Among The Stars .:Itachi x Fem!Reader:. Soulmate AU

The Stars Are Blind

It's like an addiction.

Ever since that day --- ever since Itachi came to see [Name] at her job --- they've been messaging one another. At first, she tried to stay away, but then the man started to leave voice messages in her inbox. A simple Good morning melted her icy exterior toward him. His voice is like magic, entrancing her in its spell. He will say the most mundane things, and yet it'll still transfix her into a dream. She can't even say she hates him for it. His voice is deep and calming, like ocean waves lapping the shore or even a thunderstorm happening miles away while the rain hits the window pane. She tries to convince herself to leave one for him right before she heads off to work, but she stops to wonder if her voice has the same effect on him as his voice does her.

Standing at the door, she begins to wonder if he sits in his room, replaying her voice in his head like she does. Suppose he sighs in disappointment if he doesn't receive audio messages from her. If he thinks she's shutting him out intentionally despite the obvious chemistry between them.

[Name] bites her lip, finger hovering over the microphone button. With a shaky breath, she taps it and begins her message. "Hey, uh, good morning. It's... good to hear from you again."

Before she can hear the awfulness of her own voice echoing back at her, she hits send and hits the power button so quickly as if it will rid her of the embarrassment that slides down her back. A weight drops off her shoulders, and with a sigh, she leaves for work. The entire travel time is spent mulling over her audio message. If her voice sounded sincere enough, or if she sounded nasally.

Will he even like it? She pushes the thought away just as it crops up. The anxiety of it reduces to a simmer in her stomach as she walks into the Hyuga Eye Clinic. She has some time before they open to tidy up. Dropping all her stuff on her desk, she clocks in. 

[Name] enters the supply closet, grabbing a broom and dustpan. Hiashi prefers the inside and outside doorstep to be swept. At first, sweeping the outside seemed hopeless to [Name]. Leaves are going to fall regardless, and people will kick up dirt and dust at their door no matter how many times they clean the outside, but after being here for years, learning the routine, she sees what the old geezer means. It's about aesthetics and reputation.

She steps outside to continue her duties, feeling the chill in the air. Autumn is coming sooner than she expected, but it's a welcome surprise. The cozy season is her favorite. The days when she can cuddle up and drink tea on the most gorgeous autumn mornings, watching the leaves change color from her window, bring warm childhood memories to the surface. She'd help her father rake the leaves and help her mother clean out their storage room. They'd always find old photos to adorn the house with for end-of-year celebrations. Even her father would press and string up golden or auburn leaves to decorate. 

And every year, her extended family would come over and swear an extra star popped up in her eyes.

[Name] frowns. The memory is sodden with negative feelings now. She forces herself back into the present. Before she gets too cold and before she sweeps the doorstep to blinding sterility, [Name] steps inside to sweep, organize, dust, and polish. Once those are all done, she peeks at the schedule for today, judging from which Hinata is the first to show up.

Without knowing, she huffs a breath of relief. Before, she would've been bummed that Neji wasn't the first person she saw in the morning, but now she feels as though she needs space from him. He's become desperate and clingy, as if trying to salvage the last bits of their friendship. It's not like they'll never be friends again, but the rejection still hurts whenever she looks at him. And avoiding him has given her time to reflect.

[Name] can't deny that she is the happiest she's ever been these past few weeks. She hasn't fallen into a depression in quite some time or had her heart crack under the pressure of her increasing loneliness. And she knows why this is. She knows very well how proximity to one's soulmate can increase mood.