Focus on me…
Summary: You have an issue. You can’t focus on your classwork, like, at all. Your boyfriend offers to help you catch up with it, however, things go south.
Content: GN! Reader, fluff, hurt/comfort if you squint, established relationship and study dates! Barely proofread!
Character: Uryu ishida
Word count: 2.8k
Notes: Okay it’s been a month since I last uploaded any writing on here… I wonder whose fault that is…(ᵕ—ᴗ—) anyway, this had been sitting in my drafts for a while!!
You had a major issue, and that was staying focused.
Well, you could, when you really tried. But there were things that were much more interesting to pay attention to over the dull explanations that your teacher continued to drag out.
For example, the clock. Watching the hands tick captivated you, despite how mundane it was. You stopped however, as watching it made you feel sluggish- watching the minutes go by wasn’t the best idea… it made it seem as if time was dragging out even longer, dangling the opportunity to leave the classroom in front of you like a carrot on a stick.
‘Hm, what else is there to look at?’ You think to yourself, silently sighing as you pick up a random pen and fiddle with it. Your eyes darted around the classroom until they landed on the figure of your boyfriend, Ishida Uryu, whose desk was in the row in front of yours. From where you were, it wasn’t enough to see his face in its entirety, you were content with staring at his side profile, which was just about visible from your angle.
From your seat , you could see how focused he was on his own work- nothing like you. You two had always been polar opposites, but it wasn’t something you didn’t like- it was quite contrary to that.
You were more energetic and bubbly. Uryu was more reserved. You considered yourself to have an overall sweeter demeanour, while he exerted an air of coolness- at least from afar. He was a massive dork when you did get to know him on a deeper level, but he was still cool at times, at least to you. That was something you couldn’t deny.
Even with the most mundane activities, like him simply sewing, they’d capture your heart nonetheless. Your hands rested comfortably on your cheeks as you thought back to those domestic moments, like him adding embroidery to your handkerchief (the same one you would use to lovingly clean his glasses) with nothing but utter care. The way his features had wrinkled, showing nothing but pure concentration as he’d worked on doing so, the way he’d engage in conversation with you while already being so focused on something, they were all things that made you swoon.
Still, there were little voices in your head that were telling you to get on with what was in front of you, but in your defense, this work was stuff that you could probably catch up on later. You’re sure your boyfriend wouldn’t mind lending you notes. Probably. Maybe…
So you decided to keep yourself occupied with other things around you with no focus at all on the classwork.
‘Uryu wouldn’t mind,’ you reassured yourself.
Uryu, in fact, did mind. He wouldn’t have minded passing you notes for a class if it was a one-off occasion, but as of late, he’d noticed how much you’d been slacking off in classes. He’d been pretty compliant at first. He wasn’t really one to give out notes, no. He was someone that’d help others out if they needed assistance, yes, but he never normally found himself giving out notes that much.
It wasn’t that often, normally. It’d be when you were sick, or off for whatever reason, he’d gladly lend you notes then, and even go over them with you if there was something you didn’t understand.
Then, you’d start to ask after class or after school. In your words, “it was hard to understand,” and you “didn’t want to fall behind!” Which he understood, so he’d given you his notes again. And again, and again, and again. And each time, it had become more and more obvious that there wasn’t really a proper reason why other than the a fact that you weren’t paying attention.
Even though he sat in the row in front of you, he’d felt your eyes gazing longingly at the back of his head. You weren’t really discreet with it either- the way you’d immediately cast your gaze to the window once he’d turn his head and stare right back at you was a sight that brought a small smirk to his face, every single time. Of course, he hadn’t bought your constant staring up in a conversation.
Up until now. It was lunch, and he was sat in the classroom- typical. You weren’t surprised- he did normally keep to himself, or hang out with you, although there were occasions you’d see him with Kurosaki, Yasutora, and their group of friends.
He was sat in a seat near the window reading a book, his brows furrowed ever so slightly as his eyes looked down at the pages with nothing but utter concentration.
You waltzed into the classroom, and Uryu looked up from where he was sat, his expression and attitude indifferent even though it was you. Also typical.
You dashed towards your boyfriend with a smirk on your face. “Uryu-“
“No,” he replied hastily, cutting you off.
You visibly deflate, a sigh escaping your lips. “I haven’t even said anything yet!”
He deadpans. “If it’s about copying down my notes again, I don’t want to hear it.”
“…how did you know.”
“[Name], have you registered the amount of times you’ve come to me for notes now?”
You divert your eyes. “It’s only been a few times. It’s not been that many.”
