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The smell of dust and time was thick inside her obasan's library, and because of that she had to open up a window. Hana let her gaze run along the rows of book spines, red and green and yellow, and waited for a title to arrest her. A small, gray tabby cat was stretched across one of the shelves, and it was balanced in front of the books in a strip of sunlight. Hana hadn't noticed the cat before and wondered where it came from, and how it managed to sneak its way into the library. A cat has been living here all along? She thought. The cat, seeming to sense that she was under curiosity, pushed itself up on her front legs and fixed Hana with a look of majesty. It leaned over and extended itself on its paws, stretching and scrunching its face in a yawn.

She thought it was a perfect scene, and she pulled out her phone and snapped a quick picture. She smiled and sent it to Mori.

H: Look at what I found in my obasan's library! ❤

The cat leaped down the shelf and opened its mouth. A meow, Hana presumed. Tucking her phone in her back pocket, she went down on her knees and scratched behind the cat's ears, and Hana felt herself already attached to the little thing. Its head leaned against her slender fingers and it closed its ocean blue eyes. It had no collar around its neck—was it a stray? She explored every nook and cranny of the mansion and saw no trace of any necessities for a pet, let alone a cat. There was no litter box, no scratching posts, and no cat food. Her eyebrows weaved together in concern.

Hana looked out at the window she opened before, and all at once it hit her.

The cat came through the window.

She wouldn't have assumed that there were many strays in the area. It was a high-end neighborhood packed with lawyers, doctors, and philanthropists. She lifted the cat and cradled it in her arms, scratching the fur on its chest. She felt the low vibration of a purr against her skin, and she couldn't help but laugh softly at the purity of it.

"Did you come from outside, little one?" she cooed, continuing to run her fingers through its fur. She felt another noise. "I'm not sure if... my obasan would allow you to stay. Let's see..." She adjusted the cat to lift it in the air, raking her eyes up and down the body. "You're a boy... and you look so small. You must be young..." Hana felt her phone buzz in her back pocket, and she cradled the cat again in one arm as she pulled it out.

M: How cute.
What's the name?

She walked over to one of many posh sofas in the library and made herself comfortable, careful to maintain the cat close to her bosom. She wouldn't want any fur to get on the cushions, and the last thing she wanted was to experience her obasan's rage.

H: I have no idea. I think it's a stray... There's no collar.

M: Would your family be okay?

Hana wiggled her nose and thought for a minute. The cat continued to rub its face against her chest.

H: Probably not. My family is not very accepting of me living here. I can't imagine what they'd say if I asked to could keep a cat.

It took her friend a little while to respond. It was the weekend, and he was probably busy at home. This past week while she was teaching him sign language, she learned quite a bit more about him. She learned that he was part of the kendo club, and another club called the host club. He didn't give many details about either and she completely respected that. She learned that he liked Japanese History and Geography. He liked traditional Japanese food. He was a very simple man, but there was nothing wrong with that. The kindness he showed her the past two weeks was more than enough for Hana.

The deaf girl had to admit that the man was rather handsome himself—whether his face carried no emotion, or whether she managed to pull a smile from him.

Her phone buzzed again.

M: I can take it if needed.

H: Are you sure? Do you like cats, Mori-san?

M: I like animals. It's not a problem.

Hana felt her heart swell. She swiftly typed up another response.

H: You can come over and pick him up. My family isn't home right now, and I don't think they'll be back until evening. Until they return we can figure out a name. Do you remember where I live?

Before she closed her phone and waited, there was another buzz.

She grinned.

M: I'm on my way.

Mori was surprised to see the girl outside her door waiting for him to arrive. Her smile was the very first thing that he noticed when he exited the limousine, and soon his eyes traveled down to the cat that was nestled serenely in her welcoming arms. She waved and walked to him. It was the first time he had seen her without the Ouran uniform, and she looked good. Dark jeans with the cuffs folded up, and a slender black button-up with the sleeves rolled. Her hair was up in a ponytail, revealing not only her hearing aids but a new pair of earrings—they looked like lilies this time. White lilies.

He heard his limousine drive away behind him, and when Hana arrived in front of him he couldn't take his eyes off her. The cat was undeniably adorable, yes, but that was only one of the reasons why he was there.

"Come inside," she said in a breath, spinning on her heels towards the door. He was quick to reach his arm over the girl once they arrived and opened the door for her. She whispered a small, bashful thank you and stepped on in. She slipped her shoes off and he followed suit, taking in his foreign surroundings. It was no larger than his own home, and in the back of his mind Mori wondered what her family did for a living. "Make yourself comfortable. Do you want any tea?"

When she turned herself around to face him, he shook his head no. With no other response, she led him to the library where she had found the cat. He shut the door behind him and stared at the openness of the library. Just how many books did her obasan own? It was a shame, really, that she owned so many and yet rarely spends a minute or two in the room.

