Dearest Starling

Chapter Seven

Darkness blurred into colorful blobs as she felt herself coming to, and with a few blinks, she was able to recognize the room as her room in the suite that she was sharing with Kyouya. A few more blinks brought everything else into focus, and one of the first things she noticed was the figure sitting in a chair next to her bed, reading.

Looking up from his book, Kyouya said coolly, "Oh, you're awake."

With a nod and a groan, Renge sat up and looked around. The room was dark, making her wonder, "What time is it?"

He glanced at the clock, "Almost three. We've missed the wedding and most of the reception, but we can still attend if you would like. Unless you don't feel well enough," he added, "Then I'm sure Hunny-senpai would understand our absence."

She shook her head, putting her feet on the floor and standing gingerly, "No, we should go." He gave a nod to say he heard her and put his tuxedo jacket on, then went to the mirror to do his tie. She went into the bathroom with her dress, a thought striking her while she was in there. Through the door, she called, "Did you stay with me the whole time?"

Kyouya nodded, then realized that she couldn't see him and called back a concise, "Yes."

She smiled gently, ignoring his curt response and replying with a simple, "Thank you."

She didn't hear his response, but if she had, it would have been a soft, "You're welcome."

The formal kimono was difficult to move in, but even that couldn't stop the butterflies in Natsumi's stomach. She was now a married woman, Haninozuka Natsumi—she winced slightly. Okay, she thought, so the name's a little… off. Besides that tiny detail, she was really quite happy that it had finally happened.

Mitsukuni had wanted to dance several times since they ceremony had ended (she suspected it had something to do with the cake that he knew was coming), and now they were opening gifts. It felt like a birthday party; everyone stood around and watched as they opened box after box together. All-in-all, they had received three sets of fine china, a set of silver and gold tableware, two sets of intricate teacups, and a beautiful crystal clock. Hunny jumped up and ran toward the last present, which also happened to be the biggest. He tugged at the bow, and the rest came off easily, effectively ending Natsumi's good mood. There, right in front of everyone, stood a really fancy, super deluxe, baby crib, changing table… thing. After that, a huge cake was wheeled out, which was good, because Natsumi was unable to look at Hunny for a good long while.

Kyouya and Renge reached the ballroom not long after the cake had gotten there, where a few people asked Renge—like they had with all of the other girls—where she had disappeared to the night before. Lying, Renge decided, was the best thing to do in her current situation.

The story—which Kyouya had come up with and insisted that each girl tell—shaped out to generally be this: Renge had gotten a message from her cat-sitter, saying that her cat was very sick. Renge, now very upset, sought comfort from her close personal friends, Haruhi, Minori, Izumi, Momoe, and Amelia, who all suggested that she see her cat should this be its last night (apparently it had a sudden bout of kitty terminal illness, or something). Renge, who didn't want to leave her dear friend Natsumi's wedding party, spoke to the hostess herself about the matter. Natsumi, being the loving woman that she was, insisted on Renge seeing her pet, and also volunteered herself and the other girls to go along as moral support. Not wanting to inconvenience anyone by calling their chauffeurs on such short notice, the girls walked to the train station and took the first one to the Houshakuji's Tokyo mansion. They spent most of the night there, until the cat was doing a little better, then they came back to the hotel.

Though the story was farfetched, everyone was quick to accept it as fact, the lie being more convenient than the truth for the only people who knew otherwise.

After clearing things up with the inquiring guests, Renge sped off to ask Tamaki exactly what had happened the night before. It obviously wasn't too bad, or Kyouya surly would have said something, unless it was so bad that he hadn't said anything and simply hoped that she didn't remember. She stood a safe distance away from Tamaki as she waited for him to finish conversing with some older men, and then she called his name tentatively.

"Yes, Renge-kun?" asked Tamaki, turning to her curiously.

She avoided looking at him, clasping her hands behind her nervously, "What… What did I do last night? You said something about me saying you were… hot. Did I do anything else… of that sort?" she stumbled through the words, not knowing how to phrase her question without insinuating that she might have done something regrettable, though one couldn't very well ask something like this without admitting that very thing.

Tamaki blinked at her confusedly, not quite understanding what she wanted him to tell her. "Nothing that I know of," he offered after a while, hoping that his answer would please her, and things would be a little less awkward between the two of them.

