#atsumu

The ring glinted between you like a taunt, like it was meant to provoke you in some way. It should have felt like a turning point, a gesture of love so big it eclipsed every fight you’d ever had. But instead, all you felt was the years of begging, the years of waiting, fighting, and the realization that this was far from what you wanted.

You stared up at him, your throat constricting, eyes void of any tears. You’d cried enough over this—enough over his lack of initiative, his lack of understanding. You’d had this conversation before—many times—and still, nothing had changed.

“Tooru…” Your voice was hoarse, flat. “None of this… none of this changes. This doesn’t fix anything that’s happened.”

Oikawa’s face crumpled in confusion, panic flickering across his eyes. “What are you talking about? Of course it does. I’m asking you to marry me, Y/n. I’m telling you I want you—only you.”

“You’ve been telling me that for years.” Your words cut through the room like glass, sharp but quiet. “And I’ve been telling you for years that I don’t feel seen, that I don’t feel like I matter next to everything else you’ve chosen.”

He flinched, the words landing heavy. “You matter more to me than anything,” he said quickly, almost desperately. “Please—you’re the only one I want to come home to. You’ve always been the only person I’ve ever needed.”

You shook your head, cutting him off, the sound brittle. “You don’t come home to me. You aren’t present with me—you don’t make an effort to spend time with me. You don’t care enough to ask me about my day or find time to take me out on a date. I’ve been with you for so long, Tooru. And I’ve realized that you know nothing about me. You tell me that I’m the only one, but you make me feel like I’m not even worth your time.”

His breath hitched. His hands trembled where he held the ring box. “I—God, I didn’t know you felt like that. I thought… I thought this would show you…”

“It doesn’t show me anything. If anything, it’s a reminder that all this time I’ve had to beg you to see me. I’ve had to beg you for the bare minimum. I think you stayed with me because I was comfortable—you got complacent.” Your voice broke now, low and raw. “This—all of this—just makes me sad. Because you think a ring can undo years of me feeling like this. I’ve felt like this for so long, and you can’t say that I’ve never told you—because I have, many times. You just don’t listen to me.”

The silence that followed was suffocating. He set the ring box down slowly on the coffee table, like it weighed a hundred pounds. “I do listen to you—I listen to everything you say to me. Everything you say matters more to me than anything,” he whispered, voice fraying at the edges. “I love you—can’t you see? Let me fix everything.”

“That’s the problem. You don’t listen to what I’m saying to understand me, to see me, to make me feel heard and validated. You listen to respond.” Your eyes burned, but you refused to let the tears fall. “You don’t try to fix you. You try to fix me. You apologize to me, you fucking beg me to forgive you, promise me that you’ll change, and then nothing. Your actions do not reflect what you say to me. It’s a cycle. It’s the same shit—the same fight—we make up, we have sex, and then nothing changes.”

He sank onto the couch, elbows on his knees, face buried in his hands. For once, he didn’t have a comeback—no sarcasm, no charm. Just a man realizing his own failure too late.

“Tell me what to do,” he murmured through his palms. “Please. Tell me how to make you stay.”

You stared at him, heart splintering. “I’ve been telling you for years,” you said softly. “And still—you just don’t listen.”

He looked up at you then, and you saw the boy you’d met years ago—the boy who burned so brightly he lit up every room, who thought he could outwork his flaws, who thought love could be proven like a score on a scoreboard.

You stepped back, your voice shaking. “I can’t marry you, Tooru. I can’t even keep doing this with you. I’m tired. I’m so tired.”

His face went pale, eyes wide and wet. “Are you leaving me?”

“I think a part of me already has—I probably should have left a long time ago.” The words came out cracked, like they’d been waiting inside you for a long time.

He didn’t move. He didn’t follow when you turned toward the door. You heard his breath hitch—a low, broken sound you’d never heard from him before—Oikawa Tooru, the man who was always composed, always smiling, unraveling in the quiet of his own apartment.

The ring sat between you on the coffee table, gleaming under the lamp like a cruel joke.

You walked away, leaving the silence behind you as you slammed the door to the apartment.

And for the first time since you’d known him, Oikawa didn’t chase after you—he just stood there, hollow and unmoving, watching the only thing he’d ever truly wanted slip away, realizing too late that love alone had never been enough to make you stay.

⸻

★ BOKUTO KOUTARO i think this one is the sweetest one out of all of them

The air surrounding you was still tense with the echoes of your fight.

