Chapter 20

He did not move. His breathing was steady and his eyes were shut closed like their blinds were. She shook him with her other arm, wondering if it would be okay to slap his cheek to get him up. He held onto her tighter, adjusting his face into the crevice of her stomach.

"Oi, it's Fuyumi," she tried again. Mari sighed. "Do you want me to speak with Fuyumi instead?"

There was a long reluctant silence before the man grunted no. He would not subject her to the wrath of his sister. Mari shoved the phone in his palm right before the phone had stopped buzzing.

"Problem solved," he mumbled sleepily.

"Call her back, you idiot," Mari rolled her eyes. The phone vibrated again with Fuyumi popping up on the screen. "Pick up," she groaned.

His fingers searched for the button the edge of the phone, immediately silencing the call without even opening his eyes. It was too early to deal with Fuyumi right now. He was in no mood for her shenanigans about Mari. Was it so much to ask for a peaceful morning with his partner?

He could hear her sigh before leaning against the headrest of her bed.

"It's fine," he mumbled sleepily. "She's used to it." He tugged her down so she could lay with him in a more comfortable position. Mari sighed and turned her back against him, reaching for her own phone and sliding her arms beneath the covers to keep herself warm from the cool air. She felt his hand gently pat her chest until he fell asleep again with an arm draped around her waist.

She wiggled out of his grasp and decided to take some time to herself in the morning. Mari threw a cardigan over her shoulders and turned on the coffee machine. She missed the timing of her usual run on the weekends having slept in for most of the morning. A minor headache began crawling from the base of her neck. Maybe she was growing old after all, her alcohol tolerance just wasn't the same.

She wasn't the same in many ways, she figured. Mari looked at the grand piano that stood in the middle of her condo with the sunlight hitting the corners of the instrument. The hole never filled her heart to lose someone she had considered almost like a parent. But still, playing those keys was the therapy she never thought she needed.

Mari placed her cup of coffee on the ledge of the piano with a coaster. She could hear Louise make a scornful remark at how the piano should have nothing but the score or nothing at all. Mari could remember all the things Louise would note about her playing – the slight mistake of being off from the tempo, sloppy chords, too heavy of an articulation, cleaner sound… and faster. Much faster. The criticisms never went away.

It was never bothersome. Mari never strived for perfection as much as her teacher did. Louise was strict but always fair. Mari was also quick to fix her mistakes. Always practicing for hours on straight, training her fingers to respond the way she needed them to. The gruesome training after so many years taught her discipline. But now, she played for pleasure – if playing the same phrase for hours to perfect her mistake was considered so.

She was so engrossed in getting the piece up to tempo that the figure that came up behind her was completely unknown to her. He grumbled and sighed before refilling the mug on her left side.

"Why are you so mad?"

She tensed from the sudden voice that interrupted her thoughts. "I'm not mad," she answered. She didn't have anything to be mad about.

"Why are you playing so loud?" the Ootori groaned. It woke him from his slumber. It was past 10 now, but it felt like it was the crack of dawn to him. It had only been a few minutes until his head felt like it was ripping in two. He took the aspirin on the nightstand and followed the sound out of the bedroom to find Mari playing vigorously, almost in a trance.

"You sleep like a log anyway," Mari mumbled, taking the mug of coffee off the ledge and sipping the liquid caffeine. It helped with the dull headache that was slowly gnawing away at her.

He sighed and drank from his own mug before leaning against the couch near the piano.

"It was nice," he admitted. The coffee made him feel at peace. There was nothing like fresh coffee to keep you sane.

"What?" Mari looked up from the black and white keys.
"Your playing," Kyouya mumbled. "Better way to wake up than my phone."

She chuckled. "You should call Fuyumi back," she reminded.
"No," he refused simply. "She doesn't have anything good to say."
"You don't know that," Mari pointed out.
"It'll be to talk about you," Kyouya scoffed.

"Your favourite topic," she grimaced. Mari took another sip of the coffee. The Ootori was not amused by her proposition. The woman sighed and rested the mug in between her cross-legged position on the bench. She leaned against the piano. Kyouya leaned coolly on the couch, sipping on his coffee quietly. He raised an eyebrow at the woman.

