"Good evening, Ms. Welcome to the host club"

Asuka began laughing as she opened the door to find the host club members standing together to greet her. Just like old times. Except it was Kyoya doing the talking now and not... Tamaki.

"How are you all? I missed you" She grinned, looking around at all of them before hugging them all individually.

"Her grace has missed us? How fortunate are we?" Kaoru and Hikaru smirked in unison, teasing her. "How's the royal life?"

"You guys haven't changed at all. Also don't call me your grace, I've had enough of that damn title" She rolled her eyes, smiling at them. "Anyway the royal life is... exactly what I expected it to be"

"No insult? No complaints? Who are you? The Asuka we know would have already cussed out the royal life" Kaoru gasped dramatically, pointing at her.

"I'm a changed woman" Asuka grinned, but she knew that they knew of her situation. After all, she was still in regular contact with them. She was just more busy these days because of courting season.

"And you- Why did you not tell me about you and Haruhi?" She turned to Hikaru, pinching his cheek fondly and then letting go to hug Haruhi. "I'm happy for you both"

"Thanks... it was only recent so we never got around to telling anyone" Haruhi smiled, pushing her now longer hair out of her face.

Mori simply ruffled her hair, offering a small smile while Honey cheered happily when Asuka approached them.

"How's Reiko-chan?" She asked Honey fondly.

"She's good but she decided to stay home today. Its okay though, I told her I'd bring her back loads of cake" Honey beamed, flowers popping up around him.

Asuka giggled, nodding. "Its nice to see that some things don't change"

"Indeed, although the same can't be said for you" Kyoya's cool voice came, pulling her away from everyone else as they began chatting amongst themselves.

"Yeah? How so?" She challenged, smiling at the shadow king.

"The only time I used to see you wearing a dress in high school was when you were forced into uniform. And now you're wearing it willingly? What happened to your hoodies?" He raised his eyebrow.

She was currently wearing a dress of black lace, which reached her knees while her pink hair was out like always. She rarely did her hair up, she preferred hanging it down.

"I decided it was time for a change" Asuka shrugged. "The people of my duchy expect a duchess fit to take care of them and so I need to show them that they can trust me. Dressing the part is actually a big part of it. They want a duchess, an elegant and refined lady so they'll get one"

"I see... Well don't change too much. I quite liked the outlandish and unrefined version of you too" He smirked, levitating a flute of champagne into her hands.

"Outlandish? Jee, thanks Kyoya" She said dryly, sipping on her champagne. "Anyway I don't know why everyone is so shocked, it was bound to happen sooner or later. I'm royalty, I can't do whatever I want. And I'm still the same person, just with improved mannerisms"

"You make a fair point. It is nice to see you after so long though" He smiled, also sipping his champagne.

She held her glass up to him in a small toast, smiling back as she savoured the smooth flavour of the champagne and enjoyed their friendly silence.

Suddenly there were gasps of surprise behind them and they both turned. She felt Kyoya freeze beside her.

"Kira?" Asuka's eyes widened and she quickly walked towards the redhead who had just stepped into the room.

"Asuka!" Kira smiled shyly, hugging her as Asuka approached. "How are you?"

"How am I? How are YOU? I haven't seen you in years! Well apart from on TV! Why didn't you tell me you were coming?" Asuka demanded, holding Kira's hands.

'You look so beautiful! You've filled out just right, you know. No wonder all the boys are after you. Also your hair, I love it' Asuka gushed, using her powers to speak to Kira telepathically.

Kira blushed, laughing in response. "Thank you" She whispered. "Anyway it was just a last minute decision... A-Actually Honey-Senpai invited me"

Asuka smirked, she knew exactly why Honey had done so. The look on Mori-senpai's face was enough to make it worth it. The usually stoic member was in shock, staring at Kira. Asuka could sense his emotions: shock, awe and terrible, sad yearning. Her heart broke for Mori-Senpai, she knew how hard the break up had hit him.

She turned to look for Kyoya, only to see that he had disappeared. She could tell that Kira was also looking for him.

'He's around. Probably just shocked' Asuka comforted her silently.

Kira blushed, nodding before pausing as Mori-Senpai approached her. Asuka took the cue to leave, smiling as she left them.

She decided not to tell either of them how strong their feelings were for each other, even after all these years, letting them figure it out for themselves.

She walked outside, raising her eyebrows as she saw Kyoya pacing in the dark.

"Gentlemen shouldn't lurk, Kyoya, its unbecoming" Asuka smiled softly, stopping his pacing.

"Why did no one tell me Kira would be coming?" Kyoya demanded furiously, running his hand through his hair.

"Well nobody except Honey-Senpai knew... And why are you so angry, Kyoya? I thought you'd be happy to see her"

"This isn't about her. I hate it when I don't know things. I'm the planner, I do the planning so why did I have no idea about this?" Kyoya seethed and Asuka could feel his anger as his glasses flashed.

