Disclaimer: All belongs to Nakamura Shungiku and Kadokawa

Author's note: A longer one this time. Thanks for reviews, favourites and follows.

Maybe unknown words:

izakaya = a bar to sit, eat and have snacks

genkan = entrance area at houses and apartments

obon = a Buddhist festival in August where people (traditionally) go home to honor the spirits of their ancestors

omiai = marriage interview

Approval

Takano Masamune was skilled when it came to work. At the age of twenty-eight he was the chief editor of the girls' comic magazine 'Emerald' which he had managed to lift from the very bottom up to the top-selling manga magazines in Japan within one year. People kept telling him constantly that he was a hard-working genius, but - to state it bluntly - he knew that himself. There had been so much effort he had put into his work, despite being thrown into a field he hadn't been used to with a budget that already gave him an idea of the chances Marukawa Publishing had been seeing for 'Emerald'. In stark contrast to his talent with publishing, he knew just as well that he was terrible when it came to less logical things: human relationships.

He was incredibly thick, especially when it was about himself or people having a crush on him. It wasn't because he didn't care, he just didn't notice things until it was too late, and he got a confession and/or a broken heart.

About one year ago he had almost lost his best friend because of his own ignorance. He just had not realized how much the other one had been suffering. Maybe he hadn't been thinking about his friend's feelings at all, which was even worse. Even now he still felt bad about it, although they were talking again and were on the road to the renewal of their friendship. A friendship they both could feel comfortable in.

Takano had accepted the 'thick' part about himself a long time ago, trying to dodge as many landmines as possible and picking up the pieces if he still happened to step on one. Gradually, he became very good at it, although picking up pieces was still a hard challenge for him at times, and he still messed it up every now and then.

Suddenly, on an absolutely average day, he had seen his best friend talking to the chief-editor of the shounen-manga magazine of Marukawa, and realization had hit him. It had been a sudden, but strangely enough also a very natural thought, and he knew that he wasn't mistaken.

'Ah, so Yokozawa is dating Kirishima.'

It wasn't anything they said or did at the office, because Kirishima had always liked to tease the 'Wild Bear from Sales'. Actually, Takano knew for a fact that he had been the one to invent that nickname in the first place. And Yokozawa still reacted furiously to any offenses and teasings, especially at meetings, like he always had.

The only thing that had changed was Yokozawa's general mood. Although he still never smiled around his co-workers and subordinates, he had become more friendly, dropping a 'thanks' or greeting ever so often. It was nothing that only happened when Kirishima was around, but it had started when they had begun to go drinking together.

Even so, Takano had noticed. - And he had even noticed before Kirishima had started sending him photos of Yokozawa in strange situations, so he guessed that he had been quick this time.

Right now he was sitting in another print run meeting that dealt with one of the manga series 'Emerald' was in charge of, and watched Yokozawa and Yamane from Printing jump at each other's throats, both unwilling to give in.

When he had greeted Yokozawa before entering the conference room, he had felt that something was off. So he used the opportunity to watch his friend closely now and only found his first impression confirmed. Apart from Yokozawa's mood apparently hitting the bottom and sinking even lower, his eyes looked weary and Takano was surprised when he detected wrinkles in his usually perfectly ironed suit.

He gave himself a mental slap on the shoulder for noticing.

After the meeting had finished, he met Yokozawa at the door. "You look tired, Yokozawa."

The salesman locked the door behind them, suspiciously concentrating on his hand while doing so.

"Just had a rough weekend", he murmured. After a short moment of consideration, he added: "Do you have plans for the evening?"

That was his way of saying 'I need somebody to talk to', so Takano decided to clear his schedule for the day. "No, let's have a drink after work. I will call you when I'm finished."

They had entered an izakaya some stations away from the company, so they wouldn't run the risk of accidentally meeting other employees of Marukawa. It was already past ten and the waiter brought Yokozawa his third glass of beer.

An empty bottle of hot sake was standing between them on the table, but Takano couldn't remember having drunk more than one or two small cups of it. Another indicator for their unequal share of consumed alcohol was Yokozawa's red cheeks. Something was very obviously bothering him, since he never got drunk just for fun. But the man was silent as ever and Takano felt himself gradually becoming pissed off as time passed.

"Yokozawa, we are sitting here for almost two hours now, and all that we were talking about was the restructuring of the fucking BL novel section that I have no business with. I hardly believe that this is what you asked me to go drinking with you for."

"Right", Yokozawa confessed and put his head in both hands. "I guess sometimes there will be a point when you should stop running away, huh?"

He shrugged and lifted the beer glass. "I won't force you, but it's been like that the last three times we went drinking and it's getting bothersome, so just spit it out already."

Yokozawa shifted in his seat and put both hands onto the cool wood of the table to keep himself from covering his face, Takano guessed. His eyes were directed to a point left to the editor, so it seemed that he wanted to avoid looking into his face directly.

"I... I found somebody."

"I honestly hope you are not talking about new staff for the BL section, or I am going to rip off my ears."

