#The real horror was the effort it took to get this thing to 15k words
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leahnardo-da-veggie · 20 days ago
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A Tale of Love, Death and Maggots, Epilogue-G
Parts 1-15, 16-G, 17-G, 18-G, 19-G, 20-G, 21-G, 22-G, 23-G, 24-G, 25-G
That, of course, was when I realised I hadn't heard a peep from my love, the one who had saved us all, whether she was willing to admit it or not. I turned to face her, and found her staring, dead on, down a hallway, half-turned away from us. “Mrin?”
She didn't respond. “Hey, you good?”
A quiet sob escaped her lips. “You’re an idiot, you know that?”
“Huh?”
She whipped around. “Did you even understand what I was trying to do? Did you know how badly that could have gone, when you ran off the script? Did you even think when you volunteered to get tortured like that? I knew how to get myself out, damnit! Why would you just sacrifice yourself like that?”
“Because I love you, Mrin. I love you and I would burn in a thousand hells just to keep you safe,” I replied, reaching out for her. 
She all but threw herself in my arms. “Stupid old man,” she mumbled. “Doesn't know the first thing about magic and goes and makes a deal with a fucking Lurker. Stupid, stupid old man.”
I gave her a helpless smile. “You didn't know that already?”
“Do you know what you've done? You've singlehandedly made a sacrifice grand enough to dispel a goddess and resurrect the dead twice. You healed me. You damn well worked high magic.” She snorted, as though disbelieving her own words. “And high magic is exactly what we need to escape this hellhole.”
“Oh god, not this again.”
“No, no, hear me out here. All we need to do is repeat this entire ordeal. We can simulate it with the Twisteds down by the hospital rooms. Start by chaining, say, Athena, to a wall-” She cut herself off. 
“Oh. No. No, I can't do that to you. This- This isn't going to work out. We're stuck here, and the price we'd need to pay to unstick ourselves is just too high. Out of everyone, I suffered the least throughout this. I have no right to suggest that all of us go through it again.”
With a quiet sigh, Mrin shook her head. “It's alright. I have you,” she said, looking into my eyes. “And I think that's more than enough for me. My love.”
The words sent a shiver down my spine and a smile up my lips. We held each other close, Mrin and I, and for once, I didn't shy away from making a choice.
I leaned in and pressed my lips against hers. It wasn't amazing, as kisses went. I'd lost most of my touch with age, and the memory of both of us in ugly agony still lingered. But it was a kiss, and my first one in decades at that.
Hell was never quite so hellish after that.
****
Congrats on making it to the end of this! I really hate writing long form fiction so this was like pulling out teeth for me. I'll post a google doc as well as another Tumblr post that collates all of the previous bits when I'm done editing! Also keep an eye out for the bad ending (like an idiot, I've been writing it back to front so it's not done yet)
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so this might totally not work but how about a scenario where Kuroo, Iwaizumi, Akaashi and Oikawa (sorry if it's too many?) had like a bad breakup with their (now) ex and they're trying to get back with her or smth and they have this one friend supporting them in the make up but also comforting and trying to distract them and stuff?? and at some point they realize they're actually in love with their friend? Or maybe she actually goes to whoop their ex's ass when she's being particularly mean 😂
Hhhhhmmmm well I usually only allow 3 characters at a time, but I’ll make an exception for this one! Mostly because it has a degree of angst that I absolutely love! But please be sure to limit to 3 for scenarios! Thanks love for the request! - Admin Satori
Kuroo Tetsurou:
Your heart had started hurting at the beginning of this mess. Your love for Kuroo shriveling up and aching when he’d gone off and found himself a girlfriend. He seemed so happy, so content with life and excited for the future… you’d kept quiet… you’d kept quiet and settled for being his friend.
Because you’d rather be his friend than nothing at all. Confessing to him how you felt once he was happy with how things were going would only threaten your friendship…. And if you had to go on without him? You don’t know what you’d do. He was your sunshine.
Yet…. About a week ago… his warm smiles seemed to dim before altogether extinguishing before your eyes when he admitted his girlfriend had dumped him.
For someone else. One of his friends from college.
“Because I’ve got a really ugly laugh, she said it freaked her out.” He chuckled halfheartedly, shrugging easily before running his fingers through his hair - he was staring into the mirror in his bathroom. You had come over to hang out and have fun with your friend, take joy in his company… but this wasn’t a side of Kuroo you were used to.
“An ugly laugh? Not even!” You scoffed, “She’s insane. Let her go ruin her life.”
But he didn’t let up. He wanted her back. He changed everything about himself so she would want him back. He cut his hair - short. Cropped black hair. He pierced his ears because that’s what his friend had.
You couldn’t do anything but watch in horror as he transformed everything for her. He wore different clothes, too baggy and weird matchups. Hats and too big glasses… Were those prescription based? Had he really spent more money to get new frames for his glasses?
