Archive of Our Own ^beta

you met sakusa’s eyes from across the room as your parents shook hands, sealing their newfound business partnership. after today, you were officially business partners, both of you were soon to become the owners of the highly regarded and successful businesses your parents built for you. all the newspapers and business magazines deemed you two to be the upcoming CEOs to look out for. your parents did everything they could to prepare you for the position ever since you were young and you couldn’t imagine that sakusa’s parents didn’t do the same. they didn’t want the strong foundations they laid out for you to go to waste. so when both of your parents wanted to start a partnership with each other, neither of you was surprised as you both thought it was a strong move for both companies.

but you were surprised when your parents suddenly mentioned an engagement.

you didn’t know too much about sakusa kiyoomi other than the fact that he was the stoic soon-to-be CEO of his family company called ukiyo. while your family was built and worked on the large internationally loved and known restaurant chain called serendipia, sakusa’s family ran a large chain of hotels, a chain that spanned over the entire globe. all the articles you read about his company only focused on the smart moves his parents made for his company as they continued to expand their wealth. sakusa always seemed like someone who wanted to stay out of the media’s eye, but that was what seemed to draw the media in. he was mysterious, unknown almost and they wanted whatever kind of details they could find about him.

you on the other hand were known as a big strategist for your parents and their company. you grew up in the world of business, wanting to be involved in matters ever since you were young because you were not only in love with the food your parents cooked for you but the idea of running a company you could call your own. you’d taken part in business matters ever since you were in high school and now it was no different, even if you were balancing university classes on top of it. in fact, you were the one to bring up the idea of a partnership with ukiyo, thinking it would be good for you and sakusa to be acquainted for future purposes and circumstances. it was an idea your parents loved so much that they decided you and sakusa might as well get married. it was a shock for both of you initially, the fact that you’d be marrying a complete stranger, yet you still went through with it, knowing that your parents wouldn’t drop the subject otherwise.

“an engagement?” you exclaimed, staring at your parents as they continued to eat their dinner.

“yes,” your mother nodded. “i think it’ll be a great way for you and sakusa to get to know each other.”

“isn’t that something we can do as just friends?”

“yes, but an engagement is good for the press as well,” your father added. “the more positive media attention we get, the more exposure our company gets.”

“we clearly don’t need the exposure anymore,” you mumbled.

“well it was your idea to partner up with ukiyo,” your mother answered.

“when i said a partnership, i didn’t mean an engagement!” you added annoyed. “besides what if the boy already has a girlfriend, heck what if he’s already engaged.”

“he’s not,” your mother quickly answered. “if he was his mother wouldn’t have been so ecstatic about the whole idea herself.”

“plus wouldn’t this be a great way for both of you to make future deals?” your father reasoned. “not only with each other, but with other companies?”

“it works out you know?” your mother added. “your dad and i met in the business world with our own companies after our parents set us up. and here we are, happily in love with a successful company, doesn’t that sound great?”

“i-” you sighed, knowing your parents meant well. you couldn’t disagree, this was a great business idea but you had no idea if the sakusa boy would go along with it. “it does yeah,” you sighed. “tell them i’m in,” your eyes widened. “but only if the boy’s in too!”

“he is, he is,” your mom reassured with a smile.

“you’ll thank us for this some day,” your dad added.

your focus turned back to your half eaten plate as your parents gave you bright smiles, leaving you wondering if that day would ever come. it was unconventional to marry someone you didn’t even know, but if it was for the sake of your future at the company, you thought you might as well. plus, while it wasn’t a road you wanted to take due to negative exposure, you could always divorce him if he turned out to be some power hungry, manipulative man.

so now here you were, watching your new fiancé give you an expressionless look before turning back to the happy smiles of your parents. throughout the whole meeting, he refused to make eye contact with you. contrary to the happy, cheerful demeanor you gave off, sakusa remained quiet and almost unreadable. it was almost intimidating. he only muttered straightforward one or two word answers whenever anyone tried to ask him anything while you tended to ramble about your ideas. you assumed that was just how he was, at least in meetings and maybe he was more open and friendly outside of corporate matters.

“kiyoomi dear,” sakusa’s eyes darted to his mother at the sound of his name. “you’re taking y/n out for lunch after this meeting right?”

“oh,” sakusa answered as he turned back to you. “yes, i am.”

“you guys can go ahead then,” she added. “we won’t be much longer here.”

“okay,” you answered as you slowly headed to the door. “it was great to see you all, we’ll be off,” the sound of farewells and goodbyes signaled your exit as you walked out of the room with sakusa behind you, closing the door as you both left. “finally,” you mumbled under your breath as you turned back to the boy behind you.

“it was so stuffy in there,” sakusa mumbled as he loosened his tie and turned to you with a small smile.

“glad to be out,” you sighed, shaking off the professional demeanor you had on earlier, hoping you could become more casual with him. “i didn’t know you would be taking me out for lunch.”

“sorry,” sakusa responded. “i should’ve mentioned it before.”

you shrugged. “it’s cool, besides we don’t really have each other’s contact info.”

he raised an eyebrow. “we never exchanged numbers…ever?”

you shook your head. “nope, never.”

“i swear we did” the boy mumbled as he handed you his phone.

“i know” you added typing in your number. “i swear we should’ve at one of those business galas we always have to go to.”

“then i guess i never formally introduced myself then.” he offered his hand out to you. “sakusa kiyoomi.”

you smiled, shaking his hand and stating your name, “pleasure to meet you.“

"likewise,” sakusa added. “we’ve never met before and we’re getting engaged.”

“yeah the idea was quite a shock to me too,” you laughed. “but lunch would be a good way to get to know each other.”

“yeah and to establish some ground rules,” sakusa added.

“ground rules what ground rules?”

he ignored your question as he handed you a black cloth surgical mask. “put this on.”

you blinked in confusion before taking it. “wait why?”

“you don’t want people finding out about the engagement before the partnership is announced right?” sakusa asked as he put on an identical white mask. “we can’t be seen together or else the media would get suspicious.”

“you make a good point,” you smiled at the boy before putting on the mask. “how smart of you.”

sakusa nodded in thanks before you both walked towards the side of the building, not wanting to be seen by anyone who could easily recognize you. both of you knew what it was like to dodge the media, being that your parents were both multi-million CEOs. while the media didn’t often respect it, your families liked to enjoy as much privacy as you could both get. it was almost as if you were big Hollywood celebrities with how much attention the media could give you. so, going out of side doors and special exits felt normal to you both.

“where are we going?” you asked as you both stood in the private elevator, going down to the parking garage.

“it’s a small restaurant close to where i live,” sakusa answered as both of you walked out of the elevator, heading towards your respective cars parked right next to each other. “just follow me out, i know where i’m going.”

you nodded before heading to the driver’s side and starting your engine. sakusa nodded to you before backing out and you were quick to follow his actions, tailing his car as you both headed to the restaurant. it was just as you thought, the professionalism and intimidating demeanor he put on was only for show. despite him seeming more on the quiet side, he was much nicer than you thought he’d be. you grew to hate meetings like those, especially as you hated putting on a fake smile and using a fake voice when discussing business matters, but it was inevitable, it was part of the job. you had to deal with them one way or another, besides you did much more observing than talking at this meeting and you were quick to pick up that sakusa seemed like someone who felt the same way.

but who really knew? you just met the boy today.

it wasn’t long before you arrived at the restaurant, parking a couple of spots away from him as you both walked in together, your mask now off while his continued to stay on. it was a small place like sakusa described, deeper into the neighborhoods than you expected and much farther out from the city. the restaurant was calm, a home like kind of ambiance to it as you heard the staff shouting out welcoming greetings as you both walked in, the wood walls and brown and black interior coming into view. you were both escorted to a small booth in the middle of the restaurant. you both quickly thanked the hostess before sitting, your eyes glossing over the small menu you were given.

“you’ve been here before?” you asked sakusa, noticing how he didn’t spare a glance at the menu.

“yeah,” he answered. “i came here all the time when i was a kid while my parents attended meetings.”

“so it’s like a childhood restaurant?” you asked as you figured out what you wanted to order to which sakusa nodded in response. “that’s sweet,” the waiter came by not long after, taking both of your orders before walking off with your menus. “so what are these ground rules you were talking about earlier?” you asked after making sure the waiter was out of earshot.

“oh,” sakusa answered as he pulled out a pen and a folded up piece of paper from the pocket of his jacket. “i mean we’ve never met before and this is just for business so i thought we could set some rules for our engagement.”

“i see,” you observed. “just as professional as our parents.”

sakusa laughed at your statement before writing on the paper. “rule one,” he read out. “we each equally take 50% of the earnings we gain from future business deals.” he stated. “this won’t include individual deals our companies make, but any kind of profits we make from our partnership.”

“that’s fair,” you added. “we’ll split evenly no protests” sakusa nodded at your words. “can i add on rules to this?”

“of course,” he stated, handing you the pen. you flipped the paper towards you, quickly scribbling out a rule. “rule two, we announce our engagement on our socials the morning of the press conference announcing our partnership,” sakusa nodded in response as you continued on.

“so it doesn’t seem all business,” he mentioned. “that’s smart.”

“rule three,” you continued, “no secret kind of relationships,“ you looked up at the boy. "you know with cheating scandals and all.”

“right,” sakusa answered. “that can only lead to negative exposure and controversies.”

“you’re not seeing anyone right?”

“nope, you?”

“nope,” you shook your head before putting the pen down. “well that’s all the rules i have right now, anything you want to add?”

sakusa picked the pen up from the table, pensively staring at the paper before writing on it. “rule four, we live together, are you ok with that?”

you nodded. “yeah we have an unused house that’s not too far from the office building if you’re cool with moving in there.”

“yeah i’m good with that,” sakusa responded “i'l probably move in this weekend.“

"okay,” you added. “and if you need help with moving in i’ll be more than happy to assist.”

“sounds great,” sakusa answered, eyes scanning over the paper in front of him before his eyes widened. “oh wait, forgot something.”

you watched sakusa write out the supposed final rule, his handwriting much bigger than the rules above. “rule five,” you read out loud. “no romantic feelings or attachment allowed,”

you looked up at the boy. “you sure about that one?”

“yes,” he answered firmly. “this is strictly for business purposes, romantic attachments would only get in the way of the success of our company.”

“ok fair,” you sighed. “but don’t be surprised when you start falling for me” you teased.

“not gonna happen.”

