Phantasmagoria (Part III)
Tell Me to Stop (Sanemiโs Version)
Sanemi x F!Reader โข Modern AU โข NSFW
A/N: read the fucking warnings before you report.
Massive TW: grief โข loss of a parent โข canon character death โข drug and alcohol abuse โข panic โข references to previous attempted S/A โข violence between characters โข more descriptions of Douma getting his ass kicked (still deserved) โข situation requiring a hospital
CW: 25k words. MDNI. explicit sexual content ahead โข multiple creampies โข oral (f! and m!receiving) โข face sitting โข swearing โข angst with a good ending โข non-sexual intimacy
Oh boy. Itโs done.
This one is super personal to me, so I really hope you guys enjoy. Thank you for showing this story your love, I adore you all.
Without further ado!
Sanemiโs Playlist
PART ONE โข PART TWO
(Sanemiโs POV)
The Party on 52nd Street
Sanemi couldnโt bring himself to say that he regretted how heโd ended up in handcuffs. Sure, his knuckles were bruised to shit and covered in blood that was and was not his, but at least his face was still a hell of a lot prettier than the sniveling, cowardly asshole curled onto his side on the gravel outside his house.
Granted, the severe swelling of Doumaโs face was because of Sanemi, but truthfully, he thought it was an improvement. By the time Sanemi had been yanked off of the barely conscious, campus-resident creep, those freakish, multi-colored eyes had been so blackened and swollen, it was a wonder that Douma had even been able to see the cops swarming his living room at all.ย
Sanemi knew the only reason his ass wasnโt being thrown into the back of the police cruiser waiting out behind Doumaโs hell den was because Tengen had been the one to escort him out. And, because the local police had been itching to bust Douma for his little drug operation for months, Douma had been hauled out as well, handcuffed for good measure (and for insult) by Tengen.
It also helped that Douma was a dumbass, whoโd sent the incriminating photos of his assault on Y/N to the groupchat that included all three of Tengenโs partners. Once he was sure they were safely out of view of spectators and witnesses giving statements to the other responding officers inside, Tengen took care to slam the greasy asshole to the ground, getting a few good kicks in as Douma curled pathetically against the asphalt.ย
โI will sue your ass,โ Douma wheezed as he struggled to catch his breath. Through the purple black swells of his eye sockets, Sanemi could just make out the sliver of jewel-toned irises as they glared in his direction. โThe whore fucking wanted it rough.โ
Sanemi lunged for the cowering bastard where he lay, ready to stomp the fuckerโs face in once and for all, but Tengen roughly threw him back against the side of his cruiser before he could.
โHeโs trying to rile you up. Donโt fall for his shit,โ Tengenโs magenta eyes were full of warning as he held Sanemi back. โHe was stupid enough to send proof of the assault; ainโt no way in hell anyone buys that it was consensual.โ
But Sanemi could only see red, the image of Y/Nโs tear-streaked and terrified face burned permanently into his brain, worse than any scar that he bore on his skin.
โI donโt give a fuck, itโs working,โ Sanemi snarled, struggling against Tengenโs iron-clad grip on him. โI want him fucking dead.โ
โY/N needs you not to be in prison. Donโt you two have something goinโ on?โ Tengen shot back hotly. The young copโs words stilled Sanemiโs struggle against the police cruiser, his fury deflating slightly.
As Kyojuroโs car had jumped the curb in front of the house, both boys agreed to split up once inside the house. Kyojuro was tasked with retrieving Y/N from wherever Akaza had hid her, because Sanemi had viciously vowed that he would be the one dealing with Douma.
And so, he had.
Party attendants had taken one look at Sanemiโs stony face as heโd made his way through the house to the main living room and parted, not wanting to be caught in the crossfire of the violence promised in his eyes.
Heโd found Douma, standing back near the speakers that crackled with some out-of-date, heavy bass music, laughing like he hadnโt a care in the world. Those monstrous eyes had met Sanemiโs for only a split second, but the delighted malice they beheld was enough to make Sanemi want nothing more than to make the monster bleed.
Doumaโs answering smile had been brief, unable to withstand the smash of his fist as the enraged Sanemi knocked him to the ground and lunged to pin him down.
Kyojuroโs car was long gone by the time Sanemi and Douma had been dragged out of that party house of horrors by Tengen in handcuffs, Sanemi smirking at the way Tengen kicked at the whimpering bastardโs feet every few steps. But that meant that Sanemi had no idea how Y/N was even doing โ or whether sheโd sustained more serious injuries than what Douma had shown off.
He didnโt want to think about what else might have happened in that room. If he did, Douma would surely not survive the impending ride to the police station.
Sanemi knew, however, that Tengen was right, however much it pissed him off. Y/N was the priority here, not him or his righteous, violent fury. He would restrain himself โ for her. Nonetheless, Sanemi felt a rush of gratitude for the young cop, who, despite cautioning Sanemi away from ripping the cretin apart once and for all, spat directly on Doumaโs bruised, bleeding face.
Half an hour later, and Sanemi was being escorted by his friend through the familiar sliding doors of the police station. It took only five minutes of him speaking with two other detectives before he was strolling leisurely back out of the station and into the small parking lot with Tengen, who offered to drive him back to his apartment.
All it had taken was for Sanemi to whip out his phone to show them the picture Douma had sent of Y/N around for them to agree that the benefit of letting Sanemi go outweighed the burden of booking him; besides, the baggies of Wisteria theyโd found on the famous party-thrower meant theyโd caught the larger fish anyways.
If it werenโt for the looming threat that Douma had perhaps inflicted far more harm upon Y/N, Sanemi almost would have felt good striding out of the busy police station, but the fact that she might be with Kyojuro at a hospital somewhere, in need of treatment, sat in his gut like an icy stone, tempered only by the murderous rage he still felt.
In his stewing, Sanemi almost didnโt realize that Tengen was speaking to him.
โLook, Iโm not sayinโ I donโt get your reasoning. I do,โ Tengen said lowly, pausing near his cruiser to face Sanemi, though his eyes scanned the parking lot to ensure unwanted ears werenโt listening in. โFrankly, if I didnโt have my job to worry about, I woulda let you keep going. He deserved it.โ
โBut I donโt wanna see you falling back into old habits.โ The young cop sighed, clapping Sanemi on the back. โYouโve been doing so well.โ
Sanemi grimaced. โIโm not,โ he bit out darkly. โThis wasnโt about me. It was about her.โ
Tengen eyed him incredulously but sighed. โItโd do you good to remember that. You canโt work things out with her if Iโm haulinโ your ass to prison.โ
Sanemi didnโt have the heart to tell him heโd long since fucked up any chances of working things out with Y/N.
----------
โThis is the third time youโve been brought in this month,โ the young cop chastised him, crossing an ankle over his knee as he folded his massive arms across his broad chest. โAnd weโre only two weeks into December.โ
Sanemi grimaced as he shifted in the dingy metal seat, his wrists going numb behind his back as the metal of the handcuffs around his wrists dug into his skin. He scrunched his nose, trying to stifle the drop of blood sliding down from his nostril before it could reach his mouth, though without much success.
He was growing more agitated as he waited on his best friend to come collect him โ yet again, from the Ubayashiki police station, but Kyojuro had yet to show.
โListen โ Shinazugawa, is it?โ The cop had a peculiar shade of silver hair, and a cursory glance-over by Sanemi revealed that he had an apparent penchant for fuschia eyeliner, an almost perfect match to the hue of the discerning eyes which watched him. โYouโre a student at Ubaya-U, right?โ
Sanemi only nodded, ducking his head down to avoid holding the officerโs gaze for too long, lest he see how dead the nineteen-year-old truly felt.
โMy nameโs Uzui โ Tengen Uzui -- I graudated last year,โ the man called Uzui said, somewhat proudly. โSo I know youโre a smart kid, but you canโt keep getting hauled in like this. Youโve got too much goinโ for ya.โ
Sanemi finally made a sound. โI got nothinโ going for me,โ he scoffed, finally lifting his eyes to meet Uzuiโs stern face. โSpare me the โyouโre better than this,โ crap.โ
Uzui only rolled his eyes. โLook, kid, whatever happened to you before you got here, youโve gotta deal with it โ but not like this.โ Sanemi opened his mouth to snap back, but the young cop paid him no mind, only continuing his lecture. โIโm not gonna ask, because frankly, I donโt care that much. But I know a good kid when I see one, and I donโt think you want to live this way.โ
Uzui sighed. โSurely youโve got someone in your life you wanna do right by? A parent, or a girl, maybe?โ
Sanemiโs already sour mood dampened even further. He was about to bite out that no, he had no one, when Kyojuro finally pushed through the doors of the police station, amber eyes scanning the intake area until they narrowed in on him.
And he looked tired. So goddamn tired, that for once, Sanemi felt something other than the numbness heโd felt slowly swallowing him whole over the last three months.
He felt guilty; heโd forgotten, that while he may not have cared about his own stupid actions affected himself, he did care about how they impacted his best friend. Sanemiโs only friend, really, though that was entirely his own fault.
But Sanemiโs guilt could not stop him from checking back out as Kyojuro walked over and spoke in a hushed voice with Uzui, both tossing concerning glances his direction every few minutes. Before he knew it, Uzui was standing and unlocking the handcuffs from around Sanemiโs wrists, the latterโs shoulders relaxing as his arms were released from behind his back.
โIโm letting you off with a warning, but with a conditionโ Uzui said simply, tossing the handcuffs back onto his desk. The young cop produced a small, white card from his pocket and pressed it into Sanemiโs hand. โI want you checking in with me every couple of weeks. We can do it here, or wherever you want โ but it ainโt optional.โ Uzui smiled wryly at the baffled look on Sanemiโs face. โThink of it as an unofficial probation. Until you settle down a bit.โ
Uzui parted with a shake of Kyojuroโs hand and a wink at Sanemi before sauntering off down one of the adjacent hallways abutting the intake area, leaving the two boys behind.
Sanemi shoved his sore hands into his pockets, barely noticing the stinging in his bleeding knuckles as they chafed against the fabric of his pants.
โI canโt keep doing this for you, Sanemi,โ Kyojuroโs voice said quietly from beside him, and Sanemiโs head snapped over to his friend. โYouโre destroying yourself. I canโt just sit by and watch it.โ
Deep down, Sanemi knew his friend was right, and he was a little afraid that he risked losing the fiery blonde for good, just as he apparently had lost his other best friend, though, it wasnโt like sheโd been around afterโฆafter he died.
But if Sanemi lost Kyojuro for good, heโd truly have no one left, and so, he fingered the card that Uzui had given him as it sat in his pocket, and resolved he would try; if not for himself, then for the last person on earth who still gave a shit about him.
-----
ย Later, the nineteen-year-old managed to stumble his way back to his dorm and he collapsed in his bed, not bothering to nurse his bleeding nose or even change out of his dirty, rumpled clothes. His knuckles stung and his body ached from the scuffle, but he found that he much preferred the throb of the bruises blooming across his body to the deep numbness he felt in his heart.
As he began to slip into a dreamless slumber, a pair of pretty eyes and a sparkling smile that had once filled him with so much warmth flashed through Sanemiโs mind. If he concentrated hard enough, he thought he could just recall the sound of her laugh, though it had been months since heโd last heard it.
He frowned as he tossed and turned in his bed, desperate to throw out thoughts of her, because she tended to disrupt his sleep and to make him feel even lower than he already knew himself to be.
And he didnโt want to think about what Y/N would say if she could see him now.
Though, Sanemi supposed, that would assume she would give enough of a shit about him to have an opinion on him at all.
He winced at the thought, so callous and bitter. He didnโt truly mean to be so cruel to her, even in his thoughts; he knew she didnโt deserve it. Sanemi knew it was his fault things had gotten as bad as they were between them โ knew it was because of his piss-poor reaction to her admittedly badly-timed love confession that had driven her away.
After Genyaโs death, Sanemi hadnโt much of a heart left that he could claim, but heโd known that whatever of it remained surely belonged to her, just as he always had. So, heโd tried to reach out after his brotherโs funeral, during one of those rare moments of clarity when he wasnโt just existing on autopilot, detached from the world around him, but sheโd never responded.
Her silence had been slowly needling him to death by a thousand sharp pricks to what remained of his pitiful heart, threatening to whittle it away entirely.
Sanemi imagined himself a pendulum that couldnโt decide whether he was angrier at himself or at her; forever swinging between his shame for lashing out the way he had at the train station and anger with Y/N for thinking his reaction had anything to do with her at all.
Heโd never imagined himself worthy of Y/N โ his best friend, so beautiful and intelligent and kind-hearted, even though heโd been so stupidly in love with her since they were small children. Heโd always been too rough, too scarred, tooโฆmuch. But heโd hoped, no matter how foolishly so, that perhaps one day, heโd work himself up to being worthy of her, be the reason she smiled and laughed and loved.
But, as Sanemi felt his stomach squeeze uncomfortably at the memory of her tear-streaked face, staring at the platform before the train heโd boarded, he was reminded that one couldnโt be worthy of the person they loved if they insisted on shattering their heart like a piece of glass.
-----
In the absence of semi-regular beatdowns, Sanemi had found other ways of distracting himself from the gnawing pit of despair and loneliness that was swallowing him whole, day by day. At the start of the spring semester, heโd finally hooked up with a girl in his mathematics seminar, and then began sleeping with another a month later. For months, heโd alternated between the two, thankful that neither of them had been interested in pursuing what he could not give them. And heโd enjoyed himself, because yeah, sex felt fucking good, but at the end of each affair, he hadnโt been able to shake the way his stomach clenched with the deep-seated disgust and oily squeeze of guilt.
Guilt, because heโd felt like heโd betrayed her, which was ridiculous considering she wasnโt his even if heโd always been hers; even if he knew, deep in his soul, that he always would be.
-----
A few nights later, he was out grabbing dinner on campus with Mitsuri and Obanai, the two lovebirds happily holding hands the entire evening, when they passed Shinobu crossing the green, ignoring her roommateโs kind greeting.
Though, Sanemi reasoned, sheโd likely been trying to avoid having to make eye contact with them, so as to conceal her new black eye. While Sanemi would never raise a hand to a woman himself, that hadnโt stopped him from feeling a small bit of satisfaction at the memory of Makio stalking right up to the petite pharmacology student and nailing her square in the face.
In retrospect, Sanemi didnโt know if it was fair to blame Shinobu for Doumaโs actions, but it was clear Makio did. Given the general iciness of the group toward the young woman whoโd garnered a reputation for dealing Wisteria around campus, it seemed as though the others did, too.
Heโd decided to withhold his feelings towards Y/Nโs roommate until she, herself, indicated how she wanted to approach their friendship. It was her call to make, given that she was the one whoโd been the target of Doumaโs retribution.
Not that Sanemi would know of Y/Nโs thoughts on the matter anytime soon; they hadnโt spoken since that morning in his kitchen, and sheโd not returned any of his texts or calls in the days since the incident at the party. He knew she likely needed her space, so after the third straight day of no response, he resolved to give it to her.
