A/N: Thank you all so much for all your support throughout the course of this story! You inspired me and motivated me every step of the way, and I'm so thankful! ^_^

As for Ouran-related prizes, every one of my reviewers gets an invitation to the "A Little Less Speculation, A Little More Action" after-party: a grandiose pool party hosted by me and the host club that features each host in swimsuits (of course), lots of great *expensive* food, and a formal dance held after the swimming takes place! :D

Well, this is the last chapter of the story! It's an extra-long one for you guys, and I hope you enjoy it!! 3

CHAPTER EIGHT:

When we arrived at Kyoya-senpai's manor, I was shivering under my thin, cotton dress, and it wasn't only because it was raining so hard outside that the streets began to resemble Venetian canals. It wasn't even because I was scared of the thunderstorm; the boys had already talked me through it when it started, and I knew that I had to be brave for Tamaki-senpai's sake...this was too important to him for me to let my fear ruin his chance. After all, Kyoya-senpai did write that I always acted like the club was a burden, and I often did. But at least I didn't have to be a burden to them too.

Anyway, it was really Kyoya-senpai's manor itself that made me shiver. It was cold. Mysterious. Fear-inspiring. I almost felt sorry for Tamaki-senpai, having to walk into such a scary place and face its human counterpart.

Luckily for him, he didn't actually have to enter the mansion. After he stepped out of the limousine and rung the doorbell, a lady with stringy silver hair and kind chocolate eyes came to greet "Master Tamaki". She quickly informed him that Kyoya-senpai had not come home yet; the expression of desperate worry on Tamaki-senpai's face was enough to make my heart hurt a little bit. For a lot of different reasons, I guess.

He hurriedly made his way back to the limo and sat next to me in the backseat. Soaking, golden locks covered his eyes as the twins and I waited for a new game plan.

Finally, Hikaru asked the question that was on all of our minds. "Uh, boss? What are we gonna do now?"

Tamaki-senpai shook his head slightly, his wet hair splashing us with beads of water. He appeared deep in thought. For quite a while. For so long, in fact, that the twins actually fell asleep; Kaoru's head rested on Hikaru's chest as the latter snored with a volume nearly equal to that of the raging thunderstorm outside.

I must have dozed off for a while as well, because the next thing I knew, I found myself lying sandwiched between the twins, both of whom still appeared to be sleeping but now with creepy smiles on their faces. I hurriedly extracted myself from their perverted grasps and looked over to Tamaki-senpai, who still appeared contemplative.

And then—like a slice of sunlight piercing through stormy clouds—a smile slowly brightened his face. "Kyoya's not the only one with resources!" he exclaimed, waking the twins. "I could have the Suoh private police send out a search party for him with one call! We could have them scour all of Japan if we have to!"

But we didn't have to. As soon as Tamaki-senpai's eyes really began to light up with that burning certainty and purpose that always scared the crap out of me, the twins pointed outside the mostly rain-veiled window. We all turned to see the ebony-haired boy who had started all this chaos in the first place, walking down the street and approaching his house.

Tamaki-senpai's eyes grew predictably larger at the sight and suddenly, he curled up into a ball, rocking himself back and forth.

"Senpai, stop being such a coward! Go talk to him!" I demanded.

"I'm scared!" cried the little baby.

I rolled my eyes. "You were willing to scour Japan to find him and yet now, when you actually have the chance to talk to him without any obstacle or hassle at all, you won't even do it?"

"That's just the thing, Haruhi. Kyoya-senpai's right here in front of him now. There's no good excuse not to talk to him; that means this is real and it's happening. No stalling, no more time to think. I'd say that's pretty scary," Kaoru said softly.

I sighed. "I guess, but…Senpai, I just think…" I turned to Tamaki-senpai, prepared to give another elaborate speech chock full of advice, but it turns out I didn't have to. Gone from the seat next to me was the blond-haired boy. Out the window, we saw him running towards Kyoya-senpai just as the latter began to turn his key in the lock of the front door.

"Kyoya!" he shouted.

Hikaru quickly rolled down the window. "We gotta hear this," he said, smirking.

"Guys, that's eavesdropping!" I cried.