"Fuyumi is just looking out for you," she tried again. "I don't want you to sever the only relationship you have with your family over me, okay?" Mari was on good terms with her siblings. They weren't best friends, but there was never any ill intent towards each other. Mari was a loving aunt to her niece and nephew. Yuki still called Mari for advice on the occasion, sometimes sending her PR packages from her company. Mari wasn't exactly the most filial daughter but nonetheless, the Takuya family was still a decently cohesive unit.

"I'm not letting her call you a good-for-nothing trust fund kid," Kyouya spat. "And I don't want any lecture to do with marriage from her."

Mari shrugged. "I am a trust fund kid. Isn't Fuyumi also a trust fund kid?" She quietly smirked and rolled her eyes. "I mean, she got married earlier so maybe she couldn't utilize all the funds that were invested."

"Good point," Kyouya lit up as if making a note for later.

"Look, don't go calling your sister to fight," Mari sighed. "She's just looking out for you. You're her little brother. How could you not get protective over who your sibling is dating?"

"We're dating?" Kyouya blinked.
Mari shrugged. "Well, we aren't married," she pointed out the other end of the spectrum.

"We can be," he tried with a smirk.
"Ha ha," Mari deadpanned, waving her hand to brush off the comment while drinking from her mug. "Fuyumi would lose her mind if we got married, don't you think?"

"Well, it would shut her up," Kyouya sighed.
"Not for long," Mari grumbled.
"What does it matter what she thinks anyway?" the Ootori rolled his eyes. "I'm a grown man. We're adults. Who I choose to be with is none of her business."

She scoffed. "Then talk to her like a grown man."
"As if I hadn't already," he argued. "She started off encouraging me to pursue you like you were some kind of godsend until—"

"—Until she thought I was emotionally manipulative?" Mari finished his sentence. "Well, can you blame her? It isn't like you developed a repertoire of being in-tune with your feelings. I went to therapy to figure out how to process mine. It doesn't come naturally to everyone," she explained.

Kyouya scoffed. "I'm not a robot and I don't need therapy to process whatever emotions I'm feeling. I'm fine."

"I never said you needed therapy," Mari sighed. "Look, I want to believe that Fuyumi has the best of intentions. But the more you evade her, the more she'll believe that her point is proven about me."

"She won't listen to me," the Ootori shook his head.

"Then listen to her," Mari countered. "Address her concerns properly. Stop jumping to conclusions and getting defensive about your relationship. It just makes you look like you have something to hide."

"I have nothing to hide!" he groaned.

"Then prove it," Mari laughed.


"That family knows how to hold their ground," the Ootori matriarch commented during the meal. It had been a few weeks since the meeting. Kyouya hardly came home for anything – but today his presence was requested. Of course, it was always Fuyumi that had to relay the message.

Fuyumi raised an eyebrow at her little brother.

"I take that the meeting went well," Fuyumi pointed out. "How is she?"

Their mother shrugged. "She could be worse." In the Ootori household, that was as close to a seal of approval as they could get.

"She's wise," Kyouya quoted their father. "A change from the women you have been trying to introduce to me," he glared at Fuyumi.

"Oi," Fuyumi shot the same icy glare to her sibling. "Those women were equally worthy, if not more."

"Enough," the patriarch silenced the squabbling. "She seems respectable." And that was that. No other comments were to be made about the topic unless requested by the father himself.

Kyouya smirked in victory at his sister. Fuyumi only narrowed her eyes and picked at the rest of her plate. The two siblings made their way to the foyer of the mansion, waiting for their own respective chauffeurs to take them to their place of residence. There was a tense moment of silence before the sister spoke.

"You know this means you'll have to get married right?" Fuyumi huffed. "She doesn't believe in marriage," she reminded.

Kyouya shrugged. "Marriage is a formality. Neither of us like it."

"And yet," Fuyumi raised an eyebrow. "You two both decided to introduce your families."
"Not by choice," Kyouya snarled. "Someone decided that it was time."

The elder sister sighed. "So you two are serious then," she concluded. "You know what comes next. Good luck convincing her to marry you."

"I won't need to convince her," Kyouya was confident.

