There was no way to deny it, no way to ignore it, and certainly no way to accept it. He had most definitely fallen in love with the wrong person.
Shiotani Akifumi was in love with Amano Ichigo.
He nearly cried when he realized it. She was his mistress's worst enemy, the established lover of the man his lady still yearned for, and an accomplished, famous patissiere in her own right. There was a list of reasons as high and wide as Miya's mansion for why he should not, could not love her, and yet here he was. Here he stood, in the middle of a competition, straining himself to stay focused and not follow every clumsy movement of those delicate fingers with his eyes. His actions were filled with love for neither sweets nor his leader, but for his veritable enemy.
He decided that God's sense of humor was wretched, and that to beg for mercy would be suicide.
The young man listened faithfully and with all determination to his mistress's commands, hurriedly fetching sugar and flour and various other odds and ends of their creation's building blocks, but his heart fluttered every time he heard a whisper of Ichigo's voice over the noise.
In the end, the victory was, of course, not theirs; just like that, neither would the blessing of her love flutter down into his hands.
That night, Shiotani happened across his young love, his Juliet, in a deserted hall of the campus. Her bright brown eyes looked up at him in confusion, and he could tell she was searching for his name as he bowed to her lightly, saying, "It was a magnificent match today, Amano-san."
"Ah… umm—yeah! You, too!" A bitter smile quirked his lips, an uncontrollable smile filled with loneliness. She looked so sheepish, standing in front of him and fiddling with her hair. "Umm… sorry, but… could you tell me your name again? You're always with the heiress, but…"
"Of course, miss. I am Shiotani Akifumi." She stared at him with an almost comical intensity for a moment, before an enormous smile lit up her face. "Miss…?"
"Satou-kun has light brown hair like vergeoise, and Shiotani-kun looks like he'd be a study-holic sourpuss… but I think you're nicer than your name suggests," she said brightly.
His heart shivered with delight beneath her smile, just as it squeezed at the thought of her belonging to another. The smile on his lips felt strained. He wanted to let himself be as sad on the outside as he felt on the inside, but it simply wouldn't do. He couldn't burden this angel with his feelings—she wasn't his, and wouldn't change her mind, he knew. For four long years, he had known. Still, with no chances to let out his feelings… he felt about to burst. Perhaps it was that feeling that inspired his foolishness.
He dropped to one knee, heavy as lead and desperate as he could be, knowing this would be his only chance… and as if he were touching the holiest of all creations, he took her left hand and lifted it to his lips, placing a kiss on the ring finger where someone else's claim already resided. He savored the feeling of her baby-soft, sugar-sweet skin for only a fraction of a moment, before he pulled away, looking into her shocked eyes with everything in him laid bare.
Still, the only words that would leave his lips were, "Thank you for the kind word, miss. Your name is certainly more fitting than mine."
His Juliet said nothing as he left, slipping out into the darkness of the school grounds from a side-door, letting fall only a single tear for her sake.
AN: I think I claim the first ShioIchi. Seriously. Anyway, more crack pairings on the way... pretty sure the next one is Rick/Mari. 8D Hope ya'll enjoy. Don't forget to leave a review and show you care~