Rindou Pretends He Doesn’t Like It When You Kiss On His Tattoos But In Reality, He Loves It. Especially

You should totally make a 2nd part for 'Taiyaki for the Soul' it was so good

Hi there 💙💛

 Thank you for your request.

Due to the popular demand, I decided to give it a go.

Again, I would like to stress out. I’m not good with 2nd parts. If I write something as a one-shot it usually does not turn out good when I add a 2nd part, but I’m a people pleaser, so here it is. 😊 I hope you will enjoy it. 

@ninabellaka, @ajmiila02, @royalmuffinsworld

Attention: Please read PART 1 first!

Title: Taiyaki for the Soul PART 2

Pairing: Manjiro x Reader 

Genre: Fluff |Warning: some angst since I chose Bonten Mikey | Words: 4.8K 

‘Not again,’ you heard your cashier groan loudly all the way from the register into the small back kitchen where you were finishing your daily cleanup.

Drying your hand in the towel, you peeked out from your spot making sure you wouldn’t be seen by the customers who were picking something at the counter nearby. 

Your cashier, a middle-aged woman, you grew to find essential in your line of work since she dealt with your customers so swiftly and well, noticed you and came closer, ‘It happened again. I pick up, and I know they’re there, but once I speak they end the call.’

You offered her a small smile and shrugged your shoulders, ‘Maybe, they wrote the number wrong and didn’t want to waste your time.’

She shook her head not impressed by the idea at all before she returned to the register as the customers already made their choice and wanted to buy some of your snacks. 

You returned to the small kitchen putting the towel away thinking. 

Mikey-kun, was that you?

It had been over a month since the man with short silver hair and empty eyes came into your back kitchen and baked taiyaki with you. And despite trying not to bring your hopes up because he didn’t promise you anything, you couldn’t stop thinking about him. Being a shy baker in Tokyo, there weren’t many if any interesting things happening in your life and although you tried to look at the bright side of this as it was a good thing, you couldn’t seem to settle your mind or your heart. 

Every time, you heard the small shop phone ring, you paused your movements on the dough and held your breath. 

Mikey-kun, is that you?

You couldn’t keep the phone with you as your hands were always covered in flour or some other ingredients, and you wouldn’t want to get it dirty. All you could do was hold your breath and eavesdrop on your cashier as she either spoke with a customer or once again groaned when the call was cut short. 

Of course, your heartbeat speeded up every time, she did groan and you quickly tried to get to the phone yourself just in case, but every time you did you were both left confused as the number was hidden and impossible to dial back. 

‘That’s very bizarre,’ said your cashier, and you agreed with her quietly.

At night, alone inside your bed upstairs, you wondered, if it truly was your mystery tattooed taiyaki-lover. Your fantasy took you to all kinds of scenarios, but again, you were a rather ordinary baker, so everything too out of the ordinary seem like you were trying to be more interesting than you truly were. It should frighten you, and it did because he was still a stranger, but at the same time you could still picture how happy he looked talking to you. And that small fact, that it was you who made him look that way overshadowed any doubts you might have had before.

Sighing, in the present time, you put the towel on the pile for you to carry them upstairs to wash later tonight.

The idea made you scold a bit as it truly underlined just how much of an ordinary person you were. It had to be why you were clinging so much to the idea of Mikey ever coming back. Those few hours with him were the most you felt like you did something outside your comfort zone in… well… ever. Even if it was just doing your favorite activity and talking. He was a stranger, who appeared outside your shop and as bizarre as it was, who you dragged inside and taught how to bake taiyaki all the while talking as if you were on a date close friends.

You swallowed feeling a bit embarrassed and mentally scolding yourself for even thinking that. He was a stranger. An interesting stranger with haunting dark eyes, who would have kissed you if you didn’t stop him. 

A stranger with a story that keeps me up at night.

You waited for your cashier to finish as you always did and then proceed to clean up the front shop and prepare it for another day. It was a routine now. One which you were so used to, you would probably get insomnia if you didn’t end up doing it every day. 

You cleaned up, check all the doors and windows if they were locked, and started to go upstairs when it happened. 

The sound of the phone ringing coming from downstairs was almost as loud as thunder in the silence of your building, and you moved before you could stop yourself, rushing back toward the counter and hitting your ankle against its side in the process. 

You hissed but managed to snatch the phone before it finished and called out breathlessly partly still in shock and partly with hope, ‘M-mikey-kun?!’

You caught your breath feeling like a fool for doing so. The eagerness felt almost pathetic, and still, it could not be helped. Even the off chance, that it might be him was enough to keep you going.

You don’t know if it’s even him. 

He’s a stranger. 

Please, let it be him. 

There was a soft almost breathless chuckle, and your heart skipped a bit, ‘Sounds like you missed me.’

You closed your eyes and took a deep breath a smile pushing against your lips before you could even stop it.

You lied so poorly, ‘Just a little bit.’

He hummed, and you wondered if he could tell, and if he was smiling just a little bit too, and if he was the person who constantly called hoping you would pick up, and if he wanted to come again, and if…

You sighed and covered your closed eyes with your palm feeling your heart speed up as you giggled.

There was a sound, something like a gasp or a deep hoarse inhale, you couldn’t be sure, but in the next moment he spoke, ‘Are you busy today?’

‘No,’ you answered all too quickly and honestly. 

‘Oh, that’s not a very cool response,’ he teased you a bit, but before you could answer, he spoke again almost like he didn’t want you to overthink it or grow upset about it, ‘Can I come over? I…I have a few hours to spare, and I…,’ his voice grew softer and quieter, but still loud enough for you to hear, ‘I want to make taiyaki with you again. Can I?’

You smiled to yourself at how tender the question sounded almost like he was a child asking if he could have another sweet, ‘Yes, Mikey-kun. When will you come?’

‘Thirty minutes,’ he said, and you quickly started to walk to the front, ‘Alright, I will keep the door unlocked for you and turn on the oven again-’

‘DON’T!’ he said all too quickly and sharply almost making you think he was talking to someone else and panic before he spoke again, this time much quieter than before, ‘Don’t unlock it until I’m there.’

You paused waiting if he would continue, and to your surprise, he did only sounding, even more, quieter than before now, ‘It’s dark, and anyone could be on the streets now.’

Your chest expanded with the warmth from feeling touched by his concerns at the same time as it ached because it sounded like he knew what could happen in the dark when anyone could be walking the streets. 

Still, you nodded even if he couldn’t see you and returned to the small kitchen where you wouldn’t be seen to prepare the over and ingredients, ‘It’s alright. Call me when you’re outside, I will go and unlock the door for you then.’

He seemed to relax at your words, ‘I will hold you up to that.’

You did just that. You prepared the red beans pasta as well as other flavors to spice it up and the dough before you took a seat on a stool waiting for Mikey to call your business number again. 

Only once the phone rang, did you rush to the front door. 

Your eyes caught his shadowy figure because of a nearby streetlight, and even before you opened the door, you could tell, he was looking at you through the glass window. 

‘Hi,’ you said as you stepped aside to let him in. 

Only when he stepped inside, and you properly saw him from the light coming from your back kitchen, did you finally realize a part of you almost believed he wasn’t really in the first place? It was easy to understand why. It seemed too bizarre to have happened in the first place. For shy hard to communicate with others, you, to bring someone into your shop and spend hours with them talking like you were good old friends? It was almost unimaginable, but here he was. 

He looked the same as last time. Exactly the same. His clothes were dark, and a bit depressing, and if you didn’t know better, you would assume they were the same ones. Everything from the dark loose pants and black thin sweater to the flip-flops that made him look like he stepped out from his apartment nearby for a smoke.

