buds
the little house

.

.

"You know my paper heart,

The one I filled with pencil marks,

I think I might've gone and inked you in."

.

.

Akira feels Ann tug his shirt as the clap of the thunder reverberates across her minimalist apartment again.

A smile creeps on his lips as he feels her cheek touching his bicep. He rubs his eyes and yawns, before adjusting his position on her couch, re-wrapping the fleece blanket on them.

In honesty, he woke up almost choking himself, the heavy weight in his chest caused none other by Ann. They seem to have dozed off while watching movies last night. The remains of pasta they made together sit in a platter, on the table, as well as the leftover coffee he prepared.

He recalls yesterday, the events remind him that they both have been graced by the gods for a lucky tryst.

The caretaker left the apartment under Ann's care, just for this weekend; Akira's excuse for Morgana and Sojiro is he's sleeping over at Mishima's. Hence, explains how a boy like Akira wakes up to Sunday morning with her in his arms. He looks around, appreciating the architecture and interiors of Ann's home in early daylight.

It was beautiful, peaceful yet lonely; a far cry from LeBlanc's rather 'vintage', quaint, and woody aesthetics. The light from outside bounces off the white walls, casting a soft glow through the slide windows.

Akira imagines a younger Ann, with her father and mother cuddling together here in the same sofa. The Takamakis must love to do so whenever they were home, just like how the picture frame on the wall shows.

The downpour from outside and the figure nuzzled comfortably atop him make it difficult for Akira to stand up and prepare them breakfast.

"Sunday mornin' rain is fallin'," he slowly hums, fingers brushing through the ash blonde locks away from her face. He always tells her how he preferred her hair down, her natural beauty, even without her usual mascara accentuates tenfold. Like always whenever with her, Akira recalls how he and Ann have built their relationship to this, a love story he won't ever admit to being fond of recalling. It was amazing how she planted herself so deep in his heart in spite of his usual reticence.

Akira continues to hum the song, gently brushing her long strands, somehow trying to place them in such a way the portrait of a sleeping Ann would look like an Italian Renaissance painting. He smirks; Yusuke would agree.

The picturesque Ann disappears as she suddenly moves closer, his efforts of clearing her face of her hair disappears. He hears her mumble against his throat, eyes still closed.

"I can't understand you," he replies, chuckling. He lifts her from him, making her sit up. She groans and sways to the other end of the sofa to rest her head.

Her white sweater lifts up a bit, revealing her navel. He places a hand on the bare skin, lightly strumming her as she broke into giggles.

"That's not fair!" the blonde sits up from her sleeping form, her face covered by her mane, but Akira can see the hint of blue of her eyes peeking through.

"Rise and shine, sleeping beauty," he teases.

Ann scoffs him and lazily combs a hand through her hair, showing her scowling, sleepy face. Akira smirks from his corner, watching her adjust to her state of wakefulness. He yawns just a few seconds after she does. Ann notices this, now believing what everyone says that seeing other people yawn is infectious.

"Good morning," she greets in a low voice, her gaze steady on the messy table. Now fully recovering from her half-asleep state, Ann smiles with the rather late realization she just woke up next to someone else. A blush forms across her cheeks. To wake up in her home, with someone else, someone she loves, was refreshing. It was a different feeling altogether, especially when she is used to the clean, empty spaces and the lone mornings. She notices the dim, rainy morning - and with Akira by her side, Sunday morning couldn't be any more perfect. It felt exactly like the movies.

Ann's daydream ends as she frowns at the stack of DVD cases atop. "we didn't get to finish Roman Holiday."

"We fell asleep in the middle," replies Akira, adjusting his feet with the fleece so they warm up. He smirks as he remembers that the leading lady shares the same name as his girlfriend. "Lady Ann.. Princess Ann."

Ann crawls next to him, hugging the boy by the waist.

"'Will you help me get undressed, please?'" Ann teasingly quotes the film with her doe eyes, thus earning her a blushing Akira.

