this was dan's reaction when he didn't know how his mii was going to respond to phil's mii's confession. he's so nonchalant, he's never jealous and he does not care at all btw
summary: lately, your boy best friend has been dropping hints that he wants something more, as if it weren't obvious enough already
tropes: friends to lovers, princess treatment, romcom, fluff
word count: 1.1k
warnings: not proofread sorry if it's not good lol
a/n: i genuinely do think it would be this easy w him ૮ ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶ ა
masterlist
fuma is a patient man. that's why he's the only one in the friend group that's willing to put up with you and your shenanigans.
"i really want to throw tomatoes at people like in shakespearean times," you say one saturday morning, your head in his lap on the couch.
by the afternoon, he's already taken you to the grocery store.
the entire group chat shows up to watch you throw tomatoes at him in his bathing suit and swim goggles.
"he wouldn't let me do this," k mutters to you as you take aim.
the tomatoes aren't even ripe yet, so they're mostly just bouncing off of fuma's abs and rolling into the grass.
"you'd take throwing them too seriously," you tell k, finally releasing the last tomato from your hand. it doesn't even reach fuma, who's been standing as still as a statue with his hands on his hips.
when he realizes you're done, he takes off his goggles and runs to join the rest of you.
"you can put a shirt on now," yuma complains. "the rest of us would like to go get ice cream."
"i like the view," you laugh, and fuma smiles brightly. "but yeah, you should probably go put on a shirt."
he runs back inside and comes back with his abs covered, much to your dismay.
when you finally get to the ice cream parlor, you swear everyone can see your heart break as soon as your eyes spot the "no samples allowed" sign.
"that's my favorite part!" you whine. "i never know what i'm actually in the mood for until i try it."
fuma rubs your arm and tells you he'll pay for yours just in case you don't like it.
you order two scoops of mint chocolate chip. as soon as your tongue touches the ice cream, you know that it was a mistake.
"fuma," you pout, eyeing his cup of matcha soft serve. without a word, he nods and lets you have a taste, bringing his spoon to your mouth.
"taste good?" he asks. you nod, and he takes your cone and hands you his cup.
harua and maki exchange looks to see if anybody else noticed how intimate the exchange was.
"guys," maki starts, staring the two of you down.
"hmm?" you hum, tilting your head at him.
"you know dating is legal, right?" he asks. "like, if you want to be together, none of us will stop you."
"i don't know what you're talking about," you laugh. you turn to fuma, who has melted ice cream on his chin, which you quickly reach over to wipe away with your thumb.
"that! that right there," harua joins in, pointing in accusation.
"we're friends," fuma smiles, wrapping his arm around your waist. "good friends. right?"
"right," you agree, leaning into his touch. maki and harua both groan.
it's a pattern that's been noticeable ever since you joined the friend group. you ask for something, and fuma answers. by now, he's learned how to take your requests telepathically.
the first time you watched him open a pack of pokemon cards, you instantly fell in love with a rare full art of tandemaus.
"it's so cute," you say, your eyes sparkling almost as much as the holographic details. "they're like us!"
it's only worth probably $15, and your happiness is worth much more to fuma than that. so, he lets you keep it, smiling at the thought of being two little mice that go everywhere together.
over time, you've grown an entire collection of all of the cards he's gifted to you just because you liked them for one reason or another.
"you do realize some of these are worth a lot of money," taki says one day, flipping through your binder. "the average pokemon card is worth three cents. this one is worth at least a hundred dollars."
he points at one of your espeon cards, where she looks like she's made out of crystals.
"very funny," you reply in disbelief. there's no way fuma would let you keep that one if it were that valuable.
taki looks the exact card up to prove it to you, leaving you speechless.
it's not that you're unaware that fuma treats you differently. it's just that he does it so often that it seems normal. really, you're not sure how else the two of you could operate.
when you're tired of walking, fuma carries you. if you complain about being too lazy to cook dinner, he's knocking on your door with takeout.
last halloween, he was the howl to your sophie, even going so far as to bleach his hair to make the costume perfect.
one day, after you've been teased by the group about your dynamic a little too much, you decide to just ask him.
"fuma," you stop him at the front door when everybody else is filing out. "can i ask you something?"
"anything," he nods, his arms crossed as he waits for your question.
you fiddle with the charms on your bracelet. the tiny metal cake slice—a gift from fuma on your last birthday—feels cool beneath your fingertips.
"are you in love with me?"
the question doesn't seem to shock him.
"i am," he says without thinking, as calm as if he's talking about the weather.
you know how to tell when he's doing one of his silly lies, and this isn't one of those times.
"how come you've never said anything?"
"you never asked," he shrugs, his nonchalance pissing you off.
"and you're not going to ask if i love you back?"
"do you love me back?"
"yes," you grumble, hesitant to show any emotion.
"and?" fuma steps closer.
"i'm mad at you."
he smirks, used to your attitude. "any particular reason?"
"many." you do your best to look angry, although your heart is about to jump out of your chest from the way he's looking at you. “but mostly because you should’ve confessed sooner instead of making me ask.”
he smiles, before leaning in and kissing you on the top of your head.
your eyes go wide. "what was that?"
"i thought it would make you feel better."
you hate how well he knows you. almost all of your annoyance has melted away.
"do it again," you say softly.
he does. you tilt your head up to look at him and tap your index finger against your lips, signaling where you want him to kiss you next.
and if fuma is going to do anything, it's give you what you want.
I've seen a few people now say that people won't be able to make dramatic winner art/animations out of Joel, and that couldn't be further from the truth
Yes, Joel doesn't take anything seriously. That what makes him terrifying.
Think about it. He's stuck in a death game and he is having fun. When everyone is chasing him down in the finale, he easily uses the teleport power to evade them while barely trying. He can taunt and laugh at them, confident he can't be caught, and he's RIGHT.
Joel feels no fear. He plays the game. He revels in the chaos with a smile on his face. If that is not an epic setup for a villain I don't know what is. It also creates a fun dynamic between him and the other winners. He doesn't care, he can taunt them with memories he's now regained ("Weren't you and Scar friends Grian? How's your soulmate Pearl?") and it throws them off because never has a winner been untouchable like this before. He has no guilt to grapple with, but everyone else does. That gives him innate power over the others
Joel himself is a wildcard. He enjoys the game as much as the watchers. He can adapt to anything, as proven by the series he won in. He has loyalties, sure, but in the end he didn't really care about killing Grian. He thrives when others struggle to survive, and he LOVES chaos.
In conclusion, Joel is the life series equivalent of Bill Cypher. In this essay I will-
