A/N: So, I am a terrible person for not updating for so long. I know it's not a good excuse, but my laptop has crashed about 6 times in the past year. The company finally gave in and just gave me a new one since the one I had was faulty. Anyways, I decided not to update until it was finished so that you all wouldn't have to wait anymore after this. This is officially the last chapter, I'm not happy with everything, but I hope you all like it. Thank you so much to everyone who has read and/or reviewed this fic. It's kind of been my baby for the past year or so.

Also, this last chapter is like...10,000 words long.

Kyouya sighed in relief as he felt, rather than saw, his car come to a stop. All of his attention was directed towards his lightly slumbering fiancé, trying to make sure that he was as comfortable as possible. He kept glancing at the wound on the back of his fiancé's head, making sure that it hadn't reopened during the car ride.

He eased Kaoru's weight against him and gently lifted him into his arms as he maneuvered himself out of the car. Kyouya tried to walk as quietly and as smoothly as possible throughout his house, but as he reached the stairs, he realized that there was no way for him to get to their room without waking his betrothed.

Kaoru blinked his eyes open as he felt his head bump repeatedly into Kyouya's chest. Kyouya sighed in defeat upon seeing Kaoru's eyes open. He mumbled an apology to his fiancé and Kaoru merely smiled in reply, pressing his head more firmly against Kyouya's chest. Kyouya sped up his pace, trying to get to his room as quickly as possible.

Kyouya shifted Kaoru in his arms, freeing up a limb so that he could open the door. He strode through his room with ease, dodging the furniture that was strategically placed throughout his abode, despite the darkness. He placed Kaoru on his bed, stretching out his body so that he was fully extended.

Kyouya moved to leave, wanting to fetch Kaoru something to eat as well as some medicine to ease his pain, but a weak grip on his arm caught his attention before he could leave.

Kyouya looked down at the slight touch and saw Kaoru loosely holding onto the cuff of his shirt sleeve.

"Stay."

Kyouya smiled at his fiancé's words and eased himself onto the bed. He knew that he should probably be gathering things to ensure Kaoru's safety, but as the youngest twin curled up against him, nearly wrapping his body around Kyouya, he couldn't bring himself to care.

Kaoru opened his bleary eyes and groaned upon the pounding pain that rushed to his head. He tried to glance to his left, towards the warmth that was enveloping him, but his head seemed to scream at him in protest. Instead, he turned his head as gently as he could and inwardly smiled at the sight of Kyouya gazing down on him.

"How are you feeling?"

Kaoru winced at how loud Kyouya's voice seemed, and whispered a response in reply, "My head feels like it's going to explode."

Kyouya smiled sympathetically and slipped his hand into Kaoru's, squeezing gently before letting go, leaving a small pill—a painkiller—in his hand.

"Take this." Kyouya pressed a cool glass into his fiancé's hand. Kaoru smiled gratefully and proceeded to take the medicine. He moved to place the glass on the nearby side table, but as he tried to move, Kyouya tightened his grip on the twin and pulled him even tighter to his chest.

"Don't move; you'll only end up hurting yourself again."

Kaoru sighed and allowed himself to be pulled against Kyouya. Normally, he would probably protest to being taken care of as such, but at the moment he didn't really mind. Besides, Kyouya was his fiancé and he supposed that it would be ok to be pampered by his future husband.

He still couldn't believe all that had happened in the last few days, though he supposed that these series of events weren't really all that strange compared to some of the other shenanigans that had occurred since Haruhi had appeared.

He had always expected to be in an arranged marriage, but he had never thought that it would happen so early on in his life. While he knew that most people would complain about the situation that he was in, he almost felt rather fortunate for the strange happening that entwined his life with Kyouya's.

Kaoru felt as if he had some sort of control over this arranged marriage; he wasn't marrying someone whom his father had chosen for him, and, while he hadn't exactly chosen Kyouya for himself, it was probably the closest he would ever get to choosing the person he would spend the rest of his life with. Honestly, he didn't really mind being engaged to Kyouya. The older teen understood him more than he had expected. He could relate to Kyouya and, to be honest, he was, at least, mildly attracted the other boy, more so than he would be to some girl that his father had chosen for him.

He glanced up as Kyouya shifted slightly and shivered at the look in his fiancé's eyed. So maybe, Kaoru was much more than mildly attracted to Kyouya.

He groaned as his forehead gave a sudden pang of pain.

"What're you thinking about so hard, Kaoru? You're only going to worsen your headache."

"Nothing much, really."

That look in Kyouya's eyes had reminded him of something, but for life of him, Kaoru couldn't place what it was. Though he hated to concede to his fiancé, he really was far too tired to be thinking so much. He sighed and allowed himself to drift off into a rather peaceful slumber.

Kaoru woke up cold. He shifted around a bit, hoping that he would find a source of warmth, his source of warmth, but, after rolling around a bit, he realized that his search was in vain. He was alone.

Kaoru had forgotten what it was like to wake up alone and it really was not a pleasant feeling. He had gotten so used to waking up with Kyouya that he had never really appreciated how much comfort the other man brought him. It wasn't just his warmth that the other boy missed, but he missed his very presence.

He slowly eased himself into a sitting position and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. The younger twin slid himself down to the floor and, finally, stood on his two legs. He attempted to take a step forward with shaky legs.

Kyouya returned to his room to witness the sight of his fiancé tumbling backwards onto his bed.

"Karou, what are you doing?"

The aforementioned boy sighed in defeat and looked over at his elder, "Well, I was trying to walk, but that plan clearly failed."

"And where were you trying to wander off too?"

Kyouya smirked as his fiancé blushed slightly, "I was going to look for you."

