22. He keeps telling himself Celty's mistaken. Mai's just a friend. A good, wonderful, extraordinary friend. Loving her-no, even considering loving her-is….is….he can't. Not with this power, no matter how much or how little control he has over it. She'll just wind up hurt again if they become closer, and she deserves more than that.
She deserves someone better than him.
He runs into her on his way to a job. She's standing in front of Russia Sushi, talking to Simon. What she says is lost in the distance between them, but he hears her laughter. It's a bright and happy sound, without any indication of her troubling childhood, her struggles with her nightmares, or any of the general bumps and bruises in life. She sees him and waves him over. He says he's busy and can't talk right now, shouldering his way past with a half-hearted wave. Tom looks at him in surprise, but he doesn't ask until they're well out of earshot. "You two have a fight or something?" Shizuo chooses not to answer, gritting his teeth and lighting up a cigarette, and Tom knows better than to press the issue.
He's just going to ignore it. Mai is just one of his few friends. Nothing more, nothing less.
Because that's what she has to be.
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Author's Notes: This is one of those moments where we need a third party shaking their head and muttering, "Do I have to do everything myself?
Ghost Hunt is owned by Fuyumi Ono and Shiho Inada.
Durarara! is owned by Ryohgo Narita, Suzuhito Yasuda, and Akiyo Satorigi.