“oh really?” you asked. “even with all my wealth and fame?” you joked.

“y/n i’m wealthy and famous too,” he answered. “whether i like it or not.”

“okay fine fine, i agree,” you sighed, watching sakusa write out two lines at the bottom.

“sign here,” he said, handing you the pen.

you laughed before scribbling out your signature. “this feels insanely formal.”

“well this whole process started for professional purposes,” sakusa noted, writing out his own signature much more neatly than yours.

“fair”, you added, extending your hand out to the boy which he shook after with a smile. “i look forward to doing business with you, sakusa kiyoomi.”

“likewise, y/n l/n,” sakusa answered, happily as you saw his eyes smile.

“now can we drop the professional act?” you answered with a sigh. “we’re on a date after all.”

“a date?”

“is this not a date?”

“i didn’t think it was,” sakusa answered.

“well it is now,” you said cheerfully. “after all, we’re gonna be married soon. how can you be married without going on a date?”

“do you think we’re gonna have a wedding and everything?” he asked you, leaning slightly against the table.

“most likely,” you answered. “my parents love the good exposure.”

“so we’re gonna be wedding planning and everything?”

you nodded. “i refuse to let my wedding be planned by anyone else, especially my parents.”

“i get you don’t worry,” sakusa added as the waiter came over with your food, both of you instantly going quiet as they arrived. you both thanked them as they smiled before walking to attend to another table.

“well, thank you for the meal and for our new partnership,” you laughed.

“thank you for the partnership,” sakusa smiled before you began eating, a silence drifting over you both as you began to eat.

you didn’t see sakusa much after when you met, especially as you both planned to meet again that weekend to help sakusa move into the house. you both figured it’d be best if you kept your distance, not wanting the media to start grasping at straws if you were both to be around each other more often. so, other than the quick conversations over the text, your contact with the boy was kept mostly to a minimum. it became easy for you to ignore the fact that you were even engaged to him, you saw him more as a newfound friend of sorts rather than your fiance.

your parents however did everything to keep this from happening. when you came home from lunch that day, they bombarded you with questions asking how he was, where he took you, what you talked about. it was hard to avoid the topic about the boy honestly, especially as they continuously brought him up during any kind of business conversation too.

it felt like a breath of fresh air when you told them you’d be moving into a house of your own with him. it was comical to you how they were so quick to kick you out and help you move into the new house. when the weekend came, the only things missing were sakusa’s things and after finally pushing your parents out of the house the night before, you let excitement wash over you at the realization that you’d not only be getting rid of your overly excited parents out but that a new friend would be coming in to join you.

you smiled as you heard the doorbell ring the next morning, your body completely forgetting about the lack of sleep you got as you opened the door. “finally!” you cried seeing the boy at your front door wearing the white mask that you quickly claimed to be his staple piece.

“good morning to you too,” sakusa answered hesitantly as he stepped into the house.

“oh sorry,” you answered. “it’s just i finally got my parents out of here yesterday and it’s such a relief to see a different face.”

sakusa gave you a smile. “same here, my parents have been on my back about packing my things and getting here,” he explained. “they even wanted to come here and help me move in but i declined.”

“they’re way more excited about this than we are,” you mumbled.

“100%” he agreed, eyes scanning around the house. “i take it you’ve already settled in?”

you nodded. “yep.”

“great,” he answered. “my stuff’s in the car.”

you slipped on a pair of shoes as you went out to his car, popping the trunk of it open before grabbing a box. “leave the stuff in the living room for now,” you instructed. “we can organize everything once we get all the stuff out of your car.” sakusa nodded as you quickly unloaded his car.

you were both insanely hardworking and ambitious individuals. it was a necessary trait in your worlds as you both needed quite the drive to help out your parents and their insanely busy schedules. both of you were so accustomed to fast-paced life that completing menial errands and tasks felt like child’s play. before you knew it, you and sakusa were standing in your living room, staring at the cardboard boxes sakusa brought.

“i had no idea you had so much stuff,” you added.

“there’s only like four boxes here,” sakusa noted. “plus i wasn’t sure if the house was going to be furnished already so i brought some of my own things in case we needed to go out and get furniture ourselves.”

“while the sound of furniture shopping with you does sound appealing,” you started. “the house is already all good, we filled it up yesterday,” you said with a smile.

“oh by the way,” sakusa said pulling out his wallet. “do i need to pay rent?”

you looked at him with wide eyes. “absolutely not no!” you exclaimed. “you’re literally going to be family there’s no need to pay.”

“right,” sakusa nodded with a smile, putting his wallet back in his pocket “i guess we can just take the boxes up to my room.”

you nodded as you picked up a box. “yeah for sure and you can just organize it all however you want, we left the room empty for you.”

sakusa looked to you as you walked up the stairs with a smile. “so i guess i can put this furniture to use.”

“yeah you can,” you answered, watching the boy pick up a box before continuing up the stairs to his room. “your room’s next to mine,” you said as you stood outside his door, dropping the box inside. “bathroom’s down the hall,” you pointed. “i have some stuff to work on for the conference, so i’ll help you with the rest of these boxes and then work on that, but if you need help just yell or something.”

sakusa nodded, “okay, thank you, and i can help with the press conference stuff too later.”

“sounds great,” you said with a smile before walking down the stairs.

sakusa stared at the once empty room now filled with cardboard boxes, sighing before he began to dust the small pieces of furniture in the room, making sure everything was clean and tidy before he brought his own things out. this whole process wasn’t ideal for him as much as it was for you. if anything, sakusa wanted to meet someone through his own ways and get married to someone he truly loved. this almost seemed as if it was the complete opposite. when his parents pitched him the idea he claimed he was up for it, willing to do what was necessary for the company. but deep down, a part of him was pissed and disappointed. this company had continued to take over his life ever since he was a kid, the last thing he thought would ever come into play was the love life he couldn’t really have. yet he continued to play along, doing his best not to resent you because you were forced into this as well. this felt like another job, another task of his, your fake relationship to him was nothing but another thing he needed to complete for ukiyo. but he came to the conclusion that if he was going to have a fake relationship, he might as well handle it like he always does, with rules and guidelines that he was certain both parties wouldn’t break.

he began to open up cardboard boxes placing different items of his around the room. from the pictures of him and his family to the files of important documents, he kept for his company, to the volleyball he kept for whenever he had time to play, piece by piece the room began to come together for sakusa, making it feel like home. it was about noon when the boy finished setting up his room. he took a step back, admiring the now fully decorated room before sighing. maybe this could all work out, maybe this wouldn’t be as professional and technical as he made it out to be. maybe, this wouldn’t feel like a job or a chore, but a genuine friendship.

on leaving his room, his eyes caught a glance of your room through the door you left ajar. sakusa took a quick peek in, looking at the layout of it, spotting the simple furniture and mug of coffee on your desk that you forgot to take back downstairs. he sighed as he walked in, taking the half full mug of now cold coffee before heading down to see you. the keyboard sounds grew louder as he walked down the stairs, nearing the kitchen as he caught glimpse of you sitting at the table. your papers were fanned out across the table as your eyes remained glued to your screen, headphones in as you typed away at your keyboard. sakusa rinsed out the mug before dropping it in the dishwasher to deal with later. “hey,” you called out, your focus not leaving the computer.

“hey,” sakusa repeated walking towards where you were seated cleaning up your spread-out papers into a neat pile. “what’re you working on?”

“just some homework for school,” you answered. “oh and some emails i gotta answer, you know, general company things. i finished a lot of the conference work earlier.”

“i see, i see,” sakusa answered as he sat next to you. “do you need help with it?”

“i think i’m good,” you answered. “but you’re more than welcome to work on other things with me,” the boy smiled as he looked at you, watching your steady concentration and focus as your fingers dashed across your keyboard. “what, do you need something else?” you asked.

“wait huh?”

“you’re staring,” you said with a smile as you clicked on something. “i can see it out of the corner of my eye.”

“oh,” sakusa blinked before standing up. “r-right, i’ll take you up on that offer and get my computer.” the boy dashed off and up the stairs, leaving you confused. your eyes left the screen for the first time that whole encounter as you watched him leave confused. he didn’t seem as cool or collected as he left, instead seeming as if he was caught off guard. you smiled at the change in his demeanor before you saw him hurrying down the stairs, your eyes going back to your screen.

“welcome back,” you said with a smile.

“hi,” sakusa answered, sitting down next to you again, this time with a stack of papers and his laptop.

working for a company was usually this busy, normally you both got some time off but with all the new events happening at both of your companies, free time didn’t come often, especially as your parents began to transfer some company responsibilities over to you, the future CEOs. you worked in almost complete silence, both of you lost in your work and thoughts as time continued to fly by. but neither of you seemed to mind, you both understood each other in that sense. you both knew how hectic corporate life could be, especially as you knew you were both the highly anticipated CEOs of the business world. it was a lot of pressure, pressure both of you mutually understood, but neither one of you was willing to crack, wanting to put your best foot forward.

you sighed as you slowly closed your laptop, eyes spotting the low battery notification on your computer right as you finished before turning to the window outside, catching glimpse of the sun setting. “aaaah” you screamed out loudly, stretching your limbs.

sakusa jumped at the sudden sound before his focus turned to you. “what happened? are you ok?” did-“ he stopped at his words, blinking at your stretching figure.

you laughed. "no i’m fine, i always do that when i finish up my work. it helps me relieve stress in that sense,”

“i see,” sakusa blinked, utterly confused at your habit.

“but i’m done for the day,” you checked your phone, eyes going to the clock at the top of your screen. “and in record time too.”

sakusa looked at you before closing his computer. “i can’t believe the big conference is already tomorrow.”

“i can,” you laughed. “my parents are always one to quickly plan big events like these.”

“oh really?”

you nodded. “yeah, they’ve been talking with your parents for a while now.” you explained. “they had the big conference already planned out before they even sealed the deal.”

sakusa laughed. “your parents seem like quite the business people, i can’t want to get to know them.”

“you can wait,” you laughed. “trust me, you can wait,” sakusa shrugged in response. “we’re quite the power duo,” you noted.

“and why do you say that?”

“well i finished all my work here,” you explained. “normally when i’m working with my friends or other people it takes me ages to finish a single assignment.”

“yeah, and i finished all my stuff for school today too,” sakusa added.

your eyes lit up. “see what i mean?” you offered your hand out. “we’re quite the productive duo. i got a feeling we’ll be a great team.”

