Rose of Jericho

by peterpauper

Would we laugh at gilded butterflies? Sequel to Chrysanthemum.

37. Chapter 35

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Chapter 35

-

Yuuki got an email from one of the teenagers at the house. He was saying goodbye. She said she didn't know he was going home. He told her that he was sending himself there, thanks for her help. She called him immediately.

"Liam." She breathed when he picked up.

"Don't. Please don't tell me what to do."
"I'm not going to."
"Then why did you call?"
"I was wondering if you wanted to see a movie?"
There was a long silence. "When?"
"Now." Yuuki glanced at the clock. It was eight PM.

"Now?"
"Do you have something better to do?" There was a slight challenge in her voice.

Silence.

"Liam. I know what sort of discharge you want, and if you're going to do it, at least humour me to a movie."

"You're not going to tell me not to?"
"You have to tell yourself. I just prod the idea. I'll come pick you up."

Long silence. "Okay."

"Think of what movie you want to see."
"Okay."

"I'll be there in half an hour."

"Okay."
"Okay?"
"Yes."
"Yes?"
"I'll wait for you."

"Good. See you soon." Yuuki hung up and then dialled a cab before rushing upstairs to change out of her pyjamas. Kyoya had been sitting in the same room and watched her rush off, his expression capricious. His wife had left the room so fast he gathered she hadn't even remembered he was there.

"Wait." He called as she shot past, pulling on a jacket.

Yuuki stopped moving and ended up skidding a meter or so on the wooden floor. "Sorry. Have to run."
"Where?"
"Movies."
"So I gathered."
She glanced at the time on her mobile. "One of the kids needs my help."

"What sort of help?"
"The sort that keeps him out of the morgue."

"Oh." It was a difficult statement to respond to. "Do you need help?"
Yuuki was looking at her wallet. "Do you have any cash?"

Kyoya smiled and told her where his wallet was. She disappeared again, only to reappear a minute later and skid to the edge of the couch he was sitting on. She kissed him happily goodbye, though one couldn't help but notice that her touch was edged with worry.

"Go." He pushed her lightly away. "Tell whoever it is that I say hello."
"Really?"
"Really."
"Sweet." Yuuki knew that Liam had wanted to get into business. If Kyoya Ootori said hello, it would be more encouragement than three days in a conference about self-help. "Love you."
"You too." Pause. "What time will you be home?"
"No idea. Sorry." There was a short hoot from outside. The cab had arrived. "Before one. Hopefully."

"Okay." He turned back to his laptop. "I can defiantly find something to do until then."
"Rome wasn't built in a day."

"Ah, but nether were hospitals."

"Catchy."
Kyoya smiled. "Go."
"Right." Yuuki turned to run, turned back sharply and kissed his cheek thankfully before rushing out the front door and into a cab.

Kyoya realigned his glasses and shifted his computer slightly. Yuuki's job was to help people. His was to create the business that ran the business that helped people. Sometimes he was needed, sometimes she was needed. It's not like it was his job to tie her down and stop her from her work. She was her own person with her own job. Just as he was. If he could understand that and accept it, then she would do the same for him. Of course, working all the time was not fair to your partner. There needed to be a balance. Yet, flexibility allowed for emergencies, and even though Yuuki's emergency didn't relate to him, it related to someone who needed her.

Yuuki climbed out of the cab with Liam at the cinema. He seemed a little embarrassed. He had planned to do something and had been thwarted, and for some reason, on second thought, he was a little glad. The woman picked a movie about two sisters who fall in love with the same man. Something completely irrelevant to his life. Afterwards, she took him out for something to eat.

"So, like this better?" Yuuki asked.

"Better than what?" Liam was a tall, gangly man of sixteen.

"Better than whatever you had planned."
"Well, it's better than hell if that's what you mean."
"And you would kill yourself, knowing you would go to hell?"
Silence. The boy stared at the table.

"Well." Yuuki leant back. "I think that's pretty stupid. If you want to escape, escape somewhere better than this."
"Heaven is out of bounds."
"Why?"
"Because, heaven wouldn't be if someone like me was inside its gates."
"Is heaven about you, or are you about heaven?"
Long silence.

Yuuki undid the cap on a bottle of water. "Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why did you want to commit suicide?" She said it bluntly.

Liam looked at the table. "Because..."
"Because?"
"Because I wanted to."
"Do you still want to?"
"I don't know."
"Why did you email me?"
"I don't know."
"Was it because you wanted a way out? To see if someone cared?"
Silence.

Yuuki drank some of her water. "Did you email anyone else?"
"No."
"Do you think that if you had, they would be sitting here too?"
Pause. "Yes."

"Then why did you want to kill yourself? Especially when you know people care enough to want you not to?"
"Because, it hurts." He thought he was the cause of his parent's divorce, and thus the cause of everything wrong that happened with himself and them.

"You know, its not your fault."
"Yes it is." Pause. "If I'd been a better son..."
"If I'd been a better mother I would have a baby right now"

Liam looked her in the eye. "I don't..."
"Just because you think it's your fault, doesn't mean it is. And it will scar you forever, but you can accept that." Pause. "You have emotional scarring and that can be used as a foundation for the future. You could use it to build other people up out of the pit you currently find yourself in."

Liam nodded slightly. "Okay."
"Okay?"
"I think I understand now."
"What?"

"That I'm not the only person who thinks life sucks."
Yuuki laughed. "It sort of rocks too."

"Where?"
"Why don't you and a few of the other kids go to that new theme park on Saturday?"
"How? None of us have money."
The girl smiled. "I'll pay. Its alright."

"No. It's too expensive. You'd be in debt."
Yuuki waved a hand in dismissal. "What are friends for?" Pause. "Take Su-yi."

Liam blushed.

"No. Seriously. You guys get on like a house on fire. You can move on with life and work things out at the same time. It's not like the world will stand still for you."

