I don't own Ouran.

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"Are you certain you have been taking your medication as prescribed?" Yuuichi was frowning at the blood work he had gotten back for Tamaki. He had been trying to find a cocktail of drugs that would keep the teen's immune system in check with little luck.

In the last 5 years, there had been a lot of breaks through in the world of medicine for people like Tamaki. None of these new medications were bringing his body in check so that he could have a normal lifestyle and Yuuichi was running out of options.

The heavy immune suppressants were meant to get a relapse under control, not treat the illness day to day. They had terrible side effects and could cause more harm than good if Tamaki were to come in contact with a strong virus.

After 6 months of on and off use, Tamaki's body needed a break. They were particularly hard on the stomach and the headaches the boy had been having were nothing to sneeze at. His life was still far from normal.

The good news was that his kidneys were functioning almost normally again which had been a miracle. The dialysis had given them enough of a break that they were able to heal and the blonde had narrowly escaped having to go through getting a transplant. They just had to get his immune response down and they should be able to manage things from there on out.

"Yes." Tamaki smiled at him warmly. He was running a slight fever but there was still some pink in his cheeks.

"And you haven't been over excreting yourself? Sleeping enough?" Grabbing one of the nurse's stethoscopes he pressed it to the blonde's chest and listened carefully to his breathing.

"Does getting ready for a wedding count as overexerting myself?" Tamaki chuckled. Yuuichi had banned him from doing a lot of things, getting married was not one of them.

"Maybe that's why we're not getting the results we want. Terrified to get married?" The eldest son of the Ootori family was happily single. He didn't have much advice to give in that department but he assumed it was a large stressor.

"No way you can write me a doctor's notes to skip it is there?"

"I'm afraid it doesn't work like that." Yuuichi liked to see his patient in a good mood and joking. "Any new symptoms?"

"I've been getting pretty bad stomach aches lately. My head is trying to murder me—oh and my chest randomly feels like someone is twisting a knife in it." Perfect. Yuuichi took down a few notes before adjusting his glasses.

"I'll call your father and let him know about your blood results and that you need to have less stress. We can switch the pain medication you're on for the headaches to something less harsh on the stomach. Make sure you're taking your medicine with food though—" Yuuichi finished scribbling on his prescription pad and handed it to one of the residents to have them fill it. "We're going to get you in for a chest scan, those stabbing pains sound like they might just be from anxiety, but we're going to play it safe."

Tamaki nodded, uninterested. He had gotten used to going with the flow and being sent for all sorts of random tests.

The blonde had been sleeping a lot but didn't feel well rested at all. He couldn't wait for this appointment to be over so he could go home and crawl back into bed. Tonight was supposed to be a big night for him—he was supposed to propose to Éclair.

He hadn't seen or spoken to her since they had been out to dinner, and he wasn't particularly excited to be seeing her tonight. He had never dreamed of his wedding before, never imagined how he would propose to a girl, he had never had a reason to until now. Éclair was the type of girl that has been thinking about her wedding since the time she was a little girl though.

He had to make this special for her. She was giving up a lot for this marriage. Tamaki honestly had no idea why she would agree to it in the first place.

Yes, the Suoh family had money—their children would inherit unfathomable wealth and they would be well supported. Éclair came from money though. He couldn't think of a single thing that would be a plus for her in the match and he had spent quite a few hours these last few days dwelling on it. From every angle, she was getting the raw end of the deal.

He was going to have to use all of his skills to give her a fairytale ending she had no doubt been dreaming of her entire life.

Once he was cleared to go home Tamaki changed into something more comfortable for lounging and curled up on one of the couches in the library with his laptop. He had been neglecting his studies and his grandmother was not cutting him any slack. As of now, he was about 3 months behind his peers, and that just wouldn't do.

Learning came easy to the blonde, but he could only look at the bright screens for so long before his head started to pound. He didn't have any interest in the lunch that was offered to him and instead chose to snooze before their guests arrived.

As he made his way through the second estate he smiled at how hard the staff was working to make this night spectacular. At his request, they had decorated with white roses and lilacs from the guardian and their sweet aroma was heavy in the air as he made his way through the hallways.

Taking a quick shower, he crawled into bed and pulled the covers over his head. His chest was starting to hurt and try as he might, he was having a challenging time drifting off. Nothing was worse than exhaustion and insomnia working together to torture him.