But, thought Renge, If not me, then who? Oh, I wish I could remember!

Renge's lack of response seemed to tell Tamaki that they were done talking, because he suddenly bolted to the right, yelling, "Haruhi!" She watched in fascination as he sped off after the woman, who slowed her steps to let him catch up. Renge, being a lover of all things romance and gossip, felt her worries dissipate as her mouth curled into a sinister smirk. Ah, so that's what happened…

Like the night before, the Shigemiwa siblings were trapped on stage, once again playing for an unappreciative audience, while the Hitachiin twins were busy conversing alone on one side of the room.

"Kaoru," Hikaru began, surveying the ballroom casually, "Have you noticed something strange about Tono and Haruhi?"

Kaoru took a sip of champagne and nodded wordlessly; there wasn't much to say about it. Haruhi wasn't acting any differently than usual, but the air around her had something strange in it, and Tamaki… Well, one could always tell when he had something on his mind, and apparently whatever was on his mind tonight involved Haruhi, and was quite exciting in the former prince's opinion.

Hikaru, who had been thinking exactly what Kaoru was thinking, wondered aloud, "What happened between those two?"

The twins shrugged in unison, deciding that it really wasn't their business, and if they really wanted to know, they could always hound Haruhi for details later. For now, they focused on having fun and being happy for their newlywed senpai.

As the evening wound down, and many guests began to bid the happy couple farewell and go to their rooms, Amelia felt a new level of dread with each passing second. It won't be long, before he can't wait any longer, she thought, watching her fiancé out of the corner of her eye. And then we'll go up to his room, and he'll try to teach me a lesson about disobeying his orders. Isaac kept a firm hold on her, seeming to any onlooker like a man who cared enough to hold his girlfriend's hand, and when the time ticked to six o'clock, Isaac stood to make his way upstairs, Amelia in tow.

The movement was not unnoticed by Hunny and Mori, who stood to follow them, with Hunny calling an, "I'll be right back," over his shoulder at his baffled wife.

Many of the guests that had attended Hunny's wedding had security detail, but it seemed like Isaac had an entire section of the FBI working for him, or something. Isaac was aware that he was being stalked by the two men, but decided not to give any indication of this knowledge until they were in a less populated part of the hotel. Rounding a corner and finding himself in an empty corridor, Isaac finally stopped and turned toward his followers, all of his thugs turning with him, ready to strike should the command be uttered.

Mori went to take a step forward, but Hunny stepped in front of him. "Takashi," he said, pulling off his haori to avoid dirtying it, "Your fight is not with these men, so allow me to clear the way for you." No sooner had the words left the small man's mouth, he darted forward, bringing a foot up to kick the front guard in the jaw. The victim fell away from Hunny, and the blond went to the next guard, grabbing his arm mid-punch and twisting, sending him skidding across the hallway floor. No sooner could Hunny deter one attack, another was coming his way, to which the blond jumped up and brought his elbow down to make forceful contact with the man's collarbone. A series of sickening cracks and some really impressive fighting moves later, all of the bodyguards were on the ground, most unconscious, and Isaac found his cocky attitude slipping, as he began to sweat—though his grip on the woman's arm never faltered.

Hunny straightened, his cheerful smile back in place, as he pumped a fist into the air. "Ii-zo!" he called his encouragement to his cousin.

Mori gave a single nod, taking a few strides to where Isaac and Amelia stood, and stopping in front of the Englishman. The two men stared each other down, exchanging words that only men could understand, as the air grew thick with tension. A moment later, Isaac let go of Amelia's arm, but she was far too busy staring in wonder at Mori to notice. It had honestly never occurred to her that Mori would go so far as to give Isaac a walloping for her, then again, it hadn't occurred to her that his entire security detail could be taken out by one person, either.

Isaac, growing impatient with waiting for the other man to make the first move, brought a fist up, fully intending to punch him somewhere in the facial area. Mori was expecting this, though, and nimbly took one step back, causing his opponent to lose balance and fall to the ground. Isaac glowered up at the man, feeling rage seep into his mind and cloud his thoughts, as he righted himself and attempted to hit Mori once more, and once again missed and stumbled.