The ring box that Koutaro had thrown at you now sat abandoned on the coffee table, the air heavy and cold with the kind of silence that made your chest ache.

You sat curled up on the far end of the couch with your knees tucked close to your chest, staring at the floor, your breath uneven from all the crying. Every time you blinked, your eyes began to well with tears, throat burning every time you swallowed. You just wanted quiet—five minutes of peace.

But Bokuto wasn’t going anywhere—couldn’t, not even when you begged him to stay with Atsumu for the night.

He stood a few feet away from you, his hair a mess, eyes rimming with irritation and hurt, and he’s still wearing the same t-shirt he’d stormed in with earlier. His chest rose and fell like he’d just come off the court, breath shaking with every inhale, hands balled into fists at his sides as if trying to find something to hold on to.

“Baby,” he said softly, voice frayed. “Please…I am begging you, just talk to me. I can’t—I can’t just go to bed after all that and I’m not fucking leaving until we fix this.”

You didn’t look up, eyes flicking towards the window. “There’s nothing that I haven’t already said. I don’t have anything else to say to you, Koutarou.”

“Yes, you do baby. You always have everything to say.” He took a step closer, cautious, like he was afraid you’d vanish if he moved too fast. “You’re still upset, I can tell. And the way you feel is completely valid—I really, really fucked up. I hurt you in a way I didn’t think I ever could.”

Your jaw clenched. “You didn’t just hurt me, Kou. You forgot me. And it seems to be a pattern—anytime something really important comes up, you’re never there. I know tonight might’ve been different but…every other time, you could’ve taken time off.”

The words hit him straight through. He sank down on the floor in front of you, sitting cross-legged, elbows on his knees, staring up at you with glassy eyes. “I know,” he said hoarsely. “I know, baby. I just—when things get busy, I lose track of everything in front of me. Sometimes I even lose sight of what’s really important to me—and believe me, I’m trying. But that’s not an excuse—if you can’t see my effort, then it’s not enough and I know what I need to do.”

“But you always say this. I know work comes first, I know you have to attend meetings, and travel—but nothing changes between us,” you whispered, tears finally spilling again. “You say you don’t mean to. You say you’ll do better. And for a while, things are better. But then the season starts, or there’s a new deal, or another dinner, and suddenly I’m back here, waiting for you to remember that I exist.”

He winced, hands trembling against his knees. “I never forgot that you existed, babygirl. I just—” His voice broke, cracking raw. “I need to find a balance between work and my relationship with you. When I’m working, when I’m focused, I don’t know how to stop—the grind mentality is the only thing I’ve known. I don’t know how to slow down and stop and appreciate what’s around me sometimes. But that doesn’t mean you’re not my whole world. You’ve kept me grounded since the day we met.”

You wiped your face with the heel of your hand. “I shouldn’t have to fight to be seen in the world of the person who loves me the most. I just want you to see that I matter, that my dreams matter too, that our future is all I think about. I want you to celebrate those moments with me.”

He crawled closer, hesitating just before he reached you. “Things are going to change. This is the last time that you deserve to feel this way.” His voice was barely above a whisper. “Can I please, please just hold you?”

You didn’t answer—just stared at him through blurry eyes. But when he reached out, gentle and uncertain, you didn’t pull away. His arms came around you, careful, tentative at first, then tighter when you didn’t resist. The moment his hand found the back of your head, the dam broke. You sobbed into his chest, fists clutching his shirt, shaking from exhaustion and heartbreak.

He just held you. No words, no promises — just quiet apologies pressed into your hair.

“I hate fighting with you, it fucking kills me.” he whispered eventually, voice raw against your temple. “I hate when I make you cry.”

“I hate fighting with you, it’s not fair to either one of us,” you murmured, pulling back to look at him. “I hate that we keep doing this. Things need to change, Kou.”

He nodded, eyes wet, thumb brushing a tear from your cheek. “Baby, I promise you, this is the last time. I’ll be better—I know I have to earn your trust back, I know I have to prove myself.”

Your laugh was small, tired. “You don’t have to prove anything to me tonight.”

He smiled faintly — that soft, boyish one that still made your heart ache — and shook his head. “No, I do. Just… not the way I did before.”

You frowned as he reached for the ring box on the table, picking it up carefully, like it might break if he held it wrong. He turned it over in his palm once before opening it again.

“Earlier,” he said, voice trembling, “I said ‘marry me’ because I was scared that you were going on walk out on me. That’s not what I want this to mean. I don’t want it to come from fear—you don’t deserve that. I want it to come from this. From us. From how much I love you, even when we’re a mess, even when things are hard.”

