Chapter 18: Slowly, the words dripping from her tongue like honey

Noll had reached a dead-end.

Each circumstance, meeting, interaction, separation, and realization fell softly upon him over the years, obscuring the path he'd long paved and committed himself to following, the way individual snowflakes accumulated until they blanketed the world. They altered the landscape he'd always known. He could trudge on by memory, but he'd often find himself retracing his steps, turning one corner only to stumble back to his starting point, unable to take another step. The path before him had ceased to be familiar. It didn't feel like his own anymore.

He could no longer walk on it alone.

Following that conclusion, Noll made the decision to ask for Mai's hand.

There was no strategy to his proposal. It was useless in the first place, given that the recipient of his proposal was Mai. He'd learned years ago that a direct approach yielded the expected outcome more efficiently than an intricate plot vulnerable to variables. After all, she was the biggest confounding variable; one unpredictable move from her could delay or even ruin his plans.

He limited his proposal to two steps. First, ask Mai. Second, buy a ring after she says yes, so as not to waste money in case she rejects him. Simple, straight to the point, time-saving.

Appalling, too, seeing Martin and Luella's reactions when he informed them.

Martin placed a hand on his shoulder. "Proposing is no simple matter, son," he warned, voice stern but countenance nonetheless proud. "More than your words, you'll need something to show for your determination."

Luella agreed, handing Noll a small box in faded velvet. "Your father gave this to me. Now I'm giving it to you." She wrapped his hands around the box and squeezed them in teary encouragement. "If Mai says no, or if she says yes and you want to buy her a new one, you can return it. You mustn't ask her empty-handed.

"Oh, Noll. I'm so happy for you," she cried then hugged him tight, Martin following suit.

Luella's donation streamlined his proposal and accomplished the more difficult of his objectives for him. Now Noll just needed to find the right time to propose. Living with Mai increased his chances exponentially. Sharing one bed all the more so. As long as he stayed vigilant for that right moment, he could seize it once it arrived.

When he'd prepared himself to ask her on her birthday, the rabble from SPR's Japan branch crashed into their apartment and threw her a rowdy party until the wee hours of the next morning. They had the gall to turn the apartment into a nightclub, as if treating the office like a café wasn't enough.

Mai began her thesis soon after. It consumed so much of her time and energy that by the time he was ready to try again, she'd already fallen asleep beside him.

The same scenario repeated night after night.

After night.

He considered asking her on his birthday but quickly decided against it, concerned that his proposal would come off as transactional.

Any other time the thought of proposing crossed his mind, something always got in the way. An unexpected call from a professor, a sudden class, a forgotten task that needed immediate attention, an urgent investigation, Bou-san, Matsuzaki-san, Masako-san, Yasuhara, even John. Of course, Noll couldn't rule out coincidence, but he harbored this niggling suspicion that the others had somehow caught on to his intentions and were interfering for entertainment.

Attempt after attempt foiled. All of his plans diverted every single time. Yet he couldn't fathom what he kept doing wrong.

It even got to the point where the question nearly slipped from his lips during an investigation and only had his staunch professionalism to thank for being able to stop at the last moment.

Thinking about it again, perhaps they could do away with marriage.

Strip away societal expectations to follow predominant customs, prescriptions of religious institutions, considerations for reproduction and genetics, calculations for political advantages or rise in status, and economic interests, and marriage would merely serve legal purposes. The benefits of marriage weren't significant enough to influence their current lifestyle. Neither did they outweigh any drawbacks because there were none. The worst he'd get from proposing was a no, and a refusal to get married didn't equate to the end of their relationship. Whether Mai married him or not, Noll was determined to spend the rest of his life with her.

But even if marriage was indeed necessary, the probability of Mai saying yes was high. Taking into account their history, her attitude towards him, his commitment to her, their present living arrangements, and the progression of their relationship, a future together was a matter of course.

Which begged the question: How could such a straightforward proposal take so long? He wondered again tonight, regarding her pensively while she slept.

Come Christmastime the answer continued to elude him, and he, in turn, continued to avoid Martin and Luella's expectant gazes when he and Mai flew over to visit.

'So this is what, your millionth try?' Gene teased, one rare time he'd woken up. Had his smug grin contained slightly more haughtiness, he would've reproduced Noll's smirk.

Noll, who had locked himself in his office after another failed attempt, immediately scowled. 'I don't see how it's any of your business.'

'You've lost count, haven't you?'

