No more cake." He wiped his face. "How did you miss?"
"Yeah, you do have a pretty big mouth at times."

He smiled. "You're being incredibly conceited this evening."

"As are you. Twin thing, very good."

"It was excellent."

Yuuki crossed her arms and looked across the room at the Hitachiin's as they tried to convince people that the cheap wine was the best. "We make a great team."

"We do."

She turned around. "We should get jerseys." Her eyes glimmered in the moment before she looked deeply thoughtful. "But yours would look better than mine; you're out of my league."

Kyoya laughed and put the cake he had been trying to feed her down. He wouldn't get revenge tonight. Handle with care was still a treaty that was intact. "No I'm not. What did Jane Austen say?"

"He is a gentle man, I am a gentleman's daughter..."

"So far, we are equal."

"Yes. But I don't have a father."

Kyoya watched Ranka across the room. "You were still born to the family of a gentleman."

"At least there's no handover."

"Hm?"

"From father to groom."

"Oh. Yes. Tachi will feel some loss I'm sure."

Yuuki smiled. "I'm looking forward to it." Pause. "Every day I spend with you is the new best day of my life."

The Ootori stared at Tamaki and Haruhi as they tried to clean each other's faces but ended up failing for their blissful laugher. "That's cliché."

"Cliché is sometimes right." The Suoh had been cliché all his life, and it had defiantly worked for him. He had the bride of his dreams and a life he wasn't afraid of.

"I guess I'm just fortunate to have found you." He had never been before her and never would be without her. He had never understood that until she had left him. And neither had she.

"It's time for the dance." Yuuki said, leaning against him as Tamaki led Haruhi to the dance floor. Everything by Michael Buble began to play. It was the groom's gift to his bride. Everything he had said over the years and the things he would say in those to come condensed into their song.

As the music progressed, other couples took the floor. Old couples, young couples. Mothers, fathers, children; all the different kinds of affection united by one pair's union. One pairs gift to each other that had spread through the room. That was Haruhi and Tamaki. They were more than each other, they were everyone else as well.

You're a carousel, you're a wishing well... Hunny appeared with Mori. Big cousin, little cousin. A different form of love, but a love indeed.

And you light me up, when you ring my bell...The twins. Familial love.

You're a mystery, you're from outer space, you're every minute of my everyday...Kyoya and Yuuki joined the throng. A love so mysterious and deep that it stretched through time and space before it even reached a knowledge of what they were and what they had become together.

And I can't believe, uh that I'm your man,
And I get to kiss you baby just because I can.

Tamaki kissed Haruhi long and deep, disbelieving that she was his. The girl held him tighter, just because she could. Just because she loved him. They didn't see eye to eye on everything and were full of annoying habits, but they had found each other and had worked. It worked and they were prepared to make it work.

Whatever comes our way, ah we'll see it through,
And you know that's what our love can do.

Kyoya watched his friend dance with his wife. He watched his friends dance with each other. He watched Yuuki dance with him. She had her head pressed lightly against the side of his, at the base of his jaw with her cheekbone. Yuuki wasn't afraid anymore of marrying him. She saw her friends and through them saw what she and Kyoya had. It was different, but it was just as happy. Most people in the modern world don't consider marriage as lasting. There is always a dissention in that discussion. But they knew it would last. That knowledge through everything they had been through proved it, it gave them power and confidence. She had always known eternity wouldn't be a feat for them, but it would have its ups and downs. That's what worried her. Yuuki didn't like to argue with Kyoya. She hid from those situations. She still would, but it didn't seem to matter. She wanted to be with him and give herself to him forever and not care what the world said or thought or believed because what they had gossiped had never mattered in their personal reality. You could not love without trust and trust had always been Yuuki's biggest downfall. But she trusted him. She trusted him with all of her life, forever and ever. And he believed in her for eternity.

