A Taste of Forever (Katakuri x Reader)

Chapter 27 - Merging

A/N:

Wordcount: 4611

Amidst the kisses, your fingers hooked under your shirt, and you pulled it over your head. However, halfway up your chest, Katakuri grabbed your arms and kept them from moving.

The iron grip around your arms made you pull back, a questioning eyebrow arched on your face as your gaze drifted from his hands around your arms up to his eyes. Red eyes had narrowed into something you weren't quite sure how to interpret, but whatever it was, it had engulfed his entire face when Katakuri rose his voice.

"What do you think you're doing?"

With a small smile curling your lips, you rolled your eyes before you answered his question. "Baking cookies. What do you think I am doing?" you laughed quietly while you tried to free your arms from his grasp and finish what you had started.

However, his grip around your arms only tightened at your renewed attempt and you couldn't help the questioning glare that crept on your features as you met his eyes.

"Let's not."

As short as his answer was, it was impactful. With your struggle in his grasp ceasing  and your arms going limp, you felt your heart drop into the pit of your stomach.

This wasn't what you had expected to hear.

Breaking his gaze, you tried to regain control over your expression and hide the pain and doubt his words had awoken in you.

However, the disappointment at his refusal to engage in more intimate activities with you hurt you deeply, and thus rendered your efforts to mask your hurt futile.

You had waited for so long and had always respected it whenever he refused to engage in more, and you would have waited longer, but to hear him reject you so blatantly reminded you of his refusal to kiss you on your wedding day. Yet, this felt 1000 times worse. At least back then neither of you had owed the other any pleasantries.

"Why don't you want to have sex with me?" you questioned quietly; eyes averted to the side. "Is there something wrong with me?"

You weren't even sure whether you wanted to know the answer to that if it turned out to be a yes, and yet your hurt had urged you to voice the cruel thoughts that had drowned your mind.

The silence that followed your answer, as short as it was, was almost deafening, and yet if you had turned around and looked at him, you'd have understood.

Katakuri's eyes went wide at your question, small dots of magenta observing your pained expression before his hand released its grasp around your arms to instead gently cup your face in his palm, turning you back to face him.

"(Y/N), if you only knew how much I wanted this part of our relationship. But above all, I don't want to hurt you."

Hurt me?

Upon hearing his answer, your eyes drifted back to meet his as your lips bent into a gentle smile over his concern.

"Kata...," you spoke softly as you grabbed a fistful of his vest to bring him closer, your lips meeting in a brief kiss before you nuzzled into his cheek, "you could never."

He had only grown used to you using his real name instead of mochi man, so listening to you use an affectionate nickname melted his heart. He had thought about getting intimate with you in the past, more than once, but whenever he did, he couldn't get past the fact that he was in fact much taller than you were.