Day 26: 1st Anniversary and a Bouquet's Note
Summary: With the arrival of their 1st anniversary, Kuroko gives Akashi a bouquet of roses as a gift. He also leaves a loving message to him about the bouquet, but could it have a hidden meaning?
It was no question whatsoever that Akashi Seijūrō loves Kuroko Tetsuya. And it was no question that Kuroko Tetsuya loves Akashi Seijūrō in return. Yet the duo couldn't help but continue to show his undying love for his beloved, even after being together for a year. In fact, next week, it will mark their 1 year anniversary, 12 full months of being together as a couple.
Usually Akashi was the kind of man to give all of the gifts, no matter how extravagant and Kuroko didn't give him much else other than his undying love and affection for the redhead. However, after a little bit of surfing through the internet one day, Kuroko couldn't help but come up with a sweet idea of an anniversary gift for Akashi. One that will show him that Kuroko will always love him.
The idea was fairly simple and honestly rather predictable, a bouquet of roses.
Luckily there was a flower shop not too far into town, so Kuroko wasted no time in heading over to the flower shop to buy 12 roses, one rose representing each month that the two of them have been together.
Kuroko had to admit that he was surprised when the florist game him a card along with the bouquet.
"All of my bouquets come with a card that you can write a message in," the florist stated, and Kuroko only nodded in response. Kuroko took the card in his hand and the florist gave him a pen for him to write his message.
Kuroko knew exactly what he was going to write, and he did so carefully and slowly, just so that the message can look as pretty as the bouquet themselves.
As he finished his message, he thanked the florist for the pen, giving it back as well as some money to pay for the bouquet before he exited the store. Staring at the roses in his hand, he knew that Akashi was going to be so surprised and so happy to see his anniversary gift.
Akashi woke up to a message on the pillow next to him, the one where a certain phantom should've been resting on but was mysteriously absent. Wiping the sleep from his eyes, Akashi grabbed the note and began to read it.
-Happy Anniversary, Akashi-kun.
Be back soon.
-Kuroko.
Smiling softly at the note, Akashi sat up and got out of bed, curious about the vagueness of the note. It was early in the morning, where could Kuroko be going? At least the note mentioned that he hasn't forgotten their anniversary and it wasn't like they were planning to go anywhere. Kuroko had all but begged Akashi to not give him anything extravagant on their anniversary, preferring instead to spend it peacefully at home. Being the gentleman that he was, Akashi obliged with his significant other's wishes. He only wanted Kuroko to be happy for their anniversary. So even though deep inside he wanted to give Kuroko the most extravagant of dates and gifts for their 1st year anniversary, he wants Kuroko to be happy and have what he wants. So if he wants a quiet, more toned down anniversary, then Akashi is willing to do so.
He strolled into their kitchen, wearing nothing but the red pajama pants that he wore to bed last night. His crimson bedhead still had yet to be combed yet, however it was nowhere near the disaster that was Kuroko's famous bedhead. He was preparing a cup of coffee when he the doorbell ring.
Perplexed by the fact of someone ringing the doorbell so early, Akashi casually walked towards the door, not bothering to put a shirt on beforehand, mostly because there wasn't one near him to put on, but that was beside the point.
He opened the door and Akashi couldn't help but smile. Kuroko was standing there, a warm smile plastered on his face. He was holding a bouquet of flowers and a card was attached to the bouquet via a string that was wrapped around the end of the bouquet.
"Happy Anniversary, Akashi-kun," he gently announced, holding out the bouquet for Akashi to grab. Akashi gladly took the bouquet.
"Thank you, love," he replied, stepping closer to Kuroko to plant a quick kiss on his lips.
Akashi stepped aside, allowing Kuroko to step inside. The phantom gestures towards the bouquet.
"Would you like to read the card, Akashi-kun?" he asked sweetly, and Akashi knew that he couldn't resist that charm.
"Certainly, I would love to read any message that's from you," Akashi replied before opening the card that was wrapped around the bouquet. It was a little tricky to do so since he was holding the bouquet with both hands but he was soon able to read the card while holding the bouquet in just one hand.
-Happy Anniversary, Akashi-kun.
I'll love you until the last rose dies
-Kuroko
What an intriguing message. Akashi thought, glancing at the bouquet of roses. He tried to think deeper about the hidden meaning behind the message but Kuroko interrupted his thoughts.
"Akashi-kun, do you see how many roses there are?"
Akashi blinked, glancing at said roses. Upon further inspection, he counted 12 roses, all picked and kept in picture perfect health and beauty.
"I do, Kuroko. There are 12 roses," he answered rather matter-of-factly. Kuroko only laughed softly before pointing to one of the roses.
"Yes, Akashi-kun. I got 12 roses because we've been together for 12 months. Each rose represents 1 month that we've spent together as a couple," Kuroko responded, an adorable smile on his face.
Akashi couldn't help but smile in return. Even though the rose gifting aspect was a tad cliché, his explanation was just too adorable. It was overall a simple yet sweet anniversary gift and Akashi was just filled with joy.
"I love it. The gift is wonderful," he leaned over towards Kuroko to place a tender kiss on his forehead.
"I'm glad you love it, Akashi-kun."
