Dinner had been delicious. Megumi had never had a real American-style hamburger before, and Kaoru delighted in watching her face as she tried to figure out whether or not she liked it. Hikaru had devoured two burgers, criticizing Kyoya's grilling skills while everyone else doggedly ignored him. Although he'd never say so, Kaoru had to come down on Kyoya's side this time; the meat was perfectly done. Watching the juices drip down Megumi's chin was a treat he'd never anticipated.
"I have to admit, I'm a little surprised you make your own food, Kyoya," Megumi said after finishing her burger.
Kaoru slung an arm over the back of her chair, pleased that she finally felt comfortable enough to drop the formality with his best friend. "Kyoya, tell Megumi about what your father-in-law said when he found out you didn't know how to grill."
"Boy," Jen answered instead, voice deepening in apparent imitation of her friend's father, her Virginia thickening, "Boy, you want to marry my daughter, and you don't know how to grill meat? What exactly made you think that would be acceptable?"
Kyoya had evidently relaxed enough not to get offended by this, because he just smiled at his wife and said, "Baby, your father is one of about three men on the planet I find intimidating."
"Please. You're the only one he ever deemed good enough for me." Laney leaned forward and poured Megumi more wine. "You'll find out what it's like," she winked.
Kaoru kept the arm around Megumi relaxed, but he rolled his eyes. I really need a signal to tell her when to mind her own damn business, he thought. Fortunately, Jen came to his rescue.
"So why is it just the troublemakers here? I know Haruhi's hugely pregnant, but what about Huni and Reiko? And I thought Mori was supposed to come too."
"Reiko's developed horrific morning sickness," Megumi said. "The poor thing. It should pass soon, I hope."
"So what's Mori's excuse?"
"Hot date," Hikaru replied. "Although I'm not entirely sure if this one is a family set-up or if he picked her up on his own."
"Isn't he ever going to get married?" Laney complained.
"Leave the poor man alone, Lane," Jen said.
"Yeah, I think Mori's pretty happy playing the field," Hikaru added. "No need for him to submit to the matrimonial noose any earlier than he has too."
Jen raised her glass to that sentiment, but Kaoru felt Megumi stir uncomfortably under his arm. Just as he was trying to figure out a way to steer the conversation entirely away from in-laws and matrimonial nooses and anything else related to the subject, everyone's phones started beeping.
"Well I guess it finally happened," Kyoya said cryptically .
Kaoru checked his own phone to see three texts from Tamaki.
-Suoh Kotoko, 2.8 kg, 48.4 cm long.
-Mom and baby doing perfect
-I'M A DADDY!
Megumi showed him her phone. "Me too," she said happily.
"Of course. You're part of the family now." Kaoru smiled. "And the family just got a little bigger."
"This calls for champagne," Laney announced, and she and Jen disappeared into the house.
"Wait a minute," Hikaru said. "Kyoya, you knew?"
"Of course I knew. They went to one of our hospitals. And obviously Tamaki texted me the minute Haruhi's water broke early this morning."
"You knew, and you didn't say anything to us?" Kaoru chimed in. "How could you keep that a secret?"
"Because Haruhi asked me to. She's still a little early, and she wanted to make sure there would be no complications before the entire group descended on her."
As upset as he was that Tamaki and Kyoya hadn't told them what was happening, Kaoru had to admit to himself that he could see Haruhi's point. He settled back into his chair, putting his arm around Megumi again. She was looking worriedly between the other two men as they continued to argue.
"But we could have been there! If we were still in Tokyo we could go see the baby right now!" Hikaru said angrily. "In fact, I have half a mind to fly back up there tonight."
"Absolutely not." Kyoya's voice was steely. "What Tamaki didn't say, because he didn't want anyone to worry, was that Haruhi had some minor hemorrhaging. She's fine," he held up his hand to forestall the twins' cries of alarm, "but she needs rest, which she is unlikely to get with you lot crowding her."
"If milord didn't say anything, then how do you know about it?' Hikaru asked rebelliously.
"He didn't say anything to you." Kyoya pushed up his glasses smugly.
Just as Hikaru was opening his mouth, and Kaoru was wondering whether to intervene and stop the argument, another text came through. It was a picture of Haruhi holding her baby. She did look very pale, and there was an IV running to her arm, but she was sitting up and didn't appear to be in any serious danger. Her face was suffused with exhausted bliss as she gazed at her newborn daughter. To his surprise, Kaoru found himself tearing up with love and pride.
"Wow." Hikaru's voice was almost a whisper. "Look at that. Our Haruhi, a mother."
"She looks so happy," Megumi said. Kaoru glanced up from his phone. Megumi was staring at the picture, a look on her face that almost resembled longing. He tightened his arm around her, wanting to say a million things, but not knowing how to start.
Laney and Jen returned, armed with bottles and champagne flutes, and everyone busied themselves with opening and pouring.
"To Suoh Kotoko: May all the gods be kind enough to make her take after her mother," Kyoya said drily, offering the first toast.
