Unlocked (Ida x female reader)

Chapter 19

In the morning, I'm up before Tenya and make him breakfast before he even pads his way into the kitchen. He's not wearing his glasses and his hair is delightfully tousled. He wraps his arms around my waist and buries his face in my neck, kissing the exposed skin.

"You did not sleep next to me" he grumbles, audibly grumpy. "I did not like that"

"How are you feeling?" I smile, running my hand on his cheek and up to his forehead to feel for any sort of fever. He's warm but it's sleep warm, nothing more.

"Much better" he stands to his full height and pulls me into his arms, squeezing tight and resting his chin on my head "thank you for taking care of me. I really hope I didn't give you whatever bug it was."

"I don't get sick easily" I hold onto him, just breathing in his scent, hands fisted onto the back of his shirt.

"What do you have planned today?" He asks, breaking the silence.

"I'm going out with a couple friends" he tenses in my hold "what."

"...Can you be more specific about your plans?"

I take a step back, out of his embrace "What do you mean?"

"Are they... old friends?" His stare turns serious and clouded with a little mistrust.

"It's Martac and Chris"

"Oh"

"Oh?"

"I just.... It is nothing. What are the three of you going to do?"

"No no no. Back track." I cross my arms, feeling defensive. "What is it 'just'?"

"Really. It is all in my head."

"Explain"

"Please hear me out before you get angry with me." He waits for me to respond. All I do is raise an eyebrow at him. "Okay. Every so often when you are not around me, I worry that you are secretly going back to your old life."

"You think I would just go back to a life of crime."

"I worry that you are not completely free of those ties, yes."

"Unbelievable" I shake my head and make for the front door. I'm getting irrationally angry and I don't want to say something I'll regret and be unable to take back.

"Wait, y/n. Let's talk about this." He grabs my elbow and I jerk my arm out of his hand.

"You've clearly already decided that I'm so deceitful that I wouldn't be honest about what I'm doing when you're not around."

"Do not put words in my mo-"

"Do you regret not arresting me?" I interrupt him. It's a question I haven't had the courage to ask him yet, but it's always been in the back of my mind.

"Honestly? Sometimes I do" I shake my head and turn to walk away again but he places himself between me and the door. "Wait. Let me explain."

"Explain that you still don't trust me after four months? Message received"

"I do trust you. It is going to take me longer than that to rewire my base instinct." I pause, crossing my arms and digging my fingers into my biceps. "I have been instilled with deep morals of right and wrong. I am a pro hero. My job is to arrest villains. I watched you with my own eyes commit a crime. More than once. And I let you walk away. More than once. I still struggle with that choice. But it is a choice I made."

"If you're struggling so much, then just arrest me and be done with it."

"I need you to hear me, y/n, not just listen to my words. Really hear me." His stare changes from conflict to one of conviction. "I made a choice for you. I compromised myself for you, before I even really knew you. That is not a choice I take lightly and I would hope you would give me more credit since you now know me better than anyone else. Including my brother."