Kyouya chuckled at the way Kaoru mumbled under his breath, "Well, I'm here now, so you don't need to go looking for me." He paused for a moment and then continued, "I brought you some food; I figured you'd be hungry."

Kaoru smiled at the sight of a small tray in Kyouya's hands. His fiancé was certainly changing. Before their engagement, Kyouya would have never gotten something for Kaoru himself, for he would have just had one of the servants fetch it for him. He couldn't quite tell if Kyouya was truly changing or if he had always been like this and had just hidden it from the world.

The twin jolted at a poke to his forehead, "Stop thinking so much. You're going to hurt yourself."

Kaoru laughed, grabbed the offered tray, and set it in his lap. He began to eat and almost moaned at how good the food tasted. He was so engrossed in his meal that he didn't notice Kyouya move from the bed to his desk and open his laptop.

When he finally glanced up, he looked at his fiancé curiously, "What are you looking at, Kyouya?"

Kyouya smirked as the light glinted of his glasses, "I'm just looking at pictures from the Host Club."

Kaoru groaned, "Of the wedding…?"

Kyouya nodded his head to signal the affirmative. "Want to see?"

Kaoru really didn't want to relive the embarrassing moment through the pictures, but he figured that he had better look at them to assess the damage.

Seeing Kaoru's slight nod, Kyouya moved over to the bed and sat next to his fiancé, placing his computer on his lap. Kaoru moved over slightly, leaning gently on Kyouya so that he could see the screen clearly.

Kyouya began flipping through the pictures, allowing Kaoru adequate time to take them in. As they reached the point where they had been reading their vows, something tingled at the back of Kaoru's mind.

"Where did you get those vows, Kyouya?"

"I already told you that I copied them out of the comic book."

Kaoru turned his head, looking Kyouya directly in the eyes. "No you didn't. Those vows didn't even remotely describe Peter Parker." He paused, trying to get a read on his fiancé, and, as usual, failed. "I know you wrote them, but there is no way that you made a mistake in their characterization. You meant for them to describe us, and not the superheroes, didn't you?"

Kyouya smirked inwardly; Kaoru was becoming more and more devious. "Very perceptive."

"Why?"

"For the money, of course." Kyouya sighed; he didn't enjoy lying to Kaoru, but he couldn't exactly tell him that he was trying to make him truly fall in love with him. "I figured that our fangirls would appreciate it if the ceremony was more realistic. Plus, now the pictures will sell even more."

"Oh." Kaoru deflated a little bit on the inside. He didn't know why but he had really wanted Kyouya to have had a different motivation. He realized that it was an illogical hope; Kyouya was the Shadow King after all. He would always value business over everything else. Kaoru had thought that Kyouya had put a little more importance on him, since he had shut down the Host Club early, but he guessed that he had assumed wrong.

Kyouya smiled slightly at the troubled look on his fiancé's face. He supposed that it was wrong for him to be excited over the twin's uneasiness, but he couldn't help but hope that Kaoru's reaction meant that he was developing similar feelings.

"What's wrong Kaoru?"

Kaoru was shaken out of his thoughts by Kyouya's voice. "Oh, nothing, I'm just tired is all."

Kyouya nodded, knowing that his fiancé was exhausted. "Okay, you should get some more rest. I'll leave so that I don't disturb you."

Kaoru frowned, "…but I don't sleep well without you."

Kyouya looked down at his fiancé warmly and leaned down to press a kiss to his temple. "I know, but I can't stay. I have a meeting with my father. I'll be back as soon as I can."

It wasn't entirely untrue. Kyouya had meant to talk to his father about some wedding details and he figured that now was as good of a time as any; Kaoru really needed some time to think. He pressed his forehead against his fiancé's for a moment and then promptly left the room.

Kaoru sighed. He knew that he wouldn't be able to fall asleep without another person's body heat. He moved the laptop closer to himself. Kyouya had always said that he could use it whenever he wanted, not that Kaoru needed to borrow his computer since he had his own, but, considering that he couldn't walk to obtain his own, he figured that it would be alright to take his fiancé up on the offer.

He clicked on the start menu, fully intending to find some sort of game to play; however, he was distracted by Kyouya's most recently accessed word documents. While most seemed to pertain to that Host club and seemed to be quite boring, one document, entitled 'plans', caught Kaoru's eye.

He knew that he shouldn't be snooping through Kyouya's documents, but he couldn't contain his curiosity. Besides, he figured that if it was anything important, Kyouya would have had it encrypted; he wasn't stupid enough to leave something important so easily accessible.

Or maybe he was.

Kyouya came back to his room to find it empty. He smirked; he guessed that this meant that Kaoru had finally found the document. He knew that Kaoru couldn't have gone far in his current state. He figured that the boy had gone to his own room.

Kyouya didn't really enjoy making his fiancé upset, but it was, unfortunately, completely necessary. He needed to stir up Kaoru's emotions to, hopefully, make him realize his own feelings. The other boy had been living in a world of denial and the only way to shake him out of it would be to deliver a shock that would shatter this world. He didn't like it, but it needed to happen if there was any hope for him and Kaoru to be truly together.

He walked out of his room to stand in front of Kaoru's door. He raised his hand to knock; bracing himself for what he was sure was coming.

"Kyouya-sempai! You deceiving, conniving bastard!"

The aforementioned teen sighed. He had fully expected this, but he had forgotten just how annoying the wrath of Hikaru could be. "Let me through, Hikaru."

Hikaru glared to the best of his ability, knowing that it would be useless on his elder. "No. You've already ruined my brother's life. I'm not going to let you do any more damage to him."

