Chishiya x Reader Oneshots

Like my Father

Second commissioned oneshot for @Mel_Mio ! This one is based on the song "Like my Father" by Jax.

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You had always experienced the Chishiya family as cold, condescending people who only have their own career and profit in mind. Mr. Chishiya, the famous surgeon who abandoned his only son for studies and work and who had been left by his wife while little Shuntarou had only been a few years old, because she couldn't stand the cold atmosphere. The aunts and uncles you had met so far had been the same; only talking about money and status and whatnot.

Chishiya Shuntarou, the mysterious blonde you had met in the Borderlands, had seemed to be the same at first. A condescending, manipulating man who never cared about the lives of others unless they were of any use for him. He had convinced people to die in those deadly games simply so he could live, and he never even twitched upon seeing the misery of others.

This coldness had been one of many reasons why you found him so interesting, and it had taken you much longer to realize that this wasn't the only aspect about him. Chishiya Shuntarou seemed like an uncaring person simply because of his past and what he had went through as a child, but with you, his heart had gotten a chance to warm up. You had fallen in love in the Borderlands, had both been at the brink of death yet survived, and had found each other in the real world once you were allowed to return. And then, slowly but steadily, he allowed you to see who he really was.

It started with little notes, on the fridge, on the table, under your keys. Notes giving you strength for exams, reminding you of important appointments, or telling you to take a sweater with you because there would be rain later that day.

These notes became more personal with time, stating that you should come to a certain restaurant after work or that you should take a look into the bathroom, where he had prepared everything for a nice hot bath right before heading to work just so you could relax. It was something Chishiya wouldn't talk about; if you had told your friends, probably he would have denied it with his typical smirk. But these little gestures didn't need any words at all, the fact that they were there was more than enough to you.

One would think that such romantic gestures – and for a Chishiya, those certainly counted as romantic – would fade with years going by. But when the children came and everything changed, his love and hidden signs of affection stayed the same. While you struggled with a body that had to cope with pregnancy, Chishiya would slander about all the perfectly shaped women crossing the street and make subtle compliments about the things you still liked about yourself. He helped you feel better in so many ways simply by being himself and showing that no matter how much your appearance would change, his feelings would stay the same.

He was the one to open your door of the car so casually as if it was the most natural thing on this planet, and he tended to hand you your jacket while pulling on his own. Tiny gestures, but after so many years, they still counted.

When your favorite song was running, he'd turn the volume up and throw a side-grin to you just to see if you were dancing to it. He wouldn't dance with you of course, since it was still Chishiya Shuntarou, but he'd make sure you enjoyed it.

It wasn't always easy, of course. With his difficult past, Chishiya wasn't always able to be the father others would describe as "perfect", and there would be more than just one argument. But after decades of being married and still waking up or coming home to post-its on the fridge or a hot pizza on the table because he knew you would be too tired to cook, those arguments weighted little.

With Chishiya Shuntarou, you realized that true love doesn't have to be princesses and princes, pink dresses and white horses. True love hides in the little things, words and gestures, especially with a man who rarely shows emotion to anything else. But you – you were always worth a smile or a firm touch of his hand, until his very last breath. And until you took yours, you'd hold that love so tight nothing would ever be able to replace it.

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Being a Chishiya comes with many burdens. People all over Japan know that name and associate it with the most famous people: surgeons, lawyers, bankers. Chishiyas have been everywhere, always at the top. Therefore it wasn't easy for me growing up with that name. I am just a normal human being, no one who's known all over the country. The decency most likely comes from my mother's side, since she was a normal human as well. And still... she married Chishiya Shuntarou, a surgeon even more famous than his father before him. A man who fascinates me even after I've lived with him for so many years, after he raised me up.

He isn't that fascinating because he was famous, no. It is because of the way he treated my mom. I know that my father has been a difficult person, cold and condescending to most others, always knowing everything better and quite hard to read. But when it came to my mom, there would be this warm spark in his eyes that never left. A slight twitch of his lips, not yet daring to turn into a smile, whenever he saw her. This is the love I want to experience myself: true and genuine.

More than once, I have caught him writing those little notes to my mom, saying the most absurd things: Bring a sweater with you, or don't choose the white shoes today. They felt so weird to me at first, but now I understand. Mom needed that sweater because a rainstorm was happening later that day, and the white shoes would have gotten completely dirty in the mud, which would have angered mom a lot.

Dad talked down a lot of people, and yet I've never heard a single bad word about mom coming out of his mouth. Sure, he'd tell her to do this thing better next time or correct her when she said something wrong; he'd give her a raised brow when they were in an argument she couldn't win. Sometimes he'd simply shut up and let things be, although I know how hard it must have been for him not to have the last word while knowing full well that he's on the right side, or to let her win in a game he could have easily won (which happened very, very rarely. But it happened).

He has done many things he would never have done if it wasn't for my mom.

I remember one evening especially – mom's favorite song has been playing on the radio, a terribly old piece of music that always made me question why she liked it – and dad had turned the radio up, like he always does with that song although he dislikes it as much as I do. Mom, who instantly was happy to hear it, has begun to slow dance in the living room, forcing my dad to dance with her. He didn't want to, rolled his eyes and had plenty of arguments why he shouldn't do this, but in the end, he let her win. Because he loved her.

Yes, my family and my parents were far from perfect. No one is, right? No family ever does all things right, there are always dark times, troubles, arguments... and still, I've seen many families fall apart after a decade or so simply because the feelings weren't there anymore. Because the love wasn't there anymore. Couples got a divorce to discover new happiness with new people, which seemed to become a trend with all the patchwork families around me.

And then, there were Chishiya Shuntarou and my mom. Still writing silly little notes, still opening the car door for the other after thirty years of being married. My mother never had to wear a crown to feel like a queen. She didn't need an expensive bouquet of flowers to feel special. No extra kilogram, no pimple could make her feel bad because my dad would be there, loving her just the way she was (if one ignores the half-hearted suggestions of making more sport and using a better skin cleaner).

This is the love everyone wants to experience in their life. And especially the love I need.

I need a man who loves me...

... like my father loved my mom.