Chapter 31

"Can you come home?"

Mari furrowed her brows at the request. "Kyouya, I have 7 minutes until my next meeting. Can this wait?" There had been a bit of a kerfuffle over the new trend of results that came out of the last set of experiments that needed to be addressed. People worked overtime to try to get this sorted out and here he was, the CEO, demanding that his wife come home early for the day when she had to show up to a meeting that called her name.

"Your schedule says you're free for the rest of the day."

Mari quickly accepted the invitation to the impromptu meeting. "It shouldn't," she shot back over the line. Mari looked at the time; it was nearly 3. Far too early to be going home, even on a regular day that wasn't a busy time in the office.

"Fuck," he grumbled, already seeing the change in her schedule from his end as he stalked her schedule through the company network. "Is it that important?"
"Kyouya, what's wrong?" It was very much unlike her husband to be begging her to come home like this – if ever.

"Fuyumi dropped off her baby," he explained with a sigh.
"Why?" Mari narrowed her eyes. "Doesn't she have a nanny for these things?"

"I don't know," he gritted out. His sister didn't say much except that he needed to take Nao for the rest of the day as she attended a function and left in hurry. "I have a meeting soon." He regretted choosing to work from home today. Last night was particularly long, having crawled into bed with his wife far past midnight. He woke to an empty bed shortly after 9 to get ready for his 9:30 meeting. He had been trapped in his office with an empty cup of coffee since 11.

"How did she know that you were working at home?" the wife rolled her eyes. "Gosh, you should stop getting your secretary to spill the beans."
"What the fuck do I do?" He ignored her chiding tone and got straight into problem-solving. He didn't have time to humour her right now.

"Well," Mari sighed. "I don't hear any crying so that's good? Maybe she'll sleep through the meeting."
"What if she wakes during it?"
"I don't know, Kyouya. I'm not there," she responded, unhelpful.

"Fuck," he gritted out. "Can you just come home?"
"No, this meeting is important for the end of the quarter. We need to find a solution or we can't reach our project key milestone," Mari refused, now annoyed. She wasn't an on-call nanny, she was a scientist. He would ever reduce her to a nanny, she knew that – but even then, his tone irked her. "Can't you reschedule your meeting for tomorrow?"

"No," the husband shot back. "This is the only time we were able to schedule for the past week. I must attend."

"Then you better hope your niece sleeps," she answered flatly. "When is Fuyumi coming to get her?"
"She said until the evening."
"And she packed food?"
"She dropped off a bag," Kyouya glanced at the doorway and the sleeping baby that sat in her carrier.

"Okay," Mari murmured. "Then you better hope for the best. I have to go."
"Wait—"

Mari held the line, purely because of the panic in her husband's voice that she had never heard in her entire life. Who knew that the man was afraid of babies? This was the Ootori panicking. This was him trying to grapple at childcare, a subject that made zero sense to him – he was a poor communicator coupled with an even worse communicator in the form of a tiny sized human.

"Fuck, what do I do?" he groaned again.
"Nothing for now," Mari answered. "If she's crying, she'll want either food or a new diaper."
"And if she doesn't want either of those?"
"Then she just wants you," his wife explained. "Look up how to change a diaper and how to make formula before your meeting."

"Mari, what the fuck – I can't," he breathed raggedly.
"Yes, you can," Mari urged. "You're Kyouya Ootori, for fuck's sake. You can handle a baby. You handle a whole fucking board of old men who are not much better than one."

The line was silent for a couple of beats.

"Kyouya?" Mari was unsure if the man had hung up on her. How rude, she thought to herself. She heard him exhale on the other side, suddenly calmer.

"Alright," he nodded. "You're right."
"Of course," his wife shot back with a small smile. "I'm the one with the doctorate, no?"

"You're the one with a fucking soiled diaper to change if you don't get home soon," Kyouya grumbled.

"I think househusbands are more useful than that," Mari rolled her eyes. The Ootori immediately scoffed at her joke. "I promise I'll come home as soon as I can, okay? You'll be great. You can do it," she encouraged, softer now.

