Based on the tarot card "The Lovers" in both upright and reversed positions. Idea by furoji <3

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Staring cautiously into the large window, the employees of the profitable electronic company shivered at their boss's terrifying mood. His fingers were laced together as he stared devilishly at the door as if waiting for something. He didn't do any work - something incredibly unusual for the near-workaholic. The only thing he would do is move his eyes sharply to the clock, a growl escaping him the more time went on. It eventually turned half-past twelve, and his attitude only worsened.

Occasionally, some poor soul would gather the courage to ask the man to look over some papers or ask what he wanted to be done concerning different company objectives. However, his temper would spike and he would lash out, shouting short obscenities at the top of his lungs. He may have thrown things like pens or vases as well or completely wiped everything off of his desk in rage. It wouldn't be long after that when the employee would exit, drained of any and everything that was ever inside of them.

It soon turned forty-five minutes past twelve and the man could not wait any longer. Standing abruptly up from his desk, he took his temper out to the main floor, harassing employees left and right, pointing to minor mistakes while calling them the worst names he could come up with. He even fired a handful of them, continuing to bash in different objects and growl with great rage. Sending the employees trembling regardless of their position in the company, a handful of them bundled up together, attempting to avoid his anger by hiding behind the bathroom stalls.

"How long has this been going on?!"

"At this rate, we won't even have a company anymore! I can't lose this job!"

"Have we tried giving him some food to calm him down? He didn't eat lunch, right?"

"Has the trauma already seeped into your memory?! When we did that, he only got worse! He looked at the food with the eyes of a demon and declared he would ruin that food chain!"

"Wait!" another employee suddenly perked up, "What day is it?!"

"The 22nd of June!"

A silence washed over the room as the employees realized what that meant. Panicking, they peeked out from the stalls to see if the man was still on a rampage, and indeed, he was. As such, they once more retreated and checked the time, noting that it was now 1:00. They looked at one another with fear. That had never happened before. What was to become of them?!

"B-But his wife always comes at the same time each twenty-second of each month! That's their spousal day! Sh-She's not here yet?!"

"Call her, quick!"

"Don't fucking call her! He'll kill you!"

Terrified, the employees only continued to discuss strategies for getting out of the office alive only to find that the noise that came from outside finally stopped. Risking getting their necks cut off, they peeked once more to find a sweet and patient (h/c) haired woman worryingly holding onto a large bento box. She looked around from left to right at the trashed office, holding her hand to her mouth as if to stifle her shock.

"Masa?" she questioned with a cute squeak, finally peeping up to catch the man's attention.

He stopped immediately as if someone had hit the pause button on him. The man then tensed and ducked behind a cubicle, some audible rustling occurring before it stopped and he popped back up again. His clothes were smoothed out and his hair was pushed back once more, allowing him to regain his put-together and thoughtful appearance. A smile was also on his features, far from the livid expression he had previous to hearing her voice. Stepping forward to hug her tightly, he nuzzled her head adoringly, any trace of his rampage gone from him.

"What happened here?"

"Deadline," the man replied swiftly, giving a confident thumbs-up like he had rehearsed such an answer.

"Is that...so?"

The woman tilted her head to the side, scrunching her nose in disbelief. At this, though, the man lit up with excitement and began to pinch at her cheeks, smiling like a drunkard. He had always believed his wife was the cutest female to ever exist, and that was probably the reason he became so docile around her. At least, from the viewpoint of the employees, he did have an off-switch, though it easily short-circuited whenever the "remote" was too far from him.

"I'm sorry I was late," she frowned, giving a gasp of surprise when the man of few words swept her off her feet and excitedly carted her towards his private office, "I accidentally burned the fried rice, and I had to redo it all."

The man nodded enthusiastically, forgiving her immediately for being late despite the actions his employees would have called "extreme discontent". That being said, he did a complete 180° in the presence of his wife. It wouldn't have surprised anyone there if he had completely forgotten about what he had done in the first place. After all, he wasn't the one that had to clean it all up. Even if he did, however, the only thing he ever cared about was being with his woman.

"Are you hungry?"

Once more, the male nodded quickly, his eyes sparkling as she revealed the bento she had spent the past day making for him. He drooled at the sight, like a dog being presented food after weeks of starvation. That being said, he was rather patient for someone that couldn't wait to dig into the food, sitting up straight and looking the woman in her eyes with dusted cheeks. After much time of waiting, he then gave a guilty look and guided her hands to the chopsticks.

"You...want me to eat?"

A surprised expression crossed the male's face, almost one of heartbreak. He shook his head determinedly as she lifted some beef to her lips before he decided on guiding the chopsticks to him, taking a bit of it for himself. His face lit up at the taste and he leaned down for a second bite then a third before there was no more on the chopsticks, his face falling once more in despair. His very obvious emotions prompted his wife to chuckle, a shy smile appearing on his features.

