5.57 pm and I was completely dressed up and out on the couch, waiting for Akashi to arrive. The award ceremony would start at 6.45 sharp and since this was the first time someone had recognised my talent and had decided to reward me for it, I had all the reasons to be nervous. I brushed my hand through my hair over and over again making sure I looked presentable enough. I played with the hem of my dress inhaling deeply, trying my best to stay calm.

" There you are.. " my head snapped up to find the red head. He looked exactly like he did when he left to job in the morning . He didn't even look tired after eight hours of being outside. If I was him, I'd look like I had arisen from a gutter to go sell weed.

" Let's go " he said as he turned around to leave. I quickly grabbed my purse and straightened the wrinkles on my dress even though there were none.

Once we were out, I noticed a black audi R8, my eyes widened and I squealed in excitement. I loved this car, it was absolutely one of my favourites. I clapped and jumped twice , before it actually hit me that Seijuro was standing right beside me with an amused look on his face. " Sorry..." I quickly muttered and walked closer to his car.

He shook his head, but soon followed. I expected him to take me in his signature limo. But he seemed to avoid that vehicle whenever we travelled together, and surprisingly time ,Akashi himself was driving the car.

" I thought you'd take the limo " I said , finally deciding to break the silence.

" This is safer " was all he said. Then i remembered the terrible incident when I first climbed into his limo. He probably owns more than one of those, because the first one looked almost un-fixable back after the shootout. I nodded in response but didn't say anything.

The drive was pretty long and silent. I spent the entire time aimlessly staring out of the window. The quickly passing trees were good enough to keep me entertained and distract me from all the nervousness.

After about half an hour or so, the car soon came to a halt, and I waited for him to get out first and later I followed. We had stopped in front of a huge building, with large glass windows, surrounded by rows of rhododendrons and it looked a lot better than I had imagined.

Seijuro and I walked inside together and my eyes landed on many beautiful paintings covering the walls completely. The ceiling was about twenty feet high. Designs of fruit and flowers were carved into the moulding and small, fat children with wings looked down at us from every angle. Vases of blossoms gave off a cloying scent that made my eyes itch.

This place was big. I was supposed to come here alone, and if I had , I sure wouldn't know where to go. All I could see were paintings and other artifacts and I was considering asking someone for directions before Akashi's hand wrapped around mine, his fingers interlocking with my own. I looked at our hands and then up at his face. He had his usual stoic expression on, but he had no idea what that simple gesture did to me. " Come " was all he said and I walked beside him. He led me down a corridor and into a much larger room.

Then came a man nearly in his fifties, a mixture of white and black hair on his head and spectacles which hung low on his nose. " Miss. Sana? " he asked.

" Yeah..that's me" I smiled.

" This way madam; Sir. " he spoke as he directed us to our seats. I couldn't wipe out the smile on my face, we were in the first row and I already felt superior to most of the others at the gallery. It was a stupid reason to feel that way just because we sat in the front but then it somewhat did make me feel great.

We were neither too early nor too late. Everyone settled down and the stage in front of us consisted of a few old men, none of them recognisable and then came the anchor who seemed more excited than anyone else in the entire auditorium.
" Welcome to Sanjusangendo Art Museum's fifty sixth award ceremony " he said in the loudest voice possible. " It is my honour to present you, our guests for today...." and he went on screaming into the mic, along with a few weird hand movements making me laugh. He was undeniably gay.

" Do you think he's gay? " I asked Akashi, who was currently seated right beside me. I turned to look at him only to find him looking down at his shoes, supressing a smile. I waited for a response as I continued to stare at Seijuro, completely ignoring the man yelling on the stage. After what seemed like forever, the red head nodded slowly and motioned me to pay attention to what was going on. I sighed , but obliged.

The whole function was getting boring second by second as old men went on with their never ending speeches. " I started admiring art when I was five years of ag- ahem ahem! " coughed another old soul making me roll my eyes.

" I thought you'd like it here " said the red head, looking straight ahead as he spoke.

" I thought so too... " I sighed. " This is so full of shit! Give me my award and let me go home " I whined quietly only for the one next to me to hear.

About half an hour later, they decided to honour us with our prizes. I was slouching down on the chair until I heard the announcement. I quickly sat up straight and waited for my name to be called out.
They had categories like budding talent, artist of the year and what not. I was waiting for the golden leaf thing because that's what was going to be mine.

