DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto. The only thing that is mine are to Oc's. Enjoy the read.
The young Kage sat in his large chair, writing away at his paperwork. Akari watched him with bright green eyes, studying every part of his face. Sure it was creepy, but the young adult wouldn't pay her any mind until he finished reading and signing his document. Eyeing the thickness of the document she concluded that he wouldn't be done for a while. Again her attention went back to his face.
His skin looked as smooth as a newborn, as if a professional photographer had photoshopped the hell out of this person. However, there a couple of technical errors upon his skin-the dark bags around his eyes and "Ai" kanji just above his left eyebrow. But that made him look more exotic and interesting. His red spiked hair added to that as did the pools of his aquamarine eyes. One critique Akari had was how pale and dull his skin looked. If only his lips had some color in them, she thought. It might actually make his thin lips look more pronounced and he'd actually look like he was living. Akari looked up from his lips to see if he'd finished yet. The last thing she needed was to seem like another one of his crazy fangirls.
His eyes still remained on the longest document she'd ever seen. It was a bit of a relief he hadn't caught her staring. But she really wanted him to finish it so she could finally get to know what her mission was and be on her merry way. Her eyes went straight back to his problem area. Those pale thin lips. I wonder if he'd let me put lipstick on him. Uhh. Well that's a stupid question. He'd have me in a sand coffin before I could even explain to him that the pink tube is not a weapon. Feeling a nudge on her arm she turned to the culprit, Kayoko, her long time teammate. Akari gave her the 'what the hell look'. Kayoko gave her the 'stop acting weird' look. Ignoring the short girl, Akari moved her attention onto her shoes.
Minutes, moments, whatever way she counted time passed until she finally heard the 1-inch thick paper being placed down. Both Akari and Kayoko stood up straighter as they awaited their orders. He folded his pale slender fingers under his chin.
"My apologies for making you guys wait" he said sincerely.
"Not a problem Kazekage-sama" kayoko reassured him.
Speak for yourself, I could've been at home watching my K-dramas. Akari snipped in her head. She maintained a cool composure on the outside but on the inside she roared on about wasting time. Akari was not the type to be kept waiting. Kayoko knew how impatient her poor soul was, having to deal with her for 4 years.
"It's a simple C rank mission, you have to go to the Leaf Village and get these documents signed by the Hokage. It should take you less than a week to complete, give him the night to read and sign the document and you should be on your way the day after you've arrived. Here is the document. It is important that you leave before nightfall today," he calmly explained while holding a yellow envelope with documents twice as thick than the one they had witnessed him reading.
Kayoko looked at her superior,head tilting in question as she grabbed the envelope from him. Akari still couldn't handle the fact that he kept them captive just to give a 2-minute mission briefing.
"Um, I don't mean to question your authority but why is it that we are being sent on this mission?" Kayoko asked.
"Pardon?" he coughed.
"It's a C rank mission and you're sending me, a Chunin, and Akari who's a Jonin," Kayoko clarified.
The Kazekage's eyes widened briefly after her explanation, something only Akari caught. She jerked her head after realizing why he was surprised, no matter how little he showed it.
"Wait, did you not realize that I am a Jonin? I've had this position for as long as you've been kaz-," Kayoko slammed her hand over the mouth of her annoyed friend- A task proving to be quite difficult with at least a foot of height difference between the two friends. Kayoko yanked her friend, with impressive strength, towards the office door.
"I guess we should get started on that mission. Have a good day Kazekage-sama," she declared.
Finally, outside of the sphere shaped building, Kayoko released her hold on Akari. The latter strutted angrily next to her short friend, arms crossed and with a deeper pout on her naturally pouted lips. Kayoko sighed at Akari's behavior. Despite her higher rank Kayoko always felt like the more mature one.
"Akari, it was an honest mistake," she reasoned.
"How dare he forget my rank, he's been sending me on missions for how long? Uh. And he MADE us wait like 20 minutes to finish reading the stupid document of his, just for him to give us a 3-minute mission briefing."
"Give him a break. He's like what, 17, is the leader of a nation and is about to enter the biggest war in history," Kayoko insisted.
