Chapter 52: Epilogue

* 6 years later *

* June 17th *

The faint colors of a spectacular sunset flooded through a nearby window, gently painting the white tiles on the ground in a rainbow spectrum.

Of course, for all of her love of sunsets, Jin couldn't create much interest in the picturesque moment. She was far too invested in staring at the man in front of her, anticipation rolling around in her gut.

At the age of 24, Kyoya Ootori looked even more handsome than the day she had met him. She could hardly believe the man was real sometimes. When she woke up in their apartment every morning, often times she'd just stare at Kyoya's sleeping face beside her and try to convince herself that this was actually reality. Which is why her boyfriend woke up most mornings to find her gazing lovingly at him from her own pillow.

Kyoya licked his lower lip, staring at her like she was his whole universe. Jin was worried that if he kept that up, her heart would swell until it was big enough to crush her lungs, but neither did she ever want him to stop. Silent words were being pelted at her, going on and on about how beautiful she was. She responded as best as she could, making sure that her expressions were obvious, as they had only just started silent two-way conversations. It would never be as fluent as her talks with Haruhi, of course, but it worked for now.

Somewhere in the back of the brunette's mind, she knew that her father and a few other family members were watching them closely, not daring to speak or otherwise break the moment. Her sister and the other host club boys were standing a little closer to extend support, but the moment still gave them the feeling of being completely alone as they waited.

Said waiting was pure agony, but Jin endured.

The moment was close now, she could feel it, even though she couldn't hear anything over the roar of the blood in her ears. Her hands were shaking slightly. Kyoya's eyes sparkled behind his glasses; he must feel it, too.

Jin thought about her last name. It was probably a strange thing to think about, considering the time and place, but she did. Fujioka. That name would die out once she, Haruhi, and perhaps even Eiko were married. Did that bother her father? Or would he be more happy that his daughters were married and in love? She thought the latter was more likely.

He didn't seem to be willing to let that happen earlier than he was comfortable with, however. Jin had overheard somewhere that her father had forbidden Kyoya to even ask for permission to marry her until they were both graduated from University, and definitely not before they got their first jobs. It was one of his "conditions" for giving Kyoya his blessing.

But now, with two University degrees sitting side by side on an apartment's shelf where the future CEO and Head Accountant for the Ootori company lived, Jin knew it was almost time.

Her heartbeat somehow quickened as Kyoya opened his mouth. He told her about how she had saved his life. Loved him and, in turn, brought love out from within himself that he didn't even know he had. How he owed her so much, and how he felt he didn't even have the beginnings of ways to repay her, but he wanted to start by giving her his love every day for the rest of their lives.

Jin knew there were tears dripping down her cheeks and could only hope her father couldn't see them. They didn't need his loud wails at the moment… that could come later. Haruhi would know, but she'd be able to hold her cries at a lower volume. And she could ignore Tamaki's sniffles.

Kyoya stopped talking and Jin started. It was like she couldn't get the words out fast enough, like she needed to tell him everything she felt before the moment came, and it was so close… so close she could taste it… or perhaps that was her tears. Either way, she managed to share everything she'd never been able to put into words before. Her loneliness since she was six years old. The monster in her chest that seemed to devour every trace of happiness she might've had until she felt hollow. Hollow for ten long years, only able to fight back with the love her father and sister gave her.

And then... Kyoya happened.

He made her feel. Pushed her buttons in the wrong and right ways and made her feel more alive than she'd thought was possible. Complimented her personality so well that she couldn't imagine it any other way. Opposites who were so alike. And after almost seven years by his side, there was no denying that Kyoya was hers, and she his. Nothing would, or could, ever change that.

By the time she finished, there were definitely tears in Kyoya's eyes as well. Though how she could see it though her own was a mystery.

The silence between them stretched on for what seemed like an eternity. Their words for each other, and no one else, seemed to hover between them. Jin tried to absorb exactly what would happen next.

Kyoya spoke again. It was barely a full sentence, but the emotion was just as real as when Jin responded in turn, but she almost wanted to scream, ' No more words!'

And there weren't any.

At least… not for them.

Jin Fujioka…

"You may now kiss the bride."

Kyoya wasted no time in lifting the thin veil away from Jin's face, one hand cupping her cheek and the other going around her waist. The church hall erupted into applause as they went in for a kiss. Their bridal party, comprised of the original Ouran Highschool Host Club and their siblings, were the loudest of them all.

Jin... Ootori.

* 4 years later *

* February 2nd *

Jin hummed along to the song playing over the car radio, fingers tapping on the center console as she stared outside. There was a light dusting of snow covering the sidewalks they were passing, a testament to how cold this winter had been. As the car rolled to a stop at the light, her chin shifted a little along her left fist. Something hard pressed against her chin, and she pulled away to look at it.

Even after being married for four years, seeing the beautiful diamond ring perched on her left hand always had Jin grinning like an idiot. She often asked herself exactly how she'd managed to pull it off. Married to Kyoya Ootori…

"What's that smile for?"

The brunette looked to the right, her smile growing even more when she saw her husband sitting behind the steering wheel. His eyes were on the road as always, but she knew that if traffic were any less congested he'd be holding onto the hand she had on the center console.

"Oh, no real reason. I just have the biggest crush on my own husband."

His response was a well-used chuckle, eyes briefly flicking over to Jin before refocusing on the road, "Is that so? What a coincidence. I happen to have a substantial crush on my wife. "

Jin grins and ducks her head, hardly able to believe how happy she is, before straightening up, "So… why do you think Hikaru called for a group lunch?"

"Not sure. All I can say is he had better hope it's important enough to excuse how it forced us to cancel our lunch date."

"Hey, lighten up," she poked at his shoulder, "We can go twice next week."

"I believe my brother-in-law would call that 'ruining the aesthetics'."

Jin barely managed to cover up snort. Kyoya's tone of defeat whenever he referred to Tamaki as 'brother-in-law' was one of the best things that had come out of Jin's sister marrying Kyoya's best friend. "Fine, we can go out tomorrow."

"Can't. I have a luncheon with a few corporate backers. The email didn't give me a 'Plus one' option."

The brunette sighed, leaning her head back against the seat, but she was still smiling, "Friday."

"Your sister's birthday, which is when we will also be celebrating your birthday this year."

"We can't have a lunch date on the same day? Just between the two of us?"

Her husband's eyes twinkled with humor, "...Perhaps."

"So," she leaned forward in her seat, staring ahead into traffic, "Now that we've fixed that problem, what's the bet that Kaoru finally proposed to Akane?"

Kyoya smirked, "Still a hopeless romantic, I see."

"Oh, come on! What do you think?"

"His fashion business is growing rather exponentially. He could very well have something to say about that."

"Workaholic."

Just then, Kyoya pulled the car into a car tower, looking for an empty spot. As he did so, Jin studied him in the shaded light. She remembered just how long it had taken her to convince Kyoya that they did not , in fact, need a personal driver. The only 'extra personal' they had hired after their marriage were Kyoya's three personal bodyguards, but they mostly hung around the Ootori Group's corporate headquarters. Because when Jin wasn't four floors below him, they all knew she was more than capable of protecting her husband.

Then again, Tachibana-san, Aijima-san, and Hotta-san did come over to the house every once in awhile for tea and a nice chat with Jin. It had been hilarious the day Kyoya got back home from a quick shopping trip to find his wife sitting with his bodyguards, who were laughing so hard they were in tears.