“Tetsu-“ But he wouldn’t hear it from you. Too in his own head trying to figure out ways to change himself.
“_______, which one is better?”
Resting your hands on his, you had him lower the clothing out of the way, “Tetsurou….. Let’s go out on the town today…” He rolled his eyes, about to bring up the clothes as a show of ‘duh that’s why I’m asking you what to wear’, but you held his hands down, “Don’t you have any normal people clothes?” You smiled, but the irate tick of his eyebrow had you internally shrinking away from him.
Had you said something wrong? Was this really that serious?
So you slowly pulled your hands away, down casting your gaze before stepping back, “Sorry.. You probably have plans with her today, huh? Uhm… I guess.. Just shoot me a text if you need anything, okay?”
He didn’t respond, and you took that as your cue to leave.
You didn’t see him for days after that. He was busy. Taking classes on how to mask his speech to make it sound like whatever language was his mother tongue. Going shopping on his own to pick out the most similar clothing he could to the guy his ex was dating. He even changed his laugh… You hadn’t heard his real laugh in about a month now…
If you were being honest with yourself, you’re heart would break knowing you couldn’t even recreate his laugh in your memories. All you could hear is his forced laugh… he wasn’t happy, and yet he didn’t even see it himself.
But you were there for him. Sending him messages here and there, encouraging him to find himself before trying to get her back, sending the funniest of memes you’d think he’d like.
But you were hurting. More now than ever before. Because the young man you loved, the one you could see yourself with for the rest of your life… was slipping away. Slowly being replaced by some kind of imitation human.
You’d had it though. You were tired of watching him water down his personality because she couldn’t understand. Because she was the problem. He was perfect the way he was. “Wow, you’re so much smarter than me, I’m blown away by your brilliance.” He’d stumble over his fast learned French, complimenting her in a language she didn’t even understand but that she found ‘sexy’ and ‘hot’.
Irritation in your veins, you simply turned to her, and her smug smile, and growled out, “You’re a fucking idiot.” You were so angry. So furious. Before she could jump at the opportunity to shut you down, you were right there with your fury, “What kind of airhead are you? You don’t even KNOW French and you’re forcing him to learn it? For what? A chance to be by your side? Do you know how many women would JUMP at the opportunity to have Tetsurou for who he is? Millions.”
She scoffed, “Oh yeah right. He was an absolute loser before I-“
“No! No he fucking wasn’t!” You completely lost tack of where you were, your anger getting the better of your words, of your thought process. “He was smart! He still IS smart! Way more ‘brilliant’ than you! He learned French… in 2 weeks! Just to impress you! He changed everything about himself for you! And you’re still seeing someone else? Why even drag him along if you’re not going to commit? Why make him change everything about himself, everything I loved, if you don’t even want him?”
A simple shrug. “It was funny.”
No care. No sympathy. She didn’t care. She didn’t love him. He was her toy and she was having fun.
You didn’t even notice when you raised your hand to hit her.
But another hand held you back. “How cute~! You were pining this whole time? Oh, if I had known that, I would have made him change much more…” Then she was walking away, tossing a “Come on, Tetsu~, we’ve got some shopping to do~.”
“Uh…. Go on ahead of me… I’ll catch up….”
You roughly pulled your arm from his hold, but soon found all the fight had been leaked out of you in that moment of fury. You were tired. Tired and hurt.
Kuroo didn’t leave to catch up, though. He stayed with you. Silent. Watching your emotions play out on your face before you gathered what was left of your strength to cover what you were feeling. Hurt. Lost. Loss. You wanted to lash out, get him away from you as quickly as possible just so you could have your alone time - time to grieve over the young man who would never want you.
“I can’t…. I can’t do this anymore, Tetsurou… I can’t… It’s not healthy for me to watch you lose yourself for someone like..” Your hand waved weakly in the direction his ex had walked off in, “I just.. I don’t have it in me anymore.” When had your eyes welled with tears? No matter because you could feel a few of them slip passed your control down your cheeks. “I can’t stand by anymore… I can’t fight her… I can’t…. Your heart isn’t mine to fight for anymore, and that much is so fucking obvious since you’re just going to go after her and-“
Lips against yours. Hands cupping your face. You felt your heart break just a bit inside your chest at the mere idea of this being a dream or a trick. But if this were a dream or trick… what was the harm in indulging in the feeling of warmth spreading throughout your body?
So you fell. You fell for him harder than you had in the very beginning. Your hands held his against your cheeks, feeling his thumbs rubbing away your runaway tears, “I’m not… I’m not going after her… I’m not going anywhere…” Was that a choir singing in your ears at the sound of his real voice? That didn’t help dry your tears, but it had your heart swelling in your chest.
