but, nobody in makochi knew that yamato endo had endless patience when it came to his pretty girlfriend. regardless of whatever it was, the smile of endo's face never faded. no matter bags he carried during your day-long shopping trips; your indecisiveness when it came to choosing where to eat or where to go on a date; how long you took to get ready when he was waiting on you ⎯ yamato endo's patience never faded.

so he would wait for however long it took. when you had first started dating during his first year at furin, you had asked him to keep your relationship quiet ⎯ the difference in you characters was like night and day. you attended a prestigious school funded by your parents, while endo was in a school famous for its delinquents and got into fights every single day. your family wouldnt approve; your friends would judge and question you, and there was no way you would be able to deal with everyone's constant interference. therefore, keeping the relationship secret was the easiest way to ensure nobody commented or questioned you.

in the beginning, endo was reluctant to hide your relationship ⎯ hiding himself away was something that was completely foreign to him, as he had always lived in the spotlight. however, after your pleas and convincing, he eventually agreed, knowing how important it was for you and your social image.

he waited and waited, watching you from afar in public as you walked with your friends, laughing and smiling. he wished he could be seen by your side, holding your waist as you giggled into his chest in the way you did when you were alone. but, he was willing to wait for it.

willing to wait for the day when you would take his hand in front of everyone. the day when you could stop hiding from the judgement of others.

yamato endo was not a patient man in the eyes of the people of makochi. because only you saw the extent of his willingness to wait for the things he wanted. and there was nothing that he wanted more than you on his arm.

so, he was your first thought as you dragged your bleeding, exhausted body through the alleyway, trying to ignore the sounds of footsteps echoing behind you and the growing volume of yelling voices.

a group of men had targeted you, dragging you into an alley after you had ignored their catcalls and whistling, and had beaten your body black and blue. you couldnt feel your legs, and there was a growing pain stretching across your ribs from the amount of kicks aimed at your chest. the distinct metallic taste of blood seeped into your mouth, courtesy of the split lip and bloodied nose that their attacks had caused you. all you wanted was to go home. back home to yamato's arms, where you were truly safe from the world.

the exit of the alley was only a few metres ahead, and was just within your reach. but, hands grabbed and pulled on your body before you could escape. the feeling of being thrown to the floor brought you back to reality ⎯ you werent going home.

the pain was beginning to numb itself, melting into the dull ache of your bones. your vision blurred, not with tears, but with exhaustion. as you faded into unconsciousness, you thought you heard the sound of yamato's voice from the alleyway entrance, alongside the familiar scent of his cologne. before you could confirm that your 'hallucination' was true, your vision went black, and everything went silent.

⎯⎯ ⎯⎯

the slow, rhythmic swaying of being carried eventually stirred you awake, eyes squinting to adjust to the sudden light being shone on your face. once the haziness from your vision had faded, you could make out yamato's face, an expression of masked worry looking down at you. behind him stood takiishi, who was busying himself with dumping the knocked-out bodies of your attackers into a pile.

"hey, baby.. look at me, yeah? how ya feeling?" yamato's voice was surprisingly soft for someone who had beaten a group of men to bloody pulps. his seafoam eyes were fixated on your face, flickering across your features as he took in your injuries, which made his jaw clench.

your body hurt. everything hurt. but being back in yamato's arms was enough to temporarily forget the pain, just for that moment. letting your body fully relax for the first time in hours, you leaned your cheek against his chest, voice coming out sore and defeated. "it hurts... yamato, i thought i wouldnt see you again.." you felt yamato squeeze you tighter against his chest, burying his face into your tousled hair, letting out a deep sigh. he pressed a small kiss to the crown of your head, muttering softly, his tone uncharacteristically gentle. "nah, nothin' can take ya from me, ya hear? ill always come when ya need me. got it?" he waited for you to nod in response before adjusting his hold on you, glancing over at takiishi, and then back to you, a grin on his face.

"lets get ya somethin' to eat, 'kay? gotta clean that pretty face, too."

⎯ ⎯

hiding away in an empty training hall, surrounded by bags of snacks and drinks that seemed to have come out of thin air. empty boxes of pocky were discarded at nagumo's feet, who was happily munching on another box of the snack, while you just sipped on a drink. he hadnt even explained what the two of you were doing there, or why sakamoto and akao werent with you. whenever you tried to bring up the fact that it was just the two of you, or ask why he had brought you here, nagumo would just brush off the question and shrug, grinning at you before continuing to eat his snacks.

as you asked a final time, nagumo just looked up at you, a blank look on his face that looked unnatural for someone who was always smiling and cracking jokes. he chewed on his pocky before speaking, his eyes boring into yours, "maybe i wanted it to be just us. is there a problem with that?"

you were stunned at his answer, but arguably even more confused and slightly embarrassed by it. what did he mean, wanting it to be just you two? returning your attention back to the half finished drink in your hands, you took a small sip, trying to calm the soft pink that had stretched across your cheeks, and doing your best to ignore the feeling of nagumo's eyes on you. it was unsettling, to say the least - having someone watch you so intently after saying something borderline romantic when you were explicitly just friends... right?

of course, nagumo wasnt unattractive and he knew it. so did you. and akao from the countless late night rants you had forced her to endure about your mutual friend. but the four of you were just friends, and the entire jcc knew it. you knew it.

so, why did you want more? why werent you content with just being friends?? it felt wrong to think of him in that way, like he wasnt yours to have.

but nagumo yoichi had always wanted to be yours.

so, seeing yoichi nagumo for the first time in your assassination department lecture was unexpected. he was known in the spy department, not assassination, but it wasnt anything special, at least not to you. even rion didnt seem to keen on him, as she mumbled to you and sakamoto that you all should kill him. the three of you minded your business in the back of the hall, doing whatever you wanted during lecture time. not like the teacher would stop you anyway ⎯ being the top students in the class had it perks.

not long after nagumo had joined your class, somehow he had joined your small group, and had grown three to four. his presence wasnt unwelcomed, and rion had warmed up to him, as well as the stoic sakamoto. you didnt mind him either ⎯ he was funny, knew how to make any situation less dull, and was probably one of the best fighters you had ever seen. everything about him was magnetic, and you felt yourself drawn to him like a moth to a flame. it didnt help that he was stupidly attractive and knew it, and so did every other girl. he was constantly fussed over by any girl within a ten mile radius and had his own unofficial fanclub. valentines day always ended up like a war zone, with girls fighting left and right to give nagumo chocolates, and he ended up with wheelbarrows full of handmade sweets from girls in every department ⎯ he always made a point to refuse any from the girls in the poison department.

so, you never said a word. never made a move. never even hinted any interest in your best friend. because, if you did, you would face certain rejection and would have to spend the rest of your years at the jcc in humiliation and shame.

rion was your confident. sitting in your dorm room, you would cry and whine into your tear-soaked pillow while she would listen silently, munching on the snacks you had bought her in exchange for listening to your emotional rants. she always gave the same advice ⎯ "just tell him, whats the worst that could happen?" you never even thought about taking it, believing that nagumo would just laugh in your face and swat you away like an annoying fly.

sakamoto was nagumo's confident. listening to his friend sulk at your lack of attention and how you always avoided being seen with him alone. it was almost pitiful, watching the boy who could have any girl he wanted from the entire institution huffing and fussing over his own best friend. sakamoto would sigh, and offer him the same advice every time ⎯ "just tell her, whats the worst that could happen?", and nagumo never took it.

so, rion and sakamoto both were forced to watch their friends fumble and stumble around each other like idiots on a tightrope, with both of them simultaneously agreeing to intervene sooner or later. their snack stashes were running out, and so were their patience.