Chapter 27
It was the kind of view for a bachelor that oversaw the city – skyscrapers that lit up the night sky and the morning sunrise filtered its way into the floor-to-ceiling glass windows when the blinds were open. It was marketed as such – the perfect place for an unsettled bachelor to impress anyone he brought home. But of course, Mari was none of the above. For the longest time, all she had was a bed. The decision for a king-sized bed was purely because the frame and mattress were on sale and because she had the room for it. It was actual hell trying to get the fitted sheet over it by herself and until Kyouya had moved in, she heavily considered downsizing.
He had jetted off to Shanghai for the better half of the week, leaving her to wake up without the human form of a log attached to her at 6 in the morning. She was never really someone to miss the company of others with people who had come and gone over the course of her life. But he was something else.
The one who refused to let go.
She texted him in the early hours of the morning, sending him a photo of the sunrise to remind him of the view they had in their penthouse. Not that he had ever gotten up early enough to see it – but maybe he would appreciate it nonetheless. It was odd to call the place theirs when she bought it almost entirely in cash. It had been two years by now, settling into their routine of working and having only each other for company for the better half of their time together. It wasn't his first time going off on business trips either, but this time around she has woken to not her alarm but rather the absence of his presence.
He texted back a few minutes later, surprising Mari as he must have been an hour behind. It was a photo of a different skyline in a foreign city that was still blanketed in darkness. The time difference was stark between the last few hours of the night and the brink of dawn.
Why are you up so early? She texted immediately.
Couldn't sleep. Reviewing some documents instead. He responded quickly.
Sleep early today. Mari answered back. Her phone lit up with a call within a few minutes. Mari sat in front of the view she had with her cup of coffee. She opted against going for a run this morning, taking in the tranquility of the silence of her home. It was odd not having him around, like reliving her own bachelor days only now she knew that she wasn't entirely alone anymore.
"Good morning," she greeted him.
"Mm," he answered. He stayed silent for a few more seconds before Mari filled in the gap after taking a sip of the coffee that would have been his. She unwittingly made it this morning, as if her hands had a mind of her own, missing his presence and replacing it with the actions she would have done if he were still around.
"Are you okay?" the scientist asked with concern. "Why did you call?" She heard the rustling of some papers and the creak of what must have been an office chair of some sort. He sighed quietly on the other line.
"Just wanted to hear your voice," he admitted quietly, almost as a secret.
"Oh," she answered in surprise. She let the words settle between them on the line, taking comfort in them as she sipped on the coffee that was at the perfect temperature in her palm. The warmth hardly replaced the warmth of his arms around her body in the morning. "The bed is empty without you," she told him, whispering it back.
"Mm," he agreed, glancing at the hotel bed that smelled nothing like her. The stale scent of crisp hotel sheets was no match to the slight floral scent of her shampoo that transferred over to her soft cotton pillowcase in the morning. He missed her – much more than she would ever know. He would have hated himself for it years ago, but now there was something different about missing her. Kyouya learned to just quietly embrace it. She was someone irreplaceable to him. Over the years, they had grown onto each other no matter how hard they tried to avoid it. They willingly chose each other, time and time again.
"I hated this bed, you know," Mari reminisced. "It was on sale when I was first moving in. I had the space for it. I figured… why not? But god, I hated changing the sheets."
"Is that why you ask for help every time?" Kyouya chuckled. It was a weekly routine for the two of them, where she would drag him to help her change the sheets every weekend. After all these years, he had just grown to expect to do it with her on Sunday mornings – he had even been the one initiating it half the time.
"Yes," she explained. "It's an impossible task to get that fitted sheet over without one corner losing itself in the tension."
"Maybe you needed better sheets," the Ootori shrugged, waving off the problem with a better solution.
"No, it wasn't a sheet problem – it's a two-person job, Kyouya," Mari argued back.
"It does not have to be a two-person job," the Ootori pointed out. "The problem is clearly in the elastic of the material." It was just logic.
"It doesn't matter what king-sized sheet you buy," Mari groaned. "It's just a really big mattress."
"Then replace the mattress," Kyouya responded as if it was the most blatantly obvious solution, which only riled up Mari.