“i’ve got a good feeling too” sakusa looked at your hand confused before you extended it further. “oh!” he exclaimed as he gave you a high five.

“you didn’t know what that was?” you laughed.

sakusa shook his head. “i do, it just took me a second.”

“uh huh sure,” you teased, making the boy roll his eyes before he started to pack up his things. “so sakusa…kiyoomi,” you turned back to the boy. “can i call you kiyoomi?”

“oh uh, yeah sure,” he hesitantly answered. “i mean we’re already going to be engaged you might as well.”

“cool,” you added as you started as you picked up your stuff from the table. “you doing anything else tonight?”

“nope,” sakusa answered, shaking his head.

your eyes lit up. “good,” you picked up your phone before quickly walking over to the kitchen. sakusa watched you as you scoured the kitchen for ingredients, pulling vegetables from the well-stocked refrigerator and noodles from the pantry you and your parents worked on filling up the day before.

“what are you doing?” he asked as you grabbed a pot from cabinet.

“making dinner,” you answered. “to you know celebrate you moving in with me.”

“you’re cooking?” the boy asked. “can you even cook?”

you looked him dead in the eyes. “i’m the daughter of two world renown chefs, of course i can fucking cook.”

“ok ok,” sakusa quickly answered. “i was just teasing but,” sakusa smiled. “thanks for that.”

“for what?”

“for making dinner.” he answered.

your eyes widened “oh, of course,” you told him as you chopped up vegetables “i’ll be ready in about thirty minutes, so do whatever else you need to do.”

“do you need my help or anything?”

you brought the chopped up vegetables to the stove before scanning around the kitchen. “i think i’m good actually kiyoomi, thanks.”

“alright,” sakusa answered before picking yours and his stuff up. he walked up the stairs, taking a quick look in the kitchen before continuing up. the rest of the night went off without a hitch, it wasn’t long before you had finished dinner. you set the table for both of you to eat together, plating the pasta you’d made for the two of you before garnishing it with a small sprig of parsley on top. he came down stairs just as you were placing the plates of food on the table, to which sakusa looked at the sight almost surprised.

it’d been way too long since sakusa had sat down for a meal with someone. while your family made it a rule to always have dinner together, it was rare for a full sit down meal to occur in his family. normally his family gets too busy, their conflicting schedules making them unable to have a full sit down meal all together. it usually ended up with people coming in and out of the kitchen to eat whenever they had time. sakusa didn’t mind it honestly, if anything he thought it was a more flexible arrangement for his whole family as they could do what they needed to whenever they needed to. but he couldn’t help but long for those stolen moments as he sat down next to you, the two of you talking about life and getting to know each other a bit better as your dinner went on. it made sakusa wish his life was a little less corporate, less dedicated to his career. it made him desire a more normal life he never thought he’d want.

it was easy for you to converse with sakusa, especially since you barely knew about him. you were sure you were annoying the boy with how many questions you asked about him. it was almost to the point where you were asking him to tell you his full life story, to which you found yourself almost apologizing for how much you were prying for information. but he always reminded you that it was ok and that it was good to know these things about each other. besides, his captivated glances said otherwise, especially as you caught him intently listening to you and the details of your days that you had yet to share.

you found yourself almost excited for the morning once your engagement was out. you normally weren’t one for big public meetings like this, especially since the loud clashing voices of news reporters and camera flashes always managed to give you a headache. but you realized you’d be able to freely spend more time with sakusa instead of having to do things more privately. it was a newfound excitement you found lasting through the night. but, contrary to what you were expecting, you were actually able to sleep. and when you woke up to the sudden sounds of your alarm clock, snapping you out of your sleep, you were able to pull yourself out of bed, actually thankful for the sound of the normally disruptive alarm as you spot sakusa already in the kitchen.

“good morning,” you yawned out as you walked to the coffee machine.

“good morning,” sakusa answered as he scrolled through his phone.

“what are you looking at?”

“just trying to find a way to announce our engagement,” he answered as he took a sip from his coffee mug.

“oh right!” you exclaimed, we have to do that today. “do you even have a ring?”

sakusa nodded in response before pulling out the box. “got it right here.”

your eyes lit up in panic as he began to open it. “wait stop!!” you exclaimed, sakusa looked up at you in shock. “aren’t you gonna do something special?”

“what do you mean?”

“i mean, don’t you have anything planned at all?”

“not really,” sakusa shrugged. “i mean this is fake and staged after all.”

you rolled your eyes. “ok fine, just give me the ring.”

sakusa blinked at your sudden annoyance before he realized what you were implying. “wait hold on,” the boy stood up from his seat before slowly kneeling down in front of you on one knee. before you knew it, your heart began racing as he slowly opened up the box, as he refused to meet your eyes, his hand slightly trembling. “will you marry me?”

“y-yeah,” you stuttered softly, your heart going erratic as you felt a newfound heat rise in your cheeks. you weren’t expecting your voice to tremble. it was fake, it was staged. he’d only done this because he saw you annoyed, yet you couldn’t help how your hand covered your face, attempting to hide the blush you were certain was growing on your face. “i-i will,” sakusa looked at you with a smile, his hands beginning to still before standing up and taking your hand. “i mean i have to say yes now anyway!” you quickly added in embarrassment “i mean this has already been pre-discussed and everything why would i say no?”

“ok, but still i’m glad you said yes,” sakusa answered calmly with a goofy smile on his face, a smile he couldn’t seem to remove, as he put the ring on your finger.

your eyes caught sight of the ring before you held your hand up to the ceiling to admire it. “ooh,” you fawned. “it’s so pretty.”

“i’m glad you like it,” sakusa noted.

“now how are we going to announce it?” you asked, walking to grab your now full mug of coffee.

sakusa’s eyes traveled from his mug to yours. “wait, hold on.” the boy moved to grab his coffee mug as you slowly realized what he was hinting at.

“that’s perfect,” you exclaimed as you held the coffee mug with the hand with the ring on it. you held both of your mugs together, the two of you taking a picture, making sure the ring was the main focus of the picture. “i love that,” you added as you scrolled over all the ones you took. “you’re so smart for that one.”

“i try,” sakusa answered before choosing a picture. “you ready to post?”

“give me like three seconds,” you quickly made edits to the picture, making sure the lighting and filter looked good. “ok, we’re good,” sakusa nodded before both of you opened your socials, “3, 2, 1,” you counted down as you both hit post, sighs of relief came from the two of you as you stared at your now posted pictures, watching as people began to like and leave supportive comments. “we did that,” you said, holding your hand up again.

“we did,” sakusa answered, high fiving your hand. “i got it this time!” he quickly added while he pointed a finger at you before you could open your mouth to tease him again.

“you did,” you mumbled as you scrolled through the comments, eyes wandering to the time. “but we gotta go get ready now, the conference is in an hour.”

“oh,” sakusa checked his phone before standing up. “i didn’t even realize.”

“time flies when you’re awkwardly proposing,” you teased, hurrying up to your room before sakusa could process your words.

“hey! hold on a minute!” you heard sakusa yell out as you stifled your laughter, opening the door to your room to get ready. you hear sakusa grumble as he walked into his room, doing your best to stifle your laughter at his frustration. “i can hear you!” you heard sakusa call out.

“sorry,” you call back as you grabbed a makeup brush, continuing to prepare for your conference.

you hated conferences, especially when you knew you’d be speaking or at least the somewhat focus of them. the amount of cameras on you as you spoke scared the shit out of you. all you ever wanted in those moments was to get off stage, especially when the swarm of questions continued to overwhelm you. but you bore the burden, plastering a smile on your face for the cameras as you continued on with your speech or answering questions.

this conference was sure to be no different.

the sound of cameras flashing made their usual appearance while both of your parents stood on stage discussing the new partnership between ukiyo and serendipia. thankfully, you and sakusa were instructed to stand off to the side, as back up almost as you observed your parents. you stole glances at sakusa when you could, his usual stoic demeanor painted on his face as he watched his parents. neither of you dared to glance at the press as they continued to look over at you from time to time, your eyes fixated on your parents as they discussed the deal they discussed over the past few months, relaying the bare minimum to the press. you slowly began to zone out, wandering off into your thoughts as your parents droned on and on. it wasn’t until sakusa nudged you in the arm that you were brought back to reality.

“what is it?” you mumbled.

“they’re about to close,” he whispered back. “press is going to ask the usual questions.”

“do you think they’ll ask about us?”

“they’d be a fool not too,” he answered. “apparently your post is trending.”

“it is??” you asked.

“yeah,” he answered calmly.

your heartbeat slowly began to pick up. “what if they ask us about details or how we met or-”

“improvise,” sakusa quickly interrupted before you could spiral. “you’ll be ok.”

sure enough your inference about the press was correct.

“does your partnership have anything to do with your children’s engagement?” a voice called out from the crowd the second your father asked about questions. your mother turned to you, subtly gesturing for you and sakusa to come on stage.

“i hate crowds,” you mumbled as you slowly began to walk.

“i couldn’t agree more,” sakusa answered.

“their engagement doesn’t have anything to do with the partnership no, we made this deal long before their engagement,” sakusa’s father quickly stepped in as you both made your way to the stage. he gestured for sakusa to continue.

“no, this partnership was made before y/n and i even started dating.” sakusa answered. “we didn’t know of each other until our parents brought up this deal.”

“how did you both meet?” another voice called.

“we met at one of our parent’s meetings,” you quickly answered with a smile. “they were discussing the partnership and we both decided to get lunch after the meeting and we hit it off.”

“how are you going to celebrate?”

“how long have you been together?”

“when’s the wedding?”

you looked to sakusa, eyes full of panic as you kept a tight smile on your face while the questions continued to come from the crowd.

“i think we should let the happy couple celebrate their new engagement,” your mother quickly cut in, the two of you taking your cue to leave the stage. “any other questions?” the press continued shouting out questions regarding the deal as you both walked off sighing quiet sighs of relief.

“you wanna get out of here?” you mumbled to the boy.

“yes please,” he answered. “i’ll leave first and i’ll meet you in the garage.”

you nodded. “i’ll follow five minutes after,” you watched as sakusa quietly made his exit while the press stayed focused on your parents, sighing in relief as no one called him out on his departure. you slowly shuffled back towards the door, praying that you wouldn’t catch the attention of anyone as you slowly turned the doorknob. thankfully your prayers were answered. you sighed in relief as you quietly shut the door quickly put on a mask and walking towards the elevator for the garage. a wave of happiness washed over you as you spot sakusa waiting in your car, the engine already turned on ready to get out of the parking lot.