Hikaru couldn't believe it. He had just come to accept that the other boy was right for his brother and then he had to go and ruin everything. He had truly thought that Kyouya had had feelings for his twin, but he guessed that he had drastically underestimated how much of an asshole his sempai was.

"Hikaru, let him in."

"No Kaoru. I can't; he's already hurt you and I'm not letting him do it again."

Kaoru groaned. He had called Hikaru in a panic immediately after seeing the document and his brother had come over instantly and helped him into the other room. While his twin's presence was much appreciated at the beginning of his crisis, now he was being a hindrance. Kaoru realized that he needed to talk things over with his fiancé. He knew that, rationally speaking, he shouldn't trust him at all anymore, but, for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to lose faith in Kyouya entirely.

"Hikaru, let him in. I'm still going to have to marry him regardless of how this all really started. I can't avoid him forever."

Hikaru sighed, noting the finality in his brother's words, and stepped aside, allowing Kyouya to enter the room. However, he remained near the doorway, not leaving the room.

"A little privacy please?"

Hikaru glared at Kyouya once more, warning him with his eyes, before succumbing to his brother's wishes and leaving the room.

"I assume that you know what I found?"

Kyouya nodded, moving to sit next to his fiancé.

"Did you really have all of this planned out?"

Kyouya sighed; this was the part that he was unsure of. He didn't know if it was better to go along with the fake document and pretend that it was the truth or if he should tell Kaoru of his real plan.

If he chose to go along with the document, Kaoru would feel that everything was a lie. Kyouya had made a list entailing how he had planned their engagement, including the incident with the apple. He didn't really think that allowing Kaoru to believe this was the best idea as he might feel betrayed and used. However, he didn't want to explain his new plan as it would force him to reveal his true feelings to Kaoru.

He decided to go with his most reliable tactic: be cryptic. "Do you really think that I would leave something like that so easily accessible?"

Kaoru sighed and sat down on his bed. He didn't really know what to think. It wasn't like Kyouya to be so careless with sensitive information, but, then again, he probably hadn't actually expected Kaoru to go looking through his computer.

"I don't know, Kyouya. I guess not." He paused, thinking again. "Regardless of how this all started, it doesn't really change anything. We still have to get married; it just…feels different now I guess."

Kyouya frowned inwardly; his fiancé looked so sad. He sat down next to Kaoru on the bed and placed his hand on the twin's knee; he needed to know what Kaoru was feeling and thinking. "How is it different, Kaoru?"

Kaoru turned to look at Kyouya, "I don't know really. Before, everything seemed like a happy accident; like we were both escaping from being stuck in really terrible arranged marriages with each other. It was like we had found each other to save ourselves. But now, if everything was a huge set up, it's like everything was planned out anyway; like nothing that happened between us was actually genuine. It just changes how everything feels, Kyouya."

Kaoru's eyes widened at his own words, surprising himself. That almost sounded like a love confession. Kyouya smirked for the very same reason; it seemed that his plan had worked. Now he just needed to comfort his fiancé.

He placed an arm around Kaoru and pulled him close. "Kaoru, I can't tell you why it was there, but I promise you that that document was fake. I swear that none of this was set up; everything was just as real as you thought."

Kaoru sighed; it was hopeless. He knew that he should probably question Kyouya further to find out what really had happened, but he couldn't bring himself to stay angry at the man any longer. He tentatively wrapped his arms around his fiancé, furthering their embrace.

Kyouya relaxed in relief and rested his chin atop Kaoru's head. He hadn't gotten a direct love confession from his fiancé, but this was close enough for now; he was sure that Kaoru would come to realize the true depth of his feelings quite soon. He nuzzled his face into Kaoru's hair, but paused at the odd texture he discovered. Kyouya pulled back and glanced down, frowning at the caked blood he found in his fiancé's hair.

"I think we should probably clean you up a bit."

Kaoru brought a hand up to his head and cringed; Kyouya was probably right. He detached his arms from Kyouya and stood up, taking slow and steady steps towards the bathroom. Kyouya began to follow him, but Kaoru protested.

"Kyouya, I'm fine now; I don't need your help."

Kyouya shook his head, "Kaoru, you probably have a concussion. You can't risk going in there and passing out. Besides, there's no way you'll be able to get all of that out very easily on your own."

Kaoru sighed, but supposed that Kyouya was right. He was feeling much better, but not exactly fine. He didn't really want to have to share a shower with Kyouya again—the first one was awkward enough for him—but he supposed that he didn't really have a choice.

Kyouya followed Kaoru into the bathroom and closed the door behind him with a resounding click. Kaoru turned on the water and began to lift his shirt over his head, but winced when it caught on the back of his head. Kyouya shook his head and stepped over towards his fiancé and gently pushed the shirt over his head.

Kaoru mumbled a quiet thank you before ridding himself of the rest of his clothing and stepping into the shower. Kyouya followed suit and stepped in behind Kaoru.

The younger boy smiled at Kyouya, trying to make the situation less awkward. Though, in fact, Kaoru felt terribly awkward. He was more aware of Kyouya than he had ever been before and now was really not the opportune time for him to realize just how attracted to the other man he was.

His eyes widened as Kyouya stepped towards him. Kyouya reached for the shampoo and squirted some into his hands.

"Turn around, Kaoru. I'll wash your hair for you."

Kaoru nearly sighed in relief at the command, for at least now he wouldn't have to look at Kyouya, but as his fiancé started massaging the shampoo into his head, he started to think that it wasn't such a good idea.

Kyouya had magical fingers; Kaoru could practically feel the tension easing out of his body and his headache had practically disappeared. He relaxed into Kyouya's touch and leaned backwards until their chests were nearly touching.