He hadn't gotten any worse these last few weeks—but he hadn't improved at all. Just hovering in a constantly achy and fatigued state. He had been having between 3 and 4 migraine days a week, forcing him to rest in dark, quiet haven his room had created for him.

When he did emerge from his layer he was struggling to catch up on school work and social obligations. Merculusly—he hadn't needed to see Éclair since the last time he had taken her out to dinner. She had gone home to France for a few weeks to take her finals in school, leaving Tamaki with one less thing to worry about.

The blonde was still feeling guilty about ignoring the host club for the most part. The twins had started a group chat for all of them to try and keep Tamaki included in the day to day running of the club—he loved reading their messages when his eyes were not to light sensitive from his headaches.

He didn't often get to participate due to the fact that he was sleeping for the majority of the day, but when he was able to, he actually felt like things were returning to normal. Tamaki was thankful that the hosts were understanding and didn't seem bothered by his lacking presence in club activities.

He was even more grateful that Kyoya was doing such an amazing job of managing everything. The Shadow King was not only single-handedly keeping the host club afloat, but was also helping Tamaki get caught up with his school work.

Tamaki rolled over and sighed loudly. He was asking a lot of Kyoya but he didn't know what he would do without him… This engagement business—the school work—the constant doctor's visits and medications—he didn't know how he could do this if he was still all by himself.

High strung or not—it didn't matter. Soon enough the blonde had dozed off.

The next time Tamaki opened his eyes it was to his father standing at the foot of his bed looking rather unimpressed. "Have you done anything to prepare for tonight at all? Honestly, Tamaki, you are going to give your grandmother a heart attack."

"You don't like the flowers?" Tamaki sat up and rubbed his eyes. "And I'll have you know that I was getting my beauty rest." Reluctantly, he shoved the covers to the side and got to his feet. His knees were not happy to be bearing any weight at the moment and were aching rather badly as he walked over to the outfit his father had brought him.

"Your grandmother had this made for you, it compliments Lady Eclairs dress." Yuzuru watched his son walk with a slight limp. He had gotten the call from his doctor this morning. He just wanted this wedding to be done and over with so that it wouldn't affect his son's health.

"That was sweet of her. Who all is going to be at dinner?" The blonde yawned and examined the clothes more closely.

"Our most important business partners, the bigwigs in the company, a few important stockholders… Some other people your grandmother thought should be here to witness you signing your life away." Yuzuru sighed and took a seat on one of the couches. The guests would be arriving within the hour.

"I don't think I'm the one signing my life away, father." Tamaki chuckled.

"I was not happily married to the woman your grandmother chose for me. I don't imagine that you will be any luckier then I was." The woman had been just like Éclair. Not as beautiful, but controlling and jealous. Isolating him from his friends.

"The one you left for Mom?" The blonde started to pull his tee shirt over the top of his head. His father had never really talked about her. "What happened to her after the divorce?"

"She moved back with her mother and we pay her a handsome paycheck." Yuzuru would have been better off staying married to her, though he never would have been able to bring Tamaki to live in Japan with him. "Can I offer you some advice?"

"Of course." Tamaki didn't get to hear his father tell stories very often.

"Chances are, you're never going to fall in love with Éclair. This is a business transaction. Treat it as such." Tamaki frowned and Yuzuru sighed. "You don't need passionate love to raise a family or run a business. You need a partner. Éclair will be a good business partner. She had the mind for it and her bloodlines are good."

"So why did you leave your wife then?" Tamaki finished up dressing and came to sit next to his father.

"I was naive. I thought that Love was the main ingredient that we were missing."

Tamaki didn't know if he could ever truly love Éclair. She was like any other girl that he hosted too. He was sure that he could make her happy if he played his part—he owed that to her at least.

"Well, I don't plan on having a mistress and raising a love child on another continent." Tamaki laughed and gave his father a smile.

"Good. You know how well that turns out." Yuzuru chuckled as well before standing and helping his son to his feet. They both made their way downstairs to greet the guests that would be arriving shortly.

By the time everyone had arrived Tamaki felt as though he as dead on his feet. Normally, he loved to entertain but all of the smiling and polite small talk were taking their toll on him. This was the first time that many of his father's business associates had seen him since he had fallen ill, and while they had done their best to keep that information hushed, rumors had been swirling.

It didn't help that all their children attended the same school. The fact that a sizable number of Ouran Students were in attendance of the dinner party spiked his anxiety. Everyone in the host club, accept Haruhi, was also in attendance. Tamaki had been so relieved to see them and they were doing wonders in helping him out of uncomfortable conversations.