"I hope you realize it's you she has under her thumb," Fuyumi's finger poked his chest to prove her point. Kyouya seemed to have gone with whatever Mari had wanted. No need for marriage. Likely no desire for kids, either. She seemed to defy the social expectations of her to pursue the typical life plan of their class.

"Stop trying to impose tradition on us," he snapped. "It's not your life."
"It's not," Fuyumi agreed. "Of course not. I'm reminding you that none of us have the kind of privilege to dilly dally. If I tried to do what you're doing at your age, I would have been disowned by now."

"You were married at my age," Kyouya scoffed. "And you chose it, Fuyumi," he reminded her with a grumble.

Fuyumi relented and shook her head. "Yes, I chose to make the right decision for our families. Will you?"

"She's no commoner," Kyouya meant it in the least offensive way possible. Mari would have probably torn him to shreds for the way he had worded it. But it was a fact. They came from the same social standing. All the unspoken rules, the ultra-rich culture that she was immersed in, the nuances of being in the families they were a part of. "Is that not enough?"

"Is that it?" the elder sister rolled her eyes. "There are plenty of other women who are not commoners."

Kyouya shrugged. "She's intelligent and smart with money."

"Okay," Fuyumi was unimpressed. Those were only 3 reasons.

"She understands," he softened. "She is a good person with strong morals. And for the record, she has no ill intent towards you – ironic considering how much you disapprove of her."

"You moved so quickly with her – it's hard not to think of the worst-case scenario, Kyouya. It's just logical. You went from insisting to be 'friends' to suddenly introducing her to our parents in the span of a year?"

"Worst case scenario," he repeated with a scoff. "Like what?"

"Like…" Fuyumi stuttered. "Is she pregnant and blackmailing you?"

Kyouya blinked. "That would be the best-case scenario, Fuyumi. It is literally what everyone wants from me," he recovered quickly and pushed up his glasses, coolly adding onto the fact. "It is a wife and an heir."

Fuyumi sighed. "Is that what you really think I want for you?"

"It would seem so seeing how insistent you are in finding me a partner who is not Mari and pushing the agenda of conforming to the norms of the elite," he answered. "Would you really think I'd be naïve enough to let myself get hurt by her?"

The sister looked at her younger brother. No longer the boy who stayed in the shadows, he grew into a man that dared to push the edge in the business world. And yet, she still felt the need to protect him. How could she not? He was the only one during their childhood that was of some semblance to a sibling.

"Yeah," she nodded quietly. "Because if what you're feeling is real, you're willing to get hurt and we cannot afford to get hurt, not in the way we have been raised. We are not people who are easily taken down, Kyouya."

Kyouya scoffed. "Don't kid yourself Fuyumi, we were the product of some twisted profit-driven experiment."

She raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"

"We were raised to be cold and ruthless because that is what thrives in business, no?" Kyouya sighed. "We cannot afford to think of the trivial things like… happiness," the Ootori let the bitterness steep in his tone. "For the sake of the family, or the business, or our own ego."

"So," Fuyumi scoffed. "You've found happiness in her? That's pretty clichéd, Kyouya."

"Take it how you will," the heir brushed off. "She's my choice."

The older sister shook her head. "I'm just trying to make sure you're making the right choice. It seems reckless and out of character for you to be settling on someone so adamantly. You're as sure about her as you were about being the heir. I don't know if she is as sure about you."

Kyouya smirked. "Who wouldn't be?"

"Does she let you get away with comments like that?" Fuyumi narrowed her eyes at her brother's arrogance. She was met with a moment of silence.

"No," he quietly admitted with a sigh. His chauffeur pulled up to the front of the mansion. "She humbles me," he looked Fuyumi in the eye. "Is that such a bad thing for an Ootori?"

Fuyumi watched the man walk into the vehicle without turning back. Her little brother humbled by a mere academic. An odd choice but one that Fuyumi had to accept, nonetheless.


The elevator opened to the foyer of the condo with an extra pair of shoes. Sneakers that were most certainly not Mari's. They were in pristine condition, the kind that looked like they were only worn out for special occasions. Mari's running shoes looked like they had been beaten since the dawn of time. Kyouya slipped off his own pair of leather loafers to walk into the living room with anime playing on the big screen.

