✮ Dating Gen ✮
Gen Narumi x Reader - Part Six.
Y/n had trouble falling asleep after finally confessing her feelings to Gen. For now, they were okay; she could breathe a little easier. She still clung to a certain insecurity about what lay ahead, but his words brought a different kind of comfort to her heart, he wanted her, and that was what she would hold on to.
He said he’d call her every night, even on days when he might stop by the store to see her. That night, when he arrived at the Ariake base, he called her to say good night; in the morning, he sent a message wishing her a good morning. She had a little smile on her face all day.
On Thursday, he called to ask if she’d like to go on their first date on Saturday; of course, the answer was yes. He always called, she liked it when he called instead of just sending messages; she liked hearing his voice. He told her about a restaurant he’d liked to visit ever since he’d become a captain and could afford it, explaining that he’d always walk past it and make a face because he’d thought it was just another one of those overpriced Michelin-starred restaurants for rich people that served terrible food, she laughed. He says that when he received his first captain’s salary and realized he could afford it, he went in out of sheer spite, ready to criticize everything he ate, but the truth is that the food was really good, and the staff was polite and explained every dish to him with great tact and respect.
“So, I think you’re really going to like the place” he says softly.
“What’s the name? Is it well-known?” she asks.
“Ryugin” he replies. Her jaw drops; she’s mentally grateful that they’re talking on the phone because she’d be embarrassed by the look of surprise on her face upon hearing it. It’s one of the most sought-after restaurants not only in Japan but in the world, three Michelin stars, and it’s almost impossible to get a reservation that easily; she figures his title as captain of the Anti-Kaiju Defense Force must have played a role.
She’s going to have to buy a new dress and heels.
On Saturday, she felt anxious all day; now that they’d agreed to try something, the nervousness she felt was different, she felt enormous pressure. Over the time they’ve known each other, he’s seen her in her pajamas, with messy hair and a puffy face, but on that day, especially on that day, she wanted to get ready and look beautiful, more than usual. She started getting ready three hours before the time he was supposed to pick her up. After taking a shower, she felt an existential crisis set in and sat on the floor wearing only a towel for a few minutes. It wasn’t supposed to be like this, all this nervousness that seemed almost to make her sick, and the desire to impress him, shouldn’t be there. If there were any reason for him not to want to do this, he’d probably already thought about it, and yet he’d still chosen to be with her.
Okay, she takes a deep breath; she feels calmer now.
By the time he arrives, Tsubame has already gone home. He calls and says he’s waiting downstairs; she takes another deep breath and goes downstairs. When she sees him, she almost runs back to her room, he looks SO handsome, wearing a shirt and dress pants, his hair slicked back with just a few strands falling over his forehead. She thinks she might not be able to make it through the whole night without grabbing him and kissing him wildly.
When he stops and looks at her, she sees his eyes widen slightly. She stops, is that a good sign?
(Gen’s POV of this moment: He seems to have forgotten to breathe for a second; she was stunning. It was agonizing to try to take in her beauty in a single glance. Oh, it finally hits him, there’s no turning back. Lately, his heart has been so full of her that he can barely call it his own. Her gaze upon him seemed to expect miracles, and it would be the greatest honor for him to make them come true.)
“Do I really deserve you?” he whispers as she approaches.
“You do” she walks up to him and cups his face, gently pulling him down to press her lips against his; he sighs and pulls her closer, holding her by the waist as he deepens the kiss.
“You’re… breathtaking…” he says softly against her lips.
“And I’m all yours” she says, smiling.
He laughs softly. “I’ll make sure to enjoy every part of you, then.”
She feels her whole body respond to his words.
“Can we?” he points toward the door.
“Yes.” She takes a deep breath, and they leave.
When they arrived at the restaurant, she couldn’t hide her surprise at being there. As soon as they arrived, Chef Seiji Yamamoto came over to their table to talk to them. He and Gen chatted as if they were old friends. There weren’t many people there; it was much more intimate than she had imagined, and the chef seated them at a table set further away. As soon as he left, she asks.
“How?”
“Huh?” He looks confused.
She continues “I know you have a certain amount of influence because of your position as captain… but how did you and the chef… how did that relationship come about?”
“I told you, one day I just walked in… they recognized me and let me eat even though I didn’t have a reservation. I was already a captain, and Yamamoto just let me stay.”
“Interesting… and have you been coming here ever since?”
“Yeah, I just let them know, like… a day ahead of time…” he smiles smugly. “Look, in my defense, when I walked in that time, I didn’t know it was such a popular and famous place…”
She laughs, and he finishes, “You’ll like it, I promise…” and leans in to kiss her neck, sending shivers down her entire body
“Gen…” she whispers, melting, but trying to use a tone that asked him to behave, deep down, she didn’t want him to behave, but they were in public.