“took you long enough,” sakusa retorted, the expressionless demeanor still painted on his face.

“sorry, i just wanted to make sure no one was following me,” you answered as you put on a seatbelt, watching sakusa back out of the parking spot, his arm holding onto your seat.

“no one did right?” he asked.

you nodded in response before slouching the seat, running an hand through your hair. “thank god we didn’t have to answer any other questions.”

“you did well answering though,” sakusa commented.

“i mean i did just say what happened.” you smiled the sun outside beginning to come into view as you left the garage. “it’s not like they asked for a timeline or anything.”

“they did,” sakusa noted. “we just didn’t need to answer it.”

“my mom came through,” you exclaimed happily, a small smile showing on the boy’s face at your cheers.

“anyway,” sakusa started. “where to?”

“anywhere,” you sighed, drained from having to put on a happy smile for the past hour. “i don’t care where we go as long as it’s far away from the press.”

“anywhere it is,” sakusa answered as he began to drive out of the busy city. your eyes wandered outside the window as you traded the bustling city views for calmer ones of suburbs.

“are we gonna go back to that other restaurant?” you asked the boy as you leaned against the window, eyes glued to the clear skies outside.

“if you want,” sakusa answered as he hit a red light. “i’m fine with wherever you want to…” his voice trailed off as he turned to you, his gaze not missing the way you glowed under the sun.

“to what?” you asked, snapping him back to reality while your eyes stayed on the houses outside.

“to go,” sakusa blinked, his eyes immediately going back to the road. “sorry.”

“you’re ok,” you answered. “hmm do you know that small café on garnet street?”

“yeah i do, it’s the one near that small pet shop right? you wanna go there?”

“yep to both questions,” you answered.

“alright, we’ll be there in 20,” sakusa responded as he switched lanes, changing course.

“how do you know this place?” you asked him. “it’s not too well known.”

“i go there sometimes when i’m working for the silence,” he answered.

“i know,” you started. “i love how calming it is there, such a difference from the usual environment i work in. plus their coffee is so good.”

“what about you?” he asked.

“it’s close to my university,” you answered. “i used to go there all the time until i took on a bigger position at serendipia.”

“yeah i used to spend so long in coffee shops,” sakusa added. “and that was until i got bigger responsibilities at ukiyo.”

“i kind of miss it ya know?” you started. “the whole life before this. normally i would just observe meetings, while my parents presented. i didn’t even have to show up at big press events or galas,” you mumbled. “now i run the meetings.”

“i hate the galas,” sakusa added as he made a left turn. “i don’t even know half the people there.”

“but they know you don’t they?” you sighed.

“yep,” sakusa answered. “i just want to go home in those kinds of situations.”

“i think i know what we’re both missing,” you concluded.

“what is that?”

“some peace and quiet.”

“and a vacation.” sakusa added with a smile before a silence loomed over the car. “hey.”

“yeah what’s up?” you asked, gaze fixated on the window outside.

“do you like this world?”

“what world kiyoomi?”

“the world we’ve grown up in since we were kids,” he answered, to which you turned to face him.

“i mean, it’s got it’s perks,” you answered. “i mean i like the high status sometimes, but i hate the people who constantly follow us around,” you sighed, before you propped your elbow up on the window. “i kind of feel like i got robbed of a childhood, heck i feel like i got robbed of a normal life.”

“how so?” the boy asked, stealing a glance at you before turning back to the road.

“i mean if you think about it, we’ve spent most of our time training to be the next heirs of the company,” you explained. “plus the paparazzi robbed us of any kind of normal privacy, i feel like i kind of grew up in front of the camera in that sense.” you laughed. “god i’m not even an actor or anything but i feel like my whole life’s been publicized.”

“exactly,” sakusa sighed out. “i mean i can’t live a normal life with my parents, i kind of accepted that but,” he looks to you as he reaches a red light. “i kind of wish it was normal some times.”

“i know,” you exclaimed. “like i wanna go out normal exits and go to places without constantly needing to check if someone’s following me.”

“and the constant strictness,” sakusa added. “like i know media exposure is everything, but i don’t think my parents need to make me create detailed plans when I’m just going out for coffee.”

“that! oh my lord that. you have no idea how many times my parents have constantly asked me for details whenever i want to hang out with someone.”

sakusa sighed. “i kind of wish my love life could’ve been normal too,” he blurted out, unaware of what he was saying until it was out in the open.

“i mean i wish our marriage could’ve been real in a sense,” you mumbled. “i kind of wanted to fall in love, meet the right person and all of that. but instead i’m stuck getting married to a person i barely know,” your eyes widen. “nothing wrong with you though! you’ve been super nice to me since we’ve met!!”

“no no i get it,” sakusa answered. “i kind of wished for the same thing too, i guess our love lives can’t really be normal either,” he smiled.

“i mean we’ve got our honey moon?” you noted. “that’s a normal thing newlyweds do right?”

“will our parents even let us go on one?” sakusa questioned as he turned into the café parking lot, catching sight of the small brown building.

“who said we had to ask?”

sakusa froze at your words as he parked the car. while you unbuckled your seat and hopped out of the car, the boy remained in his seat. all his life sakusa was doing what he was told, not really bothering to step out of line. it felt rebellious almost to not ask his parents about anything. but with you, rebellion came easily. in fact, so many new things to him came easier because of you. you hadn’t been in his life long, but you already brought out so much change, so much positive change that he couldn’t help but be grateful for you and your almost abrupt appearance.

“hey,” you called out, bringing the boy’s focus out of his thoughts and to you. “you coming?”

“yeah,” sakusa called out, opening the car door.

“are you doing ok?” you asked with a smile. “you seem very out of it, that’s different for you.”

“i’m fine, don’t worry,” sakusa quickly assured as he opened the door to the café.

but to you, it seemed like the exact opposite. you found that he seemed more spaced out than usual this visit as you continued to talk, the boy only giving you short answers whenever you asked him to say something. it was confusing to say the least, but you continued on, hoping that he’d snap out of this weird mood he was in.

sakusa on the other hand couldn’t help but think that entire visit, think about how you had opened him up to so much more in your short time together. his mind swarmed with thoughts about you, even while he was barely listening to what you had to say. but he was quick to attempt to shut those ideas down, coming to the conclusion that if he let them manifest, he’d break a vital rule of your engagement. the rule he himself made, the rules you both signed and agreed on. he couldn’t break that contract with you, especially as you were making your own sacrifices to follow the rules you both set.

but to sakusa, the idea of breaking your contract was just so tempting, an idea that continued to tempt him for the later weeks to come.

it’d been weeks since the press conference and he had no idea why he was awake. it was about three in the morning when his eyes, unfortunately, fluttered open. he pulled himself out of bed, feeling a newfound dryness in his throat as he hauled himself downstairs. a sudden light shocked the boy as he made his way down, unsure as to why they were even on in the first place. but his question was quickly answered when he entered the living room. you were sprawled out on the couch, your computer sitting in front of your sleeping head, papers splayed out all over the floor.

sakusa huffed at the sight, disappointed in the fact that you actually fell asleep doing work. the boy had learned two things while he was living with you, number one was that you couldn’t function without a cup of coffee in the morning, and number two is that you had a habit of working too hard for your own good. while sakusa actually shut off his computer to sleep at a decent time, you were the complete opposite, working until either your computer or your body gave out first. tonight it seemed like the latter.

the boy walked towards you, telling himself that he’ll come back down for that glass of water later. he gently closed your computer before picking up your papers from the floor. “we need to talk about your organizing habits,” he mumbled, placing the papers and the computer on the small table next to the couch. sakusa stood up, looking over your sleeping figure, trying to figure out what the hell he should do with you now. before he knew it, he was looping an arm around your legs while the other went to your back, lifting you up into his arms as he began his journey up to your bedroom. sakusa moved slowly, saying silent prayers, hoping that he wouldn’t wake your up.

he froze as he heard your quiet mumbles, waiting until they died down before he continued moving up the stairs. he sighed in relief when he made it to your room, placing you gently on your bed before covering you up with a blanket. sakusa smiled as he walked out, hearing you stir softly in bed before walking back down the stairs to grab your computer and his papers. his heart felt warm as he brought up your papers and computer to your room, grabbing a quick glimpse of you tossing around in bed before gently shutting your door.

it wasn’t until he arrived back downstairs that he snapped out of his trance, the glass of water he was pouring overflowing while he was lost in thought. “shit,” he mumbled, looking down at the spilled water on the floor that he was quick to clean up. it wasn’t long before the boy came to the realization that this wasn’t real. despite how much he felt for you, there were rules, there were boundaries, boundaries that he was most likely overstepping. to him, this should be nothing more than a contracted agreement, something he needed to complete for his job, for the future of his company. he couldn’t break one of the biggest rules you both set. sakusa reminded himself that this was for the company. this was nothing but a job, a reminder he continued to face over the next few months.

“a meeting?” sakusa asked you as he looked up from his half eaten dinner plate. it’d been two months since you first moved in and you somehow managed to you’d both kept the habit of eating together. while you were sure sakusa had better things to do, he made sure that you both ate together nightly ever since that first dinner you had together. it was something you both grew to enjoy especially with your busy lives, as it was a way for you both to catch up with each other.

“yep,” you answered, putting down your phone. “our parents are out doing other things so they want us to meet with the big investors for serendipia about our partnership.”

“why us? the investors are huge for the company,” the boy noted.

“because,” you started before scrolling through your group chat with your parents. “they claim it’ll be good practice for us in the future,” you explained sighing. “believe me if i could get us out of it i would.”

“what are we presenting?” he asked, his mind creating a mental to do list.

“uhhh,” you started. “oh just our plans for our partnership. so like future product launches projected sales on said new products as well as our current ones and then just the basic management reports. honestly, it’ll just be us reassuring them that we’ll be fine and we’ll succeed.”

“i see,” sakusa noted, attempting to hide the smile on his face as you checked of every box in his mind.

“oh also because we’re gonna be the future CEOs and they want the investors to see us in action,” you added, a confused tone lacing your voice on the last part.

“haven’t they met us before? at parties or events?”

“most likely,” you answered. “but now they get to see how both of us run the place together.”

“together,” sakusa repeated before meeting your gaze. “don’t we need to plan this out then?”

