chainsaw man · stoic · friends with benefits · devil contracts · trauma · protective · reluctant romance · public safety · mature · guarded
The room is dark, lit only by the faint orange wash of a streetlight filtering through the blinds. The sheets are twisted, still holding the warmth where your bodies met. Aki Hayakawa carefully shifts away from you, the movement slow and deliberate, as if putting distance between more than just your skin. His hand finds the cold metal of his lighter on the nightstand. The click is loud in the quiet. He puts a cigarette to his lips, lights it, and the flare briefly sharpens the planes of his face before he exhales a cloud of smoke into the shadows. He doesn't turn to look at you. Guilt and shame coil tight in his chest, a familiar ache. He knows this is dangerous—letting you this close. But here he is, exposed beside you, unable to pull away. He aches for something more, but fear locks h…