and this is what you call het practice

[cynicalism.livejournal.com]

you know, it'll be useful for something like je_whiteday. and yes folks, you're not free from advertisement even here. :Dv

that aside, this is actually a very belated (of course) birthday gift for crys, and she knows exactly why. i hope that thing about reading au's for me still applies. ♥♥♥

conversations among sanitary gentlemen
nakamaru/maki, massu, tegoshi, etc. 5015 words. WTF
--AU. nakamaru yuichi is a part-time university student by day, full-time janitor at one of the most prestigious financial companies in japan by night. just as he has been for the past two years of his life. but a lot can happen in a single week; all you have to do is look up.


Monday.
"Christ," Nakamaru hisses; it's the first real thing he's said all day after having woken up late only to hurry out the door, unkempt and un-showered, to spend a good thirty-three minutes in traffic and another thirteen scrambling for parking and a last three running full speed up two flights of stairs, just in time to catch the last ten minutes of his first class. Of course, Nakamaru figures it could have been worse--it could always be worse--the teacher could actually ever notice his existence and dock him the attendance credit.

He finds that the thought isn't very comforting in a class of twelve. Mondays are always the worst.

"No seriously, how can anyone possibly miss?" Nakamaru cries, frustration building toward indignation, slopping his mop over the dried yellow splotch caked onto the tiles of the bathroom floor. "Do we need to paint a target sign on the urinal or something?" He groans when the yellow doesn't seem to dissolve even the slightest bit--there's no way he's getting on his hands and knees to scrape it off though.

"No I think that'll just give them something to aim for," Masuda muses thoughtfully, rubbing at his chin with the plastic head of the windex bottle in his hand as he watches Nakamaru's fruitless cleaning endeavors. "Apparently they hold shooting competitions late at night. Nishikido has surprisingly good aim, I hear."

Nakamaru pauses. "Wait--what?"

Masuda blinks. "Uhm, you know. When you...aim--" He makes to motion with his hands but Nakamaru cuts him off quickly.

"I know what you mean by aim, but--what?" Nakamaru repeats incredulously. "Where in the world would you even hear something like that?"

"Oh, Akanishi and Yamashita were talking about it in the elevators," Masuda replies, squirting some windex onto the mirror before drying it pristinely clean. "They think Nishikido must be cheating or something, because there's no way that--"

"Wait--you're allowed on the main elevator!?" Nakamaru exclaims incredulously. "What--how. I never get to ride on the main elevator! That prissy little punk always gives me this horrible look and tells me to go use the service elevator all the way on the other side of the building! Those elevators are falling apart do you know how scary they are!?"

"Not really." Masuda blinks. "He's never said anything like that to me?"

"I don't know what's better," Nakamaru sighs, "finding out that the higher-ups are pissing on the floor just for shits and giggles, or that the prissy elevator kid seems to only have it in for me."

"Well it could be worse?" Masuda replies readily and ever cheerfully, and Nakamaru gives him a slanted look.

"They could hold competitions with the actual toilets?"

"Oh gross," Nakamaru cries, shaking his head but unable to contain a laugh, and Masuda smiles.

"Well, only twelve more floors to go, right?" Nakamaru asks, spirits already considerably lifted.

Masuda sends him an curious look. "Twelve? Did you forget? Today's a B-day."

"Oh." Nakamaru had forgotten. And then the heat rises to his nose.

-

There are twenty-five floors to the Johnny's Financial office building, and everyday Nakamaru and Masuda tackle twelve of the floors, while the other two janitors on the night shift, Kato and Koyama, tackle the other twelve. And every other day they switch off to take care of the last floor, the top floor. It's how they'd gotten into the habit of labeling the days A-days and B-days; A for awesome and B for bitch, because it's always a bitch to clean the top floor, which, true to its name, houses all the top executives and office workers. It means the floor has to be immaculate.

The top floor also happens to be where she works.

