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As you strolled through the street, clutching the small package to your chest, you couldn’t help but smile as you imagined giving your friend the gift you had gotten him. After asking your father and you to sit for a painting-- a study in poses, he said-- Aoi had gifted you the art, refusing to take payment for it. You had racked your brain for a way to repay him, against his insistence that there was no need, and finally stumbled across a beautiful set of wooden paint brushes that you deemed worthy of the artist. While smiling smugly down at the package, knowing he would have to accept it, you didn’t notice that you weren’t paying attention to the road until you bumped into a stranger.
The impact caused you to stumble, almost dropping the package in your arms, but before you could feel the crash of colliding with the ground, a strong hand grabbed you by the arm, just above your elbow, and stabilized you. You were mortified at your obvious lack of caution while walking and turned around sharply to face the person.
“Pardon me! I’m so sorry. I must pay closer attention as I walk; please forgive me!” you half-shouted in alarm, bowing deeply in apology and praying that the stranger was not too upset with you.
“On the contrary,” the familiar voice started, “I can’t imagine a happier surprise than the circumstances that led to my running into you, my Sweet Doll.”
You straightened up as your eyes met with the crimson eyes of your father’s close friend and observed his ever-gentle smile as he teased you, “Or should I say, with your running into me?”
You were suddenly overcome with relief-- not only was the person that you had inconvenienced not upset, but it also turned out to be Professor Yakumo, whose presence had always been a comforting one since you were a little girl. At least, that was how it used to be. Recently, the way he always seemed genuinely happy to see you would trigger a nervous fluttering in your stomach. While you always held a gentle respect and admiration for the man, you had more recently begun to develop a sense of overwhelming delight in hearing him call you by his favorite nickname for you.
Ignoring the increased pace of your heartbeat, you gave him a smile in return and greeted him cheerfully.
“Are you out performing a delivery for your father, my Doll? Nothing would make me happier than to have the opportunity to escort you in my carriage.”
You smiled genuinely at his kindness. Regardless of your confusing feelings for the man, he truly was the kindest man that you had the pleasure of knowing.
“Not today, Professor. I’m actually dropping off a present for my friend at the Raccord Milk Hall.” You didn't miss the way his smiled widened slightly. You overheard him mention to your father how glad he was that you had recently seemed to be surrounded by good friends, citing that he didn’t want you to miss out on making important memories in your youth. The fact that he cared so deeply about your happiness only helped to further your admiration of him. “You see, my friend recently painted a portrait of Father and I, and I wanted to repay his kindness.” You gestured to the package in your arms and he was pleased by your declaration.
“Then it is an even greater coincidence that we are on our way to the bookstore next door to the Milk Hall. Please allow me the honour of accompanying you there.”
He offered you his elbow and you took it as he walked you to the carriage. You tried to suppress the butterflies that seemed to flutter at the thought of riding with him. It was far from the first time that you would be riding alone with the man, having often been offered rides to and from school. However, that had been before you began to notice the change in your feelings for the esteemed professor. You graciously, if not shyly, accepted his hand as he helped you into the carriage before it registered in your head that he had said “we” and not “I” when he mentioned the bookstore as his destination. You balked as you entered the carriage, realizing that you were not the only guest that he was accompanying.
Two beautiful young women sat on one side of the cabin together, arms linked, and looked up in curiosity upon your entrance. You took a seat across from them silently as your eyes studied the floor. You had no intention of being rude, but the surge of foreign emotions that bubbled up inside your chest confused you into a stupor. The idea of jealousy was not an unknown emotion, but the disappointment that you felt weighing on you surprised you to no end.
For a moment, you had let yourself believe that you were the only girl upon whom the professor doted so lovingly, but felt a fool when you saw the beautiful girls across from you. Of course the handsome professor was not solely smitten with a girl who was practically still a child when he could have any woman he wanted.
“Hello,” the unexpectedly kind voice broke you out of your internal debate as you met eyes with the beauty who spoke, “I am Miyami, and this is Hiyoko.” She gestured to the girl sitting in front of you who beamed at you with a mischievous look in her eye. Miyami smiled warmly and continued, “I haven’t seen you at the university before; are you coming with us to return some books?”
Before you could answer, the professor finished speaking with the driver and gracefully climbed into the carriage, taking the remaining seat beside you.