“[Name], you’ve asked me for notes for different classes at least 10 times over the past few weeks.”
“not that many,” you repeated in a singsong manner.
“You’re not serious.”
There’s a mischievous grin on your face that Uryu really wishes you’d get rid of, the first reason being because your smiles were contagious, and he feared that he’d be unable to keep his composure, and the second being that he was finding it increasingly difficult to take the situation seriously when you weren’t even doing so in the first place.
You cross your arms and stare the spectacled man dead in his eyes. “I am.”
“You’re not.”
“I am,”
“You aren’t, [Name].”
“I so am!”
Uryu remained silent, his attention back on the book, deciding not to entertain your hysterics anymore.
“Well, aren’t you happy to see your amazing partner?” You mutter as you pull a chair from another desk, moving it to his.
“Normally yes, but not when you’re constantly nagging for notes. How much attention have you been paying in class recently?”
You remained silent, unwilling to say a word. Despite that, the both of you still knew the answer to that question. Instead, you slump down onto his desk, place your head in your hands, and let out an obnoxiously loud groan.
Though you’re not looking directly at him, you can feel Uryu’s eyes drilling holes into your skull. He lets out a loud sigh, pushing his glasses up.
“How about this, I’ll help you catch up with anything you’re missing,” he pauses. “We’ll do the work over at your house and actually make sure you’re doing work instead of staring at the back of my head all day long.”
Your cheeks grow warm and your eyes widen, followed by the fit of giggles that escapes the confines of your mouth. An instant change in mood. “As long as I’m spending time with you, I don’t mind at all!”
“…you do realise that we will be working, right?”
“It’s a study date though, that’s plenty a reason to be happy!”
Hours later, you’re sat in your room, sluggishly sliding off of your bed and onto the floor. On said floor, books are littered all around. Some of them were probably regular reading books that you’d claimed to read to “brush up on your Japanese!” while the others were ones that you were supposed to be using to study with. You were treating both like poison.
There was an adamant refusal to touch those books again. Wether it was due to not understanding the contents of them, or just not wanting to learn at all, Uryu couldn’t tell.
He was the one in the middle of this sorry sight, and god, did he hate being a witness. He was able to get you to concentrate on your studies for a total of 15 minutes before your mind started wandering elsewhere.
‘Maybe,’ he thought to himself, watching you fidget with one of the multiple stuffed animals in the room, ‘just maybe, I should’ve hosted this at my house instead.’
You had decided to start juggling around the stuffed animals. They were small in size, so that wasn’t an issue... until you lost control of them and they ended up flying in the air, one of them hitting Uryu on the head.
…oops.
You can only offer him a lopsided smile as he gives you an incredibly strained one in return- was his eye twitching? Yes. His eye was, in fact, twitching.
Instead of an outburst, he just sighs and gathers a few of the things on the floor. He’s still trying to get you to do some work? A commendable feat..
It’s not like you were being difficult on purpose to avoid doing the work. You wouldn’t subject Uryu to that level of tomfoolery, oh no. That was too cruel for your boyfriend, especially because you knew he was trying to actually help you and dedicate his time towards you.
It was true, you didn’t focus, you’d had a massive disinterest in the work and you’d shown nothing but utter reluctance towards the notion of actually completing the task, but this wasn’t you trying to piss Uryu off. He had his other friends for that, although that was normally a humorous sight.
This was just pathetic.
You just really couldn’t focus though. Any old habits of studying must’ve perished over the summer because you couldn’t think of a single method that you wouldn’t have given up on within the span of 10 minutes.
Maybe it was that and procrastination that had you in a headlock, and maybe you trying to escape from it wasn’t the best idea. This wasn’t usually like you, either.
You sit in silence as you watch Uryu separate the books between those which were apparently for “brushing up on Japanese” and those for actual studying.
Sitting around was incredibly boring to you.
That was a fact. Watching Uryu meagerly pick up things was just boring to you. Underneath that boredom though, there was a slight pang of guilt in your heart that just kept on tugging and tugging, making itself more known.
“You’re way too patient with me, you know?” You comment with a sloppy smirk painted across your features, moving to grab a pile of books that he’d organised, placing them back in their respective places (none of which was the floor of your bedroom.)
“I’m surprised myself,” Uryu retorts. You can tell it’s lighthearted, the way he looks back at you after he says that is a dead giveaway. “Let’s go on a walk, it’s clear that we’re not going to get any work done right now.”
You followed him out of your house, the sun hitting your face almost immediately. The late summer weather was incredibly relaxing and reassuring, melting most of your worries away.
