RETURNS TO NOTHING / AKIANGEL

six

aki doesn't see angel for the next few days.

aki begins to wonder if maybe he was too forward with suddenly asking angel to kiss him that angel decided that that was enough and decided to flee town. and if angel happened to not do that, aki wondered how they were supposed to do the next section of their set of questions. sure, they were mostly to get to know each other but it's not as if someone were to ask aki a question about angel he would be confident about his answer.

aki pulls his phone out of his jacket pocket, flipping it open as he scrolls through his contacts, his finger hovering over angel's contact name.

"aki." a deep, husky voice shook him out of what he was currently doing. he did not know this voice nor did he really want to.

aki looks up from his phone to see a woman with light red hair that was put in a braid that fell over his shoulder– but it was not in a sloppy way, it was almost as if it was supposed to be there, with every strand strategically placed.

before aki can even attempt to get words out of her mouth, she speaks.

"makima."

"huh?" aki's brows furrowed, call him stupid but he usually does not respond well or even at all to one word messages.

"i'm angel's friend." she says simply.

"okay, that's great, actually!" aki grins as he begins to phrase a question, "do you know where–"

makima stops him with a wave of her hand, "my question first, then i will answer yours."

aki shrugs, "uh, sure, i guess." he says that knowing full well that even if he straight up told her no she would have continued on anyways. it's not as if aki had the gall to even say no, she had an aura of an authoritative figure everywhere she went.

"i have a question aki: do you like angel?"

aki stares at her in disbelief, that was her question, really? "we're dating so–"

"no, you are not. not authentically, at least." makima says, "angel is not so quick to get into relationships. i know him, i have known him for years. he will be around people for months, maybe even years before he decides to be with them romantically. so i will ask you again aki. do you like angel?"

"you're projecting." aki says as he chuckles, trying to brush off her words as if they were a joke even though her stern expression said the opposite.

"if i was i would have asked if you love angel– i am asking if you like him."

aki shakes his head, "what? no, i mean i've only known him for a little bit. why would i like him already?"

makima eyes him up and down as she watches his movements, "you're lying."

aki groans, "why did you ask me that if you already knew? that's just exhausting."

"it is." she says and aki swears he sees the corners of her mouth twitch up into a slight smile, "you're very similar to angel in that way. anyway, what was your question?"

"do you know where angel is?" aki asks before continuing, "i haven't seen him for a few days and we don't usually text but since i haven't seen him recently and he hasn't responded to any of my texts, i'm just concerned."

"okay, calm down." makima jokes, "he's just sick. he came down with a fever and he must not have good reception at his parents house, is all."

"his parents house...? that's not too far, is it?" aki asks as he grasps his phone tighter in his hand.

"not at all, it's about a fifteen minute drive." makima states before her eyes trail down to where aki's phone was held in his hand, "oh, you were thinking about visiting, weren't you?"

"i–"

"i have the address. did angel give it to you or not?"