Chapter 61: He Said, She Said

Two pairs of footsteps clicked against the sidewalk, accompanied by the occasional swish of a dress skirt or pant legs brushing against each other.

"I hate this thing."

The tall brunet smirked as he gave his companion an amused side eye, "Do I point out the irony of that statement now or later? "

"Shut up." Haruhi tugged at the dress collar, grimacing, "You'd think they'd make the girl's uniform with thinner material considering the summer heat. I'm roasting! "

"It's probably because females run naturally colder than males. Looks like your biology is coming to bite you in the butt."

Haruhi did his best to glare at his older brother, but when Jun turned to face him and stuck out his tongue with the most serious expression he could muster, they both succumbed to laughter. The shorter brunet lightly punched his brother's arm, "You're a jerk, Niichan."

"So you say, little Haru." Jun threw an arm over Haruhi's shoulders, ruffling his hair briefly before letting go. Haruhi let out a number of complaints as he quickly tried to fix his look. With a little assistance, he looked perfectly presentable by the time the brothers walked through Ouran's front gates.

Immediately the other students started whispering, multiple eyes following the sibling's procession across the grounds. Girls cooed as Jun smiled along to whatever Haruhi was saying, letting his little sister talk as much as she needed before offering his own input. The boys were a little less excited, nervously eyeing the tall brunet, all of them well aware of Jun's… protective streak regarding his sister and their friends at the Hostess Club. It was never more nerve wracking than when they were trying to confess their feelings with the scary boy burning a hole through the back of their heads.

Of course, when Jun's roaming eyes landed on the ravenette waiting for him at the front entrance, a large portion of the student body exchanged amused glances. That huge grin wasn't exactly subtle.

"Hey, Kyou-chan!"

The girl smiled back at the boy, trying not to appear too eager as she watched him bound up the steps towards her, "Morning, Jun."

Behind his brother's back, Haruhi rolled his eyes before continuing his way into the school. No doubt the twins were already waiting for him in their classroom. As it was, Jun barely remembered to wave his brother goodbye, still exchanging pleasantries with his classmate.

"So, should we wait for Tami-chan or head straight to class? Your call today."

The girl hummed, "No. She almost made us late the last time she arrived after you and Haruhi. Best not risk it."

"Oh, yeah." Jun rolled his eyes, gesturing for the two of them to walk inside, "What was her excuse again? She couldn't find her mascara?"

"Her favorite mascara, apparently." The two laughed as they continued down the hallway, both of them pretending not to notice the winks and smiles from the other students and simultaneously hoping the other didn't mention them. Kyou didn't know if she should feel encouraged or embarrassed by the blatant amount of support for the potential relationship between her and Jun Fujioka. Or JunKyou to the Fan mobs.

Even so… she couldn't help but admit to herself it was a nice thought. She did like Jun very much. It was most definitely a crush on her part. The only issue was what Jun thought of her. He was nice to her and seemed to enjoy her company… but he acted the same way with the other hostess, no matter what anyone else said. And then there was that whole 'almost arranged marriage' with Honey-senpai and-

"So… what are you not telling me?"

Kyou just barely represses a jump, hastily brushing behind her left ear with her fingers despite her hair being pulled up in a ponytail, "What?"

The boy barely brushed their arms together in a repressed form of a shoulder bump, giving her his best 'sly' smile, "Don't play coy, Glasses. I know you and Tami-chan are planning something special for hosting hours today."

"Well…" Hoping her cheeks weren't flushed red, Kyou raised her eyebrows at him, letting her lips curl into a half smile, "If I tell you, it wouldn't be a surprise anymore, now would it?" The ravenette was rewarded with a momentarily blank expression before Jun leaned closer, eyes dancing with glee.

"Oh? It's a surprise, is it?"

Not trusting herself to speak, she gave his chest a light shove before walking into their classroom, Jun right behind her.

At the other end of the school building, Tamiko Suoh was not a happy camper. The blonde unhappily stalked her way through the halls of Ouran Academy, barely managing to wave back to the rest of the student body as she hurried to her classroom.

Honestly! I run late one day and now my friends abandon me. Nice. Really nice of them. Pouting, the blonde came to a stop just inside the doorway for class 2-A, preparing herself to thoroughly chew her two "friends" out for not waiting at the front doors for her, when she abruptly stopped. All of her anger and annoyance vanished at the sight before her. Jun had once again dragged his chair over to Kyou's desk, sitting backwards on it with his arms resting on the back. The boy was smiling gently as Kyou continued to talk, probably about the book currently in her hands. And, if Tamiko wasn't mistaken, the book actually belonged to Jun. He must've loaned it to her.

