Author's Note: It's been a looooooong time. I know. XD Sorry I have been really busy with life and I have no time to write but finally! I have finished this chapter that has been long overdue. I'm not going to make this long but enjoy~

Beta by AokazuSei

Special credits to Amehanaa

Chapter Seven

His Voice

The thing about talking is that there's no way to take it back, or change how you say it if you change your mind. It's even worse since I was an introvert in nature. Socializing is not what I do and, generally speaking, not something I was good at either. I could barely keep a conversation going, and with how blunt my answers are, most people that talk to me would become offended and walk out. I dislike lies, and stoking another person's ego was tiring and unnecessary.

Which is why, it came as a surprise to how easily I talked with Akashi.

His voice was, frankly, very attractive. It made my heart flutter and sent butterflies rampaging in my chest. It made me like him even more than I could have imagined; if we were to meet in person, there'd be no doubt that I'll love him even more.

"I can't wait to watch the next season with you," He said softly. For the past few hours, we talked about a series that we've watched and recent things that happened in the past week.

"Yeah, I can't wait as well," I replied.

"The delivery guy said that my package might arrive in your place next week."

"You could have at least let me pay for the shipping." Akashi had paid for everything.

"It's my present. Besides, I added some gifts in it."

"Gifts? You shouldn't have."

"Don't worry about it, Tetsuya. I did this of my own accord. It'll make me happy if you accept them."

"What did you send me?"

"You'll know when you see it."

That was hardly fair. "I want to give you something in return too."

"You don't have to."

"But I want to," I pouted.

"If you insist, it's not like I can stop you."

"Alright, but I would need your address," I said.

"I'll just pm it to you." I heard him typing on the other line before I saw a message on the screen. It was Akashi's address. "Did you get it?" he asked.

"Yes I did." I answered as I copied the address in a notepad which I kept on my table.

"Are you writing it down?" he asked.

"How did you know?"

"I heard some papers shuffling," he said.

"It's not that loud."

"I know," His voice told me that he was smiling, which made me think of wanting to see Akashi, but I don't think I'm ready for him to see me. What if he found me ugly and stopped chatting with me? Maybe he'd be greatly disappointed once he sees me? I know these are all pointless questions, but I couldn't help it.

"I'm currently checking the chat on the writing website, but strangely, there's almost no one on." I heard him say.

"Really?" I decided to go and check. It was true; most of the people on that group chat are offline. Usually there are some people talking on the chat, talking about various things but now, it was bare. "You're right. I just checked it out. What were you doing there anyway?"

"I was about to post a new chapter."

"Oh? An update?" I asked excitedly.

"You sound happy," I heard him laugh again; my heart nearly dropped.

"Of course I am! I haven't read your works for a while now."

"Is that so? Well, you're going to read one pretty soon," He said. "I posted it now. I should be available now."

"Hold on, I'll check," I said and refreshed the page. I immediately smiled as soon as I saw his story on the recently updated section. I immediately clicked on it and read it.

"You're ignoring me now," He whined.

"I am not! I'm just reading."

"Want me to read it out loud for you?" My heart skipped.

"But it's quite long," I said.

"It's nothing as long as it's for you." I felt my cheeks heating.

"There you go again. Don't flirt with me Akashi-kun!"

"But it's true," He laughed with an amused tone. "Want me to read it or not?"

"But I don't want to bother you."

"It is not a bother, besides I'd rather do it than have you ignoring me"

"It's not ignoring, it's called reading in silence," I sighed. "But if you want to do it so much, then go ahead."

"With pleasure," Akashi chuckled on the other end of the line before he cleared his throat and started reading. As he read the story, I was immediately hooked. Akashi's silky soft voice was like music to my ears and as he read the passages, my mind wandered in its own imaginary world, depicting each word Akashi said. It was so pleasant, the way his voice seemed to lull me to sleep. It was undeniable how good he sounded, and I was so immersed in the story, that once it stopped, I was in a daze; I couldn't seem to muster any words.

"Tetsuya, are you still there?" He asked. I was pulled back from my stupor when he called out.

"Huh? Yeah… I'm here," I answered, trying to keep the tone of my voice normal.

"It's not good is it? I'm sorry I have you sit and listened to my horrible story. I think I messed up with the narration too," His voice was laced with disappointment.

"No! That's not it!" I said. "I like it a lot Akashi-kun!"

"Really?" I heard him ask. His voice sounded a little hopeful.

