To fall in love with someone is to let the feeling flood under your skin before realizing its presence.
You’ve been together for two months now, but your relationship threads way, way back before he confesses to you that day in front of your house where he drops you off. It was a risky act for him to do, considering the fact that your friendship with him has been going on strong since your high school years—had you chose to reject him that day, the two of you would’ve lost something platonically beautiful going on, but thankfully he gained something even more beautiful.
Ruby eyes examine your form sitting in front of him across the quaint table for two. A steaming hot cup of tea is conveniently placed at your right-hand side, and he can faintly see hot vapor swirling out of the cup. Has it really gotten colder? You, on the other hand, are comfortably silent as you slice a piece of the shortcake he ordered for you, bringing the sweet to your mouth with a fork. He smiles as you munch—you really look cute like that.
“How do you like it?” He inquires, resting his chin on a hand while his other brings his own cup of latte to his lips. He still watches as he tips his head back slightly to drink, observing how your eyebrows scrunch up at the first taste. A second later, however, your eyes appear as if they’re twinkling and a smile slowly enters your face. When you look at him, he cocks a brow, a silent demand for an answer.
“It’s delicious,” you whisper, and a swell of happiness fills Akashi’s chest. It’s stupid, really—he shouldn’t be happy because it wasn’t him who made the cake, he merely suggested it… but as illogical as it is, Akashi welcomes the surge of joy (and a hint of pride) when he looks at you dig back in, cutting up the slice of cake into smaller pieces.
What he doesn’t expect is you holding up a fork with said cake at the pointy end in front of his face, dangerously close to his lips. You’re taking the effort to lean a bit forward to offer the cake—Akashi vaguely registers the brush of your knees against his. There’s something about the café’s atmosphere that makes the two of you feel a lot more intimate, despite sitting right next to a floor-to-ceiling window which allows bypassers to conveniently see what’s going on inside and vice-versa.
Akashi sends you a look that you interpreted as scolding, but not of the serious nature, but nevertheless, he leans forward to capture the cake on your fork into his mouth, all the while retaining eye contact with you. You blush a little bit because it feels different every time you feed Akashi something, and the fact that he was looking at you like that also sends a chill up your spine. He’s always teasing you like that.
“Somehow it’s better than the last time I tried it,” Akashi comments as he reaches out to take your hand in his, “maybe because you’re the one that fed me the cake.”
You try your best to stifle an embarrassed laugh by chewing your bottom lip, but a shy glance at Akashi is enough to bring your efforts useless. You let out a chuckle and play with his fingers that reached out to you on the table, your thumb drawing abstract patterns on the back of his hand. He returns with a chuckle of his own before quietly observing you again as the air around you turn into more of a resolute kind of silent. It’s not awkward, but there’s a certain amount of seriousness in his gaze that makes you feel like it.
“Thank you for coming today,” he says, soft enough just for the two of you, “I really appreciate it.”
“Please don’t thank me. If anything, I should be the one thanking you,” you reply, holding his hand a little tighter now. “I also thought it was a good idea to tell her…”
An hour ago, you were placing a bouquet of beautiful, fragrant flowers in front of the tombstone of Akashi’s mother, the two of you standing alone in silence as the wind run through yellow leaves. A cemetery certainly isn’t an ideal place for an eighth date, according to most people, but you’ve known Akashi for far too long and you understand him on a level that most people don’t. The redhead is silently thankful for that.
“Yes,” Akashi says, “we were too busy the past few months to visit, after all.”
“I’m glad you brought me there, Sei.”
He smiles in return, looking at your two hands linked together.
To fall in love with someone is to let the feeling flood under your skin before realizing its presence. In other’s eyes, Akashi is ever-precise and calculative, and they like to assume it applies to his love life as well. It’s not incorrect, but it’s also not necessarily true. After all, he didn’t plan on falling in love with you two and a half years ago, because at that time the feeling hit him like a truck. All of a sudden he lost a great amount of good night’s sleep staying awake thinking of you.
When he knows of your reciprocative feelings for him, only then he asked you out. You told him it took him a damn long time. He told you he wanted to be sure. The two of you kissed.
Although he has now fully accepted the fact that he loves you, he has never said those words to you before, neither have you to him. But today, when the two of you were standing side by side in front of his mother’s grave, he knows you know. More importantly, he knows that you feel the same—not just on a “like” level, but as far deep as he is. He knows you love him. That’s not enough for Akashi, however, so he pulls his hand away from yours, only to caress your cheek.
