Desire

Part 18 - real talk

**NOTE** This chapter DOES NOT contain smut

WC: 2250

Summary: Tamaki goes to the strip club. You give a lap dance to a blond man and feel bad about it. Vicky is basically both yours and Tamaki's therapist at this point. 

Includes: suggestiveness/angst

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Your head spins as you walk away from Tamaki, eyes wet. Rain and tears mix and run down your cheeks. Your dress is soaked.

The next morning is the same. You wake up shivering, sickly from sleeping in your damp dress, hair still wet. Head pounding, you call in sick to work and then chug a glass of water and down some pills. You don't check your texts or calls, not wanting to be bothered by Tamaki's messages or lack thereof.

Rotting in bed is the perfect ingredient for a stew of bad thoughts you conclude at the end of the day. How could everything have gone to hell like that? Why Why did you use Kirishima's number? You hate yourself for hurting Tamaki.

Fuck.

Tamaki's POV:

He can't leave you alone. He hates himself for it.

A break. That's what you said. Tamaki knows the definition of the word. Doesn't quite know how to carry out the actions of it though. He knows he should do the normal thing and throw himself into work and make you the villain in his head. But he can't. Instead, he goes to the strip club.

"Can I see her"? Tamaki knows he's pathetic. He can't find you so he's asked a girl he recognizes as your friend. She introduces herself as Candy in a southern drawl that Tamaki can't tell if she's faking or not.

"And who is it you wanna see darlin'"? She's smiling.
"Y/n? I- I mean Karma". He stutters over the words, overwhelmed suddenly by the loud music. Without you by his side, he remembers his general dislike of strip clubs. Candy laughs.

"Sorry hunny, she's not here today. Called in sick". She smiles warmly at someone behind Tamaki as he reels. Sick?

"So- you talked to her"? Tamaki's disgustingly eager. Candy locks eyes with him.

"No, hun, just heard through the grapevine". She fixes him with a look when his face visibly saddens. "Last I heard... she was with you at a gala". Her eyes narrow. Tamaki winces. So this girl knows him. Before he can respond, Candy is pulling him over to a couch against the wall and sitting down next to him. "I think it's time we had a chat actually. About you and y/n". Her voice is serious and Tamaki blanches. If this is a shovel talk, Candy clearly doesn't know what happened last night. "Here's the facts loverboy", she starts.

Loverboy?

His face must show confusion because she laughs again. "That's what we call you 'round here". Her mouth quirks into a smirk at his shocked expression.

''Round here'?

She continues. "Y/n's my best friend. Everyone loves her, okay loverboy"? Her question demands acknowledgement so Tamaki nods quickly, feeling anxious. "So, if you hurt her-", she pauses to look Tamaki hard in the eye. It feels like the air is being sucked out of him, in a bad way. "I will come after you". Tamaki literally gulps. Then her face breaks out into a grin again. "Oh don't look so frightened darlin'! Y/n seems to really like you". She nudges his shoulder with the last sentence. He forces out a chuckle but it sounds strained.

Should he tell her it's too late? He's already ruined everything.

Should he tell her maybe you're not the saint she thinks you are? That you've already ruined everything?