synopsis: Nanami Kento has been to 10 weddings in his life. Mostly from coworkers, family, and friends. But he’s never had a plus 1 at any. His “best” friend Gojo is worried. Nonetheless, he sets up what any good friend would do. A blind date, with you. But you, on the other hand, hate blind dates. You’ve been to too many in your life from your helpful sister. But at the end of every date, no man ever contacts you after. And this date seems to be what you expect, with a man who barely talks and seems to have no interest at all. That’s until he contacts you again. But loyalty and trust is hard, for all you’ve ever wanted in life was to walk down the aisle in a beautiful princess-like white ballgown to the man of your dreams.
With time, patience, and trust, comes you to realize you’ve seen love all around you, all the time.
a/n: jujutsu sorcery does not exist in this fanfic. this is a modern au! in this fanfic, you are a very feminine lady (for example, you like pink and attract to more girly things). if this isn't your style then you can just ignore it but it will be important to the fanfic later on, just not VERY important. anyways enjoy!
PROLOGUE
This is the 10th wedding Nanami Kento has ever attended in his life. There’s the same generic music again, Canon D blasts through the speakers as everybody stands up and sees a woman engulfed in a gigantic white ballgown, walking down a large pile of rose petals with the old man on her arm, and she’s staring wholeheartedly at the man who got down on one knee and was determined to spend the rest of his life with her forever and ever. And he looked directly back at her, with loving eyes. As if there was no one else in this room but the two. It’s all the same, Nanami feels. And what else is the same, is that he got here alone. Again. And again.
────﹒♡﹒────
You were standing under the beautiful arch of flowers, looking at the groom waiting for his bride, in this case, your older sister. She was coming very soon, the exciting, emotional moment was coming very soon. And when the music started and the doors opened, there you saw your older sister walking down slowly with your fathers arm linked around her. You could tell she was trying so hard not to cry, but that was so hard for Emiri. You always looked up to Emiri ever since you were brought into this world, like the best role model you could ever ask for. You could never be jealous of Emiri, because she never bragged or showed off of anything, and you were content with your life and Emiri was too. Being born into a loving family was enough. But you can’t help but feel pain in your chest, Emiri was getting married. And her dress was beautiful, her hair and makeup was perfect, her bouquet was perfect, even the bridesmaids dresses are stunning on each girl. And the worst of all, her future husband is perfect. Kind, respectful, loyal, and loving. He was the perfect addition to the growing family. And you were hurt at that. How could Emiri get it all, but it’s so hard for you to just get a man's number?
“Do you take Emiri L/N to be your lawfully wedded wife?” The officiant said.
“I do.” The man of Emiri’s dreams responded.
Emiri of course said the same thing back to the man in front of her.
“Then I now pronounce you, husband and wife.” The officiant finished and the newly weds wrapped their arms around each other and held a deep, longing, loving kiss while the entire people in their chairs stood up and applauded. Those words. You were scared of those last two words. Because you were scared you were to never hear an officiant say those words to you, ever.
synopsis: loving jeremiah fisher was hard. especially when he’s in love with someone else.
wc: 1.05k
part of the 1k celebration!
loving jeremiah fisher was always hard. you had only eyes for him, and you knew he only had eyes for belly. you tried desperately to distance yourself from those feelings, knowing you were putting more weight on your interactions with him.
every glance, every moment spent with him you ended up analyzing, trying to figure out if he felt even a fraction of what you felt. more often than not, you had to convince yourself that you were correct.
it felt like a bucket of ice had landed on top of your head when conrad and you came from his fina. seeing belly and jeremiah kiss knowing both you and conrad could come out at any moment made you stomach drop. it was the harsh wake up call that you needed.
conrad had interrupted them, and it all blurred in the background, your thoughts getting louder and overpowering. conrad took you away from them, taking you instead to help pack up his room.
you felt jealous, sadness and anger. belly wasn’t supposed to be with you guys. it was a last minute addition, and you felt jealous of her. she had the attention and affection of both fisher boys, while you pined over the younger fisher. it felt like a movie where she was the protagonist, and you just ended up being a unimportant side character.
the car ride with everyone was uncomfortable, and you tried blocking it out by putting in headphones. the cat’s movements made you drowsy, and it wasn’t until conrad slightly shook you awake that you noticed that you guys had stopped at a motel.
the atmosphere between the 4 of you seemed tense, and you felt out of place with their love triangle. they all bickered about the bed situation, and you felt as if the room was closing in on you.
running out of the room, you gasped for a breath and took a seat next to the vending machines. a tear rolled on your cheek and you hastily wiped it off, not wanting to let your guard down.
your name was called, and you looked up to see jeremiah standing there.
“are you okay?”
you nodded and took in a deep breath.
“yeah. i’m okay.”
he eyed you as if he didn’t fully believe you.
“are you sure? you ran out of there pretty quickly. i’m sorry if you feel like you’re in the middle of this whole thing—”
you squeezed your eyes shut and waved him off.
