Disclamer- I, of course, own nothing from Koisuru Boukun.
(A/N) So basically, I got overexcited at the reviews I recieved for the first chapter and immediately began working on the next one. I don't know if it's rushed or it rambles but the next chapter is really when, in essence, everything happens so look forward to that. This should tide you over until I actually get my recommended amount of sleep for a day though. Enjoy.
"What?"
Morinaga gave a sheepish smile unbeknownst to the voice over the phone as he set the other glass down on the table that he'd prepared oh so carefully for his senpai.
"Angel-kun! You're joking, right?" the tone was laced with surprise but he wouldn't jump to the conclusion that it was a negative type of shock. In contrast, he'd say it held more anticipation than anything else.
The prediction was proven correct as he virtually heard the man's beam through the speaker, "I get to be your best man, right?"
"Um, I haven't even asked him yet," Morinaga held the nape of his neck in anxiety as the conversation reminded him of the question that hung over his shoulders like a bittersweet cloud of impending doom.
Maybe telling Hiroto of his plans first might not have been the brightest idea. He loved his friend to pieces but the ability to keep a secret was not one of his stronger suits. What if senpai were to say no? Oh god. Morinaga sat down and furrowed his eyebrows in a cold sweat as he thought about the possibility no matter how much he didn't desire to. He might distance himself and move out or stop talking to him or even get a new lab assistant. And to make it worse, Hiroto definitely would have told the entire bar that 'Angel-kun' was already engaged. He'd never live the humiliation down.
"… so don't tell anybody about this okay?" he added in a dispirited hope that he'd keep it to himself.
"No problem. But when he says yes, I call being your best man!" the man completely blew off Mori's warning. Hiroto never seemed to have the best attention span either.
"Okay. If he says yes, you can be my best man," he decided to clear the issue that blocked Hiroto's forethought all at once, earning a small 'yes!' over the line.
Morinaga let his head rest in his palm as he sat down and observed the table he'd decorated for his dinner with Souichi with an unsettled sigh, "You really think he'll consider it?"
"You are too nice Angel-kun! Don't worry so much, nobody can refuse a saint," the flattering words didn't exactly ease his nerves like they should've and he was wondering if anything beside the word 'yes' falling from senpai's lips even could at this point.
"Thanks Hiroto. Wish me luck," he set his hand back on the opposite elbow, crossing his arms as he gazed out the pearly view the window presented, "I'm gonna need it."
"I'll pray for you," his friend cheered through the line, making him smile a bit, knowing that someone was supporting him even if they were halfway across the world. At the click, he set down the phone and gazed at the food in hopes that it would impress senpai.
On cue, a knock sounded against the wood door that scared the wits out of a deeply contemplative Morinaga who was now recovering from a momentary lapse in his heartbeat.
"Coming," he fumbled over his own limbs and somehow out of the chair to answer the door, meeting a familiar face, "Welcome home senpai," he managed to keep his voice steady. It was rewarded with a small yet heart-melting smile.
"Morinaga…" his voice trailed off along with the smle, looking past him and to the table, "did you make all of that?"
"Um… yeah?"
"Why would you go through so much trouble? I brought home easy dinners earlier today," Souichi closed the door behind him and began removing his coat, earning a flat expression from his kouhai.
"I just felt like making a good dinner…" he shrugged coyly.
"Is that so?" Souichi scrutinized him with cautious eyes.
"Ah," Morinaga sighed and took his coat to hang it up, "you have no faith in me, senpai."
Souichi shook off the comment and sized up the meal with a quirk of the eyebrow. He really couldn't testify that Morinaga wouldn't do something like this out of impulsive kindness. That had always been his modus operandi but still; he had the feeling that this was bigger than just dinner. His assistant had been, and still is, skittish all day for some reason he wouldn't reveal. It was very unlike Morinaga to hide something. All in all, he wasn't acting like himself. As Souichi watched him sit down at the table and give him a diffident gesture to join, some nerve in the back of his mind went off.
"Senpai… are you feeling okay?" he asked the man who stood by the door with an irritated expression.
"What's wrong, Morinaga?" he retorted with a direct question to try and get a direct answer.
"Me?" he cocked his head and pointed to himself obliviously, "I'm okay."
"Morinaga…" Souichi's tone became low and threatening, taking the term tough love too literally. The kouhai had really wanted to attempt to talk to him over dinner but the worst he anticipated was becoming a reality.
"Um… well, you see… I- well I… kind of," Mori floundered to find a complete sentence within his throat all while senpai stared him down expectantly. He scratched the back of his head nervously. God, it had never been so hard to talk to senpai. Not even when he confessed to him.
"Just tell me what's going on," Souichi emphasized the statement as if it were the simplest thing to accomplish, and it would have been if not for senpai's eyes silently criticizing every fidget and fiddle his fingers performed and the tiny velvet box burning a hole through his pocket.
"I can't…" he finally sputtered.
"What do you mean you can't?" Tatsumi stiffened and a slow panic began to rise in the pit of his stomach.
"I- I mean," Morinaga stuttered, trying to make it sound less intense than it was and succeeding in doing the exact opposite. He raised a hand to his head, concluding that if he couldn't raise the question that the box in his pocket demanded without senpai on edge, he may as well do it now, "Can I show you?"
"Wait wh-" Souichi was interrupted as Mori sprung up from his chair and grabbed his wrist, resulting in a jerk from the older man, "Morinaga!"
"Morinaga, what the hell are you do-" his eyes went wide at the force the younger exerted to hold him somewhat still, his expression reading every trace of rebellion against it, "Let go!"
The brunette overrode the protest as he twisted the doorknob open and pulled his lover through the doorway and across the hall.
"Tell me where we're going dammit!" he shouted at the mess of dark hair and desperation in front of him. Morinaga gave little thought to how livid and confused Souichi was, living up to his worst expectations so far.
"Just wait a moment senpai," the younger of the pair continued to drag him up the stairs until they finally reached a door, where Souichi promptly pulled free of his grasp and shot him a look on the borderline of bewilderment and hostility, as if mentally asking him where he summoned his nerve.
Morinaga hoped to god that this would be good enough to turn him around.
I really suck at creative ways to propose (granted I haven't proposed to anyone before) so don't expect anything extremely extravagant. Besides, I feel that Mori would put more thought than money into it anyway.
Reviews are my fuel :)