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"Ugh just fucken'... Choose already!"
Akumatsu repeatedly tapped his foot against the floor out of restlessness. With his arms crossed, he impatiently waited for you to choose an ice cream flavor.
"Don't rush me. The last flavor we bought was terrible."
"Y/n it's fuckin' two in the morning."
You rolled your eyes. Yes, there are probably dark circles around them. "If you're just going to complain about it then maybe you should've stayed at home."
From behind the counter, the cashier tiredly watched the only two customers argue at this ungodly hour. The look on his face suggested that these two may be infamous in this store for their constant bickering. He picked up a random magazine and pretended to read it as he continued to keep an eye out for the two... Especially for the guy wearing a black hoodie. He looked like he could shoplift at any time.
"I told ya already! Either ya forget to buy my shit or ya buy the wrong shit!"
"That is exactly my reason why I'm taking my time to choose which ice cream to buy."
"Well at least I don't take fuckin'... ten minutes to decide which shit to buy!"
"Fine, then YOU choose." You laid out two small ice cream tubs of different flavors before him. Akumatsu pondered for a moment before he spoke. "Yeah uh... both of these flavors suck." A distant groaning of despair was heard from behind the cashier counter.
Eventually, the short gentle alert chime rang, signaling that the two noisy customers had finally stepped out from the door. All was calm and quiet once again inside the convenient store. Since you two had nothing to fuss about at the moment, the outside was no different. That is until he just noticed that you were carrying all the bags and you were clearly having a lot of trouble carrying them by yourself. Akumatsu stopped walking for a bit and called out to you.
"Oi."
Unaware the he was no longer walking beside you, you kept your usual pace and spoke without turning to face him.
"What?"
Akumatsu thought about his words for a moment, not wanting to sound like a "true gentleman" because he knew that you would constantly tease him about it.
"Gimme that."
He ran up to you but he still kept a short distance away from behind you.
"... Give you what?"
"... Them groceries. Your weak arms look like they could break at any moment and then... And then no one can cook for me anymore."
You chuckled for a bit before replying. "That's alright. I can probably learn how to cook with my legs."
Akumatsu grunted irritably. He then went on insisting that he'd carry the heavy bags for you, even if you always calmly refused. Unbeknownst to him, he had caught the attention of some concerned passersby.
"Not even just half of them?"
"I told you, I'm fine."
"C'moon! Please?"
He reached for the plastic bag, thinking that if he would just take it, you can no longer refuse his help. If you were to try and take it back, he'd just have to dash towards the apartment. But before he could even get close to the bag, his hand was swatted away. He was caught by surprise. He was caught by an even bigger surprise when he realized that the hand that smacked his own was not yours.
"Hey you! Leave her alone!"
Akumatsu was stunned for a moment before he began to register what exactly was happening. Two strangers, presumably a couple, had approached the two of you and began to rebuke and berate Akumatsu for "bothering" you.
"If you don't stop harassing her now, I will have to call the police," threatened one of the concerned strangers. Akumatsu's eye twitched. The other one walked towards you and asked, "Are you alright, miss?"
You couldn't believe what was happening.
"He almost stole your stuff for a second there."
You had to laugh. The whole situation was just too funny for you. Akumatsu remained irate. Confused expressions formed on the strangers' faces.
"Actually... These are his stuff too." You flashed a smile at Akumatsu.
"I know him, don't worry. He's with me."
Embarrassed from the misunderstanding, the two strangers apologized profusely. You reassured them that it's quite alright and thanked them for worrying about you. Akumatsu however..
"You should be ashamed of yourselves!" He pointed an accusational finger at the couple. "Assuming that I'm a thief... Tch. Ya'll shouldn't quickly jump into conclusions without-- Hey! I'm not done with them yet!"
You cut his scolding short by pushing him towards the direction of your home. You thanked the couple once again.
"We're really sorry! He kind of... L-looks like a criminal with those clothes." That stranger's words had left a sharp pang on Akumatsu's chest. Eventually, you gave him half of the bags for him to carry. With your eyes glued to the ground, you began to speak.
"Well uh... That was... an interesting experience."
You took a quick side glance only to see his expression unreadable instead of his usual grumpy look or his occasional devilish smirk. Not a single reply was heard from him. You decided to just end the conversation there.
The walk back home grew silent.
You set your share of the plastic bags down on the floor and fished for your keys. Yawning, you took your time to find the right one before inserting it into the keyhole and opening the door. Normally, Akumastu would tell you to hurry up so he could finally plop himself on the couch and go to sleep. Right now, his silence was deafening you, telling you that something was up. He patiently waited for you to open the door instead of taking the key from your hands and unlocking the door himself like what he always did. Once you both entered your home, you immediately put away each grocery item, starting with the chocolate-flavored ice cream. Meanwhile, Akumatsu made his way on the couch. That was, by far, the only typical thing he did. You caught a glimpse of him faced down on the living room sofa. He was constantly tossing and turning and this had slightly alarmed you. That lazy butt usually laid motionless on the couch.
After putting away everything, you ultimately gathered the courage to ask him what's been plaguing in his mind... Though you already had an idea of what it might be.
You just needed to make sure that he's really awake.
"Hey..."
He tiredly groaned in reply.
"Oh good, he's awake," you thought to yourself. It would be humiliating to find out that you were having a one-sided conversation with a snoozing couch potato. Before you could even open your mouth, he carefully sat up and asked you with a husky voice.
"Why aren'tchu asleep yet..?" You began to ask yourself the same thing but you shook your head and focused on the problem at hand.
"Never mind that. Are you okay?"
Slightly taken aback by your question, he answered hesitantly. "... Yeah. I'm fine."
You tilted your head a bit and raised your brow. The way you crossed your arms showed him just how skeptical you were about his claims.
"I'm fuckin' serious. I really am okay."
"Was it.. Because of what happened earlier?"
He froze for a moment, until his shocked demeanor was replaced into that of in denial.
"Whaat? Psh nah..," he drawled while looking away.
"Then you won't feel bad if I tell you that you undeniably look like a criminal?"
Frowning a little, he whipped his head back to face you. You could've sworn you could see the pain in his eyes.
"Do I really look like one?" "... To be honest umm.. Kind of..?" He looked down on his lap, clenching his fist. He raised his head again to look at you with resentful eyes.
"What? Do I have to dress differently now??" Softly, you gazed back at him and quietly spoke back.
"Oh Aku," he blushed at the nickname. "You're literally... The coolest guy I know." Your flattering words had rendered him speechless, but in a good way. "I... I actually like your style. It's so.. Bad-ass and I love it."
Akumatsu had to look away to hide his reddened face. This was useless however, as you could still see that his ears had turned pink.
"Please.. Don't you ever change."
All he could muster was an "Okay."
"Keep that breathless charm.."
"Yeah okay I get it-"
"Won't you please arrange it?"
"Okaaay! Goodnight Y/n!"
You chortled as soon as he got the song reference and left to go to your room, muttering the last line of the lyrics.
"'Cause I love you.. Just the way you look tonight."