“it’s fine.”
“i know it’s an unfair position to be in, being stuck with all of us especially when belly and i-”
you stood up and balled your fists, letting your nails dig into the palms of your hands.
“jeremiah. i said it’s fine. can you drop it?”
you never were short with him, and it caught him off guard.
“what’s with you? are you upset at me too?”
you exhaled and your eyes darted everywhere but his face.
“it’s nothing. i don’t want to talk about it.”
“cmon, you’re my best friend. are you mad because we didn’t tell conrad?”
of course. he thought you were mad for conrad’s sake.
“no, jere but seriously drop it.”
“i wanna know what i did though! i cant stand you being mad at me.”
you felt like you were going to throw up, the words escaping you before you could react.
“i’m upset because of the kiss.”
your eyes widened and jeremiah stood there with a confused look.
“the kiss? it wasn’t intentional that conrad would see, he sort of just—”
“god! it’s not about conrad! why do you assume my feelings are about conrad? it’s because you kissed her.”
“it’s because i kissed her? what does that even mean?”
you sighed and slumped your shoulders. you knew you couldn’t run and hide from it like you always did, and you weren’t even sure if you wanted to.
loving jeremiah fisher was hard, and you were tired of it being one sided. you wanted to be free of your feelings for the curly-haired fisher, wanting to just be his friend without analyzing his every move.
“i love you jeremiah. i have for a long time. so yeah i’m upset because you kissed her.”
“i-”
“do you know how hard it is to be your friend but be in love with you? do you realize seeing you look at her the same way i look at you kills me? no. you don’t. because everything is about conrad and how he feels and how belly feels and how you feel. i cant keep doing this to myself. it’s not fair.”
“doing what?” his words came out like a whisper, so faint that if you weren’t standing face to face you wouldn’t have heard him.
“this” you gestured between the two of you “this friendship. i cant do this anymore. at least not right now. it hurts too much.”
he was silent, mouth shut and his eyes holding a swirl of emotions.
“listen. i’m going to go back into the room, and i’ll take the bed with conrad. he’s aware of how i feel, and it’s just gonna be easier. we’ll talk in the morning.”
you pushed past him, and walked back to the room. pulling conrad to the side you kept him up to speed, ignoring the obvious longing and jealous look belly was giving you. it felt ironic that she was jealous of you when you were nothing but jealous of her.
the rest of the night went with you ignoring both belly and jeremiah. curling into conrad’s side, you finally let the tears fall silently and soak his shirt. he wrapped his arms around you, the two of you understanding how the other felt.
come morning, you quickly got ready and dressed before everyone else was up. getting out of the room you quickly found cell service and ordered an uber.
the car came for you quickly and you climbed in, making sure you had all your bags. you sent a text to conrad letting him know you left early for home and to not tell the others and turned your messages on mute.
putting your headphones in, you finally let yourself really cry, leaning your head against the window.
loving jeremiah fisher was hard, but you knew getting over him would be harder.
“Nanamiiiiii~ how’s my boring old pal doing?” Nanami’s ‘best’ friend asked, at least that’s what Satoru Gojo liked to be called by him.
“You do know you’re older than me right?” Nanami replied, sipping his hot cup of black tea at the cafe they decided to meet during Nanami’s lunch break.
“At least I didn’t mature fast like you did. How was your cousin's wedding last week?” Gojo asked curiously.
“It was fine.” Nanami responded.
“Just fine?”
Nanami nodded his head. “Weddings are all the same so.”
“I seriously wonder how your coworkers have conversations with you..” Gojo said.
Nanami didn’t react to Gojo’s comment, he took another sip of his black tea and stared out the window at the passing cars and people.
“Any girls? Friends of your cousins maybe? C’mon there had to be at least a girl your type.” Gojo asked, once again. This was the same question he always asked whenever Nanami was at any event he said he was going to. Gojo usually expected the same response, but maybe this time– “No, I don’t really want to have this conversation anymore.”
Gojo sighed. “Nanami Kento, it’s like I’m pulling teeth here! This won’t do, you can’t keep sulking your sad mopey boring overworked average salary life! As your bestest friend, hopefully not your only…you need serious help.”
“I appreciate the offer, but I’m really okay. And I don’t have a sad, mopey, boring life. I am just content.” Nanami said.
“Yeah right, I know you Nanami. I know exactly what you need.” Gojo smirked at the end and grabbed his belongings and drink getting ready to head out.
“Make sure to free up your schedule for this Saturday, not that you have to anyway” He winked and headed out the door of the cafe leaving Nanami confused.
Nanami sipped at his black tea again and looked around at the busy cafe. He looked at the couple sitting in front of him, laughing at each other, smiling at their jokes and comments. A few seconds later, Nanami left his change on the table for the waiter and headed out the door on his way back to the office.
