Ok ok what about this idea. Jay Jo x fem!reader angst where reader is comforting him and he just pathetically cries in her arms
# ๐/๐ง: oh anon, you have no idea what you just awakened in me. Also, I'm sooo proud of myself for writing this, hello????
# ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐๐ซ๐ฒ: Jay being pathetic crybaby cuz he misses his uncle
# ๐ญ๐๐ ๐ฌ: @yuriaxx @zyart-jpg @bfwooin @wthphe1n @erisawrites @pantheonofbeauty @owenight @i-nssomniia
"Do you have anyone you like, Jay?"
The carefree voice reached the ears of the boy, who tried to match the pace of his uncle.
"Anyone...I like?" Jay blinked in surprise at the sudden question, that was posed for him.
"Yup!" His uncle turned to look down at him, his brown eyes carrying a glint of tease. "Any girls in school that you set your eyes on? Surely, there must be someone."
Jay frowned at the question, his small frame climbing up the mountain along with his uncle. "I don't have time for girls. I have to study."
Mahon let out a laugh in return. "So typical of you. Nothing wrong with having a little crush at your age, you know. I did have one too!"
"Didn't you get rejected?" Jay asked.
Mahon gasped in offense. "That's very rude of you!" but then, he chuckled. "Rejection isn't a point here, Jay. You should get close to kids your age now."
"My brother isn't very understanding of that topic." Mahon admitted. "But, Jay..." the man crouched down to his nephew's eye level. "If you ever like someone in the future, if you meet a girl that will make you happy, do not put studying above her. You'll regret it if you do."
The boy blinked in surprise, almost like he couldn't understand why his uncle was giving him this advice. Then the man smiled wider, softer, before continuing. "It's not easy to find someone who's right for you, Jay. Education gives you second chances,"
the man paused. "but you won't be able to repeat a year to keep someone you love. So, do not let her go."
You called out his name in surprise, louder than you wanted to, due to seeing him curled into a blanket, looking anything but well.
His tired eyes met your face, his shoulders were dropped like he was carrying the weight of the whole world. His eyes looked hollow, devoid of any emotion, yet he still looked like a child on the verge of crying.
You knew. Knew he was so close to breaking. That's why you approached him gently, afraid even the smallest noise would make him fade away.
"You don't look so well. Do you want to talk about it?" You asked softly, sitting down on his bed, too hesitant to touch him yet.
He looked at youโreally looked at youโbut didn't say anything. Though, his shoulders relaxed a bitโit was small difference but you noticed, and that's what mattered.
He planted his hand on his bed to support his weight as he sat up slightly. He moved so slowly, it was almost pathetic. But you didn't rush him, nor said anything.
You knew he was trying to speak, just couldn't find the words, so you offered him the comfort of silenceโthe one he was too familiar with. However it was different now, less cruel, less hauntingโthanks to your presence.
"I..." He finally spoke up, his voice so quiet that you almost didn't hear him. "don't know what to do.."
He said, not making any sense. And even though you furrowed your eyebrows in confusion, you didn't press him further not asked questions, just let him take it in his own pace. Since it was really hard for him to even speak about this.
"My uncle..." his hands clenched together, like he was trying to ground himself, yet his eyes looked like he was deep in a dreamโa kind of dream he didn't want to be in nor wake up from. "I joined the tournament for him."
"I tried to clear up his name, to find out what truly happened to him..." He paused, as if trying to find the words that would sound less painful to him, but couldn't find any. For every thing he thought of saying, pulled at the strings of his heart mercilessly. "But...After the trip in USA...after the match with Sangho...I-I don't know."
You nodded your head to show him that you were listening, even though he wasn't even looking at you, his eyes were frozen on his hands, watching the way his fingers awkwardly touched each other.
"I'm close to finding out what happened to him but at the same time, the more I try to learn, the more I realize how much risk I am taking." He paused. "Uncle Bale warned me about it but I was too stubborn and too motivated to listen to him. But now, I realized he was right." His hands clasped together even more, his throat feeling too dry and tight, like he was barely holding himself back from crying. "I wish I could apologize to him for breaking our promise. But he..."
He paused again and now, when he continued, his voice cracked. "He's dead."
You couldn't see his eyes, but you could tell his eyes were swelling with tears. "Jay..." With your heart aching for him, you gently called him, but you didn't know what you should tell him. You didn't know what he was going through, after all. You never suffered same.
Then he raised his head a bit, his voice laced with fear. "What if I lose you all?"
His question hang heavy in the room, knocking the air out of you, but you didn't say anything yet, letting him finish what he started to tell.
"What if the the price of my stubbornness and grief will be my own girlfriend and my friends? Or my family members?" His voice shook like he was finally letting everything pour out of his heart. "Will I be able to take responsibility for it? Will I be able to continue living after that?"
"I lost my uncle." He sobbed. "I almost lost Minu...I lost uncle Bale..."
Then he raised his head completely, finally meeting your eyes and now you wished he didn't. Because he looked so broken, desperate and terrifiedโsomething you haven't seen from Jay at all. He spoke up, now really talking to you, trying to stop his voice from cracking but failing miserably. "What if I lose you too?"
Your eyes widened in surprise, shock or pityโyou couldn't tell anymore. But you could recognize the way your heart started beatingโfast and terrified, yet so heavy with sadness.
Your lips trembled slightly but you spoke anyway. "You won't lose me, I promise you."
"That isn't the promise you can make." Jay stated, he stated the painful truth neither of you knew how to approach.
That shut you up. And you cursed yourself internally for not knowing how to calm him down, when he so clearly needed that right now.
He looked down at his hands again, tears pouring down endlessly. He looked so disconnected from the reality, like he was fading. And it scared you. You have never seen him this bad before.
You hesitantly put your hand over his, making him flinch slightly. "Listen, your fear is very valid." You started, even though you had no idea how to continue or what to say, but you had to say somethingโsomething that would help him. "I-I will admit, I'm not sure what to say. But this doesn't have to end in tragedy. You have Minu's company by your side, Dom's dad's gang, all the crews from League of Streets, Kazuma crew is helping you out too..."
"Right, but.." He spoke up again, his voice sounding unsure. "I don't think I can protect them all. If my uncle failedโ"
"You aren't your uncle." You cut him off, your tone was so strict that you startled him, surprising yourself too. "You aren't in a situation your uncle was in. He tried to get on top of cycling world, right? So people would take him seriously enough and listen to him when he spoke up about injustice. But you..." You pointed at him. "You are more in...shadows. Secret Organization only looks at you as Mahon's nephew. They haven't suspected you enough to come after you. That is huge advantage if we play it smart."
"However," Jay started speaking again, not fully convinced. "that's only thanks to Bale's death. If he hadn't sacrificed his life for me, I would have been exposed." He paused and took your hand in his, gripping it tightly like he was afraid you'd leave. "The thing is, I don't want to gain advantages through the death of others."
You stayed quiet for a moment, unsure of what to say. It was hard to comfort him, knowing you weren't sure of what you were saying either. "Well..." You spoke. "If you want to quit this, that's fine. That won't mean you failed your uncle or Bale Armstrong. No one will blame you if you don't want to dip your legs any deeper into this mess."
"But..." You continued. "We aren't stupid. We know that if we help you with this, we will also get in some kind of trouble. And yet, here we are. Still willing to hold your hand through this. Not only because of you, but because we also cannot stand to see so much bullshit happening around us."
"TJ risked so much to get his hands on dope, Minu is playing risky game sneaking around to gain information and expose this cruelty publicly. Monster tagged along to find the truth behind this crap, purely out of his own morals. Kazuma crew already went down this road out of their own will. Oliver and Clover were going against Michael out of their own decisions." You looked at his puzzled expression. "What I'm saying is, even if you abandon this now, are you sure others will?"
At that, he stayed silent. His teeth caught his inner cheek, chewing on it nervously. He knew you were right about that. Even if he gives up now, Oliver wouldn't let Bale's death slide, TJ wouldn't give up on trying to expose the truth about tournament, Kaneshiro was already hip deep into this messโtoo late to get out now. And even if Minu seemed like he was doing this only for Jay, it was obvious, he also wanted justice for what happened to him and his legs.
Now that Sangho's dead, Vinny wouldn't be able to sit still either.
"Then what am I supposed to do?" He asked, his eyes meeting yours once more. "I want to protect all of you."
You let the silence hang in the air for a moment, before pulling him into a hug. "Dummy, you shouldn't take all responsibility yourself. What are we, children?" You felt him relax in your arms, his head resting on your chest, listening to your heartbeat to know that you were still here, still with him. "First and foremost, we are all responsible for ourselves. So make sure you don't get hurt first. That way, you will be able to protect us better."
"...do you really think...I can pull this off?" He mumbled against your chest, his tears staining your shirt.
You hummed before talking. "You? No."
He stilled and glanced up at you, seeing the way smile slowly complimented your lips. "We, all of us together though? Yes."
"Oh..." was all he was able to let out. Your words didn't seem much, but they definitely were able to scratch the fear away from his heart, to give him some courage, some comfort he desperately craved.
You kissed his forehead. "We both will be fine, I can absolutely promise you that."
His eyes watered up even more, before a pathetic, choked sob escaped his lips. He pulled you closer, burying his face in your chest and letting out all the ugliest sobs he held in before.
You patted his back, rocking him gently, your lips finding top of his head. "I love you, my big baby."
"I'm not a baby" he said, his voice shaky from sobs and muffled, but still coherent.
You laughed, patting his back harder. "Yes you are. You are my big baby. A crybaby."
"Stop." He said with a sob again, but you could feel his lips twitching, to fight back a smile.
And like that, you let him stay in your arms longer, let out everything he tried to hide from the rest of his world. And he held you close, promising to not let you go.