The elder teen smirked, enjoying how clearly Kaoru was being affected by his touch. He was glad that the other boy was finally beginning to accept his feelings. Kyouya smiled as Kaoru titled his head back to look at him and he leaned down and placed a kiss on the younger's forehead. He slid his hands down to Kaoru's shoulders and spun the other boy to face him.

"Close your eyes, Kaoru."

Kaoru closed his eyes compliantly and, as Kyouya's hands slid up the side of his neck and came to rest on his cheeks, he became giddy. Kyouya was going to kiss him; he could just tell. He didn't know why that thought excited him so much; Kyouya had kissed him before, many times in fact. Maybe it was the fact that neither of them was clothed, but he wasn't really sure.

He opened his eyes in confusion as Kyouya's hands moved up past his cheeks and into his hair.

"Keep them closed, Kaoru. I don't want to get soap in your eyes."

Oh. Oh. That was why Kyouya had had him close his eyes, so that he wouldn't get soap in his eyes. Of course. He had been being silly; Kyouya had no reason to kiss him. They were just two people who had been thrown into a strange situation.

Kyouya ran his fingers through Kaoru's hair and sighed. The boy in front of him was just so irresistible, but he wasn't going to try anything. Kaoru had been through a lot today and he didn't want to confuse the boy any more than necessary.

Kaoru was mortified at his own thoughts. How could he have thought that Kyouya liked him, especially with his lack of clothing at the moment? He was always confident in himself when he was dressed; he knew exactly what looked good on his body, but now he just felt self conscious and exposed.

"Are you done yet, Kyouya?" Kyouya was shaken out of his thoughts by Kaoru's words. He pulled his hands from the younger boy's hair and responded in the affirmative.

"Then I'm going to go lie down."

Kyouya nodded and watched his fiancé leave. He wanted to follow after him, but he needed to wash himself after all.

Kyouya frowned as he saw Kaoru's form curled up under the covers. His fiancé didn't look very comfortable. He looked as if he was trying to hide away from the world.

He approached the bed, hesitantly. "Kaoru, what's wrong? Is it your head?"

Kaoru groaned into the pillow, "No. I'm fine; I'm just tired."

Kyouya's frown deepened. Kaoru didn't look like he was trying to sleep; his whole body seemed tense and he seemed to be radiating in some sort of frustration. He couldn't figure out what was troubling his fiancé so much. Things hadn't been great when they had started the shower, but they had seemed to be getting better.

He needed to figure out what was troubling his fiancé so much, and quickly. After the talk he had just had earlier in the day with his father, Kyouya needed his and Kaoru's relationship to improve greatly. He needed to have Kaoru accept his feelings, so that they could spend the rest of their time living in a –dare he think it—blissful happiness.

He sat down next to Kaoru and pulled the covers down, revealing his fiancé's smaller body. Kaoru turned his head in response, glaring at Kyouya for exposing him to the cold air.

"I know that something is bothering you Kaoru. Don't pretend that you're fine when you're not. Tell me."

Kaoru sat up, suddenly angry. He was confused as hell and Kyouya's persistence was not helping to clear his confusion in the least. He just wanted to be left alone to think; why couldn't Kyouya understand that?

"I just need to think, Kyouya. Just leave me alone. Please. I can't handle dealing with you right now."

Kyouya sighed in defeat; he knew not to push the issue right now, for Kaoru seemed seriously confused and maybe just a little bit depressed. He didn't know what exactly had set his fiancé off so much; he had been stirred up earlier, but nothing like this.

He leaned down and placed a kiss on Kaoru's forehead, murmuring, "sleep well", before retreating from the room.

Kyouya chuckled to himself about the fact that Kaoru had successfully kicked him out of his own room for the evening. He didn't even mind really, but he knew that Kaoru wouldn't be able to get any rest being alone; he needed someone there.

Kyouya knew exactly who he needed to call.

Hikaru never thought the day would come when the Shadow King called him for help, but it apparently had. He shouldn't really be surprised considering everything that had happened in the past few days, but he had always thought that Kyouya-sempai would try to fix and take care of everything on his own.

As he opened the door to Kyouya's room, Hikaru realized exactly why he had called him. His brother was clearly in a dark place. He had never seen him so distraught before. His brother was completely hidden under the covers and all the lights in the room were turned off. Usually, Hikaru would have assumed that his brother was asleep, but the soft sobs coming from the small form gave him away.

Had he walked in on this scene any other time, Hikaru would have been enraged at Kyouya, wondering what the elder boy had done to upset his twin so much. However, Kyouya's phone call from earlier had assured him that he hadn't knowingly caused Kaoru's pain, though he suspected he was the source of the trouble.

Hikaru flicked on the lights, knowing that it was the best way to get Kaoru to listen and talk to him. Sometimes getting his brother annoyed was the easiest way to trick him into spilling his guts.

Kaoru threw himself up in anger, "Kyouya! I thought I told you to go away."

Hikaru raised an eyebrow at Kaoru's words; he didn't think that it would be this easy to provoke Kaoru; usually it took a few different methods, not just simply turning on the lights.

"Oh, Hikaru. I thought you were…What are you doing here?"

Kaoru frowned; why hadn't Kyouya come back? He hadn't actually expected the elder boy to leave. He flopped back down onto the bed, starring at the ceiling.

Hikaru approached him, concerned. "Kaoru, what on earth is wrong?"

Kaoru groaned at his brother's words, if only he knew.

"I don't know Hikaru. I really don't."

"Somehow I don't think that's true." Hikaru plopped down next to his brother and mirrored his position.

"I'm not lying. I really have no idea why I feel so god awful."

