It was an instinct. Akko didn't even realise she took the photo until her camera clicked and her muse's head turned to her. Even with the frosty glare sent her way from her ice blue eyes, Akko couldn't help but find them beautiful.
"Why did you take my picture?" The girl asked moments later when she was right in front of Akko.
Akko fidgeted with the buttons on her camera and then the strap that is hung around her neck like a noose. She knew this career would kill her in the end, not physically but she knew her emotions would be dead, overwhelmed with a sudden presence of beauty. She just didn't expect it to be in the form of a human masterpiece.
"Please stop wasting my time and answer my question." This time her words had more of a harsher bite causing Akko to flinch slightly.
"Well you see, I um…" Akko stammered, her eyes looked everywhere else but the person in front of her. She didn't mean to act suspicious but how can she talk normally when she's talking to someone like her. You don't talk to works of art, you only admire them from the distance, forever casting longing gazes at their beauty that lives after the hungered battles of time.
Akko's inner thoughts were snapped awake as a firm grip wrapped around her wrist like a set of handcuffs. Akko heard her throat gulp as she looks up, the blond hair shadowed her from the midday sun but to Akko it was irrelevant, the stranger was already the sun in her eyes. In both beauty and how Akko struggles to not stare and look in her blue eyes for fear of becoming lost and then becoming blind.
"If you don't answer I will not hesitate to call the police."
Akko knew her eyes widened judging from the victorious smirk on her face. It didn't help that the pressure of her fingers against her wrist pinched a bit more. She probably was aware of her racing heart, the skipped beats and the thunderous ensemble of emotions and thoughts that spiralled around her system. However, she doesn't know that it's her presence alone that's causing it, not her threat of possible arrest, fine or slander to Akko's name. In fact, Amanda would easily bail her out if she was in jail and never make her forget about how useless she was towards girls who were more beautiful than any masterpiece of Da Vinci.
"I just thought you looked really beautiful," Akko admitted in a soft voice. Her heart jumped to where her mouth is, the butterflies using this opportunity to escape the cage of ribs that trap them in the abdomen. Their delicate touches tickled unease across her body, her eyes were shut and her cheeks were flaming crimson. She expected the worse, maybe a slap on her face or a being called a creep. Instead, the grip on her wrist loosened then it ceased to exist, a sign that prompts Akko to look up and see a faint blush coloured her muse's cheeks. A soft frown of confusion on her lips as she backs up slightly.
"I don't really understand how it influenced you to take a photograph." Akko couldn't help but frown slightly, it wasn't a reaction she expected but that doesn't mean she likes it. Self-doubt in one's look is never a nice thing to see. "After all, I wasn't doing anything spectacular or anything of worth-"
Akko didn't want to hear anymore, like her sudden photograph she pressed a finger to girl's lips, her finger to be exact. The girl blinked several times, the colour of rose becoming more prominent on her porcelain skin at the interaction. "I don't like it when girls underestimate their own beauty," Akko explained, the girl's mouth closing as she looked at her. "I took the photo because you were beautiful and it will be a wasted chance if I missed it."
The girl in front of her was beautiful. Too beautiful to be anywhere near to her league. She was out of this world like some sort of celestial creation. Not to mention, she looked cute with a blush.
Her finger lingered there for a second more before Akko lifted it, becoming suddenly aware that it was there for a second too long. She flashed her a quick apologetic smile, ignored the flare of heat on her own cheeks before she fiddled with the camera that hung around her neck. To Akko's surprise, the girl remained quiet, stealing glances at her camera in begrudging curiosity. It didn't take long for that silence to break into a soft gasp of awe as she saw herself on the small screen.
Akko smiled silently admiring the beauty as well. She tilted her camera for her to see and the brush of their shoulders touching sent sparks around her heart and stopped its beat momentarily. She was never this close to a beautiful girl before that wasn't her friends.