"Please do," he muttered.
"She's your niece," Mari reminded. "Don't be afraid of her."

"I'm not afraid," Kyouya corrected. "I'm…"
"I have to go," his wife reminded. "See you at home, yeah? Love you."


Mari unlocked the door to their home through their garage. She was later than expected, having to run back to the office to put her ring back on when she forgot it halfway towards the parking lot. Mari had stepped back into the lab shortly before leaving and forgot about the fuss that the Ootori would make if she didn't have it. It was an eerie silence before a wail echoed in the kitchen where the lights were on. It must have been Nao, she realized.

"Fuck," she heard him mutter. There was another string of curse words that followed. Mari quickened her pace to their kitchen. She shrugged off her coat quickly and settled her bag on the couch before taking in the sight. She looked like she was put together from the office while he looked like had just groveled his way through hell.

"You seem to be doing fine," Mari looked around at the mess around the kitchen. Spilled baby formula on the counter and on the floor. A disheveled husband. Nao had begun her chorus of angry crying, demanding for her food right this second.

"I don't know what's wrong with her," Kyouya was exhausted. She looked down at her phone. It was past 6 and the man had only been with the child for 3 hours. That was probably 2 hours longer than Mari had expected him to last.

"There's nothing wrong with her," Mari shook her head at her husband.
"Of course not – I just changed her diaper. She made such a fuss even the second time around," he complained.

"You…" Mari looked at her husband astonished. "Wow," she was impressed. Mari tugged him down by his t-shirt and gave him a sweet kiss. Or as sweet as it could be with the background of a crying baby. "I'm proud of you."

"Are you?" Kyouya grumbled. "Fuck, why is she so angry all the time?" He could have sworn that Nao's crying had given him tinnitus over the course of a few hours.

"It's an Ootori thing," the wife shrugged. "I'll make the formula. Why don't you just hold her?"
"She doesn't like being held," Kyouya frowned. "Squirms all the time."

Mari picked up the baby and held her in her arms for a couple minutes, letting the child wriggle and writhe until she found a position that she was comfortable in. Nao's cries eventually turned into quiet whimpers before the wife gave their niece to her husband.

"You have to hold her through the crying," Mari explained while crouching down to clean the mess that occurred on their beautifully tiled floors. "See?" she smiled at the pair of Ootoris when she stood back up. They looked like the perfect pair – Nao with her doe eyes staring up at her uncle like she had finally gotten the chance to observe him without crying. "She likes you."

"No," Kyouya growled. "She likes you."
"Everyone likes me," Mari chuckled as she wringed out the dishcloth. "When was she last fed?"
"I don't know," the husband answered dumbly.
"Okay, so she's definitely hungry," Mari rolled her eyes. "Did she sleep through your meeting at least?"

"Yes, she woke right as we wrapped up. Perfect timing." He was more thankful to have gotten through that half hour without interruption but paid for it in the two and half hours of hell Nao ended up giving him thereafter.

Mari nodded in understanding. She read the instructions off the formula container, having to refamiliarize herself with how all this worked. She had only looked after Taika and Yumi as a baby a handful of times. The first time was a terrifying time on her own but Taika was a reasonably unfussy baby for her to handle.

She passed off the bottle to Kyouya who had settled on their couch. Nao immediately took to the formula with her small hands, settling in the arms of her uncle who breathed a sigh of relief.

"Don't let her burp onto our sofa," Mari warned. "I'll make you clean it."
"What?" Kyouya narrowed his eyes. "Can't we just buy a new set?"

Mari blinked. "No, we can't just buy a whole new set of furniture because your niece spewed her guts over it."

Kyouya frowned as she looked down at his niece. She looked so content with just a bottle in her hands. "This was difficult," he admitted to his wife.

Mari smirked. "Of course it is."

"I don't want this… not now," the Ootori grumbled. "This is too much. We have so much going on with the corporation right now between the expansion into the East, the licensures that we're getting on new products, the—" he listed.

