Chapter 18

Her office was on the other side of the city. A forty minute commute by subway including a quick ten minute walk. It wasn't awful – Mari popped in her earbuds in the morning and listened to podcasts or music. It was her time to relax before and after her regular 9-5 job, although it was more like 8-6 considering how she liked to get to work early and start the day with minimal human contact. It helped her focus.

Except today was not the kind of day to relax. An email popped up about Upper Management scheduling a visit in the afternoon that sent the whole office into the office a little earlier than usual. Scientists and technicians trickled into the office before 9, already prepping for the presentation.

"Mari, do you have the data from the last batch?" a fellow scientist asked.

She took her earbuds out and nodded. "Is it expected that we prep like this? We just had our monthly meeting yesterday. We could just use those slides," Mari figured.

"Upper Management's scheduled a visit today in preparation of our audit. They'll probably grill us on what's next and decide which projects are most profitable. You can expect resources to be shuffled depending on the demand."

Mari blinked. She'd only been working for half a year and things moved much quicker in the industry than it did in academia. She did as told, pulling together what she had done for the past few months. Quite frankly, it wasn't a lot considering the fact that she wasn't really heralding her own project. As a new team member, she was assisting on most of the projects instead. Mari had a vague understanding of a cluster of what these projects entailed and the progress made on each one due to her small contributions.

"Who's spearheading the meeting?" her colleague asked as they met in their conference room.
No one raised their hand. Mari sat in her chair, still working on her slides – adding a data table requested by her other colleague.

"Mari – you've worked on 4 projects, why don't you give the overview?" another suggested.

Mari shook her head. "I'm too green for this. Someone more senior is best for this position."

"Mari, you're on the same level as all of us."

She thought about this logically before realizing why she was sacrificed. "It's because we all get ripped apart at these meetings, don't we?"

The fellow colleagues laughed. "She catches on quick."

"It's alright Mari, they usually only ask for the big picture concepts. None of them really understand the science – just the profits. If they ask for results, you give them results. If they ask for what would make the most money, say the project that has the most prospects."

"But they all have prospects," Mari intervened. "This is like defending 4 theses at once. It's not our job to decide what gets chosen. Why can't we all just present your own project?"

"Because none of us like dealing with upper management," the others answered. "It's all the big shots that think of the profits and not the science."
"We're scientists, not businesspeople."

Mari sighed. "Who's going to be there?"

"The CEO, head of research, CFO, maybe marketing too. Plus minus some other people that none of us never really learn the names of," someone listed.

The new scientist groaned. "This is dumb. Just send them the slides and let them pick."

"Yeah, but they can't read graphs," another joked.

Mari laughed. Her colleagues were reasonable. She was the new one out of the bunch and considerably younger than the rest. Many of them had children already, having gone through the terrors of academic at least a decade prior. Mari was a fresh face that reminded them all of who they were when they first started. All of them were comfortable in their position, having been at the Ootori Corporation for many years. It was a good salary, great benefits, and the company did well enough to not have to layoff anyone – not yet anyway.

Mari took the lunch hour to read through the slides, having been prepped by her colleagues the hour before. It wasn't meant to be a long meeting, maybe an hour at most. The rest of Upper Management's time was taken up by a tour of the labs before sitting down at the large conference room. Mari tried her best to get to the conference room early, but even by then she only managed to open her laptop before a whole trail of people came in.

There was one familiar face that came in last, sitting on the other end of the table facing her directly. They never once encountered each other in these past few months – corporate was on the other side of the city while the laboratories were sprawled at the other end of town. Mari always assumed the Ootori himself had no need to be dealing with such matters.

She was clearly wrong as the Ootori sat at the head of the table, ten feet away from her. The scientists gathered by the projector with Mari, the upper management crowded at the other side. There was a clear divide in schools of thought as soon as the meeting settled.

Mari began providing the entire group an overview of the progress of the projects going on. They were adults. Professionals, after all. She tried to ignore the smirk on his face, the dumb way he crossed his arms at the start of the meeting when she began speaking. Mari turned her attention to the others, looking for support from her colleagues when needed.

