"Romance"

Izumo x Reader

Izumo was someone special. I knew that much from the moment I met him. It was just one year ago when my best friend dragged me to the bar HOMRA. I had heard of that place before, but never dared to go there. The Red Clan was nothing but a bunch of thugs, I thought, who do nothing but cause trouble for the public. They were violent and rude, always starting fights in the city. So that summer, when my friend insisted that we go for a drink, I adamantly refused.

What was she thinking? Who in the right mind would want to go there? When I thought of HOMRA, I pictured a dark place with smoke hanging in the air while the men inside hit on the women. I had seen a few Red Clansmen in town, and while the ones I did see were extremely attractive, I also saw the way they carried baseball bats, how fire would surround them without a care, how their numbers and serious expressions struck fear into commoners.

"Are you insane?" I had asked my friend when she first suggested we stop by HOMRA for lunch. "Do you even know what HOMRA is?"

She just laughed it off. "Yes, I know, but I also know that every summer, there is this really hot guy that works there," she said, nudging me with her elbow.

"Is that seriously the only reason you want to go there?" I deadpanned.

Unfortunately, she seemed dead-set on setting foot on Red Clan territory. All for some hot guy?! It wasn't because I wanted to, but because I didn't need her getting hurt, I chose to follow the fool to HOMRA. We took my car and she directed me on the way to go. The whole way there, she kept fangirling about how I would just fall in love with the guy. Apparently every summer the place was filled with women just wanting the opportunity to talk to him.

When I asked who he was, she said that his name was Rikio Kamamoto, and that I'd know him when I saw him.

Sure enough I did. When we walked in, I was pleasantly surprised. The bar was…actually nice looking. The air smelled faintly of cigarettes, but more so of air fresheners and delectable food. Small tables were set up here and there where customers sat. Many of them were in fact women, blushing and giggling. There was a jukebox playing nice music over by a leather couch set up by the window. A coffee table separated that couch from another identical one across from it. Red stools were set up at the bar counter, and behind that was a wall of assorted alcohols from wines to vodkas to champagnes.

The mood was light and it was surprisingly easy to breathe inside. Upon walking through the door I was instantly relaxed. I almost couldn't believe that a group of gangsters like the Red Clan could own a nice place such as this. I noticed a few of the Reds that I'd seen in town, but they were all calm and laughing, completely different from how I expected them to be.

As I stood there trying to make sense of things, a man came up to us and offered a smile. I had to do a double take! The slender man had tanner skin and blonde hair almost as perfect as a K-pop star. He wore a quarter-sleeve black shirt and blue jeans. His brown eyes were almost as sparkling as his teeth as he flashed us a smile and bowed slightly. My heart unwillingly gave a flutter as he made eye-contact with each of us.

"Welcome to HOMRA. May I offer you ladies a seat?" he said, his voice deep and smooth.

"Yes, please!" my friend giggled. After asking us where we preferred to sit, the girl at my side asked for a table. The obvious Rikio Kamamoto led us to the table closest to the bar and handed us menus, letting us know he'd be back shortly to take our orders. After he left, it took everything in my friend's power to contain herself.

I just rolled my eyes and looked over the menu to see what on earth they could have to offer. After seeing Rikio for myself, I understood why so many girls would fawn over him, but personally I wouldn't catch myself doing it. He was hot, no doubt, but he wasn't the one for me. At the time, I really liked the single life. I was fresh out of college with my whole life ahead of me. I felt that I didn't need a man in my life. I thought that way up until the time that I met Izumo Kusanagi.

Rikio continued to be our waiter for the rest of the day, as he was to every other woman in the bar. I enjoyed the ridiculous amount of swooning and jealous glances going on in one room. It was kind of like being in high school again with the most popular guy in school. However while the others were drooling over Rikio, my eyes wandered to the other men in the room. All of them were Red Clansmen, that much was obvious. And all of them – except a short redhead who looked a little too young for me – were really hot.

None of them really caught my attention like the bartender, though. When I heard his laugh across from me at the bar, it was my turn to be wowed. He was a tall man with blonde hair, brown eyes hidden behind purple glasses. At first I couldn't take my eyes off of him. He was absolutely gorgeous.

It was only when he looked up from the glass he was preparing and locked eyes with me that I realized how badly I was staring. Blushing darkly, I offered a weak smile. He winked and I lost it. My stomach did a flip and I turned back to the drink in my hand. I didn't expect to suddenly get courageous enough to get up and ask for his number, but he saved me the favor of starting up a conversation.

Not even a few minutes after the meeting of our gazes, he came over to our table. "Good afternoon, ladies," he said. God, his voice was as sexy as he was. "How is your meal?"

We had ordered finger sandwiches and cheesecake, and both were delicious. We let him know so and he chuckled. "I'm glad to hear that." I took the opportunity of his closeness to study his figure. He was lean with smooth pale skin and subtle muscles. I was tempted to reach over and feel his biceps, but that would have been weird, so I kept my hands to myself. That didn't mean my eyes couldn't do the undressing, though.