"I know," Mari murmured, nuzzling her nose in the nook of his neck. He smelled like his cologne… and oddly of baby formula too. She smiled at the thought. Mari shifted closer to her husband who had been holding his niece for what felt like the better part of the day. Kyouya sunk deeper into their couch, welcoming the embrace of his wife's arms around his shoulder.

"But look at her, hm? She's so cute; they're all so cute when they aren't crying." She pressed a kiss to his temple and then down to his jaw. "You did it, see? You handled Nao."
"Barely," he sighed. "I don't know what I would do without you, Mari," he softly whispered. "Fuck," he shook his head, just thinking about doing all this without her felt like a nightmare.

"I swore a lot when I took care of Taika the first time," Mari admitted. Thankfully, babies would not have any memory of their relatives spewing curse words every few minutes.
"Alone?" Kyouya widened his eyes at the thought.

"I changed so many times because Taika kept vomiting on me. Or splashing me with other bodily fluids," Mari explained. "Other times, he wouldn't take the bottle or need a diaper change. He just kept crying incessantly."

"This is my third shirt I've changed into," the husband sighed.
"Yeah, but every time he gave me a moment of peace like this – I just fell in love with him more and more. Eventually we got better at it. He understood me. I understood him," Mari smiled. "Sorry I wasn't here earlier but you had it handled just fine," she consoled.

"I really didn't," the Ootori admitted. "I was so lost."

Mari shrugged. "You managed. We all manage. You run a whole company, Kyouya. You can take care of a baby – no problem," her voice was soft to keep the child calm and her husband too.

They stared back down at the child. He looked at his wife who smiled at him in triumph.

"Are you pregnant?" Kyouya squinted in confusion and in suspicion.
"No," Mari answered with the same look of confusion. "Why?"

"You're warming up to the idea of having a child." Mari had always been the one to shoot his ideas down of having an heir.
"I never said that," the wife shot back. "I'm just glad you understand how hard it'll be to have one now."

Kyouya frowned. "We could, you know."
Mari rolled her eyes. "Mmhm," she nodded. "Not tonight. You look like you're about to lose your mind."

"I just need a shower. And some food," he added with a smirk.
"That's it? Ugh, men," Mari groaned, taking the baby off his arms. She let him take care of himself for the first time in the day, juggling the little human in between her arms so she could burp her properly. He kissed the crown of her head before scurrying to their bathroom, itching for another change in clothing and a much-needed shower. Never had he felt this thankful for his wife. Mari could see it in his face when he gave her one last glance before leaving the couch.

This could be their life, she realized. A little one of their own. Mari had Nao in her arms for a while, soothing the baby to sleep. The doorbell rang with Fuyumi showing up as promised on time by evening.

Mari opened the door with the child in her arms without pleasantries and with pursed lips.

"You really put my husband through the wringer," Mari greeted her sister-in-law, her tone more snappish than intended.
"Did I now?" Fuyumi smiled knowingly.

"Truly," the scientist sighed. "You can't do that to him," Mari grumbled, passing off the baby to the mother.
"And you can?" the sister willingly took her child back with a smile.

"Distressing him within reason is fine," the wife rolled her eyes. "But today was not a good day for this. He was especially stressed with work. This quarter has been a lot for the both of us."

Fuyumi followed her into their home, following down the halls to their open-spaced living room and kitchen as Mari began repacking the bag that Fuyumi had dropped off in the first place.

"Your home is beautiful," the sister-in-law noted. "Now that you have furniture, of course."
"Thank you," Mari answered politely while gathering the mess that Kyouya had made earlier. "My husband picked them out."

"Husband," Fuyumi mused, liking how she spoke of him so fondly. It was not usual – the pair often bonded over Kyouya being insufferable. But today, Mari stood firmly on the side of Kyouya. It was a different look. They had grown even in the little more than a year that they were married, unifying into a fortitude of their own against the world.