Mari turned over and waved. "Taika is here," she told him offhandedly. The boy turned around and bowed his head out of respect at the elder, a stranger. Mari smiled warmly at her nephew. "This is Kyouya."

"K-kyouya-san?" Taika was unsure how to address the man in the room. Likewise, the Ootori stared blankly at the child before him. Mari sighed. "Oi, aren't you going to say hello to my nephew?"

The CEO only blinked and nodded his head back as a greeting. Mari rolled her eyes.

"Don't mind him," she told the child. "He can be robotic at times." She turned over to the other adult in the room. "You're back early. Taika called and asked if I could help with his science fair project. He'll be hanging out for a bit until he wants to go home."

The Ootori looked around. The pair had turned the kitchen table into a pile of papers with markers and construction paper. "What did you do?"

"Simple biology," Mari answered with a shrug. "Now we're relaxing after a long day of hard work and watching the new episode of this anime Taika likes."

"Oh," the Ootori walked over to the kitchen table and read the display board, avoiding the pair as it seemed like he was intruding on their time together. He put away his briefcase and took off his jacket. The man poured himself a glass of water before settling down in the sofa chair beside them. The anime played in the background as he observed the two. Taika's eyes were glued to the screen as he leaned against Mari's shoulder with her arm slouched against his own.

The pair were closer than he had thought – though it shouldn't have come as a surprise as Mari always had photos of her nephew and her niece at her workplace. She spoke fondly of them whenever they came up in conversation, though it never crossed his mind to meet them. He didn't know what to say to the kid. It didn't come natural to him. What were children into, nowadays? Anime, apparently.

The Ootori quickly looked up the synopsis of the show that they were watching. None of it seemed intriguing to him. A bunch of people fighting against big giants. Mari watched with her nephew intently, patiently letting the episode play out and having her nephew lead their activities. She seemed almost like a big sister rather than an aunt.

"What do you want to eat for dinner, Taika?" Mari asked when the episode was finished.
"Fried chicken!" he exclaimed. The aunt laughed and looked over to Kyouya who scowled at the choice. She pulled out her phone to order dinner for the three of them while the boy stared curiously at the other adult in the room.

"So…" Taika slowly tapped his aunt's shoulder as she browsed the menu of a local fast food restaurant on her phone. "Is he… your husband?" he whispered. "Does he not like me?"

Mari looked up from her phone to Kyouya who raised an eyebrow at her. He did not look amused by this at all. "No, he looks at everyone like that."

"How come we've never met him?" Taika whispered to his aunt, still intimidated by the man in the room.

"That's a good question," the aunt patiently responded at a normal tone. Kyouya rolled his eyes and pretended to look at his phone and not listen to their conversation. "I wasn't ready to let you all meet him but you're the first because you're special," Mari rustled her nephew's hair.

"Why do you like him? He seems mean," the boy was careful to cover his mouth when he whispered the last part.

Mari chuckled and turned the phone to her nephew to choose what soft drink and side orders he wanted. The boy shifted his attention to her phone immediately, forgetting about the stranger in the room and more about his growling stomach. "Kyouya, please stop scaring my nephew," Mari sighed.

"I wasn't trying to," the man scoffed. "Not my fault fried chicken isn't my choice of food," he grumbled. "Or that I was told to expect guests."

"Taika is always a good surprise," Mari smiled at her nephew. "He is a bright student and scored top of his class this term – just like you, Kyouya." Her nephew glanced at the older man and back at his aunt. Mari glared at Kyouya to say something nice.

The older man sighed and pushed up his glasses. "What's your favourite subject, Taika?" It was his best attempt.

"Um," the boy suddenly felt shy at the question, intimidated by the deep voice of the Ootori who sounded like he had interrogated the boy instead of asking him a harmless question. Mari smiled encouragingly. She already knew the answer, of course. "I enjoy mathematics," he politely answered.

"You should look into math competitions," the Ootori suggested. "They're named after mathematicians and are held annually. Good for scholarships. Ouran had them every year to those who were interested."

Mari scoffed. "That'll take the fun out of math."