His face looked the same too. You almost forgot, how he looked. How hauntingly handsome he looked even if there were dark circles under his eyes and this aura around him like he needed to be held or stayed the far away from. People often forgot new faces, but even so, you were certain until the day, you would die, you would forever remember his dark empty eyes that threatened to suck you in and drown you if weren’t too careful. 

Your throat felt dry, and you looked away from his lazy yet intense gaze noticing there was something different about him. 

‘What’s that?’ you asked motioning to the simple white plastic bag that so leisurely hung from his wrist.

It seemed he needed to blink at you before he glanced down as well as if he forgot he had the bag with him and shrugged his shoulders, ‘I figured if you wouldn’t let me pay, the least I could do was bring some goods to cover those we will use.’

Your lips curled into a smile, ‘That’s a very sweet thought,’ you said honestly feeling touched that he would think up something like this, ‘Thank you, Mikey-kun. It was really thoughtful of you.’

He looked at your face again and seemed almost less exhausted now with something close to life radiating from his dark eyes as they kept looking at your face, ‘It’s nothing. You make big deals out of small things, you know?’

‘Not true,’ you said a bit stubbornly and far too quickly, but it seemed to have lightened up his mood some more because he chuckled, ‘Yes, yes, my sister would have the same face you do whenever I teased her of such things.’

You thought someone else might have felt self-aware that he saw something from his sister in you, but the idea made you smile because the way he spoke about her before and now showed that he truly cared for her, ‘It’s only normal to be upset when you’re being teased, Mikey-kun. Let’s get started, alright?’

He followed you to the back already familiar with the surroundings immediately changing into the spare slippers you laid out before and reaching for the spare pink apron, ‘Can you tie it for me?’

You chuckled a bit since he once again looked a bit like a child when he asked it like that, but you still quickly went behind him and tied the apron with a single bow behind him momentarily taking a moment to steal another look at his tattoo.

He glanced at the piece of fabric with a fond face before you brought him to the sink and helped him properly wash his hands noticing how he let you do almost everything for him making it impossible to feel like you were being too pushy. 

‘I like when you do that,’ he said suddenly as if he could read your mind.

Your eyes blinked and looked over at his, ‘What?’

His smile was small and soft, the kind he had before when he was reminiscing about his past, ‘Kenchin always took care of me like this. He would tie my shoes and feed me if I asked him to.’

You rose your eyebrows upon hearing, ‘He sounds like a really good friend and person.’

‘The best,’ he agreed, but then something about his softness stopped, and he looked at you turning that softness into something even sweeter but more intense, ‘Don’t worry, you’re pretty great too. But you need to try harder if you want to be my number one caretaker. You should feed me taiyaki right into my mouth this time,’ he said and opened his mouth pointing a finger inside. 

The teasing got to you, and you laughed embarrassed shoving him weakly, ‘No, thanks, I rather stay second best.’

The amusement behind his dark eyes was evident enough, but it helped when he let out a small chuckle and got to the counter, ‘So, can you remind me a bit? I didn’t really repeat what you taught me at home.’

You giggled but nodded and pointed to what he needed to do next. He caught on easily, but it seemed he really liked when others helped him out because he often asked you to direct his hands and check things for him all the while talking about his childhood, friends, and family again. 

‘Say,’ you said at one point while you were finishing another batch waiting for the first one to finish in the oven, ‘Was it you who kept on calling and hanging up?’

Your heart was in your throat as you asked. You didn’t want to upset the young man who seemed to be even in a better mood than he was last time. Even if your previous encounter was brief in the grand scheme of things, it seemed like he wasn’t like this as often as he should be as he could be, and something about that made you try harder to keep the mood light and casual than you ever did for anyone else. Yet, it shocked you after a while how easy it seemed to have happened. Even if you were essentially still strangers, with the baked goods smell and warmth around you, it was impossible to be anything but in a good and light mood.

And with such a good mood, you probably felt like you could keep it going no matter what you would say or do so you asked. 

You knew it was partly a mistake even before Mikey’s hands visibly paused and a look of absolute emptiness passed his face, but once it did you felt so much worse.

Your hand instinctively reached out and touched his cover by the apron chest so you wouldn’t dirty his dark clothes, ‘I’m sorry.’

His eyes blinked, and it was as if whatever he was thinking a moment was forgotten and his mind cleared up before he looked over at you and then your hand on him. 

Self-aware and embarrassed you pulled it away and started to work again, ‘I just wanted to say. I’m happy, you called,’ you admitted feeling even more embarrassed, but at the same time feeling you wanted to take his mind off whatever crossed it before, ‘I did miss baking taiyaki with you.’

His entire face softened and a small smirk pulled against his lips, ‘Ah, careful, I will think you’re only using me as free help.’

You grinned hoping to chase your humiliation away, ‘Don’t say that, Mikey-kun. I pay you well with delicious taiyaki after all.’

‘Half of which I make,’ he pointed out and stepped closer to your side before you felt his lips whisper far too close to your ear, ‘You should give me something sweeter to keep me working hard for you, you know?’

You covered your ear on instinct as you felt his breath against it feeling your whole face warm up. 

He seemed to take great pleasure from this as he was smiling rather pleased with himself when you glanced at him again as he returned to finish his share of the workload. 

It’s like he’s a different person.

You shook your head trying to calm down before the timer went off again, and you pulled the first batch out of the oven. 

You had to chase Mikey’s hand away so he wouldn’t get burned as he tried to snatch the treat before the two of you then finished the next batch.

‘How come this was the first time you picked up the phone?’

The question caused you to stop working for a second since a moment ago it seemed he didn’t wish to return to the topic. 

‘I work back here, so this lady who works as my cashier usually picks up the phone. My hands are always covered in something,’ you explained finishing the final fish treat and watching the young man’s next to you reactions, waiting.

‘Would you answer if you knew it was me?’ he asked sounding almost shy and his refusal to meet your gaze even if he finished his own last taiyaki assured you that he did in fact feel shy when he asked that.

You smiled a bit to yourself and put the treats on the pan before you went to put it into the oven. Knowing that your face was protected by having his back to him, you could blush freely as you admitted, ‘Maybe if you waited longer in the line, you would have found out.’

You felt your heartbeat was too fast as you were never good with this sort of flirtingif it could even be called that.

You put the batch into the oven and closed it with your back still turned to Mikey waiting until you would feel confident enough to turn around again. You wished you were brave enough to sneak a look and see if you made him flustered as much as he made you. 

But before you could find your inner peace, and not feel so hot and embarrassed, you felt a pair of strong arms move around you. 

You let out a small gasp as you found yourself pressed against a firm body and a pair of arms were hugging you around your neck keeping you close all the while you heard a soft yet needyvoice say, ‘I wanted to hear your voice. I kept on telling myself that I would just hear it, and…be done with this. But when you finally picked up…,’ he sighed and you felt his forehead rest against the back of your head all the while feeling your body was warming up not just from working in your hot back kitchen, ‘I felt so happy when I heard your voice, I wanted to see you. Warm,’ he laughed a bit and you heard his smile even if you couldn’t see it, ‘When I think of you, I feel warm and cozy. You’re like a nice fluffy dream.’

Your eyes closed as you allowed the feeling of being held like this to take over every corner of your body and change it in a way you didn’t think you cared for, but now felt you needed more than anything. It was so long since someone held you and made you feel like this. You felt like you couldn’t breathe in the best way, ‘I was happy to hear your voice too, Mikey.’

All too fast, the arms let you go, and the sudden lack of his touch was almost painful. You understood what he meant about warmth because now despite the hot working oven in your kitchen, you felt chilly out of Mikey’s hold.

When you turned around Mikey was already with his back to you standing in front of the counter and chewing on one of the already cooled-off fish-shaped goods, ‘So good.’