She continued to feed him lovingly, the male only getting closer and closer to her as she did so. Eventually, his head was laid on her lap, prompted up by some pillow as she insisted she didn't want him to choke. And while the absence of feeling the heat of her skin directly on his soured his mood slightly, he was compensated by her free hand running through his hair. An expression of bliss crossed his features before he stole a kiss, guiding his wife down to his own lips.

"Lovers," he confirmed, tilting his head ever-so-slightly to the side with a wide beam.

The woman smiled back at him, pressing a kiss on his forehead to his delight. He only continued eating the food lovingly prepared by his one and only wife, smiling wider every time he thought of that word. "Wife". Sweet and caring, she wiped his mouth from any residue of food, but he frowned. It was like he was robbed of the last of her home cooking, leaving him somewhat unsatisfied.

That being said, anything he was not pleased with was made up to him. The (h/c) haired woman sat on his lap during the rest of the workday, drawing circles on his chest and even falling asleep on him. He was very much satisfied with that, never wanting to be separated from the loving spouse he had. Even after that, however, she took him on a date that she had planned specifically for the both of them, their time together drawing the envy of others. So in love that they couldn't stop smiling, the two ignored their stares of curiosity, bewilderment, and resentment. They were the only ones that mattered.

At the end of their date, they returned home, a romantic bath already drawn for them. He rested her between his legs and massaged her shoulders, sweet giggles erupting from her lips. She leaned into his touch and rested against his broad chest, the man humming in enjoyment. The essential oils he rubbed into her skin made her occasionally twitch. He smiled gently at the childish way she moved around, hugging around her waist delicately.

The male then dried her off with a warm towel, placing a kiss on her dried cheeks. The bed was warm and soft, the woman yawning cutely, the male took the role of the big spoon, nuzzling in her neck and tucking them in the duvet. The cold weather only made them snuggle closer to one another, the male falling asleep quickly with the presence of his wife. Yes. His wife. He was pleased.

In the middle of the night, he lifted his eyes, feeling the weight of the bed shifting slowly. His eyes traveled down and he bit his bottom lip, knowing he was left alone. Waiting for a moment, he then left the bed as well, his feet trudging quietly along the wooden floor. He the room, he listening closely for any sign of life, only to hear a shuffling beyond his office door. He frowned, quietly opening the door to see the (h/c) woman surrounded by littered cabinets she'd pulled out of his desks and cupboards. Papers were ripped, pens thrown around, but she was not done.

He gave a strained sigh, (Y/n) darting her eyes to the man who had emitted sound, revealing his presence. She narrowed her eyes but did not stop, only continuing to throw around things. It was at this point that the male held up a piece of paper, the woman ceasing to move. She then stormed towards him and ripped it out of his hands, the man giving a faint "ah" in semi-surprise as she scanned her eyes over it before ripping it apart into as small pieces as possible.

"A copy," he stated monotonously, receiving a harsh slap across the face.

"Are you trying to ridicule me?! Turn me into an idiot?! Just so you can be entertained by your pet dog struggling to get out of your grip?! I hate you! You idiot! Just let me go!"

The male narrowed his eyes at her last statement. He didn't react to anything else she said, just her last demand. Unpleased, he tried to hold onto her hand, giving a heartbroken expression. However, she only slapped his hand away. To that, he flinched, feeling the sting of his heart rather than the dull pain on his hand. He regressed, trying not to smother her, but the distance pained him more.

"Not a pet," he quivered, his eyes darting down pathetically, "Love."

"Love?! This isn't love! This is you possessing me and me despising you for the vile thing you are! I would never be here if not for your obsessive personality! I would have left the second you got your voice back again!"

The male frowned. He knew that. He knew that very well. When he was younger, she was so caring towards him. She used to hold him by the hand when he was mute and try to teach him as many words as she could. Even when he never said anything, struggling to speak, she would smother him with love. He had always wanted to marry her for that, grateful for putting in the effort no one else would. But she was right. He had forced her into it, but only because he knew she wouldn't have accepted.

"I'm not your real wife! Get that through your head! I'm only acting as your wife, but I'll never accept you as any husband of mine! When this stupid thing is over, I'll find a real one and I'll never think about you ever again!"

The man flinched, tears slipping from his eyes. He stepped forward at the woman who lashed out, but she kept her distance from him still, refusing to let him touch her. Respecting that, he tried to give her more space, giving a wave goodnight and letting her continue to trash his office. Maybe one day she would understand his great love for her, but for the time being, he had to reign himself in.

And yet, despite all of his hope, he woke to find her gone. Looking at his trashed office, he traveled room to room but soon landed at his treasury. He gazed around mindlessly, finding jewelry and credit cards gone, the cupboards pulled out or thrown on the floor. The main butler of his house stood behind him with a worried expression, wondering if the master would burst out into anger. However, he just remained quiet and stood still before turning around slowly and giving an expressionless look.