Kuroo kissed you softly, tenderly, anxiety eating at his core for making you wait so long for his attention. But when you’d gotten angry at his ex… when you’d admitted to being emotionally worn out… He’d seen you. The real you. The you who had been by his side even in his stupid choices.
“Please….” You whispered, “Please stop changing yourself…” You pulled from his lips before moving your arms to wrap around him, pressing your face into his chest and letting out a quiet sob when he held you close to him, burying his face in the top of your head.
“My laugh isn’t too ugly for you?”
You scoffed around a sniffle, pinching his side, “Your laugh is my favorite laugh.”
Iwaizumi Hajime:
Why had you agreed to this? To get in better shape, sure… but to watch him kill himself over someone who clearly didn’t have the ability to care? Not at all.
And yet you stayed. You helped. You watched and trained and worked out with Iwaizumi almost on a daily basis! You were feeling good about yourself! He would help you eat healthy and shed off any weight you felt shouldn’t be there! It was great!
Except that it wasn’t. Because he was taking it too far. A 5k, and you were beat! Ready to shower and rest your aching muscles…. And yet he turned it into a 10k, a 15k, a 20k….. Leaving you in the dust, or forcing you to catch up with him by non running/walking means. You’d catch up with him towards the end, driving beside where he was running on the sidewalk, calling for him to get in the car so the two of you can go relax and binge watch some TV.
But he’d only fight back. “I don’t have TIME to relax, ________. I have to keep working out. I don’t want her to think I’m lazy or getting fat.”
His ex. She’d pointed out his ‘chubby cheeks’ before breaking up with him… and now he was obsessing over it. Trying everything in his power to bulk up his body and slim down his face… Did he really look chubby to everyone? Did his efforts at the gym not translate into his physique?
You had lost count how many times you’d told him he looked amazing, that his arms were big enough to squish a watermelon between them or that you could hand wash your clothes on his abs….. He could probably outrun a goddamn cheetah… and yet he didn’t stop. He didn’t quit.
It wasn’t healthy. You were in your peak condition - where you wanted to be in terms of body weight and eating routines. You were feeling amazing! Endorphins firing off when they were supposed to, anxiety and depression long gone from your mind because you were taking care of the root of them… You were in the best shape you’d ever been and you couldn’t be happier!….
But you could. You could definitely be happier…. If he’d stop killing himself over his ex.
“Hajime, for fucks sake… You’re not even eating right anymore!”
“I can’t eat, ______. I’m just going to get fat and look like a damn hippo next to her. Gotta be in my best shape.” He’d brush you off, even going to move past you towards the weights he had in his home. He’d spent so much money on gym equipment - because the gym he’d gone to had noticed his unhealthy habits and actually banned him from going back.
Leaving you to be the only amount of reason he might listen to.
It wasn’t working though. He wouldn’t listen to you. Not when you pointed out his faulty thinking, not when you showed him videos saying what he was doing was unhealthy, and not when you practically begged him to come to his senses.
Stubborn fool…. But you loved him. You loved him for his heart, for his thoughts… for his kindness and thoughtfulness towards others… You loved him for who he was… not for how he looked - though he looked absolutely delicious. And yet… He didn’t see that.
You couldn’t keep this up. You’d stopped working out with him. Stopped spotting him when he lifted weights… At one point, you’d stopped talking or visiting him altogether.
He hadn’t noticed.
That probably hurt the most. The fact that you could disappear and he wouldn’t notice… Not how he was now. Before his ex? He would have physically gone to your house to check on you… but now? After her? After her thoughtless heartbreaking lies? …. He only thought of her, of how to better his body for her pleasure.
But you couldn’t take it any longer. Sitting there alone in your home… wondering what he was doing, wondering if he’d eaten at all or if he’d had any water… Why was he killing himself for her? Why? You loved him… You loved him no matter what, but watching him bend himself broken……
Iwaizumi was lying on his back on his weight bench when you entered his home. “______! Come spot me.” You didn’t fight, you followed his instruction…. But irritation boiled your blood when he lifted the weight off it’s support before you were in place… So you did something that rational thinking you would forever be embarrassed about.
You straddled him.
Legs on either side of his hips, you sat casually on his pelvis, hands under the steel rod he gripped in his hands. “Wha-what the hell are you doing?” He grunted out, forcing his mind on the weight shaking in his hold and not the pressure of your body on his. “Fuck, help me?”
“This is literally half the weight you were able to lift last month…..” You noted, the muted anger clear in your voice. But you made no move to help lift the weight from him. Instead you grabbed the steel from the top and pulled it down so it was over his chest, then you were leaning down on it.
Iwaizumi let out a gasp of a squawk, “________! Stop!” He called, his own irritation in his voice, he was getting angry with you… but you knew this was the only way for him to see.