The boy shook his head. "I...couldn't."
"You don't actually have to ask her out."
"Yes." He nodded. "I do, it's the rules."

"My husband never asked me out. Not once. He never did that thing you guys did, the 'oh...I like you...do you want to be my girlfriend?' thing."

"How did he do it?"
"We got on like a house on fire. He didn't need to do anything."

"Really?"
"Really." Pause. "There are no rules. Boundaries, yes. But rules? That's for you to decide. You obviously have reason to like things here on earth. So why not like them a little longer?"
There was a long pause. "Okay. Maybe."
"Promise me."
"Okay."
"Promise you'll stay around until Saturday."

"I promise."
"And promise you'll let me pay for a day out for you and a few friends?"
"Promise." Pause. "How many is a few?"
"Um...Like...more than two, less than say...fifty?"
"Fifty?!"
"What?"
"Geepers."
"When you're a big business man, you can pay me back."
Liam stared.

"Oh. By the way." Yuuki stood so that they could go. It was nearly one, they'd been talking for hours. "Kyoya says hello."

The boy frowned. "Which Kyoya?"
"Ootori."
"Of...the...Ootori Group?"
"Your hero."
"How...does he know who I am?"
"I told him I was visiting a friend. He said to say hello."
"How do you know him?"
Yuuki put her bag on her shoulder and guided him to the cab. "I married him."
"What?"
"True. He could kick you off to create the 'Liam group'."

The boy stared.

Yuuki laughed. "I'm being serious."
"You married..."
"Yes. I did. And you thought I'd gone off and wedded some happy little bloke who I met in middle school."
"Does that mean you're..."
"Yuuki Cunxin? Yes."
"How do people at the home not know?"
"You all have your own problems. It's not a secret, Chou knows. I'm just a people. Like you."

Liam swallowed and nodded. His mind was defiantly further away from where it had been earlier. How long it would last, Yuuki didn't know.

"Alright. Stop staring."
"Does Su-yi have to fall off a horse?"
Yuuki laughed. "No. Please, don't do that." Pause. "I see you know Kyoya's life story."
"Yes..." The Ootori was the man Liam aspired to. Successful, rich, loved. "Can I meet him?"
"If you come wait for me tomorrow morning, or, this morning, same thing, then he'll be dropping me off."

"Really?"
"Just keep your promise."
"Okay."

"Bye Liam." Yuuki shut the cab door and sent him home. She sighed. Very few people at her work knew who she actually was. Last names were not something she played with. Anyone in Japan who heard the name Ootori quickly turned their heads to the noise. It was a family who had just lost a father and husband, who had sported a big, beautiful wedding, who had married into the middle class; they were people that the public could related to. A sort of hope. They were human and they fell, literally. Yuuki didn't much like that though. Being a public figure. She was just her.

The girl climbed into a cab and headed for her house. Everything that had happened to her was a result of something else happening. Like dominos. She fell off her horse, she lost her scholarship. She stayed with Kyoya, they became friends. He taught her how to work at more than riding, she discovered a knack at working out riddles of the human mind. They threw a party, she fell in love. Without the beginning, there would be no end. Not many people realised that life happened because of what occurred the day before. They say the past is past, but really, the past knocked down the direction for the future. If your life is made up of rooms, the one after that which you are presently in is determined by how you live in it. Mess overflows. Liam had found that. He had seen his flaws and that was it, and that was all he carried on. Yuuki had only ever seen her flaws until she met Kyoya. Sometimes all we need is a person with a mirror that tells the truth. That's what she'd done that night. Held up a mirror and shown Liam more than what his perspective allowed him to see. More than a way out. She'd shown him options. Just like she'd been shown options. There were things beyond anyone's sight that all others except yourself knew about.

Yuuki arrived home at one thirty. The house was dark and quiet. The girl took her shoes off and left them just inside the door before creeping upstairs. There was no actual need to be quiet; Kyoya was like a breathing log. It didn't move unless forcefully prompted to. Yuuki changed out of her day clothes and washed her face with cold water before turning her mind down for the night. She slid into bed and stared at her husband's back. His breathing was steady and he smelled like peppermint and sandalwood. Cool and crisp and masculine. Just Kyoya. If she could bottle him, it would sell for millions. Maybe because she'd buy it all back.

Yuuki slid her hand beneath where his arm rested down his ribcage and moved so that she was neatly aligned with his spine. Puzzle pieces joining all quiet like. People could try to seek them out, but they'd never find anything. Private moments were just that. Private. People wanted to know them, or their money. People wanted to be them. But it was impossible. The only people that the people could be, was themselves. If they thought that the life of an Ootori was desirable, they would be right. But their own life should be more desirable than that of others. Their own dreams bigger.

Yuuki had found in Kyoya a saviour of sorts, a guide and had in turn been the same for him in a way that gave him the most profit. For those without a saviour, those like Liam and those who are broken and alone; she was a light. Something to guide them when all other guides had left. That was her job. And she'd learnt it through experience and lived it every day.

-

Kyoya woke up that morning to the sound of Yuuki's phone buzzing. She'd changed the ringtone to something more annoying than her previous one. Fighting Dreamers by Go! Trumpeted through the silence.

The man snarled and glanced over his shoulder. The bedside table was empty. She must have put her phone on his side by mistake. If they had sides. It varied. Kyoya picked the phone up and saw a picture of Tachi on the screen. It stopped singing and listed a missed call. Somehow his wife had slept right through it. Her arm was draped around his torso from behind, her hand sporting the jewellery she never took off.

Kyoya let his head collapse back onto the pillow. The phone rang again. He picked it up and answered. "She's asleep." He hissed.

"She shouldn't be." Tachi said flatly. "Wake her up."
"No." The man whispered lowly. "She came home sometime this morning."
"Uhuh. I don't care. Get Yuuki's butt down here."
Kyoya hung up. The phone rang again. "Tachi, I'll get you hauled off my property."

