Knock, knock, knock!
The constant knocking on Leblanc's door at three a.m. woke Akira Kurusu, breaking him out of his slumber.
He groaned and rolled out of bed, sighing as his feet touched the colder wooden floor of the attic. "Who is that at this hour?" He thought in exasperation. All he requested between Palace trips was a little peace and quiet. He sat up slowly and got out of bed even slower, careful not to wake Morgana - who by some miracle hadn't woken up yet.
Groaning now, he trudged downstairs, flipping lights on as he went. Attempting to roll out a kink in his neck, he stopped as he saw Ann at the door. He never broke eye contact with her, but his hands moved deftly, unlatching the bolts and locks and letting her in.
She rushed in, and he shut the door before too much of the hot summer air rushed in with her.
She looked panicked, but she sat down at the counter, fidgeting with her hands. Akira said nothing, only rubbed sleep out of his eyes and tied on an apron. Before she could blink, a plate of warm curry and an iced coffee was in front of her. An almost identical plate sat next to hers, a cup of steaming coffee with it. She wondered how he could drink that with it being so hot outside.
Akira shrugged off his apron, sliding into the seat next to her. He said his prayers and dug in, listening as she did the same, becoming quiet after.
About halfway through her plate, Ann spoke. "So..."
"So?'
"I have a crush on Ryuji." Ann stated quietly.
"And the sky is blue," Akira retorted. "Your point is..?
Ann slapped him in the arm, regaining some of her usual vigor. "I...don't think he likes me back."
"He does." Akira said through a mouthful of curry.
"But he's Ryuji! He's kind, and he pisses me off sometimes, but there are just so many good things about him! And I'm not anything special. I have my looks but, I'm not smart like Makoto, or a whiz with computers like Futaba. I'm just your average American doll."
"Not true." Akira said, clearing his throat. "You're compassionate, an incredibly good actor when your heart is into it, a complex person, and you're a kind soul, even if you and Ryuji do joke with each other harshly. That's just how some friendships are."
Her breath hitched. "Thanks. I just...feel like he's almost too good for me, you know?"
"Too good to be good for you?"
"Too better, that's all I need." Ann sang.
Akira high-fived her. "That's my girl." After a minute of shared conpanionship at the song reference they had both made, he asked: "Are you gonna get the guy?"
Ann hesitated, taking another bite of her curry.
"I-I don't want to screw anything up."
Akira winked. "Take your time. He likes you enough to wait a little."
Ann blushed, face becoming cherry red. "Oh, yeah? And what about your thing for a certain someone?" She challenged.
"Sh-Shut up!" He exclaimed loudly.
Ann laughed, smiling.
Everything would turn out for the best; but they had to await Ryuji's next move. The real question was; when was he going to make his move?
It was like deja vu.
This was the second night he'd been woken up at 3am.
Was it Ann?
Probably not. He'd talked to her for a while last night. Hell, he'd even nudged them together more than once yesterday, to Ann's pleasure. Ryuji had blushed and denied it furiously, but he'd seen the wheels turning in his brain.
Ann had been more openly flirty that day, too, and Ryuji was a blushing mess with the two of them working together.
So it wasn't her. Who could it be, then?
Sighing, he got up and walked downstairs, flipping on lights as he went.
Looking through the door, he saw the only other blonde in the group.
He sighed, rubbing his eyes under his glasses and opening the door all the way. Ryuji rushed in and sat down in the seat Ann had been in last night, fidgeting. Akira repeated the same steps he had done last night. Shut the door, curry, coffee.
Ryuji thanked him for the meal and began to dig in after saying his prayers. Akira nodded and did the same, eating about half of his plate before he breathed the topic.
"This is about Ann, right?" He said, starting at Ryuji. The blonde choked on his food and his cheeks went pink.
"H-how'd you know?"
"Because your face was bright red when she talked to you today." He said casually, shrugging his shoulders.
"She does weird stuff to my stomach, and she makes my chest feel like it's going to explode or somethin'." He frowned in thought.
Akira chuckled. "Ryuji, those are all signs of having a crush on someone."
His face turned red. "But she's too good, ya know? I mean, she's a friend but she's so much better than I am."
Akira rolled his eyes. "You're just as good as she is. Any girl or guy should be glad to have you. Does she know?"
"I didn't know until 5 seconds ago."
"Fair point. Do you want to kiss her and do all the mushy stuff with her?"
"Yeah...and it sucks because I know I'll never get to."
Akira shook his head. "She's into you."
"Ya don't know that..."
"I'm 99 percent sure she does."
"Ugh..."
"She's got a nice figure though."
Ryuji sputtered, going red. "Akira!"
Unbeknownst to the two of them; said girl was on the other side of the door. Heartbroken tears rolled down her cheeks, thinking that they weren't talking about her, but Makoto. The first comment she'd heard was about how Ryuji's face had been bright red when she had talked to him today.
Without a word; she turned and ran into the night.
The next week, Ann avoids them both. It starts the day he spoke to Ryuji, and it lasts for a week. Unless she has to see them, she doesn't speak.