The mood changed, and you felt like you did something wrong, but you didn’t know what. You felt like something shifted between you now, that would cause your sweet and casual mood to be ruined with tension now.

He didn’t say anything else, just kept on eating without looking at you. Not one glance or word, and you couldn’tstand it.

It was too much. You felt like you would start to cry at any moment simply just by looking at his back turn to you. 

I hate this. I hate this. I hate this.

‘I-I’m sorry,’ you whispered, and your voice broke a bit at the end, ‘Whatever it is I’m sorry.’

His hand paused from taking another treat, ‘Don’t…say it like that.’

‘Like what?’

‘Like you’re hurt…because of me,’ he said quickly into the silent back kitchen, and your eyes fell to his hand again noticing how it shook mid-air, ‘I shouldn’t have come.’

Your eyes widened, and your feet moved before you could stop them. 

Fingers dug into his forearm at the same time as he made a step perhaps to simply look at you or to leave, you didn’t know, but your body felt like it couldn’t take the chance. 

Please, don’t leave just yet.

‘Why?’

His face was different than before. Different than that empty, exhausted, and lazy look he usually had. Different than those rare rays of pure joy he showed at times talking about good times from his past. Different than the amusement whenever he teased you. Different than the intensity right before he was about to lean down to your face. Different one than you ever saw.

Broken

His tongue darted out and licked his lip that moved despite no words coming out for a moment, ‘I’ll stain you.’

The only sounds in the kitchen after that were those made by the turned-on oven. 

You blinked your eyes adjusting to their normal size as you stepped closer pressing your side against his. Your body immediately started to warm up, ‘What?’

‘I’ll stain you,’ he said again as if it would explain everything, and somehow it did without revealing anything at all. 

‘You won’t,’ you said strangely calmer than you felt with your heart beating so fast. 

He shook his head and shut his lifeless eyes so tight it must have hurt before he let out a small and weak, ‘Stop.’

‘You won’t.’

‘Stop saying that!’ he snapped now rather harshly and looked at you making you see just how upset he was. Angry. You didn’t know if it was at you or himself, and strangely, you found yourself wishing it was you because you hated the idea, that he would be at himself. 

You held his arm tighter, ‘You won’t.’

‘You don’t know me,’ he broke free with ease and his dark eyes turned into daggers as they cut into your face, ‘You don’t know me! I’m a stranger! I’m…I’m a monster.’

You remained silent, but your face didn’t change. His words were desperate more than angry. He wanted to convince you. He wanted you to understand, you could tell, but it seemed he didn’t understand at all. 

‘You’re not,’ you said and saw how his lips twisted into a nasty-looking grimace before he spoke again, ‘I’m the leader of Bonten.’ 

That for once made you pause at least for a moment.

Your lips parted and a simple ‘Oh,’ fell out.

‘The hell?’ he asked looking at you in disbelief now just as the timer went off again, and you went to pick up the fresh batch from the oven and turn it off.

You gathered your thoughts as you did since this always helped you out before you set the treats aside, ‘I didn’t know you were the leader. But I figured you were a part of it.’

You looked over at Mikey. 

He remained frozen in place with his dark lifeless eyes on you and the rest of his face unreadable, ‘You knew?’ he asked or breathed out quietly, and you nodded curtly, ‘I saw your tattoo the first time we met. It’s all over the news. You should hide it better if you want to stay anonymous,’ your poor attempt at a joke didn’t land on fertile grounds, and you mentally cringed turning partly away to compose yourself. 

Mikey took a step closer to you, and you looked right at him again unafraid only embarrassed a bit by how much you wanted to look at him, ‘Then you know what I do,’ he rose his hands, ‘You know I’ll stain you. I won’t mean to,’ absolute pain shifted across his face before he shook it away with a shake of his head, ‘But I will. My family, my friends …everyone. I’m covered in it, and if I stay too close, you will get dirty too. You…you’re the first person who got me to smile and laugh in forever. You talk to me, and I feel like I’m really here with you. You’re so warm, good…,’ he kept on shaking his head, but his eyes were still on you, ‘clean, I can’t…I won’t have your blood on my hands too.’

You didn’t answer. You couldn’t. So rather hesitantly because you weren’t confident when it came to these things, but you knew right now, Mikey needed you to be, you took hold of his hand. All the while your heart was beating loud enough that in the silence of your back kitchen and empty bakery. He had to be able to hear it as well. His hand was rougher than yours, but not by much. You were a baker after all. You worked with dough all your life. It didn’t feel bad to hold it or that it held you when his fingers interlocked with your own.

‘But I’ll stain you,’ he said so weakly almost like he didn’t believe it anymore. Almost like he just said it because he had to not because he wanted to. Almost as if he wanted you to tell him that he was right and let him go.

I won’t.

You swallowed your saliva and along with it your insecurities for a moment reaching your free hand over to the cooled-down and almost forgotten at this moment batch of taiyaki before picking one up. 

You felt his eyes on you the whole time as you carefully brought it in front of his mouth and with a smile, no matter, how awkward because of what you were doing you said, ‘Open up, Mikey-kun.’

His eyes were desperate, almost pleading as if asking you to reconsider, but you knew you couldn’t, not after he first appeared in your life and baked with you. Not after he took that card and called you.

You looked away for a moment, ‘I think about you at night before I fall asleep. I can’t stop,’ you licked your lips letting out all you felt inside. You were just an ordinary you, a little baker in a small shop on some random street. It wasn’t bad. You preferred it. But maybe every once in a while, you could be someone else, ‘and I don’t want to.’

There was silence for a moment before you felt Mikey’s free hand snatch your wrist. 

Your eyes shifted to his face again only to see him take a large bite out of the fish-shaped treat all the while gazing into your eyes almost like he was accepting your agreement even though you didn’t say anything out loud. 

He kept on holding your wrist all the while eating the taiyaki from your palm until all you had left were crumbs of the sweet fish. 

‘Can I kiss you now?’

‘No,’ you said immediately feeling your face growing hot and almost tearing your arms from Mikey’s hold, but he didn’t let you.

Instead, he blinked confused, ‘Why not?’

You shrugged your shoulders looking away knowing you were acting silly after all of that, but you couldn’t seem to help yourself, ‘I still don’t know you that well.’

‘You know more about me than anyone who does work with me,’ he deadpanned, but you didn’t budge, ‘I don’t even know your full name.’

He watched you for a moment almost making you look at him to see his expression, but before you would you felt him leaning toward you. 

Your heartbeat spiked, and your throat felt dry.

Even if you tried to keep your gaze off his, you could still see the lazy smirk playing across his face when he got too close to yours, ‘Sano Manjiro.’

You wished it didn’t if only to hold your ground a bit longer but hearing him say it brought a smile to your own lips. 

You rose your gaze to his excited and full-of-life eyes, ‘Okay.’

He let go of your hands in favor of taking a hold of your waist right before his face finally reached yours. 

The next day, your cashier asked for the shop phone, but you told her it was fine and kept it by your side. When it rang, even if your fingers were covered in flour or chocolate, you picked it up anyway. Careless, if you left stains on it or not.

Koniec

A.N: Thank you for taking the time to read this. I apologize for the mistakes. I hope you and your loved ones are alright. Have a lovely day. 💙💛

well.... say hello to my new hyperfixation — lookism

I've read probably most of the completed fanfictions on ao3, some of the completed ones on wattpad, went as far as to read korean raws (tho i did understand only names and some words)

and now im writing fanfictions on lookism too..........

well, let's bet how long this hyperfixation will last lol

2 years like tokrev did

or more than 5 years as did hp, bnha and kuroko no basuke

im kinda curious for how long it will last, but while it lasts I'll make the most out of it lmao

Say My Name

Characters: Bonten x fem!Reader

Summary Background: You came to Japan looking for a new job opportunity and in your first week there, you saved Mikey’s life. He is indebted to you and offered you a job as Bonten’s Private Doctor. 