"Of course it is. It's really good and…" I trailed, my cheeks were heating up. "…I like listening to the sound of your voice…"

I didn't hear a reply from the other line, and for a second, I became nervous. What if I said something weird-

"Thank you, Tetsuya," He replied, his voice almost above a whisper.

"You should be a voice actor," I said teasingly, trying to break the awkward atmosphere.

"I don't think I am befitting for that role," Akashi chuckled, making my cheeks heat up once again.

"You definitely are. Your voice is really smoothing. I wouldn't be surprised if you really were a voice actor."

"You flatter me too much Tetsuya," There was a pause. "But thank you."

"You're welcome," I replied with a faint smile on my lips.

For the rest of the afternoon, I spent my time talking with Akashi and every second that passed, I became really comfortable talking to him. Despite all of the teasing that caused me to blush, it was really fun to talk to Akashi. Even if I was alone in my room, I never felt lonely. It was as if we were together, not separated by screens thousands of miles away from each other.

"Tetsuya..." He spoke slowly and a bit deeper this time.

"What is it Akashi-kun?" I asked, trying to keep my voice normal. My chest was beating loudly again, but there was something different the way he said my name, as if there was more he'd like to say.

Akashi didn't reply for a minute, making me a little nervous, but I heard him sigh on the other line. "Tetsuya I think I-" A knock on the door interrupted him midsentence, and the tension in the air disappeared.

"Ah, sorry Akashi-kun, I have to get the door. I'll be right back," I said and hurriedly took off my headphones to answer the door. I was a little surprised when I saw it was my mother.

"Tetsuya! Sorry, did I interrupt something?" She asked, a smile on her lips.

"No, I was just talking to a friend," I said.

"A friend?" My mother was curious; after all, I hardly spoke about my friends. "Can I come in?"

"Of course, mother." I let her come in, and out of curiosity, she went to my table and checked my laptop.

"So this is the reason why you're more cheerful lately. Maria told me," She explained before looking back at the computer. "Is this still on?" I felt my heart skip a little.

"Yes, unless he hung up," I put on my headphones to check.

"I'm still here," I smiled. "Is that your mother?"

"Yes, it's her," I replied to him.

"Let me say hi."

"You sure?" That was surprising.

"Yes I am." I only sighed, taking off my headphones and giving it to my mother. She gave a self-assuring smile before putting it on. They spoke, but I could only hear my mother's reply, so I sat down on my bed waiting for them to finish.

"It's really nice to know you Seijuurou-kun, please take care of Tetsuya for us alright?"

"…" I sighed. I wished I could hear their conversation.

"Alright, I'll give this back to Tetsuya now," She took of the headphones and handed them to me. I stood up and took it. "We'll be waiting downstairs. I'll give you time to say goodbye to him but be quick. Don't flirt too much alright?"

I blushed instantly at her words and hoped that Akashi didn't hear her. "I'm not! We're just friends!" That came out a bit more defensive than I thought.

"I know. I love you, sweetheart. Come down okay?" She said before she left my room.

I put the headphones on, my cheeks still flushed, and sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't think my mother could be so embarrassing."

"She's a nice lady. I can tell she's really doing her best for you."

"I know. I'm very grateful," I said with a smile on my lips.

"Now you should go down and eat with them."

"Alright, but weren't you going to say something? I feel like it was very important."

"No, it's not that important. Let's end this call for now. Besides, I'll have to go sleep soon since it's late here."

"Alright. I'll talk to you tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow. Good day Tetsuya, and have a good meal."

"Thank you. Good night as well Akashi-kun, sweet dreams. Don't let the bed bugs bite." I heard him chuckle on the other line.

"I won't, and before I end this call. I'd like to say that I really like your voice. Good day again, and it was nice talking to you." Akashi ended the call before I could reply, and I could only sigh. I wanted to talk to him more, but the difference in time zones made it feel impossible.

I turned off the laptop and closed it before I head downstairs. But there was a nagging feeling in my chest whenever I thought about Akashi and what he was going to say. It was probably more important than he had let on, but as I ate my breakfast, I had to fight my flushing cheeks as I thought back to his compliment.

"Why does he keep doing this to me…"

To be continued

Author's Note: Thank you for reading. To those who like this fic, thank you very much and to the reviews I haven't replied, I'm very sorry, I'll try to reply as much as I could. Well anyway, thank you again and I hope you enjoy this chapter. Until the next one. (I'm not sure when XD but stay tuned)

Love lots, Shiori 3