People in the room didn't like their pairing. They didn't like Tamaki and Haruhi's pairing either. It was not to their standard. The media sometimes even called at the oddity of the 'Prince and the Pauper' and 'The gentleman and his woman'. No one saw how love could come out of that. Not love of convenience like the rest of the world. Maybe they were just jealous; they could see something greater than anything most people had experienced, and probably hadn't themselves.

And I know that it's so cliché to tell you that everyday
I spend with you is the new best day of my life
Everyone watching us just turns away with disgust
It's Jealously, they can see that we've got it going on(Must have done something right, Relient K)

And I'm racking my brain for a new improved way
To let you know your more to me than what I know how to say
You're OK with the way this is going to be
This is going to be the best thing we've ever seen

If anyone can make me a better person you could
All I gotta say is I must've done something good
I came along one day and you rearranged my life
All I gotta say is I must've done something right
I must've done something right

Maybe I'm just lucky cause it's hard to believe
Believe that somebody like you'd end up with someone like me
And I know that it's so cliche to talk about you this way
But I'll push all my inhibitions aside
It's so very obvious to everyone watching us
That we have got something real good going on

"Those poor, unfortunate souls." Yuuki looked at Hikaru and Kaoru as the night drew to a close.

"They saw it coming." Mori said deeply. Hunny sat beside him, enjoying the benefits of the TAB and its dessert menu.

"Yes...but they look miserable."

"You looked miserable as you emptied your stomach into the toilet." Kyoya said flatly.

"Yes...but..."

"No buts."

"Ye..."

"Yuuki. You liked the idea. Remember?"

"Y..."

"Uh."

"B..."

"Uh."

"K..."

"No."

The girl had been uneasy ever since Haruhi and Tamaki had taken their leave. She had remembered why she was scared of her wedding day when they left and held her friend tight before letting her disappear with her husband.

Yuuki scowled at her fiancé. "Fine. They deserve it."
"No we did not." The twins said in unison behind Kyoya, their hands on their hips. "We didn't do anything half as bad or expensive as this!" They had to maintain face and carry through with the deal.

"Well...not according to you." The Ootori shot back.

"You just cost us a whole function with Fashion Weekly!"
Hunny looked up. "You cost Yuu-Chan and Haru-Chan a considerable amount of discomfort."

"You should have stuck to the Which one is Hikaru? Game." The blonde's cousin finished.

Hikaru and Kaoru collapsed onto the empty chairs at the table. They were last ones in the room. They were the ones who could dwell on their friends. Where they had been. Where they were.

"They got married..." Twin one said.

"Always expected it. But it finally happened." Twin two finished.

Yuuki smiled. "It's good." It was good.

"It's peculiar." Kyoya said in his calculating tone.

"Peculiar?" Hunny was still very awake thanks to all the sugar.

"Two households, both alike in dignity...From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, where civil blood makes civil hands unclean." The girl quoted.

Everyone turned to Kyoya for a translation. "She means that he's very upper class and she's a commoner. In normal circumstances they would have never met, never fallen in love, never married. They don't often associate unless it's a tense, unhappy occasion. And yet, they are both of the same bred. Both alike in dignity. Both human." Pause. "Yuuki also has a thing for Shakespeare."

She pulled a face at him.

"Oh." Came the chorus around the table. Twin one lent on the white cloth, he was tired and suddenly much stressed. "Well...that's very profound of you." His tone was sarcastic.

"Thank you." Yuuki ignored his tone. "How was your lamb?" She teased, driving their revenge deeper.

"Skewered." Twin one.

"One sympathises." Twin two. They'd paid for it.

There was a long silence. It didn't feel like anything was missing, not for long anyway. Tamaki and Haruhi wouldn't be away for too long and when they returned they would still be members of the Host Club, they would still be friends.

Hunny didn't seem to realise this though. "Where are Haru-chan and Tama-chan?" He looked around. They had never all been together and then suddenly apart for an extended period of time during the course of an evening.

Yuuki put her head in her hands. If she had to avoid the where babies come from talk again, she would be tempted to leap of a bridge. How did he not know anyway? Mori was acting parent here. He could do it. "They went upstairs."'
"Can we go upstairs too?"
"No."