But without a driver, and a perfectly good company car at their disposal, Jin had finally agreed to put their garage to good use…

So long as Kyoya learned how to drive.

Two years of driver's education did the trick. Kyoya still preferred to not be behind the wheel when the two made long distance travels, but he was getting pretty good at driving through the city, something Jin wasn't all the comfortable with. It was a nice middle ground, and Jin had to admit driving through Tokyo during lunch hour was nicer than fighting through the train stations.

He slotted the sleek black car into an empty stall and powered it down. Jin unbuckled her seat belt and went to open the door when Kyoya gently cupped her chin and kissed her. She moaned and kissed back, eyes falling shut as their lips parted automatically.

Jin's left hand wrapped itself around his tie just as her phone went off. Parting with a lewd ' pop ', she pulled the device out and pressed the answer button.

"Yeah?"

"Are you guys ever showing up?"

"Kaoru, we just parked. We'll be there in less than a minute."

"Uh huh, so you weren't thinking about doing any 'flippity-flop' in the back seat?"

"...Aren't you 27 years old?"

"There are youngin's in this diner."

"Fine, you get a pass. We're heading over."

"You want us to order your tea, Nēchan?"

Jin smiled, so happy that the Hitachiin twins had joined in on calling her Nēchan, "Of course. Bye!" She hung up and slipped the phone back into her pocket, "We should go. They're getting impatient."

Her husband chuckled and pressed one last kiss to her cheek before opening his door, "I believe they simply like to ruin my fun."

"Well, that too."

As promised, the married couple took less than a minute to exit the parking tower and enter the diner right next door. It was a quaint little place, but the food was marvelous. The only reason they knew about it was because Jin used to babysit the owner, who had lived in the apartment just beneath the Fujioka's when they were still in high school. Nowadays, the original Host Club used it as a weekly lunch spot to catch up and spend time together.

The moment the Ootori's walked into the heated building, which started working on defrosting their noses, Jin turned to her right and asked, "So, what's happened?"

Her sister grinned and waved at the couple, "About time, you two!" The other nine people sitting down smiled as well. Everyone was finally accounted for.

"We're no later today than we've ever been. Need I remind you that the Ootori Group's corporate headquarters is nearly ten miles further away than the rest of your businesses?"

Hikaru rolled his eyes and stood up, along with his girlfriend Maaya Horri, to let the married couple slide down the booth so the sisters could sit by each other, "So defensive, Kyoya. Did we interrupt something?"

"As a matter of fact, you did. My weekly lunch date with my beautiful wife, incidentally." He helped Jin out of her coat before shucking his off as well, "So, out with it, Kaoru. We're already have a lunch planned for this Friday for Haruhi and Jin's birthdays. What's the occasion?"

The other redhead who was sitting across from his brother smiled even wider, glancing over at his girlfriend, Akane Erizawa. The pretty blond was squirming in her seat, and Jin smirked when she realized her hands had been hidden underneath the table the whole time.

"I've proposed to Akane."

The table erupted into applause as they held up their joined hands, a pretty sapphire dotted engagement ring glinting on the blond's finger. Jin bumped her shoulder against Kyoya's. He responded by softly pinching her side. Even so, the bespectacled man was smiling as he congratulated his friend. Now, the only one left who wasn't either married or engaged in their little group was Hikaru. And even now, the other twin was eyeing his girlfriend softly as she started babbling to her friend about wedding plans.

The two most recently-made brides in their group were starting to pitch in their advice as well. Mori's wife, Hisayo, was already listing the different coupons available for wedding cakes from her family's company, which ran the most prestigious and well-known bakeries across Japan and most of China. Reiko Haninozuka was offering to perform a couple spells that would ensure a perfect wedding day, mostly by cursing those who would ruin it with… misfortune.

Meanwhile, Jin tapped Haruhi's side, slightly pursing her lips and raising an eyebrow.

When are you making your announcement?

Probably next week, but Tamaki wanted to do it on Friday. I don't think he knows I talked to you about it and wants to make it like a birthday present.

Well, I'm personally glad that you did, because I talked to Kyoya after the call and... we're trying now, too.

Haruhi's eyes widened, her face breaking into a smile, Really? That's great news!

"Excuse me, everyone, can I have your attention?" Tamaki smiled as a majority of the table turned towards him, save for Akane and Reiko, who were discussing the pros and cons of the different spells Reiko was listing on a napkin, "Haruhi and I were going to tell you this sometime next week, but I'm going to go stir crazy if I don't tell you now."

Kaoru's smile was slowly dipping, as was Haruhi's. Jin, however, was blinking in surprise. He... wouldn't. Right?

"Friends, Haruhi and I are expecting."

Half of the table burst into another round of clapping and congratulations, but Kaoru actually stood up from his seat, leaped over the Morinozuka's and Haninozuka's, and smacked Tamaki upside the head. Mori, thankfully, managed to grab the redhead around his waist and place him back into his seat, but Kaoru didn't seem interested in actually harming the blond. This was precisely why the club had the front corner table all to themselves. While they might be visible from the doorway, they were mostly hidden from the rest of the diner, which let them get away with their shenanigans. Not to mention it was usually slow around this time of day.

In fact, he was laughing a bit as he started berating him, "Will you quit your constant hijacking? It's gonna get you into trouble one of these days, Tamaki!"

"Hijacking?" Tamaki had a cross between confused and insulted expressions on his face, which only made the others around the table laugh a little harder, "I've never hijacked anything!"

"Oh, please." Kaoru waved a hand between himself and Akane, "Other than what you just overshadowed a few seconds ago, might we go through the list? No, wait, that'll take too long. Let's just do the Suoh-hijacking-Ootori list." The twin lifted a hand and raised his pointer finger, "Case numero uno, the day Kyoya proposed to Jin. You literally asked Haruhi to move in with you a few seconds after Kyoya started to lead Jin onto the balcony."

"H-hey! How was I supposed to know that's what he was planning?"

"It was their anniversary, the balcony was covered with L.E.D. lights, and he actually showed us all the ring not even a full week beforehand. Gee, now that you mention it, I do see how you didn't know." Hikaru laid the sarcasm on really thick, and for once Tamaki seemed to catch it full force.

"Well, that was only one time-"

"Not quite, Tamaki." Kyoya was sporting a small frown, remembering how he'd had to wait for Jin to stop babbling about how her little sister was moving in with Tamaki before he could reinstate the moment, "Don't forget how you hijacked my wedding, as well."

"Okay, hold on, Mon Amie. I did not- "

"You proposed to Haruhi during the damn reception, Idiot!"

The memory resurfaced.

It had been a beautiful moment for the most part. About halfway through the reception, Tamaki had taken to the piano. After a short explanation that Jin had given him permission to play a song for the new couple, who consisted of his two closest friends, he'd invited them to the dance floor and took a seat on the bench. Kyoya and Jin silently agreed on the way to the floor that Tamaki was likely going to play that same song he always seemed to play, and were touched that he'd play it on their wedding day.

But he'd surprised them. It wasn't anything like that, at all.