Amelia continued to watch them in awe, as Mori seemed to be winning the fight without even lifting a finger, and Isaac tumbled to the ground once more. His body shook with rage and humiliation, as he fisted the plush carpet below him in angry frustration. This fight was not about Amelia for him, it was about another man having the nerve to tell him what he could and could not do with his property! But Isaac wasn't a fool, as he took a deep breath through his nose to calm himself; there was no way for him to win if he remained on the offensive. With a final calming breath, he stood slowly, eyeing Mori challengingly.

Amelia could feel hot tears prickling the back of her eyes, and mused how strange it was that she would chose to cry now of all times. But, she wondered, after everything that Isaac had put her through, did this really solve anything? Having someone beat up a man who had wronged her uncountable times for the last ten years?

No, she decided, stepping forward. Her hand clenched into a fist, and her knuckles hurt, and the crack of bone breaking rang out though the secluded hallway.

And then the strangest silence fell over them, as the three men stared at her in wonder, one of them holding a broken, bloody nose; and it suddenly occurred to Amelia that she had just punched Isaac in the face, as she rubbed her tender knuckles with her other hand.

Then, with a fire fueled by years of quietly accepting abuse, she let loose on him all of the anger that she had bottled up over the years, calling him every horrible name that he had ever proven himself to be, though she didn't hit him again after the initial nose-breaking punch—she decided that she didn't especially enjoy hitting people. She ranted and raved until she had no breath left, and then fell limp, like a rag doll, against the wall opposite him, glaring into his shocked eyes.

"And," she said between pants, "I will never forgive you, so I'm sure you can figure out exactly where you can shove your stupid ring!" She further demonstrated by removing her engagement ring and chucking it at his head.

Hunny and Mori, who didn't speak English quite well enough to have caught the who thing, had a fairly good idea of what had just happened between the un-couple as Amelia stood testily and marched over to Mori, now back to her usual self, but retaining just a little of her previously demonstrated fire. She reached up to him and pulled him into a full-blown, public-display-of-affection kiss, before stretching up to whisper in his ear.

"Arigato, Mori-san," she murmured, smiling when she felt him return the embrace. She closed her eyes, trying (and failing) to feel bad about what had just happened. Sure, her parents would probably disown her, but they'd get over it eventually. That was the joy of being the only heir, they had to forgive her at some point. And as far as Mori went, even if what had happened between them had only been a fling, a one-time thing, she was still glad for it, because she never would have stood up for herself if he hadn't attempted to stand of for her in the first place.

Hunny smiled to himself, watching the display before him, before turning to retrieve his abandoned haori and making his way back to the ballroom, where he was certain that there was lovely young woman waiting for him.

Natsumi found herself standing in the middle of her new suite. Not more than a half-hour ago, she had been in a huge ballroom, celebrating her marriage with her friends and family (as well as a few others). Here she was now, though, staring in utter fright at the king-size bed, where she knew what was expected to take place. It wasn't like she hadn't thought—fantasized wasn't exactly the right word—about making love to Mitsukuni, she just didn't know what to expect. He was innocent, and childish, and altogether asexual, just as she had been up until the last few days.

The click of the bathroom door opening startled her out of her trance, and she turned slowly to see Mitsukuni looking at her quizzically. The first thing she noticed was his lack of a shirt. She should have expected what she saw, knowing he was a martial arts champion, but nothing could prepare her for the toned body in front of her. He was muscular, but not in a grotesque way. Wiry was a better word for him, and very slim. His hair was wet, and curled slightly at the ends as it dried, and he had his towel draped around his shoulders.

"Aren't you going to change?" he finally asked.

"Ano…" she looked down at her formal Kimono and instantly felt ridiculous. "I was…" she blushed at the thought of telling him the truth of what was on her mind. Unfortunately, she had always been a terrible liar.

He looked around her at the bed, having noticed her looking at it as he opened the door, and he suddenly understood. Regardless of what people thought of him and his virginity, he was still a twenty-two year old man, and just because he didn't ooze sexuality from every pore like Takashi seemed to, he still had just as much of a libido as everyone else. "You're scared, ne?" he asked, understanding and feeling a little of that fear, himself.

She twisted her fingers together restlessly, humiliated by this turn in conversation. "I'm just…" she started, but gave up. Yes, she was scared, but she wasn't about to say that out loud. That would be absurd, wouldn't it, to be afraid to sleep with your own husband? "Mitsukuni-kun, I'm sorry," she decided was the best thing to say in her current situation.

