It had been a week.
A week of absolute, eerie peace.
No mysterious furniture rearrangements.
No weird "fitness challenges" that involved Akihiko lifting heavy things while Kei took notes.
No "coincidental" shopping trips that required Akihiko to carry thirty pounds of rice.
Just… calm.
Too calm.
Ayaka sipped her tea at the dining table that lazy Sunday afternoon, brow furrowed, eyes narrowed like a suspicious detective surveying a crime scene.
Across from her, Kei scrolled through his tablet.
Kai was flipping through a recipe book like he hadn't spent the past three months secretly turning Akihiko's life into a gladiator arena.
Akihiko, bless his poor romantic soul, sat beside her on the couch reading a medical journal, completely at ease.
Not a single tense muscle, not a flicker of "I'm being emotionally attacked by my girlfriend's siblings" energy.
Suspicious...
She turned to face them fully.
"Okay... I give up. What the hell happened?"
Kei looked up calmly. "What do you mean?"
"You two." she said, pointing her chopsticks at her brothers like tiny swords. "You've been civil... SUSPICIOUSLY CIVILLLL~ You even offered Akihiko a beer last night."
Kei shrugged. "It was hot and I was just being polite."
"You've never been polite in your life!"
Akihiko snorted quietly behind his journal.
"And Kai..." she narrowed her eyes, "You let him sit in your spot on the couch."
Kai blinked. "I have a spot?"
"YESSS!!! You hissed at me once when I took it!"
Kai shrugged. "You imagined that."
"I did not! You hissed like a vampire cat!"
Kai nodded thoughtfully. "Now that you mention it, I don't remember that either. Sounds made up."
Ayaka stared at them. "Are you gaslighting me???"
"Again with the accusations." Kei sighed, flipping the page of his tablet. "Maybe you're just stressed. Work's been intense, right?"
Kai added helpfully, "Hormones could be involved."
"I will throw this mug at you." she said sweetly..
"I'M DEAS SERIOUS!!!" Ayaka exclaimed, pacing now.
"YOU TWO WERE PRACTICALLY HAZING AKIHIKO FOR 3 MONTHS AND IT WAS LIKE WATCHING A DRAMA WHERE THE LOVE INTEREST NEEDS TO PROVE HIMSELF BY SURVIVING YOUR RIDICULOUS DEMANDS!!!"
"Name one thing we did." Kei said.
"You made him eat Kai's experimental natto curry!"
"That was character development." Kai said solemnly.
"You made him build a bookshelf... BLINDFOLDED!!!"
"That was a bonding activity."
"You gave him a mop and said 'show us your loyalty.'"
"Teamwork exercise."
Ayaka stopped in front of them, hands on her hips. "So you admit it!"
Kei looked at Kai.
Kai looked at Kei.
Then both looked back at her with straight faces and said in unison:
"Nope. Didn't happen."
Ayaka's mouth dropped. "YOU—!!! I—! Akihiko! Back me up here!"
Akihiko lowered his journal just enough to meet her eyes with a lazy, amused smile. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
"YOU TRAITOR!!!"
He reached out, gently pulling her down onto the couch beside him. "Maybe it was all a dream, hm?"
"I WILL END ALL OF YOU..."
Ayaka groaned and flopped into Akihiko's lap, staring up at the ceiling. "I'm dating a man who's in cahoots with my brothers. I should've known the moment you all watched that survival reality show together and started nodding like it was a training manual."
Kai winked. "It brought us closer."
"TO HELL!"
Kei held up his mug. "To family."
Akihiko leaned down and whispered in her ear, "At least they like me more now."
Ayaka glared at him. "They liked you enough to torment you."
"And I passed." he said smugly. "You should be flattered. They wanted to see if I was worthy."
She grumbled, "I should've been the one that made you build that bookshelf blindfolded."
"I did. Twice."
"…Ugh."
Later that night, when Ayaka was brushing her teeth, she opened the bathroom cabinet and found a post-it stuck to the mirror.
