Ouran High School Host Club > Fanfic/Drabbles > The Price of a Wish - Part 1
Title: The Price of a Wish (Part 1)
Authors: kagayachou and the_dw
Characters/Pairings: Kyouya, Tamaki, pre-Tamaki/Kyouya
Rating: PG
Words: 2997
Summary: Ouran/xxxHolic fusion; in an alternate universe, Kyouya and Tamaki never met at Ouran, but their paths were destined to cross - this time, in Ichihara Yuuko's shop.
Crossposted: kyouyatamaki, ouran_fanfics, ouranhostclub, (and uh, more later perhaps ^^)
Odd chapters posted at Kagaya’s journal, Even chapters posted at Dream’s journal:
[ Prologue ]
The Price of a Wish - Part 1
Tamaki blinked, staring after Yuuko, thinking, 'Three crates of sake is the price of my wish?' He shook his head, clearing his thoughts swiftly, and turned back to his new best friend.
"Let's go then, Kyouya! I don't think I can carry three crates of sake myself! And you have to tell me more about yourself! I don't know anything about you, but you probably know all about my friends! I want to know about yours!" He grinned lopsidedly, still holding his hand out towards the other boy, who stared at his hand, and face silently before offering him a firm handshake.
"Sure,” Kyouya replied. “But I believe... you might be my first friend."
He admitted this, not because he had doubts he could make friends with Tamaki, but because Yuuko had never proven herself off the mark when it came to her business. If nothing else, Kyouya knew he would become Tamaki's best friend, even if it didn't happen the other way around.
Subconsciously though, he hoped it went both ways.
"I've only ever made acquaintances," Kyouya found himself saying as he stood up. "The price of my wish involved leaving all the people that I knew behind, so I’m sorry to disappoint, but I don't have any friends to tell you about."
Briefly, he wondered what terrible fate would befall Tamaki for being Yuuko's customer. Were three crates sake - albeit top quality sake - all his friendship was worth? Sometimes he wondered if she might need him around for his math skills. But then, she was big on fair trade, and Kyouya was more interested in seeing how much more could be made...
"That's terrible!" Tamaki shouted, waving his arms haphazardly around him. It was only by luck that he didn't spill his groceries again. "I will be the very best friend I can be to you, Kyouya! Mon ami~" He leapt forward, drawing the darker-haired boy into a crushing hug before kissing him swiftly on both cheeks. "I'll have to introduce you to some of my friends too, because one can't have too many friends, right?" he drew back and smiled a blindingly bright smile. "You can tell me more about them, then!"
Kyouya slid his hand from Tamaki's quickly, and smoothed out the action by adjusting his glasses. That European style of greeting was a little disconcerting for the Japanese boy, but he understood what it meant.
"Let's walk and talk, Tamaki." The sooner the blonde paid Yuuko the sake, Kyouya thought, the safer everyone would be.
Tamaki stepped back quickly and just when Kyouya thought he could have some personal space again, Tamaki linked his hands with his and started walking out of the shop.
"Sure! My chauffeur's around here and I know a good sake place. My grandmother likes drinking sake with her dinner, so I like buying it as gifts for her. She doesn't like me much, but she will, someday!" Tamaki turned towards his new best friend. "What about your family, Kyouya?"
Kyouya hadn’t wanted to talk about friends, and he didn’t want to talk about family. He wondered if the other boy had a sixth sense about that sort of thing. Asking Yuuko to make sure would mean paying some other price. He supposed he could ask Tamaki some time after answering his questions.
"My family no longer recognizes me.” He braced himself for an unpleasant experience now. “My name is Ohtori Kyouya.”
"Ohtori?" Tamaki tilted his head to the side, and the phoenix from Yuuko-san's kimono came into his mind. It was spreading its wings, preparing to fly, but Tamaki blinked and the image went away, replaced by Kyouya's frown. Tamaki smiled, leaning over to flick a finger at the crease between his brows.
"Why are you frowning? I'm sorry, I don't know anything about your family, except that it’s a beautiful surname; I just came back from France this year... Am I supposed to know something? Is that why you're frowning?"
Kyouya blinked. He couldn't believe his luck. "Well... First of all, do you believe in things that are predetermined?"
As they exited the store together, hand in hand, Kyouya spied the black Rolls Royce outside, and the chauffeur leaning against the driver’s door, staring strangely at the shop.