Warnings: Cursing, sexual flirting, ear play (is that a real kink name? idk), making out, blood (not from reader), Sanzu in his boxers, minor manga spoiler, mentioned boner, talks of grabbing ass, and fluff.

A/N: This short series will consist of Bonten’s shenanigans, poly relationship, and sexual contents. So MDNI!

Like, reblogging, and kind comments are appreciated!

Take me down in your paradise

Don’t be scared, cause I’m your body type

Just something that we wanna try

Cause you and I, we’re cool for the summer

You hum the tune for ‘Cool for the Summer’ by Demi Lovato playing through your AirPods. The beautiful morning breeze puts you in a summer mood. You thought this song was the perfect song to play before heading into work. You greet Daimon and Hiroto, the security guards at Bonten’s Headquarters as usual with a smile. The clacking of your heels echoes in the lobby. You spot Mochi hurriedly moving across the room like a man on a mission. “Good morning, Mochi.” You quickly greet him before he takes off. His dark brown eyes glances to see who called out to him, then his expression softens once he realizes it’s you.

“Good morning, [Y/n].” Mochi’s tiresome smile makes you worried if he has been getting enough sleep, “Sorry, I can’t stop and chat right now. I have some urgent things I need to take care of.” You and Mochi had become very good friends in the past two weeks since you two discovered you have common interests for animals, food, and music. His ears pick up the melody playing through your AirPods, “Demi?”

“Good ear.” You are impress how good his hearing is, “I’m listening to ‘Cool for the Summer.’” Mochi nods in approval, that’s one of his favorite songs by Demi. “But please don’t let me keep you. Stay safe.” 

“I will!” You both wave goodbye as he runs out of the building and his figure disappears in the crowd. You find the elevator doors to take you up to the executive floor. Humming the tune as you take off your AirPods and put it back in its case then toss it in your purse. The elevator dings and the doors open to reveal Mikey and Kakucho, who are waiting for the elevators to take them down.

“Peach.” Mikey immediately clings onto you, then lays his head on your shoulder to inhale your scent. It’s been awhile since he had spent time with you. Moments like these he cherishes them. He misses your presence and needs a dose of your touch before taking off with Kakucho on their mission.

“Good morning, Mikey.” Your saccharine smile warms Mikey’s chest, then you turn your gaze towards Kakucho, who stops the elevator doors from closing, “You too, Kaku.”

“Good morning, Angel.” Kakucho’s bashful smile makes him even more adorable. “You look beautiful today.” Lately, he has been complimenting you almost every day. It is now part of his morning routine, which you always appreciate. It’s pleasant to hear flattering remarks.

“Thank you, Kaku. You look handsome as well.” His heart is palpitating when you compliment his appearance. He never considers himself to be attractive due to his scar and it’s one of his insecurities, but you’ve always found him handsome and wish he sees himself the way you see him. That’s why you always want to remind him. 

“I’ll catch up with you later.” Mikey kisses your cheek before reluctantly releases his hug then steps into the elevator with Kakucho. You bid them to stay safe wherever they’re going. You saunter into the shared kitchen to make your morning tea with your favorite cup and start the coffee maker for the executives. Especially for Takeomi. You notice how grumpy he gets when he doesn’t have his morning coffee. You always make sure to have it ready for him.

“Morning Dollface.” Ran sneakily wraps his arms around your waist and nuzzles his face into your neck. His cologne smells heavenly and suits him quite well. It’s intoxicating enough for you to get addicted to his scent.

“Morning Ran, feeling friendly as usual?” Usually Ran will find ways to have you in his arms. Whether it’s in the shared kitchen, the hallway, his office (by abducting you), your private bathroom (secretly hiding in there) or ambushes you at the penthouse. This is nothing new to you.

“Only for you.” Ran playfully nibbles your earlobe, catching you completely off guard by letting out a sweet gasp. He pauses his movements before a wicked smile breaks out, “Oohh, do you like that pretty girl? You like having your ear played with?” He licks sensually on your ear then takes another bite and sucks. Your legs feel a little weak, luckily Ran is strong enough to hold you up or you would have toppled over. Someone grip your jaw to pull your attention towards them. You are met with lustful lilac eyes. 

“Don’t forget about me.” Rindou joins in the fun, he doesn’t Ran to be the only one to get to play with you. He leans in to capture your kissable lips, tasting your minty clean breath. His teeth lightly tugs your bottom lip and sucking on it, earning an alluring moan from you.

“Mmm, Rindou.” You moan his name on his lips, he loves the way you call out his name. It’s so honeyed, he wants to taste your sweetness. He swipe his tongue across your lips to allow him to play with your tongue which you grant him access. Dominating your tongue feels so good and turning him on. He wants to ravish you. 

“Can you guys do this somewhere else?” Takeomi interrupts your rendezvous, “Trying to make some damn coffee.” As you predicted, he is grumpy. Takeomi actually doesn’t mind seeing your body being pleasured, just not when he hasn’t had his coffee yet. He’s not fully in the mood for anything. 

“Sorry, Take.” You forcibly move the Haitani brothers along with you (they didn’t let go) to give him some room to grab his coffee. “I started the coffee for you.” You display a warm smile in hopes to light up his mood. 

“Thank you, sweetheart.” His grumpiness subside a little until-

“SWEET CHEEKS!!!” Sanzu barges into the shared kitchen and heads right for you. The Haitani brothers move out of the way to allow Sanzu tackle you into a hug. “Did you miss me?!” He squeezes you happily. You feel something is wet and lift up your hand to find blood.

“Sanzu!? Are you bleeding?” You push his chest away to find his purple pantsuit is drench with blood and dirt, it has gotten onto your white blouse, tan pants, and possibly your face. For now, you are focusing on inspecting his face and body to find any open wounds you need to attend to. Sanzu finds your worrisome and focused gaze adorable, he chuckles.

“Not to worry, my love! This isn’t my blood! I just got carried away.” Sanzu smiles sadistically, with pride. “But you can keep touching me, I love when you have your hands on me.” He grabs both of your hands then places them on his cheeks. His sadistic smile returns to an almost childlike expression.

“Get your filthy hands off of her, you asshole.” Kokonoi appears with a scowl, he sees blood on your clothes and skin. He grabs the part of your arm where there’s no blood to pull you away from Sanzu then glares at him. “You’re dirtying her.”

“Sanzu, what did I tell you about walking around the building with blood?” Takeomi angrily scolds him while Sanzu sulks, not because of Takeomi’s reprimanding but because he sees the blood on you. It felt as though he had tainted you. 

“I was going to clean up and change but I saw Sweet Cheeks and got excited …”

Kokonoi pulls out sanitary wipes and helps wipe off any blood that’s on your face and hands. Ran and Rindou also help to wipe the blood off your white blouse but most likely they wanted an excuse to touch your breasts. Takeomi continues to chastise Sanzu about cleanliness and making sure not to touch or hug anyone when he’s contaminated. However, the blood stains on your blouse and pants didn’t come off with the wipes. Kokonoi, who becomes agitated, is next to criticize Sanzu for ruining your white designer blouse. He pulls out his cellphone to make a call for someone to deliver a whole new outfit to the clinic.

“Why don’t you go rinse off and I will have someone deliver the clothes to the clinic, okay princess?” Kokonoi pitifully looks at your bloodstained outfit, he thinks you look refined and elegant and it’s ashamed Sanzu had to ruin it.