The song had started fast, with a running melody. There was a sudden stop... and it picked right back up again, adding in a heavier base note line. It was beautiful and perfect, depicting snowfall and sunshine and blooming flowers. Kyoya could imagine Jin skating around an ice rink as the song played overhead, her hair fluttering around wildly and her face expressing freedom.

Jin was grinning widely at Tamaki as her new husband started leading her in a dance, their feet keeping time but their upper bodies following the quick melody.

And then the others joined in, walking up onto the stage to pick up the instruments that been hidden until the right moment.

Kagome-sensei on violin.

Shido Takaogi on an electric piano.

Gina, one of the kids who lived in her apartment complex, tapping out a rhythm on a snare drum.

Jin was crying for the umpteenth time that day, not protesting when Kyoya hugged her close at the sudden stop. They swayed in place as the song went solely to Tamaki again, their guests watching with tears in their eyes. The bride managed to pull herself together as Tamaki began picking up the tempo, Kyoya leading her back into the dance as if they had rehearsed it. There were still a few tears as they twirled around the dance floor like they'd been made for this moment. Their friends and family watched in awe as they flawlessly moved together.

The couple ended the song tightly wound around each other, their noses brushing. Everyone burst into applause, sending out a few wolf-whistles when Kyoya kissed his new wife.

Tamaki stood from his piano bench and walked down from the stage, skirting the couple until he was standing in front of Haruhi's spot at the bridal table.

"Haruhi?" A small portion of the room glanced over as the blond smiled nervously at his girlfriend, "As much as I would've loved to say that was for my two best friends on their wedding day..." he knelt down on one knee and pulled out an engagement ring, "Could you do me the honor of letting me say it was for my future In-laws, and marry me, Haruhi Fujioka?"

Back in the present, Kyoya scowled a little deeper at the blond, "Who hijacks his own future brother-in-law and sister-in-law's wedding? Honestly? "

"Yeah, and what about the whole thing when Nēchan and Kyoya got their own house? When I told you about that you went straight online to buy us a house that's basically next door!"

Tamaki shook his fist in the air, "How dare you all turn my own wife against me! Have you no shame?"

"Oh, come on, Tamaki," Jin rolled her eyes, leaning against her husband to calm him down, "You have to admit you've made quite a trend for yourself. It's almost like you've turned our lives into a competition."

The rest of the table laughed.

Everyone except Tamaki, who turned a little red.

Hikaru was the one who leaned over the table and started cracking up, "Are you serious? You've started a competition with your own In-laws?!" The laughter quickly got louder, and Tamaki's blush grew darker. But he did manage a sheepish smile.

"You know... I think I did. It kinda started when Haruhi and I got together at the Ouran Fair back in high school. I just thought it was a little funny how both Kyoya and I had fallen in love with Fujioka girls, being best friends and all." Suddenly Tamaki's smile dropped, and he pouted into his tea cup, "But what wasn't funny was how Kyoya met Jin later than I met Haruhi, and he didn't even like her at first, and yet they got together before we did."

Jin tilted her head, "That is true..."

"He left out the part where he's an idiot, and I'm not." Kyoya kissed his wife's cheek despite her scoff and slipped an arm around her waist. When he looked back up, Tamaki was now pouting in his direction.

"I figured that whatever announcement Haruhi and I would have, it would always be the second one we all heard, because of course you and Jin would do it first. I just tried to catch up, is all. And now I've succeeded," Tamaki smirked, "I'm the first to have children with my beloved."

The table went quiet. What he'd said was true. The Ootori's already had the title of 'First to Get Together', 'First to Get Married', 'First to Buy a House Together', and probably a lot of other firsts... but Tamaki and Haruhi were the first to start having a family.

That we know of , Kyoya's mind supplied. His eyes quickly darted down to Jin's stomach and back again. As much as he wanted to alert Tamaki that Jin could very well be pregnant too, considering they'd spoken about trying for a child perhaps a week ago, something held him back. Clearly, the blond was already feeling competitive. No need to rile him up earlier than necessary.

Even so... his pulse was climbing the longer the staring contest went on.

Abruptly breaking the challenging eye contact with his friend, Kyoya took a steady sip of tea, "Is that so? Well then, I assume you won't mind if I then attempt to take the title of 'Most Children'?"

"What? No! I'll have the most kids! You-"

"Not-"

"-happening."

The men turned to their wives, who were glaring at them in defiance.

"There is no why you're using my uterus for some dumb competition."

"You boys get three pregnancies only ."

"Three." They emphasized the number by speaking it in unison.

Kyoya and Tamaki's eyes met over their wives' heads, and they realized that some things just weren't worth it. Kyoya raised his hands in defeat while Tamaki nodded. Smiling again, the girls relaxed.

Tamaki, however, wasn't done, "So... we'll draw on the whole 'Most Children' title... but that doesn't mean I won't be winning any more firsts, Ootori. This was only the beginning."

"Is it, now?" Jin tried to hide her smile. She could hear the awakening competitive spirit in her husband's voice, a thrill shooting down her spine and the implications, "I suppose it's lucky that I've already piled up quite a few myself before you even announced the competition. For example, I'd be quite willing to place a substantial amount of money on the bet that Jin allowed me to bed her before Haruhi even let you kiss her in public. Would you be willing to take me up on that?"

Tamaki went impossibly red as the rest of the table either started laughing or mock-fanning themselves, "Y-you! That is not an appropriate way to speak of your wife in public! And are you implying that you had... had-"

"Intercourse?"

"Don't say that out loud! But... yes, that , before you were married?"

"Yes. We were both ready and consenting, which was the important part. Perhaps you simply feel so conservative on the subject because you are married to Haruhi. I'm glad to state that I don't know much about your sex life apart from the fact that you clearly have one -congratulations on the baby, by the way, Haruhi- but I'm fairly sure yours is painfully vanilla compared to mine. And likely not as common." Kyoya immediately ducked after his last word, barely managing to avoid Tamaki swinging a menu at his head.

The rest of the table was laughing at the blond's face, arguing about whether he looked more like a tomato or a cherry. He started telling them all to shut up about it, even as Haruhi began to giggle.

Jin was laughing along with the rest of them until a warm breath puffing on her ear sent little shivers down her arms.

" Don't make any plans after work for the next few days. "

* February 8th *

"Jin? Darling, are you home?"

Kyoya shut the front door behind him, quickly toeing his shoes off. There was no answer, but he wasn't concerned for a number of reasons.

Reason number one, the house wasn't small. It was very possible that Jin could be upstairs in their bedroom or downstairs. Of course, it wasn't like the place was a mansion, either. With only two stories -three if you counted the finished basement- there weren't many places you could be and not hear someone shouting your name from the other end of the house.

Kyoya liked the house, and Jin had loved it, which gave it extra points in his book. With a dining room, living spaces on the main floor and in the basement, kitchen, laundry room, den/office, breakfast nook, five separate bedrooms and four bathrooms, it was much larger than anything Jin had even dared dreaming of when she was growing up, but it was still perfect. There was a large yard surrounding them with trees setting up a sort of separation from their neighbors -including the In-laws- and yet it was within walking distance from the end of a train line.

There weren't many places like this in Japan, and while it had been pricey, the Ootori's had never regretted the purchase.

Not bad for a pair of high school sweethearts.

"Jin?" He tried again. Still nothing.

