Looking very forlorn, Noah looked towards the ceiling as if he could see beyond the walls to the clear skies above.
In the end, he gritted his teeth. What needed to be done still needed to be done. He opened up the light screen of his communicator, and with an attitude of a kamikaze soldier flying to his last battle, he bravely returned Case's call.
The other side immediately accepted, and soon enough, Noah was staring face to face with ruffled-looking Case. It would seem Case had been pacing back and forth ever since the last call, running his hands through his hair the entire time, because right now, his usually stylish hair resembled prairie after a fire.
Seeing Case's bloodshot eyes, Noah felt inexplicably guilty, "Sorry about that, Case…" He greeted awkwardly.
Case shot him a look imbued with exasperation and incomprehension. And then he wordlessly shook the wedding invitation, which by now looked a bit worn out.
Noah peeked at the shiny piece of paper with his and Levi's name on it and couldn't help but feel a bit bashful, "Ah... that," he cleared his throat, "There is going to be an official announcement soon about this... uh... as it turns out, the one marrying Levi in a few days will not be my sister, but… uh… me…"
"What the fuck?!? How did the bride suddenly change to you?!" Case snapped, "Just… just… what the fuck?!?"
Noah scratched his fluffy head, not knowing how to explain this. If he told Case the truth, the other would vehemently oppose this marriage. And who knows what trouble he might kick up in his attempts to "save" Noah from his "dreadful" arranged marriage. And even if Case didn't end up causing him endless headaches in the future, Noah still thought that the fewer people that knew the truth, the better. The fewer people knew, the easier it was to keep it under wraps. Also, since Noah wasn't the only one whom this related to, he thought that it wouldn't be fair of him to casually divulge the truth of the matter to someone without getting Levi's agreement beforehand.
Thus, since he couldn't tell Case the truth, it meant he was supposed to sell a tall tale about a great romance between Levi and him. But that topic was not just embarrassing enough to make him want to die of shame right then and there, but it was also a complete sham that Noah didn't know how to convincingly pull off!
Noah was the type of person who could convincingly lie for a just cause, but he absolutely couldn't act convincingly! He could say compelling words, but his true feelings would be written on his face plain and clear for all to see!
So how was he supposed to make Case believe that he and Levi were together?
Blackie, (・―・) 'Host, you needlessly worry… Just tell it to him straight. I guarantee that your stutter and beet-red face would be enough to get you an Oscar nomination.' (¬‿¬)👍
Noah took a deep breath, and just as Blackie predicted, his face flushed scarlet even before the first word had a chance to be spoken. He nervously avoided Case's eyes as he stuttered out, "It–it turns out that Levi and my sister were never really together because Levi is…is… g–gay… and so, we… uh… hanged out together since last week… and–and… we–we…" Noah involuntarily covered his burning face with his hands, "we… ended up… falling… falling… in–in…" Ah, really couldn't get that L-word out! "uh… got–got…accidentally… got t–together…" Noah shyly peeked through the gaps between his fingers at the other's reaction.
Seeing his best friend and crush of many years, rosy-cheeked and bashfully fluttering his long eyelashes as he talked about his relationship with another man, Case felt like coughing up blood right then and there.
"What do you mean accidentally got together?!" Case's trembling voice rose an octave, "Aren't you straight?!" Bloody hell!!! If Aris wasn't as straight as a street pole, how could he have pursued him for so many years without the other even realizing he was pursuing him?!? If Aris wasn't straight, then what the fuck had he been doing all these years, not daring to confess his feelings?!? "Stop bullshitting me! When I called you earlier, even you didn't know what the hell was going on!!!"
Being called out on his lie, Noah felt so awkward he barely restrained the urge to immediately hang up. Dear lord! If all the shame and embarrassment he had experienced in the last 20 years of his life were added up, it still wouldn't even come close to the levels he had been forced to experience in the last week! Why was this happening to him?!?
Yet, not only did he need to shamelessly continue spouting nonsense even though he had already been exposed, he even needed to bring up the whole best man matter!
"I–I–I was just surprised that the wedding invitations had already been resent. We–we–we were still… still in the middle of settling the marriage change..." Noah forcefully swallowed down his saliva in a valiant effort to squeeze out the remainder of his words, "As for that… that… I–I–I… I also thought… also thought I was straight…"
"You thought?!? You no longer think so?!?" Case was so agitated he was wheezing with every word.
Noah's inner shame continued to grow by this line of questioning, and by now, he felt like a daughter being scolded by her conservative mother for losing her virginity before the marriage.
"Mhm… it… it turns out that I–I–I can also… like… like guys…" Even the rims of Noah's wide amber eyes started to redden, and involuntary tears welled up in his eyes. QAQ
Seeing his crush looking as if he had been bullied, so delectable like a ripe peach ready to be eaten, Case's heart nearly jumped out of his chest, and he swallowed hard. Suddenly, the passion and hope inside his chest could no longer be restrained, "Aris, I also like guys! Actually, the one I like is–"
'Don't tell me this bro intends to confess his feelings?!' Noah's soul nearly leaped out of his body in fright.
Confessing to a person who is about to get married to another dude, are you asking for abuse?!? Fucking hell! And he was even trying so hard not to hurt Case's feelings, yet this bro kept forcing his hand!!
(ノ꒪Д꒪)ノ︵ ┻━┻
'Bro, can't we remain friends?! Must you tear down this last pretense of a pure and clean brotherhood?!'
щ（ﾟДﾟщ）
'Ah, ah! Don't say it!!!! You can't say it, ah!'
These words were not something meant for him anyway! Case loved the original Aris, not him, Noah! He refused to receive this love confession in Aris' stead!
Losing his head in his hurry to interrupt this love confession, Noah blurted out the first words that came to mind, "No! I don't like men! I-I-I just like this one person!"
"…" _(´ཀ`∠)_ Case, who got shot down even before he managed to confess, choked on the words he was no longer able to say, and for a moment, his vision turned black in front of him.
Levi, who was standing in front of the stall, just about to knock on the door, "…" (⸝⸝⸝✪△✪⸝⸝⸝)و 💕
Levi's arm that was about to knock on the door changed directions midway and went to clutch at his pierced heart instead. Was… was… was that a love confession?!? That was definitely a love confession!! His baby liked him back!!!
Levi had been hurrying to interrupt Case's own love confession, worried that his baby would have a change of heart, yet his rival in love hadn't even confessed yet when his baby beat him to it?? And his baby's confession was so… so… ❤ ah, ah, so pure and cute and stickily sweet, just like his baby! Ah, ah, so fricking adorable his heart couldn't take it!