"Yes," Mari nodded. "My husband is very stressed and needs this baby out of the home before he loses his mind." Fuyumi could only chuckle at the thought of that – she didn't see him anywhere near them. The sister-in-law opened her mouth to ask where her little brother was.

"Yes, please," Kyouya cut in, showing up with his pyjamas as if readying himself for bed by 7. He looked much more refreshed now that he was clean. His hair was still damp from the shower. "Fuyumi, what the fuck?" he seethed at the sister, now that he had a minute to process her being finally present.

The mother gasped. "Kyouya! Language," Fuyumi scolded.
"It's a bit too late for that," Mari muttered with a roll of her eyes. "Nao was wonderful," she started off, trying to ease her way into guiding Fuyumi out the door.

"She was not," the only male Ootori in the room glared at his sister and crossed his arms. His eyes softened at the look of his niece who stared wide eyed at the man who took care of her – now comfortable with him more than ever.

"She was," Mari plastered a smile on her face in trying to shoot her husband a look. Let me take care of this, her eyes pleaded. "But for fuck's sake – you can't leave Kyouya with your child."

"I thought you would be around to help!" Fuyumi frowned, trying to cover the ears of her child.
"No, today was all him," the wife gave credit where it was due. "I had a long day in the office. Kyouya was caught up in meetings when you dropped Nao off," Mari explained.

"When is he not?" Fuyumi scoffed.
"Important meetings," Kyouya cut in. "With board members," the CEO narrowed his eyes.

"Fuyumi, you can't make us your babysitter – not on such short notice," Mari firmly put her foot down.
"But that's a yes to babysitting in the future?" the sister-in-law smiled devilishly.
"That's a no," Kyouya put his hand on Fuyumi's shoulder to guide her to the door with the carrier. His wife followed closely with the diaper bag.

"But this is your niece! Look at how cute she is." Fuyumi held the baby towards the CEO who no longer flinched at the sight of a baby in front of him. Kyouya stared at his niece's bright doe eyes and back to his sister, realizing that the more he stared at the baby, the less he would remember about the hell he had gone through today.

"She urinated on me twice today," Kyouya remembered.
"Did she?" Fuyumi laughed. "But you two got along just fine now, didn't you? She isn't crying at the sight of you anymore."

The baby smiled at the familiar man. Cooing and pawing at the soft fabric of his shirt, reaching for him now that she knew who he was. Kyouya gently pawed away his niece's hands and held her under the arms to place her in the carrier where she came in. Mari handed the diaper bag to Fuyumi with a tired smile.

"We love you," Mari sighed. "But—"
"No, we don't," Kyouya denied vehemently.

"But today was not a good day, I understand," Fuyumi spoke earnestly. "My nanny fell sick suddenly and I had to attend a charity event for a friend. It was short notice and I apologize." The sister-in-law bowed slightly to show her respect.

"At least you kno—" Kyouya felt a jab in his ribs from his wife and a glare for him to shut up. He exhaled in annoyance. "Whatever," he settled.

"Do you need help with the car seat?" Mari offered politely.
"Nope, all good from here," Fuyumi waved off. "Get some rest you two. Or go make a baby of your own – Nao needs a cousin," she winked.

The couple shut the door with a tired sigh. Kyouya buried his nose in his wife's hair, embracing her from behind as they stood exhausted at the foyer. She welcomed his arms around her waist, sinking into the heat of his chest. They stayed like this for a few minutes, breathing in and out – trying to get their wits back together after a long day. He placed a quiet kiss at the nape of her neck, his hands gripping her hips as fingers dug into the waistband of her skirt.

"Aren't you fucking exhausted?" Mari chuckled, amused by the way he pawed at her body. She made no move to stop him - not yet anyway.
"Yes," he answered. "But you look—"

"Equally exhausted," the wife finished for him, turning her body around and keeping his fingers away from tugging out her skin-tight sweater tucked beneath her skirt.

