"God knows I can't walk away from you."
Jamie McGuireAkaashi stood in front of Mei's apartment, his hands now out of his pockets so he could twist at the ends of his fingers.
He had watched Hyodo storm toward his car, and he continued to watch him until he drove off.
Soon after, he turned to the door, building up the courage to knock after a few minutes of standing around.
Either way, he received no response, and he fumbled with his fingers even more as he thought of what to do.
Technically, he shouldn't have been there. Well, he was meant to be there for a Saturday meeting, but in reality he had gone out of his way by going to her apartment.
In the beginning, he found himself going to her apartment, before they inevitably took their meetings to cafés and such– because Mei was horrible at having breakfast on time.
Then, when he came to the realization that Mei had been seeing someone, for two years at the time he found out, he decided it would be best to call ahead and meet her at their designated meeting spots.
This decision was partly made to protect himself from having to stumble across the unwanted sight of a half-dressed Hyodo leaving the bedroom.
The other part that went into the decision was Akaashi's fear of growing too close to Mei once again.
Before learning of Hyodo's existence, he found himself enjoying their meetings and wishing to learn more of who she had become over the eight years he hadn't known her.
After learning of Hyodo's existence, he still felt the same, but he attempted to distance himself simply to protect himself.
But, now, standing outside of Mei's apartment after what he had just heard from inside, he couldn't decide what to do.
He knocked once more, letting out a sigh when there was no answer again. He turned toward the stairs, preparing to leave and later hear from Mei that their meeting was cancelled.
Instead, the door finally opened, revealing an out-of-breath Mei, who had apparently showered in the time that it took Akaashi to gather his thoughts outside, judging by her wet hair.
"Akaashi?"
Akaashi coughed awkwardly as he looked back at her, remembering the words he had heard coming from her behind the door.
"I forgot about our meeting. Sorry," Mei mumbled softly, opening the door wider and waving at Akaashi to enter anyway.
He entered the small apartment and looked around, shaking off his coat and shoes before moving to the living room and standing rigid.
"Sorry I took a while to get to the door." Mei spoke plainly as she entered the kitchen and left him to settle on the couch. She returned with a mug of tea, handing it to him as she continued, "I was in the shower."
"It's alright." He sipped the tea, feeling himself smile as he realized it was black tea made just the way he had always liked it.
He shifted his gaze to Mei, watching as she stood in place and seemed to have a mental battle of whether to sit on the couch beside him or not.
Eventually, she sat down, carefully placing herself at the edge and bending her legs underneath her as she stared straight at the wall.
Because of the shower, she had changed into a pair of leggings and a large sweater, but Akaashi still scanned the room in a subtle attempt to find his coat.

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words | akaashi keiji
Fanfictionthird year akaashi befriends a girl who reminds him of what he's lost, but she's got reasons of her own. akaashi x fem!oc COMPLETED