“I wasn’t aware that anyone else would be joining us, professor. Won’t you introduce us to your friend?” The girl sitting across from you -Hiyoko- smiled teasingly in your direction as she asked her question. You willed yourself to smile in return, but you knew it must look forced. The situation was making you uncomfortable, if only because you didn’t have the privacy to decode the different thoughts swimming around in your head.
You couldn't help but admire the beauty of the girls in front of you: one with a lively disposition of and the other radiating kindness. You tucked a loose strand of hair behind your ear, suddenly feeling self-conscious of yourself.
“Ladies, allow me to introduce you to L/N F/N.” You felt your chest tighten minutely at the introduction. Something about hearing his voice say your name, rather than the nickname he always used with you, made you feel oddly distant from the man who was sitting mere inches away from you. However, this feeling was quickly swept away by a burning heat in your cheeks at the girls’ responses.
“Professor!” Hiyoko gasped excitedly, raising her hand to cover her smirk as she glanced between the two of you. Her friend continued, “I had thought you surely exaggerated her beauty when you spoke of her. But I can clearly see that is not the case.” Your cheeks burned impossibly warmer at the compliment and the insinuation that he had spoken of you often enough for the young women to know you by name alone.
“How fortunate of us to get to meet the girl with whom the professor is so smitten.” Hiyoko continued in a teasing tone, oblivious to your ever-growing blush. Glancing to the man at your side, you found him gently smiling down at you.
“Excuse my students, Doll, it seems they have not yet learned the art of subtlety.” He chuckled pointedly as he glanced at the girl in front of you who seemed unperturbed. So these girls were his students. If you hadn’t been so dejected at the thought of him pursuing the girls in front of you, you might have noticed the western history book sitting in Miyami’s lap-- the very subject that he taught at the university.
“How lucky you are to have such a charming man as the professor pursuing your heart. I must say I almost prefer listening to him talk about you than about the western countries.”
“Hiyoko, I would wish that you don’t embarrass L/N with your exaggeration.” The professor cut the girl’s joking off with a laugh of his own. “She will think that I am incompentent a professor if she believes she is the only subject of which I discuss with my students.” Your heart lightened at the soft laughter that seemed to fill the cabin and willed your blush to cool as you spoke.
“I do not mind much if you should speak of me to your students.” You said, trying to hold back the happiness threatening to burst out of your chest at the thought of him truly only having eyes for you. “But perhaps it is only fair if you also speak of your students to me, so that I may be on an even footing upon meeting them.” You looked into his eyes as you spoke the second half, giving him a smile to let him know you were only half-teasing.
“L/N is quite right, Professor. That seems only fair that you also speak of Hiyoko and I to L/N.”
“Indeed,” Hiyoko agreed with a laugh. “I am wounded that you do not speak of us. Though, I cannot blame you much, I suppose, since lovers have much more interesting things to talk about.”
The girl’s words and exaggerated wink stopped your heart for a split second as you registered what she had said. The blush that had previously begun to reside returned in full force, painting your entire face a shade of red as you stuttered, “L-l-l-lovers? No, the professor and I- we’re not- er-”
Your eyes searched for his in a panic as you wondered what he had possibly been telling his students. However, ever the gentleman, the professor kindly dismissed the notion.
“Ladies, please do not offend Y/N with your assumptions.” He glanced down at you, without a hint of embarrassment in his eyes, and his gentle smile calmed your racing heart. “While it is no secret that I adore her whole-heartedly, she is still young, and has much life ahead of her to live yet before I would ask her to properly consider my feelings.” He spoke to the girls, but his eyes were locked on yours and you felt giddy at the promise in his words. He would wait for you, but he was determined to be yours, should you so choose.
You smiled shyly in return and found yourself becoming lost in his eyes, the eyes that you had spent a lifetime looking into. Eyes that congratulated you on your achievements, encouraged you in your ventures, and assured you in your convictions as you grew. The man who waited patiently and whose declarations of devotion, while oft bringing a blush to your cheeks, never made you uncomfortable. As he stared back into your eyes, the loose strand once again slipped from the cherry blossom pin holding up your hair and he reached up and grasped the strand between two fingers, gently brushing it back behind your ear.
It was not until you heard two synchronized sighs that you remembered you were not alone in the carriage and looked up to find the girls smiling longingly at the scene in front of them. You cast your gaze down to the package in your lap, fiddling with the strings with which it is secured, as the embarrassment swelled within you at having such an intimate moment be seen by near-strangers.