It was hard to accept her radio silence, because it sent him right back to that feeling heโd had last year when heโd been urgently trying to find her after heโd learned her mother had died, and he feared she would disappear yet again. However, the group was set to go to Tengenโs familyโs lake house that weekend for one last summer hoorah before classes began once more, and Kyojuro had already confirmed that Y/N was planning on going.
All of them were, except for Shinobu and Giyuu, according to Mitsuri that night as they ate too-greasy food at their campus grill. The pinkette sheepishly admitted sheโd spoken with her roommate the night prior, and both agreed it was probably for the best that she stay behind, especially since Y/N was going. The pair of friends, though they lived together, hadnโt spoken since the Douma incident, either. Giyuu wouldnโt have gone without Shinobu anyways, but he was already out of town visiting his sister and her new husband.
So, Sanemi was left to anxiously anticipate the upcoming weekend. The thought of being at the Uzui lake house with Y/N filled him with both longing and dread, especially because he simply did not know the extent of the harm sheโd suffered at the hands of Douma.
Heโd known that she and Kyo had talked and worked things out โ but Sanemi knew his friend wouldnโt divulge details without her permission, so Sanemi hadnโt tried to ask, wanting to respect both of his best friendsโ boundaries.
The not knowing, however, was slowly eating him alive; heโd wanted to kill Douma that night, and truthfully, he thought he still might, if the opportunity presented itself.
Not that he was one to claim moral superiority over the bastard; not when heโd spent the better part of the last two years as one of the direct causes of Y/Nโs emotional pain.
-----
โItโs Mrs. Y/L/N โ she โฆ she died. Last week. The funeral was yesterday.โ
-----
Kyojuroโs words split Sanemiโs heart clean in half. There had only been one other time in Sanemiโs life when heโd felt the earth beneath his feet split open and swallow him whole, and that had been when his foster mother called him to tell him his little brother was lying in a morgue with a bullet hole in his chest.
But Sanemi found himself free-falling back into the earthโs molten center, and he couldnโt help but think he deserved to burn away inside its fire, because heโd failed yet again to be there for someone he loved.
Tears burned in his eyes as memories of Y/Nโs mother flashed vividly through his mind, a slideshow of kindness and love that heโd been so grateful to receive from the young mother in the wake of his parentsโ deaths.
For the first few weeks following the Shinazugawa boysโ discharge from the hospital, Mrs. Y/L/N had been a stand-in mother to them both, and theyโd clung to her like dew on grass, craving her motherly comfort and assurance in the wake of the violent collision which had killed most of their family.
Sheโd been the one to apply ointment on his and Genyaโs scars every night, her hands so warm and gentle to make up for the light sting of the medicated salve as she dabbed it delicately against their skin. Sheโd been the one to make their bag lunches for school, always making sure to pack extra for his younger brother, who never seemed to be full no matter how much he ate.
And now, she was gone. And he hadnโt even known she was ill.
That night, Sanemi sat on the floor of his shower and cried.
He cried, because his still-mending heart had been re-broken with the news of the death of the closest thing heโd had to a second mother.
He cried, because heโd failed to be there for someone he loved yet again, and Y/N had shouldered the death of her mother and the burden of planning a funeral without her two childhood best friends to lean on, and that wasnโt fair.
But even through his tears, Sanemi felt his resolve harden. Heโd failed to be there for his brother when he needed him most; heโd failed to be a decent friend to Kyojuro, in the months following the younger boyโs death as he reeled from the pain of the loss. But he would not fail again; he swore he would find her and be there for her going forward. He would track her down, and he knew she might curse at and rebel against any offer of help, but he wouldnโt balk; heโd do anything, be anything for her, if it meant ensuring she wouldnโt fall into the infinite void of despair and grief that he had.
And maybe, just maybe, heโd prove himself worthy of being her friend once more.
-----
The Uzui familyโs summer house was a sprawling manor that abutted a pristine, turquoise lagoon of a private lake, complete with a secluded beach area and a large section quartered off for bonfires, should the group of college-aged guests decide they were sober enough to light it.
The house itself was three levels, with a basement and a half-loft. The considerable size of the estate meant, plus the fact that several of them would be sharing rooms with their partners โ Hinatsuru, Makio and Suma all sharing one with Tengen, and Obanai and Mitsuri sharing another โ meant that Kyojuro, Sanemi, and Y/N each got their own private guest room.
Sanemi had no interest in being anywhere near the room with Tengen and his three, equally loud partners once they all retired for bed later that evening, and so, heโd claimed the room on the first floor, located just down the hall from the grand kitchen, decked out in new, state-of-the-art stainless-steel appliances and marbled countertops. Kyojuro and Y/N had both taken separate rooms on the second floor, apparently sure they wouldnโt be bothered by the sounds that were sure to emanate from their hostโs room until the wee hours of the morning.
Theyโd arrived only an hour earlier, barely setting down their bags before everyone began to change into their swimsuits to head for the sun-warmed water before nightfall, the girls eager to work on their tans. Now, as Sanemi strolled alongside the sandy shore of the lake, only Y/N remained on land, lounging out on one of the luxurious beach chairs the Uzuis had installed in a finished seating area about fifty feet from where he stood, gazing out at the groupโs newest couple as they splashed in the water.
A pang of jealousy reverberated through his chest as Sanemi watched Y/Nโs pink best friend giggle in the arms of her new boyfriend as he swung her around in the shallow of the lake.
Ever since Obanai had finally confessed his feelings โ and his fears โ to Mitsuri, the two of them had been joined at the hip, the dark-haired boy's eyes perpetually clouded in bliss every time the vibrant girl fluttered her eyelashes at him or pressed against him to whisper softly in his ear before kissing his cheek.
-----
โIf you canโt be honest with her, youโre going to lose her,โ Sanemi said quietly as the two men stood at the bar, both nursing sodas as they watched the objects of their heartโs desire dance wildly and carefree on the Kizuki dance floor.
Obanai looked over at him, his eyes full of the kind of pain that heโd come to know far too well over the last few years. โMaybe itโs for the best,โ he said quietly. โIโm not good enough for her โ I donโt want to hurt her.โ
Sanemi felt like he was talking to a mirror. โYouโre already hurting her,โ he took a sip of his ginger ale, though he hardly tasted it. โCause youโre breaking her heart by staying away.โ
The tortured boyโs misery was palpable as he looked back to where Mitsuri danced, lively and carefree.
โYouโll regret it as long as you live if you donโt tell her now.โ In his mind, he saw only Y/Nโs face as she transformed from the smiling girl of his memory to the cold, numb woman of his present. โTrust me.โ
-----
He was happy for them, truly; but he couldnโt deny feeling a little jealous of the couple. After all, they both got to be with the person they loved.
Sanemi knew he had no one to blame but himself, but still; he wished he hadnโt fucked it all up with Y/N.
When Sanemi discovered the speckle of blood on his sheets the morning after heโd first brought Y/N home, heโd barely made it to his bathroom before throwing up.
It was too grotesque โ the thought that the Wisteria had made him lose control so badly that heโd made Y/N bleed was too much for him to bear.
But the reality had been far worse than a simple case of lost control under the influence of an experimental drug and alcohol.
Far, far worse.
-----
(Three weeks earlier)
โOh please, we all fuck each other here,โ Mitsuri laughed, and Sanemi rolled his eyes.
The pretty, bubbly girl was unshaken by Sanemiโs terse rejection of her offer to join her and Obanai in the back of Tengenโs Volkswagen van for a โgood time.โ Though, whether her unflappability was from the drink she nursed in her hand or from an unshakeable confidence, developed over a lifetime of being beautiful and adored, he couldnโt say.
โWell, actually,โ the pinkette chewed on her lip for a moment, in thought. โI guess thatโs not totally true. Y/N didnโt sleep with anyone until you, Shinazugawa.โ
Sanemiโs hand, which had been reaching for his plastic cup full of water, froze mid-air.
โWhat.โ His voice was hard, monotone.
The pink-haired girl was oblivious as she laughed. โYeah, thatโs why Makio called you โThe Cherry Popper,โ that one night - since, yโknow, you were Y/Nโs first.โ
Sanemi felt his vision tunnel, his heartbeat loud in his ears as it thudded uncomfortably against his chest. Something pressed against his lungs, making it difficult for him to breathe as the weight of Mitsuriโs confession settled over him.
All this time, he thought heโd simply been too rough with Y/N, under the influence of that cursed Wisteria.
But this was worse.
Heโd assumed Y/N had already lost her virginity when they slept together. Sheโd had no hesitance in stripping him of his clothes, had begged him to go hard, and fast.
But now, as Sanemiโs breath came rough, heโd wondered if heโd misinterpreted her screams of pleasure โ had they been cries of discomfort?โ
Or her nails digging into his back โ heโd assumed they were to spur him on, to beg him to go faster, but what if sheโd been clawing at him to slow down? To stop?
If heโd known, heโd never wouldโve done it โ not like that, not when he was so blitzed out of his mind that he couldnโt make sure she received the kindness and gentleness she deserved.
It shouldโve been special; she should have known how special she was to him. Instead, heโd fucked her no differently than any other hookup heโd had.
Was he no better than his father?
Heโd been so elated that sheโd responded to his kiss with enthusiasm, that admittedly, heโd lost his ability to reason. Heโd pined for her for so long โ years really โ that the moment her lips had met his, all rational thought had flown from his head. And his heart had nearly stopped in his chest when she insisted that they keep going, when sheโd laid back against his sheets and told him she needed him.
Heโd hoped she wouldโve felt some of the happiness he had, when she awoke the following morning; heโd hoped that heโd be able to make her breakfast, and then the two of them could talk and he could apologize for every stupid thing heโd done over the last two years. Maybe she wouldโve forgiven him. But heโd gone and fucked that all up.
Because when he awoke, all that was left of her was her blood on his sheets.
-----
(Y/Nโs POV)
Y/N watched her friends sprint into the shallow of the turquoise lake with a small bit of envy. She wanted, so very badly, to join them, but sheโd miscalculated the coverage that her swimsuit afforded her, and to her horror, sheโd realized that the mark Doumaโd left on her would be on full display the moment she removed the oversized button-down sheโd used as a cover-up.
โY/N! Cโmon!โ Mitsuri entreated her as her head popped back up from under the surface of the water, her hair tinged a dark pink from the water.
Absentmindedly, her hand raised to the spot where Douma had soiled her and rubbed, the slight pain from her stimulation of the still-healing wound forcing her to remain in the present instead of back in that blasted, dark bedroom.
โI think Iโll work on my tan for now!โ Y/N called back, plastering a wide, fake smile on her face to assuage any worry. Not that she needed to, because before Mitsuri could question her further, Obanai snuck up from beneath her and raised her out of the water on his shoulders, the pinkette laugh-screaming as she flailed about to keep herself upright.
A crunch of gravel next to her caused her to tense, because she knew that all of her other friends were accounted for, splashing about in the serene crystal of the lake.
All of them, except for him.
Sanemi said nothing to her as he drew up next to her, though he maintained a respectful distance. He too, watched their friends laugh and play in the water for a moment, his hands shoved in the pockets of his red swim trunks.
Y/N tried to be sneaky as she allowed her eyes to roam the sculpted plains of his exposed torso, marveling at the muscle that seemed to be carved from stone. Since the summer, heโd gained a bit of a tan, his skin now a lustrous nutty gold, that, against the white blonde of his hair, created an attractive contrast that made her mouth water.
God, he was beautiful; it pissed her off.
The tension between them was electric, as neither wanted to be the first to break the silence growing ever louder between them.
โNo one will stare, yโknow,โ Sanemi caved first, though he did not tear his eyes away from where they were fixed resolutely on the horizon beyond the lake. โThey all want you to feel comfortable, so they wonโt look.โ
Y/N was about to snippily ask him why he was butting in on her business, even though her irritation was because heโd read her mood so easily โ too damn easily, for that matter. She tilted her head up, readying her venom, but before she could bite, the words died on her tongue.
Sanemiโs tan hadnโt been able to obscure the scars of varying lengths and thickness which crossed his chest, forearms, and half of his face; if anything, his sun-kissed skin only made the silvery, jagged slashes stand out.
As sheโd looked up at her former friend, she was reminded that he knew exactly how she felt at that moment โ had felt that insecurity, every day, since they were eleven and a drunk driver had slammed into his parentโs station wagon, killing everyone but him and Genya.
I donโt care if you have scars! Sheโd told him, once. Iโve always thought you wereโฆwere..pretty!
She winced at the memory, but painful and intrusive though it was, she still couldnโt find it within her to throw his attempt at reassurance back in his face. Y/Nโs heart might have been a lowly, misshapen, shriveled lump, but she still had one.
And besides, she wouldnโt lie to herself; his words had soothed some of her anxieties, damn him.
โThanks,โ she said softly, and she gave him a small, tentative half-smile. She hated the look of hope that flickered to life in his eyes at the sight.
She hated the guilt that sunk into her gut even more.
-----
It was late and she was restless.
Most of the house had already retired for the night; Tengen had disappeared with his three girls, and Obanai and Mitsuri had snuck away back to her guest room, giggling softly, as the pair had been unable to keep their wandering, eager hands to themselves.
Y/N stayed up a little longer with Kyojuro, laughing and talking about everything and nothing as Sanemi lingered awkwardly by the shore of the sprawling lake that sat before the Uzui familyโs handsome summer home. By the time Kyojuro had yawned, the moon hung high in the sky, and even the chirping night cicadas had long fallen silent.
Sheโd hoped that returning to her own guest room โ located on second floor of the Uzui home โ would trick her brain into thinking she too, was tired; but hours later, sheโd realized, grimly, that sheโd not be enjoying such luck.
And so, sheโd found herself braced over the pristine kitchen sink in the Uzuisโ kitchen, unable to shake the incessant nag of sleeplessness that prickled under her skin.Sheโd thought herself alone, until a noise over by the entryway caught her attention, her eyes flashing over to see whoโd joined her in her restlessness.
Y/Nโs stomach roiled at the sight of Sanemi standing there, shifting his weight from foot to foot, as though he too, would rather be anywhere but there at that moment.
โSorry,โ he mumbled, shoving his hands into his pockets. โI couldnโt sleep.โ
Y/N shook her head, busying herself with dumping out her water glass and rinsing it out. โNeither could I, I guess.โ An awkward pause ensued, only disrupted by the squeak of the faucet as Y/N wrenched it off to towel off her drinking glass.
โI tried calling you โ last week,โ Sanemi said carefully, leaning against the door jam, his arms folding loosely across his chest. โBut I never got an answer.โ
Y/N chewed on her lip, wincing slightly. She didn't want to admit that she hadnโt really returned anyoneโs calls, but that was because sheโd spent the majority of the week hunched over her toilet, alternating between dripping with sweat and half-freezing to death as she weathered through the brutal withdrawal from Wisteria.
She wasnโt ashamed per se โ but admitting sheโd gone through withdrawal meant admitting that sheโd become reliant enough on it to have a physical reaction to cutting herself off from it, and that meant admitting she was weak.
โI wasโฆdealing with a lot,โ she decided after a moment. She realized that she was oddly grateful that Doumaโs assault on her had been the catalyst for her stopping her Wisteria misuse, given that it gave her away around talking about the pitiful way sheโd spent the last seven days.