Her presentation ended after 20 minutes, after she had scaled through the data at a quick high-level pace. She was met with silence before upper management crowded together to speak, leaving out the scientists. Mari's coworkers shrugged as if to let her know that this was normal behaviour.

"What's the timeline on the development on scaling up the processes?" asked the Head of Research.

What kind of stupid question is this?

"There is no timeline," Mari answered with an even tone. "The development of this drug is hardly near perfection."

"So why present it?" Someone cut in.

The scientists gulped and looked to Mari for an answer. Anything they would say would sound like an excuse.

Why have this meeting if you don't want to hear about the current data we have?

"There are prospects," Mari explained. "You cannot rush the science," she tried to reason. "If you want reproducible methods of data that are reliable, safe, and effective for the compounds we develop—"

"—We have profits to match."

"And competitors to worry about," another executive added. "The generics will get their hands on the patents in a few years. We cannot fall behind."

Mari turned to her colleagues with a raised eyebrow. They pursed their lips and sighed quietly.

"The data does not prove that we are falling behind," the scientist patiently explained. "The data merely says that there are many approaches we could take in developing these products. I would urge you to look more closely at what we are presenting."

The Ootori nodded.

"Then what are you proposing, Dr. Takuya?" Kyouya shrugged. "You're giving us options and asking us to choose – but we are asking you to guide us towards the best approach."

Mari fought her hardest to not roll her eyes at her classmate. Be professional, she reminded herself. She turned to her older coworkers who formed their own circle of whispering. They made a logical plan of execution from the data and let Mari be the messenger to the group of executives that sat at the head of the table.

"Of the four projects, all stand great promise that would have high success if given the right amount of resources and time—"

"There is a limited amount of both," Kyouya cut off. "We need results."

"And you will receive results," Mari interrupted. "You cannot rush the science," she repeated. "Even if we develop these drugs, you'll have to put them through years of clinical trials."

"Are you telling me that expediting development will not give us the competitive edge?" the Ootori argued back.

Mari crossed her arms. They were two professionals here, she told herself again. There was no need to raise her voice. Mari understood the science. Kyouya understood the profits. They came from two different worlds and yet they were in the same realm. Everyone could cut the tension in the room with a knife. No one expected such an outcome, especially with the newcomer scientist.

"If you want a competitive edge, we can push whatever project you want out to market – whichever one you please. But if you want a real competitive edge, you would spend more time in developing something that is actually effective and worthwhile," the scientist reasoned.

The Ootori sat back and looked at his executive team who let the words of the scientist sink in. They agreed to an extent but the worrisome competitors had everyone on edge. Mari wanted to scoff and roll her eyes at the stuck-up businessmen at the end of the table – but she was at the table of big shots. Rolling her eyes at the group of executives was another petty move of immaturity, especially for a woman. She would not let this mar her professional career, especially considering thee fact that she had just begun.

"Very well," Kyouya perched up his glasses. "We'll be discussing the prospects. The next quarter may look different."

The other scientists stood alongside Mari to bid the executives farewell. Mari tried to keep her face expressionless. But the Ootori smirked anyway – he read it in her eyes.

Mari was annoyed by it all. She would get used to it in due time, he thought.


The winter months meant that she ran in the indoor gym of the condo on the 15th floor. She was in the midst of her regular 5K run before he sauntered in, already knowing her schedule. Mari turned up the volume of her music and increased the speed of her treadmill, ignoring the man who decided to take the treadmill beside hers, despite the entire place being empty. He went at a brisk walking pace, as if taunting her to move even faster than she already was.

Mari hopped off the machine and quenched her thirst, drowning herself in cold water, leaning on the ledge beside the glass windows. Tokyo was covered in a thin dusting of snow.

She glared at the man who joined her at the gym. He probably had returned from the pool. She ran. He swam. He would run with her on the occasion – but today was certainly not the day. He felt her annoyance from a mile away.

"What?" he growled.
"You know what," Mari grumbled. She huffed and walked over to the fountain to refill her bottle.

"You're going to get mad at me for doing my job?" Kyouya rolled his eyes. "Don't be petty. You should've expected it."