“Okay, thank you Kokonoi. Please excuse me.” You hurry off to the clinic, you have your own private bathroom which is nice for emergencies like this. You can’t be wearing a bloodstained outfit all day as that is unsanitary and it would be hard for you to get out of the building without being questioned.

“Did you guys notice?” Rindou asks the group once you are out of the shared kitchen. He realizes something about you that no one seems to be aware of.

“Notice what?” Kokonoi asks while putting his sanitary wipes away and washing his hands with soap in the sink. He then orders Sanzu to wash his hands as well before he goes touching other things.

“[Y/n] only calls certain executives by their nicknames.” Everyone has a moment of silence to think if this statement Rindou made is true. 

“Why does she call you ‘Take’?!” Sanzu’s wet hands grab his older brother’s button up shirt and shakes him in jealousy. Sanzu didn’t notice you haven’t called him by his name because he is too focused on touching you or stealing kisses from you. He should’ve realized it sooner when you started calling Takeomi by his nickname. This is such a slap in the face for him.

“Damn it, go dry your hands!” Takeomi shoves Sanzu off of him, then straightens out his now wet and wrinkled shirt.

“She calls me by my name.” Ran points at his chest to indicate what Rindou said is not quite true. Sure, it’s not a nickname but you two are on a first name basis which is good enough for now. Though he would much prefer if you call him baby or boyfriend or someday husband. 

“Yeah because she can’t call you Haitani since there’s two of you idiots.” Kokonoi gruff, why didn't he catch this earlier? Everyone else calls him ‘Koko’, why aren’t you comfortable calling him that too? He did hope one day you would call him ‘Hajime’ or ‘Haji’ once you two get even more intimate.

“At least she calls us by our first names.” Rindou rebuttals, first name basis sounds more intimate than being on last name basis. The four of them start bickering, this is giving Takeomi a headache and he sighs. 

“Just ask her to call you guys by your preferred names.”

“Is that what you did?” Sanzu eyes him suspiciously, the rest of them are also waiting for his response on how you began calling him that.

“Well no-” They start bickering again, then Takeomi lets out another sigh, “Morons.” He utters under his breath and pours some coffee in his cup. It’s too damn early for this drama.

You finish rinsing your body off, making sure there’s no more blood on you. You grab your towel from the shower hanger to dry yourself off. Then you wrap the towel around you before checking to see if someone delivered the clothes Kokonoi had ordered. You found it neatly stacked on a chair by the bathroom door. Perfect timing, quickly grabbing them and change into a white designer dress.

Oh, this looks sophisticated. You check yourself in the mirror and turn to the side. Kokonoi is so stylish,you are not surprised with his fashion choice. You make a reminder to yourself to have someone dispose of your bloodstained blouse as you don’t want to pose any unwanted questions from the cleaners. Then you hear a rumble coming from the hallway. Oh no … you brace yourself for the incoming traffic rushing into the clinic. Rindou, Kokonoi and for some reason a Sanzu who is only wearing boxers, start talking over each other which  you can’t begin to understand what they’re saying.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” You gesture for all of them to calm down and to stop talking over each other. “One at a time. What is going on? And Sanzu, what happened to your clothes? Why are you only in your boxers?” You are bemused as to why he’s practically naked. 

“Because I didn’t want to ruin your clothes.” He answers like it is obvious, but then he raises his voice, “And why are you calling me ‘Sanzu’?! Do you hate me or something?!” He expresses his discontent. 

“And you keep calling me ‘Rindou’. Do I not matter to you?” Rindou is next to complain about his name. You two shared an intimate moment together not too long ago, did it mean nothing to you?

“You call Kakucho, ‘Kaku’, how come you don’t do the same for me?” Kokonoi crosses his arms all the while checking out your dress he picked out for you. You can see his feverish gaze on how well it hugs your curves. But all eyes are on you to explain yourself.

“Because those are your names?” You dumbfoundedly answer their question, not sure what this spur them onto the conclusion that you don’t care for them.

“I DON’T WANT YOU TO CALL ME ‘SANZU’!!!” He screams on top of his lungs, you are certain the entire building can hear him. Jesus Christ, my ear.You begin to question whether Sanzu is immune to having a sore throat or his ears don't detect how loud he really is. 

“Okay, okay. Breathe and calm down.” You use a soothing voice, rubbing Sanzu’s muscular bare back for him to hopefully stop his random outbursts. “What do you want to call you?”

“‘Haru’.” His loveable, sad droopy puppy eyes and heartbreaking voice makes you feel like you had kicked a puppy. His combination with the puppy eyes and heartbreaking tone really gets you, but you can’t let him know that. You know he will use it to his advantage. 

“I want to be called ‘Rin’.” Rindou's anguish tone grabs your attention away from Sanzu.

“And I want to be called ‘Koko.’” Kokonoi’s cheeks are blushing, he finds it embarrassing that he had to ask you. Normally girls would call him Koko without having him tell them, it’s natural.

“Alright,” You nod your head in understanding, to show them you are taking this seriously, “from now on I will call you by your preferred names. Do you feel better now?” You look at Sanzu first since he seems to be the most sensitive to this. He wraps his arms around your waist and leans his forehead against yours.

“Please … please say my name.” He asks you desperately, he never felt so vulnerable around anyone before. But with you, he feels comfortable to show you this side of him. Sanzu needs to hear you call his name to make everything okay again.

“Haru.” You call out his name, to Sanzu’s ears it sounds so loving. No one can say his name as beautifully as you. He is visibly shaking with excitement then squeezes you happily.

“Yay!!!! You make me the happiest man on Earth! Thanks, Sweet Cheeks!” He runs off like a hurricane going by. You have made his day a lot better.

“Put some clothes on!” You yell hopefully loud enough for him to hear. Then you look back at the other two who are staring at you, like they were waiting for something. “What-”

“Say my name too!” Rindou and Kokonoi demand you. What did I get myself into?

The next few days, you tried your best to call them by their preferred names. Sometimes you accidentally slipped up since you were used to calling them ‘Sanzu’, ‘Kokonoi’, and ‘Rindou’. Sanzu did not take this lightly and threw a tantrum. The way for him to calm down was for you to hug him and stroke his hair. Rindou and Kokonoi were much calmer compared to Sanzu but they reminded you with a discontent look. One day, the three of them came into the clinic to propose a way on how to prevent you from calling them by their original name. 

“A punishment?” You scrunch your eyebrows together in confusion. “What kind of punishment?” You stir your tea in your favorite cup, this response seems absurd to you. 

“Well,” Sanzu tilts his head to the side with a thinking expression, “normally I would use Bonten’s Hammer of Judgement as punishment for traitors.” 

“Uhh … you use what now?” You have a blank expression. The executives don’t talk to you in detail about their missions. Or what they do if they find out there’s a traitor in the organization. You are certain you have some kind of idea what happens to them, just not in depth and you rather keep it that way. Rindou elbows Sanzu with a scowl, reminding him to not talk about it. 

“Wha-uh but you’re not a traitor so you don’t have to worry!” Sanzu lets out a nervous laugh in hopes you would let it go and Rindou mutters ‘idiot’ under his breath. You are somewhat curious what Bonten's Hammer of Judgement, is he referring to a gavel? 

“Nevermind him.” Kokonoi brushes off the subject before you open up the paradox.

“Okay …?” You heed Kokonoi’s advice to drop it, “What are you going to do to me then?” The moment you ask that question, the three of them have a mischievous smirk on their faces. 

“Trust me, love.” Rindou’s voice got husky, “There are many things I would like to do to you.” He adjusts his pants to hide his boner, the wild imaginations on how he wants to punish you is turning him on.

“We agreed that every time you call us by our original names,” Kokonoi begins to explain your punishment, “we get a kiss from you.” Your eyebrows arched, not understanding how this is a punishment.

