My Other Half

Part 29

"Did you just kiss my hand?" You asked, fire burning your entire body.

"Would you rather it somewhere else?" Chifuyu asked, turquoise eyes burning right through you.

Yes.

"Don't you play coy with me, Chifuyu Matsuno!" You practically yelled, face still on fire as you turned away from him.

You heard laughter behind you, only fueling to keep your blush in place. Chifuyu was bound to be the death of you if he kept it up. Just how the hell was Mikey sleeping through this entire thing? On second thought... it was better that he did...

0_0_0_0

"They say it'll take a couple months to recover with surgery."

Chifuyu hums, turning the page in his manga. He's using the sunlight to read as you stare aimlessly at the next volume to The King of Beasts. You wanted to read it, you did. Unfortunately, there was an incessant stress keeping you from focusing. You'd never had surgery in your life. Sure, you'd been pretty banged up by the goons that had taken Chifuyu, but that had just required some ice and rest. A bat to the shoulder... swung as hard as that boy could probably manage... it did some lasting damage. Now the doctors explained that they needed to go in and reassemble the bone fragments and such. There was a lot of doctor mumbo jumbo that you didn't quite get, but you ascertained that fixing your shoulder blade was the end result.

"Your mum knew it was me the entire time."

Chifuyu doesn't look up from the manga he's reading, flipping the page once he's done taking in the scene before him. You cock your head at him, totally lost at this conversation topic. It had come completely out of left field.

"Huh?' You accentuate, clearly confused. When Chifuyu doesn't answer, you roll your eyes. "That what was you?" You articulate, earning a sigh.

"Your friend 'Chi'." Chifuyu replies, flipping the page again.

You blink at him, before his words catch up to you.

"What?!" you demand, stress rising tenfold.

Chifuyu sighs again, shutting his manga and laying it on the windowsill. He looks bored, the complete opposite of how you're feeling. You'd pay to be able to feel as tranquil as Chifuyu was portraying. You'd seen your mum last night. She hadn't mentioned anything to do with Chi and Chifuyu being the same person. If you weren't feeling anxious before, you definitely were now. Nausea ate at you, causing your fingers to twitch at your sides.

"She thanked me..." Chifuyu whispered, earning a look of disbelief from you.

Your mother thanked Chifuyu after everything that had happened? You found that really hard to believe. It wasn't that you thought everything was Chifuyu's fault. Hell, it was far from that. It was just that... from an outsider's point of view, Chifuyu was the new constant in your life, and from that, you had found yourself to be in the hospital twice in less than two months...

"She thanked me for making you smile."

You blinked at Chifuyu's words before your chest clenched. The words sank in, tears pricking at your eyes incessantly. Now that you thought about it, in the time right after Kei had passed... you barely left your room, much less attempted socializing. You didn't even really talk to your mother. Your brother, hell, your best friend, had been taken from you too soon. So of course you were having a hard time dealing with that... but you hadn't really taken a second to think about the place your mother must have been in. The nights you had chosen solitude instead of reaching out to her. Then the nights that you had snuck out to talk to Chifuyu, never once thinking that maybe your mother was going through the same thing... that maybe your mother had also lost an irreplaceable piece of her heart...

You gasped when you felt something touch your face. You looked up, meeting concerned, turquoise eyes. His thumb was brushing at the tears that slipped down your cheeks. You had been so damn selfish these passed few months... You mother had lost someone important to her as well, and instead of being a pillar for her... instead of seeking out comfort in her arms, you had looked for Chifuyu. Did she have a Chifuyu? Did she at least have a Mikey? Your tears fell freely, Chifuyu growing more and more concerned as you fell apart.

"I left her all alone!" You gasped, pain gripping at you.

Chifuyu used his free hand to brush the black locks out of your face as you fell apart.

"I found you to talk to, Chifuyu.. but her! Did she have someone? Every night that I snuck out to talk to you or called you on the phone... who did she talk to?"

Chifuyu forewent wiping your tears to instead wrap his arms around you, his touch gentle as he pulled you in. He was being mindful of your shoulder. The action made you cry hander. You didn't deserve to be treated so well when you were so bloody selfish. You lied to your mother's face as she suffered. You put yourself before her in every way imaginable.

"You're not a bad person."

You clenched at Chifuyu's sweatshirt with your free hand, tears still streaming on your cheeks. How could he even say that after speaking with your mother? How could he ever think you were a good person after he'd been on the receiving end of your mother's wrath for the lies you had spoken?

"She... Was happier than I ever thought possible... I mean, look at me? I'm a delinquent who couldn't protect the people close to him..."

You squeezed at his hoodie even tighter. What was Chifuyu even saying? How could he be the one at fault in this situation?

"But..." He murmured, pulling away to continue wiping at your tears. "Instead of reprimanding me for being a piece of garbage human being... she smiled at me. Your mum thanked me for being in your life... and it... was so nice to hear."

The smile on Chifuyu's face is stunning enough that it takes your breath away. There's nothing but genuine happiness as he looks at you. As he pulls his sleeve over his hand and wipes at your wet cheeks in an attempt to clean up your face. He smiles at you like there's no place he'd rather be... And you hope that that's exactly what he's feeling because... than at least you'd know that your feelings are a hundred percent reciprocated... a small smile graces your lips. Chifuyu's smile manages to grow as well as he notices your lips quirking. This boy... with his brilliant smiles and his soggy sweatshirt cuffs... this boy who is at your side come hell or high water... this boy who makes sure that you are smiling whenever you are together... that you don't ever suffer alone...

"You're amazing."

Chifuyu blinks at your words, cheeks darkening. His gaze flits around the room, nerves keeping those turquoise eyes from falling on you again. You're not sure what love is supposed to feel like, but you're pretty sure that it's something close to this. You're pretty sure that this boy in front of you will have your heart for the rest of your life, whether he wants it or not...

"W-what are you talking about?" Chifuyu stammers, making your smile grow.

"I'm just so lucky that you walked into my life, Chifuyu."

You smile easily at him, and his blush reaches down his neck, exposing his growing embarrassment. You've always loved the way the red in Chifuyu's cheeks brings out the bright turquoise in his eyes. You love the way that he keeps stealing glances at you, but flits his eyes away the second they meet yours.

"W-what's this a-all of a sudden?"

Ya... This is probably what love is supposed to feel like.

THE END

Check out my patreon please and thank you <3

https://patreon.com/user?u=82676528&utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator

Anime4us

Also, in the near future a fanfic title "Bad End" that was requested by my readers on Ao3 will be posted for this fic. It will be the story of the reader leaving Chifuyu for Mikey to try and keep him from going dark.