3 Rules

Trigger Warning: gaslighting/ manipulation

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Amai always knew her relationship with Aiho was a little problematic.There were always small things Aiho didn’t like or approve of. However, Amai didn’t mind it, in all of her time knowing him he never hurt or even attempted to hurt them. They’ve known each other since childhood but only started dating about senior year of high school which happened because of a less than ideal situation. No matter how bad things got Amai turned a blind eye to it, cause as far as she was concerned he is the person she trusts the most and genuinely cares about. 

Aiho had this list of “rules” for Amai all in the name of her safety, and some for his own confirmation of her love for him. There were always three main recurring ones and probably the most important ones for Aiho.

Rule1: Always say “I love you” back when it is uttered.

Amai has learned her lesson to just listen to this simple rule. When he first established it, there was nothing wrong with it but soon Amai saw just how serious he takes it: 

At a gathering with some friends Aiho wasn’t the most thrilled sharing Amai’s attention. He ended up saying some pretty hurtful things to her friends to drive them away, and Amai was rightfully upset at him. Even on returning to their shared apartment Amai was choosing to ignore him. He gave half assed apologies and tried making jokes about it but it didn’t work.

“Hey Amai~. I love you”

Amai didn’t respond to him, causing him to get a bit agitated. 

“Hey I said I love you” he said, getting closer and hugging her. 

Amai just twisted to leave his arms and walk off but this caused him to grab onto her wrist, not enough to hurt her but enough force to keep her from leaving.

“You’re really that upset? Come on who’s supposed to be more important? Do you not love me anymore over something so trivial?” He asked in a serious tone.

“I never said that!” Amai retorted

“You not saying it back is just as equal to saying you don’t love me, no matter how upset you are you should always be able to say it. If something as small as this is all it takes to stop you from saying it…” he trembles a bit his grip tightening, as he stops speaking.

“I love you too, okay!” Amai replied, seeing how much it meant to him. 

Aiho seems to relax a bit “I’m sorry if I came off too intense but it really is important what if an accident happened to one of us, at least to avoid some regrets our last words to each other can be that we love each other, let’s not ever end a day on bad terms okay? I really do love you.”

“Okay I understand, I love you too.”

It soon became a trend. Anytime Amai felt herself getting annoyed or upset at him he would say he loves her and if she didn’t say it back he would get agitated and guilt trip her and whine about it until she says it. Sometimes he’ll just use it to keep her attention away from other people, friends, family, anyone that’s not him, since he knows no matter what she has to say it back.

But it’s only because they love each other, right? There should be no problem saying you love your partner.

Rule 2: Her business is His business and vice versa

Amai once decided to take a spontaneous trip with Mina and Lina. Aiho has been rather busy with work and Amai was getting bored being in the house all day so she thought Aiho wouldn’t mind if she went on a weekend trip the twins invited her to. So she messaged him just to check on him and inform him of the trip:

Amai: Hey just checking in if you're free?👀

Aiho: yeah sorry for not messaging How are you doing, you okay?

Amai: yeah I’m actually packing for a trip now!

Aiho: a trip?

Amai: yeah the twins invited me for a getaway since you’ve been busy

Aiho: where are you guys going?

Amai: a campsite a little up state

Aiho: Is there anyone else besides the twins going?

Amai: not sure

(Several minutes passed before Amai received another message from Aiho)

Aiho: which Campsite? I need to know all of who is going and their numbers or any way I can contact them. How many nights will you be staying? What’s the wifi situation like? How far is it? What’s the exact location? Who else knows about this trip? When will you return? Will there be any guys or is it all girls? Is there a private place for you to change? Will you be sleeping separately or together? Whose car are you taking or what is the mode of transportation? You said it was a campsite. Will there be any wild animals, caves, rivers, or any form of dangerous surroundings?

Amai: I...how am I supposed to answer all of these? I don’t even know half of this.

Aiho: Then you shouldn’t go.

Aiho: It’s in a place I haven’t seen or been to, so many things can happen to you. I know you're with Mina and Lina but they’re not really reliable, so just save me the trouble please.

Aiho: don’t take this the wrong way, I'm only looking out for your safety. I really do love you and I couldn’t forgive myself if anything happened to you? Unless you're trying to run away from me, are you tired of me?

Amai: I swear it’s not that, I’ll stay if it makes you feel more comfortable. I just thought it wouldn’t be a problem.

Aiho: that’s cute you don’t seem to think things through far enough. If you ended up going you could have gotten yourself into all sorts of trouble. I always tell you what I’m doing without you even asking. From now on don’t make decisions like this yourself ask me first okay.

Amai: okay

Aiho: 😊great! Now text me anything specific you want for dinner? Perhaps I have been neglecting you for too long, I’ll give you as much company as you need once I’m home from work. Love you 💜

Amai: love you too

Rule 3: Always have absolute trust

Even way before this was a rule, as back as when they were just friends, Amai had already placed blind trust in him. Even when things started to seem slightly odd and Amai slightly questioned it, her suspicions were immediately turned down and he would joke around about it, soon enough she would forget it as fast as the suspicion came.

One day she made a friend. They had similar interests and clicked really quickly. The girl was super nice and really didn’t seem like a bad person. But after only a few weeks of hanging out she kind of went MIA which confused Amai. She then began to think she maybe did something wrong and brought her concerns up to Aiho unknowing that ultimately he was the reason this person refused to even be in the same room as her, out of general fear:

“Don’t think too hard about it, some people are just jerks like that, you did nothing wrong” Aiho would say with an innocent smile.

“But—“ Amai looks down sadly.

Aiho would always feel a little guilty when he saw Amai sad about it but not enough to tell her what actually happened so he would just become exceptionally comforting.

“I told you they would turn out like that, you should have just trusted me, and see now you're hurt because of them” he would say, hugging her.

“She just didn’t seem like the type though it just feels really random” Amai stated

“Amai~ do you not trust me?”

“No. I do.”

“Then listen to me when I say this she was always gonna do that. Looks can be deceiving. If she left you then she just wasn’t worth it, she was gonna at some point, so don’t overthink it. Think about the bright side, you'll have more time to hang out with me again and I won’t leave” Aiho said with a beaming smile. 

Amai gave a slight smile “yeah I guess you’re right”

“Not you guess, I am right! Plus I’m way~ cooler than anyone else!” He jokes 

“I love you Amai!”

“I love you too!”

Amai smiles and like that the entire situation was forgotten.