❛ Dango ❜ | Haganezuka Hotaru x Reader

【柒】

— · —

"Mom...? Where are we going?"

Your mother held you by your hand as you followed her into the forest, completely clueless about the plans that she had in mind. The tiny little legs that were carrying you struggled to keep up with her pace, causing you to trip and stumble every so often.

"To the city, sweetheart. Mom is going to make us a new home there."

"A new home...?"

"Yes. A new home. Just the two of us."

"But... what about our old home? Are we leaving forever?"

She chose to stay silent to your question. It was something that she simply couldn't being herself to answer. There were too many things that she wanted to protect you from, too many voices that she didn't want you to hear. She kneeled down to look at you and gently took your head in her hands.

"Sweetheart... Can you make a promise to me?"

You nodded, although a bit confused by your mother's unusual behavior. In her eyes, you saw an emotion that you didn't have the words to describe. Her eyes didn't shine like the way they used to before. They looked... dull. Tired. It was not sadness nor grief; and although she put on a smile on her face, you could tell that it was only there to conceal something underneath.

"Promise me to stay strong, no matter what happens, okay?"

— · —

"I must have given you a horrible first impression that day when you came to my place..."

You laughed. The look of embarrassment on his face was to die for, and your reaction just made him even more flustered. Although you didn't intend to hurt his feelings, it was just too hard to hold back.

"Oh dear..."

"What's so funny?"

He thought that you were teasing him about what had happened. You sensed that he was a bit offended by your response, but you just couldn't help it.

"I'm just thinking... About that day. When I saw you in your workshop." You reminisced as you slowly collected yourself. "You did give me a hell of a first impression."

The chanting of the cicadas surrounded you as you ventured deeper into the woods, holding each other's hand while you talked about your first - proper - encounter.

"You looked very... intimidating. I was a bit scared, to be honest."

Although you were able to speak about it lightheartedly after the fact, it was true that he appeared to be a completely different person than the one who was standing next to you right there and then. It was hard to believe that under that threatening appearance, there was such a shy and caring person.

"Was it because of my scars?"

"Huh?"

His reply caught you slightly off-guard while you were getting a bit carried away in your own memories. The smile on your face faded away as you noticed the gloom and heaviness in his voice. He looked away.

"Your... scars...?"

You were aware of the fact that he always seemed somewhat insecure about the way he looked, although he did feel comfortable enough to take his mask off when he was with you. You didn't realize up until then that it had something to do with the scars on his face and, now that it had been revealed to you, you felt like a fool for not having connected the dots earlier.