He brushes a strand of hair away from your face to stare right into your eyes. Your fork is forgotten, idly lying at the rim of the pristine white plate.
“I love you,” he says.
Two seconds pass by before you smile at him.
“I know.”
A question lingers in his eyes—at that moment, the confidence in him is completely shattered: what if you don’t love him back? but you don’t give room for his self-doubt as you reply.
“I love you too.”
He smiles. You probably didn’t catch him releasing a relieved exhale.
You tilt your head slightly, urging his hand to touch you more. His fingertips are warm against your cool skin. You always like it when he does this. Akashi brushes his fingers against the back of your ear, his palm cupping your jaw as if he were scratching a pet cat. You sure respond like one, he muses. Akashi wants to say that he’s been in love with you for two years and six months to date, but he has a feeling you already know.
“Can I kiss you?” He asks, gaze drifting downwards to your inviting lips.
Sudden shyness overcomes you as you avert your gaze, your hands flying up to cover the bottom half of your face. Akashi’s shoulders are moving slightly; he’s quietly laughing with amusement at your display of embarrassment.
“But… we’re right next to the window… a lot of people are passing by and they can see.”
Akashi smirks, using the hand on your face to keep you still as he leans dangerously close to your face, his head slightly tilted. Again, he steals a glance of your lips.
“I don’t care,” he states, and his breath against your skin causes you to shudder slightly. His eyes twinkle at your utterly adorable reaction, but he is not so cruel as to tease you again.
You look up at him, still shy like you always become when he makes such advancements in public. His knees brush against yours under the wooden table as he captures your lips between his in a slow, languid kiss, like the small steady fire burning inside his gut. Your eyelids flutter when he takes his time sucking on your bottom lip, before finally releasing it with a rather inappropriate wet sound, but he doesn’t waste his time in diving back for another kiss.
When he does pull away, half-lidded eyes examining how flushed your face is, he whispers against your ear.
“Stay at my place tonight.” He needs to properly declare his love to you. You blush and nod.
What a paradox. During the season of falling leaves, Akashi finds his feelings for you blooming, reborn a hundred times more powerful than when it first hit him. If he looks closer into your eyes, he’ll find that the sentiment is returned whole-heartedly.
I have this as the beginning of them becoming a s/o, hope you enjoy! – Admin Jade
There he was again, Akashi Seijuro, or as they commonly referred to him in their own mind: the beautiful man with red eyes. They’d never seen eyes of that color on anyone else. It reminded them of chrysanthemums, hints of gold showing in certain lighting. As he moved through the shop, ease in his step, they watched from behind a bunch of daisies, unable to tear their gaze from his form. He was wearing a grey suit, it’s lines sharp enough to cut paper they were sure, with a black tie fixed perfectly by a gorgeous ruby tie pin.
“Good afternoon, ______” his deep smooth voice offered, light smile on his lips.
They started, worried he’d caught them staring, but if he had he made no mention of it.
“Go…good afternoon, Akashi-san,” they managed, heart rate speeding up as those crimson irises settled on their face.
“I was hoping you could help me,” he continued, never breaking eye contact.
They swallowed, hoping the little moisture left in their throat would be enough to help them form words adequately. “Yes?” Good, no stuttering and their voice didn’t crack.
“You see…today is a very important day. Today is the day I’m going to tell someone how I feel about them and I’m sure you can provide excellent assistance.”
They were sure the color was draining from their face if the settling cold was anything to go by; but should they really be surprised? Akashi-san could have anyone he wanted. He was rich, powerful, gorgeous; but that wasn’t all they liked about him.
The first time he’d been to their shop, he’d asked for flowers for his mother’s grave. The way he looked, the depth of love still there, was tragically beautiful.
The second had been to order flower arrangements for an event as his company, purchasing vases as well. They’d heard later everyone loved the flowers and the fact they could take them home at the end of the evening.
On his fourth visit, he had a girl with him and they’d felt their heart sink only to rise with joy when he introduced them to her. “This is one of my greatest friends, Momoi Satsuki. She’s getting married in six months and I told her this was absolutely the place to come for flowers.”