"Well," Hikaru paused, trying to figure out the best way to phrase his next words, "I think that you have an idea and you're refusing to think about it. I think you're scared Kaoru. I don't know exactly what happened today, but I think it scared the hell out of you and now you're just refusing to face it."

"But nothing happened. After you left, we just talked and cleared a few things up and then showered."

Hikaru thought for a moment; nothing about Kaoru's day sounded particularly stressful, but maybe there was more to it than that. Though he hated to think about it, he knew that his brother and his fiancé had showered together before, so that couldn't have been what had shocked his brother; it must have been whatever they had been talking about.

"What did you talk about?"

Kaoru sighed. "Kyouya explained that none of it had been planned and that what I had seen on his computer was a fake. He didn't really explain anything further than that though."

"What did you tell him, Kaoru?"

Kaoru blushed slightly; his brother could be so persistent sometimes. "Just that I was hurt when I thought that everything was a lie. That I kind of liked the idea of happening to be thrown together with him."

Hikaru tried to hide his smile; at least it sounded like Kaoru had stopped denying his feelings.

"So you're happy being with Kyouya. You're going to be with him, so what's the problem?"

"He doesn't like me."

Well, maybe his brother wasn't as smart as he had thought. How in the world had he gotten it into his head that Kyouya didn't like him? That was the furthest thing from the truth. Hikaru rolled over so that he was facing his twin.

"What on Earth makes you think that Kyouya doesn't like you?"

Kaoru groaned; he hadn't actually expected himself to say that. Hikaru had always been very good at getting him to talk and he supposed that it was probably because they were twins. He mumbled a response, not really wanting to say his fears out loud; they sounded so irrational and silly.

"You're going to have to speak louder Kaoru."

"He didn't kiss me in the shower."

Hikaru's eyes widened at his brother's words; he couldn't believe that this was all over a stupid kiss. Looking at the mortification on his twin's face, he decided, no matter how much he wanted to, not to make fun of the younger boy.

"Kyouya has kissed you lots of times. What does it matter if he didn't when you were in the shower?"

Kaoru wasn't about to explain to his brother that it was partially because he had been naked and thought that Kyouya wasn't attracted to him.

"Every other time has been for some sort of profit. It's fine Hikaru. This whole marriage is based on business anyway. I'm just being stupid."

Hikaru stared at Kaoru as if someone had bitten off his head. He couldn't exactly tell his brother that Kyouya was in love with him— it wasn't his place—but he couldn't let his brother think that Kyouya didn't care about him at all.

"I don't think that everything that he does is just about business. Think about it. There are lots of things that he's done for you that have nothing to do with work. Calling me here for example. You have to get married anyway, so why should it matter to him that you're angry and sad if it's all about business?"

Kaoru sighed; his brother was probably right, but he wasn't completely convinced. He needed to hear it from Kyouya himself; his opinion was the only one that really mattered.

Kyouya woke up unreasonably early. He couldn't even bring himself to fall back asleep; he was too on edge. He hoped that Hikaru's talk with Kaoru had gone well. He had considered listening in—he was only in the next room after all—but he figured that he wouldn't be able to stop himself from entering the room. Kaoru needed to figure things out on his own; he couldn't keep forcing his feelings on the younger boy.

Kyouya needed to talk to him this morning though, regardless of whether or not his head was clear. He heard movement coming from the bathroom and decided that now was as good of a time as ever to confront his fiancé.

Kaoru stiffened at the sound of the door opening. He was feeling better this morning and he was no longer mad or frustrated at Kyouya, but he was still a bit confused. He knew that he liked the other man, but he wasn't ready to tell him that.

His eyes met his fiancé's in the mirror and he smiled.

"Hi."

"Hi.

"How are you?"

Kaoru turned to face Kyouya. "A lot better, actually. I'm sorry that I was so mean to you last night. There was just a lot going through my mind and I guess I just took my frustration out on you."

"It's ok Kaoru." Kyouya pulled the younger boy into a hug and buried his face in his hair. "I talked to my father yesterday."

Kaoru looked up curiously. "What did he say?"

Kyouya sighed, pulling Kaoru a little bit closer, "Apparently, a major business conference has been scheduled at the end of the month and my father wants our companies to be well connected by then."

He paused, hoping that his next words wouldn't cause Kaoru to freak out again. "Our wedding is in a week and a half."

The past week had been a complete blur; everything had been moving so quickly. Kaoru couldn't believe that they were crazy enough to try to put together an entire wedding in a week. Though, he supposed that he shouldn't be surprised by the motivation of the Ohtori clan when it came to a business attraction.

Kyouya had explained that a new business convention had been announced to be about a month away. Naturally, his father had wanted the Hitachiin and Ohtori clans to be united before then so that they could use the wedding to stir up some press about the convention.

They had been working on the wedding nonstop all week and Kaoru was glad that he could finally just sit down and relax. This whole situation had been rather overwhelming. He had finally been coming to accept that he had feelings for the other boy, but he hadn't had any time to deal with them yet. He really wanted to talk to Kyouya, but there really hadn't been a good time to bring it up.

As he looked over at Kyouya, he thought about pulling him aside to have a chat, but decided against it. The members of the Host Club were over at their house and it was the first time that they had spent together outside of the Club. Normally, Kaoru wouldn't think twice about pulling Kyouya away from Tamaki-sempai, but he knew that, though he wouldn't admit it, his fiancé had really missed his friend. Unbelievably, Kyouya had shortened the hours of the Host Club so that they would have time to plan the wedding, so they all really hadn't seen each other in a while.

Kaoru turned his attention to the teens before him, who seemed to be engaged in one of their usual antics.

"Kyouya, we have to! Haruhi said that it was a tradition before every wedding and we must try it!"

