Author's Notes: A long one-shot, compared to my previous ones. It's also more serious in nature, kind of, and it's about their relationship changing and evolving as a whole. As always, warnings for possible OOCness.


He wears a mask almost all the time, never bothering to take if off. My reputation is important for my line of work, he says. She thinks that he worries more about his public image than his own marriage.

It's a mask he has been wearing for years. He has never taken it off – not even after he met her. She never tried to take it off; it sort of fell off on its own after years of decay.

He remembers times in Ouran when he had wanted desperately to yank it off. "I'm here!" he wants to say to her.

But he doesn't. Instead, he watches as his best friend tries to court her – and is horribly rejected, not intentionally of course.

Seeing this, Ohtori Kyouya pulls the mask up tighter. He is withdrawn from the Host Club, preferring to be in the company of his laptop and never-ending numbers.

From the background, he watches her. He notices the smallest of details, that she always raises her left eyebrow and when she laughs, she puts her hands on her sides.

Haruhi watches Kyouya, too. She takes no action, but wonders what he really is like behind all his defenses. Once, she had gotten the courage to talk to him, but he was firmly hidden behind the mask, and she left disappointed.

Kyouya watches Haruhi go, and feels the need to reach after her.

He dismisses it the notion as ludicrous.

Five years later, he runs into her at a law firm. She is working on an internship. He is visiting the owner on behalf of his father.

Afterwards, they go out for coffee. Haruhi drops two sugars in and pours in some cream. Kyouya pours cream in, but puts in no sugar. He stirs his coffee counterclockwise, which Haruhi notices.

She remembers back in the Host Club when he had refused even cream. She doesn't remember which direction he stirred his coffee. She briefly wonders if this is a sign that his defenses are letting up. A sign of the mask falling off. That he is becoming more of a "friend" rather than "an old school acquaintance."

It's a false sign. Nothing comes of the meeting, and Haruhi only says good-bye to Kyouya before going back to her internship and work. She fails to see that his mask had been slightly removed. Turning too early, she doesn't see Kyouya's moved face.

For the next two hours, Haruhi cannot concentrate on the work set before her. Half the city away, Kyouya is doodling on some paper. Upon closer inspection, he realizes that he had been drawing her smiling profile.

Unlike his other previous doodles, Kyouya files it away in his desk.

Time flies by so quickly, Haruhi thinks. It has been another five years. She sits in a cramped office on the fifteenth floor of a small law firm. It isn't what she had imagined for herself, but she knows that hard work and dedication will lead to promotions.

Her latest case is given to her by her secretary. "Thanks, Miko-san," she says.

After reading the first few pages, she hears herself gasp. It's a case involving the Ohtori Group, and it had, in fact, been filed by the newly named heir, one Ohtori Kyouya.

Haruhi feels her spirits lighted. The last time she had spoken to him had been over half a year ago. Kyouya had been named heir shortly after. It was such a coincidence that she finds herself unable to breath for a second.

It has just occurred that it has been nearly three years since she last saw him.

She wonders if he has changed. Probably not.

She treats their meeting with nothing short of business formality. She calls him "Ohtori-san" because she doesn't want to be disappointed again. Kyouya smirks, sensing her challenge, and he plays the game as well, calling her "Fujioka-san."

They are discussing the case when Miko knocks and enters. "Would you like some coffee, Haruhi?"

It is then that Haruhi slips. "Yes, please. Thank you." She turns to the sitting man beside her. "Do you want one too, Kyouya?"

He notices it immediately, his eyes narrowing. "Yes, if you would." Miko glances at Haruhi, then at Kyouya. She scurries out to prepare the coffee and to spread some wonderful office gossip. Fujioka Haruhi and Ohtori Kyouya know each other!

She slides back down into her armchair, covering her eyes with her hand. "Oh, great."

"Well, Haruhi," Kyouya says, now that the game is over, "do you want to continue?"

"Well," Haruhi removes her hand. "I just want to know something. Why did you choose this firm? It isn't the biggest or most prestigious. Wouldn't an Ohtori choose a firm that is the most famous?"

"A prestigious firm isn't necessarily the best," Kyouya says slowly, picking his words carefully. "As in nearly every case, it is quality over quantitiy."

"At the risk of obscurity?"

He sucks in his breath. Did she see through him? Did she just realize that the reason had purely been that he wanted to see her again? "This case is vital for the Ohtori Group. We want to purchase a company, but there's some legal… implications that might cause problems, you could say," he finally says.

She seems to accept this, and the rest of the appointment is dedicated to formulating a strategy for victory. The words, however, aren't registering to Kyouya. He has found watching her face much more interesting. Her expression is constantly changing from flustered to serious to thinking.

Right now it has changed to annoyed. "Are you listening?" she asks.

He has an answer ready. "I believe that this company wants to use the excuse of their stockholders, and as a result…" It's a good thing that he always had the ability to pay attention while not really listening.

She is exhausted at the end of the meeting. Sensing this, Kyouya swifting asks if she wants to have dinner.

Secretly, she is pleased by his proposal.

"Isn't there some rule that says clients can't have a relationship with their lawyer?" she inquires.

"A dinner isn't a relationship," he replies.

They go to a restaurant where the food is simple and the bill is enormous.

"How is that possible? I only had a pasta," she demands, checking the menu again.

"It's no problem," he replies with a wave of the hand. "I'll just ask your employer to take it out of your paycheck."

She gives him a look, but later on when she gets her paycheck, she realizes that he had not taken anything out. There is a sigh of relief. Of hope.

That night, Haruhi lies on her bed, thinking about her renewed acquaintance with Kyouya. It's so abrupt and so random, she thinks. Was there a reason why he had chosen her as his lawyer? Her out of hundreds of other qualified lawyers?

The realization is a sudden revelation. "Oh," she says softly. It couldn't be. It couldn't have been…

Haruhi didn't realize until later on that Kyouya's mask at that meeting had nearly disappeared.

They win the case nearly four months later. The way she smiles almost makes him want to kiss her right there and then. But there's procedures and etiquette to think of.

He settles on shaking her hand firmly, and he takes note of how warm and soft her hands are.

"Kyouya?"

Maybe, perhaps, that was when the mask finally came off.

"Kyouya?"

Kyouya is awoken out of his temporary daze. He looks up and sees the face of his wife, looking slightly annoyed.

"What do you want for dinner?" she asks.

Kyouya just looks at her. He blinks. "Anything is fine," he says to her.

She begins to leave but then turns back to look at him. There is something different about him today. Tipping her head to the side, she says, "Hello."

Kyouya looks back at her, as if seeing her for the first time. As if he was seeing her with his own eyes for the first time.

"Hello."


Strange story? I know the order of these chapters don't make any sense. Please...just ignore that. Read and Review!