#my mom says I'm going to be fine but her generation had a much wider range of things you could do and still afford cost of living

[strangelyregular]

.

[lostinthewiind]

Piss Off Your Parents - Part 5

Ukai Keishin - Haikyuu

Synopsis: freshly turned 18, you want to prove to your parents that you aren’t a child for them to push around anymore. First, get a job at the local corner store. Second, use the store owner’s 26-year-old son with piercings and a cigarette addiction to piss your parents off. Third, accidentally fall in love.

Rating: PG13

Warnings: arguing with parents, stereotyping?, reader's parents just being generally horrible people, angst

Song → 18 by Anarbor

Previous → Part 4

Next → Part 6

"This is a horrible idea," you whispered to yourself as you got ready in your bedroom mirror, unable to concentrate for more than five minutes without a small panic attack taking over.

Your eyes flicked over to your clock every few seconds. Keishin was due to arrive at your family house for dinner in about thirty minutes and with every minute that passed, you asked yourself over and over again why you ever agreed to this.

Originally, when your parents had insisted on meeting your 'boyfriend' over a family dinner, your heart had dropped into the pit of your stomach; it was the worst feeling you had ever experienced . . . until you told Keishin about it jokingly and he actually agreed. Never before had you felt so sick to your stomach. Dinner was the last thing you wanted, and to make it worse, it was going to be dinner with your parents and fake boyfriend.

Shit.

More than once you had contemplated pretending to be sick or throwing yourself down the stairs, but you just couldn't go through with it. Every time you got close to backing out, a small part of your brain reminded you that this dinner might be the thing that changed your parents mind, and even though the odds of that actually happening were close to none, you couldn't give up without even trying.

So, with knots in your stomach and your palms sweating like never before, you continued getting ready for the evening and prayed that everything went as smoothly as possible.

If only you had known then that it would take much more than a prayer to save this evening.

When you heard the doorbell ring approximately thirty minutes later, your whole body froze and the thought of jumping out your second story window was starting to sound really appealing. But then, you remembered that it would be way worse if your mom or dad answered the door before you could so you rushed out of your room and down the stairs.

"I've got the door!" you shouted throughout the house, almost as if you were marking the front door as your territory and trying to scare anyone else away from it.

Standing in front of the door, you drew in a few deep, calming breaths before plastering a forced smile across your face and pulling the door open. Let the night of hell begin.

As soon as your eyes settled on Keishin, your smile faltered and you gasped. His dyed blonde hair was slicked back like usual, but instead of a headband, it was clear he had used gel. He had every hole in his ear stuffed with a black earring, and to top things off, he had showed up in jeans, a black t-shirt, and a leather jacket.

"What?" Keishin took a step back and examined his outfit. "You said to go all out. I did."

"I know, I know . . . I just . . ." You took a moment to compose yourself. "I didn't even know you owned a leather jacket."

"Yeah, well, you don't know everything about me," Keishin smirked devilishly, proud that he still had a few secrets to himself. "Well, are you going to let me in? I kind of want to get this dinner over with."

Opening the door wider, you stepped to the side and let Keishin inside your house. "You and me both," you agreed. "You sure you want to do this? We could both make a run for it right now if we act fast."

Shrugging the jacket off of his shoulders, Keishin shook his head. "Come on, at least give your parents a chance to change their minds."

Just then, your father's heavy footsteps could be heard exiting the kitchen and approaching the front door where you and Keishin stood together. Swallowing hard, you wiped the sweat from your palms on your clothes and sent one last pleading thought up to the heavens above, hoping that if there was a great being up there, they could be on your side tonight.

This was it. No turning back now.

"If your boyfriend has arrived, Y/N, please don't keep your mother and I waiting. Introduce us." Your father rounded the corner, stopping in his tracks when he set eyes on Keishin. Sure, you had told your parents all about your 'boyfriend', which was why they had insisted on this dinner in the first place, but Keishin was a man that words couldn't quite capture. "Oh. Hello." Your father reluctantly held out his hand to greet Keishin.

"Hello, sir." Keishin shook your father's hand without hesitation. "I'm Ukai Keishin. Keishin is fine though."

Seconds later, your mother joined the three of you. She had a similar reaction as your father had and was not subtle about it in the least. "So this is the man you've been seeing?" Your mother gave you an almost pleading look, like she was silently begging you to come clean and admit that you were joking.

Right off of the bat, things were not going well.

"Well, let me take your jacket and hang it up in the closet." Your mother stepped toward Keishin with the fakest smile you had ever seen on her face.

"Oh, there's no need." Keishin hung his jacket on the banister of the stairs. "I'll just end up taking it out in a little while anyway when I go out for a smoke. It's easier this way, but thank you."

You watched your mother's eye twitch and the smile she had forced threaten to crack. "You smoke?" You could tell that both of your parents were on the brink of snapping right then and there, but they had promised to actually get to know Keishin, and despite all the horrible things your parents did, breaking promises was not one of them.

"I do." Keishin grinned. "I know, I know, it's not good for me. Y/N tells me to quit all the time so I'm trying."

You let out a nervous chuckle as both your parents turned to face you. "Shall we head into the living room?" You started ushering everyone into the other room, hoping to change the subject as quickly as possible.