Kaoru raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "What tradition?"

"Kaoru haven't you been listening? A bachelor party of course! Doesn't it just sound so interesting and fun?"

"Tamaki, it's such an uncouth tradition. Don't you think it's a little beneath us? We can't exactly have it known that we're running around in strip clubs or whatnot."

Tamaki frowned at Kyouya's words, but didn't give up.

Inevitably, Kyouya agreed.

Kyouya had a feeling that tonight wasn't going to end well. Tamaki had decided that they needed two bachelors parties since, traditionally, there would have been both a bachelor party and a bachelorette party. He didn't know why he had gone along with this idea. He didn't really find the idea of going around to different bars all that appealing and he didn't think that Kaoru really did either.

Kyouya missed the other boy. Despite all of the time they had spent together going over plans for the wedding, he and Kaoru hadn't really talked about anything substantial. Kaoru always looked as if he had something he needed to say, but he never began the conversation and instead would sit in silence and think. At least now they were sharing the bed again, but Kyouya missed spending quality time with his fiancé.

He honestly couldn't wait for the wedding because then they wouldn't have anything to hide behind anymore. Kaoru couldn't ramble on and on about the clothing for the wedding instead of discussing the real issue at hand.

Kyouya looked up and saw that Tamaki finally looked as if he was ready to leave. They had decided to have the two parties on the same night and split into two groups. He was going around alone with Tamaki and he hoped that being separated from the others would prevent things from getting too out of hand. He knew that the other boy would want to experience as much as possible, but Kyouya fully intended on tricking him into ending the evening early. Kaoru had expressed that he had similar intentions.

Kyouya hoped that, later tonight after they had both ditched the others, they would finally be able to relax and have a good talk. In fact, the more that he thought about it, the more it made more sense for him to not go out at all. He didn't know when Kaoru would be back, but he wanted to have as much time with him as possible and the easiest way to achieve that would be to just stay at the house. Tricking Tamaki would be easy enough.

"Tamaki, are you sure that you want to go?"

The aforementioned boy glared at his friend, "Of course I want to go! I must experience this commoner tradition."

The light glinted off of Kyouya's glasses menacingly. "What is our favorite commoner doing tonight Tamaki?"

"Isn't she with the others?"

"It's a bachelor party. No girls allowed, remember? You said so yourself."

"Oh. Right. So what is she doing then?"

Kyouya smirked. "Well, she's probably sitting at home. Alone. Her father's working tonight, you know? She must be so lonely."

Tamaki's eyes widened at Kyouya's words. How could he have left her alone like that just for some stupid tradition?

"I must go save her; sorry Kyouya!"

Kyouya chuckled; he hadn't expected his plan to work that quickly. He had thought that Tamaki would have needed some more convincing.

Now all he had to do was wait for Kaoru.

As Kaoru looked at the brightly lit up sign above the door of the club, he knew that he was going to kill his brother. He had thought that they would go to a normal bar and that he would be able to sneak out easily, but now he realized that that would never happen. His stupid brother had decided to bring them all to a gay bar and he knew that his brother wasn't going to let him leave all that easily.

He glared at his brother as they walked in. The two eldest teens were in front of them and they seemed to already be a hit with the occupants of the room.

"Look Kaoru, I know you're mad, but I really did have a reason."

Kaoru looked at Hikaru curiously.

"You're marrying Kyouya in a few days and you've never experienced being around other gay guys. If you and Kyouya decide that you want to have affairs on the side how do you expect to find other guys if you've never even tried before?"

Kaoru looked as if he was going to protest, but Hikaru stopped him before he could speak.

"Don't. I know what you're going to say. Even if you decide to be with Kyouya—and I mean actually be with him—you should know what else is out there. I don't want you to just settle for Kyouya without having experienced anything else."

Kaoru supposed that Hikaru had a point; he hadn't actually ever been around any other gay guys before. He wasn't exactly planning on finding some random guy, but he didn't think that it could hurt just to meet some people or at least watch how others interacted.

He moved to the bar and sat down, allowing Hikaru to order him a drink. He glanced around the room observing the environment. It was certainly interesting. There were people dancing all over the place; some were simply swaying to the music while others were grinding against each other in the most obscene manner. He was sure that in the darker corners of the room there were people coupled together who were soon to leave the club in search of some place more intimate.

This environment certainly intrigued him. He couldn't imagine himself leaving with someone that he had just met, but he wouldn't be opposed to dancing. He wondered if Kyouya would dance like this even though it wasn't the civilized dancing that he was used to. He doubted it.

He sipped his drink and smiled at the taste. He wasn't sure what Hikaru had ordered, but it certainly tasted delicious.

"Want another one?"

Kaoru nodded absentmindedly still watching everything taking place on the dance floor. A few moments later, another brightly colored drink was placed in front of him. He accepted it and looked up to thank his brother, blanching when he realized that the person who had offered him the drink was most certainly not his brother. He squeaked out a quick 'thank you' and sipped nervously on his drink, wondering what the man wanted and where the hell his brother had disappeared to.

The guy smiled and introduced himself. Kaoru thought for a moment, trying to figure out what to do. It couldn't hurt to talk to the man. He entertained girls nearly every day; this couldn't be that much different.

He engaged in small talk with him—he thought the stranger's name was Chris—and it was all very delightful. They talked about their favorite movies and their hobbies. It was kind of refreshing to talk to someone who he hadn't known—or at least known about—since he was young. Kaoru noticed that Chris had steadily been moving closer to him, but he didn't really mind; the other man was interesting and nice.