He didn't deign to grant a response. It was his one hundred and twenty-fourth, not that it mattered.

Gene only laughed. No doubt Noll's thoughts were transmitted through their link.

His mood soured and glare intensified, and he started entertaining a small urge to blast the amusement out of the laughing idiot reflected on his computer screen. Who knows, it might make for a good experiment.

It took an annoyingly long time for Gene to run out of mirth. Once he did, his face softened into its usual gentle expression. 'Ask her already Noll,' he said kindly. 'She's been waiting a long time.'

Noll released a long breath, letting out the pressure and tension that had built up over seven months of missed chances and failed attempts. He leaned back wearily in his chair. 'I know.'

Noll studied Mai from across the coffee table.

Bright eyes mesmerized, lips curved in a faint smile, cardigan warm over her shoulders, and a cup of tea nursed in her hands, she was watching the flurry of snowflakes dancing beyond the window. She looked comfortable and content. At peace.

This would be his one hundred and twenty-eighth attempt, and things were different this time around.

All possible distractions and contingencies had been accounted for. No more thesis for her to focus on, no investigations scheduled for the next few days, no bothersome guests who would think to barge into their home two weeks into the new year, no reason to sleep this early in the evening. No one but the two of them in their quiet living room.

The coast was finally clear. His chance was within reach.

All he needed to do was ask her.

Tension pulled his body taut and his mouth shut. The edges of the ring box in his pocket dug into his thigh, a painful reminder that he shouldn't hesitate any longer.

He just had to ask.

Stiff lips pressed together to call her name.

"Naru."

His breathing paused. "—What is it?"

Mai turned to him, her expression now much more fond than content. "Let's get married."

Her words struck his momentum down. The words he couldn't seem to say for months, the question he'd struggled to ask, she uttered so easily and naturally.

The injustice of it drew a frown out of him, along with a frustrated, exasperated sigh.

Hurt flashed on her face, and the peaceful atmosphere surrounding her began to crumble. She clearly mistook his reaction for a rejection.

Before she could misunderstand further, he moved to the seat beside her. "This is the worst time to use your psychic abilities, Mai."

She knitted her brows. "My psychic abilities? What do you mean?" Another sigh escaped him as he took out the ring box and opened it. Her confused eyes drifted down. "I didn't…" The rest of her words were reduced to a gasp.

And then she burst out laughing.

He could only stare at her in bewildered silence. What in the world did she find so hilarious about this situation? If he knew he'd end up watching her double up in laughter and even have to take away her cup of tea to keep it from spilling over, he wouldn't have wasted all those months trying to find the right timing to propose.

Noll slipped the ring onto her finger, feeling rather foolish and at a loss. He couldn't help throwing her an accusatory glare. "Are you done laughing yet?"

"Yes, sorry," Mai breathed out. She cradled his face tenderly in her hands. Joy glistened in her eyes as though she'd just been offered the world. He suddenly remembered that moonlit night on the balcony of a high-rise mansion, where she promised to make him happy, where he discovered that she had chosen him and that his decision to return for her was vindicated. She'd held him and looked at him the same way back then. And like that time, any hesitation and frustration that remained within him dissipated at the sight. "Thank you for finally asking."

Thank you? He arched a brow. "That doesn't qualify as an answer."

She chuckled. "Then shouldn't you ask first?"

Relief tugged at his lips. "...Mai, please marry me," he managed to ask at long last, and Mai gave him a radiant smile.

"Mm. I'll marry you, Naru," she answered. Slowly. Sweetly.

For some reason, though, Noll wasn't entirely convinced. He had this dire need for something more concrete. A guarantee.

So he pulled her close and sealed their engagement with a kiss.

Going forward, he understood that new experiences would continue to accumulate, like the snow falling outside. They would keep altering his world and rerouting the path he'd be treading.

But Noll had nothing to worry about; Mai was right beside him.

He no longer had to walk alone.

Author's Notes: Thank you so much for reading! Best proposal, right? XD Finally got to finish this chapter whew. It's been so long I'm pretty sure everyone and everything is OOC. TTnTT Sorry for that.

BTW, do you guys listen to music when reading and/or writing to set the mood? I'm really curious if you do, too. For example, listening to 'Exist for Love' by AURORA really makes me fall in love with love.

Can you guess what happens next chapter? Hehe

As always, take care and be kind to yourself! u

Disclaimer: I don't own Ghost Hunt or any of its characters.