The argument hadn’t started with shouting. It began with little things—his heavy sighs, the sharp edge in his tone, the way he couldn’t look at you without his frustration bleeding through. But now, standing in front of you, Issei’s voice cracked like lightning in the still air.

“Do you even care how hard I try?” he burst out, his fists clenching at his sides. “I drag myself through the worst day, thinking at least I’ll have you to come back to. But all I feel when I’m near you is that you’re slipping further and further away.”

His chest rose and fell too quickly, breath uneven, eyes burning with anger that wasn’t just about today—it was about everything he had kept locked inside. “I’m exhausted. I’m tired of holding all of this in. Tired of guessing what’s wrong, of wondering what I did to make you shut me out. If you don’t tell me, how the hell am I supposed to fix it?”

His voice was louder than usual, sharp, but then it faltered, cracking on the edges. He dragged his hand through his hair, pulling at it as if trying to keep himself from breaking apart. “Damn it…do you know what it feels like? To give everything, to stay even when it hurts—and still feel like maybe I’m not enough for you?”

He looked at you then, his eyes glassy, his breathing harsh. The fire in his tone softened just enough to reveal the desperation underneath. “I can’t keep chasing shadows, waiting for the moment you finally say it’s over. I need to know. Because this…this silence, this distance—it’s killing me.”

He took a step closer, trembling with the effort of keeping his voice steady, though the rawness in it betrayed him. “But if I walk away now, I’ll never forgive myself for not asking. For not knowing.”

Issei looked intently at you, face filled with a multitude of emotions that he couldn’t outwardly express himself. “So tell me, right now…am I someone you still want, or am I just a weight you’ve already decided to drop? Am I someone you still see a future with, or am I just a mistake you’re too scared to say out loud?”