Your father gently reached under the table and pulled out a slim bottle of wine. The slick top was neatly pressed together with a fine line of aluminum, and the pink label simply read "Portando via L'amore".
"...Are you sure this is going to work?" Holding your hands together tightly, you let the tension build in your bones. You could feel the pure anxiety running through your veins.
"Very sure. Charles would not settle for anything less!" Your mother let out a hearty laugh. "Now, hand me a glass, dear."
The room went silent.
"Y/N." Kusuo spoke up softly, "Promise me that you'll stay?"
His frown was evident from the corner of your eye.
"I...I can't promise you anything."
You turned away from him just as the skinny wine glass was slid over to you. The smooth and cherry liquid flowed carefully up to your lips as you brought the glass to your mouth.
"Cheers." Your father stated plainly. "To fixing our daughter."
"Cheers, darlings!" Your mother joyfully drank.
Kusuo was the only one who didn't raise his glass.
"I'm coming home..." Gently, you whispered into the glass as you swiftly poured the liquid down your throat and allowed it to pool into your stomach.
"So? How do you feel?" Your mothers head peaked in interest.
"The same. How do you feel?" With a small, victorious smirk, you turned to Kusuo. Praying that your parents would just take the damn hint already, you saw them exchange worrying glances.
"I've never been better." Kusuo gently tucked some of your hair out of your face. "Are you ready to head out now?"
"Aw! Do you see how adorable that is! Ugh, I'm envious!" Your mother quickly announced to the empty room, knowing that her own husband wasn't listening.
"When may I return home?" Ignoring Kusuo, you turned to your parents excitedly.
"We believe it may be best for you to stay here, actually." Your father stood up and began to dust of his suit. "You have gotten good ranks here thus far, and you have stayed out of trouble. We haven't even had to pick you up from the police station, so, I do not see why we have any good reason to pull you out."
"What?! No!" You darted out of the chair so quickly; it fell onto the floor. "This isn't what you promised! This isn't what you said!"
"Y/N, calm down." Your mother rushed to your father's side.
"Wh- No! I ain't gonna fucking calm down! You both lied to me! You said that, once this hell is over, I'd be going home!" The formality that you demanded Kusuo to have leaked quickly off of your tongue and into your firey words.
"Do not speak to us like that, young lady." Your mother held up her pointer finger.
"Why?! What the fuck are you gonna do?! You've already taken everything from me! The house, my friends, my freedom!" With a shaky breath, you furrowed your eyes together. "What more could you take?"
Your father said nothing but simply rolled his eyes and scoffed at your reaction, "Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to have come. Everything you do shows that you are just...simply ungrateful for us."
"I am. I have never been more ungrateful for the two shittest parents in the world." Sharply, you turned on your heels and stormed out of the building, angry that you let your trust in your own parents fog your vision.
Kusuo quickly sprinted after you pathetically, not wanting to be alone in a room with two steaming adults.
***
"I think that went well." He calmly nodded.
"Excuse me?"
"Well...I mean...Now you get to stay here! Isn't that somewhat good?" Kusuo had a sheepish grin as he looked away from you.
"No, of course, that isn't good. I want to go home. I want to see my friends again." The anger was still boiling inside of you.
"You have friends here. What about them? Nendo, Teruhashi, Aiura...me."
"You don't understand, Kusuo. I want to just...live with my family and be normal."
"Be normal with us!" He lightly grabbed your hands and pressed them into his own. "My entire family loves you so much! If your parents can't see why you're just...the most perfect girl in the entire universe, then that's their own fault for missing out on someone like you."
You went quiet for a moment.
"I'm sorry. I really am, Kusuo." Taking your hands out of his, you shamefully glanced out the tinted windows. "I shouldn't have taken it."
"Do you really think some stupid drink is going to make me stop loving you?"
With a sigh, you didn't bother to look at the male. There was no winning this conversation.
***
The black car slowly pulled in front of your apartment building, and the two of you silently walked up the stairs together in a deafening silence.
It was a horrible feeling of loneliness that would soon cave in on you quicker than you would process.
Without Kusuo, you had no one.
He would resent you for your curse, removing himself from your life, and his friends would go along with it.
Without your curse, you had no one.
"Y/N." He gently spoke up.
You let out a groan, heading straight into your apartment and falling desperately onto the couch. "Just fuckin' kill me already..."
Kusuo walked over and hovered over you, "I still love you."
"Maybe it takes a few days to kick in! We still have some time before it happens."
"Or...Maybe I just love you, hm?"
"Oh, fuck off. Let's just make the most out of this time!" Sitting up on the couch, you were face to face with Kusuo; a toothy grin plastered on your face.
A few more days with someone who cared about you.
That's all you needed.
Kusuo, however, didn't see it like that.
Nothing could stop him from loving you.
a/n: woohooo guess who's hiatus is over?? also the endings are coming out sooonnn!!