I smiled to myself, knowing full well she'd love it, and there was nothing she could do to stop me from giving her this gift. Signing the papers with a final flourish, I thanked the man overseeing the preparations and walked back to the car. It was a new one, an early wedding gift from my father. I wasn't expecting anything from him really, as he was paying for most of the wedding(that had really pissed off Bekah's dad, something about an American tradition that he pays). I didn't complain though- it was helping me with my tasks quite a bit.

While I hadn't told Rebekah I was getting her a present, I was, in fact, checking up on all the wedding preparations. The final touch to my present to her would simply be her deciding which house she wanted.

She probably hasn't even eliminated one yet, I thought to myself with a smile, She's terrible about big decisions. I turned the key to the new Toyota, the leather seats still emmiting their fresh scent. It was only a few days off the lot. Reaching to the passenger side, which was actually quite close, I picked up my planner and pen, slashing a line through the things I'd done already. There were only three things left, at the very bottom of the third page of things to do;

53) Dress- final fitting

54) Jewler's- polish rings

55) Packing- Honeymoon

Obviously one of those I wasn't allowed to do(per another American tradition), and the other would have to wait a bit. Packing for the Honeymoon three weeks in advance seemed a little excessive. So I was off to the Jeweler to see about the rings. Then, home to my beautiful bride-to-be. I smiled in anticipation.

My cell-phone buzzed loudly in the seat next to me, and the car's display screen showed me the Caller ID. I sighed, but knew if he was calling and I didn't answer, I'd regret it more. Reluctantly, I pressed the button on the dashboard to answer. Immediately a french-twanged voice filled my car.

"Hello Mori-senpai! I just wanted to call and say 'hi' and ask you if there was anything I could do to help you and Bekah-senpai with the wedding preparations or anything else like that!"

I smiled at his absolute glee. Like a child... "Well, you can start by showing up on time in the outfit Rebekah and I gave you, okay?"

"R-Right! But I only mean, is there anything else you need? A ring bearer? A priest? I could do tha-"

"Tamaki, you're one of my groomsmen. Leave it at that."

"Oh. Okay Mori-senpai! You got it!" After he raved to me for a bit about how cute he and Haruhi would look as groomsman and bridesmaid together, he hung up and left me in peace. Just in time for me to arrive at the Jeweler's. I opened the shop door to a million sparkling things, bright, happy displays of couples recently wed, and a familiar silhouette.

"Kyoya?" The boy turned to me with an expression of passive curiosity before breaking into his familiar, somewhat cold, smile.

"Ah, Mori-senpai! I was just checking on my new family ring, how pleasant to see you."

"Mmm." I had a feeling this wasn't chance.

"You know, since you're here, we should talk a bit more." He turned back to the man behind the counter that was preparing a box for the newly fashioned ring, pushing up his glasses. "I mean, of course, the fact that since Rebekah and you will be making a family soon enough, I'm sure, you'll need a medical provider."

Relief washed over me, knowing that he was, for once, only thinking of our benefit. Or, at least, mostly just us. I smiled at him and nodded. Of course we'd have insurance through the Ootori Group.

"Ah, I was hoping you'd say yes. I look forward to keeping in touch with you two." He smiled and shook my hand, accepted the box the man behind the desk handed him, and was promptly on his way. It seems that the meeting may have been chance after all. I waited around a little while to see the man who had taken care of Kyoya's ring step through a door to the back offices, returning a moment later with a pair of dark blue velvet boxes. He explained that, should we take good care of them, they wouldn't need a cleaning for a good while. He pointed out to me the engravings on the inside of each, how he'd taken such good care of them, etc, etc. I nodded and smiled, thanking him for his time and effort, payed, and was off.

Within what seemed like seconds and an eternity, I was pulling into the driveway of my parents' home, just itching to see her again. I pulled myself out of the car, smelling like new leather and freshly polished wood, stretching to my full height with my arms extended. The kind of thing Bekah always does when she wakes up. Pushing the door open, I found an empty dining room awaited me, no full family dinner prepared. Not shocking. What did surprise me was a pile of papers, each with a picture of a large house on it, sitting useless on the floor of the living room. Sutokiz, who had grown considerably during the last few months, padded up to my side, forcing his head under my hand to be pet. I patted him mindlessly, letting myself wander to the kitchen, where surely she would be waiting for me. She always waited for me, after all.

However, the kitchen was bare except for a single figure, eating alone at the table.

"Mother?" I glanced around, still no sign of her. "Where is she?"

"Oh, she figured out that you were getting her a present and left. You know how she is..." The woman returned to the Sudoku puzzle she was finishing.

"Oh. Thank you." I went back to the living room and sat on the couch, letting my canine companion hop into my lap and lay down. I stroked his head idly as I attempted to imagine what she could possibly think would make a good present for me.

My eyes roved the room as I thought, unconsciously picking up bits of things as I went. Slippers by the door are skewed, so Bekah put the dogs out… The mantel's been dusted… Mother refilled the mint bowl... I continued my deduction of the room when I noticed something poking out from the bookshelf. What caught my attention is that it was shoved behind other books, as if someone had wanted to hide it in a hurry.

I stood to examine it, only to find it was not a book, but a magazine. It read across the front in a fancy print, "Zodee Japan". I nearly dropped the booklet, feeling my face blushing out of control. An image of a busty young asian girl was slapped across the front, looking over her shoulder at the camera. She wasn't wearing much.

Not many people in this house were interested in shopping for lingerie...

Hesitantly, I flipped the cover open, casting guilty glances at the kitchen over my shoulder. The pages fell by nature to a page with a bookmark in it- the start of the lingerie section. I braced myself, and turned the next page. There were a few pictures of tube-top style bras and other garments. One had a large bold circle drawn around it. Black cups to reign in the breasts, a white underlayer with black floral lace fitted over it- I shivered to imagine her wearing something like that. Moving on quickly, I turned the pages to see if anything else had been marked. Sure enough, a pair of white, tight panties lay under a black lacy layer of fabric, to which stockings were clipped and being held up. Without bothering to see the rest of the pages, I slammed the booklet shut and pushed it carefully into it's makeshift hiding spot.

Without another thought, I disappeared into my room.