He looked at you, tears shimmering in his eyes. “Loving you is the best decision I’ve ever made. Loving you in easy. So I’m asking again, because I’m scared to lose you, but because I don’t wanna spend one more night forgetting how lucky I am to have you. I want this for the rest of my life. Will you marry me? For real this time.”

Your heart cracked open all over again. You could barely breathe, barely think—all you could do was nod, choking out a small, tearful “yeah.”

His face broke into the softest, most fragile smile you’d ever seen. He slipped the ring onto your finger with shaking hands, then leaned forward to kiss your forehead.

It wasn’t fiery or desperate. It was slow, reverent, the kind of kiss that said everything words couldn’t.

You both sank into the couch together, too drained to move, wrapped up in each other’s warmth. His hand found yours where the ring glinted faintly in the low light.

“I’m not going anywhere,” he mumbled, voice heavy with sleep.

“I know,” you whispered, tracing lazy circles over his chest. “Just…don’t forget about me again.”

“I would never,” he breathed, and this time, you almost believed him.

By the time the city outside went quiet, the two of you were already asleep—tangled in each other, the fight finally giving way to peace.

⸻

★ IWAIZUMI HAJIME this one is kindaaaa steammyyyy

You stared at him for a long moment, chest tight, hands trembling. The silence in the kitchen suffocated both of you, and the ring in his hand gleamed like it had a heartbeat of its own.

“Y/n…” His voice was barely above a whisper, raw and vulnerable, “Can you fuckin’ say something, please. I—I just don’t know what I’d do if you—if you say…” His words trailed, broken, the fear that had haunted him spilling into the open.

Your throat burned, but your lips found a small, trembling smile. “Yes,” you said softly, voice thick with emotion. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”

The words hit him like sunlight breaking through a storm, the air newly knocked itself out of his lungs in disbelief. His brown eyes went wide in shock, his hands shaking so violently you thought he might drop the ring. “You…you said yes?” His voice cracked, disbelief rolling into joy. “You really—?”

“Yes,” you breathed, taking a careful step closer, letting the vulnerability of your own tears show. “How could I say no? I love you more than I’ve loved anyone. I’ve always loved you, it’s always been you. This…this doesn’t scare me. I’ve always wanted this—I’ve always wanted you.”

Hajime froze, chest rising and falling rapidly, like he needed to inhale every word you’d just said. Then slowly, like he couldn’t believe his own courage, he reached for you. His hands brushed your cheeks, gentle but insistent, thumbs stroking your skin, wiping away the tears, and his forehead rested against yours.

“I’ve been such a jackass,” he murmured against your temple, voice low and rough. “I didn’t mean to shut you out, baby. I was just scared…I hate admitting that but I was scared that you’d say no. Scared I’d fuck up the proposal.”

Tears slipped down your cheeks, and he brushed them away, his touch feather-light but grounding. “Hajime,” you whispered, “all I want is you. Just…you. You’ve always been enough for me, for everyone around you. I don’t need anything more or anything less. Just you.”

The kitchen felt smaller, warmer, every sound of your heartbeats mingling with his. His lips found yours, slow at first, tentative, like testing the waters after a storm. But when you responded, his hands tightened around you, pulling you flush against him, trembling kisses cascading over your mouth. The urgency of the fight, the fear, the relief — it all poured out in that kiss, raw and emotional.

You clung to him, feeling the trembling strength beneath his embrace, his hands roaming your back, fingers gripping your hair, grounding you, pulling you closer to him. His breaths mingled with yours, heavy and uneven, soft moans escaping as he pressed closer. Every kiss, every brush of lips and teeth and tongue, was a confession, a promise, a tether between the two of you.

“I’m so in love with you,” he murmured against your lips, voice low and shaky. “I couldn’t imagine what my life would look like without you. I never want to let you go—you’re everything I’ve ever wanted.”

“I love you,” you whispered back, letting your tears fall freely now. “I’ve always loved you—since we first met.”

He groaned softly, heart shaking against yours, lips capturing yours again, this time slower, deeper, savoring every inch. Hands slipping beneath your shirt, touching your waist, pulling you impossibly closer until the rest of the world melted away. The fight, the anger, the fear — it all dissolved in this moment, leaving only you and him, raw and alive and utterly unafraid.

