Missing Pieces

Day 6 – Crossover/AU.
Diana/Akko(1st Person)

6/7 Dianakko Week 2017

I was playing around with my phone on the couch when she arrived 3 hours later than she promised. My head hung low and Ichiro, our 3-year old Shiba, was mimicking my pose. Our heads were hanging from the edge with our legs against the back cushion. The TV was turned on but mostly because I needed background noise to go along with my web browsing.

"You're late." I didn't even look up. I was still engrossed with the latest news in the K-pop scene—loving that Eunji and Go Jun Hee has finally confirmed for Untouchable. I've been waiting on that news forever.

"I know, I'm really, terribly, truly sorry," she closed the door. Ichiro's tail was wagging against my thigh. Lazy dog, I knew he wanted to greet Diana but he'd rather not leave his comfy spot.

"You were supposed to be here hours ago." I said, deadpan, finally putting my phone down on the side table. I straightened out, setting myself up on the couch, facing her. "It's 8PM. We don't have any time to go anywhere. Plus, traffic's really bad right now, I highly doubt we'll make it to the mall. Or anywhere."

"I know. I got stuck in it, mind you. I was supposed to get home at 4 but change of plans." She had at least 3 bags of groceries with her when she came in the door. I jumped off to help her, getting the other two bags and followed her. "There's been a flood and the roads were impassable. It was crazy until I actually got through it." She placed the plastic bag she was holding on the kitchen counter and I did the same with the bags I had. "We have the whole day tomorrow. My class ends at 12 and I have nothing else on my schedule. Pass for me and we'll go straight there."

"Yeah, we could definitely do that. But for tonight," I threw her a naughty look, "I was thinking, Netflix and chill instead," she threw me a sideward glance. She was busy putting away her stuff on the kitchen counter, but managed to throw a frown my way. I know, joke's too lewd. I was just kidding! "Literally, Diana. Bojack Horseman's got updated and I have this dying need to binge watch the entire season!"

"Atsuko Kagari, that's not what I had in mind," she said, sounding like my own mother. "I was thinking maybe a nice dinner, somewhere"

"Traffic," I reminded her in a singsong voice.

She sighed and shook her head. "I've been planning this dinner when you've come back from your tour," she took out two steaks from the bags and placed them neatly in the freezer. "Blasted traffic, it ruined everything. We're having some steak tomorrow, by the way. It was supposed to be a surprise, but this horrible weather isn't jiving with any of my plans."

She thought of surprising me. I love her so much.

"I'm so honored to be welcomed home with the idea of a fancy dinner at my place cooked by my own girlfriend," I threw her an intimate smile, while she, on the other hand, held a pack of candles in her right hand and some fancy napkins on the left. "Wait, don't we have those stocked? I know we had candles before I left."

"Akko, I'm not lighting a romantic dinner with candles used for memorials. Or electrical outages."

"Where's Anna though? Isn't your mother going to flip that you're out here alone?"

"Her health is far from good and Anna's the only one I could trust to take care of her. She's been in and out of the hospital more frequently than before, I can't let anyone take care of her that I can't trust." She took a bottle of champagne which I greedily seized from her—she didn't mind, chuckling at it. "So, I've been living with Ichiro for a mere 2 weeks." Ichiro finally got his ass off the couch and sat on Diana's feet. "He's been great."

"He got fat." I told her, glancing down the fur ball nestled below Diana. He used to have a normal dog's body, but now he was just a big ball of blubber. I popped open the bottle of champagne and poured it into the glass Diana uses only for champagne—I'm not going to have a repeat of using the wrong glass for certain drinks. "How much have you been feeding him?"

"Enough." I crossed my arms. I wasn't convinced that she's been feeding him the right amount. Our dog looked like an oversize bean bag with stuffy legs. "2 to 3 meals a day." The way Ichiro looked, his red collar already somewhat hidden in his rolls of fat, doesn't seem like he's eaten just 2 to 3 meals a day. "Plus some midnight snacks," she added.

"Midnight snacks?" I questioned. She took out a bag of ground beef and held it in the air. It took me seconds before I understood what she meant. "Why are you feeding him meat at midnight?! That's why he looks like that!"

"It's the only way I could get him to settle down at night," she reached down to pet Ichiro. "Little meat burgers, grilled or fried. Or hot dogs or some sausages, whichever item I've gotten in the fridge. He's gotten used to it and it calms him down."

