Fragments in Time( Oikawa Tooru x F!Reader fanfiction)

Chapter 1: Cruel Days

Note: Hello, I am crossposting this from Ao3 and will likely also crosspost this on Tumblr, so don't be too surprised if you see this story multiple times on different platforms. Just make sure to see if any of the social media is cross-referenced before reporting, assuming...you know anyone who cares enough about this story. The story will get updated here every 3 days until it is finished during 3 A.M. coordinated universal time 

You still remember spending all your hours together when he gave you the most cheerful smile. Those days, he gave everyone that smile before life took away his genuine smile. You refused ever to let go of those days. Let go of the innocence of the old him, the version of him that had only cared about aliens, milk bread and being rescued by his Barbie princess(you) and, most importantly, you. The version of him that wanted to spend all of his days with you.

Times have changed, though. You both grew up and found your interests. Like any childhood friend, you expected him to forget you for you to go through the angst of trying to hide your feelings for him to protect the innocence of friendship or the other way around. But that hadn't happened. Everything happened like it was a fairytale—the Perfect Grand Story. Prince Charming is sweeping you off your feet, promising you riches and grandeur. And for a while, you got it. Unfortunately, something too good never lasts for long if you get it.

Years and years passed by, and you were 22.

In Argentina, living with Tooru. It was a dream, they said. Such a cute couple, they said. Where was the cute couple that would last forever? Soulmates and whatnot.

You snapped out of your thoughts. Your eyes were puffy from crying so much. You heard loud movement in your- no...your and Tooru's- apartment. You sneaked a peek out of the guest bedroom.

There he is, that bumbling idiot, your bumbling idiot. He was walking like a madman to the bedroom. He was half delirious from his unsteady steps and eye bags, but Tooru kept walking.

He glanced in your direction.

God, he must've heard the door creak.

Tooru walks to the couch only to land on it and start snoring.

After a couple of seconds, you walked out of the guest bedroom and to him, this dumb son of a bitch.

"Tooru..." you whispered. You felt your throat choke up already. A weird swirling in your chest. You knew what was happening....fucking Hanahaki disease.

You sprinted to the bathroom, barely able to hold your hair back before it was wrenched. Beautiful [insert] flowers were supposed to mean everlasting love, but here you were.

You blamed yourself, really, because you knew Tooru. You've known him your entire life. You knew who he was and how he acted, yet you stayed. Tooru didn't cheat. You knew him well enough that he worked from dusk to dawn in that damn training center. After all, it was only a year before the Summer Olympics. You had received plenty of calls from his coach and nutritionist to try and get him to go home. You could help, but how could you help when Tooru didn't care enough about you to come home to you at an appropriate time and spend even one day of the week with you?

You rubbed your eyes with a hot towel, hoping to reduce the swelling. After all, Tooru might see you crying once he leaves for work.

You go back to the living room to see Tooru still snoring. You put a blanket on top of him.

You wanted to berate yourself for caring so much, but he was your boyfriend, your best friend.

The boy you wanted to come home to every night and feel safe, warm, and comfy. Tooru was your home. You could be like him and say that you and he were fated soulmates, but that wasn't how you felt. You had wanted something simple and reliable. He couldn't give that to you, and here you were 6 months into this cycle of fighting, making up and slipping back to the old routine. It was toxic, giving you a grasp of attention only to give away. Feathers you could never catch all at once, flowing in the wind.

You thought I can't do this anymore.

The following day, you packed 3 and half years' worth of textbooks and study material you no longer needed into a suitcase.

Tooru was ever the early riser, getting up at 6 a.m. God, how was this man even awake at this time?

"Hey (y/n), what are you doing in the guest bedroom?" Tooru asked, tilting his head, confused. You guys hadn't had any guests in a while, and it had been 3 months since his parents had visited you.

"Oh, just sprucing up the apartment, you know," you said nervously.

Tooru narrowed his eyes, not believing you. Tooru said, "Well, alright, though, you don't need to clean up at 6 in the morning."

" You snipe back, " says the man who wakes up at 6 a.m. despite not needing to go to work until 9 a.m.

Tooru chuckles that beautiful, warm chuckle of his. You could already feel your throat close up again.

"Touche," he comments.

"Besides, if I hadn't woken up at this time, I probably wouldn't be seeing you till I take a piss at night," you say.

"Yeah, don't worry, bab. Once the Olympics are over and my training isn't as intense, we'll return to how we were," Tooru said.

You kept looking at his back till the door closed. He was left for the door with his mug of coffee and hashbrown.

And...he had left a bunch of unmatched dishes, a plate of hash browns, and fried eggs—that sly bastard.

That bastard, you thought as you ate your breakfast. Does he expect me to wait for one and a half years for him to be in a relationship? "

No, you had to move on, but from your Hanahaki disease, it was clear you still loved him. The Hanahaki disease could be dangerous, considering what it did to your lungs. I could get into a coma... whatever Tooru made it clear, he didn't love you. Why else would you have to beg and plead for his love? 1 month of neglect with multiple missed phone calls and voice messages and 3 weeks of good behaviour, only to lapse again and repeat until Tooru only had 3 days of good behaviour before he insisted that he was busy.

It must be some game to him now, hurting your feelings when you told him you were hurt. Tooru had always been sly. It was your mistake to think he would be sly only to make you happy.