She is probably the most beautiful secretary he’s ever seen. He only catches glimpses of her every other day when they have a reason to be on the twenty-fifth floor, walking along the halls with her co-workers, or sitting primly behind her desk in the vice president’s office. This is why, every other day, Nakamaru tries extra hard to look somewhere near decent, just in case she ever happens to catch a glimpse of him too. The B in B-day takes on its own meaning in Nakamaru's lexicon.

Which is why, in the girl’s restroom, when Masuda leaves to get some extra garbage bags, Nakamaru turns the tap on the water and tries to quickly wrestle his bedhead into submission. It doesn’t work, and he sighs, because now his hair isn't just unkempt--it's wet and unkempt, and pretty uncomfortable too. And of course it wouldn't work, of course. It's not like he was some hotshot idol, whose hair just naturally fell into place with a swish of his head. People like that just didn't exist, and even if they did, Nakamaru thinks they should be shot on the spot. But, Nakamaru figures, making idle spikes with his wet hair in the mirror, hearing Masuda's sing-song voice ring in his ears, it could be worse.

"Excuse me, do you think I could just use the sink for one second?"

Nakamaru's about to kindly ask if she could wait just five more minutes until they're done, but the words die on his lips the second he turns around.

It can't be worse.

"I--uh. Of course," Nakamaru manages to squeak out, completely and thoroughly and ridiculously embarrassed.

"Thanks!" she says, smiling sweetly, and he's so caught up in her smile that he doesn't realize she's crossed the distance to the sink right next to him until she starts talking to him.

"--and Meisa said that it wouldn't stain if I went and rinsed it off quickly but oh, I don't think I was quick enough do you?" And suddenly she's looking at him with her wide brown eyes, offering the hem of her dress-shirt, inching up just enough to show a bit of soft flesh, for his perusal and opinion and he can feel the heat traveling to his face and he says the first thing that comes to mind.

"It could be worse," he blurts out. She blinks.

"Oh?"

"Erm, well," Nakamaru stammers, willing his brain to function at least this once in his life. "I-If the stain were higher on your shirt, it would be impossible not to notice--b-but, since it's just by your hem, you could probably tuck it in and no one would notice?"

She tilts her head to the side curiously, surveying her hem with a thoughtful frown, before she smiles and looks back up at him and his heart catches in his throat just a little bit. "I guess you're right," she says, and proceeds to tuck her shirt into her skirt. "Better?" she asks, twirling to give him a better view.

"Y-yeah. You can't even see it."

"Thanks," and her smile widens just a touch, "Nakamaru-kun."

"--Wait how did she even know your name?" Masuda interrupts later that night, over a simple dinner of rice and miso soup. Nakamaru sighs and continues,

"Wh--how did you know my name?" Nakamaru blurts out just as she's about to leave the bathroom. And when she turns around her eyes are dancing and her lips are laughing.

"The nametag?"

"The nametag," Masuda repeats, nodding thoughtfully as he gulps down the rest of his miso soup with a tilt of his bowl. Nakamaru groans and crams a mountain of rice into his mouth.

"Tell me it could be worse," he pleads.

"Uhm, it could be worse?" Masuda tries, and when Nakamaru stares him down hopefully, he adds, "She could've said something about your hair?"

Nakamaru places his head into his hands and whimpers. "She said it looked nice!"

Masuda laughs sheepishly and pats him on the back.


Tuesday.
"So I've got some good news and bad news for you," Masuda tells him that night after work, as they dig into their Chinese takeout for the evening.

"What's the good news?" Nakamaru asks immediately, thinking there's never enough good news in the world.

"The good news is that Tegoshi--"

"Wait who?"

"Tegoshi. You know, the elevator operator?"

"Oh so prissy boy has a name now?" Nakamaru grumbles.

"Be nice," Masuda tuts gently, "he's the one I get all my information from." Nakamaru promptly shuts his mouth. "Anyway, the good news is, her name is Horikita Maki."