Eventually, you both sank onto the couch, limbs tangled, breathing ragged, foreheads pressed together, hearts hammering in sync. He brushed stray hairs from your face, his thumb tracing your cheek, and whispered, “We’re gonna be okay, baby. Promise I’ll fix everything. I’ll make sure you never feel like this again.”

You shivered against him, resting your head against his chest, listening to the steady thrum of his heartbeat. “I trust you, I always have.” you murmured, voice soft, filled with everything words couldn’t hold.

His arms tightened around you, and the kitchen faded into nothing — all that existed was the warmth, the trembling, the love that finally, finally, felt like it could breathe.

And when sleep took you, you did so tangled in each other, the ring shining softly on your finger, a quiet promise of forever, and the storm outside had nothing on the storm inside you both — because this one ended in surrender, in trust, in love.

⸻

★ MIYA ATSUMU my baby. I got carried away with this one

“Marry me. Please. I don’t care that it’s ugly like this, in the middle of a fight, with the neighbors watchin’.” His throat bobbed as he swallowed hard, desperate. “I can’t stand ya thinkin’ I don’t want ya, that I’d ever choose anyone else other than you. You’re it for me, y/n. Always have been. I can’t do life without ya—I won’t.”

The whole street felt like it had gone still—the air, the lights, even the neighbors held their breath. Atsumu Miya, brash and arrogant and infuriatingly impossible, knelt trembling before you, his messy, ugly truth finally spilling out into the night.

And you just stared at him.

For a long moment, the world was nothing but the sound of your heartbeat and the faint hum of the streetlight above you. Atsumu didn’t move—didn’t breathe. The velvet box shook in his hands, his eyes wide and tearful, a thousand unsaid things trembling behind them.

“Baby I…I can’t…” he choked, voice cracking, trembling. “I can’t lose you, not like this. You don’t understand—I would give my fuckin’ life for you! I love you so much it fuckin’ hurts, and I can’t…I can’t imagine one second without you!”

Tears streamed down your face, a sob left your lips, and for the first time in hours—you let yourself feel every ounce of anger, every ounce of frustration, the betrayal of thinking he was being unfaithful. “Atsumu…” you whispered, voice breaking.

His chest felt tight, almost like it would cave in on itself with every ragged breath he took. “Look at me, babygirl. Please. Don’t walk away from me. Don’t do this to me I—I can’t—” His voice broke again, loud and raw, half sob, half shout.

“This isn’t…” your voice cracked, barely a whisper. “This isn’t what I wanted—‘Tsumu I-I just wanted the truth—“

He looked up at you, completely undone. “And ya think I wanted this?” he rasped, chest heaving. “I wanted this to be something special—something so much more than whatever the fuck this is. I wanted to make ya feel loved, make ya feel like the luckiest girl in the world—I didn’t wanna make ya cry, baby, not like this. But I can’t—I can’t let you walk out on me thinkin’ I’d ever cheat on ya.”

Your throat burned. “Then why did you lie to me? Why did you sneak around and act like you didn’t care? You just shut me out, Atsumu—”

“I was fuckin’ scared!” he shouted, the word tearing out of him before he could stop it. “I was scared that it wouldn’t be enough, that me proposing to you wouldn’t be enough, that you’d look at me and—fuck, that you’d say no. I was scared that I might lose the love of my life.”

His voice broke on that last word. You watched his head drop, shoulders trembling, and something in your chest gave way. The silence that followed wasn’t peaceful, it was thick, suffocating—heavy with everything you both hadn’t said.

Your chest tightened. You’d never seen him like this—so stripped of arrogance, so unfiltered, so achingly vulnerable. You took a shaky step forward, and he closed the distance in a heartbeat, arms circling your waist, pulling you into him with tears streaming down his cheeks. You clung back, holding him against you trembling with every sob, letting yourself feel everything you’d bottled up too.

And then, as if the universe couldn’t take it either, the sky cracked open. Thunder cracked, lightning struck throughout the night sky, clouds weeping alongside you both.

Heavy drops of rain began to fall, darkening the pavement around him. Within seconds, you were both soaked—hair plastered to your face, shirt clinging to your skin, exposing your bare skin to the world, the ring in his hand catching the blur of streetlight and storm. Atsumu let out a shaky, almost disbelieving laugh, tipping his head back.

“Perfect,” he muttered bitterly, wiping his eyes even though the rain made it pointless. “Now the fuckin’ sky’s cryin’, too.”

You couldn’t help it—you laughed, too. A small, broken sound that tasted like salt and rain as you sniffled.