Rolling her eyes, the blonde walked over to her seat, "Thanks for waiting."

"Morning, Tami-chan! I see you found all your makeup this morning."

She stuck her tongue out at the boy, but allowed the teasing to go unchallenged. It was something she and the other hostess had quickly grown used to being friends with the Fujioka boys: casually gentle 'roasting'.

No, she was too busy staring her best friend down to fire back at the boy, but Kyou was resolutely staring at the book in hand. Tamiko rolled her eyes again. It would appear that her friend was having second thoughts about their plan. But honestly, what else could she do at this point?

*Flashback*

"Stop stalling."

"I'm not stalling anything."

Tamiko raised an eyebrow, "Then how come you're still single?"

At the question, Kyou's cheeks turned a soft pink, the girl peeking over her best friend's shoulder. Jun hadn't moved from his spot since the last time she checked. The brunet was leaning against a pillar, chatting easily with a guest who was waiting for his turn to sit with Haruhi.

Kyou watched as Jun nodded along to the other boy's words, his eyes suddenly performing a full sweep of the music room. As his brown eyes lingered on the twins' table, she felt her heart melt just a little more for the kind boy. He cared so much for their safety. Even though each of the hostess' had their own alert bell as well as their own screams should a guest overstep his boundaries, their 'security guard' still made it a priority to keep an eye out for any of them becoming uncomfortable. Gosh, she was head over heels for him, wasn't she?

Once Jun is satisfied with Hikaru and Kaoru's personal bubbles, he looked over to Kyou's table and raised an eyebrow at it's emptiness. She watched as he pushed himself away from the pillar, the other boy's conversation faltering as Jun began looking around the room more seriously.

The moment he spotted her and Tamiko standing a little ways off from the crowd his shoulder's physically deflated. Leaning back into his relaxed stance as well, he gave the ravenette a raised eyebrow, to which she shook her head. Kyou watched as his upper body bounced in what was unmistakably a chuckle before he gave her a wink and turned back to face the boy standing beside him.

A few involuntary giggles escaped before Kyou turned back to her friend, who was staring at her incredulously. Her smile vanished, being quickly replaced by a much darker blush than before.

"And you seriously think he doesn't like you back?"

"Tamiko-"

"No. No, I'm done beating around the bush, for you or otherwise! How long are you going to wait? The boy doesn't have to make the first move, you know!"

Kyou opens her mouth in an attempt to wave her friend away from whatever crazy idea she was getting now, but gave up before a single word passed her lips. Tamiko's mouth was set in a straight line. That look could only mean one thing...

*End Flashback*

*After School*

Reaching into the front pockets of their respective suitcases, the Fujioka's gave the rest of the club surprised looks at what they found.

"Our swimsuits…"

"Are we going to the beach again?"

Sure enough, through the limos windows a familiar villa suddenly appeared through the surrounding treeline, along with a long expanse of sand. Little waves gently lapped at the shore, the sunlight bouncing off the water in brilliant sparkles.

The limousine pulled to a stop on the crescent drive and the door instantly burst open, most of the teenagers hurrying inside to change. Just as they did last time they used Kyou's family villa, the whole club was spending the night, in order to maximize their time on the beach. Except this time it was just them the whole day. No guests. Hopefully no uninvited visitors. Just the club spending time with each other.

Kyou went to follow the others when a hand grabbed at her wrist. Tamiko narrowed her eyes at her friend, "You'll do what we agreed, right? The whole reason we came-"

"Tamiko, please. Can't we just enjoy a day at the beach without you trying to push Jun and I together?"

"Perhaps you should listen to your friend, Madam. That boy would be good for you." Kyou turned to stare open-mouthed at her driver, who was wisely looking off into the distance. The ravenet didn't dare face her friend again, pulling out of the blonde's grip before hurrying inside with her suitcase trailing behind her.

She could hardly breath until she reached her personal bedroom. Letting out a deep sigh, she leaned backwards against the doors. There was no doubt in her mind that the entire Hostess Club would be pushing at her and Jun to admit something to each other the whole day. Possibly even into the night. And now even people outside of the club were 'shipping' them?