There was a sigh at the other end of the line. "If she's going to Grand Prix Tokyo then she's got to train." It was the one event Yuuki did annually to keep in the circuit. She'd won two years before and come third more recently, proving she still had a knack for her now half-job. "Zero has to keep fit too."
"Train the horse. I want at least half a wife by the time she actually wakes up. On her own accord." The hand shifted slightly. Kyoya lowered his voice. "One day won't kill you. Or her."

Tachi sounded angry. "You don't understand...she has a schedule!"

"I do understand. I also understand that she's the one paying you. So if she misses a ride, it's not your concern. You are her employee and will work for her benefit even in her absence. Have a nice ride. Coffee machine turns on at six thirty, enjoy." Click.

Kyoya turned the phone off and set it down beside his own. They really needed a no-phones policy. It would never work. But it was worth the thought. Yuuki moved slightly behind him and the man turned over carefully so that her arm would remain around him. She mumbled something about the time. Her husband didn't reply, he just tucked her against his chest and began to drift back to sleep. Sometimes you just had to give someone a break. Even if they didn't really need it. It showed that you cared, even if you spent your days pretending to be cold in a room of men doing the same. It told her that their world still existed completely. And in it being theirs, they were theirs. Little secrets and poignant moments. Cheats to a game no one knew. Plot to a story no one would read. It was their creation. For them. And in the middle of saving lives and building the empire that did so, that could get lost. Which is why they paused, not to catch their breath, but just to breathe. Kyoya hadn't known how to breathe before. Yuuki hadn't known how to breathe normally. But they knew now. It had taken a lot of learning, but they'd done it. Achieved an equilibrium within themselves.

She smelled like roses still, with a touch of white tea. Like a hidden passion. Sometimes she smelled like peppermint, but it was okay because it went well with her and the scent that already existed.

-

All I am, all I'll be
Everything in this world
All that I'll ever need
Is in your eyes
Shining at me
When you smile I can feel
All my passion unfolding
Your hand brushes mine
And a thousand sensations
Seduce me 'cause I

I do cherish you
For the rest of my life
You don't have to think twice
I will love you still
From the depths of my soul
It's beyond my control
I've waited so long to say this to you
If you're asking do I love you this much
I do

In my world, before you
I lived outside my emotions
Didn't know where I was going
'Till that day I found you
How you opened my life
To a new paradise
In a world torn by change
Still with all my heart
'Till my dying day

(I do cherish you, 98 Degrees)

-

"Liam will be waiting." Yuuki had her elbow on the window of the car, her head in her palm. "He thinks you're a god."
"Really?" Smugly.

"Uhuh." She yawned.

"You're going to be home at midday today." Fact.
"I already planned to be. I want to go running."
"We have a treadmill."
"And a bevy of maids, but sometimes one would like to experience the real thing."

They pulled through the gates to the Youth House. It looked like a big, old school. Teenagers formed close huddles along the drive. A few waved at the car, they knew Yuuki was inside even though few knew the driver.

"Mmm." The girl said, sitting properly. "I'll come see you."
"At work?"
"No. At the north pole. Of course at work."
Pause. "I'd like that."
"Really?"
"Yes."

"Okay." The car stopped. Yuuki smiled slightly. "I'll see you at...one-ish." She leant over and kissed him goodbye. Kyoya returned the favour and it was a short while before his wife actually opened the door and climbed out. There was a weedy young man standing, talking to a smiling girl, on the steps that led into the main building. He waved at Yuuki. "Hey Liam. Good to see you this morning." They exchanged a look that the girl didn't understand. "Want to meet Kyoya?"

The man in question appeared behind her and offered his hand. "It's irrelevant. I want to meet him and thus he has no choice."

Liam stared and it took a moment before he actually shook the hand offered. "Sir...hello..."
"I hear you saw a movie with my wife last night?"
"Yes, sir. I'm sorry to have kept her so late."
"It's fine." Kyoya put a hand on the small of Yuuki's back. "She wanted to see the movie and I, quite frankly, did not."

Yuuki nodded. "It's true."
Liam was still staring. "It...it's an honour sir."

Kyoya smiled and took up the role he knew as a host. "It's not sir to anyone but my employees and journalists."
"Mr Ootori, sir." The boy corrected.

Yuuki nodded formally and turned to her husband. "Sir. Coffee?" It had been their plan all along. Kyoya was going to be a little late for work.

"Sure." He kissed the top of her head and locked his car. It beeped in obedience.

Liam was speechless. "Can I come?"
The woman laughed. "Duh." She took her husband by the hand and dragged him to the kitchen at the back of the house. It was huge. The sort you need for a lot of people. There were a few long tables in the middle of the giant room and that's where Yuuki settled her husband and the boy.

The girl, Su-yi, followed and helped her. "I thought you'd married a musician or something, it just seemed like the sort of person you'd end up with."

"Yes. People who find out who my husband is often say that." Yuuki pulled some cups out of the closet and glanced at the men. Kyoya looked very refined beside Liam. Probably because he was, but the teens nerves weren't helping.

"What are they talking about?" The girl asked, pulling out the coffee. It was instant. No one had to know though.

"Opportunities."
"What sort?"
"If he deems it, Kyoya's going to fund Liam through university. Depending on how he proves himself, he may even end up with a job at the Ootori group."

"He would do that?"
"Kyoya?" Pause. "No. He wouldn't. It is not something that would bring him merit."
"Then why..."
"Because, he believes in being the best, despite ones circumstances."

"Is that what KO-3 means?"
"It is. Third son, Kyoya Ootori."

"Wow. And you got him?"
"Yeah." Yuuki looked at her husband. "He's pretty hot hey?"
Su-yi laughed. It was like music. She wanted to be a singer. "I didn't want to say it. Not to you."
"Oh. Go ahead. Don't say it to him though. His ego is like...massive." She drummed her fingers on the counter. "Like...you have no idea." Pause. "What about Liam?"
"What about him?"

