blackmail; shuji hanma

twelve. everywhere

For the first time in what seemed like ages, when (Y/N) awakened, she was greeted with her apartment. A sigh of relief left her when she found that everything was as she had left it - her phone was still on the bedside table, the notes for the article she had due were still scattered over her closed laptop, and her favorite sweatshirt was well within reach. It was almost like her time in the past had never happened. 

Pulling on her sweatshirt over the clothes she had decided to sleep in, she shuffled over to the direction of the kitchen. A yawn left her and she covered her mouth with her hand out of habit, and at the same time the cold feeling of metal hit her lips, she nearly tripped over a rug at the sight in her living room. Every thought correlated with the wedding ring back on her finger left her as she saw the abomination of information that filled her apartment. 

Strung from the ceiling from one end of the room to the other were photographs, each connected to another with a red string as though she was running some sort of large scale information network. There was a whiteboard in the corner with detailed notes on it and barely any white space left, along with a dozen or so dry erase markers set out on the ledge. She was so distracted by the transformation of her once clean living room, she didn't even notice the man drinking a cup of coffee on her couch until he spoke.

"It's nice to finally see you again, future (Y/N)," Hanma said, taking a sip from his coffee and taking her full attention.

"Again? It happened again," she whispered, caught between distress and relief that her harsh words hadn't worked on him. With a shaky exhale, (Y/N) said, "I told you not to marry me, stupid."

"What could I do?" he shrugged, "You asked me."

She couldn't stop the soft expression that fell upon her face as found herself glad that the future had ended up this way once more. Hanma's appearance was exactly the same as the last time she saw him in this time, from his messy dyed hair to his round, wire-rimmed glasses to the wedding ring bound around his left ring finger. The words that she had just spoken to his past self rang in her mind, and she regretted them more than ever.

"I'm sorry," (Y/N) blurted out, "For telling you not to date me or marry me. I shouldn't have been so rude to you."

The way he looked at her made her heart skip a beat; it was a mixture of love and forgiveness she didn't think he was capable of. His smile was gentler than she had ever seen it and she wondered why he would ever look at her in such a way if not because his feelings for her were genuine. Hanma's following words only made that notion more apparent.

"That was a couple of minutes ago for you, wasn't it? I'll let you in on a little secret, I forgave you the moment you said that. It's a shame I'm this in love with you, because if you were anyone else, you're pretty face would have been all messed up," he said with a grin. 

Although his words were reassuring, she couldn't stop the small shake of her head and the huffed laugh that left her lips. A wave of tiredness hit her and so she collapsed beside him on the couch, this time, not minding the way his body felt next to hers. (Y/N) let her head fall on his shoulder, in response, he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer.

"I want to fall in love with you too," she mumbled, quiet enough so that he showed no signs of hearing her. 

The yearning in her chest became stronger as she sat with him, a yearning that called for her to share the same feeling of love that he had expressed to her. She wanted to be there when she knew that she was falling in love with him, to feel the twinge of emotion in her heart, and when the matching rings were placed on their fingers. After spending so much time with Shuji Hanma in both the past and the future, she wanted nothing more than to live life until this moment with him in her own time.

There was a peaceful silence between the two for good while, then Hanma put down his coffee mug on one of the side tables and removed his arm from around her in order to stretch. He then moved from the couch, taking the warmth with him, and over to the tv in the room, kneeling down to set something up. After a moment of watching him curiously, she realized he was setting up a game console she didn't have before.

When he returned to her side, he was carrying two controllers, handing one to her as he settled back down beside her, closer than before. Hanma was smirking as he pulled up a video game for them to play and (Y/N) soon saw why.

"A horror game, really?" (Y/N) asked, unimpressed if he was trying to scare her. But at the same time, she was thankful for the distraction, thinking she might as well take a break from the fast pace her life had been taking. 

He bumped his shoulder against hers, "Just trying to take your mind off things. And if you get scared, you can always cuddle with me."

"Shuji, nothing is scarier than reality." 

Hanma was caught between teasing her for using his first name and laughing at her response, finally settling for leaning over and pressing a swift kiss to the corner of her lips. "You're so adorable it should be illegal."

The entirety of the game, she wasn't scared once.

She was too consumed with the lingering feeling of his lips so close to hers.