Besides, it wasnโt like it was a lie; between puking her guts out, sheโd spent a lot of time replaying the events that had led her to Doumaโs bedroom, terrified and crying.
โA-and are you โ you okay?โ He stuttered, fidgeting with the drawstring of his sleep pants, twisting it nervously around his finger.
Y/N exhaled but gave him a half-smile that was almost genuine. โYeah, Iโm okay.โ
Sanemi continued to shift nervously in the door, as though he wanted to ask her something else, but was warring with whether he should.
Ultimately, he decided to risk it. โDid he -โ Sanemiโs eyes screwed shut, and when he opened them again, he was fixed on a point over her shoulder, as though the question on his tongue was too much for him to risk meeting her eyes.
โDid heโฆ hurt you,โ Sanemi hesitated, his voice quieting to a whisper so soft, Y/N had to strain to hear it. โIn a way I canโt see?โ
Y/Nโs eyes widened, her gaze softening as the weight of his question settled. โNo, Sanemi, he didnโt. I promise.โ
Her hand jumped absentmindedly to the faded mark where Douma had bit her and rubbed. โHe wanted to, that much was clear, but HakujiโฆHakuji came just in time.โ
Sanemiโs shoulders curled inward as he relaxed, and to Y/Nโs heartache, she saw him nearly shaking under the weight of his unshed tears. โIโm sorry โ Iโm so sorry I wasnโt there.โ
Y/Nโs eyes hardened, and she let out a sardonic laugh. โThatโs what youโre sorry for?โ
She shook her head. โWhy in the world would you have expected to have been there, Sanemi? You werenโt there any other time I needed you.โ
โThatโs not-โ
โToo bad thatโs the only thing youโre apologizing for,โ Y/N sighed. โIf only you would be sorry for the pain youโve caused me, not for someone else hurting me.โ
Sanemiโs gaze was hard, if not a little weary as he considered her words. โOkay Y/N, youโre right. Itโs past time for us to do this,โ he walked to the door that led out to the patio area, a little away from the house. He looked back to her, and in response to the eyebrow she had raised in question, he exhaled. โWeโve gotta have it out.โ
Y/N did not move from her spot, standing with her back to the stovetop burners, merely crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at him, her hip jutting out. โIโm not going anywhere. If you want to do this, we can do it right here.โ
โFine,โ Sanemi bit, voice stony as he folded his arms across his chest, matching her stance. โThen go ahead.โ
Y/N merely raised an eyebrow at him, keeping her mouth clamped tightly shut. She refused to let him order her around, to let him goad her into being vulnerable after two years of nothing from him.
Sanemi watched her expectantly for a moment before sighing. โI guess Iโll start,โ and he rubbed at his tired eyes. โWhy didnโt you tell me it was your first time? That night?โ
To Y/Nโs shock, Sanemi looked genuinely upset, and she despised the way it made her ache. For all her attempts to keep him forever at armโs length despite her need for him, the first sign of his pain was enough to make her want to fall to her knees.
But she kept her face neutral, disinterested. โWhy does it matter?โ
โBecause I-,โ Sanemi hesitated, his fingers curling against his palms, hands forming fists. โYou shouldโve told me.โ
This conversation was nearly impossible to have sober, and for a brief moment, Y/N craved the sweet oblivion of flashing neon lights and pounding music and purple pills.
โIt was none of your business,โ Y/N decided, fingers toying with the ends of her hair as she avoided his gaze. โIt was my decision.โ
Sanemi opened his mouth as though to argue with her, but she cut him off. โGod, this is so like you, isnโt it?โ
Her fists clenched, and the anger sheโd so carefully kept tucked away inside her began to bubble over. โIs it some weird male possessive thing? You fucked me, so now you think you have some kind of claim to me?โ
โI care about you, you idiot, and I thought Iโd hurt you,โ Sanemi replied hotly. โIf Iโdโve known, I wouldnโt have done it at all.โ
โItโs not about you caring for me,โ Y/N snapped. โAdmit it โ you feel entitled to me.โ Youโve always felt entitled to my affections, ever since we were kids.โ
Her leg began to bounce with her irritation. โYouโd get huffy if I showed the slightest bit of affection to any other boy โ donโt try to deny it. Youโd cross your arms and get all broody and it fooled no one.โ
Y/N laughed, though it was without humor. โYouโre a possessive, jealous asshole, who keeps me around because I stoke your ego. You canโt tell me you never thought, not even once, that I had feelings for you.โ Y/Nโs eyes burned with angry tears.
โOf course I thought it,โ Sanemi shot back. โYou think I was that fucking blind?โ He cracked his knuckles, an anxious tic heโd had since they were small. โYou think I didnโt see the way you looked at me, like I was your goddamn favorite person? How could I ignore that?โ
Sanemi shook his head. โDid you ever stop to think, for one moment, that maybe I didnโt say shit because I knew โ have always known โ that Iโm not fuckinโ good enough for you? Youโve always been the smartest out of the three of us, Y/N โ but did that thought ever cross that pretty head of yours?โ
โThatโs such a bullshit fucking reason,โ Y/N said, exasperated. โSpare me the โIโm not good enough for youโ crap, Sanemi. This isnโt a fucking novel,โ Y/N ground her toe into the expensive, stone tile of the Uzuiโs kitchen floor in frustration. โBecause for all your talk, nothing changes the very simple fact that you cut me off like it was fucking nothing. Like I was nothing.โ
Sanemiโs jaw went slack as he gaped at her. โIs that how you remember it?โ
-----
โThough, I guess it wouldโve been hard to know it was you, anyways.โ
-----
(Nine Months Earlier)
As he lazily strolled to his next class, Sanemiโs eyes casually roamed amongst the faces of fellow students as they brushed by him, heading in the opposite direction, when something caught his attention. Or rather, someone.
That someone was a wisp of a person, hunched over and curled into themselves like a wounded animal. From the cursory glance he gave them, Sanemi could see that the student was one, a girl, around his age, and two, looked as though she was about to blow away in the brisk, November wind.
He almost passed her without another thought, when her eyes lifted briefly and collided with his, and Sanemi felt his stomach drop, though he couldnโt explain why. Perhaps the flip in his gut had to do with the deep-set shadows beneath the girlโs glassy eyes, or the heavy hollow of her cheeks, as if sheโd not known rest or a decent meal for months.
As quickly as her eyes met his, they lowered again, and the girl brushed past him. Sanemi kept walking for a few steps, content to let all memory of the girl fall into the recesses of his mind.
But her eyes. Something about her eyes made his mind snag, pulled at something in his chest that urged him to stop, turn around, and go back to her.
He stopped; he stopped, in the middle of the crosswalk, though the light was quickly ticking down the seconds he had to finish crossing the busy intersection, because he knew those eyes, even if, to his horror, he hadnโt recognized the face, so worn and thin under the crushing weight of her grief.
He knew those eyes, because heโd spent his entire life loving them.
Sanemi whipped around, eyes frantically scanning the dissipating crowd of students in search of her once more. Though his next class was in the opposite direction, he sprinted back across the street to where sheโd been walking, calling her name as he darted in and around scowling students, annoyed at the panic-stricken man calling a name that wasnโt theirs.
He felt the burn of his frustrated and desperate tears begin to sting his eyes as he realized, to his torment, that Y/N had evaded him once more, vanishing like smoke in the wind.
Sanemi felt the familiar howl of crippling, raging despair gathering like a violent sea wave in the midst of a storm within him rearing its ugly head to smash him to bits against the rocky shore of his anguish at the realization that Y/N hadnโt just lost her mother.
Sheโd been suffering. For months.
And he hadnโt known; hadnโt been there for her to lean on, to make sure that she wasnโt bearing the entirety of the weight of a sick parent by herself, only a nineteen-year-old girl. So stuck in his own grief over Genya heโd been that he hadnโt known the depths of Y/Nโs endless distress.
Heโd abandoned her, and now, the woman he loved was a shell of her former self; a living ghost, forever out of his reach despite always haunting the corners of his shredded heart.
Any thought of his upcoming class faded from his mind as he began to stumble towards Kyojuroโs apartment, desperate to share the news with someone, anyone, who would understand the depth of his despair, and Sanemi broke down into tears.
-----
โAnd where have you been hidinโ all this time?โ
โIโve been right here.โ
โNah, you havenโt.โ
-----
(Six Months Earlier)
โItโs been months, Sanemi, and we havenโt caught so much as a whisper of her,โ Kyojuroโs voice was heavy with resignation as the blonde looked pleadingly at his best friend.
The muscles in Sanemiโs forearms flexed as his grip on his phone tightened while he fiddled with it. โWe havenโt looked everywhere โ have we tried the Pillars?โ Sanemi began searching the address for the nearby apartment complex where over two-thirds of the Ubaya-U upperclassmen student body resided.
Kyojuro shook his head. โThe Pillars house over two thousand units โ we canโt just start going door to door. Weโd look insane.โ
But the silver-haired man didnโt reply as his eyes narrowed at his screen. โIโll bet most of the students are in the same building โ most residents donโt wanna put up with a bunch of noisy, drunk college kids.โ
Kyojuro only looked at his friend in pity. โMaybe she doesnโt want to be found, Sanemi. Not by us, at least.โ
Sanemi finally looked up from his screen and cringed at the docility in his friendโs eyes. โWhat do you suggest we do, Kyo?โ He tossed his phone on his kitchen table in annoyance. โJust give up? Dโyou really think itโs best to just leave her by herself?โ
โYou donโt know for certain whether she is alone, though,โ Kyojuro countered. โShe mightโve found her own group here. Maybe she already has support. Maybe she doesnโt need us anymore.โ
Kyojuroโs words hit something soft within him that he hadnโt realized had been left unguarded. For deep down, one of Sanemiโs many fears had always been that Y/N would one day outgrow him, though heโd always maintained that he wouldnโt hold her back should the day come.
But that wasnโt what happened; Sanemi had checked out after Genyaโs death, and had only snapped back into reality a few weeks before the news of Mrs. Y/L/Nโs passing had reached his ears, threatening to send him back to that dark, lonely island amidst the never-ending sea of his grief.
All he wanted was to make sure Y/N hadnโt been marooned on her own isle. As long as she had someone, then Sanemi could accept that heโd fucked over any chance heโd had of remaining in her life, in any capacity.
But until thenโฆ
โWe donโt know for sure,โ Sanemi said hoarsely, leaning back in his kitchen chair, the worn wood creaking slightly under his weight. โAnd until we do, I ainโt risking her being left alone to deal with this.โ
Kyojuro looked at him with such pity and sorrow that it made him want to squirm. Refusing to meet his friendโs fiery, discerning gaze, Sanemi reached to pluck his phone from the table once more, scrolling through his phone contacts list, scanning the names.
โDโyou think she might still be in contact with her old roommate?โ He asked though it was more of a rhetorical question, given that heโd already begun drafting a message. โIโve gotta catch my train here in an hour โ but we could always try texting her.โ
-----
โDโyou really think I didnโt try to find you?โ
-----
(Three Months Earlier)
โThree โ youโre dating three women?โ Sanemi asked, equal parts stunned and impressed.
The suave, silver-haired man nodded, a dreamy grin spreading wide across his handsome face. โSure am,โ Tengen produced a sleek black phone from the pocket of his joggers, and opened his social media profile to search a username. โSuma, Makio, and Hinatsuru. Theyโre all seniors at Ubaya-U, and roommates.โ Tengen wiggled his eyebrows. โWhich makes life very convenient for me,โ
Sanemi met Kyojuroโs ochre stare as Tengen scrolled, as though waiting for his friend to call bullshit on the young detectiveโs brag, but the blonde only nodded.
โHold on, they all went out with a few friends the other night, and I think Suma uploaded a pic with all of โem,โ Tengenโs eyes narrowed in on what Sanemi assumed was the girlโs profile, scanning. โAha! Here,โ he held his phone out for the two boys to inspect, a proud, smug smile etched into his handsome face.
The photo was of five girls, three of whom Tengen identified as โhis girls.โ One of the remaining smiles was that which belonged to a girl with curious pink and green hair, wearing what could only be described as rave attire, given that most of her considerable body was exposed, even under the dim light of the club. As for the remaining girl --.
Sanemiโs stomach dropped as he looked closer at the image on Tengenโs phone. For there, sandwiched between the pink girl and one of Tengenโs partners, was the girl whoโd held Sanemiโs heart since the day theyโd met in preschool.
Y/N.
Only, she didnโt look like herself, not really. The sultry smile she gave the camera didnโt quite reach her eyes, which held that hollow, deadened look of someone whoโd long since lost their will to live; whoโd long since stopped caring they had.
Sanemi was only able to tear his eyes away from the image of Y/Nโs frozen not-smile when Kyojuro pressed his elbow into his gut. He looked back to Tengen, who watched him with an odd expression, and sheepishly, Sanemi realized heโd snatched the phone right from the young detectiveโs hand.
โSorry,โ he muttered, handing Tengen back his cell. โIโm just surprised. Itโs been a minute since we last saw her.โ
โWho?โ Tengen frowned, looking back at the photo, before recognition lit his eyes. โOh! You mean Y/L/N? You two know her?โ
Sanemi found it difficult to speak, so Kyojuro answered for him. โWe grew up together back home. We havenโt really seen or heard from her in a while,โ
Tengen hummed disinterestedly, apparently aloof to the way Kyoโs voice had cracked. โIโve met her a few times โ Suma dotes on her.โ He smiled as he clicked off his phone, leaning back in the booth. โSheโs been over to the girlsโ place a few times before, and she seems pretty cool; kind of a party girl, though.โ
Sanemi gaped at him, finally finding his voice. โSheโs a what?โ
Tengen shrugged. โYeah, one time I met up with their friend group at one of the clubs downtown โ the Kizuki Lounge, I think? โ anyways, she and Makio decided to have a drink-off, and it ended with my ass having to carry them both out to the car and drive โem home.โ He chuckled, shaking his head at the memory. โThey argued the whole drive back about who won.โ
Both Kyojuro and Sanemi sat in dumb silence as the silver-haired man leaned in, his voice lower than it had been. โOne of their friends โ she wasnโt in that picture just now โ but apparently sheโs some sort of chemistry whiz. Made a new drug thatโs like ecstasy, but lasts longer and has an easier come down.โ A conspiratorial smile spread across his face, a devious light in his eyes as he whispered, โThe girls swear it helped give them the most intense orgasms of their life. I kinda wanna try it out for myself.โ
Tengen leaned back and winked. โAre either of you interested? Even if you donโt want it, you should try hitting up the Kizuki every now and again. Most of Ubaya-Uโs student body goes to party there during the summer, and they tend to offer decent deals on drinks.โ
Sanemi had frequented bars, but never clubs, and Kyojuro rarely found himself in either. However, if Tengenโs comments about Y/N were to be believed, it was more than likely she was a regular patron of the local joint. Sheโd managed to evade every other attempt to get in touch with her, but perhaps meeting her on her turf would give him the opening heโd been desperately holding out for.
And Sanemi wasnโt about to waste the opportunity to find out.
