Hello everyone. I am positively mortified that this story is five whole years old and still has no conclusion! I've been through the worst case of writer's block I have ever experienced and that, coupled with the usual life dramas, ensured that I couldn't write for a long, long time. But now I'm back on track (hopefully) and along with this story, I have started writing a couple of original stories too.

I intend to see this fanfic to its conclusion before the end of the year. I hope you guys will cheer me on. Please don't hate me too much for being gone so long? I look forward to reading your reviews. Many thanks :)

DISCLAIMER: I do not own KHR and I do not claim any characters and/or locations in this fanfiction story that you may recognise from the anime/manga. I only own the plot and nothing else.

Julie Katou sat in the chair by the window thumbing idly through one of his favourite books. It was a beautiful day outside. It was exactly the kind of day he liked. White clouds dotted the bright blue sky, the sun was shining but it wasn't too hot. The breeze seemed to be just right too. But there was nothing good about this day. He heaved a deep sigh and turned another page realising that he hadn't been paying attention to the page he'd just read.

For the fifth time.

He shut the book and leaned forward pressing his fingers to the sides of his head. This was a terrible day indeed and he knew exactly why. He hated to admit it – he really, really did – but he knew precisely why this day had no appeal for him.

Adelheid.

They had met as children many years ago when their parents were introduced. There had been many years and fights between them. Miss Responsible had always chided him for his behaviour. He loved to have fun and she was always there to tell him how wrong his actions were. Once upon a time, it was annoying. Then he'd begun to tease her realising that she reacted to this in the most adorable way.

Her blushes were a thing of beauty, especially because they were so rare. Her smile and her laugh lifted his spirit. Julie knew he loved women, this was a fact of life. He'd had girlfriends in droves and none of them ever lasted very long – another point that Adel hated and never held back on. He'd asked her if she was jealous once and he'd been caught completely off guard by the bright red that had stained her cheeks. In a huff, she'd announced that he was being foolish, turned on her heel and left him to his own thoughts.

Then he'd had to go overseas for some business of his family's. He'd never really spent long months away from Adel before they met. When he went about that town indulging in his favourite vices, there was no voice telling him that he should behave himself. There was no responsible miss asking him why he didn't hold himself to a higher standard for his class. There were no blushes quite a pretty as hers and nothing really seemed right any more.

When he finally had the freedom to act as he liked, when he liked… why did he feel so bereft and lonely? He'd stubbornly refused to write to her and, pushing all of that aside, had instead dived headfirst into his work managing to finish more than a month before he was meant to. It had surprised everyone in the company and even his father had been very impressed. After concluding business, the moment he got back, he went straight to Adel's house and when she walked into the room, he had walked right up to her and drawn her into his arms.

She had stiffened in surprise then tried teasing him, none of which had helped free her from his hold. He'd felt a million times better for having her there, in his arms and maybe that strange feeling is what made him do what he did next. She shook off his hold and crossed her arms giving him a condescending look and demanding to know what he was about.

It was at that moment that he'd grabbed her face and planted his lips on hers. She had stood in utter shock for a moment then hit his chest twice to make him let her go. He'd pulled away and looked into her eyes, her beautiful hazel eyes and, smirking, pressed his lips to hers again. This time, she didn't fight him off. Her hands clutched at his shirt and his dove into her glorious black mane holding her in place. He was drowning in her and found he couldn't quite get enough.

But then she'd gasped and pulled away from his grasp completely, placing her hand over her lips.

"We can't do this," she said. He was about to protest when she said the words that brought him back to cold hard reality.

"I'm getting engaged in a few days."

They had stood in silence, each knowing exactly what that meant. An engagement between the Shimon family and another of rank was bound to happen eventually. Julie's family was wealthy enough but not quite on the same level as hers. He could offer for her hand but there was every possibility that his suit would be rejected in favour of a more powerful family to marry into. More to the point, did he really want to get married in the first place?

For Julie, marriage had been a thing he must do in the future to secure his family's legacy. It was a cold institution that didn't really mean a whole lot, considering the number of married women he turned down – and then only out of sheer principle. Marriage and loyalty were not mutually exclusive in his mind and he had never looked forward to it, but now… Adel made him hesitate.

Marriage.

He sighed and leaned back in his chair looking out at the bright sunny day. In his eyes it held little appeal. He had no desire to leave the room or even move from that spot. Life no longer appealed to him and the last few nights since his arrival had been spent indoors. He'd become a whole new person and only because Adel was getting married. What on earth had gotten into him?

