I seriously couldn't figure out what I wanted Mai and Naru's first date to be until we went Prom Dress shopping today. So this popped into my head and I can't think of anything better to do this over. I hope this turns out alright. Please review, kay?
And I haven't done this to my stories and realized I should have. I don't own Ghost Hunt nor the song that is in the story! Cheers!
Mai hadn't thought of the fact that she had to be escorted to her senior prom. After all, every year she had went before they had been allowed to just go with their friends and have a good time. But now all students had to have a male/female escort to get inside. And of course Mai's friends hadn't told her until two days before prom. Mai was angry and upset when Naru came out of his office.
"Mai, lunch." he said heading for the door and Mai stood up with a sigh. Ever since she had joined the SPR offices all three occupants had been going to lunch together so they wouldn't have to eat alone. So when Lin didn't come out of his office to join the other two in putting their coats on Mai looked up at Naru curiously.
"He came in late today and had already eaten." Naru said before opening the door and letting her go in front of him. Naru might have been a narcissist but at least he was a narcissist gentleman if nothing else to Mai.
"Oh…I can go…I, um….I can go get something to eat later so you don't have to miss any work." she whispered before they reached the elevator, if she didn't know better she could have sworn that Naru rolled his eyes at her when he pushed the down button.
"Mai, believe it or not I have to eat as well. And it will just be easier to eat at the same time so we aren't short one hand later." he said and Mai gave in and nodded as they rode in silence to the bottom floor. Mai felt awkward as they walked down the streets, getting pushed closer to Naru as people kept pushing them together.
She looked up startled as Naru wrapped an arm around her shoulders when they were almost separated. Naru didn't look down and she felt a blush stain her cheeks before he pulled her into a restaurant and let go of her. She avoided looking at him and followed the waiter as he led them to a table. An awkward silence engulfed them as they waited for the waiter to come and take their orders.
"Why are you upset?" he asked and Mai looked up shocked. How had he known she was upset? He certainly didn't pay enough attention to her to see if she was upset or so she thought. She shook her head; maybe he picked up on it because she wasn't being herself.
"I…well I just found out that I can't go to my senior prom just because I need an escort. Prom is two days away, I have a dress, and every guy in my school has a date. I won't even get to go." she whispered softly not caring that she just spilled out one of her most pressing problems to the one person that she thought wouldn't care. Little did she know. She looked up as Naru gently took her hand.
"All you need is an escort?" he asked in his normal condescending voice and she could just hear him telling her how she was an idiot for waiting so long. She nodded and waited for the scolding. "Does it matter if that person doesn't go to your school?" she frowned and shook her head. "Then I'll take you."
"Huh?" she asked intelligently before Naru turned to the waiter and ordered his food and Mai barely got her mouth to form the words for her to order her food as she was still speechless from what Naru had just said.
"Mai, close your mouth. You look like a fish out of water." Naru advised and Mai snapped her mouth shut in embarrassment. How could he be so nice one minute and mean the next? She felt her face flame before she looked up at him through her bangs.
"Did you really say you'd take me?" she asked, she was convinced that he hadn't told her and she had imagined it. Mai could feel the tears already forming. How could she want him to treat her nicely so badly? He was Masako's boyfriend (or so she thought) even though the girl had left for her tour nearly three days ago.
"Mai, I don't appreciate repeating myself." he answered taking a sip from his glass of water. Mai blinked before she hid her face in her hands to try and hide her blush from the man sitting beside her.
"I….but why?" she asked as she attempted to look anywhere but at her boss who she noticed was getting the same looks from all the women in the small restaurant. Mai knew those looks very well; they were thinking of how handsome he was and silently wishing that she, Mai, would drop off the face of the Earth for being near him.
Naru, however narcissistic he was, did not notice the looks he was getting but rather the men that were leering at Mai. He wanted nothing more than to drag her out of the restaurant, back into the office, lock her up in his office, and tell Lin to tell any man that came looking for her to 'go to hell'. Mai was his. And he'd be damned if someone else tried to take her away.
"Do you always ask questions when someone does you a favor?" he asked and Mai could once again feel her cheeks flame. Why did Naru always say the right thing to blush even when it was something that would not normally make her blush? She had the sudden desire to see Naru blush but she knew that it would never happen. After all…Naru was Naru. He'd never blush.
"Well, fine. I'll accept…but you aren't going to leave me standing on my doorstep waiting, are you?" she asked suspiciously, thinking that he could just be planning to trick her. He rolled his eyes at her.
"No…I may be cold but I can assure you that I'm a gentleman and I would not leave you standing alone." he replied. They fell silent as the waiter returned with their food and Mai ate silently before Naru spoke up again. "What time do I need to pick you up?"