“we do,” you answered between bites. “but the meeting’s two days from now, we’ll be fine,” you turned from your plate to meet sakusa’s emotionless gaze, fully aware that the boy would much rather plan earlier than wait. “if it matters that much to you, we can plan right after dinner.”

he shot you a small smile. “sounds great.”

“i can just write my paper another time then.”

the smile faded of his face instantly. “when’s it due?”

“in two days.”

“oh,” sakusa answered before standing up from the table, walking out of the dining area and up the stairs.

“uhhh,” you started, calling after the boy. “where the hell are you going? you didn’t even finish your dinner!” you looked down at his plate. “well you kind of did…but still!” sakusa came back down to the stairs with your computer in hand, replacing your empty plate with your computer.

“type.”

“wait huh? what about-”

“i can clean up here and start planning too,” sakusa quickly cut in, picking up your plate and leaving it in the sink before finishing the food on his and doing the same.

“i thought you hated doing dishes,” you noted, taking into account how you always were the one doing the dishes after dinner.

“i do,” he answered as he scrubbed one of the plates. “but you have work to do and i want to start planning this.”

“but technically-”

“don’t fight me on this,” sakusa answered with a newfound firmness that eased your focus to your computer, your unfinished paper staring at you on the screen.

“y-yes sir,” you stuttered out in surprise at his newfound assertiveness before beginning to type away at your keyboard, your concentration slowly being poured into the assignment in front of you while sakusa finished up the last of the dishes. your pace quickened as you continued typing, hearing sakusa’s footsteps as he finished the dishes and walked to grab his computer.

“welcome back,” you mumbled.

“you’re in the zone again,” sakusa noted.

“yep, don’t ruin it,” you quickly answered.

sakusa nodded. “yes ma'am,” he opened up his computer, noting and beginning to plan out the logistics of your meeting. a silence slowly began to loom over you both as you continued working on your respective tasks.

you were right to say you were both quite the power duo as both of you got into your insanely productive modes. you’d never finished a paper so fast in your life and sakusa even offered to revise it. so, you both traded computers, while he worked on your paper, you looked through the meeting notes he created, both of you making whatever changes you deemed necessary. it wasn’t long before you began meeting planning with him, the two of you bouncing ideas back and forth as you planned out.

sakusa’s eyes constantly kept glancing towards the time. you had both had dinner late that night and working on tasks right after didn’t help that fact. he sighed as he saw the clock strike one in the morning, his eyelids growing heavy as he closed his computer. but your eyes remained glued to the computer, despite the pure exhaustion that lingered in your eyes.

“get up, let’s go sleep,” sakusa mumbled.

“why i’m not done yet,” you answered.

“it’s one am,” sakusa pointed out. “you have to be up at 5:30 tomorrow.”

“ok your point?”

“you can’t work well when you’re tired,” he argued.

“yeah ok but i can still work,” you reasoned. “you can head up, i’ll finish my work down here.”

the boy sighed, before walking out of the room. you smiled in victory as the sounds of his footsteps disappeared, a smile that was instantly wiped off your face when he came back. “let’s go,” he told you. “your work’s gonna be shit if you keep going.”

“it’s still work,” you pointed out once more, at which sakusa frustratingly sighed again.

“ok fine, if you’re gonna be like that,” he mumbled as he hooked his arms under your legs.

“h-hey! what are you-” your words were interrupted with a scream as sakusa threw you over his shoulder. “what the fuck, put me down!!” you exclaimed.

“ok,” sakusa sighed, his grip loosening on you as you began to slide off of him.

“oh my god no no wait no stop!” you panicked before sakusa wrapped his arm around you once more, his sturdy build keeping you on his shoulder. “ok fine,” you sighed. “let’s go.”

“that’s my girl,” sakusa said, making your heart skip a beat. he began to walk out of the room with you on his shoulders but your eyes widened quickly as you began lightly hitting his back.

“my computer, i need my computer!” you called out. luckily for you, he walked back, picking it up and handing it to you before you both made your journey up to your room. your protests dwindling in favor of silence as sakusa placed you on the bed.

“sleep, now,” he said. “i’m not dealing with you being all grumpy in the morning.”

you sighed. “ok fine kiyoomi, goodnight.”

“goodnight,” he answered as he shut the door to your room before quickly opening it once more. “and if i hear you still awake i’m throwing your computer out the window.”

you gasped “you wouldn’t.”

“i would,” he answered. “goodnight.”

he closed the door to your room gently on hearing your grumbles, waiting outside to hear if you would make a mad dash for your computer when he left. but instead, he heard a yawn and the sounds of your pillows. he smiled as he quietly walked back to his room on realizing you had actually listened to his directions.

sakusa grew to care for you over time, he knew how you barely let yourself sleep, especially as you needed to wake up for school or work-related tasks. that’s why he was so strict with you on certain issues or why he was willing to pick up extra chores so you could rest or work on other tasks. he wanted to make sure you were actually taking care of yourself. even if this whole relationship was for his work and even if he was in complete denial of what he felt for you, you were still his friend. you were still someone he grew to care for and after everything you’d done for him to make him happy,

he wanted to make sure you felt that same kind of love too.

luckily for him, you did. your mind continued to rush with thoughts of sakusa before you slept that night. by some miracle, you had found a way to crack through the original stoic demeanor of his to see a softer side to him, a side you were certain not many people got to see. sure, he was strict with you on certain things but you grew to understand that it was his way of showing that he cared for you. it was something you thought was super sweet. he made your heart skip a beat in that sense. but every time you let your mind wander about him like this, you were immediately brought back to reality as you remembered that this was a contracted agreement, an engagement arranged by your parents with rules the two of you both set. the strictness he had with the last rule came to mind every single time. out of all the rules you placed with sakusa kiyoomi one of them always continued to come to mind whenever he made your heartbeat go erratic.

this was fake, this was all for business and whether you liked it or not, it was a rule that didn’t seem like it would change any time soon.

it felt like everything that you needed to do with him was somewhat business-related. while you were significantly less uptight and cautious than sakusa, you were also one who didn’t want to disappoint. his words hung over your head, reminding you that romantic attachments would only get in the way of what you were both trying to accomplish, which was a strong, successful future for both you and your companies. it felt as if all eyes were on you as the rising CEOs, as if neither one of you could make any kind of accidents or mistakes due to the high stakes at risk. but it was all for a huge reward, a reward both you and sakusa would get to indulge in later on when you took over.

but for now, neither of you could afford any kind of distractions or diversions.

the two of you stood outside the door to the conference room, the investors inside unable to see you through the glass doorway as they talked amongst themselves. you let out a sight, holding your notes closer to your chest.

“what, have you never run a meeting before?” sakusa asked.

“if anything i thought you’d be more scared than me,” you noted. “you are the one who hates crowds.”

“well this isn’t really a crowd,” the boy mentioned. “if anything it’s more of a small gathering.”

you looked to him confused. “there’s barely a difference.”

“in crowds there’s tens of hundreds of people watching you,” he explained, before softly counting the amount of people in the room. “there’s about seven people inside. seven and one hundred are very different numbers.”

“well what if-”

“you’ll be ok,” he assured calmly.

“and if i fuck up?”

“improvise,” he answered before opening the glass door. the voices in the room began to hush and soften as you two walked in, the investors greeting you with small, almost sympathetic smiles.

“hi everyone,” you said with a smile as sakusa moved to set up the presentation you both made. “my name is y/n and i’m one of the codirectors of management here at serendipia, and this is my new business partner sakusa kiyoomi, co-director of marketing at ukiyo.”

“it’s nice to meet you all,” he waved while he pulled your presentation up on screen.

“first off,” you started, going into your presentation. “we would first like to thank you for your time today. i’m sure you’re all busy with your own respective schedules, so we’re very grateful for this opportunity to share our partnership plans with you.”

“as you know,” sakusa continued seamlessly. “our parents recently announced a partnership between our two businesses, serendipia, and ukiyo and we couldn’t be more excited about this deal. my parents and i are incredibly excited to be partnering with serendipia and i’m sure y/n feels the same.”

“definitely,” you answered. “we’re so excited to talk about our plans for serendipia in particular and how our restaurant and it’s food is going to benefit and play a vital role in ukiyo’s hotels.”

it felt all too familiar to you, the format of your meetings. it wasn’t often your parents let you direct anything, especially with some of the most important people in the company. but when they did they often sat back, observing how you were working and every time you’d messed up or forgot to include something they always had your back. they found ways to subtly cut in from their seats and they always lectured you afterward on the important details you missed. but here you were, running this meeting almost by yourself as you ran through your plans for the restaurant and how your food would be featured in hotels while sakusa talked about the initial profit loss that would lead to a large gain afterward, emphasizing how this partnership would be incredibly successful in the long run.

you were like the perfect team, always finding ways to cover any details that the other missed. one person seamlessly connecting with the other, it was as if you had practiced this for hours before when in reality, neither of you fully talked about the plan thoroughly with the other. you worked together perfectly as if one was made to complement the other.

sakusa clicked the next key, the presentation hitting it’s final slide, making you sigh in relief. “so to summarize,” you began hitting the end of your somewhat scripted notes. “we discussed the merging of our two business and how serendipia will now be the designated restaurant of choice at ukiyo. not only will our food be served in restaurants built in the hotel, but part of the free meals or room service hotel patrons can take part in when the restaurant isn’t in house. and as sakusa mentioned earlier, it initially will lead to a small profit loss as we continue to change the catering for the hotels, but it will result in nothing but long term gain for both ukiyo and seredipia,” you concluded before looking out into the small sea of intrigued investors. “before i conclude any further, do you have any questions for us?”

the room went silent, both you and sakusa looking around the room, only to see content and happy faces. “great,” sakusa added with a smile, small chuckles coming from the people in the room.

“if you do think of any questions though,” you added. “sakusa and i will be more than happy to answer them through email or otherwise, thank you so much again for your time and we hope to meet with you again soon!” you concluded with a bright smile, relieved you were finally done. a chorus of thank yous and goodbyes sounded out as people began to file out of the room, small quiet conversations occurring between the investors as they left.

“no wonder, they were called the CEOs of the future,” someone mumbled, making your ears prick up as you slowly began to listen in.

“they’ve got this nailed done,” someone else added.

