2AN: I do not own Ouran and if you're not interested in a long AN feel free to skip it!
This is a rewrite of When All Good Things Come to an End that I started quite a few years ago. I pulled the story down about 3 months ago to completely rewrite it and I decided to post the finished product under a new title since you really can't compare the two any longer.
A HUGE THANK YOU TO MY BETE READER Wolfena! They are amazing, and I couldn't have done this without them!
Please enjoy!
0o0o0
The Shadow King of the Host Club looked down at his breakfast with disinterest as he tried to slow his racing mind. Kyoya had known that there was something wrong as Tamaki had not been acting like himself for the last few months. He never could have imagined that the blonde could take things this far.
He was eating alone this morning. His father and older brothers were already at the Tokyo hospital, overseeing the staff to ensure that things were treated discreetly and appropriately. It wasn't every day that the son of one of their most vital business partners was in their emergency room.
It wasn't every day that Kyoya fucked up so bad his best friend landed in the hospital.
He ran a hand through his dark hair as he recalled the events of the earlier weeks with startling accuracy. He had thought nothing of it when Tamaki had suggested they host an intimate get-to-gather with the host club and a few of their regulars.
Tamaki had never been a big party boy but in the weekends leading up to last night, they had been out together nearly every night until the early hours. Drinking and enjoying the company of woman until they stumbled home to sleep through the day just to do it again the next night.
Kyoya hadn't thought anything of it, until last night that is… He figured Tamaki was under a lot of pressure and was just trying to let off some steam. He wasn't going to complain about the extra alone time with the blonde and had silently accompanied him to ensure he didn't do anything stupid.
Since Haruhi had joined the host club, 'mommy' and 'daddy' had been spending less and less of their weekends together. Every scrap of free time was spent 'as a family' with the rest of the hosts. He had enjoyed not having to plan anything, just doing whatever it was that they pleased. Kyoya was aware that his best friend was drinking too much and sleeping more than usual, but he hadn't thought that there was anything extremely wrong.
Kyoya was always careful as he always kept an eye out for anything that could cause a problem for the two of them. He made sure they were never too far gone before safely collapsing in bed together…
He was the responsible one.
Until last night. The party was a hit with the ladies. Tamaki had received permission to host the event at the Suoh family second estate and he had spared no expense in certifying all who attended would have a good time.
It was the middle of summer and the small group of Ouran's elite were enjoying the swimming pool and hot tub at the back of the house. Between the extra skin and the booze, the night was turning out to be particularly enjoyable for all that were involved. Even Haruhi had come out of her shell and was enjoying fancy tuna as she chatted with her tipsy regulars.
Kyoya could swear that Tamaki had only had a few drinks.
When they had slipped upstairs with two of their regulars following close behind, he had seemed fine. The shadow king hadn't noticed him slurring his speech or stumbling as they climbed the stairs.
He had no issue plowing the daughter of one of his father's company's biggest clients until she was seeing stars. And he certainly didn't act drunk as he and Kyoya had slipped into the bathroom together…
He had seemed fine when 'mommy' had helped 'daddy' clean up afterward.
Kyoya hadn't noticed anything wrong until they were back downstairs in the hot tub. Somehow, they had managed to fit the 7 hosts along with their 14 guests into a hot tub meant for 12 people.
The King of the Host Club had rested his head on Kyoya shoulder, drawing more attention than it should have. Kyoya had slid his index finger under the blonde's chin to force eye contact, causing a few of the girls to squeal in delight.
Lilac eyes were unfocused as they met gunmetal grays.
"Are you feeling ok? Did you have too much to drink?" the Shadow King tried to assess his friend and the girls quieted down, watching with concern as Tamaki shook his head.
"No. I think the heats getting to me… mind helping me up?" Kyoya nodded. The girls sitting in both of their laps moved into the center of the hot tub to allow them space to climb out of the water. They didn't make it more than a few paces before Tamaki had collapsed, hitting his head hard against the pavement he had started to convulse.