Kyoya sighed, slipping off his winter jacket to hang up in the closet. This was sort of his fault, even though it wasn't. He'd been held back at work for about an hour today for a Skype meeting with the CFO of the Ootori hospitals in France. Renge had taken to the position well, even if he'd spent at least ten of those minutes turning down some of her more outlandish ideas to keep the Board of Commissioners sitting with him from dying of heart attacks then and there.

Either way, he'd taken the company car home while Jin rode the train back. Some days that this happened, she'd simply wait at home for him to join her before they started making dinner. Except sometimes she would get home and decide to make an errand run downtown for groceries or whatever else they might be lacking in the house. And while Kyoya greatly appreciated how she was willing to make a quick run for things they needed instead of relaxing after a long day of work, it was always better, in his opinion, to be welcomed home with a kiss instead.

Moving to close the closet door, Kyoya blinked out of his thoughts when the wood bounced back into his hand. Frowning, he looked down at what was blocking the door. It was a shoe that had fallen when he opened the closet for his coat. Jin's work shoes.

Sighing, he crouched down to place it next to it's pair neatly, but paused when he noticed something strange.

Her winter boots were still here.

And so were all of her other shoes.

Eyes flicking upwards, Kyoya noticed that her winter coat was also hanging up. Now... if Jin was still home, then why wasn't she answering?

Hmm... Perhaps she's playing a game?

Kyoya smirked at the thought. If this was the kind of game he was thinking of, he would be happy to oblige.

Slowly straightening up, he shut the closet door as quietly as possible, listening intently for any sort of noise to indicate where his wife might be hiding. It was never an easy game when she hid from him. Since she used to play hide and seek using air vents against both a Haninozuka and a Morinozuka, Jin was very good at keeping quiet, even if she was moving from place to place. If Kyoya were to have any luck finding her within the next ten minutes, he'd have to hope that she wasn't wearing house slippers or socks and padded across one of their tiled floors in bare feet.

Placing his work suitcase on the floor by his shoes, Kyoya tried to figure out which way to go. The main floor of their house was a giant circle, with the staircases in the middle. If he went through the door right in front of him, he'd find the stairs that lead to their basement. Down there was a living room-like area with a couch and television set, as well as a bathroom, his work-at-home office, and a guest bedroom.

The whole left side of the staircase was the main living room. If he went that way around, he'd get to the back of the house where it was nothing but floor to ceiling windows until the middle, where a pair of sliding glass doors lead to the back porch. There was another door to the backyard in their basement as well, one of the perks of the house being set on a hill.

Right across from the sliding doors, and set above the stairs leading downstairs, was the opening for the staircase that went upwards instead. Four bedrooms and two bathrooms, including the master bed and bathroom, were up there. At the moment, most were empty or just guest bedrooms, but Kyoya hoped to rectify that soon.

If he ignored the sliding doors and continued around the circle, he'd end up in their dining room. It was pretty bare at the moment, with their large table swapped out for a much smaller one considering there were only two of them. Next to that was the kitchen, complete with an island and state of the art equipment. Jin had already used all of the items in there at least five times, which was good because Kyoya had no idea how to work things like blenders. If he went through the kitchen, he'd find the laundry room as well as the door that lead to their garage, which he had just parked in. They didn't use that door all that much simply because they always forgot to place their house slippers back there.

And finally, right between the kitchen and the foyer where Kyoya was still standing, was the door to the only main-floor bathroom and the breakfast nook. The 'nook' had large windows that opened up to the front yard, a window bench with a plush cushion and many pillows piled on it, and a small table with only two chairs. Jin and Kyoya liked to eat breakfast there on lazy mornings, watching the world go by outside as they ate. In the deep winter, Jin would switch the table out for a Kotatsu, which she'd take naps underneath over the weekend or quietly read her book there instead of the turned-freezing-cold window seat.

Kyoya had just started compiling a list of Jin's possible hiding places when he noticed something else that was out of place. There was a little blue bag on the table in the breakfast nook, like for birthday gifts or party favors. There were colorful ribbons curled up on the handles, green and purple tissue paper sticking out of the top, and a small yellow sticky note pressed to the side facing him.

'To: Kyo-kun'

The ravenet's smirk eased into more of a smile. Ah, so that's what this was. Jin must've planned some sort of surprise, though he couldn't imagine what for. It definitely wasn't his birthday and their wedding anniversary wasn't until June, so unless he'd forgotten something, which was unlikely, then this was a simple spur of the moment gift.

Walking over to the table, he began pulling the colored tissue paper out of the way. The bag was pretty small, so there was a definite limit on what it might be. And to be honest, his imagination was currently failing him. Jin wasn't one to buy excessively expensive gifts unless it was a birthday or similar holiday, so a new watch was out of the question. Perhaps it was a small knick-knack that would help him think of her, but he usually bought those himself.

There was more tissue paper in the bag than he'd expected, going all the way to the bottom. He went slow just in case she had wrapped anything up inside the paper itself, but eventually he pulled it all out and reached his hand back inside to pull out the gift. But he froze just before he touched it. Or, them.

There were three.

In little plastic cases.

"Kyoya?"

The man blinked quite a few times before he was able to force himself to look away, turning towards his wife instead. She was standing in the living room with a nervous smile on her face, waiting for him to speak. Kyoya blinked again before turning back towards the gift, staring past his hand that was still stuck in the bag, his fingertips outstretched and only a few centimeters away from the plastic cases.

They were holding three different pregnancy sticks. With blue pluses.

"You're..." He turned around once again. Jin was nodding, grinning widely.

Eyes dipping to the bag and then back to his wife, his smile is gradually returning even as he says, "No... you're playing a prank on me..."

The brunette giggles, clasping her hands together by her mouth, shaking her head, "I'm pregnant, Glasses!"

To say her husband was happy with the news would be the understatement of the century. Kyoya charged his wife, kissing her so passionately she was lifted off her feet. The bag on the table had been knocked over in his haste, spilling the little cases onto the table, testaments to the little life growing inside of Jin Ootori.

* May 31st *

"Mr. and Mrs. Ootori?"

Kyoya and Jin stopped talking, looking up at the man dressed in all white who had just entered the room. They nodded and the doctor shut the door behind them. Jin squirmed a little from her spot on the table, abuzz with excitement, her dressing gown hanging loosely around her body. So far, the day had been great. She hadn't woken up with nausea this morning, and her baby had decided to give her a break and not make her crave those stupid cinnamon spice jolly ranchers. Jin was most definitely carrying Kyoya's kid, because she'd been eating so many spicy foods she was worried her tongue was going to catch on fire.

"It says here that you're getting an ultrasound done today."

"Uh huh!" Jin happily lifted her legs up with her and leaned back so she was partially reclined.

Kyoya smiled softly at his wife as their doctor chuckled, "Someone's excited. First child?"

"It is." Kyoya softly traced a circle around the back of Jin's right hand. He might not be as obvious as his wife, but he was excited.

"Then let's get started." The man sat down and prepared to draw some blood, "Do you wish to know the gender?"

Both parents shook their heads, "Our friends and family have set up a bet on what it's going to be. Besides, we'd like to be surprised." The doctor laughed, placing a bandage over the inside crook of her right arm and labeling the vial.

