How Did I Miss Your Tears?

What Do I Know About You?

Karma's POV

I felt like the world was trying to crush me with the emotions I had been avoiding for the past year.
I needed Nagisa by my side; he was my anchor and my best friend. Why had I failed to see this before now?
We were both crying, well, I was sniffling and he was sobbing into my shoulder. His tears were dampening my shirt, and I ruffled his hair. "It's okay, Nagisa," I murmured into his ear.
I knew it was time to tell someone, anyone, the truth about his mother. Even if he didn't want me to, he needed help.
An idea popped into my head. The nurse! We could tell the nurse.
"Nagisa, we need to tell someone about this; about your mother."
    He froze, turning his face up to me. Big, watery blue eyes stared up at me in shock. "No." The word was barely a breath, and he immediately started shaking. "We can't— you promised...!" He gasped out, his fingers tightening on my shoulders.
     I shook him softly. "Listen! Your mother beat you! Look at you! Why are you protecting her?" His words were confusing me. Why the hell would he want to protect someone who had made him cry in front of a bully?
    Nagisa never cried, ever.
    He shook his head in a way I didn't understand; was he confused or was he refusing to tell someone?
    I leaned closer to him, our eyes locking. His were beautiful, hues of blue I didn't know even existed springing from his eyes. "Nagisa. This is important. She's just going to go farther and farther if we don't tell someone. We can even just tell the nurse if you want; you like her, right?"
    Nagisa shrugged, glancing away from me. I gave him a soft shake so he would look at me again.
    "This is really, really important. If you don't want to tell someone with me," I sucked in a deep breath, "I'll tell them on my own."
    His ees widened, hardening. "No," he breathed.
    I hated having to threaten him, but it was the only way. He wouldn't cooperate otherwise.
    Nagisa stared me down, but I knew I would win. He knew that too, because not even a minute passed before his gaze wandered down to his lap. "Fine..." He said softly.
    I grinned at him softly, patting his back. "You won't regret this." I told him softly.
    He sighed and pulled away from me, laying back down on the hard 'bed'. He was obviously tired and sore.
    I scooted my chair close enough I could stroke his hair, knowing he needed to rest a bit.
    In the past, whenever Nagisa was beat up by his mother, he usually skipped a day of school to cover his bruises, but he was always too restless to sleep. When we were younger, he would come to school with puffy eyes and yawn after yawn.
    I had known something was wrong when it took Nagisa three days to come to school, and my heart had ached for him in a way it hadn't in years. It was all my fault in the first place that he had gone home in that stupid costume.
    As much as he had ruined my life by telling my parents, I realized now that maybe he hadn't. After all, I knew we had to tell someone about his mother, and I assumed the ache I felt was similar to what he had felt.
    We just wanted to help each other.
    My fingers played with strands of blue hair as I thought farther on the matter, biting my lip.
   Nagisa was hurting, and it made me want to cry; it had made me cry earlier.
    My heart ached for him, and I squeezed my eyes shut. These feelings weren't friendship. The bubbling, heart-wrenching desire to make him smile wasn't friendship. It was love.
    I was in love with my ex-best friend.
    I stared at Nagisa, watching his chest rise and fall steadily, his eyelashes flutter slightly. He was deep asleep.
    I leaned over quickly and pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead.

x x x

     Nagisa sat next to me at the nurse's desk, our fingers laced under the table. He was fidgeting, his fingers tightening around mine. I gave him a gentle squeeze in return.
    I had woken him a little before the nurse was dur back, just so we could discuss what we would say. We decided I would talk, for the most part, and Nagisa would add details.
    Now the nurse was sitting across from us, leaning back in a comfortable-looking office chair, compared to the hard-backed ones we sat in.
    "Mrs. Irina..." I began slowly, glancing at Nagisa.
He was staring down at his lap, where his hand smoothed his shirt absently.
My gaze drifted back to the plump, gray-haired lady. "I —we— have something important to tell you."
I swallowed the lump in my throat. It was hard to even think about all the bruises Nagisa had gained over the last seven years from his mother.
My eyes drifted to behind Mrs. Irina, where images of her youth could be seen. She had been a slim, busty blonde then. Her husband was a narrow-eyed, busy-looking, spikey-haired man in a suit. I glanced back at the gray-haired woman now. I wondered what her husband looked like.
"You have seen Nagisa's bruises and cuts over the past year, right? Well, they have been inflicted on him by someone very close to him, and it hasn't only been this year. It's been the last seven years." I started. My voice was shaking, as was my hands, and Nagisa gave me an assuring squeeze under the desk.
Mrs. Irina leaned forward, causing the chair to creak. "Please continue, Karma."
"This person... They have been abusing Nagisa. They hit him, kick him, and, more recently, use weapons to inflict more injuries on him." I glanced at Nagisa. A single tear was rolling down his cheek, his eyes hidden beneath his bangs. "We want it to stop. We're sorry for coming to you so late, and we're willing to offer evidence and details on this."
Nagisa raised his face slowly, watching Mrs. Irina. "M-my bag... And obviously my face and arms and... My house." He managed, his voice breaking as he held back more tears.
This was obviously hard for him. He glanced at me with a desperate look. He was going to start crying soon.
I lifted my other hand to maneuver his face into my shoulder, and he burst into tears, silent sobs shaking his shoulders.
"We want this to stop, and we were assuming you come help us." I said steadily to the nurse, who was watching Nagisa sympathetically.
"Thank you for bringing this to me, boys." She said slowly. "Now, may I ask who this person is? Is it your father, Nagisa?"
Nagisa turned his face to Mrs. Irina. It was obviously tear-streaked and scared, based off the sad expression Mrs. Irina had.
He took a shuddering breath, glancing up at me for a second before returning his gaze to Mrs. Irina.
"It's my mother."

A/N: Only one chapter remaining! Don't worry, there's a bigger kiss than that little one! Also don't forget to keep on watch for the first chapter of my second Karmagisa short story, The End of the World Begins with Rain. Thanks for reading this! I hope you enjoy it.