Security
The moment they spot the massive crowd on the sidewalk, Nagihiko feels Rima's hand hit his back in an instant. She grabs the bottom of his shirt and pulls, her breathes become shallower by the second, but he keeps moving forward. He knows that if he stops or turns around, his girlfriend will never forgive him. She won't say it directly, but it'll be there in the spaces between her words.
Are you really that weak?
So that's why he is pushing through the mass with Rima right behind him. Her nose is pressed against his spine, and he can hear her mumbling something incoherent in an attempt to forget the other warm bodies jostling her. But Nagihiko keeps a straight face and keeps walking. He has to.
After all, he was her fortress.
The moment he answers the phone, Rima can hear the weariness churning inside Nagihiko. His "hello" might sound normal to the average listener, but to her it weighs with a thousand unsaid things. She knows that if she doesn't bring it up, the question will just hang for the rest of the week. He will never say it out loud, but it will still be there in between the pauses of their conversations.
Do you really care about me?
That's why she starts asking questions. She can hear him on the other line, tired and resistant, but eventually Rima pries the door into her boyfriend open. Sure, it can be a chore, but she has to do it.
After all, she was his refuge.
Author's Note:
This was something I had in my head for a long time but only recently put to paper. If any of you follow the Shugo Chara tag on Tumblr, you might have already seen this already.
As I mentioned on Tumblr, this was partially inspired by Tsuki no Kimi's headcanon where Nagihiko has a people-pleasing complex and partially inspired by my own headcanon where Rima has claustrophobia. You can find Bridget's explanation somewhere on her Tumblr, but my general idea behind claustrophobic!Rima stems from that one Doki filler episode where her and Yaya are trapped in that weird hidden compartment thing and Rima has a bit of an anxiety attack/flashback to that time she was kidnapped. I don't know if I actually conveyed these ideas well, but this was just a quick exercise to get back into the swing of writing since I haven't done much of that this summer. (I promise I'm still writing my High School AU fic...)
Another reason why I wanted to write this is because I really wanted to write a serious Rimahiko fic for a while. What I really love about this ship is that both Rima and Nagi are very noticeably flawed and have very complex backstories. Peach-Pit somehow decided to smash these two together, and suprisingly, it's honestly one of the best pairings in the entire series. I mean, they have very mature character arcs, and they have some of the best interactions together both inside and outside of canon. TL;DR Rimahiko has a special place in my heart.
Anyways, thanks for reading this little oneshot! I'd love to know what you think of it, so please review!