“they’ve been doing this since they were kids,” you heard another voice chime in. “of course they’ve mastered this.”

the conversation began to drift away as the investors moved out of earshot, closing the glass door as they exited the room. you sighed in relief the instant the door shut, the fake smile you always put on for business matters quickly disappearing, a look of exhaustion replacing it. “thank god” you sighed out, walking to sit in one of the chairs while sakusa closed out of the presentation.

“not bad,” he mumbled. “i had to cover for you a few times.”

“ok mr. i forgot to show the right graph,” you retorted rolling your eyes. “but i got you on that part.”

“thanks for that,” he mumbled.

“well thank you,” you said, getting out of your chair.

“for what?”

“for improvising with me.”

“you’re better at improvising thank you think you are,” sakusa added as he closed his laptop.

“how so?” you asked, watching the boy stand up and approach you.

“you covered my mistakes well,” he answered. “they couldn’t even tell i fucked up.”

“well you covered mine,” you added with a smile, closing the light to the conference room. “we make a great team ya know?”

“we do,” he answered with a smile as he put on his white mask.

you opened the glass door out back to the main office. “are you done for the day?” you asked.

sakusa nodded. “yeah i’m done for everything at the office, i can do the rest at home.”

your ears perked up as you smiled. “cool, we’re heading home then.”

“why are you so excited about that?” he asked while you put on your black mask, the mask you started carrying around because of him.

“you know how i’m quite the chef?” you asked him as you headed towards the same private elevator.

“yep” he quickly answered, “it makes sense that you are anyways, considering it’s what your big business is.”

“i’m teaching you how to cook some of our food tonight!” you said cheerfully.

sakusa blinked at you. “wait why?”

you sighed “you’re now going to be family, whether you like it or not and being family comes with learning our recipes.”

“aren’t these like secret to the restaurant?” sakusa asked. “giving them out would be a bad business practice.”

“but they’re not secret to the family,” you answered. sakusa froze up at your words as the elevator hit the parking garage. you walked out of the elevator happily towards the car as sakusa watched, keeping his eyes on how excited you were. the boy came to the realization that you were family, you were set to be together. it was a realization he should’ve been happy about, something he should be celebrating. he got to be with the girl he’s quickly grown to love.

so why did it feel so half hearted?

you turned back to sakusa, confused as to why he still stood in the elevator. “are you ok?” you asked from outside.

“y-yeah,” the boy answered. reality hit him hard as he slowly walked out of the elevator, the doors instantly closing when he stepped out. this was a job, no matter how happy you looked to him, he had no idea how much of it was truly real. after lying to the world about the origin and journey of your relationship, the line between what was fake and what was real quickly began to blur to sakusa. he had no idea where you stood, how you felt. so even if you were calling him family, if you were living with him, if you were showing signs that you truly loved him, sakusa couldn’t help but doubt everything you had to say to him. it left him in a sour mood, for all he knew you were lying to him about everything, maybe this was nothing but a game to you, maybe it was all you stringing him along with sweet words discreetly laced with lies.

there was a newfound tension between you and him as he stepped into the car, turning on the engine. you glanced over at him as he drove out of the parking lot, sunlight spilling through onto the car dashboard as you drove out. “are you sure you’re ok?” you asked.

“i’m fine,” sakusa assured, his tightly knit brows and concentrated eyes looking straight forward said otherwise as his reassurance did nothing but fill you with unease.

“ok then,” you answered softly, not wanting to pry the boy for information. your gaze slowly turned out the window as silence lingered between you two for the rest of the car ride. it wasn’t as if you hadn’t seen sakusa angry. in fact, his normal business demeanor made it sometimes look like he didn’t want to be there. you had taken it upon yourself to make him smile during meetings, to make him seem a little more approachable and friendly as you were certain you weren’t the only one who was initially too scared to start a conversation. but you knew better than anyone that it was all a facade, a face he put on for the crowd so they’d stay out of his personal life. what made your mind run with questions was that his emotionless gaze stayed focus on the road, the boy not even bothering to try to keep conversation with you. so, you kept your eyes glued out the window, silently retracting the offer you made earlier.

you stood in the kitchen when you got home, taking out ingredients from your fridge as you decided to make one of your restaurant’s signature dishes. it was a dish that was one of your comfort foods growing up, hoping it would help cheer up the poor boy, especially after he walked straight up to his room when you got home. a smile grew on your face as you stirred the now boiling pot, a newfound determination lit in you.

a determination to cheer up your fiancé.

sakusa’s ears pricked up as he heard the sounds of pots and pans from downstairs. the boy sat on his bed, scrolling through his phone as the guilt began to slowly set in, realizing he left your offer hanging in the air earlier. it was the same guilt that pulled him out of bed and out of his room the smell of food grew stronger as he walked down the stairs as he heard your light humming from the kitchen. he took a peek from the living room to see you spinning around in the kitchen while you waited for the food, a spoon in hand as you silently sang the words to the song. he couldn’t help the goofy smile growing on his face as he watched, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.

you were in your own world in a sense while you waited for the ramen to cook, spinning and dancing happily in the kitchen, occasionally stopping to stir the broth. cooking was like your own little paradise, a paradise that was instantly ruined when you caught sight of the boy standing next to the light switch. your eyes widened in surprise and humiliation. “oh my lord how long have you been standing there.”

“long enough,” sakusa answered as he walked towards the kitchen.

“i thought you weren’t going to help,” you mumbled. “you know with how closed off you were earlier.”

“yeah i know,” sakusa mumbled. “sorry about that, i was just thinking about some things.”

“wh-” you stopped yourself, not wanting to worry about it any further. “it’s ok don’t worry, i get you don’t worry. but how are you feeling now?”

“after that,” sakusa started, referring to your little dance sequence from earlier. “i’m feeling a bit better.”

you felt a blush rise in your cheeks as you turned away from him, switching your focus back to the pot of soup before looking at the noodles and toppings off to the side. “i-i’m glad,” you stuttered out.

“is there anything else i can help out with?” sakusa asked.

you looked around the kitchen. “i don’t think so,” you mumbled. “i’m just about done, like food will be ready in about five minutes.”

“oh,” sakusa answered. “sorry i should’ve came down sooner.”

“you’re good, you’re good!” you assured with a smile. “i can always teach you it another time, besides this recipe isn’t from the restaurant.”

“what is it?”

“my comfort food,” you exclaimed, pouring the soup into a bowl filled with noodles.

“ramen?”

“my mom’s special ramen,” you corrected, adding the meat and vegetables to the top before garnishing with a piece of seaweed. “here,” you said, handing the bowl to sakusa. “i hope you like it!”

“i will trust me,” sakusa answered, taking the bowl and setting it on the table. “it’s your comfort food?”

“yeah,” you nodded as sakusa went to wash his hands. “my mom refuses to put this recipe on the menu since it’s a special dish of ours. she always made it when i was sad or having a bad day. its always cheered me up,” you explained as you made your own bowl. “i figured it would work on you.”

“well, we’ll see if it does,” sakusa smiled as you sat down across from him. “thank you for the meal,” he told you. you couldn’t help but wait anxiously for an expression as sakusa took his first bite, your heart soaring as his eyes widen. “you’re right, it works,” he laughed.

“yay!” you cheered. “i guess no one’s immune to the serotonin from the ramen.”

“that’s a weird way to describe it,” sakusa noted.

“well that’s what i call it,” you retorted. “serotonin ramen.”

sakusa couldn’t help but laugh at the name before turning back to the food in front of him. “i take it you’ve been cooking for a while then?” he asked before taking another bite.

“of course,” you nodded. “my parents taught me how to cook when i was still a child. it’s been something we all bonded over. it’s comforting for me, making other people smile with my cooking” sakusa looked up from his bowl with a smile. “like that yeah,” you laughed. “but it’s kind of like my safe haven.”

“are you planning on adding recipes to the menu when you take over?”

“oh for sure!” you exclaimed. “i’m definitely adding some of my own creations on there, not the serotonin ramen though, that’s staying a family secret,” you looked over at sakusa, warmth in your heart as you watched him enjoy his food before taking a couple of bites from your own bowl. “what about you mr. hotel owner,” you added, gaining the boy’s attention. “got any comfort things i should know about?”

“well uh,” sakusa started hesitantly. “it has nothing to do with the business, but i love to play volleyball in my free time.”

you put down your chopsticks. “oh really?”

sakusa shot you a smile “yeah, i used to be really good back in high school, our team even made it to nationals and i was apparently one of the top players.”

“shut up, no way,” you cut in, making the boy laugh.

“it’s true, we were apparently a powerhouse school,” he verified unable to hide the prideful smile growing on his face as he looked back at the old memories. “but i had to give it up for the business, you know how the parents are.”

“i know, i know,” you sighed. “but that’s so cool, you gotta teach me how to play some time.”

“really?”

“yes!!” you exclaimed. “i’d love to learn from a nationally ranked player.”

“well,” sakusa met your eyes, his heart doing somersaults as he saw the excitement in them. “alright,” he caved. “i’ll teach you whenever we have time.”

“awesome!” you cheered happily.

“but i might not be the best teacher,” he added.

“shush,” you cut in the smile replaced with a look of slight annoyance. “i’m sure you’re an amazing teacher.”

“thanks,” he said softly to which you gave him a smile before going back to your ramen. he smiled as he watched you before looking down at his now empty bowl, his thoughts from earlier coming to mind.

there was no way this was a game to you, he was certain of it, yet there was a part of his mind that nagging at him that it was still fake, a part he couldn’t help but listen to. after all, there was still the lingering rule from your contract that he was fully certain you wouldn’t want to break, even if you did end up feeling the same. it was like he said, feelings would become nothing but a distraction, steering you off course from your destined paths as successful CEOs. yet your smile always found a way to sway his mind. maybe you did want to break that rule, maybe you wanted to take on a new road with him, a new adventure that looked as if it was full of nothing but happiness. or maybe you wanted to stay on your path, maybe you didn’t want distractions like romantic attachments to steer you off course. sakusa didn’t know, his mind swayed continuously between the two possibilities.

you on the other hand were confused not just about his, but your feelings. it was easy for you to blur the line between fake and real, especially as you grew closer with him. your brain continued to push the thought of a real romance with him out of your mind, knowing full and well that he wouldn’t waiver on the rule he was originally so firm on. it hurts your heart almost to know that he would be so quick to shut down your feelings in favor of the company partnership’s success. you were in deep denial, a denial that did nothing but confuse and hurt you as you came to the conclusion that the rule, no matter how much you wanted it, couldn’t be broken. while it was a realization that hurt you almost, it was one you knew you needed to learn, especially as the coming months planned on you two being together more often than not.

you needed to find a way to beat this game of denial, whether it was suppressing your feelings or bringing them out, you weren’t too sure. but you knew you had to figure it out, and you had to soon.

wedding planning snuck up on you two faster than either of you anticipated. both of you made sure to schedule meetings with your wedding planner when both of your parents were out, fully aware that if they were present, you’d get no kind of planning done. it had been a while since the meeting you cohosted, the two of you focused on university and your business responsibilities. yet, the two of you felt like it had been mere days with how fast time was seeming to fly. you both felt as if those weeks you spent doing your own tasks, felt like mere days. before you knew it, you were standing outside another glass door the wedding planner waiting inside. “i forgot we were even doing a wedding” you mumbled to sakusa as you turned the door handle.

