Nesting

By E.M. Megs

One-shot

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"What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from." -T.S. Elliot

–

Tamaki watched from the sidelines as Kyoya and Haruhi tentatively stepped into the beginnings of their courtship. After blatantly telling them to get together and be happy, it had taken them nearly a month for them to actually do it. And that was only after he had encouraged them even more.

"Tamaki!" Haruhi exasperatedly had exclaimed, "You just broke up with me! Do you think I'm going to disrespect you by going directly into a relationship with your best friend?"

"I give you permission! Just do it!" he had replied. The next day she had finally taken initiative and asked Kyoya quietly if he would like to go to coffee later, with Tamaki jumping excitedly from across the room. She had glared at him, only the slightest brushing of a blush on her face as she angrily turned her back to the blonde and back to who Tamaki already was wanting to dub as her future-husband. The stoic man had raised an eyebrow, glanced over at the blonde and then accepted quietly.

In all truth, he was actually just putting up face and pushing them together to relieve the own ache inside of him. The terrible burn within his chest when he saw them, so obviously wanting each other but still not acting because they didn't want to accidentally hurt him.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Haruhi had asked concernedly on one instance when he'd been at Kyoya's apartment when Haruhi had come over to spend time with her boyfriend. Her eyes shown with the same worry that they always had, his heart broke a little more knowing that he wouldn't have her anymore.

"Yes, yes," he muttered, shooing them towards the door. "I'm fine! Go on to your date! Have fun!" The two had looked at him with slight skepticism before Kyoya gave him a lingering look and carefully led Haruhi toward the door.

"Feel free to stay as long as you need to, just don't mess with any of my things," his best friend had called over his shoulder. He had stayed. He's stayed there in Kyoya's room for at least an hour, thinking and very close to crying and hoping, for a time that continued for nearly a year, that soon seeing them happy together would bring him great joy instead of this other-worldly hurt inside of his chest.

Tamaki watched from the sidelines as he finally was able to move on a year later. Though they weren't the most affectionate couple, he knew that both of them cared for the other even though occasionally they'd get on one another's nerves at times.

When they would have a fight, Kyoya would often be angry long after Haruhi had given in to the forgiveness that had already start blossoming within her at the very beginning. And on the times when it was the other way around, Kyoya was gruffly lounge around at his house, never saying anything about it but still wanting to be around him while Haruhi was at the twins' no doubt doing the exact same thing.

Finally the Ohtori would burst, "Was she ever like this with you?" The utter frustration in his voice being enough to remind him that at one point there had been a 'Tamaki and Haruhi' and not a 'Kyoya and Haruhi.' That he wouldn't have that again. The very statement reminded him of his own frustration when he and Haruhi would fight, and it would start that ache he wished wasn't so familiar but had thought he had extinguished long ago.

Kyoya would look at him while all these thoughts went through his head, and then he would open his mouth – no doubt to apologize for not thinking out how the blonde might feel – only to be cut off abruptly when he finally answered with a slight chuckle. "Yes. She was like this with me. She's stubborn, but if you leave her alone long enough she cools off and becomes approachable again. "

He knew exactly what the only thing wrong with their relationship was. Both of them had enough pride in them that they could be at war for centuries without running out of it. They could launch nukes full of pride at the planet at by the end of it there would be more of both of their pride left than there was ground to stand on.

Haruhi had never been the one to reconcile things when they'd been dating, it had always been him. Somehow he doubted that it was any different with Kyoya, and considering he also didn't ever like being the one to apologize first, they both just kind of stayed away from each other until they'd both cool off enough to unanimously come to an agreement.

"Well," he had added once during one of their fights after Kyoya had asked the inevitable question, "It could also do with the fact that both of you have more pride than a bull elephant during mating season."

And one time, oh one terrifying time, they quarreled so fiercely that it almost threatened to tear them apart. Tamaki had actually been the one to go to Kyoya that one time because he had shut himself up in his office and wouldn't talk to anyone – which was a sign that he was severely upset about the entire thing. The Host Club King wouldn't have even known about it if Hunny hadn't texted him and told him that Haruhi was with him and Mori.

"Kyoya! Open the door!" he called anxiously, jiggling the doorknob. He heard nothing but silence within. "I know you're upset, dammit! Don't try to hide from me and open the door!"

"Tamaki," the deathly calm voice came from the other side of the door, "If you don't get out of my apartment within the next 30 seconds I will call security, have you beaten to a pulp and thrown out of the building... Permanently."