He wondered if the man could see the shop, or just an empty lot between two high-rise buildings, but then reminded he himself that if the man had a wish, the spell over the shop would have pulled him inside already.
What drew Kyouya’s concern, however, was that Tamaki was still holding his hand. What must it have looked to that man, for his young master to disappeared in the middle of a lot, and reappear with another boy, who...
Did Tamaki’s chauffeur catch his last words? Kyouya couldn’t believe it when he recalled that he asked, ‘Do you believe in things that are predetermined?’
He didn't understand why he even cared, but he assumed that he was just feeling nervous after all this time, especially since he was befriending someone from a rich and influential family, like the one he came from - past tense.
Tamaki turned towards Kyouya, unconsciously tightening his grip on his hand, before speaking. "No, not really. I believe that we have a set path, but all the choices we make in between are our own. Like..." his other hand came up, drawing circles in the air as he searched for an appropriate incident.
"Like today! Fate drew me to Yuuko-san's shop, but it's still my choice to go inside or not, so it's not really predetermined... And... and... I can choose to not tell Yuuko-san's my wish, but I did, which means that I have a best friend now." His smile brightened impossibly further.
Turning to the chauffeur, Tamaki gave directions that made the guy’s eyebrows rise, then tugged Kyouya into the car with him; Going to buy sake suddenly after disappearing and reappearing from an empty lot, Kyouya supposed, could make things hard to explain anyway.
As the chauffeur silently started the car, Kyouya didn't dare move his hand. He wasn't sure what he would do if he needed to move it, and how it wouldn't feel more awkward. Nonetheless, he couldn't help correcting the other boy when he thought about what was said.
"Ichihara Yuuko is a witch,” he began. “She has many names, and most people who come to her shop know her as the Wish-Granting Sorceress. The only reason you could see the shop to begin with is the fact that her shop is under some sort of a glamour spell - only people who have strong wishes can see it.
“I've seen people unwillingly dragged into the shop by their own feet. If you didn't have a strong enough wish, you wouldn't have entered, much less been able to say what your wish was.
"Therefore, you came when you admitted what you wanted to yourself... just as I found her shop when I felt truly desperate for my wish to comet true. It’s predetermined."
Glancing at the driver, Kyouya hoped that was enough. He was conflicted about how much to explain; he wanted to talk to someone besides Yuuko about his wish, but at the same time, he didn’t.
Tamaki saw Kyouya's glance towards the chauffeur just as he stopped speaking and frowned, correctly guessing the reason for the dark-haired boy's sudden reticence. Without releasing Kyouya’s hand, he reached forward with his freehand, loosening the screen between the front of the Rolls Royce and the back. It fell to the floor with a loud thud.
"There, is that better?" Tamaki cocked his head to the side, brows clearing as he smiled again. "He can't hear us now. The screen's soundproof. Father usually does this when he wishes to talk to important business partners without being disturbed or overheard and... It's pretty useful, isn't it?"
Kyouya blinked at the screen, and then back at Tamaki. "Very useful," he managed, fighting a wave of nausea at the memories of his cold, distant family. How strangely they contrasted with Tamaki's warm acceptance, even though they were part of the same circle.
"As I was saying, my father disowned me, because of a destined thing. It may be hard to believe, but I see magic things: spirits, sprites, ghosts... creatures and things that don't fall within the explanations of human science."
He wasn't sure how Tamaki would take it. At least the blonde believed that wishes could come true - but this?
"That's ridiculous!" Tamaki shouted, leaning towards Kyouya earnestly. "Your father shouldn't have disowned you for being able to see the supernatural. I mean," he waved the hand not holding Kyouya's around, nearly smacking into the screen. "I believe you when you say that, because you haven't lied to me, and you don't have any motives for doing so... and I've seen Yuuko-san's shop.... and..." he suddenly shook his head, "but that not the point!"
"It's not your fault that you can see the spiritual, right? I mean, I don't think you asked to be able to see them. I don't know you very well yet, but you just don't see like that type. It's just so unreasonable for your father to disown you just because you can see these things. I..." he leaned even closer, staring into Kyouya's eyes as though he wanted to make the other boy see his point through telepathy.
"Family is very important, and why didn't anyone stop him! It's so unfair!" Tamaki's lips wobbled, settling into a pout as he settled back into his seat, sighing. "I wish I can do something to help. Maybe I can ask Yuuko-san about that...?"