"Uh, whatever," Akari responded.
Kayoko raised a brown eyebrow at her partner in crime. "Weren't you just checking him out at the office? To think that I thought for a second that you developed a small crush on him," she stated.
"I wasn't checking him out" Akari whined.
"So tell me what were you doing?" she inquired.
Now that Akari started thinking about it, she was checking him out. But hell would freeze over before she admitted that. "I was thinking about what color lipstick would look good on him". Which was true.
"Seriously. How can you think about that at this moment? You have to start being serious at one point in your life. And I think a light pink might work," she ended with a quick thought.
"Like Barbie doll pink?" Akari questioned.
"Yup," Kayoko confirmed.
"That's way too light. He's like pale already. What he needs is a pink with a hint of purple," she chattered.
"That's way too dark for his complexion. Subtlety is the key. Wait, why are we even having a conversation about this? We have to leave for this mission in less than 2 hours. Go pack I'll meet you at the front gates in an hour," she proclaimed.
They went in opposite directions towards their apartments. Kayoko thought about what she needed to pack, while Akari still pondered how she could put lipstick on her superior without getting killed in the process. Maybe she could do so by getting back at him for forgetting her ninja status and making her wait. Well this was something to think about. Smiling diabolically, she entered her apartment and threw in a week's worth of clothes into her small pack, a makeup pouch, and bathroom essentials. She showered and wore her ninja garments-a beige square shaped top, black capri sweats and brown ninja shoes. She kept her dirty blonde hair in a French braid that stopped at her hip, quickly swiping mauve lipstick across her pouted lips and running to the gates.
Kayoko waited for her as Akari showed up 5 minutes before the expected meeting time. They both nodded to each other and ran into the wispy desert, off to an easy to complete mission.
After the Mission
"That was incredibly BORING!" Akari whined.
Her and Kayoko returned from the mission at the expected time with no difficulty. Kayoko would've agree, although it was hard to complain when this was the only chance she and Akari actually got to hang out. With the war not too far away, this was the only little bit of peace they were going to get.
"It wasn't that bad," Kayoko whispered in her deep thought.
Akari turned to her best friend, taking in her state of contentedness and understanding that this mission was the last time they would have a sense of peace. Although short and uneventful, they acted like it was a vacation. Akari thought about what they did for that 1 day they stayed in Konoha.
4 Days Ago at the Leaf Village
Akari and Kayoko walked around the Leaf Village. Looking for a good place to eat. Half of the village was still under reconstruction after Pein's attack over a month ago. Sadly a lot of the shops were also in the same situation. It took an hour of searching but the two Sunanese women found a shop east of the village. They were lucky enough to find it before rush hour. The food was good and filling. Akari ordered some to go so they wouldn't have to come back for dinner since many people had started to pour in. After shopping at the few clothing stores that were unaffected by the attack, Akari and Kayoko dropped the bags of clothes and food off at the hotel. Akari noticed the hot spring was also unaffected and boy was she excited to relax in one.
They got to the hot spring just 15 minutes away from their hotel. Undressed and scrubbed down, they entered the soothingly hot water of the hot spring, sighing as their muscles relaxed.
"So," Kayoko started.
"Hmm?" Akari questioned.
"What do you think of Hisao?"
"Hisao Eto? Councilmen Tetsuya's nephew?"
"Yeah."
"He's cool I guess. Why do you ask?"
"Well someone told me he has a huge crush on you."
"Oh?" Akari raised her eyebrow at the new information.
"So that's something to think about," Kayoko pushed.
Having been in a serious relationship for nearly 3 years, Kayoko placed it upon herself to find a person for Akari. She wanted to see her friend be as happy as she was. Akari only had 4 important people in her life, her mom, little sister, Sensei, and their teammate Shuji. Kayoko wanted Akari to expand her circle, meet new people, and have a life where she was surrounded by more people. She had always been so...closed off.
"Kay, we talked about this. *sigh* I'm not interested in relationships," Akari declared. She sunk into the water, chin deep, moaning as the warmth seeped into her bones almost melting the bone marrow.