Interrupting my studying of the human anatomy, he turned to me and smiled softly. "Ma'am, can I offer you another drink?" he asked. "The next round is on the house."

My friend and I exchanged a look. Was it just me or was he flirting? My heart clenched with restrained excitement. Leaning on my hand, I handed him my glass. "If that's the case, I'll take up the offer," I said, trying to keep cool.

"What'll it be, mademoiselle?" he asked. His fingers brushed mine as he took the cup from me and I practically melted at the sound of his French.

"Sex on the Beach," I said. I wasn't even craving it, but it seemed like the right thing to order. If he wanted to flirt, I would flirt right back.

And it worked. He smirked slightly and bowed obediently before turning to the stunned girl across from me and offering the same. She declined, eyes wide, cheeks red, and then waited for him to walk away to reach over and punch my shoulder. I exhaled deeply, blush suddenly finding my cheeks. What was I thinking? I didn't know I knew how to flirt!

After that encounter, I was glad that I came. Now that I met him, I wasn't going to let the bartender get away so easily. That night, I came back by myself. It was nearly closing time and his HOMRA buddies had gone off on "night patrol," leaving him to me and two other customers. The lights were dim and the atmosphere was something different. The music was softer, jazzier. It almost made me feel self-conscious to have to cross that bar and keep his stare.

"I remember you," he said, leaning on his palm on the counter. "Back so soon, miss?"

I chuckled awkwardly, brushing my (h/c) behind my ear as I took a seat at the bar. "I just had to see you again," I said jokingly. I ordered a drink that I never really wanted in the first place and the rest of the night melded together in quiet harmony. Even after the bar closed, I stayed behind and talk him for hours. He told me his name and I told him mine. He told me all about HOMRA and let me in on what the Clans and Kings really were.

After, when he asked me about myself, I felt bad. His life was so much more glamorous than mine. I tried to keep things as interesting as possible without telling him my entire life story. I was attracted to him and I felt that he was attracted to me, but I wasn't going to let him in on everything. I never wanted to stop talking to Izumo Kusanagi. He was interesting and amazing and everything he did was breathtaking. He was a gentleman. That was hard to find these days.

I agreed to come back soon, and I did. And with each meeting, we only got closer. He took me out of romantic dates you would only see in movies, introduced me to his friends. Over the course of the year, I was really falling hard for him. Before him, I thought I didn't need a man in my life. I was partially wrong. I didn't need just any man: I needed him.

After dating for a year, we celebrated our anniversary together. He took me out for a movie, then dinner with dessert, and then we went on a late night stroll on the beach near the train the rode over our heads.

Izumo carried a basket in one hand, his other hand held mine, our fingers laced together. The cool night breeze rustled our hair, bringing the waves to wash over our bare feet. Izumo was always so warm. It was the Red fire that surged through him that always kept him so warm. I laughed at the joke he made before catching my breath and taking a look at our surroundings. The full moon was high and bright, glistening on the black water across the horizon.

A soft smile touched my lips as I sighed deeply. "Tonight has been perfect, Izumo," I said quietly. "Thank you."

The blonde man chuckled. "Don't thank me yet." Leaning down, he kissed my temple before pulling away. I watched curiously as he pulled out a thick soft blanket from the basket and laid it out on the grassy area on the hill above the sand. Patting the new seat, he beckoned me over.

Giggling, I complied and sat on the blanket as he set up candles around us at a safe distance and angle. With the snap of his fingers, he lit the wicks and then sat beside me. Wrapping his arm around my shoulders, Izumo pulled me closer to him, allowing me to rest my head against his shoulder.

"Izumo Kusanagi, have I ever told you that you're the most romantic man I've ever met?" I asked, snaking an arm around his waist.

Izumo chuckled, sliding his hand from my shoulder down to my hip. "I believe you have," he said as his fingers slipped beneath my shirt to feel the soft bare skin at my waist. "But please do go on."

I shivered at his warm caresses. With his hand exploring my skin, I felt desire build up inside me. It didn't take long for me to decipher my feelings for him. I figured that after dating a whole damn year, he had a right to know what was on my mind. Tilting my head at an angle, I kissed his neck tenderly. Trailing the kisses up his jaw, to his cheek, until I found his lips. He kissed back, pulling me into his arms. My fingers tangled in his soft hair, holding him in place.

Pulling away slightly, I looked him in the eyes. "Would you mind if I told you that I'm in love with you?" I said shyly just like I'd rehearsed.

A smile found his lips as he brushed my hair behind my shoulders. "Why would I?" he whispered. "I'm in love with you, too, you know."

Pulling me back into a kiss, he carefully laid me down on my back, placing himself over me. I didn't mind. With this mutual confession, I was more than ready to have him.

Putting his weight on his forearms which rested on either side of my head, he smiled down at me. "Now go on and tell me more about how romantic I am while I serve you what you asked for, won't you?"

Next drabble: "Frightened"