Knock knock. "Matt?" Knock knock knock. "Matt? Can you talk to me? Please?" A pause was soon met, giving a moment of peace in Matt's mind as his face buried into his pillow, but it was interrupted once again by the soft knocking coming from the ever-worried Neru. "Come on, Matt. Don't ignore me. Did I do something wrong?"
The pillow was immediately removed from his face, revealing the almost dull look behind his goggles, as he looked at the door, a surge of guilt running through him. Ever since his failed attempt at proposing to Neru last week, he had been feeling down and upset with himself. It was to a point where he just started to ignore everything around him, including the woman in question. He did not mean to do it, really, but he had been so ticked off about his perfect moment being ruined that it just...made him depressed. He did not mean to make it sound like it was her fault; the first one kind of was, but he did not blame her for it entirely. All he wanted was to set up a perfect moment for the two of them, make it seem like it was a bit of a fairytale even if it meant going out of his comfort zone. That was all he asked for: just one moment with Neru so he could just let it out. But no, no one wanted that to happen. No one at all, and that included that damn bitch Mother Nature. The world was slowly turning its back on him, as if it wanted him to be forever alone.
That made him frown as he sat up, tossing the pillow to the side. Yeah, that had to be it.
Standing up, he made his way to the door, unlocked it and opened it, only to find the worried brown eyes that belonged to Neru as she looked up at him. Just that simple look made him feel even worse than before.
"Matt, are you okay?" She asked, her voice matching the look in her eyes perfectly. "I didn't make you upset, did I?"
His frown grew as he moved his goggles to rest around his neck before pulling her into a close embrace, gripping her as if letting go would mean losing her.
"No...I'm not mad at you, Neru," he told her truthfully. It was enough to ease her tension, and she relaxed in his arms. "I'm just...feeling a down."
She looked up at him, pushing away a strand of his brown hair in the process, while asking, "What's the matter?"
His eyes shifted a moment, taking a small step away from her. He was a second away from telling her the truth, about how he had been trying to propose to her the entire time but was losing his chance every moment he had. He wanted to tell her that, but that would spoil the surprise altogether. Even though he was busy sulking in his room, he was planning another way to plan the perfect night where no one and nothing would be able to bother either of them. Unfortunately, that fear of something happening for the third time plagued his mind, hence his seemingly depressed mannerisms. That was the only setback he had: worrying about the negative possibilities of his moment with her. He hated acting that way, but what else could he do? He already tried something indoors, but that only resulted in Mello busting through the doors claiming that Matt stole his chocolate. He even tried going outside, but that only resulted in bad timing of the rain. What else was he supposed to do that did not require staying indoors while avoiding the outside?
She noticed his shifting eyes and asked, "Matt?"
He blinked, breaking his own train of thought, before looking back her for a moment.
"It's..." He started, glancing over his jacket which still held the ring in question, "...it's nothing you have to worry about."
She frowned at that; she sensed his lie, and he knew it.
"Matt, you should know that if there's anything wrong you can talk to me," she assured him. A smile formed on her lips. "I don't want anything that's bothering you to...well, bother you anymore. If you tell me, then maybe I may be able to help you."
He smiled down at her. You want to help me find a perfect moment for me to propose?
"Neru, I promise. It's nothing you have to worry about," he told her, placing his hands on her shoulders in a comforting manner. "It's just something that's been bugging me for a while. It'll..." He made the mistake of hesitating ever so slightly, "it'll eventually pass by."
She shook her head as he walked back to the bed and lied down.
"I know you're lying to me, Matt, and I hate when you do that." He looked at her blankly, not responding to her words. That caused her to frown even more. "I know that it's something serious when you start hesitating and telling me everything is alright."
He closed his eyes and looked away.
"Because everything is alright, Neru," he told her. "I swear."
"Then look me in the eye and say that." Neru demanded. After a moment silence, he opened his eyes and looked at her, but was unable to say it. Instead, his lips pursed, his eyes narrowed briefly and he looked back at the ceiling. "I knew it! It is bothering you more than you say it is!"
Fed up, he sat back up.
"Look, Neru, I'm sorry if I'm worrying you," he snapped, "but I really don't need your help figuring out the best way to propose to you!"
The room went dead silent as Neru's eyes widened along with Matt's face turning pale. The words just slipped out, just like that; he truly did not mean to say that all so suddenly, especially right in front of the person he planned to ask. All he wanted was for her to just stop asking and leave him be for a while. That was it, but she would not give that to him. Granted, he appreciated the fact that she was worried about him, but it was not too serious. Well, to him it was, but certainly not to her. She did not have to worry about proposing; he had that covered entirely. At least, he thought he did until he ended up with two failed attempts and a slip of the tongue. Looking at Neru, he noted the darkening of her cheeks as she stared at him, speechless. She had no idea how to respond to that; from the look on her face, he assumed she was processing what he just said. He felt a little embarrassed as he looked away from her, his own face heating up as well. He wanted the moment to be special, and yet he opened his big mouth because he was frustrated.
However, her response was something that turned everything around.
"So I was right..." She muttered. "You iwere/i trying to propose."
He looked back her quickly, eyes widening in surprise; he noticed the smile on her face.
"W-wait..." He started. "Y-you knew the whole time?!"
She shrugged and walked over to him.
"I assumed that's what it was," she stated, "since you were doing things that were really out of character for you, especially the whole taking me out to dinner thing last week." His head fell in embarrassment. "Hey, don't feel so upset about it."
"Why? I wanted to make this all special, and yet you knew the whole time," he spoke in defeat.
She giggled and said, "Well, technically I didn't know anything. I just assumed that was what it was."
His eyes shifted before he sighed; she had a point.
"Yeah, well, the moment is ruined cause you know." Once again, she giggled, causing him to look at her. "What's so funny?"
"The moment's not ruined," she stated, her smile remaining on her face.
He blinked before asking, "What makes you say that?"
She remained silent for a moment before leaning in and placing a sweet kiss on his lips. When she pulled away, she spoke, and they were words that set their future into motion: "Because I'm saying yes."