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'What do you mean you can't make it?'
Harua paced around the small bathroom and tried not to panic. K sighed on the other end of the line.
'I'm sorry, Harua. They needed me to fill in today because three other teachers came down with the flu so it's all hands on deck.' Through the phone, Harua could vaguely hear the sound of kids' chatter and the faint pat-pat-pat of tiny feet running around.
'Okay, that's okay. Just–' Harua suddenly heard a familiar voice calling out for a kid and raised an eyebrow. 'Is that my brother in the background?'
'When I said all hands on deck, I meant it, even if said hand has basically been trying to get ahold of the same kid for five minutes.' K covered the speaker with a hand as Harua heard his muffled, stern warning which was presumably toward the kid running around and not Fuma, although the latter would have been hilarious.
'You guys go do your thing. I have to find a replacement stat before my boss slices my head off and uses it as a cereal bowl,' Harua said with a grimace.
'Oh! Right, I completely forgot to tell you. I got a replacement for you. He should be arriving in five minutes,' K said, his voice suspiciously gleeful.
Harua knew that voice. The last time he heard it, both of Taki's eyebrows had somehow become invisible and Harua had to try his best not to burst out laughing as Taki wailed about K lying that he'd look good with bleached brows.
'K,' Harua started, but K cut him off and it was almost like Harua could hear the shit-eating grin on his face.
'I felt bad, so I asked around and what would you know, someone was free!' K sing-songed. Harua heard Fuma's weary voice calling out for K and took a second to mourn for him.
'Alright, gotta go! Don't kill me!' were K's last words to Harua before he hung up right in the middle of telling a child to please stop hanging off Fuma's arm.
Harua looked at the black phone screen and cringed at the sight of his messy hair and pale face. He'd barely gotten any sleep last night since he had been fretting over this photoshoot that his boss announced was going to be a 'regular person-friendly concept' for their next edition where they scouted people around them and transformed them into models. However, since the corporate world is full of lies or whatever, his boss had all of them screen through the so-called 'regular people' to make sure they weren't too regular.
That was why Harua had approached K, who, despite looking like a model (and sometimes acting like one) was a kindergarten teacher who just happened to have really good genetics.
Now that K was out of the picture, though, Harua couldn't help but wonder who he sent in his place. K may have been playful but he would never mess around with something this important, so why did he sound like he was pulling a prank on Harua?
A vaguely familiar lady passed him by in the corridor and he bowed with a slight smile as he made his way back to the makeup room. Mentally, he ran through a possible list of people K could have asked.
Yuma? He definitely had the looks, but Harua wasn't sure if he had the time, what with his dance degree. Besides, Harua had told K about his boss only wanting people who were at least 6 feet. (Sorry, Yuma.)
Maki? He would have been a perfect candidate if not for the fact that Harua had already asked him and he'd apologetically turned it down because of some kind of charity soup kitchen thing the student council was doing that week. Leave it up to Maki to apologize for being a literal angel.
Harua stepped into the elevator and took it down to the third floor where their office and studios were stationed. He tapped his foot almost subconsciously and stared at his phone screen again as he started to think about what he'd tell his boss. She'd be freaking out for sure, at least a little bit, and he'd come to find out that good photoshoots only happened when his boss was in a good mood.
He was already beginning to go through his mental list of groveling apologies when the elevator doors dinged open.
'Hi.'
'Hey,' Harua said distractedly before his head shot up.
Asakura Jo – his neighbor, K's brother, and Harua's childhood crush was standing in front of him with an awkward but endearing smile on his face.
God, Harua thought. I'm going to kill K .
-
'Sorry, I didn't –' Harua stammered before taking a deep breath and slipping his phone back into his pocket.
'Hi,' he started again, this time with a smile. Jo smiled back in his usual timid fashion and nodded.
'Hey.'
'Let me show you where the photoshoot is going to be happening.' They walked down the corridor past the offices and toward the studio. Harua's fellow makeup artist intern passed him hurriedly and waved before raising an eyebrow at the sight of Jo walking next to Harua, who just shrugged in response.
'I totally owe you one for this. I'm sure it was really last-minute notice,' Harua fretted. He opened the door, where the photography team was setting up the simple colored backdrops. The makeup chair was thankfully empty and a couple of his seniors were milling around opening palettes and laying out brush sets.
