high_seas | Welcome to the Host Club

Entry tags:

Welcome to the Host Club

Who: Absolutely anyone
What: The Host Club is open for business!
Where: Antoinette, currently docked at Isla Empieza
When: February 7th - 14th (+ additional dates for crew members)
Style: Whatever you want
Status: Mostly open, some sections closed to crew members
Warnings: None. Will add if necessary.

Loans have been issued, furniture has been supplied, and food had been bought.

The deck of the Antoinette is plainly decorated. There are a few rugs about, but, for the most part, small tables are arranged with couches and chairs. Platters of food are waiting, mostly sandwiches and sweets. Little snacks. There's plenty of hot water kept on hand, too, for tea or commoner's instant coffee.

The Host Club are looking their best, even though their best might be a little more ragged than they would otherwise appear.

Posters have been put up around town, advertising the opening of the Royal Host Club, specifying the Antoinette's location, and disclosing the offer of refreshments.

On the 13th, things will only get more interesting when a bowl of candy appears overnight and adds to the Host Club experience.

(Please feel free to specify dates for interactions in the subheadings below and make your own subheadings if there's something else you want to see.)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I did.... I never knew.

[He's Kyouya's bestfriend and he didn't know. How stupid. How stupid.

His eyes had to settle at the sight of Kyouya before it truly dawned on him.]

So this means, there's a possibility of you liking me.... or Mori, or Kaoru or Honey, or Hikaru?

[Kyouya waits. Quietly and patiently, he waits. Watches as Tamaki parses through what he said and waits. Sees the realization and waits.

Once he's done, Kyouya can't help himself. He's chuckling. Quiet and reserved, not full amusement. But it's something.

Somehow, he's not surprised.]

I assumed the whole club knew.

[Confirmation without really answering the last question.]

And I'm... [His smile fades.] I'm just waiting for the day my father finds out.

[Tamaki knew how the Otori house was run, what the patriarch was like, what he expected, and what the price was for disappointing.]

I know you'd never hurt me. I know that if anything ever happened, you'd protect me. But that...

That scared me enough to kill any sense I had about the source. I was just afraid.

[Tamaki shifted a couple of times. Before he pulled his eyes wide open and glared at Kyouya as he usually did back home.]

Kyouya!!!!

[He huffs a bit... scooting over a little to make space for Kyouya on his bed. But he still looked at Kyouya with a shocked expression.]

YOU DON'T ASSUME THIS SORT OF THINGS!

[Tamaki was right about this. Kyouya should have mentioned something.]

Of course I'd protect you! I'd always protect you!

[The best way he can. Though it couldn't compare to Kyouya's manner of protection, Tamaki would still try.]

We're you're friends. And you're safe with us!

[At seeing Tamaki scoot over a bit to make room for him, Kyouya has to smile, just a little. Because whatever else might have been said or done, that told him he was forgiven. No loud scene from Tamaki, no statement over and over. For as theatrical as Tamaki could be, it was the small gestures -- the little movements, the quiet words -- that said the most about him and his opinions on matters.

And that movement says what Kyouya needs to hear.

A few moments later, he sits. One foot on the ground, one on the bed, body slightly leaned against his knee. No rigidity in his spine, his head bowed. A posture of surrender, not defiance.]

I thought the whole club knew, not that it really matters.

[He hears it only after he says it. That sounded very much like Haruhi.

Except it means more. For her, it is a simple statement of belief. It doesn't matter to her. Boy or girl, straight or gay, rich or poor. None of that matters to her. A person is a person. For him, the same is true, when everything else is stripped away. But it's also something deeper. The same thing that led him to explain to Fuyumi that it didn't matter if he was happy or unhappy. He was an Otori, one who had set himself apart and defied his family order. To stray further was dangerous. So, it didn't matter what he wanted or what he was attracted to, there were standards he had to meet.]

I know I can trust all of you. Even the twins. [Their mischief had a line of malice sometimes, but they knew there were lines.] I just... didn't hear the joke. Not until later.

Because I keep waiting for the day I actually get asked a question like that and I have to defend myself. Against someone who wants to hurt me. So, I panicked. And overreacted.

I had no right to do that to you.

I... I'm sorry, Tamaki.

Of course it matters to us! Because you matter to us!

[These were genuine words. Because he truly did care about Kyouya and wanted to know more about him. At least today, he was able to learn one more thing about Kyouya.

Finally he let Kuma-chan fall to his pillow as he took the cup of tea from the cupboard and motioned for Kyouya to drink his tea as well. He listened cautiously to Kyouya's words as he blew on his tea.

There was a soft chuckle when he heard the mention of the twin's name. It wasn't easy to trust them completely. Though Tamaki did trust them enough to know they won't do anything that truly harmed Tamaki.

When the apology was uttered, Tamaki leaned his head on Kyouya's shoulders. Of course he forgave Kyouya. He knew how sorry Kyouya was, and he can actually feel it.

He was quiet for a few moments until there was another realization from Kyouya's words. He didn't hear Tamaki's words as a joke. He had to defend himself and panicked.

There was a short gasp before he pulled away briefly and gazed at Kyouya's dark eyes.]