"I'm just saying to give someone a chance, that won't hurt. The closest I've seen you checking anyone else was back at the office when you were 'deciding what lipstick shade would look good on the Kazekage' Which I still believe is baby pink!" Kayoko ranted.
"I was not ch-"
"Yes you were!"
"No I wasn't!"
"Yes you were!"
"No I WAS-"
"Wow Akari, you are getting VERY defensive" Kayoko mocked.
"That because you're pestering me!" she spluttered.
Kayoko started to laugh. Akari joined in right after. Any other occupants would have looked at them like they had two heads, if there were any people there. They left the bathhouse relaxed and refreshed. At the hotel they ate cold dinner and slept on mats. Akari felt better than she had in the last few months. It had been hectic with the Akatsuki kidnapping the young Kazekage just a year ago, getting their hands on 7 out of 9 of the tailed beasts, attacking Konoha and war being declared not too long after. I wonder how Gaara's taking this? He's young, inexperienced in war, died and came back alive. Alot has been going on with him. He must be especially nervous about the 5 Kage meeting. Akari thought on about the troubles their Kage was going through; Happy that she'd never aimed for that titled position.
"Hey, What'cha thinking about?" Kayoko asked.
"Hmm, nothing important," Akari mumbled.
The Chunin rolled her eyes at her best friend's obviousness. She smiled wickedly. Maybe I should bring up Kazekage Gaara again. It's so fun to see her so flustered. Kayoko nodded to herself.
"Was it about Gaara-sama?"she cooed.
"I thought we were done with this Kayoko?" Akari sighed.
"Come on, pleeeaaaassseee? You never told me about any of your crushes" Kayoko whined.
"That's because I never had any, now go to sleep," Akari said.
"Okay, G'Night Aki," she replied.
The next day, they had breakfast at a nice place with the fluffiest pancakes ever. Kayoko told stories about the ridiculous things her boyfriend, Kichiro, did on their dates. He'd often convinced Kayoko to join in on the ridiculousness with him. And she always did. Akari talked about what happened on her solo missions; fights that happened between her and the enemy and sometime random rogue ninjas on the road. At last they had to go pick up the document from the Hokage and head back home.
Present time
Akari looked away from her friend and at the tower a certain redhead resided in. They walked in silence to Kazekage Tower. After an hour of sticking around in the Kazekage's waiting room, he became available to see them for their mission report and to receive the signed document. Akari reported while Kayoko lazily leaned against the wall.
"Good to hear the mission went smoothly, you are dismissed," his raspy voiced commanded.
They bowed to their leader and left quickly and silently, weaving in and out of the way of running ninjas. Everybody had jobs to fulfill for war and soon they would have to join in as well. After a day of rest from traveling of course. Kayoko walked Akari home and ended up going in for refreshments.
"Kaa-san I'm home, Kay is here too!" Akari yelled.
She took off her backpack and threw it on the living room floor and took off her sandals at the door. Kayoko followed her lead and entered to find Akari's mom with her sleeves rolled up and a broom in her hands. Leaning the broom on the wall the mother of two hugged and kissed her oldest child and her friend.
"It's so good to see you're ok. And you Kayoko, it's been awhile since I've seen you. How's everything going?" the sweet woman asked.
Akari walked into her small kitchen to prepare some green tea and laid out sugar cookies on a pink floral plate. She brought everything out to the living room and joined the conversation. Kayoko had always been a part of the family. Like a long lost sister, Akari thought.
"It's good to hear that you and Kichiro are doing so well," the woman beamed.
"Speaking of relationships, has Akari ever had a crush on anyone?" Kayoko questioned.
Akari's gray eyes flashed at her mom pleading with the woman not to mention her childish crush. The only crush she'd ever had. Akari's mom gave a mischievous look.
"Oh, so Akari never told you huh?" she teased.
"Mom, no!" Akari warned.
"Tell me, tell me!" Kayoko sang.
"When Akari was 13 she had the cutest crush on the Kazekage. Well, he was a Genin at the time. Awww. I remembered how red her cheeks got, she looked soooo cute!" the mom laughed.
