Chapter Text
I-ba-raaaaaa. You’re late.
The text message was sent five minutes prior, so the timestamp read. Received, but unread. That was completely unlike the technophilic youth, so entirely absorbed in his electronics that he never missed a notification. That could only mean one thing: someone was stealing his time, or something had happened to him. Either way, such things were unforgivable on a night like this. Hiyori pocketed his phone, grabbed his jacket, and stormed out of his dormitory without even a passing glance back at his roommates. It wasn’t like himself to act like everything wasn’t fine, but this wasn’t about himself, it was about his lover.
In thinking about where Ibara could be, Hiyori only knew of one place. The ES main building was a towering location, too many rooms, corridors, and secrets to check all of them, but Hiyori didn’t need to. He merely had to wait for the single elevator to come back down, waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting. It arrived, he stepped in, and he prayed that he wouldn’t have to feign conversation with anyone else.
“Hiyori-kun,” Eichi’s saccharine sweet voice greeted him as the elevator stopped at the third floor. “I’m surprised to see you here so late.”
“Eichi-kun~” Hiyori put on his usual mask around the man, at the very least grateful he could be as childishly irritated with the one he’d known since childhood as he liked. “What terrible timing you have! You’re certainly not trying to see a certain viper in CosPro’s office, are you?”
“No, I’m not,” Eichi returned, the elevator resuming its climb with seemingly no other stops. “Are you?”
“Absolutely not!” Hiyori denied. “I have to pick something up that I left there. It’s very important, so I implore you don’t follow me.”
“I wasn’t planning it~” Eichi reassured. “You’re rather anxious, it’s an interesting look on you. Is this thing you forgot important? It does surprise me to hear you of all people have forgotten something at all. You’re always the one touting how good your memory is.”
“I forgot nothing,” Hiyori corrected as he raised his chin. “Rather, I was waiting for something, and it turns out it was still here instead of coming to me.”
“Oh, so is it a person?” Eichi guessed. “Maybe a certain ‘viper’ as you said?”
“Eichi-kun, you’re really annoying when you jump to conclusions, you know that?” Hiyori smiled brightly at his childhood friend, grateful for when the elevator stopped at CosPro’s floor. Stepping off, he flashed another smirk towards the other as the doors closed. “See you at the next Flavor meeting, Eichi-kun~”
That annoyance out of the way, Hiyori went onward towards his main gripe. He really was quite angry! He believed he had a right to be, at least. Ibara, stupid and inconsiderate Ibara, whatever had preoccupied his time was really nothing of Hiyori’s issue. It was the fact that he was being ignored that mattered, that was what Hiyori believed. Whoever he allowed himself to get roped into conversation with, whatever busywork that couldn’t wait, it didn’t matter. Tonight, Hiyori should have been Ibara’s priority, and Hiyori couldn’t understand why he wasn’t. Didn’t Ibara remember what tonight even was?
The lights to his office were off, and Hiyori’s heart sank. No, if he wasn’t here, then where was he? Hoping for some clues, Hiyori opened the door and turned the light on, only to find his brow being raised at the sight of his answer. There Ibara was, slumped over at his desk fast asleep.
“Ibara...?” Hiyori grew conflicted. On the one hand, he felt concern, wondering how long he’d been passed out. On the other hand, he evidently wasn’t taking care of his health if he was taking naps on the job, impromptu ones that left him missing an important date. Hiyori pouted and walked over, his heart fluttering upon hearing the sound of his delicate breathing. Soft and innocent, his face totally relaxed. “Uuu...I can’t be mad at you for too long, not when you look so cute. How vexing!”
Hiyori did his best to shake the man awake at first, and as he did, something fell to the ground. It was a piece of paper, dislodged from his desk. It didn’t look like it had been underneath him. In fact, upon peering over the edge, Hiyori could see a secret compartment had been shifted open. Secret? How curious. Stepping around to the front of the desk, Hiyori bent down and picked up the paper and checked the inside of the small cabinet. Additionally numbered pages relating to the one Hiyori was holding, and nothing more. What was it about?
Just from the formatting, Hiyori could tell it was a contract. He usually trusted Ibara to read those to him, even knowing that the man loved to hide little loopholes in them like the conniving man he was. Nevertheless, he never feared Ibara going out of his way to harm Hiyori. If anything, he was overprotective, always trying to find an angle to push Hiyori ahead of the competition when it came to finding him work. In some cases, the legal cheats he found were annoying, but Hiyori couldn’t help but appreciate the sentiment. It was a sign of Ibara’s care and consideration, and was Hiyori really strong enough to deny the snake of his right to love in his own special way? Well, that depended.
Hiyori saw his name first and foremost, and then Ibara’s. Scanning the pages and not reading the rest of the words yet, he couldn’t see any other names. It was just about them? What for? Hiyori felt his heart fluttering at the thought. Was it about work? A new subunit even? Hiyori didn’t know, but he was desperate to find out now. How strangely titillating this was, being excited by a contract written all about the happy couple. Nothing about the language thus far seemed to indicate that it had anything to do about a breakup, which it shouldn’t have, but it was relieving to see Ibara use such optimistic language. Referring to Hiyori as a warm person of high upbringing, and Ibara himself as a promising entrepreneur of esteemed background as well. It was like he was writing this for Hiyori’s parents to see.
