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your boyfriend had been acting weird for a total of nine days. weird how? weird as in he had been running from you in public before smothering you in private. the private part was normal; the public one not so much. you used to ignore him, otherwise he would practically tackle you to the ground in an attempt to be affectionate.
it felt bad, if you were being honest. you didn't like not being around him, so seeing him in the middle of a crowd suddenly shoot into the air with a quick "villain attack, gotta go!" when you two crossed paths wasn't fantastic. you also knew it was a lie. after the first three days, you checked the news on your phone and saw nothing nearby that would've grabbed his attention.
when you tried asking, he brushed you off and continued holding onto you like a snake would hold prey. you would also usually tell him to let go so you could breathe. after being ignored all day, though, you would instead let him hold on.
where most people would often accuse their partner of manipulating them or cheating on them, you found it impossible. keigo. keigo takami. the man who ignored going to the hospital in favor of heading to your shared penthouse to see you after a rough villain attack. the man who kept hiding his clothes in your laundry so you would wear them. that man. people might think that man was cheating on you. insane.
still, doubt finds a way to creep in. he stays out a bit later the longer this goes on. he takes longer to text you back.
after the fleeting idea that he was having an affair, you thought that he had something more personal going on. perhaps his rut had started? but, oddly, his rut had happened a week before. right on time, sure, but unlike the past few years, he wasn't clinging onto you for the month following. you remembered last year; he had made you call in sick to work an additional five days because he couldn't handle you leaving the home.
whatever. whatever! if it was that important, you would know. your final idea was that he had a surprise for you. unlikely, too. keigo was horrible at surprises. correction: he was fantastic at hiding things and giving surprise gifts and parties to everybody but you. he had said once that he just couldn't lie to you.
you sent him a quick text, "hurry up", as you stared at the clock. it was the ninth day of this behavior. nine days of this, getting worse with each one. today, he had made you late to work with his desire to hold eachother, but he still wasn't back despite it being nearly midnight. you got no reply. not even a read, or seen. nothing.
one more hour. you gave him one more hour. you had warmed up the food you bought earlier, some takeout place you and keigo went to when you were just friends, the day he had asked you on a formal date. you bought it to comfort yourself. your boyfriend had been ignoring you. eat the food he bought you the day he admitted he wanted to even go out with you.
you had bought enough for two people. one order you didn't like. one order you did. you wanted to store both in the fridge till he had gotten home. well, he could eat alone. it was a wednesday. you had work tomorrow. you slouched, rubbed your eyes, and looked back at the half-finished food. you packed it back into the fridge.
you went through your nightly routine, forgoing a shower as you had taken one earlier that day. you put on more comfortable clothes to sleep in, discarding your daily outfit. you fell face-first onto the bed. circular, to better accommodate keigo's huge wings. keigo. you shouted into the sheets, before scrambling to lay properly.
you fell asleep, at some point.
you woke up before he did. yes, your boyfriend had arrived at some point last night, and had laid down next to you and went to sleep. he didn't cling to you. you didn't wait for him to.
the bathroom, filled with his fancy feather products, smelled like mud and grime and villain blood and everything keigo brought back every night. you ignored it, splashed water on your face and changed into a more public appropriate shirt and pants. you heated up last night's leftovers for breakfast.
getting early to your job would make it easier to apologize for being late the day prior. you left without saying goodbye.
"where ar u??? 😭🤧🤧😔😕 wnted to #hang this morning 😕😕😢😢🤒‼️💔"
you didn't reply.
he didn't text again until lunch.
"talk after work? ill get back early. pls"
you gave it a thumbs up. not usually hostile, but considering you had ignored him the whole day, it felt pretty aggressive. you kept eating your company-provided sandwiches. they weren't that bad, if cold. slightly wet. probably from all the random ingredients they put into them. still, not that bad.
the more bites you took the worse the sandwich got, making your stomach hurt and your eyes water. it slowly got warmer and wetter until you took the second to last bite and felt your mood worsen at the thought of eating the last little chunk. you held it between two fingers, watching the squishy mess as though it held everything you would ever want to know.
your throat tightened when you finished and tossed the trash. talking in such a serious manner was always bad. you couldn't think of one time it had been good. whatever. whatever. whatever. just ignore it. you'll talk after you're done working, and this will all be sorted out.
maybe he was cheating. that made your stomach hurt more than when you ate that disgusting sandwich.
you got home later than usual, by a total of thirty minutes. when you walked in, he acted as though you had been kidnapped for years.
"where were you?!" he asked, voice frantic as he darted towards you and allowed some feathers to check you for injuries. "i was so worried."