So you leaned a bit harder on the steel bar, feeling his arms shaking as they struggled to keep the weight from ‘crushing’ him… though you knew it wouldn’t harm him… His muscles were so weak from overuse, he needed to rest… if he rested, you knew this weight wouldn’t have any chance against him. Yet he struggled. Because he was unhealthy. He was weak.
“You’re a goddamn fool, Hajime. In your drive to get strong, to be the biggest meat head in the whole world, you’ve made yourself the weakest human I’ve ever known.”
His green eyes showed his anger, showed his boiling rage, “Get. Off. Of. Me.”
You smirked, “Make me. Big strong Hajime… I’m sure you could toss a little one like me around like a ragdoll… So why don’t you?” His arms continued to shake as he held off the weight, and you felt disgust in your stomach at the sight of him, “Because you can’t.” You roughly pushed off of him, moving to stand behind the weight bench and pull the steel bar to its support rings.
Iwaizumi didn’t move, gasping for air as he stared up at you, his expression showing his anger…. But his eyes… His eyes showing his fear, because you were right. He knew you were right this whole time. “Why do you care? I’m trying to get….” He panted for much needed air, his lungs burning from the exhaustion making itself known.
“Because I’m literally watching the man I love kill himself. You’re wasting away to nothing but skin and bones, all your muscle is falling apart because all you do is wear it down…. Soon enough you won’t even be able to hold your own head up and you know what? She’s not going to want you back. Not then, not now, and not when you eventually end up in an early grave because your heart can’t handle the effort your exerting.”
No tears. You were quite proud of your explosion. In most cases where you were angry, you couldn’t get your words out clearly, or you’d lose your train of thought… but you’d been thinking about him nonstop since he’d been dumped… since he’d started this whole insane power trip.
The silence was deafening.
“I owe you… so much, Hajime. Because you helped me. You pulled me out of his swirling hole of darkness… and you pushed me to better myself… I’m healthy. I’m able to run a 5k without dying after a couple feet… I’ve been eating healthy and all my inner demons are being starved because I absolutely love myself now…..” You looked down at where he lay, limp and weak… and you wondered if this was the first break his body has had since the breakup. “But I’m not happy, Hajime… I’m not. I can’t be. Watching you do this to yourself… You’re in the top percentile in terms of body mass and weight…. But you’re not stopping… You’re wearing yourself down day by day, hour by hour…. Not eating because she said you’ve got chubby cheeks….”
Iwaizumi looked away, feeling his heart ache. “Do I still have chubby cheeks?”
“Yeah, you do.” Was your immediate answer, and his green eyes were back on you in an instant - he took insult to your telling him the truth. But you let out a sigh and moved to stand beside the weight bench, grabbing his arm and pulling him to sit up. He struggled to help you, everything about his body felt heavy, felt tired and nonresponsive…. But you didn’t seem worried. “That’s not going to be something you can change though…. You’ve lost…. Nearly a quarter of your body weight… and you still have chubby cheeks… I think they’re just genetics.”
You playfully pinched his cheek, and he let out an irritated huff, “How could you love someone who’s got a fat face?”
His body slumped, and you couldn’t tell if it was on purpose, against yours, leaning into you. You wrapped you arm around his waist, and rest your head on his as it laid on your shoulder. He needed your strength right now. “Hey now, chubby doesn’t mean fat. You’ve got a cute face.” You smiled, hearing his unintelligible grumbling. “Please…. stop.” You whispered, struggling to keep the emotion out of your voice… this was the first time in a long time you’d been able to talk to him about anything other than a workout plan.
Pressing a kiss to his forehead, you squeezed your arm around his waist, feeling him flinch at the minimal pressure, “Ah! Alright alright! Jeez….” He hissed out, letting out a exhausted sigh, “Then… Could you help me get better?”
Vulnerable… You knew it was a long road before he was back to who he used to be… But if he wanted you to help him…
“And…. When I’m feeling better and I’m able to actually walk…” He cleared his throat, and you could feel the warmth of his face against your shoulder as he blushed, “Will you let me thank you by taking you out to dinner?”
“Uh…..” There goes your confidence in your words… You hadn’t expected that. Now it was your turn to blush, feeling your heart slamming against your chest as you watched his shaking hand take yours on your lap. And you knew he was shaking because he was weak, but a part of you felt as if he were shaking because he was nervous. “Uhm….” You cleared your throat, “Y-yeah… I-I’d love to….”
Akaashi Keiji:
So very flashy. How annoying… Your eyes traveled between the cool and collected Akaashi, your close friend… the man you loved…. To his girlfriend…. Who didn’t seem to care who was staring as she cooed and reacted loudly to the container Akaashi was currently offering her.
