The Sweetness of Tears [IDOLiSH7]

9: Preciousness

-A week after the concert-

Iori kissed the still sleepy Riku on the forehead before leaving Gaku's apartment in the morning. Iori said he had some errands to run. Riku did not know what it was but Gaku did. Gaku assured Iori that he would look after Riku. He wished Iori good luck when the younger boy left the place.

Iori followed a hand-drawn map to a meeting place where he was to meet Gaku's friend. Once he got there right on time, the boy looked around to find a tall man with short brown hair waving at him.

The two men went to the cafe nearby for a chat after introducing themselves.

"Hmmmm, I see your partner is really quite ill. So a planned surprise event is off the table, huh?" Gaku's good old friend, Tsunashi Ryuunosuke, was there, stirring his coffee while deep in thought.

"I don't want to just propose to him the basic way. I want it to be special for him and I need ideas."

That's right. Iori wanted to propose to Riku, which was why he was seeking advice from Ryuu. Ryuu was a wedding event planner. He had helped couples from picking a ring to organising the big day. According to Gaku, though, Ryuu himself was not very tactical with women.

The two spent some time planning out the marriage proposal. While it was going relatively well, there was one more thing Iori needed to sort out.

"Iori-kun, have you got a ring for Riku-kun yet?" Ryuu asked while giving Iori a gentle smile.

"That's also another issue. The best jewellery out there is made by NanaseJewel, but giving a NanaseJewel ring to a Nanase is pretty strange, don't you think?" Iori answered, and again he got a typical reaction from a person who had heard about 'Nanase'. Iori recalled that Riku used to help with his brother's business work, so it was possible that Riku knew about the ring designs. NanaseJewel rings were all full of elegance and beauty, but Iori just wanted Riku to know that he was sincere and that he loved Riku with all his heart.

Another option was for Iori to place a custom order to get a special ring made for him. Then again, Tenn did not exactly give him a warm welcome the last time they met. While it was likely that a huge business owner would not notice a normal order coming through, he did not want to take any chances. If Tenn found out about this whole plan, everything would be ruined. Plus, a custom order would take quite a long time. Riku had not got time for that.

Ryuu looked at Iori's face and smiled. "Iori-kun, I think your partner would appreciate any ring if you put your heart into picking one out for him." It was true. Even now, Ryuu could see that Iori put a lot of consideration into every single step. There was no way Iori's feelings would not reach Riku's

~~

It was nearly 12 PM. Gaku realised Riku was still in bed. He went to knock on the door. "Nanase, are you awake?" Gaku decided to open the door after receiving no reply. Riku was still lying in bed, panting. He was quite sweaty.

"Yaotome-san, w-what time..?" The redhead spoke with a hoarse voice when he noticed a tall man was approaching him.

"12. You already missed breakfast. That's not good. You need to eat something." Gaku was expecting Riku to get up, but Riku did not move. "Are you alright, Nanase?"

"*huff* I-I feel really tired." Gaku sat on the chair beside Riku's bed and helped Riku sit up. After making sure Riku was okay, he went to cook Riku some soft vegetable porridge that would be easy for him to swallow. Seeing Riku on his 'bad day' like that made Gaku think about Tenn even more. That made Gaku feel frustrated every time. That brat...!

Riku felt stronger in the afternoon, so he came to sit in the living room, chatting with Gaku. Gaku tried to call Tenn but all his calls were refused. Tenn always shut everyone out whenever he was stressed with work. This time, though, Tenn took it to the extreme. Even Riku himself could not reach him. The younger twin was worried, but his health was already giving him a big burden so he tried to tell himself that Tenn would contact him back soon.