"great. well, i'm fine," you dismissed. you weren't yelling, shockingly. you thought that if you were ever in this situation, where you felt you weren't being treated right, anger would flood your mind and you would cuss them out. didn't happen, though.
he watched as you brushed him off, as you set your coat on the hanger and walked towards the kitchen. he called your name. it took a lot of strength to not turn back. "what's going on? you need to text me when stuff happens, otherwise you start acting like this and i- and i don't know what to do."
you shrug, you still don't turn. now, anger is really clouding your mind. he's mad at you for not texting back, for being gone? you think of the past week and a half. you think he's out of his mind to tell you that.
he says your name again, with more urgency. "stop ignoring me, i- what's going on?" his voice cracks. "please, i just want to know."
you aren't filled with guilt, or sadness, or even a sharpness in your chest. no— you're filled with fury. rage, anger, whatever it could be called. you were filled with hate. you couldn't hate him. you think you do. you don't.
he opens his mouth to talk again.
you start shouting, spinning around. "me?! i have to stop ignoring you?! i have to tell you what's going on?!" you exhale sharply, feeling your lips turn up in some kind of manic smile. it drops when you keep going. "for the past week you've disappeared every night with no explanation! for the past week you act like i don't exist until i'm right in front of you! where's my explanation?!"
his wings are drooping, against the floor with their weight. he's too far, in the darker parts of the penthouse, for you to see his face. if you focus, you could. the windows aren't too far and thankfully the sun hasn't set. you know he can see your face.
"keigo, for the past week i've had every question you have, but i never got a response. not over text, not in person," you continue. you keep going. "why do you deserve one? as far as i know, the past week you've been getting ready to run away or do something stupid like that-"
"no! i wouldn't," he pleads, and you wouldn't be shocked to see him suddenly drop to his knees to beg. "i swear, i'll tell you, i-"
"but you didn't."
you inhale harshly. you stop talking. you squeeze your eyes shut to calm yourself. you open them once it works. he hasn't moved.
you make him wait a few seconds. "so? what was going on?"
you see the wings rise quickly as he darts away, towards your shared bedroom. he returns with three boxes, each fitting in his palm with plenty of room to spare. they're each a deep color, though all three are different colors, with a golden brand name on the tops.
you keep watching. you don't move closer.
"they're small things," he starts. "two rings, one keychain."
you laugh. "a keychain? you've been ignoring me because of a keychain?!"
he seems even more worried, waving his hands after setting the boxes down. "no! no! i swear, i-"
you glare at him. he stops. he nods and swallows before picking up the boxes again, holding them with too much care for a man responsible for so much violence. getting rid of villains is still getting rid of people, after all.
"well-" he clears his throat. "-i got two in that one, uh, that one jewel you've been talking about. same material as all your other jewelry so it matches, but the actual like- the actual decorations, the jewels, they're the newer, unique parts."
his voice drops off at the end, his stutters slowing. keigo, the man too fast for his own good, was stumbling over his words in an attempt to get them out to you fast enough, so you'd understand what was going on.
"and, well, i-" he stops himself, swallowing nearly comically loud, seemingly holding his breath.
"keigo?"
he perks up.
"you mean to tell me that you've been ignoring me the past week over some jewelry?!"
he opens and closes his mouth a few times, before his wings curl towards him and his shoulders slouch inward. "….yeah."
you didn't know whether to laugh or cry. crying would make him feel bad, which was good. laughing might freak him out and scare him, also good. you were just happy he wasn't doing something horrible. you were just upset he was ignoring you the past week and a half over jewelry.
he notices, he always does. used to. before he started ditching you. "hey, wait, no- i- i swear, i didn't realize."
"you didn't realize we hadn't had a proper conversation in nearly ten days?"
"no. well, yeah, but-"
"so you did?"
the look in his eyes is pitiful. "i guess, i was just- wait- hey-" he calls your name frantically.
you've turned back to the kitchen counter, getting out some canned food to quickly microwave for an easy dinner.
"please, i-" he sighs. "i was just so used to thinking about you that i didn't realize you weren't actually there, right? the jewelry was for you so every time i went to deal with it i was thinking about you and everything i could remember about you and it just- it blinded me. i'm sorry."
you don't turn back. you stop making the food.
he talks slower and quieter and softer, now. "please," he practically whispers. "please. i- i'm sorry."
you make him wait. you know he deserves it. you make him wait.
you hear his breathing.
you turn and lean against the countertop. "you have four minutes to tell me about the jewelry."
he breaks out into a smile and unboxes the first two items: a keychain and ring that match all jewelry you already own, with a glimmering jewel at the very center that you've wanted something of for weeks. they're beautiful, gorgeous. you don't even wear jewelry too often. they're still very pretty.
you lift an eyebrow, waiting for him to continue. he does. he unboxes the last thing, a second ring, this one matching just like the other two but instead of the centerpiece you thought, it was a ruby. it was just as blindingly stunning.
"yeah, well, i-" he takes a deep breath. he slows down. "i got it for you, because i wanted something on you to always remind people of me. i want it to be obvious that you are mine, or like- not in a weird way, just in a sort of- in a sort of… i dunno. sorry."
you shrug. "i get it." you approach, kiss him once on the cheek, and take the boxes from his hands.
he seems happy you addressed him, even if you keep going without turning back.
"buy something for us to eat, keigo!" you call from down the hall.
"does that mean i'm forgiven?!" he shouts back, the smile evident in his voice.
"nope!"