"Yes, let's have a seat." Your father nodded slowly, his eyes never leaving Keishin, watching him like a hawk. "Can I get you anything to drink, Keishin?"

"Just a water is fine, thanks." Keishin had obviously decided not to push his luck too hard because you had been fully expecting him to ask for a beer.

With that, both your mother and father disappeared into the kitchen; your mother to finish dinner and your father to collect the drinks.

Taking the brief moment of reprieve to breathe, you looked up at Keishin. "I've never seen my parents struggle between their flawless hospitality and kicking someone out of their house so much in my life," you chuckled lightly.

"I'm a bit of a shock." Keishin placed his hand on your lower back and led you toward the couch. "I brought out all the stops in the beginning so they could have the whole night to get used to me."

"How kind of you." You sat down, slightly caught off guard when Keishin sat down right next to you and slung his arm over your shoulders. You were about to ask him what he was doing, but then you remembered that the two of you were supposed to be an actual couple and this is what couples did.

As soon as you felt his touch on you, however, your mind flashed back to that night in the park a few weeks ago. Since then, neither one of you had spoken about what had happened on that bench; a wordless agreement between the two of you that you would just move on and pretend it didn't happen.

But as much as you pretended to forget, you never actually could. The feeling of Keishin's hands on your sides and his warm breath on your lips kept you up at night. As much as you tried not to think of him like that, you just couldn't help yourself.

"You seem really nervous," Keishin leaned closer to you a whispered. "You okay?"

Snapping out of your thoughts, you nodded quickly. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Just trying not to freak out is all."

"Hey." Keishin tilted your head toward him so he could look you in your eyes. "You're their daughter. No matter what happens, they will always love you. Remember that."

You flashed a smile. Somehow, Keishin knew exactly what to say to help you relax. "Yeah . . . thanks."

Just then, your father returned with two glasses of water in hand. Handing one each to you and Keishin, you didn't miss the way his gaze settled on the sight of Keishin's arm around you.

"Thank you." Keishin grabbed his glass right away and took a sip. You, on the other hand, let your glass sit on the coaster on the table. Despite how dry your mouth was, you didn't trust your shaky hands to pick up the glass.

"Dinner should be ready soon," your father said as he sat down in his armchair across from you and Keishin. "So, Keishin, tell me about yourself. What do you do for a living?"

"Well, currently, I spend most of my time coaching the boys' volleyball team at Karasuno high school," Keishin answered, his eyes lighting up a little when he spoke about the team he coached; you could tell he really enjoyed it. "And my family owns Sakanoshita Market and I work there sometimes."

"Sakanoshita Market," your father repeated. "That sounds familiar."

You rolled your eyes, not surprised in the slightest that your father had forgotten the name of the place you had been working at for the past few months. "That's where I work, Dad," you told him. "That's how Keishin and I met."

"I see." Your father eyed Keishin and you were surprised that Keishin didn't shrink under the cold, hard gaze like you usually did. "So do you go after all the young women who work at your family store or just my daughter?"

"Dad!" you gasped, unsure whether to tell him off or apologize to Keishin on behalf of your father.

"It's okay," Keishin told you calmly before answering your father's question. "Actually, the store hasn't seen a new employee in years. For the longest time, it was just my mother and me. We are both very grateful for all the hard work Y/N puts in to help us with the store. She is a wonderful employee."

You couldn't help the blush that tinted your cheeks at the compliment. "Thanks."

"No need to thank me. It's the truth," Keishin said before leaning in and pressing a quick kiss to your lips. "And good thing you took the job too, or else we would have never met."

Keishin then shot a sparkling grin your father's way, completely blinding him and distracting him from the shocked expression on your face. You knew you told Keishin to act like the two of you were really a couple, but you never expected him to play the part so thoroughly.

Your father opened his mouth to no doubt interrogate Keishin some more, but before he could, your mother began setting the table and announced that dinner was ready.

Moving over to the table, you took a seat across from Keishin while your parents sat at the ends of the table. As your mother brought the dishes of food over, you took the chance to drink some water and parch your dry throat.

The thought of having to keep this awkward conversation up gave you a headache, but thankfully, Keishin seemed to be handling everything quite well. Just as you had expected, he took everything with a grain of salt and refused to let your parents get under his skin.

You wished you were able to do that.

After the four of you bowed your heads and said thank you for the food, you dug in. At first, everyone was too busy eating to say anything. Somehow, the silence was worse than when your dad had been firing off questions rapid fire.

"This is delicious," Keishin was the first to speak. "Thank you again for inviting me for dinner."

"Yes, o-of course," your mother wavered a little but somehow managed to voice her fake pleasure nonetheless. "Y/N has never dated anyone before so we were curious as to what kind of . . . person . . . had caught her eye."

Keishin nodded, letting the not-so-subtle rude comment roll right off his back. "Well, here I am."

"Yes, here you are indeed," your father muttered under his breath. Thankfully, it didn't seem as though Keishin had heard it, but you certainly had. "So, you said you coach high school volleyball. Is this a long-term thing or?"