"No!" Kyouya finally blurted out, and he was surprised at himself for doing so. "I don't... need, or wish... to be in your debt." As he tore his eyes away from Tamaki's, he moved his hand out from under the other boys', and back to his own lap.
"Even if that man considered me his son again, I would just be expected to work under my brothers. No matter how hard I work, I wouldn't stand a chance in becoming the heir, simply because of the order of my birth - because I am his third son."
Kyouya truly believed in fate. He believed he was meant to follow Ichihara Yuuko, who was also disowned from his family - and she did just fine without needing to be reinstated.
"Do you understand? If I returned to that family, I would just come under my father's control again. I... Thank you." He felt his face flush with shame. "It's enough that you believe me."
"Of course I believe you!" Tamaki was almost tearing his hair out. He couldn't believe that any parent would deliberately hurt their child like this - Kyouya was hurt about being disowned, no matter how much he tried to hide it - and on such unreasonable grounds too! Tamaki couldn't - wouldn’t - understand, but what he could do was to make Kyouya feel better.
"Kyouya," he said earnestly, squeezing the other boy's hand tightly, "you won't be in my debt, because I want to help you. Friends help each other, right?" without waiting for an answer, he continued, trying his best to get Kyouya to let him help.
"I can help you, and even though you said that you don't wish to be reinstated," Tamaki could not comprehend this, but he could accept this to be Kyouya's decision, "I can help! My family has some contacts, so if you decide to set up your own business when you're older," Tamaki knew, somehow, that the dark-haired boy would do this, "I can introduce you to them. How about that?" he smiled, dimmer than usual.
'I left Maman of my own choice, because she's ill and needs treatment, but how can a father abandon his son? That's... that's just...' he couldn't find the necessary words.
And the boy sitting besides Tamaki couldn't form a reply either.
'All of a sudden,' Kyouya couldn't help but note, 'it feels like I've come across the answer to all my problems.' And he instinctively resisted it, fearing what felt too good to be true.
"That would be..." Kyouya chuckled, staring down at his hand. It was growing numb with the way Tamaki clutched it, but he couldn't seem to mind. Lifting his head, he smiled back. "That would be nice, Tamaki, but... you don't have to kill my hand in the process."
No, Kyouya didn't really mind. He was bewildered. He was touched.
"And enough about me," he nudged his glasses with his freehand. "I never heard that the superintendent of Ouran Academy had a son... or am I mistaken in thinking your father is Suoh Yuzuru?"
Tamaki's eyes widened slightly, "How do you know that? I mean, you're right, of course, but how do you know? And oh, I'm sorry!" He stopped squeezing Kyouya's hand, smiling sheepishly, but didn't release his grip. "As I was saying... you can tell? I mean, I tried to wear commoners' clothes and I didn't bring the limousine because that'll be too conspicuous..." He deflated visibly, a pout forming on his lips.
He knew Kyouya was trying to change the subject, but he didn't fight it. He didn't want to hurt his best friend by digging up painful memories. "Anyway! I don't think many people have heard of me... I was born in France, not Japan, and Father doesn't get to see Maman and I much, because Father has his work and his wife in Japan..." he shrugged. "I don't think he talks about us much. Grandmother doesn't like it. She doesn't like Maman."
Tamaki was the son of Suoh Yuzuru and his mistress. That's what Kyouya understood. He could only surmise that the true head of the Suoh family, the school chairman's mother, had to be really desperate to find an heir if she allowed Tamaki to come to Japan.
Slowly, Kyouya answered, "When I was still part of my family, I was to go to Ouran. I did some research on the school beforehand, that's all... And when I saw your clothes," he shook his head then. "They're too new. They look too well made, and the material... But then, I was trained to recognize quality goods..."
Enough of that.
"Well, are you and your mother living permanently in Japan now?” Kyouya asked, “I take it you're attending Ouran..."
Tamaki shook his head, "Maman is still in France." He leaned back against the seat, cushions sinking under his weight, looking away from Kyouya towards the speeding scenery outside the window. "Father married a woman he doesn't love because Grandfather died early, but he met and fell in love with Maman a few years later, and I was born.
“Grandmother doesn't like that, and forbid Father from divorcing his wife and marrying Maman, and so I lived in France until..." Here, Tamaki winced involuntarily at the memory.
"Maman's parents' company started to fail a year or so ago, but Grandpère didn't want to sell it, so we incurred a huge debt... There's trouble then because Maman is weak, and she needs doctors, but doctors need money to be able to treat her. I left France, then, because the Suohs need the heir and I'm the only possible candidate. Grandmother cleared the debts and gave Grandpère even money to treat Maman for the rest of her life, but..."