'It's no problem. K just bribed me with free sukiyaki for the next week, so I’m good.’ Jo looked around curiously and gestured at the makeup chair. ‘Am I going to get my makeup done there or–’
‘Oh, right! Yeah, just sit down here and I’ll get started on you right after I check in with my boss,’ Harua said. Jo tilted his head and he glanced at the younger boy before looking at the vanity again.
‘You’re going to be doing my makeup?’
‘Yeah. That’s kind of the whole idea,’ Harua joked. Jo looked mildly concerned, placing his hand on the back of his neck awkwardly.
‘Is– Do you think it’s okay if I–,’ Jo trailed off and Harua just looked at him in confusion. He’s not backing out now, is he? How am I going to find another model in just forty minutes? I’m actually going to get skinned alive–
‘Can I get someone else to do my makeup?’
Harua blinked a couple of times.
Surprisingly, his mind was eerily silent as he nodded, slowly at first then more enthusiastically. ‘Yeah, I can get someone else for you. The other models should be doing their hair right now, so I’ll just ask around.’
Jo seemed to heave a sigh of relief, but he also seemed to be avoiding Harua’s eyes on purpose. ‘Alright, that would be great. I just–’ he paused then shook his head. ‘It’s nothing. Thanks.’
‘See you in a bit,’ Harua said. He walked out, popped his head into the office, and spotted a familiar face.
“Hey, Joo, are you free right now?”
Euijoo smiled at the sight of him. ‘Yeah, I just came back from my lunch break. What’s the issue?’
‘K couldn’t make it and he asked Jo to help out in his place. I’m looking for someone to do his makeup,’ Harua explained. Euijoo raised an eyebrow.
‘And you’re not the one doing it because…?’
Harua sighed. ‘No clue, honestly.’ His tone is so calm and relaxed that even he’s a little confused about himself. He should have been on the verge of tears after virtually being rejected by his childhood crush who was one of the few reasons why he hadn’t dated anyone after high school. Ideally, he would be running home and away from this supposedly mortifying situation.
Instead, he was actually looking for a replacement to do Jo’s makeup.
Corporate life really had changed him.
‘You sure you’re okay?’ Euijoo asked. Harua nodded and he felt like he genuinely meant it, at least. Euijoo reached out and ruffled his hair.
‘Okay, then. Studio 1, right?’
‘Yeah. Thanks, Joo,’ Harua called out after Euijoo who waved a hand in response.
Harua kind of strolled around for a bit. He didn’t know what to do with himself– he had assumed that he’d need to do Jo’s makeup, but now that he had nothing to do, he was kind of bored.
Bored wasn’t really the right word.
He’s not sure what he’s really feeling. It’s a mixture of emptiness and a little bit of disappointment mixed in with some confusion.
He just couldn’t figure out why Jo didn’t want him to do his makeup.
They'd never been super close, but they’d always been friends. Harua had known Jo for long enough to know what he was like, and being his childhood crush, he had long since gathered enough knowledge about Jo’s behaviors and habits. Over all of that, though, he knew how gentle and soft-spoken Jo was. He never raised his voice and Harua wasn’t sure if he’d ever really heard him shout or scream before. Similarly, he was always careful to say the right thing and never purposely said anything that could be hurtful in the slightest.
Why was he so adamant about Harua not doing his makeup?
Harua sighed and decided to check his phone for a bit. There were a couple of Instagram notifications and a message from K.
if you get off work on time i’ll treat u to dinner. i hope jo’s being nice <3 - 2:19pm
2:28pm - deal. u owe me one. how’s my brother holding up
he’s fine
he’s great, actually. the kids think he’s a superhero or something - 2:29pm
Harua giggled. Leave it to Fuma to influence kids that he was a superhero. He was probably having the time of his life right now.
He checked the time again and decided to head back in case his boss suddenly showed up. At the rate the day was going, it wasn't entirely impossible.
Euijoo was just finishing up the last touches on Jo’s makeup when Harua walked back in.
‘Everything going okay?’ Harua asked casually. Euijoo nodded without looking back as he dusted on some setting powder.
‘He’s sitting so still I feel like I’m working on a mannequin. Look up, please.’ Jo looked up obediently. Harua raised an eyebrow, impressed at how well and naturally Jo seemed to behave in the makeup chair. He’d seen a couple of actual models when they were starting out who squirmed like kids when the brush even went near their eyes.
