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For nearly the majority of his life, Katou Haru was certain that, for all intents and purposes, he was never going to have his Disneyland-fairytale esque happy ever after.
It’s not that he’s a terrible person. Far from it, really. Haru calls his mother every other day, he makes sure to eat at least two meals that don’t originate from plastic packaging, and he makes it a point to do his laundry often enough so that he can wear clothes that don’t smell like ass when he steps out of the shower.
Sure, there are times when self-care doesn’t rank too high on his list of priorities. And yes, it’s true that he has spent six days living in his car before, Kamei, now would you please let it go.
But no man is perfect, so Haru should be allowed these few faults. If you were to consider, he would indeed be a very, very strong contender in one of those shitty dating TV shows Teppei enjoys watching (and vehemently denies doing so even though the whole office has seen him rage over some of the winners.)
The thick of it is this: Haru has always been extremely tenacious with everything he does. It’s a combination of high moral beliefs, a tight budget and his mother’s stubborn trait that let him become someone who people looked up to. He prides himself on never being easily swayed, and while this was good for his career, he was convinced he would never find someone to come home to (that was not his Siamese White. Or his succulent.)
And then Daisuke stepped into his life in a whirlwind, laying waste to nearly thirty years of carefully laid plans. Between falling off bridges and nearly getting suspended from the MCPTF, Haru fell in love with Daisuke in all of his 168 cm glory. He’s not exactly sure how it happened, but somehow his mind began to associate silk ties and glinting cufflinks with warmth and safety and home . Looking back on it, he’s oh-so-glad he ran in front of that billion yen car all those years ago.
“He’s actually a big, whiny baby,” is what Haru tells Hoshino. They’re sitting at a quaint cafe, where the sunlight streams in and the smell of baked pastry fills the air. Hoshino hums, hands preoccupied with slicing a piece of the meringue pie that sits atop the lace tablecloth.
And while these words are not what he intended to say, they’re true all the same. “He always wants to be the big spoon, and his soba needs to be exactly 12℃ or he won’t eat it, which is ridiculous because whenever it gets too warm it’s because he kissed me instead.” Hoshino’s nose scrunches up in apparent distaste for this unwarranted information. It could also be due to the very, very bitter coffee that he has just taken a sip out of.
But that’s not the end of it.
He’ll be slumped over in his office chair, on a particular summer day when the heat is unforgiving and the air conditioner has gone on strike, when Daisuke will roll over to him on his office chair.
He’ll move all the way to Haru’s chair, until their knees knock and Daisuke's feet are planted atop his. He’ll then plonk his head into Haru’s lap, nuzzling like a particularly spoiled cat.
“What the fuck, why can’t you just get up and walk like the rest of us do?” There’s no real bite to it, because he’s still stroking through Daisuke’s mysteriously dry hair.
It’s cute, until he needs to get up to follow Saeki to some overpriced Sanrio themed cafe and Daisuke stays right where he is. There’s a lot of pulling and tugging and oh my god why are your nails that sharp , but it nearly always ends up with a lapful of very satisfied Daisuke, and a warning text shot off to Suzue, who was the only other person that could cater to Saeki's whims.
Haru is prepared to spend the rest of the afternoon sulking, but Daisuke uses a well placed kiss and the slightest trace of his tongue, and Haru decides that he is a very weak man.
Suzue doesn’t mind, she assures him the next time he comes over for dinner. He scoops pasta into his mouth by the forkful, nodding she explains that getting to watch her wife cosplaying as Hello Kitty is an experience only a fool would turn down. Off to the side, Daisuke and his grandmother are getting their asses handed to them in poker by a slightly-tipsy Saeki.
The butler decides they’ve had enough wine when Haru nearly faceplants into the carbonara. In a surprising show of strength, he hauls a nearly comatose Daisuke into the car, gently pushing Haru in after him. Haru waves through the back windshield until they are blurry stick figures in the distance.
A blink, and two, and he's being gently shaken awake by the chauffeur. Haru tugs Daisuke into their apartment, kicking off his shoes and helping Daisuke pull off his tie. Daisuke does nothing, blinking uselessly as Haru clumsily unbuttons Daisuke's shirt, then nearly trips over his own pants.
Maru, their cat, watches on unimpressed as they collapse, a mess of arms and legs that are twisted in a way that guarantees to ache in all the worst ways. But that is a problem for tomorrow.
Tonight, Haru falls asleep wrapped in Daisuke's embrace. He briefly registers a kiss pressed to the back of his neck, and a mumbled "goodnight, love," before sleep whisks him away.
But, Haru thinks he must have committed a grave error somewhere along the road. There's no other reason for his heart to be driving itself into a frenzy.
He's stopped halfway in the middle of a crowded street, staring into the jewelry shop. People roughly push past him, but he stays entranced by the unassuming rings nestled in the corner of the windowpane. Before he realises, his wallet is considerably lighter and a solid gold band rests in a velvet box, hidden away in his coat pocket.
During the next few weeks, it moves from there to cushioned in his sock drawer, between notes in his wallet, and even stuffed behind his pen holder. It decidedly does not appear anywhere in Daisuke's vicinity.
It's not that he isn't sure that he loves him or not. No, Haru's known that Daisuke was the one for him ever since he woke up in the hospital after another case-gone-wrong and Daisuke was fast asleep at the foot of the bed, hand firmly clasped in his.
Haru is deathly terrified that Daisuke will take one look at his ring and decide that it's high time to book it out of their 144 square foot apartment while he has the chance.
He says just as much to Nakamoto-san. All he receives for his efforts is a single arched eyebrow, and a puff of smoke. Haru coughs, and flaps his hands around to clear away the smoke.
