Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran High School Host club in any shape or form! OHSHC belongs to the amazing Hatori Bisco. Nor do I own the song "Wedding Dress" by Taeyang.

Kyoya suddenly let his hand drop upon seeing Hikaru and Kaoru watching them through the partially open door. Turning away, he cleared his throat. "The ceremony starts soon. You should finish getting ready." Steeling himself against the urge to turn around and take her into his arms, he started walking away from her and towards the exit. "Kyoya!" Haruhi called out to him in a wavering voice and instantly, his self-control was gone. Turning around at her beckoning he gazed at the vision in front of him. He wanted to remember this sight of her, sear it to his memory. She stood, her hair tumbling down around her shoulders in loose chestnut waves, yet to be pinned into place, still holding his gift to her chest with lips parted.

I've been waiting for you for so long

Please look at me now

Haruhi had every intention of admitting her feelings for the man before her. Staring up into his charcoal gray eyes, seeing the sadness lingering there. With an expression of utter defeat, her confession died in her throat. "Umm, I just wanted to say..." She looked down at her feet unable to say the words that cried out for escape from her heart, her soul, and instead she muttered, "Thank you for the dress and shoes." Her courage and voice failed her; her brain shut down, and her voice was dull, almost soulless - not the voice of the Haruhi he'd always loved. Adjusting his glasses in an attempt to hide the tears starting to form, Kyoya managed a smile as he pulled the door behind him, saying. "It's my pleasure Haruhi." Staring after Kyoya's retreating form, Haruhi wondered sadly, "Why does it feel like we've just parted ways forever?"

Once the music ends

Leaning back against the closed door Kyoya closed his eyes, breathing a sigh of anguish. "What did I almost do in there? .. " Replaying the scene over again, the shadow king pushed himself off the wall and continued on outside into the garden, he was certain, was pure chaos by now. "Maybe… We were just, never meant to be."

Stepping out into the mid-morning sun, Kyoya found the garden just as he believed it would be, in utter disarray. Satoshi was chasing Chika around the entire expanse of the garden, threatening him with his shinai while the catering staff tried desperately to prevent the food from becoming ammo. For a brief moment the shadow king moved to step in and find out what the hell was going on until a pair of soft brown eyes entered his thoughts once more and for the first time, he didn't feel the need nor the want to take over and set things right.

You will vow to spend..

The rest of your life with him

Moving without thinking, years of tracing the same path brought the distraught shadow king to his solace, the one place in the garden where he knew he could drop his mask and be himself. A simple bench surrounded by roses. It was hidden in plain sight and was his own world of purple and red. He needed a moment to be alone, to feel his heartbreak, and to forget about everyone else for a brief period of time.

How I've prayed every night

hat this day would never come

Ryoji Fujioka had been aimlessly wandering the Ootori's vast gardens all morning, trying to pass the time and ease the growing worry in his mind. He wasn't happy with this at all. Haruhi shouldn't be marrying that blonde baka. It just didn't make sense! But Haruhi was his little girl, and for her he would do anything and that included supporting her on this day not as Ranka, but as her father, Ryoji. Whether he approved or not, this was an important day for his little girl and she needed her father here.

On his fourth trip around the garden, Ryoji spotted what appeared to be a distraught looking Kyoya strolling ahead of him. Concern for his favorite host filled him as he followed the young man at a distance. Peeking through and around an archway covered in climbing roses, the concerned father spied the young man sitting down on a bench surrounded by roses. "Wait a second, those are the same color as…" Silently joining the best man on the bench, he noticed the former host staring fixedly at the roses around him instead of noticing that he now had a visitor. Maybe it wasn't too late! He reached out and touched the young man's shoulder as he said, "Kyoya?"

Startled from his inner turmoil, Kyoya stared up in sheer surprise to find Haruhi's father sitting beside him. How long would it have taken him to realize it if the man hadn't gotten his attention? Meeting the overly worried man's gaze, Kyoya forced a smile. "Ah, Ranka. You're looking very smart."

