A/N: Another chapter for you all~ Gonna be busy with college etc at the end of the week, so may not have the daily updates for you all like usual! (I'm too good to you all anyway) Not totally happy with how this chapter's written quite yet so I may come back and fix a couple of bits at a later stage.

Oh well, enjoy~

"So, Haruhi, how are you finding studying at Ouran? Getting the scholarship there must have been difficult!" Fuyumi asked me sweetly. Dinner had finished and glasses of wine and varieties of coffee were being handed out by the multitude of staff that seemed to spawn out of nowhere.

"It's hard work but enjoyable. Coping with host club duties and staying top of the class takes a lot of effort though," I replied, sipping on my coffee from the comfort of a plush green loveseat.

"You better not be working her too hard, Kyoya!" The raven haired woman turned on her brother with a playful sternness, waving a condescending finger at Kyoya just to make her point.

"Wouldn't dream of it," he muttered sarcastically although I could see the humour in his eyes without the safeguard of his glasses.

Fuyumi returned to me filled with curiosity and leant forward eagerly as she maintained her line of questioning. "I take it your close with all of the host club members then?"

"Yes, over the year I've gotten pretty close with each of them. It's like a little family all in its own," I mused. I stared fondly down in the ornate teacup as I reminisced over all the silly adventures and days spent learning their eccentricities that made them all so unique.

"That's so cute!" Fuyumi cooed, clapping her hands together softly in her enthusiasm. The woman was polar opposites from the rest of her family and I couldn't help but warm to her positivity and affectionate personality. Although instinct told me that I wouldn't want to get on her bad side, she was still an Ootori at heart.

"Fuyumi, don't go talking the girl's ear off. There are plenty of people here for you to entertain," Yuuichi appeared at her side, promptly trying to pry her from seat without making a scene.

"Oh, c'mon Yuuichi," she whined. "Aren't you interested in the girl your baby brother brought along as his date?"

He stared blankly at his sister and gave up on trying to make her obey. "Not particularly. Kyoya's personal life is of no concern of mine."

"You're no fun!" Fuyumi huffed, brushing off her older brother dismissively. Yuuichi left empty handed and continued his rounds of the guests by his father's side. "So, are you two dating or are you just accompanying my little Kyoya here for the night?"

"Well, uh…" I hesitated and found an interesting spot on the floor to focus on. Fuyumi leant forward and raised a fined groomed eyebrow at me as her curiosity piqued again.

Kyoya shuffled in his seat and cleared his throat to capture his sister's attention. His stormy eyes sat half lidded and I could tell he missed the ability to fidget with his glasses when the attention fell on him. "If you must know, then yes, Haruhi is my girlfriend."

"Why didn't you tell me before!?" She hissed at us, head twisting side to side to scan the vicinity for any eavesdroppers. Crossing her arms, she began to impatiently wait an explanation with a foot tapping rapidly against the heavily carpeted floor.

"Because I knew you would make an unnecessary fuss," he said matter-of-factly, crossing his arms in an identical version to his sibling.

"Is father aware?" The fire in her eyes died by a fraction and she continued speaking to us in hushed tones. I had to lean forward just to catch what she has asking and I could only imagine how rude it must look for us all to be hunched over in the corner of the room like gossiping children but Fuyumi didn't seem to care.

Kyoya relaxed into his seat and gave a half-hearted shrug, "It was no big secret so I'm assuming that he may already know."

"Well… I'm happy for you both. Truly I am." She took our hands in her dainty ones and smiled sincerely before pulling away with a determined air surrounding her and her face set in steely confidence. "And if father needs talking around then don't hesitate to ask for help! I'm sure if more than one of us hassles him enough he will come round to the idea."

"I'm hoping that it won't be an issue. It is my decision to make." I slipped my hand into Kyoya's as a silent pillar of support. He squeezed back in response and sent a faint smile my way before providing his sister with his full attention again.

"You're forgetting that I was merely a year older than you are now when I was promised to another man without the pleasure of even meeting him; all purely for strengthening business ties," she let out an inaudible sigh. "I'm one of the lucky ones that still managed to fall in love when I met my soon-to-be husband but that's a rarity. That isn't the life I want for you, Kyoya."

My heart went out to the girl in front of me. Even with all the luxuries of the wealthy lifestyle, I couldn't imagine a life where my husband was picked for monetary gain and not love. Wasn't that the whole point of marrying? I could remember back to when Tamaki announced his engagement to that horrid Tonnerre girl; I would hate to have seen how the bubbly blonde Frenchman would have turned out if he had gone through with returning to France with her. And although I knew that Kyoya had fought tooth and nail for recognition in his family up until now, I doubted that he would be willing to bow down and take whatever wife his father dished out to him.

"I've already made it clear to father that I would be in charge of picking my own wife when the time comes. The last engagement was tricky enough to get out of," he muttered in exasperation. His sibling nodded sympathetically and patted him gently on the arm.

It took a second for the words to properly register in my head before I rounded on the boy with confusion written across my features. "Kyoya?"

Fuyumi edged away from me slightly, making her escape from any impending fight that may occur before her eyes. Kyoya glared at his sister before turning to face me and letting out a soft sigh.

"It was arranged that I would marry the heiress to another medical firm back when I was in my first year at Ouran Academy. However Tamaki helped me to see that she was unfit and I manage to get it called off," he explained briefly, answering my inferred question.

"Would it have killed you to tell me this before?" I huffed. Anger welled up in me because of his blatant nonchalance towards the issue.

"I didn't believe it to be pertinent and not many people knew about it other than our families, Tamaki and Honey-sempai."

"Any other secrets I should know about?" I knew I was acting a bit childish now but my frustrations needed to be let loose in one way or another. We stood off in a battle of glares and forgot about the rest of the world around us.

It lasted only a few seconds before a high pitched squeal had us clutching at our ears in agony and turning our glares of the raven haired beauty in front of us, "You pair are just too cute!"

"Fuyumi…" We muttered in unison. In an instant we swivelled our heads to blink at each other and I burst out into giggles, the tension melting away with the laughter. Kyoya observed me with half lidded eyes before becoming infected with the chuckles as well. His arm wrapped loosely around my waist and pulled me in tight by his side.

As we continued chatting away, mainly answering Fuyumi persistent questions, I couldn't help but feel we were being watched. From up on the staircase, Yoshio Ootori stood proudly like a statue, observing the happenings from his high perch. His devious brown eyes were fixed solely on his two youngest children in that moment, brows furrowing in intrigue. With a swift sweep of the hand, he pulled out a cell phone and selected a familiar contact.

"Yuzuru? Yes. I just wanted to inform you of a little development on our little bet that you seemed to have left unnoticed."