"Reckon you'd still like him when he's an Ootori protégé?"
"Still like him?"
Yuuki gave her the 'girl look'. "I've been there, done that. You're like a puppy to milk."
Su-yi blushed. "Oh...I don't know."
"Don't hide it. Let it happen."
The girl picked up two of the coffee cups. "Okay." She hurried to the table, embarrassed.

Yuuki followed and stood at the head of the table. "And?"
"And...it's a good investment." Kyoya pushed his glasses up.

Liam didn't get it. Su-yi was beaming. The boy stared again. "What?"
Yuuki smiled. "I think you just got a ticket to college."
"Make it worth my while." Kyoya smiled in a business like fashion and offered his hand over the table.

The teen took it eagerly. "Really?"
"Yes. Don't make me regret it." The man's tone was light, but he meant every word. If he was going to help someone, they'd better help themselves too.

"Yes, Sir."
"Okay." Kyoya stood up and put his hands in his pockets characteristically. He turned to Yuuki. "Its instant."
She scowled at him. "How on earth do you know? You didn't even drink any."
"I was educated that way." He grinned smugly. "And now I have to go to work."
Liam stood up. "Again, I'm sorry for keeping Yuuki so late."

The Ootori turned to him. "It's alright. I've kept her much later."
"Oh my gosh." Yuuki slapped his arm. "Get out."

Liam was laughing. Kyoya's ego playfully threatened to burst out of the room and invade the world. His was turning scarlet and was pushing him back towards the door.

"Gee." She hissed good-naturedly. "That wasn't an awkward way to start my day."
"Your teenage occupants love to talk."
"Yes. Preferably not about me." She paused by the car. "But thank you."

Kyoya smiled genially down at her. "He's smart. He just doesn't know it." Pause. "Sort of de'ja'vous from someone else I know."
"Uhuh." The girl knew exactly who. "This coming from you. Kyoya Ootori, maintaining his bottom bar while everyone else struggles to keep up. I mean duh, you tried to be the best, but not better than your brothers."
He laughed lowly, still in his host club facade. "Yes. We all make mistakes."

"The tête-à-tête worth it?"
"Like I said, he's smart, he doesn't know it."

"But was it worth it?"
"We'll see, wont we? He has to finish high school first."

"Okay." Yuuki hugged him goodbye. "I'll be seeing you."

Kyoya leaned down and kissed her. There was a rowdy cheer from the other side of the lot. The men's group had seen and were watching. Yuuki waved a hand at them and her husband smiled haughtily. "I like it here."
"Maybe. I doubt your reasons though."

"Dare doubt me?"
"Yes." Yuuki laughed as he opened the door and climbed into his car. "Regarding that anyway."
Kyoya pushed his glasses up and nodded goodbye. "Love you."
"You too." She shut his door and watched him drive out of the gates before ducking her head and hurrying inside.

A flock of girls surrounded her. "Oh my gosh, who was he?" The chimed in unison. Yuuki wondered if they'd practiced that.

"Um. Kyoya."
"Oo." One of them said. "Is he like...single?"
They'd obviously only seen him as she led him out. "No. Not at all."
The girls seemed crestfallen, and then a little angry. "Who's his girlfriend?"
"Well, I wouldn't know."
"Why? You seemed to know him."
"If he has a girlfriend, she's going down. And then he's going down and sleeping on the couch."
The gaggle stared for a second. "Wait..."
"Mmm...." Yuuki left it to them and decided to lock her office door. Any male that saw her that morning was grinning roguishly. Needless to say, getting out at midday was less of an exhaustion thing and more of an embarrassed thing.

Of course it would be old news in a week; the teenagers there had their own problems. Kyoya knew that, he also knew they'd want something to keep their minds off their problems. In his own, confusing way, he'd done them a favour and maintained his privacy. Yuuki now had a husband with a face. No one at the house would even consider telling anyone but those in the house about what they had seen or heard. They were a secret society almost, preparing to put themselves back into society.

The kids who thought they were misunderstood had seen the most misunderstood phenomena of their time. Or ever. And it helped them some. To know that there were those who were immaculately happy as they were. Exactly as they were.

-

Ordinary no, really don't think so
Not a love this true
Common destiny
We were meant to be
Me and you

Like a perfect scene from a movie screen
We're a dream come true
Suited perfectly for eternity
Me and you

Every day, I need you even more
And the night time too
There's no way
I could ever let you go
Even if I wanted to

Every day I live
Try my best to give
All I have to you
Thank the stars above
That we share this love Me and you

Every day, I need you even more
And the night time too
There's no way
I could ever let you go
Even if I wanted to

Ordinary no, I really don't think so
Just a precious few
Ever make it last
Get as lucky as
Me and you
Me and you

(Like me and you, Kenny Chesney)

-

Yuuki got home at twelve and wandered through the house. There was a blank DVD case on the coffee table, Mako had brought it around the day he' barged in on her trying to drown her husband. She'd never actually thought about it. The girl picked it up and looked at the CD. It was blank. She contemplated it a minute and then put it back on the table. She needed to eat something and then go see Kyoya. By the time she got to his office, she'd forgotten about the DVD.

The Ootori group building was very, very tall. It was one of many that reared their heads higher than the clouds on a story day. The thing about Japan was that they tended to build up, not out. As head of the building, Kyoya was at the very, very top. He even had a private heli-pad.

Yuuki went to the reception and found an elderly woman behind the desk. She smiled crookedly. "Hello dear, how may I help you?"
"Good afternoon, I need the scan key to get to the top floor."
"Ah, yes. Sorry, I thought I recognized you." She dug in a drawer and pulled out a key-card. "Here you go Mrs Ootori."

"Thank you." Yuuki smiled.

