— Epilogue Part I —

Anticipation

After stretching my arms upwards for a few long seconds, I let out a deep yawn and brought my hands right back to my desk. I fixed my gaze on the basic human outlines I'd sketched in the previous moments, and pulling out my small case of graphite pencils, I debated on which shade to use for this set of designs.

I was still unsure about the tiny details, however, and because I figured that there was plenty of room for error, I settled for the 8H grade. It would be easy to erase completely if I wasn't satisfied with the outcome.

It was definitely a lot of work having to draw out designs all the time, but this one was a mere university assignment for my core design class at Osaka Bunka Fukusou; I didn't feel as pressured with this one as others. At least it wasn't a final draft for the Hitachiin Design Incorporation.

Being an intern and working alongside Yuzuha Hitachiin for the past three years had not only been a huge honor, but also incredibly fun; I enjoyed myself immensely when we discussed ideas and collection concepts together. I was even provided with an income that was plentiful enough to purchase a large home in another country.

But I didn't. Instead, I decided to save my money and chose a nice, modernly-designed apartment in Osaka located only a short walk from my college campus. It definitely got rid of my worries about paying for school; the tuition was roughly two million yen per year, but with my income, there was a guarantee that I wouldn't be paying off any loans after graduating.

It took a three-hour bus trip to visit my mom and stepfather back in Tokyo, so we communicated often through webcam. Through these conversations, at least, I could see that the two of them still acted like newlyweds after two whole years of marriage. They had more space to live in since I'd already moved out at that point.

Aside from business discussions, Yuzuha and I kept each other up to date with how her sons were doing. They got a younger sister named Ageha after our first year of college; I had to do a bit of heavy work a few days before and after Yuzuha went into labor, but it was worth it. She'd conceived a beautiful baby girl, and Hikaru and Kaoru made sure to come back to Japan for a long visit. It made me laugh to see them pinching her cheeks the same way they'd done with me and Haruhi when we still attended Ouran.

It was great to hear that the two of them were having the time of their lives attending a university in Massachusetts, and they told us about their post-graduation plans to open up their own branch of the family business. Hani and Mori lived in the same apartment complex as them, as did Tamaki and Haruhi.

While Hani and Mori lived in separate rooms, Tamaki begged Haruhi to live with him; with the biggest puppy eyes he'd ever made in his life, he claimed that he wanted to be more like a couple, and she gave in. Needless to say, they've been very happy together despite Haruhi's slightly hectic schedule with law school. The others were wonderful as well.

Puffing up my cheeks and letting out a sigh, I closed my sketchbook upon completing my draft and tucked it neatly into my bag. I'd have to head to the bullet train station if I wanted to get to work on time; I needed to finish a few more tasks before a series of vacation days. Summer break for Osaka students was beginning soon, and in addition, I didn't need to come into the office for a little while.

After shrugging a cardigan over my blouse, I slipped into a black pair of low heels and took one last glance in the mirror. I tucked a few strands of long chestnut-colored hair behind my ear before fixing my pencil skirt, and I headed out after slinging my bag onto my shoulder.

Just as I'd done at six-o'clock each evening, I rode the elevator to the first level of the complex and took a fifteen-minute walk to the station. It didn't take long for me to reach the section at which the Hamamatsu train would arrive shortly.

I puffed out my cheeks and took a seat on the nearest bench. I felt a great amount of anticipation for what was to come in the next few days, but I couldn't help feeling nervous as well.

"Hiroshi!" a familiar voice called out over the noisy bustle.

I shifted my gaze in the direction it had come from. Immediately recognizing the woman with bronze skin and whitish-pink lipstick as my co-worker, I smiled cheekily and waved as she made her way towards me.

Her name was Mei Yasumara. She also happened to be my Osaka classmate and another close friend of Haruhi's. She met us through her father, Misuzu, who had looked after us during our stay in Karuizawa. While she had a particularly high-strung and blunt personality compared to most people I knew, it was nice to find that she was an avid fan of Yuzuha as well. For this reason, she was an intern at the Hitachiin Design Incorporation alongside me.

After waving back, Mei reached into her bag and vigorously pulled out a compact mirror. "Ugh!" she exclaimed in disgust, tugging at a few strands of her bleach-blond tresses before snapping the mirror shut again.

"You look fine," I said, raising an eyebrow as she took a seat beside me.

She grunted and crossed her legs. "My hair hasn't been cooperating lately; how am I going to maintain my appearance for the upcoming fashion show?" she asked in a panic.

"Mei, there's nothing wrong with it," I replied. "Relax, will you? Our vacation time is almost here; just try to let it sink in."

