It was nearly morning when Robin reached Michael , her excitement grew at the thought of him awaiting her at her apartment. She smiled when she saw his figure in the third floor of the building, waiting outside for her.

She smiled, huffing and puffing as she ran upstairs to greet him. She smiled, as he leaned towards her, catching her right before she fell.

"Slow down there." He smiled, and gave her a warm hug. "Want to go somewhere today?"

Robin smiled widely. Michael never usually asked her for a day out, at all. Usually only she always worried about things like that.

"Anywhere." Robin twisted the doorknob, the couple walking in hand-in-hand.

"Well, my boss said that there's going to be a corporate dinner party he's holding today. It's pretty rare he ever does anything like that. They want to celebrate a collateral between our company and another." He said happily, as if all the hard work he did for the past couple of months had finally be justified.

"That's really great news," Robin looked at him, "Are you sure I can come?"

"Oh, yeah. We're allowed to take special guests." He winked at her, at the word, "special".

"Well, the party is at noon, but it's a long drive to the company. Better get ready." He got up to walk to the bathroom, closing the door behind him. Robin briefly remembered that it was about an hour and a half drive there. She'd been to his job once, but got lost because she rode by herself and ended up not going anyway.

She wondered how a big, corporate party would be. She had never been to one before.

Robin had nothing fancy, but she did have a special dress she's had for a long time and have been saving for a special occasion. It wasn't an elaborate dress, but it did compliment her figure. It was plain black with large buttons that started from the top all the way to the bottom. The collar was wide-necked and far stretched, so it revealed Robin's shoulders a bit, not that it was anything she should hide. The sleeves were long and outstretched up until her wrists and had the hem of lace on it, revealing a cutesy touch to it. The dress itself had a downward "V" stretch towards the waist, which revealed Robin's petite and skinny figure, while billowing out with frills towards the skirt area. The dress was a little longer than knee length, with which Robin wore black knee highs so her knees were only revealed a little and black Mary Janes with low heels. Robin wrapped a scarlet-colored scarf around her to seclude the area of bare skin that the dress had revealed. She put on a scarlet-colored jacket that stopped around her thighs and wore her hair in that usual style she was known for. She turned around, surprised at Michael's all-too casual look.

"Isn't it a corporate party? Shouldn't you be dressier?" Robin looked at him.

"He's not going to mind something like that. This is fine." Michael smiled.

Robin glanced down, a little bit embarrassed at her excitement to dress in her best clothes.

"You look cute." He nodded, then started for the door.

"Maybe I'm too dressy." Robin motioned to go and get changed again, but Michael stopped her.

"It's fine. You look really pretty in that." He smiled, grabbing a hold of her waist to push her towards the door.

Robin sighed, and the two walked out the door, locking it behind them.

The sun was pretty much setting by the time they reached the company, with Robin quietly dozing in the passenger seat. It was winter, and it got dark quite soon.

"Robin…" Michael shook her gently, whispering in her ear.

Robin opened her eyes, finding herself stare at Michael's face and the wintry air coming inside the comfortable and warm car.

"Hmm…oh, are we here already?" She looked up at the darkening sky, a little bit dazed.

"Wow…that went by really fast." She spoke, and stepped out of the car. She shivered, the cold air hitting her directly.

"Are you cold?" Michael asked, taking off his jacket to put on top of hers.

Robin swayed away, "No, I'm fine." She didn't want him to be cold, and so the two walked inside the building guarded by security who asked for identification.

Once inside, Robin could sense the elegance and it was like a whole other world to her. It was highly sophisticated, and Robin wondered how she couldn't have known that Michael worked at such a company.

"I didn't know your company was this fancy."

"This isn't the company I work for. We're having the party at the collaborating company's headquarters."

"Oh, I see." Robin said, locking onto Michael's hand.

She saw many men and women from the company dress in evening wear, a bit intimidated that she was the youngest one there.

Then, a tall, gray-haired man with an almost irritatingly ambiguous look came across the room. He dressed in a complete off-gray suit with a dark red tie.

"So this is the lovely lady." He spoke with care and a as-a-matter-of-factly tone.

Michael smiled, stepping forward with Robin. Robin was surprised, and turned to Michael for a response. He shrugged, whispering to her that this was his boss.