A boy named Michael was called, he quickly stood up, with a bright smile on his face and shared warm hugs with his parents. I could see the happiness in his mother's eyes while his father stood up straight clapping louder than anyone else, filled with pride. Everytime I saw someone with their parents, I couldn't help but feel bad for myself. I didn't want to cry, this wasn't the right place to get all emotional. Akashi seemed to follow my line of sight and I soon felt his hand on my thigh. I slowly turned my head to look at him and he just gave me a small nod, his eyes boring into mine as if he knew what I was thinking and told me stop thinking. I looked away and at the podium and after mere seconds the girly guy spoke, " Last but not the least, the ultimate golden leaf award goes to..." he paused for a few seconds and I swear I would have stood up straight before he called my name and embarrassed myself in front of everyone if Akashi hadn't stopped me from doing so, by pulling me back into the chair. I mentally thanked him and waited for the anchor to finally say it! " goes to....Miss.Sana. Please come onto the dais " he yelled out loud and Akashi released his grip on my arm.

I walked upto the stage, feeling more nervous than ever. I felt like I was back in high school and the math teacher had asked me to solve a problem I didn't know, in front of the whole class. I swallowed as I stood in front of everyone , clapping and smiling at me. It was strange that they were all so happy for me or atleast they pretended to be even though I knew none of them. None of them except one.

An old man who I had made fun of earlier walked upto me and handed me a trophy which looked like a beautiful golden leaf even though it wasn't real gold.
The senior citizen gave me a pat on my back while I awkwardly stood on the stage smiling at no one in particular.

" I've seen your works, they're good. You can still improve, I see the potential in you " said the man in a shaky voice. Appreciative yet critical. I nodded with a genuine smile and shook hands with him. We posed for a picture together, me almost holding in my laughter as the grandpa who was way shorter than me slithered his hand around my waist and brought himself closer to me. I bit the insides of my cheek but somehow managed to look normal. Once the flash went off, he took his hand off of me and I walked down the stage quickly making my way towards the red head.

We stayed for a little while until they announced that we could go ahead and check out the paintings in the museum. People started walking out of the small auditorium and so did we. This time, my fingers weren't interlocked with Akashi's as both my hands were pretty occupied holding the purse, the trophy and the certificate.

I stopped at every single painting that caught my eye, admiring it and sometimes laughing at the ones which consisted of naked men and women. I always thought it'd be weird to paint a dick , like why would you paint that out of everything else in the world?

" Hello.. " I heard a female greet and I turned my head towards the source of the voice. That's when I realised that the hello wasn't for me but to Akashi. A skinny yet attractive bond offered her hand for a handshake.

" If I'm not wrong, you are Akashi Seijuro, right? " she asked knowingly.

" Hmm.." was all the response she got from him. If I was Sei, I would totally say 'no'. Which idiot would walk upto superman and ask him if he was superman?

Not like Akashi was superman or anything.

" I'm Yuki, from Tokyo today! "

" What can I do for you? " asked the red head partly annoyed.

" I'm really lucky to find you here sir and I would hate to let this opportunity slip. I have a few questions for you, would you please answer them for me? " she asked as she tilted her head a little to the side.

" I'm sorry, I can't. " he said and walked away from her dragging me along with him. The blonde was persistent though. She followed us around asking him questions like, " Why are you in Tokyo? Are you here on a business meeting? ", etcetera, but none of them were answered.

" Sir, is she your girlfriend? Is there anything about your personal life you'd like to share? " she asked, making my jaw drop. Her voice was loud enough to draw the attention of people around us and it definitely pissed Akashi off. He loosened his tight grip on my wrist and took a step closer to the blonde. His eyes were drilling into hers and I could clearly see fear etched on her face. There was utter silence in the entire hall and Akashi sure looked like he would drive a bullet through her skull. " Let my personal life remain personal".

I instinctively placed my hand on his shoulder, he seemed to relax at the touch and took a quick turn. We walked out of the gallery, towards the parking lot. I breathed heavily trying to catch up with Akashi's pace of walking.

" She seems to like you a lot.. " I said, trying to somehow lighten up the mood. " Not more than how much the grandpa on stage seemed to like you " he said in his monotonous voice and got into the car while I chuckled at his statement. So, Akashi Seijuro can crack jokes like normal humans too?Wow.