She groaned. What had her life become?

A soft knock coming from right behind her head had Kyou jumping about a foot into the air, spinning around to stare at the white wood, "Yes?"

"Kyou-chan?" Oh, great. "Haruhi wants to head down to the beach. Do you want me to wait for you or…"

The girl's heart melted all over again, and it took every ounce of willpower she possessed to respond, "No. You go ahead, Jun. I'll meet you down there in a bit."

"Okay, Glasses. I'll set up a chair for you."

"Thank you."

She didn't breathe again until she could no longer hear Jun's footsteps down the hallway. Oh, right. Jun's bedroom was right next to hers. Great.

Deciding there was no use in procrastinating the inevitable, the ravenette quickly lifted her suitcase onto her bed. She'd move it to the floor later on tonight when they came back up for dinner, but for now this was much easier for finding… her…

Eyes narrowing, the girl readjusted her glasses before digging further into the suitcase. She could've sworn… Hadn't she placed her swimsuit right at the top? The suitcase hadn't been shifted around that much during the trip… right?

Before she started unpacking her whole wardrobe for the trip onto her bed, another knock came from the door. Immediately, Kyou understood what was going on. Biting back her rising annoyance, she walked over to the doors and pulled them open just a crack. Lo and behold…

"Having some trouble?"

Kyou scowled, "What did you do?"

Hikaru gasped, pressing a hand to her chest, just slightly above her bikini top, "After all this time…"

"...everything we've been through…" Kaoru continued, looking just as offended.

"...you still don't trust us? "

Kyou didn't respond.

"Okay, that's fair." The redhead's signature smirks were back in place as they held up a bag for her to take, "Boss Lady said you might experience some difficulty finding your swimsuit when we got here, so we took the liberty of picking the perfect one from our father's latest summer collection for you to wear!"

"It's not just a bunch of strings knotted together, is it?"

"Hey, take it easy on the imagination, there."

"We want you to seduce Jun-senpai, not kill him."

The ravenette glared that them for another three seconds before snatching the bag from their hands, "Thank you." And she slammed the door shut.

" Hey, we're just trying to help you! " Kaoru called through the wood.

" Yeah! With catching a man! "

The twins cackled all the way down the hallway, leaving the ravenette alone with her thoughts once again. Once her annoyance at her friend's meddling faded away, she gave the bag in her hands a nervous once over. She tried not to feel offended, but what had been wrong with her old swimsuit? Jun had said it looked nice… she'd been hoping for another compliment from him this time around, too.

Deciding to bite the bullet, she pulled the swimsuit out. Her jaw dropped. Oh… oh no...

The brunet hummed to himself as he stared up at the villa. Kyou was taking a little longer than he had expected her to. Everyone else was already out and having a good time. The twins were splashing around in the shallows, Haruhi was sitting on a large rock poking at the various sea creatures resting along the edge of the water, and Honey and Mori were building a sand castle with Tamiko's help.

Jun sighed, trying not to worry so much for the ravenette. If he wasn't careful, he might come off as stalker-like, obsessing over Kyou like that. Leaning back in his seat a little more, he sketched a few more lines of Mitsuru's smiling face. Humming a little, he quickly added a flower-decorated speech bubble on the upper right-hand side of the drawing, throwing the name "Takaka" into it. The 3rd year's guests were oddly enamored with the blonde's adoration of her cousin.

"Are you honestly working on our day off? Seriously, you have the gall to say I'm the workaholic?" Jun glanced over his shoulder, signature smirk in place for two seconds before his mouth fell open. The girl he was staring at blushed, trying and failing to act casual as she sat down beside the brunet, "Does it look bad?"

"I…no! No, not at all. You look…" Jun swallowed, his mouth having gone dry. He wasn't aware Kyou owned a black bikini… let alone one that looked so damn good on her. It's not like Kyou being hot was a secret or anything but… dear lord . Not to mention she had let her hair down from her usual neat and tidy ponytail, so her long black hair was draped over her shoulders and back in a way he wasn't used to. He swallowed again, clearing his throat softly, "You look real nice, Kyou."

The girl gave him a soft smile, "Thanks. The twins gave me the bikini." She tugged at the single strap over her left shoulder, "I just wish they had warned me before Tamiko stole my swimsuit out of my bag."

