Manager wa Maid-sama • 赤葦 京治

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 4

Since you were so kind to invite him over, Akaashi thought of giving you something in return.

He fixed his glasses while watching you pulled one of the shopping carts.

"[surname], can I cook you dinner?"

You turned your head as your shoulders dropped in confusion.

"Huh? Why would you do that?"

"Consider it as my treat," he smiled and took hold of the shopping cart.

It sounded nice to have someone cook for you, so you quietly followed him like a child without asking further questions.

You gasped every so often to yourself when finding stuff you were running out of. Akaashi heard your little excitement of 'Oh, I need this" and thought it was cute.

You observed the items he put into the cart while wondering what kind of food he will make.

While you were at it, you could make out few murmurs coming from older women nearby. You guessed they were probably gossiping about you and Akaashi.

Obviously, they failed to be inconspicuous since they had their eyes on you the whole time they were whispering. They would also turn away whenever you looked in their direction.

After everything's done, you took the train together to your house.

He became a lot more talkative than when he was at school. He talked about Bokuto and practice, filling you up with adequate details on how far the team's doing without you. To sum it up, not so well.

Like he had explained before, Bokuto's recurring change of mood made him even harder to comfort. At one practice, the coach sent them all off and had the practice dismissed early since he wasn't taking matters seriously.

Regardless of his misfortune days, you were entertained by the way he carried the conversation.

He had always been the quiet person in the group, so it's lovely to see his smile perked up at the corner of his lips as he was talking.

"Finally, we're here," you said, arriving at the front porch.

You unlocked the door and turned on the living room lights. After that, you welcomed him in as the first guest to ever visited so far.

"Come in."

"Sorry for the intrusion."

"Don't mind. Nobody is home anyway." You grumbled out of earshot.

You put your bag and cardigan on the couch. Then, you went into the kitchen with Akaashi trailing timidly.

He was scanning the environment since the house was like a muffled cave. There was little to no sound and the second floor was completely dark. You only turned the lights around the living room and the kitchen, everywhere else but that was unearthly dim.

"Where are your parents?"

You snorted when he mentioned your parents.

"Gone."

"Oh! I-I'm sorry about that. I never know," he regretfully backed away.

"No, no. Not gone gone. They just... left."

"You're alone?"

"Always have been, for two months."

Being reminded of them opened up an old wound, which time failed to heal even after a while. The disappointment was there and you were heartbroken.

Akaashi noticed your hand curled up into a fist. He stepped forward and put a hand on your shoulder.

You turned at him and flashed a weak smile.