Tears Shed

If asked to recount the times in his life that he'd cried, he could do it in a pitifully small amount of time. Yamato didn't cry. It wasn't because he was emotionally strong, and it wasn't because he'd not had things to cry over, but simply because he didn't see the point in tears.

He'd rather put on a smile than let it all out. He didn't see the point in being sad, when one could simply fix the problem, and then become content again. He'd been told he was "happy-go-lucky" or "a breath of fresh air" when he'd smile in the face of tragedy by more people than he could count. He'd been told he had charisma so he supposed his smile was catchy, or the twinkle in his eyes made others feel at ease. At least, that's what he'd been told by family, friends, and strangers alike.

Yamato didn't cry. That was, unless it was something he couldn't cope with. The things he couldn't cope with could be counted on one hand. He couldn't handle it, the self-hatred, when he'd ignored his friend, walking by and pretending he didn't notice the bullying. He couldn't cope with how weak he felt, and so he'd cried.

If he would've been stronger, like he was now, he would've simply overcome whatever fear he had of being bullied himself, and stepped in to intervene. If he'd done that, he was absolutely certain he wouldn't have cried that day, nor punched in the slat of wood on the side of the school building.

If asked to recount the times in his life that he'd cried, that incident was the one that came to mind. Rather than that there were times he'd cried when he was a baby or a toddler, he guessed, although he couldn't remember them. He'd cried when he broke his arm or when his grandmother had died, but even then he'd been so young he could barely remember.

And so, as he knelt over, feelings he'd never had before picking and scratching at him from the inside, to pick up Mei's broken bracelet, he was stunned to feel a warm wetness dripping from his eyes.

He blinked furiously, quickly scooping up the beads as she knelt over in front of him to help. He wasn't sure if she noticed or not, but he hoped she hadn't. He was a bit ashamed. After all that he'd unknowingly put her through, she was the one who should be crying, not him.

He realized then that it was the same as the time he'd cried for his bullied friend. He couldn't cope with his own shortcomings. Before it'd been fear, and this time it'd been ignorance. He'd never been in love quite like this before, and so the thought of hurting her, Mei, without even realizing it was something he couldn't handle. He had come so close to ruining the one thing he truly wanted to keep perfect in his life.

If asked to recount the times in his life that he'd cried, eventually he'd look back on the time his tears hit the sidewalk next to beads of heartache and bonding. He'd use that incident to keep himself in check, keep himself always aware of her feelings, even if she didn't express them outwardly. Because she was, in the end, the one thing that truly mattered to him, one thing he couldn't live without, and one thing that could force tears out of his eyes when he usually preferred a smile.

The Mega-Prompts Challenge - word prompts #448 - drip

This anime is just extremely heartwarming. I don't know if I was the only one but I found it really fascinating that Yamato started crying while picking up the bracelet. Gave him a little more character, at least in my mind. :D

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed! :D

~Foxtail-chan