At that, Jun leaned forward in his seat, "Are you not comfortable showing so much skin? I'm sure they'd give your stuff back if you asked-"

"No, no, I'm fine. I have a dark purple one that looks a bit like this." Willing up her courage, she reached over and squeezed the boy's tanned forearm, "But thanks for your concern. That's really sweet of you."

Jun smiled back and reached up to give her hand a squeeze of his own before letting her pull away. Readjusting his sketchbook against his right leg, Jun gave his sketch of Mitsuru one last once over before flipping to a fresh page. As he began sketching Kyou sitting on her chair, a hand over her eyes to watch the others playing, he couldn't help but send a silent thank you to Tamiko, Hikaru, and Kaoru.

Across the beach, Haruhi was watching his brother and the vice president interacting. Even from this distance, the two boys could easily read each other's body language. Jun looked over at his brother just in time for Haruhi to lean back on the rock a little, inclining his head in Jun's direction.

Jun responded by making a cutting motion across his neck. Haruhi raised his hands before turning back to bothering a cluster of starfish. About time...

*Time Skip*

Whistling the familiar tune of a Fall Out Boy song, Jun unhurriedly made his way down the steps from the villa, occasionally tossing the water bottle he was holding into the air before catching it again. His stomach growled lowly, protesting his return to the beach after catching a few whiffs of the dinner cooking from the kitchen, but he ignored it. One hour more and everyone would be called inside to change out of their swimsuits and sit down for a delicious dinner.

He smirked at all the jokes he had planned for later on in regards to the last time they had all eaten together at the Ootori villa. Oooh… Haru was going to hate him...

"Hello, there!"

"Yoo hoo!"

"Pretty boy, over here!"

Jun stopped mid-step, looking around in confusion and nervousness. Sure enough, a small group of girls in sundresses were waving at him, two of them occasionally hiding their faces in their hands or behind their third friend. Frowning, the brunet changed course and walked further up the beach. To his annoyance, the girls took that as some sort of permission and began walking down the sand to meet him halfway. The four came to a stop just a meter or two off the pathway, the girl's heels giving them more than a little trouble traversing the sand.

Without a thought, Jun held out a hand to stop them from going any further, giving the girls his best 'I'm-sorry-about-this' face, "This is a private beach, ladies. I'm afraid you have to leave." To his confusion, the girls just giggled harder.

"You look really strong."

"Do you work out?"

Blinking, he ignored their words and tried again, "This beach is owned by the Ootori Group. You're not allowed here, and I really need you to leave before someone calls security. I don't want to-"

"Oh, come on~" The girl in the middle batted her eyelashes, "You're not seriously gonna make us leave . We just got here… you haven't even told us your name." The other two nodded hastily, eyeing Jun's bare chest with little to no shame.

Jun raised an eyebrow and dropped his arm, fighting against the urge to cross his arms over his chest. He didn't want to call security… in fact, he wasn't sure if he had the authority to call security at all. Sure, most of the Black Onion squad that served the Ootori's knew of his honorary Haninozuka status and respected him as a fighter, just as much as they respected Mitsuru or Takaka, but to actually give them an order? It was quite possible that power lay solely with-

"Something wrong, Jun-kun?" Kyou suddenly appeared at his side, slipping her hand into his like it was second nature. In front of them, the girls left out soft gasps that sounded vaguely offended.

Smiling at the cunning nature of his beautiful crush, Jun gave her a beaming smile, "Not at all, Kyou-chan. I was just explaining to these nice girls that they had to leave your family's private beach." With ease, he flipped the water bottle so he was holding onto the upper half before offering it to the ravenet, "Your water, Dear."

"Thank you, Darling."

He marveled at her ability to make even grabbing a water bottle look graceful before turning back to the local girls, "Yeah, there's no problem here, right?"

But they were already gone, huffing and complaining as they hiked back up the sand in their three-inch heels. And there was no mistaking the venom in their eyes when they looked at Kyou over their shoulders. Jun felt the need to laugh when she merely waved and smiled back at them.

When the locals finally disappeared from view the two 2nd years headed back down to their chairs, letting their connected hands swing a little as they did so. With a short laugh, Jun bumped the girl's shoulder with his own, "I think those girls were a little into me."

" No… really? I never would've been able to tell."

At that he laughed louder, the sound echoing a bit between the villa and the sand dunes across the way, "Maybe when Haru's secret gets out we'll start a host club. Where handsome young men with too much time on their hands cater to the beautiful, lonely ladies of Ouran Academy?"