"Oh my god, you're the problem," she shot back. As if the Ootori would want to settle for any mattress smaller than the biggest one available.
"How am I the problem?" the man matched the heated tone of his fiancée.
Within minutes, the two were back to themselves – there was never a conversation where they would revert back to bickering like they were teenagers again. In some strange way, maybe he missed her bickering voice most of all. Her low register would raise to a higher pitch and the way her words would sharply grind on his nerves without warning.
"Come home," she ordered. "I'm going to make you put on these sheets by yourself," she threatened.
"Fine," Kyouya challenged. "I'll order better fitting sheets to prove my point."
"Wait, can you also stop by duty-free to pick up my eye cream?" she remembered, dropping the fact that they were in the midst of a heated argument. She had noticed herself running low last night and god knew that she needed to take care of the sunken skin underneath her eyes before she looked like she had aged a decade from her years in academia.
The Ootori rolled his eyes. "You know, we don't have to shop at duty-free, Mari." Their fortune had amassed enough that shopping with or without tax really made a difference. But out of habit as someone whose trust fund was limited, Mari had always been the sort to save wherever possible – especially on such expensive products. Rich people could never quite shake off the riches and their expensive habits.
"And my perfume," Mari thought to herself. "The one with the high notes of peonies." Kyouya should know what she used by now, he inhaled it like it was air when it was on her. She smirked at the thought of it. "Oh, and a souvenir for Taika. You know his birthday is coming up."
The man sighed deeply knowing that Mari ignored his comment about shopping at duty-free. "Can you just text this to me?"
"Yes," she agreed happily. Mari paused, looking back at the already-made bed. It was odd to have done it herself after entrusting the Ootori to do it now as he got up later than her. She had forced the CEO to learn to make the bed as she hated coming home to a messy bedroom. Her place, her rules, she told him. But at the end of the day, it became their place… with her rules. She smiled at the thought. He adapted to her and in many ways, she did the same for him.
"I've missed you," Mari admitted after they settled into their usual comfortable silence. She looked at the time and figured it was time to get dressed for work. She could take the earlier train to the office and get off earlier too. He would take the better part of the day to travel back and she could be home in time to make a light meal for him.
He made a noise of agreement, but it came out more like a half grunt. The Ootori was no man for words, after all. His shoulders relaxed without him even realizing it. He really did miss her voice – even if she was half-yelling at him. Only fourteen more hours until he would be able to see her.
"Okay," she decided to begin her day. The scientist got up from her comfortable seat and gulped down the rest of her coffee. "Travel safe, Kyouya." She hung up on him quicker than he could react to tell her that he loved her. He told her in other ways, he thought to himself. Only she would be able to decipher those messages anyway.
She was waiting at home for him in the kitchen with a scientific journal on the counter. Mari was on the second pot of tea that she had brewed after dinner. Only the lights over the white marbled kitchen island were turned on in the penthouse. The condo looked as though it were floating over a sea of stars that made up the city of Tokyo when you looked out the window. The moonlight reflected off the ebony of the grand piano that sat in the middle of the living area. It was beautiful in every way – fit for the two of them that were hidden away from the rest of the world. The beeping of the door meant that he was home, shuffling in with the rolling of his suitcase.
She silently looked up from the paper in her hand, her chin comfortably resting on the palm that was propped up by her elbow. Her hair had been swept up in the bun she hadn't taken apart for the day from work with her glasses that were perched perfectly before the high bun. She knew by now that he was in no mood to discuss his day, not after a ten-hour flight. The looming figure stopped right beside her, planting a quick kiss into her hair and taking comfort in the scent of jasmine. It was his way of saying hello before making his way into their bedroom to wash off the germs he had accumulated over the day.
Mari was quick to help him unpack, throwing whatever dirty clothes she could in the washer and the other portion for dry cleaning – a stupidly rich person thing to do, but here she was, making weekly trips to the dry cleaners for him anyway.
He stepped out of their bathroom in the familiar pyjamas she had always liked him in from a decade ago. They always matched with their soft, worn-out cotton t-shirts that had their alma mater plastered over it. Mostly because Mari ended up wearing the shirts that he owned, tying them at the back to fit her waist with athletic shorts – a rather adorable look that the Ootori also grew to somehow appreciate but would never admit.