“Oh my GOD! Keijiiiiiiiii! These are so pretty!!!!” Pearls. A pearl necklace and matching earrings. She took the jewelry out of the container before tossing the velvet box in your genera direction, “Oooooh these are cute.” Akaashi watched patiently, though there was pride in his eyes… He was happy. He was content in her reaction because it meant he did good in shopping for her. But before he could really be proud, she turned to face him seriously and grab his hands, “Okay, so where’s my 4 months and 1 day anniversary gift?”
Your lips rolled inward and your eyebrows rose in your surprise at her greediness. But you remained silent. Akaashi had invited you out to hang out with him and his girlfriend, so pointing out her gold digging tendencies was definitely out of line. Akaashi stared at her in surprise, his eyes widening as her eyebrows furrowed in confusion at the time lapsed, “4 months and one day?” He asked, repeating what she said to make sure he’d heard her correctly.
She rolled her eyes, tugging on his hands like a child on the verge of a tantrum, “Well, duh, Keiji~! Everyday with me is a blessing, right? Don’t I deserve nice things?” A pout and Akaashi was letting out a tired sigh before using one of his hands to pull out his wallet. “I want something prettier than the pearls! Something that glitters in the light!”
“Something expensive.” You muttered under your breath, feigning innocence when her head turned to acknowledge you.
“You don’t want me to be as boring and ugly as ______, right? Look at her~ No jewelry or anything pretty at all!” She huffed, pulling her hands from his and crossing her arms over her chest.
Insulted, but not really bothered, you simply rolled your eyes. Akaashi, though, didn’t seem to notice the jab in your looks, his fingers delving into his open wallet before pulling out a mind boggling amount of money for her.
She happily plucked the money from his fingers, and as he leaned down to press a kiss to her lips, she held up a finger to stop him. “Ah ah ah, no kisses. Not until I get my shiny stuff.” Then she was turning and prancing off in the direction of one of the most expensive stores in the city. Leaving you and Akaashi.
“Well, it’s really nice to see you, Keiji…. What’s been going on?” The idea of bringing up his girlfriends actions had you internally cringing. You didn’t want to talk about it. That was his life, his choice. And while you were pining for his attention…. You couldn’t force him to look your way in anything other than friendship.
His green eyes met yours, and your heart squeezed in your chest. He looked so tired. So exhausted. Had he been sleeping well lately? “Work. Honestly,” He smiled halfheartedly, “This is the first time I’ve been in public that wasn’t work.” His hum trailed off into silence. His eyes seemed to drop at bit, and you had to hold back the impulse to stroke his cheek…. That wasn’t something for you to do.
He’d been working nonstop. You knew. Pearls? On his salary? He must have been saving up for weeks. He probably even went into his savings account to pull for it… and you KNEW he hated dipping into that account! “How many hours this time?”
Akaashi checked his wrist watch, “Technically, this is only my lunch hour I’m using… I still have to go back into the office.” He must have seen your disapproving expression, his eyebrows furrowing as he looked in the direction of where his girlfriend had gone, “I’ll be fine. Work isn’t horrible..”
“You look like you haven’t slept in days, Keiji….”
“I’m fine, ______.” Was his curt response, wounding your already aching heart. You didn’t say anything more, allowing him to make his own decisions and run his own life the way he thought was best….
Yet you regretted not saying anything that day.
Because it only got worse.
He’d stopped texting you, stopped talking to you - and when you reached out to him… he only left you on ‘read’. Was he ignoring you? Was she poisoning him to leave you alone? Or was he genuinely upset with what you’d said that day?
But you were right, and you wouldn’t let his reaction to you make you question yourself. He was harming himself because she liked nice, material things… She liked expensive things, and he liked her - so he was going to bend over backwards to get her the nice expensive toys she wanted in that present moment. By any means necessary, you knew, because he was a loyal young man. He was a dedicated young man, who would stop at nothing for the ones he loved.
Did that mean he loved her more than he….. no, he never loved you. You were just a friend. You were sure Bokuto was a higher tier in affection receiving than you were. Because you were his girlfriends’ ‘competition’. If she didn’t like you… Then Akaashi had no choice but to agree with her.
Anger coursed through your veins as you shot up from your couch, feeling sick to your stomach at the idea of Akaashi not caring about you because he didn’t have the courage to think for himself. He was his own man. If he wanted to be friends with you, he damn would be! This silent treatment on the phone was absolutely ridiculous and you wanted some answers!
So why wait for them?
You banged on his front door, listening for any movement beyond. Another couple of bangs, and still no response. Was he home? His car was in the driveway… The lights inside the house were on… He had to be home. He was ignoring you or maybe he just… wasn’t paying attention.