Her worry seemed to fade and she let out an exhausted sigh. "You're right. I'll have time to visit the salon since we don't have to come to work; it'll be fixed soon enough."

I puffed my cheeks out once more, seeing that she'd missed my point.

Once the next train had slowed to a stop in front of us, we stood up and paced quickly towards the nearest entrance in hopes of finding a good place to stand. We were lucky this time; it wasn't too crowded inside and we managed to find a pole to hang on to right away.

The two of us tightened our grip and stiffened once the bullet train rushed forward; we didn't want to be flung towards the back.

Mei let out a sigh once we'd adapted to the motion, and she looked towards me. "You're incredibly lucky, Hiroshi."

"What made you say that all of a sudden?" I asked.

She placed a hand on my shoulder, taking me by surprise. "Tell me your secrets! How are you so close with Hitachiin-sama? Even as an intern myself, I have trouble talking to her. Really, it must be nice to have a great relationship with such an amazing person. You're really living the dream, being so close with the perfect woman!"

My eyebrows were knitted together in befuddlement. "Uh—"

"You even have the perfect man; just look at this thing!" she exclaimed, placing a finger on the charm of my necklace. "Ah, he uses his money to buy you things like this… if only Kasanoda was more like him," she grumbled.

After staring at her with a ponderous expression for a few long seconds, I let out a nervous laugh and pushed her hand away. "Mei, he gave this to me as a Christmas gift when we still attended Ouran; he doesn't go buying things for me left and right. I don't want him to, anyways. I knitted him a scarf in exchange and he appreciated it just as much; wealth shouldn't be a deciding factor when you love someone."

She exhaled shortly in reply. "What a perfect relationship you have."

"Perfect?" I queried, raising an eyebrow at her childish assumption. "You've forgotten that he lives roughly halfway around the globe. You think that we haven't had our fair share of arguments over the past three years? Our time zones are so different and we're so busy that we sometimes go months at a time without hearing each other's voices."

Her eyes widened a bit once I reminded her of such a concept.

"But the important thing is that we choose to stay together; we choose to be patient. At least you and Kasanoda are able to go on weekly dates, right? Just tell him about how you feel. Communication is really important, you know."

Mei turned to me with an apologetic expression this time around. "I'm sorry. You're right."

"Plus, with the break coming up, maybe you two can spend more time together."

"Same for you and Kyouya, I assume," she replied. The corner of her lips began to tug up just slightly. "I'm glad that you two will finally be able to see each other in person. You're meeting him at the airport in two days, aren't you? How exciting it must be for you."

I looked down with a shy smile as my heart began to flutter. "Ah, yes. It is exciting," I replied quietly.

She blinked and threw an arm around me, wrapping it around me tightly.

"Ugh… Mei…" I choked out.

"I'm happy for you!" she exclaimed with a wide smile that stretched out her cakey lipstick.

"Thank you," I coughed out after she'd finally loosened her grip.

In less than an hour, we reached Hamamatsu and took our usual route to get to the Hitachiin Design headquarters. We strolled in through the translucent double doors, and after greeting everyone with friendly smiles and waves, we headed towards the nearest elevator to reach level ten.

We slowly began to rise, and as we approached the appropriate elevation, we were able to look out across the entirety of Osaka through the glass walls. This was one thing that I loved about working here; the architecture and features of the building were just as astounding as Yuzuha's designs themselves. Mei was right when she said that I was lucky, but as an intern at such an amazing place, she was incredibly lucky as well.

Once the elevator had slowed to a stop and the doors began to open, we stepped forward and strode in opposite directions towards our separate offices. I peered down at my phone momentarily as my heels continued to clack across the glossy white flooring to see that Haruhi had sent me a picture message.

After sliding my thumb across the screen, an image of Tamaki and herself had popped up, along with Hani, Mori, and the twins. They were gathered around a dinner table with hilarious expressions on their faces. I snorted, scrolling down to see the caption below.

Look at these dorks.

Letting out a chuckle, I scrolled back up to look at the picture once more. I missed all of them dearly.

Another set of heels began to click in my direction, and I shifted my gaze forward to find that it was Yuzuha. "Ah, Hiroshi," she smiled, slowing to a stop just as I did.

I bowed quickly and looked back up with a cheeky expression. "Good afternoon, Hitachiin-san."

"You as well, sweetie," she replied. "By the way, there's something for you in your office."

"Paperwork?"

"No, it's a gift," she hummed. "But I'm not entirely sure who sent it; I didn't get a chance to look at the tag."

I nodded in reply as curiosity crept up on me, and after one more wave to each other, I paced a little more quickly towards my office area.