As he started powering up the machines, the girl quieted and her smiled died just a tad. She hadn't said anything, but both she and Kyoya knew that she was a little bigger than Haruhi was. Jin tried to convince herself that it was because she was taller/bigger than her sister, but she was still worried that something was wrong. She and Kyoya would've tried to come in sooner to get it checked, but with their schedules as hectic as they were and preparing their house for a child, they hadn't had a lot of time to do so.

Add in the fact that Kyoya's father had been admitted to the hospital with a stroke just three days ago... yeah, it had been a rough week for them both. Thankfully the older man was fine now and was recovering, because he hadn't wanted to sour the birth of their first child with them worrying about his health. And yes, those had been Kyoya's father's exact words. Kyoya couldn't put his finger on it, but his father was acting... differently since his incident. Hopefully it wouldn't be anything bad.

"Well, according to your dating scan from a month ago... you should expect your little one to arrive on August 30th."

Kyoya's small smile turned smug, "Well, I suppose that explains your stomach size. You must've been pregnant before we thought." He kissed the back of his wife's hand, abstaining from her lips while there was a stranger in the room with them. Jin smiled at him, but went back to staring at the ceiling as the doctor squeezed the warm gel onto her stomach. Something wasn't right here.

August 30th... that was almost a full two months earlier than either of them had expected. And yes, while that would explain why her stomach was a lot bigger than Haruhi's, Jin couldn't help but feel there was something amiss. If her memory served correctly, the due date was actually sooner than her sisters, which was in late October. Of course, she'd had a hard time hearing Haruhi over the phone with Tamaki screaming hysterically in the background over the photos they'd been given, so it was possible she might've misheard... but then again...

"Alright... keeping the gender a secret, let's take a look at the little one." Jin gave the doctor an encouraging smile as he pressed the scanner to her stomach, spreading the warm gel around. Something's not right...

"Looking good... strong heartbeat. Nothing different from your last... hmm."

The Ootori's paused, staring at the doctor as he frowned a little at the monitors. Kyoya wanted to stand up and look at them as well, but Jin tightened her grip on his hand and he tossed out any idea of moving away from her. The doctor moved the scanner around, his eyebrows raising, but the corners of his mouth continued to pull down ever so slightly.

"Is there something wrong?"

The doctor looked away from the monitor, one side of his mouth finally lifting into a half smile full of amusement, "I suppose that depends on your definition of problem, Mr. Ootori. It would seem as though the child we saw during your first visit decided to hide something that day."

Jin's eyes widened, her heart rate picking up with excitement, hardly daring to believe her own mind. She knew it ran in her family on her mother's side, but she'd never really thought about it...

She sat up a little, "Do... do you mean..."

"Congratulations, Mrs. Ootori. You are pregnant with twins."

The woman let out a breathy laugh, "Twins... oh, my go- twins , Kyoya. We're having twins. " She looked over at her husband, who was staring at her exposed belly with a 'deer-in-headlights' expression.

"Kyoya?"

His mouth opened, shut, and he let out a sigh through his nose. Speechless.

Jin started laughing, leaning her head back against the chair, "See, this is what you get for turning this into a competition!"

Her husband glanced up at her smiling face and saw that she was actually excited and pleased with this development. Looking back at her belly, Kyoya thought about the two lives currently developing within them.

"Well, I suppose this means we'll win the 'Most Children' title. Tamaki's going to throw a fit." Kyoya chuckled, smiling as his wife laughed harder.

* August 30th *

"Mr. Ootori? Would you like to hold your daughters?"

The ravenet peeled his gaze away from Jin, who was still breathing heavily and soaked in sweat on the hospital bed. Even so, she managed to lift her head a little and watch as her husband nodded mutely, gently accepting the two small blankets from the nurse, one pink with white polka dots and the other white with pink dots.

Kyoya stared down at the little girls, and instantly his heart melted. They were perfect. In the back of his mind, he remembered the day Ranka had pulled out the baby photos of his bride-to-be all those years ago. There was a photo of Jin from the day she was born, and if he were to take a photo of his own daughters right now they would be a perfect match. No doubt they'd look just like their mother as they grew up... save for the patch of black hair on their heads that they'd inherited from him.

One of the girls yawned, the one swaddled in white and currently tucked into his left arm. She let out a tiny whine, and opened her eyes. Kyoya felt his breath catch in his throat. His daughter had the same soft brown eyes as Jin, sparkling golden in the light of the hospital room as she stared up at him. Considering the two girls were identical, he knew the other girl shared those eyes, too.

One of the nurses smiled gently at the father as she slowly elevated Jin's upper body to prepare her for holding her own children, "The one in white with pink dots is the eldest."

" Junko Ootori ," he whispered, staring down at the little girl who continued to stare right back. He and Jin had come up with two girl names and two boy names, considering they didn't know the genders. Each of the two names had been assigned to either the first born or second born, so no matter what gender came out first or second, they wouldn't need to argue over which name to give to which child.

The little girl yawned again, her eyes shutting momentarily, and Kyoya took the opportunity to look back at his second daughter. Setsuko Ootori , his mind supplied.

" They're perfect. "

"Kyoya..."

The man turned to his wife, feeling a single tear trickle down his cheek. Jin was crying too, holding her arms out. Receiving an encouraging nod from the nurse, Kyoya carefully placed the little girls into his wife's arms. Jin's tears flowed out faster as both of the girls opened their eyes and stared up at their mother, curiosity echoing within them. There was a bit of wiggling from the pink blanket as Setsuko's hand slipped out. Kyoya leaned closer and held out his pinkie. The infant didn't hesitate before wrapping her tiny fingers around his, and the ravenet couldn't stop the next few tears from leaking out even if he'd tried.

Now, the father was sitting on the hospital bed, leaning just a little bit over his exhausted wife and their baby girls, both of them in different stages of crying. When the couple finally managed to look back at each other, Kyoya smirked and kissed her forehead.

"I take it back... in this instance, I don't mind sitting on your hospital bed with you."

His wife laughed, but it was broken with a sudden onslaught of happy tears.

"Mr. Ootori? You have visitors. Would you like me to send them in?"

Kyoya nodded, wiping at the faint tear tracks before slowly slipping off the bed, "Yes. If you wouldn't mind. All of them."

Tamaki and Haruhi walk in first, the blond helping his well-rounded wife into the room. They both looked at the little blankets and burst into tears, quickly taking two of the chairs on the other side of the room. Ranka and Kyoya's parents came in next, making their way to the side of the hospital bed but being pushed aside by Fuyumi before they could get a good look.

"Oh my... they're precious, Kyo-kyo!" Kyoya's sister hefted up the toddler that was on her hip and whispered, "See those two little girls, Michio? Those are your baby cousins."

The small ravenet nodded, staring intently. As the youngest of Fuyumi's two children, and with four older cousins, the young boy had yet to see people in his family who were younger than him. He now knew why Eshima had been so unhappy that she and her father were stuck at her dance recital all the way across Japan when their Aunt Jin had gone into labor. His cousin's were so small .

From the side of the room, Ranka tried to keep himself from crying, but the moment Yoshio placed a hand on his shoulder he broke down. He had grandchildren. The last time he'd been so happy had been the day Haruhi had been born! His son-in-law's father was also crying slightly, grinning at the hospital bed that held three members of his family. After the older man's stroke, his emotions and behaviors had taken a few shifts. That was normal, but after a few months he finally settled into a much... happier state of being. He started spending more time with his grandchildren and talking about his family's lives rather than the business. His children wouldn't said it to his face, but it had been so much more than they'd ever hoped for.

