#amethystshipping

Pose I got off Pinterest lol

Ruri fidgeted nervously in her chair, trying her best not to bite her lip and controlling the chill coursing through her body as Akaba Reiji picked up the check. He had promised her a night she wouldn’t soon forget. A limo had picked her up from her house, all the neighbors looked onward in shock and awe – even her brother bit his tongue. Inside, she was given expensive champagne and even a small blue velvet box containing silver earrings; immediately replacing the knockoffs she was wearing.

Her breath had been taken away at arriving at Maiami’s most expensive restaurant and there he was… there was Akaba Reiji, waiting outside for her and holding a small bouquet of white lilies. Ruri snorted; he was dressed up in complete black clothing and only a crimson tie stood out. It was better than his usual casual slacks and turtleneck. Today, he fit the part of an Akaba – like the heir to the biggest crime empire in Maiami City he was. Dangerous and unapproachable, but Ruri was fine with that. He was courting her, after all.

And today, he was going to propose.

She was so certain.

“So… Reiji…” Ruri smiled, reaching her hand across the table and grasped onto his. His expression was always cold, hard to read. But Ruri had been studying him for the past few months, every little facial twitch and muscle spasm spoke volumes. “This is such a wonderful dinner, thank you so much.” Her other hand came up and brushed aside a stray hair behind her hair, making sure to draw attention to the earrings he’d gifted her.

She wanted a reaction, watching his purple eyes follow her movements and only nodded. His nods didn’t tell much, merely an affirmation – Reiji’s attention was elsewhere and Ruri couldn’t figure where he’d wandered off too. He gripped her hand back, taking a sip of his wine. “Dinner’s not over yet, Miss Kurosaki.”

“Oh, are we getting dessert?”

She imagined it – some kind of red velvet cake with two spoons and Reiji would barely eat it tell her it was hers to enjoy. She’d dig through until in the center, she’d find a ornate ring covered in frosting. He’d snap his fingers and violins would start playing as he left his chair and sank down to one knee, asking her to be his wife – to be his strong-willed companion and partner in the future.

His phone rang and he took back his hand, digging it out of his breast pocket and answering it. “Reiji speaking.” Ruri pouted; she wanted to keep holding onto his hand and study each and every line on it. Instead, she stuck to waiting for his call to finish. She couldn’t hear the other end, only something… something must’ve made Reiji happy, excited even as he smiled.

Not even a toothy grin of arrogance or whatnot, but just a small, satisfied smile. But that was the loudest he was throughout the dinner. Maybe this was it. Reiji hung up the phone, placing it back in his pocket and chugged down the last of the wine in his glass. “Come Miss Kurosaki, we’ll finish this up elsewhere.”

“W-what?” Her brows furrowed in confusion. “What do you mean?”

Reiji straightened up his black jacket before outstretching his hand out toward her, helping her out of her chair – almost like a gentleman out of a romantic setting. “Why, to my surprise for you. You didn’t think this was just another dull evening, did you?”

He was proposing!

---

Her heart was racing the entire car ride. Was he taking her to the docks to aboard one of the many yachts they owned and propose to her under the stars in the middle of the sea? Or maybe he’d take her to a helicopter pad and take her for a ride around the city? Maybe something simple instead, like a lavish hotel in the president’s suite with a bedspread of roses and candles all around them.

It wasn’t as though Reiji gave her any hints. The moment her eyes wandered to the windows and try to discover their whereabouts, see where the trail led to, Reiji pulled her away and onto his lap. One arm around her waist as his other one brushed aside her bangs. “Miss Kurosaki-”

“Ruri!” She said, leaning her cheek onto his hand. “You’ve been too formal for me for months now, aren’t we past that?”

She studied his face and was certain what every little twitch meant. But the subtle crease of his brows and the slight tilt of his head, was he confused by her words? Or merely thinking about them? Weighing out the pros and cons to everything she was saying. “I believe you’re right. Now, Ruri, do you remember the night we met?” She nodded, eagerly, as her hands came up to stroke his tie. He didn’t stop her, allowing her to indulge.

It was a hard night to forget. A low-level street thug had come in and threatened her brother due to his enormous gambling debts. All he could do was ask for more time, bigger loans till his anger took over and he thought violence was his way out. If Ruri hadn’t run away that night… hadn’t had that chance meeting with him… He was her savior, her Prince Charming of the underworld arriving in an unmarked black car and holding his hand out to her. Granting her and her brother all the protection he could.