"MOM!" Akari yelled.
"Wait, the Kazekage! Before everybody changed their mind about him? You didn't try to stop her?" Kayoko asked curiously.
"It was the first time I saw my little Aki have a crush on anyone. And I knew she wasn't going to act on it. Always being this shy yet independent girl," she gushed.
"I'm surprised she even told you," Kayoko marveled.
"Oh she didn't. I read her diary," she admitted.
"You read her DIARY! Akari you had a DIARY?" Kayoko thrilled, grabbing her stomach from laughing too hard.
"Well it's time to drop you off at your house!" Grabbing Kayoko by the arm and snatching up her bag on the way out, Akari pulled her laughing friend away from her mom.
"Bye sweety"
"Bye Oba-chan."
Akari dropped Kayoko off at her home just 20 minutes from her own. They hugged and made promises to meet up for breakfast the next day. Now alone in the silent streets of Sunagakure. Akari thought about relationships. She remembered having a huge crush on the redhead. It was the time he started teaching young Shinobi to be. How kind he looked as opposed to the crazy killer everyone knew him to be. She passed him everyday while he gave lessons to his only student, Matsuri. At one point he caught her staring, causing her to blush madly and walk away in a quicker pace. The next time she saw him, he approached her and they had a short conversation. From then on, when one caught sight of the other, they would approach and have conversations. Then Akari got busy, and Gaara got busy himself. She started to study for her jonin exams and he went off to become Kazekage. Suddenly he had a fan club and she didn't want to be like them. So she stopped herself from even thinking about him. They acted like they hadn't interacted before being promoted. Back at the office, when he forgot her status, got to her. As if he hadn't paid attention to her at all. I thought we were at least acquaintances, she thought sadly.
"It's late, you shouldn't be out walking so late at night," a raspy voice spoke.
"Hello Kazekage-sama. It's nice tonight don't you think?" Akari asked.
"It's a bit cold," he stated
"I enjoy the cold."
"I know. Did you ever get the chance to see snow?" he asked.
"Yeah, I did. When I went on that rogue ninja mission," she answered, surprised that he remembered her wish to see snow. She mentioned it way back when he was still a Genin and she a Chunin.
"I'm sorry," he said out of nowhere.
Akari stopped walking and stared at his back cloaked in traditional white Kazekage garment. "For what? Back at the office where you forgot I became a Jonin? I tend to be over dramatic " she assured.
"For not being there for you anymore."
"You got busy. With Kagehood comes great responsibility. Heck even I got busy."
"Still, I wanted to stay friends with you. I didn't mean to... leave you like that."
"That's fine, things happen. I didn't expect to stay friends," she lied.
"Well I want to try again," he pushed.
She raised her eyebrow at his declaration, unsure of whether or not she wanted to pursue friendship with him. It would be nice to have another person to talk to. He didn't care for her random inquiries and actually pondered on them, back when they hung out. But he's too famous a person. His fangirls would attack her. She'd be approached by strangers. She did not like socializing at all.
"I don't know."
His pale face reflected a look of hurt.
"I just don't want to be noticed by other people," she expressed.
"I remember that you like keeping to yourself... We could just meet at night," he offered.
"I would like that. But you have your own responsibilities to fulfill especially with the war coming up."
"I don't mind losing a few hours. I need the break."
She shook her head in disapproval "That's not a very good idea. You need as much rest as you could get."
"Sleep...is still not as easy to commit to. I could only get 3 hours of sleep if I'm lucky. I would rather spend the time with a friend than tossing and turning all night," he proclaimed.
"Alright, alright, You made your point. We could meet at Training Ground 8 tomorrow night," she declared.
He hummed in agreement.
They walked to the foot of her door step.
"Good Night Gaara-san. It was nice talking to you again."
"Good Night."
She walked into her house feeling satisfied and happy her mom hadn't seen anything. She loved her mom and everything but boy she could gossip. Closing the oak door behind her, Akari checked on the two other inhabitants. She turned off her mom's room light and kissed her little brother's cheek and headed off to her room at the back of the house. She fell asleep an hour later.
