No Strings Attached (Ushijima Wakatoshi x OC)

Chapter 9: Him & Her

Love, Ushijima concluded, was something he was certain he would never understand.

He just couldn't comprehend how a mere feeling, a baseless emotion, could be so powerful and how a single human could bring out the same passion in him as volleyball did.

There were those moments where his mind went blank with pleasure or peace or pure bliss. And he knew only Aimi could make him feel that.

There were also those moments where anger bubbled up in his stomach and he didn't know how to voice out his problems with her and she'd scream at him and lock herself in the guestroom.

But he'd slip in that night and hug her from behind because he couldn't- he just couldn't stand the silence.

And she'd hum and start swaying and they'd start dancing and kiss and everything would be alright.

It was those moments that made him confirm with his entire body and soul that her staying was something he would never regret.

-

Aimi was in love once. With a boy who had piercings and a tendency to start fights. Maybe that's what she loved. Not him, but the rush she felt when she was with him. She had feelings for a feeling.

A feeling that was wasted on someone who didn't understand her and broke her heart.

-

"Do you know why I did it?" Terushima growled as they sat with their backs facing each other on the bed. Aimi shook her head silently. Even if his eyes weren't tracing the lines of her shoulders, he would've known her answer anyway. He sucked in a breath.

"I did it because you are never around, Ai," he breathed out.

"What-" she started. The blonde man suddenly crossed the bed and grabbed her wrist, forcing her to look at him.

Oh, the look in his eyes. That was it. The helplessness and want in them was like looking at a mirror.

"You're always around, but you're never actually here. I can't even talk to you because all you do is hold a fucking paintbrush and paint, paint, paint!" He was shouting now. Aimi flinched. Terushima immediately felt guilty.

"I...you can't give me what I want," he said, softer now. Aimi's eyes widened and she pulled her hand away.

"And what the fuck is it that you want from me? Sex? Is that it? Is that all I was to you all this time?" She shouted back. He ran his hands frustratedly through his blonde hair and got off the bed and began pacing the room.

"No! What the fuck, Ai? I really did like you! I just- I never knew you felt the same way!"

"So you cheated on me?!" She got up and faced him, tears streaming down her eyes.

"I know what I did was wrong but you-"

"Me?! Are you saying I forced you into it? Huh?!" She screamed, grabbing a fistful of his shirt. A moment of silence passed before her head fell onto his chest in wracking sobs.

Weak, weak, weak.

His hands didn't circle her to pull her close, didn't give her warmth, didn't rest his chin on her head and place a kiss in her hair.

"I'm going," she whispered. All he did was nod.

She ran through the corridors and didn't look back until she was in a cab.

He wasn't there.

-

Aimi watched Ushijima sleep on the couch one night. It was dark and all there was were the lights from Tokyo all around them coming in from the windows.