────﹒♡﹒────
“Noooo not another blind date please!” You whined on your older sister, Emiri’s couch in her comfortable apartment. You were visiting Emiri for the weekend to catch up on what’s going on at home, and with work. Living with your parents was fine with you, you had an excuse anyway. Being fresh out of college means broke and you just started your first full-time job last month. So far, it’s been amazing. You love it, and you can’t wait to save up and move out into a cozy apartment, just like Emiri.
“I know the last ones haven’t been so great, but I have really good faith in this one!” Emiri said putting your dish away from the lunch you both had in her dining room.
“You said that the last two times and it didn’t work out. No Emiri, for real I’m done.” You said sternly.
“Okay I know, but this time I’m really serious, he seems like your type!” Emiri said, sitting back on the couch once she was done with the dishes.
“You know him?” You asked.
“Not personally, but I’ve heard of him. Through hubby’s coworkers!”
You cringed. Not that Emiri knew some of him, but at the stupid nickname she picked for her husband. It was so dumb you always thought, but you never told Emiri cause she would be pissed.
“He’s tall, 6’0ft. Blonde hair, hazel eyes. 27. He’s a financial analyst in a great company, and I heard he’s really kind” Emiri smiled.
You never really had a type. You just liked the more masculine looking men, the ones that were on the cover of Men’s Health magazines, or were posing for a Calvin Klein ad with their hard rock abs always fully out. But when it came down to color of hair or eyes, it never really mattered to you. You were practically at the bare minimum at this point.
The past blind dates you had were all misses. Sometimes, the dates you thought went really well, the guy would never reach back, and when you found the courage to reach out. No response. Never. That always led you down a pool of insecurity you felt like drowning in. But Emiri’s convincing really seems to push you this time.
“I- I don’t know Emiri…” You muttered, you were already feeling overwhelmed and the date hasn’t even been planned yet.
“After this one, I promise not to set you up on another blind date again. Cross my heart, honest.” Emiri said looking deeply into your eyes.
You looked away from Emiri trying to think. You were already in full doubt. He’s for sure going to not reach back. But your sister did say after this one she won’t put you into misery again. One more time, you thought. One last time.
“Fine. But don’t break that promise” You said.
“Yay! It’s gonna be good, I can really feel it this time” Emiri smiled.
“What’s his name anyway?” You asked.
“Nanami Kento, isn’t that just the most profound name ever?” Emiri giggled and immediately went on her phone to check recent notifications.
Well, at least his name didn’t sound so bad you thought.
a/n: hi gorgeous readers! i'm really excited to start this series as i've been writing it since february! i really wanted to post this for a very long time but yk life happens so. i hope you guys enjoy! xx mwah
CHAPTER 1
There was a loud knock on your door, you knew exactly who it was due to the certain pattern of the sound. Toji Zenin, the boy who lived right next door to your home since you were probably born.
❆
You vaguely remember the first day you met him, all you could recall was the commotion you heard from inside your home. a group of kids screaming and running around as they yell at him why he was holding two giant beetles in his hands. To which he would respond as they're just his new pets for the day. But the first time you ever spoke to him was when you were on the sidewalk in front of your house coloring with a pack of chalk you were given by Santa last Christmas. "Hey," a voice creeped from behind your shoulder and you turned around seeing Toji closer to you than ever, he was holding a pair of two plastic hockey sticks on his right and left hand.
"You live next to me, how come I never see you play?" he asked so bluntly. You were always the quiet one in your entire family, and being an only child made you a favorite to so many eyes upon your relatives, so at any family gathering, you would just sit and smile accepting compliments like, "look how big you've gotten!" "You look just like your mom!"
You shrugged at Toji’s question and continued coloring, “Huh? What are you doing?” he crouched down now in front of you. “Chalk, do you want to color?” You asked, and handed him the blue colored chalk from your bucket. He tossed his hockey sticks to the side and grabbed the chalk from your hands and began to scribble on the sidewalk. “Woah! It’s all over my hands!” He laughed.
“I’m Toji by the way,” he said, starting to draw what looked like a hockey stick and puck.
You said your name back and continued coloring, “What are you drawing?” He asked.
You grabbed the white chalk and started filling in the first pair of your attempt at drawing a pair of ice skates. “Me ice skating.” you said looking down.
“You do ice skating?” he asked.
You nodded your head in response. “I play hockey! At the ice rink by that ice-cream store.” he exclaimed.
You looked up, “I go there too!”
“Really? How come I never see you?”
You shrugged again back at him.
“My coach says I’m the best player he’s ever had, never seen my dad smile so big, I thought he was gonna cry when I told him!” he laughed. “I’m gonna go to the NHL, and then the Olympics,” he continued.
Thus your friendship started forming, and Toji told you the days he was at the rink, that’s when you realized that there were two ice rinks. One primarily for the hockey teams, and the other for figure skaters so there would be no collision. You noticed that when Toji was alone without his parents watching him, he would come to visit you and force you to play hockey with him. You hated it, but you enjoyed attempting to hit him with your hockey stick, and you hated how he always beat you at skating races.
