i. Beloved
The dim lighting of the restaurant shone on two people seated at a scarlet-clothed table.
Quiet chatter surrounded the couple. It was unnoticed by either person. The two were engaged in their own silent exchange.
On the beautiful winter evening, the young girl of the duo wore a warm, knitted sweater dress for the occasion while the young man was clad in a more casual yet semi-formal wear. Minutes into their arrival at the restaurant, dinner was served and enjoyed by the lovely two.
After an hour of idle chatter and laughter, a comfortable silence enveloped them. That is, until a feminine whisper disrupted the peace. Not that the navy-haired male minded.
"I, uhm-" she coughed and cleared her throat. And he waited patiently. Or rather, it only seemed like he was patient. The composed but slightly perturbed face of the young man gave away his impatience.
"Yeah..?" he replied, urging her on. Trying to endure the suspense proved to be difficult, especially when the love of his life was about to confess her love for him. Or seemed to be. And as cliché as it seemed, if that wasn't cliché enough, he would have waited an eternity for her to tell him what he wanted to hear.
The corner of her lips twitched. She smirked, which was unusual for her, and replied, "What's wrong, Ikuto? You look a little desperate."
He glared at her and turned his face away from her.
Suddenly, the girl appeared in front of him and lifted her hand up to her lips. "It's a secret," she whispered. Then she paused and leaned in closer, "I love you, Ikuto."
A phone rang out, interrupting his wonderful dream.
"What the heck..." murmured the young man. Languidly, Ikuto picked up his phone to read the brightly-lit screen.
From: Amu Hinamori
To: Ikuto Tsukiyomi
Dec. 1 8:10 AM
Ikuto, you're an idiot. Don't do that again.
Ikuto reread the text and tried to decipher some sort of love confession from it. The love confession wasn't found. Noticing the date just afterwards, he sighed with slight disappointment and rested his hand atop his eyes for awhile to block out the morning light pouring from the window.
Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, the young man rolled off his bed and slowly made his way toward the bathroom. Once Ikuto made it there, he ran his fingers through the tangles of his navy blue hair and looked in the mirror.
Under his eyes were dark circles, making his face look paler in comparison. Not only did his face look awful, his posture was hunched and made him look unattractive. He rubbed his throat, which was itchy from not talking to anybody for awhile. His entire body was aching from staying in bed for the entire week. And after that week…
Ikuto still felt sick.
Now, there is a long list of possibilities for why that might be. Maybe it was because he had been waiting outside for his fair maiden to open her door for who knows how long. Or perhaps it was the fact that that on the coldest day of the year, he was trailing behind said maiden without a coat on. Then again, it might have had something to do with refusing to eat unless he was being fed by her. She declined.
He was a fool in love, as the movies would describe, and how wonderful have the consequences of love been. The kinds of things Ikuto would do for Amu, his fuschia-haired beloved.
It was raining out, so Ikuto turned to stare out the window of his living room at the beautiful weather. He yawned, but that drew out a fit of coughs. Mornings like this made Ikuto sleepy, which led to more desirable dreams about his dear Amu.
Ikuto groaned. Why can't dreams come true?
His feelings for her were so strong that he would do just about anything to see her every day and do anything to make her happy. If she never wanted to see him again, he would move out in a heartbeat. No, actually, that was an exaggeration. He would disappear out of her sight but continue to follow her around.
Ikuto was indeed crazy about her, not that he would ever admit it. He would rather not be called a liar.
The blue-haired male sighed again as ran his fingers through his hair several more times. He quickly turned to walk back to his humid bedroom when the hallway started spinning, then Ikuto couldn't see anything at all. Everything blacked out.
He stood where he was until he was interrupted by the doorbell a minute later when the colors came back. Ikuto staggered slowly toward the wooden front door. Apparently, he was too slow on the way because when he opened the door, no one was there.
His journey back upstairs wasn't anything different, so he laid down on the bed in his earlier position.
A knock was heard on his balcony door as soon as his head hit the pillow. A blob of pink was seen behind the blurry, rained window. The person moved their head closer to the glass to reveal hazy amber eyes.
Lovely Amu.
Strange, it was usually vice versa.
He narrowed his eyes and thought some more, dismissing the pounding from his current headache.