"Uh…six o'clock on Saturday." Mai replied and Naru just nodded before returning to his meal. Mai sighed, so her boss was taking her to her prom. She could just see how all her friends would swarm over him and she doubted that she would get one dance with him.
Mai looked at herself in the mirror and felt a shiver of apprehension go down her spine. Her dress was a deep green that clung to her and it was strapless. The dress flared out slightly at her knees and gently brushed the floor even in her two inch heels. Mai's bangs were pulled back by a green satin head band as well.
RING! RING! Mai jumped at the sound of her phone ringing. She exited her bedroom and quickly went to her kitchen where her only phone was located. It had rung almost five times before she was able to pick up.
"Hello, Taniyama residence." she answered brightly. She didn't know why she didn't just give her first name as she was the only person that lived there. She decided it was a way of keeping her parents in her life even though they weren't with her she knew they would always protect her.
"Mai, I'm outside. Lock your apartment and come on down." Naru hung up and Mai looked at her phone before sighing. At least he hadn't left her standing out in the cold waiting for him. That had to earn him some sort of brownie points, right? Not that he'd want them.
Mai made sure she had her purse and keys before she turned off the lights and exited the apartment. She rode the elevator and felt her jaw drop when she exited the building. Parked there was a black stretch limousine. And leaning against the limousine was a nicely dressed Naru in a tuxedo. (And yes for all interested he was wearing a white shirt) Mai could feel her heart stop before she realized she wasn't breathing and forced her lungs to take in air.
Naru was going through the same experience. He could see Mai's dress through the light from her apartment building and his heart, he had been beginning to wonder if it was there, was beating rapidly. Her dark green dress made her skin look almost as pale as snow. He wondered briefly if he should take that case at the beach just so that she could get a tan.
'You just want to see her in a swim suit.' said a little voice in his head and he frowned. That voice had only started bugging him when Mai had started work. He wasn't about to admit why that little voice was there. After all, there was no point in admitting it, she was his worker and he was her boss. End of story.
"Mai….you look….beautiful." Mai felt her cheeks redden as he went over and held his arm out for her. She gently slipped her arm through his and let him lead her to the car and he opened the door for her. She wondered why he was doing all this for her but decided that she didn't want to know. Naru was being nice to her and she didn't need to question it.
"Naru, where are we going?" she asked when she realized that they weren't heading towards her school.
"I called your school and found out that they weren't letting anyone until seven thirty so I reserved a table at a little restaurant I know. I might as well feed you…I don't need you starving and then collapsing making me have to go to the hospital." Naru said as he stared out the window and Mai glared at him before shaking her head.
"You're so thoughtful Naru-chan." she said sarcastically and she saw the smirk on his face and huffed before looking out her window. But no matter how hard she tried she couldn't hide the smile that started to spread across her face. At least he cared enough about her to not want her to be in the hospital. That had to count for something.
Mai watched the city lights go by before fading into countryside. Mai looked at Naru curiously before blinking as he held up a blindfold. She raised an eyebrow before feeling her face flame bright red as he turned her around and tied the blindfold around her eyes. She felt the limousine stop and found herself completely trusting Naru as he helped her out and led her somewhere.
"Alright." Naru said and took the blindfold off. He enjoyed the stunned look that crossed Mai's face. So he'd lied about the restaurant part. They were at a lake that was reflecting the stars and near the edge of the lake was a blanket and basket. Mai looked up at him confused.
"I lied." he said before leading her to the blanket and helping her sit down before taking his place on the blanket. Lin, yes Lin, had cooked white rice and chicken along with a red sauce that he refused to tell Naru what was. Naru trusted Lin and just hoped that whatever the sauce was wouldn't make the both of them sick.
"This is the kind of lying I like." Mai said with a bright smile when Naru handed her a plate. She ate slowly, enjoying the taste. The silence was unlike the ones they had before. Instead of being awkward and strained it was pleasant and almost friendly like. Mai wished all her time with Naru could be like that. She knew it was only a dream but moments like those gave her hope.
"Mai, you have sauce…right here." Naru reached out with his napkin and wiped at the corner of her mouth. They both froze, looking into the other's eyes. Naru barely registered how close they were getting until someone cleared their throat and he jumped back startled, scolding himself silently, and looked at the driver who was pointing at his watch.
"Shibuya-san, it's seven o'clock." the driver told them. Naru nodded before helping Mai pack up in silence. He glanced at Mai and saw that her cheeks were red but before he could take a closer look she had climbed into the limousine and refused to look at him as they reentered the city. He felt like an idiot.
Mai could feel her cheeks flaming. What had Naru been doing?! She could've sworn that the look in his eyes was….heated. She shook her head. No! Naru would never look at her like that. She only wished he would. Naru didn't look at anyone as though….well as though he wanted to kiss them.