One thing you didn’t quite understand, the older you got, was whenever you would catch him talking to his parents after practice, his personality would shift to aggravated and tense. You one day asked him why when you were playing outside riding your bikes and he simply replied, “It’s nothing, my dad just tells me I should work harder” but it’s the tone that he gave to you. Sounding like he didn’t want to continue the conversation, so you just put it aside and followed him on bicycle.
Over the years, Toji would ask to play with you the most. But those play-dates got shorter due to either his mother or father coming to pick him up with the same sentence you always heard: “Let’s go, you have practice.” Your friendship was still stable, but that shifted for you when you saw him play for the first time at one of his little league games. You were so entranced by the way he played and hearing the crowd cheer, even louder whenever his stick was on the puck. He really was that good. Then, you would see him fight the opponents, punching and kicking, hearing the crowd roar. You didn’t know hockey could be this exciting! Seeing him play like that for a game he was so passionate about caused your feelings for him to shift. Perhaps you liked Toji a little more than friends. A little crush couldn't hurt anyone, right?
❆
“No! I don’t want to move! What about my ice skating?!” You shouted at your parents in the dining room with pure anger, how could they do this to you? You loved the town you lived in, loved the friends you made at your elementary school and now you were forced to start fresh. “Your father got a new and even better job. We’ll be closer to grandma and grandpa, and don’t worry I found a rink that’s only 10 minutes away from our house and have already been in contact with the coaches. It’ll be just like here!” Your mom said. She wanted you to feel excited, but you were the complete opposite of that. “No it won’t! It won’t be the same, I don’t want to go!” tears started rolling down your face and you stormed to your bedroom. All you could think of was what you were going to tell Toji, and how.
The weekend rolled by and that familiar knock was at your door. You knew exactly who it was, you had to tell him today, because your room was starting to be packed up and all the frames around your house were being taken down. You answered the door and saw him holding the same plastic hockey sticks, “C’mon, let’s play field hockey…!” he smiled and began walking to the empty street where there was already a ball placed to play. You walked out quietly with nothing but a frown on your face, you felt awful that you were about to tell him the horrible news.
“Hey! Check it out, my scar is healing. Doctor said it’ll probably be permanent, pretty bad ass right?” he leaned closer to you and showed you the scar on the corner of his lip that he got from a previous game.
“Toji, I’m not supposed to hear words like that,” you said kicking the ball to him with your hockey stick.
“What? Bad ass? My dad says it all the time!” he exclaims as he kicks the ball with his stick back to you but this time too roughly. The flying ball suddenly hits you in the arm as you try to dodge it. “Ow!” you yelped.
“Oops. My bad…” he said with a nervous laugh.
You sighed and rubbed the part of your arm where the ball hit you; that’ll probably leave a slight bruise. You looked down at your stick staring at the cement. That’s when Toji noticed your sulking. “What’s wrong? You don’t want to play?” he asked, walking closer to you this time and looking at your arm.
“No, I do. But, there’s something I have to tell you, Toji…” You couldn’t even look at him for what you were about to say. “What is it?” he asked. Your shoulders tensed and you kept your lips tight from trying not to cry.
“I’m moving…” you said as one tear fell from your eye. You finally looked at Toji and saw his shoulders sag.
“Moving? Where are you going?” he asked you. “To the city where my grandma and grandpa live…my daddy said he found a better job there.” you replied.
“Oh.” was all that came out of his mouth. You both stood there in silence for a bit, processing on what was going to happen to your future. Now you probably won’t ever see your crush again…how devastating to your little heart. “How will I still talk to you?” you asked with a light croak in your voice. Toji stood there in thought, and then his eyes widened. “Stay here, I’ll be right back.”
He dropped his hockey stick to the ground and ran as fast as he could back inside his house. You looked at him running away with nothing but confusion in your eyes. Then, you saw him run back outside with a pen and ripped piece of paper in his hands.
His staggered breathing approached you and he crouched to the street to begin writing on the paper. “This is my dads e-mail, we use it to talk to people sometimes. I see my dad do it with my teachers, talking about my grades.” He hands you the paper with his dads e-mail address and poor penmanship. You stared at the paper reading the address and looked up at him, did he get taller? Nevermind that, you still had the chance to talk to him, even while you were not living in the same neighborhood.
“Okay, thank you.” You smiled shyly at him, you thought this was the most kind gesture he’s ever done to you. “Yeah, you’re my friend right?” he asked. You nodded your head to him and he picked up his stick and kicked the ball signaling for another round. You shoved the paper in your pocket and ran to the ball with your own stick.
❆
It had been months since Toji had last seen you, he was sitting on the family computer scrolling through his dads email’s; something he did almost every day. He was lucky enough that the email had always already been logged in and ready to use, he could never bear to ask his dad for the password.