He sighed again rubbing the bridge of his nose. This couldn't go on. There was a whole world out there waiting for him, a world he had wanted to fully explore and experience and he felt nothing. This was not like him. Maybe he was sick? No, not in the conventional way at least. He knew what was wrong. He knew in his heart of hearts why everything was so dull all of a sudden.

He was in love with her.

He banged a fist on the table and rose to walk to the far window, the one that had a view of her house. At that very moment, the marriage talks would have begun. Adel would be betrothed to the lord that had come to see her and her cousin and that would be the end of that. Somehow, that really made his blood boil. Would he ever really appreciate her? Would he be grateful for her laugh and smile as he was? Would he appreciate the beauty of her blushed like he did? Would he crave her kiss like he did even at that moment?

None of those thoughts comforted him. Like a fool, he'd walked away from her that day without a word. He should have fought for her. He should have gone straight to Enma and stated his case. He should have done… something!

Maybe it wasn't too late. Maybe there was still a chance. He could ask Adel herself to reject the proposal. Being her cousin's favourite he may just take such a selfish request into consideration. Combined with his family's considerable wealth and connections, he was sure he could make a suitable match with Adel…

Was he actually doing this? Somehow, now that the idea had come to him and he'd begun mapping out a plan of action, he was getting fired up again. With a laugh, he went off in search of his father.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*

Adelheid sighed as she sat in the parlour on her own.

The introductions had been made and she had left the men to talk, as she was meant to do. This was no love match, she was under no illusions to that effect. She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and arranged her skirts again.

She had been so confident before. For her family, marriage was something she could do. It was expected of her and she trusted Enma's choice. Hibari looked like a stickler for the rules, much like she was. She wouldn't have to nag him about anything. She wouldn't constantly have to follow him around making sure he didn't make a mess…

She looked down at her hands realising she had the material of her dress scrunched up in her fists. Having seen the coldness in Hibari's eyes, her confidence had been dashed. Maybe they could learn to tolerate each other. Many other couples did the same. There were some fortunate love matches but this was not one of them.

Her thoughts immediately flew to another afternoon in that very room. Julie had come to see her. She'd heard that he had gone overseas for business and she had missed him terribly. No letters had come for her from him. She had thought they would have been at least that close. She had only just begun to be really frustrated when Enma had told her about her impending marriage and he'd asked her if she would accept it. In the end, it had been her decision and, making the first rash decision of her life, she'd accepted the offer immediately.

She had been ready to blast Julie when he came to see her a full month earlier than he was due home but when she'd seen him, her composure had crumbled. She had watched his tall frame from behind the door and her heart had beat an erratic rhythm. Then he had drawn her into his arms and taken her breath away. She inhaled the dark rich scent of his cologne and nearly sagged with the relief.

Immediately remembering herself and fearing that she would fall apart right there, she fought to free herself from his hold. He only stood there looking handsome and a little bit smug. Then she had demanded to know what he thought he was doing. It had been on the tip of her tongue to ask why he hadn't bothered to write to her but immediately kept quiet. Julie was not her lover, he was not her intended and he was not her husband.

Before she could add to that statement, he had kissed her soundly on the lips causing her to stiffen further in surprise. She had definitely not been prepared for that. Nor had she imagined that something so simple and normal could be so blissful. Her heart rate spiked, her breath came out in gasps. A million nerve endings awakened to his touch. It was magic and it was perfection and she couldn't imagine anything more wonderful in the world.

It was enough to make her think that she would maybe not mind kissing these lips for the rest of her life…

Then she had remembered her rash decision and managed to pull away from him. She had told him about her marriage in no uncertain terms. She was never one to beat about the bush and if this was the direction that their relationship seemed to be heading in, he needed to know this one very important thing.

It had broken her heart to watch him walk away without a word or a backward glance. What had she expected though? This was something new and unexpected. Julie had been her friend for longer than she could remember. She had grown attached to him and he to her but romance was not something either of them had dreamed about. Then when he had taken the chance, he had been too late.

But she had hoped he would say something, anything. She had hoped he would have asked her to break the betrothal and consider being with him instead. She had never even considered marriage let alone one for money. And now it was all one big mess….

A single tear rolled down her cheek as she envisioned her future as the wife of Hibari Kyoya. She didn't like what she saw. She would be trapped in a cold and loveless marriage like most people of her rank. She would probably never see Julie again. Wiping away her tear, she topped up her cup of tea and sipped it as she tried to come to terms with what she had done.