A/N: A prequel to my story Rather Be was requested. This is my attempt at explaining Naru's crazy plan to get Mai and Lin together.
Disclaimer: All characters in Ghost Hunt are the creation of the Goddess Ono Fuyumi-sama.
When Naru entered the main room of the office to request tea, two things in particular stood out to him. The first was that his two investigators were standing extremely close as they examined a document. Their bodies were barely centimeters apart and they appeared to be straining to keep that small distance. The second thing that he noticed, which irritated him to no end, was that neither of them paid any attention to him.
"MAI!" Naru finally yelled once his curiosity and patience all but evaporated.
Mai and Lin instantly put a meter's distance between themselves. If he hadn't been so pissed, Naru might have laughed at their guilty expressions.
"Yes?" Mai asked meekly.
"Tea," Naru growled before marching off to his office. He could hear Lin following behind him until the other man stopped off at the Resource Room.
Naru sat in his chair to wait for Mai to bring his tea. He rubbed his forehead in irritation; he could feel a headache coming on. He momentarily considered cutting back on tea before instantly dismissing the idea. It was his one respite in life.
There was a knock on the door.
"Enter," Naru told the knocker.
"I've brought your tea," Mai said as she opened the door. She brought it over to him, setting it on the desk.
Naru quickly waved her off. He wasn't in the mood for her to stand there waiting for a 'thank you'. He heard her make a disgruntled noise as she left his office, closing the door.
Once Mai had left, Naru picked up his tea. He took a sip and sighed. 'This is bad,' Naru thought, 'I'm a tea addict.' He shrugged his shoulders and took another sip. He really didn't care.
As he continued sipping his tea, the fog over his brain gradually lifting, Naru began to consider the scene he had interrupted. He wondered if the pair were secretly dating, but he wasn't sure when it would have happened. He figured it would be more surprising if they weren't dating. From that one interaction, their attraction seemed immense.
'Well,' Naru decided inwardly, 'the fastest way to find out is to just ask Lin.' He then stood up and made his way next door.
"Lin," Naru said to the man.
Lin turned to look at Naru, who stood in the doorway, his face expressionless. He didn't answer, but then he usually didn't.
"Are you dating Mai?" Naru asked bluntly.
Naru watched as Lin's eyes widen in surprise, then worriedly glanced past Naru.
"No," Lin responded without anything further.
"Really," Naru said skeptically, "because you two seem closer lately."
"... ..." Lin continued to stare at Naru in silence.
"So no, you're not dating" Naru stated, "but you would like to."
"You're mistaken," Lin told him firmly, again glancing worriedly past Naru.
Naru was starting to get irritated again. He didn't see what the issue was in admitting that you were interested in someone when they were so clearly interested in you.
"Fine," Naru said, fed up. "I'll ask Mai."
Naru turned to walk out to the main room. He heard the sound of a chair being pushed back forcefully. Naru quickly increased his pace, worried that Lin would land a knifehand strike to his neck. He would be sore for days if Lin managed that again.
"Mai!" Naru called out quickly, feeling he'd be safer with the young woman there.
"Yes?" Mai said, quickly coming out from behind her desk to see the two men heading towards her.
Naru stopped slightly past where Mai stood, using her body as a barrier. Lin stopped some meters off from Mai and Naru, waiting to see what would happen.
"Are you and Lin dating?" Naru asked bluntly.
Mai stared at him, surprised, then glanced to Lin, who stood rigidly and without expression.
"Well no," Mai finally replied.
"Are you interested in him that way?" Naru questioned. He was going to solve this issue here and now.
Mai looked to Lin nervously, her heart slightly racing. He gave no indication of what he was feeling.
"Lin-san is a nice guy," Mai replied, reluctant to admit her feelings without any confirmation of Lin's own feelings.
Naru was getting frustrated at the pair's stubbornness. They were all adults; there was no reason to be so hesitant.
"Then go on a date with me," Naru said before realizing what he was saying. 'Dear god,' Naru thought, 'what did I just do?'
The room was silent. Mai looked between the two men, feeling extremely awkward. Lin stood stiffly, waiting anxiously to hear what Mai's decision would be, but he didn't say a word.
"Okay," Mai agreed, hurt that Lin wouldn't make any protests.
Lin looked visibly shaken at her answer. Naru would have felt sorry for him if the man's recalcitrant nature didn't irritate the hell out of him.
"Lin will be our chaperone," Naru said smirking. He wanted to punish the man a little.
"Why?!" Lin asked angrily.
"I may be old fashioned, but I am a man," Naru told him, grinning devilishly.
Lin turned from the other two, running his hand through his hair. He then slowly walked back to the Resource Room, slamming the door once he was inside.
Neither Naru, nor Mai, heard him through the soundproof walls as he angrily let loose a stream of Chinese expletives.