Keishin thought for a moment before shrugging. "I'm not sure, honestly. I do enjoy it but I've never given much thought as to if I want to do it long-term. I started coaching because of special circumstances and just haven't stopped yet."

"Well, plenty of people coach and teach," your mother said. "You seem to enjoy working with kids, so have you ever considered becoming a teacher?"

"That doesn't sound like the worst job, but that would require me to have a teaching degree, which I don't have," Keishin responded.

"What degree did you get in university?"

Keishin chuckled. "I didn't go to university."

Oh God. Your jaw dropped and you wished that a black hole could just open up underneath you and suck you in. Out of all the things your parents hated most, people who didn't go to university were at the top of the list. They always told you that 'people who didn't go to university had no interest in investing in their future.'

Hence why they always pushed so hard for you to go the university they wanted so you could study what they thought would be best for you.

You watched your mother's face go red as she reached for her glass of wine a take a particularly large sip. "Community college, then?" she squeaked out.

"Nope, afraid not," Keishin answered, completely unashamed and even proud. "I started working for the family store right after high school."

The looks on your parents' faces that they didn't even try to hide filled you with a deep sense of shame. You didn't know how they could be so blatantly rude to someone they barely knew . . . well, actually, you did know, and that was the worst part. As much as you wished you could deny it, you had thought the same things about Keishin when you had first met him.

Hanging your head in shame, you let the suffocating silence of the dining room take over.

Feeling something brush against your leg, you looked up to see Keishin smiling at you from across the table. 'It's okay' he mouthed to you. You thought back to the time Keishin had told you he was a big boy who could take a little verbal ribbing and exhaled through your nose sharply, your mood lifting ever-so-slightly.

Keishin brushed his foot against your leg a few more times to remind you that you weren't alone at this dinner before he attempted to restart the conversation. "So what do you two do for a living?" he asked, looking to your parents.

"We are both lawyers," your father said.

You nodded and sighed. "Hence why they want me to go to law school."

"Oh, honestly, Y/N, you say that like paying for you to go to law school is abuse." Your mother shook her head disapprovingly. "Do you know how many children would kill for the opportunities you have been given and yet you want to throw them away just like that? You should be grateful."

You were about to retort but stopped yourself before you did, knowing that it would only serve to start the same argument that you had lost over and over again. No matter what you said on the matter, your parents refused to try and see things from your perspective.

It never once occurred to them that you might actually not want to be a lawyer.

"Tell me, Keishin, if you had a child who you could pay for to go to law school and they told you they wanted to pursue their dream of playing soccer, what would you do?" Your father turned to Keishin, suddenly interested in what he had to say on the issue.

"Dad, let's not talk about that now," you spoke softly, hoping to get him to change the subject.

"No, no, let's hear what Keishin has to say." Your father insisted.

Keishin thought for a moment before answering. "Well, I think I would just want my child to be happy," he said, his eyes leaving your father to look at you. "I made the mistake of not following my dreams after high school and I regret it every day, so I would tell my child to follow their dreams and try my hardest to be there to support them."

You smiled wide, surprised by how emotional Keishin's words made you feel. For a moment, it was just you and him, and he was saying everything you had ever wanted to hear. All you ever wanted for was someone to be in your corner . . . someone to support you whether your choice was a mistake or not.

"Congratulations, Y/N, you've found a dreamer just like yourself," your father scoffed, breaking you out of your happy trance. "Too bad dreams don't pay the bills."

"Well, when your future is working at a family-run corner store, dreams are all you have," your mother cackled, not even trying to be quiet about it.

Your father laughed as well. "Too true, honey."

"Mom!" you shouted at her, your anger taking over before you even had the chance to think about your actions.

"It's okay," Keishin told you again, reaching across the table for your hand.

You shook your head and tugged your hand out of his reach. "No, it's not okay!" You rose to your feet, finally having had enough. "This dinner was a terrible idea. I cannot believe you!"

"If you've finally come to your senses, darling, we can send Keishin on his way and-" your mother reached for you as well but you shrugged her off.

"I'm not talking about Keishin! I'm talking about the two of you!" You slammed your hands down onto the table, shaking the dishes of food. "The whole night you have been making offhanded remarks and rude comments about Keishin while he has been nothing but the perfect guest. I'm sorry, Keishin, but I can't sit here and let you take their abuse anymore. I've dealt with it my whole life and I won't let them do the same thing to you. You don't deserve that."

"Y/N, you're being a bit dramatic, don't you think?" your father asked, sipping his wine as if nothing was happening, which only made you angrier.

"No, father, I don't think so," you snapped back. "I think that you and Mom are being horrible and I cannot believe that this is how you're acting when meeting someone for the first time. What makes you think that you have the right to treat someone so poorly just because they don't live the same life or have the same ideals as you? You think you know what is best for me but you don't even know me, so how could you?! I would rather work at the corner store for the rest of my life if it meant being genuinely happy over being a snobby, emotionless lawyer any day."

While you vented in front of your parents, Keishin just stared at you wide-eyed, completely floored by how quickly your demeanor had changed from shy and uncomfortable to enraged and animated in mere seconds. The last time he had seen you like this was when you were going off on him and he was grateful your rage wasn't directed at him this time.

