[Love Live!] Nishikino Maki x Male Reader

Chapter 39: Proposal - part 2

I knelt down and pulled out the ring case, "Maki..."

Maki managed a smile, "Y-Yes...?"

I looked into the case, "M-Maki-chan, it's not in here."

"Huh? What's not there?" Maki reached her toes to the ground, her smile faded into a frown.

"Th-The ring! It's not in here!" I exclaimed showing her the case, which was empty.

"Huh? What is this? Are you telling me that you want to propose to me, but you haven't got the ring?" She scowled at me defiantly.

"I-I must've left it in the apartment," I patted my occiput and smiled nervously.

"What's up with that? Is this supposed to be some kind of joke?" Maki protested.

"C-Calm down, Maki-chan..." I turned my smile into a frown. "Look, I'll just go get it from the apartment and-"

"No..." a shadow appeared over her head.

"Wh-What?" I got up to level her face and touched her chin, "Maki-chan, don't get mad, oka-"

She moved her head as to remove my hand from her chin.

I shoved the case into the pocket and grabbed her arm, "Come on, let's head to the car."

...

"Hmph, this was supposed to be a very special moment for the both of us, and YOU had to ruin it in the worst way possible!" Maki exclaimed as she entered the car and closed the car door.

"That's a little harsh don't you think?" I smiled wryly.

"Hmph!"

I wasn't driving back to my apartment, rather I drove to a hill in which Maki and I shared, well, most of our special moments in Japan. We got out of the car and I walked up the hill.

"What are we doing here?" Maki asked.

"I just forgot something here yesterday." I turned and see Maki walking up the hill, catching up to me.

"The ring's in the apartment isn't it? What could you have possibly forgotten?" Maki kept asking me as I looked around the hill for my 'lost item'.

Maki helped looking for my guitar plectrum, "Ugh, I don't think we can find it!"

"But we have to! Diane gave that to me along with the guitar strings for my graduation," Maki and I faced each other.

"Ah, geez! Why did you have to do this!?" Maki scowled at me.

"Hey," I grabbed her shoulders, she looks so disappointed I almost burst out laughing. "Maki-chan..."

I pulled out the actual ring case. The full moon was so bright I didn't need any other source of light to make it more romantic. My face was 30cm away from hers, she looked completely surprised. Her cheeks were red in the moonlight, mine were probably the same as hers.

I opened the case and showed her the silver ring with an amethyst inside the case.

"Maki-chan, you complete me in every way. I want to share every moment of my life with you, I will take care of you and I will never make you cry."

Tears appeared in her eyes, like she dreamt of this moment her whole life.

"I promise to never leave you alone, I promise to be with you for life. Will you, Nishikino Maki..." I knelt down to the ground and presented the ring so she could see it clearly. "Will you marry me?"

Maki opened her mouth and hesitated for a second, she went to reach for the ring and stopped herself. "Y-Yes..."

"Serious?" I asked ecstatically. 

Maki nodded and wiped a tear off her eye and smiled.

I got up enthusiastically and pulled out the ring and attempted to fit it into Maki's ring finger, surprisingly enough, it fitted perfectly.

Maki held out her hand and looked at the ring intently, "It's so pretty~"

My body was feeling fuzzy, like it could collapse at a moment's notice, I grabbed her hand and closed in for a kiss.

You could call it the best kiss I've ever had, and I've kissed Maki more than twenty times in the years we were dating, but this was different in a sense of setting, atmosphere and feeling.

...

We went back to my apartment and I smiled so much my cheeks were burning.

"Wait, so the ring case that didn't have the ring...? What was that about?" Maki asked on the couch.

"Oh, I knew you would say something like you knew it was coming. So I had to spice it up a bit," I snickered. "Got you good, didn't I?"

No response, I turned to Maki.

"You...!" Maki stopped herself from getting mad, "idiot..." she gave me a satisfied smile.