Chapter 15

It was only once they had finally finished their individual cigarettes, Henry and Joshua noticed that they were already a couple minutes late. If the two hadn't been so accustomed to press conferences they might have panicked, however after a split second, both simultaneously remembered this was a split-second decision and would mean not all of the news companies will have arrived yet. Even once they all do, it would still take a few minutes to for everything to settle.

That all being said, Joshua also did not want to think about the evil eye his mother would direct at him for being so uncharacteristically late.

"We should head back before they start to worry about us."

Henry hummed in agreement, nodding slightly. He had just been thinking about putting out the cigarette. However the ring on his finger had distracted him – was he really about to go through with all this? He still could not quite believe it.

The older man noticed that Henry was acting a little strange as he pressed his own cigarette onto the ashtray on top of the rubbish bin they had found themselves next to. While he may not have known the pretty man long, he had gotten a relatively good grasp on what type of person he was.

Zoning out like this just didn't seem quite right.

Before he could even think about bring it up, Henry suddenly felt a dull burning on his thumb, the intensity suddenly increasing. With a yelp, he dropped the cigarette butt, which had burnt for far too long.

A sudden urge of unwarranted overprotectiveness hit Joshua as he watched the entire scene play out. Within a fraction of a second, he had stamped out the lit cigarette and grabbed Henry's wrist, inspecting his fingertips. He only needed a glance to take note of almost every detail thanks to his powerful photographic memory. His head turned to see Henry's face still in a grimace, making his face look almost a little pitiful.

Joshua could neither explain the overwhelming need to help nor could he bring himself to think too deeply about it, for his own sanity's sake.

"We need to run it under water." With that simple announcement, a serious expression on his face, he dragged Henry into the company building, ignoring his protests and insistent claims that the burn did not hurt.

Henry found himself embarrassed as he was dragged away like a child, feeling his face heating up a little. He felt a little embarrassed. Of course the burn did sting, he had endured it a little too long before letting go, however he hadn't expected the other man to suddenly grab him like that, let alone pull him in tow. Everything had happened so quickly, the whole situation muddled in his head as the thought about it; the only thing he could say for certain was that he felt incredibly embarrassed.

Unbeknownst to him, or any onlookers, was that Joshua had started to find himself quite embarrassed too. What on earth had he been thinking, just grabbing someone like that? And treating them like some child? Worse than all that, he kept finding his mind going back to the image of Henry's hands.

They were innocent thoughts, it was because, besides the reddened, burn area and ash, he had noticed all the little papercuts, scars and callouses on the younger man's hands – he couldn't help but admire the clear signs of his hardworking nature. However, with how much his mind was dwelling on it, he could not help but feel his thought process was somewhat abnormal.

While the two entered the closest bathroom, Joshua, despite all thoughts, shoving Henry's thumb under the faucet, insisting that they had to leave the burn running under cold water for at least 10 minutes, slight chaos had ensued outside.

The two had been so absent minded that they had not realised that their entire scene had been captured in pictures from one of the inquisitive press photographers. All eyes had already been on the unlikely duo, especially once realising the two were smoking. A particularly bold photographer had started snapping pictures in the case of a scandal, the images would have gotten him a good price.

No had foreseen that Joshua Lore would suddenly grab the second Reyes's son and drag him off. The camera had also captured the worry on the older man along with the budding blush on the younger man's features. Any picture of the two would be one to see, however these small details had not only given the picture more depth, but also did the same for the buzz around the press.

Word quickly spread between the companies, there was something between the two families' second sons – no one dared to hazard a guess at what it was, however it made everyone wonder the same thing: what was this sudden press conference about?

By the time two the two met up with their families outside the door of the foyer, they were more than a quarter hour late. However, unlike they had been anticipating, they were no met with even one disapproving glance.

And why would they have?

While no one, not even the PA's, knew what the two had done, the eager chatters and excitement that had slowly built spoke for itself. If their lateness aided the ease of the situation, they had no reason to be angry. They had even less reason to be angry if it also included some sort of cute interaction between the 'couple'.

No words had to be spoken, Hanna and John walking into the foyer with Caroline and Marcus only a step behind so they could fit through the door. Meera, Samuel and Archer filed in next, Joshua and Henry entering last. Ramy and Haerin also followed, however the two stopped at the steps that lead up to the temporary stage.

All eyes were now on the two beautiful families, even if they hadn't been the ones to call the press conference it would have been the same. The image of so many beauties together was almost blinding, even the photographers were so stunned they forgot to take pictures until a few seconds had passed.

The two set of parents had thoroughly discussed the proceedings despite having divvied the jobs between their heirs and PA, all four recognised their sons were still unexperienced. This lead to them taking over a few more details for the press conference than they would usually be used to; they had also loaded a lot onto their PA's, it was not fair to ask of them a whole set up press conference while also gathering the required papers and items needed for everything to run smoothly.

With the fluidity they spoke with, however, no one would have ever been able to tell they had only thought to plan details less than an hour ago.

The presidents of the two companies spoke in turn, welcoming everyone, revealing the main topic: the merger, as well as some information on what exactly the merger would entail.

The spotlight was then passed over to the heirs and Meera. Since they only had about five minutes to look at the rough layout their parent had provided, their flow was less polished over, with bits of overlapping and interrupting. However, the three were still experienced enough in press conferences to keep things professional.