He took a swig of his coffee before setting it down, meeting Tengenโs stare evenly, though he fought to conceal the way his hands trembled. โWhat are you doing this Friday?โ
-----
โI looked for you โ everywhere, I looked for you.โ Sanemi promised, his voice trembling as he pled with her. โY/N, I knew what you were going through โ I know what itโs like --,โ his eyes begged her to just listen, but she couldnโt, not when sheโd spent so long staying so silent.
โYou have no idea!โ Y/N burst, and for the first time in two years, she spoke of the night her world had ended, even though for everyone else, it kept spinning.
โI was alone when she died! It was just me in that hospital room,โ Her tears flowed in a steady stream down her face, though her voice remained steady and sharp. โI was moving her hand over my hair because I knew I would never again get to feel her stroke my head whenever I was sad or stressed. It was so fucking late, and I was so tired, but I felt something shift, and I looked at her and watched her take her last fucking breath, Sanemi!โ
Y/N โs hands wrung in her grief. โI had to call the nursing attendant and tell them โ even though I could barely speak, I had to tell them my Mama stopped breathing.โย As she spoke, she saw only the image of her mother in that damn bed, still and pale, and her mother but no longer.
โAnd do you know what happened next? They told me I needed to leave and sign fucking paperwork,โ She laughed, derisively, though she only cried harder. โI had to sign fucking release forms and then they just โ told me goodnight. I walked to my car. Alone. I drove home. Alone. Without her.โ
โI was with you when you found out about Genya โ we made sure you werenโt alone! But me? Who was there for me?โ Y/N was sobbing into her hands, her shoulders shaking with the weight of all the bitter loneliness sheโd been forced to endure over the last two years. โWhere were you?โ
โY/N, I get it, I do โ,โ Sanemi began but Y/N shook her head.
โNo, Sanemi, you donโt understand!โ Her voice was no longer angry, but pleading, begging him โ anyone โ to understand just how much sheโd been struggling and for how long. โEvery night when I close my eyes, I see her, lying there. I hear the beep of her oxygen monitor going haywire because she wasnโt breathing, and I see her take her final breath. Every night, over and over, and I just want it to stop.โ
Y/N slumped back against the kitchen counter, exhausted and defeated. โYou asked me where Iโve been the last two years, and you were right โ I havenโt been here; because Iโm still there โin that hospital room. I never left.โ
Her sobs finally quieted beneath the press of her hand to her mouth as she tried to stifle the hysterical way her breath struggled to catch. โAnd I donโt think I will ever leave. Itโs been two years, Sanemi, and Iโm still sitting there, right where I lost everything.โ
โSo yeah, I was desperate for an escape. Because, that next day, I woke up, and for some reason, morning, still came, even though my Mom would never again see another sunrise, and even though my world had been obliterated,โ Y/Nโs voice quieted to a near whisper, her voice hoarse from her tears. โAnd everybody else just moved on. I wanted to pretend that I had, too, even if only for a little while.โ
โI was alone,โ Y/N cried softly into her hands. โIโm still alone.โ
When Sanemi spoke, his voice was rough and cracked. โI know I left you alone then,โ but for some reason, his validation didnโt soothe her the way it had with Kyojuro. โBut youโre not alone now โ I tried, so hard, Y/N, to find you and make sure you were okay, and I failed,โ His eyes shone with his own unshed tears. โI refuse to leave you alone, now. I know that probably pisses you off, but I canโt โ I canโt leave you, not when I know --,โ
โItโs too late,โ Y/N interjected, lifting her head up to meet his eyes. โYou canโt just waltz back into my life and decide you care now, not after all this time.โ
โIt was never about me not caring,โ Sanemi sat down in the seat opposite from her, his head braced between his hands as his fingers tugged at his hair in frustration. โI donโt get why you canโt understand that.โ
She gaped at him. โYou stopped talking to me because I said I was in love with you โ I fully understand that it was piss-poor fucking timing on my part, but you tossed me aside like garbage.โ
Sanemiโs head snapped up, his eyes wide. โYou think thatโs why I stopped talking to you?โ And suddenly, devastation pulled at his face as his shoulders sagged. โY/N โ that was never the reason --,โ
โWhat other reason was there, Sanemi?โ Her tears had dried, but the gnawing ache in her chest only deepened at the look of his despair, because, angry as she was with him, she would never wish him to be in as much pain as he appeared to be in right then. โEven if you werenโt really that angry, it doesnโt change the fact that you stopped speaking to me because of it,โ
โY/N โ thatโs not โ,โ Sanemi began, but Y/N wanted no part of it, and she could tell they were only gearing up for another fight. She opened her mouth, ready to unleash all of her acidic, biting remarks about how comfortable Sanemi had been to use her, knowing that she was probably still in love with him, when he spoke once more.
โYou arenโt the only one who has been grieving.โ Sanemiโs words hit her with a force that knocked the breath from her lungs, and the fight from her blood.
โI lost the last person I could call โfamily,โ too, Y/N.โ Sanemi spoke with a brokenness that she knew only she recognized as grief โ boundless and all-consuming. โI failed as your friend, thatโs true,โ Sanemiโs voice quieted to a whisper. โBut I failed as a brother, first.โ
-----
(November, 2 months after Genyaโs death)
Sanemi laughed as the enraged bar patronโs fist slammed into his nose. The blow wasnโt hard enough to break the bone, given his intoxication, but it was enough for Sanemi to taste the blood as it dripped into his mouth.
โYouโre fucking crazy,โ the man spat, stumbling slightly.
Sanemiโs grin only widened. โI bet your wife would like some crazy in her life. You look as dull as a sack of shi-,โ his taunt was cut off as the man landed another sharp to his gut, the breath wheezing out of him as Sanemi felt something inside him crack.
Probably another rib, he groused, gritting his teeth slightly. Just down the darkened alley, Sanemi could see people slowing down, watching as the balding drunkard threw lazy and disjointed punches at the bloodied, laughing man, and he knew it was only a matter of time before the cops were called. And Sanemi, to his annoyance, had promised Kyojuro he would try to stop needing the blonde to bail his ass out of jail every other week. He hadnโt known why heโd made such an inane promise to his best friend in the first place; it wasnโt as if he mattered.
Because the days following Genyaโs death had blurred into weeks, which bled into months. For Sanemi, life became marked by the amount of time that had passed since heโd become the only Shinazugawa left on earth.
Since heโd last been someoneโs brother.
Two days. Twenty-three. A month. Four months. Nine. A year.
Life post-Genya was a series of blurs; droplets of water on a page that smeared ink into something vaguely recognizable, but ultimately rendered useless.
Just like him.
For so long, his identity had revolved around being Genyaโs big brother โ his Aniki, as the boy had affectionately called him.
Could one still be an older sibling when they had no sibling left?
Genya had been Sanemiโs pride and joy. Heโd been eager to get settled into college, to get his own place so Genya wouldnโt have to share a bunk bed with other kids the state had squeezed into their foster home. Heโd lined up jobs to ensure he could buy Genya whatever food he wanted, whenever he wanted it, because Genya was always hungry, and their foster parents had never seemed to have enough to go around.
But then, Genya had wound up dead, and Sanemi hadnโt even been there to protect him. What kind of big brother was he, if he couldnโt even be counted on to be there when his little brother needed him the most?
He didnโt even get to say goodbye. Heโd left his brother only a couple of weeks prior, with a promise to come and visit him as soon as he could. Genya had tried his hardest to stifle his tears, but despite his brotherโs somewhat hardened appearance, thanks to the scar that cut across his face, Sanemi knew Genya was a sensitive boy, prone to wearing his heart on his sleeve. So the elder Shinazugawa had pulled his brother in tight, ruffled his hair, and told him heโd see him soon.
It had been a lie; the next time Sanemi saw Genya, the fourteen-year-old was a body on a metal table, awaiting Sanemiโs approval to be sent to a funeral home for burial preparations.
And so, the days passed in one, monotonous, never-ending cycle. Wake up; stare at the ceiling; force himself to eat, shower, and go to class. Then, Sanemi would grab his fake ID, head to a bar, take a few shots of some burning, acidic liquid, and then identify the meanest, biggest thug in the joint and pick a fight. Heโd let himself get beaten to a bloody pulp and then heโd limp his way home, barely making it to his bed before passing out in the sweet stupefaction of oblivion.
Occasionally, heโd wonder why on earth he was the one who was left alive; why fate had demanded Genyaโs life and not his, because Genya had so much more to offer the world than he did.
After all, Genya hadnโt even picked the fight between the two boys from their old foster home, and heโd still ended up dead.
The time never seemed to stop even though his little brotherโs heart had; and with each passing day, Sanemi felt himself growing number and number. As the pulsing ache between Sanemiโs ribs dulled, he mused that, with every moment that passed, he was growing closer to becoming just like the little brother who now slept six feet under the frozen ground of the cemetery plot that also now housed their parents and other siblings.
Nothing more than a corpse.
If only it had been him.
It should have been him.
-----
โAfter Genya died I โ,โ Sanemi hesitated. โI wasnโt a good person, Y/N. You didnโt need to see me like that.โ He ran a hand down his face, his weariness a heavy shadow beneath his eyes. โIโm honestly surprised Kyo stuck through it as long as he did.โ
โI fucked up, I know that.โ He admitted, his eyes shining with his own unshed tears. โI was an asshole to you, and I couldโve done more,โ
Sanemiโs voice dropped to a whisper. โBut I needed you, too. And you vanished. You told me you loved me and then you vanished. And it was like losing another person I loved all over again, and Iโd barely started mourning Genya.โ
Y/N felt her stomach drop to the floor and her vision tunnel. The weight of Sanemiโs words slammed into her with cataclysmic force, and she shot out a steadying hand against the counter to keep her knees from buckling.
She remembered now, the point at which sheโd fucked it all up; and he was right.
Y/N had felt abandoned by her friends, but sheโd forgotten that it was she who distanced herself from Sanemi first; that sheโd done so to protect her own stupid pride and heartache after his apparent rejection of her love. Sheโd evaded him first, because sheโd assumed that was what he wanted, even though heโd tried texting her once. Sheโd neglected to consider that perhaps, his ignorance of her hadnโt anything to do with his anger that sheโd dared to confess; that perhaps, his neglect of her had been part of a general disconnect from the world, in the wake of it taking yet another person he loved away.
At the time, Y/N hadnโt understood what it meant to grieve; hadnโt been able to comprehend the ways in which it could engulf someone like a wildfire before they could ever see the smoke. ย
Heโs dealing with a lot right now, Kyojuro had told her, sternly. But perhaps Kyojuroโs admonition hadnโt been that at all; perhaps it had been a tired, desperate effort to remind her that Sanemiโs introversion from the world had nothing to do with her at all.
โIโm sorry,โ Y/N gasped, her hands shaking. โI didnโt realize โ I just knew I felt alone. All I wanted was you, Sanemi. I didnโt care how. I just wanted my friend.โ This time, Y/N did not try and steady her voice as the tears welled up in her eyes. โI needed you โ I needed my โNemi. But you werenโt there โ I-I didnโt think-,โ
โI promise you, I wanted to make it right. I shouldnโt have reacted the way I did at the train station,โ Sanemi gave a great sniff, lifting his head to meet her eyes. โWhen I snapped out of it, I tried so hard to find you by then, it was too late; you were gone,โ His tears fell fast and hot down his face. โIโm sorry. Iโm so fucking sorry, Y/N.โ
โI failed you; I know that --,โ
But the girl shook her head, collapsing back against the kitchen counter. โWe failed each other.โ She wiped her cheeks, her arms winding tight around her middle as she tried to hold herself together even though the weight of the words that followed threatened to tear her apart at the seam for good. โAnd I donโt know how to fix this โ how to fix us.โ
Sanemi leaned back against the table, opposite her. โMaybe we canโtโฆmaybe we can never go back to the way things were.โ
Even as he said it, Y/Nโs heart seized. She knew he was right, but she wanted so very badly to believe he was wrong; wanted to believe there was still a them to salvage.
โThat doesnโt change how I feel about us,โ Sanemi continued. โAnd that doesnโt mean we can't try to make something new.โ
His words, so brutally honest and yet hopeful, tugged at the bleeding, mangled pieces of her heart. For the first time since theyโd reunited, Y/N felt as though she could finally see him โ all of him โ and he broke her heart, and not for the reasons she thought he had before. The remnants of her heart ached for him because he looked just as broken and lost as she was, and she realized that perhaps, they hadnโt meant to hurt one another. Perhaps, theyโd both been merely victims of their own grief.
All Y/N knew was that she was tired, so very tired of running from him, especially when heโd always been inevitable. And she wanted, more than anything, to ease some of the burden that sheโd failed to notice heโd been struggling to carry, too consumed by her own grief and pain and rage.
Sanemiโs stare was weary as she slid off the counter and approached him timidly, hesitating just once before winding her arms around his neck and kissing him, gently.
She kissed him because she did not know what else she could do at that moment. There were no words she could say, no promises she could offer him, other than this small act of physical comfort.
Sanemi kissed her back, soft, though the hand on her face felt more like an effort to restrain himself from going any further. Y/Nโs suspicions were confirmed when he broke away from her lips, panting slightly, and moved when she tried to reconnect them.
He pressed his forehead against hers. โI donโt think itโs a good idea,โ he murmured, apologetically. โWeโre both all worked up.โ
Y/N opened her eyes and peered up at him, nodding. He was right; of course, he was right, but his rejection stung anyways.
He must have sensed it, for he pressed his lips tightly against her forehead, his thumb stroking her cheek. โLetโs just take some time, okay?โ
Her lips trembled with the effort to keep herself from crying once more, but she nodded, nonetheless. Briefly, Sanemiโs lips brushed her forehead once more, before he pulled away, and silently retreated to his bedroom, leaving Y/N in the dim light of the kitchen.
-----
The next day and a half passed without event, and Y/N was grateful for it. Sheโd managed to smile and laugh with Mitsuri and Kyojuro, and goofed around with Tengenโs beautiful girlfriends, but her heart remained heavy in her chest.
Though, it wasnโt an unwelcome weight, even if it made her uncomfortable at times. The fallout from hers and Sanemiโs talk two nights earlier had been both the final knife to her blackening heart and its bandage, and sheโd been left to work through the complex tapestry of her feelings towards the man whoโd held her heart before sheโd even known sheโd given it to him.
Such thoughts, however, had not quieted. It was just after midnight when Y/N gave up on trying to sleep. The house was too large and too quiet, and it made the thoughts in her head all the louder and sleep all the more evasive.
With a sigh, she kicked free of her blankets and rose, padding out of her temporary bedroom and into the dark, silent hall of the Uzui lake house. Trust that Tengen, of all people, would come from a family that not only had a summer house, but one large enough that each of her friends had been afforded their own private bedroom for their short weekend.
Clad in only a pair of black boy-shorts and a matching, cropped tank, Y/N clandestinely made her way down towards the large staircase which led to the first floor, but paused before beginning her descent, as she remembered that Sanemiโs room was on the first floor โ just before the kitchen.
Heโd wanted space, and sheโd given it to him. Over the last two days, the pair hardly spoke to one another except for, when necessary, by virtue of the groupโs activities under the sun. It hadnโt been out of any malice or anger, not like before. Rather, it seemed that their mutual avoidance of one another had been born out of a curious shyness that had bloomed between them, as both worked through the snarled tangles of their hearts.
