okay im so sorry for what you are about to read but BEWARE OF SPOILERS
anyways i felt so soft for him earlier today but something about writing this really brought out some sort of darkness adn it ended up being angsty?? im so sorry babes. enjoy! :)
also side note: this isn't proofread so if you see typos just 😝 ignore them pls
~~~
"Junpei... you should do something about those bullies." You fussed over him, tending to the scratches and bruises on his body. "I hate seeing you like this, you know? It hurts me to see you like this. If I saw those guys, why, I'd give them a piece of my mind. I'd--"
"Owowow--" He hissed, as your hand had tightened around his wrist.
You quickly released your hold on the poor boy's wrist and apologized profusely. "Oh my god, Junpei, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hold that tight, I'm so sorry! Here, let me--"
"Nonono! It's fine- I know you didn't mean to hurt me." He began to blush, your apology flustering him for some reason.
You grumbled for a moment, unhappy with him being okay with you inflicting pain on him, even if it had been accidental. "Well, at least let me kiss it better or something." You held out your hand, waiting for him to give you his hand.
His blush worsened at this. "Wh... wha?"
"Junpei, give me your hand so I can kiss your wrist better. I can't exactly bandage a simple ache so I'll kiss it instead." You fussed.
He shakily placed his hand in yours and when you raised it to your lips, he swore his heart skipped a beat. "Oh, (Y/N), you're too kind." He smiled.
"Just what do you mean by that? Do you feel unworthy of love? Because if that's the case-" You had begun rambling, but he quickly cut you off.
"NO! Jeez, it's not like that. I swear." He looked away from your intense eyes for a moment. "I just meant that It feels like you give me more than I can possibly repay you for. You always do this. Tend to my wounds, I mean. And all I can do is watch as you fuss over me and hope that you won't have to do it the next day. I want to pay you back but all I can offer you is my friendship. I want our relationship to be a 50/50 but it feels like an 80/20."
He sighed, and you were left stunned. "Junpei, it doesn't feel that way to me."
At this, his head snapped up in your direction, and though he didn't say anything, you could see the question right on his face.
"I tend to you because I want to. You don't have to do anything for me, ever. I am happy doing this because at least I can sleep at night knowing my favorite person won't have festering wounds or a terribly achy bruise. Junpei, do you have any idea how much your smile alone means to me? I would do anything just to see you smile." You paused, thinking about what you had just admitted, and chose to go with it since there was no way around this. "Junpei, I have had a crush on you for as long as I can remember. I want to make you happy and I will continue to try to do so until you push me away."
He didn't speak for a moment, speechless. His tongue felt dry and all he could hear was his quickening heartbeat. He couldn't even think straight, his mind swarming with different thought, like all the times your feelings could have been revealed to him and him not noticing, and what to say now.
"And I don't mind if you don't return those feelings. Just having you in my life is good enough. You shouldn't feel obligated to return them, especially if you already- mmf-!" You had started, but something cut you off once again.
Junpei, already nervous as all hell, had decided words wouldn't suffice in this setting and had leaned forward to capture your lips in a chaste kiss when you weren't paying him much attention. You were surprised, sure, but knowing he had chosen to do this on his own accord comforted you, and you soon felt yourself melting into the kiss. Your eyes slowly closed and your arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him in closer.
Tears swelled in the corners of Junpei's eyes and they fell on your cheeks, startling you. He laughed and pulled away from the kiss, covering his mouth as laughter bubbled forth from deep within him. He couldn't remember the last time he had laughed a laugh like this one. You smiled at the sight and soon found yourself giggling with him.
~~~
Later that day, you had found yourself cuddling Junpei, as you had somehow found your way in his side with his arm around your form. The TV had become background noise at this point, as you and Junpei had started a conversation mid-movie marathon. You laughed together and found yourself snuggling even closer than before, loving the way it felt to be held by him.
As your laughter died, you started a new topic. "Hey, Junpei... now that we know we like each other, would it be safe to assume we are dating now?"
His face flushed a deep red, though the dim light from the TV made it just barely noticeable. "Only if you're okay with it, (Y/N)."
"Of course I am!" You smiled and leaned up to press a sweet kiss to his soft lips. When you pulled away you saw a smile on his face you hadn't seen since before the bullies had began targeting him.
You lifted an arm and brushed away the hair that covered his forehead. You had seen the burns from the very beginning and had done everything to try and ensure they would heal as best as possible, but still, there was only so much you could do. He had become insecure about the scars and had began styling his hair to cover them. You hated those bullies and what they had done to the beautiful boy before you. You wanted to get back at them and had wanted to do so for a long while now, but in fear of his beatings getting worse, you held yourself back.
"I wish this hadn't happened to you, Junpei. You deserve so much more than this world can offer." You said with a sad smile.
He smiled as well, and brushed some stray hairs away from your face. "But this world gave me you, (Y/N). And I think that's the best thing I could have gotten. You are a blessing, and I hope I never lose you."
~~~
Weeks later, Junpei had been up late texting you about this cool guy he met named Yuuji who he seemed to get along with really well. You smiled as you read his texts, happy that now he had one more person in his life who made him happy.
The next morning when you had woken up, though, you had received only a few short texts saying his mom had died. You couldn't believe your eyes. Things had been going so well the night before, why did this have to happen?
You rushed to apologize for sleeping in and told him you would be over in 15 minutes, which he quickly responded to with a simple "Actually, I think I would rather be alone for now."
You tried comforting him as best you could over text for the time being and chose to respect his decision until he decided he was ready to see you. All day, you had been stressing out. You spent all day in your room, staring at your phone, waiting for a notification. A text, a call, anything. You didn't even care if it was something like him saying he wanted some time off from your relationship so he could focus on healing emotionally. You just wanted to be sure he was doing well enough to let you know how he was doing.
Unfortunately, later that night, a pink-haired boy came knocking at your door. He said his name was Yuuji and he was the boy Junpei had met the day before. Then he went silent.
"What is it? Please tell me he's okay, Yuuji!" You grabbed him by his collar/hood thing. "Please!"
He sighed, and gently grabbed your hands to release himself from your iron grip. "I'm sorry, (Y/N). I was too late. He's... gone." And a tear fell from his left eye before you fell to your knees.
There was no way. He wasn't dead, that's impossible. There had to be some sort of misunderstanding. As the first tear fell from your eyes, your world came crashing down around you and you were once again shrouded in endless darkness.