Kyouya welcomed her in his arms as he graciously took the mug with barley tea to help him sleep. She tucked herself right beneath his chin, her arms snaking around his back. They stood like that for a while, rocking side to side without a word until the Ootori remembered something.
"I got—" he started off.
"You got Taika a cool Lego set," Mari finished for him. She found it while unpacking his things, after all. She tried to make his return as painless as possible, as any partner could. "Good choice!" she smiled up at him in pride. The Ootori had actually done something right when it came to kids for once. "Oh, and I found the eye cream and perfume after unpack—"
He shook his head and smirked at her. He carefully set down the mug she gave him and took out a large box, still sealed in its plastic from his work bag. He presented it to her earnestly, almost with excitement – he tried to stop the grin from forming on his lips. It was the same laptop he had in a different colour but equally beautiful and slim, in addition to being lightweight. Mari blinked at the surprise.
"A new laptop?" she laughed and shook her head. There was certainly no need for a new laptop.
"Mari, your laptop is literally on its deathbed – you cannot disconnect it from the power cord," he told her. The woman had been holding onto the machine for dear life when it stored all of her data from her years of her doctorate. It was sentimental even though Kyouya had hijacked it one afternoon and backed up all of her files to a small hard drive. Mari refused to replace it, even after all these years.
The scientist shrugged. "It still does the job."
"Mari," he frowned. "Why won't you let go of that stupid brick? You need a new laptop. This one is top of the line, newest processor on the market with plenty of storage space on the hard drive."
The woman took the box gingerly and set it aside on the nightstand. "I know," she murmured. Both of them could already feel an argument brewing up but were far too tired for it tonight. Mari settled back into the same position, tucked under his chin. He patted her back as his other hand held her by the waist. She was so thin, he wondered if she had been eating properly over the past week.
"I don't want to argue tonight," she whispered. "Any other night – sure, I could annihilate you," Mari added.
He chuckled. The way his chest resonated against her ear made her smile too. While still abrasive with one another, the years together had worn them down. She looked up at him, wide-eyed through her rectangular glasses.
"Thank you." She knew it was belated and what he expected when he first presented the gift. He forgave her immediately, closing the gap between them softly. How he missed the feeling of being able to do so on the whim – he cupped her face gently, so carefully as if she would disappear from his grip at any second if he got too greedy. She pulled away with a soft smile and led him over to their bed, figuring that he must have been tired after standing for so long. Kyouya settled against the headboard immediately, taking in his usual position with tea in his hand.
Mari snuggled against him while his arm draped around the shoulder furthest from him. She rubbed her eyes in fatigue, tired from waiting for him all day and the entire week. The bed had enough room for both of them to toss and turn comfortably but with only herself, the bed just emphasized how empty it was. It felt right when he was in it.
"I half-expected jewelry," she admitted when she was comfortable against him. "You know, like the kind of thing that rich husbands get their housewives after trips?"
Kyouya scoffed, unamused by that comparison. They were nothing like the stereotype and never would be. He would have never settled for a trophy wife and Mari would never have stooped to that kind of level either.
"Well, you are the rich husband," Mari thought out loud in amusement. "And I'm rather domestic."
The Ootori glared at the woman. "If you wanted jewelry, you should have put that in the text," he grumbled.
Mari laughed. "I didn't put laptop in the text."
"I had it ordered a week ago," he admitted. The concierge had dropped it off to him when they noticed him come through the doors after he had reached the condo. "And besides, the only jewelry you wear regularly is your engagement ring. What more do you need?"
"A wedding band," Mari shrugged, half-jokingly. It took Mari months to get over the fear of losing the ring, and even more the fear of accidentally scratching it or losing one of the gems from her clumsiness. She often contemplated not wearing it to work – only to have him find it on the nightstand and even once, personally delivering it to her during their lunch break at a spot that was nowhere near their offices. Mari took that as a lesson to not leave the ring at home. The Ootori repeatedly assured her that the insurance would cover any repairs or loss, or even theft.