If she went to the kitchen, as planned, there was a chance sheโd wake him, and even if every fiber of her body missed him, the last thing she wanted was to be the cause of his loss of sleep โ at least, more so than sheโd apparently already had been.
On the other hand, she was thirsty, and there was a restlessness buzzing beneath her skin that would not quiet, that hadnโt quieted since sheโd given up those treacherous lilac pills.
Y/N decided to take her chances, resolving not to turn on any of the stair lights or the light in the kitchen, instead navigating only by the dim light of her phone as she eased her way down the polished wood stairs. She held her breath as she slipped past the door that led to Sanemiโs room, as though the very sound would risk disturbing the handsome man slumbering within.
Once in the kitchen, Y/N blindly felt around for the cupboard containing sparkling glasses and managed to fill one with water without making a great deal of sound. Using the light of her phone screen, she managed to hop up onto the cool, marbled countertop and leaned back against the cabinets as she nursed her drink.
For the last two nights, sleep had evaded Y/N because of the way Sanemiโs words had played, over and over her head, a never-ending tape that showcased her own selfishness on a loop.
You arenโt the only one who has been grieving, heโd told her, brokenly.
He was right, and she was horrible.
For as long as she could remember, Y/N had always feared being selfish. She didnโt know where the deep-seated aversion to looking after he own self-interest had come from, but it was one that was so deeply ingrained within her that sheโd long since stopped trying to overcome it. Instead, sheโd found herself always trying to do the best for other people, desperately trying not to put herself over her loved ones, for fear they would leave her the instant she did.
When sheโd found out her mother was going to die, sheโd been left by the doctor to break the devastating news as her beloved mother lay in that hospital bed, fighting so hard to keep her oxygen levels up so that she could get out. Her mother had been asking Y/N to describe all of the autumnal decorations sheโd seen go up in town, as though the prospect of seeing fake leaf garlands and pumpkins would be enough to make her lungs work properly once more.
For as long as she lived, she would never forget the broken disbelief in her motherโs eyes as Y/N had tearfully told her she would not live to see the end of the week.
โI thought I had more time,โ her mother had wheezed, brokenly, clasping Y/Nโs hand as tightly as she could with her dwindling strength.
Sheโd looked so scared, so lost, and what had Y/N done?
Y/N had cried; sobbed and had been utterly unable to stop. Her mother had needed comfort, and she hadnโt been able to toughen up and stop crying.
Iโm sorry, Mama, sheโd bawled, I canโt stop crying, Iโm so sorry.
Her mother, with tears in her own eyes, had only shaken her head. Iโm sorry. Iโm so sorry.
As though it were her fault she was dying; as though Y/N didnโt know that if death were a matter of will, her mother would be here, on earth, with her still. ย
In her motherโs most desperate moment, Y/N had been utterly incapable of providing comfort, instead needing to be comforted, like the child sheโd been. It was despicable; she was despicable.
To her horror, sheโd been nothing but selfish. So, so very selfish, for being unable to check her emotions when it mattered most. And her mother had barely been conscious after that final conversation, which meant Y/N hadnโt been able to apologize for making her mother comfort her in her hour of greatest need. But Y/N had added that great regret to the list of things that would likely haunt her for the rest of her life, hopeful that maybe its presence on her list of regret would serve as a warning for her in the future.
It hadnโt; because Y/N had fallen right back into the sticky trap of her own selfishness and had failed to account for all the ways in which Sanemi had been suffering, right alongside her.
Worse, sheโd relished his suffering because sheโd thought sheโd been the cause of it, and it had felt so damn good to finally get him back for the two years of hell sheโd endured, never realizing that heโd been burning, too.
Theyโd been victims of a shitty hand dealt to them both, but too young and too stupid to be able to see the world outside of their own heads. And now, she had no idea where things stood between them.
Deep in thought, Y/N did not sense the shift in the air that signaled another was stirring until the kitchen light flipped on, and Y/Nโs head shot up to see the person sheโd most wanted to both see and avoid.
Sanemi looked just as surprised to see her, perched on the kitchen counter. His hand still lingered on the light switch, and his eyes were wide. He seemed to realize heโd been staring, and he quickly looked down to his feet, the faintest trace of red crossing his cheeks.
โSorry,โ he mumbled. โCouldnโt sleep.โ
Y/N huffed a watery chuckle, wiping quickly at the tears that clung to her cheeks. โNeither could I โ just a little restless, I guess.โ
There was so much she wanted to say, and yet, she couldnโt think of a single word to speak, as he continued to hover by the light switch, uncertainty turning his muscles rigid. An awkward silence ensued as Y/N gave a great sniff and tried, but failed, to fake an โeverything is fineโ smile.
Not that she wouldโve been able to fool him anyway, but still, she mused, it wouldโve been nice to try.
โIโm sorry โ Iโll go back to my room,โ She put her water glass down by her side and braced her hands against the edge of the counter to hop down, but remembered that she was still only in her underwear. It was foolish, she knew, to feel suddenly self-conscious being so exposed in front of him, given that Sanemi had spent the entire summer exploring every nook and cranny of her body with his mouth and hands, but the emotions of the weekend still weighed heavily on her โ made her feel vulnerable.
Especially under the microscope of his burning stare.
Sanemi didnโt respond, nor did he comment on her failure to move off the counter. Instead, he only continued to watch her as she wiped at her cheeks, that fathomless heat and longing and hurt in his stare.
โIโve always hated seeing you cry,โ he finally murmured, and Y/N was surprised to see that he had inched closer to where she sat, perched on the kitchen counter.
A door was opening, and Y/N found herself wondering if she should walk through it or remain here, where the line between them was tenuous, but a line nonetheless; safe, and capable of being enforced, if she needed to run.
Y/N recalled a conversation theyโd had about Mitsuri and Obanai before the pair had begun dating โ back when they, too, had been chained to their own doubts of the otherโs sincerity.
They should let themselves try, heโd quietly insisted.
Sheโd rebuked his words, only to find herself eat crow later; Mitsuri and Obanai had let themselves try, and now they were together, mending and growing as one instead of as two.
Maybe they could try, too.
โBut why?โ Y/N pressed, because though sheโd decided at that moment to walk through that door with no reservations, she still wanted to hear him say it; wanted an explanation, after all these months.
โYou know why,โ was his only reply, his voice growing hoarse as he drew up within an armโs reach of her.
Y/N shook her head again, but Sanemi did not stop; his hands boxed her in on the counter, one thick forearm coming to brace on either side of the kitchen counter, thumbs just grazing her thighs.
โYou know why,โ he insisted.
Y/N finally lifted her eyes to his, the last wavering thread of her resolve dissolving as she beheld the timid, pleading sincerity in his stare.
She exhaled, softly, but she did not move away from him.
โThen show me.โ
Sheโd never seen Sanemi look so shy as he lifted one hand to cup her delicately under the chin. As he leaned in close, Y/N felt a curious tingle in her stomach that only grew in its intensity as his lips โ so warm and soft โ brushed against hers.
It was butterflies, Y/N realized as her eyes closed, that sheโd felt fluttering in her stomach as Sanemi kissed her, because it was everything their first kiss should have been. It was not rough and sticky from mixed drinks and being pressed against dirty club walls in the dark, like the act itself was a shameful secret driven only by lust.
It was gentle, and soft, like the first fall of snowflakes against her cheeks. It was warm like a summer breeze, gently messing the tendrils of her hair against her bare shoulders, as it caressed her skin and promised precious moments of levity and of peace.
Sanemiโs lips moved against hers, still so gentle, and Y/N felt not just the love sheโd come to accept he held for her, but also his hope, as tentative and uncertain and yet as eager, as a newborn fawn taking its first shaking steps in the spring.
It was everything; he was everything.
Their kiss grew more heated as they both grew more desperate to consume one another, the desire to make up for all the time lost between them morphing into a base need, as though their minds knew they needed the other to help put themselves back together again; to make themselves whole.
Sanemiโs hands found the sliver of skin exposed between the top of her underwear and the bottom of her tank top, and Y/N moaned, her legs wrapping around his hips to lock her closer to him as she let Sanemi engulf her in his strong, sturdy arms.
He lifted her effortlessly from the counter, his lips never leaving hers, and he began to walk them toward his bedroom. As Y/Nโs legs wrapped eagerly around his waist, and her fingers tightened their grip in his hair, she found herself grateful that his room was just around the corner.
His tongue danced slowly with hers as he nudged the door to his room open with his foot and blindly pushed it shut once they were safely inside.
Sanemiโs lips dropped to her neck as he carried her to his bed, laying her out beneath him as his hands skimmed under her tank top, rough fingertips gliding up the sides of her bare waist until his palms rested against her breasts, rolling the mounds between his hands until she was moaning into his mouth, her wetness gathering quickly in her underwear as Sanemi pressed his groin against hers and rolled.
He made quick work of discarding her sleeping top, his mouth closing around one of her nipples as he gave it a hard suck, his hand cupping the other to roll her stiffening nipple between his fingers with a surety that had her whining and tugging at his hair, begging him for more.
Y/Nโs fingers clawed at his back, eager to tear his t-shirt from his back so that her hands could greedily roam the stony ridges of his back, his chest. Sanemi groaned as she raked her nails across his shoulders, and he nipped her breast in response for making his way down to where her underwear struggled to conceal her arousal from him.
His tongue grazed over the thin scrap of fabric that separated her bare cunt from his waiting mouth and he groaned, his fingers digging into the sides of her thighs. โI can taste you through your damn panties,โ he growled, his eyes dark as they lifted up to her face, flushed bright pink as she watched him slowly drag his tongue up her clothed slit. โAre you that needy for me already, baby?โ
Sanemi withdrew himself from between her legs, and Y/N thought sheโd fall apart at the loss of his warmth above her. Any protestations she had bubbling in her throat, however, died, as Sanemi shoved his sweatpants down his legs, his thick length springing forth and bouncing against his navel.
No matter how many times sheโd seen it, the sight of his cock, long and with considerable girth, with a pretty, mushroom-like tip that grew an angry red the longer he went without stimulation, never failed to make her mouth go dry.
โLet me take care of you, sweet girl,โ he cooed, slowly kneeling before where she laid sprawled on his bed as his hands smoothed up her thighs to the bottom of her underwear. Gently, his fingers curled under the fabric and began to slide them down the length of her legs, until heโd pulled them away from her feet.
Before he returned to her, he balled the discarded cloth in his hand and brought it to his nose, eyes closing as he inhaled deeply the scent of her arousal, a soft growl reverberating from the back of his throat as he opened his eyes, amethyst irises full of heady want for her.
โFuck, Iโve missed that,โ he said quietly, his movements slow, teasing, as he knelt on the bed, the mattress dipping under his weight, as he settled between her thighs.
Y/N huffed a shaky laugh. โItโs been two weeks, you nymphomaniac,โ though she nearly gulped at way his eyes darkened as he exhaled softly along her glistening, throbbing core. ย
Sanemi sat back from her, eyes roaming her bare body as he considered her words. โYouโre right, itโs been two weeks,โ he said evenly, as his hands slide under backside, lifting her up to work himself under her until she was perched on his abdomen, its rocky ridges brushing deliciously against her bare folds.
โW-what are you -!โ Y/Nโs question was cut off as Sanemiโs broad, warm hands gripped under her thighs and hauled her up his torso, bringing her to hover just above his face as he settled beneath her.
โItโs been too long,โ Sanemi grunted, his voice like gravel with his desire. โI need this. I need you.โ
His strength had always greatly outmatched her own, but Y/N did not try to struggle as he lowered her bare cunt onto his mouth, his hands braced on her hips as he pushed her full weight down onto his face, groaning loudly as her essence enveloped him.
Sanemiโs head had spent a great deal of time between her thighs since the start of the summer, and yet this was somehow far more intimate.
Intimate, because she was utterly helpless as he held her throbbing core flush against his face, his arms caged tightly around her thighs, prohibiting her from moving away even if sheโd wanted to do so, as he devoured her.
From beneath her, Sanemi let out a deep groan as his tongue sank between her folds and began lapping at her. Sanemiโs expert tongue wove in and out of her folds, periodically grazing over her entrance with such teasing fervor that Y/N felt her lower abdominal muscles seize, and she could not stop her hips as she began to grind into his mouth, her head tossed back.
A sharp prick against her inner thigh had Y/Nโs eyes flying open as she looked down, surprised to see Sanemi licking the inside of her thigh where heโd nipped her. Even in the dark, Y/N could see the moonlight reflecting off his lavender irises he held her gaze, the hands around her thighs tightening and Sanemi slid his hot, silken tongue into her opening.
Y/Nโs responding moan was loud, wanton, her head falling back as her hips ground down into his mouth as she began to ride his tongue. Below her, Sanemi groaned, his laps and sucks at her most sensitive area growing louder as he greedily slurped her juices.
Y/N began to feel that coil deep in her stomach grow tighter as her clit began to pulse and throb against Sanemiโs relentless tongue and lips. One hand slid under her to play with her entrance, his rough fingers circling her opening, sliding into her until his first knuckle before withdrawing, teasing her as her hips bucked wildly against his face, as she grew more desperate for him to fill her.
โSanemi โ p-please,โ Y/N begged as his deft fingers avoided sinking into her spasming heat once more, a small scream of frustration tearing from her throat as he continued to tease her.
Though her white-haired lover was prone to continue teasing her, the grip around her thighs tightened as Sanemi pressed her harder against his face, his tongue thrusting in and out of her as his teeth grazed her aching bead over and over. Y/Nโs cries grew louder, closer together, as the rough stubble of his jaw scraped against her sensitive flesh.
It was too much; with a sharp cry, Y/Nโs thighs seized around Sanemiโs head as she felt a rush of her juices gush out of her, coating his face. The vibrations from Sanemiโs groans of satisfaction intensified the ripple of pleasure that rocked through her, and Y/N could not stop herself from grinding even harder against him in a desperate attempt to prolong her release.
Y/N fought to keep herself upright as she bucked against his face, but the sensation had become too much, and she found herself falling back against his legs. Sanemi didnโt seem to mind, his arms remaining tightly locked around her lower hips as he continued to rock his face against her core, her thighs shuddering around his head at the scrape of his stubbled jaw against her heated, sensitive flesh.
She turned her head and was surprised to see how close Sanemiโs cock was to her face, standing thick and tall as it bounced proudly against his abdomen with every flex of his stomach muscles and thighs as he continued to eat her out like she was his final meal.
Y/Nโs lips went dry as her eyes took in the leaking, red tip of him, so demanding and eager, and yet heโd been utterly content to ignore his own need in favor of satisfying hers.
She struggled against his iron-like grip on her hips, trying desperately to turn so she could take him fully into her mouth, but he was too lost in her cunt to realize she wasnโt trying to get away; she wanted him, wanted to pleasure him as must as he insisted on pleasing her.
โSanemi,โ she whined, trying to turn once more, but his arms only tightened around her, a growl of warning reverberating from his chest.
Straining, Y/N leaned as close as she could to his aching cock and stuck her tongue out, just managing to graze the side of it before she had to pull away.
