This post has the following content warnings:
It's a peaceful day at Leblanc. Sojiro has a couple customers in his shop, both sipping coffee, one eating a curry. Mellow music is playing, the lighting is cozy, and the coffee is as good as ever.
He nods a greeting as Akira enters the shop on her way home from school.
Akira grins. "Yeah."
... She's leaning against his shoulder. His cheek is right there.
... no need to rush things.
"So," she says with a little smile. "That was lovely. Now what?"
"Yeah! It was great," he says with a grin. "Now, we take our time heading for the burger place. Wait and listen to the credits music, or get up now, whatever you want."
... should she stay or should she go...
Ryuji's tender embrace comforts her, but she did have a plan. And she'll have to leave anyway.
She doesn't want this moment to stop, though.
"... I'd like to stay a little bit longer."
He smiles. "Sounds good to me. Really glad you asked me out," he adds with a blush.
"Really glad you accepted."
Akira sighs softly. The armrest of her chair digs into her side, but she closes her eyes for a moment and just stays. Here in Ryuji's gentle embrace.
She giggles, then winces as the blunt sharpness of the armrest shifts.
"... Alright, this armrest's going to take a chunk out of my side. Let's get going to the burger place."
She takes it, and stands.
What a wonderful boy...
Part of her wants to bring that hand to her lips and kiss it, but again, she resists. It's not time yet.
And out they head toward the lobby. He keeps his grip loose for the first few steps, in case Akira doesn't want to hold hands on the walk, but—
— Akira's having none of this "not holding hands" business. She's holding on firmly, even if she can't quite meet his gaze the whole time.
She drops her caramel corn bag with the soda bottle in it in the trash as they enter the lobby, and looks over at Ryuji.
"Lead on," she says.
He's looking away blushily too, a decent bit, but after he's disposed of his trash they're off down the street. "Yeah! It's not far."
It is, it turns out, just a few doors down the street from the theater.
He gives her hand a squeeze.
She squeezes back.
The burger place is kind of kooky — all space-themed and over the top — but right now it just makes her want to laugh a little more. She's on a date.
She looks up at the menu board with its neon trim.
"I'd like an Earth burger and an orange Crush," she says. "And some onion rings."
"An earth burger and fries, and a coca-cola, please." He gets out his wallet and pays the bill.
"Let's grab a booth." Akira gives Ryuji a sappy little grin and leads him off by the hand.
Ryuji grins blushily back at her and sits down across from her. He squeezes her hand again.
Akira squeezes one last time beneath the table and then lets go. It's awkward to reach like this.
"... It's really nice to spend time with you," she says. "And it's just... yeah. Um, we should probably find an actual conversation topic that's not just how much we care about each other." She ducks her head.
"You like firey colors, huh? Or maybe I should say autumn colors. What's your favorite season?"
"Makes sense. I like clear days, though. Enjoy bein' outside too much to like the rain."
View Flat HTML
View Metadata
Search Post