The next day Akari came to Gaara's office to get her assignment for that day. Baki stopped her before she made it to Gaara's office. He had a list of errands that needed to be done and she decided to help him by doing half of them. She weaved in and out of the streets of Suna, greeting merchants and bargaining for materials necessary for the war. She went to the warehouse, holding the weapons they would need for the war, counting the amount twice and writing it down on her half of the Errands list.
She went to the hospital and checked up on those that were due to enter the war after recovering. Unfortunately, some of them wouldn't make it to the war due to the extent of their injury but most were aimed to recover within the next two weeks. The majority of her time was spent at the hospital since she had to get copied files of those that were not able to attend the war. She dropped the files off to Gaara's receptionist. Akari felt bad for the petite woman. She was the one that had to file everything, write down names, make appointments, and keep all of that mess organized.
Akari made it home by 10:30. Her little brother, Michi, slept peacefully in his single bed. Turning of his light and pecking his forehead Akari left the room with an exhausted sigh. She walked to her mom's room next. The older woman sat quietly on her bed, slowly combing her stringy blond hair. The moonlight beamed on her mature face as she looked straight at it. Akari sat on the bed and pulled her mom into a hug, setting her head into the crook of her neck and placing her hand on the opposite shoulder. Her mom placed the comb down with a low thud and kissed the crown of Akari's head.
"Kaa-san, you waited up for me?" Akari whispered.
"I know how you hate coming home to a quiet home," her mom stated.
After a few minutes of enjoying the warmth and comfort of hugging Akari heard her mom snore. Sher placed the fragile woman down on the bed tucked her in and closed the door behind her. Akari decided to get ready for bed herself. Wait. I'm supposed to meet Gaara tonight! Did we even decide on a time? She recalled neither of them making a mention of time. Which was foolish of them to forget because timing was everything especially for a ninja. Pulling her shirt back on, Akari quietly left her room through the window.
She jumped from one rooftop to another in the dark of night. Training Ground 8 was located at the west side of the village where there were more boulders than sand. Upon reaching the training ground she saw Gaara's silhouette; his spiky hair, tall and slender stature, and the always present gourd of his. He didn't turn and she landed behind him.
"Don't you ever get tired of wearing that?" she started.
He turned to her with confusion "What do you mean?"
"You know THAT," she gestured to his back.
"My clothes? You kn-" he started dryly.
"No your gourd dude," she laughed.
"You should never let your guard down," he said as if it was the most obvious answer.
"Not even in your own village? That's ridiculous."
"Unfortunately no. But I was hoping that would change after the war"
"I can't believe we're actually going to war."
Gaara looked at Akari. He saw the worry lines form on her face and the deep set frown on her pouty lips. A lot of his Shinobi shared the same thought. It was worth it to protect Naruto, Sunagakure, Everyone.
"It's the dangers of being a Ninja and we can only hope to succeed for the sake of our loved ones."
She was surprised that he even mentioned the word love. The one time she mentioned love Gaara came at her with a bunch of questions. All because she said she loved chocolate chip cookies.
"I just feel like we're so young and I don't know what to expect. How are you taking all of this so calmly ?"
"As a leader I have to stay confident. This brings other people to trust my decisions."
"Okay Kazekage-sama, you need to exit stage left so I could have a conversation with Gaara-san,"
He chuckled dryly at her way of telling him to be real. "I am serious. I just want to protect everyone and that's the only thing pushing me to want to be in the coming war. Try not to let fear cloud over your obligations."
"You know, you're too mature for your age. Most guys your age still can't grasp responsibility nor personal space and trust me they are imbeciles."
If he had any eyebrows they would have been raised.
"What? The last time I hung out with the guys in our age group, they were trying to see if their farts could get on fire. I think they got that from a tv show or something."
"They sound strange. How did you manage to stay friends with them?"
Akari laughed. " I'm only friends with one of them. You know him, Yogi. He's the calmest one of them all. I wonder how HE manages to stay friends with them."
