Akande never welcomed new tenants into the building. Finding it simpler to let them all get on with their lives until a complaint finally arose that ultimately he just had to deal with - another paper on top of an already full stack. Pencil worked and whittled to the bone.
The strangeness of it occurs to him when he lingers outside of your door. You have a chipped stencil on your letterbox, a colourful little welcome mat by the door, even a tacky little plastic gnome. Thereās a distinct lack of charm to the door next to your own and it suddenly starts to disturb him, hits a nerve buried deep under thick skin for so many years.
A tumbled crystal in a sea of jagged monochrome stones and pebbles. Like he hadnāt seen colour in years.
Gentle and rhythmic, how very unlike him.
And when you answer, thereās already a sweet smile on your face. Eyes bright and wide with flour casted all over your apron, a hint of it dusting your cheeks and nose. A deep sniff was all Akande needed to confirm that you were baking something sweet, something buttery and warm, like the croissants from the expensive bakery down the street.
He clears his throat, straightening up in a way that had the clean-cut suit containing him strain against its stitches.
āI am here to..ā He pauses, because you crane your head up to listen to him like itās the most beautiful sound in the world.
His voice, thick, heady, accented. Like dark chocolate and honey. You make sure that he knows it. How unyieldingly confident despite the sea of droning businessmen surrounding your home.
āā¦Welcome you to the building.ā
Your eyes light up like fireworks, a small hand smothered in flour suddenly extended out towards him.
āYou must be Mr Ogundimu! Iāve heard a lot about you from theā¦interestingā¦lady down in 1B.ā You chuckle lightly, shaking his hand before suddenly realising that your hands are doused in mixture from your latest concoctions.
You gasp - mortified that youād potentially stained his clothing. But Akande doesnāt care, whatever it was, it was homemade. He could feel the warmth pooling from your hands still lingering in his own, the mixture smooth and full of love, with creativity. There was more humanity in whatever bowl you were mixing than in the rest of his entire fucking building.
āOh my gosh. Iām so sorry. Iāll pay for your dry cleaning andāā You fret, looking up at him with those lovely, lovely eyes as you list off ways to potentially make it up to him.
Akande tried not to linger on how close it sounded to begging, nor did he attempt to focus on how that made him feel. On how it made his belt suddenly grow restricting.
He holds up his palm, suddenly silencing you. His lips curling into a small, humoured smile that melts away your distress almost immediately.
āThereās no need for any of that.ā He chuckles, a deep rumbling sound that echoes through his broad chest. Akande catches sight of the inside of your apartment from over your shoulder, warm lamplight and wooden tables instead of cold marble and modernised grey lighting.
āā¦But a piece of whatever youāre baking back there will do.ā
@mister-random (I hope you donāt mind me tagging you <3)