"Oh," Kyouya dumbly responded. "I suppose that would be logical," he thought to himself. Mari shook her head in amusement when the Ootori had taken her suggestion seriously.
"I'm kidding," Mari assured him. "You know I care little about that sort of thing. It's just nice to have you back, even if you are insufferable."
"I'm glad to be home," he whispered to her, planting a kiss to her temple. "You are equally insufferable, my love," Kyouya added.
She intended to spend the weekend on their couch with the stack of scientific journals that piled up over the past quarter. The weather was getting cooler nowadays and it felt best to bask in the warmth of whatever sunshine they had left during the afternoon.
Mari had little planned, only to get through the madness of the papers she had been intending to read. It was fun – at least for the academic she was. She enjoyed laying her head on the Ootori's shoulder as he typed away on his laptop, after a while she would reach up to steal a kiss on his jaw and offer him a hot beverage – his choice of a coffee or a light tea. His lips always twitched up at her soft nudges, reminding him to take a break whenever she did.
They had fallen into the comfort of each other – happiest when they were alone with no one else but themselves and of course, their work. So when the Suohs invited the Ootori over on the weekend, Kyouya quietly sighed on the morning of and looked towards his fiancée for support to rescue him out of the dreaded social event that he felt obligated to attend. Tamaki had insisted that he come or he would regret it for the rest of his life. Mari agreed to attend with Kyouya, as what a good partner would have done.
He watched his fiancée get ready in the mirror, as he always had – fascinated with how she transformed into someone he hardly recognized but was eternally attracted to. The ring sat on her finger so naturally as it flashed under the sunlight that filtered from the skylight. She kept her hair in a low bun while lining her eyes after painting them in a neutral hue of warm brown.
"Did you say this was a casual event?" Mari checked in with him when she saw him staring at her. She couldn't tell if he was getting impatient or if he was just bored watching her draw the liner on her lids. The line was sharp but not dramatic enough to pull away from the rest of the neutral eyeshadow.
"As casual as the Suoh would be," Kyouya answered with a sigh. He fixed the cuff of his shirt, trying to avert his eyes away from the woman. Mari nodded in response, reaching for the palette with her blush. She tried her best to look the part of someone who was of the upper class – casual did not quite mean the same kind of commoner casual others would have assumed.
"Is it too much?" Mari asked him when she caught him staring again. She swiped the pearly illuminating powder on the bridge of her nose and the upper cheekbones before blending it out. "Am I taking too long?"
"No," Kyouya assured. They had plenty of time. He couldn't have cared less even if they were late. He watched as she applied the translucent powder over her face to set it all in place. Her nose was contoured higher with the hollows of her cheek that were brought to life with a slight hint of peach. It was still her – but goodness, she was something else. He couldn't quite remember the last time she looked like this. Sure, she wore makeup to work – but never as glamorous as this. He was glad she did not look like that every day. It would have driven him mad at the sight of her.
"I can hurry," Mari reached for her neutral lipstick before the Ootori gently moved her hand away to choose the darker shade. The scientist smiled at the deep oxblood colour, knowing that it was a favourite of his and obliged with the handpicked shade from the Shadow King. "Why do you like this one so much?" she wondered to herself.
"The same reason why you like it," Kyouya smirked.
"Because… it easily seduces you?" Mari teased, popping off the lid of the lipstick. She began lining her lips without breaking eye contact with the man in the mirror.
The Ootori frowned. "Well, no," he denied when he saw how much fun she was having. Although he had to admit that it was stirring something innately carnivorous in him, enough that he gently pulled down the fabric of her floral patterned silk robe, exposing enough of her shoulder to make her look like she really was in the midst of seducing him – it had fallen dangerously low with only the tie around her waist keeping it all together.
"I thought we were in a hurry," Mari reminded him while she put down her YSL lipstick. She made a note to repurchase that shade – she had worn it far too often now and mostly for him lately.
"I never said that," the Ootori smiled deviously. He pulled out the bobby pins and the hair tie that held her bun together. The smooth strands were set free and fell graciously in his hands.