She took his hand into hers gently, her eyes glowing as she looked up at him. "You're nervous. And you're scared because you haven't seen her in so long despite wanting to. Your defence mechanism is to get angry because anger is easier than fear. You hate things being out of your control because of your family but... also because the last time you let things out of your control y-you lost her" Asuka said gently, her heart reaching out to him.

Kyoya quickly snatched his hand back, his face heating up. He couldn't even lie to Asuka, she knew. He hated feeling so emotionally vulnerable. He hated how just seeing Kira after 5 years was enough to break down his emotional barriers. "I-I... don't know what to say to her. I've not seen her in so long. I was sure I would be over her by now but..." He didn't complete his sentence but Asuka already knew.

He still loved her since the day she had left.

"I know how it feels to love someone so hard it hurts. To yearn for them even after years. To know its hopeless to love them but you still do. You and me? We're the same. What I can tell you though, is that maybe things aren't as hopeless as you think" She smiled up at him.

"W-What do you mean?" He asked sharply, hitching his glasses up.

"I mean go and speak to her. Its okay to still have feelings and its okay to be nervous, its only expected" She nudged him playfully.

"But I'm known for being rational and calm and collected. Why do I have to feel so nervous?" He sighed, hanging his head.

"Because you're human" Asuka shrugged. "And humans are flawed at best. And yet its the best thing about you, Kyoya. You feel emotion and its okay to feel emotion. Now hurry and speak to her! Before I make my moves on her- Heaven knows she only got fitter over the last few years. I mean have you seen the size of-"

Kyoya silenced her with a hand to the mouth, his cheeks tinting pink in the darkness. He was grateful she couldn't see. "I'm going, be quiet" He grumbled before smiling and walking back inside.

Asuka chuckled to herself, staring up at the full moon. It was beautiful, sitting among the stars in the night sky. Sometimes she wished she had the power of flight, just so she could disappear sometimes. She wanted to know what it was like to float above the clouds, to forget any other problems ever existed...

The only time she could remember ever feeling like that was when she was with him. Everything disappeared when she was with him, he was a literal sunshine in everyone's life. But especially hers.

He had been there for her and took care of her all the time, since the first day she had met him. Back when he was the new kid that spoke French all the time, he still treated her so nicely without even knowing who she was. But she had only developed feelings for him once he became her best friend, winning over her heart with his charm and kindness.

"If I had known such a beautiful princess would be attending the reunion, I'd have have dressed up a bit more"

She froze, her blood running cold. "No..." She breathed, her eyes widening as she turned in the direction of the voice.

"Whats wrong m'lady? Aren't you as glad to see me as I am to see you?" He smiled, walking towards her with his hands in his pockets.

"Tamaki..." She breathed, her heart beginning to race. "There's no way" She told herself, closing her eyes tight. "I'm just imagining. Stop it" She pinched herself and then reopened her eyes.

He had disappeared. Her heart deflated once more but then a pair of hands covered her eyes.

"Did you miss me?" He whispered in her ear, his unique musk surrounding her.

She let out a squeak, quickly turning around to face him. Her heart leapt to her throat. He hadn't changed. Same kind eyes which sparkled violet in the moonlight. The same pale blod hair which fell into his eyes. The same boyish smile which had cheered her up so many times. He had only grown taller and his face had matured slightly.

"No, no, no..." She repeated as she began running away from him, not looking back. This was a dream. Just like every other cruel dream she had before waking up in tears. He was fake, this wasn't real. She was tired of disappointment.

"Asuka-chan!" He called out worriedly, following after her.

"Youre fake. This is all fake. Nothing is real. I'm going to wake up" She murmured to herself, running faster.

"Asuka!" Tamaki called, picking up his pace to follow after her.

"Please, wake me up already. This is just cruel" She whispered, pretending she couldn't hear his shouts.

"Asuka, stop" Tamaki grabbed her wrist, firmly pulling her towards him.

She fell towards his chest, holding her arms out to steady herself as he wrapped his around her.

"No! Leave me alone!" She cried, furiously wiping her eyes as she looked up at him.

"W-Why are you crying?" His gaze softened, and he tenderly wiped away her tears with his thumb.

"Because you're not real. This is all fake. You're not Tamaki" She accused him, her voice wavering as he wiped her tears away so tenderly.

"I am real" He smiled down at her, his tall build towering over hers.

"No... you're not" She whispered, pushing his chest to get away. She couldn't even look him in the eye.

"But I am, my wild princess" He murmured softly, taking her chin between his fingers and making her look up at him. He bent down to press a kiss to her lips and just for a moment she completely forgot everything, she forgot about her hurt and the yearning. She melted into the kiss, tears streaming down her face.

He really was Tamaki... Her Tamaki?