The next 5 minutes felt as though they had lasted for hours. The music stopped and every pair of eyes fell on them. Not one of them moved as Kyoya knelt beside the blonde on the hard concrete. His head was racing a million miles an hour as his mouth barked commands without his brain having time to process.
"Twins. Clear everyone out. Haruhi. Call an ambulance. Mori, towels. Hunny. Please get the head maid and have her call Tamaki's Father. Let her know an ambulance has been called." He commanded, his voice sounding distant to his own ears.
After tucking the folded towel under the blonde's head, Kyoya knew there was nothing else he could do. He waited for the jerking of limbs to settle before placing his ear on the blonde's chest.
He had thanked God that his friend had still been breathing.
The ladies had been ushered inside and were watching through the large glass windows with a mix of concern and curiosity. When the paramedics arrived, the Shadow King reluctantly stepped back from his friend to allow them to do their work.
"Has he been drinking tonight sir?"
"Yes."
"How much did he consume?"
"Only a couple of drinks over the last few hours."
"You're not going to get in trouble kid. We just want to help your friend. Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"Did he take anything else that you are aware of?"
"I didn't see him take anything."
"Okay kid. Go wait with your friends. We got it from here."
Kyoya had numbly joined the rest of the Host Club inside. All were silent as they watched Tamaki get loaded onto the stretcher and into the ambulance. Parents were called and one by one their guest left what should have been an enjoyable event.
The twins had given him a lift home after they had done their best to help the maids clean up the mess. He didn't so much as get in the door before his father had called him asking him what had happened.
Tamaki had had another seizure and they were in the process of pumping his stomach. He had wanted to know if he had taken anything. Any party dugs.
Kyoya hadn't seen anything like that, he would know. He had been with Tamaki since they had gotten out of school. The blonde had complained of legs being sore after gym class and had taken regular Tylenol but that had been over 8 hours ago…
His father had hung up on him without saying anything further.
How could he have been so careless? Surely, he should have noticed that there was something wrong before it went that far.
He hadn't heard a thing about Tamaki since then. Instructions were sent to the maids that Kyoya was to attend classes, as usual, this morning rather than going to visit Tamaki in the hospital. He had texted the blonde as soon as he had woken up over an hour ago.
No response…
Kyoya hated himself as he pushed his breakfast around the plate and watched the black screen of his phone in hopes of good news.
He was supposed to be the responsible one.
0o0o0
Yuzuru Suoh had been in bed when his personal assistant had woken him by turning on his bedside lamp. He felt his heart sink as she handed him the telephone, her face grave.
He now sat in the sterile looking room of the ER, waiting for someone to take him to see his son. He hadn't been given much information as to what had happened to his poor Tamaki. Only that he had been brought in with suspected alcohol poising and they were still running tests.
His Tamaki was a good boy so he had a hard time believing that his knucklehead of a son would do something so reckless. He hoped that it was just an overreaction to his son having a little much to drink. He hoped that he would wait a few hours for the boy to sobered up before they went home.
Surly Tamaki wasn't so stupid as to actually drink enough to harm himself.
As he sat and waited, he texted Yoshio Ootori a friendly message in hopes that he could pull some strings and get him a little more information. He hadn't expected for his friend to come through the ER doors only minutes later.
"What were my chances that you were actually still here? It's one in the morning, my friend." Yuzuru stood and shook hands with his childhood friend.
"I was on my way out when I got the call that Tamaki was on his way in. I am afraid that your son is very ill, Suoh. Yuuichi is on his way in to personally oversee his care. For now, the doctors are stabilizing him and running tests."
The head of the Ootori family opened the emergency room doors for Tamaki's father and led him to one of the doors across from the nurse's station.
For it being so late at night it was rather loud. The hospital staff were bustling in and out the many open doors that lined the hallways. The sounds of carts, wheelchairs, and sneakers would be enough to keep anyone awake.
They soon made it halfway down the long hallway and stopped at the room directly across from the nurse's station. Yuzuru felt his stomach start to flip as stepped aside to let someone out of the room.
He truly hoped to find his boy vomiting but conscious.