“Toji. What are you doing?” Toji flinched and turned the desk chair to barely meet his fathers gaze. “I was expecting an e-mail from someone…” he responded, trying his best to avoid eye contact.
“No more computer time from now on, that’s a distraction. Go get changed, you have private lessons in 20 minutes.” his dad said sternly.
“Okay, I will in a minute–” he said, naturally even. Always talking back to his dad. The office chair Toji sat on spun from the grip of his fathers massive hands gripping the top of the headrest, “Go.” The eyes that stared at Toji signaled that he lost the fight, he always does. Because in the end, what was always expected of him was to just be the best hockey player in the family, the whole world maybe in his fathers eyes.
a/n: currently recovering from a nasty cold lmaoo but chapter 4 is here! i am so happy this fic is getting so much love (nanami deserves all the love). happy reading!!
masterlist
CHAPTER 4
When Nanami arrived at his home alone, he looked at the recently saved number on his phone. For there were so many things he wished he said to her at that dinner, for instance, explaining why he read the menu before she got there was because he was so embarrassed in pulling out his reading glasses. He was afraid of that first impression, no thanks to Gojo at all. Or how he wanted to explain to her how he never found Gojo funny at all but just annoying. And explain how he wanted to stay for dessert because he did like sweets, but she didn’t ask that. Why, though? He should’ve just told her. Nanami was never known to feel so…timid. The moment he noticed her looking from afar, he felt something in those soft eyes looking at him. And when she explained to him her career, he could tell she was itching to share more of how proud she was to be working. And the wine. He could tell she didn’t care for wine, she didn’t even finish her first glass. He felt so awful for ordering a whole bottle. Maybe you were more of a cocktail girl, or maybe you did like wine but were trying to be respectful and not drink a lot of it.
Nanami stared at his phone as he laid in bed for the rest of the night. Should I text her? He thought. How should I text her? He opened the notes app on his phone and typed different rough drafts for some ideas.
‘This is Nanami, thank you for tonight’ “No…” and the words were erased on the keyboard.
‘Hope you have a good rest of your night’ “I already said that..” delete.
‘Thank you for spending the night’ “What am I even saying?” Nanami’s patience was growing very thin.
────﹒♡﹒────
You locked the front door to you and your parents house and saw your mother and even Emiri sitting in the living room with the lamp on. Both of them holding a hot cup of tea in their hands. They did this all the time after your blind dates. But the look on their faces was different, they looked like they were itching to know every single detail of the date. You placed your purse down and sat at a single chair across Emiri and your mom.
“You know exactly what we're gonna ask.” Your mother implied.
You took off your warm coat and thought of the small action he did where he was holding your purse. You really are such a hopeless romantic on the inside.
“We… exchanged numbers…” You shyly smiled looking down at your hands on your lap.
“I told you I had a good feeling mom! This is so good!” Emiri smiled so brightly.
“We had dessert, and he also paid for everything.”
Emiri frowned, leaving a long “awwww” “I really am good at manifesting.” She giggled.
“I wish I could see what he looks like…” Your mom sighed.
“Does he have social media?” Emiri asked you, oh no, does he even? You both never really talked about social media, maybe he did for his job?
“I don’t know, we only have each other's numbers…”
“We can just find him maybe on his jobs website, that’s good though, good that he wanted your number. Guys nowadays just want your social and that's it.” Emiri grabbed her phone quickly and began looking up Nanami on the search engine.
Your wise older sister was right, guys just asked for your social media, they never asked you for your number. Nanami was so different already, the fact that he wanted your number. But then again, maybe he really didn’t have social media.
“I found him!” Emiri showed her phone to her mom.
The photo was nothing big, just a staff picture on his company's website, like the rest of his coworkers. But when you got up to scoot next to Emiri, he was nothing like his coworkers to you. Looking sophisticated in a suit and tie and a serious expression. A mature looking one.
“Oh he is very handsome, good job Emiri.” Your mother examined from Emiri's right.
“Isn’t he so her type?” Emiri explained.
“I don’t think I have a type.” You shrugged.
“Yes you do! All the celebrities you like look like him, all those romance books you read all look like him. A real man. So masculine.”
You keep remembering his action again, the stupid thing of holding your purse, he even held the door for you. You noticed literally all the things he did to make him act like a gentleman, is this what having a crush felt like? You haven’t had a real crush in awhile. All the guys you tried to get to know, didn’t want to get to know you back.
You felt your phone vibrate from a notification
Nanami Kento
‘Would you like to meet somewhere next week? I know a nice cafe.’
Your face shoots up in red. Ohmygodohmygodohmygod! You couldn’t even listen to the conversation Emiri and your mother were having. You quickly replied with a yes, asking what time and day.
He said Saturday, and 11am.