She turned back around, shook his hand, and greeted him warmly,

"Yes, hello, sir. My name is Robin, nice to meet you." She smiled crookedly.

"I've heard. I'm Zaizen. Takuma Zaizen." Robin felt as if she was meeting Michael's parents rather than his boss. She felt nervous and a bit dumbfounded as she never really thought about preparing for this moment – she knew she were to meet with Michael's boss soon or later, she never thought about preparing for it.

It was perhaps fifteen minutes into the party when everyone started making toasts and chit-chatting with one another.

"Do you want something to drink?" Michael asked.

Robin shook her head, but he proceeded.

"I need to use the restroom." Robin said, holding onto herself tightly.

"Oh, alright. Do you know where it is?" Michael asked.

Robin shook her head as Michael told her where to go. She nodded, and the two agreed to meet back in front of the bar table when Robin was finished. She walked briskly there, as if attempting to get away from the crowd.

Finally, she found the restroom – it was simply down the hall and to the left, nobody could miss it – women were coming in and out one at a time.

She met with her own reflection once she entered, staring at her rosy cheeks, quickly walking towards the sink to splash water on it. For some reason, she just didn't feel comfortable in that type of environment. She looked beside her, a row of middle-aged women spent half their time in the bathroom combing their hair, or putting on makeup. One particular attractive woman was sitting in a chair, attempting to zip the back of her all-too-tight dress. She looked stiff, but still looked determined to put herself in such a head-turning outfit. Robin wiped her hands and face with the towels hanging around, surprised that the company had such a homey touch to it. She fixed her outfit, and headed out the door.

Outside, she examined left and right, and remembered she had come from the left, and starting heading down the hall.

She just took a few steps when she heard something that caught her attention.

"YOU!" It was a male's voice, one that she's heard before.

Stopping in her tracks, Robin abruptly turned around to see who just yelled.

To her surprise, it was Mr. Amon – the same one that had just been so quiet and caustic the day before. He looked out of it, as if in a daze and didn't stop to try and figure out who was catching his attention. He walked in a sloppy manner, not the usual poise and movement he was seen in. He caught onto her, grabbing her by the collar only to make her realize that his scent was filled with strong alcohol.

She looked at him with a shocked face, breathing in the stench of alcohol that explained his behavior. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her his direction. Surprised, she reluctantly was pushed into him, looking up at his sheepish expression.

"Mr. Amon? Are you okay?" She asked, a bit surprised at her own reaction. She didn't expect herself to be saying that, but she did.

He didn't answer.

A bit repulsed, Robin tried to shake his hands off, but even under an unclear state of mind, his grip was still strong as ever. He slowly started to bend down, reaching eye level with her. His eyes were off focus it seemed, but he had stared at Robin so intently. She didn't like the look in his eyes, those eyes seemed to look right through her. His alcoholic scent over fumed her, Robin wondered just how much he had drank. He swayed away, almost collapsing when she caught him in time.

"How much did you drink?" She asked, not expecting an answer back. She was surprised – she expected someone with such a confident and self-reliant personality would've been at least alcohol-tolerant.

"I couldn't get you off my mind." He said in a muted, hollow voice.

A chill ran down her spine. What was this she was witnessing? This was completely a different side of him – one that made her feel awkward and helpless, and a little warm.

She had a tight grip on his outer coat, being lost in the moment.

"I'm kidding." He said. He didn't seem drunk after all, but she wasn't so sure; she kept her distance.

"I didn't know you were a part of this company." She said, in another form of asking him why he was there.

He smirked – the first time she really saw his face up close like that, and it was a smile. He gently pushed her back, all the way back until her back met with the wall behind her.

He looked down at her, as if knowing something she didn't.

"Yeah. I am."

"I guess it's a small world." She replied.

He reached over to Robin's side with his hands, as if feeling inclined to touch his with hers – he felt attracted to her for some reason. It was that simple. He wanted to explain it, maybe it was the alcohol that was getting into his head.

She felt his touch, and he slowly grabbed her hand fully, pulling her closer to him.

Robin looked up, a bit curious and afraid at the same time. She never saw his face this close. He really was handsome, and someone she would've never believed to encounter in her life.

He looked at her – the familiar face still left him wondering why he was so inclined to think about her and be near her. He held onto her soft face, almost cupping half her face with his bare hand, feeling the hot rush of the blood coming from her heart, and onto her cheeks. She was flushed.