Clasping your hand with Uryu’s, you walk along the roads of Karakura town, a comfortable silence being shared between the two of you. It was accompanied by the prideful golden sun, whose rays were shimmering majestically, that was slowly but surely setting. It was still at a decent level in the sky, however the streaks of deep orange were beginning to make themselves more apparent.
You make a turn towards a park. The space around is clear with a few benches littered here and there, as well as a little playground with a set of swings. The summer cicadas hum as you take the lead, pulling your boyfriend towards the aforementioned area. You sit on the swings, Uryu doing the same, while keeping your hands intertwined.
Though you’re sure it hasn’t been that long, the sun sinks even lower, it’s brilliant rays shining brighter (if that was even possible). Any hints of blue in the sky had been replaced with gorgeous oranges, ruby reds, and even a few dabbles of warm purples too.
You break the silence first. “This is becoming more of a regular date than a study date.”
There’s a pause, before Uryu speaks up from your left. “That’s true, but…” he trails off, seemingly to pause to think of a couple more words to say. “But it’s not bad.”
You slowly nod, looking down at the ground as you continue to softly swing back and forth, embracing the summer scenery and sounds.
It’s now, in this calm and gentle mood, that you’re truly able to think clearly. About everything.
It was true that you were losing focus and acting unbothered about your work, but deep deep down, you knew that you wanted to regain your ability to take in information without fiddling with a pen after a couple of minutes. You knew that you didn’t want to fall behind on your studies, and that no amount of fooling around would get rid of that feeling. You knew that although he’d be more than willing to help you every single time, you needed to get your own focus back so he could do so properly. You knew that the issue was regaining that focus and motivation back, and you knew it was something that was becoming more and more of an issue.
You’re so deep in thought that you don’t register the firm amount of pressure applied on your hand- that being Uryu’s doing.
He was squeezing it. It was enough to jolt you out of your thinking session, but it didn’t hurt in the slightest.
Your sight moves from his hand, to his arm, and finally to his face, and upon it rested an unusually soft smile.
Your cheeks couldn’t help but warm witnessing such a pretty sight. To be fair, even though you hadn’t remained focused for a lot of your lessons, you had spent it looking at one person. And right now, as the sun set and framed his face in an almost elysian manner, you just couldn’t help but think to yourself: ‘A sight like this is absolutely worth missing out on some notes for.’
You squeeze his hand back, finally mustering up a reply. “That’s true. Nothing is ever bad when it’s with you, Uryu. I do wish I could think straight enough to actually get something done though.”
“That’s possible. I’m sure.”
“…didn’t you just witness what happened earlier in my room today?”
More silence. More chirping from the cicadas, the soft bustling of wind caressing the tree leaves and branches, and creaking from the swings.
“That doesn’t mean it isn’t possible,” his brows furrow as his features show determination. “I’ve seen you do well before. It’s possible. Right now you’re just-”
“In my own little world,” you finish, smiling ahead. “I’m figuring it out, Uryu.”
He gazes at you intently.
“I can focus. I know this because even though I wouldn’t get some notes down, or remember what happened in our classes well, there was one thing I’d consistently look at all that time.” Your hand slips out of his, as you start to properly swing on the playground equipment. Though there’s hesitation creaking through the swing at first, but the higher you go, the more it fades.
Uryu simply watches from the side, seeming to thrive off of the bliss that you’re currently experiencing. As you swing higher and higher, as the sun hits your face and just about shows that infectious smile of yours, he just watches on, waiting for the next sentence, which eventually comes when your swinging slows and you finally plant your feet back on the ground.
You earnestly beam back at the boy. “That thing was you.”
In that moment in time, it’s as if the world had stopped. And oh, Uryu wished that he could take a photo of your face right now. In this moment, even the sun that seemed to glow so bright had seemed to dim exponentially when he looked at how happy you seemed to be.
At that moment, he could only focus on you.
You stood up from the swing and walked over to the one that Uryu was on, and held out your hand to him. “Let’s go back to my place,” you stated, a refreshing smile on your face. “I think I’m ready to try to study again.”
Your boyfriend chuckles, taking your hand in his, interlocking the two. “Don’t lose focus this time.”
You giggle to yourself, a bounce in your step as you walk back. This little walk that the two have gone on might just have been exactly what you needed. Something to clear your mind, something to detangle your thoughts, something to give you hope. This was an incredibly successful mood lifter. It had all happened due to your studying, or rather the lack of it, but you were positive it was worth it.
And this time, now that you’ve focused on what you love,
You’re ready to use that focus on something else now. Just temporarily.
“I’ll try.”