He already wanted to see you again, you couldn’t believe it. You tapped Emiri’s shoulder to show her the text and she squealed with excitement along with your mom who read the text. You kept biting your lip rereading the text message again and again. And reading his last text ‘Night’. You needed another shower, a cold one this time.
a/n: currently in the works of writing another fanfic on another jjk character eee!!
CHAPTER 10
You rummaged through your closet trying to find the perfect dress, pants, shirt, anything for tonight. You thanked Nanami prior to telling you the name of the restaurant because you wanted to be super prepared, you didn’t want to be underdressed at all. You got your nails done yesterday too, a little treat for yourself before the weekend began, and also for today as well. And the temperature was dropping, so if you wore a skirt or dress, you had to wear tights underneath to protect your warmth. You looked around frantically, it wasn’t even late afternoon yet but you were already feeling stressed.
“The things a man can do to you…” your mom said leaning against the doorway of your bedroom.
You sighed a loud noise “I hate it!!” you yelled. How could a man curate your brain to the point where you would over think everything. You already did that enough so Nanami was now 2x the amount. Sometimes, you would hate how much he was always on your mind. There would be some days at work where you couldn’t focus on your tasks because of him. But this was normal right?
“Breathe, relax. I know it’ll be good, he already seems to have a liking for you.” Your mother assured.
“I should’ve gone shopping.” you responded stubbornly, you had finally picked your outfit with time to spare.
────﹒♡﹒────
You were applying the finishing touches to your makeup. He was only 10 minutes away, offering to pick you up in his car. You were going to wait a long 10 minutes. As you’re waiting, you apply your favorite perfume and rethink all the outings you and Nanami had, and all the actions he did led to you wondering if he really did catch a liking to you like your mom had said. You didn’t want to jinx anything, oh but you were also so ready to say yes to whatever he said. But what if later on he got bored of you? You had to do things back, flirt for once?
You saw car lights through your window since it faced the street of your home. He arrived. On time to. He always does that. You looked and saw the driver's side door swing open, Nanami walking out, wearing a suit and long tie with an all black trench coat on top. Amazing, splendid, and perfect. You stepped away from the window and looked at yourself in the mirror one last time. You ended up loving your outfit. It somehow got even better than before, and what also got better was hearing your doorbell ring.
Your mother beat you to it.
“You must be Nanami! I’m her mom!” she said with excitement. You trust your mom enough not to make a fool out of you, she understood how important this was.
“Very nice to meet you, Mrs. L/N” Nanami nodded his head and gripped the bouquet of flowers in his hand tighter.
“Please come in! The temperature seems like it's dropping faster every day.” She held the door open to invite Nanami inside. Nanami stayed quiet when he walked in and took a look at all the furniture and decorations inside the home.
“I’ll go get her,” Thus, your mother went upstairs to find you standing in the hallway of the second floor fidgeting with your hair.
“What are you doing!? He’s waiting downstairs!” your mother whispered, quietly enough so that only you could hear.“I know but it's so awkward walking down the stairs like I’m Cinderella!” You whispered back.
“Good. You better feel like Cinderella, oh that man could for sure be a Prince Charming. Now go before you embarrass yourself even more!” She slightly nudged you to the steps and you slowly began to walk downstairs.
Nanami turned his head away from a cluster of picture frames on the wall when he heard footsteps from the stairs.
“I’m sorry for the wait—“ You said but suddenly noticed the flowers he still held tightly in his hand. He smiled softly the whole time he looked at you. But his eyes seemed like they were saying something else, full of more desire and curiosity.
“It’s alright.” He replied and extended the flowers in his hand towards you.
“Do… you like flowers?” He asked
Yes, and even more when they’re from you. Was what you wanted to say. Deep down, you wanted to almost burst into tears. Because no one else but your dad has ever given you flowers before.
You took the flowers from his hands, smiling at them the whole time, you felt so giddy. “I do love flowers.” You nodded at him.
He smiled and extended his arm towards the front door of your home signaling to exit. You followed him out before he stopped you, asking where your coat was.
Ohmygod. You quickly grabbed your coat from the rack and handed Nanami your purse and flowers to hold, your back facing him as you hid from embarrassment for a few seconds. You’re delusional just by him to make you forget important things. But what you also noticed was a quiet chuckle coming from behind you.
You sat in the passenger seat as he held the door to his car open for you, thanking him for the courtesy.
“How have you been?” you asked as he pulled out of his parallel park. “I’ve been well. Better now” He responded looking back at you.
You knew exactly what he meant, especially with the look he gave you. Was this flirting? You’d have to ask your sister later.
“I’ve started that book you lent me.” He said. You gasped shortly back, “What do you think?”
“Well, I can see why few women like these types of books. I brought it to my office and it was immediately noticed on my desk by a few coworkers.”
You tried your best to hold in your laugh, thinking of all the scenarios his coworkers must have thought of him reading a book with a cover of cartoon characters in the front looking at each other lovingly and the title in the prettiest font, and with a pink cover at that.
“You brought it to work?” You asked, trying to hide your smile.