The Tonneirr's were the last to arrive, fashionably late of course, and Tamaki made a show of greeting Éclair warmly. Kissing both of her cheeks, he held her hand as he led her across the room to meet a few of her future classmates.

Of course, other than the hosts that knew what was the real reason behind this evening merriment, their classmates seemed very surprised at the special treatment Tamaki was giving Éclair in comparison of the other girls.

Éclair was wearing a burgundy gown that complimented her hourglass figure. Her hair was pulled into a tight, neat bun at the top of her head. Her bangs were clipped back, showing off her sharp cheekbones and beautiful eyes. It was obvious that some of the girls felt envious.

As the night progressed, Éclair seemed to relax more and more. Tamaki was happy to see her getting along with everyone. Even the twins were being friendly towards her and that was a huge step for them. She even laughed at a few of their stories. She was pretty when she laughed.

The adults had been watching the two of them carefully. Many of them knew that Tamaki was going to propose, and they patiently waited as the night went on. The blonde knew it was time to move things along when his grandmother had started glaring at him.

Tamaki waited for a moment to interrupt and invite Éclair out onto the balcony to look at the roses. He couldn't do it in front of the host club, in front of Kyoya especially.

The blonde didn't know why he was so anxious. It wasn't as if she was going to say no. His hands were shaking as he opened the glass door that led out onto the balcony, and he felt as though he was going to throw up.

Being sure to close the glass door before walking over to the railing, he gazed out at the beautiful rose garden and waited for Éclair to join him. "I wanted to talk to you Miss Éclair, but it was a little harder than I had expected with everyone staring at us. I guess I'm shyer than I thought."

The blonde chucked lightly but Éclair didn't say anything. Wordlessly she same to stand next to the heir to the Suoh group. She already knew what was happening. He figured he might as well just come out with it—the setting was perfect and he could spend the rest of the night romancing her away from the rest of the guests.

"Well, I have a question to ask you." Turning to face the French beauty Tamaki got down on one knee, ignoring his bodies protest as he did so. "–And it sure is asking a lot." He removed the ring from his pocket and opened the small, black leather box. "Will you have me Miss Éclair?"

Blue eyes initially widened as they made contact with Tamaki's before her gaze was quickly shifted to the floor. Tears began to well at the corners of her eyes and slid down her cheeks as she nodded hesitantly. Try as he might, Tamaki had no idea if these were tears of joy or if the reality of what a marriage to him would mean was finally hitting her.

Tamaki forced himself to his feet, fighting through the wave of dizziness and pain in his joints, he slid the ring onto the correct finger before pulling her into a tight embrace. He waited a few moments for her to compose herself, and when that didn't happen he kissed her forehead. "Dearest? Why are you crying?"

"O-oh my…" Éclair tried to wipe the tears away without smearing her makeup. The blonde offered up his handkerchief and took a seat on one of the benches, pulling his future bide with him so that he could wrap an arm around her.

For the first time that night Eclairs smiled for him as she dabbed at her damp cheeks. "It's silly really…"

"What's silly? I don't think a beautiful young lady crying is silly at all." Especially not when there was a room full of guests watching the special unfold.

"It's just for the longest time I waited for this day, and then a year ago it all came to an end. I mean I was so happy… but you wanted to be with that commoner… and now it's really, truly going to happen." Éclair said as she looked at her hands.

"I don't think that's silly at all. Little girls all over the world dream of their wedding, and what I did to you was horrible and unfair. I shouldn't have played with your heart like that." He wasn't sure why she had become so attached to him so quickly, but he never meant to harm her in any way.

"That's not what I meant exactly, I doubt that you would remember it. After all, it happened so long ago." Éclair dabbed at another stray tear and the blonde kissed her cheek.

"I'm afraid I don't quite follow, my lady."

"We went to the same elementary school, you know." She was frowning again and the blonde stayed silent to allow her to get it all out. "You were so friendly back then. You wanted to be friends with everyone and you loved to play make-believe."

He honestly could hardly remember any of his classmates from elementary school. His mother fell ill not long after he had started school and he had blocked a lot of it out.

"I remember one day—some of the older boys were picking on me, and you came to my rescue. From then on, we used to play together a lot, little games where I would be the princess and you would be the one to come and save me—" Éclair started to fidget with her engagement ring and she smiled at him.

