You Are My Everything

He's coming over? Now?!

Hana scrambled to clean her apartment. Sewing tools, yarn, buttons, and clips were strewn across every inch of her living room. And her kitchen was a mess because she never had time to do dishes. In fact, she'd moved on to paper dishes within the last two weeks just to save time.

Why is he coming over now?!

He didn't even ask her if it was okay! He didn't ask her if she had time! It was a simple text. "I'm coming over now. I need to talk to you about something."

She'd been in the shower when she got the message and she had no idea how far away he was now. Her hair was wet because she hadn't had time to blow dry it, she had no makeup to cover the bags under her eyes from months of hardly getting any sleep… this was not the ideal time for him to just show up practically unannounced.

And why? Talk about what? She didn't want to talk to him. Not if it had anything to do with feelings or problems, which was what the mysterious words seemed to indicate.

The knock on her apartment door made her gasp. Already?!

She really wished she'd had time to dry her hair. It hung loose and damp and there was nothing to be done about it now.

She went to the door and let out a slow exhale. Finally, she turned the handle, not knowing what to expect from the man waiting outside.

James stood there with his satchel clutched to his chest, his blue eyes excited and wild beyond the lenses of his glasses.

"First of all," she sighed, "how did you get my address?"

"Jeanist," he said, by way of explanation. "Can I come in?"

She opened her door wider for him. "Listen, James… Next time can you give me more of a heads up? It's rude to just show up at someone's house like that."

He stepped inside, went straight to her couch, and put his satchel on the table. "You're right. I didn't mean to intrude, it's just… I've been working all night and day on that design that's due tomorrow, it's been driving me crazy."

One look at him verified the claim. His hair was unkempt and messy as if he'd been running his hands through it all afternoon. His shirt was unbuttoned and he hadn't even bothered to put on a suit jacket.

"I need your opinion on these." He sat his tablet on the coffee table. "I think I'm close but something's not right."

She sighed but then smiled. This side of James was nice to see. The side that dropped his cool, suave attitude and was just as finicky and hardworking as she was. "Scoot over," she said, before joining him on the couch. "Let me take a look."

She flipped through the designs he'd been working on. Her eyes widened with every new page. "James… these are…"

"Awful, right?" He groaned. "How am I supposed to face Jeanist with these tomorrow morning?"

"No, James!" Hana shook her head. "These are amazing."

He turned his head to look at her, his eyes confused. The boyish, perplexed expression reminded her of someone else who often looked at her like that, and it made a brief pang of loneliness touch her chest.

"James, these are your best work. I can't believe you came up with them on your own. Usually, it takes the whole team of us to perfect designs like this. I… I'm in shock, honestly. I can see someone modeling these designs and I can imagine how beautiful they'll be."

"You're not just saying that?" His eyes were searching her face for any trace of dishonesty. That was familiar too.

"I mean it," she promised. "What are you calling this line?"

He didn't answer. His gaze flicked over her, from the wet strands of her hair, down her neck and shoulders, back up to her chin, mouth, eyes… The intense, analytical look on his face made her instantly uncomfortable. She got the sense he was picking her apart, trying to solve a puzzle in his mind, searching for something inside of her that she didn't want to show.

"James?" She asked, trying to make him regain focus. "The name of the collection?"

A smile tugged on the corner of his mouth. His eyes were tender, looking into hers in a way that communicated something deeper. "I'm calling it, 'The Silk Flower Collection.'"

"The silk…" she gasped. "But that's…"

"The direct translation of your name," he finished for her. "You're right."

The realization dawned on her slower than it should have. The signs were all right there, had always been there. He didn't try to hide them. Until that moment she thought it was just in his nature to be flirty. That maybe it was an American thing and they came off flirty no matter what they did. But she'd been a fool.

"James," she stood up abruptly, "I think you might have the wrong idea."

I didn't give him any signs, did I? I tried to be professional. Sometimes I joked back but that's because I thought it was that. A joke. I didn't realize that he…

"Relax, Kinuhana." He held his hands up in a placating gesture. "I'm not asking you to do anything right now. I understand that you have things in your life that you're sorting through. I have no expectations of you."