"Really?" Taika's eyes widened at the name Ouran. His parents spoke highly of the academy. It had been over a decade since the two alumni in the room had graduated but the standards of admission got more competitive. A difficult entrance exam was required nowadays.

"No need to worry over them now," the aunt reassured. "Kyouya only won those competitions by default because he was the only one who probably wrote for them," she waved off. "See, I was the cooler one at school."

"Your aunt didn't sit for those competitions because she was too busy hitting the keys of a piano and losing pages of her homework," Kyouya sneered.

"I never lost homework," Mari snapped. She was still responsible as a student. "Kyouya was a stuck-up nerd who was an opportunist at any cost," she told her nephew.

"So… you two met in Ouran," the child gathered. "How come you guys aren't married yet?"

Kyouya glared at Mari with a smirk. The age-old question that Mari had been getting now that she reached her 30s. A natural question for many to ask, apparently.

"We haven't been together that long," Mari answered swiftly.
"Oh," Taika tilted his head in confusion. "But you must have known each other for over 15 years now," he did the quick calculation in his head.

"Indeed," Kyouya nodded in agreement. "Mari, why won't you marry me?" He asked for the umpteenth time, more so as a joke than a real proposition. He understood her feelings on the subject and respected them.
"Taika, do you think I should marry this obnoxious man?" Mari turned the question to her nephew, ignoring the adult.

"I don't know," the boy shrugged. "Why do people get married anyway?"

Mari sighed and leaned against the couch, placing an arm around her nephew. "Well, ideally they marry for love," she answered earnestly.

"Why only ideally?" Taika was curious. It made sense to marry for love – that was what had always been portrayed in all the movies and shows he had seen. His parents loved each other, right?

"Hm," Mari thought about it. "Sometimes marriage is done for convenience. Like, when two people happen to be compatible and they work well together, it becomes a logical step."

"Oh," the boy nodded. "So, is it convenient for you?"

Mari shrugged. "It's important to remember that marriage isn't always the end goal. People can have fulfilling lives without having to be married. We should respect people's decisions on how they choose to live so long as they are not harming anyone else."

"Okay," Taika nodded. "So, what's the deal with him?" The boy's eyes darted to the Ootori that sat amusedly beside them, watching the two interact.

"He's…" Mari trailed off. Boyfriend didn't seem right considering all they had been through. "My partner. He was my lab partner," she clarified after feeling like the word didn't settle well when she explained it to her nephew. "We started off as lab partners in Ouran and I hated him. But… we somehow grew into something beyond just doing bench experiments."

They were as explosive as a spontaneous chemical reaction when they first began. Though there were still moments of where they were transported back to their Ouran days – the two blossomed into a foundation of support for one another that they never had with anyone else. It took 15 years to get to where they were. Mari only wanted to appreciate what they had for now.

Kyouya could only watch the Takuyas unfold, eating together like a real family. A sense of bonding that he was most certainly left out of. It was interesting at first, watching Mari interact with the young child that was an absolute gem to her. Polite, well-behaved, and very intelligent. The boy was clearly attached to his aunt, comfortable enough to talk about his friends, his studies, and his family to Mari with ease. Taika became comfortable enough with Kyouya in the room to speak more freely, though never quite engaging in much conversation with the Ootori himself. He was still a stranger to him after all.

Mari walked her nephew down to get picked up by his chauffer. The two shared a long hug at the doorstep to which Kyouya only observed. The boy bowed deeply to say goodbye to the Ootori, silently in the same way that the man had bid his own farewell. Of course, the boy had manners.

"He's well behaved," Kyouya commented on the elevator up.
"Of course," Mari beamed. "He's a good boy. My dear Taika," she sighed happily. How fast he had grown now… he was almost a decade old. The pair stepped off the elevator and finally relaxed for the day.

"How was your lunch with Fuyumi and your parents?" Mari asked casually as she cleaned up the mess left behind from dinner. Kyouya sat on the bar stool, relaxing against the counter and watched her work swiftly, not making any move to help as usual.

"As expected," he shrugged. "My parents called you respectable," Kyouya informed.

"Hm," Mari nodded as she loaded the dishwasher. She put the kettle on for tea to aid their digestion after a heavy meal. The woman reached for their usual grey mugs with their tea steeper. She placed a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. She was the most beautiful to him when she didn't try. Her loosely waved hair came from the bun that she had taken down after dinner.