"Whose?" Nakamaru asks absentmindedly, taking a bite of his eggroll.

"Uhm, the secretary you're in love with?" Masuda supplies, and Nakamaru would've choked if Masuda hadn't passed him a glass of water in that very instant.

"Maki," Nakamaru says after his larynx is clear again.

"Maki," Masuda repeats with a nod.

"Horikita Maki," Nakamaru continues, rather liking the sound of her name on his lips.

"Horikita Maki," Masuda repeats after him again, fiddling with his chopsticks. The nervous tick of Masuda's sends Nakamaru back to reality and he braces himself.

"So wait, then what's the bad news?"

Masuda pauses, before handing over his egg roll.

"Oh it's serious isn't it," Nakamaru predicts, staring at the offending egg roll of unpleasant news.

"Horikita Maki--as in Horikita Makoto. The vice president."

Nakamaru stares.

"She's the vice president's daughter," Masuda explains slowly, just in case Nakamaru hasn't fully processed the information. After a full five minutes, Nakamaru finally takes a bite out of Masuda's eggroll and sighs. "Ah," he says plaintively, chewing with slow, modest bites. "Of course."

"Are you okay?" Masuda asks, face hovering worriedly in front on him, and Nakamaru laughs and waves him off with his chopsticks.

"Of course. It's not like I really thought anything would happen--she--even if she weren't the vice president's daughter, you know?" Nakamaru takes another bite of his eggroll. "A girl like her--I wouldn't stand a chance. I bet she could have any guy she wanted."

Masuda swallows his noodles thickly, but covers it up with a quick sip of water. Nakamaru frowns.

"There's more bad news isn't there?"

"Uhm," Masuda smiles nervously, and tries to offer Nakamaru a piece of fried shrimp.

"Masuda."

Masuda sighs and says in a very small voice, "Tegoshi said that she--possibly might have something going on with Yamashita."

Yamashita Tomohisa, the golden boy of Johnny's Financial. Nakamaru never even stood a chance at a chance.

"Of course." He sighs and takes the shrimp off of Masuda's plate.

Later that night Masuda also offers him his fortune cookie, when Nakamaru's own simply reads: You are what you eat.

Masuda's reads: You can always find happiness at work on Friday.

"Are these really fortunes?" Nakamaru scowls and Masuda laughs and thinks that ten at night is always a good time to bake some traditional, non-fortune bearing cookies. Nakamaru is never one to disagree with that.


Wednesday.
"How was class?" Masuda greets when he spots Nakamaru at the entrance of the building, just in time for their shift.

"Let's not talk about it," Nakamaru mutters, shaking his head, too tired to do anything but follow the sound of Masuda's voice with his eyes half open. At least he took a shower today.

"Maybe we can spring for sushi tonight," Masuda replies knowingly, and Nakamaru smiles a little at the thought and thinks that maybe the day can't get any worse.

"Good morning Nishikido-san," Masuda says, and Nakamaru instantly wakes up; they're standing in front of the main elevators. Next to Nishikido Ryo.

"Morning Masuda-kun." Ryo nods, and then glances sideways at Nakamaru. "Nose."

Nakamaru mutters something unpleasant under his breath.

"What was that?" Ryo asks, and Nakamaru twitches, but plasters on a smile.

"Good Morning Nishikido-san."

Ryo grins, feral and with just a hint of teeth and Nakamaru has never feared so much for his life; Masuda watches the numbers count down obliviously. The elevator doors open.

"Good Morning Nishikido-kun!" Prissy--no, Tegoshi chirps, before pouncing on Masuda's arm. "Massu! Is it three already?"

"Massu?" Nakamaru mouths in disbelief to Masuda, who shrugs helplessly as Tegoshi drags him into the elevator after Ryo, prattling on a mile a minute. Just as Nakamaru is about to step onto the elevator after them, Tegoshi sends him this look that's all saccharine smiles, but something inside Nakamaru shudders terribly.

