Time was always such a tricky thing for you. Some moments lasted forever: you could replay the first pillow fight between you and Akito for hours, and it was always fresh in your mind, like it was always happening. Some moments were fleeting, blurry snippets; like the time the two of you managed to get Hatori wine-drunk -- and yourselves in the process. You remember laughter from all parties that night, along with some tears. You saw the tension, the weight of their world, slowly lift off of the Sohma's shoulders.
You watched Akito Sohma become a truly happy person. But time in general seemed to flit by like the pages of a book left open in the wind. Days, weeks, months, none of it had too much meaning to you. It was only the moments you remembered. Life for you was made up only of moments.
Before you knew it, a year had passed-- and you'd forgotten your one year anniversary. True, even when you did think about it, you hadn't expected Akito to be the type to care about something like that. He was a different brand of romantic. But lo and behold, you were treated to breakfast, lunch, and a (burned) dinner that day as Akito waited on you hand and foot.
"I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting the princess treatment from you. Maybe some good sex and a card, but this is almost too much." You chuckled, embarrassed as he rubbed your feet.
"Oh that's coming later, don't worry." Akito dragged his lotioned palms up your bare legs, applying pressure, "Gotta getchu all loose first."
You laughed and kicked at him. You admired the smirking profile of your boyfriend, man-bun and all, before retreating into yourself for a moment. You toyed with your fingers while you spoke.
"I'm really sorry, Aki... I wasn't even sure sure when we first started dating, I mean there was a lot of gray area."
He laughed through his nose at your admission.
"Yeah well, there was a lot of grey in my life. Before you."
You clutched at your chest, making a pitiful expression. "!! Stop being so sweet you're making me feel worse!"
Akito stopped rubbing your feet and gave you a look. "Well damn, I had something else for you too but if you're gonna feel bad about i-"
"No wait I want the thing!"
Akito scrunched up his face in thought for a solid 5 seconds. "Nah." And got up from the sofa.
"Akito!" You cried dropping your legs off the couch to chase him, but remembered how slippery your feet were. You hovered your feet above the floor and watched Akito pull his shirt over his head. He lit a candle and turned off the lights.
You quirked your head to the side, watching him through the darkness as he flopped onto the bed across from you.
"Goodnight, angel. Nothing special about tonight."
"Stop." You argued, genuinely feeling bad despite his muffled laughter. "What can I do to make it up to you?"
Akito raised his head, the comforter still around it. "Come here." He whispered.
You jutted your lower lip out pathetically and made awkward baby steps towards him with your *moist* feet. He laughed and finally pulled you down on top of him.
Akito brushed a lock of hair behind your ear and whispered cooly against it, "All you have to do is give me another night with you. Another day. You've spent a whole year making my world better, I'm the one who's slacking on the gifts."
Akito kissed your cheek softly once he saw that you were smiling. You bit you lip before kissing him back. You pulled away eagerly and whispered, "Does that mean I can have the other gift?"
He chuckled and said in between deepening kisses, "No. You'll have to wait till Christmas."
You pulled your head back, hand on his chest to stop him. "Christmas!?!"
"At least you won't forget when that is!"
The day after Thanksgiving, you began to set up the Christmas tree, only being encouraged by Akito's childish protests against it.
"It's not even December!"
"I can't wait anymore! I'm too excited to spend another Christmas with you. I already know what I'm gonna get ya this year." You smiled brightly, breaking open a box of black and white ornaments.
Akito helped put the star on top but then huffed off with something about finding mistletoe. "That's the one thing we should be setting up early." He teased.
As you finished wrapping some silver garland around the lower half of the tree, the song The Very Thought of You came on. You smiled at the memory of Akito's goofy performance the first night you moved your stuff in. Over a year ago. The moment's still here.
You felt two taps on your shoulder and turned around to see Akito holding out a poorly wrapped present to you. You smiled suspiciously, glancing back from him to the gift.
"I can't wait either."
Your smile extended a painful amount and he nodded at you, wordlessly giving you permission to tear into the wrapping paper. When you opened it, you discovered it to be a photo album. Akito sat behind you, resting his chin on your shoulder as you flipped through the pages.
It was half full of photographs of the two of you, some off-guard ones you didn't even know existed, a poem that brought tears to your eyes, and pressed flowers. You leaned back against Akito and kissed his neck.
"The second half is for everything that comes next." He said.
You turned around and hugged him with your whole body.
"You're the best person I've ever known. I love you." You said, kissing him again.
"Yeah, ditto." He said, booping your nose. "But your tree is missing something."
You narrowed your eyes at him in confusion, though your smile couldn't possibly fade.
Akito reached behind his back and presented you with a sparkling (f/c) ornament. "You forgot this."
Your eyes must have lit up judging by his reaction, because he leaned his forehead against yours and whispered another surprise to you.
"Open it."
"What?"
"Just do it." He chuckled before adjusting to rest on one knee.
Time, the tricky thing that it was, stood still. You felt your heart sink to your stomach in the most delightful way, and your cheeks and fingers went numb as you looked at his posture. You looked down at the ornament and struggled to pry the seam open. Inside rested a beautiful ring buried in silk plush.
"Is this real?" You asked dumbly. "Really for us?" You felt tears well up once again as you looked at the love of your life. "Really forever?"
Akito smiled softly, and you could see the happy tears in his eyes to match your own. "That's the only way it could ever be for us. You're my soulmate, (Y/n). We were born to be together... Marry me?"
You nodded, all your elaborate, teasing words leaving you as he slipped the ring onto your finger; a perfect fit.
A perfect fit like Akito was for you.
**A/N:
Me, taking over a month off when we're so close to the end of this story? 🧐 It's more likely than you'd think 😏😉.
Jk though, I really am sorry. Writer's block coupled with a busy schedule. There's only one chapter left, and I 😉promise😉 that it won't take me a month to publish it.
Love ya