With a turn of my keys and a push of the door, I leaned forward to push it open. Like each time I'd come into work at this hour, I was greeted by the soft glow of twilight, and my attention had shifted towards the object on top of my glass-topped desk. I raised an eyebrow and made my way around the other side of it.

I set my bag onto the black cushion of my chair before taking a closer look. It was neatly arranged bouquet of fresh lavender roses, and all of their stems had been tied together in a thin glass vase. Positioning my face a little closer to the blooming flowers, I inhaled lightly. Upon breathing in such a pure and sweet aroma, the corner of my lips had tugged up just slightly. It soothed me.

Bringing my hand up to the translucent cylinder, I allowed my fingertips to travel along the rounded surface. A few long seconds had passed before I grabbed hold of the small paper card that was tied to it.

I quickly peered to the side so that I could read the typed message on it.

Letting out a shy laugh, I could feel my heart fluttering. How host-like of Kyouya; he must have contacted a local florist to have them delivered.

"The cool type, huh," I chuckled quietly, positioning the vase more to the side so that it wouldn't topple over. My cheeks were beginning to hurt from the continuous smiling, but I couldn't help it.

I slowly made my way over to the window and exhaled in content. The city skyline was beautiful at this time of day as always.

The thought dawned on me yet again: after three whole years of relying on phone calls, and video chatting, we'd finally get to see each other. Face-to-face.

It was only for a short visit, and another few months would pass until he was in Japan again for good, but I was more than satisfied. It was hard to believe that we were able to keep such a promise throughout the past few years, especially since the both of us struggled greatly to find time. Working alongside Yuzuha has involved lots of enormous projects that were long and drawn-out. I'd made my studies at Osaka my number one priority as well.

To add onto it, Kyouya had quite a bit to do on his own. Obtaining a business degree was his number one priority; he'd even taken extra courses throughout breaks so that he'd be able to graduate early. Fortunately, he managed to find spare time within the next few days to take a small trip back home. He'd be returning a little later to obtain his MBA at the University of Tokyo.

I took a seat in my white swivel chair and let out another yawn. Before getting started on the next batch of emails, I peered over at the message on the card once more. It would serve as my bit of motivation for the night.

Working hard as always, I assume. Hopefully the fragrance will help you to relax.

Looking forward to seeing you again.

I love you.

- Sushi

Sunlight flooded through the airport's enormous window panes. Despite the bustle, my feelings of anticipation were so great that such a thing didn't do so much as distract me. My leg was moving back and forth just slightly out of nervousness, and I puffed out my cheeks while holding my phone closely to the side of my face.

"I assume you've received the roses?" Kyouya inquired through the tiny speaker.

I chuckled. "Yep. The scent was calming; thank you," I responded with a smile.

"I thought it would be," he responded, pausing for a few long seconds thereafter. "I'm nearly there; the terminal entrance is directly in front of me."

"And you're sure I'm in the right place?"

"Section 25-B?" he asked.

Another long pause.

"Hiroshi."

"What is it?" I queried, nibbling on my lip and peering over at the terminal.

My eyes snapped open immediately once I'd shifted my gaze, and my heart began to beat more rapidly. The person I'd been waiting for was standing only a few feet away from me, and he was staring right back at me. Not through a computer screen, and not through a photograph… he was actually here.

Frozen in my spot, I continued to fix my gaze on him as he paced quickly in my direction. In contrast to his formal business attire, he wore a gentle smile on his face.

His raven-colored hair was parted just the way it had always been, and his glasses were propped up perfectly on the bridge of his nose. It really was him.

I parted my lips just slightly to call out to him, but in an instant, he pulled me into a warm, tight embrace.

I gulped down the lump in my throat and wrapped my arms around him tightly as well. Inhaling lightly and taking in his cleanly smell once again, I felt a sense of wholesomeness beginning to overtake me. I shut my eyes and let out a chuckle as he held onto me even more tightly, seeing that he'd let go of his suitcase just to take such an action.

"Been a while, hasn't it?" he murmured into my hair.

Happiness began to spread through me once more as we basked in the warmth of the sun's glow.

"Welcome home," I exhaled with a smile.

Author's Note

Urrrrrrg. I'm really sorry to say that parts two and three of the epilogue will take a super long time, as I'm preparing for college and... gasp... the real world! It's all very exciting and scary, OTL.

But thank you so much for reading once again, cuties! Kyouya and Hiroshi have finally reunited; ain't it lovely? (´▽'ʃƪ) *heartheartheart* AND UM. Brace yourselves for some steaminess in the next part. Fair warning. Huehuehue.