The woman's eyes crinkled as she smiled for real. "By the way, your latest Vogue shoot is lovely. My daughter buys it."
"Oh. Thank you ma'am. I'm glad you liked it."
"That's alright. Have a good afternoon."
"You too." Yuuki waved lightly and disappeared to the marble hall that contained the elevators. She went to the one right at the end and scanned her card. It took a minute for the elevator to come from the top to the bottom but she was soon in it and climbing up the building. She thanked the fact she'd worn flats that day. When she was nervous she bounced slightly. Yuuki didn't much like very high heights.

When the doors opened, a huge room with a floor to ceiling window greeted her. The view afforded a look-down over the city and displayed a large storm cloud headed for them. The receptionist here was a middle aged, efficient looking woman who was on the phone.

"Good afternoon." Yuuki stood at the desk and put the key-card in her pocket, along with a mental note to get one for herself. She waited for the woman to finish on the phone.

"How may I help you?" The receptionist had a hard voice.

"I'm here to see Kyoya."
"And your business with him is?"
"I told him I was coming."
The woman raised an eyebrow. She'd obviously not read Vogue that month. "Please hold." She pushed a button. "Mr Ootori, there's a woman here to see you." There was no reply. "He's on the phone...Miss...?"

"Mrs Ootori." Yuuki corrected.
The receptionists eyes gave her a once over. "Oh." She said flatly. "Yes. You should have said so."
"Sorry. It's a habit." People tended to gush when they heard her last name.

The phone buzzed to life. A familiar voice called over it. "Send her in."
Yuuki didn't hesitate and pushed open the door beside the window. "Send me in? What is that?" She said happily.

"Maintaining face." Kyoya smiled and stood from behind his desk. His wife opened her arms and he filled them. "Hard day?"
"All the boys were being rogues and all the girls wanted to kill me."
"Well, I'll have you know that I got a call from downstairs from an associate saying that some 'pretty young teen' was riding the elevator to my floor. Be prepared."

"Teen?"
"You're white and Japanese. Age is sort of an unidentifiable issue for you. You look mature, but how much so is questionable."
"Oh. Really?" She caught his undertone. Yuuki looked out the window. "How do you work with that?"

"What?"
"View. It's so high. My feet are tingling."

"You've been here before."
"Yes. But never before a storm."
Kyoya walked over to the window and looked out. "You get used to it."
Yuuki stood a few steps back. "Yeah. One would hope."
"Yes." He corrected.

"Whatever." The girl sat on the end of his desk and fingered a few papers. "I see we've been invited to the theatre."
"Do you want to see Beauty and the Beast?"
"It's my life story." She grinned smugly. "If it's the Broadway version, it should be amazing."

Kyoya returned to her and sat in his chair. He had his back to the window and towards a wall filled with books and paintings and various ornaments that were received as gifts. "I'll say yes then."
"Wait, who's it with?"
"The Germans."
"Okay. I can speak German."
"Yes, yes." Kyoya mocked. "So can I."
"Oh. Be impressed."
"I am impressed."
"But with yourself too."
He smiled slightly as his computer beeped. He turned to the keyboard and typed a quick reply to the email.

"Who was it?"
"The French Ambassador. He sends me an email every day to say good morning. Well, its morning for him."

"It's the thought that counts." Pause. "Are you coming home?"
"Now?"
"Uhuh." Yuuki swung her feet and thunked her heels against the side of the desk.

"Let me check." Kyoya typed a few thing, looked at a few things and then sent a few things. "Yes."

"Sweet." The girl slid to her feet.

"In a minute." Her husband said, pushing his glasses up.

She shook her head nonchalantly, waited a minute and then climbed onto his lap. "Minute."
"You're not an egg timer."
"Unfortunate choice of words." Yuuki laughed.

"Yes. They were." He was she wasn't upset about them. It was alright. She had finally relaxed about the issue. Kyoya leant back and stared at her.
"What?"
"If it's storming we can't take the helicopter."
"Awww." Yuuki said sarcastically. "And I so wanted to ride in the air through a storm."
"Its' a stupid idea." Her husband tucked a hair behind her ear. "Let me finish here and we can go home."
"Okay." She smiled sweetly and kissed him adoringly.

The computer sang a strange tune and a voice called over it. "Bonjour, Kyoya...Yuuki."
The girl glanced at the screen. The French Ambassador was video calling. Yuuki very swiftly stood up and disappeared behind the computer. Kyoya's composure was exactly as it should have been for a business call, only lighter because his wife was turning red. "Hello Jean."
There was a low laugh over the speakers. "Sorry to interrupt. I just wanted to tell you face to face how appreciative we are of the Ootori group here in France."
"And I appreciate you telling us so."
"I also appreciate the fact that you're incorporating French custom into your own life."
Yuuki put a hand on her cheek in an embarrassed manner and thought about how her day was cursed with lack of privacy or awareness.

Kyoya smiled. "Yes. Thank you." Somewhat awkward.

"Anyway." Sigh. "I won't keep you. I must go expand the medical horizons."
"Yes. Thank you for calling."
"It's my pleasure."
The computer beeped off. Yuuki stared. "Surely there's an option to open a webcam?"
"There is. The French system bypasses it. We're working on that now."
"You better be."
"You're getting a lot of publicity today."
"No thanks to you."

Kyoya pushed his glasses up and smiled. "Okay. Home."
"Yes. Whatever." Yuuki crossed her arms and stood straight and uptight.

The Ootori shut his computer down and collected what he would need to work at home. He then pressed a button on the phone to connect to his receptionist. "You can go home if you'd like Jai, have a good weekend."

"Thank you sir, I will try." Came the reply.

Kyoya stood and pressed his hand into the small of Yuuki's back. "Come on."
"No touchy." She said flippantly. "I'm jinxed today."
"Uhuh." Her husband guided her out of the room and into his reception. "Afternoon, Jai."
"Goodbye, Sir." The woman was typing something on the computer. "I'll lock up."
"Thank you."

Yuuki had her arms crossed. Kyoya expected them to come undone in the elevator but she pointed at the camera. "You're getting good at this."
"And you're utterly terrible at it." She laughed. "What happened to the mystery of an Ootori?"
"You're still a mystery."
"Yes, but we won't be."
"Ha. I doubt it."