"Why? I miss Haru and Tama-chan."

"They don't miss you." The twins shot back wickedly.

"What? Why?"

"Okay." Yuuki stood up. "Good evening." She didn't want to be the only girl surrounded by guys making lewd jokes at the topic of love making. Just the topic gave her enough reason to want to leave before getting shy or embarrassed or both. "Thanks for the TAB boys."

The twins growled at her. They had lost A LOT of money that evening. A Kyoya trick at its best. They wouldn't even consider getting anyone drunk ever again; which had ultimately been the point of the exercise.

Mori and Hunny said goodnight before the blonde plunged into a line of questions and was answered with innuendo. Kyoya appeared at Yuuki's side and lead her to where his car was parked.

"Good show. That's that."

"That's that..." The girl said quietly.

"What's wrong?"
"Nervous."

"About?"

"Our wedding day." Pause. "Wedding night." Pause. "Scared." This was a topic that engaged couples should address, she knew that, it was just very hard and awkward.

Kyoya wrapped an arm around her waist. "Why?"
"Because..."

"Best excuse of the day."

"I'm not making excuses. I'm just...um...okay. Sorry."

"For what?"
"Bringing it up." Awkward.

"No. I'm glad you did." Kyoya opened the car door and guided her inside. "It means you're getting better at this."

"No..." She said as he climbed into the driver's seat. "I um..." Yuuki locked her thumbnails under each other. "It just seems so...uh...close."

The Ootori looked at her. "It's not like you have a personal bubble anymore."

The girl laughed lightly. "We share now, do we?"
He grinned.

"Yes. But...I don't want to make you...unhappy. In any way."

"You couldn't if you tried."

"When I left that time though, surely that made you unhappy?"
"Yes. Of course. But you came back." Pause. "You didn't make me unhappy in doing that. I made myself unhappy in causing that. It was never you; it was the loss of such."

"Okay."

"Hm?"
"No. I just..."

"I know." He glanced at her. He did know. To a certain extent. Men live in their bodies, women are their bodies. It was a lot more personal for them. Women thought differently, they functioned differently; they were relations and emotions based. Men had emotion and liked relationships, but their processes differed to that of their counterparts. They compensated for the female overcompensation and vice versa.

"Okay. The sex talk is like...weird now. Just drive." Yuuki leant sleepily on the windowpane. Kyoya laughed.

He pulled up to their house, half furnished but done enough so to live in. They had kitchen appliances, ducted air conditioning, decorative lights, a couch, a mostly full bookcase and a TV. Just like the apartment in London, only bigger. The sofa was absolutely, abhorrently huge. It was the kind that had a right angle built into it that one could lie flat on. It was also comfortable enough to be a bed. And was used as such by Yuuki. The bed they had ordered from Pottery Barn didn't arrive for another week, along with the desks, the dining room table, the study couches, the ottomans, floating counters, stools and other items. Everything else was coming from other stores and some people from IKEA had been hired to put it all in place.

Zero was comfortably housed in the new stable, paddock and working yard arrangement a hundred meters from the house.

The girl appeared at the balcony over the void after a shower and found Kyoya looking through the book she was currently reading. "It's really good." She said, descending the stairs.

"La's Orchestra Saves the World." He read the title.

"Mmhmm..." She put the book she had finished back in the bookcase. Her fiancé smiled at how she did it. The top shelf was too far away, so Yuuki had piled a few encyclopaedias to form a makeshift step until the library ladder arrived.

"That's resourceful."

The girl looked down. "Ha. Yeah."

Kyoya stood in front of her; she was now almost his height. "You prefer being tall?"

"Yes." She replied audaciously.

"I don't really." He pressed his forehead against hers. "It's not you."

"You like leaning over to say hello?"

"You're not that vertically challenged."

"No, I'm not. But it's not a stretch to imagine."