"I didn't," Mari shot back. "What the fuck? The email came in the morning. No one was prepared."
"It keeps you guys on your toes," Kyouya wasn't going to apologize for his management style. It was effective. Chaotic, maybe – but it worked.

She rolled her eyes. "I hate businesspeople."
"Well, I have some news for you—"
"Fuck off," Mari snarled. "I don't need your facetiousness right now."

She impatiently pressed on the elevator button as the Ootori crossed his arms and waited alongside.

"Why are you mad?" the Ootori scoffed. "You wanted to prove your place, didn't you? I treated you how I would have treated anyone else on that team."

Mari sighed. "Yeah whatever," she grumbled. She let the words of her colleagues ring in her head.

The Ootori almost never speaks at these meetings. He was ruthless today.

Isn't he the same age as you, Mari? He packs quite the punch for a youngster. Let's hope none of us get fired from that.

"You're making a big deal out of nothing," Kyouya pointed out. "Stop being a baby about it. It was one meeting, Mari. We'll see each other more."

"Ugh," Mari dreaded the idea.

"It's actually a pretty big honour to even meet the CEO," the Ootori explained. "People work their whole lives without ever coming in contact with—"

"Oh my god, can you not?" the woman rolled her eyes. "You should pay rent for the amount of time you spend here!" Mari called out before stepping into the master bathroom to shower. He grabbed his clothes and went to the other bathroom on the floor.

"I literally pay you!" Kyouya yelled back. Now he was in a bad mood. He spent the whole day relishing in the pride he had for the woman that fended her title against all the executives at the table only to have her snap at him when he came home.

She was home, he realized. She gave him the extra key to her condo, with all of its benefits and amenities on his birthday. Granted, he was living out of a weekend bag for the past week, sending out his dry cleaning from her condo – he hadn't really had the time to move in.

He sighed and let the woman have her moment. Sometimes all they needed was space. They were electric together – even to the point of being explosive sometimes. They butt heads like they always had since they were teenagers. But no one else allowed them to be themselves like they had with each other. He showered and came out of the bathroom calmer.

She was sitting on the stool of her kitchen, snacking on the chopped fruit after her own shower. There were two bowls. One for her, one for him – always.

"Are you going to talk to me about it?" Kyouya tried to reason with the woman. Mari sighed and rolled her eyes.

"It felt shitty, okay?" Mari admitted. "I felt like all of you attacked the entirety of our department. We work hard and all you people see is the money."

"That's what we have to see to keep us afloat," the Ootori explained. He begrudgingly ate the fruits she cut up. He didn't like sweets but Mari had somehow convinced him to eat his fruit, especially after working out.

"And you," Mari grumbled. "You just sat at the end of the room with a stupid smirk on your face. And you had the audacity to argue agains—"
"I was doing my job," Kyouya reminded. "I'm impartial to it all. You weren't showing us what we wanted to know."

"It's not our fucking job to decide what the next new innovative thing is," Mari snapped. "We're scientists. We don't do the market research. We don't know what makes the most money here, okay?"

"Is that what you wanted to say at the meeting?" he raised an eyebrow.
She sighed. "Yeah," Mari mumbled. "But you know – we had to keep it professional."

"You didn't even roll your eyes once," Kyouya pointed out. "Incredible."
"Shut up and fucking eat your oranges," Mari groaned. He did as told chewing through the fibres of the fruit.

"For what it was worth," he added while chewing. "You held your ground."
"I tried," the woman relented, her tone softer now.
"You did well," Kyouya praised. "As expected."

Mari exhaled. "Thanks." She stood from the bar stool and placed her bowl away in the sink before reaching over to him. She snaked her arms around his torso, now that he was fully clothed in his nearly ragged Harvard t-shirt. He honestly couldn't believe it every time she was in his arms – she smelled incredible. The warmth he felt from her body made him nearly drop his bowl before he relaxed.

"It's weird," she mumbled. "It's weird seeing you at work. I don't like it."

"Are you distracted?" the Ootori teased.

"It's hard not to lose my cool around you," the scientist admitted. "I'm used to—"
"—Telling me to fuck off?" Kyouya rolled his eyes. He took the last bite of the assorted fruit in his bowl before he returned the embrace. It was nearly 9 PM. They stood in her kitchen, barefooted in their pyjamas. There was no other place where he would've wanted to be.

