Special Chapter 2

The Way Things Are

Differences seen are intended. I do not own OHSHC; OCs and this plot is mine.

This chapter is a result of a conversation with SinfullyOffensive :D

Ever since the first time he met the little girl, Ootori Kyoya found himself with an unexplainable disliking for Hitachiin Ageha. Actually, 'disliking' might be too strong a word but for now, he couldn't find a better way to describe his teeth-gritting and annoyance whenever the twins brought her along with them for a visit. Despite being merely three years of age, the young girl was infuriatingly smart and her witty and pointed responses reminded him irked him as much as her older brothers' mischievousness did during their high school days.

The sound of light laughter distracted him out from his musings; one childish, the other gentle.

He glanced over from where he was working on his laptop to see his honey-haired fiancée with the aforementioned child sitting on top of her lap. From what he could see, the older girl was telling the younger a story of some sort- probably about Tamaki or the Hitachiin twins, if he had to guess- while the child listened with rapt attention. All at once, he felt a familiar ache starting in his temples, one that he'd always feel when one of the ex-hosts were present.

"Haruhi, explain to me again why are you here with those nuisances."

The brunette, now called Suoh Haruhi, took a sip of her instant coffee calmly, "Tamaki thought it was a good idea to end our month-long honeymoon here. Kaoru and Hikaru heard we were coming to see you and decided last minute that they wanted to 'join the fun' and they brought Ageha-chan because she insisted on coming after she heard Tamaki's coming."

"Does that idiot even know the meaning of the word 'honeymoon'?" He asked rhetorically, "And, may I ask, where is he right now?"

"Tamaki headed off to the beach with Kaoru and Hikaru at five-thirty this morning."

Kyoya paused mid-motion of readjusting his glasses, something akin to incredulity surfacing in his eyes.

"It's winter," He said.

"Yes, that's why I didn't go."

"You guys are still on honeymoon."

"Yes, I'm aware."

"And he went to the beach with two guys."

Haruhi shrugged, looking as unamused as the raven-haired senior-

- "Sometimes, Kyoya-senpai, I still wonder why I married that guy."

...

Akino Eri gently ruffled the short dark hair of the little girl on her lap, fond amusement lighting up her pale blue eyes when she felt the girl leaning into her touch, "You have such soft hair, Ageha-chan."

The little girl hummed contently, "Obaa-sama and mama said so too," she said, reaching up a small hand to tug on her own hair, "They say my hair color is pretty too, compared to Hikaru and Kaoru's."

Suppressing the smile that was threatening to appear, Eri told the girl, "Your brothers are going to cry if they hear you say that, you know."

Ageha huffed, crossing her arms, "They won't. Hikaru and Kaoru might be idiots but they're not that weak."

At Ageha's subtle defense of the twins, Eri went quiet for a while, absent-mindedly continuing her motions before she poked the girl's cheek with a finger, "You love your brothers," She stated with an odd sense of satisfaction. Having no siblings herself- though Minori was her cousin, he was at times more like a parental figure- she had been silently confused when she witnessed the interactions between the Hitachiin siblings. Hikaru and Kaoru were all over their sister, doting on her whenever they could, never giving up even when she rejected each and every one of their attempts.

Ageha's head snapped up to protest but something in Eri's expression stopped her. Instead, she scrunched up her little face, admitting unwillingly, "Well, they're... alright."

Eri eyed the girl, raising a brow, "What about Tamaki?"

"Milord?" Ageha's eyes lit up like stars, her countenance brightening up at the mere mention of her favorite person in the universe, "He's perfect."

Eri allowed herself to laugh then.

It was really uncanny how much this child admired the bubbly Suoh. She could still remember Honey-senpai's mild look of shock when they first heard how Ageha addressed the ex-host. Admittedly, the twins used to call Suoh Tamaki by that title but to have such a small kid address the grown man as 'milord' was just... bizarre. Needless to say, the Hitachiin twins did not look the least bit amused by their baby sister's fascination with their old senior.

Eri missed this.

She missed this simplicity where she only needed to ponder on what was right in front of her.

In less than three weeks, she would be starting her second semester of grad school, and to be frank, she was more than anxious. The first semester had flown by without her realizing and she was more or less terrified when she couldn't really recall a single thing from the hectic four months.

Her only solace and comfort was that she wasn't alone in this. That she had Kyoya with her.

Eri was pulled out from her thoughts when a weigh landed against her chest. She gazed down at the slumbering child, something in her heart stirred and she unconsciously tightened her hold on the warmth in her arms. Beneath the tenderness that was welling up, there was another underlying feeling of wistfulness.

Instinctively, she sought out the presence of her dark-haired companion, meeting his eyes in a sort of wordless confession that no one but themselves could understand.