It was enough. At the first caress of her wet tongue against him, she felt Sanemi freeze beneath her, his tongue momentarily pausing mid-thrust into her core as he realized what she was trying to do.
โFuck this,โ he muttered, finally tearing himself away from her lovingly abused cunt and throwing her off him to the side, her breasts bouncing as she settled against the mattress. โI need you โ now.โ ย
Sanemi covered her body with his own, her legs falling to the side with practiced ease as she accommodated his hips. Despite his gruff words, Sanemi bent down to kiss her softly, his lips warm and gentle, as one hand rose to caress her cheek. Y/N locked her arms around his neck, happily sighing into his mouth as his tongue slid between her lips to stroke hers, each caress making the fire in her lower belly burn hotter and more urgent.
Sanemi shifted, keeping one hand on her face as the other moved to grip him at his base, aligning himself with her entrance. His eyes flitted back up to hers one more time, seeking her permission, and it made Y/Nโs heart seize. Even after more than two months of sleeping with her, he still insisted on ensuring he had her approval.
Had she been able to form a coherent sentence, she would have begged him to take her, but sheโd long since lost her ability to speak thanks to Sanemiโs skilled hands and mouth, and so, she only rolled her hips towards his impatiently, whimpering with her need.
Sanemi groaned in response and the hot, flared tip of his aching cock pushed into her. Ordinarily, Sanemi took his time working his way inside her, given his considerable size and girth; but, thanks to the way heโd insisted she ride his face, Y/Nโs core had become impossibly slick that Sanemi sunk into her molten heat in a single, fluid motion, not stopping until his base was pressed flush against hers.
A hitched breath blew past Sanemiโs lips as he buried his face into the crook of his neck. He locked one arm around her upper back, the other encircling her thigh to hold her open for him as he began to rock into her, sloppily and hurried, as though he were getting lost in the feeling of her tight, soaking heat as she clenched around him.
โS-Sanemi!โ Y/N gasped, her fingers burying themselves into the pale cornsilk of his hair as she tugged, eliciting a deep groan from the Adonis that ground into her from above with abandon.
Y/Nโs hips moved of their own accord as she desperately sought to meet his frenzied thrusts, circling and pushing against him as Sanemiโs cock hit that spot within her that made her toes curl and her stomach dip. She was as wanton and desperate as he was, though the harder she moved against him, the more needy she became.
She needed him to be closer; so much closer.
โโNemi,โ she cried, begging him though she did not know what she begged for, as she moved her hands from his hair to rake her nails down his back, needing him to do something, anything to bring her closer -.
Sanemi locked a steely arm around her middle and in one fluid motion, flipped them, bringing Y/N atop him.
Both groaned in unison as the new position allowed Sanemi to reach even deeper within her, and Y/N felt nearly intoxicated by the sensation of being filled and stretched to her limit. Sanemiโs hands braced at her waist as he began to help her roll her hips against his, his head falling back as his eyes fell shut in bliss, a deep moan falling from his mouth.
Tears stung Y/Nโs eyes as she ground against him because she understood what his actions meant even if heโd not uttered a word.
Sanemi Shinazugawa said heโd never let anyone ride him.
But he wanted to be hers.
So, with an unfamiliar yet welcome warmth spreading through her chest, Y/N began move, her hips softly rolling and grinding against his as she braced her hands against his rocky abdomen, fingers digging in slightly as she tilted her head back and moaned his name, loud and unrestrained.
โNemi,โ Y/N gasped, her hips rising and falling and grinding against him with a fervor beyond her control, as she could not get enough of how it felt to fuck herself on him. โAm I โ ah โ doing this right?โ
A loud groan from deep in Sanemiโs chest was her only answer, as her lover lifted his head from where itโd been thrown back against his pillow as he basked in the feeling of Y/Nโs silky cavern milking him for all he was worth.
ย โBaby, I donโt think you could do wrong if you tried,โ he grunted, his voice trembling with his unbounded desire.
She was inclined to agree, because god, even after months of being fucked by him, none of those previous encounters could compare to the way he was making her feel right then, his warm, sturdy hands braced on her hips as he helped guide her up and down his hot, steely length, the room filling with the sound of their skin clapping as she bounced and ground against him.
Y/Nโs hands found his at her waist and she pulled them away, in favor of tightly interlocking their fingers as she increased her pace, bringing herself up off his cock before dropping her hips back down again for a needy grind, her walls fluttering around him with each push and pull against him.
She fell forward slightly, pressing the back of his hands down into the mattress and holding them there, just over his head, their fingers tightly interlocked together. She shifted, so that she could brace a little of her weight into him, pressing them even harder into the soft bed as she increased her pace, rolling into him faster as she circled her hips around him.
With his hands pinned above his head, and his eyes squeezed tightly shut as a needy moan echoed from his throat, Y/N swore sheโd never seen sight more beautiful than that of Sanemi completely at her mercy.
โI want to finish like this,โ Sanemiโs voice had an uncharacteristic desperation in it that bordered on begging, he threw his head back harder against his pillow, the tendons in his neck tensing as he groaned unrestrainedly for her. โPlease, Y/N โ,โ
She only ground down against him harder, his pleas choking off in his throat as his fingers dug harder into her hips. โSh-i-it,โ Sanemi groaned out, his hips thrusting wildly up into her, so lost in just how deep he could reach within her vice-like, silky heat.
Guided by pure instinct, Y/N released his hands and sat up, her own drifting behind her as she began to fondle his swollen, heavy balls while she continued the relentless pull and drop of her hips up and down his throbbing cock.
โFuck!โ Sanemi bucked harshly up into her, his head pressing harder against the pillow beneath him as the muscles in his neck strained, his eyes falling shut in his bliss. One of his hands found its way to her lower abdomen, pressing down slightly so she could feel him pressing against the front wall of her core, Y/Nโs voice cracking as she moaned. His other hand lowered to where they were connected, and he began to swirl his thumb around her aching clit, his ministrations causing the walls of her cunt to pulse and constrict around him as her end neared.
Y/Nโs thighs began to burn with exhaustion as she bounced up and down his cock, but she could not stop, not until she reached the dizzying height of her pleasure that was quickly coming on the harder she rode him.
Sanemi, however, appeared to sense her growing tiredness. โCโmere,โ he said gruffly, one hand lifting to cup her face as the other shifted to press against the small of her back, guiding her to lay flush against him as he claimed her mouth with his own and began to thrust up into her, holding her securely against him.
Y/N groaned into his mouth, as their new position allowed Sanemi to hit a spot within that had her seeing stars as he kept her crushed against him, his tongue dancing languidly with hers. The hand on her lower back moved so that his arm could wrap around her waist and embrace her, as his other hand moved from her jaw to brush a lock of hair back that had fallen in front of her face.
โN-Nemi,โ Y/N whimpered, her hips beyond her control as they dropped and rolled and ground against him, in desperate search of her release.
โI know, sweetheart. I know,โ Sanemiโs voice was raspy, his arm tightening on her waist in a poor effort at restraint. โI feel it, too.โ
Sanemi began thrusting up into her spasming cunt, a renewed string of curses falling from his mouth as the messy sound of Y/Nโs honeyed core filled the room. Y/N felt herself begin to tighten around him, the thighs trembling against either side of his waist as she slammed herself back onto him, her cries growing louder as Sanemi brought her closer to her peak. His hips began to lose rhythm as he wildly jutted into her. Y/Nโs eyes were squeezed shut as she began to babble, alternating between cries of his name and nearly incoherent pleas for more.
Sanemiโs hand found hers and brought it up against his chest, holding it tightly as his other arm cinched around her waist. โLet go for me, baby,โ his voice was hoarse as he leaned up slightly to brush a kiss against her lips.
One, strong grind of her hips later, Y/N shattered around him, her inner walls seizing him like a vice as she tipped her head back and wailed for him, so pretty and so completely undone by him that she did not think she could ever be put back together and be wholly her own, without his touch forever imprinted on her skin, or upon her heart.
She knew, at that moment, as Sanemiโs grunts turned into loud, unrestrained moans as he bucked wildly into her, that running from him had always been futile, because sheโd only ever been running in circles, only to find herself as she was then, right back on her knees before him, utterly his.
The difference was, she realized as he gave one last mighty push of his hips up into her still-spasming core, his seed shooting into her with blinding force, as a strangled shout-cry tore from his throat and his fingers seized around hers against his chest, that heโd been running in the same circle, too, just in the opposite direction. But now theyโd run out of track to tread, and heโd smacked right into her, knocking both of them off their axes, stumbling and spinning together until theyโd finally hit the ground, with only each other to face and nowhere else to run; and she was tired of running, anyways.
Because she knew, as Sanemiโs hips finally stilled against hers and she collapsed against his chest and he on the bed, leaking cock still nestled between her legs, that she loved him.
She loved him.
She loved him.
-----
Neither of them spoke for a long while, both panting hard as they caught their breaths.
โYou said you think Iโm possessive โ maybe I am,โ Sanemi said after a long moment, as the two came down from their mutual highs. โBut itโs because I want to be yours. Iโve always been yours.โ
He paused before continuing, his arms around her tightening. But when he spoke again, his voice was perceptibly softer, more timid, as though afraid of her rejection. โAnd I want you to be mine, too.โย
Let him into your heart, and he will gladly give you his.
Y/Nโs hand found his at her waist, and gently, she removed it. As she brushed her lips over the calloused pads, always so soft whenever they touched her, she lifted her gaze to his.
โYou are mine,โ she repeated softly, before moving his hand to press against the valley between her breasts, where her heart beat strong against her sternum. โAnd this has always belonged to you.โ
Sanemiโs cheeks burned red as he bent to graze her lips with his, his hand still pressed against her chest. So innocent and chaste was the kiss that it was easy to forget that his cock remained buried within her, his seed still gathering on the sheets beneath them as it trickled from her.
Sanemiโs thumb stroked the skin of her sternum absentmindedly. โWhat comes next, Y/N?โ He murmured, his eyes tracing over the features of her face as she rested her cheek against his bicep. โWhat do you want this to be โ what would make you happiest?โ
Y/N thought for a moment and weighed all of the emotions that had sat heavily in her chest for the past two days โ the past two years โ untangling each knot and snarl that had formed to obstruct the heart of her true desire.
When she spoke, her voice was as soft as a feather.
โI want to be with you. Iโve only ever wanted to be with you. That hasnโt changed.โ
Sanemiโs eyes widened with a hope she knew heโd not dare let himself feel ever since their fateful reunion at the Kizuki. โSo youโll stay? With me?โ
Y/Nโs answering smile was wide as she leaned up to brush a gentle kiss against his lips. โYes, โNemi. I will stay.โ
And for the first time in two years, Y/N felt just as hopeful as him.
โCan I kiss you again?โ Sanemi breathed, staring down at her in awe, as though he could not believe that she was real, despite having just had her in the most real way he could have.
Y/N didnโt answer, instead raising her lips to his, as she threaded her fingers through his hair to hold him close to her. Sanemi responded with a soft groan and pressed himself into her. His cock began to twitch to life within her once more as her tongue slid into his eager mouth, gliding alongside his own.
She moaned into his mouth as he began to roll into her, her legs falling to the side to accommodate his body as he settled himself between her thighs. But Sanemiโs warm, rough hands slid underneath her backside and shifted her to lay on her side next to him, her chest pressed flush against his as he began to rock gently into her.
Y/N lifted her leg so that it wrapped around his hips, and Sanemi groaned, one of his steel-like arms wrapping under her upper thigh to hold it in place. โThatโs my girl,โ he murmured, his lips trailing along the underside of her jaw and down her throat. โJust focus on me, baby.โ
The hand of the arm gripping her thigh moved to splay across her backside, pushing her against him as he rolled into her. A cracked moan broke from her throat as Sanemi began to massage her cheek in time with the slow, languid pump of his cock into her, the walls of her cunt tightening around him.
They continued to rock into one another like that, softly groaning and gasping every time Sanemiโs hips stuttered against hers, or every time Y/Nโs nails sunk harder into the muscular slope of his back, so lost in the feel of the otherโs body that Y/N was sure she did not know where she ended, and he began.
โSanemi,โ she cried, because the feeling of him this close, of him being this gentle, was so overwhelming to her because it was more than just fucking. This was them, raw, and unguarded, moving imperfectly against one another and letting their bodies speak in the words their mouths had not.
โItโs okay, baby, Iโm here. Iโm right here,โ he promised, his lips brushing against hers once, twice. His arm tightened around where it gripped her upper thigh, hand splayed across her backside, as he rocked harder into her, both of their ends rapidly approaching. โIโve got you.โ
Y/N pressed her lips desperately against his, needing him to soothe the ache that grew in her core as she drew near the summit of her pleasure. She hitched her leg higher up on his hip to allow him to push deeper into her, and her eyes rolled into the back of her head as she felt Sanemiโs balls begin to tap against the curve of her backside as he picked up his speed.
โCome with me,โ Sanemi grit out, his brow pinched as he stifled another groan. Y/N chased a bead of sweat as it rolled down his neck, mewling in agreement as she tugged him closer, pressing her chest flush against his.
โIโm close โ fuck, Iโm close,โ Sanemi gasped, his lips crashing down against hers, his teeth tugging at her lip before he pulled away. โAre you?โ
Y/N nodded desperately, as a long, high-pitched whine tore from her throat. โI wanna cum โ ah โ Sanemi, please, I want to cum.โ
Sanemiโs hurried thrusts up into her melted into rutting, as his thick length hardly slid out of her sopping and spent heat. โEyes on me, baby,โ he managed, his fingers digging into the plush of her ass as he began to twitch inside her โ a sure sign he was mere seconds from his peak.
With great effort, Y/N opened her eyes and met those violet eyes that she loved so dearly, and Y/Nโs climax slammed into her with a force that had her crying out. She was the rough, coarse wave that crashed and broke around the steady rock that was Sanemi.
His free hand fumbled for hers, bringing it close against his chest, fingers tightly locked together. Her eyes still locked with his, Sanemiโs soft grunts turned to loud, wanton moans, his thrusts sloppy and jerky, as he came in time with Y/N, filling her with his hot, thick seed until it spilled over where they were connected, staining the sheets beneath them.
Sanemi did not stop pumping into her, could not, as he continued to unload within her, the hand on her ass locking her against him as his hips finally stilled against her with a final, strained cry of her name.
He collapsed against her, his full weight bearing down on her as they struggled to catch their breath. After a few moments, Sanemi shifted like he was going to pull out of her and away, but Y/N whined in protest.
โโNemi,โ Y/N panted, her arms locking around his back and holding him to her as she circled her hips against his, Sanemi hissing as she began to overstimulate him. โPlease, can we stay like this for just a little longer?โ
She hardly recognized the breathy, needy tone with which she spoke. For so long, sheโd denied herself of any intimacy with him that extended beyond allowing him to cum in her, always pulling away and fumbling for her clothes the second his climax ended. But now, Y/N could not bear the thought of tearing herself away from him, because she belonged to him, and he finally belonged to her.
Sanemiโs hands dug into her waist as his head dropped into the crook of her shoulder to bury his face into her skin. She felt him inhale deeply, as though she was the air he needed to breath, and he nodded, apparently unable to form any words as he came down from his high.
