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"BOOYAH! That's 75 points off my score! I just need 120 more to win!" Y/n strutted to the board to retrieve her darts, confident that she was going to win.
"Wow, you're actually good at something." Tsukishima rolled his eyes as she returned to his side, watching him take his aim at the board.
"I'm good at everything I do, you just hate to admit it."
"Yeah right. You can barely remember to do your job."
"You can barely remember to do your—"
"We aren't going through this again!!" Tsukishima hissed at y/n's mocking, making her chuckle.
meanwhile
Maki quietly drank her beer from her glass, her and Shindo sitting in silence. There was so much that they wanted to ask each other, but now that they were alone, they suddenly didn't know what to say.
"...Shindo—" "...Maki—"
"Uh...Sorry, go first." Shindo insisted.
"No no, go ahead." Maki insisted back, leaning back against the seat as she set her beer down.
"Oh, uhm...I just wanted to ask...
how's Lily?"
Maki choked, her eyes opening a bit wider than they were before. ...Even after I broke up with him...
he's still worrying about her.
"...Shindo—"
"I know, I know Maki. You don't want me to focus on Lily. But I really miss the kid!" He pleaded, his expression going soft.
Maki's brows fell, along with her shoulders. "...She's doing fine. She's staying with my mom at the moment."
"Ahh, I see...You know, if you ever need someone to look after her—"
"It's fine Shindo. I have a babysitter that takes care of her—"
"You've been paying a babysitter? Isn't that a lot of money?"
"...It's not that much."
"...Maki..." Shindo muttered, looking down at the table. "...What happened to us?"
"..."
"We were in such a happy relationship. Why did we have to end it so soon?" He asked, his eyes going sad.
Maki but the inside of her cheek. "...I told you, Shindo. You should live your life—"
"I was living it! With you! And Lily!—"
"You were living the life of a dad, Shindo!" Maki snapped back. "I...I don't want Lily growing up thinking your her father, when we aren't even ready to settle down! Imagine how hurt she'd be after forming an attachment to you, and we don't work out!—"
"But I still love you, Maki!" Shindo interrupted her, making Maki hitch back. "I won't see Lily if you don't want me to! We can still be together!"
"You know it isn't that simple, Shindo. Now that I have a daughter, every decision I make must include the factors of her and how it could affect her—"
"Maki..."
She looked up to him, his gaze completely avoiding hers.
"...Do you still love me?"
"...I..." She whispered, her whole body dropping in temperature. "...If I say I do...you would just wait for me..."
"...Yeah, I would. I can't love anyone as much as I love you."
"..."
"...I'll see you Monday, okay?" Shindo mumbled, scooting down the seat and standing up from the table.
"Wait, Shindo—"
"No, I get it now. You just want to protect Lily...But in this whole situation...
you never considered my feelings."
Maki's mouth fell open, Shindo walking away from the table to leave the bar. "...Shindo!!" Maki called out to him, leaving the booth to follow him out.
"AH HA! Bullseye!!" Y/n pumped her fist in the air and twirled around in victory, her and Tsukishima's second game coming to an end. "That was best out of 3! I win!"
"You totally cheated."
"HUH!? HOW—"
"Shindo!!"
"Huh?" Y/n and Tsukishima hummed, turning their heads to see Shindo and Maki leave the bar.
"...They're leaving?" Tsukishima mumbled.
"They both looked kinda upset...Maybe they had an argument...What do you think it was about?"
Tsukishima shrugged. "Most likely their relationship."
Y/n sighed, setting the darts back into a basket that was on a nearby table. "I feel bad for both of them. They still want each other, but Maki's main focus is her daughter..."
"...I don't get it. Why can't Maki be with Shindo? Just because of Lily? Shindo likes the kid, so why does it matter?"
"That's the thing...Before I came to work at Dismal, Maki would tell me all about this boy she was dating, and about how sweet he was to Lily...but then she started to think about the future.
If they stayed together, Lily will grow up to believe that Shindo is her father. But if they don't work out or something, it could lead to some emotional trauma on Lily...Finding out that the man you thought was your father, was actually just some random dude, can be a lot of stress on a kid...
On top of that, Maki felt bad that Shindo would worry so much about Lily like she was his own kind. He's, what, 20? He's younger than all of us by 4 to 5 years, he should be living his life like the young adult he is, or so Maki says.
Really, Maki just needs to find a way to eliminate the risk of traumatizing Lily, so that way her and Shindo could stay together. And Shindo needs to prove to Maki that he doesn't mind spending his twenties with a child..."
Y/n suddenly froze, slowly turning to Tsukishima. "...I just went on a tangent there, didn't I?"
"Yeah, a little bit...But it makes more sense now...Shindo didn't really understand the reason Maki broke up with him. He knew there was a deeper reason, but couldn't figure out what it was..." Tsukishima turned to the front door of the bar, thinking about where Maki and Shindo could've gone.
"Man, I just want Maki to be happy!" Y/n whined, leaning against the wall by the dartboard.
"...This is weird."
"Hm?" Y/n looked up at Tsukishima, his eyes narrowed at her. "What is?"
"...We had a normal conversation."
"...Huh...so we did..." Y/n mumbled, looking away as she replayed their dialogue. He was right, they didn't call each other names, insult one another, or yell once during their 3 minute chat.
"...It felt wrong."
"Agreed. Let's not do that again." Y/n pushed off the wall, brushing past him to walk back to the booth. "...Wait..."