Tamaki shrugging, still staring out of the window, "I'm not to see Maman or contact her. But I don't mind."
Kyouya stared at Tamaki's profile in silence, thinking of how strangely similar their fate was. While he couldn't see his sister, let alone the rest of his family unless they happened to be in the media, Tamaki wasn't allowed to see his mother, period.
With a quiet sigh, he moved his hands so that his fingers linked with Tamaki's. He gave his new friend's hand a soft squeeze. He was sure, despite what Tamaki was saying, that he really did mind - except what could Tamaki have done about it, besides what he 'chose' to do?
However, with Tamaki's rather positive outlook, it made sense to Kyouya that the blonde didn't put much faith in destiny. He honestly believed he had choices... and well, Kyouya supposed he could have chosen not to do what his grandmother wanted, and let everyone suffer.
‘What a guy, Suoh Tamaki...’
Tamaki smiled at the touch, turning away from the window. He opened his mouth to speak, but was suddenly interrupted by a knock on the screen and the car slowing down to a stop.
"We're here," he said quietly, pulling the screen back up. The chauffeur was absent from his seat, but before Tamaki could wonder about it, the door opened, and sunlight that was blocked out by the dark windows now shone into the car, straight into Tamaki's eyes.
He squinted, looking outside just as a soft "Young Master" reached his ears. Nodding towards the man, he held out a hand to Kyouya in a flourish, sweeping widely and hitting the back of the front seat.
"Shall we?" he smiled, bowing as much as he could while in a seating position towards Kyouya, who was still shielding his eyes from the light.
At Tamaki's words, Kyouya opened his eyes to look at him anyway. It appeared then, with sunshine shining behind the blonde, that there was a halo around him... all of him.
"Ah..." Kyouya reach out and take Tamaki’s hand, but ended up just touching his palm briefly instead. Honestly, Tamaki didn't have to keep holding his hand after all. Kyouya wasn't sure if he was supposed to feel like a girl, or a little kid, or both.
He stepped out of the car to stand beside Tamaki, letting the chauffeur close the door behind them - that was the man's job after all, while he and Tamaki were there for the witches sake.
Authors: kagayachou and the_dw
Characters/Pairings: Kyouya, Tamaki, pre-Tamaki/Kyouya
Rating: PG
Words: 2997
Summary: Ouran/xxxHolic fusion; in an alternate universe, Kyouya and Tamaki never met at Ouran, but their paths were destined to cross - this time, in Ichihara Yuuko's shop.
Crossposted: kyouyatamaki, ouran_fanfics, ouranhostclub, (and uh, more later perhaps ^^)
Odd chapters posted at Kagaya’s journal, Even chapters posted at Dream’s journal:
[ Prologue ]
The Price of a Wish - Part 1
Tamaki blinked, staring after Yuuko, thinking, 'Three crates of sake is the price of my wish?' He shook his head, clearing his thoughts swiftly, and turned back to his new best friend.
"Let's go then, Kyouya! I don't think I can carry three crates of sake myself! And you have to tell me more about yourself! I don't know anything about you, but you probably know all about my friends! I want to know about yours!" He grinned lopsidedly, still holding his hand out towards the other boy, who stared at his hand, and face silently before offering him a firm handshake.
"Sure,” Kyouya replied. “But I believe... you might be my first friend."
He admitted this, not because he had doubts he could make friends with Tamaki, but because Yuuko had never proven herself off the mark when it came to her business. If nothing else, Kyouya knew he would become Tamaki's best friend, even if it didn't happen the other way around.
Subconsciously though, he hoped it went both ways.
"I've only ever made acquaintances," Kyouya found himself saying as he stood up. "The price of my wish involved leaving all the people that I knew behind, so I’m sorry to disappoint, but I don't have any friends to tell you about."
Briefly, he wondered what terrible fate would befall Tamaki for being Yuuko's customer. Were three crates sake - albeit top quality sake - all his friendship was worth? Sometimes he wondered if she might need him around for his math skills. But then, she was big on fair trade, and Kyouya was more interested in seeing how much more could be made...
