Maria's license was finally transferred over to Japan a few short weeks after departure from the US. She finally didn't have to drive in with Kyoya every morning but the small amount of friends that she made so far were concerned for her. All their parents sent them to school in limos with was driving a screaming metal death trap that guzzled gas. But her 1958 mustang was the coolest thing she owned. She had to constantly explain that her father respected her independence and she was very wary of anyone driving her around. The second her friends heard the word fiance slip ,instead of the usual her father excuse,just once her small group of friends were relentless.
"Really a fiance you just got to Ouran and already snatching up a cute boy."
"You have to tell us who it is."
Maria became more and more disgruntled with each encounter.
"You're really starting to piss me off" Maria said as stormed away from her friends.
She started heading to the host club to visit her favorite band of idiots. She regularly requested Kyoya as a means of spending time with him.
"So, Maria do you have any formal dancing experience there is a ball that the club is throwing and I think you would fit right in" Kyoya said in a suave tone.
"You and I both know i'm not exactly a graceful creature. I'm good at thinking on my feet not exactly the best at using my feet" Maria said before taking a sip of her coffee.
"Since you don't know maybe our resident king could help you to learn if you would like to attend the ball" Kyoya said starting to lean into her.
"Or I could teach you at home" he whispered into her ear.
"Sure I'll accept any help I can get" Maria said out loud trying to not draw too much attention of Kyoya being extra nice to just her.
It would get very suspicious if he treated her different from his clients. "So when do you think my dance lessons should start" she said trying to keep her cool.
Dancing with Kyoya,just the thought of it made her heart flutter. From the impromptu dinner party forward Kyoya had been becoming closer to her. It was everything she had hoped. She left after there appointment and drove to the Ootori estate. Unfortunately Yoshio was home.
"You really should be taking one of our cars and a driver like Kyoya does" Yoshio addressed to Maria as stepped through the door with her and keys in hand.
"Is this a problem of keeping up appearances or is this a request from my father. I do talk to him quite often and this never came up" she said evasively. "If you are to have the Ootori name I expect you to keep appearances in line with our ideals" Yoshio said trying to intellectually side step her.
"Your son doesn't have any problems with how I conduct myself so far and he's my future husband. I think his opinion matters more than your's" she said with a straight face pushing up her glasses.
She walked right past Yoshio trying to not get angry. She couldn't quite figure out what irked her about Yoshio.'Probably his attitude; that assholey deminer is so bullshit it boils my blood' she thought while biting off her nails. She went to her room and changed into jeans and a red flannel and took off her extremely painful dress shoes. She even preferred her work boots that were the uniform standard back at Garon. Her previous life seemed to almost feel like a dream each day she stayed in Japan. Kyoya arrived home not to long after Maria. Maybe an hour Maria estimated. Kyoya never really like to keep Maria waiting, only because she treated him the same way ;always punctual and never wastes a moment of his time even in random conversation about drastically ranging topics to philosophy to coffee to plans for the host club at 3 am while she is rewriting programs and he doing busy work for his father. Kyoya would run plans for the club by Maria every once in awhile. Just for the female opinion to poke at what certain types of customers would prefer. She did seat herself among a small but diverse group of regular customers at the host club. She saw duel purpose in having them as friends.
"So you ready to break a few toes sunshine" she said with an evil smirk as Kyoya entered her room. They had an open door policy; either one could go into either room without a whole lot of notice unless Kyoya was having his room cleaned.
"Wow ambitious today I guess we can get started but I would like to be more comfortable so I'll go change first" Kyoya said taking his leave.
He had gotten into the habit of making sure she knew that he was home as soon as he arrived. The ten calls and thirty text messages from the first time he forgot to mention to her that he was home were a solemn reminder that she was worried whenever he forget to tell her he was home. He changed into jeans and a grey faded tee shirt. Maria had forced him at one point or another to acquire more casual clothes. 'Life isn't always about work' she normally nagged.
He arrived back at her room while she was on her laptop.
"So what are you teaching me I'm assuming the waltz" she said while her eyes scanned her music library.
She re affirmed that she didn't really listen to anything to fit the description Kyoya was giving her. So she pulled up a music streaming site.