"Service workers should take the service elevator," Tegoshi tilts his head to the side sweetly menacingly. "Right?"

"Oh, then shouldn't I--" Masuda says, stepping forward, but Tegoshi pulls him back in with a, "No you're fine," right before the elevator doors shut.

Nakamaru blinks, wide awake, before sighing.

It could be worse. The service elevators could be stairs.

But when Nakamaru is standing in the cramped death box with the flickering lights and the dented walls, Nakamaru holds his breath and clings to the handrail and concentrates on the floor and the fact that there is still, thankfully, a floor, if utterly unstable and shaking, underneath his feet, and thinks that no, it really couldn't be worse.

The door opens and Nakamaru sinks on his knees and is this close to kissing when there's a light giggle and a pair of flats in front of him.

"That service elevator can be pretty scary, huh?"

Nakamaru lifts his nose and hopes his ears are playing tricks on him, but of course: it's just worse.

It's Horikita Maki.

Nakamaru instantly scrambles onto his feet and opens his mouth to speak before realizing that she's been talking to him this entire time.

"--and I keep saying they should do something about it, but they never seem to listen. And--" she cuts off, noticing his parted mouth, which he instantly clamps shut.

She smiles. "Well, it could be worse, I guess?"

Nakamaru laughs, high-pitched and nervous, and he's not sure whether to be immensely relieved or disappointed when someone else calls, "Oi, Maki-chan! What's taking you so long, let's get some coffee!"

"Coming Mei-chan!" Maki calls back, and then bows quickly at him before making her way across the hall. He sighs and proceeds in the opposite direction when she calls out, "Oh, and Nakamaru-kun?"

He turns, almost falls flat on his face again in surprise, and she bites her bottom lip to hold back a creeping smile. "There's uhm, toilet paper on your shoe."

"Oh no," Masuda says, shaking his head.

"Oh yes." Nakamaru sighs.

"O-Oh." Nakamaru quickly bends down to removes the offending piece of tissue and Maki laughs. "Say, did you know your nose gets red when you're embarrassed?"

"Well," Masuda says as Nakamaru tries to asphyxiate himself with a pillow. "I'm sorry. If I had been there maybe I could've helped."

Nakamaru sighs again. "It's not really your fault--but speaking of--Massu?" Masuda laughs sheepishly.

"I don't know it's just something Tegoshi came up with one day."

"Stupid prissy elevator boy," Nakamaru mutters darkly. "Really, what did I ever do to him?"

Masuda laughs again, this time more heartily, and bumps his shoulder against Nakamaru's. "But it could be worse?" Nakamaru raises his eyebrows, chin resting on the top of his pillow stubbornly. "You could still be living with that Kamenashi guy?"

Nakamaru blinks.

"He would never let you eat cookies in bed," Masuda replies sagely.

Nakamaru blinks again, before he bursts out into uncontrollable laughter, because only Masuda could come up with something so utterly ridiculous. He laughs so hard that he even tears up a little.

"It could be worse," he says, once he's caught his breath again, wiping at his eyes and sweeping the rest of the crumbs off his sheets. "We could not be roommates."

And Nakamaru thinks that only Masuda's smile could outshine his own right now.


Thursday.
On Thursday, Masuda has to leave a little early from their shift.

"I'm sorry, but my sister couldn't find any other babysitters and--" Masuda says, bowing profusely and clasping his hands together apologetically in front of his face. Nakamaru laughs and cuts him off before he starts kneeling on the ground. "Masuda, I said it's okay. Go on, your niece is waiting for you. Tell Chiaki I said hi."

"Okay, thanks Nakamaru! You're the best!" Masuda cries, giving him a quick hug before checking his cell phone and hissing a little. "Shoot, I'm going to be late. Bye!"

Nakamaru smiles after him before sighing a little. It always got a little lonely without Masuda around. But he only needed to finish up here and then--

"Hey Nakamaru! I was hoping I'd catch you." Nakamaru blinks and turns around to see Koyama wringing his hands nervously.