Aside from relieved, Keishin felt proud; proud of you for standing your ground.

An embarrassed look flashed across your mother's face. "Y/N, please-"

"No, just don't," you lowered your voice and took a few deep breaths. "I can't do this anymore. I can't keep pretending that I'm going to put up with your plans for me just so I can have a roof over my head. Mom, Dad, I'm not going to law school. I'm not letting you dictate my life anymore. I'm done."

Stepping away from the table, completely emotionally drained, you looked over your shoulder at Keishin. "Come on, let's go." You waved for him to follow.

Without a word, Keishin stood from the table and followed you to the front door where the two of you grabbed your jackets and got ready to leave.

"If you walk out that door, don't bother coming back!" You heard your father call after you as you left the house, but his threat didn't phase you in the least. If anything, never having to return to that house sounded like bliss right then.

Wrapping your jacket tight around your body to fight the cool evening wind, you sighed. "I'm sorry about that," you told Keishin as he walked silently beside you. "I should never have dragged you into my mess. You don't deserve to be treated the way my parents treated you."

"You don't need to apologize." He wrapped his arm around you once more and held you close, both to comfort you and to keep you warm. "I'm just worried about you. Are you okay?"

You felt tears begin to well in your eyes and frantically wiped them away. "I . . . I don't know," you answered truthfully. "I suppose I should just worry about one thing at a time, and since I've apparently got nowhere to spend the night now . . ."

"You'll spend the night at my place," Keishin stated plainly, not even bothering to ask if you wanted to or not. It was more like an order, but right then, you had nothing against him making decisions for you. As long as the choices weren't made by your parents, you didn't care who they came from.

"Okay," you exhaled. "Thank you."

As the two of you walked through the quiet night in the direction of the store, Keishin pulled a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it. Without thinking, you wrapped your arm around his waist and leaned into him, the warmth he radiated bringing you some semblance of peace.

"I'm sorry tonight went so shit," Keishin spoke as he exhaled, smoke spilling from his lips.

"It's not your fault," you told him. "In fact . . . I don't think tonight could have gone any better. In the end, this is how it was always going to turn out. It's better I realize that sooner rather than later."

Keishin stopped and looked down at you. "That's not-"

"It's okay," you said those two magic words this time. "You remember when you told me that no matter what happened they would always love me because I'm their daughter?"

Keishin nodded.

"I wish you could have been right."

[ma-gic-gay]

For some reason, Michael had been a lot more controlled lately.

He was hiding what he felt, never really showing emotion unless it was anxiety about Brook Lynn or happiness around Willow. Sometimes, of course, he'd show emotion but not normally.

The gym was the only place he really let out all his anger, as always, but lately he'd been punching the bag harder, working out more intensely. Maybe it was because he was trying to get into shape, but Michael was already in great shape. So maybe it had something to do with the fact him and Willow were getting an annulment and he hadn't done anything to try and stop it from happening. For God's sakes, he'd suggested it, thinking Willow needed to hear she had an option.

Dante was right. He is an idiot. Suggesting that him and his wife - the woman he's in love with - get an annulment may have been the stupidest thing he's ever done, and he killed someone, kept a kid away from his dad, and did a lot of other morally questionable things in his life.

Willow knew all of this and still spoke his praises. She still told him he was a good person, that he's different than he was when he kept his little sister from his dad, or killed Claudia. She thought he was amazing for changing his life around, told him she was a different person back then too. People evolve and grow, she said, and so whatever you've done in the past, it doesn't reflect on who you are now.

They met, and then he fell. It was slow, him falling for Willow. At first, it was just a friendly face at their support group. Eventually, though, it became more than just friendship. It became a marriage, a marriage built upon love for their son and keeping him safe, a marriage built upon truth and honesty in the face of dishonesty and lies that Sasha and Chase had told them. When they got married, that was their promise. No lies, never. Lies complicate everything too much, make it easier to fall into what Chase and Sasha did.

She was way, way out of his league and he knew it too. Willow was a genuinely good person, who had always been honest and kind. Not to mention, drop dead gorgeous. So that probably had something to do with the fact Michael was skirting around the one rule of their marriage and not telling her he loved her. But she hadn't asked, so technically he wasn't lying to her, just holding back the truth.

Thinking about he suggested the annulment, Michael punches the punching bag harder. All of his anger starts to leave as he punches harder and harder.

And then Chase and Sasha walk in the gym for their workouts, talking about something. The punches hit an abrupt stop when he notices them, but the anger that just left comes back tenfold. Sasha smiles at him, but there's something off about her in general. It's probably just the breakup.

"I just realized, I forgot my phone at the Metro Court. I'm gonna go back there," Sasha says, backing away.

When she leaves, Chase is still there. "It's been a while," he breaks the silence.

"Yeah, it has been," Michael agrees, frowning at him.

"If you want, I can come back later, or we can work out together," Chase offers.

Michael ponders the offer for a minute. He either gets a workout partner or ends up keeping someone from the gym. "Yeah, sure, we can workout together."

A few minutes into their workout, Chase brings up Willow. Before that, the conversation had been all about sports and stuff like that, easy conversation. "For whatever it's worth, Michael, Sasha and I never meant to hurt you or Willow."