As he stepped into the cramped room, his eyes settled on his baby boy. Tamaki laid on the small hospital bed hooked up all sorts of machinery. This was not what he had been expecting.
"What the hell happened?"
He was not mentally prepared for this. This is not what he thought of when he thought of alcohol poisoning. He thought of teens puking their brains out and sleeping in strange places. Not heart monitors and oxygen support.
"The paramedics on scene say that they were called after Tamaki had collapsed and had a seizure. They suspected it to be alcohol poisoning as there was alcohol present and he had been drinking before the accident." Yoshio paused and placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "We sent some blood down to be tested. If that's all this is then he is going to be ok. We pumped his stomach and we'll make sure he doesn't stop breathing."
The robotic, monotone way that Yoshio spoke was oddly comforting. However, it was not enough to set the Chairmen's mind at ease.
"Alcohol poisoning can do that? Cause a seizure?" Yuzuru's eyes were fixed on his little boy. His poor baby.
"It's not common, but yes." Silence fell between the two of them as they watched the sleeping boy's chest fall up and down. That brought the slightest bit of comfort to the concerned father.
"Can I go sit with him?"
"Of course you can."
0o0o0
Tamaki's eyes fluttered open to stare at an unfamiliar ceiling.
The back of his head pounded in protest to the bright artificial light but he forced his eyes to focus on his surroundings. Turning his head to the side he felt his heart skip a beat.
He was in a hospital?
In a panic, he made a move to push himself up onto his elbows only to be stopped by a heavy hand pressing on the center of his chest.
Yuuichi Ootori, Kyoya's older brother, stood to the left side of his bed with a slightly annoyed look on his face. The blonde settled back against the overstuffed pillows as he felt his panic fade.
"You gave us quite the scare last night you know." The eldest of the Ootori children forced a small smile for the blonde. "Once we finish up running the last few tests to ensure that there is no lasting damage, I am going to recommend you for a stay in one of our rehab facilities. I am sure your father has more than a few—"
"What!?" Tamaki made another move to sit up, only to be gently stopped by the eldest of the Ootori boys again.
As soon as he was sure that his patient was not going to try and sit up again, Yuuichi adjusted his glasses and grabbed the clipboard that hung from the bottom of the bed. "Of course, you wouldn't remember what happened now would you."
Yuuichi flipped the first page of the chart up. "You were brought it with a bad case of Alcohol poising. How much did you have to drink?"
Tamaki blinked, clueless for a moment as he tried to recall the events of last night only to fail. "I uh… don't remember." It made sense… his entire body was hurt, his head was pounding, and he felt exhausted.
Had he really been so stupid?
"We followed the usual procedure for suspected cases of alcohol poisoning. We pumped your stomach and made sure you didn't stop breathing. The blood results didn't come back that the alcohol content in your blood was over the legal limit, however. Did you take anything while you were drinking that may have caused a reaction?"
"I don't remember." Yuuichi continued to scribble away on the clipboard.
"We didn't detect any of the usual things the kids seem to be using these days. No one saw you take anything. We're going to wait for the last few tests to come back before we release you then." There was a long pause while he finished writing. "I'm thinking it was just a bad reaction to the alcohol..."
Flipping the pages back down, Yuuichi forced another small smile and adjusted his glasses again before excusing himself, closing the door behind him.
This was just perfect.
The panic started to rise again as he realized just what this meant for him. He would no doubt be reprimanded by his grandmother… His father would be disappointed in him but hopefully wouldn't make too big of a deal out of the situation. Tamaki had always been responsible with his drinking in the past.
Sure, he had been doing a lot more of it recently but he never thought he could get himself in so much trouble.
He probably got everyone else in trouble to…
Everyone knew what went on at the parties thrown by the Ouran elite. Parents trusted their children not to get into any trouble or take things too far. So much for that…
Tamaki told himself that worrying about it was not going to help. He eventually fell back asleep. His sore body and headache did a respectable job of keeping him out of a deep sleep, however.
He had never had a hangover so bad that he was in this much pain. The slightest movement caused discomfort. When coupled with the constant hum of activity on the other side of the door it was nearly impossible.