If you didn't hear it as a joke... then that means. That means...

Don't be egotistical.

[Here, though, is the lighter tone. The one that says he's teasing, not insulting. Amused, not defensive.

He punctuates the words by ruffling Tamaki's hair.]

It means I know people think it. And I know, eventually, someone's going to get that idea in their head and mean it as an accusation.

Like my brothers.

[Though he knew all their dirty little secrets. They couldn't touch him.

He couldn't quite bring himself to say it, to admit everything. That would change things, and that was terrifying. Kaoru preferred to leave the enchantment alone; Kyouya wasn't sure he disagreed.

It had to end eventually. Why break it himself?]

[Oh he can hear Kyouya's words and yet his face showed otherwise. There was a light reddening on his cheeks as he spoke his next few words.]

Kyouya has a crush on me!

[Very light words as not to offend Kyouya this time. He also giggled a bit at Kyouya's fingers. He had always enjoyed Kyouya's touch some how. Perhaps it was his way of cheering up Kyouya. This was like a vacation for them. A place were Kyouya can rest his mind body and soul from all the horrors waiting for him when he comes home to his family. There was nothing more Tamaki wanted in the world than to make Kyouya happy and take him away from his family which never understands.]

[Ready for it and not jarred beforehand by a kiss he never meant to give, Kyouya only rolls his eyes and chuckles at the teasing remark.

When they leave this place, all Hell is going to break loose. Tamaki defied his grandmother; Kyouya defied his father.

Which he's never actually told his friends...

Well. It's a better topic than this.]

My father was going to sell the Otori Group. To Grand Tonnerre.

Sell...to Eclair's family???

[That almost made Tamaki spew his tea. Thankfully he was able to swallow the tea in time. He looked back at Kyouya with a shocked expression.]

But that's the company you've been working to get right?

[All that hard work, all those sleepless nights - for nothing?]

That means either you or I would have to marry Eclair just to take back your company....

Out of the family and out of the country.

[The amount of disdain Kyouya felt for the decision came through in his voice, despite his honest attempt to keep his tone even.

The shame in losing the company and letting it leave Japan vindicated him. At least, he felt so. His father would probably disagree. Because it was all the more shameful that his student son had done what neither older brother or patriarch could do.]

However, Grand Tonnerre was outbid and didn't fight it. So, the company remains in Japan.

My father was even given management control back. Financial control remains with the buyer.

Edited 2014-02-16 05:28 (UTC)

But that is just management right?

[Tamaki knew what that meant. He had taken enough Management and Business subjects in Ouran to understand the repercussions of that statement. He looked at Kyouya with an exaggerated frown on his face.]

But Kyouya that still doesn't solve your problem. It means somebody else took the company from your family! What will happen to you when we get back home?

[Kyouya gives a small smile.

He isn't prone to boasting. Being consistently at the head of his class is simply expected. His wealth is just a matter of fact. But this. Well. This is the single most impressive and most dangerous thing he's ever done. Certainly the boldest move he's ever made.

Having done it still surprises him. The consequences still worry him. His family can't disown him, wouldn't dare, but he knows he's set himself up to be the black sheep. That he has overstepped his boundaries. But it was worth it to salvage his family's pride.

It isn't like he's lost much. He never had their approval to begin with.]

I imagine I'll have a very busy third year of high school. I didn't expect to own a company before I was out of high school.

[There was an excruciatingly long pause. Tamaki gazed at Kyouya with his jaw hanging dramatically. His face the picture of absolute astonishment.

Of course he believed in Kyouya greatly. He was always amazing and always in the top of their class. But for him to generate enough funds to buy their own company and saving it from getting taken over by a foreign investor, Tamaki was absolutely speechless.

A few moments later, he bumped his shoulder playfully at Kyouya's shoulder.]

How could you!

[And here he was absolutely worried about Kyouya.]

[He heard the gloating but Tamaki just gave Kyouya a gentle smile as always. He was happy for Kyouya. This meant that he got his dream. Or at least he was able to achieve the one thing that was always used to bait him to do better. Now there was one thing less Kyouya had to worry about and it made Tamaki happy.]

Seems like a certain company owner owes me a drink or a small celebration party.

I'm not looking forward to when Suuichi finds out. Or when my father realizes I still own the company -- and that his management is only for five more years.

[Time to finish his education, to really think about what he wanted to do with everything.

He had defied the natural order of the Otori family. He hadn't changed his father's mind, he'd taken by force.]

I'd been working with the lawyers for months. Had two contracts. I was going to use the one that simply signed everything back to my father.

The company lawyer wrote the one I used, that left me in actual control. ["Otherwise you may only be throwing good money after bad," he'd warned.]

Then the fair happened.

[And Kyouya decided to repay public humiliation with private humiliation.]

[More or less Tamaki could piece the information together. He won't say if it was right or wrong for Kyouya to do such a thing to his family. After all, if Kyouya had not purchased it, the company would have been Eclair's, and Kyouya would have been left with nothing. Though he hardly thinks Kyouya would really need the company, after all, Kyouya's ability to turn a losing idea to a profitable one was truly remarkable. On the other hand, this completely disrupts the ideals of his father, he was sure about this.

