4. Dark (Makoto x Reader)

I lay on my bed, checking my phone ever so often. Today’s Saturday and I was waiting for a certain someone to hurry up and get over here. More specifically, Tachibana Makoto whom I met last year on my first day of high school. To say that I have a crush on the guy was a bit of an understatement. It was more like…borderline obsession? Haha, kidding~ I’m not THAT crazy…yet.

“(Name)! Makoto-kun’s here!” My mom calls from downstairs. A wave of excitement rushes through me and I walk down with a skip in my step. I suppose it’s true what they say, love makes you feel happier.

“Morning, Makoto!”
“Good morning, (Name)-chan!” He greets back a smile.
“Well then, shall we go upstairs?” I ask and he nods.
“Wait, you two! Before you go, can you go down to the basement and help me grab some jars? Our neighbor just gave me this great pickle recipe that I would love to try out!”
“Okay, how many do you need?”
“Just two is fine.”
“Alright. Makoto do you wanna wait in my room while I go?”
“No, I’ll go with you. It won’t take too long anyway.” I grin and led him towards the stairs to the basement.

The basement stairs are fairly short, however, the light was slowly disappearing as we walk. With Makoto still behind me, I walk into the pitch-black basement.

“Sure is dark in here right, Mako?” He didn’t say anything. Actually, it was so dark I couldn’t even tell whether he was still here or not!
“Ma…ko…to?” I hear a tiny whimper and his large hands grab my shoulders. In shock, I let out a scream, running towards the far end of the room.

Well now I am officially lost.

It wasn’t that the basement was huge…it’s not. It was due to the fact the lack of light made it near impossible for me to tell where I came from. The basement had no windows at all, the only source of light being the dingy little light bulb, which required the flick of a light switch for it to activate.

“(Name)? Where did you go?” It was easy to tell that he was nervous, judging from the shakiness of Makoto’s voice. While I was secretly happy that he finally dropped the honorific and called me only by my name, I also felt sorry for the poor guy.

“I’m right here!” There were some shuffling noises from where he stood. “Don’t move! Uh, try to find the light switch on the wall!” I wait for a few minutes.

“I can’t find it anywhere!”
“Eh? It should be there! Wait, I’m coming over.” As I try to retrace my steps, I trip over a misplaced box. “Wh-whoa!” I land with a loud thump.
“Are you okay!?”
“Yeah…I think I scraped my hand though.” I hear footsteps coming closer and before I knew it, a heavy force crushes my hand.

“Ouch!”
“Oh! I’m so sorry (Name)! I was looking for you but I couldn’t see anything. Are you okay?”
“Uh huh, I’m fine.” I could sense his hands moving around, looking for me until a finger landed on my cheek. His finger slid down, brushing past my neck, until it stops on my right shoulder blade.

“Hold onto my hand.” He whispers in a voice that makes me shiver. I reach up and held onto his hand. He pulls me up and directly into his arms. Holding me tight, Makoto buries his face in my hair.

“Hey, do you not like the dark?” I ask.
“Not too much.” He replies with his voice muffled by my hair. I was currently in a flurry of emotions. What should I do? Do I hug him back? It would be quite a difficult task, considering the fact that he was holding me with such force, my arms were sandwiched in between my body and his chest deeming it near impossible to move.

“Makoto?”

“Hm?”

“Are you scared?” It was a bit of a dumb question. He was a full grown teenage guy, why would he be scared of a dark basement? Though in this situation, I think I would take asking stupid questions over awkward silence any day.

“A bit.” He honestly answers.
“Is there anything I can do to take your mind off this?” He doesn’t answer for a really long time and I thought he actually fell asleep for a second there.

“Well I suppose there is one thing…” He pauses and loosens his hold on me.
“Will you put your arms around my neck?” I awkwardly did so. “Okay, um…now close your eyes.” I follow his instructions, anxious to see what would happen next.
“Um, now think of water.” My eyes shot open.

“Huh?”

“Sorry, sorry, that was a bit random…but just do it.”
“Okay…” He sure did sound just a bit like Haruka…My thoughts shift into focusing on the clear liquid. After a few moments, I was getting impatient at the inactivity.

“How long do I still have to do this?”
“H-huh? Oh, uh, just keep doing it.” I sigh. My eyes close again and my thoughts drift away.
The water was getting warmer and warmer. The warmth soon enveloped me and I realize that it was no longer my thoughts. There was indeed something warm and it was resting…on my lips? I open my eyes and pushed away.

“M-makoto!?” He let out an apologetic chuckle at the sudden kiss.
“Sorry, I’ve kinda wanted to do that for a while now…”
“Oh. Uh…can you do that again, actually? I wasn’t really paying attention.”
“Ah.” He kisses me again and this time I bring my hands up to tangle my fingers into his brown locks.

He pulls away quicker this time though.

“What’s wrong?”
“Shh, do you hear that?” I pause and listen.
“Hear what?”
“Footsteps.” I listen more closely this time and sure enough there were. They were loud and echo off the floor. Makoto brings me closer and pats my head.

With a click the single light bulb brightens to life and there stood my mom, looking anything but pleased.

“I was wondering what took you two so long. I told you guys to bring me two jars fifteen minutes ago, not make out in my basement for fifteen minutes!”
“But Mom, we weren’t-“
“No buts! As punishment, you are helping me clean the house, missy! Same goes for you, Mr. Makoto, don’t think you’re out of this just because you’re a guest!” He lets out a small laugh.
“Yes, Ma’am.”
“Now grab those jars and get on out of here! My floor isn’t gonna vacuum itself!”
“Hai…” The two of us turn around to grab the jars, which turned out to be an easy task with the light on.

“Ah, this is such a horrible way to spend my weekend!” I complain, yet Makoto just laughs it off.
“It’s okay. At least we can spend it together, right?” I nod and he smiles once more, giving my cheek a kiss.