Italic 。| jeunmiessi [Toji Fushiguro x Reader] COMPLETED

15

Yumiko's POV

The warmth we shared in that hug was something I would not forget. Everything has changed a lot since we met. Just a random stranger at a convenience store, the weird guy who looked homeless. The guy who had the messiest lifestyle ever, the annoying and lazy manchild boss. That stranger turned out to be the man who will love me, and the man that I was destined to love.

But there was something about the hug he gave me. My heart rate went up upon overthinking things.

"Thank you," he said when the waiter served our macchiatos. I looked outside and the sky looked gloomy. Is something bad really about to happen? The aroma of the macchiato caught my attention as it was sweet and strong, and if something was really bound to happen, this aroma will be the first to remind me of such events. "How was your day?" He asked.

"Hm.. so so." I answered. I gently lifted my cup and took a sip. Tasty.

"That's not an answer." He said with a nonchalant voice yet the frown on his face says it all. I chuckled.

"It's just average. Nothing special. Except, you gave most of the colors in my day." I said, and covered my mouth to stop my laugh. He crossed his arms and squinted his eyes. "You made it so BLUE."

He groaned when I started laughing. Blue wasn't really his color.

"You picked blue, so I wore blue." He said again. I smiled softly, another one of the most genuine smiles I've had in life.

"And thank you. It made me happy today." I said. He smiled. After a few minutes, the glass walls of the cozy café were soon invaded by the dreamy rain dews coming from the melancholic sky. It was as if the sky was crying along my heart who's overwhelming me with its dance within my chest. I smiled. The coldness inside the café, the warm and creamy macchiatos on our table, the rain blurring our visions of the lonely streets.

It was perfect. It is so perfect.

Who knew I would be this happy with him? With Toji Zenin. Some may say it's sudden. Rushed. Illogical. Uncertain.

But... isn't that the beauty of love? Unconditional and illogical. Just letting your stupid hearts love each other's stupidity. As they say, negative times negative? Positive. That's love, it's funny, but makes sense, like that reasoning I just have our connection. It's genuine, and it happens. That's what matters. The reciprocity matters. No conditions.

I love him, and he loves me. And that's it. Our aesthete connection.

The art of our feelings. Although abstract, it's still ours.

I felt his hand wrap onto mine. My hand was almost just half of his hand. He gently caressed it and lifted it up to give it a kiss, then he placed it on his cheek.

"I want to tell you a story." He said. "Will you listen to it?"

I smiled and caressed his cheek with my hand. "Of course."

He sat down straight, with my hand still on his cheek.

"There is this one man who thought that his life was one the verge of ruins. He accepted his fate already. The evilness of his family and demons that lived within their household were what he survived. Finally, after gathering a bit of courage, he was able to gain freedom. Or, that's what he thought he would get. Family matters kept following him here and there, insults and degradation being passed on from someone to someone, to someone, then to him. The worst of the worst. A roller coaster ride no one ever wanted, right?" He said. I nodded and continued listening intently.

"He had an older brother, who his father favored the most among the two of them. Being born with cursed energy, he was the treasure of the family. Their father also hurt the oldest son, but the son had done nothing but to seek praises from their father. Unlike the other, he sought freedom and acceptance from his own bloodline, for he had no cursed energy. From a family with members born with cursed energy, he was a total outcast. Rage, resentment, and hatred filled up inside him. He made himself stronger to protect himself from danger, since he was surrounded by many."

I caressed his cheek and other hand as he kept talking. I kept a neutral expression on my face.

"He knew he was... becoming a monster. With all of those emotions filling him up... he knew he was going to deteriorate sooner or later. He knew he would vanish, but didn't care. All the reasons he could think of to stop himself from being crazy. Nothing."

My eyes were getting teary. I knew. I never thought of this story as another's.

"But then, this senorita showed up." He said, then kissed my palm. "She was short, almost unseen by the naked eye. She had cheeks that look like tofu and a grumpy face that looked like a Pitbull cosplay." I lightly tapped his cheek as a slap and he chuckled before continuing. "She always got mad in his unproductive habits. The mess in his life were not vacuumed when she arrived. Instead, she made him feel that he had somebody to share this mess with, and made him feel that it was alright no matter how much he didn't want to.

"She was the only one who held his hand with no trembling and no hint of disgust. The first to show him a genuine smile so contagious that he had his first one with her as well. The first whose embrace was the first to have wrapped in my body full of warmth and love. She is my home... she is my... "

I smiled and wiped his tears away. And there, he showed me another side of him.

His vulnerability. The courage it must have took him...

No. The love we share made him open up the whispers of his heart. Something was wrong, and I knew. I always knew. I knew something would not make it easy for us, and whatever it was, I wanted to face it with him. I am ready to face it with him. Reckless or not.

He buried his face onto my palm, just my hand muffling his sobs. I smiled as my tears fell down. A smile of pain, and a smile of relief. He expressed everything he had to.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry, I couldn't protect you."

He kissed my forehead and I closed my eyes as he did. Without hesitation, I whispered.

"It is not you against me, and not me against you.

It's us against the world, the universe. It's us."

I slowly felt his lips going farther away from my forehead. My eyes would not open at all, tired of crying. The whole place fell quiet, and I couldn't care any less if people were watching us.

"No matter how reckless... will you join me in everything I do?" He asked.'

I wiped my tears. "Yes, Toji." I said, then I slowly opened my eyes and looked at him.

No...

Looked down at him.

My hands lifted on their own, covering my mouth, my tears welling up like a newborn waterfall ready to have its first jump on its own cliff. This was happening. Really happening.

No matter how reckless... no matter how sudden...

Well, no. It's not like that.

It's just us right at this moment. Us against the world, against everybody else. Against time. We walk in our own pace of time in our space, and within our space, everyday was forever.

"Yumiko Fushiguro... Will you marry me?"

My body moved on its own, and leaned onto him, where our lips met. This is it.

This is it.

'Yes.'