And that’s when your chest collapsed in on itself. You looked down at him, a small smile on your lips, voice trembling as you whispered, “Sweet boy,”

He looked up at you then—devastated but eyes hopeful, still on his knees in the downpour. Rain clung to his lashes, and the moon reflected through his eyes. He was beautiful, always had been, even like this.

“I don’t care how ugly things get. I’ve always loved you more than you could ever imagine. So…yes.”

Atsumu froze. His mouth opened, but no sound came out. Rain streamed down his cheeks, mingling with his tears as his head fell forward, a strangled, perplexed laugh escaping him. “Yes? Yes to what?”

“To marrying you.”

He laughed again—half-sob, half-disbelieving joy—his forehead falling against your stomach, arms wrapping around your waist as if grounding himself in the truth of you.

Rain slicked streets, lights blurred around you both—and neither of you seemed to care. And then he stood, towering over you with tears in his eyes, like his entire world has just been pieced back together. He grabbed your face, thumbs swelling softly against your cheeks as he searched your face for the truth.

“I don’t want ya to say yes just because ya feel obligated to,” he whispered, hands shaking. “Don’t say it if ya don’t mean it, baby.”

“Baby…I mean it, always will.” you choked, your voice trembling but steady enough to convince him.

For a heartbeat, neither of you moved. Just the rain between you, cold and relentless, dripping from his jaw to your lips, mingling with your tears. Then Atsumu exhaled—a shaky, broken sound—and you barely had time to breathe before his lips were on yours—sweet, desperate, a collision of a sincere apology and insatiable hunger. It wasn’t soft, it didn’t dare to be. It was everything you’d both been holding back, spilling out all at once without any reservations.

You gasped against his lips, fingers tangling in his soaked hair as he pulled you impossibly closer to him. The rain made your clothes cling to your skin, cold and slick, but his touch burned everywhere, a reminder than the fire between you still burned bright. His lips traced frantic paths down your jaw, to your throat, sucking deep purple marks into your skin that tasted of rain and salted skin.

“This…this wasn’t how I imagined this would happen,” you moaned between kisses, voice breaking, breath hitching as his hands slid beneath the hem of the shirt clinging to your body.

“I know,” he rasped, lips brushing the corner of your mouth, the edge of your chin. “I fuckin’ know, baby. But I don’t care—not right now. It’s just me and you, that’s all I care ‘bout”

He stopped himself with a shudder, forehead pressing to yours, the two of you trembling, breathing the same ragged air. For one suspended second, the world narrowed to this—the heartbeat under your palms, the taste of him on your tongue, the rain pounding around you like static.

“I don’t wanna let go, you’re all I’ve ever wanted.” you murmured, barely audible.

He smiled—small, absolutely wrecked. “Then don’t, babygirl. It’s always been me and you,”

Then, without another word, his lips were on yours again before he lifted you, pulling you close, shoulder catching you as he practically carried you to the apartment. The door slammed behind you; the world outside disappearing into the sound of rolling thunder. There’s a heartbeat of silence—just you both, rain dripping, pooling beneath your feet, absolutely breathless, staring at each other, shivering from adrenaline and cold and desire.

“You’re fuckin’ perfect, ya know that?” he muttered, fingers brushing the damp strands of hair from your face, cupping your cheeks like he’s memorizing them, needing you in every way.

“I’m far from perfect, we both are.” you tease, voice shaky, teeth chattering from wet clothes clinging to your skin.

“I’m far from perfect, but you…you’re beyond perfect, always have been, my baby. And it’s just for me.” he growled, tugging you into him again. His kisses are desperate, hungry, your arms tangled around his neck with a moan, his hands roamed every inch of your body, tugging at the shirt clinging to you, pulling it over your head to reveal the bare skin of your hips. Your lips crashed together in a chaotic rhythm, every moan, every shiver, every ragged breath is raw and real as his hands held you down, pulling you back towards him to ground you.

And you know it’s only just the beginning of a sleepless night, the world outside forgotten, and right now, this is enough. You both are enough for one another.

⸻

★ SAKUSA KIYOOMI I’m apologizing in advance

You didn’t move. The ring glinted between you like a cruel joke — a promise that showed up far too late. Your throat burned, chest rising and falling too fast as the silence between you hung.

Then you laughed—sharp, breathless, disbelieving. “You’re fucking with me,” you said, shaking your head. “You have to be.”

His brow furrowed, the faintest flicker of confusion breaking through his composure. “What? Why would I be screwing around with something like this?”