After a few, quiet moments, the air around them only occasionally disturbed by the sound of their breathing, Sanemi answered her. โI will always want you to stay.โ
-----
Y/N did not remember the last time sheโd slept more peacefully than she did that night wrapped in Sanemiโs arms.
When the bright light of the sun finally broke through the gossamer-like curtains hung on the guest room window, Y/N sleepily blinked herself awake, turning to bury her face into the mattress to hide away from the bright, unrelenting light of morning. But what lay beneath her cheek was not the feather-plush soft of the luxurious mattresses the Uzuis had in every room of their summer home; it was rocky, hard muscle covered by warm, scar-speckled skin that made up the man she loved with every fiber of her being.
Sanemi groaned as he felt her face press against his upper abdomen, his hand raising to caress up her spine as he drew his other arm over his eyes to block out the sun. โโS too early,โ he protested, drawing a light chuckle from Y/N.
โWe have to leave soon,โ she whispered, pressing a kiss against the rigid plane of his abdomen before trailing her lips down to where his cock was already beginning to stir. โLetโs at least enjoy the morning.โ
Sanemi did not protest as she ducked beneath the covers to take him into her mouth, sighing happily as his hands softly stroked her hair while she bobbed up and down his length. Sanemi, however, was too impatient to feel Y/Nโs walls around him once more, and lasted only a minute before he tugged her up his torso and sank her down onto him, his face buried into her neck as his teeth bit into the sensitive skin of her throat.
Y/N spent the remainder of their morning fucking herself once more on Sanemiโs stiff length, relishing the way his broad hands slid under her thighs as she rode him to lift them up so he could watch himself thrust up into her, admiring the way his cock glistened with the pleasure he helped to give her.
A couple of hours later, the group of friends loaded up their respective cars, Tengen and Obanai grumbling under the bright light of day as both fought of their mutual hangovers from the previous nightโs inhibitions.
Though Y/N was set to ride with Mitsuri and Sanemi with the boys, neither of them could conceal the small, contented smiles they bore as they loaded their bags into the trunks of their cars, the pair occasionally sneaking a furtive glance at the other, smiles only broadening as their eyes met.
Just before Y/N opened the passenger door of Mitsuriโs vintage Volkswagen, she felt a pair of fingers, rough yet warm and familiar, brush shyly against her own.
โText me when you guys get back, okay?โ Sanemi murmured. On the other side of the car, Mitsuriโs jaw fell open, and her jade eyes gleamed with poorly-concealed excitement.
Y/N closed her hand around his and jerked him down, muffling his grunt of surprise as her lips met his. โI will.โ She said as she released him, Sanemiโs cheeks turning pink as he grinned back at her. His hand closed around hers where it rested on the door handle of Mitsuriโs car, and pulled it open, holding it for her as she turned and lowered herself into the passenger seat.
Mitsuri practically tripped over herself as she scrambled into the driverโs seat, though she restrained herself from squealing until the door was shut safely behind her. Keys turning in the ignition, the pink-haired girl turned to her best friend, nearly vibrating with excitement.
โTell me everything. Now.โ
Y/N laughed as the pinkette pulled out of the manicured driveway of the Uzuisโ lake house, and she began to fill her friend in on everything that had changed between her and her childhood best friend.
-----
The lightness that Y/N felt leaving the lake house lasted the entire drive back home with Mitsuri in the latterโs car, her chest feeling full and warm as the two scream-sang along to every song on Mitsuriโs playlist.
The sun was nearly setting by the time the pinkette parked her car in front of their apartment building, the pair having stopped to grab sushi for dinner for themselves. As the two exited Mitsuriโs car, Y/N noted Shinobuโs small, purple sports car parked at the far end of the lot and smiled to herself, knowing her friend was home, where they could talk. As theyโd picked up their to-go order from the sushi restaurant down the street, Y/N had made the last-minute decision to grab one of Shinobuโs favorite rolls, having resolved to talk to her other roommate and work things out between them.
Not that there was truly anything for them to work out โ Y/N had concluded she didnโt blame her friend for what had happened; Y/N had made her own choices, as had Douma.
The pair of best friends giggled as they walked up the steps to their apartment, takeout bags in hand, ready for a night of relaxing on the couch with sushi, some facemasks, and trashy reality television. Y/Nโs key unlocked the front door, which swung open to a darkened apartment. Her fingers flipped the kitchen light on and the sushi bag in her hands dropped to the floor.
For there, sprawled on the linoleum by the kitchen counter in a puddle of her own vomit and blood, was Shinobu.
She wasnโt moving; it was hard to tell if she was breathing.
Everything seemed to slow down and speed up all at once. One moment, the two young women were laughing and talking as they returned from a life-changing weekend at the lake, and the next, Mitsuri was screaming while Y/N heard nothing but the strong roar of panic echoing in her ears.ย
โCall an ambulance!โ Y/N managed to bite out at her hyperventilating friend as she dropped to her knees beside her unconscious roommate, her hands shaking as she tried to feel for a pulse. โMitsuri!โ
As the pinkette scrambled for her phone, Y/N took note of the odd violet hue of Shinobuโs vomit and the sickly-sweet scent of flowers and synthetic fruit.
With trembling hands, Y/N brushed back a strand of her friendโs inky-violet hair that had fallen in front of her face. There, mixed within the dried blood beneath Shinobuโs nostrils, was the faintest trace of lilac.
Wisteria.
Over the roaring in her ears, Y/N vaguely heard Mitsuri crying into the phone with the emergency dispatch operator.
โSheโs twenty,โ Mitsuri sobbed. โWe donโt know what happened, but it mightโve been an overdose. But thereโs blood, too.โ
Her pink-haired friend was right; there was an alarming amount of blood, dark and sticky, that had pooled beneath Shinobuโs head. Y/N suspected sheโd hit her head on the edge of the counter, either because sheโd tripped or because sheโd passed out and hadnโt been able to catch herself, but Y/N couldnโt tell where the wound was, and she was too afraid to risk moving her friendโs head and worsening her injuries.
โIs she breathing?โ It took a moment for Y/N to register that Mitsuriโs question was directed at her. โY/N is she breathing?โย
โI donโt know,โ she whispered, โI donโt know, Mitsuri.โ And, because she was panicked and scared, and utterly useless, Y/N began to cry. โI canโt tell; my hands wonโt stop shaking.โ
โI canโt tell.โ
-----
Half an hour later, Y/Nย stood against the wall of the small waiting area in the emergency room, leg bouncing in agitation and anxiety. Beside her, Mitsuri sat with her head in her hands as the two waited for any news as to their friendโs condition.
The outer doors to the emergency room slid open and the girls were joined by Hinatsuru, Makio, and Suma, the latter of whom was crying softly to herself. A few moments later, Obanai arrived, face severe, aiming straight for the pinkette as he crouched before her, covering the hands she had buried in her hair with his own and pressing a kiss to the crown of her head.ย
The waiting room had become too crowded for Y/Nโs frazzled nerves to handle. She tore herself from the wall against which she had been fixed, opting instead to pace the hallway between the waiting area and the main hospital. Makio may have called her name, but the roaring in Y/Nโs head had become too loud, the jitter under her skin too incessant, for her to remain still in the waiting room a second longer.ย
Y/N finally exhausted herself enough to slump back against the wall, the passing sounds and beeps of the hospital only faint echoes in her ears. But then there were thunderous footsteps walking quickly toward her, and Y/Nโs eyes lifted just in time to see Sanemiโs stormy face as he reached for her.ย
He crushed her against him, one hand buried in her hair as his other arm wrapped around her waist, holding her to him as though he needed to assure himself that she was real and there, and not the one getting her stomach pumped on the other side of the sealed emergency room doors.ย
His lips pressed hard against the top of her head, Sanemi inhaling deeply before pulling back from her, his hand rising to cup beneath Y/Nโs jaw so he could tilt her face up toward him, those lilac eyes scanning her frantically for any sign of external injury.
โI didnโt know,โ he said hoarsely against the crown of her head as he pulled her back against him. โTengen called -- only said an ambulance was being sent to your apartment โ that a twenty-year-old woman had overdosed.โย
Y/N shook her head against his chest, breathing in his comforting scent and allowing it to still the jitters crawling beneath her skin. โI havenโt used in a week, Sanemi.โย
Her โ boyfriend? paramour? exhaled shakily, his arms tightening around her. โI was scared. After last night, I-โ Sanemi swallowed thickly. โI was worried you regretted it.โย
Y/N closed her eyes as she let herself melt against his stabilizing warmth. โNot you,โ she murmured, โNever you.โ
-----
An hour later, Y/N stood in her kitchen, chest heaving as she looked at the wreckage of Shinobuโs bender scattered around her.
There was an empty bottle of peach vodka lying on its side on the floor. Lilac residue was smeared on the kitchen counter, likely the result of Shinobu having snorted it the night before. A puddle of her vomit, streaked with purple, still lingered where the petite woman had lost consciousness.ย
Sanemi came around the kitchen counter, his hand resting at the small of Y/Nโs back as he guided her away from the cabinet below. He bent to pull out a bottle of bleach and a roll of paper towels, as well as a pair of cleaning gloves that he pulled over his scarred, callused hands, and he set to work scrubbing at the floor.ย
Y/N watched him for a long moment before she moved to begin rounding up all of the bottles of liquor and wine that had been stashed in their apartment. One by one, she dumped their contents into the sink and chucked the empty containers into the garbage.
Next, Y/N gathered up all traces of Shinobuโs Wisteria from their various stash spots around the apartment. It had taken her a while to hunt through pharmacology studentโs room, given that the young woman had become rather adept at squirreling away those poisonous little pills. Over the course of an hour, Y/N had managed to locate every little baggie and loose pill shoved under her friendโs mattress, tucked into her sock drawer, and slotted between pages of textbooks sheโd never opened.ย
Sheโd stood over the toilet where sheโd flushed them for a long while after the last of those lilac devils had swirled down the drain. It was not until a pair of warm, comforting arms encircled her from behind that Y/N was aware of the tears slipping hot and fast down her cheeks.ย
Sanemi pressed a soft kiss into the back of her neck as she cried, allowing her to press her face into his muscled forearm until her sobs had quieted, before he turned her around. Heโd kept one hand on her shoulder as he leaned to tug her shower curtain open and turn the water on, before returning to her. Slowly, and with more gentleness than Y/N thought she deserved, Sanemi began to undress her, chucking her vomit and sweat-stained clothes into her laundry bin before helping her into the shower.
Y/N stood numbly under the hot spray of the water as she waited, the sounds of Sanemiโs belt and pants hitting the cold tile of the floor before he parted the curtain and stepped into the bathtub with her.ย
The moment heโd re-oriented the shower curtain to close them in, Y/N melted against him. Sanemiโs hands came to her waist, gently turning her so that her back was to him, as though he knew she was losing the battle against the weariness that had seeped into her bones. His arms locked tightly around her, he guided them to sit on the floor of the bathtub. He situated Y/N between his legs, her back resting against his chest. One arm was wrapped around her upper shoulders, holding her to him, as the other wound around her waist from behind, gripping her hand in his. His lips found the juncture between her shoulder and neck, brushing softly against her wet skin once before he buried his face there and held her, as the hot water beat down upon them.ย
They stayed like that until Y/N could no longer tell whether the water on her face was from her tears or the spray of the shower nozzle above.ย
Only after the water had begun to cool and their fingers had turned wrinkled did Sanemi help her stand, reaching behind her to shut the shower off.ย
Sanemi stepped out first, grabbing a towel from where it hung on the back of her bathroom door, to secure around his waist. He then produced two more from Y/Nโs bathroom closet โ her two fluffiest โ and held them under his arm as he used his free hand to help Y/N out of her shower to stand on her bathmat.
Had sheโd any tears left, Y/N was certain they would have been shed as Sanemi gently toweled her hair and body try before he scooped her up and carried her to her bedroom.
Sanemi set her carefully on the edge of her bed before leaving to return to her bathroom once more. Y/Nโs eyes were fixed blankly on the carpeted floor of her room, her mind blank and that howling numbness that had become her constant companion over the last two months threatening to swallow her whole once more. She barely registered Sanemiโs return to her room until he, in all of his shower-dampened glory, knelt at her feet, with a bottle of her favorite lotion in hand.
Wordlessly, Sanemi pumped some of the lotion into his hand and began to gently massage it into her skin, starting at her feet and working his way up her legs. Once heโd reached the tops of her thighs, he repeated the action once more, carefully taking the time to ensure that he worked the lotion on every part of her body. With every stroke of his hand against her skin, Sanemi chased away that encroaching numbness, replacing it with the warmth of his adoration and love for her.
โHave you eaten today?โ Sanemiโs voice broke the comfortable silence that had settled over them.
Y/N shook her head. โBut Iโm not hungry โ really,โ She urged as Sanemi opened his mouth in protest. โCan we just โ just lay here?โ She patted the soft down of her bed, motioning for him to join her.
Sanemi nodded, rising to turn towards her dresser to pull out a pair of underwear for her and digging out a pair of briefs of his that heโd let her borrow as pair of shorts after one of their earlier trysts.
Once both had pulled their respective pairs of underwear on, Sanemi squeezed himself into the small crevice between her twin bed and her bedroom wall and held out his arm in an invitation that Y/N did not hesitate to accept.
She curled against his bare chest, warm against her own naked skin, and wrapped her arms around him, holding him close as she sighed deeply, inhaling his scent and allowing it to wash over her, and still her mind.
Sanemiโs hands absentmindedly stroked her hair, his lips periodically pressing against her hairline as she began to doze in his arms. Just before the exhaustion commanded her to fall into sleepโs embrace, she spoke.
โI meant what I said earlier โ I havenโt used Wisteria in over a week. I stopped drinking. Iโm done, Sanemi. I swear it.โ
Her face was pressed against his pectoral, so she did not see the tears of quiet, exhausted relief that filled his eyes as he pressed his lips against her forehead once more. โI know. Kyo mentioned on the way back that youโd been dealing with withdrawal for the last week. That it was why you werenโt answering your phone.โ
Sanemiโs arms tightened around her as she began to drift off. โIโm proud of you, Y/N.โ And then, he added in a voice so quiet that she almost didnโt hear it before sleepโs sweet lull pulled her under. โThank you for choosing to stay.โ
-----
She slept soundly through the night once more, until Sanemi awoke her in the early hours of the morning with his head between her legs, Y/N gaining consciousness just in time to come on his tongue. In the throes of her climax, Sanemi replaced its position at her entrance with his fingers as he dragged it up her messy folds so he could suckle at her clit.
Sleepily, Y/N clawed at his back, an impatient demand for more falling in the form of a whine from her lips, and Sanemi complied. He turned her onto her stomach and his cock found its way between her thighs as he began to fuck her from behind, his hips setting a leisurely pace as they slapped against her ass, Y/Nโs soft moans only growing in their vibrato as he brought her to orgasm yet again, his warmth flooding her shortly after as he sighed her name.
They remained in bed for another few hours, talking and holding one another, trading lazy kisses and gentle caresses because they could not get enough of touching each other like they were right then โ soft and meaningful, because Y/N and Sanemi were now a them, rather than two people who alternated running from the other.