It was in Kai's handwriting.
"Congrats! You passed the sibling delusion arc. 10/10. We gaslight with love. ❤️ - The Yamamoto Brothers."
She stomped out of the bathroom, waving the note in the air.
Kei: "Never happened."
Kai: "What note?"
Akihiko who was smirking: "Maybe you imagined it."
Ayaka screamed into a pillow.
------
The soft hum of the car engine was the only sound accompanying them as the city lights gradually faded behind the windshield.
Night had deepened, casting the world in shades of navy and silver, with the occasional street lamp painting golden streaks on the road.
Inside the car, it was warm.
Quiet.
Ayaka leaned back in the passenger seat, her head resting lightly against the window.
The radio played low, a soft jazz instrumental that wrapped around them like silk.
Her fingers absentmindedly fiddled with the hem of her coat as she glanced at Akihiko from the corner of her eye.
His features were relaxed, bathed in the dim glow from the dashboard lights.
One hand on the steering wheel, the other resting gently beside the gearshift—his silver hair slightly tousled, blue eyes focused ahead, a calm intensity in his expression.
"You're unusually quiet." she murmured, breaking the silence.
He smiled faintly. "Just… enjoying this."
She raised an eyebrow. "Enjoying what? The sound of tires and existential silence?"
He chuckled, deep and soft. "You... Here with me. Existing."
Ayaka rolled her eyes, but her heart skipped anyway. "You sound like a lovestruck poet."
"I might be." His voice dropped to a teasing murmur. "You haven't seen the full extent of my dramatics."
She laughed, eyes crinkling. "I'm almost afraid to."
They fell into a comfortable silence again until Akihiko suddenly slowed the car and pulled over into a quiet spot near a winding road flanked by trees.
A gentle breeze stirred outside.
"Hey, Ayaka." he said, glancing at her.
"Hm?"
"Can you check if the bouquets in the back seat are still intact?"
She blinked. "Bouquets?"
He nodded toward the back. "Just make sure they didn't get crushed."
Still confused, Ayaka twisted in her seat, unbuckled her seatbelt, and leaned into the back to check.
There, nestled neatly in the backseat, were two stunning bouquets—elegantly arranged with white lilies, peonies, and soft pink roses, accented by delicate baby's breath and eucalyptus.
She smiled. "They're fine... These are beautiful. Are they… for me?"
There was a pause.
Then—
"No." Akihiko replied, voice steady but gentle.
The smile slowly faded from her lips as she sat back in her seat. Her brows furrowed. "…Then who are they for?"
He didn't answer.
Instead, he simply said, "You'll see."
The car started moving again, the tires crunching softly over the gravel road as they turned off the main road and into a more secluded path.
The trees thickened around them, and the air grew cooler.
As the headlights illuminated what was ahead, Ayaka's eyes widened.
It was a graveyard.
She straightened. "Akihiko…" her voice was tight, uncertain. "Why are we here… in the middle of the night? Do you plan on ghost hunting?"
He didn't answer at first.
He simply parked the car and turned off the engine.
The world went still, save for the rustle of leaves and the distant chirp of crickets.
Akihiko looked at her then, his eyes impossibly soft. "Come with me."
Still dazed, she followed.
The grass was cool beneath their shoes as they made their way between the rows of headstones, the moonlight guiding their path.
Then they stopped.
Ayaka's breath caught.
It was her parents' grave.
Her knees nearly buckled at the sight of it—two simple, elegant headstones side by side, with her family name engraved delicately on both.
The air felt heavier here, thick with memory and silence and emotion.
Akihiko walked forward first.
Slowly, reverently, he knelt and placed one bouquet in front of the grave.
Then, to Ayaka's surprise, he spoke.
"Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. Yamamoto." he began, his voice steady but full of emotion. "I'm Nakamura Akihiko. And I'm… Ayaka's boyfriend."