The spare key. You remembered where it was. Under the doormat, you remembered telling him it wasn’t a good place to hide a key to his valuables…. Before he really had any valuables, that is. Akaashi had never been one for material things… Not until she came into his life and drained his wallet. She liked nice things…. He bought himself nice, useless things to make her happy… He bought her…. Probably thousands of dollars worth of material things.
The lights were on. Everywhere. You frowned as you slowly entered his home, closing and locking the door before turning off the lights nearest you. It was 3 in the afternoon, there was no point to having all these lights on when the windows were open.
“Keiji? You here?” You called out, a bit of a tremble in your voice - his empty house was creepy… No soothing presence of the man you loved to calm your nerves. “Keiji?” You tried again, slowly opening the door to his study.
Akaashi glanced over at you briefly before turning back to his laptop. He was working. On a weekend. Headphones in, you wondered if he was listening to a mundane lecture his boss had forced onto him or if it was his favorite music. He waved you off, his natural reaction to wanting to be left alone, but you only came closer. “________, I’m working. Please leave.”
But you didn’t. You scoped his office.
It was a wreck. A mess. A flimsy blanket and pillow on his office couch, books and papers littered all over the floor. Did he ever leave this room? Maybe for the bathroom since you didn’t see any unsavory yellow liquid filled bottles…. yet. The only site of food or drink being contained, poorly, in the trash bin. A whole pile of energy drinks beside it.
“What… the fuck, Keiji…” You had had it. You reached towards him and pulled the earbuds from him, making him lean back in shock when the lecture faded away from his hearing. “Keiji…. Are you serious? Look at this….” You waved towards the entirety of his study, “This has got to stop! You’re running yourself into an early grave!”
Akaashi shrugged easily, “I haven’t been home enough to tidy up. I have to make sure my next paycheck is big enough so-“
“No, no you don’t, Keiji. You have to take care of yourself. You have to drop her and focus on yourself!” An empty bag from one of the expensive stores caught your eye, you grabbed it and started picking up what you thought was trash, tossing it into the bag, “What the fuck is going on, Keiji.. It’s like you’re someone else entirely and I don’t know what to do. I’ve tried talking to you but you only shut me out, and honestly it’s getting harder and harder for me to try to help you because I know it will only end it failure and hurt my heart even more than it already is-“
“She dumped me, _______.”
You froze.
Dumped him? His shoulders sagged, and his hand tiredly closed the laptop in front of him before leaning back in his desk chair, his hands coming to rub at his face roughly. “She left me… And I need to get this money so I can get her something nice.. So she comes back to me…”
“Why?” You didn’t mean for your voice to hold the poison it did. But why would he want her back? She was only a greedy gold digger…. And yet…. He wanted that? He wanted that poison in his life?
Akasshi lowered his hands, giving you a surprised look, “…. Because I loved her?”
It was a lost cause. He was. Your heart ached as you dropped the bag, not finding the point in cleaning up if it would only revert once you’d left. “Why?” You asked again, this time balling your fists by your sides, “Don’t you see what she’s doing? She just wants money. She just wants you to spend all your money on her so she can look good. That’s all it is. She doesn’t care, Keiji… She doesn’t give a damn! You spent all that money on her, you missed holidays, you missed my birthday, you missed your own birthday for fucks sake…. And what? She left you anyway? Don’t you see?”
When had you started crying?
You roughly wiped away your tears, “She’s not going to change, Keiji… And you’re a goddamn idiot if you think she is.” You sniffled, “No one who really loves someone does that. They don’t make you bend over backwards just to hang out with them, they don’t love you depending on the dollar amount of a gift, or make you lose yourself to make them happy!” Akaashi was taken aback when your eyes met his. He’d never seen you so distraught before - never seen that expression of pure torture in your eyes, “I love you, Keiji… and I would NEVER make you change yourself for me. I would never ask you to spend your very last dime on something stupid like earrings or a diamond necklace….”
He was at a loss for words. “I….I know that, ______…..” His voice was calm and collected, but the hesitance at the beginning of his response told you he felt out of place. He never would have expected you to confess.
“Then why…” You started only to stop…. Seeing there was no point in letting him see you fall apart… “You know what….. Forget it…” You sniffled, rubbing at your cheeks to clear the tears before making your way to the study door.
“N-No, wait!” His hand grabbed your opposite wrist as you went to open the door. “Please…. Don’t leave.” Your hand rested on the door as he held you in place, “You’re right, _____. You’re right. I’m a complete fool… For not listening to you, for ignoring you… You’re right… and I’m so sorry… Please….” His voice cracked, and you prayed this wasn’t a trick…. “Please stay.”
Oikawa Tooru:
“I think I’m going to stop doing anything with Volleyball…”
That took you off guard, and you lowered your coaching clipboard. He was the coach at his former highschool… and he wanted to stop? Everything? You huffed with a smirk, “Yeah sure, when pigs fly, Tooru.” But when he didn’t laugh, you glanced up at him once more, “Why would you want to do that?”