"May she be raised to righteousness, wisdom, and happiness," Jen said next, earning a snort and a muttered raised to wisdom, fat chance from Hikaru.
"To Haruhi: may she have the patience not to murder her husband during a 3 am feeding," Laney said.
The toasts continued along that vein, interrupted now and again with new pictures coming in, until, somewhere into the third bottle, Hikaru stood up. "A toast to Tamaki," he said, in all apparent sincerity. "To Tamaki, who finally has the family he always longed for and so richly deserves."
"That I will drink to," Kyoya said quietly, eyes shining behind his glasses.
Kaoru looked around. The sun had long since set, and the candles dotting the table were flickering in the light breeze. The faces of his dearest friends and family surrounded him, and although a few were missing, it was enough to know that, a couple thousand kilometers away, they were gathered in Tokyo's most luxurious hospital suite, welcoming the smallest Suoh to the world. Beside him, Megumi blinked sleepily. "Want to go for a walk?" he whispered.
"Please," she said, her voice low and throaty. "I think I drank too much champagne; a walk will clear my head."
As he stood up, he was surprised to feel his own head swimming a little. He didn't think he'd drunk that much, but there'd been a number of toasts. "Me too," he admitted, taking Megumi's hand and helping her to her feet. "We'll be back in a bit," he said to the other two couples as they headed out the gate to the path leading down to the beach.
Megumi shucked off her shoes as soon as they hit the sand, and Kaoru followed her example. "Hold these," she instructed, handing him the strappy sandals. He obliged, watching with bemusement as she walked straight into the water. She remained there for several minutes, wind whipping the tendrils of hair that had escaped her loose ponytail around her face. The water glimmered darkly as small waves lapped at her ankles. He thought he'd never seen anyone so beautiful in all his life.
He dropped her shoes in the sand and followed her into the water, heedless of his pants getting wet. She turned her face up to him, luminous in the moonlight. "I'm in love with you," he said, reaching down to hold her hands. "I'm in love with you, and I want to marry you, and have 10 kids with you, and get old and fat together. We can do trips where you can teach impoverished kids, just like you want, like Doctors Without Borders, but Teachers Without Borders. I can teach them art, and you can teach them everything else, because you know everything else. Because you're the wisest woman I've ever met, and you've changed my life and made everything better, and I love you." He was aware he was babbling, but he could only figure out one way to make it stop. He tilted her face up to his and kissed her.
"Kaoru," she breathed, and for some reason he couldn't quite remember he was terrified that she was going to say no, and back away, but instead she melted into him. She opened her mouth to speak, but he kissed her again. She tasted of champagne and seawater, and she slipped her hands under his shirt, resting lightly against his stomach. She pushed gently, breaking the kiss. "Make love to me. Tonight. Please, Kaoru, I don't want to wait anymore."
He tugged her out of the water and up further onto the beach, pulling her tight against him again as he started to lower them to the sand. "Hold on," Megumi begged off, laughing. "I can wait long enough to get to a bed."
"Don't want to wait," Kaoru mumbled against her mouth. "I'm done with waiting."
"Me too." She kissed him, pushing him down against the sand. "But sand chafes." Despite her words, she made no move to let him up. Her mouth moved over the pulse point in his neck, and she sucked lightly, teeth grazing him gently. Her hands were busy with his belt. "Take me to bed."
"You realize you're undermining your own argument here?" He tugged up her shirt, reveling in the warmth of her skin. As his fingers skimmed upward, she sat up. "Take your hair down." She complied, the length of it spilling down her back. "I want to drown in this hair."
"Poetic, but impractical."
"I think I'm a little drunk," he admitted, mouth moving to graze the line of her jaw.
"Me too," she sighed. "It was a good night."
He pulled back. "We don't have to … " he started, but she placed her fingers against his lips.
"A good night," she repeated, "but I'm not ready for it to be over yet. Are you?"
"Fuck no." He hesitated, unsure how to ask her the question burning in his heart. "I love you," he said again, in lieu of anything more direct.
Megumi looked at him, her lips swollen and her eyes a little glassy. She rocked back on her heels, studying him for a long moment. Finally understanding dawned on her face. "Have I not said it?" she asked wonderingly.
Kaoru simply shook his head, mute. He took her hands in his own trembling ones. "Do you?" he finally managed.
"Of course I do." She stood, bringing him with her. "Of course I love you."
Heart full, he pulled her to him again. "Let's go to bed," he said huskily.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: So a huge thank you to everyone who reviewed last chapter: Lilemaus, kitty-kasey, Guest, aligator7892, XxGrimShadowxX, Beaker77, and acrosseverystar. Y'all. I had to write this while visiting one of my friends, because sure enough I have to pack up my damn house AGAIN and move. The good news? This time it's permanent, because we bought ourselves a house. The even better news? I actually wrote two chapters, and will be posting the end of this story in a few days. So thanks to all y'all for sticking with me throughout this story. It took a lot longer than I thought it was going to at the beginning. Lots and lots of water under the bridge with this one.