Ayaka brought a hand to her mouth, her heart thudding against her ribs.
"I've wanted to visit for a long time." Akihiko continued, still kneeling. "But I didn't want to come until I was sure—really sure—that I could look you both in the eye and tell you I love your daughter. That I would take care of her. That I would never, ever let her go."
His voice trembled slightly, but he didn't stop.
"I know I can't ever replace the love you gave her. But I promise I'll protect the world she built for herself. I'll support her dreams. I'll be her strength when she needs one, and her peace when life feels too loud."
Tears welled in Ayaka's eyes, her hands shaking.
Akihiko stood, turning to her slowly.
He took the second bouquet, stepping closer.
And then...
He dropped down on one knee.
Right there, between the quiet stones and the silver light of the moon.
Ayaka gasped.
His fingers curled around the velvet box he pulled from his pocket.
He opened it.
Inside was a ring—simple, elegant, with a solitary diamond nestled in a band of platinum shaped like a vine gently holding it in place.
It shimmered in the moonlight, delicate yet strong.
"Ayaka..." he said, looking up at her with such open, raw love it stole the air from her lungs. "I've loved you in silence. I've loved you through laughter. I've loved you in chaos and in stillness. And tonight, I want to love you for the rest of my life."
She was crying now.
Freely.
Beautifully.
"I brought you here not to scare you." he added softly. "But because I wanted them to be a part of this moment. I wanted your parents to know… that I choose you and will always choose you... And that I will cherish you...forever."
Ayaka covered her mouth, sobbing softly.
"Will you marry me?"
She knelt before him, almost collapsing into him, arms wrapping around his neck as tears soaked into his shoulder.
"Yes." she whispered, voice breaking. YES! YES! A MILLION TIMES YES!!!"
Akihiko let out a breath that sounded like relief, like joy, like a vow fulfilled.
He pulled back just enough to slip the ring onto her trembling finger.
"It fits perfectly."
Ayaka glanced at her parents' headstone through misty eyes and smiled.
"You'd like him." she whispered to the wind.
Akihiko kissed her forehead, then her temple, then her tears.
They stayed for a few more moments, quiet. Then Akihiko touched her hand lightly. "Come on. There's one more place."
"…Another grave?"
He nodded.
The drive wasn't long.
The road curved again, leading to another section of the cemetery—one with older stones, ivy-covered and softly worn by time.
The trees here were taller, casting longer shadows.
Akihiko stepped out and took the second bouquet.
Ayaka followed quietly, unsure.
They stopped in front of another pair of graves—names carved into the stone she didn't recognize until she stepped closer.
Then her breath caught in her throat.
"Nakamura."
Akihiko's parents.
Ayaka felt her heart twist. 'So they were also buried here...'
Akihiko knelt first again, and gently placed the bouquet between the stones.
"…Hey mom and dad." he said softly, eyes on the graves. "It's been a while. I haven't visited for a long time... I'm sorry."
His voice faltered. He took a breath.
"I… I found her." he said finally. "The one I didn't think existed. The one I thought I'd never deserve."
He looked up at Ayaka then, his expression open, raw.
"I brought her to meet you."
Ayaka moved forward slowly, heart pounding.
She knelt beside him, hands folded in her lap.
"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Nakamura..." she said quietly. "I'm Ayaka Yamamoto... Just earlier... he proposed to me..."
She smiled, though her voice trembled.
"I don't know what kind of woman you imagined for your son… but I promise you, I'll take care of him. I'll remind him to eat when he forgets. I'll make him rest when he overworks himself. I'll support him—always."
Akihiko turned to her then, eyes shining with unshed tears.
"I'll love him." Ayaka finished softly. "For the rest of my life."
The wind shifted.
It was gentle, tender, as if the night itself exhaled.
Akihiko smiled. "Let's go home, my fiancee."
And with her hand in his, she followed him back down the path, light-headed, heart full.
The stars shone a little brighter that night.
As if even the heavens were celebrating them.