Breathe (Haise Sasaki X Reader)

Chapter 13

"(L/N)-Chan!" I looked up, seeing an all too familiar face. I stood upright, no longer leaning against the wall of :Re.

"Hey, Sasaki-Kun." I waved to him as he jogged over. He apologized for his tardiness, immediately taking my hand into his, pulling me along with him.

It's been like this for the past few weeks; Haise and I have been seeing each other more often. We spent our days off together, going to the bookstore or to a restaurant. He always came to the café in the morning and on his lunch breaks, always requesting to have me serve him. We've talked more, and he's been also helping me with my problems, letting me vent about my feelings and simply speak my mind. Ayame has helped significantly as well, taking notice of my improvement.

"You're not wearing a sweater today?" I shook my head, smiling a bit as I glanced down to my arm. The cream, that Ayame gave me, helped a lot. "That's good, it's been getting really hot out. I wouldn't want you to be uncomfortable." My smile grew, feeling him squeeze my hand as he chuckled. "So what would you like to do today?" He lightly began to swing our hands, causing me to let out a giggle.

"Anything's fine." He looked up, thinking for a moment.

We weren't together, I knew that. Yet, he still showed affection when speaking to me. Haise's been holding my hand more and more nowadays, but he's never bothered going any further than that. I was glad though, I didn't want him to be doing such things when I still didn't know him that well.

"I heard there's going to be a few book signings today, would you like to go? Takatsuki-Sensei is going to be there." I nodded eagerly. "Let's stop by the café they have there and wait until it starts." He continued looking ahead, a frown suddenly coming onto his lips. Haise averted his gaze, slowly loosening his grip on my hand as we continued walking. I looked around, seeing that we were being stared at by multiple people today. It wasn't something unexpected, it's been happening for a while now.

"Disgusting..." I saw an older woman giving me a frown as she said that. I let go of Haise's hand, simply walking behind him in silence. That's how the walk went until we entered the store.

I understood what other people thought about this; a young girl and an older man seemed wrong. It's thought to be taboo and is looked down upon by many people. I never expected others to approve of this, not even my family, but I didn't feel as if there was anything wrong with it. Was it though? Should there really be a restriction on who you can love? Even when it's mutual?

I looked up, seeing Haise sitting across from me as he stared out the window, ignoring the coffee that sat in front of him. He seemed to be lost in thought, but he still continued to wear a frown. It's obvious that this is harder for him; a cop being seen by other people as he takes out a teen girl. The older person is usually the one judged more often than the younger one.

"I'm sorry." He whipped his head around, looking at me surprisingly.

"What?"

"I'm sorry, Sasaki-Kun." He knitted his eyebrows together.

"What are you apologizing for, (L/N)-Chan?" He sat upright, leaning in a bit.

"I must embarrass you. I don't want people to say things to you..." I stood up, taking out some money and placing it on the table. "I should just go." Haise immediately stood up, almost knocking down his chair as he ran to me.

"Wh-what do you mean? You don't embarrass me!" He held my shoulders, stopping me from leaving. He slowly grabbed my chin, making me look up at him. "(L/N)-Chan, why would you ever think that?" I glanced around the room, seeing most people staring. We were causing a scene, so it was understandable why they would. I heard many mumble rude comments about us, calling Haise disgusting and seeing me as a victim.