True. "Like...a hundred people saw you 'say goodbye' this morning."
"A whole hundred?" It was more like ten.

"Yes. A whole hundred."
"And then the Ambassador."
"And Mako." Pause. "We need to control that somehow."
"Like how?"

"Like...turning off your bloody webcam." Yuuki sulked.

Kyoya laughed. "Hey, the French invented that."
"I don't care." Pause. "And no they did not. That was not what they invented; they...did...it differently."
The man just stood with a hand in his pocket and smiled the smile reserved for moments of amused awkwardness for another. "Well, he was impressed."
"Yes. Enough."

"I told you before we got married, you're an Ootori and you're going to have people watching the things that normal people do and making it an event."
Yuuki's arms were still crossed. "Well, at least the kids have something to talk about...I'd prefer if it wasn't me though."
"They would talk about you anyway. You're Yuuki Cunxin."
"I thought I was an Ootori?"
"Well...by name." His expression was roguish.

Yuuki raised her eyebrows and laughed. "Oh. I see how it is."
"Mmmhmmm." Kyoya became a business man in an instant as the doors opened. "It is as you make it."
"I did not make it like it is. You did."
"Sure." He nodded at a man in the foyer. "You pretend it's normal, so will the world."
"That's not true."
"No, to a certain extent, it's not." They walked outside. His car sat in one of the few car-parks above ground and on display. They were all reserved. "But as I said, you are an Ootori now. You'll learn."
"Whatever." She opened the car door and climbed inside and waited for him to too. "I can be an Ootori by blood."
"Really?"
"No. Probably not."
Kyoya shook his head humouredly and pulled onto the street. "Well, whatever the world says, you are my wife and that means something."
"What does it mean to you?"
"More than you know."
"I know, don't worry." Yuuki smiled. She knew, not for herself but for him.

-

When they got home, Yuuki found the DVD again and scrutinised it.

"What is that?" Kyoya said sitting down on the couch with his laptop.

"Mako dropped it off." The girl turned it over.

"Put it on."
"Hm..." Yuuki hesitated a moment, hoping it wasn't a practical joke of some sort. In the end she slid it into the player and took the remote off the coffee table. "I'm perplexed." She turned it to the right channel.

"Mmm." Kyoya was lost in a pile of emails that had arrived since he'd left the office.

His wife hit play and crossed her legs. The screen was blue and the speakers hummed for a second before dropping down to low laughter. The pictures moving across the TV showed a party with pastel coloured balloons and a jumping castle. In the background was a large green paddock. A little dark haired boy ran across the screen with a toy plane.

The person filming laughed. Her voice was like a bluebirds. "Birthday boy!"

Mako bounced. "Look at my plane mama!"

"Yes. Who flew it?"
"The Baron!" He called happily.

"Go play with daddy."

"Where is he?" Mako looked a little troubled.

"By the pool baby."
The boy turned around and saw something off screen and ran off. The camera followed him to a clean swimming pool, full of children playing. There was a group of men standing in a loose circle, their laughter very baritone against the backdrop of kids laughing. The little boy stopped in front of a younger and smiling Shang Cunxin and lifted his arms up. The man picked him up and blew a raspberry on his cheek. They were talking but the camera was too far away to pick up the words.

The scene cut and was suddenly filmed by a wobbly hand, but of the same party. "Mama!" The little voice called.

Cara Cunxin appeared wearing a lavender dress and sporting a seven months pregnant belly. "Be careful Mako."
"Yes, mama."

A few seconds later the camera was dropped and the grass was filmed for a few minutes as the boy cried out in surprise and then obviously ran away.

Yuuki watched and laughed brightly. Kyoya glanced down at his computer. He'd become distracted by the film. In the end he closed Marvin and put him on the coffee table.

On the TV, Yuuki's mother was lying in bed and looked very tired, but very happy. A two month old was sleeping, finally, in the crook of her elbow. She was whispering at the camera. "I'm definitely not a morning person." Low laughter. "But this one is."

"Gets up with her dad." Came Shang's voice from behind the camera.

Yuuki woke up and started yelling. The camera turned off again and the scene switched to the little girl walking for the first time. Her hair was curly and soft.
"I was such a chubby baby." Yuuki said watching.

Kyoya laughed and ran his fingers up her spine.

The little girl took a few hesitant steps and then jumped in excitement and fell onto her bottom with surprise. She then giggled and stood up again. Mako promptly entered the room and hugged her spontaneously and then ran off. Yuuki tried to run after him and face planted the tiled floor. "Aw baby. Lucky you don't have teeth yet." Cara appeared from off screen and picked up the shocked baby. She didn't even cry. She just clapped happily and rubbed her nose with her pudgy fingers.

"You were a fat baby." Kyoya said.

Yuuki smiled and let her head fall onto his shoulder.

The scenes changed from her first word, which just happened to be 'saddle', to her first ride and her first day at school. At five she was slight with a pretty, happy face. Her tight curls had turned into the waves she had today and she was pale, like a white peach.

"You haven't grown a bit." Her husband said lightly, leaning back and pulling her back with him.

"I know..." Yuuki sulked. "It's so depressing."

Kyoya smiled and ran his fingers through the tips of her hair.

The last part of the film was of a fair day. There were bright colours and horses. Mako and Yuuki got filmed having a fight over what colour horse is the best. They then forgot about their fight and rode the Ferris Wheel. Yuuki's laugh hadn't changed. It was still bright, happy as it should be. But it had taken a while to get like that.

The woman glanced down at the coffee table as she saw her mother tacking up a horse. She then looked back up and smiled as Cara did. It was like she was smiling through the camera and at her.

A six year old Yuuki was standing at the horses head, petting its nose. "Mom?"
"Yes darling?"
"What's dad doing?"
"He's tuning the car engine with some friends." Mako was obviously filming. He would have been eleven.
"Why?"