Meanwhile, the two stars of the show had gotten lost in their own thoughts, barely even listening anymore – the two had never been required to confront the press for anything. They had both looked at the outline, Joshua barely glancing and Henry only needing a speed read, they knew the order of things, but if it hadn't been for how beautiful their faces were, people would have easily noticed how bored they were.

In fact, while everyone was respectfully listening to the usual faces of the two companies, their attention would occasionally drift to the two aloof men sitting on the end together. Slowly, excitement was bubbling within the hearts of not just the crowd but also those who were watching the live broadcast across several social media platforms, news stations and internet. Clearly the presence of the younger sons was significant seeing as they had always been kept out of the limelight, but since they were announcing a merger, what could their relevance be.

A few sharp eyes had already noticed the matching rings, only keeping silent since they dared not to say anything potentially insulting to either of the beautiful men.

"We have spent quite some time talking about our motives and the benefits of the unison between our two companies, however we have yet to explain how and why the idea had come around." Marcus said, taking over as soon as the previous trio's segment was over. Immediately, there was a noticeable shift in the room, everyone somehow 100% more attentive than they had been before.

Hanna and John shared a smile, liking the reaction so far. While they felt off about using their son to curve everyone's attention just enough for them to believe the merger had not been so last minute, they couldn't help but feel that this was playing out far better than anyone else could have expected.

Caroline was thinking something along similar lines; wondering, just what had Henry and Joshua done?

"Which bring us onto the primary goal of this interview."

At this moment, almost the entirety of Country A was hung on Marcus's every word.

"I will keep it brief myself and let the two explain themselves. However, I am proud to reveal that it is not just our companies merging but also our families."

It was so silent, one could hear a pin drop, even then not a single person would have cared, because what the man seemed to be referring to came of as essentially impossible. Even the news crews that had seen the two interact stopped in their tracks, had they heard correctly?

"The reason why we had called everyone today was to announce that our sons, Joshua and Henry, are to marry. We will let the two expand on this themselves."

People wanted to scrutinise the revelation, especially those of more conservative generations, however no one could deny the look of joy on all of the family members, excluding the main two of course. And so, all attention simultaneously directed back towards the recently revealed couple.

A look of dread and nerves had covered their features, and while unintentional, softened the hearts of the many; they were nervous about the reveal – or at least that is what they had been led to believe.

In reality, the two had been dragged back to reality by the word 'marry'. It was safe to say that both of the young men had blacklisted the word from their personal dictionaries. Henry was positive he would never be able to think of marriage without shivering again.

With all attention on them, all the two men could do was have a quick look at each other before saying word-for-word the quick overview they had discussed earlier in the office. There were, however, two main differences: Henry spoke about anything that required the word 'date' or 'marry', as to not give away the disgust they felt, and the fact that the two were uncharacteristically stumbling on their words, gaze sinking every so often.

The latter could be put down to a number of things by the general public, including the fact that the two were lying through their teeth. Despite that, not a single person watching the broadcast even suspected so, except for the few that knew the men well.

During the course of their explanation, the other five on the panel had found themselves looking between each other, not knowing what to make of the jumble of words that had unbelievably come from their ever-so-refined sons. Everything they had seen from them so far showed that the two were interested in each other, but for the first time there was a shadow of doubt in their hearts.

Could pushing them into publicising their sudden engagement have scared them more than they had let on?

Of course, their faces were clear of worry, keeping the utmost professionalism.

John quickly took over once it was clear they were not prepared to say more on their own. "As they mentioned, it was their own relationship that had brought around the idea of a merger, and after having seriously considered the possibility, we could see no better direction than to go through with it. You are now free to ask question, however in acknowledgement to how controversial our sons' relationship is, please be advised that, as usual, no forms of discriminatory comments directed at anyone will be tolerated."

While it was less obvious over the broadcast, there was a threatening tone of sorts in the man's voice – he was not advising them, he was making it clear that they should watch themselves because if anyone insulted the two younger men, they would have two of the most powerful families in Country A after them.

As was usual for both families, the reporters acted in a surprisingly civilised manner, hands raised. To the Lore's and Reyes', this was nothing out of the ordinary, however anyone else would be profoundly amazed that there was no manic shouting until one person was chosen to repeat their question seriously.

Haerin and Ramy were now standing on the top step of the stage, reading out seat numbers, signifying who was allowed to ask. And so the questions began.

"What were your initial reactions to the discovery of your son's relationship?" The first question was clearly directed to the four parents present, who each spoke in turn, keeping their answers concise with great elements of truth.

Hanna, "Happy to say the least; seeing as my eldest still has no desire to form a real relationship, it was a joyous occasion to find that my other son has found someone he thinks he can share his life with."

John, "We are just happy that our son his happy, as well as our family expanding to the Reyes."

Marcus, "We feel the same way, the most important fact was that our son had found happiness and someone to share it with. It also allowed our families to get close and realise just how great the chemistry is between all of us."

Caroline, "The other three have expressed my every feeling already. However, if your question was gearing towards how we felt finding out our sons were in a romantic relationship with another man, all I have to say is that the gender of my children's partners is of the least importance." As usual, Caroline was the bluntest of them all, calling out the heteronormative question with ease.

The extremely direct, first question had already set a mood for the remainder of the questions.