Entwined (Miya Osamu x Reader)
A/N: I got diabetes writing this.
The downtown festival never fails to gather throngs of people eager to celebrate the spirit of halloween. There are numerous food stalls set up, halloween-themed cafes, game stalls, horror houses, and so much more. As the event happens after exam week, you and your friends agree to go as a reward for enduring the grueling semester.
Another person bumps into you, and you try to move to a space to catch your breath. Sweat was dripping down your neck at the heat of the weather. You’re silently relieved you decided to forgo the costume this year, just donning a casual attire for practicality. Not like you and your friends coordinated anyways. Unfortunately, said friends are missing. You had passed by your meeting place, and you hadn’t seen them there. But you can’t blame them, everywhere was packed that they probably moved elsewhere.
You’ve been trying to reach them with your phone, but with all the crowd, you can barely dial and navigate. Clutching your phone tightly, you crane your neck to see where you were going while trying not to get bowled over by the flow of the crowd.
As you weave through the crowd, a familiar voice suddenly calls out to you.
“Huh?” You turn around, barely dodging someone’s elbow. “Oh! Osamu-kun!” You smile, but someone bumps into you and you gasp trying not to lose your balance. With his quick reflexes, Osamu quickly reaches out to you before you fall. You end up stumbling into his chest. His hands lock onto your shoulders, steadying you.
“You okay?” He asks, still holding you to shield you from the moving crowd.
“Yeah, yeah, sorry.” You steady yourself, smiling sheepishly at him. You gratefully stand in his personal space; but he then grabs your hand, leading you out of the crowd. His broad frame easily cuts through the swarm of people. You decide that your face felt hot because of the weather and the crowd, and definitely not because you’re tightly gripping Osamu’s large hand.
He led you by an alley, and you gasp in relief finally enjoying some fresh air. Osamu smirks at you, “Better?” You smile, “Much. Thank you.” You ignore the fact that he still hasn’t let your hand go. Properly looking at him, you gulp a bit at the sight of Osamu in a yukata. His face painted with red markings to resemble a fox mask. He looks…really good. Dashing, even.
You look away, nervously clearing your throat. “Uh, are you alone?” you ask. His eyebrows furrow a bit in annoyance. “Nah, was with the team but we got separated. Was try'na call them but reception’s shitty.”
“Not like you’d be able to hear ‘em anyways,” you remark, gesturing to the crowd with your free hand.
“Was s'posed to group up with Mika-chan and Yumi-chan but I couldn’t find them.”
Osamus eyebrows furrows again in thought. “Yumi? From the third class? One with the good english?”
“Saw ‘em earlier. They also got caught up in the crowd. Their group joined the group from my class. Don’t know where they went.”
You sigh defeatedly. At this point, it’d be even more impossible to find them now. You slump a bit, deciding you might as well go home and just message them afterwards. Osamu notices and he almost smirks at your pout. “Cute,” he thinks. He tugs your hand to catch your attention. You look up at him questioningly.
“Don’t you have to meet up with your team?”
He shakes his head. “Nah. They all prob'ly separated too.”
You hum, thinking. You and Osamu were good friends, so it wouldn’t be really weird. And you really wanted to check out the festival. Finally, it’s more than tempting as you might have a not-so-super-giant crush on him. You beam up at him, “Sure. Might as well then. Where d'ya wanna go?”
Osamu smiles back, and your breath catches in your throat. No one should be look that good when they smile. Squeezing your hand, he wordlessly pulls you along with him.
Navigating the streets was definitely easier with Osamu. With his tall and broad stature, he’s easily able to see where you two were going. Your hands never let go – he pulls you to stick close by him, you tug at his hand when he’s heading the wrong way, he squeezes your hand to silently ask if you’re still okay, and you squeeze back reassuring him.
Your heart flutters nervously, and you wonder how he can be so nonchalant. But Osamu’s far from nonchalant. His expression may be calm, but his heart is pounding in his chest. Even after denying his not-so-small crush on you, he’s got to admit that he really enjoys holding your hand. Your hand is so small in his, your fingers so delicate entwined with his calloused ones. When he pulls you close to shield you from the crowd, he hopes you won’t notice how tense he is.
You two end up wandering around a less crowded area. You wonder if he’s gonna let your hand go, but Osamu just seems to grip your hand firmer. You hide your smile, pretending to be interested at the stalls.
Most of the stalls you visit were food stalls, sampling everything you can get. There seems to be a silent agreement between the two of you that your hands would remain linked. So Osamu held the food while you take bites and feed it to him in turns. You try so hard to act casual, laughing when he misses some bites. You ask how they taste, as you try to hide how warm your face feels. Osamu, meanwhile, tries so hard not to smile like an idiot, biting the inside of his cheek to hide his giddy. He definitely takes longer to bite the takoyaki you offer to him, enjoying looking at your face. He can’t help but grin at your laugh when he misses and the takoyaki makes a mess on his cheek.
You guys also buy some trinkets - a few keychains, charms for yourselves and friends, and matching bracelets. You two avoid each other’s eyes, fervently hoping that the burning flush on your faces are not noticeable. The vendor fondly watches you two in amusement. “Ah, to be young and to love.” The old woman insists she puts on the bracelets on both of you, and you two held out your entwined hands.
You can feel your heart hammering in your ribcage as the woman strings the bracelet on your wrist. Sneaking a glance at Osamu out of the corner of your eye, you freeze when your eyes met his. Your breath catches, not daring to look away. He’s also just staring at you as the woman finishes putting the bracelet on him.
“There,” the old woman clasp her hands in satisfaction. Your gazes snaps, your heads turning to the woman.
“Oh,” you notice some engravings on your bracelets, too small too read in the night light. “What’s written here, oba-san?”
“Purity and endurance,” the old woman smiles. You meet Osamu’s gaze, wondering if he’s thinking the same thing. You pay her for the bracelets, politely excusing yourselves.
Hands still locked together, you two kept exploring, your pace relaxed and slow. The silence between you two is not awkward, just…content. As you two aimlessly walk still lost in thought, you vaguely note how your shoulder brushes up against his. Your eyes drift up to his profile, admiring his jawline, the angle of his nose, his brows… Osamu catches you staring but you can’t bring yourself to look away. He just gazes back with the same curiosity, taking in every inch of your face. Until his gaze drifts down to your entwined hands. You stop walking as you also look down. The two of you remain silent for a moment, until your gazes meet again. The both of you wondering how to convey what you want to say, and if you were even thinking the same thing.
A loud noise breaks the moment, and you both look out at the crowd. Osamu’s eyes dances with mischief as he recognizes the nearby building. He tugs at you, “Wanna go in?” You look to where he was nodding to - a horror house. You gave him an unimpressed look, “They’re not really scary, though.” He gives you a fake pout, “Too bad. Here I was hoping you’d be jumping into my arms.” Your eyes widen in surprise. Biting back a smile you smirk and shrug, “Well, why not? Maybe their jumpscares are good enough.”
Osamu laughs, pulling you inside. You squeeze his hand in return; and his grin just widens, letting your hand go just to wrap his arm around your shoulders.