"Well, you did. Regardless of intent, you both cheated on people you supposedly loved," Michael says, punching the mitts harder.

"I do love her, Michael, you've got to believe me on that," Chase tells him. "That's why Sasha and I didn't want to tell either of you, we didn't want to break your hearts."

"You don't love her if you can break her heart, Chase! If you could cheat on her, if you could want another woman, you don't love or deserve Willow. She loved you with every fiber of her being, and you broke that. You broke something precious," Michael says to him, feeling a sense of relief as the words leave his mouth. "And I know that will never happen again."

Chase looks confused. "Michael, I love her so much. It kills me to see that she's not with me, to know that I broke her heart and that she's moving on with you, who I considered to be my best friend."

Huh? They've only kissed once, and Michael doesn't think Chase knows about that. "What happens with Willow and I hasn't been your business for a long time and it still isn't, but I want you to elaborate."

"You- maybe it's her that's in love with you, I don't know, but I can tell one of you is in love with each other, at least," Chase says as his phone rings. He steps away to answer it.

It's possible Willow's in love with him too? Michael had been in his head so much, maybe he didn't see what was right in front of him.

"Look, I hate to put a stop to our workout, but I've got a work thing. I'll see you later maybe," Chase leaves the gym.

Jason walks in, confused by what's going on with his nephew. "Why do you have that look on your face, Michael? What happened? Is Willow alright, Wiley? Your mom?"

"Jason, everyone's fine. It's just something Chase said about Willow and I, that's all," Michael reassures him.

"You only get that look on your face when you noticed something great or terrible happened, so what great thing happened to you?" Jason asks.

Michael smiles, "Chase said that apparently Willow's in love with me."

Confused further, Jason asks, "Are him and Willow close enough where they talk about who they're in love with now? Because the last I knew, Chase was in love with Willow and she was in love with him and you two were getting an annulment and you were in love with Sasha."

"I can't believe I forgot to tell you! Sasha, she was great, but I'm not in love with her anymore. The longer I spend thinking about Sasha and I, we weren't going to last long term. As much as I loved her, and I did, I don't feel that anymore."

Smiling at his nephew, the assassin asks, "But you and Willow?"

"We're married. I'm married to a woman who is incredibly out of my league and adopting my son. I-I love my wife, Jason. I love Willow," Michael smiles.

Jason pulls him in for a hug, saying, "I think you two make a lovely pair, especially if she makes you this happy. You're smiling wider than you have since you won custody of Wiley. Do you want my advice?"

"I'd be dead if I didn't take your advice," Michael truthfully tells his uncle. "So yes, I'll take it."

"Tell her how you feel before the annulment, Michael, please. You do this thing, I do it too, where you wait to say what you feel or you don't say it because you're afraid of what you could do if you actually said what you feel. Let down your guard and tell Willow the entire truth, nothing left unsaid between you two," Jason advises his nephew.

"When do you think I should tell her? Should I set something up like a date thing or-" Michael starts, anxiety creeping up into his voice.

"I think you need to breathe deeply for a few minutes and be calm," Jason emphasizes his breathing, "but I also think you should just tell her. Don't stress out so much or overthink it, because overthinking messes things up. If you tell her, honestly, how you feel, let her respond, you'll be okay."

"And if she doesn't love me back?" Michael asks anxiously, starting to stutter.

"I doubt she doesn't love you, Michael," Jason tries to assure him, "but if she doesn't, we'll cross that bridge when we reach it, and you're getting an annulment anyways."

Michael breathes, letting his anxiety leave. "Alright. I'm gonna go get cleaned up, I'll tell her when I get home."

"I'll leave you to it," Jason says, leaving the gym as Michael showers.

Arriving at the Quartermaine mansion, Michael can tell something's up. Opening the door, he sees Chase. In his home. Talking to Willow, who Michael can tell isn't in the mood but is also intrigued.

Chase leans in to kiss her, their lips connecting briefly as the door closes behind Michael and he doesn't, turning his head abruptly. "Hi again," Chase says awkwardly.

Calming himself, Michael asks, "Why are you in my home kissing my wife?"

Willow walks over to her husband, glancing at Chase fleetingly. "I can explain," Chase stands, eyes following Willow.

"Then please explain what inspired you to come into my house, which is very out of your way, and kiss my wife. I'm sure it'll be enlightening," Michael responds.

"I was just talking to her and realized that she loves me as much as I love her so I kissed her," Chase smiles, getting a pair of glares in return from the married couple, who don't seem to agree with what he said, especially Willow.

Michael looks at Willow, who looks visibly upset and anxious, as he says, "You tell me an hour ago you think she loves me, then you come to my house and kiss my wife, who you cheated on, by the way, and somehow think you're justified? Chase, you're playing mind games is all you're doing."

"When I said she loves you, I was wrong. I know, in my heart, that Willow and I will be together," Chase smiles again. "So I kissed her."

Anger takes over Michael as he fights for controlling it, suppressing it until he can get to the gym but he can't hold back anymore as he shouts, "Do you think, truly, that if she loved you she wouldn't tell you? You broke her heart, and yet you're justified in kissing her because you can rationalize anything, can't you, Detective?"

