Le Portrait du Companion

Rated: M

Chapter One: No Subject

I'll never forget.

The moment that Haruhi and I married, Kyouya disappeared from my life.

Now, I'll admit, I hardly noticed at first. Haruhi and I were newlyweds, after all, and everyone of my dear friends in the Host Club had attended the wedding. In fact, Kyouya helped planned most of it! With his expertise at event planning and budgeting in the Host Club, my best friend had certainly come through. It was a miraculous day, with an array of beautiful spring flowers and Haruhi in her incredible wedding dress picked out by the Hitachiin brothers. Plain and homely that day she was not—she was a beauty to rival all beauties! Ah, but Haruhi had always been beautiful to me, in her own magical way.

So the life of newlyweds began! Haruhi and I were still in university, so it was a magical time of jugging both classes and the life of husband and wife. But of course, Haruhi was never one to be deterred from her studies! Even when I begged and whined for her attention, ha ha!, Haruhi remained steadfast.

Our friends made sure to visit us. The Hitachiin brothers always wanted to make sure I wasn't bothering Haruhi or distracting her from school. Mori-senpai and Honey-senpai, of course, were kind enough to be sure to check on me as well. I'm a delicate creature, after all! I need loving adoration to thrive, like a blossoming flower in the summer sun, and Haruhi was my light!

It wasn't until after Haruhi and I graduated from university and began to contemplate where our lives would take us, that I noticed that a certain someone had managed to skillfully evade us the entire time...

Now, of course, Kyouya didn't completely vanish. We still both had the same phone numbers after all these years, ad Kyouya would dutifully send me a text every so often... but never with words. No...

Instead, without a subject line, a picture of a very adorable black cat would pop up on the screen. As time, went on, I realized the cat went from cute, fluffy kitten with big bows around it's neck, to become a sleek black cat with a long, elegant tail. The bows, however, still remained, changing to fit the season or holiday around which the picture text arrived... and I would text back. 'How cute!', I would proclaim. 'Do a bigger bow next time!', I would reply. Kyouya had tricked me. With this, I still had contact. I would think about what he was up to, believe him to be okay, and then go about my fairy tale life with Haruhi.

But, the fairy tale was not to last forever.

Now, don't get me wrong. I still love Haruhi. More than anything, she was a good friend to me, and she taught me things I never would have learned or understood. I would have continued to live life with ignorance... and that would have been no good. She changed the Hitachiin brothers. She changed the Host Club.

And she changed Kyouya, too, that much was certain but...

I don't know what she changed him to.

We filed for divorce, not even four years into our marriage. It was a very painful affair. We argued, in a way that we had never done so before. There was plenty of crying, and I was alienated for a time with my friends. Hikaru and Kaoru didn't speak to me for quite some time, though Honey and Mori did reach out to me from time-to-time. The Suoh Family in particular, my Grandmother, was very cold to me. I had shamed the family yet again, with a decision I had fought so hard on. But in the end...

Even though Haruhi and I cared for each other very deeply... we just weren't right for none another... not for marriage, not for raising a family. Haruhi, in all her seriousness and practicalities, had her own dreams, her own visualization on what a husband and wife should be like... and I was still living in my own fantasy world. But what was so wrong with that?

Haruhi, I knew, would go on to be a fantastic lawyer, like she dreamed of being. Found myself equal parts sad and jealous. She knew what she wanted to do! What kind of man would sweep her off her feet and start a family with her...? Or, perhaps more to Haruhi's style, there would be no "sweeping"... just mutual compatibility. She had no need for dramatics. That much, she had taught me.

I found myself back in the second Estate, barred from the main estate until the drama and gossip died down about the 'failed marriage of the Suoh Family heir'. It was fine by me. I knew I would be unable to face my Grandmother. I could barely face myself, after all! And, still I had a lot of thinking to do, with a degree for International Business under my belt. What would I do? What would I become?

I had already smeared the name of the Suoh Family, so I found no real need to worry about 'taking over' for them, not at the moment. I knew, realistically, I would be incapable of doing so at the moment. I'd been wounded. My heart was broken, not only by Haruhi, but the absence of my friends.

Again, that's when I realized one was missing... and not just any friend. The man who, at one point, was my best friend. When I pulled up Kyouya's name on my messaging screen... all I found was text after text after text of one face—not human.

Noel.

That was the name of the cat. His name was Noel, uniquely French. A part of me wanted to believe it was homage to me, after all, I was the only thing French that had wormed its way into Kyouya's life.

...But...

Was I in Kyouya's life, anymore?

And in a flood of what one would call a great epiphany, I realized I knew nothing about Kyouya at all, beyond the day Haruhi and I got married. What had become of him? Had he graduated from university? Was he working under his brothers like he said he probably would? Was he seeing anyone? Why did he only send me pictures of his cat?