I groaned. "Diana, that's not how you're supposed to handle him. Now, he's always going to expect a midnight snack."

"It was more of a give and take between the both of us. After you left, I had no one rummaging the fridge for a snack or waking me up to cook something. So Ichiro's hunger comes in handy." She reached over to the fridge and placed the bag of ground meat on top of the steaks in the freezer. "Besides, don't fool me with this 'feeding him at midnight'. When you get those midnight munchies, I could see you giving him a treat or two of whatever it is you're eating behind my back. He's always expected a midnight snack, even before you left."

"That's totally different. And that isn't my fault." I sipped my glass, the champagne was still cold enough to drink, and that strawberry flavor tasted heavenly on my tongue. "This is good. Like, really, really good."

"Strawberry champagne. It's a cheap brand, the better ones are out of stock," she mentioned, flipping her hair backwards before setting aside the laundry soap she had in the bag. "I figured you'd love it still since it tastes extraordinarily sweet like candy."

I laughed.

I loved this woman to bits.

"Yeah! You bet I do! And you know my tastes," I downed half the remaining contents of my glass in one big gulp. "I could say you know me better than myself."

"You flatter too much. You're really easy to read, if you ask me. I've had a lot more difficulty trying to master the Scarlatti Sonatas."

"Hey!" I said flustered, she was the first to master all of those back in the Conservatory in our class. She didn't have any problems with it at all, "Diana!"

Once all the groceries were put away, we sat ourselves on the couch and started to watch a few episodes of Bojack Horseman. I asked Diana first if she wanted to watch anything but she couldn't care less.

In the middle of it, my tummy started to grumble. I haven't eaten since I've arrived. I looked at Diana, urging her to cook me something but she was too tired. I was about to stand but she held me in place, she was still against me doing any sort of cooking in the kitchen. So instead, I got the phone with the intention to order take-out. "You fine with pizza? Or Chinese?"

"Pizza sounds good."

The food arrived thirty minutes in, somewhere in the middle of the episode. We stayed on the couch for two more, Ichiro between us. I finished the bottle of champagne on my own, Diana with her tea—something I'd probably never stomach—pizza and tea. She finished only half a slice while I got 3 slices to my own and Ichiro eating all of our leftovers.

Once the credits started to roll in, Diana reached for the remote and turned the TV off. "We should get some sleep. It's getting late."

"Fine," I said through my yawn, my arms and legs stretching out.

She fixed the pillows we laid on the couch before walking towards the stairs. I stopped in the middle of it, Diana looked back at me concerned.

"What is it?"

"I was thinking," I trailed off, taking her hand in mine.

"Touring around the world is my biggest dream. I didn't imagine that my music would go to this length and actually be a hit. Be something the world wants to see." I paused a bit, squeezing her hand. "And every day, it still all feels so surreal."

"Well, I'm happy for you," she said. "Who'd think that the ditzy songwriter who'd always sleep in class would make it big?" She smiled at me, placed her free hand on my cheek. I wasn't sure if she was insulting me or praising me, but I'd chosen to interpret it as the latter. "It's all you've ever wanted—creating music to touch people's lives through your music and it makes them feel genuinely happy. And I'm more than ecstatic to know that you're finally living up to your own aspirations."

We shared a smile which was rudely interrupted by Ichiro. He darted right in between the both of us, knocking me off balance as he ran straight to the room. Diana kept me from falling over by pulling me on my arm.

"Ichiro!" I scolded him from the bottom of the steps. I was ready to go after him until I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Calm down, Akko. He didn't mean it."

If it weren't for Diana, I would've gone after him and wrestled him on the bed. Instead, I calmed down and shoved my hands into the pocket of my jacket. I had a few things in it, my wallet, some loose change, a receipt from the airport minimart and a small box.

Oh right, I thought.

She was already on her way up, her hand in mine but I gently pulled her back.

"Akko?"

This was all planned in my head. I had worked on this speech ever since I've bought this back at the start of the tour. It's been on my mind, in between shows, on the airplanes, and sometimes even during lunch. I know, I've prepared for this moment but not, my hands were all clammy, I couldn't even move and my mind drew a blank.

"Akko?" She called out again.

"I—I…" I gripped the box a little tighter in my pocket.

I can do this.

