Agoraphobia

Salvage

Bliss. Takemichi felt complete bliss. His cheeks flushed, wet with happy tears as his lower lip warbled.

Emma had brought him a gift and he was being a total crybaby about it. He was so honored.

He had welcomed Emma into the house about twenty minutes after Mikey had left. Mikey was excited when Takemichi had woken up. He had apparently had really good news and had even hugged Takemichi in such a close manner that had him blushing as Mikey rushed out the door.

Takemichi was happy for him since he had been pretty grim the last few days. 

He used his cane to reach the wall of windows and placed the little moon cactus on the shelf adhered to the glass behind the thick curtains. The cactus itself was cute, the red head was a healthy shade, the green body buried in bright white pebbles and the prickly parts undamaged.

He stared at the cactus for a moment and made a decision. He pulled open the curtains fully with his eyes screwed shut, the rising sun a bit too bright for his tastes, even if his eyesight had been healed enough to not feel too much discomfort in his only functional eye again.

He smiled again as he looked towards the ground from up so high, the people so far away from him. He felt so free, so safe and as he looked over his shoulder and watched Emma hum a song to herself as she moved around the kitchen, he felt loved and accepted too.

Emma had thought of him while looking at this cactus and it brought a smothering warmth to his chest.

A cactus.

Did she, perhaps, just think it was cute? Or did she know what all gifting a cactus symbolized?

"Emma-chan?" Takemichi asked as he watched the woman who was placing groceries away into the cabinets. He limped his way over to help her,  but she lightly smacked his hands away playfully.

Emma grinned, her smile just as pretty as Mikey's was, "Just sit down, Take-chan, I'll take care of this." She placed some rice packs onto the counter and dug through another bag and pulled out red bean paste and the man smiled softly as he turned away.

He watched her for a moment. She was wearing a cute winter's outfit, a pair of jeans with a white, flowery blouse, her fluffy jacket hanging on the rack on the wall by the door. She was super pretty and Takemichi admired her confidence.

Takemichi reluctantly sat in his seat at the bar and looked at the woman bashfully. She tucked a strand of blond hair behind her ear and smiled when she looked up to him, "Yes, Take-chan? Didn't you have a question?"

His smile wavered, but didn't fall completely, "Do you, maybe, know what the cactus represents?"

Emma looked at  him a bit surprised, but it quickly turned to a smile again, "Of course," She set down a second carton of eggs and approached him, hands reached out to rub his wet cheeks, "They're for people who are resilient fighters who don't give up, even in tough situations."

She gently wiped at the tears falling from Takemichi's eyes, "They're for protection and warmth too," She just continued to smile softly, "You're the resilient fighter who saved me, so please accept my warmth and protection, Takemichi-kun."

He couldn't help the tears now. He raised his hands and placed them over Emma's own. She was a sweet person and her face was the second one he could see, Draken's being the third one. It felt like he was normal again after so many years thinking he was nothing of the sort.

It was incredible to be accepted like this.

Not even Hinata accepted him like this before.

The blond turned away and opened the fridge as Takemichi's fingers trailed over where the girl's had been, "Ah~ Take-chan," Emma whined from the fridge, "I didn't know you could bake so well. Why didn't you tell me sooner?"