Their conversation slowed as they were running out of things to idly chat about. Chris suggested dancing and Kaoru agreed. He didn't really want to get up close and personal with him, but dancing did look like fun. Besides, it seemed rather harmless. Kaoru wasn't that attracted to him; he was handsome for sure, but it just seemed like something was missing. He supposed that the other teen would probably look better with a pair of glasses framing his face. And his hair was a bit too light—he would look better with darker hair.

A slow song was playing when they finally made it onto the dance floor. Kaoru reached up to wrap his arms around Chris' shoulders, but there didn't seem to be a comfortable place to rest them. He sighed, just letting them go wherever. The teen was just a bit too tall. Or he was too short. Either way, it wasn't as enjoyable as Kaoru had thought it would be considering how happy everyone else looked.

They swayed together a while longer until the music sped up. The other boy pulled him closer and Kaoru allowed it, hoping now that maybe dancing would become more enjoyable.

It didn't.

Now that they were closer, it wasn't as awkward, but the positioning just still didn't feel right. He was certainly enjoying the song, but he almost would rather just be dancing by himself. Kaoru was trying to move to the beat, but his partner seemed to have other ideas. The man just couldn't seem to keep a tempo. He knew that Kyouya would be appalled by the man's lack of skill. Kaoru was sure that, if Kyouya ever tried to dance like this, he would be perfect and he would most certainly stay on tempo.

Kaoru looked up, trying to gauge the other man's mood. He certainly seemed to be enjoying it. He noticed that Kaoru was looking up at him, smiled, and began to lean down. Kaoru realized, a bit too late, the he was going to kiss him.

He hadn't been planning on letting things progress this far; he just wanted to dance and have a bit of fun, but he supposed that this might not be such a bad thing. He hadn't actually kissed a boy other than Kyouya and it couldn't hurt to see how it felt with someone else.

Warm lips descended on his and Kaoru sighed. It was…pleasant certainly. It was a bit difficult to keep his head tilted at such an angle, but it wasn't terrible. He looked at Chris' face and the man's eyes were shut; that was boring. Kaoru let his eyes roam the room. Nothing too exciting seemed to be happening though it looked like Mori-Sempai was having a difficult time keeping Honey-sempai in check. As he looked closer at the scene they were creating, he noticed that his brother was standing behind them and seemed to be glaring in his direction.

Kaoru's eyes widened at the thought that his brother was upset with him; maybe he had taken things too far. He pushed Chris away, apologized, and walked in the direction of his brother not sparing a glance backwards for the forlorn man.

Hikaru had been watching his brother like a hawk. He had wanted Kaoru to meet some other people, but he hadn't expected this to go that far. He had wanted this to help Kaoru accept his feelings for Kyouya, but it didn't really look like that was what had happened. Maybe he should stop making plans.

"So, how has your night been Kaoru?"

"It's been…nice. I guess. Can we go now?"

Kyouya sat back in his chair and growled slightly; where the hell was Kaoru. He had expected the other boy back by midnight at the latest, but it was now a quarter past two. He didn't think that Kaoru would do anything stupid, but, for some reason, the idea that he could actually be having fun going to bars without him, enraged him.

Kaoru was supposed to come home early to be with him. To spend time with him. Maybe he had been wrong; maybe Kaoru didn't really like him. It was possible. Nothing about their situation was normal and there was no way for him to be sure what the other boy was thinking. He thought that Kaoru enjoyed spending time with him and had grown to at least like him, but he couldn't be sure without hearing it from Kaoru himself.

Speak of the Devil, it sounded like Kaoru had just gotten home. He looked up and frowned at the sight of his fiancé; he looked troubled or different or something. Kyouya couldn't quite place his finger on it.

"Kaoru? What's wrong?" Kyouya decided that he could question him later on what he had been doing all evening.

"I kissed someone else."

Kyouya felt a wave of jealousy surge through him. He calmed himself before he showed it though since, technically, Kaoru hadn't done anything wrong. They had no real commitment to one another.

"That's natural, I suppose. Were you planning on seeing him again? You should probably wait until a bit after the wedding though, since the spotlight will be on us for a while."

This was killing him, but he couldn't do anything about it. Who was he to stop Kaoru from being with someone he really liked?

"No."

"Kaoru, you have to wait. I don't care how much you like this guy; you cannot jeopardize our plan."

Kaoru sighed; he seriously thought that Kyouya had lost some of his intelligence by spending so much time with him.

"No, Kyouya. I'm not seeing him again."

Now Kyouya was confused. Kaoru had kissed someone and didn't plan on seeing him again? That didn't seem like something he would do.

"Then why did you do it?"

Kaoru paused for a moment, thinking.

"I wanted to see what it was like."

Kyouya didn't really know how to respond to that. He decided instead to just wait for Kaoru to continue.

"Dance with me?"

Kyouya stood, approaching Kaoru. He didn't really know where his fiancé was going with this, but it didn't seem like a bad thing to dance with him.

"Ok. Do you want to Waltz? Or Tango?"

"No. Just, you know, sway."

Kyouya nodded; it wasn't really his style, but right now it seemed best to just go along with what Kaoru wanted. He turned on the radio with the nearby remote and walked over to Kaoru, pulling him close.

Kaoru sighed; he knew that dancing would be better with Kyouya. His arms fit easily around Kyouya's neck and his head rested comfortably against his chest. They swayed from side to side, moving easily to the music. He didn't know why he had ever tried being with someone else; this was clearly how it was supposed to be.

Kyouya smiled and twirled Kaoru around. The younger boy let out a laugh and clung to Kyouya tighter.

"Kiss me Kyouya."

Kyouya stopped moving and cupped Kaoru's face with his hands. As Kyouya's lips pressed against Kaoru's, he wondered why he ever thought that this could be the same with someone else. He felt like he was melting and he had never been this relaxed in his entire life.