And just like that, I had the urge to see him again, to talk to him, to shower all my woes and worries upon him... because, unlike Haruhi, who had always turned a blind eye and groaned whenever I became too much to bear, Kyouya had always sat patiently and listened. He'd let me cry into his shoulder or grasp onto him hand and stand there with a plain, knowing smile until I had finished what I wanted to say. He always had advice, and, when he did not have advice, he had presence, a comfort that only best friends could offer.

More than ever, I needed that comfort now. The road ahead of me was long and difficult. If anyone, Kyouya would know what to do. He always knew what to do...

...Didn't he?

I called him. The phone rang, and rang, and rang... and I hoped beyond hope, he would answer.

Instead, it hit his voicemail.

"This is Kyouya Ootori. Leave a message." It was in Japanese, but then it was followed by Italian! When did Kyouya learn Italian? I knew he was good at speaking German, he had taken classes in Ouran, but...

The beep sounded. I had been sitting on my bed, clutching a pillow now, and I jumped when the sound appeared. I was supposed to leave a message! But what to say? It dawned on me that I hadn't spoken a word to Kyouya in years. The last time I looked at him, he was dressed in a handsome suit, and his eyes smiled at me, and a hint of one was at the corners of his mouth as he looked to me and said: "Congratulations.

"I hope you're happy."

There was silence on the other line. I still hadn't spoken. I gasped in shock into the phone.

"Oh! Kyouya!" I exclaimed, and slowly my voice settled down. At my feet, my dog Antoinette glimpsed up from where her head lay on the floor. "I meant to leave a message! Oh, well, I am leaving one now, I-" Now I was rambling! Silly of me! I corrected myself, hugging the pillow to my chest tight. "Let's see...

"It's been awhile, hm? I've run into some problems, and..." I hesitated. My shoulders slumped in my light-blue sweater.

"Oh, how selfish of me... running to you nearly in tears when I have a problem, but I don't even bother to ask how you're doing." And even though it was silent, it was almost as if he was still there. I could easily imagine Kyouya's humored smile on the other end of the line, and I continued. "I noticed your voicemail message was in Italian! Now, when did you learn Italian, Kyouya? I never thought you'd take the time to learn a romance language, hm? Ahhh...! Does that mean there's a special someone in Italy that you ha-"

The phone suddenly made a noise. My heart started to hammer a mile a minute. Kyouya was picking up! What did I say? What did-

"End recording. If you would like to re-record your message, press 1. If you would like to..."

My heart started evening out as the options on the phone rolled through. Oh, no. No. I was kidding myself. Of course Kyouya wouldn't pick up. We hadn't spoke in...

...Years.

I ended the call, setting my phone down on the bed. I hugged the pillow to me, laying down and curling up on my side. My eyes focused on the phone for a moment, before closing. No... I was just being silly again. I was still trapped in a fantasy where I was King of Ouran, where Haruhi was my Daughter, where the Host Club was my family, and Kyouya...

...Where Kyouya was my best friend.

The thoughts were quite depressing. I started drifting off to sleep. The real world was too sad at the moment. I didn't have any concrete plans made. Haruhi and I had only been apart for a couple of months at most. We hadn't spoken since the papers had been filed... and who could blame her? We needed to be apart, in order to move on with our lives, if only for a little while. Of course, I still had hope that one day, one day we would all be able to come together and friends, just like when were were in high school...

But I knew, that was most likely many, many years to come. So, until then...

...What could I do?

I woke up hours later to my phone giving off a pleasant chime. It was completely dark by then, and only a small light I had left on in the bathroom was on, streaming a thick line of light into the room. It draped across the bed, and over my smartphone, which blinked a soft blue light. Someone had texted me.

I blinked sleepily at it before picking it up, looking towards the bright screen. I was forced to squint my eyes... but even so, once I saw the sender, they widened, light flooding into them painfully.

A picture of a little black cat stared back. It was sitting in a window, tailed curled, wearing a fine diamond collar.

A cat...

He sent me...

I could feel my heart breaking. Mocking me. Kyouya was mocking me! He wasn't my friend at all! He didn't care a single bit, he didn't-

-Until I noticed what was in the window. It was a perfect shot of Tokyo Tower. I'd seen that view before. There was only one hotel that sat that high up to get such a miraculous view of Tokyo Tower. It gleamed in the center of the picture, with Noel's little yellow eyes watching.

Kyouya was...

...He was here! He was here in Japan! I knew he had left to Europe for school but, but-

"Come find me," I could hear him saying, and I was scrambling, to my feet, hurrying to find shoes even though it was already past midnight. Would Kyouya mind if I came to him at such a late hour? Or would he yell at me and tell me to go home and come at a decent hour instead of pounding at his door like an idiot? Oh, but... even yelling would be splendid—and I realized that more than anything, I just wanted to hear his voice.