“You want to get a kiss from me?” Sanzu leans extremely close to your face that his long lashes brushes against your cheek. 

“We want to receive a kiss from you, Sweet Cheeks.” His hand cups your cheek with lustful pupils. “We realized every time we kiss, it’s always us initiating.”

“Therefore, we want you to be the one to initiate.” Rindou grins smugly. 

“I’ll agree to this punishment on one condition.” You push Sanzu’s face away and lean away from his hand. You look at Kokonoi since he is well known for negotiating. “The person whose name I messed up only get to be kissed on the cheek.”

“On the lips.” Kokonoi crosses his arms for a rebuttal, no way they will settle for less.

“Both cheeks.” You counter the offer, he scoffs.

“On the lips with tongue.” Kokonoi will not give into your counter. Rindou and Sanzu know Kokonoi will make sure they will have it their way and snickers to see what you will offer next. However you have a sly smile, knowing they will give into you.

“Final offer.” They are waiting to hear your final offer. “Kiss on the cheek and touch one butt cheek.” Their jaws drop, not seeing this coming. Heh, that was easy.

“Caressing it, smacking it, or holding one butt cheek?” Kokonoi wants the specifics, you can’t be playing this dangerous game if you are putting your ass on the line.

“Users choice.”

“Deal!” Kokonoi and you shake hands on this "binding" punishment condition while Rindou and Sanzu are celebrating they are going to be the first ones to touch your butt.

A few days later, you managed to use their preferred names as they desired. You tease Kokonoi and Rindou as their nicknames are close to their original names and give them a false sense of hope. You can tell this is agitating them and to them, this is their punishment for messing with you. It gives you the satisfaction that you are a force to be reckoned with.

“DAMN IT!!!” Sanzu yells in frustration in the conference room, everyone in the room is staring at him. “I want her to mess up my name so I can touch her ass!”

“I know.” Kokonoi, who is normally collective, is irritated at how their proposition backfired. He begins to think you have done this on purpose.

“We have to get her to mess up somehow.” Rindou places his hand under his chin to think of scheming ways to get you to slip up.

“You guys are idiots.” Ran stroll into the conversation, then takes his seat next to his dear little brother. “You guys should have done both reward and punishment, therefore it would have been a win-win situation.” Rindou, Kokonoi, and Sanzu have a brief moment of silence.

“You’re the idiot.” All three of them point fingers at each other. Right outside the conference room, they see Mochi and you casually walking together. Mochi presents you with a gift, you take a look inside and beam happily at him. They are wondering what Mochi brought that made you smile like that? Then all their eyes widened as they saw an unforeseen event. You tiptoe to give Mochi a smooch on his cheek.

“What … what just happened?” Rindou grows infuriated, how in the world did Mochi do that? Aren’t you two just friends? Friends don’t do that, at least in his mind they don’t.  

“What did Mochi give her?” Kokonoi tries to see where the box comes from but you quickly walk away with the gift in your hand. Everyone can see Mochi is blushing and rubbing his cheek shyly. 

“MOCHI, YOU SON OF A BITCH!!!” Sanzu ferally climbs over the conference table to get across the room and charge towards him like a predator. Mochi is startled when Sanzu grabs his collar and starts shaking him. “What did you give my Sweet Cheeks that made her kiss you on the cheek?! Tell me, now damn you!!!” The other executives are also curious about what Mochi gave you.

“I remembered she told me she missed eating cheesecake from this bakery in America. So I made sure to include it in our American imports and it came in this morning.” Mochi is getting dizzy from Sanzu’s shaking and wishes for him to stop.

“Why were you being so sneaky about it?” Rindou’s lilac eyes have a dangerous glint, “ You’re hiding information about what she likes so you can take her away from us?” 

“What, no. [Y/n] and I are just friends.” Mochi pries Sanzu’s hands off of him. “Mikey knows about the cheesecake import too.” They continue to bicker, believing Mochi is pursuing you and secretly winning your affections. 

“What is going on here?” Kakucho walks towards the conference room with a stack of papers but what they spot immediately are the crumbs of cheesecake in the corner of his mouth. 

“Why do you have crumbs of cheesecake on the corner of your mouth?” Sanzu glowers at him, did he receive a special treatment from you?

“Oh,” Kakucho lifts up his arm to wipe the corner of his mouth, “Angel fed me a piece of cheesecake-” Kokonoi didn’t let him finish his sentence and took off running first followed by everyone else except for Kakucho and Mochi. 

“Wait, why are you running too?” Rindou questions his brother who was never part of this deal with you in the first place.

“Like I passed up the chance for Dollface to feed me.” Ran smirks, then he easily takes the lead of the pack. 

You, unbeknownst the chaos that will soon ensue, are sitting on Mikey’s lap in the clinic feeding him a piece of cheesecake. “Do you like it?” He was aware of the cheesecake shipment since Mochi notified him. Mikey never had cheesecake before and is curious to try it.

“Yummy. But not as yummy as taiyaki.” You let out a soft laugh.

“Of course.” You wouldn’t dare think anything would beat taiyaki or dorayaki. 

“Ah.” Mikey opens his mouth again for you to feed him another. As you are about to feed him, you hear several loud thundering footsteps in the hallway. God damn it, not again. You immediately got out of Mikey’s embrace which he isn’t too happy about. “Where are you going?” The ominous sound of doom is getting closer and you run towards the door to shut it but someone’s foot prevents it.

“SWEET CHEEKS!!!” Sanzu screams on top of his lungs, “Open the door!”

“No! You guys are always making a ruckus in the clinic and making weird demands!” You don’t want this to become a habit for them to rush in and out whenever they want and give you demands.

“You gave Mochi a kiss on the cheek and you fed Kaku!” Rindou yells over the other guys who are still trying to fight you to open the door. “It’s not fair!” 

“She fed me too.” Mikey adding more fuel to the fire while stealing a few more bites of the unattended cheesecake.

“We want the same special treatment too!” Ran’s poor foot is getting a beating but it will be worth it if you feed him a cheesecake and a kiss. 

“Let go of the door, princess!” Kokonoi’s patience is running thin.

“No! Not until you guys-AHHH!” Sanzu uses his inhuman strength to pry the door open and pounce you to the ground followed by everyone else creating a human pile. 

“I demand to be fed!” He cries with a heartbreaking face.

“Sanzu! Would you shut the fuck up?! I can hear your damn voice from down the hall!” Takeomi is annoyed as he comes by the door to see a human pile. “What the hell are you guys doing?” He is worried about your wellbeing.

“I … I don’t even know anymore.” You stare blankly up at the ceiling thinking about what you have done wrong while being crushed by the four executives. “I … I need to go home early today.” You are exhausted by the preferred name ordeal and now the cheesecake.

Takeomi scolds everyone to get off of you and gently help you off the ground. Everyone except for Mikey and Takeomi demands you to either give them a kiss or feed them a piece of cheesecake. You chose the latter and fed them your cheesecake. Sanzu demands for you to feed him more because of the pain and suffering you had caused him. Rindou gets jealous for not receiving enough attention from you and this cause a chain reaction. Finally, everyone had their dose of satisfaction, they left the clinic to prepare the rest of their work day. 

“What’s wrong, sweetheart?” Takeomi sees how upset you are and doesn’t want to leave you looking like this. Did they hurt you? If so, he will beat them and force them to apologize to you.

“I … I barely had any cheesecake and now it’s gone because they all kept demanding that I feed them.” You show him the box of cheesecake with a measly piece left for you to eat.

“Those shitheads.” Takeomi mutters under his breath, he has you on his lap while you cry about your sad little cheesecake and he rubs your back to soothe you. “I’ll have Mochi order you another box and give it to you in secret next time so you don’t have to share it with those shitheads.” 