He only smiled at her, "It's okay, we can wait as long as you want. After all, it's nobody's business what we chose to do on our honeymoon."

She looked at him, astounded by how gracefully he dismissed the pressure that their parents were putting on them. All at once, she wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face into his neck, as a wave of relief washed over her, and she couldn't stop the tears that poured down her cheeks because of it. He seemed startled at first, but soon put one hand on the small of her back, while the other pulled her hair from its bun and began to stroke the auburn locks soothingly.

It was then that she decided, she could easily learn to love this man.

Two weeks later

"Ugh, autographs are annoying! My hand hurts just thinking about it…"

Komugi snorted, "I don't know why anyone would want to meet you, Izumi."

Izumi rounded on her brother, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm just saying," he replied snippily, "Maybe if you were nicer to people…!"

"Guys!" Minori interjected, "We haven't had any time off in months, and you're going to waste your first day of freedom by arguing with each other?" The fighting siblings in question huffed at one another, but made no move to resume their squabble. Just then, Komugi's phone chimed.

"Oh, it's that girl again…" he muttered testily, reading over the text that he had just gotten.

"Well, you must not think she's too irritating, or you wouldn't have exchanged numbers," reasoned the youngest member of their family. Both of Sumire's sisters nodded in agreement. Komugi's face flushed a little, as he stomped off to answer the text without his sisters watching over his shoulder.

"Hey," muttered Izumi, "Not that I care or anything, but one of us should probably follow him to make sure he doesn't hurt himself or something. One, two, three—not it!"

"Not it!"

"Not… aaw." Sumire wandered off after her niisan dejectedly.

"Well," said Minori casually, "Here we are, in New York, with nothing to do. Say, you know who I haven't talked to in a while? Hikaru! I think I'll go visit him."

Izumi flushed, "Is that some kind of a crack?" Minori only smiled over her shoulder. It was well known among their family that Izumi had spoken to Kaoru over the phone every few days since they'd left Japan, and though the conversation was always platonic, Minori could tell that her twin had quite a crush on the younger Hitachiin. It was this fact that had caused Minori to become the self-proclaimed girlfriend of Hikaru.

"Why not?" the girl had reasoned with a giggle. "At least until someone better comes along."

And so, Minori and Izumi had gone to the Hitachiin twin's fancy apartment building, Izumi wondered aloud how Minori even knew where they lived. They entered the main foyer, and looked around in barely contained awe. The Imperial Hotel Tokyo had been one of the nicest places they had ever stayed in, and Hikaru and Kaoru lived in a place that was just as luxurious? How unfair, their thoughts echoed each other.

The man at the front desk—must have been a manager or something—looked up and guessed instantly, "Here to see the Hitachiins?" Both girls nodded mutely, as he pointed to the elevator.

"Seventh floor, room 703, it's on the right," he then went back to his newspaper, bored with the conversation.

As they approached the elevator, the doors dinged and opened, revealing one of the very people they were looking for.

"Kaoru," called Minori, waving happily. He blinked at her in surprise for a minute, before he smiled and waved back.

"Oh, were you on your way out?" asked Izumi, as they got close enough to talk more quietly amongst themselves.

"No. Well, I mean, yes, but I…" He stopped, realizing that he was rambling, and took a deep breath, "I was just going to get some lunch. Do you guys want to come with me?"

Minori nodded, then looked around, "Where's Hikaru?"

Kaoru sighed, "Still sleeping."

"Well, okay," Minori said, giving her sister a nudge and a wink, "You two go ahead, and I'll go make Hikaru get up."

Kaoru nodded, giving Minori his key, "Room-"

"Seven-oh-three, it's on the right." She skipped over to the elevator, "I'll call you once we're on our way, and you can tell us where to meet you. Bye-bye!" With that, the doors slid closed, and the girl was gone.

Minori opened the door, entering the apartment softly. The entryway was fairly small, but it quickly got bigger as it opened to a spacious living/dining room with one wall done completely in floor to ceiling windows, giving a spectacular view of the city. Just off from that was a bathroom, and a kitchen, which led her to what appeared to be the only bedroom. She entered quietly and looked around. There were two beds with a nightstand between them, and the placement of furniture made it look like a hotel room.

