Ardent Hope: Chainsaw Man x Male Reader Insert.

39. Bed of Flowers.

The faint winter could already be felt on the air.

November it was, cool and dry. Blue skies weren't still unusual, and yet, the maple trees had turned into a deep tone of scarlet that merged properly with the golden leaves of other trees such as maidenhair trees. Autumn certainly was a beautiful sight, one that (Y/N) always enjoyed, and such a tradition it was for him to walk through parks to see the colors of autumn, that he couldn't bring himself to ignore it this year, even though this time he wasn't alone.

"I told you!" Power explained to him excitedly as they walked. "If I were to be prime minister, all of humanity except you would be destroyed!"

"Yeah, you already told me about that."

"Oh, and I would find a way to kill all bugs too!" She said the moment she noticed a trail of ants on the ground below her. "Just like this!" She called, and as she yelled "Die!" she kicked the trail of ants.

"Hey!" (Y/N) called. "What did I told you about doing that?"

"Sorry!" She chuckled as she got away from the trail of ants right after (Y/N) scolded her. Needless to say, Power was really bored, and so she started doing random things whenever she was able to. "It's just that there isn't really much to do here!"

"I warned you this walk may be a bit boring for you before we left the apartment."

"There wasn't anything else to do there either!" She said. "Denji left the apartment after Kishibe called him, even Meowy left with him!"

"Yeah, perhaps you're right."

"Besides." She started, leaning in closer and staring directly into his eyes. "I wouldn't want to miss the opportunity to spend time with you!" She said, and that's the moment (Y/N)'s blush spread all over his face.

"Fine! Fine!" He tried to play it off and turn around to stare at other things in the park, although his blush made it evident for Power that her little comment was effective.

"'Tis a date now!" She ordered, a grin on her lips as she walked in front of him. "And I'm never missing a date with you!" And without another word, they kept walking.

The days before the happenings of their last battle dragged on them for quite a long time, and today wasn't the exception. Blissful it was for Power to see (Y/N) actually enjoying himself after the battle against Makima, although she couldn't help but feel somewhat useless whenever it came to comforting him the same way he always did whenever she felt bad.

The whole situation started because of her, at least in some way, and she couldn't help but keep that small fact in the front of her mind whenever the topic of 'what we could've done differently' came up on the table.

Of course, these were all the machinations of her mind, but nevertheless, it still felt like a small pang at the back of her mind that would sometimes keep her awake at night.

Power leaned in closer to a drinking fountain after making a quick stop she asked for before resuming their walk, she closed her eyes as the water reached her lips, and (Y/N) found himself mesmerized staring at her face.

A particularly cold day it was too, Power was wearing a heavy coat, her nose a little red, she stopped drinking and noticed (Y/N) was staring at her. "You look like an idiot." She said, smiling at him as she got closer.

"I know." He tried to play it off shortly, although he ultimately smiled too once Power reached for his hand and intertwined their fingers. And just like that, they resumed their walk.

Power would sometimes comment about the colors of leaves matching nicely as they walked. It's not like she understood the beauty of autumn the same way (Y/N) did, nor was she actually interested in doing so by herself, but just staying by his side was enough for her to be happy. Sometimes, people would point at Power from afar and lowly murmur at their backs, and (Y/N) had to guess it was for her being a fiend in the first place, although his sharp glares and murderous looks were enough to silence them quickly the majority of times.