Happy Shicca week! I hope you enjoy this mini-series of mechanic!Shiki and photographer!Rebecca AU! These one-shots will all be connected :) This is also part one of two of their date.
Shiki pulled at his shirt collar, taking labored breaths as he finally reached the apartment door. He raised up a fist, that wasn't occupied by the bouquet of roses, to knock on the door but froze before his knuckles made contact with the wood.
He wasn't sure if he could do this.
He had asked the pretty photographer out on a date on a whim. He had liked her ever since she set up her small photo hut across the street from the mechanic shop a short year ago. The way her sapphire eyes sparkled in the sun and that damn smile did things to his heart that Shiki thought was impossible. She even had a name that he was happy to roll off his tongue.
Rebecca.
His thoughts went to of how overjoyed he was when she accepted his date offer. He didn't know if it was just him, but she seemed just as happy when she accepted. That confidence he felt when he asked returned just a bit and luckily for him that was just the drive he needed to finally rasp his knuckles on her apartment door. He stood there anxiously waiting for his date to open the door to greet him. TIme seemed to slow down when he heard the door opening.
When she was revealed to him Shiki's breath hitched. The white dress she wore barely brushed her knees, the fabric snug on her waist before flowing out at her hips. The white dress was accented by a light pink long sleeved cardigan that was button right under her well endowed chest. His eyes searched her face, seeing nothing but joy in her ocean orbs. Her cheeks were dusted with a soft pink shade, contrasting well with her curly platinum locks that reached her small waist.
"You look beautiful."
Shiki didn't realize he said that out loud until she giggled softly at his comment.
"You don't look so bad yourself."
It was his turn to blush as the arm hidden behind his back extended to her, showing her the bouquet of red roses. "These are your favorite, right?"
He watched at she put her hands up to her mouth, eyes shining in surprise. "How did-"
"You're a pretty easy read Bec." He laughed. "Your office isn't littered with them or anything."
"They just smell so nice." She defended as she took the dozen flowers from him, taking a whiff of the lovely smell, humming in appreciation she smiled at him. "Thank you."
He rubbed the back on his head sheepishly. "Yeah, no problem."
"I'm gonna go put these in a vase, after that I'll be ready."
"That's fine. We have all night after all. Well after our reservations."
Rebecca tilted her head to the side. "Are you going to tell me what we're doing?"
"Nope." He said popping the 'p', he offered her a teasing grin to her pout. "You'll see."
"It feels so good to stretch my legs, that car ride was so long!" She complained as she stretched her muscles, joints popping in satisfaction when she did.
Shiki didn't say anything as he stepped out of the vehicle himself, locking up his pride and joy. They wouldn't be needing it until they drove back to Granbell. He watched as she looked in every direction before her eyes hit the waters in front of her.
"Whoa!" Rebecca gasped, amazed at the scenery in front of her. She rushed to the side of the bridge, only stopping when the fence in front of her prevented her from going any further. "The ocean is gorgeous…"
Shiki caught up with her, watching her face as she gazed at the deep blue water in front of them. He remembers she'd (dejectedly) mentioned how she has never been to the ocean before, but it was on her bucket list to go. Before she moved to Granbell she had lived in the small town of Bluegarden, where there was nothing but towers of smoke and smog. She had always hated that town, wanting something that was more easy on the eyes, not to mention her lungs.
Still looking at her face, Shiki replied. "Yeah, it is."
They stayed in that position for a short amount of time, before the quiet moment was interrupted by Rebecca's shout. "Shiki look! Dolphins!"
He finally turned his head to see the sea creatures jumping out of the water, the sun reflecting off their silver skin, the bright light reflecting in his dark eyes. He put up a hand to shield his eyes from it. "I could see them better if the light wasn't in my eyes. Hopefully they're here by nighttime."
He noticed Rebecca look at him, her head tilted and eyebrow raised. "We're staying here until nighttime?"
Shiki instantly panicked. "I-I mean if that's okay! If you need to be home earlier-"
"Oh, no!" She said with a high pitched, flustered voice. "I want to spend all the time with you I can!"
At that comment the pair went silent. Both red in the face and eyes averted to the ground.
"I-I mean if that was okay…" He noticed how unsure her voice sounded. It calmed him nerves knowing she was just as nervous as he was calmed his nerves tremendously.