"Was that what you wore today into the office?" Kyouya gave a once-over at his wife. Her hair had been slowly falling apart from the little fingers that grabbed onto it, framing her face beautifully with the mauve lipstick she wore often. That skirt did wonders for curves, his fingers working their way further down to slide beneath the fabric, fingers gliding over the thigh-high stockings she wore beneath.

"Aren't you hungry?" Mari laughed lowly. "You probably haven't eaten all day."
"I could eat," he shrugged, while grazing the back of her thighs, finally finding the bare skin and inching closer towards her ass.
"My goodness, Kyouya," she grabbed onto his hands before they could tear the skirt apart. "Really? Right now?" her tone light and amused. "You're really going to listen to Fuyumi?"

"You look nice," he growled, his eyes darkening as he imagined the outline of the bra she wore. Mari gave a teasing smile at him and shook her head.
"Just nice?" she scoffed. "You'll have to do better than that, Kyouya." She left him by the doorway, with a quick peck to his lips before scurrying up the stairs for her turn in settling from work by changing into more comfortable clothing. He frowned at her silhouette leaving him behind, as always. His stomach growled in retaliation, reminding him that all he had were cups of coffee throughout the day.

The fridge was thankfully filled with leftovers. Mari had always packed away meals for both their lunches which was now going to be repurposed into his dinner. He hadn't realized how hungry he was until the waft of food reached his nose. He scarfed down the food in the container and finished by the time Mari had come down to join him in the kitchen in her robe and glasses. Her tied up hair looked a little damp from what he assumed was a quick shower.

She went straight to their wine cooler tucked away at the bottom of their kitchen island. The husband raised an eyebrow at the choice but grabbed the wine glasses for her while she uncorked the bottle. It was a fine idea, he had to admit. Mari silently poured them both a hefty amount of alcohol in their respective glasses.

"Hungry?" Kyouya reached over the fridge to grab another one of their leftovers.

Mari shook her head. "Had a late lunch," she explained. "I was eating while you called me, then had a meeting, swung by the lab, and then scarfed down the rest of my cold lunch before I left the office today."

Both of them had been so busy with work that they hardly had the time to eat. It was a good night for wine. They clinked their glasses before gulping a large helping down their throats to ease the stress of a long day.

"It's only Wednesday," Mari sighed. "I just want a day to sleep," she yawned, pushing her glasses up to the top of her head. Her hair was still in a bun, now loosened into something more casual and laidback. Her body was covered in a plush robe, insulating her body with the heat that remained from her quick shower. "Can we just call it an early night?"

"Of course," he agreed, letting her tug his palm upstairs to their king-sized bed. Her steps were light and quick, eager to slip underneath their covers with alcohol and their usual routine of watching the Ootori's beloved news channel every night.

The two slid into their own side of the bed, with Mari ridding herself of the robe in favour of her husband's arms. She comfortably crawled towards him while leaning against their pillows. It was domestic bliss, really – being able to turn off their brains after a long day and watching the news in silence. They sipped quietly on their glasses, halfway to being asleep. Mari shifted over to put her glass on the nightstand, fearing that she would end up spilling it instead of drinking the rest of it.

Her husband cleared his throat, or maybe he was choking. Mari glanced over at the Ootori who had been ogling her as she turned back to face him.

"What's wrong?" she asked innocently.
"Where..." It was like his brain had gone blank after the day he had. "Where are your usual pyjamas?"

His wife had been in silk black lace with matching shorts the entire time as she cozied up to him. It was a miracle that the man hadn't noticed when she crawled into bed with him after taking off her robe, snuggling against the warmth of his body as they stared at the TV screen in front of them. He truly was tired, Mari realized this with a small smile. It usually did not take the man this long to notice such things.

She gently took away the wine glass away from him – they were both pretty much done anyway. Mari's legs were quick to straddle his hips as he tried to sit up. The man reacted in more ways than one which only made the woman smirk.

"You're wearing my pyjamas," she whispered with a smile.
"This is my shirt," Kyouya rolled his eyes, mirroring the same boyish grin.
"Our shirt," Mari corrected with a pout.

