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Wakatoshi was sure he just had a heart attack the second you turned in his direction with puffy red eyes shining bright with tears, their path evident on the wet streams on your cheeks. Your sniffles could be heard clearly from where he stood and he could feel his heart literally squeeze from the impact.
"What's wrong?" He asks, his emotions going astray, proven by the volume of his voice. He tends to do that, speaking louder whenever his emotions are heightened which almost always happens when you are involved.
The only reply he got was another sob, taking him out of his stupor before taking huge strides to reach you. Warm calloused hands engulf your cheeks, wiping the tears away.
"Are you hurt? Does it hurt anywhere?" he asked. His eyebrows are furrowed as he looks at you from head to toe, scanning for any indication for the cause of your pain.
"Toshi," you cried, words muffled by the sniffles still coming out uncontrollably.
He always felt for and with you, as though each emotion you felt gets doubled for him no matter how neutral his expressions are, so when you're crying like this, it hurts him more than he could ever comprehend.
Over time, he realized there were a lot of reasons for your tears despite how rare and far in between they were because just like him, you tend to bottle up your emotions, holding it in for so long and waiting for your heart to be full before doing anything about it.
He could feel his mind go blank as he thought hard about what could be wrong, and these instances make him hate himself more than ever.
If only he can understand you better.
If only he can know immediately what you're feeling like any other normal person do.
If only he can understand what you're feeling like you understood his even without verbally expressing them.
It was what he loved about you most, but it was also what scared him because no matter how deep his love is for you, he will always fall short in that aspect.
"Love," Ushijima calls softly as he gave your back slow rubs, "if you don't tell me what's wrong, I wouldn't understand."
The word 'please' almost slipped out of his lips then, and he hoped the weakness in his voice was enough to coax you to tell him what's wrong. When you pulled away to look at him, he knew it worked. What he didn't expect was for you to point towards the side and his eyes land on the TV paused on some animated film.
It was familiar to him. Certainly, because they were your first love, you said, so you made it a habit to watch all the films together. It became one of his favorite time later on because that was the only time he can watch you zoned in on one thing, granting him the privilege to watch you as much as he wanted. He could see every emotion that crosses your features, but no matter how much he tries and brands them in his memory, every expression still felt new and fascinating every single time.
The sigh that passes through his lips was freeing, taking all his worries out of him. "Babe," he mumbles, feeling his body go slack from releasing the tension away.
You tried telling him what was happening, but all his brain could process was that he was glad that it was just that. He wouldn't dare tell you that, of course. He did once and regretted it for the rest of his life and the next.
When you reached for the remote to continue the movie, you paused, turning to him with bright round eyes. "Can we get some ice cream for dessert later?" you asked, followed by the cutest sniffle he could ever hear in his life, your nose crinkling as you did so.
A sigh was his only reply then, followed by a quick nod and a small smile on his face, despite how gooey his heart felt like from the impact of your innocent and adorable expression.
If you asked for the moon and the stars in that moment, he would've said yes in a heartbeat. That was how much power you held over him. It would've been impossible, but he would find a way.
"Whatever you wish, my love," he assures you, kissing the top of your head as you snuggled up at his side, totally absorbed in the continuation of the movie.