‘All done.’
Euijoo put his brush back into the makeup bag as Harua tried his best not to open his eyes too wide at the sight of Jo.
His already clean-cut features were simply emphasized by strategically placed shadows in the hollows of his eyes and right under his lashes. His brows seemed more like they had only been groomed instead of filled in, and they framed his bright eyes perfectly. A touch of thinly applied lipstick made his lips stand out yet blend in with the rest of his features, and, bless Euijoo, the mole on his nose bridge had been emphasized with just a little bit of eyeliner.
Something had to be understood about Jo, and it was that he was an extraordinarily good-looking person. Even without makeup, he always drew attention wherever he went. K once described him as having a really ‘deliberate’ face and looking at the way his features seemed to know exactly where to go and exactly what to do to create the perfect package that was Jo, Harua kind of knew what he meant.
Too late, he realized he was staring.
‘Uh,’ he said, again realizing he had no idea what he was going to say. ‘You look great,’ he managed with both hands giving a thumbs up.
Two thumbs up? What the hell I am SO lame–
‘Thanks,’ Jo replied with a smile. Harua tried his best to control the heat that was currently creeping up his neck.
Euijoo clapped his hands loudly.
‘I think someone needs to be getting to the hairstylists right about now,’ he said with a knowing glance at Harua, who smiled and gestured to the other room.
‘Let’s go. We have about thirty minutes left and I don’t even know which of the costumes you’re wearing yet,’ Harua said. Despite his feelings for Jo messing up his stomach a little bit, his head was pretty much still full of worry for the photoshoot since his boss had kind of indirectly suggested that it would be Harua’s ‘final test’.
‘I’m sure you’ll do great,’ Jo offered gently. Harua nodded and again, tried to suppress the blush that was steadily creeping up his face.
‘Thanks.’ Okay, calm down, Harua. He’s always nice. He’s just being really nice and comforting right now. Get over it.
Thankfully enough, the hairstylists were free and Harua steered Jo right into a chair.
‘I’ll be back in a second. I just need to check something over at the wardrobe section,’ Harua told Jo, who hesitated a bit before nodding.
‘Don’t leave me here alone too long,’ he jokingly said in his usual shy but genuine voice.
Harua nodded, walked away, and tried not to scream out loud.
–
‘You’re lucky Jo and K are basically the same height. I think it might fit a little differently right here around the shoulders, but I can probably pin that to make it better,’ Nicholas explained as he quickly wormed his way around the many racks inside the wardrobe section. Harua just stood as he watched Nicholas hold up a couple of hangers and duck down to grab some shoes.
‘So it’s okay, right? Everything’s good here?’ Harua asked. Nicholas nodded as he ruffled through a drawer.
‘I wanna know if everything is good with you. Euijoo told me about what happened with Jo just now.’ Nicholas looked at Harua in concern as he straightened a collar on one of the shirts. Harua sighed.
‘I know I should be feeling worse, but weirdly enough I don’t feel much. I don’t know if I’m suppressing what I actually think or if I genuinely just gave up so much that I have no expectations,’ Harua admitted.
Ever since he had (embarrassingly) gotten drunk and basically confessed to almost everyone in their friend group about his six or maybe seven-year-long crush on Jo, they had been careful around the subject. It was 2 a.m. on Christmas, Jo had gone upstairs to answer a quick phone call about a project he was working on, and Harua had wistfully mumbled loudly, ‘I wish I didn’t like him so much,’ before promptly falling asleep on the couch.
Fuma had known about it all along, since he was Harua’s brother and had hung out with them multiple times and, you know, he had eyes. K had not known about it all along, but he had been almost hilariously serious about the topic for the next few weeks after that confession. He was quieter and barely teased anyone, especially Harua, who was so confused and kind of concerned that he had wondered out loud if K was okay. Apparently, Yuma and Taki had both choked on their drinks when Harua made that confession while Maki did an honest-to-God double take. Euijoo had been more concerned about the fact that Harua had drunk enough to admit something like that but neither he nor Nicholas was particularly surprised since they, too, had hung out with them and, well, had eyes.
Speaking about Nicholas, he was currently arranging Jo’s outfits on a rack as he said, ‘It’s going to be fine. Just don’t think too much about it and focus on the job first. We’ll go out for dinner later and you can tell me and Euijoo all about it.’
