Work Text:
"Akito-kun!"
At the sound of an airy, angelic voice, Akito turned around to see a beautiful young woman with long, light blue hair, which was worn loose and wavy like an ocean breeze... if you could see an ocean breeze, that is. Despite the hair that was blowing in her face in the light wind, somehow Shizuku could still manage to make out Akito from more than a couple feet away as she waved gracefully at him.
How does she do everything so gracefully?
Akito couldn't tell if he was disgusted or in awe of Shizuku's grace, though the redness in his cheeks certainly gave some kind of response. She definitely was beauty and she surely was grace, but before he could process it, she was up in his face. As soon as he came out of his thoughts and realized how close he was in proximity to the young woman, he flinched and took a few steps back. Shizuku didn't even seem to notice how taken aback Akito was and smiled at him.
"It's good to see you again," Shizuku cheerfully declared.
As an attempt to recover from the sudden closeness, Akito tried to speak up casually by applying his polite persona, though he had known Shizuku for over a month now and didn't necessarily need it around her anymore.
"O-oh. Hinomori-san, i-it's good to see you too."
Smooth like sandpaper. Akito thought to himself after stuttering twice in one sentence. He sounded like Kohane when he first met her. Luckily, Shizuku put no attention to his stuttering.
"Since we're so close now, why don't you call me by my first name?"
Akito nearly choked on literal air after hearing that.
"Your first name? Are you serious? We've only known each other for a little over a month!" Akito affirmed, losing his more charming facade.
Shizuku gave him a confused look, "Hm? But aren't we close by now? We talk quite often. I'd even say we were friends."
How? Even her confused stare is adorable... Akito quickly shook the random thought he just had out of his head to respond but Shizuku wasn't finished speaking.
"If you'll be calling me by my first name, why don't I give you a nickname, like Shii-chan?"
"N-no, that won't be necessa-"
Shizuku's eyes lit up with a creative glow, "I got it! Aki-kun! Can I call you Aki-kun? That's a cute nickname and it fits you perfectly!"
Did she just call me cute? The ginger-haired boy felt his cheeks grow warm and red again as he grew more flustered.
"Don't you dare call me that!" He shouted in his fluster.
Shizuku looked taken by surprise for a moment before looking at him in the eyes.
"Oh? Why not?"
There were plenty of reasons that Akito could've said. If anyone from Vivid Bad Squad found out about it, he'd never live it down. An would make fun of him for it constantly, especially since she already teases him about plenty of other things regarding Shizuku. He'd rather not give her more ammunition. And what if Ena were to find out about it too? He shuddered at the thought of it. As he tried to give Shizuku his reasoning, all it took was one look in her sad, blue eyes to send him on board to a guilt trip. He sighed, resigning to his fate, not being able to fight off the puppy-dog eyes of a majestic idol.
"Actually, you know what. Fine," Akito said hesitantly, "But don't be calling me that in front of other people! I don't want people to get the wrong idea about us."
Shizuku's eyes glistened with newfound joy, "Yay! I'm so happy!"
She pulled Akito into an excited embrace, saying something else about her happiness in being able to call Akito "Aki-kun." If Akito hadn't had flushed cheeks before, he definitely did now. Part of him wanted to push away from the hug but something about seeing Shizuku so happy about something so small made him feel warm inside. So, in the hug he stayed. After a few seconds, Shizuku let go.
"Anyways," Shizuku began with a new conversation, "I was looking for this one pancake shop that I've been meaning to try. Would you like to come with me, Aki-kun?"
She gave him a graceful smile, which compelled Akito to smile back at her, still with reddened cheeks.
"I'd love that, Shizuku-san."