"I meant to keep it in a bun," she huffed, her hair now flowing in a slight wave down to the middle of her back. At least now it covered her barren skin. Kyouya lightly pushed away the hair that fell down to her shoulders to one side. He planted a hungry kiss on her collarbone and began moving across the nape of her neck.
"I really do not want to explain why we were late," Mari warned the ravenous Shadow King behind her.
"Mm… then don't," the Ootori breathed in the scent of her perfume before moving his way up to the back of her ear, his fingers working on the tie around her robe.
"Kyouya, I just spent half an hour on my makeup," she tried again, swatting his hands away from the silk knot that he had already loosened. "And you just got dressed," she reasoned.
"But you aren't," he raised an eyebrow with a smirk.
Mari understood why the Ootori called their development property a modest purchase in comparison to the Suoh Mansion. It truly was like a little piece of Versailles hidden away in Tokyo – an amalgamation of the Suoh's roots and an ode to the Japanese culture in the small details. It was the lawyer who greeted them at the door.
"Just in time," she told them. To which Mari politely smiled and pretended that she did not have to fix her lipstick in the car as the Ootori drove them. She pulled her hair back into the bun that the Ootori had torn apart on the ride there. They ran a little behind schedule and her makeup was not as perfect as she hoped it would have been. Mari handed over a box of pastries, something that she insisted on with the Ootori as a means of proper guest etiquette. They ended up bickering about principles of hospitality in front of the door before Haruhi had gotten to it.
Haruhi was quick to notice the rock on the woman's finger when she handed off the box. The lawyer smiled at the sight. She already could tell that the Twins would have a time examining the engagement ring. She led them through the foyer to the group that had already gathered in the living area. The Twins caught sight of the new prey, immediately sauntering their way over to the couple.
Kyouya instinctively stepped in front of the woman, protecting her against any harassment that was about to occur. The two easily avoided the man, breaking off from either side and ambushed Mari from the back.
"Oh, who is this?" Twin 1 grinned.
"You wouldn't happen to be Mari, would you?" Twin 2 tapped Mari on the shoulder.
"Please don't make her play the stupid Which One is Hikaru game," Haruhi swatted one of their hands away from her. "The one on the left is Hikaru, by the way," she muttered. She watched as the Ootori carefully stepped behind the woman, keeping a close eye on the Twins to prevent them from harassing his fiancée.
Mari only smiled politely. "I am indeed Mari. I believe you know my sister, Yuki."
"Oh, we love Yuki," they nodded. "She has spectacular taste. Always on brand," the Twins agreed. "Your style is… more subdued." They circled around the newcomer, almost like wolves stalking their prey. Mari only crossed her arms and kept calm. She had heard enough about the Twins to know what to expect. She had dressed appropriately in a midi maroon dress – no frills. The high slit of the fluted skirt revealed her long legs, toned from all the running she had done on the regular. The knee-high boots covered enough skin to be acceptable for the upper class. The fabric cinched at her waist with a round neckline and short sleeves at her shoulders.
"Boring," Mari corrected. She was nothing like Yuki and she knew it.
"No no," they shook their head. "Sophisticated. Minimalist," they offered. "Not boring, not when you caught the attention of our beloved Shadow King. Nice lipstick," they added with a grin. "Matches with the dress."
They picked up her left hand to examine the rock on her hand when they were done looking at the stylistic choices of the scientist. "Oi," they called to the Shadow King. "What's this?" they pointed to her left hand. "Is this supposed to be an engagement ring?"
The Ootori glared, immediately whacking Twin 2's hands away from Mari. "Get your filthy hands off her," he snarled.
"It's tiny," Twin 1 squinted at the diamond. "Who knew the Shadow King would be such a cheapskate," the other red-haired twin dragged the word out to bring on the attention of Tamaki who pranced over in curiosity.
"Oh happy day!" he exclaimed when he saw the ring on Mari's elongated fingers. "You sure took forever, Kyouya," Tamaki nudged his friend. "Was this recent? My goodness, we should bring out the champagne!" he insisted. Mari raised an eyebrow to her fiancé, as if asking if he knew this was going to happen. Tamaki was always one for dramatic gestures and surely, popping a whole champagne bottle for his best friend was the least of it. Kyouya could only sigh and shrug – there was no other way around it except to just live through it all, no matter how dreadful it was.