If this is what it felt like to drink too much, he was never going to do it again. Lesson learned. This was almost unbearable.
Too soon, the blonde was jolted awake when he felt something warm touch his feet. He instantly regretted sitting up so fast. His vision went momentarily black and his joints ached in protest of the sudden movement.
"Calm down son." Tamaki turned his head before his vision was completely clear and felt relieved when he could see his father's kind face staring back at him. He had stood from his seat in the corner of the room and came to place a hand on his boy's shoulder. The small comfort was a welcome one.
Yoshio Ootori stood at the bottom of the bed watching the foot that had nearly kicked him in the face cautiously. Tamaki was surprised to see him there.
"How long have your feet been swelling Tamaki?"
The blonde blinked a few times, pulled out of his musing by the unexpected question, before looking down at his feet. He wrinkled his nose. Ew.
He had stopped his morning runs to give his body a break around a month ago when he had noticed his feet swelling and his knees and ankles started aching.
He hadn't thought it concerning, brushing it off as an active lifestyle and growing pains. It had happened countless times before and a few days of rest usually did the trick. "Maybe a month… is something wrong?"
"Not necessarily. Any joint pain?"
"Yes. I went to the doctor a few weeks ago and they told me to rest until it went away." Yoshio cleared his throat and adjusted his glasses. Tamaki didn't miss the glare he shot his eldest. Yuuichi had been his doctor since he had moved to Japan.
"Joint pain is not common in boys your age. How often do you experience this?"
"It's come and gone since before I got to Japan."
"Alright. Can you tell me what joints are most commonly affected? Is it larger joints like your knees, hips, or shoulders? Or small joints like in the fingers and feet?" Yoshio's voice did not waiver from the calm monotone that Tamaki was used to.
He didn't know if he should be concerned by these questions, but his palms were starting to sweat. What did any of this have to do with alcohol poisoning?
Tamaki hesitated for a moment before answering. "It's ah… different every time. Right now, my legs hurt pretty bad but I can also feel it in my shoulders and hands." The blonde felt his father squeeze his shoulder reassuringly.
"Have you noticed that when you experience these pains that you have less energy than usual?" The patriarch of the Ootori family started to scribble quickly on a pad of paper he had pulled out of his breast pocket.
Was scribbling good?
"Yeah. I usually just try and sleep it off. It goes away in a couple days."
"That was a good call on your part. This time when you noticed the joint pain and swelling the extra sleep didn't help?" Tamaki shook his head no in response and the room felt momentarily silent while Yoshio handed the pad of paper over to Yuuichi.
"Order these tests. Stop the IV fluids until we get the results."
Turning back to face the blonde he gave a reassuring smile to Tamaki and his father. "It seems we may have been too hasty in diagnosing the cause of the seizure last night. Hopefully, we will have a definitive answer for you within a few hours."
Tamaki felt his heart sink, seeing the worry that painted his father face was intolerable.
The Ootori excused themselves, leaving Yuzuru and his son alone in the suddenly small room. Rather than staring at each other, they both glanced around the room while trying to find their words.
When their eyes did nervously meet again, neither could manage a sentence.
After a short while, two nurses walked into the room. Their kind voices and cheerful faces went a long way in lessening the tension that was building in the room.
Tamaki was not too fond of needles but didn't protest the blood sample being taken. The IV that had made its happy home in the back of his hand was removed and the blonde was helped out of bed and into the bathroom to give a urine sample.
Thankfully the nurses were happy to allow Tamaki to brush his teeth and wash his face while he was in there before tucking him back into the hospital bed. The warm water running against his hands and splashing against his face went a long way in helping him calm his nerves.
His father had again taken a seat in the chair that was pulled up to the side of his son's bed. Tamaki hated the look of worry on the man's face as he watched him. He hated being the cause of that worry…
Alcohol poisoning happened to dumb kids. That hadn't been scary after Tamaki had woken up. Having a random seizure? Terrifying to the both of them. There was nothing they could do except wait.
0o0o0
If you liked it or hated please feel free to let me know what you think! I am always trying to improve myself and my writing!