It's about a week before the beach trip when she speaks to one of them again, and that's only because they start the conversation.
Akira doesn't say anything. He figures that she did something, whether that be listening in on their conversation and misunderstanding, or misinterpreting his actions.
When Ryuji begins to rant about it to him, he frowns.
"Talk to her. Nothing's going to get solved if you keep waiting for her to make the first move."
"That's not what this is about! She doesn't even like me like that."
"Yeah, right."
"That's not what this is about." He was making desperate excuses now.
"You and I know that this *is* what this is about." Akira sighs.
"I can't approach her." He says nervously, leg bouncing.
"Ryuji."
"Yeah?"
"Do you love her?"
"...yeah."
Akira smiled. "Then go. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Go after her."
"...You mean, go now?"
"No, go in 16 years. Yes, go now!" Akira retorted sarcastically.
Ryuji shouted a quick 'bye!' in response, turning and running away.
Akira just grinned, proud of his friend.
Ann scowled as her arm was caught by a familiar hand.
"What do you want, Ryuji?" She asked harshly, still heartbroken.
Ryuji said nothing, just tightening his grip on her arm and leading her away. She almost sighed, but refrained, instead remaining silent and allowing him to lead her off.
He led her all the way to behind the gym, grip sliding from her arm and to her wrist. It wasn't so hard as to leave a bruise, but it was tight. He let go suddenly, taking two steps forward and then turning to face her.
"I want to why you're ignoring me." He said, seeming less upset than he actually was.
Ann looked away from him and scoffed. "And I want a million dollars."
"Damnit, Ann! I'm being serious here!"
She sighed, a hopeless expression crossing her face. "I'm sorry. I can't say."
"Why the hell not?" Ryuji retorted.
"Because I can't screw things up between us." She replied, a tear falling from her right eye.
"How would it screw things up between us?" Ryuji asked, frowning in confusion.
Ann seemed to cut loose suddenly, screaming at him with frustrated and heartbroken tears rolling down her cheeks. "Because I'm in love with you, you moron! I'm in love with you and you're in love with Makoto!"
Ryuji furrowed his eyebrows. "What gave you that idea?"
"I'm not as stupid as you think, Ryuji!" She yelled. She let out a deep breath and looked away from him again. "I was at Leblanc the other night when you guys were talking. I had went to talk to Akira about something, and I heard you guys talking. You didn't mention a name, but he mentioned something about you blushing while talking to her. I already know that's Makoto, okay? She's much better than I am, anyway."
The blonde adjusted the strap of her bag and looked at the ground, shadows masking her face. "I'm gonna be late for a shoot. Bye."
She began to walk off, and Ryuji stood there for a minute, flabbergasted. "Wait, Ann!"
The words came out of his mouth before he realized what was happening. Ann turned around and stared at him blankly. "What?"
"I wasn't talking about Makoto." He began, walking towards her quickly. She stood near the wall of one of the school buildings.
"Ryuji, you don't like me, I get it-"
"Just listen for a sec!" Ryuji yelled, stopping about two steps from her. "I want you, ya idiot! That stuff was about you, you just didn't hear it because we'd already been talkin' before ya got there!"
Ann looked up, eyes wide. "Are you serious?" She asked.
Ryuji's body seemed to move on it's own, moving towards Ann and gently shoving her against the wall. "Do I look serious?" He asked.
In response, Ann turned her head and dropped her bag. In what seemed to be the next instant, her arms had wound around his neck and her lips were on his. Heat took over him and he found that he was enjoying the sensation. Somehow or sometime - Ann had been pressed up against the wall, and Ryuji's hands had found their way to her hips as she raked her nails against his scalp. After a solid minute or two of heated kisses, they both pulled back, panting.
"I'm canceling my shoot today and we're going out on a date." Ann demanded.
"I get to see more of you and we get to kiss more so, I'm good with that." Ryuji shrugged, sliding out of her hold.
She smiled brilliantly at him. "When did you get so charming?"
The other blonde blushed from his head to his toes and Ann let out a little coo.
"H-hey! Stop that!"
The next time Akira Kurusu is woken up at 3 a.m, he flips on the light as per usual, but as he looks out the door, he sees not one, but two people. Grinning, he opens the door and lets the couple in. They take a seat at the booth, holding hands on the table top. Akira makes three plates of curry and two coffees along with an iced tea. They both accept the food and smile at him, and then like lovestruck idiots at each other.
Akira grins and brings a chair over, sitting at the end of the table. They chat idly for a while and the two leave, thanking him for helping them get together.
He waves it off and bids them farewell, locking the door once they step out. Akira cleans up and turns off the lights, and then climbs back into bed.
Ryuji and Ann's relationship goes public the next day, and he's not woken up at 3am by either one of them again.
Not for a couple months, at least.
A/N: so this is part 2 of "it's ryuji's birthday and i love him so he can have some fanfics"
i love my boy
part 3 is set to come out later today or tomorrow, maybe two days from now at the latest.
Anyway, maybe leave a comment or review? It helps the motivation a lot more than you'd think!