“Yes, I like to read on my breaks. It clears my head.” He responded.
You looked down at your clammy hands and smiled thinking of what he possibly looked like reading your book at his office, or at the office's breakroom, or at any spot he liked to go to for his breaks.
Please, please, please let this night go well. You prayed silently to the universe before you heard the door open on your side from Nanami. Yes, he made you wait until he got the door. You thanked him as he got out and felt the breeze of the cold air hit your nose. You couldn’t wait to walk into the restaurant at this time. You looked around when you both walked inside, waiting for Nanami to put down his name. The staff even took both of your coats to hang, as if this restaurant didn’t feel fancy enough. You saw so many couples this time. They seem to have caught your attention the most. “This way please,” you turned your head to the hostess as she guided you both to your table. Nerves were really creeping up to you now, and you needed a drink fast to wash it all away. This is all too new, too much of it. You looked around at all the full tables for two. Everyone looked so natural doing it, and you didn’t feel like it. You’ve never even been on a date with the same guy!
You sat in your chair pondering what else to do tonight: show you’re relaxed, flirt with him, and offer to pay for dessert. Yes, this sounded like a good checklist in your head.
“Are you alright?” He asked.
You snapped your head back to reality when you heard your name again from him, “yes, I’m sorry I need to use the restroom quickly.”
“I saw it that way to the left” Nanami pointed behind him and you nodded your head, getting up and going in that exact direction.
You walked into the bathroom looking at yourself in the mirror, aggressively fixing your outfit from head to toe, reapplying everything you brought in your small purse. It all mattered to you, or was this just the nerves getting to you again? No. You don’t want to deal with this anymore. Nanami deserves better than a girl who can’t even sit down with him without freaking out every 5 minutes. You fixed your hair again and took a deep breath and walked out of the bathroom.
────﹒♡﹒────
As Nanami waited, he thanked the waiter for already pouring the glasses of water. In his waiting, he would think to himself about his past romantic-esque actions to her. Did I get the right flowers? According to his book, roses were a good practical start. But what if she didn’t even like roses? It's okay, she accepted them anyway. And judging by the few glances he took in the car, she really loved to look at them, a lot. He wonders all the time what goes through her mind. Sometimes, Nanami could tell when she looked nervous, and he noticed when she was in the car fidgeting with her fingers resting on her lap. He didn’t want that reaction from her at all, not tonight at least. For he feels like he has a big shot tonight, and the most important thing he wants for her is to be comfortable tonight, and all the time. He glanced at his watch trying to look busy by the people around their table as he waited for her to get back.
He heard her footsteps and watched her take a seat in the chair. “Here, they served the water.” He pushed the glass closer to her for reassurance. “Thanks” she said and brought the glass to her lips. He stared, and she stared back. He could feel in his whole body as her eyes stared at him as she drank the water slowly. Watching her adams apple go down with the water, and then the slight water droplets left on her lips. She smiled softly back and set the glass down. Nanami cleared his throat and tugged slightly at the tie sitting around his neck as he looked at the drinks menu avoiding her face. “What would you like to drink?” He asked, shifting in his seat.
“To drink?” she asked, looking at the variety of options. Which left Nanami thinking to himself. Dammit, I can’t see very well with this dim lighting. His one shot at using his glasses was taken. She was already back from the bathroom. Nanami squinted his eyes, now he felt like 30 years had been added to his age. How embarrassing. The words started to look smaller, he started to feel smaller. He sighed loudly to himself. Maybe she wouldn’t mind, maybe she wouldn’t find it weird, and he knew well enough that she wouldn’t make fun of him, she didn’t seem like she had a bone in her body to do that. Everything she did was with so much kindness.
“I’m sorry—“ he said, putting down the menu for a second. “Please don’t mind me for a couple minutes.” He pulled out his pair of glasses and put them on the bridge of his nose, trying so hard not to capture her expression.
────﹒♡﹒────
“I didn’t know you wear glasses,” you said.
“Only when I read and sometimes at work. I try not to show that I do.” He responded promptly.
“Why? They suit you.” Yesyesyes they so did. As if he couldn’t get even more handsome, was it too selfish to wish he was more visually impaired so he could need glasses more often?
“You are only being kind,” He said. His voice sounded defeated
“Thank you, but I also wasn’t lying.”
He looked up at you this time, you smiled at him slightly tilting your head. And it was true, all of it. You could never lie to Nanami, he didn’t deserve that. He looked so sophisticated and smart with those glasses. And for the first time, you felt as if you saw more of him with these glasses, saw a different side that no one else probably could see. And you loved it. You loved looking at that vulnerable face he was giving to you. He pushed his glasses a bit higher up his nose and smiled warmly at you, thank goodness you were sitting down because your knees felt like they’re melting to the floor.
You both decided on the simple choice, a bottle of red wine. You got a slight flash of deja vu, however this time you felt like you could have more than one glass.