The pink haired girl had clapped her hands enthusiastically, chirping, “Everything is so pretty! I just can’t decide! I wish Tetsu would have come with me!” From there, they’d taken over, asking for her color scheme, the size of her tables, how many bridesmaids. After talking for about an hour, Momoi had made her selections, only for Akashi-san to grab the contract and sign it himself. “Consider it a wedding gift,” he chuckled as Momoi protested him spending so much.
Yes, there was much to admire about the man before them.
They snapped back to attention when he cleared his throat, a slightly raise eyebrow all the indication he was curious as to their silence.
“Yes! Yes, of course I can help, Akashi-san. Um, what exactly were you looking for?”
He hummed, tapping his index finger against his chin. “I’d like for the bouquet to speak to them. For it to make clear all the reasons I appreciate and admire them,” he answered, looking back into their eyes.
“Right, ok….so….tell me about them! I’m sure I can find some flowers that will serve your purpose well!”
Akashi smiled, eyes soft as he considered their request and they were sure by the end of this ordeal they would need to lie down and take a couple of deep breaths. “First, they are exceedingly beautiful,” he supplied.
“Amaryllis,” they murmured, picking two from the display.
“They’re a very happy person.”
“Definitely gerbera,” and in went two more flowers. They paused then asked, “You said you wanted to convey admiration, right?” He hummed ascent. “Then you definitely need red carnations. What else?”
Akashi stared at them for a moment then answered, “They’re strong and creative and carry themselves with elegance.”
“Wow,” they breathed then refocused. “Some dahlias are perfect for that.” They considered the gathering of flowers in their grasp and said, “Ok, I think we have room for one more. Better make it a good one,” they teased, trying to lighten the load of despair in their chest.
“This one I think I can pick on my own,” he said softly, handing them two roses.
”Love! He loves this person!”
Returning behind the counter, they completed the arrangement, making sure every petal was flawless and every stem was perfectly even with the rest before securing them with green ribbon. Taking a deep breath, they walked out to where Akashi stood waiting, hands in his pockets. As the approached, they extended the bouquet, trying desperately to keep any tremor out of their voice as they said, “I hope they like these and I wish you the best of luck.”
Akashi took the bundle, but as he made way to gathering his wallet, they held up one hand. “On the house, today is a special day, after all.”
He stared at them, smiling again.
“Normally I’d protest. As an Akashi I am not accustomed to receiving charity, however, it is fitting all things considered.”
They cocked their head, confused by his words but their eyes widened to the size of saucers as he stepped closer, hands extending the bouquet back towards them. “I hope this makes perfectly clear how I feel about you.” He closed their shaking fingers around the stems, leaning forward to touch his lips to their cheek. “I’ll pick you up for dinner after you close, make sure to wear something nice, we’re going to celebrate.”
They don’t know how they didn’t manage to faint dead on the spot.
In case anyone is wondering what these flowers look like, I made this banner to share. They are in the order they were picked in the scene.
the one with the timer of your first meeting ; first encounters!
AKASHI: Akashi tended to avoid things as absurd as fate. The idea of soulmates was something that had been passed down generations and, as a slight skeptic, a concept he didn’t really believe in. The only truth he believed in was tenacity and diligence — both of which had placed him upon the throne he sat today, not luck.
All the magic that came with finding your loved one, the sparkles and butterflies people spoke so fondly of, was almost blatantly horrifying. This was perhaps the reason why Akashi never really did look down on his timer, not after he decided that he would wait until he fell in love to check. Love at first sight was blind faith and he didn’t give much thought to it.
Until you that was. Meeting you had been somewhat accidental, a bumping of shoulders as you rushed down the sidewalk. Your hair caught in the wind as you whirled around, eyes blown wide in surprise, your pretty lips parting. It was almost cinematic, that moment. “Oh God, I’m so sorry!” you gasped, stumbling over your own feet and straight into his arms. It was comical to say the least but Akashi gave it no further thought as he caught you easily, reassuring you that it was okay. “I-I—oh my God, this is embarrassing, I’m super sorry. I have to run but I’m really sorry again!”
Something in his heart kicked him, urged him to ask for your name and introduce himself to you. But, again, he figured it was just a momentary lapse in judgment. As you looked down at where your arms were joined, wrists close to each other, he, for the first time in a very long time, looked at the numbers.
00:00:00 – your eyes widened even bigger. “Um,” you started, blinking.
“Akashi,” he suddenly said, wondering what in the world pushed him to do so. “It’s—lovely to finally meet you.”
Let's Otaku About It 