The remainder of their anniversary was met with peace, tranquility and loads of lovey-dovey affection and words from the couple. They made breakfast, lunch and dinner together while watching romantic movies on Netflix and going outside to watch the sunset, a favorite pastime of Kuroko's, followed by a romantic dinner and making love into the hours of night. It was a slow, passionate, romantic and peaceful anniversary and the couple couldn't ask for anything more.
As the days rolled by afterwards, 3 days to be exact, the couple took care of the roses that Kuroko had bought, placing them in a delicate glass vase on the window sill, allowing them to receive sunlight. Kuroko watered them every day and for the 1st few days, they still maintained their picture perfect beauty. During that time, Akashi couldn't help but be curious about that note Kuroko gave him, the card sitting on their nightstand in their bedroom.
He'll love me until the last rose dies… Akashi pondered, staring at the roses as they glowed from the pouring sunlight. Would that mean that Kuroko would stop loving him after the last rose died? No, that's preposterous. Kuroko wouldn't give him such a dark message on their anniversary. He would only have to figure out what the meaning was later.
That answer arrived the next week. Akashi had to leave for a business trip and would be gone for an entire week. Throughout his entire time of his absence, Akashi pondered the hidden meaning of the note, the roses and even their relationship. Even though Kuroko was taking good care of the roses, Akashi was sure that they would start dying when he returns home, if not their already dead. The slightest worry crept over him, what if they're all dead when he returns home? What would this mean for their relationship? Akashi believed that it was going strongly since the beginning, he couldn't sense any tension or bitterness coming from his significant other prior to him leaving. That meant either Kuroko was the greatest actor he's ever met, or he was just being paranoid. Akashi hoped it was the latter, trying to get his mind off of the possible fates of his relationship and focusing on his job instead.
The business trip came and went, long, stressful and filled with paranoid worries. Akashi wished that he could be overly euphoric to be in Kuroko's arms once again, but with the thought of the roses in his mind, it was admittedly rather difficult to do so.
He arrived home late, about 12:30am, and his muscles were tense, his eyelids drooping with exhaustion and his heartbeat racing from paranoia. He set down his briefcase on the floor in the hallway and took off his jacket and shoes before entering the hallway, not bothering to turn the hallway light on.
He entered the kitchen and turned the light on, his ruby red orbs flickering immediately towards the vase where the roses were supposed to be. What he saw admittedly was something he wasn't expecting.
The roses were withered, their once full ruby red petals now dusty brown, crinkled and folded like used paper, some of the withered petals were floating in the water they were held in. The flower buds were drooped as if they were somber of their passing. The vivid forest green stems were now a pathetic, faded shade of olive. The roses were dead.
Or at least 11 of them were.
The 12th rose remained standing, exactly as if it was never touched by death, exactly as Akashi had last seen it. It stood strong among its fallen comrades, it's petals a brilliant shade of crimson, the stem straight and triumphant in a shade of brilliant forest green. The 12th rose was the sole survivor, still alive.
The 12th rose never died, meaning that Kuroko still loved him!
"Akashi-kun, welcome home. I missed you," Akashi was stunned when he felt warm arms wrap around his waist, a nose nuzzling into his shoulder after kissing him gently on the neck. He felt the familiar flutter in his heart and the joy that Akashi had been craving returned.
"Ah, I missed you too, Kuroko," he mumbled softly, taking his hands and gently stroking Kuroko's before turning himself around so he could properly hug his significant other of 1 year. He noticed that Kuroko was clad in nothing but one of his white long sleeve button-up dress shirts and his sky blue hair was beginning to show signs of a bedhead. He must've woken him up when he came back home.
"Did you see the rose?" he whispered into Kuroko's ear, continuing to hold him tenderly, not quite ready to let him go. Kuroko nodded into his shoulder.
"Yes, Akashi-kun. I thought I told you," the phantom pulled away briefly, taking his hands and placing them on Akashi's cheeks, staring into his eyes with such warmth and affection that it was contagious.
"I will love you until the last rose dies. And I've made sure that this rose will never die," Kuroko replied softly, before leaning forward and tenderly kissing his lover. Akashi blinked in surprise, trying to let the words sink in, however the tenderness of this kiss, the way that Kuroko held him, the way that his lips gently pressed onto his was too much to resist. Akashi allowed his mind to go blank, closing his eyes and returning the kiss, tightening his hold on his lover. The two remained holding each other, kissing and whispering words of affection into the late hours, grateful to just be back in each other's arms after not seeing each other for 7 long days.
The two of them eventually returned to bed, cuddling close and relishing in the warmth that only the other could provide, adding another 7 days into the year and 10 days that they have been together as a couple.
As for the secret of Kuroko's message? Akashi later found out that the 12th rose was actually a fake rose that Kuroko planted in there, however that only made the message that much more meaningful. Fake roses will not succumb to the kiss of death, holding Kuroko's words true. But still, they kept that rose in its vase where it sat by the window sill, as a constant reminder that Kuroko will continue to love him until the end of eternity.
Notes: I got the idea for this Day from searching romantic things that couples do. Yes that's the truth. So yeah I thought the idea of the roses was cute and totally something that Kuroko would do and well... the rest is history.
As always, reviews, critique, etc is encouraged and appreciated! :)