“Would you really?” Your teary big doe eyes made his cheeks tinted in pink. Why do you have to look so goddamn cute for? He wants to kiss you to make your tears all go away but he holds back since you probably want some space after what happened today. 

“Of course. I want you to be happy.” Your eyes quiver by how sweet he is.

“Take ..”

“Hm?” You lean into his face to place a smooch on his cheek. His cheeks are burning and even more red, his heart is rapidly beating too.

“Thank you, Take. You’re the best.” You lean against his broad chest, he wraps his arms around you with a triumph smirk. He won’t rub this against the other executives because this sweet moment is meant for the two of you. 

“Anything for you, sweetheart.”

Bonus Scene - Why You Don't Call Them By Their Nicknames

2022 © littleoanh — do not repost or translate my work on this platform or any other platform. likes, reblogs, and kind comments are welcome. must be 18+ to interact.

BONTEN MEN and LOVE headcanons

(sad in Mikey's and Takeomi's, pretty dark in Sanzu's)

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MIKEY: he's afraid of falling in love. afraid he's gonna hurt the most precious person to him so he shuts himself behind many walls and doors, on a thousand locks, hiding himself from everyone. he doesn't believe he's able to fall in love anymore and even if he is, he'll always be afraid of hurting them.

RAN: believes in "love yourself, only then anyone will love you". he probably claims he doesn't believe in love at first sight, but actually that might be exactly the way he'd fall in love. he might tight his significant other close and then let go and then it's gonna be like that over and over again, just because he's never actually fallen in love and he doesn't know how to make it right.

RINDOU: is very self-conscious because of his brother. if he ever falls in love, he'll be always afraid you'd leave him for Ran (pls, tell him you'll never do so (but only tell the truth, because Rindou hates being lied to and can always tell when someone is lying to him)).

KOKO: doesn't think he can fall in love ever again. even if he let go of Akane, he's just not ready to fall in love with anyone else, therefore he practically gets married to his job, working as much as he can. but if he falls in love ever again, it's gonna last long and he'll be very attentive towards his significant other and their interests.

KAKUCHO: doesn't believe anyone can fall in love with him, though at the same time is eager to be loved. once someone says they love him, he'll hold them dearly (but he will let them go, if their significant other ever tells them their feelings towards him have changed).

SANZU: doesn't believe in love. his life led him to believing only his king deserves his dedication and that everything else isn't worth his attention. he's probably gonna look like at a bug at anyone who ever mentions they like him, because they aren't his king, therefore he doesn't need to give his admiration to them. (he'll probably end up being the most toxic boyfriend out of all, sometimes sweet and caring, and sometimes a mental abuser)

MOCHI: if he ever falls in love, he's gonna treat his significant other as an equal to him. he's never gonna raise a fist on them, treating them as the most precious person in the whole world. he's trustworthy in every single aspect.

TAKEOMI: is afraid of falling in love and being a bad dad. he's always haunted by the reminder of how bad of an older brother he was, that's why he's afraid of being a bad dad, that's why he's afraid of falling in love. that's why he promises himself to not fall in love ever (just as Mikey does).

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okay, no, but i absolutely headcanon that while hanma might be (MIGHT be) sweet and caring towards you, as many people say, he also would be horny af... like super horny af (because teasing you and doing all the different stuff he has in his head with you (with your consent of course) gives him just as much adrenaline as fights do)

russia breaks the ceasefire two hours after they agreed to stop strikes on Ukraine’s energy sector - by bombing the power system of Slovyansk, Donetsk region, half of the city is without electricity.

Another 2 hours later they bomb a hospital in Sumy. Then launched attack drones all over the country.

“Ceasefire” my ass

Fuck you and fuck your “peace talks”

You don’t want peace. You want us to die more quietly.

I JUST REALISED I HAVE THE EXACT SAME EARRING ADULT CHIFUYU HAS

I was just browsing his pictures and the next thing I know is I see the exactly same thing I have lol

it was so random and funny to me that I wanted to share this little fun fact lol

*slaps roof of car* this bad boy can fit so many tokyo rev memes in it you don’t even know

Title: The Fall

Pairing: Manjiro x Reader

Summary: Your boyfriend, Mikey, falls during a bike race and starts to act a bit differently. | Genre: Angst with a happy ending| Warning: Angst| Words: 2.5K

You weren’t certain what had happened.

One moment you were cheering along with Draken and others, watching your boyfriend, Sano Manjiro, in the lead on the large TV, and the next, you all watched in absolute shock and horror as he lost control of the bike and ended up in a collision that caused several other races who were behind him to fall.

You weren’t certain you heard anything anyone said to you afterward. As you stood there frozen, Mikey got up and looked around as if he was looking for something or someone before he got back on the bike and drove through the finish line. Even if he made it, he didn’t come first, and causing other races to fall would surely cause him several points, but honestly, that was the last thing on your mind at that very moment.

‘W-what did you say?’ you finally asked Draken when you realized your longtime dark-haired friend was talking to you.

Looking alert but at the same time keeping his cool, no doubt for your benefit, he repeated himself, ‘You can go see him. They’ll let you in with a pass.’

You nodded, catching the paramedics on the TV screen escorting Mikey away before you rushed in the same direction. All sorts of horrible scenarios started to spin inside your mind. It was over a decade since Mikey’s older brother taught him how to ride a bike, and not once did he have any incidents or even close calls like today. He was fast but steady, so you couldn’t comprehend what had happened today that caused the skilled rider to lose control like that during a race.

Please be okay. Please be okay. Please be okay. Please be okay. Please be okay. Please be okay. 

You repeated like a mantra inside your mind all the while before you reached the medical room.

Once you entered the room with blood rushing through your ears and your heart in your throat, you found Mikey sitting on a small couch, waving one of the paramedics off with a small smile across his face.

‘Mikey!’ you shouted, alerting everyone inside the small room.

When his dark eyes met yours, it almost felt like you were looking at a different person for a second before he breathed out your name with intensity; you hadn’t heard in a very long time since things had been going so well in your life.

You rushed to his side, immediately taking his face between your palms, checking his body over with your eyes for any damage. Even if he was sitting there looking at you and talking, you found it hard to breathe and accept he could already be until you saw it.

His expensive race suit was pretty dirty, but it must have softened the fall since it wasn’t torn anywhere.

When your eyes fell to his face again, you were surprised by how stunned he looked while watching you. His dark eyes were full of life and gratitude, unlike any you had ever seen. Even when you cooked for him or took him out for dorayaki when you were younger. Even when you accepted all his flaws and insecurities giving him strength and promising to always be by his side. Even when you accepted his heart and love, you didn’t think you ever saw him look at you quite like this. He just seemed so different yet the same in that moment.

‘Are you alright?’ you asked, still worried, ‘Does it hurt anywhere?’

Mikey’s face lightened up with a bright smile that captured your heart all those years ago, ‘No, don’t worry. It doesn’t hurt anywhere…anymore.’

You blinked, confused by his choice of words wondering if it could be a concussion before you saw him chuckle and reach out to touch your cheek, ‘I wouldn’t think you would ever get prettier than you were back then, but you had to prove me wrong, huh?’

You felt your cheeks warm up, knowing the others could hear what he just said, at the same time, feeling your chest fill with love for the man in front of you all over again.

He must have removed his gloves since you could feel his bare fingers brushing over the skin of your cheek, heating it up with their gentleness.

Mikey put his hand away, but he still remained looking at your face as if he couldn’t look anywhere else, ‘Like I told these guys, I just got spooked for a second. It happens.’