"Your favorite pastime, right, Haruhi?" the twins asked.

I felt a rather large sweat drop find a home on my forehead. "I guess you're right. Who am I to preach? But it still seems…"

The twins then put their hands over my mouth and I could do nothing but watch the scene unfold.

Kyoya-senpai turned to Tamaki-senpai, obviously surprised. It was rare to see Kyoya-senpai look truly shocked, but this was a warranted occasion. "Tamaki…" he gasped. He then cleared his throat and tried to appear composed. "What are you doing here?"

Stopping to catch his breath, Tamaki-senpai looked down at Kyoya-senpai. "Well, I…" He took another deep breath as he looked away. "I…um…well…"

Kyoya-senpai looked up, expectantly, hanging on his every word.

Hikaru whispered, "Oh, God, the boss is a nervous wreck." Kaoru added, "He better come up with something quick. Kyoya-senpai's not really the patient type."

Tamaki-senpai then finally looked back into Kyoya-senpai's eyes. "I came because…" The twins and I all leaned forward anxiously. "I came because I forgot to give you your notebook back."

I looked to the twins, who both wore as shocked and disappointed expressions as I'm sure I was wearing. "He didn't really just say that, did he?"

Of course, Kyoya-senpai was the most shocked of us all. "Oh," he uttered.

"Well, I just thought…it's your diary! You probably need it or at least would want it back, and it also has a lot of the club's records and plans in it, and you'll definitely be in need of those in the future, and…" Tamaki-senpai babbled. He then stopped, smiled obliviously, and handed Kyoya-senpai the coveted diary.

Kyoya-senpai pushed his glasses up, probably wishing it was sunny outside so the light could hit his glasses and hide the emotions his eyes displayed. "Well, thank you, Tamaki. That was…considerate of you."

"Anytime!"

The two stood there in silence for a few long moments. I suddenly smelled popcorn and saw that somehow, out of nowhere, Hikaru and Kaoru had gotten a hold of a bag of movie-style popcorn and were stuffing their faces with the buttery, airy food. I decided to reach my hand in the bag as well; I was already an hour late to the restaurant, and I was starting to get hungry.

"Well, aren't you gonna open it?" Tamaki-senpai asked, eyeing the journal keenly.

"Why would I do that?"

"Just to make sure it's all intact, I guess."

Kyoya-senpai scoffed. "If I open it to make sure it's intact, the rain will undoubtedly ruin its pages. It's completely counterintuitive."

"Just like loving me, huh?"

Heartbeat. "What?"

"Loving me. It's in direct opposition with everything that's important to you. But you still do it," Tamaki-senpai offered. "Because sometimes we have to trust our gut feelings; sometimes things aren't rational; sometimes things can't be analyzed. Love and logic rarely walk hand in hand, and sometimes…well, we just have to learn to open our minds to our hearts."

"Tamaki…what? What are you trying to say?"

Tamaki-senpai smiled friendlily. "I just have a gut feeling you should open your notebook to make sure it's all intact; that's all!"

Eyeing both Tamaki-senpai and the notebook suspiciously, Kyoya-senpai slowly opened the latter. His eyes widened at what he saw. I think Tamaki-senpai knew the two of them had an audience, so he suggested, "Maybe you could read it aloud, just to make sure you're reading it right."

Hikaru whispered, "He wrote something in the notebook? When did he do that?"

"Probably when we were sleeping or when you two were practicing becoming world-class perverts," I offered, eyes narrowed.

Kyoya-senpai cleared his throat. Sounded like there was quite a lump in it. "'Kyoya, when I first met you, I immediately felt something in my gut. Something I had felt many times before, something akin to shallow physical attraction. But I didn't know about that bisexuality thing you told me about today, so I just brushed it off and tried not to think about it. But as we got to know each other, that gut feeling changed to a different type. One that I couldn't label. I really had no clue what it was and why it was there.

I speculated that I only felt it because you were so intelligent and efficient and so good at whatever you set your mind to. I thought it must have just been admiration I felt. I mean, I am brilliant, of course, but you were the only peer I've ever met who was actually smarter than me. And I figured that that feeling in my gut was just one of wishing I had the traits that you had.