"Go on, make yourself comfortable," she ushered him, setting the cat down to roam freely on the ornate carpet. Some of his gray fur fell in wisps behind him as he walked, sniffing Mori's ankles and soon rubbing his face against his leg. Hana laughed. "He likes you already."

Mori crouched and lifted the cat high up in the air. The tall man was astounded on how tiny the thing was.

He sat down on one of the sofas and Hana sat down next to him, observing the way he handled the cat so gently and with care. He had a way with animals, Hana concluded. A gentle giant. The thought made her blush.

"We need to think of a name..." she said, scooting herself closer to scratch the cat behind his ears. Mori could smell her perfume. It wasn't anything he was familiar with, and for a moment her words went through one ear and right out the other trying to determine that scent. It smelled nice, but not nice enough to be from a renowned designer. He sighed internally—he was never good at guessing games.

"How about Earl?"

He turned his head. "Hm?"

"Earl. Earl Grey, like the tea. Well... the tea itself is not exactly that color, it's just the name... That's sort of silly, isn't it?"

Mori was quick to shake his head no, and removed one of his hands from the cat's backside. He then curled up on his lap and started to purr. "No," Mori lifted his hand and balled it into a fist, knuckles facing Hana as he shook it left-to-right. No. "Not... silly..." The words came as slowly as he signed. Hana widened her eyes.

"I didn't teach you that word, didn't I?" she asked. "The word silly."

He shook his head—another no.

"Have you been watching videos?"

He nodded.

Mori couldn't describe the look on her face, and he was frightened for a moment. Was she angry? Was she sad? Was she surprised? Was watching videos on sign language a bad idea? A sigh leaned from her voice and a smile formed on her lips. Her eyes watered... was she happy?

"You have no idea how much that means to me, Mori-san," she began, her hands moving in pace with her words. Mori would normally follow her movements, but this time he was transfixed with her amiable gaze, and the saccharine of her voice. "Have you really been... teaching yourself, too?"

Mori hummed. "I want..." He pointed at himself, and with a flat hand he rested it on his chest before laying it in front of him, as if the motion were akin to a child's slide. "to communicate..." Both of his hands were flat with his palms faced to the ceiling, one above the other, as he skimmed them back and forth. "with you..." Finally, his hands folded where all his fingers were straight and pointed upwards, thumb pressed against those four digits, and he joined those two hands together. He then pointed at the girl, and she gave a ragged noise that sounded similar to a laugh.

"Thank you... Mori-san," she said afterwards, wiping away any evidence of tears that formed at the corner of her green eyes. Even at the brink of crying, Mori believed that she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

He suddenly went still.

Should he say it?

Should he sign it?

"You're... beautiful... Hana..."

He made sure he signed it slowly. The word beautiful was something he had learned just the night before. He wanted to tell her at some point, but it was so unlike him for his body to move without him giving a full thought.

That blush of hers made his cheeks grow hot as well. Her lips were open as she tried to form words, and somehow her vocal chords wouldn't bring herself to it. She cleared her throat and offered him her famous, toothy smile, and began to sign in return.

"And you're... handsome... Mori-san."

The open window breathed a slice of air in to break the silence of the two. The cat let out a sound and stretched on his lap. Hana nervously played with her earring.

If he could give her the world, he wouldn't think twice on doing so.

"So... Earl, right?" Hana was the first to break that patch of silence. He was relieved. "Should we call him Earl?"

"Yeah." Mori nodded.

"Do you have anything you need to take care of him? A litter box... toys, food... a bed..."

"I will get it," he responded. "Don't worry."

"Are you sure?" Hana raised an eyebrow. "I-I could give you some money for—"

"Don't."

Hana seemed to forget that she now lived with a family with money. It was true. But she also tended to forget that everyone around her in that prestigious school was just as wealthy, if not then more-so. Hana did not grow up wealthy. She knew her dad came from that background, but her mother lived in the countryside of England just on the outskirts of London. Her father often told her stories of the first time he had met her mother, and how he stated that it was love at first sight. He came from not only a family that bathed in riches, but a family that suffocated him and milked him to the bone due to his success.

When he met her mother, he dropped nearly everything that had to do with his life in Japan and wanted to spend the rest of his days with her. His family shunned him, yet they did not disown him. They criticized him for marrying a foreigner, let alone a commoner.

You get one life, Hana, her father once told her. It is up to you to decide what you want to do with it.

Hana didn't grow up wealthy. She never had the luxury of grandiose parties with fancy food, and she most definitely didn't have the luxury of having everything handed to her on a plate. She wasn't born with a silver spoon in her mouth—she was born a farm girl. She was raised surrounded by cattle. She would feed the chickens at the cusp of dawn, and she would water the flowers in the garden so her mother wouldn't have to.

She felt tears rise up again, wondering how her thoughts went from cat necessities to her parents. The wound in her heart never healed, and it was still open and raw. She wondered if it would ever mend itself.

"Hana-san."

Mori signed and spoke her name at once. She looked at him and wiped her tears once again. Concern was heavy in his eyes. He didn't like seeing the girl sad. Did he say something wrong?

