Title: Impressionable
Characters: Ayaka,
Eiri
Genre: Somewhat romance
Rating: K
Notes: None
Word
count: 225
The first time Ayaka met the man who they meant to be her husband, she was fourteen and impressionable. She had been dressed in her best kimono and her hair had been brushed until it hung shining and smooth down her back. Her hands were cold and she felt herself shaking, a little, when the old monk and the good-looking young man walked into the room and knelt on the cushions across from her and her mother. She performed a perfect tea ceremony as she had been taught and said nothing while the three others talked, watching this Uesugi Eiri from under her lashes. She thought he looked beautiful, but a little dangerous. After a moment's thought, she decided she liked that about him.
Right before he left was the first time he looked at her. She stared up at him wide-eyed—he was so tall!—and then the corners of his mouth turned up in something like a smile. He didn't say anything to her then, either, turning and following his father out. Ayaka's heart beat a little too fast, and she decided this was probably what it was to be an adult, to find someone to love. For the next few years, she remembered him like that, smiling softly, and built their future in her mind, content not to know him at all.