But then I was proven wrong again…we got even closer and I quickly saw that you were more than just calculations and efficiency and talent. I saw the kindness in you, the tenderness, the warmth…things you tried to hide from everyone else. And then I knew that that gut feeling couldn't be one merely of admiration because those traits were ones I had always considered myself the absolute king of. So, I thought…maybe it was just…well, an appreciation and respect for you as a person.

Then again, I realized that it wasn't just your character traits I appreciated. It was just spending time with you. It made me so happy. You always made me feel so good about myself; even when you acted like I was an idiot or an annoyance, I knew you really loved spending time with me as much as I loved spending time with you.

So, I thought that the feeling was just one of a deep, loving friendship. At that point, I felt satisfied with my conclusion. I mean, what else could the feeling mean? What else could you and I possibly be besides the best of friends? I decided that was all it could mean, and I was content with this label for quite some time.

And then, well, then you kissed me. And that first feeling I had towards you, the physical one…it came back with a vengeance. It had never truly gone away, but I had successfully ignored it for a long while, and then you had to go and kiss me, bring back all my confusion, all the stuff I thought I had put behind me. Not only did you kiss me but you taught me that liking girls doesn't prevent someone from liking guys the same way. I have to admit, that idea made me terrified and relieved at the same time.

Terrified because…I had no excuse left; I had to confront the one speculation I had always kept out of my mind. The possibility that I loved you as more than a friend. Relieved because…well, it explained a lot. It made me feel like my feelings for you and my feelings for girls weren't so irreconcilable.

Kyoya, since the day we met, my feelings for you have confused me to no end. But tonight, I realized something. I've been physically attracted to quite a lot of people in my life. I've admired plenty. There are those special people I know that have an abundance of traits that I can appreciate and respect. And while you're the only friend I've ever shared a deep connection and understanding with, I still have several close friends whom I care about deeply and who care about me the same way. But there's only one person who fits into every single one of those categories, and that's you.

And I guess that's when I realized what that gut feeling was, what it had always been. Haruhi told me that her dad didn't realize that his feelings for his future-wife could suddenly be different, but that it had always been different. And that's how it has always been with you. This highly different, unique feeling that I couldn't make sense of. But now I know it's love. It's the only logical solution to a complicated problem.

I guess sometimes love and logic can walk hand in hand.

But I guess I was scared to admit it because I could only speculate on potential problems if I did. Everything with your father and the business, with our peers, with our friendship. But then I started speculating on all the good that could come out of it. Endless joyful days filled with love and companionship and true understanding and…well, a few other perks.

Thinking about all the great experiences we could be sharing as soon as I admitted to myself and to you how I felt, well…I decided I was ready for a little less speculation, a little more action. I'm ready to move forward, Kyoya. I love you, and now I'm ready to take the necessary action so I can see all my wonderful speculations come true."

After reading the last word, Kyoya-senpai slowly closed the notebook, held it firmly in one hand, and looked up at Tamaki-senpai with tear-filled eyes. Hikaru and Kaoru were already sobbing madly into tissues; I half-feared they'd turn the back of the limo into a swimming pool.

Kyoya-senpai didn't speak a word as he reached out with the other hand and innocently linked his fingers with Tamaki-senpai's. The two shared a smile of tacit understanding and love, and everyone could see that nothing needed to be said.

And at that point, I knew two things for certain: 1.) Tamaki-senpai and Kyoya-senpai were two of the bravest people I knew. 2.) I was so happy that I had played a part in bringing them together.

Kyoya-senpai then unlocked the door to his house and began leading Tamaki-senpai upstairs.

And then I had to add a third thing to my list. 3.) I would really never make it to the restaurant.

~THE END~

A/N: Thank you all again so much for the reading and reviewing! I really hope you enjoyed the story, and please review to tell me how you liked the ending! :D Also, if you're interested in more Tamaki/Kyoya fics (and other Ouran fics about different pairings, also probably a few "Fruits Basket" fics), add me to your author alert and I'll be sure to produce a lot more fics! I already have a lot planned, including a new multi-chapter one that I'm going to start really soon!

*bows* Thank you, and I hope to see you all again soon!