Akatsuki Drabbles

Your love of strawberry shortcake doesn't match your appearance (Itachi)

Things hadn't turned out at all like you had expected.

You would admit, he had sort of scared you at first. Not necessarily with how he looked—he was handsome. You might even have described him as beautiful, with his long dark hair, pale skin; long eyelashes. But he carried an air about him that made you hesitant. The expression on his face had been serious. Severe. To the point where you understood he wasn't somebody to be messed with, even if his physical stature wasn't particularly intimidating. To begin with you had been glad that when he came into the bakery where you worked with his friends, they hadn't come over to your section; the one with all the cakes and pastries. They were there to get something to eat, and so you busied yourself with other tasks, unable to stop yourself from glancing over at him every now and again. Maybe he had frightened you a little, but still; you couldn't look away.

It hadn't precisely been helped when he broke away from his friends to amble along the counter to where you worked, analysing all the pastries in the case. Uncertain as to how you should approach him, you simply observed for the time being, only to find the fear that he had awakened quickly dissipated as you did so. He was strangely graceful with every moment he made, carefully and meticulously looking over what was on offer. Suddenly any nerves you may have possessed had been replaced with curiosity, especially as his eyes lit up upon spotting something within the case. When you met his gaze as he looked up, it was clear that though his facial expression may be stern, his eyes weren't in the slightest. However harsh he may have appeared on the outside, it was the opposite within. The gentle look in his eyes drew you to walk closer, along with the slight excitement that mingled with it. Wondering just what had made him so happy, it became clear a moment later as he asked to buy something, pointing it out in the case, and in doing so you couldn't help but smile softly.

Strawberry shortcake. It was not the choice you had expected him to make, but he was extremely happy with it.

It was what he always came back for, becoming a regular in the bakery. His friends came now and again, but always for sandwiches and snacks—the only thing he ever bought was cake. Not even to share. By the time he made it out of the shop, he'd already started eating. Your curiosity continued to grow the more he came in, and you wanted to know more. Especially as you heard others in the bakery gossip about him and his friends, and not in a good way. But somehow you knew he wasn't like that. What could you tell of a person from when they came into a shop? Besides, they were always respectful—particularly him. However, you felt it would be rude to simply start asking questions when you knew nothing about him, yet your thoughts crossed to him now and again, even more so when you had to miss work because of an appointment.

The next day you came back and instantly began work on all the pastries that were needed to fill up the shelves. You were the head baker there, after all, and everything was made fresh. Without you there, several things had sold out, and as such, you needed to catch up with it all. You had made good progress by early afternoon, and there wasn't much more you could do while everything was in the ovens, so you began prep work and cleaned up in the kitchen, not noticing him coming in to begin with until you heard his voice from the shop.

"Is (y/n) off again today?"

Blinking in surprise, you weren't sure what to do. You hadn't thought he had taken notice of you, let alone learnt your name. It left you slightly nervous when your friend mentioned that you were there today and called for you to come out. Pausing for a moment, you quickly shook it off and went into the shop, immediately taken back at the small smile on his face. Greeting him quietly, you couldn't help but return his smile as he said softly,

"I'm Itachi Uchiha. You probably don't recognise me."

But you quickly cut him off before he could say anything else, replying simply,

"Of course, I do. You come in here all the time and only ever buy cake."

Glancing down with another smirk, he returned your gaze to admit his weakness, before continuing in surprise,

"I didn't know you made everything here—without you I couldn't have my first choice."

"I apologise," you retorted with a chuckle, "but yes. I'm the head baker here. The shelves will be replenished soon. If you'd like to wait, I can get you your strawberry shortcake momentarily."

Narrowing his eyes, you hesitated, wondering what you had said to cause this reaction, before relaxing as he said gently,

"I'm more than happy to wait for you."