The group settled at the long dining table – the main event was supposed to be a dinner hosted by the Suohs with a slight distraction of a celebratory detour for the Ootori's engagement. While it was not news to the engaged couple – they had reveled in their status for nearly a year now, the rest of his friends found it novel and exciting. The Suohs spent much of the dinner reminiscing those days of being engaged, asking about the new couple's relationship.
"How long have you two been together?" Haruhi was curious, eyeing the ring on her hand as they all ate their meal. Everyone knew they had been together but no one could quite pinpoint at what point in time.
"Depends," Mari cryptically answered. They had always been in and out of each other's lives. To define when they decided to be together would be difficult. "Although I suppose in traditional terms, I guess we haven't been together as long as you may think."
"Since Harvard, no?" the lawyer had been itching to confirm her suspicions for years now. They had always been a good pair, even from afar. Something had to have sparked during that time. Anyone could have felt it emanating from the two. The entire crowd listened into the conversation, all curious about the Ootori and his fiancée.
"Hm," Mari shrugged. "No, I don't think we go back that far. We were too young and in different places at our lives." She spoke for the two of them, carefully treading around the balance of answering enough of the question without giving too much away. The Shadow King thrived upon the aura of mystery.
"How so?" Haruhi dug deeper. She didn't believe it.
"I was focused on my research. He was focused on his company," Mari answered simply. Sometimes she felt like a broken record explaining it to the world and of course, Kyouya was of no help as he knew his words did not hold as much weight coming from himself. The Twins were quick to rip him apart on anything he said. Mari however, was untouchable. The Twins at least respected the woman enough to leave her alone from the lewd comments. "The most we could handle was friendship." It wasn't really a lie. But she figured that the Ootori wouldn't be the one to be explaining to his friends about their complicated journey to become what they were.
"Friendship," Haruhi repeated to herself. It seemed so innocent. Fragile, even. A friendship with the Ootori was not forged unless it was made for business purposes only. Or if you were the Host Club. "How did you manage?"
"With his ego?" Mari laughed. Haruhi joined along with her before the rest of the crowd came through as well. "I know, right? I hated that prick in Ouran. Sometimes I still do," the scientist admitted. "I think we just grew to respect each other," she shrugged. "That's all it really was. A mutual respect for each other's intelligence at school. Then in our professional work. Then for each other's principles. And then… for each other… eventually." Mari shared a look with him, asking if he would have wanted to add anything to her list.
Everyone caught the way she glanced at him – and even better, the way he looked at her. Kyouya agreed with her just by the slight faltering of his eyes behind the glasses. He silently assured her that she was right. The entire crowd understood instantly why they were together. They were on the same wavelength at all times – never once moving out of sync in the way that they presented themselves towards the world. They were unified without ever having to discuss a strategy for it. They were the sort of power couple that everyone would have looked up to had they stepped more often in the limelight.
The Club immediately moved onto other topics, brushing over the private moment that they had caught of the Ootori and soon-to-be Ootori. Between the bickering of the Twins and Tamaki, Honey and Mori's updates on their own lives and endeavours – dinner eventually came to an end where the men decided to hang around the bar in the living area. Haruhi and Mari silently stayed in the dining room to clean up as housekeepers, muttering complaints of how entitled rich people never knew how to clean up their messes.
"So when did he propose?" the lawyer tried to make small talk as she gathered the dishes into one pile. Mari's thumb grazed over the thin platinum band for the umpteenth time. She had grown used to the ring now. She felt naked without it. The ring had grown onto her as something she could not part without.
"He didn't," Mari responded truthfully. "I found the ring and saved him some work," she smiled to herself. It had been a long while ago now. But it still felt oddly nice to acknowledge. "And no, there is no wedding planned."
"Hm," Haruhi listened to her husband laugh with their friends. Only the Ootori was not laughing, as usual. They were probably picking on the man over something in the other room. "Tamaki would be disappointed. Are you two eloping then?"
The scientist smirked at the idea. "Wouldn't be the worst option," she shrugged. "I'm not big on weddings. Kyouya thinks it's a practical choice too. I think we've agreed on just registering our marriage when the time is right."