Oikawa shrugged, “Ah… Because I’m not any good at it. Busted knee, it’s not like I’m going anywhere grand or amazing with this kind of career.” So nonchalantly was he digging into himself, you ached at how harsh his words were. “So might as well give it up before it wastes anymore of my life, right?”
“I think….” You started, “If you enjoy what you do… why give it up?”
That seemed to confuse him for a couple days. He’d come into the gym, teach the players a new tactic then spend the rest of the session in his office, making it seem like he had paperwork to do but really… he’d just sit there and stare off into space.
Had what you said really been that insane?
Apparently to his girlfriend, it really was. Soon enough you heard the office door slamming closed and the sound of clicking heels as she stomped to where you stood on the side of the court - watching the students playing easily with each other. She grabbed your shoulder and whirled you around to face her.
You nearly reactively punched her for putting her hands on you. But you restrained yourself in time for her to stare huffily at you, “Did you tell Tooru it was fine for him to keep this job?”
“First…” You calmly responded, setting down the clipboard in your hands before staring at her fiercely, “Don’t ever fucking touch me again.” She didn’t seem to flinch, her jaw only clenching in clear annoyance with your calm demeanor. “Secondly, Tooru is a grown man. He can make his own decisions.. I just simply said-“
“OH! So it WAS you! You bitch! He needs to leave this dead end job and get something better! Something that actually suits his handicapped self! He’s broken, ______, let him fucking leave this hellhole and get some desk job or something.”
The expression you pulled wasn’t something you were used to. Disgust? Maybe mixed with humor? Or maybe it was disgust and insult? “Tooru is not broken. Not in the least. He’s fully functioning and much stronger than he was as a teenager… If he wants a break from work, he’s got plenty of time off saved up-“
She scoffed, “Clearly, you’re not understanding me.” Her eyes became hateful as she glared at you, “He quits.”
A snicker pulled from your mouth at her complete seriousness, and when her fury only seemed to increase, you shrugged easily, “I can’t take that from you, sorry. Tooru-“
“STOP calling him that! He’s MY boyfriend. You call him something formal or-“
“Like I was saying, Tooru,” You emphasized his name, “will have to come talk to me about it if he really wants to quit… I doubt he does, but my office is open for any appointment he wants to set.”
Then she stomped her foot like a toddler, “Don’t you realize he’s broken? He can’t do anything right! Always clumsy around the house, talking about volleyball as if he’s ever going to play again, honestly, what’s the point?”
You nodded as if you were actually listening, grabbing the clipboard now to show you were done with the conversation, “Just tell Tooru to come talk to me and we’ll get it figured out. Thanks. BOYS! Huddle up!” You yelled loudly, gaining the attention of the high schoolers.
Oikawa didn’t come talk to you about quitting that day. Or even that week. But she sure was in your office more often, complaining about how you were tricking Oikawa or manipulating him into staying. She was easy to handle, though… Kind of fun with a side of dead brain cells after each conversation with her… But it’s not something you could stop since she would come into the building with the request to talk to Oikawa.
It hurt you to see him having to deal with her everyday. It hurt you even more to know he was willingly staying in that kind of relationship instead of looking your way… But you saw him everyday, too, and you were able to talk to him as you would if he were yours….
Yet that ache in your heart remained. Because he wasn’t yours. And by the looks of that relationship, and her control over him, he never would be.
Then one day… out of the blue…. She dumped him.
He didn’t come to work for days. And you gave him time. You didn’t worry about his absence because you knew what it was to be heartbroken… You were just stronger for how you handled yours.
By the second week of his… unplanned leave, you’d decided that was enough. He needed to come back to work.
When he opened his front door, you were surprised to see he looked relatively normal. Clean, put together, rested… He looked great! “Breaks up, bub… Time to get back to school.”
Oikawa frowned but allowed you into his house, “_______, I just got dumped… have some sympathy…”
You scoffed with a smirk, “I did! For almost 2 weeks, Tooru… But you gotta get back to work sometime, so why not today? The kids are…… What’s that?” Your eyes were drawn to a bag of what looked like charred books and magazines. Burnt to a crisp and resting by the front door to be taken out with other trash. “Are those….” You could make out a few titles, space and aliens and planets and stars…. They were his nerd books, his favorite topic… Burnt and ruined. Ready to join the garbage… “Are those your…. Your alien books?”
He didn’t meet your eyes when you looked at him in shock, simply shrugging before making his way further into his home, wanting to be away from the memory of yesterday. The memory of burning his books and interests down. “Ah, what’s the point, ______~? I’m nearly 30 years old! Space is for kids who have a chance to get there.” He shrugged easily, as if 30 years of obsessing over the unknown was nothing to him.