Nakamoto-san taps the edge of his cigarette on his ashtray, and tells Haru to seize the day. Haru nods, and waits for him to elaborate, but Nakamoto-san closes his eyes and tilts his head back. Haru awkwardly steps out of the door. He has no clue what Nakamoto-san meant, but if it gets him out of that congested room he'll take it.
A visit to his mother does not enlighten him either, for she just smacks a wet kiss on his cheek and tells him she wants at least three grandchildren. But the visit serves as a reminder that Daisuke has a grandmother of his own, and while she was originally approving of their relationship, marriage might not be as simple to get past her.
Except when he visits her estate and is seated in seiza , bowing and asking her for permission to wed her grandson, she giggles and tells him that she’s been waiting for this day since Daisuke first brought him home from Hong Kong. It takes half a second for him to realise they weren't even dating then, and Haru nearly combusts on the spot. He is saved by Suzue, who leads him out of the room and seats him in the kitchen.
As it turns out, she isn’t helpful either. “I don’t know why you are worried, Katou-san.” Behind her, Saeki nods vigorously, hands running through Suzue’s hair as she separates the thick, black strands carefully. Haru would normally find them sweet, but all it serves to do is make him even more terrified.
“My brother has been in love with you for four, no, five years now? I’m sure the only way he’ll say no is if you turn out to be a Martian, and even then I doubt it would deter him for too long.” Saeki adds that Haru should just seize the day, and he wonders if she had too visited Nakamoto-san for advice.
But the idea sits at the back of his head, and it refuses to leave. He catches Daisuke shooting him concerned looks when he thinks Haru isn’t looking, and it only strengthens Haru’s resolve. This ends now, he tells his reflection in the mirror, like he’s going off to war instead of proposing.
It’s how Haru finds himself pacing in a hidden away alcove, the one they frequent for their picnic dates. It’s where Daisuke first asked him out, where they had their first kiss, and he thinks Daisuke would appreciate the touch of sentiment.
Only when Daisuke steps into the clearing, his face is shrouded in suspicion and perhaps resignation. Haru moves out into view, and Daisuke looks like he’s gearing himself up for Haru to admit he’s really a sentient being from outer space.
Haru spares a moment to wonder if his behaviour is really that outlandish before he’s down on one knee, motioning for Daisuke to keep his mouth shut. Daisuke sharply inhales, which Haru takes as his cue.
“Daisuke. You are, perhaps, one of the most infuriating people I have ever met. You are whiny and stubborn and an absolute brat. But,” he opens up the velvet box in his hands, “you’re the love of my life, and I can’t imagine spending a day without you. And I’d like to become your partner, in every sense of the world.” His voice cracks, and he hastily adds on, “if you’ll have me, that is.”
There’s silence surrounding the two of them, and Haru thinks his heart is about to implode. Daisuke’s face is set in stone, and Haru prepares for the worst. But then he steps closer. “You are in no place to be calling me stubborn, Haru.”
Haru grins, although it’s shaky at the edges. “Well, if there’s anyone better at it than me, it’s you.” Neither of them comment on how badly Haru’s hands are shaking, or how the colour has drained from Daisuke’s already pale face.
“And I suppose you picked this place for sentimental value. Not the best idea in the middle of June, you know. The mosquitoes are probably having a field day with our blood.” Haru bursts out laughing, and everything falls back to normalcy.
He exhales, “Oi, I’d like my answer now,” only to be cut off by Daisuke tugging him up and interlocking his hands behind Haru’s neck. “Why don’t you find out for yourself then?” The last words are whispered against Haru’s lips.
Their teeth clack because they both are smiling way too hard, but this kiss is reminiscent of their first one, all those years ago. Haru thinks he’s quite content with the way things turned out.
But nothing quite prepares him to see his late father’s engagement ring in Daisuke’s pant pocket.
He’s folding laundry a week after the proposal, when his hand brushes against something cool and hard to the touch, and he bursts into the toilet. Daisuke nearly chokes on his toothbrush, and hurriedly explains that he had intended to propose to Haru too, although it ends up sounding like whufufufufh .
He spits in the sink and tells him he had gone to his mother to formally express his intent to court him. He had a whole plan too, all with a cruise ship and fireworks and champagne, but Haru beat him to it. Daisuke rubs at his neck, suddenly bashful, and Haru slides onto the dry corner of the sink and kisses him silly.
Kamei falls off his chair when Haru tells him about the wedding, and both he and Teppei anoint themselves as the unofficial wedding planners. Hoshino tears up ever-so-slightly when he is asked to be Daisuke’s best man, even though everybody saw that coming.
(Haru thinks it’s because the both of them have made it their life’s mission to never make anything easy for him, and he can't bother to pretend that it doesn’t make his heart full.)
Saeki, on the other hand, brings out all the waterworks, and Haru has to explain to a disgruntled Suzue that her wife was so touched at being asked to be his best man (woman?) that she cried and cried until she dehydrated herself. Haru’s mother and Daisuke’s grandmother meet over tea and form a formidable force, both dropping increasingly less and less subtle hints to adopt.
They get married at the cusp of spring, flowers blooming as Katou trips over his vows. The wedding starts two hours late, with Kamei upending the cake and Saeki chasing him around the Kambe estate with a murderous intent that nobody thought she was capable of. It’s half a mess with confetti and cream smeared everywhere, and they slice into a dorayaki instead.
But Haru looks at all the people he loves surrounding them, and looks at Daisuke in his three-piece suit and tell-tale ring gleaming in the afternoon sun, and realises that this is his happy ever after. And he wouldn’t have it any other way.