haha, wow it's been a while lovelies... i know it's super annoying how long it takes for me to update this story, but i promise, i'm really trying. this chapter was hard to write, no gonna lie, but it turned out really well i think! hope it was worth it ^^ i also wanted to thank all of you guys for reading, commenting, and voting; it means so much to me. i can't believe we're at 7k!!! that's insane!!! i still remember getting excited over 1k uwu anyways, you guys are literally so amazing for sticking with me and this story, i hope you all have a safe and wonderful new year!!!

I didn't know why I was in the bathroom. I didn't know why I had run. I didn't know why it was so hard for me to keep back tears. An eyelash shouldn't hurt this much.

There were a lot of things that I couldn't figure out at the moment, but one thing that I knew for sure was that someone was on the outside, jiggling the handle furiously. "Y/n?" The rough, gravelly voice could only belong to one man. I didn't say anything, instead staring at myself in the mirror, furiously rubbing my eyes to get that pesky eyelash out. The door knob jiggled again followed by more knocking. "Y/n, open the door... Please..."

I had finally gotten the eyelash out, but, when I looked in the mirror, tears were still coming down. Mumbling over how stupid my eyes were, I pressed my sleeves against my eyes until they were mostly dry. Then, when my damp sleeve, I opened the door just enough to catch a sliver of his face. "Can I not use the bathroom in peace?"

Garou grinned softly, somehow managing to set my heart beating wildly even after what just happened. "C'mon Y/n, let me in." He began to push on the door and I fought wildly to keep it closed. "Stop! This is harassment!" Garou chuckled, but didn't let up at all. Instead, he seemed to push even harder. Struggling to close the door, I began to panic as my feet slipped across the floor, quickly losing ground.

I heard a small shuffle, along with a bump against the door, when all the resistance was released. I was sent flying backwards into a pair of strong arms while the door swung shut. The door locked, Garou cautiously bringing his hand back to wrap around my waist, moving as though I would run away at any second. He hugged me from behind and I couldn't help but melt at his touch, leaning into his chest. "Why are you here?" My voice was barely audible, almost as if I was talking to myself.

There was a pause between us; a small beat of silence just long enough to be noticeable. "Because..." He cleared his throat and I could practically feel the glowing warmth of his face. "Because, you were crying and all... I just, well, you know..." His fingers fiddled around with themselves as he searched for his words. "Ah, don't make me explain obvious things!" I giggled softly, trying to hold back the sadness in my voice. "Well, with you, nothing's obvious."

"I like you."

I froze completely at his words, my pulse escalating. "What?" Again, a soft breathiness clung to my speech. Garou's grip on my tightened, bringing me even closer toward his body. His head hung low, stray pieces of his grey hair tickling my own. Something warm grazed my ear, making contact ever so briefly with each passing word.

"I like you."

And here, in the small, cramped bathroom of a restaurant I had never heard of, hidden away in the alleys of the city, these words changed everything. It was nothing more than a thin beginning of a promise, uttered by a gravelly voice which had lulled me to sleep every night since I first heard it. "Garou..." My heart couldn't take such teasing; it was cruel and unusual punishment for my mind. I turned around, my eyes watering as I tried to find his through my warped sight. "Do you even know what you're saying?"

His rough fingertips touched my face with surprising care, rubbing away the tears that had started to fall already. "I think so."

"Thinking isn't good enough! Not when-" I was cut off by a sharp jolt to my chin. Garou's once gentle touch had quickly shifted to a rough hold, his whole hand gripping my jaw. He smirked, his eyes narrowing affectionately. "Y/n, I've never been very good with words. Whatever I say will just make things worse. So, let me show you instead..."

He leaned forward, snaking his free hand around my waist to support me as his slightly chapped lips pressed against mine. My head was spinning wildly as I reveled in the unique warmth of this kiss. Every nerve in my body was one edge, practically buzzing as I tried to take everything in. My knees shook slightly, becoming weaker with each passing second; Garou's strong arms were the only thing keeping me up.