"Yeah," Mari nodded. "Getting mad at you. Telling you you're an idiot. Reminding you that you're not the shit. Except I could get fired so… I can't."

"I'm glad you're aware of the consequences," Kyouya smiled, the devilish smirk that Mari wanted to rub off immediately. He kissed her on the temple of her head before whispering something. "But for the record: I was distracted by you. You're all I wanted to see."

The scientist rolled her eyes. "Easy there. I wasn't wearing anything HR would deem inappropriate."
"It was what was underneath," he quipped. She punched his gut and stepped away from him.

"You're a dog," Mari snapped.
"And yet you still let me sleep in your bed," he shot back.


He woke up at the same time she did. She wiggled out of his grasp in the mornings as his alarm. Today was especially hard for Mari to get out of his grip.

"Kyouya, I'm going to be late. Let me go."

The man was in his half-slumber state. "Don't go," he murmured. "A few more minutes."

Mari groaned. It wasn't the same without him around. He hardly spent any time at the mansion nowadays. He slowly took up the other half of her walk-in closet. His side of the bathroom was already filled with his toiletries. His toothbrush was permanently plugged in beside hers. He made this entire place feel lived in – the bed undone, the coffee machine half-filled, the fridges that were constantly in need of being refilled every couple of days.

"Relax," he mumbled. "You have time."

Mari looked at the clock. She needed to be out of the house in 10 minutes to make it for 8 AM, her usual time.

"I do not," the woman wriggled out of his grasp. Within minutes, she washed her face and let the skincare seep onto her face as she got dressed. Kyouya rubbed his eyes, watching the blur of the woman walk in and out of the closet. Mari drew on her eyeliner with one fell swoop, ignoring the Shadow King that she had barely escaped from.

"I'll see you later," Mari kissed the half-dazed man on the cheek. "Gotta run."

The place was quiet but he was now fully awake. The smell of coffee brought him into the kitchen, with Mari always turning on the machine before she left. He woke up to a string of texts.

I missed the train.
Hate you.

He chuckled to himself.

Love you.

He could picture her rolling her eyes at his message. The words were just natural for him to type. To say out-loud too, maybe. He sipped on the black coffee by the island, watching the sunrise. Mari really knew how to pick the right property, he thought to himself. He never got tired of the view. He made note to take her to property viewings the next time he wanted to purchase real estate.

Don't be gross.

It was his turn to roll his eyes.

Love you too, asshole. Get to work on time.

He smiled to himself. Life was good. Well, quite frankly – life was always good for someone like him but he didn't realize how much better it was with her. He never looked forward to home as much as he did now. Never did he eye the clock for it to turn 5 PM or realize that it was too late to be at work when she waited up for him – even if she didn't say so.

When he made it into the office by 9, Fuyumi was waiting on the couch. The older sister had a coffee made personally by his secretary while Kyouya walked in with his travel mug. Mari had given it to him because he spent far too much money and time on coffee when he could have just brought it to work himself. The caffeine allowed him to be more productive as soon as he sat in his chair.

But not today. An obstacle awaited him.

"When do we meet her?" Fuyumi rolled her eyes.
"Meet who?" Kyouya feigned ignorance. He put his bag down and sat in his office chair.

"Your… who knows what? Live-in girlfriend?" the older sister made a noise of disgust. "When did that even happen? How did she manage to have you under her thumb to somehow end up living with you?"

"I'm technically living at her place," Kyouya corrected.
"That doesn't help your case," Fuyumi snarled. "She's a trust fund kid with no real job and she's clearly manipulating you—"
"—For what?" the little brother challenged. "My money? That she already has enough of?"
"Well, we do technically pay her," Fuyumi grumbled.

"Of which she earns earnestly with proper qualifications for someone of her occupation," Kyouya reasoned with the last ounce of patience he could squeeze out. "What would make you believe I would let myself get manipulated by anyone?"

"I just don't want you to get hurt," the older sister sighed. "She just… seems so elusive. She's someone we don't see as valuable."