" Sometimes, even if it doesn't make sense, the relationships just works."
"Well that will be the last inspirational quote I'll be hearing from you today. As you know I have an early morning mission."
Akari got up from the sitting position she obtained while they conversed. She tried to dust off most of the sand that clung to her clothing. Suddenly the grains moved on their own. She gave the redhead a smile and thanked him.
"I'll walk you home," he spoke.
"I can walk by myself. You need to head home and get some sleep," she insisted.
Gaara stopped her before she could walk away. "It won't take too much of my time to walk you home," he responded. He wanted to be polite and walk his friend home.
"You don't have to," she started.
"I want to."
She gave a and gesture for him to join her. They walked in silence to her house. Akari glanced between the handsome redhead and the path ahead. She blushing when he caught her glancing and looked away quickly. The last thing I need is for him to think I like him. An outsider would laugh at her thought because she obviously harbored feelings for this young man.
The pair approached a small house the same sandy color as the streets. Akari waved shyly to the Kazekage and hopped in through the second floor window. Gaara didn't look one bit surprised to see her enter through there. It was best not to disturb her family with a creaking door at this hour. He left as soon as her figure vanished into the darkened house.
Akari changed her clothing and slept peacefully for the rest of the night.
The Next Morning
Akari woke up before her alarm went off. She stretched like a cat and yawned loudly. Her little brother sat at the table, sleep still evident as he had his head down with no intention of picking it up. She prepared her breakfast alongside her mom and sat down to eat the finished product-toasted bread with egg and cheese sandwich. It's was quiet breakfast save for when Hekima's mom tried to pry Michi's head from the table. She got ready for her mission that day and was about to leave until her mother's strong voice stopped her.
" So where'd you go last night?"
Akari froze briefly before answering. "I went out for a walk, mom, needed to clear my head."
Knowing how troubled her daughter had been since the announcement of war she accepted the excuse and let her be on her way.
The rest of the week was spent doing missions well into the night and waking up before the sun arose. Her and the Kazekage hadn't met up since that first meeting, always having to cancel because of their busy schedule. Then finally a day came when they could meet up again. Akari ran to the training field. Gaara leaned on one of the boulders, not bothering to turn her way. She sat down on the sandy ground and conversed with him. This time talking about her missions. He gave her his quiet inputs, listening intently to her light voice.
The next time they met up, he was the one that ended doing most of the talking. Only because Akari was curious about what happened during the 5 Kage meeting that happened 2 months ago. She listened silently to his raspy voice, picturing the events that he described. Then suddenly she was staring at his lip. Pale, thin, yet wide. Wondering yet again what colors would complement his complexion the most. She didn't notice that he stopped talking until her eyes traveled up to his. Aquamarine looking straight into her grey ones.
"What are you staring at?" He questioned.
"Hm?"
"Were you even paying attention?" he accused.
"I was just thinking about what lipstick shade would look good on you."
Raising his nonexistent eyebrow,. "You're strange."
For some reason she found his reaction hilarious and laughed. He looked at her only slightly bewildered, thin lips upturned as he enjoyed the sound of her laugh.
Weeks passed, their meetings happening always at night and on random days of the week. Once or twice Akari would bring up the idea of him allowing her to put lipstick on him. He would shyly try to get out of it. Before they knew it, it was war time.
On the day of the war, Akari sought out her friend and leader. Finally, she found him with his brother Kankuro. He too caught sight of her and ended the conversation with his brother. He strode toward her knowing that she only had a few minutes with him. The last thing she wanted to do was kiss him because she knew they both would survive the war and that would be an awkward thing to talk about, especially if he didn't return her affections. So she smiled at him and said "Good luck."
"Thank you."
He was called away right after replying to her. She strutted off to stand by the other Shinobis, waiting for their leaders to command them.
After the War
Akari didn't know how to feel. The war had ended. But many were lost. Sure her friends survived but saw so much. Blood spilled from deep wounds. Weapons shone crimson. Eyes losing light. For months the Shinobi dealt with depression. Only time would heal that.