‘K offered to treat me to dinner,’ Harua said and Nicholas brightened.
‘Perfect. We’ll tag along then. Besides, he still owes me one from when he was queuing up for that new cafe’s opening and I had to drive his car away before it got towed.’
Nicholas patted Harua on the head gently. ‘Now go back and get him ready for the photoshoot. Fifteen minutes.’
‘Thanks, Nicho,’ Harua called out as he left the room.
Just like his makeup, Jo’s hair wasn’t particularly styled. The hairstylist had just added more volume at the roots and arranged some pieces so it looked slightly windswept and his eyes could be seen more clearly.
'All good! Go on and bring your man to the wardrobe section,' the hairstylist lightly patted Jo's shoulders as a sign to stand up. Harua chose not to say anything and just awkwardly chuckled in response.
Finally, Jo was all decked out and it only took forty minutes. Harua gave himself a mental pat on the back for being able to work on a time crunch and sighed in relief.
The photo shoot went on and his boss, thankfully, hadn't shown up yet. A couple of other models were scheduled to go before Jo, and while they were all attractive in their own ways, Harua had to admit that Jo wasn't exactly convincing as a 'regular passerby' instead of a trained model.
The two of them sat side by side in silence. Jo was watching the photoshoot with interest, and Harua was pretending to watch the photoshoot with interest (and not thinking about how closely Jo was sitting next to him).
It's nothing. Don't make a big deal out of it.
Suddenly, Jo turned to look at Harua, who almost jumped out of his seat.
'Listen,' he said quietly, clearly trying not to draw attention to their conversation. 'I– I wanted to apologize for what I said before.'
'What?' Harua frowned in confusion. 'Oh, is this about the makeup thing? Don't worry about it. I had some other things to deal with too so it freed up my schedule for a bit,' he lied. The only thing he had to deal with was how to stop giving himself false hope.
'No. It wasn't okay for me to say it that way. I just–' Jo frowned and sighed in the most frustrated way Harua had ever seen him. 'I just don't know how to, like, say things sometimes. I shouldn't have said it that way.'
'How would you have wanted to say it, then?' Harua's mouth moved before his brain could fully register what he had said.
Jo looked down for a moment before looking directly into Harua's eyes.
'I wish I didn't have to say it.'
His eyes were steady but searching as if Harua's eyes held the answer to an impossible riddle.
What?
Right then, Harua heard a loud 'Standby!' called out by the photography director. He shook his head in an attempt to clear his questions and gamely pushed Jo next to the backdrop.
'Just relax and don't stress about poses. They'll direct you,' Harua said as he gestured to the photography team behind the camera. Jo nodded but he still looked like his head wasn't in the game yet.
'Whatever you said just now–' Harua trailed off and sighed. 'I get it, alright? It's fine. No hard feelings. Don't worry about it.'
'Okay.' Jo mustered up a smile and Harua automatically returned it.
The photo shoot went about as well as Harua expected, which was good. Jo, what with his model-like proportions and features, didn't really need a lot of specific instructions to hide any faults. He was simply standing there and angling his face based on whatever the photographer told him to do, and the pictures seemed to be coming out great.
'Yo! Harua!' the photographer called out. 'Can you fix his collar real quick?'
'Yeah, sure,' Harua called back as he rushed onto the set. He gingerly straightened Jo's crisp white collar and noticed a piece of hair out of place.
Automatically, he reached out to straighten it and Jo quickly stepped back.
'It's okay. I got it,' he said hurriedly.
Harua just looked at him.
'Right,' is all he said before he turned and walked out of the studio.
-
In theory, Harua knew it was stupid to cry over a crush, but in practice, it was much harder to stop the tears flowing down his cheeks when all he could remember was the way Jo had stepped away from him.
He knew he should be overseeing his own model right now, but if he stayed in that studio a second longer he might have started bawling right in front of Jo, the photography team, and about ten other people he knew in the crew, which was a mortifying fate.
At least no one could really see or hear him in the stairwell.
Harua took a deep breath and tried to stop sobbing. He knew he already looked like a mess since he hadn't gotten any sleep the previous night, and he was more than 100% sure that red, puffy eyes were definitely not going to improve that.
He leaned against the wall and closed his eyes.
What had he done wrong?