"Mai." Mai looked up startled to see Naru was holding the door open for her and she saw her school and the other student staring at the limousine. She took a deep breath and slid out, gasping when Naru tucked her hand into the crook of his arm.
She saw the looks her friends were giving her and she knew they recognized the man escorting her as the one that had startled them in that classroom nearly three years ago. Mai gave a small smile before giggling as the others held their thumbs up before turning to their own escorts. Mai tightened her hold on Naru as they entered the school and she felt his fingers tighten on her hand where he had covered it as it rested on his arm.
The prom was nearly perfect. As Mai had suspected a lot of girls had come up to try and dance with Naru. But to her utter surprise he'd smile a fake smile and say that he was with a date and it would be rude to leave her alone. Mai just blushed. They spent the whole night there before the DJ finally announced the last song.
"Okay, kids, this is the last song of the night!" the DJ yelled before putting a song on and Mai felt her cheeks flame as Naru pulled her out on the dance floor and pulled her closely. She looked up in his eyes and quickly averted hers.
When I think about the first time,
Thought I found someone who cared for me,
Things were not as they appeared to be.
Mai listened to the words. She could relate to that. She could remember in the eighth grade that she had a huge crush on a boy. But he had been tricking her because of a bet he had with his friends. She'd sworn off men, until she met Naru and started dreaming about him. She wondered how he had gotten her to fall in love with him without even trying to.
Rainy day man,
On your shoulder I cried,
When my first brush with love left me shaking inside,
Rainy day man (Rain day man)
She had cried on Naru's shoulder her junior year. She'd attempted to forget her crush on her young boss. And she had thought she had succeeded when she started dating a young boy. But he'd broken up with her saying that he really liked her but he just couldn't focus on having a girlfriend with college entrance exams looming in his future. Mai had gone to the office, on the verge of tears. And when Naru had asked her what was wrong she had burst into tears not being able to hold back.
Ever since I can remember (remember)
Just like a brother you've been strong and true,
Always been the one to see me through
Wasn't that the truth? Naru was always protecting her. He'd saved her from falling to her death in the manhole. He'd shielded her from the falling ceiling. And various other messes that she had gotten herself into. And hadn't he been the one looking over her when she woke up in the nurse's office after inhaling the chloroform in the science lab?
Rainy day man,
You're much more than a friend,
I would give anything to just see you again,
Rainy day man (Rainy day man)
She could feel tears in her eyes and she attempted to hide them in the shoulder of his jacket. He was much more than a boss or a friend to her. He was the only man that she could love and all he thought of her was a nuisance that he had to take care of. She wanted him to look at her and have some sort of look in his eyes besides the cold one that he always had. She wanted to see that smile of his again, like the one he had given her at Yasuhara's school.
Always been the one to see me through,
Rainy day man,
On your shoulder I cried,
When my brush with love left me shaking inside.
'Naru. Why can't you look at me the way you do when I dream? Don't you ever get the hint? I love you, why can't you see that?' Mai asked herself silently, not noticing how when she cuddled into Naru's arms that he tightened his grip around her. She just closed her eyes as the song drew to a close.
Rainy day man,
You're much more than a friend,
I would give anything just to see you again,
Rainy day man (Rainy day man)
Maybe one day she would have Naru. Maybe one day she would see him smile in real life. But at that moment she was content with being in Naru's arms and letting him lead her in the slow dance. That is until the DJ decided to interrupt when the last notes of the song echoed through the air.
"Alright, sorry to say but it's 12:04 am and I have got to pack and sack! Have a safe trip home." he yelled and Mai pulled away from Naru, having no idea how much will power it took from him to let her go. She gave him a small smile and he nodded before putting his arm around her shoulder. They rode to her apartment in relative silence and he walked her to the elevator and they waited for it to come.
"Thank you for taking me, Naru." she whispered and she gasped as Naru tilted her chin up and gave a real smile to her. He shrugged for a minute before letting her chin go.
"It wasn't a problem." he answered and Mai gathered all her courage before standing on tiptoe and kissing him, on the mouth. The elevator doors opened and she was surprised when suddenly Naru followed her and wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her.
When the door opened on the seventh floor neither of the teens noticed. Mai would later find out that she had given her next door neighbor, Mrs. Togashi, an eye full when the elevator door opened to reveal her and Naru having a rather passionate kiss.
When Takigawa asked the next day who had taken Mai to the prom the girl had blushed different shades of red when Naru entered the room and had obviously heard the question. The young boss smirked at Takigawa before answering for Mai.
"Her boyfriend took her, Bou-san." Naru said before turning back to the office as he ignored the grumbles from the monk and Mai's startled face. He knew he'd have to explain to her what he meant. But he found that he was looking forward to it. After all, now he could glare at the other men looking at her without her trying to hit him for doing so.