「Anime x Reader One Shots」

Fleeting Promises (Nobuchika Ginoza x Reader)

Christmas Eve was one of the few days he could spend a whole day with you. Every year on this day, he made sure to get the day off at the MWPSB to spend time with you. Not that there was much either of you could do. He hardly even spoke to you let alone looked at you during these times. Nevertheless, you enjoyed his company anyway.

"How has work been?" you asked him. He kept moving in his seat and fiddling his glasses. He seemed uncomfortable with your presence. After all this time, you were used to it by now. You couldn't get upset either. It was your fault, after all.

"It's been fine," he stated, his eyes still avoiding contact with yours.

"Has anything new happened?"

"A new Inspector has been assigned to my division recently."

A wistful smile appeared on your face. Ginoza was never one to share any details unless pushed for them, especially not recently. All you could do was be grateful that he hadn't changed too much considering everything that he'd been through.

"Have you been doing anything new?" he asked quietly. The question seemed almost forced, but you didn't pay much mind to it. You wanted - no, needed - to believe that he truly cared.

"I've just been re-reading the few books I have," you said with a sigh. "It can get a little boring, but I'm just glad I have something to do."

"I can look into granting you access to more books. It might take a while, though, for them to filter out which books will be helpful and which ones will only worsen your condition-"

"Please," you begged, your eyes yearning for him to look at you. "Please don't remind me."

His muscles stiffened. He hardly ever mentioned it. Quite frankly, he didn't want to remember it himself either. It was a sensitive topic for the both of you.

"Are you planning on looking at me once this visit?" you questioned. As hard as you tried, you couldn't keep your voice from wavering.

Being married to him didn't make the few times a year you got to see him any easier. Ever since the incident, he could hardly even look at you. You knew he still loved you just as much as you loved him, but that same love also played a factor in his anger towards you. As much as it pained you to admit it, you couldn't blame him for his pent-up rage.

He didn't say anything. He merely pushed his glasses further up his nose before folding his arms. Tears started to gather in the corner of your eyes. You swiftly brushed them away, trying hard to keep your crime coefficient down. You couldn't risk getting any worse.

"Please, Ginoza. Just say something."

"What do you want me to say, [name]?" he asked, his voice gradually rising with each word. "Do you want to talk about how I'm no longer able to come home to my beautiful wife? Perhaps how every day I go to work I'm reminded of the fact that you're stuck in here because working as an Inspector is the very reason why you wound up in here? Or maybe the fact that I constantly reminded you to get therapy to clear your Hue yet you never did?"

His voice cracked at last sentence. All these bottled up emotions he hid away finally came pouring out all over you. It nearly broke your heart to see him so visibly hurting. He was in so much pain and it was your fault.

"Everyone I've ever loved just let their life slip through their fingers. You've only added to that list."

You couldn't hold back the tears any longer. They came pouring down your face in chest wracking sobs. It was a loud, ugly cry, but you didn't care. Living the way you were now wasn't something you enjoyed in the slightest and you knew it wouldn't be easy for either of you. You just never thought it would hurt him more than it hurts you.

"I-I'm so s-sorry, G-Ginoza," you managed to choke out through your loud sobs. "I-I never wanted t-this for y-you. I n-never believed my Psycho-Pass would get so c-cloudy."

A single tear rolled down his face. He didn't even bother to wipe it away. He finally directed his gaze to look right at you. His green eyes bore into your [eye color] orbs. He tried to maintain his usual strong demeanor, but pain was so clearly written across his features. Ginoza loved you so much.

He just never would've thought that same love could be the cause of all of his pain.

Sniffling, you brushed all of your tears away before saying, "I've been trying to get better, too. I've been doing and taking everything they've given me-"

"We both know that it's too late for them to welcome you back into society with open arms," he said solemnly. On most occasions, you appreciated his bluntness. This wasn't one of them.

"D-Don't say that! Just imagining you having your arms wrapped around me, if only one last time, is the only thing encouraging me to keep pushing forward."

Ginoza stood up. He had originally planned to stay at the facility all day, but he just couldn't any longer. Just seeing you brought back so many heart-wrenching memories. To most, finding love was one of the most blissful experiences in life. For him, he feared to find it, for every time he did, it only resulted in his heart being shattered to pieces.

He didn't originally want to fall in love with you, but when it did happen, he was far from displeased. He loved you far more than he often cared to admit; going as far as to marry you was proof enough of that. He only wished you were different from the rest.

Oh, how bittersweet love is.

You jumped up from your seat as he turned his back to you. He couldn't leave - not yet, at least. It would be weeks until you could next see him and you couldn't wait that long.

"Please, don't go!" you pleaded. You placed your hands on the glass; the same glass that separated you from the world, society and most importantly - him. You pushed firmly against it, willing the indestructible glass to somehow implode under your touch. If only it was truly that simple.

"I can't stay here any longer today."

Gritting his teeth in an attempt to prevent him from crying, he began to walk away from you. Despite ignoring them all, he could still distinctly hear your calls to him as he walked further and further away.

"Please, Ginoza! At least have faith in me. One day, I'll be able to feel your warm touch. I promise!"

For his sake, he hoped that would come true. He suffered far too many nights absent of you. If he counted correctly, 492 to be exact. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't have faith in you to keep your promise. They were fleeting promises.

After all, the first promise you made to him was broken the day your Psycho-Pass reached 150.