"Pick something easy I want to try to succeed at this" she said hoping he respected her request.
"My lady" Kyoya said gesturing for her to take his hand as the music began to play. She always made it apparent that she learned best by doing. She followed his lead.
"Wow so those isn't that hard is it" she questioned.
"Well the lady normally just follows so yes it's easy for you" Kyoya said a little amused by her relief. She actually was a little anxious about dancing. The song finished and she sat down on her bed. "I think I need to do this at least two or three more times in order to have it down" Maria said.
"Well that's fine dinner isn't for an hour or so. Today you get to meet my siblings at dinner" Kyoya said gesturing to Maria for her hand once more.
He set up a few tracks of appropriate music so they didn't get bored. The door to Maria's room was open during the day. A women with dark flowing hair and bright eyes almost walked past the door before stopping dead in tracks in awe at the two young lovers dancing. Kyoya noticed they were being watched but said nothing to not alarm Maria. They finished their second waltz and greeted the stranger. "Good afternoon Fuyumi I didn't expect you for a little while"Kyoya said to his older sister. Fuyumi entered the room. She was grinning from ear to ear at the sight she had just witnessed. Maria stepped forward. "I'm Maria it's a pleasure to meet you Fuyumi" she said almost reaching for a handshake but then corrected herself and bowed instead.
"My father told me you weren't respectful but clearly you are and quite beautiful as well" Fuyumi said through a sweet smile.
"His ideals of how I should act don't line up with my father's ideals or my own ideals that's all" Maria said clearing up any ill intention.
"Father does mean well I do hope you know that. He only wants the best for the both of you" Fuyumi reassured Maria.
"So Akito and Yuuichi are here too aren't they" Kyoya questioned cautiously. "Not that i'm aware of but I did want to get to know my new sister in law before dinner. Even if they are you can stall them for us" Fuyumi suggested to Kyoya.
"I'd like to avoid that if at all cost" Kyoya said while pushing up his glasses. "Well regardless ill leave you two to talk" Kyoya said while leaving the room.
He left the door open per Maria's request. He turned to the direction of his room and walked there at a moderate pace. He found solace in his room until dinner where he would need to deal with harsh criticism of Maria and of who and what she is. Mostly her unladylike profession and nature. Dinner time had arrived sooner than Kyoya wanted. He made his way back to Maria's room to escort her and Fuyumi down to dinner. He re entered her room to see the two ladies enjoying each others company. Maria showing Fuyumi all things at her current disposal mostly prototypes for the Ootori contract. Fuyumi was talking about how Kyoya was as baby and a child. "It's just about time for dinner you two" Kyoya said while gesturing them to follow. They followed down to the large dining room. Maria was pulling her hair into a ponytail while entering the room. She tried to remain her composure while meeting the two mildly intimidating gentlemen. "You must be Yuuichi and Akito it's a pleasure to meet both of you, I'm Maria" she said through a nervous smile. They both got to greet her politely but with reservations. Kyoya could tell they were tainted with prejudice. Dinner was served shortly after the small greetings. "Father you never told me Maria was so smart; she is handling all sorts of work for that contractor you mentioned" Fuyumi said with delight. The two older brothers were alarmed at this. "Yes do tell of her prowess Fuyumi" Akito challenged. "I'm kind of ok at what I do i'm not really that amazing. My dad is a lot smarter i'm still finding out to this day about all the stuff he knows how to and can do. I'm still learning from him" she said trying to be koi. It worked somehow with Akito but not with Yuuichi. Dinner was short and tense. Akito and Fuyumi took their leave shortly after but Yuuichi decided to pick Maria's brain. "So what do you know about this subcontractor Maria" Yuuichi questioned as they left the dining room together. "Well my father owns that company along with a few dozen more. I've been taking care of all issues arising from production to quality control with the implants. I can show you some of the prototypes if you would like i'd like your opinion on some things" she said frankly walking to her room. Yuuichi wasn't wholeheartedly aware of who Maria actually was. He almost lost his composure at the thought of that this small teenage girl was the powerhouse behind the Capperella conglomerate. She gestured Yuuichi to her desk in her room.