Willow looks at Michael, confused, as she's never seen him like this before. However, his rant continues. "When we found out you two had cheated on us, I told you that I wasn't going to let someone treat her like that ever again, and I'm still not. Everything I said to you that day was completely true, so leave my house before I do something you'll regret."

"What did I do here to make you so angry?" Chase asks calmly as Dante walks downstairs.

"You think this is just you kissing her, Chase? You broke everyone's heart, even your own, and now you're trying to escape taking any responsibility whatsoever for your actions by kissing my wife, because you can't move on!"

Dante tries to intervene, standing between the two as Michael still yells, "I can't believe you act like this now but an hour ago you were convinced that she loved me. Chase, I love Willow, and I'm her husband, so it's my job to make you realize that you need to get out of my house before I do something we'll both regret!"

Willow looks at Michael, pulling him out of his anger and into a soft face he makes around her. "You love me?" She asks, a small smile playing on her lips.

"This isn't how I intended to tell you, but yes, I love you, Willow. I had a speech to go with that too, but life doesn't always work out how it's planned," Michael says, smiling at her. "But if you don't feel that way back, then of course we'll just forge-"

She cuts off his anxious ramblings by kissing him, the pair melting into the kiss that felt perfectly right. When they pull apart, she smiles widely at him. "I love you back," as they kiss again.

"What the hell, Michael?" Chase asks, ruining the sweet moment for the two. "You're supposed to be my best friend."

"And you were supposed to leave my house," Michael's voice is at an icy level, one that could explode at any second if tempted to. "So leave before I have a guard throw you out."

Dante smiles at his little brother as he addresses Chase, "Leave dude. It's clear you're not getting her back."

"I can't believe this. Willow, you know that he's just your rebound. You don't love him, you're going to come back to me," Chase says.

Michael, unable to deal with this anymore, serves a strong right hook to Chase's head area. Jason taught him how to punch and how to take a punch when he was in high school, Michael's pretty good at it by now. "That was on purpose and assaulting a police officer!" Chase shouts at him. "You're under arrest for assaulting a police officer. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be provided for you."

"Chase, stop! Don't arrest him because you're mad at me," Willow pleads, looking upset. "Please."

Looking at Willow, Chase takes Michael and handcuffs him. "No."

The ride to the police station is absolutely silent, Michael angry and happy at the same time about Willow loving him back but him being arrested for punching Chase.

When he's being processed, Michael's allowed to make his two phone calls they allow and calls Willow. "Michael? Are you okay, did Chase hurt you? Have they detained you yet, or processed you fully?" She anxiously asks, sounding just like any wife would when her husband gets arrested. Michael can't help but chuckle quietly. "Why are you laughing?"

"Willow, I'm fine. I need to be bailed out, but I'm absolutely fine. No one hurt me and I'm being processed again but I'm not injured except for my ego. You sound so much like my mom everytime my dad or Jason gets arrested right now, it's funny."

"It's stressful having your husband in jail for punching a cop!" Willow laughs back. "How much is bail?"

"Bail is $1,000. I wanted to let you know I'm okay, but I'm gonna call Jason for bail money. He's been through this before and won't be as much of a stressed out mess as you," Michael tells her, smiling.

"I can handle bailing you out, but you're right, I'd be too stressed. I'll meet you at the station, though, and hopefully you'll be out as I'm there," Willow chuckles with her husband. "Alright, well I'm not gonna keep you any longer. Go call Jason."

"I love you," Michael smiles as a way to end the call.

"I love you too," Willow says as she hangs up the phone and he swears, he can hear her smile through the phone as he dials Jason.

"Jason Morgan," he answers the call.

"It's Michael. I'm at the station and need $1,000 for bail money because I punched Chase. Can you bail me out and not tell my mother?" Michael asks.

"Why the hell did you punch Chase?" Jason asks him.

"He kissed Willow and started saying she was in love with him, even after she said she's in love with me and we kissed again, twice," Michael smiles again, thinking about the kisses.

Jason sighs. "I'll be there in twenty minutes. Should I be expecting to see your wife there, pacing?"

"Probably not. She's going to be here, but I don't think she'll be here for a few minutes after I get bailed out. Are you telling my mother about this?" Michael asks again.

"I'm not dealing with Carly finding out you got arrested. You can."

"Thanks, Jason. I'll see you soon."

The twenty minutes pass and Chase continues booking him in, taking pleasure in it. It's sad how what was once a beautiful friendship is now so pathetic that he's booking him into a jail cell.

Bail is given, and Michael gets out roughly fourth minutes later, being uncuffed and getting his cell phone and wallet back. Willow isn't there yet, but Jason is and looks like he's trying not to laugh as he hugs his nephew. "Michael, your parents and I have always told you to follow the law. A part of the law is not punching police officers," he says in a fake stern voice. "You're so lucky that they didn't have to call Carly or she would've been down here raising hell and you'd be either let go free of all charges or she'd be in jail too by now."

"I know. Mom's not exactly silent about her beliefs," Michael smiles as their hug ends.