She can't just be here. The love of his life shouldn't be here. First off, she would usually be ignoring his existence- not try to find him at all, like he does her. What a twist. It was probably a hallucination, which seemed likely, since he was sick at the moment. Though, if it was a hallucination, she would have the brightest smile on her face just for him, not an annoyed expression topped with a menacing glare. She seemed to be shouting something over the pouring rain too.
Ikuto just stared at her with the same expression, or lack thereof. Suddenly, the door of his balcony slid open. The slam of the glass made him wince from his bed as it echoed in his head and rang in his ears. In short, the sounds were far from pleasant.
The girl reopened the door and shook off the water from her umbrella outside before glancing at him in the dark room. Taking a dry towel out of her handbag, she dried her hair with it. Weird how she got rained on, even with an umbrella.
Amu then turned her head toward the balcony. "Huh. I guess you don't lock your balcony door either," she said, shaking her head in mock disapproval, "You could get kidnapped one day."
"By you? Am I getting kidnapped right now?" He mumbled the words through his blankets, but they were still audible for her to hear them.
"No and no. You're the one who's always telling me to lock my door, you hypocrite."
Ikuto threw more fuel into the flame with his reply. "I think you're more likely to get kidnapped than me, child."
"Don't call me child, you... you old man!"
"Then go away, grandma."
"Ugh, don't be such an ass!"
Amu, flushed and fuming in her spot, was met with silence as Ikuto shuffled around in his bed. He coughed for longer than usual while tightening the blankets around himself to block out the sound. The girl stood there and waited for him to redeem himself.
"Just leave me alone, Amu."
The response was unexpected. Usually, he would tell her to get closer to him, whining for her forgiveness. Sorta. Curious and a tad concerned, she silently walked towards him to try and peer over the heavy blankets.
Still hidden under his covers, Ikuto thought Amu left since it was what she always did when he made her mad. Ikuto moved his blankets out of his face to breathe in fresh air. Ikuto was met with the face of his dream girl, her face slight of worry. He sighed, wishing it was a day when he wasn't coughing out his lungs or woozy and tripping over everything.
Ikuto closed his eyes and asked through a yawn, "Why are you still here, Amu?"
Said girl studied him closer before stating, "You're sick."
Ikuto wanted to croak out in response. His throat was already tired from the excessive coughing earlier on top of his conversation with her.
"You should be more concerned for yourself. You're looking ugly today."
"Well, I'm surprised, dear Amu. You pay attention to how I look everyday. Hot, right?"
He looked up at her and slightly smirked at her flustered appearance. "I do not! You look hideously repulsive everyday!"
"I'm still flattered by how much you ogle me." She stuck out her tongue at him in retort.
The concern for his well-being led Amu to cautiously place her hand against his forehead. The girl bluntly stated, "You're, like, really sick. What the hell, Ikuto?"
"And you will be sick too if you don't get out," he replied. She scoffed, a bit surprised by what he was worried about. Ikuto moved away from underneath her warm hand and faced the wall opposite to Amu. If he didn't usher her out, he would be the one taking responsibility for her being ill later on. He did not want her to catch it and blame it on him. And this time, it really would be his fault.
While he was overthinking his current situation, the female next to him impatiently drummed her dainty fingers on the bedpost. She was annoyed that he didn't tell her earlier when she was out shopping a few hours ago. The contents in the plastic bag she brought weren't fit for a sick person. Said bag laid abandoned near the balcony's glass door till Amu decided to take it by the handles and downstairs to his kitchen.
Thinking she left him alone and out of his life… hopefully not… he stretched his aching back and yawned into his pillow. Now he felt a little lonely. Then again, it's better to revel in the loneliness and abandonment than to give his love his cold.
Strange. Strange it was to see the love of his life in his house, let alone know where he lived. His mind was foggy, which explained why it didn't occur to him in the first place. How on earth did she know where he lived?
Ikuto fell asleep with the thought. It took a while with his congested nose, but he napped nonetheless. Just a short nap.
Excuse me for the excuses...
So sorry, Ikuto. o.o'' I wrote this way in December but somehow only uploaded it today. Like, an entire half of a year later. Augh. I remember being sick around that time too...
Ooh, December... Happy belated, Ikuto! ouo
This will be a two-shot. Fun.
Questions, comments, or concerns? c:
