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The sound of rain hitting the windows outside was almost deafening, constant pitter-patter of droplets in an almost rhythmic pattern. While the distant echoing of thunder roared out as it slowly approached, it was scary.
At least to you it was, to most average-everyday people. Thunder and lightning isn't exactly something you'd be terrified of, at least, not severely. Sure, it's loud, sudden, and unexpected most of the time. That's all it is, some noise and light.
For you however, the sight of it made your body tense, made you feel sick & uneasy. The sound made you freeze in place, and rush to cover your ears as quickly as possible. It scared you, lots of things scared you, and like most things, people had made fun of you for.
For as long as you can remember, whether it be sirens, fireworks, or-again, lightning.. Were all things nobody should be that afraid of or startled by. But you were. Anytime you brought it up, people would scoff or make a remark, if they didn't and pretended to care, they'd just walk away and laugh about it by themselves or with a friend.
People didn't care , your feelings were something often disregarded by pretty much anyone that you met. You had lived your entire life like this, as a doormat. Someone for people to use as a form of entertainment when you were at your lowest. And if it wasn't for humor, they'd throw out harsh words, mocking you, insulting you, ridiculing you. All because you were scared. Just like any normal person can be.
..But Megumi wasn’t, he never did any of that. Not once did he shun you for every time you jumped or froze at a thunder crack. Not once did he ever laugh or stomp all over you because an ambulance siren was too noisy. Not once has he ever tried to hurt you like everyone else did.
He was the opposite, it was almost a surprise. On the outside, most people assume he simply has no feelings, that he has no emotions at all. That he doesn't care, for anybody, especially not someone like you. Someone whose whole life was nothing but being stepped on and thrown away when they got bored.
Obviously, it was an exaggeration. Sure, he was naturally quiet, reserved, reticent, and occasionally blunt & harsh. But those were all what he showed to anyone he didn't know, strangers, enemies . And even with you, he'd only pretend to behave that way, because that's what he was used to. But in due time, things change. People stop pretending.
Which leads you to the present, with the both of you, huddled together inside the walls of his dorm room. Resting your head lightly on his chest, your body and legs sprawled across his own with your arms wrapped securely around his torso, trying your hardest not to squeeze the life out of him with every sound that shakes the outside.
It's quiet for a while, disregarding the noises outside, you two don't talk, but you didn't mind. You didn't have to speak words when simply enjoying each others presence was enough, that was normally how it always went. You'd come to him about something that had been upsetting you recently, and the both of you would just lay there in silence, most often, until one of you fell asleep. You enjoyed it, it made you feel secure, without pressure, it was serene. Calm. It was quiet . But.. you couldn't help but bring up what's on your mind.
---
“..Hey, megu..”
“Hm?” he replied, tiredly
“..I u- eh, I, wanna ask something.”
“What is it?”
You paused, contemplating whether or not you wanted to even say anything at all, even with how much you had done this. And with how many times he had went along with it so willingly. You still felt somewhat guilty for how often you came to him whenever you felt like it.
“You're not like, um, y'know.. annoyed with-all of this, right?”
“Huh? What do you mean? Why would I be.”
-Great, now he does sound annoyed, now you've done it, you ruined everything.-
“It-It’s just.. It seems like- almost every day, every week almost, i've ran to you for help like this.”
“And?”
“I- I don't, know I just.. I have way too many problems I- shouldn't, be dumping them all onto you like this so often”
He raises a brow, clearly confused as to why you even decided to bring this up, but he doesn't say anything.
You can't help but continue to stammer on your words, endless stuttering and muffled ‘sorry’s in between sentences, only feeling as if you're making this more and more awkward by the minute.
“I just...feel like I'm becoming too much of a burden, that I should just- stop with all of this and leave you alone already.. an-”
[ C R A C K ]
The sound of a sudden loud burst of lightning, hitting a far away tree, snapping off branches with ease. The sound echoing all the way over to you like an explosion. Nearly making you yelp out of surprise.
You instinctively grip the fabric of his sweatshirt tighter, squeezing your eyes shut, hiding your face into his shoulder blades, nestling slightly as to cover the rest of the noise that's started to fade away. Quietly mumbling to yourself on his neck.
-Oh come on, really? Now you look even more pathetic and whiny, great job proving your point even more.-
Megumis eyes widen a bit in response to your sudden actions,
“Hey hey, you okay?”
“Ye-eah” your voice hitches faintly “Sorry I- that.. startled me.”
He hums quietly, moving his free arm not already wrapped over you, up to your head, petting your hair gently, leaving the room in silence again.
He thought for a second on what he should say, contemplating simply staying quiet, but his mind was still replaying over what you were saying earlier,
-That I think he's annoying? That I don't wanna be around him? Does he, think I hate him or something?-
"Hey, um, [name]."
Opening your eyes a little more, you shift your head to look up at him
"Ah- yeah?"
Looking down at you, his heart softens even more. He moves his hand from your head so it's placed onto the back of your neck, lazily playing with the strands of hair towards the end.
“I- you..aren't bothering me, at all, really”
“Oh” you let out a sigh of relief. “Good.. I, sorry about that Im, i've just been overthinking too much these past few days an-”
“You don't have to apologise, it's fine, trust me” he cut you off rather abruptly, still looking down at you, resting his palm on your cheek.
“You know that I couldn't do that, you're someone I care about, a lot, remember.”
“..Megu.”
He exhales, his hand reaching underneath your chin, guiding your head upwards towards him. Shutting his eyes before pressing a soft kiss onto your forehead.
“Remember that, please..you can do it.”
“...m-megu-you-I--”
“Hey..it's alright.”
He lowers his head down, planting another gentle, reaffirming kiss to your temple, and one more to your cheek.
“You're gonna be fine..ok?”
You already can feel your face heat up & your chest grow heavy, to say you were just surprised was an understatement. You felt like you were gonna spontaneously combust right then and there, that your entire body would just start melting into a puddle on the spot.
You tried to look at him again, but you just couldn't, you didn't have the willpower to, especially not after something so bold as that. Megumi normally isn't “good” at expressing through words, but damn if he doesn't excel at it when it comes to comfort.
All you could do was squish your face back into his neck, holding onto him even tighter, smiling to yourself.
“Megumi..I….sigh...thank you..really, I-I really don't know what i'd do without you..to be honest.”
You couldn't help but feel your eyelids slowly grow heavier and heavier, before you knew it, you were out like a light, what can you say? All this sappy romance tired you out (sure, maybe it was 2 in the morning..)
Megumi was shocked at himself too, he wasn't the type to just outwardly confess his feelings to someone, let alone so forwardly like that. Of course, he didn't care, while megumi was practically sealed shut like a vault, he could easily read you like a book.
He knew you had feelings for him, of course he would never dare bring it up, but right now was different, so, he finally bit the bullet.
Noticing you had fallen asleep already, he lazily throws up a blanket beside him onto you both, throwing his head completely back onto the cold pillows, staring next to himself outside the window to the weather outside, the rain outside no longer as harsh as before, it was a good feeling.
He smiled to himself, continuing to thread his fingers through your hair, whispering as to not accidentally wake you up doing so.
“I love you, you know that.”