"I hope you're happy."

I practically tripped down the stairs to get to the first floor. I was dragging one of the on-call drivers out the door with me.

Was I happy? I didn't want to ponder it. I didn't want to fathom sadness, I didn't want to admit that everything I had done, I had done wrong...

Was I a failure?

The scenery rushed by me in a daze, after instructing the driver where to go. I found myself at the Ritz-Carlton in Tokyo. I waited impatiently as the chauffeur opened the door, and I thanked him, telling him he could head back to the manor. The look on his face was confused, but who could blame him? I had been nothing but home-bound for nearly the entire time after I moved back into the Suoh Estate. I rushed into the first story of the building, to be greeted amiably by the woman at the front desk.

"Good evening." I did my best to give a winning smile, regardless of how desperate I felt. It worked, and the woman was flushing immediately. "I know this isn't normal protocol, but I had a friend contact me who is staying here. Would you happen to know what room a Kyouya Ootori is staying in?"

"Oh!" She let out, and the girl at the front desk flushed prettily again. "Ootori-sama mentioned a guest might be seeing him at some point..." She told me the room number. I thanked her enthusiastically, commenting on her lovely brown eyes, before escaping towards the elevator.

The rest is a blur, and I only say that, because the next thing I knew, I was pounding on Kyouya's door, demanding he let me enter... and when the door opened, I was in his arms, sobbing and then...

Nothing else.

When I came to, it was morning. I was buried in blankets. My pants were gone, but I was still in my sweater and socks, jeans crumpled on the floor beside me in the lavish hotel bed. The sun was streaming through the windows, platinum gold against white sheets. A small black cat was curled against my side, sleeping away peacefully with it's shining diamond collar.

True to rom-coms and buddy-comedies, I expected on the other side of who must have been Noel to be Kyouya, sleeping away as he tended to, hating to rise early. I was wrong, however. There was no Kyouya. The bed barely looked rumpled on the other side, as if no one else had slept there.

Instead, the soft tapping of keyboard keys caught my attention. I shifted on the bed, sitting up. Across the hotel suite, I saw Kyouya sitting at a table with breakfast in front of him. He was typing, dressed still in night clothes. Sleep pants and a robe were on him, and...

I couldn't help but stare at him. Different. Kyouya looked...

Of course, I should have known Kyouya would have grown. He looked taller—we my have even been the same height now. His hair was styled differently—swept back, mature, almost in a mafia-like fashion that only made him look devil-may-care. He still had his glasses, different ones now, but still silver, still framing his face perfectly. He had lost the boyish edge, the soft curve. It gave way to adulthood, and now, Kyouya was nothing short of handsome.

I sat in bed hugging another pillow. That seemed to be all I was capable of lately. Kyouya must have noticed my eyes on him, because he finally glanced over to me, capturing me with his ash-brown eyes for the first time in years.

"Finally awake?" Kyouya asked, and I stared at him, wide-eyed, as he started to stir his coffee, eyes going back to his laptop. "I was wondering if I'd have to wake you. I have a meeting at ten, so I can't be kept long.

"Though really, Tamaki, if you were going to stay the night, you could have at least brought some suitable clothes to change into. You expect to come along with me while wearing that?" Kyouya stopped stirring, bringing the mug of coffee up to his lips. His eyes were still on his computer as he took a drink. He swallowed, before continuing, setting down the mug. "Unless, of course, you plan on remaining in the hotel until I return. It's an option, but it will take a little longer for me to return for lunch. Perhaps we could have it in the hotel restaurant downstairs."

That was it.

I couldn't tell if I was going to laugh or cry. I made an odd noise. It was enough to have Kyouya looking at me again, and my arm lifted, covering my face shamefully. Crying. I was certainly crying. I could feel my tears soaking into the sleeve of my cashmere sweater. Shameful! But it was to be expected, after all.

"Tha-" I gasped it out. "That's the Kyouya I remember... that's..." After all this time... it felt like he had vanished under my fingertips. But he was still there! Still there all along.

But Kyouya spoke again, only a voice, his vision obscured by my tightly closed and covered eyes.

"I can only imagine what you were expecting," He drawled out. His voice was pleasant, familiar in the darkness. There was the clattering of dishes. "Stay here. I'll come back around one for lunch. I'm sure someone can run out and get you something to wear."

His footsteps moved across the hotel room, disappearing into the bathroom. I glanced at the time. It was just past eight am. What time had Kyouya woken up? It was amazing he wasn't in a sour mood... or... was he, and I had forgotten how to read the signs? I could feel my heartbeat quicken. I flattened myself down into the bed, covering myself with the blankets. It startled Noel, and the cat got up quickly, moving out of the way. I felt myself peeking out to look at the small animal.