Suddenly a pair of his strong arms circled around you, and before you knew it, you were pushed against his solid body. The height difference would have made it uncomfortable since he was sitting and you were standing. However, you were still so worried and desperate to feel him and know that he was alright after watching him fall like that that it didn’t come to it.

You hugged him back, immediately sensing how firmly he held you.

It should have felt the same. After all, the two of you were together for a long time now, and Mikey could be rather clingy and sleepy, and although everything was the same, it didn’t feel the same.

It wasn’t like your usual cute, sleepy, or intimate hugs. This one felt different. It felt like a hello after a long period of absence, but it was filled with such a strong sense of desperation and longing that it almost made breathing hard. It felt as if Mikey had returned to you after a long war, finally embracing his well-deserved rest and peace.

You didn’t know why this embrace felt like that, but whatever was the cause, you let him have it feeling you needed it just as much as he did.

Finally, when his manager cleared his throat and the paramedics explained they still needed to check his head for injuries, you let him go. Still, almost immediately, he snatched your palm and forced you to sit next to him through the whole ordeal.

You didn’t mind patiently listening to their medical advice, all the while stealing glances at Mikey, who would offer you smiles occasionally.

After they cleared the dark-haired racer, you were allowed to leave.

‘The manager arranged for you to slip through the back, so you won’t be bothered by the press,’ said Draken as you prepared to leave, and you sensed an undertone in Mikey’s thanks, Ken-chin.

You drove your boyfriend home, noticing how he looked around the neighborhood and place, almost like he was taking it all in for the first time, ‘Are you sure you’re alright?’

He turned to look at you as you opened the door to your shared place and smiled, ‘Yeah, I’m great.’

Inside the place, Mikey acted the same as he did outside, looking around occasionally and smiling at some of the things inside your place, mumbling something about how he was not surprised you would pick a certain thing as decoration, something he said when you first got that certain thing too.

It made you nervous, but the doctor and Mikey assured you he was fine, so you tried to calm down.

After a while, you told yourself you shouldn’t baby the poor man so much and suggested making him dinner.

‘Really? You’ll cook for me? You’re the best.’

The way he said it and the way his eyes shone with gratitude and glee was like a throwback to your youth when he used to be like this about everything you did for him. Like he couldn’t believe it and loved you for it all the more. Not that he wasn’t happy about your cooking nowadays, but you supposed the appeal did die down a bit over the years as it became a habit. So, seeing him all giddy about your cooking or taking care of him left you feeling really good.

You busied yourself in the kitchen while Mikey was left to his own devices.

Occasionally, you stopped to answer a phone call or a text message from one of your friends or relatives who heard about his fall and then chatted a bit with Hina, who was stressed about the wedding that was less than a day away all the while Mikey stayed away from the kitchen.

Once you finished, you went to fetch him, only to find him in the living room looking over the photos of the two of you.

‘Hey, dinner is ready. I made your…,’ you suddenly stopped talking, and your eyes widened in shock before you quickly rushed toward the man and asked, ‘Mikey, what’s wrong?!’

He was sitting on the ground, his body shaking as he sobbed and tears ran down his cheeks while several of your albums were left open around him.

One particular photo was in his shaky hand.

‘Mikey, Mikey, what’s wrong? Are you hurt?’ you kept asking, trying to recall the last time you ever saw him cry like this.

You touched his arm, and he turned his head to look at you, ‘I took you…I took you…’

You didn’t understand what he meant, and it seemed the sobbing was making it hard for him to speak, so he showed you the photo that must have upset him so much, and you looked down at it.

It was the photo of the two of you on vacation from two years ago. Mikey, with the help of his friends and sister, arranged for the two of you to visit a place you had been dreaming of since you were a child, just like he once promised you when you were just teenagers starting to get to know one another.

‘Huh? You would want to go to that place?’ back then, the blond-haired gang leader who was starting to capture your heart asked, ‘Why?’

‘It’s my dream. I once saw it on TV, and ever since, then I read everything I could about it. One day, I’ll have enough money and free time to visit and experience it,’ your teenage self told him back then. At the same time, you sat with him on the stairs to the shrine he usually used for his Toman meetings.

‘It’s pretty far. So it will be pretty expensive,’ he said, and you let out a sad little sigh, ‘I know, I know. I should be smarter and use that money elsewhere. Or I won’t ever be able to save that much. I heard it all before. Go on, make a joke,’ you said, looking away from the handsome boy back then, ready for someone as childlike and carefree as Mikey to mock your dream the same way so many others had before.

‘I’ll take you there,’ he said next, causing you to almost get whiplash from how fast you turned your head back to look at him, ‘You will?’

You were stunned, but Mikey chuckled and tossed his arm around your shoulder to bring you to his side.

You felt your entire body catch on fire over how close you were to him now, while Mikey promised you he would take you there while making you promise that you would only go if it was with him.

‘No one else but me, y/n. Can you promise me that in return?’ he asked and sounded so smug and childlike at the same time. You couldn’t help but find it charming, and your rapidly beating heart sincerely agreed.

‘I promise.’

You weren’t sure why it upset Mikey so much in the present, but you put your arms around his neck and pulled his head toward your chest, ‘You did. You took me to my dream destination. You…you kept your promise to me, Mikey. You took me there.’

He quietly sobbed and cried against you, and it broke your heart, but you continued to hold him until he was done and a little longer afterward.

‘Mikey, are you certain you’re alright?’ you asked, running your fingers through his hair while he seemed to settle down.

‘I’m perfect,’ he assured you, and you believed he meant it. Still, you couldn’t help but feel worried given everything he had done today, ‘Everyone is alive, and they achieved their dreams, and you’re with me. You’re here with me,’ he said with sincerity and feelings that felt almost too much to handle at that moment, ‘How could I ever be anything but perfect when everyone,’ he looked down at the photo albums again and then back at you, ‘When everything is perfect this time around.’

He reached his hand and tenderly brushed his fingers over your eyebrow and then lowered through your cheek toward the corner of your mouth, ‘Would you believe me if I told you there was a time when you left me?’

You opened your mouth to argue, but he stopped you with his next words, ‘Not because you wanted to. Not because…you chose to do it. But because you were forced to, and…and I wasn’t the same after that. After you.’

A sole tear escaped his dark eye again, ‘But you’re here now. We’re both here now. And everyone we care for is here now too. And I’m sorry, I’m freaking you out so much, but I’m just so happy about it, you know?’

His words were confusing, but you still found it easy to say, ‘I don’t know much about a time when I would be forced to leave you. I can’t really image it, but,’ you took his palm and pressed it against your chest, ‘As you said, I’m here now, we’re here now, and I don’t plan to change that anytime soon. Please remember that, okay?’

He watched you for a moment as if scanning your face for any hesitation, and when he found none, he nodded, looking much better than before.

You leaned forward and pressed your lips against his forehead before you replaced it with your own. You remained like that for a while, sensing there wasn’t anything else you could do to make your boyfriend feel better before he calmed down enough for the two of you to go have dinner.

He assured you it was delicious, even if you knew it was a bit colder now than you would like, and then went to lay down together in the bed.

‘Are you sure you’re alright?’ you asked against Mikey’s hair while holding him as it tickled your face, ‘I don’t want to be annoying; I just want to make sure.’

He held you tighter, and even if you couldn’t see it, you could feel his smile in his voice, ‘I know. I always loved that about you. Whenever you took care of me, you always made me feel worthy.’

You settled your chin against the top of his head while you felt his face against your chest, ‘You were always worthy. You’ll always be worthy,’ you thought about what he said before and finally added, ‘In every time.’

He was quiet momentarily before he sank into your further and let out a small sigh, ‘I’m glad.’

AN: Thank you for reading. English isn’t my first language, so I apologize for the mistakes and if I wrote it unclearly. Have a lovely day 😊