Seeing one sleeping body on one of the beds, Minori moved toward the bed, kneeling on it and leaning over Hikaru's sleeping frame. With her forefinger and her thumb, she reached up and pinched his nose, causing him to awaken suddenly, and give a startled cry at the disturbance.

"M-Minori?!" He looked around, but soon brought his focus back to her, "What are you doing here?"

She leaned back, and giggled, "Izumi and I came to visit you and Kaoru." When he made no move to say anything, she asked, "So how have things been?"

"With Haruhi, you mean? Fine, I guess. I haven't really talked to her since two Sundays ago."

"Oh… Sorry."

"Nah," he sighed, "She's happy, and as her friend, I'm happy for her."

"That's sweet. I'll bet Izumi wouldn't hate you so much if you said something like that in front of her."

He rolled his eyes, "It wouldn't matter, though. I'd still hate her."

"Hm? Why's that?"

"He's changed since they met."

"Is that a good thing?" inquired Minori, examining what must have been a family photo on the nightstand.

"I don't know," he mumbled, pressing a pillow over his head, "He's just different, and I hate it."

"Speaking of changing," said Minori, standing from his bed, "Do you and Kaoru share clothes, or do you each have your own dressers?"

"We share the closet, the right side is his, the left side is mine." No sooner had the words left his mouth, the raven-haired girl was rummaging through his side of the closet.

"Hey!" he shouted indignantly, sitting up, "I didn't say you could get in there!"

"Well," huffed Minori over her shoulder, "Don't offer me information about clothing and then expect me to leave it alone." After shifting through a few shirts, she held up one of his and one of Kaoru's, "How is it possible that you two have such different tastes?"

"You and Izumi have different tastes," he pointed out.

Minori sighed, putting Kaoru's shirt back and tossing his to him. "Yes, but she and I are opposites," she explained, looking for pants, "Like Yin and Yang, peanut butter and jelly…"

"I don't think those are opposites."

"… Red and green."

"Colors don't have opposites!"

She responded by throwing his pants at him, "Yes they do: it's the color across from it on the color wheel."

He shook his head, "You're so weird."

"No, I'm not," she defended, making her way through the door, "I'm sure you can find your own underwear."

"Who says I wear underwear?"

"… I didn't need to know that." He laughed as she continued out the door, leaving him to get dressed on his own.

Kaoru and Izumi found a restaurant a little more than a block away, and chose a table for four, waiting to order until the other half of their little group got there. They ordered their drinks, and then used their time to catch up.

"So how did that project you were telling me about go?"

Kaoru stirred his tea, "Really well, actually. I'm surprised I got it done; I spent the whole night working on it on Wednesday."

Izumi looked out the window, "I'm glad it paid off, then."

"Yeah, me too," he agreed with a laugh. After a second he asked, "So how long do you have before your next thing?"

"Well, we're set to start recording our next album in July, so we have about three weeks," she answered, "Why?"

"Oh, no reason, really. So what are you doing tomorrow evening?" he asked.

She grinned, "Going out to dinner with you."

"Are you asking me out?"

"No," she teased, "You're asking me out."

He laughed, "Okay. Seven-ish?"

"Sounds good," she answered with a smile and a nod. The two sat in companionable silence then, until Izumi's phone rang and Minori told her that she and Hikaru were on their way.

Natsumi smiled into the sunlight, loving the warmth of it on her body. Summer was her season; she was named for it, after all. This summer also happened to mark her twentieth birthday.

For the last couple of weeks, Natsumi had felt a little strange, like she was walking through a dream. She had a wonderful husband, a vast estate, which was all theirs, and she was in the top ten of her classes. What more could a girl possibly ask for? She remembered reading somewhere that the first year of marriage was the best, and then it all went downhill, but when she looked at Mitsukuni, she was sure that whoever had written that was wrong.

When the man plaguing her thoughts stepped out onto the deck that she was laying on, she sat up to greet him.

"Mitsukuni," she smiled up at him, proud that she had managed to remember his request of not calling him 'kun' anymore—though sometimes, she needed to be reminded.

"Ohayo, Natsu-chan," he greeted her back. He only ever called her Natsumi when they were all alone, saying that she was his Natsumi, and everyone else would just have to settle for Natsu-chan. Not knowing how else to take it, she had read it as an endearment, and hadn't bothered to think on it since.

"Ano," she mumbled, trying to think of something to say, "Are you hungry?"