The Hitachiins came in next, wives trailing after their excited husbands, whom Fuyumi quickly made room for at the side of the bed less they bowl her over. As expected, the boys had almost spontaneously combusted when they learned another pair of twins was joining their circle. For the past three months, the Hitachiin brothers had showered the Ootori's with little tidbits and suggestions, as well as mentioning at least three times a week that they'd always be willing to coordinate outfits and babysit whenever once the children were born. Jin had teasingly suggested that she'd better place locks on the baby's nursery window so the twins wouldn't steal them in the night, to which her husband vehemently suggested they ' get their own. '

The Haninozukas and Morinozukas entered last, as Kyoya's older brothers lived too far away to make the commute, but they were fully expecting phone calls. And Jin would call Beni once the sun rose in Finland.

Honey quickly hurried over to the end of the bed, "Who won the bet?"

"You and Tamaki. May I introduce you all to Junko and Setsuko Ootori, our daughters."

The blonds high-fived. Haruhi and Kaoru exchanged shrugs, as if to say ' Eh, we were half right. ' Mori and Hikaru didn't really seem to mind that they'd been completely wrong, at least.

Ranka steps around the bed to stand by his son-in-law, "Can I hold them?"

His daughter nodded and he quickly sat down in the chair next to the bed, waiting as Kyoya carefully moved his daughters from their mother's arms to their grandfather. As the man cooed softly at the infants, Kyoya felt a hand softly grip his shoulder.

" Don't think I've forgiven you for beating me once again. Haruhi is still keeping to her three pregnancy rule, so you've officially won the 'Most Children'. But she was pregnant first, don't forget. " Tamaki was glaring pretty heatedly at the ravenet, but his eyes softened when he looked at the white and pink blankets in Ranka's arms. " However... I've always wanted a large family ."

* September 19th *

Jin's eyelids slowly peeled themselves apart at the sound of crying coming from the monitor next to her head. A small throbbing was already starting above her right eye, her body protesting at being waken up in the middle of the night for the tenth time in a row. She remembered how her father had warned her that newborns almost never slept through the night, needing to be fed or changed or simply comforted often, so she tried not to feel bitter.

However...

She managed to get one leg out of the bed when the covers were suddenly thrown off. At the sudden shock of cold, she sat up quickly. Kyoya snatched his glasses from his bedside table and began marching towards the door.

"Kyo?" He didn't answer. Jin quickly stood and followed after him, grabbing her robe and wrapping it around herself. What was he doing? It was her turn to get up for the girls. Kyoya did it yesterday... so why was he up?

Jin followed her husband all the way into the nursery, which was the first door on the right coming from their bedroom. She watched from the doorway as he went to the conjoined crib that was pressed against the side wall of the large room, right next to their master bedroom so they'd be able to hear the crying through the wall just in case the monitor's batteries ran out.

Kyoya grabbed the far sides of the crib, leaned over so both of the baby's could see him, and ordered, point blank, "Stop." At the word, a small flare of purple aura scattered around his body before quickly retreating.

Jin stared, open mouthed, at her husband. Yes, she knew he had low blood pressure in the morning and really hated being woken up in the middle of the night for any reason, but he'd never complained about the crying. She almost started getting mad when a little sound reaches her ears.

Giggles.

Confused, she tiptoes over to look inside the cribs. The little girls were giggling, legs tucked up as they stared at their father. Junko was reaching up with a tiny hand, making a grabbing motion as she did so. Her sister followed suit as Jin glanced over at Kyoya's face. He was staring down at the little girls in complete puzzlement, even as he let go of the cribs and let the girls grab at his fingers instead.

"I don't think they're scared of your angry face, Glasses." Despite how she'd wanted to get angry at his temporary loss of temper, Jin couldn't help but smile as Kyoya continued to watch his girls in surprise, "This is going to be a very entertaining eighteen years."

*3 years later *

*August 1st*

"Come on, Jun-chan. Say 'ahhhh'..."

"Mm-mm!" The little girl shook her head with a smile, pressing her lips together as she did so. Setsuko laughed happily from her matching booster seat, stopping only when Kyoya turned the spoonful of applesauce towards her. She quickly shouted 'No' before covering her mouth with her hands, both of the girls laughing at the word.

Their father frowned, which only served to make the girls laugh harder. Seriously, they were too old to be making him feed them by hand, but here he was. And to think, he and Jin had thought they were doing so well when the twins hadn't gone directly into the 'terrible two's. Looks like they were only late bloomers.

Taking in a deep breath, he lowered the spoon and rested his head on his fist, "I thought you two loved applesauce."

"No!" They giggled in unison, Junko repeating the word in English for good measure. Above his head, Kyoya can faintly hear the water rushing through the pipes as Jin took a quick shower. He almost wishes he could've asked one of his friends to babysit the twins just so he could have a day off with his wife, but they all had children of their own now, most of them not even a year old. And Kyoya did love spending time with his beautiful daughters... even if they were driving him crazy at the moment.

Taking in a deep breath, he grabbed the spoon and started moving it towards Junko, who abruptly screamed with a huge grin on her face. He almost dropped the spoon. Junko stopped, but then Setsuko turned towards her sister and screamed back. And now they were screeching at each other, both trying to reach a higher note than the other. They must've inherited their mother's singing voice, because the screams were plenty long and they didn't seem to be running out of air quickly. If their neighbors lived any closer, they probably would've thought Kyoya was murdering his daughters.

Hardly able to take it, he dropped the spoon back on the plate with a large clatter and falls back in his chair, covering his face with his hands. How does Jin do it? Am I just a bad father? I'm definitely a terrible husband if it falls to Jin to make them eat. I swear, she's been doing everything for the girls lately even with working from home on top of it. And I can't even help with getting them to eat lunch? How's Jin going to take it?

The man almost contemplates slipping out to the back porch for a moment and getting some fresh air, but... the girls are quiet.

Surprised, he drops his hands to look at them. They squeal and giggle, kicking their feet and watching their father expectantly.

No way.

Sitting up a little, he eyes his girls warily. They're almost three , he reminds himself, but still brings his hands up again to cover his face.

One... two... three!

He pulls his hands away, prompting more laughter. Kyoya smirks in triumph.

The trio continues to play Peek-a-Boo for the next couple minutes, putting the girls in such a good mood they start munching on their carrot sticks all by themselves. Even Kyoya starts having a good time, sticking is tongue out at the girls every so often just to make them laugh harder. In the back of his mind, he knows he should be feeling ridiculous, but for some reason he doesn't. Perhaps it's from being a parent for so long. Or he just loved his daughters.

"Peek... a... boo! "

Junko squeaks with laughter, clapping her hands while Setsuko starts covering her own face. "Daddy! Daddy! Peek-a-boo!" She'd uncover her face and quickly cover it again, shouting out 'peek-a-boo' quite randomly, but it serves its purpose and gets Kyoya to laugh. That's around the time he noticed his wife crying in the staircase, standing on the bottom stair with a hand over her face.

Worried, he stands up and runs over to her, leaving the sisters to play the game by themselves.

"Jin-" he's cut off with her throwing her arms around his neck and sobbing into his shoulder. It took the man a moment and quite a bit of panicking before he realized that Jin wasn't upset. She was grinning. These were happy tears.

