This Side of Paradise - Tsukishima Kei x OC

Chapter 9: Crumble

Chapter 9:

Kei knocked on their bedroom door as a futile attempt to apologize to Mizuki for the thousandth time. He didn't mean to shout such harsh words to his wife about her deceased father. One flaw that Kei knew about himself was the fact that he could be extremely sharp (or "salty", according to Hinata and their friends) when it came to his words or actions. He vowed to himself that he would never be so callous to Mizuki, the person he loves the most, and yet, here he was, standing outside their bedroom door begging for forgiveness because he had undoubtedly hurt her.

"Mizuki...?" He murmured wistfully, leaning his forehead against the door, "Come out and eat dinner with me, please..."

No response.

"I'm sorry for what I said..." Kei sighed guiltily, "I'm an ass. I didn't mean to say... Please forgive me..."

No response again.

He exhaled as he plopped down and slumped on the wooden floor. He leaned against their bedroom door and checked his phone. He almost forgot that his ex-girlfriend texted him asking to meet and catch up. He, for some reason, texted her back.

Kei: Sorry, tonight's not good for me or Mizuki.

Hayashi: Oh, that's okay. I just realized that today was the first day of the Olympics for her. She must be tired.

Kei: Yeah.

Hayashi: Is everything okay?

Kei: What do you mean?

Hayashi: It's just... You said that tonight's not good for you or Mizuki...

Kei: It's nothing. She and I had a disagreement and I said something stupid.

Hayashi: Ah... I hope everything works out for you both...

Kei: Thanks.

Hayashi: If you need someone to talk to, I'm hereツ

Kei stared at his phone before placing it back in his pocket again. There was nothing he hated more than upsetting Mizuki. He really needed to shut his mouth every once in a while and to think before speaking. He decided not to give up and to try and talk to her again. He stood up and knocked on the door lightly.

"Mizuki...? Please, talk to me..." He mumbled gloomily, "Princess..."

Without any warning, she flung the door open and he flailed backward. Luckily, he caught himself before he could embarrassingly tumble on the floor. He gazed at her, wondering if she had forgiven him.

"Hey..." Kei smiled softly, "I..."

He trailed off as he noticed that she was carrying a pillow and a blanket in her arms.

"Take this." Mizuki stated, hastily shoving the pillow and blanket to him.

Kei blinked a few times, realizing then that she was kicking him out of their bedroom that night. He had made her that upset. This was the first time she had done something like that. Even when they had arguments in the past, she had never booted him out of their room.

Looks like I'm sleeping on the couch tonight, he thought to himself.

Before he could say anything else, Mizuki slammed the door closed again. He sighed defeatedly as he made his way to the living room. He threw the pillow and the blanket on the couch and turned on the TV. Kei knew that he needed to give her some time to cool off. It didn't matter how many times he apologized if she wasn't willing to hear him out.