She was dancing with Tamaki for the third time.

Not that he was counting. It was simply something he'd noticed. He wasn't watching her; he was… looking after her. Making sure she didn't end up a wallflower. Her father's over-protectiveness extended to letting her attend family events so he didn't think she'd know many people. He'd been wrong. He should be happy that she was more popular than he'd realized. He would be happy that she was popular.

Mori stood back against the wall next to one of the three sets of doors open to the terrace and tried to look as unobtrusive as someone 192cm tall could. Spending this much time socializing made him feel drained, but the cool breeze coming in from outside was refreshing and helped ease his fatigue. The last week had been a busy round of pre-wedding preparations and mandatory social events that left little time for sleep. He hoped the party ended soon, before he got dangerously sleepy.

He looked towards the center of the floor; Mitsukuni was enthusiastically swinging Haruhi around in a made-up dance that didn't quite keep time with the music. It didn't look like the groom was ready to end the party anytime soon. Mori sighed and resisted running his hand through his hair and loosening the bowtie strangling his neck. As much as he might want to, he couldn't leave before the bride and groom.

The music ended and his eyes instinctively sought out Kaori again. He'd told himself all night that he would ask her to dance if it looked like she was being ignored, perhaps this would be the one. Ah, no – a boy was approaching her, probably another one of her classmates. She turned him down, though, and instead headed out the far doors towards the terrace. His eyes narrowed when he noticed the barely perceptible limp.

When Kaori stepped onto the terrace she found an oasis of calm after the busy swirl of the ballroom. The flagstones glimmered as the moonlight highlighted pieces of quartz and crystal which made the deserted area feel like another world. She spotted a bench against the wall hidden by shadows that the light from inside didn't quite reach and gingerly made her way to it. She eased herself down and leaned against the wall and gave a contented sigh, it had been a perfect night.

Well, almost perfect; all night there had been one partner missing from her dance card. Talking with him earlier hadn't been enough, she wanted – no, she craved – more time before the clock ran out. She was so nervous during their conversation she barely remembered what she'd said. That couldn't be it, could it? Five years of silence then small-talk about the wedding? There was so much more she wanted to know, to say.

"Is your leg hurting?"

The deep baritone voice startled her. Over to her right, she saw Takashi stepping out of the shadows and into a patch of moonlight. As the light hit the planes of his face she gave an involuntary gasp. With his hair slightly mused and his eyes in shadow he looked just a little wild, like some forest spirit who'd decided to pay the mortal world a visit. He looked so handsome she could barely breathe.

She licked her suddenly dry lips. "Yes, a bit."

"You always push yourself too far." He admonished. In a few short strides he'd closed the distance between them and knelt down, taking her right leg in his hands and removing her shoe.

Kaori desperately hoped the shadows were hiding the furious blush she could feel on her face and tried to pull her foot back out of his hands. "It's… it's okay. I'll take a look when I get home."

Takashi looked up at her with concerned grey eyes. "Let me," he insisted, "if you're hurt we should take care of it now."

She could feel her resistance melting away under his gaze. Besides, she recognized that look – once he'd decided something was his responsibility to take care of it was futile to try and stop him. He thoroughly, yet gently examined her ankle with the manner of one used to assessing injuries. "A little swollen," he concluded, "ice it immediately when you get home."

"Ye… Yes, I will. I was planning to." She felt air on her leg as he discretely moved the hem of her skirt to just above her knee. His gentle hands checked first her calf for knots, then poked and prodded at her knee. She tried to keep herself calm at the intimacy, he'd often done this when she was younger but it felt very, very different now.

Examination done, he turned towards her and gave a reassuring smile. "Looks good, just the ankle."

"Th… thank you," she managed to squeak out. However clinical his touch, his hands on her leg were making her stomach do back flips. "Please, please, please let go soon before I embarrass myself," she silently pleaded.

His hand stopped in the act of putting her shoe back on. Intent on checking her for injury, he hadn't really looked at her brace. It looked different from the bulky molded plastic and metal one he'd seen her wearing this past April. This one looked lightweight and elegant – two thin metal bars ran on either side of her leg and were held in place by two thin loops at the upper and lower parts of her calf. Around the edge of her skirt, which was still up above her knee, he spotted another. Curious, he traced down along the metal bar, asking "Is this new?"

Oh gosh! Now his fingers were stroking her leg! Did he have any idea what he was doing to her? No, of course he didn't. To him she was just the little girl who used to follow him around. She took a breath and focused on ignoring his light touch and answering his question. "Ye.. Yes, brand new! It isn't even on the market yet. Mitsu-chan helped get me into their testing program – some connection of his in the engineering school."

Becoming more excited, she forgot about his hands and leaned over to show him how it worked. "It's wonderful! This part here lets me move my knee freely when I bend it but lock when I stand. It's computerized too, but I'm not sure how that works."

They both lifted their heads at the same time; their faces were only centimeters away from each other. Time stretched as a moment became infinity, and then was over in a blink of an eye. Simultaneously they both moved back.