Ignoring her gay thoughts Akko turned back to the photo, shame that didn't help ignore said thoughts, only made them be tinted rainbow. Her muse was on the right side, standing on a hill as the rest of the space was decorated with the beautiful British countryside of rolling white clouds sailing over the sky sea on the top, wild flower fields with distance squares of houses on the bottom. Her body was slightly tilted towards her but her head gazing into the distance. The smile on her face was soft and gentle and the lighting just perfected it all.
"Look see," Akko pointed, zooming in her face, the gentle smile glowing from the sun's light. "Your smile is a sunrise and your eyes," she zoomed out and focused on them, "Are worth more than sapphire gems." She lingered at them for a moment, catching a glance at the real ones know that they're so close to her.
Her photo didn't do them justice and she fought down the urge to take a photo that would do them justice. They were just beautiful. She forgot how to breathe and her face showed it when her eyes caught hers and she looked away, zooming the image back out to where it was before.
"I see your point now about the photograph," the girl mused with a hint of a chuckle, "Though I have to admit, I believe you misunderstood me. I was just merely confused on why you would take a photo of me standing and calling it beautiful." Akko glanced at her, stammers at her tongue as she tried to defend herself before it all fell apart at the smirk on her lips. "Not that I mind besides you're quite a good photographer."
Akko's body swelled at the compliment and the nerves slowly started to leave her body. "Thanks," she laughed nervously as she tickled the back of her neck. "I'm actually quite new to all of this."
"I'm surprised, you have the skills of a professional, I'm willing to pay you a fair bit of money for that photograph."
Her words sprung back life to Akko's face as she turned back around to her with a smile bright enough to be on her level. She didn't even care that half of her face was a tomato colour nor how close she got to her face. "What did you just say? Did you really mean it?" As much as she loved photography and being a photographer it was a starving job if no one is getting married or celebrating life and it was rare for someone to buy her photographs.
"Of course, in fact, I'll give you my details right now," the girl produced a calling card all in fancy decorative ink on one side and details on the other from her bag before laughing. "I apologise for not even telling my name before I give my personal card." She looked right into Akko's eyes, melting her soul at the spot as she backed away slightly to create space, "My name is Diana Cavendish."
"Atsuko Kagari, you can call me Akko." She grinned back as she took her hand, Diana merely taking it before bows down to kiss it gently. The squeak of surprise left Akko's lips before she could stop it.
"It's a pleasure to meet to Akko," she said as she rose back to her normal height. "Though you usually tip when you pay, would you consider getting it before?"
Akko could only sheepishly nod at her, too dumbfounded on what just happened in a span of a few seconds. Was it possible to both die and come back to life in that small space of time? That this is not some dream?
She looked at Diana as she walked closer to her and the bundle of emotions that risen in her chest and how it became so easy to smile at her only made her realise that this is not some fantasy she thought up in her head. The feeling of lightness contrasted with the heavy beating of her heart was all too real.
"Would you mind me paying for lunch today?" Diana whispered with a gentle caress. "I want to know more about you."
Like everything else today, Akko felt a surge of the sudden need to do something once more. With a smirk, Akko went on her tiptoes and kissed her cheek.
"It was an instinct." Akko reasoned when Diana looked at her flabbergasted and blushing deep crimson before she broke into angelic laughter. She held Akko's hand as she moved to her side, leading them to walk more along the country path towards the nearby village to have lunch that would soon turn to full day's outing and a great story to tell whenever someone asks them how they met.
A/N- I hope you enjoyed reading this, not gonna lie it felt weird writing after a long time lmao especially when I have so many new ideas that came with the new episodes, looking at you episode 19 &20. Unfortunately I still got exams so I just jotted them down and wait till it's all over. Of course my friend's birthday is more important than exams so I needed to write something for him, if I wasn't in exam time I probably written longer lmao. What's funny about this idea, I came up with it during my Photography exam a few weeks back and spent a good 30 minutes just looking to space and daydreaming about it XDDD. For those curious, I'll be back to from the exam hiatus in about a month's time or so, I got 12? exams left, I think, so just hang on for a bit and I'll be back as soon as I can after it's all done. Anyways, I'll see ya till then and good luck to anyone else who is in exam period as well.