She smiled, her nerves getting to her as she bit her bottom lip. “Perfectly well, actually… I think I fell in love with you that night…” Ruri gulped as she leaned forward and pressed her lips against Reiji’s, wanting the evening to turn into the perfect night as she so hoped. His lips were as soft as she thought they’d be, his hand pulling her closer. As close as they were and how compromising this position was… Ruri felt no passion in his kiss. No urgency or want in his touch. There… was just a lackluster of emotions, as though this was obligation rather than need.

The car came to a stop and Reiji pulled away. There was no shortage of breath from him, only his hand coming up and wiping his lips of the lipstick that was smeared on him. The door opened. “Mr. Akaba, we’re here.”

Reiji nodded and removed his hold on Ruri, gesturing for her to get out of the car first as he followed suit. She was definitely in an unfamiliar part of town. This was more of a seedy area… almost like… it reminded her of where she would pick up Shun from on the nights where he’d lost too much and would demand for her help. Why did Reiji take her there? She wanted to ask but instead, her hand was gripped tightly as Reiji followed two of his bodyguards into the warehouse.

As she stepped in, Ruri dropped the white lilies and screamed – fighting against Reiji’s tight hold on her hand to rush to her brother’s side. There he was, bloody and bruised and beaten – struggling to push himself up off the ground as he was kicked again by another assailant.

“Shun!” Ruri screamed, tears streaming down her face – smudging her make-up. Why was she taken there? Why was Shun hurt? What was going on?

“Stop.” A simple command from Reiji had stopped the assailants. Instead of beating him some more, they pulled him up on his knees and jerked his head up. Ruri gasped, her vision obscured by her tears. His face was swollen and bruised, eyes barely open and blood streaming down from his nose and mouth.

“Let me go! Shun!” Her cries became louder and her struggle more futile as Reiji’s grip tightened and she whined in pain.

“Now, Ruri – you did not answer my question. Do you remember when we met?”

“Ru… ri, don-!” Shun could barely, his words coming up in a choked garble as he coughed, blood gushing out.

Reiji had ordered this. He did this. Why did he… “I said do you remember?” He was so calm, everything about him was calm. This entire night… the only time he wasn’t when he got the phone call. Was that… that about this? Ruri nodded, not knowing how else to react.

“You… you wanted us to be loyal. Reiji, we haven’t done anything!”

Reiji pushed her to the ground and lifted his jacket, revealing a gun at his side and removed it, cocking it. “I specifically said I’d take over your brother’s debts, all your losses. And all I asked for was your unquestioned loyalty.” With every word he spoke, Reiji stepped closer to Shun. His heels making loud, deafening echoes in the empty warehouse. Each one sounded like a lifetime had passed.

It was starting to click in her mind, where Reiji was going with that gun. Where he was pointing it… Ruri tried to get up but was immediately held back by on the accompanying bodyguards.

“Unquestioned loyalty does not include theft, does it, Kurosaki?” His words were cold as could be. The distance between her and his back were as far as the sea to the moon. She could only watch in horror as Reiji pressed the gun to Shun’s forehead. His finger twitched on the trigger.

“No, wait! Please! I’ll take the debt!” Ruri explained, struggling against her hold and finally got hold of Reiji’s attention as he turned away, the gun finally off of Shun’s head. “Whatever he stole, I’ll work it off. Please…!” She couldn’t do it, the sight of seeing who she thought was the love of her life slaying her brother in cold blood. Her heart was hammering against her chest and her breathing hastened, the time Reiji spent staring at her was like an eternity. Every tear from her eye and every drop of blood dripping from Shun’s mouth felt like bombs around them.

Reiji only chuckled. “You said you fell in love with me, Ruri,” she grimaced from hearing her name and now she regretted every request she made, and of all the things – asking him to call her by her first name was the top of the list. “Tell me, are those sentiments still true?” His expression was horrifyingly smug.

Ruri gasped and Shun finally struggled, understanding the implications of his words. “Don’t you fucking touch her!” The words barely left his mouth before Reiji waved his hand up and one of the guards punched the back of Shun’s head.

What was the right answer? Was she supposed to say yes? How could she answer yes? Did she even know? What did he want her to say to save her brother’s life? Ruri hung her head low, removing the earrings he had given her earlier in the evening. She couldn’t take them. And all she heard was a snort from Reiji.

“Very well, you’ll take his debt. But, just so you understand what will happen should you cross me…” Reiji held his gaze at her, waiting for her to lift her head. Her eyes now wide and fraught, full of horror as the gun was pointed to her brother’s head and without hesitation, Reiji pulled the trigger and a loud pop echoed throughout the empty warehouse.

