"Megu-chan!" A slight blond man bounced up from the table in the back corner of the piano bar as Megumi and Kaoru entered the dimly lit room.
"Huni?" Megumi said disbelievingly as he grabbed her hands and spun her around before pulling her into a hug. "You've grown!" At five foot four, he was still nowhere close to tall, or even average height, but Megumi couldn't get over the change. The cherubic young boy she remembered was little more than a memory.
"Well, a bit," he smiled, pulling back. "Come say hi to Reiko and everybody else!"
Everybody else included Huni's wife, Reiko, and most of the rest of the former Host Club. Haruhi and Tamaki weren't at the table, but there were several empty seats indicating that they weren't far. Megumi slid into an empty seat between Reiko and Mori.
Mori smiled at Megumi, reaching out to ruffle her hair. "Hey," he rumbled affectionately.
"Mori, it's so wonderful to see you again! You have to fill me in on what you've been up to! And Reiko! I don't think I've seen you since university!"
Reiko just smiled. Megumi remembered her as almost painfully shy, but she'd opened up somewhat since falling in love with Huni. Megumi had been fairly close with her during their last two years in high school. "I'm so happy to see you again, Megumi. We'll have to be sure to catch up," she said softly.
"Hello, Megumi!" Megumi looked up at Haruhi. She stared for a minute. Haruhi had allowed her hair to grow out, and it just brushed the tops of her shoulders. She was wearing an actual dress, and her stomach was swollen. She smiled at Megumi's confusion. "Bit of a change from last time you saw me, I guess."
"Um. Yes." Megumi stuttered. She'd had a bit of a crush on Haruhi in high school, and while she had known for years that he was actually a she, seeing her like this was giving her a bit of cognitive dissonance. "But you look beautiful. Congratulations on the baby, by the way."
Haruhi smiled and stroked her stomach. "Thanks. We're pretty excited." She looked around the table, and frowned when she saw Hikaru and Kaoru sitting next to each other. "Kaoru, you stole my seat."
"Hey, you snooze, you lose," The Hitachiin twins chorused. Megumi stiffened a little. Shouldn't they show more respect to a pregnant woman?
"Kaoru. Move," Mori said calmly, snaking his arm over to land on the back of Kaoru's chair. "Now."
"Fine," Hitachiin grumbled, moving away from his twin and into an empty seat next to Ootori, who had been ignoring everyone, his attention instead on the stage, where a young brunette woman was singing, accompanied by a tall blond on the piano.
Oh. There's Suoh. Even though he's married, he still can't quite resist playing with the ladies, can he? Megumi thought. She focused for a minute, listening to the English lyrics. It sounded like an old jazz standard, although she couldn't quite place the tune. The woman finished the song with a high note, hitting it hard and then backing off immediately, allowing the note to bloom in intensity and volume as she held it far longer than Megumi could have.
There was scattered applause throughout the room, and surprisingly, Ootori's was the loudest and most enthusiastic. Reiko leaned in to whisper, "That's Laney, Kyoya's wife."
"Oh," Megmui whispered back. She was about to ask Reiko for more details when Ootori's wife spoke into the microphone.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we have just one more song to sing for you tonight. This song is dedicated to two very special people; I'm sure they know who they are." She turned and flashed Tamaki a bright smile, which he returned before playing a quick arpeggio. Ootori's wife took a deep breath and began "Things have come to a pretty pass, our romance is growing flat, For you like this and the other, while I go for this and that."
What an odd song to dedicate to your husband, Megumi thought, stealing a glance at Ootori. He had a very small smile on his face as Suoh joined in, trading lines with the woman. You say either, and I say either. You say neither, and I say neither. Either, either, neither, neither—Let's call the whole thing off. Ootori looked over and caught Megumi staring at him. He raised his eyebrows.
"That's your wife, right? She's an exceptional singer," Megumi said hurriedly.
"She's exceptional in every way," Ootori responded, looking back at the stage. "You can't honestly expect that I would have married anyone who wasn't."
The rest of the table just laughed. God, I never understood this group, Megumi thought to herself. Haruhi, Huni, Mori, and Suoh are the nicest, sweetest people in the world, but the Hitachiins are just assholes, plain and simple no matter how much they tried to pretend otherwise And Ootori? One minute he's charming, the next minute he's cold as ice. Guess someone from a family like mine doesn't merit charming anymore, though. Just then, Kaoru smiled at her. "Don't mind Kyoya. I don't think he can sleep at night unless he's made at least one person cry."
Ootori sent him a poisonous glance. "I haven't filled that particular quota today, Kaoru. Are you volunteering?"
Hitachiin shrugged. "Better me than her, right?" He stood up. "Megumi, what can I get you to drink?"