"I had to change because of Nao," he tried explaining.
"Mmhm," Mari ignored his explanation and began peppering kisses along his neck and jaw. "Sucks for me then, huh? Nothing else to wear."

"Absolutely," Kyouya agreed, breathless. "You should change."
"Change?" she frowned, pausing her fervent lips against his own hot skin.
"Into nothing," the Ootori grinned.

His deft hands had already been tugging at the hem of her top, readying to pull over her head. But not before the woman had pushed against his chest lightly, ask if asking him to wait. Kyouya was quick to stop immediately, trying to read her expression. It teetered between worry and uncertainty.

"What's wrong?" he loosened his grip and pulled her closer by the waist. His warm hands bringing her comfort against the small of her back, pulling her closer to his face.

"What if we…" Mari bit her lip. "What we just try? Or not even try, just… see what happens?"
"Try what?" He looked at her perplexed. The Ootori was too tired to understand what she meant.

"We don't actively have to try to get pregnant," she softly said, this time more explicitly so the man did not have to think too hard. She could tell that he had a long day. Kyouya sat against the headboard of his side of the bed, blinking at the statement. Had Nao given him enough tinnitus from her cries that he could not hear right?

"No, we don't," he agreed slowly. "Really? You'd want…"
"We don't have to," Mari backtracked. "It's just a thought. Maybe… I just really thought we could do it. You and I, today."

"I did most of it today," he grumbled.
"You did," she smiled proudly. "And you did so wonderful."
"No, you were," he huffed. "You are such a natural. An absolute wonder of a woman. I can't even come close to how well you handle—"

Her lips slotted over his to shut him up, her hands raking into his soft, clean hair. She grinded her hips against him, eliciting a groan out of the man who had exercised far too much restraint the entire night. He let her smile against his lips before he pulled away from her and rested his head against the wall again.

"You're making a very convincing case, Mari," he whispered lowly, doing his best to refrain from another guttural groan when her nails dug into his shoulders.
"I wasn't trying to convince you," his wife chuckled. "It was just a thought. It would take some time anyway but I can still take my pill today and whenever we're ready—"

It was his turn to stop her from talking with another searing kiss. He shifted his weight against her, gently pushing her against the mattress so she could lay beneath him. He hovered over her body with a grin, pinning her arms to each side. This was a familiar stance that they were both eager to revisit.

Mari burst into a bout of giggles beneath him. "Are we really letting Fuyumi win this?"
"Fuck," he growled, already positioning himself above her. "Can we not do this now?" Kyouya did not want to be reminded that the grand scheme of his sister's plans had worked. Especially right now. His grip loosened over her wrists to allow her to gently bring his face down to hers.

She nodded. "We don't have to give her that satisfaction. We don't have to tell her anything, yeah?"
"No," he agreed. "Now let me have you."


It was not often that Mari would visit the corporate headquarters. It had only been a handful of times since they were in a room together pretending not to know who each other and then going home to bicker with one another over the day's events. But each time, the CEO always enjoyed seeing his wife while at work – it was truly the highlight of his entire day, if not the entire quarter. At some point Mari stopped being the sacrificial lamb of the department and began volunteering to go to these conferences instead.

The scientist sat quietly in the conference room, listening to the head drone on an overview of the projects that her department had worked on. She only came out of politeness, in case of any more technical questions that were asked and there was extra support needed to defend their work. It was often unlikely that there would ever be a question. At some point, her attendance was mostly just to show unity against the rest of the platform arms of the corporation. Mari casted herself aside, trying to not draw any attention.

Her phone vibrated in between one of the presentations, none that were of any importance to her. Her part had been done fifteen minutes ago. They had at least half an hour more before they could break for lunch and then back to their usual corporate jobs.

Can you look like you're more interested?

Mari narrowed her eyebrows at the text and shot an icy glare at the Ootori on the other side of the room, hoping that no one else caught the glare except for the intended.

I am doing my best to stay awake.

Within seconds, another bubble showed up.

We all are.

He continued typing.

Lunch?