"Koyama? What are you doing on this floor?"

"I just got a call that Nyanta is sick and Shige had to leave early today and--" Koyama blubbers and once Nakamaru hears the name Nyanta, he knows that it's got to be serious.

"Okay, Koyama, what do you need?" he says, cutting him off and placing both hands on his shoulders, willing Koyama to calm down a little before speaking again.

"Do--do you think you could just finish up the twenty-forth and twenty-fifth floors for me? I mean, I'm sorry and I wouldn't ask if--and I know you're busy and--but--"

"Koyama, it's okay, I can handle it," Nakamaru says gently. "Just go take care of Nyanta, okay? And buy me dinner sometime."

"Thanks Nakamaru, you're the best!" Koyama cries, hugging him so hard his ribs start to ache. He leaves after a few more sniffles and Nakamaru sighs.

And then there was one.

-

It's about a half an hour past his shift when he makes it to the last floor, finally, but Nakamaru doesn't actually mind it that much. He's planning on just tidying up and heading out as soon as he can to grab some late dinner for him and Masuda, when he hears something in the girl's bathroom. Should anyone else be here so late?

Nakamaru frowns and creeps toward the ajar door. It's Maki. He bumps his knee into the door in surprise, hissing under his breath as he ends up stumbling into the room. She looks up, startled, and they spend maybe a full minute simply staring at each other.

"Ma--I mean, H-Horikita-san? What--are you doing here so late?" the words are out of his mouth before he can see her damp cheeks and her red-rimmed eyes.

"S-sorry!" she says, still surprised, hiccuping slightly. "I didn't think anyone else would be here--I--"

"No, I mean. Is--something wrong?" Nakamaru tries, this time gently.

"N-no I'm just being silly." She laughs, shaking her head. "I lost my ring the other day and I thought I'd have been able to find it by now but--" She breaks off, sniffing and covering her face with her hands. "Sorry. I'm a mess right now." She laughs again and it's empty and hollow and Nakamaru wishes he could do anything to make her feel better. All he has to offer is a crumpled napkin from his pocket. When Maki peers at him through spread fingers, he smiles a little.

"I--I promise it isn't from my shoes," he blurts out. And this time when she laughs, it sounds a little bit more real.

"Thank you," she says, dabbing at her eyes with it. "I'm really sorry about this, I guess I didn't know how much that ring meant to me until now." She stares at her left hand and wriggles her fingers sadly.

"Was it from someone important?" Nakamaru asks, and then slightly regrets it because would he even want to know the answer to that--

"It was my mother's engagement ring," she says, taking a deep calming breath. "It was the last thing she ever left to me."

"O-oh." Nakamaru's not sure what to say to that, and it must show because she chuckles.

"Sorry, I don't know why I'm telling you all this. You probably don't even care--"

"N-no!" Nakamaru cuts in, surprising them both. "I mean, it's better to get it all out, right?"

"Well," Maki sniffs, then sighs. "Oh I don't even know. I mean, ever since I was little--I guess I kind of thought it would be nice if I got proposed to with my mom's engagement ring. Just so--it'd be like she approved too, you know?" Nakamaru nods, even though he doesn't quite know, not at all, and Maki just laughs again because it probably shows. She leans back against the wall and sighs. "And then Yamashita-kun went and proposed today and--"

"He p-proposed?!"

Maki nods. "I know, it's silly right?" She shakes her head and laughs. "A girl gets proposed to and then she cries about it. I must sound so stupid."

"No, I mean. What did you say?" Nakamaru asks, trying hard to sound both genuinely interested and disinterested all at once.

"I said--I couldn't give him an answer. Not when--"

"So, it was because of the ring--or because of Yamashita?"

Maki tilts her head toward the ceiling and closes her eyes. "The thing is--I don't really know. We dated here and there, but it was nothing really serious. So it was a surprise that he even did. And you know, I'm the vice president's daughter and he's a businessman. Who knows if he even really--"

Maki smiles and rubs at her temples. "I'm sorry for troubling you like this. I'll let you get back to work," she says, bowing a little before heading for the door. "Thank you for listening to me, and good night."