Mori stood back up in one swift move and awkwardly looked away, rubbing his hand over the back of his neck. When he turned back towards her, she had readjusted her skirts and had a forced look of composure on her face.

"Anyway," she continued brightly, "the best thing is that if I wear the right clothes you can't even tell I have it on."

He was feeling disoriented again, like mental ground he'd been certain of was shifting under his feet. He told himself it was a natural reaction to meeting someone you had once been close with. It was easy to fall back into the old patterns of friendship, but at the same time there was a sense of unfamiliarity that kept throwing him off balance.

Kaori gave a deep sigh of regret. "I guess I'm done dancing for the night. It was so much fun, though. I think I got to dance with everyone I knew."

He knew, he'd watched her. But she hadn't danced with everyone, she hadn't danced with him. Before he could stop himself, he blurted out "I was going to ask you to dance."

"That… that would have been nice." She sounded wistful and a little sad. He suddenly hated the idea of having her night end on disappointment. He heard the band inside start up the strains of a waltz. Following some strange impulse, he moved to stand in front of her and held out his hand. "Dance with me?"

"Yes!" screamed her heart, but her mind tried to intervene. "I... but my ankle…"

He lips formed that familiar smile, the one that she'd first seen when he'd promised to catch her if she fell. The one that told her it was okay to jump. "Trust me."

Kaori bit her lip and looked at the outstretched hand for a moment. If he'd said anything else she might have had the good sense to turn him down, but she had always, always trusted him. She tentatively reached out her own and he helped her to her feet. He held her right hand in his and wrapped his left arm around her waist then lifted her up off her feet. "Put your arm around my neck," he murmured. She held on tight and laid her head against his shoulder as he slowly waltzed her around the terrace.

Mori thought it should have felt awkward, but instead felt like the most natural thing he'd ever done. She felt soft and warm and like she belonged right where she was. His chest felt tight around his heart, right under where she was resting her head. Something told him he shouldn't be doing this; that nothing would stay the same if he didn't stop. It was too late; nothing in the world could make him stop.

When the music ended, they were on the far side of the terrace, near the railing overlooking the back lawn. For a minute, he held her still; unwilling to let her go. Finally, regretfully, he set her down on her feet. Not knowing what else to say, he took refuge in manners. "Thank you for the dance."

He turned and leaned against the railing, looking out at nothing and trying to make sense of bewildered thoughts and unfamiliar sensations. Kaori stood next to him, gripping the railing and alternating between pulling herself towards it and pushing away. She was fidgeting like she did when something was on her mind. He gave her a sideways glance; the moonlight made the golden highlights in her hair glimmer and gave her skin a pearlescent glow. "So cute."

He almost gasped in shock at the thought. "Wh… What!" Where had that come from? It wasn't right to be thinking like that, she was just a kid.

"Not anymore," whispered a traitorous thought.

He shook his head sharply in denial. No, stop this – she's Mitsukuni's cousin.

"But she's not yours." He didn't understand any of it. Not the dance, not the present mood, not the strange direction of his thoughts. He needed to get away, to think things through, to restore order.

She had stopped her rocking. Whatever was on her mind she was ready to talk about it. He thought he knew what it would be about, but was not in the mood to give her advice about her crush on Tamaki. "Please, talk about anything but that."

Kaori's heart was beating so fast and hard it was a wonder nobody could hear it but her. Why did he have to dance with her like that? She was supposed to be using this night to start getting over him, not fall more deeply in love. She looked at him, her chest hurting so bad she wanted to cry. The mood between them was so sweet but sad; pure and yet still somehow wild. It had been a magical night. Finally coming to her resolution, she knew there was only one more thing that could make it truly perfect. She took a deep breath and said the words she'd held in her heart for eleven years.

"I love you, Morinozuka Takashi, I've loved you since the day we met."

Takashi turned to look at her, eyes wide. Whatever he had been expecting, it wasn't that. He blinked in stunned silence and opened his mouth, the familiar words of rejection instinctively on his tongue. But they wouldn't come out; he couldn't make himself say them.

"Please, don't say anything – I don't need your response, I just wanted to say it. I know it's impossible for a hundred reasons. Well for at least four." She smiled sadly remembering her conversation with Mana, "but I need to tell you how… important you are to me and to say thank you. Thank you for your kindness and friendship, thank you for lending me your strength when I needed it, thank you for… for being my Prince Charming. And thank you for tonight, for the dance - for making me feel just a little like Cinderella."

Tears prickling behind her eyes, she balanced herself on his arm, stood up on tip toe, and gave him a kiss goodbye on the cheek. Without a further word she turned and limped away, leaving the fantasy behind and heading back to the real world.

Behind her, unnoticed, Takashi watched her go – his hand lightly touching the cheek she'd kissed; still unable to speak.

A/N: I don't have anything (attempting to be) funny for this section. This is the end of Act 1 – Kaori finally admitted her feelings and is ready to try and move on. Next up is how Mori reacts.

Thanks to everyone who has stuck with the story so far, I hope you are enjoying it. I love all my reviewers so far – please keep telling what you like (and dislike) so far.