Sanemi, it seemed, especially couldnโt keep his hands off her, which she found amusing, given that as children, Y/N was always the one who initiated any kind of affection with him, though she suspected that his begrudging acceptance of it had really been a front to conceal his true feelings.
His hand was smoothing up and down her bare thigh as she stroked his hair, his eyelids fluttering shut against her touch, when his phone rang from its place on her nightstand. ย Groaning, Sanemi blindly felt for the buzzing device, answering it only with a grunt as he kept his eyes locked on her, his hand still gliding up and down her shin.
His brow furrowed in seriousness, and he nodded, as though whomever was on the other end could actually see him, before he muttered a soft, โthanks, man,โ and clicked the phone off, tossing it back onto her covers.
โThat was Iguro. Shinobu is awake, and theyโre allowing visitors.โ His eyes were full of a quiet concern as he regarded her gently. โAre you okay to go right now?โ
Y/N was already making her way out of bed, nodding. Of course she was okay to go โ she needed to go, needed to assure for herself that her friend was awake and knew she was supported.
She dressed quickly, donning only a matching black workout set and sneakers before pulling a jacket over her bare shoulders. Sanemi merely tugged on the clothes he'd worn the day before.
โIโll stop at my place on the way back,โ he added, a faint blush coloring his cheeks. โIf you want me to stay again tonight, that is,โ
Y/N turned away so he wouldnโt see the small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth as she quieted a laugh, so as not to make him feel embarrassed. โI want you to stay.โ
Sanemi drove them, though he kept his hand firmly locked around hers the entire ride. Ever since theyโd began their physical relationship back at the start of the summer, sheโd been adamant that she wouldnโt allow herself to accept any affection from him if he didnโt have his cock buried inside of her while he gave it. It seemed too risky at the time, as though allowing him to care for her would blur some line she insisted had already been drawn, even though sheโd been the one to hold the stick marking the ground.
Now, in hindsight, she couldnโt believe sheโd denied herself of his intimacy for so long โ not when it felt this good to have his steadying, grounding warmth wrapped firmly around her hand, his thumb running over her knuckles as he smoothly worked the steering wheel with his free hand.
This -- whatever this was. It was good.
-----
By the time Sanemi drove them back to her apartment, the evening sky was beginning to shift from a pale blue to a creamy orange, the sun beginning its descent towards sleep for the night.
Y/N, herself, felt an exhaustion so heavy, she wondered whether it had infiltrated the marrow of her bones. Her head ached slightly after a solid hour of crying with Shinobu, the latter offering apology after apology as Y/N held her trembling form close, shushing her with assurances that sheโd never blamed the pixie-like girl for what Douma had chosen to do just a few weeks earlier.
Shinobu had confessed she hadnโt been trying to harm herself โ not really, anyways. Rather, sheโd been so overcome by her guilt and self-loathing that sheโd stopped keeping track of just how much alcohol sheโd been drinking or how much of her accursed Wisteria sheโd been ingesting. The cut on the side of her forehead truly hadnโt been that deep, but it had been the result of a fall she couldnโt break, just as Y/N expected.
Y/N had sat, curled beside her roommate and dear friend, for another couple of hours, until Giyuu materialized in the doorway, deep-set shadows under his eyes and breathing hard, as he took in Shinobuโs vulnerable form, hooked up to various hospital machines, with a thick bandage wrapped around her head.
Y/N had quietly untangled herself from her friend and quietly exited the room, patting Giyuuโs shoulder as she passed him, though the ravenette did not acknowledge her, far too focused on his crying girlfriend as he wrapped her in his arms and held her tightly against his chest.
As theyโd walked back to his car, Sanemi told her that Giyuu had driven straight through the night from his sisterโs the moment heโd received word of Shinobuโs condition, too frantic to be by her side to even stop for food or rest.
Sanemi swung by his apartment, as he promised, and emerged a few minutes later with a bag full of his clothes and toiletries before he drove the rest of the short drive back to her shared apartment with Mitsuri and Shinobu. Her best friend, however, had decided to stay over at Obanaiโs, and given that her other roommate was unlikely to be discharged before the following day, Y/N and Sanemi had her apartment to themselves once again.
After a dinner of vegetable omlettes, prepared by Sanemi, the pair fell back into Y/Nโs tiny twin bed, both exhausted from the excitement and stress of the previous four days. Y/N, in particular, had felt more emotionally zapped than she had in a long while, having spent the majority of the holiday weekend crying for one reason or another, and wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of her evening wrapped securely in Sanemiโs arms as she listened to his heartbeat lull her to sleep.
Sheโd stripped herself of her clothes, leaving herself in only her thong, as she pressed herself against Sanemiโs bare chest. Sanemi, however, could sense her weariness, and so they did no more than kiss every now and then, both merely content to simply hold the other and bask in their shared warmth.
โThank you for being here for me โ yesterday and today,โ Y/N murmured quietly, her lips grazing his collarbone.
Sanemiโs fingers brushed under her chin as he tilted her face up to meet her eyes. โI told you already, Iโm all in. Whatever it is you want from me, Iโll be it.โ
Y/N smiled wryly at him as her eyes roamed his face in consideration. โSo, does that mean weโre official? Are we boyfriend-girlfriend?โ
His responding smirk made her thighs squeeze together as he leaned in close to her face. โYou can call me whatever you want, baby,โ he kissed her nose before lowering his lips to hers, though he held back, teasingly. โAnd for however long as you want.โ
She giggled as he kissed her and it felt like coming home, and Y/N couldnโt remember the last time she felt like sheโd had one of those.
He broke away from her after a moment, hand coming to a rest against the side of her head while his thumb stroked her cheek, a profundity creeping into his eyes.
โI love you, Y/N. With all my heart.โ
Y/N thought her heart would fly out of her chest as Sanemi repeated the words sheโd uttered to him nearly two years prior. She thought hearing them would cause her to clam up, that they would send her careening back to the dark, lonely hole sheโd spent the last half of her university experience trying desperately to claw out of, but they did not.
Instead, Sanemiโs words โ her words โ mended something within her that sheโd long thought to have been irreparably broken. There was no emptiness left in her, no gnawing wound; it had been healed by him and his earnestness, and she only felt her love for him. Love that made her feel pretty, soft, and new, mending her broken heart with its golden light.
โI never stopped loving you,โ Y/Nโs voice grew thick with the tears that filled her eyes. โPlease know that. No matter how mad I was, no matter how low I felt, I always knew I loved you โ and I still do.โ
Sanemiโs answering grin was so beautiful, so bright, that she wondered why sheโd waited so long after making up to say it. His smile made her feel as though she could soar through the sky, breathless and wild and free.
Once upon a time, sheโd believed love was pretty; she imagined it would be soft, pink, and shiny and make her feel warm and pretty in return.
Then, as an adult, she realized that love was pretty, but not in the way sheโd imagined it would be when she listened to stories of princesses and their knights as a little girl. Love was a blur of many hues, some soft and bright, but some dark and harsh too, melding together to create a kaleidoscope of light and shadows. And it was because of this phantasmagoria of joy and pain and laughter and sadness that love was so beautiful, and so worth fighting for, because in the end, finding herself in the arms of the only person sheโd ever loved outweighed any of the heartache which preceded it, and it would be worth whatever heartache was sure to come.
Because loving Sanemi Shinazugawa was worth it all.
EPILOGUE โ 2 months later
The sun was golden and bright and the air as crisp as an apple as the couple de-boarded their train at the small station in their hometown, hands clasped tightly together. The blazing heat of summer had quickly given way to October, and the autumn harvest brought with it a new tiding of ruby and ochre yellow leaves.
Y/N was grateful for the loose sweater sheโd worn โ stolen from Sanemiโs dresser one day several weeks earlier when sheโd insisted she needed his scent to take back to her apartment with her, to help her get through the first wave of reading and papers sheโd been slammed with. Initially, Sanemi had protested with a grumbled โfuck off,โ as sheโd tried to lay claim to his favorite sweater.
Heโd change his tune rather quickly, however, when his girlfriend then donned the garment whilst giving him what he later called โthe best head of his life.โ And so, the worn, dark gray sweater had remained safely in Y/Nโs care.
As the train doors slid shut behind them, Y/N took a deep, steadying breath, mentally preparing herself for the reason theyโd risen early that Saturday morning to return to their sleepy hometown.
The gentle squeeze of Sanemiโs hand around hers as he brought their interlocked fingers to his mouth for a sweet kiss, helped abate some of her nerves and grounded her.
โYou ready?โ He murmured, his eyes warm and so full of love and concern for the woman beside him that Y/N felt her heart lurch.
She smiled at him, softly, and rose on her toes to press a chaste kiss against his lips. โIโm ready.โ
The advantage of living in a small town โ no more than a village, really โ was that nearly everything was within walking distance, as long as one did not mind a few steep hills here and there. And so, the couple set off from their townโs small train station, towards the grocer to pick up flowers โ two bouquets, one for each grave that marked the final resting spot for their loved ones.
Autumnal arrangements in hand, the pair walked in a comfortable silence up the hill leading to the cemetery.
โGenyaโs with the rest of my family,โ Sanemi said quietly as they passed the iron-gated entrance that gave way to the sprawl of headstones that lined the grassy hilltop. โTheyโre just over here.โ
Y/N nodded, squeezing Sanemiโs hand in assurance as her boyfriend led her up a small trail to a row of graves gathered beneath an old willow tree.
When Sanemi had shared with her that he made this bi-weekly sojourn to visit and lay flowers on the graves of his family, Y/N had cried. Sheโd held him tightly, offering a litany of apologies for not being there for him more, for the fact heโd been doing it alone.
He wouldnโt hear of it, insisting that she hadnโt anything to apologize for, which only made her cry harder.
A hush fell over the pair as they drew up upon the Shinazugawa family graves, Y/Nโs heart breaking a little more as her eyes scanned each name, the life spans etched into the stones far too short.
Wordlessly, Sanemi plucked a flower from the bouquet he carried and laid one at the base of each gravestone, repeating the process until no more flowers remained. Once the last flower was placed, just over Genyaโs grave, Sanemi straightened, gripping Y/Nโs hand tightly in his own as his other lifted to wipe at his eyes.
โHeโd be over the moon, ya know, that weโre finally together,โ Sanemi murmured, his voice hoarse with his grief, nodding at the last stone bearing the name of his beloved brother. โHe used to give me all kinds of shit for not making a move sooner.โ
โHe always was wise beyond his years,โ Y/N sniffed quietly, her own tears slipping freely down her cheeks. โHe used to pester me about it, too โ would always ask if I was single, and if I said โyes,โ heโd mention that you were also single.โ She huffed a watery laugh as the image of the boyโs smiling face flashed through her memory. โThough, I think he did it more so to tease me, because Iโd always turn as red as a tomato whenever heโd mention it.โ
Sanemi smiled softly as he squeezed her hand. โItโs a family trait, I sโppose.โ
The couple remained at the site of Sanemiโs familyโs graves for a little while longer, the last living Shinazugawa tucking his girlfriend tightly into his side as he held her close, her warmth helping to keep him anchored here, to life, rather than wishing he slumbered beneath the hardening ground with his family.
Eventually, they agreed to make their way toward the other grave that had drawn them there, Y/N taking a deep, steadying breath as she prepared herself to visit her motherโs final resting place for the first time since her death.
โI think the map said sheโs over this way,โ Y/N nodded at a small, winding path that led down a gentle hill to the south of the Shinazugawa plot. โI remember I wanted her over there by the walnut tree โ she loved them in the autumn.โ
Sanemi nodded and let her lead the way, her fingers clutching tightly around the bouquet in her hands as she drew nearer to the tree which marked her motherโs plot, her stomach twisting with anticipation.
Because she knew, the moment her eyes settled on the stone with her motherโs name and dates of birth and death, that reality would hit her all over again; but she persisted, for the sake of her mother, whoโd loved her more than anything.
โMr. Shinazugawa!โ A voice called, and both looked over to see the old cemetery caretaker waving in greeting as the pair made their way towards the section where Y/Nโs mother rest.
โGood morning, Mr. Urokodaki,โ Sanemi answered, nodding respectfully in greeting. โI canโt believe they have you working on the weekends.โ
The grandfatherly caretaker chuckled. โOnly the departed sleep; I do not.โ He shifted the rake he was holding from one hand to another as he wiped his brow.ย โItโs been a few weeks since I last saw you!โ
โSchool has kept me busy, sir.โ Sanemiโs hand around hers squeezed and Y/N smiled softly.
โWell, I had a feeling Iโd be seeing you soon, so I went ahead and cleared any leaves off Mrs. Y/L/Nโs grave for you โ and I took the liberty of clearing out the flowers you brought last time.โ
Y/Nโs breath died in her throat as she looked between the old man and her boyfriend, her eyes wide.
Mr. Urokodaki appeared to mistake her shock for confusion. โHeโs such a kind lad, your friend!โ The old man smiled warmly at Sanemi, before continuing his explanation to her. โHe brings flowers not just for his family, but for a woman he knew growing up โ like clockwork, every two weeks, for the last year. Thatโs why I was worried when he didnโt show up last week!โ
Sanemi chuckled softly. โIโm back to the regular schedule now, sir!โ And he bid the old caretaker farewell. He turned back to his girlfriend, but froze at the expression on her face, mouth slightly open and eyes as round as saucers.
โY-you, youโve b-been,โ she stuttered, her eyes welling with tears as she began to shake.
Sanemi hesitantly reached for her, brushing her hair back behind her ear. โIโm sorry. I know I shouldโve asked, first, but we werenโt talking yet, and I wanted to make sure --,โ Sanemiโs explanation was cut off with a small mmph! as Y/N grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and hauled his mouth down to hers.
After a long moment, she broke away. โT-this whole time, โNemi โ you โ,โ Y/N could hardly speak through her tears. Sanemiโs arms wound tightly around her waist, locking her to him as she buried her face into his neck.
Her boyfriendโs lips found her side of her head and he smiled softly into her hair. โTch, idiot,โ he said, affectionately. โI told you already โ there hasnโt been a single moment thatโs gone by that I havenโt loved you.โ
โAnd I loved her, too.โ He added quietly after a moment.
Sanemiโs words only served to make her cry harder, her arms tightening around his neck as she poured every ounce of her love and gratitude into the force with which she hugged him tightly against her.
Y/N couldnโt stop herself from peppering his face with kisses, as Sanemiโs smile stretched wide across his face. The brilliance of his happiness was nearly blinding, but Y/N knew she would never desire to look away from it โ from him.
Y/N pulled back to study his face, her hand coming to rest against the side that bore his scars, her thumb gently stroking the one that crossed his nose. โI love you,โ she whispered. The tears still shone in her eyes, but beneath them lay a fierce sincerity. โI love you. I love you. I love you.โ
His lilac irises glimmered with his own emotion at her words, and his hand reached to intertwine with hers once more, the other lifting to brush the last, errant tear that escaped down her cheek.
โCโmon,โ he said thickly after a moment, โDonโt wanna keep your Ma waiting.โ
Cries. Thanks for reading!
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