Haruhi, who sensed that the two couples needed some time to themselves, quietly went over to Eri and picked up the little girl before leaving the room, of course, not without leaving an understanding smile.

...

Silence dawned upon the living room after their guests left.

Eri sat down beside Kyoya, letting her eyes close as she leaned against him, head on his shoulder. She sensed him moving, and, without looking, knew that he was putting his laptop away. The corners of her lips curved up gently when lean but strong arms came around her, pulling her even closer to the warmth she'd grown familiar.

He broke the stillness first by commenting, "You seem to be enjoying that Hitachiin brat's presence a lot," His words, no matter how mean they seem, lacked the bite of intended meaning. At most, he sounded slightly disgruntled- not that he'd ever admit the fact that he was bothered by a mere toddler.

"She's a nice kid," Eri responded softly, now peering up at him with mirth, "Though she did tell me that men are 'lowly beings' that should never be flattered because of their inborn 'enormous ego'. I do wonder where she got that belief of hers. It's quite plausible that her mother or grandmother got her some sort of book that teaches that ideology."

"I won't be surprised," He said drily, "We've all seen her reading The Meaning of the Universe. Compared to Hikaru and Kaoru, her intelligence is on a completely different level."

"My, Kyoya, are you praising her?" Eri teased, "And here I was thinking that you hated the little darling."

He shot her an unamused look, "I'm merely stating a fact. You, on the other hand, have something else on your mind again."

She fell quiet again at his words, involuntarily pressing herself closer to him.

"We're growing old."

Kyoya raised a brow at her sudden statement.

"What brought this on, Eri?" He asked.

"It's just," Eri began, her voice a low murmur that he would've otherwise missed if it wasn't for their closeness, "Seeing a child her age is a little scary. It was just a few years ago when we were children ourselves but just now, when I was holding her in my arms, it hit me that the fondness I felt for the girl could even be classified as... parental," The word left a foreign taste on her tongue, "We're twenty three now and by the time children like Ageha are teenagers, or maybe fifteen years of age, we'll be in our mid-thirties and that thought alone scares me because heaven knows I'm not ready to face life like that yet! I know our lives are mapped out for us because of our families but simply thinking of the future leaves me with an emptiness I can't explain. I mean, is our lives- is the sole purpose of us living merely to be born, grow up, work, marry, have children, and die? To be honest, I somehow feel trapped, like I'm living in a cage. And this has nothing to do with me being Akino Eri, I just- it's just..." she trailed off, unsure of how to continue, "I'm probably not making much sense, am I?"

Kyoya listened to her rant patiently, tightening his arms as she went on.

Despite her disjointed sentences, he heard her uncertainty and doubts. Though he himself rarely entertained such thoughts, he recalled the nights when he, after a long day of work, lied sleepless on bed with a sinking feeling growing deep in his stomach. It wasn't depression, but it certainly wasn't anything to be taken lightly. Most days he was able to pass out as soon as his head touched the pillow but there were days when sleep evaded him and he was left in the mercies of indescribable sensations of walls closing in as darkness grew its tendrils stronger than ever.

So he understood her.

He understood what she was trying to say.

And it was because he understood that he said nothing- because words, in cases like this, were useless. He continued holding her for a moment, then, letting a sigh leave his lips, shifted so he could press a kiss to her forehead.

"You are making sense, Eri," He calmly asserted when he felt her tension melt away.

After all, like she mentioned they were twenty-three. Adulthood was never meant to be easy, and many a times, the body matured far too quickly for the mind to catch up. Doubts and uncertainties were part and parcel of life, it was what drove people to make decisions- both the good and the bad.

Unknowingly, Kyoya echoed Eri's earlier thoughts-

...At least, they didn't need to go through all these alone...

...

"Here, Ageha-chan, have a vanilla cake!"

Honey's bright voice rang throughout the Ootori-Akino manor the subsequent morning.

A sneeze sounded before the little girl could reply him and the cheerful young man looked over at the source curiously, "Did you catch a cold, Tama-chan? That's weird. You were fine the day before."

Haruhi passed her husband a box of kleenex with mild annoyance, "That's because, Honey-senpai, Tamaki thought it was a splendid idea to visit the beach with Kaoru and Hikaru yesterday."

Honey paused, incredulous, "To the beach?" He repeated, "In this weather?"

"You can say that again, Honey-senpai."

"Say Takashi, I've always known that Tama-chan is an airhead but do you think he might've gotten worse with age?" Honey asked his cousin rhetorically, ignoring Tamaki's weak protest through sniffles that he was 'sitting right there' and could 'hear every word they said', to which Haruhi retorted with a pointed 'good' which softened into concern when he sneezed again.