"Asahi Black, please," Megumi replied. Hitachiin snapped off a quick salute before heading over to the bar. Well, maybe he's marginally less of an asshole than he used to be, Megumi thought. To be fair, he'd actually been nothing other than sweetly respectful to her since his initial phone call last week. Leaving aside his crack about her non-existent social life, of course. But still, on the whole, maybe she could cut him a little slack. His brother, though … Megumi glanced at Hikaru out of the corner of his eye. He hadn't said a word to her, or acknowledged her presence in any way. He was staring at his phone, a scowl on his face. Discretion is the better part of valor, she thought, turning back to Ootori. "Ootori-san, thank you so much for loaning your paintings to my class. The children very much enjoyed seeing your art, particularly your cell studies."
It was like a switch had been flipped. Ootori smiled at her, suddenly radiating confident charm. "The pleasure was all mine, Hisakawa-san. I'm always delighted to help out a former Ouran alum."
"Of course you are!" Suoh arrived at the table, Ootori's wife in tow; evidently they'd finished their song. "You are a former Host; the desire to please beautiful young women still runs strong in your veins."
"Tamaki, please stop rambling," Ootori sighed, pulling out Kaoru's vacated chair for his wife. "Laney, this is an old schoolmate of ours, Hisakawa Megumi. Hisakawa-san, my wife, Laney Ootori."
"I'm very pleased to meet you, Ootori-san," Megumi said. "Thank you so much for the loan of your husband's paintings. I understand the bird one is a particular favorite of yours?"
"Please call me Laney. Ootori-san makes me feel like I'm in the lab." Laney smiled, her fingers reaching up to toy with her necklace. "Kyoya painted that wren a couple months before we moved. I love Japan, but it is nice to have a few small reminders of home."
Hitachiin returned with two beers, setting one down in front of Megumi. "Hey!" he said to Laney. "I was sitting there."
"Sit someplace else," Ootori said, stretching his arm along the back of Laney's chair. His fingertips just barely brushed her shoulders.
Mori stood up, silently offering Kaoru his seat between Hikaru and Megumi. As he took the seat, Megumi heard both Hitachiins give a barely perceptible sigh. Kaoru reached over and squeezed his brother's hand for a quick second. Hikaru squeezed back, absently, finally looking up from his phone. "Laney, what does zolstu vaksn vi a tzibeleh mit dem kop in dr'erd un di fis aroyf mean?"
Laney's brows drew together. "Let me see." Hikaru passed the phone over. Laney read the message. "Hikaru, what the hell did you say to her?" She sounded outraged.
"Nothing!" Hikaru said defensively. "What I want to know is what the hell she just said to me."
"May you grow like an onion, with your head in the ground and your feet in the air," Laney translated.
"Is that German?" Megumi asked. Granted, her German was rather rusty, but something sounded off about it.
"Yiddish," Laney said. "My best friend, Jen, tends to curse in Yiddish when she's really worked up about something. You pick it up after a while."
Megumi was about to ask why Hikaru was getting angry messages from Laney's friend when she felt a slight pressure on her knee. Turning her head, she caught Kaoru's eye, and he gave a slight shake of his head. Okay, sensitive topic, she thought.
Suddenly, Haruhi gave a hiss of pain and rubbed her stomach. All conversation stopped as everyone turned to her. Suoh looked worried, but Haruhi just shook her head. "It's nothing, just a particularly vicious kick."
The twins looked at each other. "Starlight kick," they both said sotto voce.
"Suoh-san, your father must be very excited about having the Suoh line continue," Megumi said politely.
"Tamaki, please. We're all old friends here," he smiled dazzingly at her. "And yes, both my parents are enormously excited, as is Haruhi's father. We're all so happy to welcome a new family member." He placed his hand gently over his wife's belly, rubbing in small circles.
Wow. I forgot what he's like when he turns it on full force. No wonder half the school was in love with him, Megumi thought.
"But as for having the Suoh line continue? Haruhi and I decided we have no desire to push our children into taking over the family business." The couple exchanged a fond smile. "They'll be free to decide their own paths."
"I think that's wonderful," Megumi said sincerely. "So many of the children in my class right now are under tremendous pressure, even though they're not even teenagers yet. I actually had most of these students in my class a few years ago, when I was teaching second grade. Trying to satisfy their parents' ambitions have twisted some of them almost out of recognition."
"That's terrible," Haruhi said.
"I agree. That's why this project Hitachiin-san has been helping me with is so—"
"Wait." Laney interrupted, her eyes unfocused. "You said twisted, right? Twisted out of recognition?"
"Yes," Megumi said uncertainly.