"Jin?"

"I'm... just... so happy! You're such a good Daddy, Kyoya! Oh, God, that was beautiful!" She kept crying, words growing garbled.

"Ah..." He's not quite sure what to say other than to continue rubbing her lower back. This wasn't exactly normal behavior for his wife. In fact, the last time she'd done something like this was when he had surprised her with some sort of gift or thoughtful action when she... had been...

The couple seems to come to the same conclusion at the same time, pulling away a bit to stare down at her stomach.

Jin blinks away her tears, " No way… "

Kyoya smirks, "I do believe that's pregnancy number two."

* Present Day *

*September 18th*

"Daddy! Daddy!"

Kyoya looked up from his paper filled desk just in time to see two bright-eyed little girls run in, practically feeling his eyes softening at the sight of his daughters.

Setsuko's pink dress skirt fluttered around her legs while Junko's pant hems kept jumping up with every step, showing off her Hello Kitty socks. Kyoya was suddenly grateful to Hikaru and Kaoru always offering to babysit. The twins had started wanting to dress themselves every morning, but they hardly ever clashed because of all the outfit 'lessons' they pseudo-uncles gave them. Not to mention the cute clothes they were given all the time for their birthday.

Pushing himself away from his desk, Junko was the first one to take residence on his lap, her long black hair pulled up into pigtails with her favorite purple ribbons to avoid falling into her face. Setsuko didn't seem to mind being left on the ground. She just grabbed his right hand and smiled prettily at her father.

"What are you two doing in here? It's not time for reading already, is it?" He glanced at the clock. Nope, it was only two in the afternoon.

"No, Daddy. Is it okay that we're in here while you're workin'?"

"Mommy said we could this time, but we want to make sure!"

Internally cursing their mother's name for trying to give him a break from his work with sabotage, he pulled his other girl into his lap, "It's alright, girls, but just this once , alright? No matter what your Mommy says, I'm not just hiding from you all down here."

He frowns and narrows his eyes at them, which only makes the girls laugh. The look dissipates back into a gentle smile as the girls start telling him about the simple homework problems they had just been solving for their kindergarten class.

To everyone's amusement, Kyoya's children had turned out to have the same reaction that their mother had when he became grumpy; which was to laugh. He had, at first, tried to keep that discovery a secret. But Jin told Haruhi, who told her husband, who proceeded to tell everyone else in their family and friend group.

However, no one besides Jin had witnessed it until a few months ago.

Everyone had gathered at the Ootori household for the twin's fifth birthday, all three generations together and doting on all of their children including the birthday girls. Tamaki, of course, accidentally made a small comment on the food Jin had made by hand and the ravenet had let the barest traces of his evil aura leak out when his children began laughing. When he looked around, he saw that the other kids were nervously looking away, but his two daughters and newborn son were all smiling happily. Setsuko had run up to him, asking to be picked up, and began squishing her father's face, trying to make him make that 'angry' face again.

His parents and siblings had laughed the hardest.

Suddenly, Setsuko perked up, her hair bouncing over her shoulders, "We forgot! Ju-Ju, remember? Mommy said you have to come upstairs, Daddy! Right away!"

"Yeah, what Se-su said! Hurry, Daddy! You hav'ta hurry! Mommy said it was super important! C'mon!"

As the little girls started tugging on their father's hands, horrible thoughts started filling Kyoya's head.

Jin had fallen down.

Kazuki was hurt.

The company had called because a project dropped through.

Or the worse possibility of all...

Something had happened to the baby.

Charged with adrenaline, Kyoya quickly scooped the twins up in his arms and took off, rushing out of his home office and towards the staircase. There was a white noise filling his ears by the time the three ascended from the basement, heart thudding wildly as the door burst open and they entered the parlor. He spun around to face towards their living room just in time for Jin to release his son's hands.

"Da!" The small brunet boy squealed when he saw his father standing before him and started waddling forward on shaking legs.

"Da, Da, Da!" Continuing to babble, Kazuki held his arms out for his father, his mouth stretched into the biggest smile possible for the little 15-month-old as he walked towards the older man.

Immediately, all of the worry and energy left Kyoya's person, causing him to sink down to his knees and onto the carpet. Releasing his daughters, he instead held his arms outstretched for his youngest as the little boy continued with his first steps.

Junko dropped down beside her father, hitting the ground with splayed hands and calling out encouragements for her baby brother. Meanwhile, her twin carefully climbed onto Kyoya's back, going on about how Ka-ki had pulled himself up with the help of the couch when their Mommy had told them to go get him from the office.

Kyoya couldn't keep his eyes off of his son as he staggered carefully and calculatedly across the room. So many people had told him that while the girls looked like Jin but with his hair, Kazuki was a spitting image of his father with his mother's rich brown hair, brown eyes, and captivating smile.

With his last few steps, the toddler fell forward into Kyoya's hands, looking up at his father all giggly. Clearly pleased with himself.

Pulling his son against his chest, Kyoya looked up at his wife who was sitting on the couch, a small lump just starting to show on her stomach for the third time in the past 6 years. She was smiling warmly at the scene, the smile turning into a grin as her husband stood up to move over to the couch. Setsuko tightened her grip and ended up piggy-backing with her father across the carpet, Junko running alongside him.

Sitting down into the cushions, Kyoya pressed a quick kiss to Jin's lips as their children started situating themselves in their laps.

"Mommy? Daddy?" The couple looked down and found themselves faced with Tamaki-level puppy-dog eyes. Kyoya was going to have to have a talk with their uncle over what he did and didn't teach his nieces and nephew. If they started flirting with their classmates on the playground, bones would be broken.

"Since Zu-ki can now walk by himself-"

"-can we please get a puppy?"

" Pleeeeease? "

Kyoya smirked, flipping a strand of hair from one side of Setsuko's head to the other so her part remained straight, "You really want a dog that bad?" The girls nodded, Kazuki nodding along even though he didn't really know what he was agreeing too.

Jin hummed, resting her head on her husband's shoulder, "I dunno, Glasses. They make a pretty convincing case."

"Says the woman who wants a dog probably more than they do."

"Guilty. You've got the final say."

The ravenet raised an eyebrow at the three pairs of brown eyes staring up at him. Briefly, his eyes flickered to the baby bump that would result in his youngest child. He secretly hoped that, whichever gender it was, he'd pass his grey eyes down to at least one of his children. He knew Jin was hoping for that, too. Either way, the thought of the fourth Ootori gave him an idea.

"Once your mother's had the baby and they start walking… perhaps we can visit the shelter."

The twins gasped, pure joy radiated from their faces as they wrapped their arms around their parents, staying mindful of their little siblings, both born and unborn. Now full of energy and imagining what their life would be like with another little sibling and a dog in the house, they jumped down to go find toys to play with. Of course, as soon as Junko pulled the legos out from their play corner Kazuki started squirming in his father's lap. With an amused smile, Kyoya set the boy down on the carpet and watched him crawl after his sisters, who quickly included him in their project.

Kyoya felt Jin cuddle up to his side and looked down at her. Her eyes twinkled with humor and happiness.

"We did discuss it. And I know that you've been thinking about adopting a dog since we moved out of the apartment."