Mari side-eyed the man at the other end of the table, carefully trying not to turn her head to make it look obvious that she was sneaking a glance at her husband.

I'm a married woman, sir. Please stop hitting on me.

She watched as the CEO's face contorted into something more irritated than his usual scowl. He typed quickly.

Who's your husband?

She stifled a smile.

He's kind of a big deal. Kyouya Ootori? Not sure if you've heard of him.

He didn't respond as the next presentation had begun. Mari put her phone down and stared blankly at the screen of her laptop perched on her legs, pretending to take notes when she was actually just working ahead on a report that was due in a few weeks time. She clapped when the rest of the crowd clapped and moved to pack her things when the room had begun filtering out. Freedom at last. She was one of the last people to trickle out of the conference room, losing herself in the crowd where the Ootori couldn't spot her. It was better not to be seen together.

But that didn't stop her husband from casting himself in front of her with his associates and taking the elevator that she was patiently in line for. The smirk that he flashed at her only made her furrow her brows in annoyance. As soon as the door closed, Mari took out her phone and furiously texted him immediately.

Some asshole just took my elevator.

Oh no, who was he? He shot back. Mari could already imagine his stupid face as the elevator reached the underground lot before she did.

Not my husband! Mari answered back with a huff. She took the next elevator down with the rest of the crowd and waited as the beeping of the elevator passed the time.

B1 Parking Lot. Take a left and go straight to the end. Mari rolled her eyes and hit the B1 button as discreetly as possible. The elevator cleared out by the time they reached the lobby, leaving only Mari behind to find her husband's top-of-the-class Mercedes parked in the reserved spot. The tinted windows was enough to give him away immediately. She was thankful for the extra layer of privacy.

"Really? Did you have to steal the elevator?" the wife snapped without any other greeting when she opened the door of the passenger seat.

"You said the man who stole it wasn't your husband," he smirked as he shifted the gears to drive. She crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. They didn't make any effort to sneak around – it was no secret that the Ootori was married. He carried an aura that most people avoided, a good thing as he told his colleagues that he would step out for lunch with his wife. The assumption was made that his wife was certainly not on the premises.

"What's for lunch?" Mari grumbled.

"Something fast," the husband responded. "I have a meeting."
"Oh no," she frowned. "We didn't have to get lunch. You can just drop me off at the subway station," Mari suggested.

He shook his head at her. "I want to," he insisted. "I don't see you enough."
"You see me at home!" Mari rolled her eyes. "But alright," she quietly agreed, letting her stomach think for her. Her husband smiled at that. Food was something she always caved into, especially as a student – she never seemed to grow out of that. "I'm hungry. We can pick up something and eat in the car."

The Ootori nodded. He wordlessly nodded when she flashed her phone screen of a nearby restaurant that did takeout. They sat in their respective seats, parked in a nearby alleyway around the corner, close to the subway stop of where Mari needed to be. They didn't have to speak as they both stuffed their faces with much needed sustenance. Kyouya was hungry enough to forget making a comment about the commoner food that she had chosen. His only need was that it had to be fast, after all. She finished her meal first with a pout, reaching over to his tray of fries on his lap without permission.

He never would explicitly stop her from eating his food. Kyouya would only give her a look that she always smiled innocently at, complete with batting her eyes as if to ask what are you going to do about it? And he never did anything.

"You're going to have to pay for those," he teased, his mouth still full of his burger.
"I paid for this meal," Mari rolled her eyes. She made the order on her phone.
"Why don't you ever order fries for yourself?" the Ootori rolled his eyes. He never quite gotten used to eating fast food but desperate times often called for desperate measures.

"Because sharing is caring, darling," Mari explained with a smile. "And don't you care about your wife?"
"What wife?" the Ootori shot back with a smile.

The woman furrowed her brows, angrily stuffing another mouthful of fries into her mouth in retaliation, taking a sip of her husband's cold brew to piss him off just a little more.