"Good--night."

And then there was one.

Friday.
"And that's why you didn't come home last night?" Masuda asks, whistling lowly leaning on the head of his mop.

Nakamaru leans back against the wall of the fifteenth floor bathroom and sighs. "I looked and looked and looked and I couldn't find it anywhere."

"But you tried your best, right?"

"But that's not good enough," Nakamaru says stubbornly. "If you had seen the look on her face--I just--"

"You look exhausted." Masuda frowns. "Did you even sleep at all?" Nakamaru gives him a half-hearted smile.

"When the security guards finally kicked me out, I decided it would just be easier to crash at the campus and wait for class. I couldn't sleep, couldn't even wash up this morning."

"It shows," Tegoshi inputs, wrinkling his nose.

Nakamaru glares. "What are you--" he starts, before stopping to turn an accusatory glare at Masuda instead, "what is he doing here?"

"Uhm." Masuda shrugs helplessly as Tegoshi finds a feather duster in the cart of cleaning supplies. He twirls it idly in his hands.

"Just as well, even if you had found her ring, what did you expect would happen? That she would just jump into your arms and automatically fall in love with you?" Tegoshi asks, despite Masuda's hissed, "Tegoshi! Be nice!"

"No--he's probably right," Nakamaru sighs.

"See! Look how easily he gives up!" He sing-songs, tapping Nakamaru on the nose lightly with the duster. Nakamaru splutters and rubs at his nose, affronted.

Masuda frowns and gives Tegoshi a look, and Tegoshi rolls his eyes. "Okay okay, I'm sorry."

"You should go home and get some rest, Nakamaru. I'll handle the rest for today," Masuda says, patting him on the shoulder gently.

"But--"

"Nakamaru," Masuda says sternly, and Nakamaru finds his resolve crumbling at the idea of his sweet, glorious bed.

"But won't it be too much for you?" he protests weakly, feet already in motion.

"Don't worry, I'll help him!" Tegoshi volunteers cheerfully, plucking the nametag off of Nakamaru's uniform and clipping it onto his own. "See, no one will be able to tell the difference." He turns to Masuda cheerfully. "Ne Massu, just call me 'Nakamaru' for today, okay?"

Masuda laughs. "See Nakamaru, we've got it covered. So just go get some rest, okay?"

Nakamaru blinks, uncertain. "Don't you have an elevator to run?" he asks, raising his eyebrows at Tegoshi, who shrugs.

"Nah, it should be fine," Tegoshi replies, waving him off flippantly. "But since you're not working right now--feel free to use it."

Nakamaru blinks. Again. Uncertain. "What?"

"Massu! Let's do a good job today, okay?" Tegoshi asks, turning a bright smile onto the other boy. Masuda smiles and shoos Nakamaru off with a wave, before turning back to Tegoshi, "Okay!"

Nakamaru blinks a third time, but figures that at this point, he's too tired to even think anymore. He makes his way over to the main elevator and curses when he sees the last person he would ever want to see. Ever.

"Hey, Nose," Ryo greets casually, before making his way down the hall. And it might be the fatigue giving rise to frustration building toward indignation and creating something akin to either sheer courage or sheer stupidity that makes Nakamaru blurt out, "Why do you keep picking on me like that?!"

Ryo blinks, and courage crumbles into indignation dissolves into frustration and disappears until Nakamaru is left just feeling tired and stupid. And fearing for his life.

"I'm not picking on you." Ryo shrugs and raises his chin. "Just with a nose like that you really shouldn't spend so much time staring at the ground all the time. Hold it up high."

"Like you?"

Ryo gives an affected modest laugh. "Well, if ever there was a model of perfection."

"I don't think I want my nose brown, thanks," Nakamaru replies flatly. Ryo raises his eyebrows and Nakamaru coughs and continues to press the down button. Ryo smirks.