"These are all femoral heads used in hip replacement I want your opinion on them" she said gesturing him to pick them all up.
"What do you want me to say"Yuuichi said in annoyance.
"Well you're the doctor;which in weight is closer to an actual human joint. This will help determine materials for most of the implants going forward for the Ootori group. Even if you aren't a surgeon your opinion is still valuable" she said hoping for a good answer.
Yuuichi picked up all of them one by one. He picks up the one he thinks is the closest. "This is about as close as the real thing in respecting to weight" he said.
"Ok thanks for the input. You picked titanium ill let your father know of your decision thanks Yuuichi" Maria said opening her laptop.
She opened up her drafting programs and got to work. "How do you know how to do this"Yuuichi questioned. " Up until this year I was in a technical academy, a place which you are rigorously assessed before being placed in a department that matches your interest and aptitudes"she said with clicking away at files to open them up for reference.
"Wow so Father wasn't joking about you. Honestly I thought you just some pretty face ;a trophy wife of sorts" Yuuichi said standing up straight.
Yuuichi starting walking toward the door "Wow you're just like your father; incredibly rude and sexist" she without a thought. Yuuichi stopped but then continued away from her room.
"So I'm driving myself to party so when do you allow guests in" Maria questioned while seeing Kyoya off to prepare for the party.
"We will opening the party at 7 o'clock sharp. I'm assuming you will still be 10 minutes early though" Kyoya said while reaching for the door to leave.
"I prefer to be early and ill help with the plan by the way ill give you my box of make up now for Haruhi if you want" she said grabbing the plastic bin of assorted things.
"This will be a great help are you sure this is ok".
"Yea it's stuff I don't personally use so if she likes any of it she can keep it".
Kyoya left promptly to start preparations for the party the host club was throwing that evening.
Maria had selected a black dress that went below her knees that had a wide red at the bottom with very short sleeves. She decided that black stilettos would be perfect for the dress. She put in her contacts and proceeded to put her hair up in a tidy bun. She sculpted her face into a womanly image with shades of light browns and mild pinks with her standard winged eyeliner and a deep shade of red on her lips to match the dress. 'Well it's pretty close to 7 I should leave soon' Maria thought while slipping into her stilettos and grabbing her keys. She arrived 10 minutes early but there were others waiting. About 20 other girls were waiting at the entrance to get into the ball. Maria left her car and kept her keys in her hand. She was to hand her keys to Kyoya as soon as the doors opened. She would definitely lose them otherwise. The doors opened as she approached the crowd of young ladies. It was Hikaru and Kaoru ushering in the small that Maria almost tucked into until Hikaru grabbed Maria by the arm. "Your keys my lady"Hikaru said releasing her and opening his hand. Maria released the keys to her most prized possession hesitantly. She walked through the large doorway with the crowd after the short exchange. She was in awe at the grand nature of the ballroom. It was the first time she realized since moving to Japan and mixing amongst the true elite that she was not at all cultured. At least to this standard elegance and poise. The room was large and gorgeous, pale but still vibrant in color. The vast majority of the guests had arrived by this time. The hosts greeted the entire crowd from the top of the staircase. Kyoya only kept his eyes on Maria throughout the whole greeting but she didn't really notice. The small orchestra started to play a standard waltz. Kyoya made a discreet yet deliberate b line to ballroom floor to greet Maria personally. "Would you care to have this dance miss" he questioned with a visual blush coming through his normally pale cheeks.
"Of Course dear"Maria said grabbing his hand to accept his offer.
"Please don't call me dear. There's too many people someone would have heard"Kyoya stated while regaining his composure.
"Dude they'll all find out at some point. Honestly it might soften your image a little and you may gain more customers from not keeping this a secret"she alluded.
"Ill have to think it over after doing some research" Kyoya said in a charming tone
"So you mean me asking my friends what they think and giving you notes on their thoughts" Maria said in a snarky tone.
Their dance shortly ended; Kyoya went to another young lady to dance with because it was a hosting event after all.
"Maria you may have charmed Kyoya Ootori" some of her friends squealed as they came up to greet her. "No I don't really think so" Maria said in a flustered state.