Willow runs into the station, clearly stressed but holding it together as she runs to him. "You're okay? Nothing happened? Did Chase drop the charges?"

Michael hugs his wife, glancing at Jason in his happy moment. "Willow, look at me. I'm fine. Nothing happened to me and Chase agreed to drop the charges because it's a first offense. All that's been injured is my ego."

Smiling at the sight in front of him, Jason says, "I think that it's safe to say this is a sign you're really married now, she's worried you got hurt in your short jail stay."

"Hey, we've been married for months!" Willow objects, chuckling as Dante walks in casually with Wiley in a stroller.

Dante greets the staff he knows and says to Wiley, "See Daddy? He did a bad thing to Chase and now he had to get bailed out. But it looks like him and Mommy are finally admitting they love each other, so something good happened."

"Uncle Dante is a little bit too excited to see me bailed out, isn't he, Wiley?" Michael asks, pulling apart from his hug with Willow to take his son from Dante.

"Yes, I am, little brother. If you weren't an idiot, we wouldn't be in this situation," Dante cheekily responds. "As cute as this moment is, I'm going to leave you two to it and go do something else. Jason, Carly needs us for something. I will be telling her that you got arrested, Michael."

Michael glares at his brother while he leaves the station. "Great, now my mother's going to be mad at me too."

"I'm not mad at you," Willow tells him, smiling. "I think he deserved it and abused his power. And I think Mr. Wiley agrees with me."

"I think Wiley would have to agree with me as well that he's got the greatest mommy in the entire universe," Michael smiles at her.

"Greatest parents," Willow corrects him, kissing him again. "You don't give yourself enough credit."

Their family leaves the station together, laughing.

aH

[estrxlar]

The Ghost Of You

08 - Confession

This chapter's songs:

Off and On; SALES

Heaven; Clairo

A Pearl; Mitski

- Y.L. Perspective

   "Hey."

   The word is distant yet close, making me gasp awake. When my eyes open, I'm in sight of the foggy wet window causing pitter-patter in front of me. 'It rained.' I thought, looking out to the concrete that was soaked. Not that it bothered me; rain was one of the many things that I enjoyed.

  Coming back to reality, I notice that the scenery outside is too familiar, and not long after do I realize we're parked right outside of my house, waiting for me to awake. At first, I'm completely tripped out that I had teleported from the skate park to here, but it was just a generous favor from Sugawara.

  And suddenly, everything from last night comes to mind.

  After Suga had kissed first me, we'd spent more than enough time on each other's faces. But the last thing I remember is sopping down on my seat and falling asleep, worn out, instead of coming up with an excuse of why I made the stupid decision of making out with him. There was not one thing fair about me knocked out in his passenger seat while he reflected on my behalf as well.

But thankfully it appeared Koushi didn't care all that much. Getting me home was one of his priorities this morning.

  "What time is it?" I yawn, stretching out my limbs as far as they can go, but that's only to where the seat's leg space ends.

   "It's ten AM. But it's a Saturday, so you should probably get some rest today. You went to sleep pretty late last night, and you didn't look very comfortable." He describes, leaning on the door window, staring at the pouring rain. It enlightened me that Suga cares about my rest, but what about him? From what I understand, he stayed up just as long as I did. If not, longer.

  So, I decided I should offer something that I was hoping wouldn't make him uncomfortable or jump to conclusions. "Uhm...if you're tired then you can come in too, and we can just stay here for the day until you wanna go home, " I tell him, mirroring his action, and resting both my head and arm on the window.

  The invitation seemed to surprise him, for he had quickly whirled his head towards me, asking, "Wait, are you sure? Y-your mom won't be mad that I'm over? Cause– you know..." he trails off, anxiously pressing his palms together, and looking downwards. It came off that he felt almost ashamed that we shared an intimate moment, which wasn't something that he should be responsible for. But even so, I still wanted to spend more time with him. If I'm being completely honest, I wasn't sure if it was because I liked him, or because he was such a refreshing person to be around, but he made me feel better than I had felt in a long time.

   "Suga, I'm sure. Look, if you don't wanna hang out that's fine. I was just asking because you seemed tired and said you don't wanna be home right now." My eyes snake from his chest to his eyes, hoping it would give him an understanding that I really wanted him to come inside. "So, do you wanna?"

  Sugawara gulps in nervousness, clearing his throat before speaking. "Uh, yeah. Sure. But we better hurry up, or we'll get soaked."

- K. S. Perspective

   I wait behind her light brown painted door, running my hands through my damp hair. Small noises of clatter are heard, while I uncomfortably stand outside of her room, waiting for her to open up. To be honest, I wasn't sure about being casually invited into her house after last night. All that ran through my head was, 'did she even like it? Does she feel uncomfortable? What if she wants to go further?

Should I confess right now?'

Finally, her door pops open, revealing her in a change of comfortable clothing and the room behind her. "Uhm, come in," she says, pulling the door wider for me to come in. The room consisted of regular decorations I thought she'd have: anime and music artist posters, a random guitar, a few color-changing lights, and a bean bag chair. "I know it's weird and all. I guess I just haven't gotten the chance to redo my room."