However, Miyami seemed to notice your discomfort and skillfully changed the topic of the conversation.
“So you never did answer my question,” She nodded to the package in my lap. “Are you also headed to the bookstore?”
“Ah, no. I’m actually delivering a gift to a friend next door.” Glancing down at the lap in front of you, you saw the book Hiyoko was holding to be a book that you had once borrowed from Ginnoji. You excitedly asked her about it and were happy as she shared her thoughts on it. You enjoyed the conversation, but could feel Yakumo’s eyes on your the whole time, wearing a smile as he watched you excitedly converse with the girl.
Before you knew it, you had arrived at your destination and the professor helped the girls out of the carriage, offering his hand to them as they stepped out. However, when you had exited the carriage, he kept the grip on your hand and brought it to his lips. You blushed as he placed a soft kiss on your knuckles and glanced up at you from beneath his eyelashes.
“I apologize for my students. Believe me, I had no intention of making you uncomfortable and, while I am not reserved about my feelings for you, it is not fair to expect you to be comfortable with others discussing it as well. I will ask that they refrain from doing so in the future.” His eyes held an ounce of sadness, and any embarrassment from the ride quickly evaporated as you rushed to reassure him.
“Please, don’t apologize.” You blurted, glancing away in embarrassment before steeling yourself and looking into his eyes as you continued. “I may not know much about love, but I do know that you have always been kind to me. I have never be embarrassed by your transparency and your students are very kind. I was simply surprised to find,” you suddenly trained your eyes on the ground, no longer able to face him as you continued with your admission, “That it was not simply out of kindness for your friend’s daughter that you’ve always doted on me, but out of a genuine affection.”
You felt shame tint your cheeks as you admitted that you had always thought his words to be a jest, but his light chuckle grabbed your attention and you trained your eyes on his smiling ones.
“Your candor is one of the many qualities of yours that I find myself ever moved by.” He seemed overjoyed by your admission of finally accepting his feelings to be genuine, his eyes shining with a brightness you had never seen. Suddenly, something over your shoulder caught his eye and his expression became amused.
“Now, I’m sure you must be eager to deliver that gift to your friend.” He abruptly changed the subject, releasing your hand. You let it fall to your side, tensing your fingers at the strange emptiness that came with the loss of his touch. “It was, as always, a blessing to find myself in your company today.” He bowed his head softly but found your eyes again. “However, I do have one parting request if you would be so kind as to indulge me?”
You felt your eyebrows raise in question and you tilted your head quizzically as he continued.
“When you are with me, you needn’t call me Professor.” The corners of his eyes crinkled with the strength of his smile. “There is nothing I want more than to be able to hear my given name on your lips. ”
Your heart began to beat erratically and the butterflies in your stomach returned in full force as you stuttered out a reply.
“Yes, Prof-er I mean--” You glanced away as you finally stuttered out his name in a whisper. “K-ko-Koizumi.”
You swore you heard a quiet gasp, but when you met his eyes again, his sweet smile had returned.
“Enjoy your evening, my Sweet Doll. I look forward to the next time I can be graced with your presence.”
With a final dip of his head, he turned into Ginnojo’s store. You saw the book-lender himself speaking quietly with Miyami, a blush gracing both of their faces as you turned toward Raccord’s front door only to find Oji-san out front with his pipe.
“You sure do have him wrapped around your finger,” He teased as you walked by him, feeling even the tips of your ears burning with a blush. Just as you glanced up to ask him about Aoi’s whereabouts, the boy in question descended the stairs and glanced up at you.
You hoped against hope that presenting the gift to the boy in front of you would distract him from your current abashed state, but even without using his powers, he couldn’t ignore the color that dusted your cheeks.
“Why the hell is your face so red? Do you have a fever?” Ever the mother hen, Aoi huffed in exasperation as he grabbed a glass from behind the bar and filled it with water. “Why would you come all this way if you’re not feeling well?” He sat it down in front of you and placed the back of his hand to your head before putting his hand on his hip. “What’s going on?”
You ignored the soft snicker behind you of Oji-san trying to hold in his laughter and focused on the task at hand, holding his gift out to him, vowing to let yourself think about the events of the day once you’re home in bed where no one can see your blush.