As they walked through Cochlea, heading to Donato's cell, Amon felt unusually nervous. He was sure that Akira already knew about his past—though it wasn't spoken about, it wasn't entirely hidden either—and he wondered what she thought. She hadn't made any attempts at conversation, and the way she kept looking ahead dissuaded him from starting any either, but even so… over their short time working together, he had come to value her opinion.
When Donato told her to leave and she cited the policy against it, Amon couldn't help but stiffen. As much as he trusted her, the interrogation of his foster father was not one he wished to have in her presence. But Akira had looked at him, asked if she should go, and then left them alone.
He didn't know what to think about it. Maybe it was just that she wanted to get this over with as fast as possible… but she had still listened to him, even against regulations.
It felt like progress.
"What a smart woman." He heard Donato say but didn't turn to face him yet, still watching the door and lost in his thoughts. Unfazed by Amon's lack of attention, the ghoul continued blithely, "Seems like you don't know how to handle her. Did you also come here to ask me how to be a boss to your subordinate?"
He gave it the only response it deserved—silence. But not getting the obvious message, Donato chose to ask, "Have you tasted her yet?"
Amon startled, his face heating up as he faced the ghoul with a glare. He didn't think of Akira that way!
Not that she was an undesirable person, of course. Despite her cold and unsociable exterior, Akira was confident (and could back that up with her skill), witty, intelligent and definitely pretty in that formal wear—
Wait, what.
Amon shut down that line of thought immediately, unable to believe himself. What was he thinking? As his subordinate and the daughter of his mentor, Akira deserved his utmost respect. And he doubted she'd like to know that the man she hated was thinking of her in such terms.
It wasn't that Amon was attracted to her—that was ridiculous when they had only just started working together—but he also hadn't thought of her as somebody beyond Mr. Mado's daughter.
Except now he was starting to realise she was a person of her own, a woman, and he had somehow been oblivious to it all this while.
It was an odd and disconcerting thing to realise.
The sound of a chuckle startled Amon, bringing him back to the present. What was wrong with him? He was supposed to be questioning Donato, not standing around and—
Amon took in a deep breath and tried to remain cool, exerting every ounce of discipline he had.
"Stop messing around…" He told Donato sharply, though his voice didn't hold much heat.
The smile his foster father gave him was an annoyingly amused one.
I've always wondered how Amon fell in love with Akira, and this moment in Cochlea seemed like a good place to start :p.