Noel...

Somehow, this little thing had managed to keep Kyouya's attention all of these years. How had it managed such a feat? I didn't even know Kyouya liked cats! But it seemed that not only had Kyouya taken in a pet, but the little thing was his travel companion. It lived a good life, it seemed. I watched as Noel hopped onto the table where Kyouya had been, sniffing at his plate. A pile of ham and bacon had been left there, cut into tiny pieces... just for Noel, obviously. The cat began its feast, eating happily. The table had a cover silver tray left over... food for me, I assumed... if I could manage to get up.

But eventually, I did manage somehow, and I dragged myself over to the table in the living area of the suite. My legs were cold—but the bed and the comforter had been very warm and soft. It reminded me of when I used to share the bed with Haruhi. I felt my heart sink a little at the thought. I hadn't shared a bed with anyone in awhile... it was incredible, how used you could get sleeping beside someone. When it was gone, empty, then...

My hand grasped hold of the handle of the silver platter dome, and I lifted it to reveal the breakfast brought up to us. Kyouya had been thoughtful in his selection. It was a parfait, layered beautifully with grains and fruit. It was a good choice, if he had no idea when I was to wake up. Some muffins sat along side it, as well as a glass of juice. A napkin and spoon had been intricately wrapped with it. It was nothing that could grow cold if I neglected it.

I took my seat and began eating, though not with some trouble. Not that I had trouble eating, of course, but I was fascinated with the hotel Kyouya was staying in. No, it wasn't that the décor or anything was impressive... at least, by my standards. Someone like Haruhi would have been in awe, but this was the norm for people like Kyouya and I. No, it was just the sheer fact that Kyouya had been here, been so close and I didn't know. I had thought he was still overseas... because surely, if he was back in Japan, he would have told me... right?

But again... I hadn't spoken to him in four years. That odd feeling in my stomach returned.

I had come running to him with all of my problems...

What kind of friend was I?

I nearly jumped out of the seat when the bathroom door opened., clutching tight to the spoon, my mouth crammed full of yogurt and fruit. Kyouya was dressed for a business meeting, all right... a sharp, charcoal-grey suit that was only a few shades lighter than his hair, and a crisp white button up. His tie was nice was well—stark black, but with a pewter tie pin in the center and a matching lapel pin. Roses. They were roses. It was an oddly delicate touch, but it flattered him somehow. His dress shoes, with their winged tips, were dazzlingly shiny. I was always used to being impeccable alongside him, but at the moment, I just felt utterly and completely... pathetic.

But, even so, I wouldn't be deterred. I swallowed my parfait. Kyouya was adjusting the cufflinks on his suit. "Wow, you look incredible, Kyouya! With looks like yours you'll be sure to knock them dead!"

Kyouya pared me a particularly sharp glance. I felt wounded. I shrunk down, shoulders hunched, giving him a slightly pouting look. Had I said something wrong?

"It will take more than looks to settle this meeting, I'm certain," Kyouya answered. From the table, Noel mewled. Kyouya's eyes pulled away from me, settling on the cat. His hand lifted, and Noel and Kyouya shared a moment together. The cat nuzzled affectionately into Kyouya's hand, and Kyouya gave into its charms. For a moment, I couldn't help but feel a little bit jealous. It was just like us in high school! When I wanted attention, I would just glance at Kyouya and whine-

"Mommy..." I wailed out, and I felt tears bubbling to the surface of my face, watering up my eyes. I saw Kyouya's head turn sharply to face me, expression bewildered... before it became clouded over with wet, sopping tears.

Something pressed into my face. I realized it was a cloth napkin. Kyouya was holding it to me, and he let out an impatient sigh as I breathed woefully around the cloth.

"Don't start crying again." Again. So I must have been crying last night! Not that I could really remember anything. "Not now. Save your tears for when I return."

The napkin fell to the table as Kyouya released it, though it sufficiently soaked up my tears. I watched with reddening eyes as Kyouya packed up his laptop, picking it up along with his smartphone.

"I'm heading out," Kyouya stated firmly to me, and I just nodded, obediently. "Be ready at one."

He didn't wait for me to respond. Kyouya was out the door. I stared at t, hoping beyond hope that Kyouya would just turn around and come back. But of course, I'd been the run to barge into his life again. He couldn't just put everything on hold for me.

My eyes turned to Noel. The cat sat down on the table, looking after to where Kyouya had left, before looking back at me. I blinked towards the little black cat, once. Twice.

Noel just stared back.

-End Chapter One-

I wanted to write something a little... more mature. I don't plan on this one being a very long story, just something I thought would be interesting to write... and a bit of a breather from Lady Grey. Hope you all enjoy.

Please Review!