“Your whole life…. Tooru….” You were speechless, how did someone handle these cases?
“She said I’d never make it to space, so why bother? And honestly, she was right… So I figured… why keep the clutter? Maybe she’d enjoy the cleaner house when I win her back.”
“Win her back…..” You echoed, but it didn’t sound like your voice - honestly, you could barely hear your voice over the cracking of your heart.
Oikawa nodded with a smile, as if he’d done something right! “Yeah! I even got rid of my Volleyball magazines and some of my previous-“
You slapped him across the face, an impulse reaction, “What the hell is wrong with you?” Then you were grabbing his arms, his hand coming up to rub his cheek with a sour look on his face, “All your things? All your interests?”
He shrugged, “She didn’t think they had a point.”
Anger seized your body and you shook him in your hands as best you could… He just let you slightly wiggle his body, “What the hell is wrong with you?? Who cares what she thinks? If you liked them, why didn’t you keep them?”
A laugh…. One of his fake laughs escaped him as he pulled out of your hold, “You’re right, ____! I’m just an idiot, huh?” He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Just a blind idiot who doesn’t know how to make anyone else around me happy… I couldn’t keep my girlfriend because she didn’t like my stuff.. and now I can’t keep my best friend because you didn’t like what I did with my girlfriend…” He put his hands on his hips and shook his head with a ‘hopeless’ smile on his face, “I just can’t win, huh?”
You wanted to hit him again. You wanted to shake the sense into him. You wanted to yell and tell him how wrong he was for thinking so lowly of himself and allowing the ideas of others unhappiness change who he was.
But you could only stand there in shock.
“I…. I loved your interests… Tooru… I loved hearing you talk about aliens… Or space in general… Hell, I didn’t understand half of what you were talking about, but I loved hearing you talk about it…. And Volleyball?” You let out a huff of disbelief, “I fucking TOOK the job as the team sponsor because you were the coach! You know I didn’t know a thing about Volleyball before you…. And you were nice enough, sweet enough, to take the time out of your busy day to talk to me about it and show me videos of you playing in the past…..” Your heart leapt into your throat, “And… And you’re telling me you… You just… got rid of everything?”
His eyebrows furrowed, his heart hammering in his chest. He was upset you hit him… but maybe you were right to. Maybe he was losing his mind…. He’d gotten rid of everything… for her… but you… You liked those things, so why had he gotten rid of everything because she hadn’t?
“I… I don’t know….”
Pity filled your heart. Pity for his confused head, his foggy thinking… she’d wrapped herself so much around him, constricted his air and reasoning so much that even after her releasing him… he was still affected by her poison. “Oh, Tooru….”
Tears filled his eyes, “I… I don’t know, _____! I don’t know why I did it! I don’t…. I didn’t….” He reached up and wiped the tears leaking down his cheeks, “I just.. She didn’t…” Realization of what he’d done was finally setting in and you could see he deeply regretted everything he’d done. “Oh my god…” He slowly lowered himself to sit on his couch, slouching forward as he covered his face with his hands, feeling shame wrapping around his body…
You joined him on the couch, not giving him a chance to argue before you were wrapping your arms around him and pulling him close to you, “It’s not your fault….” You whispered quietly, but he only shook in your hold. He’d gotten rid of his most prized possessions… Without even pausing to think if it was a bad idea…. “She hurt you, Tooru… She dug herself into your life and uprooted everything….” He closed his eyes tightly, wishing what he’d done was just a bad dream… that he’d never met her… that’d he’d just gathered the courage to be with you from the beginning! “And when you’re better…. Feeling better or thinking better…. We’ll go get cooler stuff…. Cooler Alien things and space stuff….”
Oikawa felt guilt and shame pinching his heart. Here you were…. Supportive and sweet… offering to help him when he was the most idiotic of people to fall for someone so evil… and yet… He hadn’t seen that before. He’d chosen to be blind to it. Because his ex had chased him… And he liked being chased - but you… You waited. Patiently, you waited for him to come to his senses.
You just wished you’d been more proactive in voicing your opinions of his ex. Maybe it would have saved his alien books and volleyball stuff. “Thank you… For slapping me…” That took you offguard, too, and you couldn’t help but feel a rush of deja vu at his ability to keep you on your toes… But you could only laugh in surprise. “Seriously… If you hadn’t slapped me..” He trailed off, knowing he’d been under his ex’s spell before you’d hit him…
Humming with a small smile, you squeezed him in your hug, “Thank me by talking to me about space and volleyball.. Or anything else you like…” He blushed deeply… You could feel the warmth and wondered what he was thinking about, “So what do you li-“
“You.” Oikawa blurted out, feeling his face light on fire with his embarrassment, “I like you… A lot…”
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