He smiles mischievously and pulls away. The rest of the night passes peacefully; the food really was jaw-dropping. Whenever they could, they stole gentle kisses from each other. Gen always listened to her intently bringing her fingers to his lips and pressing them there. The act itself made her heart race. And she couldn’t stop sighing with pleasure. She wasn’t nervous around him anymore; she was fully present, savoring every second. When he took her home, they couldn’t keep their hands off each other.
“You should go up” he says after kissing her neck, but he doesn’t take his arms off her waist, making her laugh. She cups his face and kisses him on the lips again; she was holding back from asking him to come up with her and spend the night, but it was only their first official date she’d ask when he said in no uncertain terms that he was her boyfriend.
When she tries to pull away, he pulls her back, burying his face in her neck again. “Wait…” he says, and she laughs. “I know, Gen, but…”
“Yeah…” he says finally, letting her go, but the way he looks at her almost makes her grab him again.
“Go ahead, I’ll wait until you lock your door before I leave” she waves and says as she heads upstairs. “I loved every second of tonight.”
He smiles and watches her go upstairs.
On their second date, they went to an arcade, and to everyone’s surprise, it was her idea.
“Did you really want to come here, or did you come because you thought I’d like it?” he asks as they walk hand in hand through the place, choosing what to play first.
“I really wanted to come. I want you to win that Captain Narumi plush for me” she teases.
“What?” he laughs. “You already have the real one here. Why do you want the plush?”
“To hug when you’re far away?” she says, forcing a sweet voice just to tease him even more. He smiles slightly and leans down to whisper in her ear in a teasing voice “what else are you going to do with it while I’m away?”
She pushes him away a little, laughing and feeling embarrassed. Since it was a very crowded place, Gen was wearing a cap and a hoodie; she felt a little bad for suggesting the spot, but he reassured her, saying he comes here all the time, he just needs to hide a little and didn’t mind.
“You know, next time, how about we just hang out in my room back at the store? And watch a movie? I’ll let you pick a horror movie.” She smiles.
He smiles even wider. “Sounds perfect.”
They spend a few hours playing games; she laughs a lot as she discovers just how competitive he is. Gen has been really sweet to her lately, but when it comes to games, he hasn’t let her win a single time and he even teased her constantly about how bad she was at most of them. Obviously, she didn’t mind; on the contrary, she found it really funny, her cheeks were aching from laughing so much.
“You’re being so mean today” she says, still laughing after he teased her while they were playing a virtual reality game.
“Three times, you literally let the same zombie devour you three times, in the exact same spot” he says in disbelief.
“It’s your fault, weren’t you supposed to be protecting me?”
“In games, it’s every man for himself, sweetheart” he teases, going back to playing. She pushes him, causing his character to die instantly; he gasps dramatically, and she laughs hysterically.
“That’s it. I’m not going to win that Captain Narumi plush for you today.” He says.
“Fine, I don’t need a man to win anything for me.” She sticks her tongue out at him as she starts walking backward. “I’ll win it myself. And you know what else? I’m going to get the giant Vice Captain Hoshina plush.”
He gasps again, more dramatically than ever, and she continues “and I’m going to wrap my legs around him when I’m having trouble sleeping.” He abandons the game and starts walking quickly toward her; she laughs even more and starts running. He starts chasing her, running too, and catches up to her in less than a minute without any difficulty, picking her up and spinning her around the room while she laughs even harder.
“Don’t you dare say something so outrageous to me again, okay? Wrap your legs around Hoshina? Are you crazy?” he says, tickling her as she wriggles and laughs even harder, her eyes watering.
“Tell me you’ll never say that again” he continues, tickling her.
“Yes, sir, I won’t say that again.” Still laughing, he stops and pulls her close, putting his arm around her shoulder
“Good girl, now let’s go get your plush of the most handsome, smartest, and strongest captain in the entire history of the Defense Force. Tell me his name again.”
“Narumi Gen” she laughs, and so does he. “That’s right.”
It takes him less than five minutes to win the thing. It’s huge, a giant round plush with nothing but his face on it, drawn in an adorable chibi style. She can't help laughing as she stares at it.
“I can’t believe the Defense Force authorizes these kinds of products” he says with a scowl, making her laugh even more.
“Oh, come on, it’s cute” she says, hugging the thing as they leave the building and head toward a street stall selling takoyaki.
“What would you like to eat, sweetheart?” he says gently as he tucks a strand of her hair behind her ear, sending shivers down her spine. “They sell karaage, too.” She feels her cheeks burning and hides her face behind the giant Narumi plushie so he won’t notice.