No expectations? That's not true. He expects me to eventually open up to him. He expects something if he's naming fashion lines after me.

"No, James, I think there's a misunderstanding."

He stood up, too. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I won't pressure you. I didn't come here with some kind of ulterior motive, Kinuhana. I—"

"Look," she interrupted, "you're very sweet. You're smart and nice and I'm flattered that you feel that way, James, but…"

His expression shifted, face reflecting rejection. "Was I… misinterpreting you?" He cleared his throat. "If so, I'm very sorry. I got the impression that there was a mutual interest. You seemed to… reciprocate, at least to some degree."

I did? Was he imagining things, or did Hana inadvertently show an interest in him? The truth was, she knew that there was natural chemistry between them. She couldn't deny—as shameful as it was—that she'd thought once or twice that James was the type of person she'd have matched well with if she'd never met Eijiro.

But she had met Eijiro. And even if she and Eijiro didn't have what might be considered "natural" chemistry… even though they didn't always understand each other and sometimes fought… she loved him. She wouldn't trade her relationship with him for anything or anyone. Everything she did… even working so hard at this job every day and working alongside James… it was all for the future she wanted with that silly, wonderful high school boy.

"James, it doesn't have anything to do with you," she tried to explain. "The problem is that I have a—"

Suddenly, there was another knock on her door.

Thank god, someone rescue me from this awkward situation.

"Excuse me," she said, quickly. "I think that's some sewing tools I ordered."

She swiftly retreated and went to her door. She opened it without looking out the peephole. She didn't care who was on the other side as long as she had a moment to breathe after that embarrassing scene in her living room.

"Hana."

She blinked, eyes struggling to focus on the image before her. "E-Eijiro?"

Her boyfriend stood there, still in his school uniform, as if he'd come straight to her apartment as soon as classes let out for the day. His skin was red and he was panting, almost as though he'd run here. His face was contorted in an expression close to anguish.

"Hana…" he repeated. Then, without warning, he pulled her roughly into his arms. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Eijiro…" she stroked his back, not sure what else she could do in this strange situation. "What—"

He held her face and kissed her, long and hard, in a way that made her insides swirl and fireworks explode throughout her nerves.

"I love you," he said, still holding her face in his hands as he leaned back to look at her. His eyes flicked back and forth between hers, desperately trying to convey his meaning. "You're everything to me."

"What's this about?" she asked, still taken off guard.

"Katsuki knocked some sense into me," he said, lip twitching in an almost-smirk. "And I realized how stupid I've been. I know how hard you're working. I know you're doing it for us. I shouldn't have said what I did about you caring about work more than me. I know I was being dramatic. I just miss you, Kinuhana. I miss you so much that it hurts. I don't… I don't want to lose you. Ever."

"Eijiro…" she cupped his face. "I…"

Oh no. James is still inside.

"Hana, can we talk?" he asked, desperately. "Please? It doesn't have to be for long. I just want to talk about things and spend time with you. I know you're busy, but please…"

"Eijiro, I…" This is bad. Really bad. "Of course we can talk, it's just… I have to… Do you think you can wait like five minutes? I need to—" make James leave, was the unfinished sentence.

She was interrupted by the click of the door opening behind her.

"Kinuhana?" James asked as he opened the door. "Is everything okay?"

Oh no.

Eijiro took one look at James and stepped immediately backward.

"Oh?" James said over Hana's shoulder. "UA? You must be a friend of Kinuhana's."

Eijiro's mouth fell slack. His brows furrowed and his face visibly paled.

Hana sighed. "James this is…" She paused. Oh no! Eijiro is wearing his uniform. I can't introduce him as my boyfriend, that would look so bad. "T-This is Kirishima. Kirishima, this is my coworker, James."

Eijiro's eyebrow twitched at the sound of his surname. For possibly the first time since she'd known him, he was completely speechless.

"James," Hana said, quickly. "Please, leave us alone for a minute."

"Sure!" James stepped away from the door. "Shout if you need me." With this, he closed the door behind him, leaving Hana and Eijiro in a silence so heavy that it felt physical.