"Heh, way to grow a spine, Nakamaru," he says, before turning to leave.

"Weren't you going to use the elevator?" Nakamaru calls after him. Ryo waves him off over his shoulder without a second glance, "I'm only going down one floor anyway, I can take the stairs."

The elevator dings and the door opens, and when Nakamaru steps inside, he takes a deep breath.

"Look up, huh?" he says, and raises his head toward the clean paneled ceilings of the shaft. The door closes and Nakamaru sighs and hangs his head, quickly presses the button for the lobby and stares down at the deep purple carpeting. There's actually a tear in the corner, and Nakamaru tilts his head to the side and stares harder because something is shining there and--

He kneels down to take a closer look and almost bursts out laughing at how unbelievable it all is. He's still kneeling on the floor, ring in hand, when the elevator rings and he's back in the lobby and the exit is just a few feet in front of him and he only has a split second to decide what he wants to do now, and for the rest of his life.

Nakamaru looks up. And quickly hits the button for floor 25.

And then instantly regrets it, because what is he even going to say to her and what does he expect will happen and oh my god what is he doing and the sound of his heartbeat comes rushing back into his ears and then the elevator dings cheerfully.

He finds himself just steps away from the vice president's office before he knows it, sees her through the glass doors and thinks the only thing driving him forward at this moment is the flash of unbearable sadness in her eyes that night and the twinkling ring in his hands. He takes a deep breath and--knocks on the door.

"Come in," she says pleasantly, and Nakamaru jams his hands into his pockets and enters.

"Uhm," he says, and Maki looks up and her eyes light up in recognition.

"Ah! Hello. Is there something you need?"

"I found your ring!" he blurts out, ducking his head and offering the ring to her with both hands.

"W-what?" There's a clatter of papers and suddenly Maki's on her feet and right in front of him and she's so close he thinks he can hear her heartbeat or is that his and--

"Ano--that's not my ring."

Nakamaru looks up wildly, glances at her curious face and then down at the ring and then back again. "O-oh. I'm sorry. I found it and I thought--"

"No, don't apologize. It was really nice of you to even go looking."

Nakamaru feels his face burn and he instantly ducks his head and hopes she can't see his nose and backs away toward the door, bowing apologetically. "No, I just got your hopes up and I didn't even know what your ring even looked like and I'm sorry."

"Really, it's okay," she says, just as he reaches the door. "Thank you, Nakamaru-kun." The door swings shut and Nakamaru sighs and walks back over to the elevators and presses the button for the lobby. Because of course. What did he even expect anyway, even if it had been her ring? That she would just jump into his arms and automatically fall in love with him? Life just didn't work that way. Nakamaru sighs again and looks down when the elevator hasn't moved for a good five minutes.

And then he notices he's not wearing his nametag.

He runs without thinking, runs and runs and bursts through the glass doors of the vice president's office.

"H-Horikita-san!" he cries, panting and out of breath.

"Y-yes?"

"Will you go out on a date with me?"

"And?" Masuda asks through a mouthful of noodles. "And then what happened?"

"And I have a date tomorrow night," Nakamaru grins.

"That's it?" Tegoshi snorts, wrinkling his nose suspiciously. "How anticlimactic."

Nakamaru frowns. "What do you mean--why are you even here?"

"Massu invited me," he replies cheerfully, and when Nakamaru glances over at him, Masuda just shrugs. "He said he was hungry?"

"There really wasn't even a kiss?" Tegoshi wheedles.

"Please, boys, a gentleman never kisses and tells," Nakamaru replies, haughtily raising his chin.

"Oh I see," Masuda says, and Nakamaru is glad to see the subject dropped. "Say Tegoshi, did you know Nakamaru's nose gets red when he's embarrassed?"

"Shut up," Nakamaru announces, before putting his chopsticks down and walking to his bedroom.

He has a date to rest up for.