dearest beloved [sanzu haruchiyo]

12.

comforting his childhood sweetheart

*ೃ༄·˚

"rin...open your ey...rin wake up!" a voice called out.

said woman felt her head ache as she did as she was told.

dark brown eyes met pale blue ones, the female's eyes widened in confusion as she stared at the man in front of her. his hands were gripping her shoulders in a gentle way and his eyes, they held some kind of emotion she could not decipher...fear was it?...or was it concern?

"are you okay? it was just a nightmare." the man wrapped his arms around the woman's slender figure and pulled her closer to his chest. rin could not help but hug him back. tears were flowing down her cheeks as a sob erupted from her throat, the man held her even closer after that.

"shh, it's okay, you're alright. I'm here," his voice was soothing, the brunette calmed down as he continued whispering sweet nothings into her ear.

a few minutes later, after she had sobered up from her outburst, they finally let go of each other. the atmosphere became tensed real quick, as the two sat across each other and the man gently wiped away her tears. despite having just bawled her eyes out, she still looked beautiful, that's what was running through his mind right now. when he heard her cry from next door, he immediately dashed to her room, only to find her fidgeting and crying in her sleep. it was not the first time he'd witnessed it.

the nightmares started after ryuko and keiji's deaths, and sanzu was there to witness her breakdown everynight until she could finally move away. she was all alone, so he tried being there for her as much as he could...but I guess it never was enough. sanzu sighed as he his hand grazed the woman's cheek gently.

"do you need anything? water? ice-cream? anything?"

"I'm alright haru, don't worry," the male felt a tug at his heart at the familiar nickname. only she used to call him that.

"tell me that when I don't find you screaming and crying in your sleep rin"

"i'm okay, really" the female smiled slightly, making sanzu stand up.

"you don't have to tell me what happened but if you're really fine, i'll get going okay?" he strode slowly towards the door when rin called out to him.

"haru"

"hmm?"

"could you stay the night please?"

that question took the both of them off-guard. rin was not aware that she had accidentally voiced out her thoughts aloud.

"I mean, if you want me to, I will"

haruchiyo made his way to rin's closet and pulled out a pillow and comforter. where did those come from? she had no idea but whichever works. the male then laid them out on the floor and was about to lay down when the woman spoke again.

"what are you doing?"

"uh sleeping?"

"on the floor?"

"uh yeah, where else?"

rin gave him a 'are you an idiot?' look and then pointed at the empty space beside her.

"ohh...uh...can I?"

"of course, why else would I suggest it dumbass," she chuckled lightly as the male scratched the nape of his neck in an embarrassed manner. he never failed so surprise her.

"right," the male quickly picked up his things and walked to the other side of the bed.

"won't it be awkward?" he questioned once again as he stood at the foot of the bed instead of sitting down next to her.

"now that you mentioned it, it probably will.. but it's alright I guess. it's you and we've done it plenty of times before, so get in here already"

"alright then, scoot over"

sanzu plopped down next to the petite female, making himself comfortable as he pulled the covers up to his shoulders. he turned to look at rin, only to find her staring at him.

"what?"

"thank you...you know for doing this," she said.

"it's okay, don't worry about it, now go to sleep"

"goodnight haru"

"goodnight rin," both of them had faint smiles ghosting their lips as they closed their eyes.

was this even real?

what just happened. was the thing haruchiyo kept asking himself as he stared at the white ceiling above his head. since when were they so comfortable around each other? it was just...weird, not that he minded it but the situation itself was messed up in such a way that the pink-haired male could not get it out of his mind.

he turned to his side, where laid this beautiful woman once he used to call his. he watched, as her chest rose and fell rhythmically, with her plump lips slightly parted as her long lashes gently caressed her cheeks, casting shadows down onto them. she looked ethereal, and haruchiyo was mesmerized by her beauty. WHAT THE FUCK HARUCHIYO GET A GRIP.

the male finally sat up, eyes widening as he tried processing all that happened tonight. he caste one last glance at the sleeping beauty next to him before getting up.

I hope she does not remember what happened, he thought as he grabbed the comforter and neatly put it back in her closet.

his mind was a mess right now, this was too much.

the male quickly strode towards the door, trying not to make any noise so as not to wake up the woman. he closed the door as silently as he could before making his way to his room. he took hurried steps towards his bedside table and slid open the drawer.

he frowned as he saw the sprawled photo albums next to his white sachets. ah fuck it. he took one of the packets of white crystalline powder and made his way to the low table in front of his bed. he sat cross-legged on the floor, pulled out a card from his wallet and gently layered the powder on the flat surface. he took a note bill and quickly rolled it up.

the man held the tip of the tube to his nose as he inhaled the first row of white powder in a rushed manner. he did it a few times more before he let out a sigh and laid his head back on the mattress.

he felt an immediate sense of euphoria rush to his head as a dazed smile made its way to his lips and he closed his eyes.

ah this feels so much better.