"Don't worry, Honey-senpai," Kyoya's calm tenor voice reached them along with the sound of the door swinging open, "The Ootori hospital branch we have here has provided Tamaki with the medication he needs. Of course, he's going to have to pay for the full amount along with a ten percent interest."

He held the door open for Eri to enter, blatantly pretending not to hear Tamaki's reproachful mon ami's. A business deal was a business deal.

"Ah, Ri-chan, long time no see!" Honey exclaimed, enthusiastically hugging the girl before tugging her over to the small round table where he had laid out all the treats he brought, "You've got to try my newest recipe, Ri-chan. They're good! Even Chika-chan said so after I sent some back to Japan last week. You will try it, won't you?"

Eri only smiled in response, "Of course I will, Honey-senpai."

"Eri-nee san, sit here," Ageha demanded when they neared the table, patting the empty space beside her. Then as soon as the older girl sat down, proceeded to stare at the light-haired girl until the latter asked, "Is anything the matter, Ageha-chan?"

The girl blinked, "Is it possible for your fiancé to sell the same medicines to Hikaru and Kaoru?"

Eri's brows creased, "Have they fallen sick too?"

Ageha huffed disdainfully, "They tried to hide it but I heard them sniffing this morning."

"And you're worried, aren't you?"

The little girl obviously wanted to object that statement but like yesterday, found herself unable to do so.

(Years later, when asked of Ootori née Akino Eri, Ageha would always answer with a conflicted frown on her face, saying, "I really like Eri-nee san, she's kind and gentle and all but... I think her gentleness is really scary too. For other people, it is easy to deny and disproof everything they say but when it comes to Eri-nee san, even saying a simple no to her is nearly impossible. Truth to be said, I think nee-san is scarier than her husband in terms of how well she could control the mood and behaviour of the people around her.")

...

Pulling out her phone to snap a photo of the crowd in front of her, a contented smile formed on Eri's lips as she slipped quietly into the corner. She remembered the first Christmas party they had the year they arrived in the States, her apprehension of integrating herself into the group, as well as Honey-senpai's kindness, and she couldn't help but marvel all the more at how far they've all come.

Changes were constantly happening- changes in status, in relationships, in paths they took on. Yet despite all these, they've stuck together.

Ouran High School's Host Club was... amazing.

And to think that she had found her own place in the midst of these people.

Life was scary, but that same Life could be exciting as well.

It had brought her here in the middle of people she was completely comfortable with, here with people she trusted and people who trusted her in return.

Her life had introduced her to so many wonderful individuals. Despite the trials and hard times she had gone through, she found herself with no complaints.

Tears may come and laughter may die, but at the end of the day she'd cherish each and every second of her life.

The good and the bad in life were what made memories even dearer and more precious to her after all.

"-say, Eri-nee san, what are you thinking about?"

For one split second, Ageha's face was overlapped Honey's when he asked Eri the exact same question at the Christmas party from all those years ago.

Eri bent down to tweak her short locks, "I'm just thinking," she told the little one, very much like how she answered Honey, though this time for the sake of the younger, she added-

- "I'm thinking, Ageha-chan, of how much I'm loving the way things are right now."

...

(It took Ageha a few years, but when she was finally old enough to understand Eri's words, all the youngest Hitachiin could do was to sit in her own room, soak in the revelation, before booking a plane ticket for the earliest flight to the States.

She had a feeling Eri would understand what she had been feeling for awhile now.)

Happy 2017, everyone! The first special chapter was updated on the 19th of May 2015 and it's the 28th of January 2017 now. How are you all doing after this one and a half years?

For me, it had been a rollercoaster ride (if you've been reading any of my recent stories, you'd know that I've been through some crazy stuff since entering college. I'm a junior now.) You guys have no idea how encouraging it is for me every time I get an email notification that someone's still reading this story and is enjoying it even after all these time. I'm so thankful and grateful for all of you and I can't think of any way else to thank you enough but to write another special chapter again.

I've actually been wanting to write this chapter since 6 months ago but I could not, for the life of me, figure out what to write (special chapters are, after all, meant to be special and not something that adds or take away from the main story) but like I've mentioned at the beginning, SinfullyOffensive brought my attention onto Ageha and I started the chapter from there. It wasn't until half way through that I realized what I really wanted to write for this chapter. As is with the goal since chapter 1, I want this story to be relatable. So I guess... this chapter is the result of one of the small revelations I had while I was in college?

I sincerely hoped that you've enjoyed this chapter as much as I've enjoyed typing it out.

Again, thank you all so much for reading this story.

Lura :)

PS: Happy Chinese New Year!