"That's terrible!" Tamaki shouted, waving his arms haphazardly around him. It was only by luck that he didn't spill his groceries again. "I will be the very best friend I can be to you, Kyouya! Mon ami~" He leapt forward, drawing the darker-haired boy into a crushing hug before kissing him swiftly on both cheeks. "I'll have to introduce you to some of my friends too, because one can't have too many friends, right?" he drew back and smiled a blindingly bright smile. "You can tell me more about them, then!"
Kyouya slid his hand from Tamaki's quickly, and smoothed out the action by adjusting his glasses. That European style of greeting was a little disconcerting for the Japanese boy, but he understood what it meant.
"Let's walk and talk, Tamaki." The sooner the blonde paid Yuuko the sake, Kyouya thought, the safer everyone would be.
Tamaki stepped back quickly and just when Kyouya thought he could have some personal space again, Tamaki linked his hands with his and started walking out of the shop.
"Sure! My chauffeur's around here and I know a good sake place. My grandmother likes drinking sake with her dinner, so I like buying it as gifts for her. She doesn't like me much, but she will, someday!" Tamaki turned towards his new best friend. "What about your family, Kyouya?"
Kyouya hadn’t wanted to talk about friends, and he didn’t want to talk about family. He wondered if the other boy had a sixth sense about that sort of thing. Asking Yuuko to make sure would mean paying some other price. He supposed he could ask Tamaki some time after answering his questions.
"My family no longer recognizes me.” He braced himself for an unpleasant experience now. “My name is Ohtori Kyouya.”
"Ohtori?" Tamaki tilted his head to the side, and the phoenix from Yuuko-san's kimono came into his mind. It was spreading its wings, preparing to fly, but Tamaki blinked and the image went away, replaced by Kyouya's frown. Tamaki smiled, leaning over to flick a finger at the crease between his brows.
"Why are you frowning? I'm sorry, I don't know anything about your family, except that it’s a beautiful surname; I just came back from France this year... Am I supposed to know something? Is that why you're frowning?"
Kyouya blinked. He couldn't believe his luck. "Well... First of all, do you believe in things that are predetermined?"
As they exited the store together, hand in hand, Kyouya spied the black Rolls Royce outside, and the chauffeur leaning against the driver’s door, staring strangely at the shop.
He wondered if the man could see the shop, or just an empty lot between two high-rise buildings, but then reminded he himself that if the man had a wish, the spell over the shop would have pulled him inside already.
What drew Kyouya’s concern, however, was that Tamaki was still holding his hand. What must it have looked to that man, for his young master to disappeared in the middle of a lot, and reappear with another boy, who...
Did Tamaki’s chauffeur catch his last words? Kyouya couldn’t believe it when he recalled that he asked, ‘Do you believe in things that are predetermined?’
He didn't understand why he even cared, but he assumed that he was just feeling nervous after all this time, especially since he was befriending someone from a rich and influential family, like the one he came from - past tense.
Tamaki turned towards Kyouya, unconsciously tightening his grip on his hand, before speaking. "No, not really. I believe that we have a set path, but all the choices we make in between are our own. Like..." his other hand came up, drawing circles in the air as he searched for an appropriate incident.
"Like today! Fate drew me to Yuuko-san's shop, but it's still my choice to go inside or not, so it's not really predetermined... And... and... I can choose to not tell Yuuko-san's my wish, but I did, which means that I have a best friend now." His smile brightened impossibly further.
Turning to the chauffeur, Tamaki gave directions that made the guy’s eyebrows rise, then tugged Kyouya into the car with him; Going to buy sake suddenly after disappearing and reappearing from an empty lot, Kyouya supposed, could make things hard to explain anyway.
As the chauffeur silently started the car, Kyouya didn't dare move his hand. He wasn't sure what he would do if he needed to move it, and how it wouldn't feel more awkward. Nonetheless, he couldn't help correcting the other boy when he thought about what was said.
"Ichihara Yuuko is a witch,” he began. “She has many names, and most people who come to her shop know her as the Wish-Granting Sorceress. The only reason you could see the shop to begin with is the fact that her shop is under some sort of a glamour spell - only people who have strong wishes can see it.
“I've seen people unwillingly dragged into the shop by their own feet. If you didn't have a strong enough wish, you wouldn't have entered, much less been able to say what your wish was.
"Therefore, you came when you admitted what you wanted to yourself... just as I found her shop when I felt truly desperate for my wish to comet true. It’s predetermined."
Glancing at the driver, Kyouya hoped that was enough. He was conflicted about how much to explain; he wanted to talk to someone besides Yuuko about his wish, but at the same time, he didn’t.