"I know. I just didn't expect you to tell them outright. We're never going to here the end of it, those girls are just as manipulative as you are." Kyoya pinches her side lightly and she laughs softly, "So, will you forgive me for sending the twins into your office so early?"

"You mean the sabotage? I believe I can forgive the intrusion this one time. It was for a good cause."

Jin smiles wider and kissed his cheek.

* That Night *

"Mommy?"

"Yes?" Jin gently kissed Setsuko's forehead, her hands gently tucking the girl in.

"Can you tell us a story?"

The woman heard a bit of shuffling above her head and leaned out from underneath the bottom bunk just enough to watch as her other daughter move to peek over the edge, "Can we, Mommy? We went to get Daddy when Zu-ki walked!"

Knowing she was outvoted, Jin smiled gently, "Alright."

The little girls excitedly wiggled out from underneath the sheets, Junko skillfully climbed down the ladder from the upper bunk so all three three could walk over to the couch. The twins had moved to the room closest to the staircase after they didn't need the nursery any longer, settling in the second largest room in the house considering they'd be sharing it for some time. Next to the window that overlooked the front yard, there was a medium sized bookshelf and a cushy couch that the girls had dubbed the 'Story Spot'. Every story time ever took place here.

Their mother sighed as they settled in, hiding a smile as the twins tucked themselves into her sides. She knew which story the girls wanted to hear tonight. She got a 'request' like this every so often. And she never got tired of telling it. What was better, was that the girls never asked for it outright any more once their parents started questioning why they wanted to hear it so much. It was funny watching the girls try to conceal their intentions. They didn't have their parent's poker faces yet.

"Alright, girls. What story do you two want tonight?"

The twins giggled before announcing in unison, "Make one up!"

"Oh? Anything you want in the story in particular?"

More giggling.

"Make it about a pretty maiden!"

"And a handsome roughian!"

"O...kay. If you're sure..." she started running her fingertips through their hair, making it through Setsuko's twice before coming to the bottom of Junko's locks, "Once upon a time, there was a beautiful maiden who lived in a flowery meadow, just a little ways away from a thriving kingdom. It was a simple place, with simple pleasures, but the maiden who lived there thought it was perfect."

"She had a sister, right?"

"A little sister?"

Jin smiled a little wider, not upset at the interruption. This happened every story night. She knew where this was heading. "Yes, a little sister. Not much younger, mind you, and with such close ages, they were always together and knew what the other wanted to say without needing to talk. It was their own special magic. Now, our story begins one early fall day-"

"No, Mommy, it was the spring!"

"Yeah!"

"Oh, silly me, I forgot. An early spring day, no different from any other. The older sister was outside in their garden. The cherry trees around their home were in full bloom, the soft pink petals just starting to fall in beautiful waves. The girl brushed a couple stray ones out of her hair-"

"Her brown hair!"

"Yeah, she had brown hair!"

Jin laughed lightly, "Okay, girls. Be truthful, what story do you really want to hear?"

At their discovery, the twins giggled again, "Can you tell us the story of how you and Daddy met?"

"And fell in love?"

"Again?" Kyoya suddenly appeared at the doorway, where he had actually been listening in since Jin began her storytelling. Kazuki was blinking sleepily in his arms, turning a little to nuzzle at his father's chest as the two moved into the room. "I would assume you two would get tired of that story eventually."

The girls shook their heads, very seriously, "Oh, no, Daddy. Never."

"Se-su and I promised each other we wouldn't get boyfriends unless it happened like it did with you and Mommy."

At that, Setsuko pouted, "But when we told some girl on the playground your story, she told us that it wasn't true. That you're supposed to date a lot of people when you're old enough before you get married."

Jin hummed, still petting her daughter's soft hair, "Some people have a hard time finding the person they love. I suppose I was lucky enough to find your father. I only had one boyfriend before I married him."

The girls gasped, leaning closer. Was she saying… that she…

"Now," Kyoya slowly sat down on the couch with them, gently bouncing their baby brother in his arms, "Don't start thinking I was boyfriend number two. And, by a stroke of luck, I too only had one girlfriend before I married your mother." At his confirmation, the girls relaxed.

"I wanna only have one boyfriend."

"One who looks at me like Daddy looks at Mommy," Junko agreed.

"Like what?"

Setsuko gasped and pushed at her mother's thigh, staring at her father, "Like that, Mommy! Like that!"

Jin looked at Kyoya just in time for the girls to whine, "No Daddy! Why'd you stop?"

"Stop what? This?" He looked back at his wife and studied her. Her brown eyes curious as she looked back, and yet playful still. Teasing.

What look? She asked.

He felt a half smile appear. A warm feeling expanded across his chest as they sank further into it. Kyoya reached over with his right hand, cupping her cheek in a gentle caress.

I love you so much, he responded.

"That look, Mommy."

Blinking and trying to hide her grin, Jin turned back towards the little girls, "Oh... I see. And you want our story tonight?" They nodded, Junko lightly fisting one of her hands into her father's shirt to tug him closer. He conceded, still slowly bouncing his son who was now contently sucking his thumb.

The couple shared another smile before Jin leaned back into the couch, "Very well. Do you want Aunt Haru's and Uncle Tamaki's story, too?" Two heads nodded quickly and she sighed, "Then I suppose I should start the day your Aunt Haru decided to stay behind after school ended, to look for a quiet library so she could study…"

* A few hours later *

"Your father and I watched as fireworks went off above the school, showering everyone in different colored lights. Your Aunt Haru and Uncle Tamaki were standing a little ways away, still in a dancing position even though they weren't moving. I told your father that I was sure the whole day had been a dream. I'd never been so happy before in my life, and he offered to prove to me that it was real. He kissed me beneath the fireworks, promising in words rather than actions that we did it. We had won. And that was only the beginning."

Jin stopped talking, letting the room slip into total silence. Junko and Setsuko were sound asleep at her sides. Kazuki had been placed in his own room across the hallway by his father when she began recounted their first car trip together to the little boy's sisters. Kyoya was the only listener still awake, watching her with that special look he saved only for her.

They waited for a moment, just in case the girls weren't really asleep, but eventually Kyoya scooped up the girl closest to him to take to bed. Cradling Junko in his arms like he was holding the light of salvation, Kyoya carried his daughter across the room to place on the top bunk. Jin wanted to help him by carrying Setsuko, just as she used to, but knew he wouldn't be pleased that she was exerting herself while pregnant with their fourth child.

So, she remained seated as he came back to collect their other daughter, and was still there when he walked over to help her up.

They stayed standing there for a moment, pressing their foreheads together in the silence.

" I never get tired of that story. "

" Me neither. "

Jin sighed and pulled away, leading her husband out of the room and into the hallway, where she paused once more. Kyoya had left the door to Kazuki's room open, in case the little boy woke up, and from this angle she could see all three of her children sleeping peacefully. Slipping behind her, her husband's hands came up to protectively cradle her somewhat protruding belly. It was a familiar position, one they had recreated often over the past two, now three, pregnancies Jin had gone through.

The woman sighed in bliss, leaning back to rest her head in the crook of her husband's neck, " Glasses? "

Her husband hummed lowly, lacing their fingers together as hers joined his across her stomach, " Yes? "

She turned back to him, eyes shining nothing but love, " I'm so glad Haru accidentally wandered into your club room that day. "

Kyoya plants a kiss on her lips, " Me too. "