Disclaimer: I tried, but sadly Akagami no Shirayukihime is still not mine.
A huge thank you to Talye Kendrin for helping me with the grammar and spellings. Please check out her profile and support this fandom.
Characters: Izana Wistalia, Shirayuki
Pairing: Possible one-sided Izana
Wordcount: 667
Rating: General, Romance
Timeline: Between Chapter 41 and Chapter 49
Quotes: "Odors have a power of persuasion stronger than that of words, appearances, emotions, or will. The persuasive power of an odor cannot be fended off, it enters into us like breath into our lungs, it fills us up, imbues us totally. There is no remedy for it."
― Patrick Süskind, Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
The scent wafted towards him, and his eyes flickered with recognition of some scents: sunflower, grass, and eucalyptus.
Somewhere at the back of his mind, he could hear children's laughter.
He blinked.
Shirayuki frowned.
"What…"
"You are resisting." She accused him mildly.
He chewed the bottom of his lip. "Of course not." And then he added. "I feel a little apprehensive though. Are you sure that your scents can make me travel back in time?" he asked skeptically.
She gave an exasperated sigh, throwing her hands up in the air. "If you were not Zen's brother, I would have you thrown out of my room."
"No you won't. And it's my room. I own this castle." He gave a smug grin.
She raised one eyebrow. "You don't! Technically, it belongs to your family."
He gave a snort. "Still belongs to me."
"Ugh!" She took a step back and began to rummage on one of the drawers of the low cabinet lining one part of the wall. When she turned, she was holding a long piece of velvet scarf.
"Fine! If you really want to be impressed, you need to follow my instructions."
Is she going to tie me up and drench me with perfume? He found the tie up idea to be a little arousing, though. Now if only Shirayuki would indulge him by putting the perfume somewhere near the hollows of her…
He shook his head at the direction his thoughts were taking. "If you are planning to have your wicked ways with me, you need only ask. I can be very accommodating." One corner of his mouth tugged into a flirty smile.
The redhead looked surprisingly adorable with her irritable expression. He recently found that he liked teasing and poking her just to see her reaction. Didn't he enjoy seeing her distressed when he first interviewed her after arriving back in the Castle? Zen stopped being cute a long time ago when he began to seriously study being a good supporting second Prince. Here was a potential replacement for his own amusement.
"You wish." She walked up close to him, sidestepping the stool, brushing past his shoulders and stood behind his seated form.
He sat still, letting her fumble about with the scarf, before his vision was covered with the dark blue scarf. It smelled clean enough, without even a hint of her scent, only the smell of fresh laundry, old wooden cabinets and sunlight. Ahh, he's beginning to be good at this scent game!
Her fingers brush against his temples, and he tensed a little, knowing the every fiber of his being was suddenly very much aware of her presence, despite being blindfolded.
It was true that when one of the five senses had been handicapped, the other remaining senses would try to compensate for the loss. He could hear his heart beat louder, the hairs at the back of his neck as she stood next to him, even almost tasting the sweetness of crisp, ripe apples picked at the height of summer on his tongue.
Her hand slowly withdrew, and he grabbed her wrist unexpectedly.
"May I smell it again?" he sounded a little breathless, though he knew very well that his senses were just going into overdrive.
"Of course." Has her voice always seemed so soft?
He guided her wrist to his nose, drawing her near that she unwittingly placed her injured arm on his shoulders to lean closer, her hair brushing at the tips of his ears.
Izana set his jaw tight, feeling a little uncomfortably tight below his waist now.
"Tell me what you see once you get to each stage of the smell." Her voice sounded a little husky when she talks like that to him, warm breath making his skin tingle a little that goosebumps began to erupt on his upper arms.
The top, middle and base notes. He nodded.
He slowly took a deep inhale, letting the scent wash over him. The children's laughter returned-louder this time. Clearer.
Author's Notes
Flower Meanings:
Sunflower – false riches, pride
Grass – (Vernal) poor, but happy
Eucalyptus - protection