𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐋𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒; 𝑻.𝑮𝑰𝒀𝑼𝑼

f o r t y - t h r e e

a week of constant worrying and visits to the butterfly estate passes. ayumus' fever is gone now and he seem to be doing much better. however, when asked to go back home, he refused.

"found you!"

ayumu crawled out from his hiding spot beneath the bed as one of the girls found him. takada naho was her name. "now help me find kiyo and sumi!" the two kids ran out of the bedroom giggling and whispering to themselves.

"good morning aoi," you greeted the younger girl as she entered the room with a basket of clean clothes.

"oh, good morning [y/n]-san!" she gave you a quick bow before placing the basket down. "i thought you and ayumu had already went back. did something happen?"

"yeah, ayumu doesn't want to go back," you explained. "i'm planning on just letting him stay here. i mean, he already made new friends and seem to be having more fun here. do you think shinobu will be okay with that? i was going to ask her but she must've left already."

"of course! he can stay here for as long as he likes," she continued folding the laundry and keeping them in a drawer. "kocho-sama just went out to get some more herbs, i'll help you tell her when she returns."

"oh! okay, thank you aoi," you admired how mature she was at her age, it makes you wonder what her story is. "then, i'll leave first, take care," you took your bag and headed out the door. "alright, bye bye [y/n]-san!"

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"i'm back!" you exclaimed, slamming the door open. and there giyuu was, seated on the couch staring at you with wide eyes.

"where's ayumu?"

"he wants to stay at the butterfly estate, so i let him," you shut the front door with your foot and made your way to the kitchen. "why? miss him already?" you teased, opening a random cabinet. it was empty. you proceeded to look through every single cabinets only to find out they were all empty.

"there's no more food!" you announced with a frown, slamming the last cabinet close. "giy-"

"then let's go out."

"-u- woah!" you whipped your head around, coming face to face with said man. too close..! "scared the shit out of me, stop doing that!" you yelled, attempting to push him away to create some distance. his chest is so-

"sorry, i didn't mean to," he gently wrapped his hands around your wrists, taking your hands off his chest, "just wondering if you want to go out for breakfast."

"yeah, yeah i do," you managed out, eyes darting between his and the hands holding yours. he must have noticed the look on your face and thought you were uncomfortable. "ah." he quickly let go of your wrists and took a few steps back, "sorry."

"i-it's okay.." why did you let go?! nooooooo!

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"these are so cute!" you exclaimed, picking up another pair of socks with little cat designs on it. "look! we can match," you shoved one of them in front of his face and dropped it, forcing him to catch the silly sock.

the two of you had just finished breakfast and were now wondering around the streets. you, hopping from shop to shop while giyuu trails behind you like a lost puppy. "[y/n], you don't need these," he mumbled, throwing the socks back into the pile. "everybody needs socks," you argued, making your way to the cashier to pay.

"your total is one thousand seven hundred and fifty-six yen," the old man stated, neatly placing your socks into a small bag for you. just as you reach into your pocket to retrieve your wallet, giyuu handed a few notes and coins to the cashier. "let's go," he took the bag of socks off the counter and left.

the old man let out a small chuckle, "i see your husband is the shy type eh?" your eyes widened at the mans' words. "husband?? no sir, he's just-"

"a friend?" the old man guessed, raising a brow at you.

"yeah..?"

"don't be silly, i'm not blind," he waved you off. "now shoo, before he wonders where you are."

"uhm, okay..." you slowly turned around and made your way out of the little shop. "what happened?" giyuu asked. "nothing."

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"shit!" you gave your pockets a few pats before realising they were empty. "my wallet..!"

"did you lose it?" you shrugged at giyuus' question, double checking all of your pockets. "yeah, it's not with me," you let out a defeated sigh. "was there anything important inside?" you shook your head, "just money, about three thousand yen inside."

the money wasn't a big deal to you since you still had some savings back at giyuus' house, but it was losing the wallet that upset you. it was your mothers' after all. you blamed yourself for being so careless, knowing places like these had the most pick pockets.

despite losing your wallet, you and giyuu continued walking around. even though you told him not to, he paid for the things you wanted. you told him you would pay him back but he kept on declining.

before you knew it, the sun was starting to set. "you don't have to."

"but i want to."

"the sun is still up, i'll be fine."

...

"stop following me."

...

you eventually gave up trying to get giyuu to stop following you. he kept on insisting on taking you back home but you didn't want to bother him since he had to get to work soon. but then he followed you onto the train and sat himself next to you, and you knew there was nothing you could say or do to change his mind.

the ride back was silent. you were tired from all the walking and was already having difficulty keeping your eyes open. but at the same time you were excited to go home so you could unpack everything you had bought. you looked out the window, turning your attention to the passing trees and buildings. just a few more stations.

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once the two of you arrived home, giyuu helped you place everything down in your room before leaving.

"bye bye, be careful, don't die!"

giyuu turned back to give you a scowl before making his way out of the front door. "oh. wait," he turned back around. you tilted your head to the side as he walked towards you. he took something out of his pocket and dropped the item into your hands.

"oh! you found my wallet?" you gasped. "thank you so m-"

"it was with me the whole time."

"what."

"i took it."

"why would you do that."

silence.

"why would you do that."

nothing.

"why would you do that."

you watched the man in front of you with a blank expression as he turned around and walked out of the front door, leaving you without an explanation.

"what the fuck."

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taylor swift songs give me motivation to write