Tamaki was left feeling dumbstruck. Mixed feeling coursed through his body. Mostly he felt mortified for not remembering someone he had had such a profound impact on. "Really? I had no idea…"

"I know. But it's silly that I'm still hanging on to a kindergarteners crush for all these years. But after your mother fell ill you rarely ever played with the other children. You would sit by yourself and draw pictures for her, or stay in the music room practicing piano for her… Sometimes you would let me come and listen to you practice." Tears started to slip down her cheeks again and Tamaki took the handkerchief to wipe them away.

The guilt he felt at this moment was overwhelming. "It seems I've always been quite cruel to you. I'm sorry. I should remember someone who had been such a good friend."

"I don't blame you. You were only five or six, besides, that's how you're supposed to react at that age when something so… damaging… happens." She choked out the last part as she brought her hands up to cover her face.

"No. it's not ok." The blonde wrapped both his arms around her and hugged Éclair tightly. "It obviously hurt you and I rubbed salt in the wound with my behavior at the cultural festival." Tamaki could feel her start to tremble.

"T-that's not i-it. Th-that's not why I'm cr-crying." She hiccupped loudly.

"Please tell me Éclair." Tamaki had never once in his entire existence made someone cry like this. He didn't know what to do to make it better, her emotions were just overflowing. He hated himself for thinking it, but from inside things must look terrible. The entire party was watching them from the ballroom.

"N-now that I h-have you, I don't want to lose you to the same thing I did before, I don't want you to get taken away b-because of the same illness." She was crying hysterically now. The King of the host club felt his heart instantly break as he listened to her sob.

This was all his fault. This poor girl was broken because of him and there wasn't a single thing he could do to fix it at this point. Never in a million years would he intentionally do this to another human being.

There was no magic cure for his autoimmune disease. His body didn't have the strength to whisk Éclair off her feet and take her to a place where all this pain could no longer affect her. He could only sit here and watch as she trembled and clung to him for dear life.

He waited to for the shacking and weeping to stop before lessening his embrace. With tears in the corners of his own eyes, Tamaki leaned forward and pressed their lips together. "I'm sorry Éclair. I'm so sorry."

She didn't bother to wipe at her tears this time as she locked eyes with the King of the host club. "I told you it was silly—I'm just being overly emotional."

"No, my sweet princess." Tamaki took a deep breath. "I should have been more considerate to your feelings."

Éclair nodded slowly. She looked down at her engagement ring and smiled. "Thank you, Tamaki. You really are as sweet as they say."

The blonde helped his future bride get cleaned up and the two of them made their way back inside. Tamaki felt a stabbing pain in the center of his chest and his vision dotted black any time he moved to suddenly. He needed to go lay down but the night was far from over.

Upon re-entry of the ballroom, the young couple received a round of applause. Either they didn't notice Éclair ball her eyes out, or they were ignoring it. They walked hand in hand and happily chatted with everyone.

Éclair proudly showed off the engagement ring that was 'just what she had always dreamed of', while Tamaki received marriage advice from the gentlemen in the room. It was nearly midnight before their guest had started to depart, and Tamaki finally had time to slip out of the spotlight.

Sitting in one of the few quiet spots on the first floor of the second estate, it wasn't long before he was joined by Kyoya.

"Well, she said yes." The Shadow King adjusted his glasses and looked at Tamaki carefully.

"How bad did it look from inside?" A dark chuckle escaped the King's lips before he leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

"It looked like she had a mental break down. We all thought that the pressure had finally gotten to her and she would refuse." The matter-of-fact tone he used comforted Tamaki. It must have been uncomfortable for Kyoya to watch, given their recent history.

"Not the pressure. Turns out I'm just a terrible person." The blonde watched as the Shadow King raised both of his eyebrows.

"Where on earth did you get that impression?"

Sitting up a little too suddenly Tamaki sighed and cradled his forehead in his hands. His vision was starting to go black. "But I am… I'm always making everyone, including you, worry about me. I'm selfish and I don't think about how my actions affect the people around me until it's too late… I was so horrible to her- all those years- she waited all those years and I just pushed her aside- and now-now I can't give her what she really wants- I can't be a good husband- or a good father- it's all my fault-my fau-" Tamaki's body slumped against Kyoya as he lost conciseness.

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Please let me know what you think! I haven't gotten any negative feedback yet? I would love to know what I need to improve on!