"Eijiro, I can explain—"

He held his hand up, stopping her. For a moment, he still didn't speak. He stood there, his hand trembling, his face contorting with dozens of unreadable emotions. Finally, in a voice barely above a whisper, he asked, "What's he doing in your apartment, Hana?"

"He came over for work," she said quickly. "We have a project due in the morning, he needed me to review some designs."

Eijiro couldn't even keep eye contact with her anymore. "Your hair…" he mumbled. "It's wet."

"Yeah, I took a shower before he came over. Eijiro, I'm not seeing him if that's what you're thinking!"

He pinched his eyes shut. "I-I don't know what to think, Hana. He called you by your first name and you didn't introduce me as your boyfriend."

"Of course, I didn't!" She took a deep breath. "Eijiro, you came over in your uniform. I can't say that I'm dating a high schooler, I already told you before that we could get in trouble for that! You're still underage!"

Eijiro's breath was ragged, his eyes still closed as if he was willing away what he'd seen.

"Eijiro…" she reached out and touched his jaw but he jerked away from her. "Eijiro, it's not what it looks like."

He didn't respond. Everything about him seemed to be collapsing.

"Eijiro…" she whispered. "Please, say something."

He opened his eyes, and they were wet with tears. Still, he didn't speak for another long moment. "The crazy thing is, Hana… I almost wouldn't care if you were screwing him."

"...What?"

"What hurts…" he gripped his shirt above his heart. His voice cracked as he continued. "What really hurts… is that you have time for him and not for me."

"Eijiro… it's not like that." Pain split through her chest as she watched him crumble before her.

"Fuck, Hana…" he breathed in a ragged breath. "All I wanted was for you to pay attention to me." He wiped uselessly at the corners of his eyes. "Fuck… I feel like my heart is breaking."

"H-hey!" She swallowed, her mouth dry from the guilt and a growing sense of dread. "Don't say that! Let's talk, okay? I'll make James leave. You can come in and we can work through everything! I'll make us tea, I'll listen to everything you have to say…"

He shook his head and took another step back. "Now you want to talk? Now it's convenient for you?" He clenched his teeth. "Well, now it's not convenient for me."

"Don't be like that, Eijiro, please…" She felt tears welling in her own eyes now. "You're blowing this out of proportion! Just…"

"No." He cut her off. "I don't want to hear about how I'm acting like a kid or some dramatic crybaby. I'm not some dumb high school jock who doesn't feel real things, Hana! I want to be treated like I'm important. Like I matter to you."

"Hold on, I've never thought those things about you!" She sucked in a sharp breath. "Eijiro, I know I joke about you being a high schooler, but I've never thought of you as less than me! I think you're an amazing man! I always have!"

"You have a funny way of showing it."

"Eijiro, wait!"

It was too late. He was walking away from her.

"Don't go!" she called. "Eijiro!"

He ignored her.

"Wait…" she choked on a sob. "Please… I'm sorry," she whispered, though she knew he couldn't hear it. "You're everything to me, too…"

He didn't turn around. He left her there, crying on her doorstep, stunned, splitting in two.

After a few moments of disbelief, she finally retreated back into her apartment. Her legs felt weak, her body heavy. She slid against the wall, put her face in her hands, and wept.

"Kinuhana?" James was by her side in an instant. He crouched down and put a hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay? What happened? Your hair is blue…"

"Please, leave," she choked out. "Go away, James."

"No way, I can't leave you like this!"

"Please… I need you to leave. Right now."

He hesitated. "Are you sure you're okay by yourself? I can't just—"

"James, please just do me a favor, shut up, and leave my apartment!"

He let out a long sigh, then finally stood. She heard him get his bag and walk to the door. "Call me if you need anything, okay? Anything at all."

She didn't respond. Just waited for the sound of her apartment door closing behind him.

"Eijiro…" she sobbed into her hands. What she needed… was Eijiro.

I really screwed up this time. And I don't know if I can fix it.

A/N: Poor Kiri's little heart. T.T