My Demons

Chapter 38: Footsteps

A/N: I have no excuses for how long this chapter took me. Just that being an adult sucks and I decided to rewrite the sex scene. But here it finally is! The last chapter. Thanks to everyone who stuck around for the entire story. I hope to write others for Junjou Romantica in the future.

Song: Footsteps – Pop Evil

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Chapter 38: Footsteps

After Takahiro left, Misaki went back to cooking. He made us a nice lunch and he even left out the peppers this time. I knew he did it to make me happy and say thank you to me for everything I had done. In reality, I was the one who needed to thank him for everything he had done. There was only one thing I could think of doing in order to truly show him how grateful I was. However, it would have to wait a bit longer.

The rest of the day was spent traveling back and forth, moving all of our stuff back into the penthouse. I tried to hire a moving company to just pick up everything for us, but Misaki insisted that I needed to save my money. He really is always looking after me. How could I ever function without him?

It was slightly awkward seeing Takahiro again when we went to his house to get his brother's stuff. However, he acted normal and even helped Misaki gather up his stuff, which was mostly just clothes, his textbooks, and school supplies. Manami-san made small talk with me over tea in the dining area. I was certain that her husband had told her about what happened. Luckily, she didn't say a word about hurting her brother-in-law or anything like that.

Moving wore us both out. It also didn't help that the best night sleep either of us had gotten in over a month had been last night. So we were both ready for bed as soon as we had finished putting everything away in the penthouse, even though it wasn't that late yet. Just the fact that everything was almost back to normal was a nice relief though.

Again, I went to bed alone, not wanting to push Misaki. I had promised myself to take it slow and I was determined to make things work between us. Not even five minutes after I had laid down, the door creaked open and he snuck in. Just like the night before, he asked for permission to sleep in the same bed as me, which I of course obliged. I didn't hesitate to pull him into my arms this time. He flinched at first, possibly a reflex, but quickly settled his head against my chest. We quickly fell asleep, him listening to my strong, steady heartbeat.

The days passed by and I didn't make any big moves just yet. With everything that had happened, everything that Misaki knew, I didn't think sex would be such a good idea. However, I thought about it every day and I still wrote a boys' love novel. My urges were bottled up inside of me and threatening to burst. I had never been good at containing them before, especially since becoming his lover, but somehow I was surviving.

I still kissed him and held him (innocently) every day. He still blushed and became flustered, especially if I kissed or touched him unexpectedly. However, something about him seemed a bit more open. He wasn't quite as hesitant to come to bed with me and cuddle up to me in bed. He didn't fight quite as much when I kissed him or held him close to me. To a normal person watching, they might think that Misaki hadn't changed at all since before the whole fiasco. But I noticed the small differences, and they truly gave me hope.

Before I knew it, it was our anniversary. Exactly one year ago to that day, I fell in love with him. I had kissed him underneath a streetlight as the snow softly fluttered around us. He had just finished crying his eyes out over something that wasn't his concern. Yet, he felt so much sorrow for me. It was the day that my heart was broken because the one I thought I truly loved announced his plans to get married. However, that feeling of heartbreak was miniscule now compared to the feeling of falling in love with the one I was truly meant to be with.