His eyes instantly lit up, "You bet I am! Come on, Natsu-chan, let's go get some cake!" With that, he ran off, leaving his sweat-dropping wife behind him. His capacity for cake was really quite astonishing.

She took a moment to herself before following him, looking out at the garden. Technically, the land belonged to Haninozuka Yorihisa, but it, along with a handful of staff, had been gifted to Mitsukuni as a place for them to live; no doubt, it was to encourage some… populating. With a contented sigh, she turned to follow him in, more intent on having a sandwich than a piece (or twelve) of cake.

Tamaki hummed happily, walking beside his short-haired companion, who kept her nose in her book and ignored him. Well, she ignored him for as long as she could.

"Senpai, please stop humming so loudly."

He feigned hurt, "But, Koibito, it's a beautiful day!"

Her eye twitched, "And stop calling me 'koibito'."

"Well, you are, aren't you?" he argued, reaching down to clasp her hand in his.

Haruhi glared off in the other direction, pink tinting her cheeks. She honestly had no idea how she had ended up dating him, not that she was complaining… loudly. What she did complain about, Tamaki knew was just a defense mechanism; the girl had managed to be indifferent about every guy she had ever met, and the relationship status was giving her trouble.

While the affection side of their relationship was going slowly, neither had much trouble shifting into the mindset of dating. Honestly, it had taken them four years, more than enough time, to get to where they were with each other.

They finally reached Haruhi's apartment—she still hadn't moved out of the apartment that she shared with her father—and Tamaki hesitated at the door. She turned, giving him an exasperated sigh; he always panicked at the thought of seeing her father.

"He's not even home," she assured him peevishly, "Now get in here. Air-conditioning isn't free, you know."

He nodded sheepishly, stepping in and closing the door behind him, before removing his shoes and stepping up onto the soft carpeting. Except for his phobia over her father, he had gotten quite used to her house even before they started dating, and he didn't worry about falling into commoners' traps, anymore, either.

She went into the kitchen to get them some tea and a snack, while Tamaki looked around the room, eyes coming to rest on Fujioka Kotoko's mini-memorial. While he was sad for Haruhi's loss, he was also grateful, because the chances of Haruhi being who she was today would have been slim if her mother hadn't… If things had been different. He couldn't even bring himself to feel bad about the selfishness of that thought, as he bowed his head and gave a short prayer for the deceased woman.

With a tray in hand, Haruhi exited the kitchen, catching Tamaki in the middle of his silent 'conversation' with her mother. "You don't have to feel obligated to do that every time you come here," she told him, placing the tray on the table, and sitting on one side.

"I don't do it because I feel obligated," he said, smiling calmly at the girl, "I do it because I want to."

Haruhi stayed silent then, watching him carefully. It seems like he really means it, she thought, bringing her tea to her lips.

"Well, then," she mumbled self-consciously, "Thank you."

He sat across from her, looking at her softly. There really wasn't anything more to say on the subject after that, so they sat quietly, just enjoying each other's company—yes, even Haruhi.

It was the brunette that spoke first after a minute. "So, about this book you lent me," she said, waving the aforementioned reading material in front of him, "What's with the main antagonist?"

"I don't know," he shrugged, "He's just the bad guy."

"Yeah," she argued, "But what made him bad? Are people just born evil?"

"I don't know," he repeated, loving the girl's sharp mind, but hating her habit of over thinking things.

She raised an eyebrow, "Well, who's the most evil person you can think of?"

"Beelzenef," he responded automatically, fear dripping in the very way he said the name.

"Uh, Senpai, that's a puppet."

"Still evil." She shook her head.

"Paranoid idiot," she muttered under her breath. Why do I even like him?

Amelia stepped in, and looked around her condo. It was a lot smaller than the home she had left, but she wasn't about to complain. Since telling her ex-fiancé and her mother to basically shove it, she had gotten a job, and now did her own laundry and cooked her own meals—which consisted mostly of burnt pancakes and instant ramen.

Mori had offered her a wing of the Morinozuka estate; his father objected to Mori keeping a concubine on the grounds, though he eventually let up after having a talk with his son (a talk which, one might add, Mori hadn't allowed Amelia to witness), but Amelia had declined in favor of doing for herself for once in her life. It was amazing how punching someone in the face—but only if they really deserved it—could make a person feel so independent.