The assailants let go of Shun and his body fell limp to the floor, blood beginning to pool around his head and nearly touch the sole of Reiji’s fine shoes before he took a step forward, out of reach of the blood.

She was quiet, in shock and horror. Ruri didn’t know whether to scream or cry or bang her head on the cement flooring until blood gushed out of her own head if just to get the image of her brother’s beaten corpse out of her mind.

Reiji was simply taking a handkerchief, cleaning the gun before passing it along to one of the bodyguards, dictating commands but nothing she could hear. Everything was just a blur, everything but… but her brother’s mangled corpse. The only thing she could see so clearly. Ruri could barely hear the echoes of Reiji’s footsteps returning to her, hardly registering that he bent down and laid his hand on her shoulder. His eyes held the same passionless reserve now as they did in the car. This meant nothing to him. “It was your brother’s nature to steal and it is my fault for trusting him. It is my nature to punish those who wrong me. Now Ruri… it is your nature to wear your heart on your sleeve. You won’t cheat me.”

“Would you prefer lavender or lilac, miss?”

“Um,” Ruri offered eloquently. What’s really the difference? “Bring me both, please.”

The saleswoman hurried back to the scarf section, dollar signs in her eyes.

Back in front of the fitting room mirror, Ruri held up scarves to her neck and earrings that were aquamarine, jade and orchid, and sighed.

None of them seems right.

She'd been scarf-shopping for an hour. Not for herself--her own boxed-up scarf, carnation pink, sat at her feet waiting impatiently for her to finish. No, Ruri wanted to buy her fiancé a new neck ornament, but imagining Reiji in any color that wasn't fire-engine red was sending up big negatives in her brain.

"Not that he wouldn't look good," she murmured to herself; he had a disgusting habit of looking good in everything. "But... champagne? Cerulean? Sunflower? Ugh! Maybe this is why he sticks to ordinary colors..."

The saleswoman hustled back, running over a few casual shoppers in her wake. (It looks like she chipped a nail, Ruri thought uncharitably.) "Here you are, miss--the large scarves in both shades."

"Thank you." She took them and tossed each around her neck in turn, eliciting some gasps from her lingering audience. Still, these didn't seem quite right, either.

"Are you having trouble deciding, dear? I assure you, both of these would go well with your lovely hair."

"You're very kind," Ruri said patiently, pushing that hair off her neck, "but I'm not looking at any more scarves for myself."

"She's quite right. They are meant for me."

Ruri nearly tripped on her own dress as she whirled around. For her part, the saleswoman started stammering immediately.

"Oh my--Akaba Reiji-san, what an honor! Is there any way--anything I can help you with--"

He held up a hand, not halting his stride until he was standing confidently next to Ruri. "That won't be necessary. I came here solely to see my fiancée."

"Fian--"

Ruri thought the woman would faint. Instead she managed to get it together and dismiss herself, though not without staring at Reiji's pockets as though she could see more of his limitless credit cards with her x-ray vision.

It was a relief to see the back of her. But--

"I didn't expect you," Ruri chuckles, kissing her lover briefly as he put one arm around her hip. "Silly me, but this was supposed to be a surprise."

Reiji led her toward the exit doors, retrieving the one scarf she had purchased earlier with one of his cards. He lifted one eyebrow as they went. "Reira told me where you'd gone."

"That little fibber! He promised not to tell!"

The CEO laughed.

They walked briskly to his car, stopping only briefly to unwind from one another and shiver before getting in on their respective sides. Reiji drove, while Ruri unboxed and admired her new adornment.

"It's beautiful--matches your eyes."

She looked over at him. "I could have gotten you a violet one. Why didn't you let me?"

"I vastly prefer your intangible gifts to me," Reiji said casually.

"Reiji."

He sighed. "You are kind, considerate and sensitive, and I wished not to harm any of those sensibilities or traits by telling you that I only wear the one scarf because it was Reira's first homemade present for me."

Ruri blinked--then she blushed, as the pieces finally came together. "Oh... Reiji, I didn't know... that's so sweet. I didn't mean to replace something so wonderful."

"Yes, I know. That is why I came to get you. Well--that, and..."

He gestured to the backseat, and she turned to look, laughing at herself once she had. The coat she'd neglected to take out into the winter storm was folded neatly there, waiting for her. Seeing it made her feel nearly as warm as he did.