“me too,” he mumbled. “i’ve been too busy for this.”

“same, i’m so exhausted.” you sighed out as you put on your fake smile, swinging the glass door open. “let’s get this done,” you mumbled.

“agreed,” sakusa answered.

“hello!” you said cheerfully as you approached the wedding planner. it was a complete contrast from your demeanor earlier. but sakusa went into his expressionless stance, only giving small smiles whenever either of you found something for your wedding that you liked. “it’s so nice to finally meet you!”

“likewise!” the wedding planner responded as you both moved to sit on the leather couches in the room. “shall we get started?”

you nodded happily, “yes let’s.”

despite you being the clear extrovert out of the two of you, sakusa never understood how you could be so animated and two-dimensional during these meetings, especially when you were clearly showing signs of exhaustion. it honestly did nothing more than convince him you’d been playing a little game with him, a game of manipulating the boy and his feelings.

“so for the cake and the catering,” the wedding planner continued, bringing sakusa back to reality as you both continued planning.

“oh don’t worry about that!” you quickly cut in. “our restaurant’s going to be planning those things out,” you answered with a smile.

“is the reception still going to be at one of your hotels?”

“y-yeah,” sakusa answered, still regaining his senses. “yeah it is, it’ll be at the one in downtown tokyo. the one with the outdoor garden and the crystal reception room.”

“the one with the ballroom with all the windows?” the wedding planner smiled, scribbling down in her notes. “great, a lot of people like going there for weddings too.”

it all felt surreal to the boy, he never thought he’d be planning a wedding this soon in his life, much less to a person who wasn’t more than a stranger not much longer ago. he remembered how people would always use hotel venues for wedding receptions, it’s why his parents started adding in more details and fancy pieces to the meeting rooms, making them more suitable for bigger events. they told him that one day if he were to ever get married, to use the hotels at free will and the boy claimed he would. but now that he was sitting here planning out the actual day, he felt odd, he felt different, he felt out of place. the rest of the meeting seemed to fly by for him, the boy nodding in approval as you were the one who continued to do most of the decision-making.

you were smart enough to see how dazed he was, how he wanted to be anywhere but here in that moment, so you didn’t say anything about it, only continuing to nod happily whenever the wedding planner conversed and made plans with you both. you figured you’d ask him about it later, maybe his mind was too busy with business plans to be thinking about this. your gaze landed on sakusa as you began to wrap up the meeting, the boy hesitantly shaking the planner’s hand while you both made your exit.

“i felt like you zoned out of half of that kiyoomi,” you told him as you both walked out of the room. “sure today was mostly basics but you should still try to pay attention, even if it’s not truly a real wedding.”

“but it is a real wedding,” sakusa noted. “or at least it’ll look like one.”

“just don’t zone out,” you smiled, “it makes the planner seem like you don’t care.”

“and i do,” sakusa added.

“exactly.”

“it’s just i have other things to focus on,” he noted.

“what you have another meeting after this?” you asked crossing your arms.

“well technically yes,” he answered. “but my parents are supposed to be the ones doing most of the work, i’m just observing,” you stepped in front of him, the boy looking at you shocked as you began examining his tired features. “a-are you ok? is something wrong?” he asked.

“what if you skipped your meeting?” you posed.

“excuse me?”

“let’s go somewhere,” you added. “it’s late afternoon, we should be heading home soon anyway, i’m sure they won’t miss us.”

“but isn’t that-”

“come on,” you cut in. “i know you want to get out of here as much as i do.”

he met your eyes, excitement swimming in them as he watched you wait anxiously for an answer. “well i-”

“you know i wouldn’t allow you to say no right?” you asked.

he raised an eyebrow “and why is that?”

“i can see it in your eyes,” you started. “you’re tired, you want a break as much as i do,” you tugged on his arm. “so let’s go!”

he paused watching your bright smile before caving in once more to you and your rather spontaneous antics. “fine,” the boy sighed as you continued to drag him away from the office and down to the parking garage. to any kind of outsider, he looked as if he was being forced against his will. but deep down he was relieved, grateful almost that you were pulling him out. while he still had a somewhat intimidating look on his face, you could see it in his eyes that the boy was excited.

“we need to stop doing this,” sakusa added as he took off his mask, the two of you both drove away from the office building.

you turned to the boy “doing what kiyoomi? ditching meetings? or leaving without telling anyone?”

“both,” he answered before laughing, eyes brightening when you caught sight of the smile on his face.

“we could maybe start telling our parents that we left,” you added. “maybe we could just shoot them a text or an email or something, they’ll be fine with that won’t they?”

“or maybe we should just keep doing what we’re doing now and now care about our parents,” sakusa responded with honesty, the city buildings around you changing into more suburban ones.

“woah,” you called out, concern starting to grow in sakusa’s eyes. “are you ok? what happened to the strict rule following ‘i don’t break the rules’ sakusa kiyoomi?”

he laughed. “i’m ok,” he reassured. “but i guess i learned that some rules are just meant to be broken.”

“wow,” you teased. “where’d you learn that from?”

“i learned it from you.”

your eyes widened slightly at his words as you suddenly became aware of your heartbeat. a silence began to take over the car, leaving sakusa’s statement hanging in the air while you turned away from him and towards your window. the hums of the quiet car engine and the sounds of muffled conversations from people outside came into focus.

“hey,” you called out, your gaze remaining out the window as you stared into the beautiful sunset.

“what’s up?”

“what rules would you be ok with breaking?” you question hung in the air for a moment, as sakusa quickly began to think over an answer.

“let’s see,” he started. “well for starters….” you laughed at his little list. “but most importantly in my opinion,” he began, your laughter quickly growing quieter. “i think rule number five.”

you turned to him, an eyebrow raised slightly in confusion. “rule five? which one is,” your voice trailed off as you found the answer to your question. it was the rule in a big font at the bottom of the page, the rule sakusa put in place to keep you both in line, the rule you had thought of breaking so many times. “no romantic attachments,” you mumbled, reciting it from memory.

“that one,” sakusa clarified.

“and what are you implying with that one?”

“that it should be broken.”

you blinked, your mind processing his words. “wait huh??”

sakusa nodded. “i want to break it.”

“and you’re acting like it’s not a big deal!?” you exclaimed.

“it isn’t a big deal,” sakusa answered, the calm expression remaining on his face and his eyes remaining on the road despite the rapid beat of his heart.

“well i mean it kind of is,” you reasoned. “you were the one who mentioned how this was a huge rule, how it would end up setting both of us off course, how it would do more harm instead of help. it was something you were so firm on. you didn’t seem to care too much about the other rules, only this single one. i thought you worried so much about-”

“i don’t care about any of that anymore,” sakusa interrupted, his blunt honestly catching you off guard. “i don’t want to worry about that anymore.”

“then what do you want?” you asked softly.

“i want you.”

the boy pulled up to a red light, immediately turning to face you. “look, we’ve both been one to follow rules all our lives.”

“it’s what we were taught to do,” you noted.

“so can’t we just once, break this silly little rule that doesn’t really matter in the end?” he asked. “or at least, do you want to break that silly little rule?”

you remained silent for a moment, catching a glimpse of the worry and panic swimming in sakusa’s eyes as he laid out his cards in front of you, telling you his was willing to play this more dangerous, game with you, a game filled with much more risks and chances.

but it was a risk you were willing to take.

“i do,” you mumbled. “i do, i want to break it…with you,” you felt your cheeks grow warmer at your words as you turned away from him. “god this is just so…so” you mumbled unable to find the right words to describe it as your mind slowly began to spiral.

“look at me,” he directed instantly grounding you. you were quick to follow his orders, the panic from his face now gone and replaced with a small smile. “then let’s break this little rule of ours.”

“ok,” you answered, “let’s do it,” as if on cue the light turned green, adrenaline quickly running through both of your veins at your new decision, the car quickly gaining speed as you cheered happily. a goofy smile stuck to sakusa’s face like glue as he switched lanes, changing course from your house to an unknown place. you caught sight of the unfamiliar street name as sakusa missed your usual right turn back to your house. “where are we going?” you asked the boy.

“somewhere,” he answered with a smile as he caught glimpse of your confused eyes. “don’t worry, it’s not too far from here.”

“ok then,” you mumbled confused, watching the familiar houses you knew pass by from outside the window. you slouched into the seats, as unfamiliar sights came into view, the sky still orange as the sun continued to set. sakusa stepped on the gas, the car picking up speed as you drove faster. “kiyoomi?” you called out, turning to the boy.

his expression was laced in determination, his eyes glued to the road. “we’ll be there soon, don’t worry,” he reassured once more to which you slouched back in your seat. sakusa had a newfound determination. it was as if the new revelation you both made, lit a fire in him. he quickly looked outside, hoping the sun hadn’t set too much as he began to slow down, taking a right turn as the car began to traverse up a hill. thankfully, the sky was still a vibrant orange as you reached the top, the boy mentally patting himself on the back for making it in time.

you opened up the car door, eyes widening at the sight of the sunset. “you can see it so clearly up here!” you cried out.

“yep,” sakusa answered, walking towards the edge of the hill. “it’s quite peaceful up here too, i used to come here whenever i was a kid when i was bored.”

you leaned your arms against the railing. “it’s quite calming,” you noted.

“yeah,” he answered. “a great escape from when people often came to visit my house.”

“you didn’t like having people over?”

“absolutely not,” he answered, shaking my head. “it was all loud and i had to be all formal. plus, they always left my house a mess when they left.”

“you always liked having things clean,” you noted with a smile. “you’re always on my back about keeping things tidy.”