"Who is we?" Kyouya narrowed his eyes.

"You know who," Fuyumi answered. "Our family does not see value in a marriage between you and Mari – that much is obvious. She brings nothing to us. The Takuya family is already intertwined with another, thanks to Mari's elder brother."

"So what is the purpose of this meeting?" the CEO had a real meeting in fifteen minutes. He was in no mood to entertain the older sibling for whatever petty social chess game she wanted to explain. He had no interest in such things.

"We want to meet her," Fuyumi simply said.

"You told our parents?" He raised his voice. While the siblings had gotten along considerably well over their lifetime, Kyouya did not expect Fuyumi to betray him.

"I mentioned it in passing," the sister said simply. "Perhaps we need to remind you what it means to exist in our society."

"No," the CEO refused. "She does not have to be subjected to this kind of treatment."
"Don't protect her," Fuyumi rolled her eyes. "If she is as great as you keep making her sound, she'd hold her ground just fine in front of the parents."
"Why don't we invite the Takuyas too?" Kyouya sneered.

"Even better," the sister challenged.
"Get out," the Ootori seethed. "I have real business to do."

The sister was unfazed by the little brother's temper and saw herself out.


Mari noticed that the Ootori was in a bad mood when she said hello and all he did was grunt. The scientist had come home after a long day and cooked dinner. It wasn't very often that Kyouya was in an awful mood. It often went away after letting the man settle over an hour before he had gotten back to his usual bantering mood.

Mari let the man simmer in his bad mood until they finished their meal in silence.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she handed him a warm cup of herbal tea. He took the mug with an unreadable expression.

The Ootori shook his head. "There's nothing to talk about."

Mari raised an eyebrow at him. "If you say so."

She left him alone and went into their office space. They shared an office with two corner desks that took up each side of the wall. The Ootori spent more time in it than she did but sometimes they would spend a few weeknights finishing up some auxiliary tasks across from one another. It was peaceful and quiet. Neither of the two disturbed one another.

She ignored the presence of the man who trailed behind her, sighing at the doorway.

"We don't have to talk about it," Mari told him. "But if you're going to act distressed about it like a passive-aggressive teenager – I'd rather we figure things out."
"Excuse me?" he narrowed his eyes.

"Sorry, bad joke," the scientist backed off. "What's wrong?" She tried again, leaning against her office chair, welcoming him into the office. He leaned against her desk and sipped his tea. Mari waited patiently for him to spill what was on his mind. Neither responded well to incessant questions so all she could do was wait.

"Fuyumi came by the office today," he began.
"Did she tell you to stop being distracted?" The last word rolled off her tongue with amusement. Mari did not have any ill feelings towards the elder Ootori, given that she understood where she was coming from. After all, the Ootori somehow wanted to settle for her amongst all the other options out there.

"Well, no," Kyouya sighed. "We got into an argument."
"About me?" Mari softly asked, feeling guilty. She knew that Fuyumi was the only sibling he got along with in his family. Unlike Mari, who was on relatively good terms with both her own siblings.
"About meeting the parents," he confessed.

She nodded slowly, taking in the idea. He could tell that she was thinking about the proposition like a scientist first – with logic and reason before emotion. She shrugged and sighed. Kyouya could tell that she didn't like the idea but it was an inevitable part of being together after all.

"You don't have to," Kyouya offered. "It's not like I want to sit through that kind of suffocating atmosphere, it's a colossal waste of time."

Mari gave a weak smile. "We're not kids that avoid our duties anymore," she reminded quietly.

"You don't have to uphold any duty you don't have to," the Ootori rolled his eyes. "You don't have to do it – meet the parents, pretend to be someone they would've wanted, play the social chess game we all do." He refused to put her through such silly ordeals. She hated it. He too, hated dealing with such scenarios unless it was for business purposes only.

"Of course not," Mari agreed. This was the sort of thought she had abided by in her twenties. She had no obligation to do follow in the traditions of the upper class. But alas, she was a part of it whether she liked it or not – this was the one thing she had refused to acknowledge until the latter half of her adulthood. "But the more you run, the more you prove Fuyumi's point."