"He refuses to talk while he dance with anyone but you were both talking the entire time what were you talking about" one of them questioned with glee.
"Before I answer that I have a question for all of you" Maria said as she gestured all 6 of them to come in close. She didn't want to yell what she had to say. "How cute would it be if Kyoya was actually in love with someone. I think his image is definitely starting to soften. It makes him seem more human ya know" Maria said trying to fake being a fangirl.
She had Kyoya in every sense except sexually; dhe didnt need to fawn over him in such a fashion, he already belonged to her. Her portrayal of a fangirl worked some how.
"Yea he's been a little human lately. He's still Kyoya but he definitely has softened maybe he is in love. That would so cute maybe fumbles with his girlfriend. Like messing up sometimes because he's nervous"they all swooned as they imagined and portrayed their thoughts.
"Although some girls would get very jealous over it maybe dangerously so" bring their fantasies back down to earth.
"Ill be back thanks for indulging me" Maria said as she stormed off. She was typing into her phone that she still had to help Haruhi get ready. It was something stupid; something about getting a couple back together. She went to a classroom that was designated for prep for this ridiculous. She entered the room pushing the door open with both hands. Kyoya,Hikaru, Kaoru, Haruhi, and Honey
"We thought you weren't going to show up so we got started" Hikaru and Kaoru said while spinning around to show Maria.
"Her base is just right some how. But ill take it over from here" Maria said grabbing a brush and a natural shaded eye palette and sculpted Haruhi's eyes in pale pinks and shimmery shades.
Her lips were painted in a pigmented pale pink. "I'm not going any further than this" Maria said.
Tamaki walked in the room and was stunned as Maria moved away from Haruhi. Tamaki had a true blush across his cheeks and a love struck look in his eyes.
"Wow Haruhi you look great " Honey said with glee.
"I can't walk in these shoes"Haruhi said while stumbling in some low heels.
"Alright everyone we have to go back to the party we have approximately 25 minutes til the party's climax so we should all head back" Kyoya said while looking at his phone to see what time it was.
They all walk out of the classroom. Kyoya and Maria fall behind the others. "I can't really see in the dark ya know"she speaks as she grabs his hand.
"Wow the omnipotent Maria does have a weakness after all" said Kyoya as he smirked.
"Oh yea my hypothesis was right about telling our peers before the official announcement some time next year. But my friends are quite worried for the safety of whoever puts up with you. Not worried about harm from you but harm from girls who can't distinguish from a good time at the host club and actual reality"she said in a matter of fact tone.
"Well we could tell others it just means you give up driving yourself to school and you probably shouldn't come to the host club anymore. Maybe you could get started on that workshop you keep harping about" Kyoya said with a smirk.
"Well I don't like hiding something this awesome from the rest of our peers"she said with a smirk while they kept walking.
They eventually came back to the ball room there hands still firmly clasped. They were still quite enthralled in conversation when they walked into the well lit ballroom with there hands still clasped tightly together. Kyoya realised where they were and removed her hand quickly from his own. No one noticed they were really happy that Kyoya was back and that the queen of the ball was going to announced soon. Every girl in the ball thought it was going to be her except Maria ;she knew it was predetermined but it wasn't a big deal to her. It was some bullshit plan to make a girl happy; Tamaki is really true to his word about wanting to make people happy. Maria stayed inside during the hoopla of the final waltz. She sat down at a table with a drink ;she was parched from all the commotion. She left after the vast majority of the ladies left for the evening. "I' can drive us home or do you want to have Tachibana get you" Maria questioned. "You can drive us home and lets sleep in tomorrow ok" Kyoya said with a yawn wrapping his arm around her waist. "Dont do anything we wouldn't do you two" screamed Hikaru and Koaru from the distance as Maria and Kyoya drove away. Maria dragged Kyoya through the residence once they got home and they helped each other up stairs. Interacting with other people was quite taxing on both of them. Kyoya helped Maria to her room even though she always begged to sleep with him. It was the warm snuggling she wanted but Kyoya being the gentlemen he was always insisted on it not being proper.