My Sunshine

Valentine's Day - Iruka

Iruka was still up, waiting for Haru. While he knew Kata, he was still nervous for Haru. What if this was just too much for her right now?  Maybe pushing her to do this was too much.  Was he trying to move her too fast?  There were a million thoughts in his mind.  And the weather was bad, and only going to get worse.

The front door clicked open and Haru appeared.

"You didn't have to wait up for me."

He shut the book he was reading.

"I was just worried. How was your date?"

She shrugged.

"It was nice. He wasn't pushy or anything. He bought me dinner and we talked. I even gave him a little kiss at the end of the night. It felt... normal? What I imagine normal would be, at least.  I also found out that tonight was Valentine's Day.  Kinda wish you had mentioned that last night."

He gave her another fake smile.

"I'm glad your night went well."

He stood up, not able to listen to anymore of her date.

"Goodnight, Haru."

"Oh, you're just... going to bed?"

"Yeah, I think so. Like I said, I just wanted to make sure you got home safely."

He began to walk to the hallway, but Haru blocked his way.  And she blew up.

"What in the fuck has been going on since the fall festival?! Things were great between us and now it's like you're trying to push me out of your house and your life. And it seems like you're making the excuse that so many guys would love to start a family with me! What if I don't want those things, Iruka?! What did I do to make you act this way?! Do you not like me anymore?! Are you trying to push me off on Kata so you can have your apartment back to yourself?!  Because if that's what it is, just fucking say it!"

She began sobbing. He closed his eyes. Feeling emotions bubble to the surface in an uncontrollable way. And then, he blurted out words that were supposed to stay in his head.

"Not like you?!  How could you even say that?! I fucking love you!"

That wasn't how he wanted to say that, but it was out there now. He sighed, frustrated.

"But I can't! I can't, Haru! Loving you isn't an option that guys like me get! You're a queen! You're young and you're so beautiful! Why in the fuck would you want to attach yourself to me!?"

She looked crushed as the words flew from his mouth. 

"I hate you..."

 She moved to the side, but he didn't move. Instead, she brushed by him and walked back out the front door, shutting it behind her. He stood for a minute, still shocked at what had just happened. She was gone. Into the snowstorm.

She was gone!

Iruka turned and threw his shoes on, running out the door into the snowy night, desperate to find her. But, she was nowhere to be found.

"Haru!"

No answer. He began to run, trying to track her, but it was snowing so hard that he couldn't see anything.

"Haru!"

Where would she go?  He headed to the park, knowing that was a favorite place of hers. Running down the snowy paths, he was panicked. What was he going to do if he couldn't find her. This was her first winter here, and he knew she wasn't used to the cold and snow. What if she had underestimated herself in these conditions?

As he ran, he suddenly slipped on a patch of newly formed ice. Falling backwards, he smashed the back of his head and his hip against the hard ground. Losing his vision for a second, he felt warm blood seeping from the back of his head. Scrambling up, he knew he still had to find Haru. He wasn't sure if she knew her way around the massive park well enough to get home if the conditions became any worse.

He ran through the massive park for ten minutes until he finally saw a figure bundled up on a bench.

"Haru?"

"G-G-GO AW-WAY!"

He approached her, even though she had clearly told him not to. She was clearly freezing as the air was getting colder and the snow was falling harder.

"I know that you're mad at me, but can you be mad at me someplace that's safe and warm? Not out in a blizzard in the park?"

She didn't move.

"I h-hate you. I h-hate y-you for h-hiding that f-from m-me."

What?

He knelt down in front of her. Her face was red from the cold and she was crying. His eyes were still having a little trouble focusing from the fall.

"For keeping what from you?"

"F-For n-not t-telling m-me that you loved m-me."

He had so much he wanted to say to her, but not right here.

"Hey!"

He scooped her up; they didn't have the luxury of fighting out in the park.

"You can tell me how much you hate me at home."

She had been out here for too long. He began to run back through the park, glad that their apartment was close by, since he could still feel warm blood seeping down the back of his neck.

When they arrived, Iruka opened the front door and brought the snow covered woman inside, stripping her cloak off and laying her on the couch, he knelt on the floor beside her. He was beginning feel as if he would lose consciousness, but didn't have time to be hurt. Not when so much was riding on this moment.

"Haru, I'm so sorry. I should've never said that."

She was shaking and crying as she covered her face with her hands. When she spoke, her voice was weak and sad.

"How.. how could you tell me you love me? After you insisted that I spend tonight having dinner with another man? And apparently, today is Valentine's Day. That was a slap in the face when I got there. You acted as if you wanted me away from you, and then you tell me you love me? And then you tell me you can't allow yourself to love me? What am I supposed to do with that? Why are your eyes so dilated?"

He felt the emotional lump in the back of his throat grow larger. Just as he was about to respond, he threw up all over himself. She jumped off of the couch, her skin still red from the cold. Kneeling down, she pulled his chin up to hers and examined him closely before sticking his face into her chest to examine the back of him. And then, she gasped.

"Fuck!"

She let him go and scrambled off the floor. That was the last thing he remembered before falling into unconsciousness.