Kyouya hated accepting defeat. Mari could see it in his eyes.

"This isn't letting her win," she explained. "This is not a game," Mari sighed. "Not everything in the upper class is about being ten steps ahead and saving face. We're adults. We'll deal with it. Or I mean, I'll deal with it."

"You won't be alone," Kyouya reassured. "I'll make sure they—"
"—I don't need your protection," Mari rolled her eyes. "I wasn't raised a commoner. I can withstand whatever they'll hurl at me with grace and poise," she added sarcastically.

He paused. Don't protect her, said Fuyumi.

"Besides, I am fully aware of what I seem to the upper class. I'm wonderfully mediocre. Your family will see me no differently than anyone else. They can look down upon me but quite frankly, you could've done worse," Mari laughed.

"I couldn't have done any better," he whispered, admiring the woman in front of him. She had changed into more comfortable clothing after coming home, bundled in a grey cardigan and leggings that showcased her beautifully toned legs from running. Her hair was still up in a loose bun, her eyes now framed by her glasses. She leaned on her knees that were tucked beneath her on the office chair, comfortably talking him through the thoughts that weighed on him all day.

He was worried knowing how much she hated dealing with the complexities of their class. He hated that Fuyumi had raised a point that he woefully did not consider until she reminded him once again, that this was real. They were real. And Mari, this incredible woman only shrugged at the prospect of having to deal with the parents.

"What?" Mari wondered. Kyouya murmured something and just stared at her. At least he seemed calmer now.

"Your parents too," the Ootori cleared his throat. "I should meet them."
"Should we do it all at once so we never do it again?" Mari joked.
"That's exactly what I was thinking," Kyouya agreed eagerly. "Let's set a date."

"Whoa," she leaned back. "I was kidding. I don't know if I can handle that much at once. My mother is insufferable on one end and then I'll have your parents to impress on the other." Both were strategizing at the back of their minds to tackle the situation together as a team.

"Our parents can entertain each other," the Ootori offered. "Less talking for you and I."
"I don't want my mother selling me to your parents out of desperation to get me married," Mari sputtered.

"Mari, your family owns—"
"—A ton of real estate blah blah," she waved. "But still not as big of a multinational corporation as your family's," Mari heard the spiel far too many times.

"Actually," the Ootori smiled. "Your family is quite on par as ours in terms of wealth."

Mari shot him a glare. "Then why did you keep telling me that you were fucking rich as shit when we were teenagers? That stuck with me for decades!"

Kyouya shrugged. "That's not the point. You're only mediocre because Kanda married Emi and you don't hold enough shares or can provide any large value in terms of business. Our families don't do business together either. But your family is untainted by any scandals and are quite well-respected."

The woman blinked. "Okay, but we're actually as rich as the Ootoris?" Mari wondered why she never bothered to check. Probably because she didn't want to be seen as someone who was an insider trader – she distanced herself away from such investments and did not hold much stock in the Ootori Corporation due to personal connections. "Wow, who knew," she scoffed.

"I did," Kyouya was proud of himself. Mari glared at him. He sighed and raised his hands to surrender. "We both said shitty things to each other as teenagers, alright?"

"Whatever. My teenage-self hates you even more now," Mari grumbled.

"How about your present-self?" Kyouya smirked, leaning closer to her.

"She's finding you on the edge of insufferable," the woman gritted out.

The Ootori took this as a chance to leave their office before she decided to throw an object at him.


She fiddled with her hair. Up in a bun? Or let down? The long-sleeve dress clung to her skin with a long slit that exposed her long legs. It was classy, right? She thought to herself, unsure now that she felt the cold air at her thigh. She knew about the day far in advance - nearly a month and a half. But was it too much? Would they think she was far from elegant? She put in the earrings, ignoring what to do with her hair for now. Her fingers were adorned with nothing but clear nail polish. Her pair (and only pair) of Louboutins were waiting for her in the closet.

He could see her at the corner of his eye. He was still on the bed, relaxing with his tablet as he sipped on a cup of coffee made by Mari when she had gotten back from the gym. It was mid-morning. He could feel the anxiousness emanating from the woman from across the room. She had gotten up extra early, gone for a run and came back before he had even woken up.

