A/N: Wooop. I've always wanted to do this AU. XD (Which is why it ended up getting longer than I intended it to. Is this even still a drabble? XD)

And I'm sorry if I wrote "you" similarly to a dearest OC of mine (*cough* mydearestbabysaki *cough*). 

Ah, also, this is R-15? XD Eh, read at your own risk. (It's not like you younger people are going to follow it, anyway. Man, I feel so old. XD) There are none of those *ehem ehem* but *shrugs* I don't really know how to rate stories. Haha.

________________

eccedentesiast
(n.) one who fakes a smile

~♥~

"You did well tonight," said he in a mutter when the two of you were finally left alone, his eyes of crimson regarding you almost expressionlessly if not for the smallest glint of pride on them. Even with only the faint light of the bedside lamp illuminating his whole dark bedroom, his astounding features still seemed to glow (in your eyes, anyway).

A quick gush of glee filled your chest as the evening's first genuine smile graced your lips, and you were about to thank his obvious compliment until he cut you off.

"You did well in fooling those guests." His expression darkened, and it was nowhere close to a smile.

You tensed visibly, your happiness suddenly flushed out of your system. You shook the idea off your mind since you were sure that he probably meant something else. You'd be delusional if he meant what first came into your mind. Another smile was forced into your face as you asked him politely, "What do you mean, Seijuurou-kun?" Even with the straightened and formal posture you were trained with, your fingers unconsciously rubbed against each other in worry.

"Don't play dumb with me, ______," he replied grimly, annoyance burning just beneath his calm facade, as he took a tight hold of your wrist and forcibly pulled you, who sat a meter away from him on the bed, to his side. He interlocked his slightly larger fingers through yours, his intent gaze boring holes into your soul. "Tell me. What was bothering you earlier?"

You heard your glass-like figurative mask fall to the ground with a loud crash, shattering into sharp little pieces. You looked away, not wanting to ever say it to the mighty emperor as it could be a sign of weakness, and bit your lip. "It's nothing...," you lied guiltily, "I'm just tired... meeting all those people. I don't even know some of them and yet they were congratula--"

"______." His now impatient voice and his almost painful squeeze of your hand made your chain of half-lies break. You winced in discomfort, reluctantly glancing at the expression he was making. There was a crinkle in his brows, fragments of displeasure in his eyes, and a tight pursing on his lips. He completely saw right through your fabricated wall, with you cowering with the ghouls of insecurity and self-doubt haunting you just behind it.

"Tell me this instant." It was no longer a formal request but a foreboding command. You knew you could trust him to not to revert into his tendencies wherein violence was left as his only choice to uphold his dominance, but you couldn't deny that he still terrified you in a way.

You took a deep breath, your gaze falling on the floor of expensive mahogany. "Am I... Am I really good enough for you?" The faint words of your anxiety flowed out of your mouth before you could even pick the decent words, surprising yourself on how relieved you felt when they left your lips. After at least three seconds of silence, apprehension started to rip away the relief like thin sheets of onion paper.

"Elaborate," was his curt reply, the earlier frost in his voice now melting.

You rubbed your fingers together, your eyebrows knit in worry. "I mean, you're Akashi Seijuurou... You're perfect. You're practically everything a woman would ever want in a husband. Then there's me. Plain, ordinary me. I don't think I belong in your world, nor do I suit you as your future wife...," you trailed off as your lips quivered, the smallest tears threatening to roll down your cheeks. You saw how some of the high-class guests stared at you when they thought you weren't looking; you sensed disapproval and disgust. You also saw how there were other more suitable ladies for the perfect man.

If he ever changed his mind, you were ready to let him go for the sake of his future.

"Is that all?" he questioned and you nodded timidly. 

A sigh left his lips and, all of a sudden, he pushed you to lay down on the bed which your body quickly complied. Before you could even react, he was on top of you, his body on your side, his arm on the other as it pinned your shoulder down, and his face mere inches from yours.

"S-Seijuurou-kun?!" you stuttered, losing the ability to breathe. Even as his fiancee, intimate gestures from the said male still shocked you and never failed to set your heart aflutter; he was never the intimate type to begin with.

"Out of all the women I've met, you're the one I chose to spend the rest of my life with," his breath tickled your lips, "Is that not enough?" With a tinge of loneliness in his voice, he searched for your answer with a scrutinizing gaze and narrowed eyes. Though feeling conflicted, you stared back, captivated by his beautiful face as always.

"The moment you said 'yes' should be the time when you stopped thinking of such ideas," he uttered as the expression on his face shifted into something more gentler, and a small smile tugged at his lips. "That has been the happiest day of my life, ______," he added silently as he left a gentle but lingering kiss on your lips, his hand now lovingly stroking your tresses.

"...I'm sorry, Seijuurou-kun," you apologized, his assurance now shooing your inner demons away. You smiled contentedly, now wondering why you had those worries in the first place. He wouldn't have rented and decorated that five-star restaurant for his proposal if he didn't love you enough, right?

"I must be at fault, too...," he mumbled as the tip of your nose brushed against yours. "Must I remind you of my feelings every second?"

Thus, the emperor spent his night expressing his adoration for you in every way possible.

_________

A/N: ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) *flies away*