Hikaru suppressed a snicker as he watched Nino pull at his collar self-consciously. "I'll bet he was actually reaching for his headphones. When I went to pick him up this morning, Alya mentioned that he put up quite a fight when she insisted that he had to dress up a little for this meeting. The polo shirt and slacks fit an office meeting a far sight better than the jeans and t-shirt he usually wears."

Nino shoved his hands in his pockets as he stalked across the film lot to the office building where their meeting was set to begin in less than fifteen minutes. "I hope I don't have to dress like this every day when I'm working," Nino muttered under his breath.

"Hey, relax," Hikaru said, patting him on the shoulder. "They hired you because they like your work, not your wardrobe." He chuckled at the unimpressed look Nino shot him.

Glaring at Hikaru who looked completely relaxed in his dress shirt and slacks, Nino huffed. "How can you look so comfortable so dressed up like that. Those types of clothes always make me feel like I'm tied up in a straight-jacket or something," he groused.

Grinning, Hikaru replied, "This is dressed down from my usual outfit. I feel practically naked without the tie and blazer." He sighed dramatically with the back of his hand pressed against his forehead. "Oh the woes of growing up wearing a school uniform."

"Dude, be serious," Nino huffed as he pulled open the door and held it for Hikaru.

Grinning, Hikaru walked straight to the secretary's desk and perched on the corner, winking at him. "Good morning, Gene. How are you doing?"

Looking completely unimpressed by the man's antics, Gene responded flatly, "I am well." Gesturing to several chairs against the wall, he said, "I'll let Mr. Black know you're here." Picking up the phone, he waited for his boss to answer.

Nino looked at the chairs but decided to stand and examine the posters for the studio's past movies mounted on the walls. Because they were all in English, he took his time. "I remember seeing this one with Adrian in Paris. Whoever did the French subtitles did an amazing job," he thought as he focused on the poster for 'A Blaze of Glory' nearest the door they had entered through.

Settling into the chair nearest the door to the inner office, Hikaru lounged like it was one of the plush chairs in the Third Music Room back at Ouran and he was posing for clients. "This would be more fun if Kaoru was here," he mused.

They hadn't been waiting long when the inner office door opened and one of the studio owners stepped out and called, "Nino! Hikaru! So glad you're here. We are so excited for this venture."

"Mr. Black, it's good to be here," Hikaru said as he stood from the chair and bowed.

"Call me Ben," he replied, holding out a hand.

Shaking Ben's hand firmly, Hikaru chuckled, "I'll have to get used to that."

Nino approached, offering his own hand in greeting.

Ben shook it with a grin. "What? No le bise?"

Rolling his eyes, Nino replied, "I am not allowed to do that here in America according to my significant other. She can be crazy jealous. I don't want Alya to kill me."

"Just teasing," Ben assured him with a chuckle. "Come on in, We have a lot to talk about." He stood to one side and gestured for them to precede him through the office door. Turning to address the secretary, he said, "Gene, send Gustavo in as soon as he arrives. He messaged me last night that he would be running a little late."

"Of course, sir," Gene replied before returning to the mail he was sorting.

Nino and Hikaru had stopped just inside the office, waiting for Ben. "James will be here soon. He went to grab the copies of the script from the print shop because he didn't want to wait for them to send them via messenger. Go ahead and have a seat." He waved to a conference table in front of a broad window with a view of the studio lot.

Rubbing his hands together in glee, Hikaru settled into one of the chairs. "This is going to be fun."

"Of course it will be fun for you, Dude," Nino commented as he perched on the edge of one of the chairs. "You're the special effects guy."

Smirking, Hikaru quipped, "Well, you're the guy who gets to tell everyone what to do." He started to say something else but was interrupted by the door being thrown open and a man stumbling in carrying a teetering stack of manuscripts on one arm.

"James, you're finally here," Ben greeted, taking three manuscripts from the top of the stack. "Let me help you with those before you hurt yourself…or someone else." He set one copy in front of Nino, one in front of Hikaru, and kept the third for himself.

Dropping the rest of the stack on the table, James wiped his brow. "Whew. Those were heavier than I expected." Looking around the table he continued, "I see our director and special effects coordinator are here. Now we just need the screenwriter."

Ben took a seat facing the window. "James, let me introduce…"

"No, wait, let me guess," James insisted with a mirthful twinkle in his eyes. "This must be Nino Lahiffe, the illustrious director from Paris, France," he said, holding out his hand to Hikaru. "Even without his signature cap and headphones, I'd know him anywhere."

Then he turned and bowed to Nino. "Hikaru Hinan, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Thank you for gracing our humble studio with your magnificent talent."

Ben pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head. "Do you really have to be like this?" he muttered, leaning his elbow on the table.

"Well, you are serious enough for both of us," James remarked, grinning widely. "I'm just trying to lighten the mood. Even though making movies is big business, it's also a lot of fun." He turned to Hikaru and asked, "Right, Mr. Hinan?"

Nino hid his face in his hands as Hikaru answered with a laugh. "Quite right, Mr. White. I always knew someone in this company had to have a sense of humor."

Ben looked at him quizzically. "What ever gave you that idea?"