He had been sure to keep his feelings tightly under wraps. Fuma had reassured him countless times that no, it wasn't obvious, and no, Jo didn't know anything. Even after drifting apart slightly in college when Jo had started spending a lot more time studying to keep his scholarship, the two of them had always been comfortable around each other. It had been part of the reason Harua had developed feelings for Jo in the first place: his comforting presence, the ease with which they could tell each other things, and the calmness he felt whenever he was around him.
Clearly, that had all been very one-sided.
'This sucks,' Harua said aloud and decided to head to the bathroom to wash his face and cool down.
He looked down into the sink and splashed some water on his face repeatedly as if trying to wash away his feelings when he heard footsteps behind him.
'Harua?' A familiar voice called out. Harua turned behind to see Euijoo, whose smile faded into a concerned frown.
'Are you okay? What happened?' he asked gently. Harua just shook his head before feeling more tears running down his cheeks and he sighed loudly, which came out more like a choked sob.
'Oh, it's okay, Rua.' Euijoo wrapped his arms around Harua and allowed the younger boy to cry into his shoulder. Harua was definitely trying to calm down, but Euijoo's warm presence and tight embrace were really triggering the waterworks.
'I just don't get it,' Harua mumbled through his tears. Euijoo patted his back lightly.
'You can tell me about it. I'll try to help.'
It took another couple of minutes for Harua to truly calm down. He washed his face again with the coldest water the tap could offer and patted his face dry before sighing again.
'It feels like he's avoiding me. I don't know what I did wrong and I can't ignore it because it's happened twice already,' Harua explained, hoping Euijoo would understand. He really didn't have the energy to explain everything that had happened.
Euijoo nodded. 'Alright. Did he tell you anything?'
'He just said he was sorry for asking for another makeup artist and shouldn't have done that.' Harua paused to think. 'He also said something about how he wished he didn't have to say that.'
'Say what?' Euijoo frowned, and Harua shrugged.
'Beats me.'
'Okay, listen.' Euijoo ruffled Harua's hair again. 'Just talk to him after this. It sounds like it could be a misunderstanding. After the shoot, pull him aside and just ask him about whatever you told me just now. He won't just do that for the sake of hurting you if he apologized for it. For now, though, focus on the shoot and try to ignore it until later. If anything happens, talk to me or Nicho about it.'
Harua sniffed. 'Okay.'
'Things will be fine, I promise.' Euijoo checked his watch. 'Alright, how about we both get back to the shoot? Just an hour left to go.'
Harua nodded and the two of them walked back to the studio together.
'You're okay, right?' Euijoo double-checked with Harua, who nodded and gave a thumbs-up.
'Okay. I'm going to go tidy up the makeup counter.' Euijoo patted him on the head one more time before walking off.
Almost as if on cue, Jo ran up to Harua from the wardrobe area in a brand-new outfit.
'Harua, I–'
'Later,' Harua said calmly. 'Whatever's going on today, we'll talk about it later.'
Jo looked almost crestfallen, but he just nodded.
'Okay.'
The rest of the photoshoot passed without incident. Nicholas had arrived on set to personally make sure the outfits were okay, so Harua doesn't have to embarrass himself a second time.
Harua ended up getting so focused on the rest of the photoshoot that he didn't even realize the hour had passed until the photographer clapped loudly and said, 'That's a wrap.'
The remaining crew in the studio clapped and Harua joined in a beat late, kind of surprised by how distracted he had been by the shoot.
He helped the crew tidy up and busied himself until there was nothing left for him to do.
Then he turned to the door, where Jo was waiting.
Wordlessly, he walked out and Jo followed closely behind him like a lost puppy.
'Harua–'
'Wait,' Harua said and pointed to an empty meeting room. 'Here.'
They walked in and Jo closed the door behind him. A heavy, uncomfortable silence weighed down on them as neither of them said anything.
Jo sighed. 'Can I speak now?'
'Sure.' Harua sat down on a chair and gestured for Jo to start.
'I wanted to say sorry for doing that again during the shoot. It wasn't my intention to make you feel bad, but I know it did, and I'm sorry,' Jo said. His tone was so sincere that Harua wanted to believe him and forgive everything, but he couldn't do that to himself.