"W-Wait" She suddenly pulled away, horrified. "What about the rumours? Aren't you engaged? Why are you kissing me?" She panicked, trying to push him away once more.

"The rumours of my engagement were just that, rumours" He soothed her, hugging her tightly. "You think I moved on? My princess, you were all I thought about for 5 years. I couldn't bring myself to find another lady, you were all I wanted. I told you I'd never forget you"

At those words, she finally cracked. Asuka began crying hard into his shoulder, holding him closer as he tried to soothe her. 5 years worth of anger and sadness came pouring out, overwhelming her as she gripped him tighter. He kissed the top of her head, drawing small circles on her back as he attempted to calm her down.

"Shh, its okay Asuka. I'm here now" He murmured, a smile on his face.

He too had suffered for 5 years, unable to move on, unable to find anybody that could replace his best friend and ex lover. But he had matured over the last 5 years, just as she had which allowed him to grasp his emotions better. Gone was the overly emotional, 'obnoxious' (whatever that meant) teenager. He was now a charming, still overly dramatic young man who better understood his emotions but also everyone else's.

"I missed you dearly, my princess" He whispered against her hair.

"I-I thought you had forgotten about me. I was so angry at you... at myself. I couldn't move on, I tried so hard. But I couldn't" She sniffled, looking up at him with wet eyes.

"I know, princess. I'm sorry I left for so long but my mother was ill and I had to be there for her. Without alerting my grandmother, of course. I actually enlisted the help of Éclair-"

Asukas grip tightened on him at the mention of her name, and Tamaki smiled. "Nothing happened between us, don't worry. She's a good friend of mine now. She allowed me to visit my mother in her home" He assured her.

"Why would I be worried? Its not like the last time I saw her she was trying to seduce my boyfriend or anything" Asuka commented dryly and Tamaki couldn't help but burst out into laughter at her words.

Asuka stared up at him as he laughed, watching the way his eyes filled with mirth and his head tilted back. She appreciated it so much more after years of being away from him. "I missed your wit too. Although I've heard nowadays you're a proper lady"

"When I heard you were... engaged, I realised that life was moving on without me. I was getting left behind because I was dwelling on the past. I wanted to change. I wanted to move on. So I finally gave in to my parents and became the duchess that they expected. I won't say its horrible, I know I've not changed much but its a start"

"Well I love you either way" Tamaki smiled, tucking a strand of pink hair behind her ear.

Her heart filled with happiness at his words and her eyes glowed. She held his hand, allowing him to feel her emotions. Her grasp on her own power had improved over the years and now she could not only feel others' emotion, she could share her own with selected individuals.

Tamaki gasped as even more happiness filled him, and he could feel her love for him so strongly. He understood what she was telling him, leaning down to kiss her once more.

"How did you know I was going to be here today? Have you said hi to everyone else? Who invited you anyway?" She asked, suddenly a thousand questions popping into her head.

"Kyoya told me, yes everyone greeted me before I found you and Kyoya invited me" He answered all her questions, smiling as she began to flare up.

"Kyoya knew?" She raged. "And he didn't tell me?!"

"Hey, you're only human. Don't worry about it too much" The cool voice came, Kyoya smirking widely as he stepped out of the shadows.

"You- You bastard!" Asuka cursed him.

"Now, now, Asuka-chan, a lady shouldn't swear its unbecoming" He teased her, his glasses flashing.

"I'm going to kill you" She seethed, walking towards him. "Where's Kira anyway?"

"Right here" And suddenly a butterfly that was perched on top of a tree transformed into the redhead.

"Wait- you knew?" Asuka gasped.

"No, I only found out like 5 minutes ago. Once me and Kyoya had sorted things out he told me what was going on so we came outside to investigate" Kira beamed, leaning over to kiss Kyoya who seemed extremely happy to kiss her back.

"I knew too! Yay! Asu-chan and Tama-chan!" Honey clapped his hands, skipping outside on Mori's shoulders. Mori smiled, ruffling Kira's hair fondly and Asuka immediately knew that their relationship was also fixed.

"Did the twins also know?" Asuka deadpanned.

"Affirmative" The twins grinned, also coming out of the shadows and saluting her playfully.

"Did you all see me ugly crying?" Asuka sighed, face palming.

"No, don't worry. I kept them inside so you guys could have your privacy. Until I knew things had cooled down" Haruhi assured her, smiling. "Congratulations, by the way"

"Thank you" Asuka smiled, taking Tamaki's arm as he offered it to her. "Now let's get back inside hm? I've had enough of everyone staring at me. Plus I'm hungry" She smiled, jumping onto Tamaki's back happily.

Thankfully, somethings never changed.

Xandra_Dee PART TWO OF ASUKAS FUTURE. I revived my random book so I can post these lil one shots here instead of gotham high! I've GOT SO MANY MORE OURAN SHORT STORIES IN THE WORKS KEKEKEKEKEK 🤪