Tamaki saw Kyouya's glance towards the chauffeur just as he stopped speaking and frowned, correctly guessing the reason for the dark-haired boy's sudden reticence. Without releasing Kyouya’s hand, he reached forward with his freehand, loosening the screen between the front of the Rolls Royce and the back. It fell to the floor with a loud thud.
"There, is that better?" Tamaki cocked his head to the side, brows clearing as he smiled again. "He can't hear us now. The screen's soundproof. Father usually does this when he wishes to talk to important business partners without being disturbed or overheard and... It's pretty useful, isn't it?"
Kyouya blinked at the screen, and then back at Tamaki. "Very useful," he managed, fighting a wave of nausea at the memories of his cold, distant family. How strangely they contrasted with Tamaki's warm acceptance, even though they were part of the same circle.
"As I was saying, my father disowned me, because of a destined thing. It may be hard to believe, but I see magic things: spirits, sprites, ghosts... creatures and things that don't fall within the explanations of human science."
He wasn't sure how Tamaki would take it. At least the blonde believed that wishes could come true - but this?
"That's ridiculous!" Tamaki shouted, leaning towards Kyouya earnestly. "Your father shouldn't have disowned you for being able to see the supernatural. I mean," he waved the hand not holding Kyouya's around, nearly smacking into the screen. "I believe you when you say that, because you haven't lied to me, and you don't have any motives for doing so... and I've seen Yuuko-san's shop.... and..." he suddenly shook his head, "but that not the point!"
"It's not your fault that you can see the spiritual, right? I mean, I don't think you asked to be able to see them. I don't know you very well yet, but you just don't see like that type. It's just so unreasonable for your father to disown you just because you can see these things. I..." he leaned even closer, staring into Kyouya's eyes as though he wanted to make the other boy see his point through telepathy.
"Family is very important, and why didn't anyone stop him! It's so unfair!" Tamaki's lips wobbled, settling into a pout as he settled back into his seat, sighing. "I wish I can do something to help. Maybe I can ask Yuuko-san about that...?"
"No!" Kyouya finally blurted out, and he was surprised at himself for doing so. "I don't... need, or wish... to be in your debt." As he tore his eyes away from Tamaki's, he moved his hand out from under the other boys', and back to his own lap.
"Even if that man considered me his son again, I would just be expected to work under my brothers. No matter how hard I work, I wouldn't stand a chance in becoming the heir, simply because of the order of my birth - because I am his third son."
Kyouya truly believed in fate. He believed he was meant to follow Ichihara Yuuko, who was also disowned from his family - and she did just fine without needing to be reinstated.
"Do you understand? If I returned to that family, I would just come under my father's control again. I... Thank you." He felt his face flush with shame. "It's enough that you believe me."
"Of course I believe you!" Tamaki was almost tearing his hair out. He couldn't believe that any parent would deliberately hurt their child like this - Kyouya was hurt about being disowned, no matter how much he tried to hide it - and on such unreasonable grounds too! Tamaki couldn't - wouldn’t - understand, but what he could do was to make Kyouya feel better.
"Kyouya," he said earnestly, squeezing the other boy's hand tightly, "you won't be in my debt, because I want to help you. Friends help each other, right?" without waiting for an answer, he continued, trying his best to get Kyouya to let him help.
"I can help you, and even though you said that you don't wish to be reinstated," Tamaki could not comprehend this, but he could accept this to be Kyouya's decision, "I can help! My family has some contacts, so if you decide to set up your own business when you're older," Tamaki knew, somehow, that the dark-haired boy would do this, "I can introduce you to them. How about that?" he smiled, dimmer than usual.
'I left Maman of my own choice, because she's ill and needs treatment, but how can a father abandon his son? That's... that's just...' he couldn't find the necessary words.
And the boy sitting besides Tamaki couldn't form a reply either.
'All of a sudden,' Kyouya couldn't help but note, 'it feels like I've come across the answer to all my problems.' And he instinctively resisted it, fearing what felt too good to be true.
"That would be..." Kyouya chuckled, staring down at his hand. It was growing numb with the way Tamaki clutched it, but he couldn't seem to mind. Lifting his head, he smiled back. "That would be nice, Tamaki, but... you don't have to kill my hand in the process."
No, Kyouya didn't really mind. He was bewildered. He was touched.
