Top. (Reader x Various Kakegurui)

74: Let's Talk

"Let's talk." You stood quietly in the door frame of Kaede's room. You didn't actually want to talk but your father had literally dragged you to Kaede's house so he could speak to his father about what was going to happen now that you had forced a marriage until Kaede could pay back twelve billion yen.

"No." Kaede rolled on his side and stayed in bed, surprising you.

"No? You've been begging me to talk for weeks." You kicked your foot against his floor as you heard the adults talking in the other room.

He pulled the blanket over his hair, hiding from you.

And then, you heard quiet sobs. Your heart cracked, knowing that it took everything out of Kaede to cry. So you closed the door, walked over and laid on his bed with him beneath the covers.

"Kaede..." You whispered, wrapping your arms around his chest as he sobbed.

"I'm so ugly. Look at my hair. I lost everything, bug." He cried.

"And I gave it all back." You stroked his hair. "I like your hair. It's different. You're even more original now."

"Not all of it. I need to be on the council. I need it." He whimpered. "And I need you. Not one or the other."

This wasn't a good time to tell him that you couldn't put him back on the council. That would be something to once again crack your relationship. So instead, you kissed his neck, quieting him slightly. There was going to be a storm coming your way, and your tiny umbrella wasn't going to save you.

He shifted to face you, no glasses, hair hanging limply in his face.

"I'm pathetic." He looked deeply into your eyes. "I need you to fix my mistakes."

I haven't fixed them all... And I won't be fixing them all... You thought as you touched your nose to his. But it's not the right time to say that... Soon it will be.

You pressed your lips against his gently and then wiped his tears away from his face.

"I will fix this myself." He whispered to you. "But thank you for being here while I get back to the high road."

Don't thank me yet. You thought as you touched his white hair.

"Let's stay home together until you're feeling better." You asserted. "I will tell my father that I will help you to feel better."

"Please stay, bug... don't go." He held you tightly. "I need you. You're all I have left."

Extracting yourself, you kissed Kaede's forehead, which felt feverish, and exited the room.

"If you simply pay off the debt, then we can be done with the entire ordeal, Manyuda-san." Your father pressed.

"If my son has humiliated himself, your majesty, then he will take the consequences. Whatever they may be." He hung his head down in reverence.

"That is is the problem. My precious daughter has taken it upon herself to not only rid him of every consequence, but to give him the privilege of her hand in marriage!" He raised his voice.

"If she has decided it, then you know how that school works. Her word is final. Just as your word was."

"But it does not have to be. Their relationship from childhood should not have to determine her future. She should be with someone who she was not pressured to choose." Your father sighed.

"I am in love with your daughter, your majesty." The words rang out behind you. "And I believe she loves me too."

AN: I lied, here's one last chapter!