"Oi," he tried to grab the drink back from her hands. Kyouya needed that coffee – he was willing to share the fries reluctantly, but certainly not the coffee. She took another sip to spite him. "Stop being immature."
"Oh please," Mari rolled her eyes. "You live for this. No one at work is here to fight you except me."

"Speaking of work," Kyouya's segue was smooth. "I have a trip coming up in two weeks."
"No," the wife frowned in disapproval. "You'll miss Taika's graduation party."

"I know," he sighed. "Tell him I'm sorry."
"Whatever," Mari brushed off, this time taking a sip of her own soda instead of her husband's drink. Taika would be fine without the Ootori around. After all, it was a more of a Takuya affair. She was Taika's favourite, after all.
"Tell him I can put in a good word for him for his Ouran appl—" Kyouya tried to make it up to his nephew.
"Absolutely not," the aunt refused. "He needs to get in on his own merit."

"It wouldn't hurt," Kyouya offered. "He's my nephew too." The husband placed a hand on her knee in assurance, consoling her of his absence. She welcomed his touch, quickly interlocking her fingers over his own.

"Your nephew, huh?" Mari smiled at the phrase, shying away from his gaze and looked down at their hands. He planted a kiss to her hand to bring her attention back to his face, her thin fingers were perfectly manicured and cut short. "You're not allowed to do that to me. I've missed you," she admitted. "I'll miss you when you're gone too."

"It won't be long," the husband assured. Mari was usually indifferent to him having to travel for work but they had grown to be so busy over the quarter that most of their free time had been taken up by working on their own respective projects. It left little time for each other beyond eating their usual dinner and passing out from exhaustion every night over the past month. "It'll only be a week."

The wife nodded in understanding. "Alright, go and make the millions—"
"Billions," he corrected.

Mari shot him a glare. "Billions," she repeated. "And then come home, yeah?" She squeezed his hand. This was their first time in being able to breathe, a moment to themselves. He was right – lunch was a good idea. Mari reluctantly let go of his hand and packed up the garbage that she had amassed from their meal.

Kyouya leaned in, gently pushing a loose strand behind her ear. He planted a kiss at the crown of her head before letting her go. He would see her at home – his favourite part of the day. She mirrored his smile and kissed him sweetly on the lips before running off to the subway station. His phone lit up with a text by the time he reached back to the headquarters.

Never mind, the guy who took my elevator wasn't half-bad. Seems like decent husband material.


It was an odd thing: to have his wife curled up against him after dawn. She clung onto him sleepily, her fist crumpling up his soft cotton shirt at the hem, her brows furrowed as her breaths became shallow over a few minutes. He kissed her in a half-daze at her temple, holding her head against his chest to calm her in an equally sleepy state. Mari stirred awake, unsure of how she found herself crumpled up against him, her chest short of breath as she felt a sudden state of panic. As if on instinct, she held onto him tighter, feeling the soft cotton between her fingers to bring her back to reality. He was still asleep.

"What's wrong?" he murmured into her hair. His voice was slurred. He had already sensed her being awake.

"Nothing," she croaked. Mari didn't know what was wrong with her either. She turned over to check the time. She slept through her alarm for the first time in ages. A wave of fatigue had washed over her. It must have been all those late nights that finally caught up to her. "Don't leave," Mari meekly asked.

"My flight is at night," Kyouya reassured, his eyes still closed. He didn't want to pry them open again, especially not to let the sunlight filter through his lids. "Sleep," he told her.

"I had a nightmare," Mari blinked. "My chest felt… so empty. The pit of my stomach dropped. I was terrified. I can't remember why."

"I'm here," he gently rubbed her back. "Stay here with me."

She wondered if he would remember this when he was fully awake. If he knew how much she had grown to depend on him on the smallest of things – the quiet reassurance she never knew she needed. The warmth of his arms after a long day. His laughter that mingled with hers when they agreed on at least one thing a day. The way he listened to her babble on about the trials of her experiments, every batch of bad data and on the occasion, something promising. She swam in the ocean of his affection that she now craved.

She sighed into him, aching over the way she would miss him even if it was just a week.