Ryoji just stared at the best man, one expertly sculpted brow raised with a look that clearly told Kyoya, "Don't even dare to try that shadow king bit with me." The father watched on as Kyoya slumped forward and sighed heavily, his head in hands. Shaking his head, the redhead asked, "Do you know that every year around Haruhi's birthday, I always ask her what she'd like? You know I'd get her anything too, but do you know what she asks me for?" When the younger man didn't answer, he continued, "A simple bouquet of roses. Always the same colors though, red and purple." In his peripheral vision, he observed Kyoya slowly sit up straighter, finally catching onto what he was trying to say with his story. "This year I bought her the same bouquet as I do every year. I even found this lovely little music box with a blooming LED rose as a surprise for her. You could even program it to change colors. She loved it to pieces. She always played it at night, falling asleep to the music it plays. Of course, Haruhi doesn't realize she had been caught and I know her little secret; and she looked positively heartbroken when that blonde idiot dropped it by accident and broke it. I was beyond livid. I never realized why she only programmed it to flash purple, until now."

"Am I breathing?" Kyoya wasn't sure. He wasn't sure about anything. He prided himself on being perceptive, but could it be he'd missed the clues and Haruhi had really loved him and not Tamaki all along? "Then why is she ...? Does she not realize that I've loved her since the day we met? Are we both really that blind to each other's feelings?" Kyoya gave another soft sigh and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. His memory brought up the time he told Kaoru the club was full of dummies, but he never thought he'd be counted among them.

Seeing life slowly returning to the best man, Ryoji stood and carefully smooth the wrinkles from his slacks before casually slipping in his last surprise, "You know, I've had this fantasy for the longest time. I had always hoped you would confess your love to my Haruhi, sweep her off her feet, and run away with her." Turning to leave, the father called casually over his shoulder, "It's her dearest wish as well, Kyoya. Oh! By the way, the wedding starts in ten minutes!"

On his feet in seconds, the shadow king checked his watch only to find that Ryoji had been correct. The wedding was in ten minutes! Pulling out his phone, he found fourteen calls and twenty three text messages, all from Tamaki. After shoving his phone back into his pocket and deciding to throw propriety to the wind, Kyoya took off at a dead run for the ceremony. "Tamaki may kill me in more ways than one!"

Peaking around her best men, Haruhi gazed out at the crowd lining the aisle and up to the flowered arch where she found Tamaki standing, and she felt the bottom drop out of her stomach once more. Could she do this? Did she even really want this any longer? "Guys…"

Hearing the nervous whisper behind them, the twins turned as one to find Haruhi looking unnaturally pale. Quickly helping her to sit on a bench, tucked away from prying eyes and before anyone could see them, they then whispered in tandem. "Haruhi, what's wrong?!"

Staring down at her bouquet, she let out barely a whisper. "I can't marry Tamaki… I can't marry Tamaki, because I'm in love with Kyoya."

The twins studied their best friend for a moment, wondering just how lost she had been feeling before she finally realized her feelings and figured out what was in her heart. "Haruhi," Kaoru spoke gently as he knelt in front of her, taking the bouquet before it was ripped to shreds by her worrying hands, "Stop this. Tell him! You have to go and tell him before it's too late."

Hikaru could see the anxiety building in her glistening doe eyes, and taking the single red rose from her bouquet, he placed it in her hands as he assured her, "Trust us, Haruhi. It'll be alright."

Just as Kyoya was about to cue the music for the bride's entrance, Honey caught his attention with a hiss of his name. Looking to his former senpai, Kyoya followed the direction the blond head was signaling with a jerk and found Haruhi already making her way up the aisle without her men of honor, holding his red rose like a lifeline. Where were Hikaru and Kaoru? Searching the premises, he spotted the twins, who were now seated casually among the guests, giving him a thumbs up. Wait. What was going on?!

"Tell him! You have to go and tell him before it's too late." She repeated that lone sentence in her head like a mantra as all eyes fell upon her and followed her until she came to a halt at the front of the aisle in front of Tamaki.