Kyou let out a breath of air that might've almost been a laugh, "You sound just as bad as Tamiko when she convinced me to start this club. Besides, where would we be without our security?" She leaned her head on the boy's shoulder, at first as a way to add a hint of teasing to the true statement, but instead of pulling away, they stayed like that all the way back to their chairs.

Jun certainly didn't seem to mind… and the other hostess were too busy with their sandcastle city to really pay attention anyways. Kyou smiled to herself at the thought, looking away with a blush as the two sat down.

Their fingers were still loosely twisted together between their seats.

Well if you wanted honesty, that's all you had to say~

I never want to let you down or have you go

It's better off this way!

For all the dirty looks

The photographs your boyfriend took

Remember when you broke your foot from jumping out the second floor?

Jun bounced his foot along to the melody, humming louder as he hit the chorus. Normally he'd be moving a lot more, perhaps even singing aloud to the song stuck in his head. But Kyou was leaning her head against his shoulder, and she looked so comfortable, he couldn't risk accidentally jostling her. Besides, as much as he loved MCR, the lyrics didn't seem very accurate right now. He felt… very okay.

The sand felt soft between his toes as he stretched his legs out, trying to catch the as much warmth from the setting sun as he could. His stomach was comfortably filled with the delicious dinner they had just finished, with the hinted promise of a sweet dessert whenever they decided to call it a day and retire to the villa for good.

And Kyou's hand was still warmly clasped in his, their fingers interlocked like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Giving the girl a hidden smile, he carefully let his head fall to the side to rest on top of hers. If he really concentrated, Jun could still faintly smell her mint shampoo, making his smile only grow.

At his side, Kyou let out a deep breath before reaching up with her free hand, wrapping it around the brunet's arm in an effort to hold him closer. Jun didn't even flinch at the touch, slowly stroking her thumb with his own. She swore her heart was going to beat out of her chest.

They've been holding hands for almost three hour straight now, Jun casually taking her hand beneath the dinner table and again after they washed up and headed back outside to watch the sun set. She could faintly hear the others talking some ways behind them. They were too far away to make out what they were saying, but Kyou would've bet her whole bank account that they were discussing ways to interfere with her and Jun, in an attempt to push them that one step further…

"Kyou-chan?"

"Mmm?" She shifted a little against his shoulder, causing him to lift his head away from hers. Glancing up, Kyou's stomach performed a backflipping routine. Jun wasn't looking at her, keeping his eyes on the red and orange waves dappling the ocean before them. Swallowing, she tried to focus on something other than the way the golden light was casting mysterious shadows across his face.

Jun took in a deep breath, then let it out slowly, "Could I try something?"

"Depends… will I enjoy it?"

He chuckles, finally returning Kyou's stare, "I sure hope so."

"Then go for it."

With only the barest hint of hesitation, the brunet leaned down. Kyou's eyelids fluttered shut as the boy's lips pecked her left cheek. He had pulled back completely by the time her eyes opened again. Brown eyes were glued to her face, attempting to gauge her reaction to his "something". Kyou's cheek still burned where his lips had been only a few seconds ago. Almost as if he had given her a brand rather than a kiss.

"Kyou?"

She abruptly pressed forward, untangling their fingers to throw her arms around his shoulders. Jun make a surprised noise in the back of his throat, throwing his right hand backwards to stop them from tumbling into the sand, his left coming up around Kyou's waist. Smiling against her lips, he carefully pushed himself back into a sitting position, his free hand holding her close. Though her grip on the back of his shirt was doing a decent enough job of that as it was.

Wolf whistles echoed their way up and down the beach, voices that unmistakably belonged to Hikaru and Kaoru screaming in celebration. Kyou pulled away from the kiss, an unsolicited giggle escaping when Jun leaned forward a little with her. The boy was grinning from ear to ear, reaching up to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear.

" Go get 'em, Kyou-chan! "

" Heck yeah! "

" That's what we're talking about! "

" Are you really gonna let her one-up you, Niichan? "

Jun seemed perfectly content just staring at the girl on his lap, but at Haruhi's comment he rolled his eyes before recapturing the ravenette's lips. Kyou couldn't help the little gasp she made, finding herself practically melting into the kiss. The cheers and laughter from the others grew louder, even as the two parted once again.

"Kyou? Will you be my girlfriend?"

She couldn't remember a time she had smiled more.

"Yes."