'I don't get it. Did I do something wrong? Ever since the makeup incident, I felt like you were avoiding me on purpose, and I know I said it wasn't a big deal but it kind of is because why ?' Harua blurted out.
Jo shook his head. 'No. It's not your fault– well, it has to do with you, but it's not your fault exactly, and it's definitely not wrong–'
'Then what did I do?' Harua said, so exasperated he had stood up and started pacing around. 'I can't help but feel like I did something and don't tell me I didn't because if I didn't you wouldn't be so determined not to be near me–'
'Harua,' Jo said, and Harua realized in surprise that Jo was suddenly standing right in front of him. Harua stepped back slightly, but his shoe touched the wall and he realized he didn't really have anywhere to go.
'Give me your hand,' Jo said quietly. Harua, completely dumbfounded at this point, lifted up his hand.
Jo held his wrist gently and brought it up to his cheek.
Harua felt like he was about to faint.
Jo pressed Harua's hand directly against the soft skin of his cheek and looked down at the ground for just a second before mumbling, 'See? This is why I couldn't let you do my makeup or anything.'
Harua had no idea what he was talking about, so he responded with a very intelligent-sounding, 'Huh?'
Jo stepped even closer to Harua and Harua felt like he stopped breathing.
He's so close I can count his eyelashes.
'My ears,' Jo explained softly. Harua turned and looked at Jo's ears which had somehow turned a bright tomato red.
'Huh.' Harua stared.
'That's why I couldn't go near you. I don't hate you. I-I actually feel the opposite about you,' Jo said. His voice had dropped to a whisper and Harua could feel the warmth in his own cheeks that he was sure were bright red as well.
'What do you mean?' Harua whispered. He had no idea why he was whispering, but he felt like if he spoke any louder, he would break whatever was happening between them right now.
Jo looked Harua dead in the eyes with Harua's hand still pressed against his cheek.
'I like you.'
Jo kept going, either too distracted or too focused to see the way Harua's eyes had widened to the size of saucers. 'I've liked you for years. I just never wanted to ruin our friendship and I didn't want to make things awkward. I had no reason to think you would like me, and in my head, everything you did was just because you were a nice person and a good friend and not because of anything else. I tried to ignore it for so long.' He looked down for a moment as if hesitating to say what came next, but took a deep breath and looked at Harua again.
'It took me a while to realize that it was impossible to ignore you when you were all I could think about.'
With that, Harua reached his other hand up and grabbed Jo's face before placing his lips against his.
It was definitely warm seeing as the both of them were flushed bright red, but underneath that was a hint of sweetness and tenderness from Jo, as if he was scared to break Harua. His hands gently circled Harua's waist, bringing him closer into the kiss while still staying gentle and careful.
Finally, Harua pulled away after what was probably only a few seconds later but felt like a century to him.
'You're such an idiot.' were Harua's first words to Jo before he kissed him again, this time on the cheek. 'This is the stupidest misunderstanding ever. God!' he said exasperatedly as he interlocked his fingers with Jo's.
'You're saying that in the last– what, three years? How long have you liked me?' Harua asked. Jo looked up and tilted his head in thought.
'I wanna say it was from the moment we met, but I think I only really realized it when you were dating that guy in high school and I was really, really jealous for some reason.'
Harua groaned. 'This is actually the dumbest, longest misunderstanding ever. I dated that guy six years ago! That means we had since my first year of high school to do something about it and you're telling me now that we both waited until something dumb like this happened to tell each other about it?'
'You haven't,' Jo pointed out. Harua frowned in confusion.
'Haven't what?'
Jo leaned in closer to Harua, whose heart started racing again.
'You haven't told me that you like me yet,' Jo said with a small yet proud smile.
Harua felt like his face definitely was glowing neon red right now.
'I like you,' he managed before burying his face in Jo's shoulder out of embarrassment.
'I like you too,' Jo said. 'I really like you.'
'Alright! I think Euijoo and Nicho are looking for us. Let's go,' Harua said loudly, trying to cover up his sheer embarrassment. Jo chuckled and allowed himself to be dragged out of the room.
Euijoo and Nicholas were waiting on a bench not far off. Euijoo had his head on Nicholas' shoulder and seemed to be telling him something, and Nicholas was nodding seriously.
They both turned to look at Harua and Jo, who were still holding hands.
Silence descended for about a minute before Nicholas nodded sagely.
'Took you long enough.'