feat. traumatized mansaku (and goujin)

“... it looks like it's gonna rain real heavy later.”

you mumbled while looking out the window, “i hope they come back soon. it's getting lonely here.”

—

“y/n, we're home!”

endou's voice echoed. “welcome home, everyone. i've already prepared dinner, let's eat.” you greeted, handing them their towels.

“as for today, i made...” as you listed the food, you couldn't help but notice the tension around the boys.

“they all sound delicious, manager.” mizukamiya smiled. “yes, i thought you all must be tired and hungry.” you replied with a smile.

‘shirou usually compliments my menu everyday but...’ you stole a glance at shirou and sighed. ‘i wonder what happened...’

it was just like every other meal time, except for the fact that shirou hasn't been touching his food at all and that he wasn't in his seat (beside atsuya), he seems to have exchanged seats with goujin.

‘... something must've happened between the two of them for him to go to the extent of avoiding atsuya.’ you thought as you chewed on the steak. you peeked from the corner of your eyes and sighed, “atsuya looks unaffected at all...”

mansaku, who was sitting on your right, turned to you: “were you saying something earlier, manager?” you only smiled and shook your head, “no, maybe you were mistaken.”

“huh? but i swear i heard–”

“.”

“yes ma'am.”

you took a bite of your macaroni salad and closed your eyes, ‘i guess i'll have to check up on that softie later.’

—

“everyone, just leave your plates as well as this room.” you said as you clapped your hands. the boys looked at you with narrowed brows, “go to your beds and have a good rest. you all look unusually tired.” you flashed them a smile.

“but we're not that–”

“especially you goujin, you look very worn out. would you like to take a rest forever?” goujin flinched and shook his head, “no, ma'am.” you smiled (the ‘do it or die’ smile) and crossed your arms, nodding. “i thought so too.”

with that, everyone began to leave the dining area and head to bed. “seems like y/n noticed.” kidou stated with a hushed voice, as gouenji nodded. “yeah. let's just leave it to her for now.” the two agreed.

“hey shirou,” you called. “sorry but can you help me with the dishes?” shirou paused, ‘as i thought, she noticed...’ looking at you, he smiled and replied, “sure.”

you handed shirou his apron and gloves. “you're unusually quiet today.” you said and smiled, “did something happen? did you have a fight with atsuya?” you asked, pre-rinsing the plates.

“hah, i didn't expect you to find this out so soon.” he said as you grinned, “well, i'm your manager and we've all been together for a long time now so i guess i could say that i know you all like the back of my hand.” shirou only smiled.

“... it wasn't exactly a fight... but more like me getting stressed and accidentally lashing out on him.” shirou admitted,

“i've been having nightmares lately and the pressure and frustration i've been feeling for the past few days weren't helping...”

“aah, now that it has happened, i feel so ashamed. that was childish of me.” shirou looked down as you removed your gloves and faced him.

“hey, hey, it's okay to be like that sometimes.” you cupped his cheeks, forcing him to look (down) at you.

“you can't keep your frustrations bottled up, and atsuya understands that. he knows your reasons and he'll surely forgive you, you just have to apologize for suddenly lashing out on him.” you said as you snapped your fingers, the dishes now all cleaned and stored.

“manager...”

“now go to bed and rest. you have to make it up to atsuya tomorrow after all.” you said as you removed his gloves and untied his apron, pushing him to the stairs and wishing him sweet dreams (you made sure he won't get nightmares anymore).

—

you suddenly woke up to a loud booming sound and apparently a power outage. “what..?” turning on your side, you sobered up when another sound entered your ears. you slowly got up and drew the curtains.

it was a thunderstorm.

“... a thunderstorm... i have to get to shirou.” you mumbled to yourself as you grabbed your phone (with the torch on) and dashed to the opposite wing of the dorm (mansion), where shirou's room was. arriving in front of the door, you opened it to see him curled up in the corner, trembling and crying silently.

“oh, shirou...”

approaching him slowly, you knelt in front of him and slowly took a hold of his arms. “ssh, ssh... i'm here. nothing's happening, okay?” you cupped his cheeks and wiped his tears with your thumb.

“m–mom and.. dad.. and– and atsuya.. th– they're...”

you shushed him and embraced him, bringing one hand to play with his hair and another on his back. “shirou, i'm here okay? nothing's happening. atsuya is fine, okay?” you whispered gently as you rubbed his back.

the thunder rumbled once again, making the male shrink deeper to your embrace. “it's– it's scary.. i'm so s–scared...” he sobbed, laying his head on top of your chest, trembling.

“i'm here,, manager is here, there's no need to be afraid.. you're okay...” you said softly, covering his ears with your hands. shirou slowly started to calm down as the sound of your heartbeat overpowered the sound of lightnings.

soon, the thunderstorm came to an end with shirou curled in your embrace on the floor. sensing that he's already calmed down, you slowly uncovered his ears and started to rub his back. “let's get you to bed now.” you whispered softly and helped him stand (which proved to be difficult with him still clinging on to you).

you tucked him in and was about to leave when he didn't let go of your arm. “please stay with me until i fall asleep.” you paused and blinked, still registering his words. “it's dark and i'm alone... i'm scared of being alone without any light.” shirou added, looking up at you with teary eyes.

you sat on the chair beside his bed and smiled, “yes, yes.” shirou smiled and grabbed your hand, lacing his fingers with yours. “can you please sing me a lullaby?” he pleaded as you gulped (‘i'm not sure if you can sleep with my voice at all’), but seeing his teary eyes made you abide with his wishes.

with that, your voice lulled shirou to sleep. you slowly unlaced your fingers with him and watched him sleep for a bit, only leaving after creating a makeshift light with a snap of your fingers. “that will suffice, only until the power comes back.” you mumbled to yourself, arriving in your room in a blink of an eye.

you plopped down to your bed and immediately dozed off.

—

“manager...”

you turned to see shirou looking down. “oh, shirou. how was it? did you and atsuya make up?” you asked as he smiled, “yes! thank you for the advices, manager.” he exclaimed and rubbed his nape sheepishly: “and uhm... sorry for last night, i must've burdened you...”

you gasped, shaking your head. “no, no, don't apologize. i wasn't bothered at all, if anything, i'm happy to be of help.” you smiled.

‘although my chest did go numb after hours of you leaning your head on it.’ but you'd never tell him that.