He brought Robin's face closer to him, staring into her emerald soul through those glass eyes, and felt as if nothing really mattered. For the time being, Robin's mind was fully entangled in him, not wondering what she should do anymore. Their noses touched each other, both feeling nervous and anxious at the touch when the attention of someone staring at them came into her realization.

Turning around, Amon and Robin saw Touko standing behind Amon. She was in a full business woman suit staring at the two. Amon and Robin never realized it, so perhaps she just got there – or perhaps they were too into each other at the time they didn't realize her coming.

Robin was alarmed, got up from her slouched position as reality sank deep into her. She just thought about Michael and panicked to herself into realizing what she got herself into. She gently pushed past Amon and ran towards the direction of the bathroom.

Touko stood there, an upset expression at the situation. Amon stood up and walked past her, reaching for a cigarette pack in his coat pocket. He found it, and took one out, reaching in for a lighter.

"I thought she was a nuisance." Touko reminded him, as if really taking his words to heart.

He didn't really need to give her an explanation – when they first started "seeing each other" Amon had reminded her that he wasn't a good choice for her since he never really cared for anybody else. She was there and they were around the same age.

Touko followed Amon into the main area, where many people gathered amongst themselves and getting ready for the actual dinner.

People divided the way for Amon's entrance as Robin saw. She stood next to Michael, both holding drinks in her hand. Robin never drank anything alcoholic, it was her first time.

"Ah, Mr. Amon." Zaizen approached him with a smile.

He made some announcements about when the project was going to start and how it was going to go. Robin stared with curiosity until finally, she saw that the colliding company Michael's company was with was…Amon's company.

She was already three glasses into her wine by the time the toasts were over, drinking nervously and hoping that she could forget about encountering him earlier. She couldn't look away from the man who was greeting all of those guests, being the business man she never knew he was.

Well, she didn't really know him at all. Did she?

Images of his face up close to her, and the vague smell of alcohol still lingered in her thoughts. She stared blankly in space, when Michael tapped her.

He noticed she was staring in Amon's direction.

"He's kinda young for someone running such a worldwide company, don't you think?"

"How old is he?" Robin asked, looking over to Michael.

"Only in his mid-twenties." Robin was starting to be a bit dizzy.

Robin would've guessed that if Michael hadn't told her. For some reason, she felt disheartened at the age gap between them.

"That woman is really pretty." Robin said, obviously staring at Touko who was standing next to him.

"Eh. I doubt he'll ever be serious about something like that."

Robin's attention turned to Michael.

"You seem to know him well."

"Well, it's just gossip around the office."

Smiling, he explained.

"She's our boss's daughter. It's probably convenient for us to have someone like that."

Robin stood, a bit dumbfounded. It really was a small world. She glanced over at the "couple" and saw a glimpse of Amon staring into her direction. His eyes didn't look away, which made Robin feel uneasy. She mentioned something to Michael, and he grabbed her hand, walking her towards the front door.

Outside, the cold air hit ten time worse than when they first arrived. The air was cold, especially at night. Robin was dazed, the wine finally getting to her. She held onto Michael, stepping forth and collapsing in a repeatedly fashion.

Finally, he picked her up and carried her to the direction where they came from. He opened the passenger door and set Robin inside, buckling her seat belt. She remained unconscious, sleeping and breathing steadily. Michael stepped inside the car, closing the door behind him. He sat there for a moment, and looked over at Robin.

Michael knew the feeling wouldn't go away. He was about to marry this girl in the new year, but he was already having doubts and second thoughts. In fact, he always worried about times like this.

Gently, he reached over to feel her cheeks on his hands – they were warm and she was asleep. Sighing, Michael thought about the look Robin gave Amon when he was explaining to her about him. There was a sad expression in her eyes – it was only fleeting, but Michael knew she never looked like that to anyone before. It had to be Amon.

Michael thought about Robin and Amon's past, the times in the STN-J and how Amon was appointed with being her guardian. Robin was clueless of this, and she never asked much about her past. He knew they've had feelings but never gave much thought into it – now it was becoming more and more apparent. In fact, Michael admittedly told himself he wasn't attracted to Robin, but her personality made his day brighter and he loved just having her around.

He probably knew this was inevitable.

Turning on the engine, Michael backed out of the parking space and drove forward into the night.