"Ah," Haruhi nodded in understanding. They were quite the fit, after all. "Well, Kyouya does seem happier with you around," she added.
"I would hope so," Mari sighed as she gathered everyone's cutlery and made her way into the kitchen with Haruhi. "Sometimes I feel like I gave him more grief than happiness over the years," she admitted. "But I don't think he would have spoken to you all about that, or anyone in that case."
"Kyouya has been distant over the years, but he would always show up to these events," Haruhi shrugged. "No matter how busy and no matter how annoying. It just takes a bit of pestering," she added. "I think he's more settled now than before. He checks his phone less for emails when he's around us and he listens more intently to our lives."
"That's good," Mari nodded to herself. The man needed time with his friends every once in a while. Mari made her way over to the dishwasher, impressing Haruhi when she realized that the scientist really did know her way around the kitchen. Not quite the prim and proper rich girl that she had assumed her to be. "He's actually a good listener, isn't he?"
"Well," the lawyer sighed at the question. "He's good at listening only when it counts… usually for blackmail."
Mari rolled her eyes. "Well that's not surprising. But that's the Ootori for you." There was another roar of laughter in the other room, the rumbling of the deep set howling from the Twins followed.
"So when did you know?" Haruhi asked casually, ignoring the commotion. It was just regular Host Club shenanigans by now. She offered Mari a cup of brewed tea as a good host would, especially after a large dinner.
"Know what?" Mari graciously took the cup when she had loaded the dishwasher properly. She wiped down the counter as she would even at home out of habit.
"That you loved him," the other woman clarified simply, easing the dishtowel out of her guest's palm. The two made a good team, cleaning up without having to delegate any tasks.
Mari thought about it. "Does one really realize the exact moment you're in love with someone? I don't think I can recall the exact moment. Just a gradual shift to loving him, in all of his stupidity." Maybe stupidity wasn't the right phrase. But it was the first one that fell off the tip of her tongue.
"Stupidity," Haruhi repeated with a laugh. "Goodness, I have never heard of anyone calling the Ootori stupid."
"I don't know the exact moment he fell in love with me either, if that's what you're wondering. It's just a mutual feeling. A trust that has formed over years and years of knowing one another. Although sometimes we can get quite abrasive with each other," Mari shrugged. "But that's how we've always been."
Haruhi chuckled. "Well, you two have always seemed close. Even in Ouran. I remember him speaking to you when you all graduated in the courtyard."
"Oh?" Mari thought back to their Ouran days. It was mostly a blur now. Feelings of teenage angst that she remembered distinctly. A wave of annoyance that she associated with the Host Club but most notably, the Ootori. But all of it ended in a truce with the boy she would wage wars against while battling her own turmoil. "I suppose our friendship did begin there."
"You used to play the piano, didn't you? I was surprised when you told us you weren't playing for a conservatory when we visited in Boston," Haruhi noted. She was doing her best to get to know Mari in the most polite but blunt way possible of course.
Mari nodded. "Yes, I was a pianist. I stopped because my mentor passed away quite suddenly." She spoke of it like an old history fact now.
"I'm sorry to hear that," the lawyer responded sympathetically. "I didn't know."
"No one really knew," Mari reassured. "I didn't tell Kyouya until years after. It wasn't something people needed to know about. But it did change my life, putting me on a trajectory into academia rather than the arts. What about you? Did you always know you wanted to be a lawyer?" Mari shifted the conversation to Haruhi for once.
"My mother was a lawyer. She also passed away while I was young," Haruhi explained.
"Now it's my turn to be sorry," Mari returned the smile that Haruhi gave. The women got along rather well. Haruhi was quite relieved that Mari was around, being one of the only sane people at this party that her husband decided to throw spontaneously. Mari was someone who she came to appreciate – one of the only few rich people who understood commoner antics. A rare thing in the midst of their upbringing and being surrounded by alike in Ouran.
"I should probably save him, hm?" Mari tilted her head at the Ootori who had his arms crossed and obviously annoyed. The women had been chatting for well over an hour over their careers and rich people antics.
"Oh please," Haruhi laughed. "This is just how they've always been."