"You handled your nephew well," Kyouya commented. "Answered his questions about marriage quite eloquently."
"As an adult would," the aunt rolled her eyes. She wanted to do her part in raising the boy well, which meant that she wouldn't evade the questions he asked. "He's a curious one."

"So why not kids?" the Ootori asked. "You seem to do fine with them."

Mari raised an eyebrow at the man before her. "You want to talk about kids now?"

"If not now then when?" the Shadow King challenged. He smirked while he was at it.

"Okay," Mari took his challenge and sat beside him at the marble kitchen island. She let the green tea steep between them. "Kyouya, you're awful with children," she said it as though it were the most obvious fact.

The Ootori gave her a flabbergasted look. "What do you mean awful? I was fine with Taika."

"Kyouya, you basically creeped my nephew out by being quiet and awkward. You could have asked him more questions to get to know him or just… tried to engage in our conversations a bit at least."

"How was I supposed to interrupt when you two already have such a close bond?" he grumbled. "You two are basically stuck at the hip while I'm here watching you guys like the odd one out."

"Are you jealous of my nephew?" Mari teased with a smirk.

"No, I'm not," Kyouya rolled his eyes. "And I'm not awful with children," he stated again. He didn't get a chance to cut in, not if Mari was around anyway. Her nephew looked up to the woman like he was another mother.

"You're awkward," Mari pointed out. "I'm just saying, if you want kids – you're going to have to figure out how to be more of a Dad. Even Tamaki had it down to a pat when I took the kids shopping for a piano."

"That's because Tamaki is a kid!" Kyouya snapped. "Or like… a human golden retriever that loves humans of all ages."

Mari sighed. "I'm not good with kids, either," she admitted. "I can give Taika back to his parents, or rather, his nanny when I'm done with him for the day. You can't do that to your own children, Kyouya," she reminded. "I love my nephew and my niece – but I'm not their primary caregiver. I don't have to discipline them or be seen as the villain. I don't have to be the one to tell them no. I'm liked because of that."

Kyouya crossed his arms. "It'll be different with our own children," he insisted. Mari only gave him a skeptic look before pouring the steeped tea into his mug.

"Children require a lot of attention," Mari reminded. "Between you and I – we'll have to sacrifice the time we have for each other in addition to the time we dedicate to our jobs."

"We can hire childcare," the Ootori reassured.

"You and I were raised by people other than our parents. Taika and Yumi are raised by Miyawaki-san, not my brother or my sister-in-law. How is that right?" Mari sighed. "I understand parenting is hard and it takes a village but… I don't want to be the mother that they hardly see. I want to eat dinner with them. I want to help them with homework. I want to be supportive. I want to be everything my parents weren't."

"I understand," Kyouya sipped his tea quietly, mulling in that idea. It was a foreign idea quite frankly. He never quite equated having an heir to being a father, or what the traditional sense of being a father would be. He had been so caught up in checking off the things on the checklist at his age that he hadn't considered the gravity of it all. He had always considered his family business partners. It was a normal thought until Mari had slowly made him realize the sudden empty feeling of lacking the familial bond - especially seeing how Mari was closer with her own family.

"We aren't ready for kids. It's not some problem we toss at someone else when we cannot handle the nitty gritty bits of childcare because we are rich," the scientist sighed. "Also, I'll be the one having to carry the baby to term – did you not consider the impact it would have to my career?"

"We have maternity leave," the CEO pointed out. "We're legally entitled to hold your job for—"

Mari sighed. "Kyouya, can you stop being a CEO for a second and start being a useful partner? Think of the pain and the turmoil I would have to put my body through for a child. I'm not a glorified incubator," Mari raised her voice in frustration. "I'd have to work during it all too."

The Ootori nodded slowly as he listened to Mari. He took a sip of his tea before coolly asking, "What can I do for you?" After all, he was clueless to it all.

"Well for one, you can stop treating having kids like it'll be a breeze for either of us," Mari grumbled. "And take parenthood more seriously beyond just having an heir. A potential heir," she corrected.

"And if people ask?" Kyouya pressed.