“yeah, that’s because you leave half empty coffee cups out everywhere.”

“i do not!”

“i picked up one of them this morning,” he answered bluntly. “you do.”

“well i-” you started, fully aware you wouldn’t be able to fight the boy on this. “i do” you mumbled. “but i’ll work on it i promise!”

the boy blinked. “oh, yeah sure. but honestly, i don’t mind picking them up for you.”

“then should i just leave them out then?”

“no, you shouldn’t.”

“you’re contradicting yourself here kiyoomi,” you huffed before catching the concerned look in his eyes. “i’m teasing i’m teasing, but i swear I’ll work on it.”

“thanks,” sakusa responded before a silence lingered between you both. your eyes stayed glued on the sunset, watching the sun slowly fall as the sky turned a shade of dark blue. but sakusa’s heart was racing, unsure of what he wanted to do here. he drove you here out of instinct, knowing it was a calming, nice place to stop by, before heading back to your house. he was unsure, hesitant, his mind swimming with thoughts and ideas just as they always did when he came up here.

“so why’d you bring me up here?” you asked, bringing the boy back to reality as you caught his attention.

“well i,” sakusa started. “i wanted to…” the boy found himself at a loss for words, unable to say the thousands of thoughts he was thinking. he turned to meet your questioning gaze, and one thing became clear to him, something that he’d done nothing but think about over the time he had spent with you. “you know what,” sakusa started, his heartbeat picking up by the second as he offered out his hand. “give me your ring.”

you raised an eyebrow in confusion. “now why the hell would i do that?”

“y/n give me the ring,” a firmness showed up in his voice, despite the slight tremble in it that made you slip the ring off of your finger and hand it back to him. “well what now? i feel like it’s weird if you take your fiancée’s ring with no explanation like this. i mean the only thing i can think of is that you want to replace it. are you gonna replace it or something? because i don’t really want you to honestly since it-” you froze up as you caught sight of sakusa, the boy now kneeling in front of you on one knee, a familiar-looking velvet box in his hand.

“i wanna try this again,” sakusa began. “i know the way this relationship is running isn’t the most conventional, especially since i proposed before we really truly knew each other,” your heartbeat quickened as you laughed at the boy’s remarks. “but i want you to know that i’m in love with you, i really truly, genuinely am. you make me so happy, you opened my eyes to a whole new world of possibilities, possibilities i want to explore with you.” you couldn’t help the tears welling up in your eyes at his words. “i know you can’t really say no” he added making you both smile. “but y/n, will you marry me?”

“yes, yes, of course, i will omi,” you instantly answered. the boy sighed in relief before he swept you off your feet, cheers of happiness escaped your lips as he wrapped you tightly in his arms, a wide smile on his lips “i would’ve said yes anyway you know that right?”

“i know,” sakusa answered as he gently put you down. “but at least this time you truly mean it.”

“fair,” you noted. “at least this time around, you know that i’m absolutely in love with you.”

his smile grew ridiculously wider as his lips made their way to yours. your hands beginning to tangle in his curls as he pulled you closer by the waist. your lips turning upward as you pulled away, the boy making you laugh while he leaned in for more, but you were quick to grant his request, your hand finding his cheek as your lips met his once more, the two of you relishing in this new happiness you felt, both of you finally getting what you wanted after what you wanted. no more rules, no more contracts, just you and sakusa happily together. the warmth from the sun began to fade around you, the sky turning to a dark shade of blue as the air turned crisp.

“does this make up for the shitty way i proposed last time,” he asked as he pulled away.

“the way you proposed last time was cute though,” you reasoned. “you were all embarrassed and everything.”

“no it was stupid,” he answered bluntly.

you laughed. “i did have to hint at it before you got the message, you were really dense about it.”

sakusa shrugged “i didn’t think you cared about those kinds of things back then.”

“if i’m getting engaged i would want the full experience,” you mumbled, crossing your arms. “what, didn’t you care about those kinds of things?”

“not back then,” he answered. “but now i care, especially when it’s you.”

“sickeningly sweet,” you mumbled. “that was a tooth rotting kind of sweet, i didn’t think you had it in you kiyoomi.”

he sighed. “i’m not as emotionless as everyone thinks i am,” he responded, walking back towards the car. “you should know that better than anyone.”

“wha-” you turned to the boy as he walked away. “i’m not a dumbass, i know!” you answered, catching up to him. “and i’m glad you’re willing to share that side with me, thank you for that”

he looked down at you with a smile. “thank you for letting me share it with you.”

the two of you started back towards the car much happier than when you last left. a new sense of rebellion and adrenaline running through you both as you headed home, so much so that sakusa was still speeding like he was earlier as he raced the sunset. but you didn’t mind. you both felt free, almost. for once in your life, you both felt like normal people. not like CEOs or business people, but normal college kids living their carefree lives. it was liberating the feeling of happiness he gave you. you didn’t feel like you needed to live up to certain expectations of the people around you. there was no sense of business or professionalism.

there was just love.

that was all that surrounded you two not many months later as you pulled up to the same restaurant sakusa brought you to the day you first met. the brown and black interior greeted you as the workers welcomed you both in. the hostess once again brought you to the small booth where you and sakusa sat down together, this time neither of you looking through the menu as you were quick to order what you wanted.

it was the day before your wedding and normally you would’ve been celebrating or doing some last-minute preparation. but you both cleared out tonight, making sure everything was taken care of so you could both come here together to finish this one final task. you met sakusa’s gaze, a white mask covering the rest of his face as you pulled out the familiar folded up sheet of paper, a small set of rules written out on them. “out of everything on here,” you started. “i’m surprised we only broke one rule.”

sakusa nodded. “we are quite the rule followers,” he noted as you watched his eyes smile.

“well we are except when it comes to this last one,” you added, your pen pointing out the last rule at the bottom which sakusa wrote out in big font all those months ago. “and it was the one you ended up deeming the most important too! what a shame,” you teased.

“of course it had to be the one we broke,” sakusa rolled his eyes.

“i’m glad we did though,” you said as sakusa’s hand slowly reached out to yours, your pinkies linking together across the table. the boy pulled out another sheet of paper with his other hand, this time there were no creases or indents in the paper. “draft two?” you asked.

“draft two,” the boy answered as he clicked his own pen. “but i wanted to add a few more rules to this list,” he took his hand away from yours as he began to scribble on the paper, jotting down a quick title. “rules of engagement draft two,” he read. “can i start with the first one?’

"go for it,” you answered, leaning over the table to see what sakusa was writing. “rule on,e” you read out loud. “we both take 50% of our future earnings as a partnership. this won’t include individual earnings, but the profits from our partnership. furthermore, all bills and their costs will be divided evenly so one person isn’t paying more than the other,” you looked up at sakusa in approval. “so we’re keeping the main structure then?”

the boy nodded. “yeah, draft two is just for elaboration.”

“great,” you said as you turned the paper. “so then since rule two doesn’t really apply anymore since we’re already engaged, i’ll just add in one in it’s place,” you explained, writing out your new rule.

“rule two: y/n has to teach sakusa all the secret family recipes,” sakusa read out as his eyes smiled an idea popping into his head. “i like that.”

“rule three:” you added after he turned the paper towards him. “sakusa has to teach y/n how to play volleyball,” your eyes lit up. “yes, yes, i like that one.”

“good,” he answered.

“rule four,” you declared as you wrote it out on paper. “no cheating, or secret relationships for the sake of broken hearts, negative exposure and scandals.”

“that’s never going to happen,” sakusa added bluntly.

you smiled at him “i know, but i’m still keeping the same structure of our rules.”

“now,” he breathed out. “rule number five,” he clicked his pen, taking his turn with the paper.

“love your partner with all your heart, in sickness and in health, prosperity, and poverty. until death do you part,” you read, your heartbeat picking up as you instantly answered. “i do.”

sakusa laughed from across the small table. “save the i dos for tomorrow y/n.”

you rolled your eyes. “keep that in though, it’s cute.”

“i was planning on it,” he answered. “anything else you want to add?”

“yes,” you responded with ease. “rule six: buy a house that neither of our families already own.”

“so we’re going to move out of the house?”

you nodded. “lets get some of our own property for once ya know?”

“alright, i’m down for that,” sakusa smiled. “rule seven,” he began as you continued to write out rules. “we support each other with our individual company decisions. all partnership decisions must be agreed on by both of us.”

“no sudden changes or impulses,” you tacked on, clicking you pen. “got it.”

“rule eight,” he continued. “the house must be clean at all times.”

you laughed as he wrote it down. “ok ok i get it, i’m cool with that one,” you looked down at the quickly filled up paper. “rule nine,” you began “when one of us is sad, we make the other serotonin ramen.”

sakusa nodded in approval, “ok i can do that,” he looked up at you. “you need to teach me though.”

you pointed at the paper. “rule two,” you noted making him smile. “and finally,” you sighed out. “rule ten a promise,” sakusa looked at you confused.

“what promise?”

“it’s easy don’t worry,” you started. “both sakusa and y/n must promise to love the other, to continue opening the other op to new horizons and possibilities. both parties must remember that some rules, can be broken,” you looked over the paper. “alright!” you drew a line at the bottom. “now sakusa kiyoomi, sign here please,”

the boy smiled as he took the paper, scribbling out his signature.

you laughed before signing your own name before you offered out your hand to sakusa. “do we have a deal?”

“of course we have a deal,” he answered, shaking your hand, sealing this new and improved contract between you both. “i love you.”

“i love you too,” you answered with a smile, a smile you couldn’t contain any longer as you now faced a new future with him. it was a future filled with endless possibilities and unmatched amounts of success as you both started your journey down this new and unknown path. but despite the uncertainties the future seemed to hold, you were both prepared to work through them with bright smiles. because when you had each other, you didn’t feel the need to be extremely cautious, to be insanely focused on following all the rules, to live up to everyone’s high expectations.

you’d both taught each other so much over your time together, but one lesson seemed to stand out more than all the others, a lesson neither of you could’ve fathomed before you met. that love never followed the rules, it was impulsive, spontaneous, adventurous. it brought people out of their shells as they were introduced to a whole new world of paths you could take, each one full of twists and turns and risks. neither of you nor sakusa paid mind to the high risks and big chances you were yet to meet, as you ran down your new path as fast as you both could because when you were together, there was no stopping what you could accomplish, what you could achieve.

all you truly needed in life was each other.