"Because." The boy called from behind the camera. "It's making funny noises."

"Oh." The girl paused. She was wearing a blue checked shirt and jeans with butterflies on them tucked into bright red cowboy boots.

Cara picked her up. "Alright you. Let's go riding."
Yuuki smiled happily. "Together?"
"We left Pancho at home." Pancho was her first horse. A chestnut pony with a sweet temperament.

"No, I wasn't arguing." The girl said, now in the saddle, waiting for her mother to climb up behind her.

"No. Not you." Her mother rolled her eyes and mounted with ease.

Mako protested. "What am I supposed to do?"
"We won't be long. The show starts in an hour and mommy needs to be there."

She never would get there. The next scene was of a lot of black clad men and women, carrying a coffin laden with white roses out of an old country church. Mako stood with a fierce expression on his face and refused to look at his sister as they stood outside. She had a scrape on her chin, rode burn. Their father came out and took Mako by the hand. He ignored Yuuki. He blamed her and it was obvious.

The shot ended and turned into a brightly coloured podium with a quiet, dark haired girl on the top, receiving a blue ribbon and waving at the crowd. Then it ended.

Yuuki stared at the TV. "I...I was a fat baby."

Kyoya put a hand behind her head comfortingly and let her burry her face against his neck. "You look like your mother."

His wife breathed. "I forgot what she looked like."
"You were six."
"I was cute." She said laughing softly. "It's okay, I'm okay."

Kyoya knew she was alright. But he held her anyway. Because that's what he would want her to do for him. In her own way. Specialised to him. "It wasn't your fault. At all."

"I know."
"But you feel it is?"
She nodded. "I was there. That's probably why. I was directly there. And I saw everything."

He didn't even want to know what it was like to see someone he loved disappear below a truck. Like Horse Whisperer, only uncut. "Like the baby?"
"Sort of."
"You were there, you experienced it. But it was beyond your control."
"I know."
"Then believe it."

"At least you don't resent me for it." Yuuki kissed the underside of his jaw thankfully.

Kyoya traced tight patterns on her shoulders. "I resent a lot of things, but you are not one of them." He resented his father, he resented that he'd been away when his wife miscarried, he resented the fact that it had taken so long for him to live and not just have a pulse.

The girl turned the TV off and settled against him. "Do you want pizza?"

She wasn't avoiding any topics, she just understood them. Like the days when they were at Ouran and would just sit and know. Before they fell in love. It was something they shared.

Kyoya pushed his glasses up. "Don't want to cook?" The woman who did it was on holiday for a long weekend.

"No." She shook her head. "Not really."
"Want to try?"
"With you?"

"Sure."
Yuuki laughed and then stopped abruptly. "Sorry." Pause. "It's just that...I cannot see you cooking." Pause. "At all."

"Well, it's time to see it then."
"Have you ever cooked?"
"No." Kyoya stood up and peeled his wife off the couch.

Yuuki shrugged. "Okay."
They tried to make pizza. Important word: tried. Half an hour later, they were both covered in flour. Yuuki had filled the cup to high and blown the mountain of white powder into her husband's face. He had promptly smacked the underside of the measuring cup in her hands and covered her front in flour. And then they tried to decide what cheese to use. They had five types and spent ten minutes just staring at them. In the end, they settled for mozzarella. And then argued over the topping. Half an hour after that, it finally went into the oven. After a debate about the temperature.

"Yes. You suck." Yuuki wiped her face and found that it had a thin layer of flour on it.

"I think we sucked together."
The woman contemplated this thought for a minute. "Mmm...yeah."
"Ye..."
"Whatever." She cut him off.

Kyoya smiled and sat on a stool.

Yuuki put a hand on her hip. "You have flour on your face."
"So do you."
"Can you see?"
"I did clean my glasses."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"What a pity." She clucked her tongue. "I'll have to do it again."
"If you do, it will prove mightily negative on your part."

Yuuki thought about this. "Yes. Probably."
"Still want to do it?"
"Yes."
"Don't."
She glowered mischievously at him.

Kyoya paused. "Is something burning?"
Yuuki turned to the oven quickly and pulled the pizza out. They'd burnt it to the point where saying it had been on fire wouldn't have been far from the truth. "Well...um..." They ordered dinner instead.

It was okay to be happy after a moment of sadness. It was okay to look back and only feel a dull pain. Because, even though that moment in life was one of the worst there ever was, it was still only a moment. One of many etched into the mind of those who carry it. And there was another who created more moments, ones that were a ladder out of sorrow. But you had to climb the ladder yourself. All they could do was stand at the top and wait for you. If they waited for you. Gilded butterflies were weighted beauty. Butterflies free were as they should be. Touched by life and touched by a blessing.

They clung to each other that night. Providing protection from what should have hurt, guarding from nightmares. It had never been about carrying the others pain, but rather helping them lighten the load. Everyone dealt with their problems in a different way; it was up to the other to work out the best way to help them. Often, it was as simple as loving and expecting nothing in return except to climb higher with the other person.

It was a night formed by a miracle. And thus, produced one.

-

You gave me wings and made me fly
You touched my hand I could touch the sky
I lost my faith, you gave it back to me
You said no star was out of reach
You stood by me and I stood tall
I had your love I had it all
I'm grateful for each day you gave me
Maybe I don't know that much
But I know this much is true
I was blessed because I was loved by you

(Because you loved me, Celine Dion)

-

A month later, Yuuki scrambled in from her riding lesson and threw up in the kitchen sink. It was early September and she wondered if she'd caught a bug. Their sixth anniversary came. Their relationship was very much the same as it was six years earlier, only somehow better, deeper. There was more that was inexplicable. And more for others to be confused over. Talk of a baby was imminent but dismissed by the couple. Even the media reported that it was going to happen. Which hurt a little but was accepted.

Yuuki found that her bug kept coming back and she decided to see a doctor before Kyoya caught it and decided to hate the world for a few days.