He chuckles, lies on his back so he could cuddle her atop him. She leans in to kiss him, but Akira halts her by sweeping her long strands to the side. It was at that moment, the sight of Ann with wakeful eyes, with gorgeous hair framing her face, in her white sweater and red boxer shorts, did he feel the hardness down his groin return to him.

"I can feel it, you know," she giggles, teasing him by making a brief grind between them. He snickers and scoffs her off of him, wanting to make his erection disappear as quickly as possible, but Ann pins him back down, her lips gently massaging his. He replies with open-mouthed kisses, his hands finding their way underneath her sweater as Ann copies him. She adjusts her legs to have his between hers, again continuing to kiss him from his lips down to his chin and neck.

Akira catches their scent of coffee and pasta from yesterday, but he did not mind the minor details. With Ann, he is a normal teenage boy in a relationship with a girl - not some vigilante leader or delinquent kid on probation, or whatever labels he's been attached to. The noise in his head was long gone since yesterday morning, but he knows that this peace is temporary. Once he and Ann part today, the thoughts will plague him again. An unfortunate disposition that he's gotten used to. He groans against her throat as his hands explore upwards, believing that the more he could touch and sense every inch of her skin, savoring her warmth, the more he could feel at home.

His thoughts are interrupted as Akira flinches a bit out of surprise, feeling the bareness of her back. She didn't wear anything underneath. It doesn't help Akira from fighting off his morning libido, but it didn't matter anymore. While clutching her body in an embrace and with lips still glued to hers, he lifts both of them up, pushing Ann down to her back, her fist clasping on his dark shirt.

Ann pulls out from their kiss, a soft smile finds its way across her reddening lips. "I wish we could sleep together all the time," she sighs, cupping his face. It's amazing how he seems to naturally belong in her empty habitat. "less lonely.. you know?"

He chuckles and brushes strands of hair from her face; he blushes at her spoken wish, knowing the gravity behind her words. Akira's thoughts drift to the future as he thinks of ways how to fulfill her request. Realistically, a wish that could only be fulfilled after they both turn 21. Tomorrow, they go back to inhibited looks, glances, and touches - in class, in Mementos, in the next Palace. More similar tomorrows before they could have the joint future they yearn.

"Someday," he answers with a smirk, his thumb gently stroking her cheek as he begins to daydream out loud. "We'll sleep and dream together.. wake up together.. I'll make you breakfast all the time,"

"Hehe," she giggles, her fingers comb through the mess of his raven hair. "learn how to make crepes,"

Akira hums, his dark eyes looking upwards, then seductively smiles at her. "are you going to brew me some coffee?"

Ann sticks her tongue out. "You can do that by yourself.. and better,"

"Yeah, but," he leans in to close the distance between them. "I'd like to see you try,"

Ann giggles. Of course, for her it's easier to do anything that doesn't require frying pans or stoves. "Deal.:

They laugh together, making the most out of the chilly weather by warming each other up with kisses and touches. He lifts himself up off of her, feeling lightheaded from their frolicking and cuddling. Akira sighs, both in bliss and dread, in a few hours he will need to go home else Sojiro suspects.

"What time should I leave?" The question immediately paints a pout on Ann's face. She fears him leaving, she fears sleeping alone again after a night of having him beside her. She's not ready for his caffeine-and-vanilla scented clothes to leave her senses yet.

Maybe she will never be ready.

"Later," whispers Ann, drawing him closer to her with a tight embrace. Ann knows her selfishness is unreasonable, but as her eyes and fingers plead, this compromise will have to do for now. "let's go back to bed,"

Akira's dark eyes gleam, now scooping her from the couch as he carries her to her bedroom. Ann's laughter echoes across the apartment, a sound that cues him of his actions and decisions to be right; a reassurance that he is exactly right where he belongs.

For Ann, he will always have time to spare.

The quote is from John Mayer's "A Face to Call Home". It's a really lovely song and I hope you all give it a listen. :)