Work Text:
"Akira?"
Hearing her call, he stopped walking. Kichijoji was a lively place, and all the noise would make it difficult to hear her question. His head turned to face her, striking red hair always catching his attention, partly because he happened to be taller than her. Prying his eyes away from it, he looked into her eyes, then her cheeks.
Red. Just like everything else about her.
"Yeah?"
She hadn't begun, but his grin never left his face as she fidgeted and attempted to find her words. He couldn't help it around her, really. When he had gotten home from their first date, he had to rub his aching face for 10 minutes— unused to smiling for such a prolonged period of time.
She genuinely made him happy. He could only hope he did the same.
"U-um..."
She unconsciously squeezed his hand tighter, looking away.
"If... If it's alright with you, let's go to your room today, ok?"
My room, hm? We've only been there twice before... I wonder what she wants. I'm gonna have fun with this first, of course.
He teasingly raised a brow she couldn't see, but his tone of voice let her know he was doing it again.
"Oh? What do you have in mind?~"
The speed in which her face reddened was definitely going into his mental top 5 list of her fastest blushes.
"No! I, um, I mean, I know it sounds- I just, can we?!"
Sumire had a habit of tripping over her words when she was flustered, which fortunately for the 2nd year (and unfortunately for her) was fairly often.
"Yeah, of course. Be prepared though, Boss is definitely gonna poke fun at us again."
She groaned, covering her face. Her glasses smashed a bit against her nose, and in surprise she let go and they fell towards the floor. Akira caught it, and gently put it back on her face, never letting go of her hand.
She blinked twice.
"How... do you do things like that?"
Resuming their walk towards the station, he stayed quiet for a moment, considering his answer. He settled on a simple one.
"I make coffee. Takes skill, surprisingly."
"Well, you took a surprisingly long time to answer."
"There's some things you're better off not knowing, Sumi."
She smiled at the nickname as they approached the staircase.
----------
Settling into a comfortable spot right next to him on his attic couch, Sumire's knuckles rested on her legs, the limbs in question stood perfectly still against the slight tremble of her hands.
With Morgana out for the day (he owed Ann for that), Akira didn't worry about anyone bothering them, patiently waiting for her to begin. He took this opportunity to really gaze at her, and remember all they'd been through. Of course, their fight wasn't over yet, and she had yet to evolve her persona as all his friends did, but she'd get there.
She was his girlfriend, but most importantly, she was his partner, and he'd do anything to ensure she had a tomorrow she was in control of to wake up to.
"A-Akira..."
He perked up, eyes drifting to meet hers, her crimson jewels hidden behind the frames of her lens that matched his perfectly.
God, she's beautiful.
"I know this is going to sound terrible of me to ask, especially after all this time, but I keep thinking about it, and I can't get it out of my head."
She shifted herself to face him entirely, her body fully turned to the left. Sumire struggled with herself, trying to get the words out, and with one last choke she let her heart free.
"D-do... Do you love me?"
It was Akira's turn to blink.
"Without question."
A slight quiver in her voice could be heard now.
"N-no... I mean, do you love me?"
Oh.
She pulled her ribbon out of her coat and took off her glasses, effortlessly tying up her hair with muscle memory alone.
She looked exactly like her now.
He clenched his fist a bit.
"I want to know... Do you really love me? Or do you feel obligated to be with me because you loved my sister?"
His lip was being bitten.
"You've known Kasumi for months, but it only takes weeks for her to get someone to trust her completely... Believe me when I say I understand better than anybody how easy it is to fall in love with her. Everyone's been doing it for my entire life."
She wavered.
"S-so... I promise, I won't get mad if you've b-been looking for a way out of this relationship because you were here for someone else and felt pressured when I confessed, and n-now you're stuck with me."
Sumire looked at her hands through blurring vision. She didn't want to guilt him into saying something he didn't mean just to make her feel better, but her tears fell regardless. Her darker thoughts became to swarm her mind, always lurking, always watching. She always had to prepare for the worst in life, that was just how it was for her.
Akira did not expect this at all, but he had an answer.
"Sumire..."
She wiped her face, avoiding his gaze.
"Honestly, I did. It's as you say, it's hard not to. But when I think of her, I don't feel that way anymore."
His hand rose to his chest.
"When I think of someone that I want to spend time with, I think of you. Not Kasumi. It might be hard to believe up front, but..."
He took her hands in his, and gave her a look she hadn't received since her sister's passing:
A smile with nothing but love behind it.
"You've always been the one I wanted, from the moment I held you in that palace. I could've just let you go back to thinking you were her, but after I saw you, that changed. I wasn't fighting to save Kasumi, I was fighting to save Sumire. And guess who's hands I'm holding right now?"
For emphasis, he squeezed them, and despite her earlier turmoil she giggled softly.
"Gosh, I'm so sorry for that. I'm really-"
"No need, honestly. You had a concern, and felt it important to address it, and it was. That's how this partnership of ours works, we both need to be on the same page."
Her chest felt so light after all of that, a rush of energy coursed through her being. Before she could say anything back to that, she suddenly became aware of how close they were to each other.
"O-oh!"
Her cheeks grew warm, and while she was distracted Akira undid her ribbon with one hand, letting her hair flow freely again. He grabbed her glasses from the side of the couch, and for a second time today put them back on.
"There's my Sumi~"
Furiously blushing at the fluctuation of his voice, she tried to look anywhere else but directly at him.
"C'mooon, look at meeeee~"
"I-I would but, it's hard when you're so..."
"Close?"
She hastily nodded twice at his question.
"I have an idea."
Letting go of her and standing up, he brought the chair he used to reach the ceiling beam over by his bed, setting it up in front of her. Sumire smiled at... whatever he was doing, she wasn't sure yet.
"Is this part of your scheme?"
He feigned injury, dramatically putting a hand to his chest.
"Me? Scheming?! You wound me, love."
The pet name made gripped her chest, and as much as she wanted to react, she wasn't going to fold so easily this time. Whatever he's planning, she wanted to show Akira that she can be just as steadfast as him.
He sat down on the chair, and stared directly at her, their faces around 106 centimeters apart.
10 seconds passed. She furrowed her brow slightly. Akira was internally crying at how she could be both adorable and gorgeous all at once, but his face bore no emotion other than his very slight smile.
20 seconds. Sumire didn't break eye contact, but she felt herself beginning to feel embarrassed.
"Is.. this part of the idea?"
"It IS the idea."
"...How so?"
Another 10 seconds. 5 more in addition to those go by before he answers.
"Practicing."
She understood what he meant then, and this realization came forth a wave of self consciousness.
Sumire looked down at her legs now, unable to keep staring.
"Ah, I can't-"
She was interrupted by his lips meeting her cheek, and the action got her heart racing a mile a minute. Her blush was akin to a tomato now, and she hadn't felt this warm since their first kiss, despite this one being significantly less intimate.
"AKIRA!"
He flashed a mischievous smile at her, and by this point she was slumped over on the couch, hands buried in her face, overwhelmed with emotion.
Her hands covering her face did nothing to hide her wide smile, as much as she surprised to suppress it.
"Looks like we'll have to try again another day, huh?"