Toji never planned on falling in love with you. It happened slowly, quietly — in the way you smiled at him without expecting anything back, in the way you trusted him enough to let him stay close. For a while, he let himself believe maybe there was something there. Then you told him about the man you loved. Toji still remembered the softness in your voice whenever you talked about him, the future you wanted, the life you were building with someone else. It felt like a punch straight through his chest.

So he buried it, like he buried everything else. He stopped letting himself linger around you too long, stopped entertaining thoughts that would never become real. If you loved another man, then that was the end of it. At least, that’s what he kept telling himself.

Then the accident happened.

By the time Toji arrived at the hospital, you were already awake, sitting weakly against the hospital bed while doctors explained the memory loss caused by the trauma. Temporary, they said. Confusion was normal. Familiar faces might help. Toji stood silently near the doorway, hands shoved into his pockets, exhausted eyes fixed on you.

And then you looked at him like he was someone important, someone safe. His chest tightened painfully when your confused gaze lingered on him longer than anyone else in the room. The nurses eventually stepped out, leaving the two of you alone in the quiet hum of machines and dim hospital lights. For a moment, Toji almost told the truth. He almost corrected the misunderstanding forming behind your eyes.

Then he heard the question. “¿Who are you?”

“…Your husband” He answered quietly after a long silence.

The lie came easier than it should have. Toji walked toward the bed slowly, watching the visible relief soften your face almost instantly. Your fingers curled weakly around his hand the moment he sat beside you, trusting him completely without hesitation. He stared down at your grip for a second too long, guilt twisting somewhere deep in his stomach.

“You got me scared when they told me you had an accident” He murmured, thumb brushing gently over your knuckles “I kept askin’ for you.”

That wasn’t a lie, but when you relaxed at the sound of his voice, Toji felt something dangerous settle inside him, something selfish.

“You love me a lot,” He continued softly, eyes lowering briefly to the hospital blanket draped over your legs “Always hated when I let you go somewhere without me”

His voice stayed calm, steady — almost believable enough to fool himself too. Toji carefully brushed a few strands of hair away from your face, his rough fingers surprisingly gentle against your skin. He should’ve stopped. Should’ve told the truth before things went too far.

Instead, he leaned closer beside the bed, dark eyes fixed on yours with quiet desperation.

“…It’s okay,” He whispered “I’m here now, sweetheart.”

And for the first time in years, Toji let himself pretend you were really his.

“Never gonna let you go alone again anywhere”