Beaming at the studio head incredulously, the special effects coordinator explained, "You do realize what you named your company, right?"

Confused, Ben asked, "What about the name of our company? It's just our last names."

Nino looked up from where he had hidden his face in his hands. "Really, Dude? How much funnier can a movie studio name be? Black and White Pictures makes it sound like you're making old silent films."

Ben's eyes darted to his partner's grinning face and then to the director and special effects coordinator. His brows drew together as his gaze returned to his partner. "Is that why you didn't protest about my suggestion to have my last name listed first?"

James' silent chuckles turned to hearty laughter. "I wondered when you would figure it out. I thought it was absolutely hilarious when you suggested it. We've been in business for eight years and you just now get the joke." He paused to wipe his eyes. "Of course, what's even funnier is that the media seems to have missed the joke as well."

"No scandal in a name like that, so it wasn't even on their radar," Ben said flippantly.

The buzzing of the intercom interrupted the discussion. Ben answered the phone and rolled his eyes as he stated, "I told you to send him right in when he arrived. Why don't you have a snack and beverage cart sent up from the commissary and then you can head out for a long lunch…on second thought, you can have the rest of the day off with pay. You've been doing a great job, so you deserve it."

Before he returned the phone to its cradle, the door was flung open and a flamboyantly dressed man cried, "I have arrived. Let the party begin."

Hikaru's eyes lit up when he recognized the shirt the newcomer was wearing. "That's the men's summer shirt from the Hitachiin 'Spirits of Nature' collection, isn't it?"

The writer grinned broadly. "Ah, you have an eye for fashion. I am sure we will get along famously."

"Well, I do have a fascination with Hitachiin Fashions, at least," Hikaru admitted. "My interests lean more toward the cosplay side."

Gustavo's eyes widened comically. He gasped dramatically, "I cannot believe it! You are Hikaru Hinan. I was in New York when you premiered this line. I bought one of each piece, but it was all I could do to keep this one. My siblings made off with all the rest."

"I'll pass your compliments along to my brother when I speak to him next," Hikaru assured him.

James cleared his throat to get their attention. "If you two ladies are done swapping fashion tips, shall we introduce everyone and get this meeting started?"

Gustavo pressed his hand to his chest and gasped, "Forgive me. I was so excited I forgot my manners." With a sweeping bow, he announced, "I am Gustavo Cortez. I was born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I grew up listening to my family's stories and decided at an early age that storytelling was what I wanted to do with my life."

The other four took turns introducing themselves as Gustavo, James, and Ben joined Nino and Hikaru at the conference table.

Gustavo pulled out a chair and turned it around before sitting down with his chest pressed against the back. Snagging a copy of the manuscript on the table, he opened it to the first page with a flourish. "Now, let me introduce you to my bebê. It is an epic tale of good and evil forces tracking a very special…item."

Nino opened his copy and looked at the first page. "That's quite a title."

"I actually owe that to my family," Gustavo admitted. "So many of their stories started that way."

"Almost like 'Once upon a time…' for us," James commented, flipping through the pages too quickly to actually read anything.

Ben mused, "It does lend itself to the possibility of being the first in a series of movies, if it does well at the box office."

"So, let us begin…" Gustavo called before being interrupted by a knock. "…by answering the door," he finished with a grin.

Gene opened the door and pushed in a large cart with coffee and tea service on the top and a variety of bottled waters, juices, and sodas on the bottom. On the middle shelf was a selection of snack foods. "I'll just leave this with you,,,and I'll see you tomorrow." He left it near the conference table and was out the door before anyone could react or comment.

Hikaru stood up and perused the offerings on the cart. Taking a bottle of water for himself, he asked, "What can I get for the rest of you?"

"I could go for some coffee," James offered. "But I can get it myself," he continued as he stood and moved to the cart.

Ben glanced back and forth between the cart and the conference table. "Why don't we just move everything to the table and then get the cart out of the way? There's plenty of room and we can focus on our script reading."

Standing from his chair uncomfortably, an embarrassed Nino asked, "Um, where can I find a bathroom?"

Smacking his forehead with the heel of his hand, James groaned in chagrin. "We forgot to do the office tour."

"Oh, please," Ben remarked as he rolled his eyes. "What's there to tour?" He waved at one door. "That's the door to the outer office. We all came in through it, so no surprise there. That just leaves the door over there."' He gestured to a door opposite the window. "That door leads to the bathroom." He crossed his arms and said dryly, "There. Tour complete."

"Spoilsport," James muttered under his breath, making a face at his partner.

Walking quickly, Nino said, "If you'll excuse me…"

While the little drama was going on, Hikaru had moved all the refreshments to the conference table and relocated the cart to an out-of-the-way corner where no one would trip over it or run into it.

As soon as Nino returned, they all settled down and opened their scripts. Gustavo was just about to start when James jumped up and blurted out, "Wait just a minute. We need writing utensils to make notes." He dashed to one of the desks and started rummaging through the drawers. He returned a few minutes later with a handful of implements, including colored pencils, gel pens, and even sparkly markers.

"Now we're ready," James announced as he settled back into his chair.

Gustavo opened his mouth to begin again and then paused, waiting for the next interruption. When none came, he said, "So now 'Legend has it…' opens in…"