"Tell them we're practicing, I don't know," Mari rolled her eyes. Kyouya chuckled at the idea, leaving the public open to interpretation on the statement would be an interesting time.

"Alright," he agreed. "We're practicing," the Ootori repeated with a sly smile. Mari only shot him glare.
"As in babysitting," she clarified carefully.
"Whatever you say," he held up his hands to surrender despite feeling like he had won anyway. She shoved his shoulder with a glare and sipped on the warm tea to soothe her irritated self.

"I never pegged you as someone who would want kids," Mari admitted quietly. "And honestly, I don't think I can handle motherhood."

"You seem to be a good motherly figure for Taika. It seems to come natural to you," Kyouya observed. "Plus, he looks up to you."

Mari shrugged. "He's always been a good-natured boy," she admitted. "Obedient. Well-behaved. Never one to have a tantrum. As a baby, he'd fall asleep to Mozart. But Yumi," Mari chuckled. "Oh goodness, she's quite the princess. She reminds me of Yuki when she was younger. So strong-willed and incredibly stubborn."

"A nightmare?" Kyouya offered as an alternative.

Mari laughed. "Well, I can give her back to her nanny when she's too much. Kids are so variable. We cannot predict what they will become or how they will turn out. Such interesting results, even between you and I who grew up similarly."

"But we are similar," Kyouya pointed out. It was why they were so compatible with each other. "We're both intelligent, logical, and practical."

"I'm not you," Mari disagreed. "I'm not obnoxious."

"And I'm not hot-headed," he shot back.

"I have real life skills," the scientist pointed to the tea that she had steeped and the kitchen she had cleaned. "And I spend my money wisely."

"I'm a skilled investor," he proudly argued. "I make the money."

The woman sighed. "Why are we even arguing?" she groaned.

Kyouya brushed off their little tiff and pushed up his glasses, returning back to the topic at hand. "Children are variable," he agreed. "But I do think we would make good parents, Mari."

Mari stared into her mug that was now half-empty. The light olive tint of the tea reflected her forlorn expression. She rubbed her eyes and shook her head out of fatigue. Kyouya could see that the woman's head had spun over the topic far too many times. He reached for her wrist and caressed her cold hand to comfort her.

"Even if I'm not ready to be a father, or you as a mother – in due time I believe we'll grow into it," the Ootori whispered. "You are the most capable woman I've ever met. I wouldn't have placed all my investment in you otherwise."

Her hand relaxed into his before he pulled her out of her seat to hold her in his arms after a long day. Goodness, how he had missed her. It was only a day. His hand patted her back soothingly as she held onto him a little tighter, tucked right beneath his chin. He smelled like amberwood with hints of bergamot. She nodded against his chest and pressed a chaste kiss on his neck in thanks. It was so easy to swoop down to her lips, she felt him smile against her own.

Just practicing. That's all they were doing.


Mari did not attend the gatherings with the Host Club, after all she was only familiar with Tamaki out of them all. Maybe Haruhi too after meeting her a couple occasions. She ushered the Ootori out the door so he wouldn't be late in the morning after dragging him awake. Kyouya showed up alone at Tamaki's seasonal luncheon with the old crowd, not that anyone else had brought their significant others to begin with. Kyouya promised Mari that he would make it back quick. She had made plans for them to go furniture shopping for a new bookshelf for the Ootori's books, insisting that going in-store was more effective than ordering online.

"So," Tamaki drawled out the word as he glanced over to the Ootori. "What is new with you, Kyouya?" The table had gone around giving brief updates on their lives. Mori with his professorship. Honey with his confectionary chain. The Twins on their booming fashion market into Europe. Haruhi was a practicing lawyer now, landing herself at a prestigious firm after many months of searching for a position. Tamaki of course, was at Ouran.

"Business is good," Kyouya summarized with a bite of the bruschetta.

"Oh, it must be," Twin One winked. "With that pretty Mari working under you."
"Perhaps… quite literally," Twin Two guffawed at their joke. Tamaki choked on his juice. Haruhi put down her coffee and waited for the Ootori to retaliate.

The Ootori shot the twins a glare that settled them down almost immediately.