Four Months Later
Akari became her old self again. Surrounded by her family and friend, she learned to move on, to look at the positive side. Although a lot of Shinobis had died in the war, they died to defend people that were precious to them; So it was an honorable death that should be celebrated.
Akari's thought then trailed to her redhead friend. She hadn't spoken to him in months and she felt so bad. Knowing that there was nothing she could do to make it up to him. However, it was better late than never to approach him.
She dressed in casual clothing - gray bottoms with a white blouse. She smeared on rosy pink lipstick to her bow shaped lips to distract people from the bags under her eyes. She went to her favorite bakery to pick up 2 dozen chocolate chip cookies for said friend. Walking into the cool building known as the Kazekage Tower, she climbed to the top floor and signed in at the receptionist desk. From what she saw, today was not a busy day. The waiting room was usually filled with a generous amount of Shinobi on normal days. Today, it was only her waiting. The receptionist got up from her desk to inform the Kazekage of a visitor. She called Akari in to see him and closed the door behind her. Akari sat in front of the young redhead. He finished up signing the document then gave her his full attention.
"Hey," was the only thing Akari could come up with.
"How are you doing?" he asked eyeing her very noticeable eye bags.
"I'm doing a lot better. Listen I'm sor-"
He cut her off "Don't, you don't need to apologize. Everybody needed time to heal from this war. It's good to see you're okay."
"Thanks, um, I got you these cookies. They're from my favorite bakery." She held out the small box full of cookies to him. He hesitantly took it from her. She smiled and gestured for him to eat them. So he opened the box and took out an imperfectly round cookie dotted with bits of chocolate. He bit into the soft warm dough, chocolate chips melted into his mouth. It tasted...Amazing. He held out the box of cookies to her, wanting to share the chocolatey magic with her.
"That's fine. I don't want to eat with lipstick on," Akari declared.
He hadn't notice that she was wearing lipstick. It looked nice on her. They spent half an hour on talking and decided to meet up again that night. Akari left his office. Deciding to spend the rest of the day visiting friends and catching up. She even made time to take Michi to get some ice cream and walk around the village.
It was nightfall and her small family slept. She quietly left the house, wearing the same outfit with a purple cardigan and a fresh layer of lipstick. There was no figure waiting when she reached the spot. So she waited, leaning against his boulder. Not too long after came the sound of sand crunching under feet.
"You're here," he stated.
"Why wouldn't I be?" Akari puzzled.
"I kept you waiting and thought you would've left by now."
"Doesn't matter to me. So what kept you?"
"My idiot brother," he started.
"What'd he do this time?"
"He saw the cookie box you gave me."
"Oh? Then what happened?" she coaxed.
"He ate all the cookies."
"So you guys fought?"
"I chased him around the office with my sand," he stated blankly.
Akari couldn't help but burst out laughing. Never would she imagine the man in front of her act childish before. He let out a low chuckle as well. The talked after the laughter died down, enjoying each other's company. Finally, it came time for them to part. He stood alongside her, she didn't protest. They walked slower today, got closer even. His hand grazed hers. She blushed and looked ahead not wanting him to see her blush.
She stopped in front of her house. Turning to her companion she hugged him. He (stilled) not knowing what to do but liking the feel of her warmth. She pulled away to talk to him but instead stared into his beautiful eyes. It was a shame the color did not show in dark lighting. She could feel his breath against her face. Lips touched her own. His arms wrapped around her waist. She enjoyed the way his thin lips moved against her own. They pulled away from each other. Looking down at their feet, not knowing how to respond, Akari looked up. She smiled when she noticed her lipstick managed to smear onto his. The smile turned into a light chuckle. Hearing the noise, he looked up at her questioningly.
"Rosy pink is your color" she laughed
He rose a nonexistent eyebrow wondering what this woman was talking about.
"You got some of my lipstick on you," she answered.
His eyes widened as he brought a hand to his lips. He wiped away the sticky residue with a blush inching on his cheeks. She took out a handkerchief, grabbed his chin and proceeded to wipe off the lipstick. All he could think was I'm happy that I didn't let her go.
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