It was a sloppy kiss; I could tell he didn't know what to do with himself, but neither did I. Garou gently bit down on my lip and I complied, holding back noises of satisfaction at the sharp pain. We experimented with our tongues, both of us too nervous to play with much more than the tips, touching for only a few moments before bringing them back.

Not long after it was over. I let myself fall back slowly, our faces lingering close to one another. The heat of his breath hit the tip of my nose, almost seducing me back for another round. I could feel a thin string of saliva connecting the two of us, the thought making me turn yet another shade redder. I finally pulled back completely, Garou lingering for a moment longer. My thumb subconsciously rubbed the spot where the saliva had broken off as I gazed softly up at the man who had just kissed me.

Garou had turned away, his whole face glowing pink as he covered his mouth with his hands. "I shoulda let you do that sooner..." His hoarse mumble could barely be heard, but I managed to catch it. "Well, I tried,"

"Yeah, I know. Sorry, I'm just..." He took a deep breath before removing his hand leaving only his thumb to rub his lower lip. "I'm not used to any of this." There was a bitterness in his voice, but it didn't scare me. Instead, I took his hand and squeezed it as hard as I could before lacing my fingers through his. We locked eyes, his yellow eyes capturing me just like the first night I met him. "Don't worry, neither am I. We'll work through it, though."

"We'll?"

"That's right. We're a team now! We're... We're in this together." I smiled and it felt so good, so natural. Garou looked at me, bursting out into a chuckle, his hand on his face. "Thank you... Thank you, Y/n." I snuggled into his chest, taking a deep breath mostly to smell him again. Warmth bubbled up inside of myself, giddiness practically trying to burst out of my body. Funny how after all this time, I found my greatest happiness kissing a criminal in the bathroom of a backstreet restaurant. "Anytime."

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As we finally walked out of bathroom, I made eye contact with a middle aged woman who was patiently waiting for her turn. Her eyes widened when she saw me come out after Garou, her mouth slightly agape. I bowed politely, trying to hide my face that was burning red. Garou held the door open for me, not daring to glace at the lady. She quickly shuffled toward the bathroom, mumbling something about us being indecent teenagers. She jerked the door away from Garou, slamming it shut, her face wrinkled with disgust.

"Bitch..." Garou mumbled angrily, glaring at the worn wood door. My head was still down with shame when I felt a hand rub it gently. "C'mon, let's go," Garou's big hand slipped down from the crown of my head to my fingers. He laced his through mine, a simple action that was probably still very alien to him. This little act made my heart flutter still, my shame melting into a much more pleasurable sense of giddiness.

The restaurant was much more crowded than when we had first gotten there; in fact, almost every table was filled, including the one we had been sitting at earlier. Our waitress caught sight of us and, after taking the orders of a couple waiting customers, she grabbed a plastic bag and shoved it to Garou. "Here. Go home and eat."

"But what about the money?" I glanced between the bag and her with concern. She, however, waved her hand with a dry grin. "It's on the house today. Just come back and tip me generously next time."

"Thank you so much!" I bowed, and surprisingly, Garou did as well. She merely chuckled softly, grabbing more menus off of the hostess stand as the cheery bell rang out and more people walked in. "Now get out of here! Can't you see I'm busy?" There was a joking tone that blended with her words as she practically forced us out. I giggled a little as Garou lead me out the door and back into the odd spring chill.

We walked together, swinging our interlaced hands back and forth as I relished in my euphoria. Neither of us said anything; we didn't have to. After all, everything was already understood.

"I like you too..."

"Let's be like this forever..."

"My heart feels like it's floating..."

"I'm really hungry..."

Each thought was swirling in my brain like freshly spun cotton candy. It was as though I was seeing the world through rose-tinted glasses. Is this why Haruhi and Picho were so obsessed with finding someone? Maybe I could understand now...