"Uh," Tamaki recovered quickly. "H-how is Mari?"
"She's fine," Kyouya answered vaguely.

"Is she enjoying her job in the industry?" Haruhi politely asked.
The Shadow King pushed up his glasses before reaching for his own cup of black coffee. "Doesn't matter as long as she's making profits for me."

The Twins grinned. "Oh, we bet you're profiting…"

"You should invite her next time!" Honey cut in happily, not letting the Ootori threaten to sue. "I would like to get to know her better! So many stories of how she was at Ouran but I don't recall her very much." Mori nodded in agreement.

"Oh yes," Tamaki agreed vehemently. "She sure is lovely. Bring her next time, Kyouya."

Kyouya glared at the Twins. "I will not allow her to be subjected to this kind of debauchery," in reference to the lewd comments made by the troublemakers. The least he could do was protect her from these idiots. He would not let Mari deal with this sort of stupidity.

"We promise to behave," Twin One lifted three fingers to his shoulder in scout's honour. "We will do our best to spare Mari and only attack the Shadow King." The second twin finished.

"Your promises are as binding as a strand of hair," the Ootori scoffed. "I have plans," he announced to the crowd.

"Plans?" Tamaki was only halfway through his toast. He of course, was the one talking for the most part of these gatherings and did not eat as fast. "Plans for what?"

"Furniture shopping," Kyouya mumbled with an eye roll. He was not going to say it again.

"What?" Haruhi wasn't sure if she heard correctly. "Furniture shopping?" she repeated. The Ootori would have no interest in furniture – not unless it was profitable for him in any sort of way.

"The Shadow King? Shopping for furniture?" The Twins ears were peeled. "Oi, you got a new place? Why haven't we been yet? Did you buy one of the new development projects outside the city that we have been hearing about?"

Kyouya stood and brushed off the prying questions. "Good to catch up with you all," he politely bid the club farewell.

"Next brunch is at Kyouya's new mansion!" the Twins yelled behind him. "Wahoo! Congratulations, Kyouya on the new real estate!"

Haruhi caught up with the Ootori as a good host. Her husband could take care of the majority of the guests in their dining room. It was only right to walk your guest out of your home. The man waited for his chauffeur to pick him up in a few minutes, standing at their foyer and admired the Monet that he had gifted the Suohs. Haruhi crossed her arms when she caught up.

"So you've moved in with her," Haruhi deducted. "You two are doing well then."

The Ootori shrugged. "I'm not bringing her here," he was not going to be convinced otherwise. Haruhi had no place in trying to change his mind about it.

"So we'll only see her again when you two get married," the lawyer assumed. "Well the rich and elite move quick once the pieces are settled – are we expecting a wedding in the next year?"

"There is no wedding," the Ootori shook his head. Haruhi squinted her eyes in confusion.

"Oi, what do you mean, Kyouya? She's a good fit for you – it seems like she is the only person who can handle your… personality," she grumbled at the end. "Why wouldn't you want to make it official?"

"We have our reasons," the Ootori responded coolly. He checked his phone. His chauffeur was only two more minutes away.

"We," Haruhi repeated the word. "Meaning marriage has been discussed… and you both have decided not to get married?" It seemed odd for the Ootori to go against the norms of the upper class as someone who was a stickler for rules and regulations. And of course, loopholes.

Kyouya shrugged. "Did marriage change your relationship with Tamaki?"

"No," Haruhi answered truthfully. There was no significant change with the title. They were still who they always were. Though Tamaki as usual, romanticized marriage as he always had. But he was French and he loved the concept. Their day-to-day lives did not change significantly before and after the wedding. The Ootori had a point.

"We'll get married eventually," he reassured his friend. "Now is not the time."

"Alright," Haruhi nodded in understanding. "We're happy you found happiness. That's all that matters."

Kyouya nodded and bid his only sane friend goodbye after the quick reunion. He sat at the back of the sedan, sighing against the leather seats. It was always draining to deal with the Host Club. They had good intentions but goodness, they were an annoying bunch. He looked out the window and replayed his conversation with Haruhi. His hand grazed over the bump of the small velvet box that sat in his jacket chest pocket for months now.

Now is not the time, he repeated to himself.