At what price,love?

Chapter 27

PARTIAL WARNING BECAUSE I REALLY DON'T CARE: Spicy content towards the end

"René?"

"Maman?"

Their held breaths were released only when they rushed to hug each other.

"Haruhi," Kyoya said, "would you mind sitting next to Kaoru? I don't believe his French is sufficient to maintain conversation through dinner." It was a bald-faced lie, of course. Having grown up around the fashion industry, Hikaru and Kaoru's French was second only to Tamaki's, but absolutely no one was going to contradict him. Although Hikaru couldn't resist poking at Kyoya. "Hey, I thought you said she was a younger sister..."

Kyoya shrugged. "She is. Her brother's 54."

"Mme. de Grantaine, would you like a private table for you and your son?" Yahuza asked. "I can have the restaurant reseat you."

"No, that would be rude of me," Anne-Sophie shook her head without ever taking her eyes off Tamaki.

"Nonsense," Yahuza said. "Opportunities to spend time with family never come as frequently as they should." She glanced at her sons, then briefly at Haruhi.

Even as her eyes drank in the sight of her son Anne-Sophie demurred again so they let it be.

Haruhi whispered to Kyoya, "What is she afraid of? Are they going to get in trouble for this?"

"Possibly," Kyoya said. "It does technically violate their agreement with Shizue Suoh. However, shortly after Tamaki left for Japan, Mme. de Grantaine closed the account the funds were being deposited into and vanished. Since then, the money has been deposited into a trust fund. Apart from adding a 'pass on death' to Tamaki, she's never done anything with it. It appears her primary motivation was never money but to give the Suohs a chance to get to know Tamaki, an opportunity they have regrettably squandered. And as for Tamaki, Shizue could cut him off, but as of this morning, Tamaki has ¥1.2 billion in my investment pool. I can move that into an index fund and he could live off the proceeds for the rest of his life. Not in the manner to which he is accustomed, but better than most people."

Haruhi blinked. "You've freed him from his grandmother."

"If he so wishes. I think he is still hoping to reconcile his family. At any rate, I will have Tachibana make sure that if Tamaki's bodyguard reports this encounter, he includes that she was a last-minute substitution and neither had any way of knowing the other would be present."

"Madame Suoh will never believe this was chance."

Kyoya gave a cold smile. "Consider it my way of letting Shizue Suoh know she miscalculated. She hurt my friend, threatened the woman I love and tried to destroy my family's company. She assumed she was safe because I couldn't go after her without going after the Suoh Group which would hurt Tamaki. But being born third does not mean it is safe to dismiss me as others have."

"Wait, is this about protecting your friends or proving you are better than your brothers?"

"It can't be both? I saved my family's company, now I need to prove it was not a fluke. And make it clear to the world that for one more generation at least, you do not mess with an Ootori."

"Just when I think you've become a really nice guy, you turn out to be Kyoya-senpai after all," Haruhi grumbled.

~oOo~

Dinner ran long; no one was willing to interrupt Tamaki's precious time with his mother. He regaled her with stories of the club and if his versions made him out to be the dashing hero more often than not, not even the twins were inclined to correct him. "And what have you been doing, Maman? Tell me everything that's happened in the last four years."