As we stepped back into the apartment, I couldn't help but start to fantasize. The walls didn't look the same now that they could really be ours. "Hungry?" Garou's voice snapped me out of my lovey-dovey daydream, blush creeping onto my cheeks. "Oh! Yeah!" I ran over to him, bouncing with excitement as he pulled out the styrofoam containers. The aroma drifting out of them was practically intoxicating.

He lifted mine up as he pulled his own out from underneath, setting it down on the table. Mine, however, stayed firmly in his grasp, way above my head. I looked up at it, annoyance starting to flare up within me. "Garou," I could practically feel a vein bulging on my forehead. "You're gonna give me those noodles right now, okay?"

"Or what?" He leaned close to my face, a teasing snarl on his lips. "You'll give me the silent treatment?" I laughed cockily, casually walking right by him. "Maybe, but I'll do this first." My fingers rested on his container, opening it and releasing the scent of umami meat. "Wait, Y/n, what are you-"

Pulling out a pair of the disposable chopsticks the restaurant provided, I broke them apart and picked up a piece. Garou's eye's widened as I brought the closer toward my lips, realizing now that I wasn't joking around. He grabbed my hand and brought the beef into his own mouth. "Hey!"

Garou chuckled, pulling the chopsticks out of his mouth and savoring the flavor of the food. "Don't mess with me and food, Y/n." I crossed my arms and pouted, angry that my genius plan had been foiled. "Then give me back mine! I'm hungry!" At my request, he set down the container and opened it; a bowl of cold noodles waited for me with open arms. Before I could even touch it, though, Garou dug his chopsticks into it. "GAROU-" I was about to scream at him, too starving to deal with his bullshit when something was shoved into my open mouth.

A mouthful of noodles quelled my temper, replacing my irritation with surprise. I glanced up to see Garou, grinning at me fondly as I happily accepted the treat. "Well that was adorable." He mused before taking another bite of his own food.

I blushed, sticking my chopsticks into my noodles to feed myself when his hand touched my chin, guiding my face so that it was facing him again. "Say 'ahh'," Garou held up a piece of meat as he put slight pressure under my lower lip so that my mouth would open. Though completely red, I didn't dislike the attention, so I played along. "Ahh~" The food was given to me and I let myself enjoy the taste.

After I finished chewing, I picked up some noodles and held them out. "It's your turn now," My hand cupped his cheek as he bashfully opened his mouth. I brought the food to his lips, making sure that he had gotten the noodles before I pulled them back out. "So cute..." I hummed to myself, trying to capture his face in my mind forever.

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We spent the rest of the lounging around, watching Ghibli films because Garou had claimed to have never seen one, which was, in my mind, a greater crime than his hero hunting. I must have fallen asleep in the midst of Ponyo on the Cliff, because when I woke up, I was covered in blankets on the couch. I groggily looked up to see Garou sneaking toward the door. "Garou?"

His head snapped back at my soft voice, instantly returning to my side. "Where were you going?" I let his hand encase mine as I asked. He smiled softly, playing with the ends of my hair. "That's for me to know, not you." My drunken sleepiness made me giggle as I wrinkled my nose. "That's not how the saying goes, silly~" Garou grinned as he reached his arms under me, picking me up into his strong arms. I leaned against his chest, listening to his heartbeat.

Thump, thump

Thump, thump

Thump, thump

It was so soothing, between his warmth and the sound, that I almost fell back asleep. As he tried to lay me down in the bed, I clutched onto his shirt. "Don't go..." Garou ran his fingers through my hair, the action making me go limp with a fuzzy sense of bliss. "I'm sorry, Y/n. I have to." His words breathed heat onto my neck and I shivered a bit from the sensation. "You have to?"

"I have to."

I sighed, gazing at him as he stood above me. "Okay... But you'll come back, right?" His yellow eyes crinkled as he smiled. He brought his face down, softly kissing my forehead. "I promise."