“Because this—” you snapped, gesturing to him — to the ring, to his kneeling form, to everything. “You really think this is something I can accept? You think proposing after ignoring me for weeks makes it okay? I have had to beg for your attention, Kiyoomi!”

“That’s not what I’m—”

“No, that’s exactly what you’re doing!” Your voice cracked, anger flooding through the ache in your chest. “You don’t even talk to me, you don’t see me, and now—what? You just throw a ring at me and hope it changes everything? That I won’t beg you to love me anymore, that I won’t cry because you refuse to touch me, that I won’t scream at you like this because I’m tired of not being treated right?”

His jaw tightened, the muscle twitching. “Don’t do that, don’t say that. It’s not fair, you know how—“

“Oh, don’t you dare,” you spat, eyes stinging. “Don’t you dare tell me what’s fair. I begged you to let me in, Kiyoomi. I begged. I would’ve gotten on my hands and knees if you would’ve just listened to me! You shut me out over and over, and now you decide this is the moment to ask me to marry you? After all of this?”

His voice rose, quiet but razor-sharp. “Because I’m trying! I’m trying to do the right thing, to show you that I—”

“That you what?” you cut in, shaking your head, bitter laughter bubbling up. “That you love me? You don’t even know how to show it unless it’s on your terms. Everything has to be perfect for you, doesn’t it? Every word has to be rehearsed, every move you make it controlled. You can’t even love me without making it complicated!”

His composure cracked — just slightly, just enough. “You think this is easy for me?” he said, voice low and shaking. “You think I don’t fight myself every damn day to keep our relationship together? I’m not good at this. I know I’m not. But I thought—” His throat worked, and his voice broke mid-sentence. “I thought if I could make it right, maybe you’d finally see how much I—”

“I do see it,” you said, tears spilling now, voice trembling with fury. “And that’s the problem. You only show me that you care when we fight, when you feel like I’m about to walk out on you. Ive been checked out from this relationship—at least emotionally. You just don’t show me when it matters most—and I don’t deserve that.”

The words hit him like a physical blow. His hand fell from the open box, the ring still glinting faintly between you. His eyes — wide, wet, unsteady — locked on yours. “Don’t say that I don’t show you that I love you. I show you in the only way I know how,” he whispered.

You swallowed hard, forcing the next words out because someone had to. “I can’t marry you, Kiyoomi. I refuse to beg you to treat me like I mean something to you when another man would do it in a heartbeat without question.”

He froze. No breath. No sound. The world went painfully still.

“What?” His voice was barely a whisper.

You shook your head, wiping your face. “You heard me. I cannot marry you. Not like this.“

“Love, please” His voice cracked again, rough this time, trembling with something raw. “Don’t do that. Don’t throw this away because I messed up.”

“You didn’t mess up,” you said, voice low but shaking. “You waited. You waited until I was ready to walk out the door to finally decide I was worth the risk. And now you want me to just… what? Forget how lonely this has been? I’m the only one in this relationship, Kiyoomi. Am I supposed to just forget how small you make me feel every time you shut me out?”

He took a step forward, desperate now, the mask fully gone. “I’m trying to tell you I can be better!”

“But I’m tired of waiting for that!” you cried, the sound shattering the air between you. “I’m so fucking tired of waiting for you to be ready to love me in the way I deserve—it’s been almost four years! Four years of me begging, of me trying to get you to see me!”

He flinched. His shoulders sagged, the fight draining out of him like blood. The box slipped from his fingers, hitting the floor with a dull clatter.

Neither of you moved.

You stared at him — the man you’d loved, the one who’d built walls so high even his love couldn’t reach through them — and you realized this was it. The breaking point.

When he finally spoke, his voice was hollow. “So that’s it?”

You took a shaky breath, forcing the words out even though they hurt like hell. “Yeah,” you whispered. “That’s it.”

He nodded once, eyes red, chest rising and falling unevenly. For a moment, it looked like he might say something else, might reach for you — but he didn’t.

And maybe that said everything.

You stepped around him slowly, your hand brushing the wall for balance as you passed. The rain had started outside, faint at first, tapping against the window. You didn’t look back when you reached the door.

Behind you, the sound of your footsteps faded — and somewhere between one breath and the next, Sakusa’s composure finally broke.

The ring lay between you both, glinting faintly in the half-light — a symbol of everything that could’ve been, now just another piece of the wreckage.

AUTHOR’S NOTE