"You look beautiful," he reminded her.

She pretended not to hear him, focusing on the bobby pins that wouldn't stick into the thick mound of hair she had gathered. Mari tried to stay calm but her heart raced as she kept thinking about it. She pulled the pins out and let her hair fall to her shoulders. Nothing felt right today. Not her hair. Not her outfit. Not her makeup.

"Do you know why I kept telling you I'm not the kind of girl to bring home?" she sighed.
"Because you're hotheaded and you'll say something offensive?" Kyouya quipped.

She glared at him. "I was raised better than that," Mari shot back. "But I suppose that is a valid point," she surrendered.

Kyouya scoffed. "For what it's worth, I never wanted to bring anyone home. And we aren't even going to the Ootori mansion – it's a lunch at an upscale restaurant, courtesy of Fuyumi who won't even be there."

"Oh, thanks," Mari grumbled. "That makes me feel so much better."

The Ootori sighed. "Mari, it doesn't matter what they think of you. Nothing they say will make me change what I think of you."

"It does," she argued back. "You never had to deal with the feeling of being inferior because you've always been an Ootori – you were raised with the fundamental thought of being destined for something great. I was thin air in comparison to you."

"I never said you were thin air," the Ootori pointed out.

"You don't have to say it," Mari rolled her eyes. "I've always known it."

"You always made a point to remind me that I'm no better than you," Kyouya shrugged. "Actually, you usually remind me that I'm not anything worthy. So what's the difference here? My family is not all that different from yours."

The scientist crossed her arms and looked at herself in the mirror. Did her eyebags get worse? Was she getting wrinkles now that she was 30? Why were all her flaws coming out at the worst possible time? She spent enough on skincare to be preventing all of these issues that came up all at once.

"I've always known we weren't the same," Mari whispered. "Ever since Ouran – you were the kid who everyone knew would succeed. I was just the person who would turn out to be something if they were lucky. I always felt like I had to prove my worth and now I have to prove my worth to two families. Yours and my own."

Kyouya put his coffee on the table and placed his tablet on the bed before walking over to Mari. She went back into pulling the hair into a bun, trying to look the part of someone who was actually raised in the upper-class. It was a familiar feeling, though never a comfortable one. He placed a hand on her shoulder and patted her on the back in comfort.

"Stop it," he murmured. "You're not here to prove yourself to me or to anyone anymore. We're doing this as a formality. We are on equal ground, Mari. No more and no less. You will be shown the same amount of respect – I will make sure of it."

"You know this means our families are going to expect us to get married, right?" Mari looked down at her hands at the thought. It didn't sit well in her stomach. "I'm not—"

"—That's a bridge to cross when we get there," Kyouya shrugged. "Marriage is a formality too," he reminded. "At least to them."

Mari looked at him through the mirror. She was worried, he could see it in her eyes. He patted her on the back in comfort again, as if to tell her he was going to make sure that it wouldn't be anything to worry about.

"I know this whole meeting is only logical," she sighed. "But I didn't think I'd feel so uneasy about it until it was real."

He placed a strand of hair behind her ear. He could remember her in all the phases of hair she went through – from the messy ponytail she would have in Ouran, to her dyed ash grey hair in university, to her thick black hair now that was untainted by anything. She kept growing into something more beautiful, every time. He was so lucky, he thought to himself.

"You have nothing to worry about," he murmured. "I'll make sure of it." He cupped her cheek in reassurance, shifting down to her eye-level.

"Okay," she nodded. "Okay," she repeated to herself. "I trust you." She rested her head against the nook of his neck, taking a deep breath. He smelled like a smoked sandalwood with notes of citrus. The more you clung onto him, the sweeter he smelled – notes of vanilla and bergamot appeared. It was intoxicating.

She was no different to him. The scents of peonies and roses had him weak at the knees. He kissed the top of her head, only to inhale her scent. It made him hungry. Dizzy with desire, almost. She pulled away from him and kissed him sweetly, her lips just barely grazing his own. She was thanking him silently before he could move his hands elsewhere. Kyouya decided that would save his hunger for another time, squeezing her hand before letting her go.