"And enough about me," he nudged his glasses with his freehand. "I never heard that the superintendent of Ouran Academy had a son... or am I mistaken in thinking your father is Suoh Yuzuru?"
Tamaki's eyes widened slightly, "How do you know that? I mean, you're right, of course, but how do you know? And oh, I'm sorry!" He stopped squeezing Kyouya's hand, smiling sheepishly, but didn't release his grip. "As I was saying... you can tell? I mean, I tried to wear commoners' clothes and I didn't bring the limousine because that'll be too conspicuous..." He deflated visibly, a pout forming on his lips.
He knew Kyouya was trying to change the subject, but he didn't fight it. He didn't want to hurt his best friend by digging up painful memories. "Anyway! I don't think many people have heard of me... I was born in France, not Japan, and Father doesn't get to see Maman and I much, because Father has his work and his wife in Japan..." he shrugged. "I don't think he talks about us much. Grandmother doesn't like it. She doesn't like Maman."
Tamaki was the son of Suoh Yuzuru and his mistress. That's what Kyouya understood. He could only surmise that the true head of the Suoh family, the school chairman's mother, had to be really desperate to find an heir if she allowed Tamaki to come to Japan.
Slowly, Kyouya answered, "When I was still part of my family, I was to go to Ouran. I did some research on the school beforehand, that's all... And when I saw your clothes," he shook his head then. "They're too new. They look too well made, and the material... But then, I was trained to recognize quality goods..."
Enough of that.
"Well, are you and your mother living permanently in Japan now?” Kyouya asked, “I take it you're attending Ouran..."
Tamaki shook his head, "Maman is still in France." He leaned back against the seat, cushions sinking under his weight, looking away from Kyouya towards the speeding scenery outside the window. "Father married a woman he doesn't love because Grandfather died early, but he met and fell in love with Maman a few years later, and I was born.
“Grandmother doesn't like that, and forbid Father from divorcing his wife and marrying Maman, and so I lived in France until..." Here, Tamaki winced involuntarily at the memory.
"Maman's parents' company started to fail a year or so ago, but Grandpère didn't want to sell it, so we incurred a huge debt... There's trouble then because Maman is weak, and she needs doctors, but doctors need money to be able to treat her. I left France, then, because the Suohs need the heir and I'm the only possible candidate. Grandmother cleared the debts and gave Grandpère even money to treat Maman for the rest of her life, but..."
Tamaki shrugging, still staring out of the window, "I'm not to see Maman or contact her. But I don't mind."
Kyouya stared at Tamaki's profile in silence, thinking of how strangely similar their fate was. While he couldn't see his sister, let alone the rest of his family unless they happened to be in the media, Tamaki wasn't allowed to see his mother, period.
With a quiet sigh, he moved his hands so that his fingers linked with Tamaki's. He gave his new friend's hand a soft squeeze. He was sure, despite what Tamaki was saying, that he really did mind - except what could Tamaki have done about it, besides what he 'chose' to do?
However, with Tamaki's rather positive outlook, it made sense to Kyouya that the blonde didn't put much faith in destiny. He honestly believed he had choices... and well, Kyouya supposed he could have chosen not to do what his grandmother wanted, and let everyone suffer.
‘What a guy, Suoh Tamaki...’
Tamaki smiled at the touch, turning away from the window. He opened his mouth to speak, but was suddenly interrupted by a knock on the screen and the car slowing down to a stop.
"We're here," he said quietly, pulling the screen back up. The chauffeur was absent from his seat, but before Tamaki could wonder about it, the door opened, and sunlight that was blocked out by the dark windows now shone into the car, straight into Tamaki's eyes.
He squinted, looking outside just as a soft "Young Master" reached his ears. Nodding towards the man, he held out a hand to Kyouya in a flourish, sweeping widely and hitting the back of the front seat.
"Shall we?" he smiled, bowing as much as he could while in a seating position towards Kyouya, who was still shielding his eyes from the light.
At Tamaki's words, Kyouya opened his eyes to look at him anyway. It appeared then, with sunshine shining behind the blonde, that there was a halo around him... all of him.
"Ah..." Kyouya reach out and take Tamaki’s hand, but ended up just touching his palm briefly instead. Honestly, Tamaki didn't have to keep holding his hand after all. Kyouya wasn't sure if he was supposed to feel like a girl, or a little kid, or both.
He stepped out of the car to stand beside Tamaki, letting the chauffeur close the door behind them - that was the man's job after all, while he and Tamaki were there for the witches sake.