He shot him a weak glare. "Of course not! I mean that I am seeing someone."

After Takano had emptied his glass, he called the waiter and ordered another round, including more hot sake. This conversation was going to be exhausting, so more booze didn't seem to be the worst choice. "Is that so? Well, that's great for you."

"And it's a man."

He heaved a deep sigh and rolled his eyes at that. "What do you expect me to say? I already had yours up my ass, so..."

"Masamune", Yokozawa winced and looked around to make sure that nobody had heard him.

"Anyway, I am not surprised."

The waiter brought their orders and Takano poured his friend another sake. "So, that was what you wanted to tell me? I see that you are not the person to brag about relationships, but I am still not getting why it's such a big deal to you that you have been keeping it a secret for - how long?"

"Ten months." In one draw he emptied his sake and put the cup down with a loud clatter. "And it's Kirishima", he finally blurted out and squeezed his eyes shut.

"What a surprise", he replied with easily detectable sarcasm to his voice, but Yokozawa was already too hammered to notice.

"I really should've told you earlier, but I just couldn't muster the courage."

"It is not your obligation to confess or apologize to me, you know that? I am not your mother."

Yokozawa's shoulders slumped and he helped himself to another sake, flushing it down with more beer. "Obviously."

Since he had the feeling that the other man had all intentions to get royally drunk that night, Takano decided to stick to water, so at least one of them would be capable of the task to get them home savely.

"The two of your were hanging out together a lot, so I guess it makes sense. But what's with today? Shouldn't you be at his place instead of hitting the bottom of the bottle?"

The answer was silence, so he put the pieces together by himself.

"You had a fight", he concluded, cocking an eyebrow. "I am afraid I might regret the offer, but you can talk to me about it. Although I give shitty advice, as you already know."

Yokozawa peeked inside the sake bottle and set it down with a sigh when he recognized that it was already empty.

"It started with the omiai proposals my parents sent to me..."

'I cannot believe that I am doing this', Takano thought as he stepped out of the taxi and - with some help of the driver - pulled Yokozawa out of the vehicle.

His friend was well beyond clarity, and even standing on his own two legs seemed to be a hard task for him. Takano thanked some higher power that he hadn't vomitted onto the backseat, as he paid the driver while he supported Yokozawa with an arm wrapped around his upper body.

This guy was freakingly heavy.

"Give me your mobile", he demanded and snatched the device from Yokozawa's grip as soon as he had pulled it out of his jacket.

"Wadda ya doin'?"

"Calling Kirishima, what else? You are heavy like a rock, and I am not gonna carry you one fucking step." He flipped open the phone and navigated through the menu. "You better have him added as 'Kirishima' and not some mushy nickname."

After some seconds he found the number and pressed dial. It took less than three rings before a seemingly grumpy Kirishima answered.

"I'd say something along the lines of 'It's late, you know that?', but in fact I am too surprised about your call."

"I bet you are."

Silence.

"... is that you, Takano?"

"It's me", he grumbled. "And now you'll get your ass downstairs and help me to drag your drunk maiden to your apartment. If you aren't here within 5 minutes, I will consider putting him in front of the door and take my leave."

"Okay, give me two minutes."

The connection was cut and Takano returned the mobile. "This is a one-time thing, you understand that?"

But Yokozawa didn't seem to notice much at the moment. His eyes were closed and his head hung down in an awkward angle, maybe because he didn't feel very good.

The next time he lifted his head to look up, was when Kirishima approached them.

Obviously he hadn't been prepared for any visitors that night. He wore a wrinkled, white T-shirt and a light jacket over pajama pants, only sandals covering his feet. His expression clearly showed that he was worried.

"Yokozawa, you look terrible! How much did you drink, for heaven's sake?"

"He is absolutely annoying when he's drunk", Takano commented, which was only answered with a strangely unhappy smile that he couldn't place anywhere.

"Then we are equal. Okay, let's get the bear to his bed." Kirishima put Yokozawa's left arm over his shoulders and supported his other side.

Together they managed to bring him inside the apartment building and to the elevator. Takano couldn't help but notice how silent the other two men were. Well, for Yokozawa it wasn't too strange, considering that he was completely smashed. But Kirishima was the rather talkative type, so him being silent was somewhat new and - to a certain degree - disturbing.

He sighed in relief as they finally arrived at the apartment and the brunett unlocked the door to drag his lover inside. After only a few moments he came back to the genkan.

"Thank you for bringing him here. Do you want to come inside?"

Takano frowned at the offer. Even through the door he could already see that the apartment had an atmosphere of 'family' to it with pink rainboots for a girl in the entrance, photos of people at the wall that he assumed to be Kirishima's daughter and parents, and the smell of warm food.

"I had some booze as well, so I'd rather head home."

"I see...", he mumbled. "I didn't think that he'd actually tell you."

"Tell me what?"

"About me."

At this Takano could only roll his eyes. Just why did he have to invite Yokozawa for drinking? Ah, yeah, it was something like 'caring for a friend'. He'd never do that again.

"You are kidding me? As soon as he had his third beer, he wouldn't stop talking about you and your stupid fight."