"Find her."

(Y/n) had escaped with thousands of dollars, but she had only taken them to spite him. She had never intended to use it, knowing he could easily find out where she was if she had sold them. Still, she found herself at a loss for what to do when it came to finding places to rest or how to eat. Once again, if she took up a job that didn't pay cash directly, he could find her through federal records, and she was limited in how much she could earn at a given time. Then there was the issue of finding a job in the first place.

For the first week, she was able to find plenty of things to sustain herself. She could feed herself and afford motels - however horrible they were - to stay in. But things changed quickly, the man's influence spreading even to family-owned businesses. Soon enough, she had to flee further, things becoming scarcer and scarcer. And while she was lucky enough to find a job in the house of a decently wealthy family who hadn't yet heard of the man's hunt for her. They provided her stay and even obliged to pay in cash, and surprisingly enough, she wasn't found or chased out for quite some time.

"Kana!" a voice called, referring to the woman's fake name, "Could you grab some of the dishes from the china cabinet?"

"Sure thing!"

The (h/c) haired woman waddled towards the cabinet, pulling out the china and carefully cleaning them. They were more expensive than even the jewelry she had stolen from Masayuki. It always made her nervous to have to clean them, but it was a necessary chore to do. After all, she was grateful for the family for taking her in, and though the only thing she could do was work as a maid, she could, at the very least, do her best at it.

Finishing up with the china, she placed it back delicately back in their glass cupboard, allowing them to once again shine. She then turned to see a small girl standing behind her, one of the children of the wealthy couple. The girl was a middle child, often meandering around and waiting for someone to notice her. In that regard, they were quite similar, so (Y/n) couldn't help but pick her up and bounce her up and down to calm her. Very quiet, the small girl accepted the attention and sighed, resting on the woman's shoulder.

"It's dinnertime, my lady," (Y/n) murmured, heading down the hall, "Don't you want to join your siblings?"

"I'm not hungry. Do you want to color with me instead?"

"I'm afraid not, young miss. I still have more chores to complete, and your parents are waiting for you right now."

The small girl gave a grumble but did not attempt to struggle out of the woman's grasp. Rather, she accepted her fate, being carried over to the dining hall where her family waited. Her feet once more touched the ground and she sighed her way to the table, taking a seat by her older sister and younger brother. She looked back, hoping that maybe the woman would come back to take her away, but she simply stood still, gazing at the other end of the table with a glare. It didn't take long to realize she was staring at the young man she had tried to escape from. No doubt he had come to the estate under the guise of being a "surprise guest".

The younger girl remained put, knowing if she left the room, he would only chase after her. However, in the presence of her employers, he wouldn't have made a move. Still, even as they tried to speak to him to welcome them to their home, the man only stared blankly at the (h/c) haired woman. He didn't speak - though he never typically did - just stared with no emotion. He was not sad or surprised or even angry, which was somehow even more frightening than if he held a gun to her head.

"(Y/n)," he finally said, his voice incredibly soft and barely audible.

"Hm?" the woman's employer hummed, surprised to hear a peep come from the silent man, "What was that?"

The man abruptly stood up from the table, leaving his meal untouched. He then moved slowly past the woman and gave a blank look before continuing down the hall. Thinking he was tired - which he was - the madam of the house had someone take him to a guest bedroom. And though (Y/n) was surprised he didn't take him with her back to his home, he did show up much later in the night, standing in the doorway of her shared room.

"What?" she snapped, giving a grimace at his presence, "What do you think you'll gain from coming here? I'm not leaving with you."

"Contract," he murmured, narrowing his eyes to display a temperament of anger.

"I don't care about that anymore. Put me in jail for all I care. In fact, I'd prefer it. At least that way I won't have to see you, control freak."

Giving a look of heartbreak, the man didn't deny the accusation. He knew what he was. It was because of him that she was so unhappy, something that pierced his heart deeply, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't just leave her be. It was likely the reason he had continued to stand in the doorway despite the fact she ignored him. Even if she didn't talk, he was happy to just stay there and soak in her presence. It was childish the way he kept clinging to old memories, but what else could he have done?

"You promised," he trembled, continuing to keep his distance despite his build-up of unpleasant feelings, "Said that you'd stay."

Once more, he was ignored, the woman refusing to hear a single thing he uttered. It was like he had gained his voice for nothing. The only reason he had ever wanted to speak in the first place was because of her. But she wasn't listening. So, with frustration for her refusal to listen, he took a pocket knife from his jacket and gripped her throat tightly. She struggled, obviously, but it only made him more irate. The only time she ever listened to him was when she wanted something. That wasn't how it used to be. So he decided he'd fix it. If she couldn't listen to him 100% of the time, then she'd be better off never listening to him ever again, and he'd be better off never saying another word.