crimson. [shu kurenai x reader]

Before him

My head pounded as I tried to remember what happened. It was around 10pm in the park, raining heavily...and I had been training. Then darkness had surrounded me. I had passed out. 

'I passed out?' I said in wonder to no one in particular. Shu nodded.

'Must've trained too hard,' he said calmly, walking to the kitchen and getting some pots and pans out. 'Don't blame you; you're up against Lui.'

'I-I know. And that's why I have to win,' I said determinedly. I stood up, about to leave the apartment when Shu stepped in front of me. 'C'mon! I need to train more!'

'(y/n)!' he said angrily. 'Think properly! It's nearly eleven! Have you even eaten dinner?'

'No....' I admitted. 

'I'll make it for you, you can stay the night,' Shu said, walking back to the kitchen and firing up the stove. 'No point in going home now.'

'I-I-I...How about training?' I blurted out.

'And as for training...we still have one day tomorrow. You can practise and train with me all you like,' replied Shu, getting pasta from the cupboards.

'Guess you're right,' I gave up, sitting back down. I buried my head in my hands. 'Ugh...why does Lui always get to me?'

'Don't blame you for getting angry at him,' Shu said, placing a bowl of pasta in front of me. 'Here you go. Eat up.'

The delicious smells of spices and herbs wafted up into the atmosphere. My mouth started watering at the carbonara, just waiting to be eaten. I lifted my fork and spoon and started eating like I haven't eaten in days. 

'Wow,' smiled Shu. 'You can stop gobbling down your food.'

'I'm not gobbling!' I said indignantly.

'Alright,' Shu said. 'I take it you're feeling better?'

'Always better with you,' I grinned, closing my eyes. 'Phew! That was one good bowl! Can I have another one?'

'I would like to, but it's nearly midnight,' pointed out Shu, pointing to the clock. 'We need to be up and early to train.'

'Oh alright,' I gave up. 'Where should I sleep?'

'Um...' Shu said, avoiding my eye. 'I only have one bed.'

'Oh....' I trailed off. Doesn't his parents visit sometimes? Shu really is lonely. 'You want me to sleep on the couch?'

'Whatever you like,' he said, not wanting to make the decision. 'It's not like we'll do anything....right?'

'Right,' I agreed. 'I'll...sleep with you. But nothing will happen.'

'Ok,' he nodded. 'Glad that's settled. Here, I have some hoodies that I don't wear that you can wear.'

He led me to a shiny, polished cabinet. 'Take whatever you like.'

I stretched up on my tippy toes, eager to see what hoodies I could wear. I had some spare light blue shorts, so I only needed a top. My eyes gazed around all of the red, black, white and pink outfits until I came across the one I liked. 

I grabbed it and headed off into the bathroom, slipping all of my clothes off and folding them into neat piles. I pulled the shorts on and slipped the hoodie over. Shu's smell immediately overcame me. The hoodie was soft from the amount of wearing over time. I wanted to dissolve right there, right now. A knock woke me from my thoughts.

'You done?'

'Yeah!' I yelled back, shuffling into his bed. He climbed in as well. I laid there, thinking about what I was going to do against my match with Lui. I shot a glance over at Shu and saw that he was also staring up at the ceiling. 

Ping.

I looked across and Shu's face flushed red when he realized someone had message him. He grabbed his phone and sat up. 'It's...Valt?'

'Don't tell me he's had another problem and now the whole Bey Club is going to rock up here,' I groaned, sitting up and moving over to see the screen. 'He's calling us!'

Shu swiped right, and within seconds Valt's face popped up on the screen, except his hair was down. 

'Awww Valt, you look so cute like that!' I exclaimed. 'Like a little puppy....'

'(y/n)?' Valt said in surprise, rubbing his eyes. 'What are you doing in Shu's house.'

'We're doing it,' I said gleefully. Then I realized how wrong that sounded.

'What?' yelped Valt. 'You guys are way too young to have se-'

'No, no!' interrupted Shu. 'She meant our first sleepover by ourselves.'

'Oh...' realization hit Valt. 'But still no dirty stuff, ok?'

'Of course not!' I yelled. 'Why are you even calling us?'

'I'm scared!' shrieked Valt. 'I'm up against Xander!'

'You think?' I glared into the phone. 'I'm up against Lui! I'm freaking out!'

'Well I'm freaking out more!'

'No, I am!'

'I am!'

'I am!'

'I am!'

'That's enough!' injected Shu. 'Valt, we're going to sleep. It's twelve thirty.'

'Ok, ok,' yawned Valt. 'Bye.'

The screen went black. Shu and I looked at each other, than returned to our awkward positions before. Awkward silence filled the room. I turned over to Shu, who stared down at me. I looked deep into the scarlet gems and then I lost it. Tears started running down my face, as I buried my face into his shirt, staining it.

'W-What if I lose to Lui?' I hiccupped.

'You won't,' he whispered back, brushing my hair. 'Now, shh, let's go to sleep.'

I nodded and was still hugging him when I fell asleep.

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This chapter was bad. Really bad. Sorry for that. I cringed so much rereading it. Welp, read on.

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Word count: 1425