11 years post-graduation

"Come in, come in!" I called, grinning and laughing as I pulled Mori-senpai, his wife, and his two-year-old daughter into the house. I exchanged hugs with all of them, and with Honey-senpai and his wife as they tumbled through the door right after them. Even in adulthood, the two were inseparable.

"Your flight here was alright?" I asked as they took off their jackets and shoes. Mori-senpai nodded, and his wife assured me,

"Oh, yes, of course! My name is Mayako, by the way. Pleased to meet you personally, after all this time!" We exchanged hugs, and I did the same with Tairumi, Honey-senpai's wife. The three of us had 'met' before; Mori-senpai had gotten married second out of the eight of us, and I met the bride at his wedding. She and I had then met Tairumi when we attended Honey-senpai's wedding about a year afterward.

As we caught up, I ushered them and their husbands into my home, calling for Kyouya.

"Kyouya, honey, the Haninozukas and the Morinozukas are here!" I heard a smooth voice call down,

"I'm here, Princess, don't overwork yourself." I looked up to see Kyouya descending gracefully down the stairwell, smiling brightly. He winked at me, clearly over the nickname that he had so lovingly picked up from Tamaki, and I just shook my head at him. He exchanged pleasantries and hugs with the adults, bending down to greet little Hana Morinozuka. The seven of us paraded into the living room, sitting down and getting comfortable, immediately doing away with all of the initial awkwardness. We were all soon talking like it were where we had left off all those years ago; the last time the host club had been all in the same place was at the Olympics in college, though none of us were married at the time. I got to know Honey and Mori's wives better, and it was clear that we would become very close friends, indeed.

It took about two more hours, but eventually, everyone had arrived and gathered in our house. Tamaki had, without question, married Haruhi. They were the next to come in, with energetic twin boys named Kaneki and Hayate. Their children were but one year old, already toddling around at top speed and giving their parents a workout. The twins were the last to arrive, both coming inside together with their (somehow) twin wives. Hikaru had married a hilarious black-haired beauty named Hinata, and Kaoru had married her twin, a lovely, charismatic woman named Hitomi. I marveled at the irony of twins marrying twins, laughing along with them at the running jokes from their wedding about how they'd met.

Once we'd all gathered in our living room, it was clear we had a full house. Just as a head count, we had Mori, Mayako, Hana, Honey, Tairumi, Tamaki, Haruhi, Kaneki, Hayate, Hikaru, Hinata, Kaoru, Hitomi, Kyouya, and myself. 15 people, seven of which had been best friends for years, and the other eight quickly becoming part of our chosen family as if they'd always been there.

"It's fitting," I commented when there was a lull in the conversation, "How everyone found their other half. We all found someone to complete us." All of the adult heads in the room nodded, smiling over the fond memories that had been created over the years.

"It is, isn't it?" Hikaru asked, lovingly poking his wife. "I mean, we all knew Kyouya was in love with you, and has been since high school. Tamaki and Haruhi were obvious too. That was four down, four to go." We all laughed at his bluntness, although it was nothing but the truth, and Hinata poked him right back.

"That's right. I mean, the rest of us had to go searching for our other halves, but we made it," Kaoru added, glancing at Hitomi with a smile. She smiled back, and without thinking, I responded,

"Get a room!" And Hikaru and I immediately started laughing. Once everyone else remembered the little inside joke, they all joined in our laughter, and we filled in the boys' wives when we could breathe. It was exactly what Hikaru had yelled to Kyouya and me many years ago.

"Ah, the memories," Kyouya sighed, wrapping his arm around me and pulling me into his side. "I mean, look at this! Some of you have kids now." Hana, who was sitting on her father's lap, giggled as he kissed the top of her forehead and her mother tickled her tummy lightly. Tamaki and Haruhi, at the mention of their children, grabbed Kaneki and Hayate as they were toddling by and pulled them into their laps, giving them hugs. Kyouya put his hand over my stomach subtly, and I flashed him a small smile.