“Sometimes my friends would call me old as a joke whenever I wore my glasses.” Your eyes met his. Oh. That was new. You’ve never heard him open up like that before, and by the tone of his voice, and the look on his face. He seemed disappointed. “My cousin has to wear glasses all the time, and she’s 13.” You responded to him sincerely. “Do I really look that old?” He pulled out the pair again from his pocket. “I mean, I tried to get a pair that didn’t look like an old man's. I’m only 27.” He continued to examine them with self cautiousness. “No, I don’t think so” You said with a soft tone in your voice, eyeing his hands on his glasses and then back to his eyes. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to talk about my insecurities on this date.” He said, putting his glasses back into his pocket.
“It’s okay, I can talk about mine next.” You shrugged and took a sip of the wine to boost some of your confidence. And then you spoke, “I’ve never really been on a…date like this, they’ve mostly been blind dates, but I hate counting those. I guess I could say no guy has really asked me out to dinner like this.” I just said too much, you froze. This feels humiliating now, glasses were one thing but now your love life? You shook it off with a light chuckle that really just sounded like a nervous laugh.
“I’m sorry… that you felt insecure by that, but you shouldn’t. You are a very nice person and they just didn’t see that.” he said. You blushed immensely. “Thank you, I like to think the universe was just protecting me from them.” you smiled at the end of your words.
Nanami hummed at the end, thinking to himself it seemed. “Do you think the universe is protecting you now?” he asked.
You stared at those hazel eyes, with hope in yours. And then you shook your head with a smile, “Not exactly”. Nanami as well, smiling back at you.
“Are we ready to order?” The waiter asked afterwards.
boxer!cassian & ballerina!nesta
written by pariisxoxo
a/n: i miss them so much
boxer!cassian who never misses any of ballerina!nesta 's recitals. he would find any way to clear his entire day whenever her next performance is so he can for sure make it.
boxer!cassian who is obnoxiously loud after every performance ballerina!nesta is in. on the outside she's overly embarrassed and has told him to try to remember theater etiquette, but he doesn't care. but on the inside, she finds it the most romantic gesture ever. even handing her the biggest bouquet of flowers out of everyone is more than enough for her, but again, he doesn't care. "you don't understand nes, i need to do all of this." he says handing her the giant bouquet of assorted flowers, wrapping his arms around her for a giant warm embrace. "best one in the show." he smiled. she raised her eyebrows up at him in disbelief, "it's the truth. don't humble yourself so much."
"thanks. the flowers are beautiful." she replied.
"c'mon, i want a photo before you change out of your costume." he gestured and waved at random stranger with family to take the picture of the two. the stranger happily took snapped their photo on his phone. "and now for tradition." he angled the phone above her head and zoomed out in a 0.5 and quickly snapped her annoyed face with the flowers wrapped around her hands looking bigger due to the odd angle. "that ones going on the fridge." he grinned.
boxer!cassian who needs, what he calls, a good luck kiss from his girlfriend before every match. according to him, this is how he wins. "you know that doesn't work." the ballerina crossed her arms at the injured boxer, who's right shoulder was completely wrapped in ice, resting on the couch in their shared apartment living room. "of course it does. i've won every match ever since."
"you've won other ones, before we even started dating."
the boxer shrugged, letting out a slight wince. "recent ones have been easier i guess."
the ballerina looked closely at his bruised shoulder that the opponent could've almost broken, she thought. "do you want painkillers?" she asked.
"no…but a kiss would cure it." he replied "painkillers it is then." she turned around to the kitchen to grab the first aid kit.
ballerina!nesta who gets upset when she notices boxer!cassian has been using her athlete tape and hasn't been putting it back in her bag. "stop using my tape, seriously cass, you never put it back in my bag!"
boxer!cassian who get's jealous whenever his girlfriend has to partner up with a male dancer. he can't help it. sometimes he'd imagine himself as the male dancer instead, or would ask his girlfriend after each rehearsal how he treated her. "why do they want you to do a dance with him? can't you tell them that you have a boyfriend." he said stirring a sauce for the dinner for tonight. "it doesn't work like that. you can be married and still do partner routines."
"well that's kinda wrong, no?"
"it's pretty much like acting so no, it's not wrong." she said, chopping the peppers.
"well i don't like it, i like when you're doing dances by yourself."
she rolled her eyes at his comment and continued slicing the vegetables.
boxer!cassian who always freaks out whenever he looks at ballerina!nesta 's naked feet that is always covered in old bandaids and sometimes bruised on the inside of her toenails. even though she always tells him this is normal and the blame is always pointed towards pointe shoes, he still finds any way to try not make her walk. often picking her up in his arms going from different seating options in their apartment. "i can still walk, i'm fine."
"don't care."
ballerina!nesta who gets slightly worried whenever her boyfriend comes home a little too injured than normal.
too much dried blood on the lip
too many bruises on the knuckles, doesn't he need to use gloves?