Of course, Mori hadn't let her off the hook that easily, and had somehow gotten his father to allow him to purchase a condo for her. He even went so far as to visit her every evening, though she supposed that he had less to do now that Hunny didn't spend so much time with him. Today, though, he had beaten her there, and was waiting for her on her couch.

"Mori," she greeted, putting her bag on the floor, "You're early." Though her work was mainly filing papers and scheduling appointments for her boss, she was quite proud of herself for doing the work, even if it meant that she sometimes had to put up with innuendos from her slimy boss.

He stood and took the few steps to stand in front of her, noting how her makeup was getting less and less thick as her bruises slowly healed. After this thought, he began their routine, him starting by pecking her lips and asking how her day was. She always said it was fine, unless something worth telling him had happened, and then she asked how his day had been, to which he would always reply with a noncommittal grunt.

After this usual exchange, they sat on the couch together, sometimes she read, sometimes she went on her laptop and checked the Willard-Jones Publishing stocks. Either way, Mori was usually happy to just sit beside her, sometimes watching television, but more often than not, watching her closely.

Today, she checked on the family business, even though it no longer had much to do with her, and then closed her laptop with a soft click, and set it on the coffee table. Leaning back against the couch again, she looked to see what he was watching on the TV, and saw that it was some kind of news coverage on a festival that would be held over the weekend.

Not really paying attention to the show, he watched her stare blankly at the screen, before asking a familiar question.

"Do you like Japan?"

She blinked at him, giving him a tiny smile once she comprehended the question. "I like it more and more," she kissed him, "Everyday." She ran a hand through his hair, "And do you like Britain?"

He studied her for a moment, "I have the only worthwhile part right here with me."

She was so overwhelmed by the sheer romanticism of that answer, that she couldn't even think to be surprised at how long the statement had been. Hand still in his hair, she pulled him down and kissed him square on the lips.

They stayed like that for a very long time, until Amelia suddenly hopped up and smirked down at him, "I'll go make dinner."

He sighed, she always knew how to ruin a moment, but couldn't help a smile at the next thing she said.

"And I promise I won't burn it this time."

Renge settled herself at the desk next to her fiancé, documents in hand. While she wasn't always there when he did paperwork, he was always there when she did it, tapping away on his laptop, even when there was no work for him to do as far as she knew. Then again, he probably had tons of things on the side that she didn't know about.

Lately, since her father had awarded half of the company to her (the other half would go to Kyouya once they were married), she had been taking her job very seriously. While she was still very much the same dating-sim-loving girl she had been in high school, she was also now a businesswoman, who knew exactly how to take care of her company. Her father was really quite happy for her change in attitude, and had a good guess what had caused the change.

Kyouya had silently questioned the man's sanity when he had given Renge a manila envelope, full of important documents and bids from other corporations, wanting to buy or merge with the Houshakuji's.

On her side of the desk, she hissed at the low offers and raised her eyebrow at the high ones, deeply involved it the documents she was reading. He honestly didn't see much point, though; Renge had made it clear that nothing could persuade her to sell her father's company.

Kyouya ceased his typing momentarily, thinking back to when his father, Ootori Yoshio, had gone to Renge's father about the matter of their engagement.

"You do realize that as a third son, his inheritance could very well end up being quite small," he had pointed out.

"Yes," replied Houshakuji-san sternly, "But I consider a son-in-law an investment of my daughter's happiness, not an investment of money."

Sure, the answer that her father had given hadn't made much sense to Kyouya, or Yoshio, but Renge had seemed pleased with her father's explanation; and the reason for him letting the two be married really made no difference, anyway.

The girl paused in her work, then, looking at him. "Kyouya," she addressed him, long since dropping an honorific, "Do you think Tamaki-kun and Haruhi-chan will beat us to a wedding?"

"I doubt that," he replied thoughtfully, "Haruhi's quite stubborn."

Renge hummed, "Then what do you suppose will happen?"

"Are you foreshadowing something, Renge?"

She shrugged, "We'll just have to wait and see, won't we?"

Owari!

A/n: That's it for the edited version of Dearest/Starling. I want to thank everyone who read, reviewed and favorited the original versions. I'll probably go through and edit Darling now, and maybe (gasp!) finish it at some point. I make no promises, since all they ever manage to do is turn me into a liar.