At the back of the crowd stood her father, smiling and wondering exactly what his daughter had planned. He had been just feet away from her when the mirror images grabbed her and escorted her away from the ceremony. Part of him wanted to follow, and yet he knew he needed to stand back and let them have their moment for now. If she needed him, he would intercede on her behalf like he had always done on those few times she allowed him to help her. His eyes scanned the crowd and found Kyoya looking dumbfounded, and Ranka wanted to laugh at seeing a myriad of emotions flash across the young man's face. Yes, for now he would wait to see what happened next; and he prayed to God that his daughter had finally come to her senses.

The moment Haruhi stopped in front of him, looking up at him with such confusion and pain, Tamaki knew what was happening. As the seconds ticked by Haruhi peeked over her shoulder as the guests started whispering, becoming curious. Turning her gaze back toward Tamaki, "Tamaki, I…" The words dying in her throat as he looked on her with sad understanding and gently pressed his fingers to her lips, leaned in close pressing his lips tenderly to her forehead. "Go. I'll take care of everything. Go."

The tears came then, with his generosity and quiet understanding. With teary eyes, Haruhi's gaze drifted to Kyoya briefly and she said, "I choose to run." Without another second of hesitation, she turned on her heel and ran back down the aisle, away from the wedding, letting nothing and no one stop her.

Kyoya watched Haruhi's retreating form, his face a mix of longing and grief. Grief for his friend, and himself. He loved her, they both did, and she was running away. In the crowd he could hear the vicious whispers, "I knew a commoner would ruin things. She wasn't good enough." And others. It sent a flash of anger coursing through his veins. Clenching his hands at his side, he wanted to shout in defense of her, but before he could, a hand landed on his shoulder. His eyes shot to those of his best friend, Tamaki. With a sad smile he gestured in the direction of Haruhi's flight and whispered. "Go after her Mon ami... she loves you."

Feeling like the wind was just knocked from him, Kyoya stared at his best friend unblinking until he felt a gentle shove at his shoulder. Glancing behind him, he found Mori and Honey there, both telling him to go. As if waking from a dream, he took off down the aisle without thought, hearing whooping calls of encouragement from his friends. Kyoya was half way down the aisle when he heard Tamaki begin to address the crowd, but he didn't stop to listen, he couldn't.

With a bittersweet feeling rolling through him, Tamaki grabbed the guests' attention and said, " Sometimes in life, things happen beyond our control. Life is about living and doing what is best. Haruhi is a beautiful woman, but I am not the man for her. The clues were there, so this is my fault. Do not judge her for my mistakes. I Thank you for coming, but this wedding will not happen. Good day."

His mind racing with so many thoughts, Kyoya gave no heed to his father's many rules on etiquette. Speeding through the mansion in the direction of Haruhi's room, hoping she'd not left yet. Turning the corner he stopped short, there she knelt, a mass of silk and tulle. Her cheeks still damp from her tears as she gathered the contents that had apparently spilled from her bags in her rush to leave the chaotic scene. "Haruhi." Her name was like a whispered prayer of relief bursting forth from his lips. Seeing her there, his chest felt less tight and he could breathe again.

Stopping mid reach, Haruhi looked up almost in a panic upon hearing his voice. " Kyoya! .. I- I was just leaving." Reaching down, the shadow king gently pulled the panicking brunette to her feet. "No more running away. No more backing down…" Pushing back the hair from her eyes with the gentlest of touches, lest he should frighten her. Kyoya looked down into her wet doe eyes searching. "I've been so dense…I love you, Haruhi."

Just as Haruhi opened her mouth to reply, they heard footsteps coming down the hall. "Just, hold that thought. Let's get out of here first." Quickly gathering the items on the floor and throwing them into her bags, Kyoya grabs Haruhi's hand and yanks her down the hall to a side trance where he has his limo waiting to whisk them away. They were safe, had their friends' blessings, and most importantly, they were together

"Kyoya. I love you too."

"She's smiling at me

So brightly at me..."

Author's Note: At long last here's the last chapter to Secretly. I sincerely apologies for the VERY long wait. A lot of things have happened since I began this story. I hope you love it as much as I enjoyed writing it! Please comment, Favorite.. All that good stuff!

A VERY SPECIAL thanks to mcangel1976! Without her wonderful help and ideas, I'd still be stuck.

~Cyra