"I'm sorry," she sniffed, trying to smile in between her sorrow. "I was, um... I was thinking about my life in England... I was thinking about my parents."

"...Ah."

It was clearly a sensitive subject, and Mori knew best not to pry. His job was to make sure he wouldn't see those tears creep on her again. Not good with using his words, he lifted Earl from his curled up position and placed him on Hana's lap. The cat yawned and resumed its sleeping position, and Hana giggled. He gave himself a point for that.

"Wow," she laughed again. "The little guy will just sleep anywhere, huh?"

There were remnants of some tears that did manage to escape at the corner of her eyes, and with his thumb Mori inclined himself to wipe it away all while keeping a promising distance between the two of them.

"Don't cry, Hana-san."

She read his lips, and Hana pressed her own together in a thin line.

"It's hard," she whispered. There was a crack in her voice. "It's very hard, Mori-san."

He couldn't imagine.

"My extended family... my obasan especially... they don't like me. My obasan says terrible things about me as if I'm not in the room. My cousins avoid me like the plague. I have not met my ojisan yet, but I can only wonder..." She drew in a wavering breath. "That's why I stay after school often. I don't like coming here. It's so big... I get lost so easily... I feel I can get a breath of fresh air when they're not around. It's sort of like walking on landmines... One wrong step and everything can explode."

Hana didn't realize Mori's hand just barely ghosting over hers. She continued. "I don't know what to do with my life, Mori-san. I want to move back to England, but I have no one there for me. I don't want to stay here, but I don't want to be anywhere near them... I don't know what to do for college. I wanted to follow my father's footsteps, but after their deaths..."

There was a strangled noise in her voice. Mori's hand finally made contact with hers and he squeezed it.

"Hana-san," he began once she locked her eyes with his mouth. "What did your father do?"

"Um," she hiccuped, a free hand reaching up to wipe away the proof of her anguish. "He was... a writer. A very good one."

"Do you write?"

She nodded.

That was something Mori did not know. He learned something new about her everyday. "Then write."

"I-I—" Hana sniffed. "I... don't know what to write about anymore. After they died I just... I lost all inspiration. The rolling hills of England. My mother's garden. My father... everything he had done for me, and for my mother... They were my cornerstone. Even when I was diagnosed, and even when I went deaf... they were there... by my side. And now they're gone."

He wanted to help her. He wanted to give her anything that would help inspire her, even if it was something so minuscule. He wanted to help her forget, even if it was just for a little while. These emotions were so coarse and unnatural to Mori, and he had no idea how to handle them. It was as if she set off a switch inside him, and suddenly his gut and instincts surrounded his being.

Hana ran her hand through Earl's fur, and a wavered sigh left her lips.

"I'm sorry, Mori-san," she whispered. "I didn't mean to... cry and vent all of the sudden."

His hand squeezed hers again, and she glared at him once more.

"Never apologize."

She closed her eyes and smiled a little.

She felt so lucky.

He was understanding, he didn't let her disability get in the way of their friendship, and he was always eager to learn. Not to mention her little school girl crush she had for him, but that was an entirely different story.

"Thank you..."

She said and signed it at the same time. Mori bowed his head in response.

Her father's words rang in her mind again.

You get one life, Hana. It is up to you to decide what you want to do with it.

That night Mori went home with Earl. He set up a small bed, a litter box in the spare bathroom, and a scratching post in a small room for starters. He wanted to close the door and let Earl sleep there for the night, but he felt guilty—it was like he was leaving a piece of Hana alone inside a dark room. Instead, he let Earl into Mori's room and on his bed coiled in a ball, a purr of satisfaction vibrating from his small body.

Mori sat at the opposite corner and pulled out his phone, staring at the text he had just received from Hana.

Thank you so much for everything you had done today. You listened when no one else will.

You've done a lot for me already. Words can't express how grateful I am for your company.

Don't hesitate to ask if you need anything, too.

Try not to act like Superman all the time.

You're only human. :)

For a moment he felt his entire essence had slipped from his body. His heart was about to crack through his chest. Should he call a doctor? Was this normal? He thought and thought and thought for what it felt like hours. He was extremely wary on introducing her to the host club. Would that be a good idea? She did need some sort of a distraction after all, and the host club activities would be a promising opportunity to get her to laugh. But she definitely was not the kind of girl who would go just to get wooed by a couple of guys, and she would probably feel a little overwhelmed from trying to catch on. She couldn't read everyone's lips at once.

He knew that Mitsukuni was simply dying to meet this girl that Mori was swooning over. Perhaps he could bring her before club hours just to introduce her?

Ah, but then everyone would want to get involved. Kyoya and Haruhi would be respectful, though he wasn't quite sure about Tamaki and the twins.

Mori groaned and ran his hand through his wild hair, giving them a gentle tug before letting go.

He wanted to start slowly. He wanted to start off small. It would take a lot to scare Hana away, but he didn't want to take that risk.

Takashi began to type fast.

What's your favorite flower?