Akame woke up to the smell of cooking bacon. She opened her eyes and sat up a bit from her bed. Sunlight beamed into the small one room cabin that her and Tatsumi had built just months after the war. Akame usually took the bed, since Tatsumi generally seemed disinterested in sharing a bed with her. Akame winced, remembering the suffering Tatsumi went through when Mine never awakened from her coma. She looked up, and saw Tatsumi cooking on the wood stove they had put into the cabin a few weeks ago. She yawned and stretched, gaining Tatsumi's attention.
Tatsumi turned around, spatula in hand, and smiled when his eyes landed on Akame. "I was about to wake you myself. You never sleep this late." He said with a toothy smile. With that, he turned back around and resumed his cooking. Akame stood up from the small bed, and the blankets that covered her slipped off onto the floor, revealing the rather revealing bedclothes she wore on hot nights. She walked across the room to the small wardrobe Tatsumi got for her. "We have to better accommodate your needs", he had said. "You are a girl after all." She reached in and grabbed a black skirt, a black dress shirt, and a red tie, the outfit she wore literally every single day, except on days she thought they were dirty, which was quite rare.
She heard a clattering of plates as she lifted the garments from their hangers, and turned around to see Tatsumi with his back still to her, fixing up a plate for her. He turned around, displaying a plate of bacon, sausage, and ham. "Here Akame, it's all meat. I thought you'd lik-" He trailed off as he saw what Akame was wearing. He felt his cheeks start to go hot, and he turned around suddenly. "S-sorry, Akame, I didn't realize you were still in those." Akame frowned, not understanding why Tatsumi always had that reaction when he saw her like this. It's not like she was naked. "It's fine. Don't make such a big deal over it." She said as she started getting changed. "Keep your back turned." She said over her shoulder as she slipped her black miniskirt on.
Tatsumi, still holding her plate, slipped a short glance over his shoulder at Akame, but quickly turned back around when he saw her bare back. He thought about it for a second, then turned his head back again, watching her as she slipped a bra on. "Was she always this attractive?" He thought to himself, thinking back to all of the adventures they had shared back in Night Raid. His face reddened in embarrassment again as he saw her start to turn back around to face him. He quickly brought his head to the front again, but to no avail. "I saw that." She said emotionlessly. He turned back around completely, face burning. He gave her a small smile, while she just crossed her arms over her chest, gaze never leaving his eyes. She had a hint of a frown on her face, and he couldn't tell if she was actually angry, or merely annoyed. He smiled coyly, then handed her plate over. She gratefully took it, realizing for the first time that morning that she was starving.
In truth, Akame didn't really mind the fact that Tatsumi stared at her. Recently, whenever she would glance at him, she would feel a warmth in her chest, and a giddiness she hadn't felt before. She would find herself admiring the toned muscles of his arms and stomach whenever he went outside to train himself. At first, she thought that it was merely her admiring the fact that he was the only one besides her who survived. But in time, she realized that it was something quite different. She was trained to be an emotionless killer. She wasn't used to this new feeling. She shrugged it off, or tried to at least, and sat down on the bed with her food. Tatsumi sat down next to her, putting a slightly more nutritious meal of eggs, bacon, and toast on his lap. "So, what's the plan for today?" He asked as he shoved a piece of bread in his mouth.
Akame shrugged. "We don't have to go to the village, and we haven't gotten any assassination requests. I suppose we should just sit tight for now." She said with a mouthful of food. Tatsumi frowned slightly, thinking back to the night before. "What about those bandits you mentioned?" Akame glanced at him briefly, then said "We will follow your advice for about a week. If this new Emperor doesn't handle the situation, we will." She glanced back down at her food and resumed eating. "Alright... well, there's that swimming hole back in the woods a bit. It'll most likely be another hot day. We can hang around there if you prefer? Better than sitting around here and doing nothing, right?" Akame thought about it for a second, then said "Yeah... why not. You could use a break from training everyday, too."
She finished her plate, then stood up and put it on the counter beside the wood stove. "Hey Tatsumi." He looked up from plate, almost finished himself, and said "What's up?" She turned around to face him, her eyes meeting his. "Do you miss Mine?"
Tatsumi flinched, then looked down, averting her piercing gaze. "Of course I do. I'll always miss her. Just like I bet you'll always miss Kurome." He stood up and walked next to her, putting his unfinished food next to her own plate, suddenly losing his appetite. "I loved Mine. I wanted to marry her." Akame flinched a little, feeling a pang of jealousy in her chest. "But, you see... I was really depressed about her for a while. But I realized in time that she wouldn't want me to mourn her death forever. She would want me to move on. She would want me to be happy." He continued. Akame nodded, understanding where he was coming from. "I see." She said blandly. She turned around and started walking towards the door leading to the dense forest that surrounded the house for miles. She stopped when she felt Tatsumi grab her hand. "But you know Akame... You really helped me, too."
She turned around to face him again, making eye contact as she usually did. "What do you mean?" She asked, face burning slightly at their hands touching. "Well... you helped me grow out of that depressive phase I was in. You helped me see that there were better things in life than to be sad all the time, even if you weren't meaning to at the time." He smiled nervously, not knowing himself where he was going with the conversation. Akame flinched in surprise, then said "How? How did I help you?" Tatsumi seemed to gulp a bit, then his face grew red. "Well... just by being you. I think you're great... Any guy would be lucky to have you in their life, Akame. I just... I never want to lose you, like I did Mine. I wasn't strong enough to save Mine. But I know that I am strong enough to protect you. Until the day I die, I'll always look after you." He flashed her a toothy smile, not knowing what to say next.
Akame felt her face burn up, and she quickly embraced him. "Thank you. I made this promise once before, Tatsumi, and I'll say it again. I'll always be around to save you, too." Tatsumi, reluctantly at first, returned the embrace. "Don't ever leave me." Akame whispered in his ear, squeezing him tighter. "I never will." Tatsumi promised.