She sat in the suit with her feet hanging off the examination table. Yuuki was wearing her aged bomber jacket. The one Tamaki had brought to her the day in the hospital so long ago. It was a favourite. It stood for more than a gift from a friend. It was the earliest record of the beginning of the rest of her life.

The doctor slipped into the room with her results. "Well, you are absolutely fine."
Yuuki was a little confused. "I've been suffering in the morning, how am I fine? I thought I had a bug?"
"You do."
"Will my husband catch it?"
The man laughed in the way doctors do when they know more than the patient. "No."

"Then how did I catch it."
"He probably gave it to you."
Yuuki was confused. "I don't get it."
"Well." The man looked at his chart. "You have the sort of bug you have to nurture. You can send it to playgroup. It will cause you a lot of stress and drain you of money."
"Do I have cancer?" The girl was a little horrified.

This time the doctor roared with laughter. "You are the most oblivious person I know."
"Can you just tell me what I have? And what I have to take to make it better?"
The man looked at her thoughtfully. "Yuuki, dear, you're pregnant." Pause. "Is there a problem with that?"
Yuuki felt the blood drain from her face. "What?"
"Were you and your husband trying for a baby?"
"Um...yes?" Pause. "Yes? Maybe?"
"I'm sorry. I don't follow."
"I'm not able to have kids. I had an undiagnosed ectopic pregnancy."
"Well, it seems your other side works fine and on the off chance, you hit the jackpot and scored that two percent." Pause. "Do you want a baby?"
There was a long silence. "Um. Yes?"
"I asked you the question."
Yuuki thought for a long time. She was scared. The girl nodded. "Yes. I do." She had accepted that the chances of her getting pregnant were exceptionally low to the point of impossible. But she hadn't accepted that she would never have children.

"Good." The doctor smiled. "Go see your obstetrician."
Yuuki went straight. He congratulated her and told her it was a miracle. Which was something coming from a doctor. They either believed in science or God. He also told her that a natural birth was out of the question, her body was not in a state to do that and it she was going to have to monitor her pregnancy closely as the damage to her womb was to extensive to allow anything otherwise.

Yuuki was in a surreal state. She didn't know what was happening and it didn't register until she did a test herself at home. And she cried. Because she didn't know what to think. She wanted to be happy but didn't know if it was the right thing for her to have a child. She'd got used to the idea that she wouldn't.

The girl sat on the bathroom floor and ran her fingers through her hair as she stared at the little plus sign. Yuuki ran her hand over her face and exhaled. Her breath shuddered. It was like waking up and believing your dream was real. It was a second chance. It was a gift. And she was freaking out.

The next thing she did was get her mobile and take a picture of the blue cross and send it to Kyoya.

He called her a minute later. "Yuuki?"
"Yes?" She cradled the phone against her face.

Silence.

"I went to the doctor and..." she swallowed. "he couldn't work out what was wrong with me. And it turns out there isn't anything wrong with me. And Kyoya, I'm about to hyperventilate."

"So..."
"Yes."
"Yes?"
"We're going to have a baby." Yuuki leant against the bathroom cupboard. "Or...we're supposed to be having a baby. Or...I'm supposed to be pregnant."

"Supposed to be?"

"We said it was almost impossible. I...oh my gosh."

Kyoya breathed down the line and hung up. Half an hour later he was at home. His wife ran to him at the door, threw her arms around his neck and cried. He carried her through to the lounge and sat down, Yuuki still gripping against him. "What's wrong?" He supported her head against his neck.

"I can't. I can't, Kyoya." She was trembling. "I can't do it again."

"Do you want this?"
Yuuki sniffed and looked him in the eye. "Yes." Pause. "Do you?"
"Of course."

"We said 'that's all' though. Is that going to change? I love me and you. I don't..."
Kyoya pressed her lips against hers. "Nothing is going to change. You hear me? Nothing."

"I'm scared."

"Me too."
Yuuki ran her nose along his jaw, her eyes shut. "I don't want to lose you."
"I don't want to lose you either. But I won't. I'll gain you; there will be a little bit more of you." He brushed a tear away with his thumb and kissed the ghost that it left behind.

"Is my heart supposed to grow to love another person like I love you? I don't know what to do or what to expect or...it's..." She exhaled unsteadily.

"If there's anyone who can say a heart can grow, it's me. Relax, nothing is going to change, you want this, I want this."

Yuuki breathed for a bit. "Okay."
Kyoya rested his hand on the curve of her neck. Her pulse was beating as fast as his was. Like timers set to each other. Ticking down to a miracle. He pressed his forehead against hers and felt their breath mingle and spill off them. "It's okay."
His wife nodded. "It's okay."

They sat like that for a long time, until both of them calmed down. All they could hear was a heartbeat. Theirs or the others they couldn't tell. It didn't matter. It was beating like one heart. Like one being. Like them in a single creation. Something so deep and secret and unique that it was impossible to be a result of anything but them. Just them. Raw and unrefined; ungilded.

When they kissed it was like the first time. Every time was like the first time. Like every star in the sky exploding, tingling, shivering down upon them. Every touch was electric. It always had been and always would be.

"Oh my gosh." Yuuki smiled. "We're going to have a baby."

-

------

I was actually going to leave it and not have any children at all. But...I wrote the finale already and it felt incomplete without it. So...

Only a couple more chapters to go! If you have any suggestions for another story, please do tell. I will probably write a Hunny one-shot. If you want another anime or story, suggest that too.

Also. I will probably write an 'about the author' so...if you have any questions for that. Please ask them and make sure to say that they are for that part of the story or I will just answer you. Haha. I love reading the 'about the author' at the back of books and if I'm going to finish this, then I'm going to do it right.

:D

So...reviews please. Constructive criticism welcome.

Blessings and thank you so, so much for reading. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoy writing it. Seriously, you guys are amazing. Your support is fantastic.

-pp