"Yes, and not only that, but we seem to have an affinity for twins in this giant, mismatched family," Mori commented. We all laughed as Hikaru and Kaoru exchanged a four-way glance with Hinata and Hitomi, and Tamaki and Haruhi ruffled the hair of their twin boys.

"You know what? We should celebrate this. Being all together, you know?" Tairumi, clearly showing her position as Honey's wife, pulled out a cake from the large tote that she'd been carrying. No wonder she had smelled like icing, I'd just assumed that it was because she'd married everybody's favorite cake addict.

"Hear, hear," Kyouya agreed. "I'll get us some sparkling cider to go with that." Cider was a staple in our house, especially since neither of us drank, but I hope he'd remember that I'm taking a break from cider for a while. My hopes were realized when Kyouya returned with 11 glasses, bottles of cider, and one glass full of water for myself. I took it gratefully as he returned to his seat next to me, and Kyouya winked as he settled back into his seat. The 12 adults laughed and talked more as the cider was passed around and poured, and once everyone had their glass, Honey said,

"A toast! To friendship, love, and cake!" We all laughed, clinking glasses and pretending we were all part of high society (well, we were all part of high society, but hardly acted like it. But, as I clinked glasses with Haruhi, who was nearest to me, she gasped playfully.

"Kaiyoka! Are you drinking water? I have never known you to refuse a glass of sparkling cider." I laughed a little nervously as I responded,

"Oh, well... I'm just laying off things that are too sweet or anything like that for a while." Haruhi narrowed her eyes, albeit still playfully.

"So you're dieting. Kaiyo, one glass of cider won't hurt you." She then saw the look in my eye, and she looked over at Kyouya in disbelief. "Unless...!" The corners of Kyouya's mouth pulled up, and she gasped seriously this time.

"No way! Are you pregnant, Kaiyoka?" She asked. Nine heads swiveled toward me, and I smiled at her.

"Yes, I am-" I was cut off by a series of excited screams from Tairumi, Hinata, Hitomi, Haruhi, and Mayako. I laughed at the shocked expressions on the boys' faces, and Tamaki leaned over and punched Kyouya's arm.

"Kyouya, man," He said, laughing, "Nice. It's about time." I gave Tamaki a look, reaching over to swat his arm, and Haruhi did the same, all of us laughing despite Tamaki being a lovable idiot.

"What?" He said, laughing while trying to fend off our attacks. "It is about time. Kyouya, you and Kaiyoka were the first ones out of all of us to get married. You were, what, 22 and 23? That was two years ago." I conceded his point, and they all crowded around me, exchanging hugs and fist-bumps and high-fives and handshakes and whatever else we'd incorporated into our lives over the last 11 years.

"So?" Tairumi asked, once we'd all settled down from the excitement, "Do you know if the baby is going to be a boy or a girl?" Kyouya and I shook our heads, and he answered,

"We want to be surprised. The names are already chosen for both, though, in case the trend wants to suddenly continue with twins in the host club." He rubbed my stomach gently, his eyes sparkling and merry.

"Oh, my Lord, imagine." Hitomi jokingly complained. "That would be the fourth set of twins between all of us. It'd be absolutely ridiculous." We all laughed at that, our conversation picking up from there and continuing late into the night. We discussed everything, from our family lives to how it was for everyone to be back in Japan- crazy how that had worked out- to how many times a month we would visit each other.

And through it all, that sparkle in Kyouya's eyes remained. It was the same sparkle that had donned his gaze hours ago when Haruhi guessed that I was pregnant, the same sparkle that turned into tears of joy when I told him I was pregnant, the same sparkle that had been there when I walked up the aisle. It was the true signal for certain happiness in Kyouya. It made me nothing short of utterly ecstatic when I saw that sparkle. For that reason, and for many more, I couldn't keep the smile off of my face that day.