"It's more than okay." He reached out to her, grabbing her hand and rubbing his thumb along her knuckles. "Because I want to spend all the time I can with you too."
Cheeks still flushed, he watched as her head tilted back up to meet his onyx eyes. Her eyes lit up with that joy from when they first met and that's all it took to soothe his nerves, even giving him the confidence to get a little bold. He twisted his hand so their palms connected and wrapped his fingers around her smaller hand. He seen her take a quick glance at their joined hands before looking back up at him, smiling before giving his hand a squeeze back.
The joy in Rebecca's eyes turned into a teasing glint. "You know the way to my heart is food."
Shiki rolled his eyes playfully at her. "After knowing you this long, I know. Besides, I told you we had reservations earlier, right?"
"Yeah, well... " Rebecca pouted because the moment had escaped her memory, she was too busy looking how good Shiki looked in his red button up shirt with the sleeves pinned back to his elbows and the black slacks covering his legs. "How did you hear about this place anyway?"
He gave her a little tug. "I'll tell you the story on the way to the restaurant, we have to get going."
"I hope the food is good!"
"Weisz said it was." The mention of Weisz's name made Rebecca stop in her tracks. "Bec?"
"You're going to take advice from him?"
He chuckled at her distrust. "Oh come on Bec, he's not that bad-"
"He tried to get in my pants the first time I met him."
This made Shiki irritated. "He what?"
"Yeah. I went to a little cafe because it just looked so cute! The sweets they displayed in the window just looked so tasty-"
"Focus Bec."
"Sorry sorry." She said before continuing on. "Well, he coincidentally came in when I did and invited himself to my table and tried to flirt with me for a good hour. He got tired of me saying ignoring his advances I guess and went to flirt with our waitress instead." She chuckled at the memory. "He's banned from that place now."
Rebecca didn't fail to notice the change in Shiki's demeanor. It seemed more sour than the pleasant mood that was there before she started talking about his flirty co-worker. "Shiki?"
"That ass knew I liked you from day one!" Shiki blurted out. "He's gonna have some missing wrenches when next time I work…"
"What?"
Rebecca's word made Shiki freeze, he didn't realize he blurted out he liked her. There goes his plans for after dinner confessing to her on the sandy beach in the moonlight…
"Uh, yeah." He removed his hand from her to scratch the back of his head, his anxiety returning because of his slip up. "I'm sorry I ruined our date."
"What makes you think you ruined it?"
"This wasn't how it was suppose to go." Shiki confessed, frustration obvious in his tone. He had been planning this date ever since he asked her. Everything was planned perfectly, well at least in his head it was, from the time he picked her up from the time he took her back home.
That included his confession.
But now that was ruined.
"After dinner we were suppose to go on the beach, take a walk in the sand, maybe dip our feet in the water..." He started dejectedly before giving out a depressed sigh. "That's how I was gonna say I liked you."
He was surprised when Rebecca snorted as she began walking up to him, putting a petite hand on his cheek. "That's so cliche." Shiki blinked in surprise before she continued talking, stroking his cheek bone with her thumb."This way was more raw and heartfelt, the spontaneous moments are the ones that mean the most."
Shiki grinned slightly, covering her small hand with his large one. "So, I didn't mess up?"
She grinned teasingly at him. "I'll tell you after we taste the food."
"Well I'm kind of scared since Weisz suggested this place." Shiki laughed. "Hopefully it's a decent place."
"I bet it is." Rebecca replied as she wrapped her slender arms around Shiki's strong one. "He aims to get laid, so the places he goes have to be good enough to do that."
"Just know, I'm not trying to get in your pants."
"I'd hope not." Rebecca sang sweetly before speaking softly. "I'm having a wonderful time."
"The date hasn't really started yet but," Shiki said softly, resting the side of his head on the top of hers. "I'm glad you are."
"Shiki?" He hummed in response. He felt her still before releasing his arm, scared he did something wrong he turned to her only to see her get up on her tiptoes, using one of her hands to direct his head so his cheek met her soft lips. It was only just a peck on the cheek but to Shiki time stopped. He looked at her, surprise evident in his features as he reached a hand up to the spot where she just kissed. His eyes met hers, only to be met with her soft smile.
"I like you too."