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Two years ago, shortly after meeting Tamaki Suoh.
It took Kyoya a minute to figure out that his soulmate was standing in front of him. He discreetly checked his timer, yep, it was flashing zeroes at him. So he wondered, why hadn't it rung?
He glanced at the other boy's wrists and discovered that he didn't have a timer. He mentally screamed as he realized that he would have to explain it to the blond that they were soulmates. Yep, that should be fun, he thought sarcastically. About as fun as jumping into a lava pit full of fire-resistant piranhas anyway.
"If you'd like I can show you around the school," he said without even realizing that he was speaking.
"That'd be great, thanks!"
As he showed the boy, Tamaki, around, he finally managed to speak up about timers.
"So, I noticed that you don't have a timer, Suoh," he said carefully, not wanting to offend him.
"Oh, no, I don't. I was going to get one when I was three but my mom said I burst into tears. I guess it does look painful, injecting them. Now I'm too old to get one without worrying about nerve damage," Tamaki explained with a smile.
"I see. But, erm, aren't you worried about your soulmate?"
"Won't their timer go off, as long as they have one?" Tamaki asked. Kyoya clenched his jaw.
"Actually if you don't have a timer, theirs won't be able to pick up the signal so it won't ring."
Even preschoolers knew that. Kyoya wanted to hit his head as he realized how stupid his soulmate was.
"Oh... Well, it should be okay though! I'll just know when I meet them, I know I will!"
Clearly not.
"Well, about that, actually-"
"Oh, by the way! I was wondering, do you have a kotatsu at your house?"
"A... Kotatsu?" Kyoya said slowly, sure that he must have misheard.
When he got home, his father managed to somehow take notice of the zeroes on his wrist. It was sort of amazing how he continuously managed to pay the smallest amount of attention to his youngest son, but when it came to the one thing he wanted to forget, he caught on to it pretty quickly.
"Who is it?"
Kyoya blinked before realizing that his father was referring to his soulmate. He swallowed past the terrified lump in his throat.
"Tamaki Suoh."
He wanted to lie, but he couldn't. Although Tamaki was clearly a moron, he'd be bound to figure out at some point, whether Kyoya told him or not. It was just best to tell his father now, before he had to find out through some other means.
His father looked stunned for a moment.
"I don't plan to get romantically involved with him," Kyoya said quietly. Hell, he wasn't even sure if he'd want to be friends with this guy if his father hadn't told him to.
"You have to. He's your soulmate."
Kyoya looked at his father, stunned.
"I can't say I like the idea that your soulmate is male, but... He is your soulmate, so there is nothing to be done."
Kyoya pressed his lips into a thin line.
"He doesn't have a timer himself. If I never tell him then he'd never know."
"You mean you didn't tell him today?"
"No, sir."
"You'll have to tell him someday. Or else someone will come along, someone else who doesn't have a timer, and he'll think that that person is his soulmate."
Kyoya didn't reply. He was sure he'd be fine without that idiot in his life, but didn't voice that thought.
Two years later Kyoya found that he had been dead wrong.
He watched as Tamaki pranced around, doting on Haruhi, going on about 'Daughter' this and 'Daddy' that. Kyoya wanted to punch something.
He had to hand it to his dad, though. He'd hit it right on the head. Kyoya's hesitance in telling Tamaki that they were soulmates led to him believing that their newest addition to the Host Club, Haruhi, was his soulmate. Though he never said it in those words, the way he latched onto her and doted on her clearly told everyone his beliefs.
It was painful. He forced himself to turn his gaze from the blond to the twins, talking about something or other, probably speculating on their 'broken' timers. In their acting they made up a story of how they were each other's soulmates, but outside that they said they didn't have a damn clue why their timers had been stuck as zero for their whole lives. Kyoya had a bet with Mori about when they'd figure out that their acting 'story' was actually the truth.
"Mommy! Haruhi's being mean to her daddy!"
Tamaki's whining voice got Kyoya's attention, and he glanced around the room.
"Haruhi's not even here anymore," he said flatly.
"I know! But before she left she wouldn't let me come to her house with her! Don't you think she should let us visit more often?" Tamaki said, letting himself cling to Kyoya's arm. Kyoya shook him off and tried not to panic as he realized that his sleeve had almost rolled up and revealed his timer.
"Not if she doesn't want us to. She has to keep her grades up, you know. To actually keep her scholarship," he said pointedly. Tamaki only pouted in reply.
Kyoya sighed and looked down at his notebook, adding a few calculations here and there.
"Tamaki, you know she's not your soulmate, right?"
The words had fallen from his mouth before he knew he was even saying them. Tamaki looked at him strangely, and this time Kyoya couldn't stop himself from blushing.
"I know that. I mean, technically I couldn't know for sure since she got her timer removed - Did she ever tell you about that? Her dad had to wait until she was five to get her one and then it damaged her nerves a few years later-"
"I know, Tamaki. I was there when she told us."
"Oh. Then why'd you bring it- Wait! Are you her soulmate?"
"No! I'm not her soulmate!"
He put emphasis on 'her', but Tamaki didn't seem to notice his hint.
"Oh. So why, then?"
Kyoya clenched his jaw and closed his eyes. He had waited two years to tell Tamaki. He didn't know why, but he had just gotten the feeling, somehow, that right then he needed to say something. He opened his eyes and scanned the room. Everyone else had left.
"Because I'm your soulmate," he said softly. He didn't meet Tamaki's eyes and closed his notebook. He felt a hand on his elbow before he could turn away, and he faced the blond hesitantly.
"I am?" Tamaki said breathlessly, his eyes wide in disbelief.
"Yeah. I thought you said you would 'know' when you met them," Kyoya said with a smirk. Tamaki blinked, and then started to giggle when he remembered the day they'd met.
"Sorry. I feel kinda stupid now."
"Only now?"
"Shut up..."
Kyoya smirked and Tamaki gave him a shy smile in reply.
"So... What now?" Tamaki asked. Kyoya tilted his head.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean... Do you want to... Be with me? Like... Romantically?"
Kyoya's breath hitched, and Tamaki turned away. He shifted awkwardly as Kyoya watched him, thinking about how to reply.
The question should have an obvious answer, he thought. Even though not all soulmates ended up together romantically, Kyoya had spent the two years he'd known Tamaki dropping hints about how he'd want to spend his life with his soulmate. He also knew that Tamaki had had visions of a beautiful wedding he would want to have, and even said that he wanted three kids. (Kyoya guessed that that part had sort of gone down the drain, but the rest was still very possible.)
"Of course I want to be with you romantically you moron," Kyoya said, his voice soft. Tamaki looked up at him, his eyes shining as he grinned.
"Then... I can do this?"
Before Kyoya could even blink, Tamaki reached up and pulled Kyoya close to him and pressed their lips together. Kyoya wasn't sure if it was seconds or hours before he pulled away, but he knew that it was far too soon for his tastes.
"Yes, you can definitely do that," he said, a small smile on his face.