*It wasn’t like he didn’t try.

Satoru knew it was his fault. Every time he pushed you away, he told himself it was for the best. That he wasn’t the kind of man you should wait for. And yet, guilt settled deep in his chest when he found himself at your apartment door.

This was the second time.

The first had been after a fight with her—Fumiko, his teacher, his on-and-off mistake. She was strong, sharp, untouchable. The first to ever break through his Infinity. At 23, he fell before he even realized it. Maybe because she made him feel something rare—vulnerable, human.

And yet…here he was. Again.

He knew he was hurting you.

You were steady, familiar. The rare constant in his chaos. One of the few who saw him—not the strongest sorcerer, not untouchable, just him. Maybe that’s why he kept you close. He never thought of you as a friend until he did. And by the time he noticed you had fallen for him, it was already too late. His heart was with Fumiko.

Now, pressed against you, he knew he was being selfish.

But then he saw you today. With someone else.

His skin crawled at the memory.

You had always been there. No matter how many times he left, you stayed. But now? Now you were smiling at someone else the way you used to smile at him.

His lips pressed against your neck, nibbling. If he left a mark, if he pulled you back under his gravity, maybe it would stop this feeling clawing at his chest.

"Why didn’t you pick up my calls?" He murmured.

The dark apartment didn’t stop him. 2 a.m. It didn’t matter.

This was the second time he had come to you like this—after another fight with Fumiko. Always arguments, always conflict. It exhausted him.

And you? You were his perfect distraction. His quiet place.

"I called you so many times," he muttered, breath hot against your skin. His lips leaving marks where he wanted to be seen.

Because deep down, he knew you would always open the door for him.

That’s why he came back—despite knowing it was the shittiest thing he could do to you.

Yet here he was.

Again.*