The passing thought grew in Hiyori’s mind, confused by how the contract read exactly like it wasn’t for Hiyori to read. It was about him, yes, but it wasn’t for him. Were his parents supposed to be signing him away into Ibara’s care? That didn’t make sense. Ibara was younger, for one, and on top of that, when Hiyori thought about what it meant to sign one’s life away to one person in this day and age, Hiyori could only think about wedding bells and beautiful gowns. Though surely, that wasn’t the case here―
“...Partnership?” Hiyori read the word out loud as his eyes came across it, his heart pausing in shock. The further he read, the more pages he worked through, the more Hiyori understood, and what he understood didn’t seem to make any sense at all. “A partnership certificate...Not legally a marriage, but still, Ibara...”
“Nn...Hm...Mm?” Sleepy moans that Hiyori knew from countless mornings of waking up to them caused him to turn his head around, eyeing the waking man on the other side of the desk. Ibara nursed a hand over his eyes, his other one feeling around his desk for his glasses. He found them and placed them back on, true blue eyes blinking awake. Once they did, and once they found Hiyori, the older of the two watched the realization set in, as well as heard it in his voice. “Your highness, why are you...Ah!! Our date―wait, what are you―”
Ibara’s face went fully pale as he saw the papers Hiyori held, clearly recognizing them even if they were turned away from his view. Or maybe he could tell from the way Hiyori was looking at him, examining the vice president for all his worth. Ibara opened his mouth, clearly trying to find the words to say, and Hiyori knew he would find them soon. Ibara always did. He was smart like that, quick to find a solution to any situation he found himself in, and any mess he created.
“Your highness, I apologize for the confusion, those papers, they’re―”
“They’re a marriage contract,” Hiyori completed, watching Ibara’s Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed his excuse.
“Not...Not a marriage contract per say,” Ibara attempted to deny, “as one cannot be legally binding between two men.”
“It’s about the same as one in this country,” Hiyori returned, pushing the papers down to the desk, facing towards himself. “Ibara, you wrote this between you and me.”
“I...Yes, I did,” Ibara lowered his head. Whether or not he felt genuine shame, or shame for being caught, Hiyori couldn’t discern. “In my defense, I was not myself when I wrote it up. It was after an executive outing, I’d been plied with alcohol, I was taken back here because I apparently asked and did this. I somehow got them signed by a judge, so I grew concerned about the legal ramifications of shredding them. I must apologize to you.”
Ibara placed his head against his desk, keeping his glasses on as he kept his hands on his knees. Lowered enough that Hiyori couldn’t see his eyes, enough that Hiyori’s heart couldn’t reach him in this state.
“Forgive me, your highness, for two grievances tonight,” Ibara stated. “For missing our night together, as well as insulting you with those papers. You are in your right to do with them as you like, and with me as well. I’m so sorry, your highness, please forgive me, I know I don’t deserve your kindness, but I can’t―I can’t lose you...”
Ibara’s voice was starting to break down, and Hiyori wondered if, partially, the bow was simply to hide the fact that Ibara was crying. That wasn’t any good, and worst of all, he was still unsatisfied with this whole thing. No matter. Hiyori was far from heartless, and he knew his expectations were too high even for someone as unbelievably brilliant as Ibara to fulfill. He knew he could get his way eventually, he just had to push the man in the right direction, and Hiyori would do exactly that.
“I-ba-ra~” Hiyori called his name in a gentle, playful tone that instantly caused the man to slowly raise his head. Hiyori took a pen from Ibara’s desk, navigated among the pages that were spread out before him, and signed his name on one of the dotted lines. “I’m only mad at you for one thing tonight, and it’s certainly nothing to do with the fact that you want to marry me at all. Well, I guess I am mad at you for one and a half reasons. One is that you stood me up, and the other is that you couldn’t even come up with a decent proposal! Then again, I did just come across these, so maybe that isn’t fair.”
Hiyori reached across the desk and pulled Ibara’s face close to his, hands cupping his round cheeks and brushing away the tears that had fallen with his thumbs. Pressing their lips together, he swallowed up the salty remains of Ibara’s sadness, consuming it for himself and replacing it with the joy of the sun. He kept their faces close as they parted, their eyes meeting properly now.
“I’ll give you a week,” Hiyori whispered. “Propose to me right, and I’ll say yes for certain. Do nothing, and we’re through.”
“But, your highness,” Ibara returned, voice quiet and uncertain, “you’ve already signed the papers...”
“That’s because I simply don’t wish to deal with contracts any longer than I have to!” Hiyori explained, grabbing Ibara’s hands and forcing him to stand up. The two stood parallel on either side of the desk, and Hiyori was already shuffling Ibara with the strength in his fingers to come meet him on the side closest to the door. “I’ve gotten it out of the way now because I trust you won’t fail me. I won’t buy that story that you simply wrote it because you were drunk, Ibara. Normal people don’t do that. You did it because you love me, don’t you?”