It was Kyouya. It always had been and it always would be.

Kyouya pulled back from the kiss, slightly breathless. "Kaoru, what's going on?"

Kaoru mumbled into Kyouya's shirt, not knowing how to begin.

Kyouya pulled them onto the armchair, settling Kaoru into his lap.

"Explain."

Kaoru sighed. "Hikaru took us to a gay bar."

Kyouya was going to kill the older twin, but before he could think of a way to get away with it, Kaoru continued.

"I wasn't planning on doing anything, I just watched everyone else, but then this guy bought me a drink and we started talking and I guess that I just wanted to know if I feel the way I do with you with every guy."

Kyouya held his breath. "And how do you feel with me."

"Special, maybe?" Kaoru paused, trying to delicately word his next few sentences.

"This isn't just a plan to me anymore. I really want to marry you and not just because it's convenient and easy and good for business. I want to marry you because I'm in love with you. And, before you say anything, I know that you don't feel the same way, but you're stuck with me; we can't call off the wedding now. Don't worry, I'm not going to jump you or anything, I just thought you should know."

Kaoru began to get up, but Kyouya grabbed his wrist and practically threw him down onto the nearby bed. For a moment, Kaoru thought that Kyouya was going to kill him, but, as warm lips descended upon his, his thoughts quickly changed.

Kyouya pulled away with the largest smile on his face that he had probably ever had.

"You're an idiot."

Kaoru laughed as Kyouya rolled off of him. "Clearly."

Kyouya grabbed his hand and laced their fingers together.

"But you never said anything!"

Kyouya looked at Kaoru and smirked, "Do I look like the type to bear my soul? Don't you think I'm more the manipulating type? It took you long enough to realize it."

Kaoru's eyes widened at the realization. "You planned that whole fake document thing and the fake wedding in the host club to make me realize my feelings? If you had just told me we could have been happy together a long time ago! That would have been so much easier."

"But it wouldn't have been as much fun."

Kaoru wanted to kill him, but that could come later. They had far too much catching up to do.

Kaoru didn't think he had ever been this happy. He was getting married today. Finally. It was weird to think about. Only a few weeks ago he was single, in the closet, and still living in his family home. Then he had somehow been caught up in the weirdest whirlwind romance and now he was getting married.

He didn't think that that much would change once they actually got married. They were already living together and they spent most of their time together. He did find it quite thrilling that they would now be going to all social events officially together. Since they would be married, they wouldn't have to deal with all of the girls at the functions.

He sighed as he looked into the mirror; he knew that he looked good, but he didn't really care at the moment. He just wanted to spend time with Kyouya. He had planned on getting ready with the other man, not really caring that it went against tradition, but his brother hadn't allowed it.

Hikaru had thrown a fit when he found out his plans, especially since he and Kyouya hadn't been separated last night. Kaoru thought that everyone was being ridiculous. How could they expect them to sleep in separate rooms when they quite literally couldn't sleep without the other? He thought that it would be better to break tradition than to fall asleep during the wedding ceremony.

He knew it seemed ridiculous, but, now that he had Kyouya, he never wanted to let him go. He looked at his watch again. He really just wanted the ceremony to start so that he could finally see Kyouya again.

Kyouya sighed as he stood on the altar. It felt as if the ceremony were never ending. He knew that it needed to be extravagant for the sake of the business, but he just wanted to get it over with. He wanted to grab Kaoru, kiss him senseless, and then whisk him away to their honeymoon.

He actually didn't know where they were going on their trip; Kaoru had insisted on planning the entire thing himself. Kyouya didn't even care where they ended up as long as he finally got some alone time with his soon-to-be husband. They hadn't really had much time to spend alone together in the past few days since they were so focused on making sure that the wedding was successful.

He actually had a surprise for Kaoru. He had been so frustrated that they hadn't had any proper alone time that he had decided to buy them a place of their own. They could have just stayed at his family home for a few years, but Kyouya didn't think he could stand being around his family and their traditions with Kaoru around. He knew it was out of character for him; normally he wouldn't mind being at home since it upped his chances of taking over the family businesses, but now everything was different.

He was truly happy with Kaoru. He didn't want anything to jeopardize their happiness and his father had a way with ruining things. He also realized that it would probably be easier for him to take over his fathers' business if he wasn't in the same home as him. He knew that his father was always watching him, and it would be easier to come up with a plan without his father's eyes on him. But, honestly, that was all secondary to the fact that he could be alone with Kaoru. They could do anything that they wanted and no one could say anything about it.

He knew that he had changed and that most of his family wouldn't like his new attitude, but he liked it and he knew that Kaoru did too and that was all that mattered.

He loved Kaoru and Kaoru loved him back. Nothing else would ever matter.

Kyouya looked up as the music changed and he gasped. He had seen Kaoru in his tuxedo before. He had heard the song before and had even seen Kaoru walk towards him before. This time though, he knew that it was for real. This gorgeous man walking towards him would officially be his.

Kaoru smiled at the look on Kyouya's face, knowing that he probably wore a similar expression on his own. He would soon be married to Kyouya. They would finally be together and could just spend the rest of their life in happiness.

To the world, their love would seem strange. Two rich, handsome, and well raised boys couldn't possibly be in love with each other. He knew that, though many people seemed to be supporting them, there would be some who would criticize them and try to block them from being successful, but he didn't care. He was living out a dream that he had never even allowed himself to imagine.

As they looked at one another, wondering how an apple had caused such bliss, they had a feeling that everything would work out just fine.

And thus, it ends. Thank you all so much for reading!