He sighed. "Just open the door. You know you can't scare me away. I know this entire thing is about Haruhi otherwise you wouldn't have locked yourself in there. Nothing else would upset you that much." Again all was quiet on the Ohtori's side. Then the door opened and he found him sitting at his desk, scribbling angrily on a paper. "What happened?" Stubborn as ever, he pursed his lips and stayed completely silent. "I can't help if you don't te-"

"I don't want your help," Kyoya spat finally, "Goddammit, Tamaki, I never did. I would have been fine watching you marry her."

His blood went cold, knowing in deep within him that something was horribly wrong if he was referencing to how he had pushed him and his girlfriend together. "You don't honestly mean that."

"No. I do," the now 23-year-old growled. Tamaki felt sick to his stomach.

"Did you- You didn't break up did you?" The very thought sent him spiraling into an abyss. They'd been together for nearly 3 years now, that was a year longer than he and Haruhi had lasted. They could not break up. He wouldn't allow it. And if he had to enforce his Daddy powers to ensure that they wouldn't, by God, he'd do it! "Oh God, Kyoya... Mon ami, don't tell me you broke up with her."

"I didn't." Hope rose in his chest. "But I got damn near close to it. This just keeps happening all the time. I'm this close, to being done with it." He held his fingers about an inch apart just to emphasize how much more he could handle.

Tamaki sat and let that digest for a moment. They... Really were fighting this time. Worse than ever before. Before it was just stubbornness and mostly child's play-like anger. Now it was just fury. He gazed at Kyoya for a while, contemplating what this could mean if he didn't intervene. Finally, he spoke softly, in a voice that was hardly above a whisper. "Do you still love her?"

He sighed, sounding more like his father after an exhausting day than ever before. "Sometimes, I question it," he muttered, leaning back away from his desk and turning slowly in his chair to face him. "But, yes, I do."

"Tell her that then."

"You don't understand."

"I understand perfectly well! You're afraid that if she gets any closer, she'll become a weakness or that your father will want to use her! She's afraid that any moment you'll start pushing her away and retreat back behind your mask! For God's sake, Kyoya! You're supposed to be the smart one! You should be figuring this out by yourself!" He was ranting and he wasn't completely sure if he was anywhere close to being on the mark for the situation. But his words seemed to be having an affect on him so he kept going. "Talk to her. Tell her that you love her. When you're ready for it marry her. She's worth more than you could possibly own – trust me, I know – so just... Put your damn pride aside and work through your problems, together."

Kyoya stared at seemingly nothing, one hand on his chin with his pointer finger jutting toward his temple, just thinking for several minutes. When he finally came out of his stupor, he muttered, "Dammit Tamaki, you're actually right for once. I hate that."

He shined brilliantly for a moment before the second part of the comment donned on him. "Hey!" he exclaimed, slightly offended. Kyoya merely chuckled and went to pick up his discarded coat. "Call me and tell me how it goes!" he called after him.

Now he stood next to them as they exchanged vows, always the best man. Kyoya was 25 and had a flourishing business that could rival even that of his father's. Haruhi was 24 and a successful beginning lawyer.

And he smiled and clapped and there was almost as many tears running down his face as there was on the bride's father's.

And at the reception, he sat on Kyoya's right side, getting ready to give the toast that he'd had prepared three years ago, knowing that some day he'd have to use it.

"I always knew that I'd be up here giving this toast to them some day," he started out jokingly, "In fact, I knew the moment I let Haruhi go that I'd never get her back. I knew even while we dated that I'd have to give her up but I didn't think it was going to be to Kyoya Ohtori of all people." That stirred up a few chuckles. "In all seriousness, the end is always a beginning – or multiple beginnings in this case." He shot an affectionate look at his own girlfriend of 9 months, Toshiko. "And I wish them the best of happiness with the end of their premarital relationship, and the beginning of their marriage."

As he held up his glass, he smiled the biggest grin the world had ever seen and cheerfully declared, "To Haruhi and Kyoya!" The room echoed it back. He downed his champagne in one gulp and sat himself down again, shooting a beaming smile at the happy couple. They kissed, and, God, he felt that happiness well inside him that he'd always hoped for from the very beginning.

For the cage had turned into a bird and then flown off with its ex-captive to find a nest of it's own.

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A/N: TEEHEE. Writing from Tamaki's point of view is a little different than what I'm used to but it's SOOO MUCH FUN.

Anyways, yeah, this... Is probably going to be it. Though... Don't be too surprised if in the next week or so you find another one-shot. I've been cranking them out daily lately it seems. Hrrm. And yet I can't seem to get LD done. Whoops.

Un-edited... Because I'm lazy... And tired... And I wanna go to bed so I can actually go to school tomorrow. Yeah.