Once we were both seated, the car drove off the driveway and onto the main road. Not wanting to spend another thirty minutes of silence with him, I decided to ask a few questions since I knew very less about him and his life, except for the information I had recieved from his mother.

" Why don't you like your father? " I had noticed the thick air between him and his father, they barely had any interaction until extremely necessary.
I caught him off guard with the question, but he didn't seem to mind. He took a quick glance at me before answering it.

" It's not like I don't like him. He's my father, and I respect him for all that he's achieved in life and for all that he has given me. It is just that I don't have the same kind of attachment with him as I do with mother. " I remained silent, wanting him to continue. It was rare to hear Akashi talk about himself and his family and I loved when it happened. " Father only cared about my grades in school and not about me. He never bothered about how I really felt. I was so driven to impress him that I lost a part of me back in high school. " he stopped.

" And? "

" I would have lost my conscience completely if it wasn't for mother. " his voice softened as he spoke of his mother.

" She loves you very much..." I responded, tilting my head a little to look at him. " I know.." was all he said with a tint of light of in his eyes.

The car quickly fell silent all over again and I desperately searched for another topic to talk about. Why can't this guy start a conversation himself? It's hard to understand how he enjoys awkward silences. I finally decided to break it yet one more time with a question much private.

" You said you had a fianće right? " i hesitated, not knowing if he would feel comfortable talking about this.

" Yes "

" Did you love her? " it was a stupid question though. If he agreed to marry her then of course he would've loved her. But then again, a part of me expected a no. It could've been an arranged marriage against his will, maybe?

I waited for him to answer it, and he finally responded with a nod. " Yes, very much" and that was enough to break me a little. I could feel the pain swelling in my chest, the ache which makes your throat go dry. I swallowed, but continued. I had to know more..more of him...more of his past.

" What did she look like? "

A sad smile took over his lips, " perfect " was the only word that left his mouth. After a few more minutes of silence where I tried to digest his answers and tried not to burst out crying , I threw my next question at him.

" Where is she now? Is she dead? " I didn't mean to be harsh but there was a hint of rudeness in my voice.

Akashi's grip on the wheel tightened and he roughly pulled over. That's when I realised we were back home. I didn't step out of the car though, instead I stared at him, expecting an answer.

" That is none of your business! " he snapped.

" I was just aski-"

" How is it even related to you? Please stop invading my personal space! My past has nothing to do with you Sana. Just because you live at my house doesn't give you all the rights to question and inquire me! " he grunted in a thick voice, one of his eyes turning a shade of gold.

The moment he stopped, tears welled up in my eyes. " I never asked to live with you okay? You took me to your place, and that too against my will! I wasn't trying to invade your personal space or anything, I was just trying to know you better ".

" You don't have to! You will never be able to do me any good even if you intend to. You are just another burden! " he said and rubbed his temples.

" Thank you for saving my life more than once Akashi Seijuro. I respect you and everything you've done for me. But I'd rather go get murdered than get insulted like this! " I yelled as I got out of the damn car, shutting the door with force behind me. He quickly got out as well, but I paid no mind.

I stomped my way up the stairs into the room which was supposedly mine. I locked the door behind me and began packing my clothes. I was jealous and hurt when I asked him that question. It was hard for me to accept his past, but I tried my best to get to know Akashi. I loved him in spite of him being monstrous occasionally, and me accepting him included accepting his past as well. My intentions weren't bad, and it was unnecessary to react so harshly. He said words which I thought I would never hear from him.

I heard a knock on my door. " I know you're in there Sana " said Akashi.

" I know I'm here too.." I yelled back.

" Open the door! " he ordered.

" No! "

Once I finished packing all my stuff, I headed out of the door and found Akashi leaning against the opposite wall. He quickly straightened up, " Look I didn't- " he started, but I cut him off.

" Tell your mom that I'm sorry. I didn't think I'd leave without telling her. " and I dashed down the stairs and out of the main door. He didn't seem to follow me this time. He just let me go while he stood at the top of the fleet of stairs. I took my exit, not wanting to be a burden to anyone anymore.

♡♡♡

[A/N]

Comment your thoughts throughout the chapter if you'd like ;)

Ily guys!