“Karaage for me” she says.
“Okay.” He turns and walks over to the vendor while she sits down at a nearby table.
“Takoyaki for me and karaage for my girlfriend” she hears him say.
Her eyes widen immediately. Girlfriend? Did she hear that right? She clutches the plushie tightly. Did he really say that? Maybe he only said it because saying “friend” would sound weird now. No. Wait. Her mind is spinning. Is she supposed to just deal with this now? Just like that? She doesn’t know if she can, she feels her whole face burning, he’s coming back to the table, and now what?
All right. No more avoiding it. The minute he sits down, she says:
“You haven’t asked me to be your girlfriend yet” she tries to keep her voice soft even though she’s boiling inside. “But you referred to me as your girlfriend to the salesperson.”
She sees his eyes widen slightly. “Did that bother you?” he asks carefully.
“No. I just don’t want to get confused.” She tries to smile.
She takes his hand. “I’m sorry… you know… when I said I wanted you slowly, I meant that I want to enjoy our time together without any pressure… but I don’t need to go on a bunch of dates to know that I want to commit to something more serious… so, do you want to? Be my girlfriend?” He seems almost afraid to ask, which surprises her because if it were up to her, they’d already be married, of course, she keeps that a secret, so she just leans in and kisses him gently.
“Yes, I really do” she says, smiling shyly. He smiles too and runs his hand over his face, saying “why does it feel like I’m a teenager dating for the first time? You have a way of making me feel embarrassed.” He leans in to bury his face in her neck, sending more shivers down her spine.
She laughs again and says “Good to know I’m not the only one who struggles with this.”
The server comes over and brings their dishes; they eat together, holding hands, and he teases her about her red cheeks.
When they arrive at the store, she stays hugging him for several minutes, not wanting to let him go; he remains silent, letting her enjoy the moment.
“Gen?” she says, still clinging to him like a koala, while the Narumi plushie lies abandoned on the floor near the stairs.
“Yeah?”
“Do you want to sleep here?” She feels his body tense up for a second.
“Sleep?.... Like, just sleep?”
She laughs. “For now, yeah.”
He lets out a dramatic sigh and laughs too: “Yes, sweet girl, I’d love to.”
Then she takes his hand and pulls him up, bringing the plushie along with her.
“Where are you taking that thing?” he says as they climb up
“Maybe to my couch? I can use it as a pillow when I’m watching TV” they both laugh.
“I’m going to take a quick shower, okay?” she says, heading to the bathroom. “If you want to, too, I have some oversized T-shirts and shorts I bought by mistake, they should fit, so you can sleep more comfortably.”
“Sure, you know, I usually just wear boxers” he teases her.
She laughs sheepishly “you’re such a brat” and goes into the bathroom.
When she comes out, she leaves his clothes neatly folded for him inside the bathroom. And this time, she puts on a more modest pair of pajamas.
“Why don’t you put on the ones that barely cover your body?” he teases her again, smiling mischievously.
“I’m going to make you sleep on the floor if you keep this up.”
“Okay, okay, I’ll stop” he says, walking past her with a smile on his way to the bathroom to take a quick shower. When he comes back, he’s wearing only shorts. “The T-shirt didn’t fit.”
His abs looked like they’d been photoshopped. She turned her face away in embarrassment, but of course her awkwardness didn’t go unnoticed, and he teased her again. “You know, Y/N, now that we’re dating, you’re going to see me like this a lot.” She could feel the mischievous smile escaping his mouth even without looking at him.
“Stop teasing me.” She lies down and buries her face in the pillow.
“If you’d rather, I’ll put my shirt back on.” It was a button-down dress shirt; it would probably be uncomfortable to sleep in, so she replies "No, it’s fine.”
Then he lies down next to her and immediately hugs her from behind, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her closer, pressing her back against his chest. He whispers in her ear, “Don’t worry, baby girl, I’ll behave.” She almost lets out a little squeal, but says, almost in a whisper “thank you.”
And he really does behave himself; she desperately wants to make love to him, but she’s still not quite sure enough. It’s been a few years since the last time she gave herself to someone like that, and the result didn’t really impress her. She sleeps peacefully in his arms, feeling his warmth as he caresses her belly, tracing gentle circles with his fingers.
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I actually thought about adding some smut at the end of this chapter, but then I realized it wouldn't make sense to rush things between them. That's just not the kind of story I'm trying to tell. I want their first time to be more romantic, so I'll do my best to bring that in the next part.
Thank you so much for reading, and thanks for all your lovely comments and support. See you all in a few days! 🤍