Ibara’s brow lowered, and Hiyori couldn’t help but giggle at how silly he looked. Ibara, Ibara, how did Hiyori fall for such a dense man like him? He was greedy to the core, constantly taking and desiring more than he frankly deserved, but that was why Hiyori loved him so. They were the same, somehow. In Hiyori’s eyes, Ibara deserved him, and Hiyori deserved a man like Ibara, who loved so strongly, he went to legal lengths to show it. How could Hiyori not love a man like that?
“So, my ring size is a 9, although I’m certain you already knew that,” Hiyori linked his and Ibara’s arms as they walked towards the entrance to the office. “As for the wedding itself, I always wanted it to be in a chapel with stained glass. Do you know if there are any around here? If we have to go to another country, we need to arrange travel for Bloody Mary. You can accommodate for that, can’t you, Ibara? Oh! I almost forgot, I want to wear a dress, and a veil! It’s my wedding, I can choose to be a bride instead of a groom~”
“Yes, yes, your highness,” Ibara answered as he usually did whenever Hiyori overwhelmed him with requests, but he also knew Ibara was listening as well. He always remembered what Hiyori asked, after all. “Erm, but may I ask where we’re going? It’s rather late...”
“There’s still time in the night!” Hiyori proclaimed. “I’m not letting you get away with missing our date simply due to your mismanaged sleep. I’m going to stay in your bed tonight with you. It’ll be a premarital sleepover, won’t that be fun?”
“A premarital―” Ibara took a deep breath, pressed the elevator call button for them, and let out a sigh. “Yes, your highness. Let’s...I suggest we go to my off-site apartment, actually. I’ll be better equipped to serve you breakfast in the morning.”
“Perfect~”
Everything was turning around for the evening, Hiyori’s heart having flipped in several directions that night, but as always, he came back around to Ibara. It would have been perfect, if not for the sight on the other side of the elevator door.
“Oh, Hiyori-kun, did you find what you were looking for?”
Eichi’s smugly satisfied grin robbed Hiyori of all happiness, or at least, it certainly felt that way in the moment. Eichi kept his thumb pressed down on the open door button, waiting for the two to step inside.
“Your eminence!” Ibara greeted with a salute, not hesitating in the slightest as he was the one now dragging Hiyori with their still-linked arms onto the elevator. “How pleasant it is to see you this evening. Are you certain its good for your health to be up this late? Work truly never ends, no matter one’s physical state, I suppose!”
“I could say the same for you,” Eichi hummed. “Saegusa-kun appears to have just woken up from a nap, is that correct? I can see the strain in your eyes. You’re lucky you haven’t developed any bags under your eyes. It’s not good for your image as an idol, I would hate to see you sacrifice your future as one for something silly like that.”
At that, Ibara’s tongue had fully been bitten, and Hiyori couldn’t help but grow indignant on his behalf. Eichi truly meant well what he said, and his tone indicated a certain playfulness that never got directed towards Hiyori in the past. How dreadful, truly and utterly, he needed some way to get back, but how?
“Hiyori-kun, you still didn’t answer my question,” Eichi noted as he tilted his head. “You don’t have to be shy. Saegusa-kun is your unit mate, yes? It’s expected that you would get along. I’m happy you rescued him when you did, it would have been a problem if he spent the night in his office, don’t you agree?”
“Oh, Eichi-kun,” Hiyori turned towards Ibara and found his heart racing just from the sight of those effervescent blue eyes. Ah, he really had missed them tonight. “Ibara isn’t some child that needs to be nursed, you know. He’s a man. He may make mistakes, but he always corrects them. He just needs someone in his life who’s capable of seeing those mistakes ahead of time to help nudge him in the right direction. Not a caretaker, but...A partner. Yes, that’s it.”
Hiyori brushed a finger across the bridge of Ibara’s nose, tapping the base as he left. Ibara blinked in reaction, furrowing his brow once Hiyori pulled his digit away, and then softening as their eyes met in full. Just like Hiyori, Ibara couldn’t stay mad at the other for long. Somehow, they always found themselves looking for the good in each other.
“If you really feel that way about him, I’m surprised about your reaction from earlier,” Eichi remarked, leaning against the wall of the elevator. “You were quite adamant about not going up there to see him.”
“I never said such a thing,” Hiyori denied, turning his head back with a wide smirk. “I said I wasn’t going up there to meet a viper, and I kept my word on that. I was there to retrieve a man, and I’ve done just that.”
“So you have,” Eichi’s eyes widened as he let out an amused chuckle.
At long last, the elevator’s bell rang, and they stopped on the ground floor of the ES lobby. Hiyori fastened his grip between his and Ibara’s arms, and the two were off. Eichi bid them farewell for the night, but neither cared to listen for long. The two of them shared a quick glance, and the sound of the bell from the elevator echoed louder and deeper inside their heads, until it became a grandiose sound. They clutched each other’s hands, and before they stepped outside, before they entered the world again, they dove into an alcove out of sight from both people and cameras at the front entrance of the building. Sharing the same breath, their lips met in a fervent kiss, and Hiyori could only hope that the one they shared on their wedding day would feel as immaculately warm and loving as this.