Kirishima didn't look too pleased at that information. "He told you about it?"

"Every annoying detail. Must be nice to be in a lovey-dovey relationship, when the two of you lose it because of something as trivial as a letter with omiai proposals."

"It's not just about that", Kirishima huffed.

Takano gave him a bored look. "I heard the story. Yokozawa was about to return the papers with a rejection, when you found them and made a big show of it. Why he wouldn't just tell his parents that he's with you now, blahblah."

Although he tried to sound as suave as ever, the trembling in his voice was just too obvious. "This is about commitment, you know? I don't assume you'll understand that, but I know that I am not on top of his list. But him telling his parents that he has 'somebody' would be like some kind of proof."

"Then who do you think is on top of his list?", Takano asked and cocked an eyebrow.

Kirishima bit his lip and averted his eyes, but didn't answer.

How on earth could people be this pathetic?

"You couldn't possibly be talking about me, could you?", he said and chuckled a little at the idea. Finally, he straightened his back and gave the other man a serious glare.

"Actually, I didn't plan to meddle in your little quarrell but I'd like to get the last train, so let's make it short. You're listening?"

"If it's neccessary..."

"To be honest, my apartment is only two stations away from the izakaya we went to. I offered him to crush on my sofa, but he refused, whining all the time that he had to go to your place no matter what. I'll send you a bill for the taxi fare, by the way. Second - and more important - what do you know about Yokozawa's family?"

Watching him with a stubborn face, Kirishima only shrugged.

Feeling a headache approaching - not because of the alcohol, but because of so much ignorance - Takano rubbed the spot between his eyebrows with his middle and index finger.

"Let me tell you: As long as I know him he went home for maybe three times. Their relationship is not that good, so he tries to avoid them as much as possible. But it seems this year he went home for Obon."

The change in Kirishima's expression showed that he was remembering it now.

"And shortly after that his mother contacts an omiai agent. Now think about it. Not even you could be stupid enough to not understand it."

"You mean, he told them?", he asked hesistantly.

"Aren't we sharp today, Mister Holmes! You were mixing up reason and result, and that idiot just didn't correct you. If I had a story with that much idiocy proposed to me by one of our authors, I would burn the manuscript and tell them to use their brains. The latter wouldn't be too bad for you two, either."

"Then why didn't he say so?"

Takano felt the sudden urge to slam his head against the doorframe. What was this? A fucking teen-movie? "Although the answer should be obvious, you should ask him yourself. I am not your therapist." He took a look at his watch to check if he would still be in time to catch his train. Upon seeing that there were still a few minutes left, he decided to at least give Kirishima a piece of his own mind.

"Now let me say this once and for all. Yokozawa wants to be with you, and that is perfectly fine as long as you accept it and stop doubting him. He chose you today and he chose you the very moment he told his parents despite knowing what their reaction would be. You picked him up months ago, and because of this I am indebted to you. If you decided to throw him away some day, I couldn't pick him up again. But I sure as hell can beat the guts out of you, and you can have my word on that one. Questions?"

At first it didn't seem that Kirishima was going to say anything at all, but slowly his stance relaxed and he looked at him curiously. "Only one. Who of you was on top?"

"If that's your only concern, you might as well go inside now and rub his back when he throws up. See you at work." Lazily he lifted a hand instead of a proper 'Good Night', turned around and left.

On his way down he groaned as he repeated his own words in his head.

He knew that this had been the least that he could have done for his friend. At least this one time there was something that he could give after so many years of selfish taking. Still, he couldn't get rid of the feeling that reading girls-manga everyday was rubbing off on him he ways he didn't quite approve of.

A soft smile appeared on his face as he remembered the way Kirishima had looked at Yokozawa when they had met in front of the building.

Well, if it served a purpose, he supposed it was okay to act just this one time like in a shoujo-story.

Kirishima closed the door of the apartment and made his way to the bedroom.

Since it was already past midnight Hiyori was fast asleep, and he also decided to turn off the lights and get some rest. He took off the jacket and put it on a hanger before shuffling over to the bed and crawling under the blanket.

His nose picked up on a familiar scent that he had missed for the past three days, and he pressed his body closer to the back of his sleeping lover.

"Why didn't you just tell me, idiot?", he whispered softly.

"Who could tell the person you love that your parents reject them?"

At first he flinched a little in surprise about the sudden reply, but then he smiled and wrapped his arms around Yokozawa's waist.

"I couldn't", he admitted. "But it's nice to hear that you love me."

"... that's because of the alcohol."

Kirishima deliberately ignored it and placed a kiss behind his ear. "I love you too. And I don't need anybody's approval to do so."

"Me neither", he murmured. "Besides, they are just my relatives by blood. My family is here."

"Fuck, you really say cute things when you're drunk..."

"Just sleep already."

"Yes, darling. Sleep well." Kirishima gave his shoulder another kiss before he finally closed his eyes and drifted off into sleep, grinning like the happiest man on earth.

Who he probably was.

Next time: Henmi's POV