So instead there was only one thing on the White Prince's mind as he took his last sip of tea.]

Are you happy about this? Does this make you happy?

["To be perfectly honest, whether I'm happy or unhappy doesn't really matter."

But he couldn't say that. Not to Tamaki.]

I'm satisfied. I did what I needed to do for the company.

[Not for his family.

What did that say about him? He had sacrificed his ties to his family to save the company. He would rather have the Otori Group than be part of the Otori family.]

I'd stopped wanting it. At least, I thought I had. But then... I don't let it go.

[Family pride. Honor. The tens of thousands of people who might have lost their jobs.

Some things were more important than what he wanted.]

Edited 2014-02-17 19:28 (UTC)

[Tamaki places the cup of tea back on the side table and reaches for Kyouya's shoulders. He pulls his friend close to his body and gives him a gentle embrace. No one in this world could ever understand the hardship of living their lives. Tamaki, Kyouya, Mitsukuni, Morinozuka, and the twins lived very tough lives that could never be compensated for by the riches their families offered to them. No matter how rich they were, their lives were far from perfect. The decisions they make and the sacrifices expected from them where too painful for ordinary people to ever bare.

He holds onto Kyouya gently and keeps silent for a short while before he spoke once more. It was hard to make promises of a better tomorrow, specially when they were stuck in a world different from their own.]

If your father were to ask for the company back completely, and he never lifted his hand on public, would you give it back?

...Are you truly okay with taking over this company?

No.

[That simple word answered both questions. There were some things Kyouya Otori couldn't forgive. Being slapped was not one of them. Being slapped in front of his peers, senior, and junior students as well as parents and faculty was.

All of them had wealth, privilege they took for granted. But none of them led easy lives.

Haninozuka Mitsukini and Morinozuka Takashi were raised for self-denial and martial skills above all else. Honey-senpai, especially, had struggled to accept himself and find acceptance.

Souh Tamaki was an unwanted bastard child, brought to a strange land, away from his ailing but loving mother out of desperation. Asked to atone with self-sacrifice for the sins of his father.

Hitachiin Hikaru and Kaoru had raised themselves amongst servants. Their parents loved them, but they were gone often, leaving the twins to make their own world.

And him. Told by everyone around him -- even the sister he loved -- that he wasn't good enough. He could never get approval from his father, and his sister expressed quiet disappointment that he never rebelled.

They all had their own demons.]

I might discuss selling it to Suuichi in a few years. But not my father.

[It defied every sense of power and family dynamic he'd struggled to live within. But it was what had to be done.]

I see.

[It often made Tamaki sad that Kyouya had such a family. Sadly, none of them had the perfect family. Kyouya's was terrible in the way that they expected too much of him and showed no true love for him when Tamaki was so sure that if Kyouya had his family, he would have been truly appreciated. Kyouya was the perfect child any head of family could ever wish for. Something Tamaki greatly envied. If Kyouya was the only son of his father's first family, there is no doubt that he would have garnered all his grandmother's praises.

Tamaki on the other hand can work so hard to achieve all that is expected from him - if they actually expected good things from him. He was just a bastard. He was no good. He was never supposed to exist in the first place.]

Think hard about it. But if not the Ootori group, what company would you like to invest on?

[Two sons who were never meant to exist. An illegitimate son and a third son who should have been a daughter.

As the first or second son or second daughter, Kyouya knew the value he'd have been given. But a third son was a burden. He had to be provided for, him and his future family.

Tamaki, Kyouya knew, wouldn't ever get that woman's approval. But he would inherit. She was too proud to let the Suoh Group leave the bloodline. It wasn't happiness, but it was security.

He could see to his friend's happiness later. And he would, he'd promised himself that.]

I don't know. Maybe just take the resorts. Or actually go into practicing medicine. Or maybe I'll start a little company.

[He found a smile for Tamaki and flashed it at him.]

Maybe I'll go to work for the Souh Group.

That sounds like great choices for you.

[Then, Tamaki was silent upon hearing Kyouya's last choice. Imagining all the fun meetings with Kyouya. The two of them seating at their desk, discussing matters once more. Perhaps he could convince Kyouya to have a Kotatsu meeting table instead. It will bring their company heads together.

For their lunch meetings, Tamaki could twirl into Kyouya's office and invite him to the fancy commoner restaurant that just opened. They could also go home together. They could spend nights going through proposals together.

The list of things Tamaki imagined in his Inner Mind Theater were simply delightful and he nodded.]

YOU'RE HIRED!

[Kyouya just chuckles a little. It's nice to hear Tamaki's spirits back up, good to know he hasn't made a wound too deep to patch up. Medicine, he's proven capable with... Emotions, not so much.

But Tamaki's back to himself, and everything's back to where it should be.

The spell on the carriage is still in tact. They can live another day without fear of what will be unleashed after it's broken.]

[Happily the wounds start closing once more as he leans closer to Kyouya and he lets out a short yawn.]

I'm glad... I'm glad you don't hate me after all.

Welcome to the Host Club

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