Laney remained silent for a minute, looking off into space. Then she stood up. "How unbelievably stupid. Twisted!" She brushed her lips against her husband's cheek absently. "I'll be home when I'm home. Probably not tonight." She pulled out her phone, dialing a number as she left. "Toshi? No, meet me at the lab right now. I want to try something."
Megumi stared after her. "What the hell?"
Everyone looked at Ootori. He shrugged. "I keep telling you people she's a genius, but no one ever believes me." He looked at Megumi, taking in the shocked expression on her face. "Please don't take it personally. She's been stuck on a project for about three weeks now; evidently your comment shook something lose."
Well, I can see why Hitachiin said this woman didn't have many friends, Megumi thought. Hitachiin leaned close to her, explaining, "She really is a genius, actually. She's doing her post-doc in cellular and molecular biology at Todai. Sometimes her head is just … someplace else. Trust me, she's going to be mortified once she remembers what she just said."
Megumi looked over to Mori for confirmation. Out of all the former Hosts, she trusted his judgment the most. "She's nice," he said. He thought for a minute. "You'd probably like her a lot if you get to know her."
The conversation turned back to what everyone had been doing since high school. Even Hikaru eventually joined in, speaking animatedly about the ideas he and Kaoru were working on for their upcoming season. Megumi wound up pulling a sketchbook out of her bag and looked on as Hikaru sketched out a dress designed to mimic the swirl of autumn leaves in a windstorm.
Eventually Haruhi stood up, pleading exhaustion. "I'm sorry, everyone. I'd love to stay and catch up more, Megumi, but I don't think I can keep my eyes open anymore. This kid isn't letting me get any sleep at all." She yawned, digging her fists into the small of her back. "Kyoya, do you want a ride?"
"If it's not too inconvenient," he said, rising as well. "I asked Ajima to remain at Laney's disposal. I'm sure in another hour or so she'll remember she never ate dinner."
"And he is the master of the impromptu midnight snack," Tamaki said, returning with Haruhi's coat. "Come on, mon ami. We'll drop you off at your lonely home."
Kyoya rolled his eyes. "Hisakawa-san, it was a pleasure to see you again. And again, I apologize for my wife's rudeness. I assure you it was quite unintentional."
"Not at all," Megumi said politely. She seemed like a spoiled brat, but if Mori says she's nice …
"We should be going as well," Huni said, smiling at Reiko.
The group broke up quickly after that, exchanging hugs and promises to keep in touch. Megumi noticed Kaoru looking worriedly at his brother. Evidently so did Mori. He quietly asked Hikaru for a ride home, nodding reassuringly at Kaoru.
"What was that about?" Megumi asked as Hitachiin walked her back to his car.
He scratched the back of his neck. "Hikaru's going through a bit of a rough spot, lately," he hedged. "Girl trouble."
"Mmm." Megumi didn't push the issue, and Hitachiin gave her a grateful smile. "Thank you, Hitachiin-san. This turned out to be a nice evening."
"Kaoru," he said. Megumi tilted her head, and he said, "You call almost everyone else by their first name. It makes me feel like kind of an asshole, to be honest. Please just call me Kaoru."
Well, he's certainly turning out to be more perceptive than I thought. "Kaoru," she said, trying it out, and was rewarded with another smile. God, he is really attractive when he smiles like that, she thought. She didn't remember him being this good-looking in high school. Or smelling this good. OK, I think I officially drank one too many beers, she thought, shaking her head a little to clear it.
"Everything okay?" Kaoru asked solicitously as he opened the car door for her.
"Yeah. Just …" Megumi hesitated, then decided she might as well let the beer talk. "You are a lot nicer than you were in high school, you know?"
Kaoru nearly doubled over laughing. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't laugh. But I've been thinking all night that you're a lot less nice than you were in high school." He straightened, leaning against the door and looking at her appraisingly. "No, that's not true. You're just a lot more outspoken. I remember you as being this incredibly shy girl who wouldn't even look at us."
"I wasn't shy. I just didn't like you very much," Megui said, a little nettled.
"You never bothered to get to know us," Kaoru pointed out.
"Neither did you," Megumi returned.
Kaoru held his hands up in a gesture of surrender. "All right. Let's both agree that neither of us was exactly at our best during our teenage years. Pax?"
Megumi looked at him. "Pax," she agreed.
Author's Note: I'm sorry for the long lapse between updates. It has been a WEEK, y'all. I'm going to try to get at least 1-2 updates a week done, but I'm not sure I'll be too much faster than that. There's a lot going on right now.
Thank you so much to mutemuia and No-Time Lord for reviews, and to Hpforeva88 for the favorite. Y'all rock. :) The song Laney and Tamaki are singing is Gershwin's delicious "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off." In case anyone is curious, the song Laney sings immediately beforehand, but Megumi doesn't recognize is another Gershwin, "How Long Has This Been Going On."