"No, it's—it's fun," I tell her, sticking my hands in my pants pocket. I had to say, it'd been quite a while since I'd been in a girl's room so casually. Not that I was jumping to conclusions, but I was hoping she'd want to discuss things over what had happened. That way I could make it clear to her that I wasn't playing around with her feelings.

  She shuffled towards her messy bed, turning towards me, before falling backward onto it. Her loud yawn and stretch echo throughout the room, as well as the low music that she had playing on a home speaker on her dresser. As much as I wanted to feel relaxed, I hardly could. I felt almost scared to stand in her room alone right after we had made out. All I could think of was running my hand against her skin, and rubbing my lips against her hot neck. Now she was casually laying on her bed, looking back at me with absolutely no expression.

  "Come, come, " she says, holding out a hand towards me, which makes my anxiety advance to an entirely new level. But following her orders, I hesitantly take it, quickly being pulled to where she laid. The sudden action has me wide-eyed and rested on my side, facing only Y/n. Though I tried hiding my uneasiness, she eventually broke my cover with a simple sentence. "I feel so tired. Don't you?"

I nod, before gulping almost too loudly. However, Y/n keeps her gaze on me, gradually making her eye rests longer. Feeling the dirtiest in the room, I begin to distance myself from her stature, removing the dark paid cover-up that spread over my shoulders, as well as a few accessories I had and tossed them on a small desk at the side of her bed. Then, I took out my phone, deciding it was best to talk to Daichi about everything; I was hoping my friends weren't angry I had ditched them so suddenly.

—

Daichi

How was the party?

Weren't you there?

I left earlier than expected

Around what time?

12:00 AM

That's not that early

Anyways, it was fine I guess

Everyone was being stupid and drunk

I know, good thing I didn't stay so long

Miya said you left with Y/n-?

Yeah, but I just took her out cause she wasn't having a good time

Well, I just took her to some park where we spent the night in my car and I drove her home today

Now we're just napping in her room

I thought you said you wanted to see how things went with her :(

Don't worry we didn't do anything

At least not something extreme

What'd you do??

Uh

We just kind of made out for a few minutes

But it wasn't bad or anything

It was nice

Pls don't tell anybody because I'm not sure how to tell her yet

That you're in love with her?? Ahh ok-.-

I'm not in love with her,

Koushi, you told me you've never wanted to want to make somebody feel loved the way you did Y/n.

Well

Uh

Whatever

Are you coming to the practice game today?

Oh yeah

What time

In like thirty minutes

Are you serious

But I needed to talk to y/n

I was gonna wait till she woke up

Sorry man

Just leave her a note you'll be back?

Yeah, ok

----

As Daichi had told me to, I decided to find the nearest paper and pen that sat lazily on Y/n's desk. But instead of tossing a few words to excise my absence, I thought of doing something very stupid and risky.

I left a love letter.

At first, I felt as if I was being nothing but a coward for not telling her personally. What would she think if I had just run off and left a confession for her to run through my herself? But after realizing that I could let her think things through, I thought it was the best idea I had that entire year.

And so, I wrote my feelings down quicker than ever imagined, fitting in what I could to convince Y/n of my love for her.

To y/n,

This is one of the most idiotic things I could have done to tell you, but I have a practice game and I can't afford to miss practice right now. As you know, I'm on the edge of having my position taken.

Y/n, after about a week of knowing you I realized that you make me feel like a better person. When I hear your voice or get the benefit of making you smile, it feels like I'm on a high off of you. You're the most beautiful, talented girl have ever met in my life. Without you, I don't think I could have lasted this first week.

I remember the feeling you gave me when we were younger. Even if you didn't talk to me, or didn't acknowledge my existence very much, I still wanted to discover every corner of you. I thought I wouldn't have ever met someone that I was so passionate about like I was for you. And when our first year of high school ended, I felt heartbroken by the fact that I didn't get to tell you how I felt about you. How your essence made my heart warm, how your skin makes me crave touching you, how much space you filled up in my small brain.

When I had seen you on the bus that one morning, I couldn't believe how much you've grown. I know this is personal for you, but you were in a bad state, and it caused me pain to see that you felt alone, and you didn't know how much I cared for you. So when I saw how much you were taking care of yourself, it brought me to hope that I could do the same. If you didn't already know, after my mom had died, I started creating bad habits and ruined my self-portrait. I felt like there was no way out, and that I was useless. But then I met you, again. You brought me to become a better person for myself, Y/n.

I don't want to rush you into anything, but I feel like I should confess to you that I'm in love with you. I've never had the feelings I have for you. Every day I find myself thinking of how lovely you are. And after what had happened last night, I realized, why wait? Why wait to tell you this the way I did in my first year? If I did, then I'm gonna run out of time. I want you more than I've ever wanted anything, Y/n. I think I'm scared that you won't look at me the same, or that you think I'm a burden to you. But at this point, I think I've run out of space to store what I feel for you.

Overall, I love you, Y/n. Please, do me the honor of being with me.

Love, Koushi.

—

I'M SO SORRY FOR SUCH A SHORT CHAPTER YOU GUYS<\3. But I hope you appreciate it. Please comment and note bc it really helps

As always, I love you guys

- estrxlar