"I wouldn't even call you short. You're just below average." Pause. "For the only time in your life."

Yuuki smiled softly and breathed softly against him. "Well...that would be a stretch to imagine for you."

"Mm." Kyoya rested a hand on her waist and let the other linger along her jawbone.

"Tamaki and Haruhi looked so happy."

"They were."

"Were you happy?"
"Yes." Pause. "I'll be euphoric on our wedding day."

"Me too." Yuuki kissed him sweetly. She felt odd being almost level with him. He was right, it wasn't her. It wasn't them. It was just convenient. She came up to a point just above his shoulder. Not much, but enough to claim so. And it was right.

Kyoya cradled her gently before the phone started ringing. It was cordless and sitting on the bookcase, in front of Jane Austen and Jodi Picoult. "Hello?" He didn't let her go. "Yes. Yes. She's here. Maybe. We'll discuss it. Okay. Yes, it was a good day. No. No. I'm not decided. Thank you for understanding. Good night." Click.

"Who was it?"

"You're brother."

"He has the home number?" Pause. "I didn't say hello?"
"Yes. I gave it to him so that you could talk more. I still don't want you meeting him yet. He understands how protective I'm being with your family."

"Why?"

"Because, your father played the familial love card and hurt you more than I ever did. I don't want that for you."

"But Mako's not my father. And I wouldn't meet him alone, you'd be there." She obviously wanted to. The need for family was still strong. "I'm an aunt to a child I've never met." Yuuki played with the hair behind his head. "Please?"

Kyoya paused. She knew how to manipulate him. Or at least distract him. "Later. It's very late."

"Please?"
"Yuuki. Don't push it."

"He's my brother. I'll meet him if I want too."

He sighed. "I'm going to be there. I'm going to decide the place. You're going to behave."

"Do I ever not behave?"

The Ootori raised an eyebrow and lifted her off the book-step and set her to normal height. "Good night, Yuuki."
"Good night, Kyoya." She smiled and stood on her toes to kiss him goodbye.

Kyoya kissed the top of her head in return. "Next time it'll be us."

Yuuki leant against the door frame as he headed to his car. "Next time." With them. With their meaning. Their inexplicable format. Something people didn't believe in, but that existed in a real way to those who knew of its reality on earth. And in their reality. In their world and through their flawed perfection.

If the whole universe has no meaning, we should never have found out that it has no meaning: just as, if there were no light in the universe and therefore no creatures with eyes, we should never know it was dark. Dark would be without meaning.

(C.S Lewis, Mere Christianity)

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Exploring different perceptions of marriage and love. I'm fortunate enough to have friends who will discuss that sort of thing without being immature...most of the time. Haha.

Anyway. Tamaki and Haruhi got married. ^-^ Yay. The chapter was about Kyoya and Yuuki (it's their story) but I love the TamakixHaurhi pairing. It just clicks in such a fun way.

Kyoya and Yuuki got their revenge. ^-^ TAB for a couple hundred of the upper class with no perception of cheap. Oh...the funds that would have sucked.

And yes, I like the thought of Shakespeare and James Bond. I hate discussing sex. It makes me so awkward and uncomfortable. I'm sorry if it makes you so too, but its relevant and not really anything to be ashamed of; even though I'm completely bashful when it comes to 'the topic.' If you read 1984 (George Orwell) or watch V for Vendetta (Don't unless your 15. It is MA for a reason; violence and swearing...it's a political thriller kind of thing, very interesting, very well written) they show that sexuality is more than sex; it's an expression of something deeper. Which is really what Yuuki believes and is why she's so worried about it. And that's what I wanted to convey. Okay. Awkward. Hope it made sense and I hope you liked the chapter. Please tell me what you thought. :)

Blessings,

-pp

P.S. This chapter is as long as a chapter for a novel. Is this a problem? Is it difficult to read something thats 20 pages long? Please, do tell. I can cut it down. It is hard to write that much in a day, but I love doing it now that I have a few days off. So...please...let me know.