I took her hand and dropped to the floor, one knee down, with a resounding thud. I bit my lip, I dropped too hard and I felt the pain crawl up my entire thigh. I inhaled sharply, took the box in my other hand and showed it to her.

I opened the box to present her its contents—a petite diamond engagement ring. It had a swing design band with a halo around the main cut which was a blue, sapphire gemstone. I fell in love with it the moment I laid my eyes on it in New York. And in my head, it would look nothing less than perfect on Diana. Funny though, because to me, Diana makes everything look perfect.

The speech, the words and the kiss, everything scenario that I've played out in my head in the past just left me there hanging. The only words that I could come up with were the ones I've always said to her.

"I really love you, Diana. Will you marry me?"

Her eyes were the widest I've seen in a long time. Was she shocked, surprised? I couldn't read her, my heart was pounding harder on my rib cage and my ears were already swelling.

After the longest minute of m0y whole entire life, she said, "You couldn't have waited after the romantic dinner?"

"Really, you're the ones busting out the jokes?" I laughed nervously. I was still kneeling on the ground, the pain on my knees slowly beginning to fade. And even though I tried my best to keep a straight face, I was sweating buckets. My hands were clammy, beads of perspiration were forming at my forehead.

Diana making me wait for her answer was cruel. And honestly, I didn't know how to react if she'd reject me.

After a long pause, she smiled. "Wait," she said as she let go of my hand—my heart sank. There's was this little voice inside me, constantly reminding me that she wasn't ready to settle down. She's going to be conducting the country's orchestra in the next few weeks on top of the classes she's handling right now. Plus, she's currently up and running to be the next director of the Conservatoire. One of the youngest candidates to be running the entire music academy.

Instead, she ran to the kitchen, disappearing at the corner. I was curious, following her, still with the box in my hand. She was rummaging through her purse when I saw her. Then she took out a small box similar to mine.

My eyes couldn't have gotten any bigger. I know I felt glum, but my heart jumped from its slump and nestled itself right at the top of my throat. She turned around, took my hand, got on one knee and opened the box to reveal its contents.

It was another ring, classier and definitely fancier than what I had for her. It had bezel-set marquise diamonds, which drew vines across the claw-set center diamond bigger than the rest. Laid on a small, red silk pillow.

"I guess we were thinking the same thing. With your proposal, I counter with my own. Atsuko Kagari, you are and always be the love of my life. Will you be my wife?"

I really, truly, fucking love this woman to bits.

My heart now beating faster than ever. My cheeks probably a crimson red by now. My knees were turning to jelly and I couldn't see past the tears welling up in my eyes. It was my turn to be a puddled mess on the floor.

"Of course!" I shrieked, blinking a few times with tears escaping from the corners of my eyes and pulled Diana into one of the tightest hugs I've ever given anyone. "I love you," I held her head as I kissed her repeatedly on the lips. "I love you, I love you, I love you,' I kept repeating through tears and in between the kisses.

Diana was all I could think of from that moment. Every hour I'm awake will be filled with no other thought but her and she's probably the only person I'll ever be needing. Every experience, every corner of my entire life span, every milestone I achieve, Diana's going to be a solid part of it. There's no other person in this whole entire world that I'd want to live with more than this beautiful woman right in front of me now.

This person, my person, I'm going to trust her with my life. And I promise to stay by her side, whatever comes our way.

We stayed in the kitchen, checking out our rings and laughing and tearing up, still absorbed in the moment that had just passed. We snapped out of our little world when we heard a feint bark from upstairs.

"Ichiro," she sighed, finally leaving my side. "He's probably asking for a snack. Or a cuddle. I can never really tell."

"Then let's go upstairs. Besides, we haven't even gotten to the chill portion of our Netflix and chill," I said, my gaze a bit suggestive, smile definitely seductive.

She giggled a little then grinned. "Sure. I'm going to shower first," She said, looking at me with a coy expression.

"Oh, okay," I answered, dropping my expressions. Of course I wasn't one who was really good with reading between the lines. Good thing she knew that.

"Would you like to join me?" She clarified, clearing her throat, her coyness replaced with seduction. Oh boy.

"Oh!" I laughed, kicking myself in the head, how the hell could I have missed that? "Right, right. Stupid me. Hell yeah! There's nothing else I would want more!" I answered her eagerly as she led us both upstairs, hand in hand.